Islaam for a Buddhist

Hi Mr. Shakur!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for your greeting.:)

Varshaken, the Samurai.

varshaken wrote: Hi Mr. Tasneem!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are right that you have answered me. I realy thank you for that. I have read Koran.:) Though did not understand it fully. That Q & A on Islaam was good, but could not answer my questions. I posted my own questions on that website.:) Still the basic questions remain unanswered...........................:( And many more questions have risen in my mind. I am sorry to bother you. But I need the answers. 1. Is the goal of Islaam to reach God or to reach Heaven? Please be specific. 2. Does a true Moslem stay in Heaven forever? 3. What is spirituality according to Islaam? 4. One verse says,"Looking towards their Lord". And another verse says "before Him". Isn't God everywhere? Looking towards, before Him etc. means He is residing somewhere else, isn't it? This surely implies God has form. What is the catch? 5. At one point you said about "God's wrath". And the Koran says God to be "Most merciful". "Most" is a comparitive term. With whom is God being compared to? If He is "Most merciful" then how can we say that He displays wrath? Thanking you, Varshaken, the Samurai.

Peace be with you!

I am not a qualified scholar, but I thought I would mention a few points in relation to your questions as an ordinary follower of Islaam.

1. This is an interesting question, because according to Islaam every person will reach God, whether Moslem or non-Moslem. The quraan mentions many times that all beings will return to God, and it does not discriminate between believers and non-believers. For example:

"And whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah's; and to Allah all things return" (3;169)

"And guard yourselves against a day in which you shall be returned to Allah; then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." (2;281)

"Is it then other than Allah's religion that they seek (to follow), and to Him submits whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and to Him shall they be returned." (3;83)

"And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way, and if Allah had pleased He would have made you (all) a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will let you know that in which you differed." (5;48)

"O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did." (5;105)

"It is He who doth take your souls by night, and hath knowledge of all that ye have done by day: by day doth He raise you up again; that a term appointed be fulfilled; In the end unto Him will be your return; then will He show you the truth of all that ye did." (6;60)

"Then are men returned unto Allah, their protector, the (only) reality: Is not His the command? and He is the swiftest in taking account." (6;62)

"Revile not ye those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest they out of spite revile Allah in their ignorance. Thus have We made alluring to each people its own doings. In the end will they return to their Lord, and We shall then tell them the truth of all that they did." (6;108)

etc.

However whereas all created beings will reach God on the physical level in the Hereafter only the believers will reach God on the spiritual level which in fact begins in this life on earth, and continues in the Hereafter where our meeting with God as believers will be the most spiritually rewarding experience. Islaam teaches us to keep our souls pure by keeping away from materialistic desires so that we are always close to God in this life, and in the Hereafter, it is this same soul which God will place in a new form (body) whose appearance and characteristics reflect the purity of the soul. All pure souls will be placed in heaven, which is an abode of utter tranquility with no presence of ill feelings, sufferings or contempt. Therefore Islaam makes us reach heaven by reaching God first. That is to say, Islaam provides a way of reaching God in this life who will help His servants achieve the inner-peace required through His worship to reach heaven. Whereas the disbeliever will only reach God in the Hereafter (unknowingly or unwillingly), not in this life, and will fail to be virtous enough to reach heaven. A few verses which may help your understanding:

"And whoever commits a sin, he only commits it against his own soul; and Allah is Knowing, Wise." (4;111)

"O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did." (5;105)

"Say: "To whom belongeth all that is in the heavens and on earth?" Say: "To Allah. He hath inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy. That He will gather you together for the Day of Judgment, there is no doubt whatever. It is they who have lost their own souls, that will not believe." (6;12)

"Others they keep away from it, and themselves they keep away; but they only destroy their own souls, and they perceive it not." (6;26)

"Now have come to you, from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes): if any will see, it will be for (the good of) his own soul; if any will be blind, it will be to his own (harm): I am not (here) to watch over your doings." (6;104)

"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way." (2;186)

"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (13;28)

2. Yes. See the following, for example:

"Say: "Is that best, or the eternal garden, promised to the righteous? for them, that is a reward as well as a goal (of attainment)."" (25;15)

"Enter ye therein in Peace and Security; this is a Day of Eternal Life!" (50;34)

"Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord; Establish regular prayers; spend, out of (the gifts) We have bestowed for their sustenance, secretly and openly; and turn off Evil with good: for such there is the final attainment of the (eternal) home" (13;22)

3. I believe question 1 answers this.

4. God is residing somewhere. A common misconception even among Muslims is that God is physically everywhere. God knows about everything everywhere but that does not mean he is is physically everywhere. About God's form, there is a very good answer on the following site by a scholar of Islaam, which clarifies issue this beautifully:
http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hF atwaID=6664

5. God displays wrath because God is just. God uses his wrath so that justice is done to the evil-doers and mischief makers (e.g. murderers, rapists, corrupt leaders who may not be punished in this life). God does not consider a person who turns to Him in worship and practices good in the land as equal to an evil-doer. God's forgives people only when they are truly sorry for any evil they may have done, so even in his mercy God is just. For example:

