Messages

One of the reasons I have faith in the Prophet Muhammad, the reciter of the Qur'an, is because of the story where he helps move the Kaaba by having people hold each end of a large cloth. It is very ingenious way of bringing people together, and one of the parts of his story I remembered the most. One day I had to clear objects from a table and had a towel to place the items onto. That reminded me of him, and it caused me to be more considerate.

Dear QM Forum,

This excerpt from Surah al-Bayyinah 98:6, is sometimes troublesome for me:

فِى نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ

Fī Nāri Jahannama Khālidīna Fīhā

will be in the fire of Hell, abiding eternally therein

The word جهنم is similar to the word Gehenna, which also found in the Bible in Greek with similar meaning (Gospel of Matthew 10:28). Its origin, Hinnom, is also found in Hebrew Bible, where it is described multiple times as a place where children were sacrificed by fire (Book of Jeremiah 7:31). The Valley of Hinnom is a north-facing valley outside of Jerusalem, so it does not get as much sunlight. Considering the geology of Israel/Palestine and Jordan, it could be a fissure, part of the greater tectonic fault.

The translation "hell" is from Germanic cosmology, first used by Wulfila in the Gothic Bible "halja" as an equivalent for the Greek "hades" used in the Bible. Yes, the Greek deity, which represented the underworld. The original Germanic concept of hell was a cold afterlife destiny. Whereas Hades seems to be associated with fire, which could be due to climate and geography. For example, near Greece there are many volcanoes. Likewise, in Arabia near Medina there also many volcanoes.

Both hades and hell seem to originally represent death, and in the Bible it is also used this way (Acts of the Apostles 2:27). (Source: https://www.christianpublishers.org/post/what-is-the-biblical-understanding-of-sheol)

Across many cultures, the physical world is used to describe different emotions, and complex ideas. In many Native American cultures (ex: Ojibwe, Yucatan), there is a water panther, which governs the underworld. The panther is one of the largest predatory animals, and therefore represents danger. When projected into the watery underground places, it could symbolize a place of danger. The underground is where all life decays towards, and is where there is no freedom of movement, no light, and high risk of being trapped and dying. From what I understand, in ancient Egyptian cosmology, Apep plays a similar role, and represents watery chaos and annihilation below the desert.

Likewise, the sky often represents freedom and a higher power. The stars fill us with imagination and good feelings. In Hebrew the word מזל (Mazl, like Mazl Tov [Hebrew: Good Fortune]) can also mean stars, similar to how people think of horoscopes and astrology.

Birds, which fly in the sky, sometimes represent positive ideas. Bird feathers, for example, are used in ancient Egyptian culture, particularly Nubian culture, and in Native American cultures as a symbol for higher ideals. The feather in the Book of Coming Forth by Day (Book of the Dead) is shown on one side of the scales of justice, and a heart on the other. The feather is also seen in the Book of Coming Forth by Day on the heads of a group of people. For ancient Egyptians, pictures were their language, therefore the feather has a deeper meaning.

However not all birds in cultures represent good, there are also ideas of Thunderbirds, which in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, was found to represent an earthquake and tsunami. There are many other exceptions. This is the limitation of using symbols in nature to describe metaphysical and emotional truths.

In Abrahamic religions, heaven also represents the best place. In Hebrew, it is the abode of God and the angels. The Hebrew שמים (Shamayim) is related to the Arabic word سماء (sama'). In English, heaven is the best  afterlife destiny. However, heaven as the afterlife destiny in the religion of Islam is جنة (jannah), which means gardens. This is similar to the English word "paradise", which originally meant gardens in Persian. These ideas are very important, especially if we seek reward and things, which we are not given by other people in this world.

In Surah ash-Shu'arah, the people are warned to be aware of the source of their "gardens and springs"(Surah ash-Shu'arah 26:134), various times, and those who warned them are accused of magic (Surah ash-Shu'arah 26:153), just like Jesus was accused of using evil magic by the Pharisees (Gospel of Matthew 12:24).

I've heard it said that Jewish people don't believe in hell or heaven, like Christians and Muslims do. Yet, after studying a few chapters in the TaNaKh, I believe this isn't entirely true. I believe the Hebrews were much like the Native Americans, and projected complex ideas onto the physical realm. The concept of Sheol (שעול) seems to mostly represent the underworld, which was death, our eventual fate, rather than one of two destinies of the afterlife. Yet, there are some verses, which show the connection between destructive behaviors and Sheol (Proverbs Chapter 7 [adultery]). Adultery is one of the sins of the 10 commandments , which is not directly in Qur'an, however there some verse where lists of commandments are made, which are similar. Perhaps someone knowledgeable could help me find them again.

And so, my problem with the first aformentioned verse, Surah al-Bayyinah 98:6, has to do with how people mistreat others and threaten them with hell, or manipulate people with the threat of hell, without using reason to understand the destructive behaviors.

After I finished reading the New Testament, I believe that the concept of sin was created to explain a reality, where our behaviors do not meet the expectations of life, and therefore contribute to suffering. The commandments were created from observations about life. For example, the impact of murder on ancient societies and how it caused many problems, and destroys the most precious thing on this planet.

I believe we can be perfect in the eyes of God, in the sense that God can accept us as we are and that this idea can bring us peace. However, we can still not meet the expectations of life by making wrong choices, and that is sin.

I believe once we are unburdened by shame and can live in the present moment, having faith that our sins can be forgiven, we are more capable of changing. Because shame can often make us feel tainted or irredeemable, which causes us to suffer and continue destructive behaviors. If we let go of the past, we can live in the present moment and become aware of God's mercy, and live our lives a better way.

In my life, I have experienced something like karma. I would begin to struggle and it would remind me of something bad I did in the past, causing me to reflect on my actions. Later, I reasoned that it was a blessing for me to experience a complicated consequence or a retribution from God for my actions earlier in my life, because otherwise it would come slowly and I would never be prepared for it nor be able to perceive it, causing more suffering in ignorance. Yet, I am very blessed, and the struggles contribute to new types of blessings, like the direction of my education towards Bible and Qur'an.

