Ask me about Islaam

[Yusha']

Is there a circumstance whereby lying is justified?

Lying is justified under certain extreme circumstances. For example, if you see someone running in one direction, and moments later a man looking angry with a sword comes to you and asks you "did you see where a certain man went?", are you going to tell him the truth when it is possible you could be aiding a murderer?

Another circumstance, if you are a soldier and are captured by the enemy, and they demand to know a secret location or secret information, are you going to tell them the truth or lie to them?

So in these extreme circumstances, lying is permitted.

However, lying is not permitted with regards to religion. So a Muslim is not allowed to lie about his religion or his beliefs, he must always speak the truth. The reason I want to clarify this is because there is a concept of taqaiyya which many non-Muslims are confused about. Taqaiyya is a terminology used by Shi'as. Shi'as are a minority sect, and say it is okay to lie about your beliefs (in fact they encourage this). However, I am a Sunni Muslim and we do not have any such concept as "taqaiyya", which we consider to be hypocrisy.

 

[Yusha']

sura 48.28
هو الذي أرسل رسوله بالهدى ودين الحق
ليظهره على الدين كله وكفى بالله شهيدا

Huwa allathee arsala rasoolahu bialhuda wadeeni alhaqqi liyuthhirahu AAala alddeeni kullihi wakafa biAllahi shaheedan

48.28 He, whom he sent, his messenger, on account of the sacrifice, and debt, The Truth, that he may purify Him for the sake of the debt, everyone His, and He sufficed, on account of “allah”, a witness.

His messenger…

Observe that we are told that “his messenger” (rasoolahu) was sent…i.e. perfect tense, completed action.

Yes, sent has been completed, means he has already appeared. Does not mean he has been sent and has gone.

This “messenger” was sent on account of “The Sacrifice” (alhuda). A most revealing term indeed, as the Classic Arabic states that “huda” represents “a victim for sacrifice, an offering”.

Huda means guidance, not sacrifice or offering. Please state your references for coming up with this nonsense.

This “messenger” was also sent on account of “The Debt” (alddeeni). “Deeni” is another very revealing term, as it can be defined as “a debt incurred by a thing taken unjustly, injuriously or by violence….and death”.

Another lie, deen means religion, way, or judgment. Allaah is called as Maaliki Yawmi'addeen (King of the Day of Judgment), not "king of the day of debt"!

This messenger is also called 'The Truth' (alhaqqi) – which is another name for “allah”.

The verse is saying the Allaah has sent the messenger with DEEN AL HAQQ (literally the religion or judgment of truth), Deen is not a person so therefore al Haqq is not referring to a person.

Further, according to 4.171, 'The Truth' refers to only Jesus Christ!

O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of Allah, and His word, which He bestowed on Mary, and a spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His apostles. Say not "Trinity" : desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah. Glory be to Him: (far exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs. (4:171)

So where is Jesus called as "The truth"? The verse is saying He is a messenger of Allaah, and the same exact verse is condemning the trinity! My how you love to twist and re-interpret things so deceptively!

I await your proclamation of repentence before the Lord Jesus Christ and your acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

I'll I say to you is:

Say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful." (2:111)

 

[Yusha']

That's a good question. I've seen the news reports coming out of the UK about the converts being told to lie and cheat non-believers.

Is it a standard Muslim teaching or some jail house Islam?

Whoever is teaching this, even if it is a Muslim, is going against the clear-cut teachings of our religion.

 

[Yusha']

Well here's a quesiton: What are you're thoughts on Frank Herbert's "Dune"? He lifted a few elements from islam and incorporated them into his book. Does it anger you? Is it just fiction? Did he get something totally wrong? etc.

Sorry I've never read the book. Maybe you can summarize the points it makes about Islaam.

 

[Yusha']

You've contradicted yourself. How can you follow the Quran, which states that Christianity and Judaism are religions of Allah, and claim that they are false?

Tolerance means acceptance. Do you accept the existence of other religions, and do you mind other religions, like Christianity?

