What is Islam and why is it misunderstood?

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What is Islam and why is it misunderstood?

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ARCANE
Member

After reading several of the blogs here, I feel it is necessary to have this thread. One of the main reasons Islam is misunderstood in areas such as Pakistan is because of the language. Quran came down in arabic, but there are very few ppl in the subcontinent who truly understand the language. A lot of ppl take Islam from what has been translated including the Quran itself. But according to all great scholars, there is no translation of the Quran. There are interpretations but there are no translations. Interpretation is what one views the Quran to be saying (it doesnt mean they are incorrect but rather incomplete), whereas translation is the exact message God delivers in the Quran. A tafsir is more in line of a translation because it attempts to gather all the meanings out of each and every statement.
For instance I have read ppl stating they do not wish to discuss religion. I am not criticizing them or there views, but the beauty of Islam is that it isn\'t just a religion. The word Allah swt uses for Islam is Deen and that means lifestyle or a complete way of life. So in essence, Islam deals with everything and touches every aspect of our lives. Whether we choose to accept it or not is a totally different story all together.
Islam needs to be understood correctly especially by the Muslims. If we know what it truely is, then we would have no suicide bombers or even hatred towards any ppl. So I hope we can all contribute here towards our better and more accurate understanding of Islam, and see the true and complete beauty of the Way of God.

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 19:21 #
javedsheikh
Members

Mr. ARCANE, you look very knowledgeable.
I am glad, finally there is a scholar to guide us about Islam.
On your next posting, please let us know, according to accurate understanding of Quran, what came first:
Egg or Hen?

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 19:50 #
rafi
Member

In continuation to JS\'s question, would like to add more:
Majnu was male or female?

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 20:21 #
Asif
Blocked

Do our actions as a society reflect our words(that we say five times a day)? and here lies the whole truth.

Each & every person is an ambassador of the beliefs that one believes in. But we have been totaly unable to spread it & accept it as a society.

We proud to be muslims by birth(a very good thing), we proud that Islam is the only true religion taht we believe in(right), we proud that Islam is the fastest gowing religion worldwide & thats all that we do. Proud, proud, proud & proud.

For our failures the rest of the world blames Islam because they believe that our daily life reflects Islam & unfortunately which is not true in general.

And they should blame Pakistabis but not Islam for our failures because we don\\\'t practice it & even we shy to bring this into their knowledge just to avoid the embarassment that we would get in return.

The image of Islam today in the eyes of non-muslims is just because of our double standards.

P.S. this is in view of ou general behaviour & perception, no doubt we have good muslims too but they are very small in number whos lives reflect true spirit of Islam.

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 20:42 #
ARCANE
Member

In an authentic hadith Prophet Muhammed pbuh is quoted as saying \"There will come a time when a person will recite a few ayaats(verses) and he will be revered as a scholar, but he wont be a scholar\"

So sir, your sarcasm is rightly guided! I am neither a scholar nor do I claim to be one. My knowledge is very limited because of all that I didnt learn and what God has taught me.

I am not here to guide ppl to Islam but rather to create a more accurate understanding of Islam. What ppl choose to follow and believe in is entirely their choice and surely I am not a compeler over anyone.
Hopefully we will learn to own upto our actions and not attribute them to Islam. The beard is in Islam but Islam is not in the beard. We have so many ppl in Pakistan who are misled because we decide to follow someone simply based on appearances. Like Mr javed so eloquently and effectively stated : Mr. ARCANE, you LOOK very knowledgeable - looks can be deceiving! But deception can be removed with just a little bit of knowledge. Please continue to share your views and discuss.

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 20:48 #
ARCANE
Member

Mr Asif I couldnt agree with you more. It is absolutely true that Islam is the Perfect religion, but its followers arent. And I feel one of the main reasons for our failure and disconnect is due to our ignorance. And mostly ppl are not to be blamed. On many occasions Islam has been made too strict in Pakistan, even when Prophet pbuh said \"Islam is an easy religion, so do not make it difficult for yourselves\".
Islam didnt come down so we may use it to influence or control a people. That is not why God sent it. But ppl use it as a platform to launch their personal agendas. However, if we educate ourselves then we can distance ourselves from such ppl. Islam is here to build a relationship between a person and her/his Creator, not to show others how pious and righteous we are.
God doesnt expect anyone to be perfect, if we were perfect or capable of achieving that then He wouldnt have sent Islam. Prophet pbuh said: one of the dearest actions to God is forgiving the sins of His servants.

