askMuslims.com

Q: I was wondering if there is any prophecy regarding the Prophet of Islam found in the Old Testament (Torah).

A: First, let me please draw your attention that it is not really accurate to refer to the Old Testament as Torah (pronounced in Arabic as "Tawrah"). The Old Testament is a Christian term referring to the first 39 books of the Bible. The Catholic Bible contains seven other books and additions to some books. The Christians have the New Testament (27 books) also in addition to the Old Testament. The Jewish Bible consists of 39 books; and the Torah is believed to be the first five books of the Jewish Bible. The Christians often call these five books, the Law or the "Pentateuch", which is the Greek word for "Five Books".

The Torah of the Jewish Bible is practically the same as the Torah of the Christian Bible. But for Muslims, the Torah (Tawrah) was the Book revealed by God to Prophet Moses (Musa, peace be upon him). Muslims do not believe that the present Jewish (or Christian) Torah is an exact copy of the Tawrah God revealed to Moses, peace be upon him.

One important reason is that the present Torah contains passages that are of questionable authenticity in the eyes of Muslims. For instance, at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy (the fifth book), you see a passage that describes the death and burial of Moses. (See Deuteronomy 34:5-8). If this were a book revealed to Moses by God, it is not likely to describe the death and burial of Moses in the past tense there. In addition, the nature of the narration, as well as the content in several places, clearly points to human authorship or interpolations. But, that is another story.

Back to your original question, I understand that you are asking whether there is any prophecy regarding Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the Torah. This means the first five books of the Bible.

In fact there is a clear prophecy about the coming of the Last Prophet in the fifth book of the Torah (or the Christian Pentateuch). The verses are from Deuteronomy, Chapter 18:

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

Here Moses is addressing the Children of Israel. He quotes Jehovah as telling him of the coming of a Prophet. The marks for recognizing the coming prophet would be as follows:

1. He would be from among the brethren of the Children of Israel.

2. He would be like Moses.

3. He would speak words and commands put in his mouth by God.

4. He would speak in God’s name.

If you examine the above details of the distinguishing traits of the foretold prophet and those of Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was born centuries after this prophecy, you will be surprised to learn of the striking similarities. Here one may also consider the Christian argument that the above prophecy is about Jesus. So we need to examine who is actually meant here, with reference to the details of the prophecy.

1. It is clearly mentioned that the coming prophet would be from ‘their brethren’, i.e from the brethren of the Children of Israel. We know that Jesus was one of the Children of Israel and so it is clear that the prophecy does not apply to him. Whereas Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in the family of Ishmael; indeed his grandfather was Qaidar (Biblical name: Kedar), one of the twelve sons of Ishmael.

2. Of the two prophets (i.e Jesus and Muhammad) is mentioned to be like Moses. In fact, it is Prophet Muhammad who is really like Moses, and not Jesus. For instance, Jesus was born miraculously without a father; he did not marry and lead a family life; his mission was very short (three years at the most); and God raised him unto Himself when he faced the possibility of violent death at the hands of his enemies. (Christians believe that he was crucified). And so we find that Jesus did not have the time to realize the dream of establishing a society based on the principles he taught. Indeed he had declared that his mission was for ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24), and not for the whole of humanity.

Compare the above with the mission of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Like Moses, he had a father and mother; he married and led a family life; his mission was long like that of Moses; he died a natural death; and he brought a Law (Shari`ah) for the establishment of a social system, like Moses.

It is also worth emphasizing that at the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, the following is clearly stated:

“And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand…” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12)

This makes it clear that there never was a prophet like Moses in the whole of Israel after Moses, according to the Bible.

Thus we can clearly see that between the two, it was Muhammad from the brethren of the Children of Israel, who could be called, “a Prophet like Moses”.

And Allah knows best.