In European cultures, they portrayed something similar: the wheel of fortune. However, it seems not everybody experiences consequences in this lifetime, and I don't know why. The Book of Job is like a Hebrew philosophical debate around the idea of suffering in this life, and seems to suggest the best way to deal with it is to accept that we don't know and to have faith and continue worshiping God, despite our struggles.

God knows, I don't. God controls our destiny. God is the creator and destroyer, yet I believe God wants to create more, because of the blessings we receive by taking care of God's creation.

Just like a hospital services the needs of people in this life, so can a garden. Especially in these cities which contribute to our ailments and aren't healthy places for us to live. I don't believe we should have to wait until the afterlife to receive basic needs. Yet, there is so much that is out of our control and we should be ready to confront it and lose. From dust to dust. I believe shouldn't try to make utopia, and kill or hurt in the process, rather a better world should emerge from the simple goodness between individuals, particularly those closest to each other. If life is a game where we all lose, why do bad things trying win? If we all lose, then its about how we play the game. (Source: Level 42 - The Way Back Home)

Thanks for reading my perspective,
Fireheart47

Dear Joseph Islam,

If the Qur'an was once only recited, and thus the other believers were called People of the Book (Ahl Al-Kitab), does that mean after the Qur'an was compiled and made into a book that the believers of it are now also People of the Book?

Sincerely,
Fireheart47

This topic causes me to reflect on the modern implications of this seemingly universal concept of the importance of prayer and the Golden Rule.

The modern implications have been the conflict which started in Europe in the 1700s or earlier, because of the terrible conditions of the common people, who were made to work in factories and other dangerous places at the beginning of the industrial age. There were women, children and men being harmed, and it caused dysfunction in society. The people who wanted to make life better for them were called socialists. Many of them were Christian, and wanted the authorities (religious, political) to do something to protect them from harm. Unfortunately, the religious authorities were either in ignorance (no computers and internet back then), hypocritical, or limited in their abilities.

Because of this conflict, many socialist thinkers began to criticize religion, and see it as simply myth, societal and mind-control, and not wisdom. In their utopian vision of the future, they wanted to replace religion with something more human and more physical: the government. Many differed in opinions, yet some of the socialists came to certain agreements and formed what we know as communism, and its many varieties. One of the agreements they came to is the importance of international cooperation among workers to try to overthrow their oppressors. However, because they abandoned religion, they did not believe in the Golden Rule, nor any universal law which protects human life. They became the new oppressors, justifying when they killed human life.

Other groups formed, because people weren't all the same. Benito Mussolini was the son of an anarchist, and he went to a boarding school, and had tendencies which did not conform to the ideals of thinkers around him. They rejected him, yet he wasn't just a victim, he had selfish ambitions of becoming great in the eyes of others and powerful. He created a newspaper, and he received help from England, who wanted Italy to join WW1. His new type of socialism kept the old ideas of a king-like leader, the national pride and stories of ancient Rome. It was also very militaristic, and supported war. He himself was possibly inspired by lesser-known predecessors before him, who caused massive protests and believed in many contrarian ideas.

In Germany, a wounded soldier became a spy for a new socialist group, which seemed threatening. The person was Adolf Hitler, and they had spent time reading fanciful magazines, which talked about a romantic mysterious past, and a superior angelic master-race. He ended up leaving his mission somehow, and joined the group he was tasked with spying on. His hateful words and long speeches caused people to be interested, yet they also inspired people to do terrible things to innocent people. He used his authority then to continue this and caused more wars, despite preaching about peace. From the beginning, him and the people around him were also militaristic and supported war.

Many people think about these leaders, who misled, and forget about the many people around them, which manipulated them for their own gain. Dictators are in many ways perfect for people who don't want to be held accountable. People also forget about the role of the military establishment in these events, which sought benefit from their pro-military politics, and who also played a role in causing the trauma experienced in WW1, which caused a deep-rooted ignorance, which manifested in beliefs in outlandish ideas, hypocrisies and contradictions, and inhumane worldviews and actions.

For example, I remember seeing in a documentary a racist publication which portrayed itself as biblically destined to attack the Jewish, ordained by God, by using a verse Book of Jeremiah 5:15 as their slogan, which says a foreign nation will attack the House of Israel. Yet in that same chapter, in Jeremiah 5:11 it distinguishes the House of Israel from the House of Judah, the origin of Jewish people. And the reason the House of Israel is threatened is because of its polytheism and worship of foreign deities. The irony.

(potential source: The Black Sun by Rüdiger Sünner [documentary about roots of Nazi ideologies])

The National Socialist party also did not know or did not acknowledge the linguistic evidence, which suggests the Germanic runes developed from Carthaginian Alephbet as proposed by Theo Vennemann and other linguists. Nor did the Italians acknowledge the role of the African ancient Egypt, which provided Roman culture with its columned temples, which were originally based off of natural observations of palm trees and papyrus reeds.

This all ties back to our collective sins of not practicing our religion and allowing poverty and war to shape the world around us. Our sin of hiding the truth and promoting ideas which contribute to dogmatic and harmful thinking and behavior, causing others to dislike religion and the people who hurt them.

This history is a lesson for us, because yesterday it was Italian and German people, but tomorrow and perhaps today it is some other group, who will be similarly misled into destruction. Italian and German culture have made and still make amazing contributions to religion (Latin Bible, Gothic Bible, Renaissance, Martin Luther Bible, Saarbrücken Schools of Islamic studies, House of One, Wilhelm Barthlott, Christoph Luxenberg, etc...).

It is a blessing media technology developed during this time for us to have so much evidence of the past, which enables us to compare it to the present moment, and to avoid similar mistakes.