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 21:06 #
arabkhan
Member

Dear ARCANE,
Thanks for your posts, i guess its simple but we get it complicated.
Its not in the language, otherwise the Arabs nowadays would have been exemplary Muslims..
It lies in the quest only, if you have the fire to learn and understand, language is never a problem.
Let me give you an example: We in Medicine can never excuse ourselves by saying that i didn\'t understand the patient\'s language, thus i can\'t treat him / her. When you know that its your duty to help the patient, you will find ways to communicate with him.
And then there is this famous saying that Quran came down in Arabia, was recited well by the Egyptians, but was understood / interpreted well by the Indians (the sub-continent).

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 21:25 #
arabkhan
Member

a Hadith says:

\"if you were not to sin, Allah will perish you and bring instead of you nations who will sin and then they will seek forgiveness, and Allah will forgive them\".

Imagine how much Allah loves His slave who begs for His Mercy!
Another Hadith says Allah\'s love for his slave is > 70times the love of a mother for her offspring..

SUBHAN ALLAH

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 21:31 #
ARCANE
Member

Very true arabkhan. God is Beautiful and He intends no hardships for us and certainly He loves us the most. We as Muslims need to realize that yes we are humans and we will certainly make mistakes, but we can always learn from those mistakes and move forward. God doesnt want to punish us but He wants us to be better or atleast try to be.
Islam unfortunately has been presented in an incorrect manner to say the least. It produces opportunities and encourages growth. It is the most broadminded ideology because it allows other cultures to grow within it. A person can be from any corner of the globe and still be a part of Islam while simultaneously hold on to their initial cultural identity.

I was going to quote the hadith about the perfect nations u mentioned, but I was concerned someone might misunderstand it as an encouragement towards committing sin. But I am glad u did - it is very beautiful and shows how much God loves us!

Posted 4 years ago on 16 Feb 2008 22:02 #
Asif
Blocked

Here it goes Mr. ARCANE.

http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/feb2008-daily/17-02-2008/col8.htm

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 2:15 #
javedsheikh
Members

Islam itself is enemy of Islam.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 2:25 #
rafi
Member

As soon as Islam-Fascist, stop telling rest of the fellow Muslim and other non-Muslims \'Kafir\'. Also, quit stuffing the religion in peoples throat then automatically the mis-understanding will go away.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 4:05 #
Fahim23
Member

Islam is the \"guidance\" for humanity and it is misunderstood because of the ignorance of Muslims.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 5:01 #
ARCANE
Member

Rafi.....my apologies if i misunderstood u bro, but I am not stuffing religion down anyone\'s throat-if thats wat u meant. Again apologies if i misunderstood u!

I labeled this thread \"What is Islam....\" so ppl will know beforehand that Islam is being discussed. That way anyone who doesnt want to accidentally stumble accross this discussion wont.

But anyone and everyone is very welcome here to share their views and practise their right to free speech!

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 7:43 #
ARCANE
Member

When Islam is mentioned, mostly ppl think of prayers and reading Quraan. Yes they are the highest forms of worship but the buck doesnt stop there. The word worship is kinda restricted, so a better translation of the word \"Ibadah\" (Arabic word Allaah swt uses in the Quraan) is All actions that please Allaah (God AlMighty). Of course it goes without saying that anything and everything that pleases Him is for our benefit alone!
For e.g. Prophet pbuh said: to feed your wife with your hands is an act of Ibadah (worship). To smile at your fellow brothers is Charity (Ibadah), to remove a harmful object from a path is Charity(Ibadah), to do work around ones house to help ones spouse is Ibadah, to repect all human beings and their beliefs is Ibadah, to tolerate others is Ibadah, to show kindness and being polite to others is Ibadah, to check on your neighbors is Ibadah.....(note to readers: all mentioned above are not from one single hadith but a summary of a collection of ahadith.)
These r all extremely important because they gel the individual units of our community. But I have met ppl who r too engrossed in being Punjabi or Pashtoon or Urdu speaking, to the extent that these identities have become elements of division. There is nothing wrong in maintaining that identity but it should not be used to discriminate.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 8:14 #
ARCANE
Member