Source:islamonline

Labels: Moses and Muhammad (Peace be upon them)

Just like Alexander the Great wept when he realized there were no more worlds to conquer, someday mankind is going to come to the startling conclusion that he’s run out of things to cram a USB flash drive into. But that day hasn’t come yet, so today I bring you a flash drive that’s been integrated into a wooden clothespin. This particular design does have some merit though. For one, I like the natural look of the wood clothespin in contrast to the shiny metal of the USB connection. The other more obvious benefit is that it can be easily attached to anything like a shirt pocket, making it harder to lose when it’s not in use. Oh and ‘Spinacz’, that’s actually Polish for ‘clip’, which expands my Polish vocabulary from 6 to 7 words. In another 1,200 years I should be fluent!

Labels: A Clothespin Repurposed As A USB Flash Drive

The Christian belief about Jesus is that he is the only-begotten Son of God or God Himself, who died on the cross to save humans from Original Sin. Muslims hold that there is no such thing as Original Sin. So God had no reason to become a human and die on the cross. Even if there were something called Original Sin, Muslims do not see how God could be so helpless as to atone for that sin by dying on the cross. The Christians would answer:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Did God really love the world so much… so much that He decided to sacrifice even His son, His only begotten son, to save the world from Original Sin? Christians would say, Yes.

On the other hand, Muslims would insist in the first place, that God is One and One Only, and, therefore, He didn’t have a son. Second, as God is Just, He would not punish the innocent to save the sinners. Third, the so-called Original Sin cannot be such a problem for the Almighty God that He is compelled to sacrifice “His own Son.” He could very well cancel that sin or He could simply demand an atonement from the sinful or at least ask for sincere repentance from them. Indeed, there was no need for God to subject His Son to the terrible torture he is said to have undergone, as portrayed in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, for instance.

In fact, there were early Christians who did not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus. For instance, the Basilidians believed that someone else was crucified in his place. The names of Simon of Cyrene and even Judas Iscariot are heard in this context. As for the Qur’an, it speaks of how Allah cleared Jesus of the disbelief of his people. It says what means:

*{[And remember] when Allah said: O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself, and cleanse you of those who disbelieve; and I will make those who follow [you] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to me you will [all] return, and I will judge between you as to that wherein you used to differ. And as for those who disbelieve I will punish them with severe torment in this world and the Hereafter; and they will have no helpers.}* (Aal `Imran 3:55-56)

Thus, Allah raised Jesus up to Heaven, and so he was saved from an accursed death on the cross, in contrast to what his enemies and even his self-styled “followers” alleged. It was the plan of the enemies of Jesus to crucify him, but Allah foiled their plan. So to believe in his death by crucifixion means to believe that those unbelievers were successful against God’s plan. But assuredly they could not crucify Jesus the Messenger of Allah. The Qur’an says what means:

*{And their saying [is] ‘we slew the Messiah, Jesus Son of Mary, Allah’s messenger’ – They slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them. And those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture. For of a surety they slew him not; but Allah took him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty [and] All-Wise. And there is none of the people of the Book [the Jews and Christians] but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them.}* (An-Nisaa’ 4:157-159)

We Muslims believe in all the prophets of God and honor and respect them alike; we do not make any distinction between one and another of them. Muslims believe Jesus Christ to be one of the great prophets of God and hold that all prophets are brothers and that their religion is the same, namely, Islam (or unconditional submission to Allah). Allah says in the Qur’an what means:

*{He [Allah] has ordained for you the same religion as that which He ordained to Noah, and that which We inspired in you [Muhammad], and that which We ordained to Abraham and Moses and Jesus, saying: Establish the religion, and make no divisions therein. To those who worship other things than Allah, dreadful is that to which you call them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He will, and guides to Himself him who turns [in repentance to Him].}* (Az-Zukhruf 42:13)

And Allah knows best.
Source: Islamonline

Labels: Jesus between Islam and Christianity

Weighing your luggage can be a tricky thing - normally the scales at home tend to have very different readings from the ones at the airport, and any extra bit might cost you a nice lunch especially in this day and age where oil prices have soared beyond what was imaginable a few years ago and recently i found out that for every extra pound they will charge you 25 dollars.
Powered by a couple of AAA batteries with a maximum capacity of 44kg. These lightweight and compact Digital Luggage Scales will, very precisely, weigh your cases so you’ll know whether or not to ditch that Mongolian Yak carpet before you embarrass yourself at the airport.

