So if one professed nothing but that, one would be a Moslem? Would this entail anything special? Such as a first-class ticket to paradise? Or would one be able to go to Islamic Hell if one did not pray towards Mecca, abstain from impure foods, et cetera?
Allah cannot be the God of the Bible because Allah was the Moon god, one of 360 pre Islamic Arab gods. Jesus said He is the Son of God, but Allah, through Muhammed, denies this, so Allah calls Jesus a liar, therefore obviously, Allah and the God of the Bible are not the same.
Its really Muslim you know, Moslem gives it the wrong connotation.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And yes, that is sufficient to qualify as a Muslim, you need no ceremony, just the shahada or declaration of faith. There is Muslim, who accepts the above, and there is Momin, one who has faith or is a believer (e.g. is a believer and faithful). Usually being a Muslim means acceptance of Mohammed as a Prophet, being a Momin means devoting your life to your faith through jihad (struggle for faith, or iman). Someone who is a Muslim and a Momin would follow all the tenets of Islamic faith ideally to the best of his ability.
SamCDKey: I had thought Moslem and Muslim are held to be alternative spellings if one another? Yet one can be a Moslem/Muslim without being a Momin? And the result is, afterlife speaking?
Alternate spellings? Actually I've never seen anyone using your spelling so I wouldn't know. Sure, most Muslims even the bearded robed ones are not Momins. In terms of the afterlife, well no one really knows, but accountability is based on what rules you break and your underlying motivation in doing so.
Actually, the most valued jihad is that of he who takes up arms. Can't recall the scriptural passage ATM.
Is that why its called jihad asghar (the minor jihad) as compared to jihad akbar (major struggle) which is the descriptor for spiritual struggle?
Sam, I have to admit: it is a little disingenuous now to avoid the issue of translations. We do not speak Arabic: neither do the majority of muslims worldwide. How then is one to discuss islam without being muslim? It would be best to be frank about the translations and ascribe a different meaning to them. Your brother in Islam, Geoff
Well one would say that if one is interested enough in a subject to criticise it, one must first study the subject. How much credence would you ascribe to an Indian writer who wrote a critique on Shakespeare without ever studying English?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! And yes, the reason why so many people are led around by "experts" is because they don't bother to read for themselves. Is that any different from other conspiracy theorists?
Madanthonywayne: Oh no! SamCDKey: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Moslem What sort of ratio of good v. bad deeds are you supposed to be aiming for?
Hmm must be an American innovation? the word is from islam so it should ideally be mu-slim, that is the correct way. the word "mu" basically says "one who" as in mujrim (one who is a criminal, jurm=crime) muntazir (one who waits, intezar=wait) The best you can of course. The ideal is to improve by knowledge and practice, and learn from previous errors so as not to repeat them.
One point often missed is that the lesser gods apply not only to deities, the translation of "La ilaha illallah" can also be "There is none worthy of worship but God" and also excludes the worship of money, power and materialism over spiritualism.
Well, I find "fight in the way of Allah" about seven times in the Quran. There's this, which explains quite clearly Allah's own preferences regarding jihad: Q 9: 23 onward deals in much the same vein, actually. Q 9: 111 is another notable passage in this respect, as is Q 9: 29. In ode to my artistic spirit, I couch my rebuttal in part of the form of the "Lazy Sunday Chronick-les of Narnia" SNL video. "Lazy Translation"
So is fight in the way of Allah a direct translation of jihad?Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! That appears to cover a multitude. i.e those who -believe -left their home -striven with wealth -striven with lives sort of covers everyone whos a Muslim? As a comparison, how many times does knowledge occur in the Quran? And peace? And forgiveness?