Fireheart47

Dear QM Forum,

I'd like to share some perspective on a chapter of the Qur'an, which I find important. Do you all have any thoughts on this subject or these verses?

Surah al-Baqarah 2:2

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

Dhālika Al-Kitābu Lā Rayba Fīhi, Hudáan Lilmuttaqīna

Sahih International

This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah

Surah al-Baqarah 2:3

ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

Al-Ladhīna Yu'uminūna Bil-Ghaybi Wa Yuqīmūna Aş-Şalāata Wa Mimmā Razaqnāhum Yunfiqūna 

Sahih Intl.

Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them

Surah Maryam 19:30

قَالَ إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللَّهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّا

Sahih Intl.

[Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah . He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.

Surah Maryam 19:31

وَجَعَلَنِى مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ وَأَوْصَـٰنِى بِٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَٱلزَّكَوٰةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا

And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive

Surah al-Bayyinah 98:5

وَمَآ أُمِرُوٓا۟ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ حُنَفَآءَ وَيُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَذَٰلِكَ دِينُ ٱلْقَيِّمَةِ

And they were not commanded except to worship Allah , [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth, and to establish prayer and to give zakah. And that is the correct religion.

An excerpt of Surah al-Bayyinah 98:6

شَرُّ ٱلْبَرِيَّةِ

worst of creatures

Another excerpt from Surah al-Bayyinah 98:7

خَيْرُ ٱلْبَرِيَّةِ

best of creatures

(Source: http://islamicity.org and http://allahsquran.com )

Torah Chumash (The Instruction, The Five [Books]), Bereshit (Book of Genesis)

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ

The Contemporary Torah, JPS, 2006

When God began to create heaven and earth—

Excerpt from Genesis 1:1

ברא

to create

(Source: http://sefaria.org and http://tanach.us )

Matthew 22:37-39

BibliaTodo Interlinear original Greek: https://www.bibliatodo.com/en/interlinear/matthew-22-37

Dukhrana Peshitta Analysis (I search "Dukhrana Peshitta Analysis Matthew 22:37" on DuckDuckGO search engine): https://www.dukhrana.com/peshitta/analyze_verse.php?lang=en&verse=Matthew+22:37&source=ubs

The word

دِينُ

from end of Surah al-Bayyinah 98:5 has multiple meanings, it can mean religion, but also judgement. Rabbi Friedman gave a lecture on YouTube about Yom HaDin, where he clarifies judgement. He said it is not only punishment, it is also reward, it is not being found guilty, but also being found innocent. He said it is justice, and it is a fair trial. He said the Jewish people should have faith that all their suffering will be taken into account. I think this applies also to every soul on Earth. I believe an all-knowing God will be merciful and will take into account all the complexities of our life.

The concept of "Deen" bares a lot of similarity to the concept of Ma'at in Ancient Egypt, which is said by some to be depicted by the scales of justice and a personification, which is said to be the archetype from where angels depicted in human-form popular in Christianity originated. That would be very interesting from a historical perspective if true!

The word

ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ

also has interesting connotations. It is a concept, which I believe we can personally live out, yet it also has more legalistic definitions for how organized religion deals with the real complications of managing money and other goods to give to the needy.

Fireheart47

Since plants don't move, they need chemicals in order to protect themselves and they can be dangerous. It's not something to mess around with foolishly, in my opinion.

Another observation on this matter is the cultural differences and climactic differences. Polar climates lack the plant diversity for a plant-rich diet, and often require crops to be shipped internationally to achieve such a thing. This can affect freshness and accessibility. It also involves a whole lot of other political, and economic topics.

Livestock animals in these climates also eat plants, and some plants can be dangerous for animals too. Agro-forestry is a methodology to take care of the landscape intelligently with trees for the sake of animals, and also to diversify farm products. Gardening for animals!

And also important to respect wild things, wildlife and those things which are not directly benefiting us. Yet it benefits us to be aware of how it is all connected and truly benefiting us (ex: pollinators).

May God guide us to know how to take care of the things which are important. May God show us all the truth beyond the information we share with each other.

Animal welfare is disconcerting, and will not be unanswered. We must voice our concerns and seek to better our situation with mercy and compassion on even those who are involved in the slaughter. God is the one who rectifies all in the end.

I wouldn't be surprised if hormones and stress of the animals can affect humans, especially developmental stages of human life. Also, cleanliness of meat is important.

What is important too is cleanliness of words, and actions. How will people change if our activism is viewed as radical and dangerous? It will only further convince others of falsehoods, because we are naturally inclined to defy and oppose, and often need encouragement and kindness in order to come to accordance.

I grew up eating meat and diary, and I feel as if it played a positive role in my development. Yet, as I aged I began to suffer from health problems, especially in the gut. I used to drink a lot soda as a kid, and it also affected my teeth. When I became more independent I ate a lot of chicken wings, American-Chinese food, and other fried and candied meats, which weren't healthy.

In my first botany course, our professor explained to us the role of amino acids in building protein in the body. He taught us we need 9 amino acids to produce protein in our body, these are considered the essential for survival, yet not optimal. He taught us the easiest way to consume it is through animal products like meat, dairy, and fish (ex: milk chocolate bar better for survival than dark chocolate bar).

He taught us we can find them in certain plants (soy, amaranth), yet also can receive them from mixing different plant foods (legumes [beans,peas, etc] and grains [wheat, oats, rice, etc]). He taught that it is necessary to learn how to properly prepare food, especially beans (glycosides), so they don't poison you or cause harm. There are many kinds of beans to learn how to identify visually, and many kinds of vegetables, so one must study it seriously. He taught that it is better to have a varied diet to receive as many amino acids and other nutrients which are not considered essential but beneficial.

My brother has sought to eat healthier for his health and has a strong will, which has helped me also eat healthier.

