Choice

 In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

It has come down to a choice. An important lesson and value is to understand how one makes decisions. What choice does one make?

I can make a decision which may make you feel good albeit momentarily. But the pressing point is whether I love you, as a fellow human being, enough to offer you something other than momentary comfort. Perhaps what I may say to you may make you momentarily uncomfortable. We may have had this discussion before (that is if you know me at all), but even now I am duty-bound to address you on this issue.

The day is dawning when you celebrate the birth of a person, and most of you call him the son of God. If he is the same Jesus who is the son of Mary, the virgin, then we Muslims say “peace be upon them” and we recognise him as a great Prophet. We do not, however, refer to him in any other way but as a creation of God and not in any way as part of the Godhead. If you celebrate his birth purely on this basis, the basis of being only a creation like you and I, then there may yet be some understanding between us.  But most likely you don’t accept him purely as a creation and that is where my concern for you lies. That you recognise him, in some way or another, as part of a Godhead. I have no intention of criticising you, but rather I address you for two reasons, viz that you need to understand why I do not congratulate you on this festival, your day of celebration, and secondly, most important of all, I wish for you what I wish for myself, that you may have some understanding of Allah and Jesus (peace be upon him) and for that matter, to understand the most authentic book, Quran, which is nothing else but the word of God, Allah, Himself.

We have absolute conviction in this Holy Book and do not doubt even a letter of it. The majesty of the book is clear for all to see in all its facets. A book of which the eloquence, its word arrangement, its style, its historical accuracy, its scientific accuracy is beyond the abilities of any human. A book which is unlike any other book in that it is preserved in the hearts of men, women and children. A book which clearly states that God, Allah is One, that He begets not, nor is He begotten. A book which clearly states that Jesus (Eesa) – peace be upon him – was born of a virgin mother, that he performed many miracles by the permission of God, Allah and that he, Jesus – peace be upon him – ascended to heaven alive. That Book, Quran, also clearly states that Jesus is in no way the son of God. This is the book to which we subscribe, the word of Allah.

Dear Christian, if I congratulate you, then it is as if I wish you harm for I am telling you to continue on a path on which we disagree. Rather, my silence (as opposed to congratulations) should rather be seen as a prayer for your well-being and indeed wishing you well.

We also say Jesus (peace be upon him) saves and for that we revere him. He laid the foundation for a prophet to succeed him. That Prophet, Muhammad – peace be upon him – to whom the final revelation, Quran, was revealed, is the one we ultimately follow. Jesus – peace be upon him – remains special to Muslims for he was born of a virgin mother, he performed miracles by the permission of Allah, he ascended to heaven alive and he will return before all that is on earth will come to an end.

So the choice I make is one of love for you (because I love God Almighty, Allah) and therefore, it is for no other reason that I do not congratulate you on this day.

I greet you with peace.

The Call

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Welcome my friend, I missed you much, so glad you could come

You are special for your master sent with you bounties and then some

I confess that I have so neglected myself since last you were here

All those promises I made, in most I failed, only to few did I adhere

How serene the atmosphere, the desire to do good, now that you did arrive

The worldly desires have somewhat faded and hearts have become alive

Oh how sweet the sound of the recitation of Quran, a most beautiful gift

Absorbing it all and abiding by it will most certainly cause with bad deeds a rift

 

So now you are here it is required of me from pre-dawn to dusk that I abstain

From food and water while with greater sincerity my prayers and conduct I maintain

While those who understand not, consider this noble task perhaps burdensome

Not in the least can the immense bounties you bring  be found loathsome

Yes I do realise that you have come to remind me ,yet again , of a better me

This training ground is much better than any other coaching session which is free

So I pray a little extra, give some charity and I remember my Lord and His blessings more

He, Allah, your master and mine, has promised that for this much blessing is in store

 

So I pray that your stay, however short, will be for me most beneficial

That on that Day, your witness in my favour will be made official

So I embrace you even more than I ever have, knowing that I truly love you

For this love is for no other reason but that my Love for Allah is true

  

Most certainly I acknowledge what you mean to me now, and always will

How then can I not invite others such that we may all forsake the evil

From my sisters who have not covered up to others who have not prayed at all

Always a good time to tell my non-Muslim friends to answer this call

 

The call is to obey Allah who created me, you and the entire universe

Such indeed was the call of Abraham, Moses, David and not forgetting Jesus

And on all of them be peace for they were without doubt great messengers

And to be complete,  so too peace upon Muhammad the seal of all messengers

The Comforter

As reader of my blog questioned my assertion that the Bible prophecises the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

Below (in red) are his comments and I respond lower down.

Muslims have been told that Jesus predicted the coming of Mohammad. If one looks at the context of what Jesus said, one can see that he meant someone else.

Muslims are told that the Comforter to come that Jesus promised was Mohammad. Let us see what Jesus really said.

Who is the Comforter that Jesus promised?

Jhn 14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

Jhn 14:26: But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Jhn 15:26: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Jhn 16:7: Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Comments
1. The Comforter will abide with them “forever.” Mohammad did not live then, and could not do this – be with them. Now that he has come and gone, he is not with anyone forever.