The Quraan never says Christianity or Judaism are religions of Allaah. The Quraan only talks about the prophets of bani Israeel and the people of Israeel. He mentions how He bestowed favors upon them and guided them through various prophets in revelations.

The Quraan says:

They say: "Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To salvation)." Say thou: "Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the true, and he joined not gods with Allah." (2:135)

Really, Islaam may be a new name, but the essential concept of Islaam is the exact same as the old prophets of Israel. The true religion may have many names, and many prophets with many revelations, but the basic idea is to worship only One God and not set up partners with Him. This was the teaching of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as well (peace be upon them all). They all emphasized to their people to worship one God.

however, "Judaism" and "Christianity" have deviated from the teachings of their prophets, by committing shirk (polytheism). Thus Islaam is a restoration and perfection of the teachings of these great prophets, and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is the last and final prophet sent to guide all humanity to the same teachings which the prophets of old taught.

 

[PT Calvinist]

Are you doing enough good deeds to receive salvation from Allah?
How do you know that you've done enough good deeds?

 

[Yusha']

There is no other way to worship Allah other than to follow Islam?

That is correct, Allaah sent the prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم with guidance and the religion of truth. Islaam is a complete and perfect religion which contains guidance for man in every single aspect of life, and worship being the most important. The way of worship prescribed by Allaah is the only worship He accepts.

Allaah is the King, in fact He is the King of all kings. When you approach a king to ask him something, obviously you have to observe certain regulations and etiquettes. In the case of the Almighty King it is no different. Worshipping Him anyway you like is not acceptable, because part of worship is obedience.

However, it is also important to mention that the method of worship in Islaam is very basic, simple, and beautiful. Things like praying, prostration, supplication, fasting, charity, animal sacrifices, reciting the Holy name, etc., all these are acts of worship which exist in virtually every religion, Islaam is no exception. The only difference is that whereas different religions carry out these acts of worship in the name of different idols and "gods", for example, Ram, shiva, Ganesh, virgin Mary, Buddha, a cow, an ancestral spirit of an african tribe, a dead saint, etc., Islaam commands that all such acts of worship be dedicated to Allaah, the One God, alone, and not to any of His creation. Furthermore, the worship for Allaah has been shown to us by the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم so Muslims must follow his sunnah (way or method) in worship and not innovate any new rituals in worship.

I'd think Allah would frown upon such selfishness.

Those were examples where people pray for their personal needs, and of course Islaam encourages you to pray for the needs of others, particulary the need of guidance, so praying that Allaah guides the non-Muslims to Islaam. Allaah is not weak, He has the power to answer our prayers and give us heavenly treasures. All He asks of us is to worship Him alone, because only He has the power to hear and answer our prayers in the first place, being our Creator and King.

 

[Yusha']

"...when I see the blood, I will pass over you..." (Ex. 12:13).

Let's read that passage in context:

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (Exodus 12:12, 13, NIV)

The passage is referring to the "passover", when the Israelites marked the doors of their homes with sheep blood, so the Angel of death would recognize their homes and not enter it, and instead go to the homes of the pagan egyptians and kill their firstborn sons. The passage has nothing to do with a "blood offering of Jesus for atonement of mankind's sins" as you are suggesting.

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold... But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

"...without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22).


I guess Moses and Peter were lying and false prophets as we??

Moses was a prophet of God, and I've answered about what Exodus 12:13 is really referring to. Peter and Paul were not prophets and we don't believe in them to be prophets. Their words mean nothing to us. We believe Jesus was the promised messiah for Israel, and after him no prophet was raised among the Jews.

[/quote]

 

[Yusha']

Are you doing enough good deeds to receive salvation from Allah?
How do you know that you've done enough good deeds?

No one can get salvation based on good deeds alone, even our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that he cannot enter heaven except that Allaah will show Mercy to him. So the only way to get salvation is to get Allaah's Rahmah (Mercy), and He gives His Rahmah and glad tidings of salvation to those who believe in Him as the One and Only God and who do not set up other gods with Him. The first pillar of Islaam is thus "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah", and whoever has even just an atom of faith in this testimony will receive salvation, the guarantee of Allaah.

