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Islam is the only Abrahamic Faith that gives woman equal rights as men. Todays equal rights for woman do not came from the bible, but from Civil law and is not the result of a Religion.
In Islam a woman's equality is spelled out clearly.
The Quran makes it clear that Women and Men are equal in the eyes of God
One of the most misunderstood areas in Islam is that of the position of women in the religion. The general perception in the West is that Muslim women are subjugated and almost seen as property. While not all Muslims deal with women as inferior, this is unfortunately true in some segments of the Muslim world and this treatment is supposedly justified by the religion. However, when we look at the basis of the religion, the Quran, we see a very different picture. In the Quran God makes it very clear that men and women are equal.
[3:195] Their Lord responded to them: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female - you are equal to one another. Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes, and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams." Such is the reward from GOD. GOD possesses the ultimate reward.
[4:124] As for those who lead a righteous life, male or female, while believing, they enter Paradise; without the slightest injustice.
Guaranteed Happiness Now and Forever
[16:97] Anyone who works righteousness, male or female, while believing, we will surely grant them a happy life in this world, and we will surely pay them their full recompense (on the Day of Judgment) for their righteous works.
Equality of Men and Women
[33:35] The submitting men, the submitting women, the believing men, the believing women, the obedient men, the obedient women, the truthful men, the truthful women, the steadfast men, the steadfast women, the reverent men, the reverent women, the charitable men, the charitable women, the fasting men, the fasting women, the chaste men, the chaste women, and the men who commemorate GOD frequently, and the commemorating women; GOD has prepared for them forgiveness and a great recompense.
[40:40] Whoever commits a sin is requited for just that, and whoever works righteousness - male or female - while believing, these will enter Paradise wherein they receive provisions without any limits.
The Only Criterion For Distinguishing Among The People
[49:13] O people, we created you from the same male and female, and rendered you distinct peoples and tribes, that you may recognize one another. The best among you in the sight of GOD is the most righteous. GOD is Omniscient, Cognizant.
How is it that such clear verses can be ignored? Why are women treated so poorly in some Muslim communities? The answer lies in the fact that those communities take other sources besides the Quran as the basis of their religion. There are many Hadith that denigrate women. Also the pre-Islamic cultures of much of the Muslim world did not value women and had little use for them. The following verses demonstrate this fact:
When one of them gets a baby girl, his face becomes darkened with overwhelming grief. Ashamed, he hides from the people, because of the bad news given to him. He even ponders: should he keep the baby grudgingly, or bury her in the dust. Miserable indeed is their judgment.(16:58-59)
When one of them is given news (of a daughter) as they claimed for the Most Gracious, his face is darkened with misery and anger! (They say,) "What is good about an offspring that is brought up to be beautiful, and cannot help in war?" (43:17-18)
Such attitudes can still be seen among some Muslims. Contrast this with the attitude and practice of the prophet Muhammad himself as demonstrated by his willingness to debate with a woman about her husband:
GOD has heard the woman who debated with you about her husband, and complained to GOD. GOD heard everything the two of you discussed. GOD is Hearer, Seer. (58:1)
One does not debate with someone who is inferior, you simply tell him or her what to do. Muhammad also spoke with his wives as equals, though they were not always worthy of his trust:
The prophet had trusted some of his wives with a certain statement, then one of them spread it, and GOD let him know about it. He then informed his wife of part of the issue, and disregarded part. She asked him, "Who informed you of this?" He said, "I was informed by the Omniscient, Most Cognizant." (66:3)
It is clear from these verses that Muhammad dealt with women equitably, in spite of the culture that surrounded him. Thus, in his own life he demonstrated the equality of men and women just as he preached it from the Quran.
As culture affects the way women are perceived and treated in Muslim communities, it affects things in the Western world. It is significant that in the Bible God is referred to with the masculine pronoun and called Father. No wonder that in the West God is thought of as being masculine. This is not the case in the Quran, however. God is without gender in the Quran. Why should God have a gender when all He needs do is say “Be” and it is?
The TV documentaries ive watched of Muslim women being interviewed first hand, tells a different story . There are restrictions placed on them in many forms .
Allaah(swt) is above all that he has created and is not part of his creation. He has no need for us, we have a need for him. this physical existance is a gift to us, so that we may learn to be servents of Allaah(swt) and overcome the trials placed before us, to become of the chosen for eternity in Jannah. We will be judged fairly and with mercy for all we do here on earth and will be rewarded for the good, and punished for the bad. Allaah(swt) is very close to all of us as he knows our thoughts and intentions even better then we do ourselves. We do know that in his mercy he has made our future to be the result of our own free will and choices. Each of us can reach Jannah up to the time of our last breath. Allaah(swt) has sent us prophets(PBUH) and the Qur'an as guides to show us how to follow the path to Jannah.