2. The Comforter is the Holy Ghost, not a man, who will “teach all things.” No man knows “all things,” only God.

3. The Comforter is a Spirit of Truth. Mohammad was a man, not a spirit.

4. Jesus had to leave so that the Comforter could come. That implied he was coming soon after Jesus left. Also, Jesus said that HE was sending the Comforter. Mohammad never claimed that Jesus sent him.
-
The disciples are to wait for the “promise” in Jerusalem.

Luk 24:49: And, behold, I [Jesus] send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Luk 24:51: And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he [Jesus] was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

Comment
1. The “coming” of the Comforter occurred in Jerusalem. That is not where Mohammad was when he felt “called.”

2. The disciples were waiting and expecting the Comforter in about 33 AD. They could not wait until the 500s AD for Mohammad, because they could not live that long.

3. The promise would give them power.

When did the Comforter come?
Act 2:1: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Act 2:2: And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Act 2:3: And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4: And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Comment

1. Jesus died at Passover. He appeared after his resurrection 3 days later, and was with them about 30 days. He then ascended into heaven. Pentecost occurs about 45 days after Passover.

2. The disciples were given the power of the Holy Ghost.
Mohammad, again, could not have come at this time, and he gave no supernatural power to anyone.

Reply to this Comment 

Dear Jim

It is indeed true that Allaah Almighty knows best and thus I am very grateful Him who has guided me and made me a Muslim – one who submits to His Oneness.

As Muslims were are fortunate to have with us His final revelation. This revelation confirms what came before it and the message of all the Prophets that there is but One God worthy of worship.  So while we are well exposed to Christians and their doctrine, these are mentioned in Quran. However, you may have limited exposure to Muslims and perhaps have not had the opportunity to properly research the Quran.  Certainly, when you understand that it is the word of our Creator, mine and yours, the Lord of Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them), then the denial of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a Prophet of Allaah, God Almighty, will not be at issue. When you understand that Quran is the word of Allaah, you will understand that Muhammad  (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allaah. The relevance of the prophecies in the Bible, both Old and New Testatment,  will not strengthen the belief of a Muslim – for he believes already.  As mentioned that we have Quran and the life history of Muhammad (peace be upon him) which makes the quotations releatively easy to understand.

Before we get to these verses, may I remind you that both Jews and Christains, many of them, acknowledged that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Prophet mentioned in the scriptures of the Jews and Christians – many accepted and many rejected. Quran even makes mention of this.

As to your points on the “Comforter”:  let’s start with three points:

1.       “Soon” – how long is “soon”.  It may indeed be a figure of speech.  For instance, God created all things in  6 days.  6 human days? – if you went to Planet mercury, a year will be something like 29 earth days. And on more distant planets the days will be extremely long in earth time. So “soon” did not mean soon, as in watch your clock. There was no indication that it was going to happen in their lifetime. Soon was just for them to convey the message that a Prophet was to come.
Time is a creation of God Almighty – read Quran to understand this better.

2.       Did not Paul write a few chapters/books in the New Testament? Was he present during the Pentacost? If not how was he inspired by the Holy Ghost “soon”. Did Peter have a licence from the Holy Ghost to inspire Paul to be an important author/scribe of the New Testament.
You said: When did the Comforter come?Act 2:1: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
So was Paul there?

3.       Does the New Testament hold anything new to what Jesus (peace be upon him) taught? For does your Bible not say quoting Jesus (peace be upon him): “I have yet many things to say, but ye cannot bear it all now.....”
If so, what was new?
Muhammad (peace be upon him)  brought us Quran, as revealed to him from God Almighty though Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). Quran teaches us what we ought to know and what was intended by Almighty God for us to know. Everything has its relevance.

4.       Jhn 14:16: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;So the “comforter” – the one you claim to be the comforter – is with us now?
Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought a message that is abiding with us and will abide with us until the end of time.  When his wife was asked about him, his life, she replied his life was the Quran. In us following him (peace be upon him) he teachings abide with us and will so until the end of time.

Yes, I have already said much and to not prolong this much further, suffice to say that I do not know if anything was lost in the translation of what is in the Bible you quoted.  I suggest that if you possibly read Quran it will add to what i have stated above.  The Quran is preserved by millions in their hearts, having memorised this Glorious Book  - a miracle indeed.

Btw – to which denomination do you belong.

PS! Quran states about Jesus PBUH:

1.       Miraculaous birth from virgin mother

2.       Spoke in cradle

3.       Performed miracles such as forming bird with clay and blowing into in and bird becomes alive – by the Permission of God Almighty

4.       He is a Prophet and not one of three (btw Bible does not speak of Trinity?)

5.       He was not crucified

6.       He was raised up by God Almighty.

 I pray that Almighty accepts your sincerity and rewards you for it.

Ettiquette

Really why don’t I blog more often … one gets busy and does one blog for the sake of blogging.

