Understanding_Islam

Dan Brown is a writer of fiction, not a religious/Christian scholar.

Peace James,

I have already written you a mail...I hope you have received it! If not, this is what I state in my mail.

My reply to your statement:

[Praise be to Allaah.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to communicate and discuss the truth which we all need to know and follow, no matter what our previous differences of opinion and beliefs. It is only by means of this, I mean by knowing the truth and following it, that we can free ourselves of our sins, as it says in your Bible:

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free"

John 8:31 – New International Version (NIV)
So let us pause for a while and think about this truth, as it is stated in your Bible despite all the distortions and changes that have happened to it!

Yes! Mr. Brown might only be a writter of fiction but nevertheless he has spoken the truth! Do you know that there are these of Christians who also hold the same idea? Do a research on the Unitarian Christians!

The message that was brought by the Messiah (peace be upon him) was the call to worship God, the One, the Lord of the Messiah and the Lord of the worlds:

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" John 17:3 – NIV

"A certain ruler asked him: 'Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'

'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good – except God alone.'"

Luke 18:18-19 – NIV

"The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.

And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.

So if you worship me, it will all be yours.'

Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."'"

Luke 4:5-8 – NIV

Believing in and worshipping Allaah alone, besides Whom there is no other god, is the greatest teaching brought by the Messiah, and it is the greatest teaching brought by all the Prophets.

"One of the teachers of the law came and noticed them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?'

'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

The second is this: "Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these.'

'Well said, teacher,' the man replied. 'You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.

To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important that all burnt offerings and sacrifices.'

When Jesus saw that he has answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

Mark 12:28-34 – NIV

But do not think that this advice was given to Israel or to his own people only. Rather this is the basis of the teachings of all the Prophets. The same advice appears in the Gospel of Matthew, in similar wording, after which he says:

"All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:39 – NIV

This belief in the oneness of God is indeed the message of all of the Prophets. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad) but We revealed to him (saying): Laa ilaaha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allaah)], so worship Me (Alone and none else)"

[al-Anbiya' 21:25]

his is the basic message to which the Messiah called people and warned them against differing from that. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Surely, they have disbelieved who say: 'Allaah is the Messiah ['Eesa (Jesus)], son of Maryam (Mary).' But the Messiah ['Eesa (Jesus)] said: 'O Children of Israel! Worship Allaah, my Lord and your Lord.' Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no helpers"

[al-Maa'idah 5:72]

This is the basic principle on which we should all agree. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Say (O Muhammad): 'O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah.' Then, if they turn away, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims'"

[Aal 'Imraan 3:64]

It is alien to true Christianity, this futile attempt to reconcile the belief in the Oneness of God, which is the message brought by the Prophets, and which is clearly stated in their Bible, and affirmed in the Torah in particular, with their belief in the trinity.

It says in the American Encyclopedia:

The belief in the Oneness of God – as a theological movement – began at a very early stage in history, and in fact it preceded the belief in trinity by many decades. Christianity developed from Judaism, and Judaism firmly believes that there is one God.

The path that led from Jerusalem (the home of the first disciples of Christ) to Nicea (where it was decided in 325 CE that Christ was equal to God in essence and eternal nature) can hardly be described as a straight path.

The doctrine of trinity which was affirmed in the fourth century CE bears no resemblance to the original teachings of Christ concerning the nature of God. Au contraire, it is the opposite, a deviation from that teaching. Hence it developed in opposition to the belief in One God… (27/294).

[You can refer to the views of some of those Christians who still believe in the Oneness of God in the same American Encyclopedia, 27/300-301] If you would like to discuss this further, I will be more than happy!

Peace]

Thank you for your very long and detailed post, and for contacting me.

If I understand your point, you are saying that the various aspects of Dan Brown's excellent fictional mystery are really the truth, that Jesus is no more than a prophet, not unlike Muhhamed and a long line of other prophets.

In summary, neither "The Da Vinci Code" nor the controversial elements it employs are no more than a recitation of unproved and unprovable ideas and beliefs. They prove nothing.
To support this point of view you cite scriptures from the NIV version of the Bible.

First, let us agree that neither of us knows whether Jesus is God manifested as a man, or whether Allah spoke to Gabriel who spoke to Muhhamed. We may believe one or the other of those things, we may have faith that our belief is true and right, but we do not factually know it.