Our prayers are of 2 types, the Salah which is what you usually see on TV which is more like a simple religious service, That we are obligated to do 5 times daily.
We also do our own personal Du'as which are more like what Christians call prayer, we do them in any language, in any place and at any time. These are our personal communications with Allaah(swt) Muslims do feel a very close connection with Allah(swt) and feel he is closer to us than even our own veins. We feel Allaah(swt) answers every prayer and will always do what is best for us. It is always up to us to either accept or reject what Allaah(swt) provides for us.
Any Painter who painstakingly creates a beautiful carefully crafted MasterPiece to which he has poured out his entire self toward and which reflects his very image....is something that he holds precious to his heart. It is impossible , by character, for a personal theistic Creator to provide all he has for living breathing examples of his direct intervention and will ...if this is not a display of love , concern, and personal revelation of himself then it is the created whom are severely fooled . The fact that such a universe as ours needs continual supervision to accomplish sustanence , rules out that such a Creator is not a part of what he willfully and loving created.
Therefore, Islam is not only non-sensicle...but doesnt know the personal Creator they think they do.
Eternal life, Eternal joy, Eternal presence of Allaah(swt), no needs or unfilled desires.
Anything we desire be it any physical joy, Spiritual comfort or any combination. There will be no sins and all in heaven will be free from sin.
The material joys are beyond descriptions, we (Men and women) shall be greeted by the purest of companions created for our benefit alone. We will be free to share joys with all who have reached Jannah and all partake of gifts beyond our imaginations. The greatest thing we can desire on earth will be among the smallest of gifts we will receive in Jannah.
The physical aspects of jannah such as rivers flowing with the purest of wines that will not intoxicate no matter how much is consumed, endless gardens with an abundance of the best things from earth. Any size or type of home we desire. All our desires filled and an endless bounty of more that we can not even envision.
To acquire them one only needs to Ask Allaah(swt) for forgiveness and sincerely repent for our failures. All sins can be forgiven except for the sin of shirk which if we have not repented of before death will result in eternal damnation. We believe that all Muslims will eventually reach Jannah, but we may need to spend some time in Hell to atone for the evil we have done.
Shirk is the sin of applying equals, partners or children to God(swt). which is why we see Christianity as harmful and an almost certain road to eternal damnation. to die unrepentant of the sin of praying to Jesus(as) would be dieing with the unrepentant sin of shirk.
Unless Jesus proved who he claimed to be ...the Saviour of all mankind then backed it up by fulfilling 200 O.T. prophecies exactly then being victorious over physical death. Based on the historical evidence, eye witness testimony, many real miracles , and superior moral teachings of Jesus.... Im putting my trust in him as Saviour, King, and Creator...instead of trying to pull up on my own bootstraps to nullify sins which cant be permanently taken care of that way.
So far, I dont have enough faith that Islam is the way the truth or the eternal life. But i know the One who claimed that about himself (John 14:6) .
P.S. Where do the heavenly Virgins come in as a reward for faithful Muslims ? Thanks.
Seems like we have a problem .. a very big one. Islam says Jesus didnt die , didnt suffer on the cross , didnt ressurect bodily....yet there were eye witnesses present at the time who documented exactly what happened (to the contrary) of which there is more historical evidence than any other ancient event in history including non christian Sources for corroboration . Please show historically confirmed documents with eye witnesses to support your view , and the earliest manuscript copy evidence .
How come Mohammed didnt perform one real miracle himself since he is supposed to be the esteemed mouthpiece for God ? A true prophet is supposed to provide miraculous evidence for his authenticity .
So far, i dont have enough faith to be a Muslim...but ill review your other replies to the other questions i had and perhaps I will see things differently. Thanks.
We agree many people did believe Jesus(as) was crucified and died. We also agree somebody did and the people did believe it was Jesus(as) and who ever it was did have the appearance of being Jesus(as).
The early Christians placed no emphasis on the Crucifixion. This came about 1000 years later. If all the early Christians Really believed Christ had been Crucified, it seems it would have had a greater impact on the early Christians. Take a look at early churches: uuworld.org : early christians emphasized paradise, not crucifixion
Well I would say water coming from his fingers to provide enough water for several hundred people was a bit of a Miracle.
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As for the other miracles, it is not possible to enumerate them all due to their huge number and renewing and increasing nature. I will mention some examples:
The splitting of the moon, water flowing from between his fingers, increasing the quantity of food and water, the glorification of the food, the palm tree yearning for him, stones greeting him, the talking of the poisoned leg [of roasted sheep], trees walking towards him, two trees that were far apart coming together and then parting again, the barren [and therefore dry] sheep giving milk, his returning the eye of Qatâdah bin an-Nu'mân to its place with his hand after it had slipped out, his splitting lightly into the eye of 'Alî when it had become inflamed and its being cured almost immediately, his wiping the leg of 'Abdullâh bin 'Atîq whereupon he was immediately cured.