We need to promote solidarity and brotherhood/sisterhood. We should bridge accross our differences and come together as a ppl rather than quarrel over petty issues. Issues that actually have no substance.
Islam teaches us to love and respect eachother and tolerate different points of views. It accomodates several points of views thats why there are four schools of thought. The schools of thought are not there to divide us, like so many of us do, but they are there to unite us by accomodating all types of ppl and their different points of views. So we should learn to agree to disagree and move on to more important issues like lets not cheat others or steal from others or lets not give or take bribes.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 8:15 #
ARCANE
Member

Asif thnx for the link bro, I completely agree with your comments that u posted earlier. But I have a little issue that I was hoping u could help me out with. My urdu is unfortunately kinda weak and the link u sent has some really complicated language 4 me....is it possible to get an english version? :-)

thnx

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 8:21 #
javedsheikh
Members

The Muslims have produced and created more Kafirs and Infidels.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 11:04 #
rafi
Member

Arcane
Thanks for being polite, I was talking in general term. And so far I am enjoying your post because you haven\'t made an attempt to Judge anybody nor did any name calling which is appreciated. Article from Asif is one of the best example of our Muslim men midset. Very good Article.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 17:12 #
arabkhan
Member

Dear Rafi,
Dear Javed Sheikh,

Posting like this also reflects \\\"extremism\\\",
Our Islam is not against fundamentalism, but agianst extremism..
See this is intolerance, why can\\\'t we be followers of the middle path..after all we are
أمة وسطا

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 22:10 #
rafi
Member

Dear Mr. Khan
In this thread I haven\\\'t said anything against religion yet; or did I?
I don\\\'t know your definition but as far as I am concern.
If thanking somebody for not calling name is extremism? or Staying away from people who has fascistic approach in the name of religion who think they are owner of the religion (which is my religion too) and they have right to called anybody heretic is extremism then it is fine with me.

Posted 4 years ago on 17 Feb 2008 23:17 #
ARCANE
Member

Rafi bro thnx for clearing up the misunderstanding.

All praises belong to Allaah alone for anything and everyhting good I have posted here. InshaAllaah i will try my best not to judge anyone because I will surely be of the wrongdoers if I do so.
But since I am human and might make a mistake, it will be greatly apprciated if u or anyone else here reminds me and corrects me!
Again thnx......

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 3:22 #
ARCANE
Member

Prophet Muhammed pbuh stated: The best amongst u is the one who is best (kindest) to his wife.
He also stated the best amongst u is the one who wishes for everyone else all that he wishes for himself.

Rafi bro u r correct again, duty of teaching Islam nowadays, has somehow landed in the hands of some of the most inappropriate ppl. They feel they own Islam and they are somehow better so they implement it in ways that are contrary to the Islamic way. Allaah swt says \"Invite and teach (O Muhammed) in the most beautiful way\"
There is no compulsion in Islam, and Prophet himself never shouted or spoke in anger. All his companions have reported that he had the mildest of characters and the most pleasant personality. He was open and tolerant of others and their views and promoted respect.
Prophet Muhammed pbuh said: There are very few things in Islam that are black or white (i.e. right or wrong), most issues are \"grey\". And the devil will utilize these issues to divide u! So be careful.
In Islam unity is more important than those grey issues. Unity spreads with tolerance and mutual respect. Again the goal is not to build a super power but a community of people that spans accross the world. That passes over all man made boundaries and brings people together. After all.....we are all children of Adam and Eve. And God himself has referred to us on several occasions as \"Ya Bani Adam\" (O children of Adam)!

Love & Peace be on u all!

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 3:30 #
rafi
Member

Arcane
If I am not wrong you are the first pro-religion scholar who used the \'TOLERANCE\' in his thread. I wish everybody used and practice that word.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 5:10 #
LetsDoIt
Member

@JS
\"Islam itself is enemy of Islam\" a little correction........
Muslims are the enemy of Islam..............

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 8:33 #
ARCANE
Member

Bro .....I am not a scholar by any means!

Tolerance is an essential part of Islam. When the Islamic state was at the height of its power, religious communities were able to practice their religions without fear of any persecution or disturbance. They could claim their rights even against the opposition of the Muslim ruler. If a dispute was likely to generate strife and troubles, then Islam would do everything possible to prevent it, even if that led to giving the other party some privileges to which they were not entitled. Islam is not a faith which seeks the suppression of other religions, nor does it stamp out religious freedom. Indeed, it preaches freedom of belief and tries to protect that freedom wherever possible. It always puts peace before war!
Today a lot of us are ignorant about the teachings of Islam or have abandoned the true Islamic teachings and employed other ways to run our lives. That is a personal choice and in no way do I judge them. God Himself has given us this life and will to choose so I have no authority or anyone else for that matter to question or criticize that choice.