I myself currently eat a pescatarian diet (fish, dairy, no meat) and sometimes make exceptions. We have a pressure cooker, which helps cook lentils, after we soak and rinse them. We eat it with rice, and mix of other vegetables, and with olive oil. Recently I've soaked, rinsed and cooked lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus), which add texture and more protein to our meals. We also like eating squash with our meals. Our mother recently made us deviled eggs, which is a recipe from our grandmother.

Not everyone has these opportunities, I'd like to support somehow.

The Qur'an is a great source of wisdom about these topics. One chapter which has such wisdom is Surah al-An'am.

Surah al-An'am 6:95

۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ فَالِقُ ٱلْحَبِّ وَٱلنَّوَىٰ ۖ يُخْرِجُ ٱلْحَىَّ مِنَ ٱلْمَيِّتِ وَمُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَيِّتِ مِنَ ٱلْحَىِّ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ

Indeed, Allah is the One Who causes seeds and fruit stones to sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living. That is Allah! How can you then be deluded ˹from the truth˺?

6:141

۞ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنشَأَ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ مَّعْرُوشَـٰتٍۢ وَغَيْرَ مَعْرُوشَـٰتٍۢ وَٱلنَّخْلَ وَٱلزَّرْعَ مُخْتَلِفًا أُكُلُهُۥ وَٱلزَّيْتُونَ وَٱلرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَـٰبِهًۭا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَـٰبِهٍۢ ۚ كُلُوا۟ مِن ثَمَرِهِۦٓ إِذَآ أَثْمَرَ وَءَاتُوا۟ حَقَّهُۥ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِۦ ۖ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ

He is the One Who produces gardens—both cultivated and wild1—and palm trees, crops of different flavours, olives, and pomegranates—similar ˹in shape˺, but dissimilar ˹in taste˺. Eat of the fruit they bear and pay the dues at harvest, but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful.

6:142

وَمِنَ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ حَمُولَةًۭ وَفَرْشًۭا ۚ كُلُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ خُطُوَٰتِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌۭ

Some cattle are fit for labour, others are too small.1 Eat of what Allah has provided for you and do not follow Satan's footsteps. Certainly, he is your sworn enemy.

An analysis of the word الانعم (Al-An'am) and other related words in an etymological dictionary like wiktionary.org reveals the importance of livestock in Islamic tradition. And we know the Israelites valued cows, so much so they strayed and worshipped one (Surah Al-Baqarah). The Qur'an introduces a variety of other foods, which when eaten together with meat promotes a varied diet. I believe the Qur'an seeks to preserve the wisdom that God is the provider of it all.

Additionally, after studying plant science, I warn others that plants cannot move a lot, and thus can not run away from predators, so they use chemicals to protect themselves. Plants can be dangerous, and are not to be messed around with.

Important: For those who are taking psychiatric medication, consult your doctor if you want to stop, because stopping immediately can also affect behavior and mood in a bad way. The boarding school suggested I stop taking my medication while I was under their supervision, with the support of a psychiatrist, who helped me ween off of the medication. In college, I was temporarily prescribed psychiatric medication until we came to an agreement, after I told them I did not want to take it because of side-effects and childhood experiences. I know people who take psychiatric medication, and I do not bother them about it, yet I have told them my perspective. It has been very important to practice forgiveness and live in the present moment.

The boarding school was based on Alcoholics Anonymous program, and ABC method of analyzing emotions. They believed we can choose our emotional responses and outlooks on life's problems. I don't believe this is completely true, because some reactions are uncontrollable and it is unfair to expect that of others, especially if they are not in the same condition as you (authority, freedom, privilege, social class, ethnic class, appearance, etc...). However, it is a strength one can learn with practice, and it has great rewards. In my experience, and from wisdom of ancient Egyptian fans, physical illness and chronic issues can affect your mind and its capacity to think rationally. I've heard them talk about upper and lower self. The upper self is the conscious self, the good and the bad elaborate ideas in our mind (ex: wisdom, intelligence, machiavillian, evil plans, etc...). The lower self is the unconscious self, the good and bad instinctual responses in our body (ex: fight-or-flight responses, gut reactions [saving a person, helping, not just bad], urges, etc...). They say illnesses, especially in the gut and related to diet, can affect the influence of the lower self over the higher self.

Dear Quran's Message forum,

I have been careless. The previous message was written on mobile phone, in order to preoccupy my time in a moment of distress.

Here are more details regarding my choice, which might help others.

One of my Jewish friends invited me to celebrate Hannukah. As they studied to become a Bar Mitzvah, I began to study Hebrew myself, as a wanna-be, mostly copying the letters and doing simple exercises. My main interest was calligraphy. During this time I was also interested in Albert Einstein. Although this may seem irrelevant, it was important, because it helped me feel more connected and interested in Arabic and later the Qur'an and finally Islam.

When I was in boarding school, I read some books about Taoism and Buddhism, yet mostly spent time thinking rather than learning or feeling like I belonged to those religions. One thing which stood out to me were these verses which made no sense, and it was said, these were the most popular verses, because they had not been understood yet. They said, the goal is to arrive to the conclusion that we cannot make sense of it. Similarly, I was given a modern book by a staff member, which was entirely incoherent, completely random made-up words, which didn't make any sense at all. After our workdays, we watched Stone by Edward Norton, and I spent a lot of time thinking about this fictional religion, Zukangor.

