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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Ever walk away shaking your head ? |
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| Caraj |
| 08/04/03 at 00:58:27 |
| My mother and I spent most of yesterday together. We had an interesting yet fustrating conversation about Islam. I shook my head in disbelief after I dropped her off at the end of the day. Below I'll share some of the conversation we had. I would love some input and ideas for future talks. Cause I find my mom to be so narrow minded with no room for exploring or knowing cause 'she already knows it all' I don't remember how it got started but I began to tell her I was learning many things. One thing was Allah is an Arabic word for God. And how I use to think Muslims worshiped some false God named Allah. She said, THEY DO I said no Mom, they also believe in Jesus, just as a prophet and not as part of God. They believe in the God of Abraham, Noah, Jesus, etc She said, 'WELL THEIR WRONG and they do not worship the same God cause they don't believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost (the trinity) You can't believe in one withpout the other if it is the same God.' I said well that doesn't mean it is not the same God, they just look at him as ONE GOD not 3 in 1 She said, ' IT IS NOT the same God Christian and Jews believe in ' (BUT WAIT if you do not believe in 3 in 1 the trinity and the Jews don't either then they don't have the same God as Christians either ?????) I said Mom there are people out there who believe as strongly (about their beliefs) as you do. She said 'WELL THEIR WRONG' I said Mom, they think you're wrong too, and believe as strongly as you do in their beliefs. She said, 'I CAN'T HELP WHAT THEY BELIEVE' hmmmmmmmmm (deep sigh of fustration) I just feel bad that everyone is wrong and she is right ::) This whole religon/belief thing is soooooo fustrating. I asked my Mom did you ever wonder, like we were all the same to begin with till Abraham and Sara and the Issac and Ismeal thing and maybe we are all part of a bigger picture and all fit together? :-[ Ok that one got THE LOOK ::) Sometimes I wonder if The Almighty isn't just shaking his head in disbelief and thinking 'Will any of them EVER get it?' The Almighty has patience and love and mercy beyond my comprehension. I was so fustrated with my Mom although I remained respectful. But I wanted to SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM :( What do you all think? |
| Re: Ever walk away shaking your head ? |
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| SuperHiMY |
| 08/04/03 at 05:25:54 |
AsalamAlayKum, Peace and e-Greeting be upon you. Go find your local Marionite Catholic church. Walk into their library and borrow an Arabic - English Bible. Make sure it has a dictionary / Concordance in the back. Look up the word 'God' and you will find that Arabic Christians and Atheists use the Arabic word 'Allah' just like, ahem, Arabic speakers who are Jewish and oh any other religion that Arabic speaking peoples may belong to. Honour your parents. They mean well, they just may not know any better on this single point. Salam. ~ HiMY! ~ |
| Re: Ever walk away shaking your head ? |
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| sofia |
| 08/04/03 at 11:19:50 |
| Peace, Azizah, I used to harp on the whole, "We're just like you, we believe in Jesus and and...etc." But I've changed my mind, since taking a da'wah course and otherwise realizing how ironic it is that Muslims are the ones who are accused of being "pagans" or "heathens." First off: Islaam is the largest, most widely-followed purely monotheistic religion in the world. We don't believe in the same God (there, I've said it). We believe in the One, True God. There is no God, but Him. We do not make him 2 or 3 or whatever. He is One, has always been One, and will always be One. Not because I said so, but because God said so. In all 3 of the major Abrahamic traditions. [color=green]"Say: He is God, the One and Only. God, the One whom all turn to and depend on. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him."[/color] (Translation of the Qur'aan 112:1-4) The main difference is, we've kept the tradition of tawheed (belief in the One perfect God. There is no compromise/ambiguity on this concept in Islaam) - and also the fact that we believe the long line of Prophetic messages ends with Muhammad, pbuh. We do not accept a man-god concept; the Prophets were men (not God), whose knowledge and character were protected by God, so that they could be the best examples to their people/mankind (ie, the Qur'aan does not slander any prophets). We do not worship Muhammad or the Ka'aba. We only worship God, and anything else falls outside the pale of Islaam. God is unlike anything He has created. He is Omnipotent and Omniscient. He knows what is in our hearts, what has happened, and what will be, and God has power over all things. We reject Paul's teachings, which in essence, gave divinity to Jesus (alayhis salaam), something he never ascribed to himself. We believe in the immaculate conception of Mary/Maryam and the miracles of Jesus (by the will of God, just like with the rest of the prophets' miracles), and believe in his second coming. We do not believe that Jesus died on the cross; his soul was