And if a person is extremely "righteous", constantly prays, fasts, gives charity, etc., but he sets up a partner with Allaah, or worships other than Allaah, than his "righteousness" will not avail him, but he will be doomed to eternal punishment.

So where does righteousness come in? Righteousness based upon tawheed (the oneness of Allaah) is the only true righteousness. If someone prays for show, than that prayer is not accepted, neither is charity or fasting accepted, unless all these deeds are done purely for the sake of gaining the pleasure of Allaah with oneself.

And the more righteous a believer is, the greater his reward in Heaven will be. But the only criteria for salvation is to not set up partners with Allaah and believe in His oneness.

 

[JM]

"Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him [Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf]?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab). "The Prophet said, "You may say it," (Hadith Vol. 5, Book 59, #369).

How do we know you're not lying to us now?

YHWH does not allow lying, Allah does, who is holy...YHWH or Allah?

 

[JM]

YouTube - 10 simple questions to muslims.

 

[JM]

Is the Bible the Final and Complete Revelation From God?

From the mouth of the Lord Jesus Himself we learn that “the Scriptures testify of Me” [John.5:39]. All of their messages focus upon Him as He expounded on the Emmaus road and to His own disciples after His resurrection [Luke 24:25-27, Luke 24:44-49].

From the beginning God’s purposes have been wrapped up in the promised Seed [Christ] who will bruise the head of the serpent [Genesis 3:15]. The Lord later affirmed to Abraham that the blessings of justification and the promise of the Holy Spirit would be secured through the coming of his Seed, that is, Christ [Galatians 3:14-16]. Indeed, “all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and Amen” [2 Corinthians 1:20].

All previous messages through the prophets were partial and preparatory awaiting the full revelation of Christ who, as the Word [John 1:1, John 1:14, John 1:18], fully and finally expressed the nature and purposes of God [Hebrews 1:1-2]. What further revelation is needed beyond the record of Him who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature? [Hebrews 1:3]. Those whom He chose and designated testified of Him in word and in the Scriptures with Divine approval and authority [Hebrews 2:3-4]. The Scriptures they penned were inspired by the Spirit as He superintended their written words [2 Peter 1:20-21].

He Himself is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” [Revelation 22:13]. Christ is the sum total of all that God has spoken to man. The final expression of this is contained in the book of Revelation which was given by God to Jesus and then to John [Revelation 1:1]. This is God’s final revelation about His Son and the Son’s final revelation which He gave to His apostle [Revelation 22:16]. Anyone who adds to this final revelation will come under the judgment of God [Revelation 22:18-19].

The sufficiency of the Bible is evident because its subject is Christ in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity in bodily form [Colossians 2:9]. God has spoken to us in His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things [Hebrews 1:2]. The Qur’an adds nothing to that revelation because its focus is certainly not Christ.

Simply stated, if Christ is God’s full and final revelation of Himself to man, then the book of Revelation is Christ’s own final, fitting, and authorized capstone of that revelation as noted above.

When all is said and done, the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts whether men acknowledge it to be inspired or not. Use it, my brother, with full confidence and the Holy Spirit will bear witness with conviction to His own inspired Scriptures.

http://gospelformuslims.org/bible_final.htm​

 

[Yusha']

"Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him [Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf]?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab). "The Prophet said, "You may say it," (Hadith Vol. 5, Book 59, #369).

How do we know you're not lying to us now?

YHWH does not allow lying, Allah does, who is holy...YHWH or Allah?

Firstly let's test your claim that YHWH doesn't allow lying, or more interestingly, whether or not YHWH doesn't himself lie:

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, NIV)

O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived (Jeremiah 20:7, NIV)

Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats." (Jeremiah 4:10, NIV)

"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you." (2 Chronicles 18:22, NIV) see also 1 Kings 22:23

And many other examples of how God deceives the wicked.

