Topics

1

General Discussions / Surah like it?

« on: May 18, 2014, 03:44:42 AM »

Salamun Àlaykum everyone,
Forgive my ignorance, but I don't really understand what the "Bring forth a Sūrah like it" challenge is about. As in:
"And if you are in
doubt about what We have sent down
upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then
produce a Surah the like thereof and
call upon your witnesses other than
Allah , if you should be truthful." (2:23).
What exactly is this about? On what criteria do we judge whether a given text is like a Quranic Sūrah?

2

General Discussions / Is the fire of Gehenna an allegory?

« on: May 14, 2014, 02:38:38 AM »

Salaam everyone,

Is the fire of Gehenna/Jahannum an allegory? Or is it to be taken literally?

Thanks.

3

General Discussions / A philosophical question

« on: May 06, 2014, 04:15:59 AM »

This is a rather philosophical question. I begin from the very first verse of the Qur'an, which declares the mercy of God. Since He is merciful, He is also loving. If so, and since the Qur'an emphasizes the merciful nature of God, shouldn't He delight in mercy, the mercy that His creatures show one another? Should not that be what He desires more than worship? So as long as a man show mercy to his fellow creatures, why would God care how many idols he worships? I mean, monotheism is the truth, but what harm can polytheism do? Why should it be deserving of hell?

4

General Discussions / On the soul

« on: May 04, 2014, 07:00:03 AM »

Salaamun Àlaykum

This, IMHO, is a good resource on the existence of the soul. Hope this helps. :-)

http://bookre.org/reader?file=1325637

5

General Discussions / Fate of idolaters

« on: April 15, 2014, 09:13:29 PM »

Salaamun alaykum,
This is something I have always wondered about. Until Islam 9or perhaps Christianity), monotheism was just confined to the Jewish people. Even after Islam, there were many communities that did not get the message for a long time. What about polytheists and idolaters who lived in those times and places? Will they be punished for Shirk?