taken to God, which is another reason for his second coming -- to complete his earthly life (in addition to end corruption on earth, etc). We believe he will break the cross and abide by the Qur'aan, which contain his original teachings and are consistent with the teachings of previous prophets. There is only One God, and there is no one worthy of worship except Him. Enjoin good and forbid evil. Recognize that Lordship belongs to God only, that He is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and the entire Universe and He sustains it, and there will be a Judgement Day. Break the idols, and the idol of the self. I could go on, but you get the point. The previous messages by previous Prophets/Messengers were the same, a reminder to mankind of our purpose and position. And Muslims are not taught in the Qur'aan or the Sunnah (tradition of the Prophet) to believe we are "holier than thou" because we believe or do certain things. Only God can see what is in our hearts (our true intentions), and with Him is our final and true Judgement. No man/woman is better than any other (by race, wealth/status, nationality, etc) except by piety/God consciousness, which only God knows. So I guess my point is, maybe try a different approach. Good luck, and hope your mother comes around. Here are some non-Muslims viewpoints about Islaam/Muhammad (pbuh) that may/may not be helpful. http://www.islamfortoday.com/hewlettpackard.htm http://www.hissyfit.com/hissyfits/2001_10_02.shtml http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/otherscholars.html http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/additionalsayings.html |
| 08/04/03 at 12:28:02 |
| sofia |
| Re: Ever walk away shaking your head ? |
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| Trustworthy |
| 08/04/03 at 14:19:15 |
| [slm] Oh Sister. The frustration. I understand from that point and it's more frustrated I imagine if it's your own mother. Cause moms do know everything. :) I've been in so many debates with Christains and the one thing that causes them to stop and think is asking them about their own religion. Ask your mom to explain the trinity thing again and then ask her if that made any sense when she's done and then ask her why she thinks that made sense. The All Knowing, All Powerful God/Allah/Yahway (sp?) trinity started like this according to one Christain beleif. God put himself in the virgin Mary's womb so He could feel what it was like for us humans (His creations)...you know...to see what we go through in the 9 mo period (all this time and still running the Universe) and also how it would be like in our eyes to experience birth. Hence the Father (Himself), the son (himself), and the Holy Spirit (His experience as a human-that connection He has with us through that experience). Yeah...the All Knowing, All Powerful, Creator made Himself human for a while. There were other expalantions of the Trinity, but that one just blew my mind. Have patience dear Sister. I'm sure your mother means well. She needs to research herself for what Islam is. You just have to guide her to the path towards that research. Like the sister said, try a different approach. Instaed of trying to explain what Islam is, give her little ideas of what it is an then give her books to read or articles you found interesting. Debate pieces, etc. If I became anything else other than stay Muslim, my mother would first cut off my head and then glue it back on. Take good care. Ma-asalaama.... |
| Re: Ever walk away shaking your head ? |
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| Tesseract |
| 08/04/03 at 14:25:43 |
| Sis. Azizah, May Allah (swt) guide u to the right path, and may He (swt) make u a source of guidance for others (Ameen). Ur post reminded me of few verses from Qur'an: 029.008: We have enjoined on man kindness to parents; but if they strive to make thee join with Me that of which thou hast no knowledge, then obey them not. Unto Me is your return and I shall tell you what ye used to do. 002.135: And they say: Be Jews or Christians, then ye will be rightly guided. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Nay, but (we follow) the religion of Abraham, the upright, and he was not of the idolaters. 003.003: He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel. 003.084: Say (O Muhammad): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. 006.019: Say (O Muhammad): What thing is of most weight in testimony? Say: Allah is Witness between me and you. And this Qur'an hath been inspired in me, that I may warn therewith you and whomsoever it may reach. Do ye in sooth bear witness that there are gods beside Allah? Say: I bear no such witness. Say: He is only One Allah. Lo! I am innocent of that which ye associate (with Him). 004.171: O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning Allah save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and His word which He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and say not "Three" - Cease! (it is) better for you! - Allah is only One Allah. Far is it removed from His Transcendent Majesty that He should have a son. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. And Allah is sufficient as Defender. 033.040: Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things. Wassalam. |
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