Topics

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General Discussions / What does it mean to die twice ?

« on: May 30, 2013, 11:39:12 AM »

40:11
[Progressive Muslims]
They will Say: "Our Lord, You have made us die twice, and You have given us life twice. Now we have confessed our sins. Is there any way out of this path"

40:11
[Abdel Haleem]
They will say, ‘Our Lord, twice You have caused us to be lifeless and twice You have brought us to life. Now we recognize our sins. Is there any way out?’

40:11
[Yusuf Ali]
The will say: "Our Lord! Twice hast Thou made us without life, and twice hast Thou given us Life! Now have we recognized our sins: Is there any way out (of this)?"

Yusuf Ali's Tafseer for 40:11:
4371. Cf. Sura 2:28. "How can ye reject the faith in Allah?-seeing that ye were without life, and He gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye return." Nonexistence, or existence as clay without life was equivalent to death. Then came true Life on this earth; then came physical death or the cessation of our physical life; and now at the Resurrection, is the second life.

I am not satisfied with this Tafseer . To die (for which a previous life is necessary) and to be lifeless are two different things.
Did we had a previous life before the life on this earth ?

http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=40&verse=11

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General Discussions / 40:7 - What does Throne mean ?

« on: May 30, 2013, 11:24:19 AM »

40:7
[Progressive Muslims]
Those who carry the throne and all those around it glorify the praise of their Lord, and believe in Him, and they seek forgiveness for those who have believed: "Our Lord, You encompass all things with mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repented and followed Your path, and spare them the agony of Hell."

40:7
[Abdel Haleem]
Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those who surround it celebrate the praise of their Lord and have faith in Him. They beg forgiveness for the believers: ‘Our Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who turn to You and follow Your path. Save them from the pains of Hell

http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=40&verse=7

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General Discussions / Masturbation

« on: April 25, 2013, 02:38:40 PM »

Dear forum members ,
Peace be with you

Although Quran does not mention anything explicitly on this topic , i think we can not directly conclude that  'such acts not prohibited'.
I have seen this topic being discussed in a facebook group and some Quran centric muslims were trying to explain that since it is not prohibited in Quran 'explicitly' , it is OK to do it.

I want to know your views.

4

General Discussions / Magic or Tricks ?

« on: April 06, 2013, 05:15:18 PM »

Dear Forum members ,
Peace be with you ,

We all may probably be knowing some famous magicians now a days and we know it is not magic but Tricks which they perform on stage/TV.

True Magic if exist ,  Lacks 'Mechanism of Action' which can not be explained Scientifically and it is unlikely that  power of such secret arts is from God.

Is there any Explicit verse in the Quran which proves that Magic mentioned in the Quran is not referring to Tricks.

5

General Discussions / 113:4 , what does BLOWING ON KNOTS mean ?

« on: April 04, 2013, 06:57:28 AM »

Peace be with you ,
Dear forum members , i want to know what 'blowing on knots' mean.
Some translators has taken it as witchcraft/magic/secret arts others have translated it as 'the one who complicate the simple by tying knots.

For me blowing on knots sounds like a superstitious act. It is a common practice in many south Asian muslims to read verses of Quran and blow on someone's face , water , food , etc with good intention.

What could blowing on knots possibly mean in the light of Quran ?

6

General Discussions / Study Loan

« on: March 27, 2013, 07:48:17 PM »

Salamunalaikum  ,

Some state governments in India  provide Study Loan to students who can not afford College fee for their higher education at a LOW INTEREST RATES that too is paid by the candidate himself after completing studies and getting a job.
My room mate's friend asked about it in a Local mosque and the clergy's reply was much like '' loan @ low interest rates is a Planned scheme of the government so that Muslims get indulged in activities related to Riba (This was his personal Opinion)''

Quran does not prohibits 'paying' interest if compelled due to the circumstances.

My Question is
Will a Country whose constitution is based on Quran alone allow such Low interest schemes ?
Is it allowed for a Muslim to use such schemes ?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

7

General Discussions / 3:110 You were the best nation that emerged for the people,......

« on: February 11, 2013, 07:58:07 PM »

http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=3&verse=110

According to chapter 3 verse 110 , are we the best Ummah ?
Better than Ummah of  prophets other than prophet muhammad ?

I had a discussion with my friends , they are orthodox muslims and came with this Ayah to prove that we the Ummah of prophet muhammad are superior than other Ummah which came before prophet muhammad.

Thanks for the reply.

8

General Discussions / Do we have a 'free-will' or Allah decides whatever we do ?

« on: January 21, 2013, 08:13:51 PM »

Salamun alaikum ,

Questions asked by a fellow believer :-


1)Fellow believer -
Do we have a free will whenever we choose to select a Good  or evil path or its because Allah has already decided it for us ?

