answers about Islam

Hello all! Welcome to the thread
The perfect place for all you to learn about Islam!
Don't invade other threads totally unrelated saying that "Islam condones rape, pillage and burn" or that "Allah is Satan"! Post it here! I'll do my best to explain the truth. That way, every other day, when someone posts a half page quote about how Islam is evil, it does this, it does that, I can link them this thread instead of answering everytime.
Come on now! Post why you think Islam is evil, and I'll explain why you are wrong..heheheh

Is there no one to take me up on my offer? Are you afraid of being labelled "Islam haters"? Come on fundies! You never cared about public perceptions before!

The fact that people who are born into and leave the muslim faith are hunted down and killed, or at the least slated for mudered

The fact that Muslims can justify mudering thier own family, so that others in the tribe dont have to.

Hey Jehosphat
My appologies for the condescending nature of my posts. It's just in fun. Anyway, on to you reply:
Fact 1:
Although this may happen now, there is no such rule. In fact, there is evidence that Muhammad let some people who had renounced Islam, to just go. Although he was disappointed in them, they were not "slated for murder".

Fact 2:
No idea what you are talking about here. If you are saying that Islam doesn't support nepotism, then right on!

you might want to read up about Mithaq-i-Madina (the Medinese Treaty)

basically it allows tribal law to be more important then religious law

How does one become a muslim? whats your favourite passage from the Qur'an, also i am currently starting out to study Islam, what part of the Qur'an should i start reading first? any recommendations or should i start right from beginning

also, another question,

what food and drink is and isnt allowed by islam?

Originally posted by Jehosephat
you might want to read up about Mithaq-i-Madina (the Medinese Treaty)

basically it allows tribal law to be more important then religious law

Nope...the Mithaq-i-Madina only promised that Islam would not interfere with tribal customs. People could still perform the marriage ceremony how they wanted, they could have their own laws (as long as they did not contradict Islamic law), etc. It also put the unity of all the tribes ahead of any single tribe (if someone attacked Madinah, ALL tribes must defend it). In no way does it "justify mudering thier own family, so that others in the tribe dont have to".
Besides, the Mithaq-i-Madinah is only a treaty. It doesn't over-rule anything in the Quran.


Hey infinite...one becomes a muslim by reciting "La illaha il-Allah, Muhammad ur-rasul Allah", in both arabic(symbolic) and their own language(to understand). It means: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God". That's all. It is generally advisable to do it infront of a witness, so that they can testify that you became muslim.

Alcohol isn't allowed in Islam, and as for food, eating pigs-pork, bacon, ham- is forbidden. Animals that use their claws and teeth to kill (dogs, cats, great cats, bears etc), excluding fish. Animals that were already dead (carrion) is not allowed. Animals sacrificed to some other god is not allowed.
Muslims are allowed to eat food prepared by jews (kosher). If it is prepared by non-muslims or non-jews, then it should follow all the above rules.
However, all these rules can be broken in emergencies -dying of starvation, or need alcohol for medicine (can't use anything else).

About my favourite surah...
I'd say Surah(Chapter) 96 (title translated as "The Clot, Read"). What some people don't know is that the quran is written in verse (it is poetry). So if you understand arabic, not only is it for religious purposes, but it also makes very beautiful reading.
You can start however you wish. The arrangement of the surah's is not really important to the reader. All the surah's are self contained, and don't need you to have read a previous surah to understand.


[edit on 23-5-2005 by babloyi]

Originally posted by babloyi
If it is prepared by non-muslims or non-jews, then it should follow all the above rules.

babloyi,
I have a friend who is a shia(sp?) muslim. Her parents are very religious and once I invited them to dinner. My friend later told me that they wont eat at my house cuz I'm not muslim. That was confusing cuz I specifically told them I'm making seafood. Are they taking this a little too far or is it justified in Islam? If so how does one get around it?

Originally posted by babloyi
The perfect place for all you to learn about Islam!

A comment. Glad to see you started this thread.

I hate when people go around bashing something they ignorantly
don't understand. Education is good. I'm glad to see that you are
open to questions and hopefully those who ask them are sincere
and open to listening to your answers.

I don't believe in the Islamic 'paradise'. It sounds too 'earthly' to
me. I don't buy into the Christian extreme of us walking around
with crowns and 'ruling'. Who are we supposed to 'rule' if the world
is gone? Rule others in heaven? They won't need ruling. :shk:

1 - What is YOUR vision of the afterlife and why? Is your vision of it
strictly Islamic, or have you some of your own thoughts in it?

