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Islam and Peace

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BeFair View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05 June 2009 at 11:09am
I am a non-muslim and would like to clarify some thoughts on the preachings of the Quran. 
Does the Quran really preach peace and tolerance ?
 
I draw my arguments from the Quran itself and from some Hadiths
 
  • Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca 14 years after attaining prophethood.  When he finally migrated to Medina, he only had 80-100 followers with him.  If islam was a religion that appealed to the masses as is often claimed, then why was he not able to convert more meccans peacefully? why did he have to come back with an army to convince the meccans to accept Islam ?
  • Before Prophet Muhammad, Jews and Christians, who also follow monoethism and shun idol worship, lived amicably with the pagan arabs.  How is it that the pagan arabs never tried to fight the Jews and Christians off and only persecuted Muhammad ? If the pagan arabs were really as intolerant and violent as stated in the Quran, how come they didnt kill Muhammad when he was preaching against them whilst right in their midst ? Muhammad did not have enough military might then.  It would have been easy for the pagan arabs to kill him if they wanted to, but they didnt !
  • Allah himself promises eternal torture for non-muslims.  Their only crime is that they are non-muslims.  If Allah, the master of Prophet Muhammad can be so intolerant and violent towards non-muslims, how can a rational non-muslim believe that Muhammad was non-violent or that Islam preaches non-violence ?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2009 at 1:00am
 
Hello BeFair,
 
Welcome to Islamicity. Thanks for your good questions. Insha Allah, shall attempt to answer you, to my best.
 
Yes, Qur'an preaches Peace. Islam is derives from the arabic word, Salam, which means Peace. And Quran does preach the same. We will head towards your very intresting questions.
 
Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca 14 years after attaining prophethood.  When he finally migrated to Medina, he only had 80-100 followers with him.  If islam was a religion that appealed to the masses as is often claimed, then why was he not able to convert more meccans peacefully? why did he have to come back with an army to convince the meccans to accept Islam ?
 
"then why was he not able to convert more meccans peacefully?" - What do you mean by more peacefully? You will not get a single incident from the life of Prophet {Pbuh}, that he every forced anyone into Islam. Anyways, your question is as why was he unable to convert masses into muslims.
 
 Well, it is because, the responsibility and duty of a Prophet is only to convey the message of Allah swt,and that is what Prophet Muhammad {Pbuh} did. He conveyed whole humanity the message of Allah swt. It is Allah swt who gives the hidayah {Guidance} to them. You know, "Be fair", Prophet's uncle who was his guardian, was not a muslim.Prophet, wished his uncle alot to be a muslim, but he did not. It clearly shows that its only Allah swt who is the bestower of guidance. And Allah swt guides only those who wish to be guided. Allah swt, says in Quran that he guides all those who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and He brings them out of darkness by His will unto light and guides them to the Straight way. There were many people who knew Islam was a religion of truth, but still they were nt muslims. They did not want to leave the religion of there forefathers.
 
 
 
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2009 at 1:03am
 
If the pagan arabs were really as intolerant and violent as stated in the Quran, how come they didnt kill Muhammad when he was preaching against them whilst right in their midst ? Muhammad did not have enough military might then.  It would have been easy for the pagan arabs to kill him if they wanted to, but they didnt ! "


They tried. They tried to kill him.But Prophet came to know of there plans in time, and by the command of Allah swt, he migrated to Madinah. There plan was that every person from each tribe of Makkah shud attack and kill him. The surrounded Prophet's house so that they cud pounce and kill him.


 Before that, during his stay at Makkah, these disbelievers, made many attepmts to cause harm and kill Prophet. We will look at one such incident. Abu Jahl {who was one of the uncles of Prophet, as well as bitterest enemy of Islam} sworned in the name of idols {Lat, Manat, Uzza}, these were the famous ones they worshipped, he sworned that he would kill him. Fatima RA, the youngest little daughterof Prophet,overheard them and ran to her father and told him about there plan to kill him as soon as he stepped out of his house. She innocently asked as what would happen as nothing can stop these people. Prophet {Pbuh} told her to have faith in Allah swt, as He was her father's Protector. He then got up calmly, made the ablution for his prayers and went to the House of Allah. {Kabah}. When he passed by, Abu Jahl and his freinds who were seated there, he looked towards the heavens , then turned his eyes downward. Saying that Allah Almighty would cover their faces with dust} he picked up handful of mud and threw it in their direction. These people were so taken aback and overcome that none of them cud stir from their places or speak. It was as if the fear of the Almighty had struck them dumb.