In highschool I became friends with African-American people, who were interested in ancient Egypt. After many years of knowing them, I began to consider what they said, and figured it would be good for me to learn what they are interested in. I was amazed by how much African-Americans have discovered about ancient Egypt, even though they are criticized and made fun of, because people think they are not related, and delusional. Learning from them helped me make later conclusions, even though these people on YouTube criticize Abrahamic religions, because of the violence they inflicted on their people. It helped me learn how to discern truth from conjecture, and the importance of being open-minded, and the benefit and advantage one can receive if they do that. Similarly, I try to be very open and honest about my influence by them (Baba Heru, Chester Higgins, Ashra Kwesi, Dr. Ishakamusa Barashango, etc...) and merciful with my criticism, because black people in America have inspired many great things, and many never get the recognition they deserve. For example, many think George Washington Carver was just the peanut-butter guy, yet he was a pioneering biochemist, and also wrote many articles about sustainable farming and soil conservation. He was originally a painter, specializing in botanical art, then became one of the leading minds in the field of chemurgy. He was also a devout person, and believed God showed him things in nature.

In college I met another friend through church dinners, who also had an open-mind about other religions and cultures, yet was devout Christian and was surrounded by many other people. These church dinners helped introduce to me how different people perceived the Bible, and how fluid movements of believers and their attempts to create a free-spirited movement often crystalize and become another sect. The dinners taught me to overlook strangeness in worship, and differences in beliefs, and find people who cared enough to have dinner with me. I maintained some friendships, yet stopped attending them. Later, I attended a Bible-study group which also was helpful to be together with people. Throughout my journey I've met many people, some strange, some imposing, mostly normal and casual. I try to keep an open mind and find the truths in what people say, rather than try to ascertain whether everything they say is true or not, trying to question things, especially after I strongly believe something and then find out I was wrong. This has been my learning technique also when studying on YouTube and listening to what others have to say.

My friend from Najran was a colleague, and he invited me to Eid al-Adha sacrifice, and dinner. He bought me Arabic calligraphy pens and books. He never talked to me about Islam, nor tried to convince me. He simply treated me with kindness, and when I talked about Jesus and giving money to homeless people, he told me wisely how it is also important to talk to them and spend time with them, because some people use money to hurt themselves, if I remember correctly. He talked about blessings and good deeds. Later I began chatting with someone from Egypt, who also talked about the same and recited Qur'an to me, teaching things about Islam.

Thanks again. May Allah guide you and bless you.

Fireheart47

Dear Quran's Message forum,

I'd like to share some perspective about the 2nd verse of the Surah al-Fatihah and get feedback, and additional wisdom from the community.

Surah al-Fatihah 1:2

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

Sahih International

[All] praise is [due] to Allah , Lord of the worlds

AJ Arberry's The Koran Interpreted

Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being,

Studying this verse was one of my first interests in the Qur'an and Islam. What stood out to me was the word al-'alameen or العلمين. I know now some people say it was originally العالمين، to whom I've said that it reminds me of the Geneva Bible.

When I was a kid, I used to play Call of Duty 2 on PC, and played a level in El Alamein, Egypt. I noticed the similarity in this word, and found it curious. Others have suggested it is not the same word, and even Wiktionary.org asserts it comes from a different root, meaning flags? However, I recently learned about the ancient Egyptian site of Zawyet El-Aryan, which transliterates the «-ال» as «El-», which furthers my belief that the city in Egypt was named after the verse in the Qur'an.

When I began to study this word, I was struck by the similarity between it and علم ('alam, English: knowledge, [many other words ...], Latin: scientia), as well as معلم (mu'alam, English: teacher). It is also similar to the Hebrew word עולם (olam, English: universe, [...]), which I had heard of before. When I read the verse, it made me think of God as the Lord of all-knowledge, where all that exists is God's awareness. It reminds me of how in English people can say about another person, "They are a worldly person", meaning they know the world and are knowledgeable. I believe the Arab, Jewish, historic Israelites, and all other linguistically connected people, had this similar way of perceiving knowledge.

When I learned about AJ Arberry translation, I was glad to see someone thought similarly. I was surprised it is considered less reliable. Why is that?

Then I began to ponder about El-Alamein and its significance in WW2. The German military was stopped there by the British, a moment where this terrible war changed tides, and the Nazi government's militaries which had been murdering innocent people, sterilizing innocent people, and doing other horrific things,  began to lose in a region where ancient world powers have fought and gained power (Rome, Greece, Persia, etc...).

El-Alamein is also a curious place, because if one looks at photos and watches videos about the WW2 memorial sites and battlegrounds shortly after WW2, it is surprising how it is in the middle-of-nowhere. It is desert. It makes one think how pointless war is, how all those soldiers fought and died for this barren land.

Perhaps one day with our changing climate, it won't be as barren. Yet even then, farmers and gardeners, like shepherds and civilians today, will have to be aware of the thousands of land-mines left by the foreign militaries. Not only those, but the other more modern land-mines left by Egyptian military near the Sinai Peninsula.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Location-map-for-landmines-distributions-in-Egypt_fig1_237580585

Some scholars suggest it was the first verse in the Qur'an, yet now is the second verse. That seems interesting, yet I believe the name of Allah and his attributes are so important, I think it makes sense for it to start how it does.

In a previous religious debate, when I considered myself only a Christian, the Muslim person said to me something wise, which I think is important. He said, paraphrased, "If a religion is the religion of God, only God can add or remove from the scriptures, it is not up to an authority to choose." Even though there are things in all the scriptures, which I don't feel comfortable about, I believe they should be preserved, because they are knowledge about the past.

Fireheart47


 

Dear Quran's Message forum,

My journey to Islam is a recent personal choice. For me it is a private personal thing, rather than belonging to a community and interacting with other people who identify as Muslim. I believe the essence of our beliefs can be found in many who don't identify as such, and that my obligation is simply to worship God and treat others with sympathy, empathy, compassion, respect and give to them when I can.

The ultimate reason why I believe Islam is attractive, is because the concept of س-ل-مً and ש-ל-ם as a sense of completeness is important in resolving identity issues. As a Latino in largely Germanic society, I've felt half much of my life. I look darker and different than my mom and her side, and the majority of people around me. Yet, I was raised here and culturally I feel more comfortable. I don't like either the conflict and dislike from the Latino community against people who are white and English speaking. It is difficult to find peace with these parameters.

