Muslim Religion

[bmartin]

I am not Muslim, but am trying to understand the Muslim position.
question: Is an Infidel anyone that is not a Muslim?

question: What is an Islamic Imam? What is his role or position. Is a cleric
the same person.

Can anyone explain these questions to me, and give the source of the explaination.
Thank you.

 

[bruceg]

Welcome to the board, Bmartin!

You'll probably get more responses to your questions if you post them in the Islamic area, as we have a number of quite active posters over there

... Bruce

 

[iBrian]

Thread moved to the Islam board.

 

[thipps]

I am not Muslim, but am trying to understand the Muslim position.
question: Is an Infidel anyone that is not a Muslim?

question: What is an Islamic Imam? What is his role or position. Is a cleric
the same person.

Can anyone explain these questions to me, and give the source of the explaination.
Thank you.

Brother bmartin, Assalam-o-Alaikum (Peace be upon you)
I have checked a few dictionaries and the meaning of the word 'infidel' is too varying to answer the question as it is written. But keeping the concept in mind, the word we use for a non-muslim is 'Kafir' but it is not an abusive word (as many, i have found, misunderstand it). ‘Kafir’ is derived from the word ‘kufr’, which means to conceal or to reject [any good arabic dictionary will confirm this]. In Islamic terminology, ‘Kafir’ means one who conceals or rejects the truth of Islam and a person who rejects Islam is in English called a ‘non-Muslim’. If a ‘non-Muslim’ considers being called a ‘non-Muslim’ or ‘Kafir’, which are one and the same, an abuse, it is due to his misunderstanding about Islam. He or she needs to reach out to proper sources of understanding Islam and Islamic terminology, and not only will he not feel abused but appreciate Islam in the proper perspective.

Regarding your second question, the word 'Imam' can be used from the Imam of the mosque who leads the prayer to the Caliph(called Khalifa in arabic). It depends on the role of the person. Please have a look at the following website for a glossary of islamic terms. Brian is using this website to provide a search facility for the hadith book of Sahih Bukhari.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary.html

The source of the information given on the website is given at the top of the webpage. I have read the definition of the word 'Imam' and agree with it. I have seen the definition of the word 'Kafir' given on the website as well. It was a bit short so i elaborated on it(above) using an arabic dictionary.
Now, you ask if a 'cleric' is the same person. Let me take this opportunity to say that muslims have noticed that the media keeps superimposing christian terminologies on Islam, which misleads people. We do not have a 'clergy'. The definition of the word 'Imam' should make that clear. An imam cannot forgive sins, so on and so forth. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says that a cleric is a member of the clergy & 'clergy' are defined as follows:

1 : a group ordained to perform pastoral or sacerdotal functions in a Christian church
2 : the official or sacerdotal class of a non-Christian religion

The first one is obviously ruled out.
Before we get to the second one, one must understand what 'sacerdotal' means. The same dictionary explains that it refers to 'sacerdotalism' which is defined in the said dictionary as follow:

religious belief emphasizing the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and mankind

(you can see it online if you dont have it at home: http://www.m-w.com )

As i explained before, an Imam (in whatever role) cannot forgive sins, he is not infallible, he is a human being and they or anyone else is not a mediator between God and mankind. There is no such thing in Islam. We believe that God Knows all and Hears all. Furthermore, Islam teaches that before God, all men are equal as the teeth of a comb. There are no classes in Islam. The only thing that seperates one human being from another is 'Taqwa' [i.e. righteousness, God-consciousness and piety.All these concepts come into the arabic word 'Taqwa'. You can see the same webiste referenced above for more information on the word].

Hope this answers your questions.

 

[Friend]

I am not Muslim, but am trying to understand the Muslim position.
question: Is an Infidel anyone that is not a Muslim?

question: What is an Islamic Imam? What is his role or position. Is a cleric
the same person.

Can anyone explain these questions to me, and give the source of the explaination.
Thank you.

Salaam for all
bmartin,I'm very interesting with your questions and you are welcome to ask any questions about Islam , we try to answer as much as we can .


Infidel in Islam means to worship others with Allah or worship others than to worship Allah , there are some Christian believed that there are one God and they are non-Muslims ,also Jewish believed in one God and they are non Muslims we can not considered all Christians or Jewish are actually Infidel .Only Allah can know what a person believed inside himself , and he is only reward the people about their believing .Allah give us a mind to think and to search about the truth .

Goodness is acknowledged by Islam wherever it resides: "Not all of them are alike: of the People of the Book are a portion that stand (for the right); they rehearse the signs of God all night long and they prostrate themselves in adoration" (3:113).



No individual or group can claim monopoly of God's mercy or deny it to others: "Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians, any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve" (2:62).

But we must remember that the people of the book which mention in the verses above those whom following the right resource of our God words ,I mean the original holy books ,Gospel (New Testament ) and Tuora(Old Testament) they are all our God books .but they were distorted by people. we must search about the origional ones.