See Quraan/Islam in a way is a manual. Like all products come with a manual, we too have a manual- a guide of operations. And who can create a manual better than the Creator Himself. Sure one can operate a product without the manual and make use of it, but the true potential of the product is only reached when the manual is employed-the more complicated and advanced the product is the more the need is for that manual. A person is the same way - we are a complex sophisticated creation with a lot of features; bells and whistles :-). God sent us this manual because He intends that we achieve our highest potential and resourcefulness. This way we are beneficial not only to ourselves but to all those around us. In the end, Islam promotes moving forward together, united, as a group.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 8:41 #
rafi
Member

Arcane, JS and All
Question
Sprituality,Intellectualism and Islam; are these three parellel line. Or I would say sprituality and intellectualism can meet somewhere somehow but can these two blended lines will eventually meet or blend in mainstream Islam. Can they meet?
If the answer is yes then why majority Muslims see sprituality/Intellectualism with suspicion, Is it lack of education but I know plenty of highly education Muslim with same thought pattern? I am not trying to Judge anybody either, but I want to know in the subjective term.

Many Paskistanis with Wahabi influence look down at Sufism. But these great Sufis played vital role in spreading Islam in Sub-Continent.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 14:15 #
javedsheikh
Members

If Islam is taken as a religion, there should not be any conflict.
The problem starts where Islam is injected with politics.
Islam in its rigid form cannot be implemented as a system of Government.
A photo copy of 6th Century cannot be pasted on the map of 21st Century, without making proper adjustments.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 14:32 #
rafi
Member

Need your comment about sprituality and intellect.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 15:01 #
javedsheikh
Members

Spirituality relates to soul and passions, Intellect relates to reason.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 16:17 #
rafi
Member

I requested for opinion not definition; probably you don\'t want to comment so I will let in go. Right now I guess everybody is concern about election results. This website slowed down too, beacuse of many hits.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 17:40 #
peterpan773
Member

Rafi
I have so much to say on this subject.
Why Rational thoughts were suppressed and rejected in the history of Islam by the traditional Scholars. Starting from Mutazzalites and there after.
Who were the real thinkers and great minds in the history of Islam??. What did they say???
Righr now I guess every one is busy in election.
Will try to write later.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 18:05 #
rafi
Member

Peter
Sounds good to me; we will interact once you are ready.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 18:20 #
ARCANE
Member

Rafi bro again u have brought up a very good point.

Intellectualism and Spiritualism are both parts of Islam and one cannot survive without the other. They are both gifts that our Creator has blessed us with.This is a very big topic but I will inshaAllaah try to keep my reply short.
Quraan, when it was first revealed in the 7th century, appealed to man\'s intellect. The first word revealed was Read (recite) which symbolizes many things. Quran made refernces to scientific concepts that were known and common at the time, e.g. the earth, the mountains, the trees, the wind blowing the sails of the ship, the use of stars for navigation purposes and so forth. Now remember we must place ourselves in the shoes of the ppl of that time! Then Allaah swt begins talking about planets and their movement, the atmosphere, shooting and exploding stars, gases, devlopment of the fetus, etc....these are concepts that were fairly new, to say the least, to mankind at that time. But the ppl of that time believed without even seeing clear evidence that is available to us today. It was their spirituality that led them to accept and absorb these strange and mysterious concepts. And the result was simply beautiful, marvelous! The spirituality lit a fire within one\'s intellect to surpass all boundaries, it drove the muslim scientists to the height of scientific achievements and breakthroughs. Until today most of the scientific scholars and historians agree that science grew the most and had the most impact under the Islamic influence (I have discussed this already in another thread so I am not going to elaborate).
Another example is the mention of heaven and hell, but God also states that our intellect cannot completely comprehend what and how they are. But our spirituality allows us to accept and believe. Islam is really beautiful. Every aspect of life, psychology, medicine, physics, mathematics, geology, business governance, law.....etc is encompassed and sustained within Islam.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 20:30 #
ARCANE
Member

Honestly, it is our ignorance of what Islam is and what Quran contains within it that has brought us down in the ranks of civilizations. I hear ppl all the time claiming that Islam doesnt have a system of government and its outdated. I dont think God can ever be outdated nor is He incapable of seeing what the future holds. He sent this Way of life for all times, and verily He knows what is in the future! And He states in the Quran clearly \"Today I have completed for you your Religion(path, way of life)\" and He also states \"If you leave My Path to follow conjecture, then I will let the non-believers rule over you!\"

Funny thing is, many times we look to the west and their system of governance. One muslim scholar wrote that when he visited the west he found Islam without muslims, and then when he returned to the muslim world he stated, I find muslims without Islam.