Kaab ibn Ashraaf whom you mentioned, was also a wicked person, and was thus also deceived. War is deception, no one can win a war without trying to deceive the enemy, and like I said before, lying is allowed in certain extreme circumstances where it becomes necessary for the greater good.

Lying about religion, however, is never allowed in Islaam. The Prophet said not to join in worship others with Allaah, even if you are being burned to death.

 

[Supreme]

however, "Judaism" and "Christianity" have deviated from the teachings of their prophets, by committing shirk (polytheism). Thus Islaam is a restoration and perfection of the teachings of these great prophets, and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم is the last and final prophet sent to guide all humanity to the same teachings which the prophets of old taught.

I'm not sure what teachings you are referring to that Christians and Jews have 'deviated' from; indeed, I'm not even sure which Christians and Jews you know that practise polytheism. Still, ignorance is bliss, eh?

Oh, and for the record, Christians don't see Paul as a 'prophet', we see him as an apostle of Jesus and one of the great early church fathers. His story is an inspiration to any Christian- from a persecuter of Christians to one of Jesus' most devoted followers. That is why he is revered, although as a Protestant, he isn't as important to me as he is to Catholics and Orthodoxs.

 

[HumbleSiPilot77]

The Quraan never said Mary is part of the trinity, rather it said that the Christians worship Mary and Jesus, which they do (especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians).

Which is a blatant lie purported by those who never knew Christianity in the first place. Not to forget early Islam's Arabia was a good location for exiled heretics who deviated from Christian teachings, but muslims did NOT know the difference. Not once Christian veneration or adoration is considered worship of Theotokos as Christianity always taught worship is due to God and God only. Islam's misconceptions in this matter are unfounded. It is an interesting point to note, Quran never said Mary is part of the "three" (No mention on Trinity there) but Allah of Quran questioned Jesus of Quran if he was the one creating these false beliefs. How convenient that Quran doesn't acknowledge that historical there were heretical groups under Christianity, but Quran wrapped them up under one umbrella. So as Eastern Orthodox Christian who left Islam 7-8 years ago, I would demand to see a concrete historical source that my current faith "worships" creation, not the Creator.

 

[HumbleSiPilot77]

I don't know what you mean by "object". Dogs are a creation of Allaah, but they are an unclean animal, and if a Muslim comes into contact with a dog he must wash himself seven times.

How does one wash himself "seven" times? Get in and out of shower seven consecutive times? Why seven? These rituals makes no sense when there is no background to them.

Similarly, pigs are another unclean animal, and may not be touched and it is a great sin to eat pork as well.

Such a flawed logic. First, all animals are unclean in terms of sanitary standards, that established we still eat some of them according to our standards. Further the hadith makes NO mention of the motive why dogs can not be kept, and pigs being unclean here has no relevancy to dogs except to re-iterate that muslims don't eat pork, everyone knows that. In addition, some far east countries serve dogs as delicacy, no one mentions dogs can not be eaten or it is a great sin to touch them. Nothing comes into the body can defile it, what comes out of the heart and mouth does.

 

[Yusha']

Which is a blatant lie purported by those who never knew Christianity in the first place. Not to forget early Islam's Arabia was a good location for exiled heretics who deviated from Christian teachings, but muslims did NOT know the difference. Not once Christian veneration or adoration is considered worship of Theotokos as Christianity always taught worship is due to God and God only. Islam's misconceptions in this matter are unfounded. It is an interesting point to note, Quran never said Mary is part of the "three" (No mention on Trinity there) but Allah of Quran questioned Jesus of Quran if he was the one creating these false beliefs. How convenient that Quran doesn't acknowledge that historical there were heretical groups under Christianity, but Quran wrapped them up under one umbrella. So as Eastern Orthodox Christian who left Islam 7-8 years ago, I would demand to see a concrete historical source that my current faith "worships" creation, not the Creator.