Imam is the person who Guide the prayers in the pray or (in Salaah ) , they are follow him to adjust the process of prayer .and we have the Shieq who study Islam deeply and helping Muslims to understand the Islamic rules in their daily life and clarifying which is acceptable in Islam and which is not for them .
I hope this can help to answer your questions .

Peace upon all

 

[iBrian]

Thank you for the explanations, thipps and Friend - much appreciated.

If I may add - an Imam usually has an extensive understanding of the Qur'an, and if I remember right, many if not most can recite the entire Qur'an from memory. They might be thought of as "community leaders" and perhaps are nearer in equivalent to the Jewish Rabbi than Christian Priest.

 

[Friend]

Thank you for the explanations, thipps and Friend - much appreciated.

If I may add - an Imam usually has an extensive understanding of the Qur'an, and if I remember right, many if not most can recite the entire Qur'an from memory. They might be thought of as "community leaders" and perhaps are nearer in equivalent to the Jewish Rabbi than Christian Priest.

Thank you "I, Brian"

any Muslim can be Imam at the time of pray ,all prayer Muslims memories Quraan verses or some of it and know the steps of Salaah or pray ,because we must pray wherever we are and under any conditions .any group of Muslims want to pray at the time of it choose one of them to be Imam for them .
The leader community is near to a Shaiq a person who study Islamic rules and take the responsibility to answer Muslims questions about their religion , and it is a sensitive position because he is responsible in front of Allah about any incorrect answer he will give to any Muslim .

Peace upon all

 

[iBrian]

My apologies for the misunderstanding - and thank you for the correction.

I seem to have read that there is a special title for those who can recite the entire Qur'an from memory - I had thought it Imam - am I confusing a few issues, or am I remembering an issue quite incorrectly?

 

[bloodnf]

My apologies for the misunderstanding - and thank you for the correction.

I seem to have read that there is a special title for those who can recite the entire Qur'an from memory - I had thought it Imam - am I confusing a few issues, or am I remembering an issue quite incorrectly?

The title for someone who memorizes the entire Quran is "Hafiz"

 

[Friend]

My apologies for the misunderstanding - and thank you for the correction.

I seem to have read that there is a special title for those who can recite the entire Qur'an from memory - I had thought it Imam - am I confusing a few issues, or am I remembering an issue quite incorrectly?

Salaam I, Brian

I think this is the most peaceful forum I had ever entered .Thank you for your effort .



sometimes Muslims are preferred those whom can recite the entire Qur'an from memory to be their Imam because if they exist in a place they will be the most suitable to guide the others in their pray .( We all as prayer Muslims must read some verses from memory when we pray ) .

​

 

[thipps]

Thank you for the explanations, thipps and Friend - much appreciated.

If I may add - an Imam usually has an extensive understanding of the Qur'an, and if I remember right, many if not most can recite the entire Qur'an from memory. They might be thought of as "community leaders" and perhaps are nearer in equivalent to the Jewish Rabbi than Christian Priest.

Brother Brian, Assalam-o-Alaikum,
As far as salaah(prayer) is concerned, anyone can be the imam. All Muslims have some verses/chapters memorised that they can recite in the prayer. Being a 'hafiz' is not a prerequisite to leading the prayer.
Please recall my previous post in which i specifically said that we dont have anything like clergy in Islam. I believe what you are speaking of can be properly called a 'scholar'. An Imam can also be a scholar. I explained before that 'Imam' is a title that can be used for various roles. For example, i am the Imam when i lead the prayer... but i am no scholar. and i have not memorized the complete Quran. And, again, i would like to say that this title is not the property of a certain class of people, it is not for the elite or for the few.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Vajradhara]

Salaam all,


since the topic has been raised, albeit, obliquely, i'd like to bring it to the fore, if i may.

my Muslim friends, males in particular, why are women not allowed to Recite?

 

[Friend]

Salaam all,


since the topic has been raised, albeit, obliquely, i'd like to bring it to the fore, if i may.

my Muslim friends, males in particular, why are women not allowed to Recite?

Who told you that women not allowed to recite ???

we have many women do that , specially at the time of our great prophet (PUH)his wives like Al Saeedah "Aesha " and Al Saeedah Hafsa help other Muslims and teach them about the Islamic tenets ,and we have Al Saeedah Nafeesah in Egypt .



Now the universities have many women who teaches Islamic subjects to the Students ,and we saw many other Women Recite at the TV channels .

But we must understand that the ratio of recited men is more than of women because the nature of women duties is different from those for men.



women relate to the family and children more than men .Also the Psychological structure of the women different from the men ,women usually more sentiment than men ,so it's difficult to many of women (not all) to answer questions for public or to argue men in certain subjects .

 

[mirrorinthefog]

Dear Friend,

When you dicuss women's roles in society, are you talking about it in the context of Islamic doctrine, expressing your personal beliefs, or making a general statement?

 

[Friend]

Dear Friend,

When you dicuss women's roles in society, are you talking about it in the context of Islamic doctrine, expressing your personal beliefs, or making a general statement?