Now to the incident while Prophet was migrating to Madinah along with his best friend and companion, Abu Bakr {RA}. While the migration, they stayed for few days in a cave of Mount Thur. They planned to stay there until Quraysh horsemen gave off there search. The Quraysh horsemen started looking everywhere for Prophet. It was not long before one brigade reached his hideout in Mount Thur. There they were armed and standing at the mouth of cave., and Prophet and Abu Bakr RA cud easily see there feet. Abu Bakr ,  sensing critical danger they were in  said to Prophet, " The enemy are upon us". Prophet assured him, "Don't worry, God is with us. We are only two, but how do you rate  those two  who have Allah swt as there third companion" ? Anyways, those men , cud not trace Prophet at all inspite of being so near to them.

It was the special protection given to Prophet by Allah swt.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 June 2009 at 1:15am

 

  • Allah himself promises eternal torture for non-muslims.  Their only crime is that they are non-muslims.  If Allah, the master of Prophet Muhammad can be so intolerant and violent towards non-muslims, how can a rational non-muslim believe that Muhammad was non-violent or that Islam preaches non-violence ?
  • Can you kindly quote the verse, wherein you find that eternal punishment  is for the non-muslims ? Allah swt, is Just. He does n't punish innocent. Infact He is very compasionate and Merciful. That punishment is for DISBELIEVERS. A person, to whom the truth of God being One and Muhammad {Pbuh} is the Prophet, has reached fairly, but still he denies it and does n't embrace it , is a disbeliever. Not all non-muslims are disbelievers.

    You mentioned above in your post that Prophet Muhammad {Pbuh] came back to Makkah, with an army. You know, Befair, that was a bloodless revolution. Prophet had all rights and good oppurtunity to take revenge from those Makkans who severly tortured Prophet and Muslims. If Prophet were non-violent, why would he forgive them ? There are many incidents which show us that Prophet {pbuh} always desired for peace.
     
    I did not answer first part of your second question. I feel our other members, can answer it better than me. Am not that confident with my answer.
     
    Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote seekshidayath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 June 2009 at 1:19am
     
    Before Prophet Muhammad, Jews and Christians, who also follow monoethism and shun idol worship, lived amicably with the pagan arabs.  How is it that the pagan arabs never tried to fight the Jews and Christians off and only persecuted Muhammad ?
     
    Here is the answer to your question. Actually i asked it to a brother, and he answered like this. Muhammad {Sallal lahu alayhi wa sallam. Peace be upon him}, preached tawheed, i.e to believe and worship only one God, i.e Allah swt. He also declared  the Arabs that he was a Prophet of Allah swt. Arabs had no influence of Jews & christians. Neither did they have any affect over them. While the calling of Muhammad towards oneness of God & preaching them to abandon the idol worship, worshipping the idols invented with there own hands --- and people listening to him and answering his call, made  arabs feel threatened. Thats the reason, why they turned hostile towards Prophet.
     
    Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: �All the descendants of Adam are sinners, and the best of sinners are those who repent."
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hayfa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 June 2009 at 6:41pm

    Welcome BeFair,

     
    Have you read a biography of the Prophet Mohammed (SAWS)?  A good one, written by a nonMuslim- if you prefer that, is by Karen Armstrong, a repsect author of many books on many religions.
     
    That mat be a place to start..
     
    And welcome to the forum.
    When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. Rumi
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote honeto Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 June 2009 at 4:22pm
    Originally posted by BeFair BeFair wrote:

    I am a non-muslim and would like to clarify some thoughts on the preachings of the Quran. 
    Does the Quran really preach peace and tolerance ?
     
    I draw my arguments from the Quran itself and from some Hadiths
     
    • Prophet Muhammad was in Mecca 14 years after attaining prophethood.  When he finally migrated to Medina, he only had 80-100 followers with him.  If islam was a religion that appealed to the masses as is often claimed, then why was he not able to convert more meccans peacefully? why did he have to come back with an army to convince the meccans to accept Islam ?
    • Before Prophet Muhammad, Jews and Christians, who also follow monoethism and shun idol worship, lived amicably with the pagan arabs.  How is it that the pagan arabs never tried to fight the Jews and Christians off and only persecuted Muhammad ? If the pagan arabs were really as intolerant and violent as stated in the Quran, how come they didnt kill Muhammad when he was preaching against them whilst right in their midst ? Muhammad did not have enough military might then.  It would have been easy for the pagan arabs to kill him if they wanted to, but they didnt !
    • Allah himself promises eternal torture for non-muslims.  Their only crime is that they are non-muslims.  If Allah, the master of Prophet Muhammad can be so intolerant and violent towards non-muslims, how can a rational non-muslim believe that Muhammad was non-violent or that Islam preaches non-violence ?
     