The fact that there are so many different denominations and interpretations of Christianity is your problem not ours. To us the definition of a christian is anyone who claims to be a christian. Your internal disputes are exactly that (yours), not ours. And the fact of the matter is that Roman Catholics (which happen to be the largest church of christianity) WORSHIPS Mary. They may not claim they worship Mary, but praying to her, prostrating to images of her, that is worship in the Islaamic definition. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that "Du'a (prayer) is the essence of worship". And we all know that Roman Catholics and other christians call on Mary, asking her to help them in time of need. There are idols of Mary throughout the world, shrines dedicated to her, thousands of pilgrims go their annually to get blessed by her at these shrines. These shrines are nothing but temples dedicated to her worship.

You tell me: how is it that a woman who has been dead for some 2 millenia, who is buried in the ground, cannot hear or see what is going on in the earth, possibly answer the prayers of all those millions of Catholics? Its nothing but sheer idolatry, however you try to spin it, it amounts to the same thing...POLYTHEISM.

Why not pray and call upon the One True God, the one who created everything, the One who alone can Hear and and answer prayers? Why not pray to the One God who said "you shall have no other god besides me, and you shall not make any graven images"?

You say you are an eastern orthodox christian. Your church claims that the icons of Mary contain blessing, and you should touch them and bow to them. I want to know, what is the difference between a Hindu "venerating" the image of Ram and you "venerating" the image of Mary? What is the difference? The Hindu says the image of Ram represents Ram, just like you say the image of Mary represents Mary. But we all know that God is not a physical body that you can draw a picture of Him. You seek to make God into one of His own creations! God is above all that, He is holy. He is not some four-armed elephant with blue skin, neither is He a man in white robes with long hair and a beard. Stop ANTHROPOMORPHIZING God, and follow what your own bible says!

 

[HumbleSiPilot77]

As for Paul, you are right, he was no prophet, his ideas therefore shouldn't be taken to be the word of God, which many Christians consider his writings to be.

Dear Supreme, this type of mentality can only see and process Christianity through the windows of Islam, which are indeed dirty in my opinion. You have indicated the apostleship, but the muslim do not know the difference. Culturally, holy men are hazrats, prophets. There is nothing in between. This mentality also ignores that God's sovereign and He inspired our Scriptures. If St. Paul can not be trusted because he was inspired by God, then Muhammad can never be, because it was all he said-she said... No one seen him others than foaming in the mouth.

 

[Supreme]

Dear Supreme, this type of mentality can only see and process Christianity through the windows of Islam, which are indeed dirty in my opinion. You have indicated the apostleship, but the muslim do not know the difference. Culturally, holy men are hazrats, prophets. There is nothing in between. This mentality also ignores that God's sovereign and He inspired our Scriptures. If St. Paul can not be trusted because he was inspired by God, then Muhammad can never be, because it was all he said-she said... No one seen him others than foaming in the mouth.

Thank you, Bushmaster, I kind of ignored that point. Obviously, as an Orthodox, St Paul plays a far bigger role in your faith than he does mine. However, I do find it ironic and slightly amusing how Muslims question the legitimacy of Paul's teachings in contrast to Muhammeds teachings, seeing as both men claimed to speak from God, and both men had approximately no witnesses to the revelations they recieved.

 

[fm107]

Lying is justified under certain extreme circumstances. For example, if you see someone running in one direction, and moments later a man looking angry with a sword comes to you and asks you "did you see where a certain man went?", are you going to tell him the truth when it is possible you could be aiding a murderer?

Another circumstance, if you are a soldier and are captured by the enemy, and they demand to know a secret location or secret information, are you going to tell them the truth or lie to them?

So in these extreme circumstances, lying is permitted.

However, lying is not permitted with regards to religion. So a Muslim is not allowed to lie about his religion or his beliefs, he must always speak the truth. The reason I want to clarify this is because there is a concept of taqaiyya which many non-Muslims are confused about. Taqaiyya is a terminology used by Shi'as. Shi'as are a minority sect, and say it is okay to lie about your beliefs (in fact they encourage this). However, I am a Sunni Muslim and we do not have any such concept as "taqaiyya", which we consider to be hypocrisy.

Can you clarify what you mean by lying about your beliefs?

Is it ok to lie to someone if it means you are able to convert them to Islam?