Labels: Luggage weight Gadget

Question. Is Islam a cult? I don't understand how this religion can be embraced by so many. It's inconceivable that such hatred has ever been collected in a single population such as that which calls itself Muslim. Mohammad, and indeed, his followers, are way off the path. Stop your attacks on non-Muslims. John Guerra

Answered by Irf: The two meanings of the word ‘cult’ according to the Oxford dictionary are as follows:

1) “A way of life, an attitude, an idea etc. that has become very popular”.

2) “A small group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion”.

By referring to Islam as a cult, if you intend to imply the first meaning, then yes Islam is a way of life – in fact it is ‘THE way of life’ prescribed for humankind by the Creator. I am aware that most widely, the second meaning of the word cult is implied. In that context, Islam is not a cult.

Many people have a misconception that Islam is a new religion and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the founder of Islam. However, let me clarify that Islam is not the name of some unique religion presented for the first time by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who should, on that account be called the founder of Islam.

The Qur’an states that Islam – the complete submission of man before his one and only Unique Creator – is the one and only faith and way of life consistently revealed by God to humankind from the very beginning. Noah, Solomon, David, Abraham, Moses, Isaac and Jesus (pbut) – prophets who appeared at different times and places – all propagated the same faith and conveyed the same message of Tawheed (Oneness of God), Risaalat (Prophethood) and Aakhirah (the Hereafter). These prophets of God were not founders of different religions to be named after them. They were each reiterating the message and faith of their predecessors.

However, Muhammad (pbuh) was the last Prophet of God. God revived through him the same genuine faith which had been conveyed by all His Prophets. This original message was earlier corrupted and split into various religions by people of different ages, who indulged in interpolations and admixture. These alien elements were eliminated by God, and Islam – in its pure and original form – was transmitted to humankind through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Since there was to be no messenger after Muhammad (pbuh), the Book revealed to him (i.e. the Glorious Qur’an) was preserved word for word so that it should be a source of guidance for all times.

Thus the religion of all the prophets was ‘total submission to God’s will’ and one word for that in the Arabic language is ‘Islam’. Abraham and Jesus (peace be upon them) too were Muslims, as Allah testifies in Al-Qur'an 3:67 and 3:52 respectively.

Islam is embraced by so many humans in all centuries because it is the Truth and it provides practical and comprehensive solutions to problems of humankind. Islam not only teaches good things but also shows practical ways of achieving that state of goodness.

Your surprise regarding many people embracing Islam is justified. Today, though Islam happens to be the fastest growing religion in the world, it also happens to be the religion about which people have maximum number of misconceptions. This is largely because of the virulent propaganda by the media about Islam.

A Christian surveyor, Professor Edward reported in the Time Magazine of April 16, 1979 that in a span of 150 years, from 1800 CE to 1950 CE “over 60,000 books have been written against Islam by the Christian West.” Now, it is questionable, who has initiated, nurtured and collected the hatred which you have referred to, the Muslims or the Christian West?

Many are surprised that despite such propaganda being made against Islam, it still happens to be the fastest growing religion in today’s times. It is so, on the merits of its superior and noble teachings. Says Allah swt in the Glorious Qur'an:

“They (the non-Muslim enemies and critics of Islam) plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah”.

(Al-Qur'an 8:30)

You have advised the Muslims not to attack non-Muslims; I request you to direct your advice to those authorities, who only claim to be ‘peaceful, peace-loving people’ and ‘peace-keepers of the world’, but ironically have attacked thousands of innocent Muslims under the theme ‘War on terror’. The noted writer Arundhati Roy states: "So now we know. Pigs are horses. Girls are boys. War is Peace."

The terrorist acts attributed to Muslim suspects, should not be attributed to Islam or the Muslims in general but to individual human weaknesses. Such human failings occur among all religious and ethnic groups. Recorded history has not witnessed an incident similar to the ‘Holocaust’. However, one is not expected to and should not attribute the holocaust to Christianity or to Christians in general.