The fact is, and for those who have studied this will know, that the US government is actually a combination of the principles of the ancient Greek city-states and the doctrines of the Roman Empire. But they seem to be having no issues with using a system of government that is even more \"outdated\" than Islam! And many muslims today feel that their (west) system is something new or modern! I am sorry but I beg to differ.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 20:44 #
durran3
Member

I do agree with what your trying to say Arcane.. another thing i would like to add is that when people look at \"Islamic Government\" they look at countries like Saudia Arabia which to be quiest honest has no government infrastructure and has absolitly ridiculous laws and the other Somalian Government with an extreme Shariah Court.. which to be quiet honest scares the living crap out of me.. thank God i dont live there. Just recently in Saudia Arabia a women is going to be hung and killed because she is termed a \'WITCH\' lol.. are you kidding me what is this the mideviel timese when the christians used to burn them at stakes??

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 20:51 #
rafi
Member

I don\'t want to go in the Government issue. The Islamic way of Govt. may be better in theory but there are so many difference of opinion about implementation that it seem like opening can of worms. About this issue, there will be no concensus in next 100 years or more. Sprituality and Intellect are my topics.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 21:23 #
ARCANE
Member

@Durran....I agree with u completely!
Today actually there is no true Islamic government and Sharia is misunderstood and misrepresented even by some of its staunchest supporters! Saudi Arabia doesnt maintain the true Islamic system of government and surely the Shariaa is not implemented in its true and pure form anywhere!

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 21:38 #
ARCANE
Member

Rafi bro i agree...we failed to implement the perfect system because I feel we failed to move beyond the logical design phase due to the intolerance we nurture. Again....like u said, forget about the government....we truely need to go back to the basics, the abc\'s of Islam.

For example, when Umar was Caliph....he and Ali (who later became the 4th Caliph) differed on over 2000 fatwas (some scholars report this figure at 3000) - legal judgements.....but never did one of them disrespect the other or his opinion or quarrel! Ali maintained his position as one of the most revered judges and scholars throughout Umar\'s tenure as Caliph, and Ali remained one of his closest and most trusted advisors.

Love, peace and tolerance!

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 22:04 #
arabkhan
Member

Rafi Sahib!!

The point that i wanted to make clear was:
\"when a Mullah goes to the extreme in religion, you call it extremism..
But when you go to the extreme in opposing him, you don\'t call it extremism\"..

Thats not fair..

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 22:42 #
ARCANE
Member

Pls be careful of what u hear and read from self-proclaimed scholars! These so-called wahabi influenced Pakistanis or any other nationality are not well versed in any school of thought.
I have spoken with several scholars and each one had nothing but respect and admiration for their peers. One of my teachers who himself was educated partly in Saudi always displayed admiration and affection towards \"Sufi\" scholars. I personally dont like to use words or labels such as Sufism or Wahabism because it creates division! We are truely all Muslims.
Some of the \"Sufi\" doctrines have been changed to show them as un-Islamic, so pls be very careful of all that u read!

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 23:07 #
rafi
Member

Arcane
Nahjul Balagha; is the book I want read.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 23:30 #
ARCANE
Member

In order to understand the mystery of sufism and its popularity, or controversy, we must look back in history and understand the era during which it emerged.
SubhanAllah....its already connected with the other topic being discussed...science. Once the Muslim empire had achieved success and superiority in science and technology, there was abundant wealth, knowledge, trade, power. The camel bedouins were now the masters of the world, the envy of civilizations.

Simultaneously the progress had adverse effects as well, ppl began to replace Islamic teachings with science. Instead of nourishing science and knowledge within the Islamic teachings- the very ingredient that propelled science, ppl began to believe that science was the answer to all. Islamic knowledge was already scarce, and science was considered the sole future way of the world. After all it did bring unimaginable riches and power - so the ppl thought anyways. Intelect they perceived replaced spiritualism, when in fact they feed of each other.