Salaam mirrorinthefog

Both of them, Islam gives the woman superior value because her basic duty is her home and children affaires so all community will be saved .our prophet Mohammed told us that we must prefer our mothers to be the closer person from anyone else including the fathers .and Islam call for respect the women as mothers , sisters , wives and daughters.

 

[mirrorinthefog]

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your reply.

What happens, then, when the roles are for some reason reversed?

 

[Friend]

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your reply.

What happens, then, when the roles are for some reason reversed?

my friend mirrorinthefog
Generally ,For social and psychological reasons it is better for the children to be looked after by their mother than by their father .Usually men looks to the family issues differently than women so, the man have important role in his family and children life ,he give them support to be strong specially his sons to protect themselves from any threat ,while the woman give her children the ability to be sentimental with each other and with others, also she can bear the behaviour of the children ,and the physical structure of her body give her the ability to look after the children like feed them naturally .

sometimes for some reason man compel to take the role of woman but , this may difficult for both he and his children as they grow up children will look to the society and deal with their life issues differently if the influence of mother was missing.

forgive me if I could not explain my idea for you .

 

[Faithfulservant]

Friend

"women relate to the family and children more than men .Also the Psychological structure of the women different from the men ,women usually more sentiment than men ,so it's difficult to many of women (not all) to answer questions for public or to argue men in certain subjects ."

I agree on this point. Women have the tendency to react out of emotion rather than thought or instinct. But women have the ability to see things from a different perspective than men. My faith teaches that women should not be leaders over men and I agree. It goes against their natures. That does not mean however that they dont all have purposes in life to edify God and Church. Thats for another discussion.

My question to you is.. Is it uncommon for women to discuss religious faith and doctorine with men in your culture? If a woman wanted to discuss religious differences with you would you discuss it with her?

Faithful Servant

 

[thipps]

Salaam all,


since the topic has been raised, albeit, obliquely, i'd like to bring it to the fore, if i may.

my Muslim friends, males in particular, why are women not allowed to Recite?

Brother Vajradhara, Assalam-o-Alaikum
First of all,your question is not very clear. You have not specified the context of the recitation. Recitation of the Quran is done outside of salaah as well. So, if you are talking about outside of salaah, the answer is that all Muslims, men and women, are not only allowed, they are equally encouraged to do it. If you are speaking in the context of salaah, then please make your question a bit more clear.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[thipps]

Friend

"women relate to the family and children more than men .Also the Psychological structure of the women different from the men ,women usually more sentiment than men ,so it's difficult to many of women (not all) to answer questions for public or to argue men in certain subjects ."

I agree on this point. Women have the tendency to react out of emotion rather than thought or instinct. But women have the ability to see things from a different perspective than men. My faith teaches that women should not be leaders over men and I agree. It goes against their natures. That does not mean however that they dont all have purposes in life to edify God and Church. Thats for another discussion.

My question to you is.. Is it uncommon for women to discuss religious faith and doctorine with men in your culture? If a woman wanted to discuss religious differences with you would you discuss it with her?

Faithful Servant

Dear Faithfulservant, Assalam-o-Alaikum,
First of all, please do not confuse culture with Islamic Law (Shariah). These are not necessarily the same thing and this should be avoided if one is to understand Islam. If one insists on a culture-based answer, then the answers are beyond the scope of this discussion. Ill assume you meant in Islam rather in 'your culture'.
Islam puts no limit or restriction on women being scholars. There are many female scholars but the reasons why male scholars are more has been explained by another brother. so, i will skip that part. I will give you one short example. Aishah(May God be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet Mohammad(peace be upon him), taught 80 scholars... she was a scholar of the scholars. There are many other examples from Islam's history as well but i feel this one example is enough as far as your question is concerned. And yes, there are women scholars even now. I have seen them speak many times. I will not give an example of a female scholar from the middle eastern countries or sub-continent as i think you will not know the name and it will be difficult for you to confirm. The name that comes to mind is Aminah Assilmi. She was a baptist and reverted to Islam and now gives lectures to men and women both. I have seen a few of her lectures on video & I liked her thinking. Muslims must respect all scholars, period. The question of being man or woman is not relevant.
now, regarding your first question, the answer is: no, it is not forbidden for women to discuss religious matters with men. There are many examples of this as well but the answer is getting too long as it is, so hopefully this will be enough. Again, your question is leaning towards specific cultures rather than Islam itself. and again, the answer is beyond the scope of this forum as there is not one culture. What Islam says about the matter is enough.
Your second question is a personal one & again, there will be varying answers according to the individual. But as far as Islam goes, it does not put any restriction on such discussion as it only creates better understanding. Women are a part of society and obviously it would be foolish to ignore thier point of view. Now, if anyone wants to ignore what islam teaches, it is thier personal behaviour and doesnt reflect on Islam as a religion as everyone has a free will and they will give an account of thier deeds to thier Lord.

Hope this answers your question.