2 - Have you had any supernatural interventions? Visitations by
Angels, Fatima, Muhammed, etc. etc. In dreams or otherwise?

Come on fundies! You never cared about public perceptions before!

I'm not fundamentalist. I'm mostly Catholic.





[edit on 5/23/2005 by FlyersFan]

how do muslims pray?
and have you ever been to Mecca?

Originally posted by I_s_i_s
babloyi,
I have a friend who is a shia(sp?) muslim. Her parents are very religious and once I invited them to dinner. My friend later told me that they wont eat at my house cuz I'm not muslim. That was confusing cuz I specifically told them I'm making seafood. Are they taking this a little too far or is it justified in Islam? If so how does one get around it?

I'm not very knowlegeable about shia doctrine, so if that is the cause, then I wouldn't know. However, I do know that many muslims are just plain uncomfortable with eating non-muslim food. Perhaps the food was cooked using alcohol? Perhaps some of the ingredients were derived from prohibitted animals?
I have a friend in the US, who is constantly asking me to send her Jello. The reason? Jello there apparently has the geletin made from pigs. Or if a hindu person ate chips at mcdonalds, and then later found out they are fried in beef fat.

Hey FlyersFan. No one can truly know what afterlife is like. That's why in the Quran when it describes it, it says "like .....". I generally associate heaven with happiness. I guess it is individually tailored for each person. A farmer once asked Muhammad if he could have a some land to till and work on in heaven. Muhammad told him he would have whatever he wanted, as long as he believed. Nothing really wrong with an "earthly" heaven. We are, after all, earthly.
I used to dream about Muhammad as a kid. Doesn't happen often now.
heheheh...I was directing the fundy comment to Islam haters. The general "Islam is Satan" stuff.

Hello again infinite. Yep, I've been to Makkah. I performed the "lesser pilgrimage" (not the one that can only be done once a year). All men have to wear the ihram (like a toga-made out of 1 piece of white cloth, with no stitches), and all the women have to wear white. You have to perform tawaf, and then pray.
Prayer in Islam is done 5 times a day. It can be done alone, but it is better to do with a congregation. You have to face the ka'ba, and pray. The prayer generally consists of some verses of the quran, and prostrating to God.

[edit on 23-5-2005 by babloyi]

Originally posted by babloyi
I used to dream about Muhammad as a kid. Doesn't happen often now.

The reason I asked about dreams is because I have heard it
said that Muslims listen to their dreams and believe that God
speaks to them in dreams. Some Christians believe God speaks
in dreams (like when He told Joseph to take Mary as his wife,
and then again when He told Joseph to flee into Egypt and then
go home again later).

First let me state my respect, as a Christian, for the very many sincere and devout Muslims. They seem to have a very strong faith. There is one question that I'd like to have answered. Is it true, as I've been told, that the Koran denies that Jesus was crucified, much less raised fromt he dead? Death and resurrection are the heart and soul of Christian faith.

I'd like to add a few thoughts on the afterlife.

If you thing about the people and place where Qur'an was revealed, the description of Heaven makes sense.
Arabs lived in a desert, constant sun, 45°C... what would be heaven for them personaly?
Sitting in the shade of trees next to a river, drinking as much as one wants...

The description of Heaven is just a metaphor, heaven is a reward for all the hardship of this life, reward for patienly enduring the sun that burns us. After we are done with that, we get our "shade" away from the sun, the reward is a place without the troubles of this life. It is a place of peace.

FlyersFan, yeah, muslims believe that God CAN speak to them through dreams. However, this doesn't mean that all dreams involve God speaking, or that God doesn't speak to you outside dreams.
Besides, I haven't ever heard of God speaking directly in dreams. It is always through angels, or the prophets. Seeing the prophets in dreams isn't all that uncommon. One of my friends even had dreams of Moses.

Originally posted by GrandCourtJester
First let me state my respect, as a Christian, for the very many sincere and devout Muslims. They seem to have a very strong faith. There is one question that I'd like to have answered. Is it true, as I've been told, that the Koran denies that Jesus was crucified, much less raised fromt he dead? Death and resurrection are the heart and soul of Christian faith.

Hey GrandCourtJester. My sentiments likewise.
Yes, Muslims do not believe that Christ was crucified. God replaced him with someone else on the cross. They don't believe him to be the Son of God either. Muslims believe Jesus was raised up into heaven, and will return at the end of times.