Islamic teachings were restricted and the rulers had their own scholars appointed to make sure no one would come in the way of \"success and prosperity\". Then in this time and age emerged a band of ppl who spoke of miracles and transcending all bounds placed by science. This of course resulted in a harsh response from the rulers and majority of the ppl, who believed science was all right and irreplaceable. Since they were devoid of any understanding of Islam they feared such talk would hurt the study of science - which they perceived was the very reason of their success. Out of fear of loosing wealth and power, and their superiority over other nations, the rulers began to discriminate and imprison those band of ppl. Their appointed scholars began to misquote the miracles and teachings of those ppl to show them as the \"miscreants\". Today we know these ppl as the Sufi scholars.

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 23:43 #
ARCANE
Member

In a related story....one of those scholars was once reminding the misguided ppl of the time and trying to bring them back to the true Islam and telling them of his visions and experiences. Ppl began to reject him, calling him crazy and so forth because their science had no explanation of his claims. They claimed they knew who God was and they didnt need the scholar or his crazy visions to be guided because they were all well versed in science. So one day, the scholar stood on top of a hill and gathered all those ppl and proclaimed...\"I told you of my visions but u rejected me......believe me when I tell u, I know your god is under my feet!\"
Angered and insulted the ppl offered the scholar to retract his statement or face the consequences. Smiling he replied, I have said nothing but the truth! So the scholar was arrested and beheaded for making false religious statements.
Months passed, and during a construction of a building the same hill was escavated. The ppl couldnt believe it........they struck gold! More gold than all stored in the area\'s treasury dept.

Allaah swt says : Actions are based upon intentions. If u commit actions or do things to please others or simply to achieve some worldy goal instead of pleasing Me, than that is what/who you worship

Posted 4 years ago on 18 Feb 2008 23:56 #
ARCANE
Member

One thing I must add, like all other schools or religions, Sufism also has its share of extremism. Again the best path is the middle path.

Posted 4 years ago on 19 Feb 2008 0:18 #
ARCANE
Member

Rafi bro, unfortunately I havent read the book. I am still learning and I have a lot to learn. I believe it is by a renowned \"Shi\'ite\" scholar Radi- again the reference to the school is only for identification purposes because I dont remember his full name. Pls do correct me if I am mistaken.

Also I am not an expert on \"Sufism\", the views I shared above are simply from what I have read and learned. If someone wants to add to it pls kindly do so. One thing we must be aware of, there is a BIG difference between our personal opinions and that held by Islam. We must make sure to distiguish between them in order to avoid leading ppl astray.

The fact is that if one believes in Allaah swt and His messenger Prophet Muhammed pbuh, then she/he is Muslim!

Posted 4 years ago on 19 Feb 2008 4:31 #
munnabhaiMBBS
Member

I have only brief comment on Sufism,. I have not studied in detail on this subject.

Meditation is not the same as prayers.The concept of meditation does not exist in Islam and is not taught in Quran. Although Sufism, inspired by Hinduism developed a mystical approach to understanding the reality, this concept is alien to Prophet Muhammad\'s version of Islam.
No wonder Sufis are some times viewed as heretics by many Muslims.

Posted 4 years ago on 22 Feb 2008 19:54 #
javedsheikh
Members

Islam is like a liquid, which should change its shape according to the pan.
End of the story.

Posted 4 years ago on 22 Feb 2008 20:21 #
rafi
Member

JS
I like your short stories.

Posted 4 years ago on 23 Feb 2008 0:10 #
Riz
Member

n1 sheikh saab,,,,,lol,,,,,,,,,,,,end of story,,,?

these are big,, ifs,,, ifs,,,,??????,,,,,,,,when u talk about establishment,,,,,,,,,present world everything whatsoever in your mind u have no fear or anything,,,,,,,,u just write it down,,

suddenly islam become ,,,,,,,end of story,,,,,,lol,,,,,?

if we talking about islam,,,,,,,few thing which always help is not to dissapointed,

do u really think christain are finish,,,,,,,,,,

do u think jewish are finish,,,,,,,,,,,,

what islam really did to u,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,your views very clear on that,,,,,,end of story,,,,,,,,,?????

plz ,,,,lol,,,,,,,, mr kangoos,,,,,,,,,,,,,,we are in discuss and politics,,,,,,i like share my own views if u have any question?

Posted 4 years ago on 23 Feb 2008 1:07 #