Neither the Bible nor the Qur'an is the direct word of God/Allah. Both have human intermediaries who did the actual writing, and both have been translated from their original language.

The Bible in the Old Testament alludes to the triunity of God: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. The New Testament begins with the story of God coming to Earth in the form of a man, Jesus. As all men are, Jesus was born of a woman; he began life as a baby and grew up as other human children of that time. At approximately the age of 33 years, Jesus was killed by crucifixion, buried in a tomb, and because He was God, rose from the dead and not long thereafter ascended into Heaven. This is a capsulized recounting of the Christian belief.

The Bible supports this belief. That some do not accept this belief is no different than that some do not accept the tenets of Islam.

There are differences in the details of the beliefs of different Christian religions, just as there are differences in the beliefs of the various Muslim sects. I point to the strong differences between the Sunnis and the Shiites, differences so contentious that violence is common between them.

While you may choose to believe the aspects of Dan Brown's story that tend to discredit Christianity because they fit best with your Islamic belief, Christians choose to not believe those aspects because they do not fit with their Christian belief. Since the absolute truth is unknowable, both Islam and Christianity are correct within their own frame of reference.

Peace James,

We have sent you a mail, but just incase our readers would like to read the reply as well, we will post it here :)

First of all let me correct your statements about the Qur'an here. It is interesting to note that no other religious scripture claims to the direct word of Almighty in toto as clear and as often as the Holy Qur'an. As the Qu'ran clearly says: "if it had been written by man, you would have found many discrepancies therein". At the time the Qur'an was revealed, the Arabs recognized that the language of the Qur'an was unique and that it was distinctly different from the language normally used by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The Arabs of that time, by the way, were known for their beautiful poetry and Muhammad was known to be an illiterate man! The Qur'an clearly says that Muhammad was unable to read and write, so if this wasn't true, certainly his contemporaries would have protested and rejected him. However, there are no reports of this. Certainly there were people who rejected Muhammad's message, just like other prophets were rejected, but none for this reason. On the contrary, Muhammad, peace be upon him, had thousands of loyal followers and the results of their efforts spread Islam from Spain to China in just over a century!

It is also interesting to note that even though the Qu'ran is not poetry, the Arabs more or less gave up writing poetry after it was revealed. It could be said that the Qur'an is the piece of Arabic literature par execellance - and Muhammad's contemporaries realized that they couldn't out do it. Additionally, it is easy to prove that Muhammad did not possess a great deal of the knowledge which is expounded in the Qur'an: such as knowledge of historical events, previous prophets and natural phenomenon. The Qur'an says in several places that Muhammad and his people did not know these things - so, again, if this wasn't true, certainly his contemporaries would have rejected his claims. Suffice it to say that not only is the Qu'ran the most memorized and well preserved scripture on earth, it is also unequaled in eloquence, spirtual impact, clarity of message and the purity of its truth.

Islam PROVES to be the truth! Checkout the link we have provided to read about the scientific miracles found in the Holy Qur'an.

Unlike other "religious" books (such as the Bible), you will not find ANY contradictions in the Holy Qur'an.

The Quran is a Divine Miracle of Literature!

It includes Prophesy - Science - Warnings - Wisdom - Truths

And it has been Preserved 100% In the Original Language - for over 1,400 years! The Qur'an is STILL the same, it never changed nor is it corrupted (i.e. such as how the Bible has been altered and corrupted!!!)

The Qur'an was so meticulously preserved because it is the Book of Guidance for all of humanity for all times. That is why it does not address just the Arabs, in whose language it was revealed. In fact Arabs today do not comprise more than 13% of the Today of Muslims in the world today.

The Qur'an speaks to "mankind"

Quran speaks to all of mankind on a general basis without regard to race, tribe, color, social position, financial condition or genealogy.
Allah the Almighty says
{O Mankind! What has seduced you from your Lord so Generous?"} (Qur'an 82:6)

The Qur'an is Wisdom Conclusive.

It neither condemns nor tortures the flesh nor does it neglect the soul.
It does not humanize God, nor does it deify man.

Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme of creation.