However we consider all of the miracles to be insignificant and overshadowed by the Qur'an. The miracles were the work of God(swt) not of Mohammad(PBUH) He and all prophets were human messengers. the Miracles were not to glorify the prophets, but simply a means to let the people know they spoke from God(swt) and not through their own doings.
We do not glorify any Prophets because of Miracles. the Miracles were to only give evidence the Prophet was a Messenger of God(swt). We do not glorify any Prophets as that could lead to praying to them or even worshiping them. Miracles were not the work of the Prophets and belong only to God(swt)
As for witnesses it takes a good study of the Ahadith which are the eye witness accounts of what Muhammad(PBUH) did and said. there are over a Million ahadith. But, only about 10,000 has been verified and the original narrator traced back to His/her origin. Only the ahadith that have been fully verified are used as true eye witness accounts.
In the Miracle of the Moon in the links I gave the Hadith narrated by 4 or so witnesses. That is on par with the 4 Authors of the Gospels and with more verification as to who the author was.
We agree many people did believe Jesus(as) was crucified and died. We also agree somebody did and the people did believe it was Jesus(as) and who ever it was did have the appearance of being Jesus(as).
The early Christians placed no emphasis on the Crucifixion. This came about 1000 years later. If all the early Christians Really believed Christ had been Crucified, it seems it would have had a greater impact on the early Christians. Take a look at early churches: uuworld.org : early christians emphasized paradise, not crucifixion
Well I would say water coming from his fingers to provide enough water for several hundred people was a bit of a Miracle.
However we consider all of the miracles to be insignificant and overshadowed by the Qur'an. The miracles were the work of God(swt) not of Mohammad(PBUH) He and all prophets were human messengers. the Miracles were not to glorify the prophets, but simply a means to let the people know they spoke from God(swt) and not through their own doings.
We do not glorify any Prophets because of Miracles. the Miracles were to only give evidence the Prophet was a Messenger of God(swt). We do not glorify any Prophets as that could lead to praying to them or even worshiping them. Miracles were not the work of the Prophets and belong only to God(swt)
As for witnesses it takes a good study of the Ahadith which are the eye witness accounts of what Muhammad(PBUH) did and said. there are over a Million ahadith. But, only about 10,000 has been verified and the original narrator traced back to His/her origin. Only the ahadith that have been fully verified are used as true eye witness accounts.
In the Miracle of the Moon in the links I gave the Hadith narrated by 4 or so witnesses. That is on par with the 4 Authors of the Gospels and with more verification as to who the author was.
You obviously have not dug into the historical manuscript evidence for Jesus including how early the original transcripts were written to the actual event of his death, burial, and ressurection. Based on historicity standards, if you cant trust these very early manuscripts of Jesus, then you have to throw out all other historical events which dont come even close to the original event. You are ignorant of the popular Manuscripts which tell all about Jesus including Jewish historians from the first century like Josephus and the roman Tacitus and others. What you have offered up as an explanation is misconception or outright lies to cover for Islam theology . Are you willing to get it right ? If so, go here : www.impactapologetics.com .
Your above false assertions call into question the validity of everything else you purport about the reluctant 'god-spokesman' Mohammed, the moon being split, and Allah especially. Islam obviously, is based on pure religious practice by way of rituals, traditions, and personal works in hopes of eternal achievement ....whereas Christianity is based on a historically verified Christ who did die and ressurect thereby fulfilling precise prior predictions including his manner of death some 600 years in advance of it every being invented (crucifiction) . The Christian Faith differs from ALL other world religions in that it is based on GOD reaching out to mankind , GOD providing a way for sinful man to be reconciled to a very holy , loving , and personal Creator ... and GOD taking care of the total bill leaving nothing for us to do but to recieve it by faith and immense gratitude which is THEN followed by a changed heart and desire to serve God and others.
I cant have enough faith to be a Muslim, but I can and do, as a devouted follower of Christ who proved himself to be God in the flesh. Thank you for your time and religious Islam writings. End.
P.S. Where do the heavenly Virgins come in as a reward for faithful Muslims ? Thanks.
That is highly misunderstood. We are only told that we will be greeted by companions of the highest Virture.
But we also know that in heaven we can have anything we desire. If somebody in heaven does desire 72 virgins, it would be granted to them, provided they are in heaven.
This was very heavily overplayed by those who misused the Students (Taliban) of the Afghanistan schools and trained young men to become suicide bombers. Most of the Imams in the Mideast are now addressing this issue and a number of Fatwas condemning Suicide Bombers and the idea they would die as martyrs and get 72 virgins.