    Welcome "Befair"
    I see you got some pretty good answers to your questions from some very knowledgable people here on this forum, may God Almighty bless them for their efforts. May he guide you toward the truth as well, as you search for it.
    I am curious to know from what perspective are you coming from with those questions. Are you a Christian? or an athiest? your answer will help me to figure out your level of understanding and belief so to help you understand some of the things you asked.
    Peace,
    Hasan
    The friends of God will certainly have nothing to fear, nor will they be grieved. Al Quran 10:62

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    Chrysalis View Drop Down
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    Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chrysalis Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 June 2009 at 7:49am
    Originally posted by BeFair BeFair wrote:

     
    •  How is it that the pagan arabs never tried to fight the Jews and Christians off and only persecuted Muhammad ?

    Interesting queston. Apparently the Pagan Arabs did not consider the jews and Christians a threat. It may be because thier ideology did not conflct head on with that of the Pagans - nor was thier religion a drastic threat to thier lifestyle and status quo. Whereas, Islam was a drastic threat to thier lifestyle and how they ran things.

    The Jews and Christians of the time pretty much had similar moral/ethical/social values as the Pagans - whereas Islam introduced drastic changes:
    • Islam challenged the authority of the Pagan tribal leaders - who 'held the key' to the Kaaba and associated thier tribes' with custodianship of the Kaaba
    • Islam challenged the ultimate power of tribal chieftains and suggested that Allah was greater and His law was superior to local customs and Chieftains.
    • The Kaaba was the centre of pagan religion at the time, and was full of idols. People came from various places for pagan pilgrimage to the Kaaba - bringing trade with them, as well as offerings. Obviously, removing idolatory would put a stop to these pilgrimages - hence a dent in the pagan pockets.
    • Islam introduced equality of genders and races. pagan Arabs considered themselves superior to women, non-arabs and slaves. This social re-order was not welcomed. Infact the chieftains of Mecca would ridicule/comment on how Prophet Muhammad kept the company of the poor and the weak.
    • Islam began the process of abolishing slavery - and well, the economy and society was relying heavily on unpaid slave labour.
    • Islam was very vocal about the evils in the society and superstitious practises of the Pagans - whereas the Jews and Christians did not voice thier distaste of such acts - hence Islam and Prophet Muhammad became the target, and not the Jews/Christians.
    • Islam was new on the horizon and probably came into more notice that age-old religions like Judiasm and Christianity - which were old news by then and part and parcel of the culture.
    • Islam threatened the current social order by banning female infanticide, banning forced marriages, limited the number of marriages, introducing women's rights, abolishing slavery, equality of races etc.
    • Threatened the economy  by banning gambling, wine, fortune tellers,  slavery, and interest.
    • Prophet Muhammad was starting to gain momentum and popularity - something that the Chieftains considered a threat, which is why they tried bribing him with wealth, power and women - but he declined.

    etcetera and so forth. The Jews and Christians did not take the above drastic steps.

    Quote If the pagan arabs were really as intolerant and violent as stated in the Quran, how come they didnt kill Muhammad when he was preaching against them whilst right in their midst ? Muhammad did not have enough military might then.  It would have been easy for the pagan arabs to kill him if they wanted to, but they didnt !

     
    We Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad was saved by Allah - because he was meant to convey his message, and thus could not die before doing that. Which is why Allah saved him on numerous occasions. Also because his time had not yet come. You as a non-muslim could consider it fate or luck? or bad planning on the part of the pagans. Big%20smile 
     
    In the beginning, it was his Uncles' support that prevented the pagans from killing him (Hamza, Abu Talib). They were both powerful chieftains, and thus harming thier favourite nephew would mean unleashing war. Hamza converted to Islam - but Abu Talib remained a non-muslim until his dying breath.
     
    After Abu Talib's death - they made a number of attempts. . . but failed. Just because they didnt succeed does not mean you can say they didnt try to - or were peaceful! They did try.
     
    Examples of attempts on Prophet Muhammad's life:
     
    • Meccans wanted Abu Talib to hand Muhammad saw over to them to be dealt with. He refused.
    • Meccans put a bounty of 100 camels on Prophet Muhammad's life. Interestingly, one of the people who tried, ended up converting to Islam
    • Umar - Prophet Muhammad's closest companion, started out by trying to murder him - on his way stopped at his sister's house and ended up converting.
    • A Jewess tried to poison Prophet Muhammad by inviting him and his companions for lunch - he survived, one of his companions however passed away as a result.
    • Then the Meccans made a grand-murder-plan, in which a young man from each famous tribe would take part in the murder so that one particular tribe could not be held responsible. Prophet Muhammad found out beforehand and left the city with his friend.
    The Prophet along with his followers and family were also boycotted and exiled to a valley - where some Muslims even died due to starvation and hardships.  
     
    So the motive and attempts were there. Thier failure does not make them a less-violent lot.
     
     
    "O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they showed mercy to me when I was young."
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