Me-
Considering a series of events in a single matter , We have a free will , but after certain free wills ( In any situation ) , we have to face Consequences of our previous acts  in which we have no options.

2) Fellow believer-
Were the Satan having free will when he choose not to respect Adam ?

Me-
May be he was Granted free-will at that time or It was part of Consequences of his previous misdeeds to Not to do Sujood in front of Adam. Allah knows best

3)Fellow believer-
Suppose He had free will ( not consequences of previous bad deeds )at that moment , Were Allah Aware that he will choose only Evil path before the event Actually occurred ?
If yes , Why Allah made him ?

PLEASE HELP ME TO ANSWER QUESTION NO. 3

In Brief -
SUPPOSE WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN 2 PATHS , EVIL PATH {A} AND GOOD PATH {B}  , AND ALLAH HAS GIVEN US FREE WILL AND WE CHOOSE EVIL PATH ,  WERE ALLAH AWARE THAT WE WILL CHOOSE PATH {A}  BEFORE THE EVENT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ?

If you are not able to Understand the question clearly , please tell me , I will re-frame the Question in a different way.

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General Discussions / 4:119 , circumcision and benefits of Genetic engineering for humanity.

« on: November 23, 2012, 09:40:04 AM »

Salamun alaikum Joseph islam and others ,

4:119
"I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by God........"

I have read your article about circumcision but have some doubts.

Can we use verse 4:119 while explaining that circumcision is not a part of islam ?
We know that now a days  better products are been produced by Genetic engineering , the 'natural' DNA content of micro organisms are 'altered' to get the desired product for the benefit of humanity.
Some examples are : human insulin (from modified bacteria) used by diabetics , improved drugs , plants/crops which gives more yield and are more resistant , etc
Old examples are production of mule from horse and donkey , castraction of ox , etc

From Quran , is Genetic engineering allowed ?

10

Discussions / preparing dead body for burial.

« on: November 20, 2012, 08:23:50 PM »

Medical colleges and universities needs  original human bodies for for Anatomy Dissection classes , In my first year in medical college when i was a fresher , i used to regret because the Cadavers(Dead bodies preserved in formalin) are mainly people suffering from extreme poverty , homelessness  or they may be  unclaimed bodies  and they didn't got proper ceremonial burial after their death. but at the same time it was in my mind that Dissecting dead human bodies is very necessary for medical education (especially surgical branches)

Today i realized the importance of Quranic silence on this matter.

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General Discussions / 25:30 - "messenger has said..." or "messenger will say...."

« on: November 19, 2012, 10:28:57 AM »

http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/25/30/default.htm

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Discussions / How can i translate articles on your website ?

« on: October 30, 2012, 08:19:24 PM »

Dear Joseph Islam and all , Salamun alaikum

Majority of Muslims are living in places where English is not a mother-tongue (like Pakistan , Indonesia , Saudi , etc). Moreover , the people who need such articles most cannot understand English.
On the other hand , most of the Books written on traditional belief are easily available in Local language.

Some of my friends ask me questions like '' How Salah can be done without Hadith ?'' , etc. and i can not recommend your articles because of language problem.
So , Is there any way to translate your articles   [I have used the online translators but it simply translate word to word and flow (and sometime meaning ) of Language is distorted]

13

Discussions / A conversation with my hindu friend.

« on: October 19, 2012, 02:14:04 PM »

Salamun alaikum ,


Today i was discussing with my Hindu friend about Islam/God/hinduism/commercialisation of Religion ,etc.


From his own reasoning capacity , he do not believe in statue worship or that statues are Gods (as most of the hindus believe) and believes in 'Creator of universe' i.e God.

While the conversation was going on , he asked me who wrote the Quran ? I replied 'From God it came to prophet Muhammad via an Angel'

He said it is hard for him to accept the 'Angel story' , however , he believe in Creation and the Creator of  universe (God).

What does Quran says about such people ?

And if you can suggest me what should i reply him , it will be favour on me.

Thank you

14

Islamic Duties / Is sacrifice of an animal by muslim who is not attending Hajj instructed in the Quran ?

« on: October 17, 2012, 08:00:51 PM »

I know there is no concept of Eid-ul-fitr or Eid-ul-zuha in the Quran but just want to know that is there any verse which hints this practice for someone not performing Hajj ?

15

General Discussions / Quran which was written during time of Prophet Muhammad.

« on: October 11, 2012, 12:53:31 PM »

From Quranic verses it is proved that Quran was written during the time of prophet Muhammad.

Is it preserved in any Museum till now ?
If not , which is the oldest copy of Quran which exist till now ?