This Video is from Pakistan and is in Urdu. Even if you do not understand Urdu, I think you will get a general idea we are fighting terrorism. This particular report is about 5600 Imams and Muftis in Pakistan condemning this nonsense about suicide bombers going to heaven and getting 72 virgins. Note the Announcer and remember she is female and this is in an Islamic Nation.
You obviously have not dug into the historical manuscript evidence for Jesus including how early the original transcripts were written to the actual event of his death, burial, and ressurection. Based on historicity standards, if you cant trust these very early manuscripts of Jesus, then you have to throw out all other historical events which dont come even close to the original event. You are ignorant of the popular Manuscripts which tell all about Jesus including Jewish historians from the first century like Josephus and the roman Tacitus and others. What you have offered up as an explanation is misconception or outright lies to cover for Islam theology . Are you willing to get it right ? If so, go here : www.impactapologetics.com .
Your above false assertions call into question the validity of everything else you purport about the reluctant 'god-spokesman' Mohammed, the moon being split, and Allah especially. Islam obviously, is based on pure religious practice by way of rituals, traditions, and personal works in hopes of eternal achievement ....whereas Christianity is based on a historically verified Christ who did die and ressurect thereby fulfilling precise prior predictions including his manner of death some 600 years in advance of it every being invented (crucifiction) . The Christian Faith differs from ALL other world religions in that it is based on GOD reaching out to mankind , GOD providing a way for sinful man to be reconciled to a very holy , loving , and personal Creator ... and GOD taking care of the total bill leaving nothing for us to do but to recieve it by faith and immense gratitude which is THEN followed by a changed heart and desire to serve God and others.
I cant have enough faith to be a Muslim, but I can and do, as a devouted follower of Christ who proved himself to be God in the flesh. Thank you for your time and religious Islam writings. End.
I love the 'End' as though he is saying 'I am not listening to anything else'.
Well, get this sunshine. The Josephus reference is a fake, Tacitus just tells us that there were followers of 'Castus' in Nero's time. Well, there's nothing remarkable about that - Paul had been lying to his fellow citizens about Jesus for twenty years by that time. If his hornswoggled followers began writing even more Gentilified accounts of Jesus' life from then up to the end of the century, they carry no weight of reliability, notwithstanding the relatively early date.
The 'you have to throw out all other historical events which dont come even close to the original event' fallacy is an old one, but no more valid than the rest of the impressive battery of codswallop and fallacy you muster in support of belief in a miraculous event which would be no more believable if you spelt it correctly.
Unless Jesus proved who he claimed to be ...the Saviour of all mankind then backed it up by fulfilling 200 O.T. prophecies exactly then being victorious over physical death. Based on the historical evidence, eye witness testimony, many real miracles , and superior moral teachings of Jesus.... Im putting my trust in him as Saviour, King, and Creator...instead of trying to pull up on my own bootstraps to nullify sins which cant be permanently taken care of that way.
Read the OT in Hebrew and get a Jew to translate it. You will find that not one prophecy in the OT was filled by Jesus(as)
Walter Greenspan who posts on the board often, gives some true Views of what the OT actually says in Hebrew.
I do not deny you your right to believe the NT to be true. Can you produce one document outside the bible, from the time of Jesus(as) that supports the NT
there is a very large lack of contemporary evidence of anything Jesus(as) did outside the NT and the Qur'an. the Qur'an does give many miracles performed through Jesus(as) Including some not mentioned in the bible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 007.5
So far, I don't have enough faith that Islam is the way the truth or the eternal life. But i know the One who claimed that about himself (John 14:6) .
If you could be converted by the words of a man, I would doubt your sincerity. A person can only convert through which they themselves have investigated and proven to be true. To be swayed by the testimony of another, only shows the Charisma of the teacher and not the convictions of the learner.
At one time I was very convinced I had strong faith in Christianity and spent about 1/3 of my life teaching and spreading it. Trying to learn more about Christianity eventually led me to the conclusion I had spent 25+ years in error.
We agree many people did believe Jesus(as) was crucified and died. We also agree somebody did and the people did believe it was Jesus(as) and who ever it was did have the appearance of being Jesus(as).
But you think his own mother couldn't recognize her son?
Really?
Quote:
The early Christians placed no emphasis on the Crucifixion. This came about 1000 years later. If all the early Christians Really believed Christ had been Crucified, it seems it would have had a greater impact on the early Christians.
So the Gospel accounts of it and the resurrection are to be ignored?
How about Paul's statements in 1 Cor 1:23 about him preaching Christ crucified--which was a stumbling block to the Jews? Or in Gal 2:20? Or Gal 5:24? Or Galatians 6:14? Or Peter's sermon in Acts 2?
I thought the purpose of this thead was to ask Woody questions about Islam, but it seems like all you want to do is attack him.
Oh yeah, I attack Islam sometimes, but at least I didn't start a whole thread just to do it.
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as though he is saying 'I am not listening to anything else'. 