I've longed to be part of this society, yet my struggles have prevented such from happening. When I was a kid I was popular and didn't feel different, yet that quickly changed. I started to suffer from sadness due to school misbehavior, shameful sexual experiences, and unable to get the emotional support I wanted. Doctors prescribed me psychiatric medication, and then my condition worsened. I would cry and yell, and from my family's perspective it was part of my disease, yet later as an adult I realized it was part of the side-effects of the medication. I was prescribed around 7 different psychiatric medications before I became 16. I believe this affected my brain development and is one reason for my current suffering.

At 16 I was sent away to a wilderness program and boarding school by force for selling and smoking weed, skipping school, failing freshman year and kicked out of summer school because I missed 3 days of summer school, because I stayed home sick, not because I purposely didn't go. At the wilderness program I spent 2 months hiking outside in Utah with the expectation I'd be back in 30 days, and was transferred to a boarding school, despite my that wilderness colleagues got to go home. There I had been told I was going to go home after 6 months and stayed for 2 years.

The authorities in charge didn't care about my excuses, they simply wanted me to accept my situation and to work the program. In order to do that I began to gravitate towards Taoism and Buddhist thought to cope with the trauma. Eventually I would realize the skills I learned during this time would help me immensely.

With the guidance of a staff member I began to read the Bible, and began to think more about it. I grew up catholic, yet I would often sleep in church and doubted the idea of God early on in my youth. I felt agnostic or atheist.

I began to smoke weed and drink again two years after program, which was 1 year after highschool. I didn't go to college, and quit making music (my intended profession). I think my lungs reacted poorly, because in highschool we used to smoke out of soda cans and I would ignorantly make pipes out of axe spray cans. Reflecting on this causes me to think about the lack of guidance we had because smoking weed was illegal, taboo in certain families, and we had to hide it, and also the difficult chemical environment we have to navigate in the modern world.

During this time I learned about Arabic, Islam. I would go in chat rooms. The shame of smoking and leaving music, influenced me to talk about controversial topics and bully people. Then I think someone attempted to hurt me by putting dangerous substances in my underwear, and also began to receive phone calls and other strange activity.

During this time, I decided to study German. When I was a kid I would play WW2 videogames and WW2 movies. I was fascinated by Nazis and went through a neo-Nazi phase, despite having Jewish friends and other types of friends. Learning German later in life helped me make sense of this, and provided me with information to learn what I believed in before was false. Although my family didn't like it and I felt alone because people didn't receive me, rather I continued to feel like a foreigner.

During and bit before college I began to seriously read the Bible again and tried to live the words by forgiving people and helping others. Early on I experienced strange things, which led me to believe I had sold my soul to the devil. I met a Uber driver who told me you can't sell what's not yours. This led me to learn about Satan and devil in Bible with help of people like Dan McClellan.

I finally went to college, transferred schools, took semesters off, and barely graduated. My health is declining, and I'm not very productive. It is difficult to study and to accomplish what I intended to, which was to garden and study plants.

Near the end of college I went to a wedding and drank heavily, I ended up alone and drove home, stopped at a Walgreens and hit my head against glass door. That's when I stopped drinking and stopped smoking around that time. Since then I haven't drank nor smoked weed, yet I smoked tobacco recently and felt terribly ill.

In college I met a Saudi from Najran who gave me calligraphy pens and books, and eventually my father bought me a Qur'an after always telling him my opinions about it. I knew about Hebrew because of Jewish childhood friend. I began to study it from a skeptical point of view, then began to believe more in it's authenticity and true value. I still believe that religious scriptures have some flaws and that the simple teachings (Surah Al—Bayyinah) are the most important.

Much of what I've learned about Qur'an I've learned in the past year and mostly in the last couple weeks.

Islam to me is about being 100% me, and not feeling half-Latino or half-less, and at peace with who I am. I believe science confirms this also because we are all unique organisms products of meiosis, and all DNA analysis requires the statistical grouping of other unique individuals, which excludes outliers, relies mostly on modern living samples (not distant ancestors), and prepares conclusions which are meaningful to the pre-conceived boundaries between people groups. When compared to plant genetics, plant morphology and evolution found in fossil record (300MY), we humans are all so very similar(>1MY).

Islam is also part of my Christian faith, which is simply my reverence of Jesus, who I always believed was a prophet. As a Christian I was non-denominational, and attended church dinners or prayed at home instead of going to church physically, yet sometimes made exceptions. I study the Bible and learn from what others say. I question doctrine, dogma, and tradition, in order to seek truth. I believe Jesus embodied the teachings found in the Qur'an.

For me, Islam is a concept, and there also exists a religion we call Islam, which is organized. I feel there has been a big miscommunication which causes divisions amongst good people. It causes people to fight, demean and kill each other in the name of the all-merciful all-encompassing and living hidden God, we call Allah.

In the Bible, Jesus preaches about Kingdom of God, and in many ways it is a rhetorical tool to unite people, while the Kingdom of Judah was being destroyed by Roman Empire. He is quoted saying that the Kingdom of God is among those who accept that his good works are not from Satan, which would mean a Kingdom divided. He is quoted saying the Kingdom of God is neither here nor there, but amongst the religious authorities who mocked him. And so I hope to further holistic thinking, which sees the whole and focuses on the relationships between things, rather than analyzing and breaking everything apart into groups and describing them in isolation.

Thank you for reading this and may Allah bless you and keep you on the path.

Fireheart47

Hello Quran's Message forum,

Please discern between my ideas and the truth, and may God guide you to an answer. I hope the scholarly among you may answer my questions and consider my conjecture.

One of my troubles with the Qur'an and mysteries of the Qur'an are the verses pertaining to Jesus' death and resurrection in Surah an-Nisa 4:157, it reads:

Surah an-Nisa 4:157

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا

Sahih International

And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.

