From: d89-gsk@nada.kth.se (Gani Skepi)
Subject: Re: Islam at a Glance
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 17:12:26 GMT

In article <1818@rwja.umdnj.edu>, gopal@rwja.umdnj.edu (Srihari Gopal) writes:
|> Gani:
|> 
|> You sidetracked my original question by quoting a long and boring article
|> which I didnt have quite the attention span to read thoroughly. I'll
|> restate it again.
|> 

Actually I didn't....
The answer to your question was in the article if you only had given yourself
the time to read it...
Boring???... :-)..... I hope the below wont be boring......

|> >In other words, why should I limit myself to praying ONLY to Allah?
|> >What if I want to pray to Jesus, Yahweh, Krishna or Buddha? Why are these
|> >manifestations of God wrong? And why is the worship ONLY to Allah the only
|> >correct path to salvation?
|> 
|> Can you answer the above question (in one paragraph or less)? Please be
|> specific and please avoid giving quotes and references to texts. I'd
|> appreciate a summary of your knowledge.

I'd give it a shot.....

In different languages God is called differantly but there is still only 
*One* God. In Arabic He is called Allah (check up the article I sent you 
to see why this word is the most prefearable). 

Let me start by pointing out that Yahweh *is* Allah.

So why shouldn't a person pray to Jesus (pbuh), Krishna, Budda & Co from 
the Islamic point of view???

The name of God which the abourginis in Australia used was/is Atnautu which 
means something like "he who has no anus", i.e. He who neither eats nor shi**.

These abourginis are closer to the (according to us) *true* concept of God 
than the Christians (with their concept of Jesus (pbuh) who ate and sh**),
the Hindus (who if we forget mostly of them believe in alot of gods, believes
Krishna to be one of many incarnations of God. He ate, he sh**) and those 
among the Buddists who worship Budda as a God (according to Buddism there 
is no God if I've understod it correctly. Budda ate and sh**). 

The idea of worshipping a human is ofcourse not acceptable. If it was then
we should all end up with worshipping ourselves..... (:-).. some already do
that).

The idea that the Creator and Maintainor of the worlds, Him in whose hands is 
the dominion of the whole Universe, did come to little Earth disguiezed as a 
human is from a Muslim point of view, *absurd*.

The quicker people understand how small we really are the better.
Lets face it. If Earth was blown up and ceased to exist tomorrow it would be 
as we say over here in Sweden, like a fart in the Universe. 

We are *nothing*.. Why should God come down to little Earth????
To die for our sins???? Well, interesting enough the s.c. sacrifice (Jesus 
(pbuh)) seems to be of another view..

These "primitive" abourginis are in their concept of God closer to the one 
true God than those who believe in a godincarnate (according to us)..

I hope I were clear enough............

By using your mind and the sense given by God you have the ability to reach 
to the conclusion of His existence. But as our mind is limited we can only 
reach to Him to a special level (i.e. what is comprehended by our mind). To 
go further, revelations are needed... It is here the holy Quran and every 
scripture revealed by God in their *unaltered* form steps in.

Some qoutations of the Quran wich may give you a good hint to the 
islamic view:

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(35:3)" O men! call to mind the grace of Allah unto you! Is there
a Creator, other than Allah to give you sustenance from heaven or
earth? There is no God but He: How then are you deluded away from
the Truth?"

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(82:6-7)"O man! What has seduced thee from thy Lord Most Beneficient?
- Him Who created thee, fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave
thee a just bias;"

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(86:6) " O thou man! Verily thou art ever toiling on towards the Lord
- painfully toiling, - but thou shalt meet Him."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(37:95)"Do you worship what you have carved yourself."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(13:16)"Have you taken unto you others beside Him to be protectors, even 
such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves.?"

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(5:77)"Say:"O People of the Book! Exceed not in your religion the bounds 
(of what is proper), trespassing beyond the truth, Nor follow the vain 
desires of people who went wrong in times gone by,- who misled many, and 
strayed (themselves) from the even way"."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(19:88-92)"They say:(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten a son!
Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are ready to
burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter
ruin, that they should invoke a son for (Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not
consonant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that He should beget a
son."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(5:17)"In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ the son
of Mary. Say:'Who then hath the least power against Allah, if his will were
to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all- everyone that is on
the earth?
For to Allah belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all
that is between. He createth what he pleaseth. For Allah hath power over all
things.'

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(59:22-24)"He is God; there is no god but He. He is the Knower of the 
unseen and the visible; He is the All-merciful, the Al-compassionate. He 
is God; there is no God but He. He is the King, the All-Holy, the All-peace, 
the Guardian of Faith, the All-preserver, the All-mighty, the All-Compeller,
the All-sublime. Glory be to God, above that they associate! He is God
the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong the Names Most
Beautiful. All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Him; He is
the All-mighty, the All-wise."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(2:255)" There is no god but He, the Living the Everlasting. Slumber seizes 
Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the
earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave? He
knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they comprehend
not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His throne
comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of them oppresses Him
not; He is the All-high, the All-glorious."

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(53:24-25)" Nay, shall man have (just) anything he hankers after?
But it is to Allah that the End and the Beginning (of all things) belong."

|> 
|> Srihari Gopal
|> gopal@rwja.umdnj.edu

Peace
Gani

Btw!!! These disscusisons are starting to be disastrous for my 
studies... :-)....

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(SAHIH MUSLIMIN)" ... I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) saying: 
He who amongst you should see something abominable should modify it
with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do 
it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength 
enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhort it) from his heart, 
and that is the least of faith."
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