Something happened and I was not sure of the ideal forum to respond – so I blog again :)

So yesterday I watch a video on youtube – it was of a religious nature – and is my nature that I often can’t resist commenting. But I try to add meaningful comments. Yet what is disturbing is that the response to my comment is vulgar, from a person supposedly defending his religiously viewpoint. Now I take no personal affront to this as insults since I am merely a creation of Almighty Allaah. However, it is not uncommon to find this type of responses on religious (and political) forums. Perhaps it is such that some people go onto these forums not to engage in discussion/debate but only to hurl insults and abuse. This has sadly lead to the closure of some forums where good discussion did take place, but sadly hijacked by those who have no meaningful way to express themselves except being crude and vulgar.

As stated earlier, that personal insults one can take, but then these people go beyond that and start abusing aspects of the religion itself. We may have opinions and we may thus differ on important aspects of religion, but certainly that can be done in civil manner. Yes, I do admit that sometimes one can type something and the reader may infer something from the tone – but that may be a perception and it may be the reader itself having a particular frame of mind at that time.

So as a Muslim I would find it difficult if a fellow Muslim becomes abusive regarding another religion or even adherents to that religion. We may though find that certain questions or comments may have connotations of ridicule but may such comments or questions may be better understood through further engagement. This is rather different from someone making blatant comments in a threatening way.

Islam, through the Quran and the practices and teaches of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), teaches us that clearly. As Muslims we accept all the Prophets before him, Muhammad (peace be upon him), and we send our greeting upon them all. It is blasphemous to speak ill of any of them and among them are Abraham, Moses, David, John the Baptist and Jesus – peace be upon them all. Some of these Prophets (peace be upon them) were given scriptures which we as Muslim acknowledge. We further acknowledge that they – peace be upon them – all taught the same message of the worship of One God.

There are meaningful ways of finding out about Islam and engaging Muslims. The snippets in news broadcasts and the print media and the portrayal of Muslims in movies do not do justice to the religion in any way.

 Let's talk and respect each other - lets have some ettiquette

Friday off - Oh Good

“….Say, "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful."”
Quran 2:111)

I love chocolate, I like spicy food and buns and i like to be home on a Friday. Really Good ...
Certainly, a sense of decadence and perhaps luxury. Thinking about it, commercially it makes good sense. This time of the year brings to mind recent books like that of Dan Brown and movies like the Passion of the Christ and of course the Bible, not forgetting the Torah. I am also familiar with another book that has shed further light on some matters discussed in all of the aforementioned.

This book confirms the revelation of the Torah and Gospel and the high status of such people as Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them both).  This book tells us much of these two people as well as their predecessors, foremost of whom was Abraham, peace be upon him.

Some of the most important points in this book are:
1. The worship of One God
2. To not associate partners with God, Almighty
3. That there is life after this life on earth
4. That God Almighty sent many prophets and messengers (peace be upon them all)
5. That He has the power over all things
The further interesting aspect is that He, God Almighty, has created “man” in four different ways:

1. Without parents – i.e. Adam (peace be upon him)
2. Without a mother (but from a man) – Eve
3. Without a father (but only a mother) – Jesus (peace be upon him)
4. With a mother and father – generally all of us.
So His power exceed our understanding, but the creation in any of the above is easy for him, for if you could create man from nothing, it is easy for Him, God Almighty, to create a man from a mother only, without a father.
And so, there were a group of people who persecuted the Prophets sent by God Almighty and killed them. Then these people went on to claim the killing of Jesus (peace be upon him). But He, who has the power over all things, most definitely did not allow that to happen, as Christians too testify that Jesus (peace be upon him) ascended to Heaven alive. So they disputed on who was on the right path- but the book i mentioned, gives a good expose and confirms a few things concerning Jesus (peace be upon him)

1. Jesus (peace be upon ) was born of a virgin mother
2. Jesus (peace be upon performed miracles
3. Jesus (peace be upon ) did not claim to be God or the son of God or used the word Trinity (as the deity of worship) in any way
4. Jesus (peace be upon ) did NOT die on the cross
5. Jesus (peace be upon ) ascended to heaven alive
6. Jesus was neither a Jew nor a Christian
In Jesus’s time and even the time immediately after him, there was no bunnies or spicy buns related to any form of worship or remembrance of Jesus (peace be upon him) – Thus it clearly is not part of his teachings.

We follow the final revelation, which came to confirm which came before it. As Muslims, having the highest respect for Jesus (peace be upon him) – being the topic of discussion, and as followers of the final messenger of Allah, Muhammad – peace be upon him – we have a responsibility to speak the truth on Jesus – peace be upon him. We have a responsibility to convey the message of the Prophets which also Jesus (peace be upon him) conveyed – to worship the God of Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

So my love for chocolate remains, but I will be a hypocrite to indulge in symbols associated with this period which has nothing to do with the good name of Jesus (peace be upon him).

So my like for spicy food remains, but I will be a hypocrite to indulge in symbols associated with this period which has nothing to do with the good name of Jesus (peace be upon him).

Muslims are awaiting the return of Jesus –peace be upon him. We love him and acknowledge his contribution to delivering the message of his Creator – his Lord and Our Lord.

In conclusion: This is all to be found in a book wherein there no doubt, a book of guidance.