Surah an-Nisa 4:158

بَل رَّفَعَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًۭا 

Sahih Intl.

Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.

Arabic pasted from https://quran.com and English translation from https://www.islamicity.org/quransearch/

*Note: I usually study with https://www.islamicity.org/quran/ and prefer AJ Arberry English translation found on http://archive.org , because of the translation:

The Opening 1:2 Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.

When I read the whole chapter and tried to find the context of the verses, I saw these verses as important:

Surah an-Nisa 4:46

مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍۢ وَرَٰعِنَا لَيًّۢا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًۭا فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ وَٱنظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

Sahih Intl.

Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, "We hear and disobey" and "Hear but be not heard" and "Ra'ina," twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said [instead], "We hear and obey" and "Wait for us [to understand]," it would have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.

with specific emphasis on this segment:

مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا

[they*] say, "We hear and disobey"

*I added this to show it was talking about Jewish people, which is shown if you hover over the words in Islamicity.org

Surah an-Nisa 4:155

فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَـٰقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِم بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ ٱلْأَنۢبِيَآءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّۢ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌۢ ۚ بَلْ طَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا

Sahih Intl.

And [We cursed them] for their breaking of the covenant and their disbelief in the signs of Allah and their killing of the prophets without right and their saying, "Our hearts are wrapped". Rather, Allah has sealed them because of their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.

It seems there is a constant theme of criticizing Judah, the place and people with power in the temples of Jerusalem. I believe the criticism here is not to deny the Jewish people right to their faith or exclude them from Islam. Instead it is to warn them against a tradition of viewing themselves negatively, as rejecters and stumblers, instead of believers and people with a right to salvation and a right to the straight path. This conflict and negative self-perception is something which the Bible talks often about: the Golden Calf, Moses and him never arriving to the promised land, and in light of Christianity, the conspirators against or killers of Jesus.

So, this could add context to why Jesus wasn't killed but instead lives, because God raised him. He is not another source of collective negative self-perception.

Additionally, I have pondered about the use of وما in 4:157, because the Hebrew cognate מה can also mean "how" (Book of Numbers 24:5). In some instances it can negate, yet it does not seem as strong of a negation as ولم (Surah al-Ikhlas 112:4). Could this change the meaning, so that the killing and crucifixion is not negated, rather stated as a condition before arriving to the final conclusion? What do scholars think?

When I reflect upon this verse in light of what the Gospels say, I find some conflict. Jesus' death, be it by crucifix or on a stake (Deuteronomy 22:22-23, Luke 23:31, Acts of Apostles 5:3, and JW sect belief), is an important part of the gospel narratives, which can't be easily negated, because of multiple allusions to it throughout the gospels.

In one lecture, Dr. Zakir Naik, makes a powerful argument against it, by pointing out the outcome of the Jonah story, where he survives. Or prophecies which speak of people being unharmed. Yet, I believe resurrection teaching, which Jesus and others in the Jewish faith believe in, is that resurrection is the survival of ourselves after death. So, I believe the Jonah story comparison can be refuted, since it alluded to a future resurrection.

What is the resurrection? This is something which troubles many, because it seems very difficult to believe someone can conquer death, and seems like a fanciful story. Yet, I believe idea of resurrection can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where the priests would observe nature's cycles, and determined our lives must conform to a cycle. Many Egyptologists talk about how these stories deal with the Pharaoh's journey into the afterlife, yet I believe they are universal stories, which were attributed to the kings in their tombs, because of the political structure of the religion and the funerary economy the priesthood could complete if they conformed their wisdom around the identity of the king. So for example, in one story, a person's soul transforms to light, and passes through a group of beings of light, then must struggle against a monster representing chaos and annihilation, before rising with the sun. This idea of rising up, the idea of our light rising again with the sunrise, reminds me of the word al-Qiyama, القيامة.

(Source: Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife, National Geographic)

For this reason, I believe the idea of a metaphysical resurrection makes more sense than a physical resurrection. In a metaphysical resurrection, one's qualities and attributes survive, and are manifested in others. The essence of ourselves or mathematics of our being persists in the universe, God-willing. In a physical resurrection, one's body re-materializes and we come back to life fully ourselves and with a body to control our spirit. I hope the latter option is true, and God knows, I don't.

The former option is demonstrated in various parts of the gospels (Gospel of Matthew 18:20 [Jesus' presence amongst his followers], Gospel of Mark 16:12 [Jesus appears in different form], Gospel of Luke 24:16 [Disciples can't recognize him], Gospel of John 20:14-17 [Jesus resembles gardener]).

What do you all think about this topic?

Dear IjhazAhmad,

The article from Joseph Islam seems the most informative from Arabic perspective. I believe each word has a deeper meaning, which when studied linguistically can reveal the thought-form which ancient people tried to convey. Thus, it makes sense to find the various uses of Ruh in Arabic.

As for the Christian conflict, I believe there is some confusion. The trinity was created by monks to teach how the gospels portray Jesus, yet it has been a teaching which causes confusion and deviates from the wisdom of their predecessors, which the Qur'an preserves: oneness of Allah or tawhid.

In the gospels, Jesus is given power by a greater unseen force and is union with it. When confronted by authorities about calling himself a child of God, he points out how in the scriptures the term Elohim is employed to describe holiness within mortals, which does not apply just to himself, yet most Christian doctrine doesn't accept this as describing all humans, except Mormons (Psalms Chapter 82). And so this and many other occurrences cause people to wonder how can a human be connected to God, and the answer becomes the Holy Spirit, which I believe just means the unseen which gives rise to all life, not just Jesus. I believe it is Allah.

Many scholars debate about the meaning of this use of Allah in plural form used in Hebrew scriptures, אלהים. Although this has become the most popular way to say it in Judaism, it is not always written this way, sometimes it is אל, אלה, or אלוה. I believe it refers to indistinguishable forces of reality, which are immense and belong to a unified whole, like a water within the sea, which is also why water is pluralized yet also singular. Some say it means mighty ones in some contexts.