"And guard yourselves against a day in which you shall be returned to Allah; then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." (2;281)

"Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt, and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly?" (3;25)

"These are the communications of Allah which We recite to you with truth, and Allah does not desire any injustice to the creatures." (3;108)

"And it is not attributable to a prophet that he should act unfaithfully; and he who acts unfaithfully shall bring that in respect of which he has acted unfaithfully on the day of resurrection; then shall every soul be paid back fully what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly." (3;161)

"This is for what your own hands have sent before and because Allah is not in the least unjust to the servants. " (3;182)

"(As for) those who swallow the property of the orphans unjustly, surely they only swallow fire into their bellies and they shall enter burning fire." (4;10)

"Say: The bad and the good are not equal, though the abundance of the bad may please you; so be careful of (your duty to) Allah, O men of understanding, that you may be successful." (5;100)

"Say: "Who is the Lord and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth?" Say: "(It is) Allah." Say: "Do ye then take (for worship) protectors other than Him, such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" Say: "Are the blind equal with those who see? Or the depths of darkness equal with light?" Or do they assign to Allah partners who have created (anything) as He has created, so that the creation seemed to them similar? Say: "Allah is the Creator of all things: He is the One, the Supreme and Irresistible."" (13;16)

"Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it!" (99;7)

"And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it." (99;8)

etc.

Hope this helps!

hello varshaken,i will try my best to explain the meaning of the verses . that day shall we set a seal on their mouths.but their hands will speak to us and their feet bear witness ,to all that they did. as you know we humans are full of excuses,and on the day of resurection ,some people would want to make excuses for the bad things they did back on earth. Allah will comand's the angels to seal the mouths of those who want to argue and make excuses with Him,so their body parts can speak for or againts them,for example, the hands wills peak for what they touch,the feet will speak for where they went e.t.c.

 

In the Name of Allah, most Merciful, most Benificent

I will try to answer the following questions as I have studied these areas of 'aqeedah and if I am wrong, it is not from Allah, it is from my own nafs or shaitain. And Allah Hears and Sees all.

1. "And does death means sleep, I mean we will be sleeping in our grave until Allaah raises us?"

- The Torment of the Grave is a well known concept, often described in hasan saheeh reports from the ahadith of the sunan of the Prophet Muhammad saw. It is described that everyone is subject to the torment of the grave, including shaheed(martyrs of Islam). You are not asleep but there is a barrier that enables you to see you future(either in Hell or in Paradise, may Allah protect all the believers.) and you will be able to see the world. From this point your pleas for forgiveness are no longer accepted. For the best among mankind in regardsw to faith, their grave is illuminated and expanded for them and they will reside in comfort with glad tidings of Paradise and will feel comfort until the Last Day.

There are many reports in both Saheeh Bukhari and Muslim, most of which have saheeh hasan isnad or better.

It is reported in the Sahih of Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: �It has been revealed to me that you people will be put to trial nearly like the trial of Ad-Dajjal (antichrist), in your graves. If it were not for the reason that you would stop burying (your dead) in the graves on listening to the torment in the grave which I am listening to, I would have certainly made you hear that.�

It is reported also in the Sahih of Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: �When any one of you completes the last Tashahhud, he should seek refuge with Allah from four (trials): the Torment of Hell, the Torment of grave, the trial of life and death, and the evil of the trial of al-Masikh Ad-Dajjaal (Antichrist).�

2. "And if anyone goes to hell, then does he stay there forever?"

The Prophet said, "When the people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will go to Hell, Allah will order those who have had faith equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed to be taken out from Hell.

So even the worst among the believer will eventually be released from the tormet of the Fire, but it is not known for how long they will reside in it. It is well accepted and known through saheeh reports that the mushrikeen(polytheists, disbelievers, idolators, etc) that they will abide in Hell forever.

�Verily, Allaah has cursed the disbelievers, and has prepared for them a flaming Fire (Hell). Wherein they will abide for ever� [al-Ahzaab 33:64-65]

�Verily, those who disbelieve and did wrong; Allaah will not forgive them, nor will He guide them to any way � Except the way of Hell, to dwell therein forever; and this is ever easy for Allaah� [al-Nisaa� 4:168-169].

�and whosoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever� [al-Jinn 72:23]

So it is clear that there is no place in Heaven for the disbeleiver.

"036.065. That Day shall We set a seal on their mouths. But their hands will speak to us, and their feet bear witness, to all that they did.

The interpretation of this verse and agreed upon by the scholars of the Salaaf that waht the brother above said is true, in that they will bear witness to the evil things in which they did on the account of the person who controls them. I.E - You eyes for instance bear witness against you if you were to look at pronohraphy..and your hands against you if you stole with them, etc.

I hope this helps some and verily Allah is the All-Knowing and Most Wise. May He be pleased with the believers and grant us all Firdose-ul Jannat(the higest level of Paradise) Ameen.