Yet it obviously is not written in human style (chronological order). Those who would claim that the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was the author of the Qur'an are claiming something that is humanly impossible.

How could any person of the 7th century utter such scientific truths as those found in the Qur'an?
Could he describe the evolution of the embryo inside the uterus so accurately as we find it now recorded in modern science?
(see: Dr. Keith Moore's book - on embryology)

Secondly, is it logical to believe that Muhammad, peace be upon him, who up to the age of forty was marked only for his honesty and integrity, began all of a sudden the authorship of a book matchless in literary merit and the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators of the highest caliber could not produce?

And lastly, is it justified to say that Muhammad, peace be upon him, who was known as "Al-Ameen" (trustworthy) in his society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim scholars for his honesty, would lie about receiving the Qur'an (which forbids lying) from the Angel Gabriel and then still be able to establish the best human society on the face of the earth, based on truth?

Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth must come to the conclusion that the Qur'an is the revealed Book of Almighty Allah.

We invite YOU to challenge the validity and accuracy of the sciences known to man today and keep in mind that this is the EXACT TEXT used by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, over one thousand four hundred years ago.

We are sure that any such attempt will convince the reader that the Qur'an could never have been written by any human being ever.


[quote]I point to the strong differences between the Sunnis and the Shiites, differences so contentious that violence is common between them.[/quote]


The answer to your point here is that the Qur'an cannot force people to choose the right path, because the Qur'an is simply guidance (and it is up to people to choose). Allah has warned us about these sects and groups, and He has forbidden us to imitate the nations who became divided in religious matters. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"and be not of Al-Mushrikoon (the polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah).

Of those who split up their religion (i.e. who left the true Islamic Monotheism), and became sects, [i.e. they invented new things in the religion (Bid'ah), and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it"

[al-Room 30:31-32]

"And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:105]

Allah has commanded them to adhere to His Book and to follow the Sunnah (way, path) of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as He says (interpretation of the meanings):

"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allaah (i.e. this Qur'aan), and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allaah's Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith), and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus Allaah makes His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.,) clear to you, that you may be guided"

[Aal 'Imraan 3:103]

"O you who believe! Make not (a decision) in advance before Allaah and His Messenger, and fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing"

[al-Hujuraat 49:1]

i.e., do not say or do anything that goes against the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

What is meant here is that Allah forbade the people to split into various groups, and He commanded them to be united, but they followed their own whims and desires, and they cast the Book of Allaah behind their backs, and if they were confused about a verse from the Book of Allah, they did not refer to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in order to understand it, rather they let their own opinion and corrupt reasoning be the judge. All of that is not from the Qur'an and not from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These sects (Shi'iites being one of them) have, by following their whims and desires, chosen to follow a different path (instead of the TRUE Islamic religion/path) abd invented things into this beautiful way of life. So these people who have split of the true path are doing it out of there own desires, NOT because there are different Holy Books or anything as such.

The one and only religion that Allah, the Most Gracious, accepts is Islam. This religion has one path, one direction and is based on one methodology—that which the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (peace be upon him) followed along with his comrades. This religion which Allah has chosen for mankind is not subdivided into different sects nor does it divert into different paths. However, a number of people have gone astray and corrupted the religion, forming many different groups that bear no relation to Islam, examples of which are Al-Baatiniya,, Al-Qadyaninya, and the Bahaa'iya, among which Allaah the Most Exalted and Glorious has warned us in the Holy Qur'an:

"And verily this (i.e. Allah's commandments mentioned in the previous two verses 151 and 152) is my straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al- Muttaqoon ( the pious-see V2:2) " Verse # 153, Surat Al An'aam.

We know that Islam is the truth and that Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him and his mother, was no more than a messenger. This is confirmed/proved in the Holy Qur'an. Nowhere in the Bible will you find Jesus, peace be upon, claiming to be something he was NOT!

Another point you might be interested in, Jesus, peace be upon him, was not only sent to guide people to the truth but he was ALSO sent to give the glad tiding of an upcoming Prophet (Mohammed, peace be upon him, or as mentioned in the Bible...Ahmed!!!). Read more on the link we have provided you with!

We hope that you will read more about this religion and we ask Allah to guide you to the True Path.

We also hope to hear from you once again, take care. Peace