Here are more informed opinions about the idea of the Holy Spirit:

From my perspective, the idea behind spirit is a metaphysical observation and can be found in many cultures. Many priests in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt would make physical observations, which would then be represented by symbols and then worshipped. I believe Abraham logically concluded this type of worship is not accurate, because something created those celestial objects and something put into action those forces of nature, nor is an idol or limited object an accurate  representation of the unseen and the all-encompassing, this must be done through faith. Some cultures come to similar conclusions, yet very few practice tawhid, because they believe in a metaphysical all-encompassing concept, yet they also believe in lesser deities, prescribing them powers and giving them worship. It goes to show how special the religion of Islam has been in preserving this wisdom.

Metaphysics was also a concept popular with the Greeks. Some scholars cite people like Herodotus, who write that their knowledge came from ancient Egypt (astronomy, temples). The Hebrews of Moses, who became Israelites, also were deeply involved in Egypt. It is said Moses was a High Priest, and Joseph before him also worked for Pharoah. Some clues in the Bible (Deut 4:20, 1 Kings 8:51, Isaiah 48:10, Je 11:4) and in ancient Egypt could suggest the Hebrews were involved in metallurgy (Mines in Sinai, and trade with Hittite empire), and some scholar suggest they were under servitude by a Semitic people called Hyksos, who invaded Egypt, then assimilated to ancient Egyptian life and became rulers themselves. However, many Egyptologists like to say how there is little physical evidence of the Exodus in the temples.

Unlike the Greeks, the Israelites were humble and worshipped the unseen in tents, mostly telling stories which informed self-growth and established norms between people. Whereas the Greeks became entrenched in the flaws of the ancient Egyptian religions, which were a mix of sciences, some core nature archetypes which became worshipped in ways that deviated from their original place within the story (Osiris [plants, wisdom, ancestral father, constellation Orion], Isis[fertility, ancestral mother, the Nile, I think the Milky Way], Set[conflict, war, death, the Saharan desert], and the most important one for them, Horus [consciousness, the observer], Ra [light, the observable, the sun], Amen [unseen]), and other made-up concepts used to organize activity around a temple. Each picture they used for explaining a concept became another religion, and new pictures were created like Aten (solar power, sun rays) to explain new concepts and create new all-encompassing religions. For this reason, they excelled in physical sciences, yet the flaw was that no one could study water without involving the deity of water, nor ceramics without involving the deity of potterwheel creator. The Israelite worldview was in many ways simpler and achieved what perhaps the pre-dynastic ancient Egyptians attempted but failed to preserve.

The word spirit in English comes from Latin and was used by alchemists and religious people, who trace their origin back to these cultures, the Greco-Egyptian and Judeo-Christian. In the sciences, spirits were unseen gases. For example, CO2 was once called Spirit of Wood. For this reason, alcohol is called spirit, because of the vapors or spirits they emit. From a metaphysical perspective and religious perspective, the spirit could be described as the unseen thing which is within everything, and which gives it life, like the code of the universe. This reminds of phrase regarding Allah: يا الحى يا القيوم

An example of another culture which talks about this is the Ojibwe culture. They believe in a concept of Gichimanidoo, which is translated as Great Mystery. Often the Native Americans are quoted talking about a Great Spirit. I believe this is the same as the Holy Spirit.

Given everything, it is a blessing we have the simple wisdom of the Qur'an and of tawhid, which I believe preserves the wisdom of the oneness of the force which created the world. It is a holistic worldview, which I believe helped the sciences by changing the way we study and perceive everything as connected. This holistic worldview can also be seen in one of the core values of our religion س-ل-م (Surah ash-Shu'arah 26:89).


 


 

Dear nalia96,

Forgive me for I was in a rush and forgot to add important information.

When I first began to study the Qur'an as a Christian, I doubted Muhammad's existence and viewed it mostly from the perspective of Christoph Luxenberg.

Later, I began to think about this more and after some experiences, concluded I had to have faith in Muhammad, the prophet who delivered the Qur'an, thanks to God.

I believe Muhammad is God's prophet, and recited the Qur'an. My intuition and my studies tell me the contents of the Qur'an may have been part of stories, which were told by Arabs, which in Hebrew ערב, can imply "nomad", whose ancestors intermingled and descended from Moses (Midianite and Tetragrammaton connection) and the earliest prophets like Abraham. They travelled down the mountains to Sheba and westward to Syria, and entered Jerusalem, and learned the prophecies of Jesus.

It has been difficult for me to accept that an angel revealed the Qur'an to Muhammed, and I struggled with this. Now I believe perhaps he experienced Total Recall, and was able to recite the stories he had heard from his travels, which effectively preserved one of the most important sources of information for this region of the world.


My hope is that my story can help those who are struggling to believe, and not to misguide those who are on a good path.

Now, I believe Islam is Christianity, and Christianity is Judaism, and Judaism is the faith of the Israelites, which believed in Allah and sought Islam. Yet each religion ventured on its own path, and its authorities persecuted prophets. Each has developed traditions and self-understanding, which separates them into unique religions.

I believe Judaism formed, because the tribe Judah inherited the Israelite religion by having control of Jerusalem together with tribe of Benjamin. I believe the Qur'an criticizes Jewish religion, because of tribal differences and religious trends, which caused religion to be centralized and the popular narratives to become narrow, and which focused ethnic relationships above faith, even when the Jewish scriptures say this is not so (Book of Isaiah 56). Similar criticism could be made about racist exclusive worldviews in Christianity.


My hope is this can inspire people to interpret what they already know, and to continue to study it, not feeling as if we know the truth, besides the simple teachings. I have not read the whole Qur'an and so I have much more to learn.

Sincerely,
Fireheart47