A number of skeptics have made comments about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Skeptics allege that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was “a violent man, a man of war”. Some further state that "Jesus set the example for love, as did Moses … Muhammad set an opposite example” (remember Jerry Falwell?). These skeptics somehow fail to realize that far from being a man of war, “…he (Muhammad) must be called the saviour of humanity”, as described thus by George Bernard Shaw.

Though the portrayal of Moses and Jesus (pbut) of being peace-loving people is fully in accordance with the teachings of the Qur’an, the Biblical testimony is contrary to it. Many quotations from these Biblical testimonies can be given to substantiate this claim, but considering the length of the answer, I will simply furnish ONE incident that will prove my point, because in this ONE incident, no less than three thousand people were killed by the sword at the command of Biblical Moses. We read:

“(Moses said): ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbour’. The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.” (Exodus 32:27-28, NIV)

It is also a well-known fact that the total number of deaths that took place in ALL the wars fought during the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was 1018. The biblical quotation given above and many such quotations appear to escape the grasp of those who allege against Muhammad (pbuh), further ignoring the words of Jesus:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”

(Matthew 7:1-2 KJV)

Labels: WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE EMBRACE ISLAM IN TODAY’S TIMES?

Question:
"Allah" is the most appropriate name for God in the Qur’an. Is this name "Allah" mentioned in other religious scriptures besides the Qur’an?

Answer: Almost all the major religious scriptures of the world contain the word "Allah" as one of the names of God.

Elohim El, Elah, Alah In the Bible, God is very often referred to as ‘Elohim’ in the Hebrew language. The ‘im’ in the ending is a plural of honour and God is referred to as ‘El’ or ‘Elah’ in the English Bible with commentary, edited by reverend C. I. Scofield. ‘Elah’ is alternatively spelled as ‘Alah’. The difference in spelling is only of a single ‘L’. Muslims spell Allah as ‘Allah’ while the Reverend has spelled it as Alah and they pronounce it as ‘Elah’. Muslims pronounce it as Allah. Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages therefore we say it should be pronounced as ‘Allah’ and not as ‘Elah’.When I was in school, I was taught ‘D, O’ is do, ‘T, O’ is to. What is ‘G, O’ It is ‘go’ and not ‘gu’. ‘N, U, T’ is nut, ‘C, U, T’ cut; ‘B, U, T’ is but, what is ‘P, U, T’? Not ‘pat’ but it is ‘put’. If you ask "Why?" The answer is "It is their language". If I have to pass I have to say ‘P, U, T’ is ‘put’ and not ‘pat’. Similarly the right pronunciation for A, L, L, A, H, is Allah.
Jesus (pbuh) cried out Allah Allah when he was put on the crossIt is mentioned in the New Testament in the Gospel of Mathew, chapter 27 verse 46 as well as Gospel of Mark, chapter 15 verse 34 when Jesus (pbuh) was put on the cross.

Jesus cried with a loud voice saying "E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni?" that is to say, ‘My God, My God why hast Thou Forsaken Me?’ Does this sound like Jehovah! Jehovah! why has thou forsaken me? Does it sound like Abba Abba? The answer is ‘No’. Hebrew and Arabic are sister languages and if you translate "E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni" into Arabic it is ‘Allah Allah lama tarak tani’ does it sound similar?

This statement of Jesus (pbuh), "E’-Li, E’-Li la’-ma sa-bach’-tha-ni" is preserved in its original Hebrew in each and every of its translation which is available in more than 2000 different languages of the world and in each and every of them, "Allah" is present.

"Allah" in Sikhism One of the names by which Gurunanak Sahib referred to God is "Allah".

"Allah" in Rigveda Book 2 Hymn I verse IIEven in the Rigveda which is the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, one of the attributes given to God Almighty in Book no 2 Hymn no I verse II, is ‘Ila’ which if pronounced properly is the same as Allah.

Allo Upanishad: Amongst the various Upanishads one of the Upanishad is named as ‘Allo’ Upanishad in which God is referred to as "Allah" several times.

Labels: IS ALLAH MENTIONED IN OTHER SCRIPTURES

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Source:alltechno

Labels: Air Jack / New BMW Pic