Something that puzzles me is that Arabic simply does not translate well into other languages and indeed some words simply do not translate at all. Allah knows everything, so He knows this and yet the Quran was revealed in Arabic. Have you heard or read anything which discusses this?
Ofcourse I have read/heard this in diffeent books/lectures. But......have you read something that says otherwise. The word Islam can be translated into many different meanings. But if you sum up all the meanings, it becomes something like "the peace (of mind & obviously body too) that is attained when one submits his will, with sincerity & obedience, to the will of God .
IMO we were all made to live in heaven, & not on this planet or in this body. It was one act of disobedience, one act that was
un-islamic, that proved that we need to tame the inherent uncertainity (freewill) that our creater gave us. And we are on this planet to learn only that. It was not a sin because every body knew it is gonna happen (2:30). The inherent uncertainity is actually a part of being the best of creations (We humans give this power to the best of our machines, & call it
artificial intelligence) . The whole point of being here is to learn to obey, & to go back to our orignal motherland (2:38). This time, we will know
by experience that following the creater is the best way.
Also, please can you tell me your opinion of when a person is considered to "have received the message of Islam"? For me this was at my first reading of the Quran and even before I had finished I decided to convert. For example, would you consider the nonMuslims on this site to have received the message?
Recieve the message is a very relative term, Nobody other than the prophets can ever be sure that he has delivered the message. And as Muslims we arnt suppose to give any verdict regarding anybody's Eman, or his after life.There is a hadith regarding this :
Usama Ibn Zaid: was sent on an expedition by the Messenger Muhammad (saw). He said: ‘One of the Mushrikeen said laa ilaaha illalah and I killed him but I felt bad and I told the Messenger Muhammad’ The Messenger Muhammad (saw) said: ‘Did you kill him after he said laa ilaaha illalah?’ Usamah said 'Yes, but he only said it because he feared from my weapon.' Muhammad s.a.w. said ‘Did you check his heart? What will you do if he comes to you on the day of judgement with his Kalima’
As a muslim its our duty to invite people to our way, show them its beauty, remove any misconceptions, & thats it . Judging somebody's afterlife is not our business. God has given every body brain & heart to think. And he has given everybody the freedom to choose. As he himself said, if he wanted, everybody would have been a muslim . So, let him do his business.
If I remember correctly, this is related to Ghazali. somebody asked him about Maronite Christians . He said that they live inside muslim lands, Islamic teachings are easily available to them, yet they dont accept, so will thet go to hell. Ghazali replied that although they live in Islamic lands, but from the very first day, they are told that Islam is an evil religion. When they are adults, they are not even willing to think about Islam. But its not their fault, God is definitely going to be lenient to them, as its he who has put them there, in a situation where they have lost their willingness to think.
I think in the current times, this can be said about most of the western people . They are contiouously being hypnotised by images on their TV. They arnt even given the freedom to think beyond "we are under threat", "they hate us" & "Islam is some barbaric idology " .This fuss creates so much emotional disturbance that their minds arnt able to think beyond the fear & apprehension that gets associated with Islam. The blame lies more on us Muslims , than them . We muslims arnt even trained to answer simple questions about Islam. How can we assume that they have received the message.
Here is my problem. Surely, if a Christian never reads the Quran they cannot be classed as having received the message of Islam (as the Quran is the message os Islam)? Therefore that person would surely be judged by the message of their own Prophet (pbut)?
Ofcourse. But the problem goes deeper. What if that person got the message but was told that its not to be followed? And how do you define "their own Prophet" in current times . There are lots of ifs & buts in this. And only God can do perfect justice.
Does Snoopy exist?
Does farhan exist?
He thinks he does. But what if he is only programmed to think like that . Programmed to think that he can think. Programmed to think that he thinks he exists. Afterall, reality is just a persistant illusion. Anyways, this is going somewhere else. The whole reason of this analogy, was to make an atheist (Mr. Dawkins) think about his reason to exist . We humans ususlly delete a software when it gets corrupted. We throwout any machine if it doesnot work. To believe that a person will not believe in God & still go to heaven doesent make any sense.
What is Islam NOT strict on
Lots of different things. Their is a hadith that says: "God wont forgive two things , Shirk (associating partners with God), & the rights of people. Rights of people can be forgiven if that person forgives him . So we are left only with one thing. Shirk.
Amen sister, sure does...I'll bet it is buried in most every religion...are these words of Jesus in the Koran?
"Jesus said…Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt.22:37-40.
The same message with different words
How important is it to be good to my neighbor?
Luckily they don't speak English and as a foreigner they already think I am nuts. 
