Questions for the followers of Islam

What is the difference between Shia and Sunni?

What exactly is an Iman and how does he rise to the position?

What does Islam think about the teachings of Jesus Christ?

Or does Islam think that the teachings Of Jesus were corrupted also?

Such as love your neighbor as thyself.
Turn the other cheek.
Pray for those that despitefully use you and bless for those that curse you.

I am curious...and please no trolling...and if you do not want to answer a question...don't.

 

1. The difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims is childish.

Sunni Muslims believe Abu Bakr was the first Caliph named after the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Sunni Muslims also believe the Prophet's "traditions" or Hadiths are a vital part of Islam.

Shia Muslims believe Ali ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) cousin should of been the first Caliph, and that the Hadith is not a mandatory text in Islam.

That is the main differences between them. I find it quite sad that we have inner-conflicts because of this. I am a Sunni Muslims, by the way. But we are all Muslims, whether Sunni or Shia...

2. An Imam is one who leads the prayer and is pretty much a religious leader or scholar. To be an Imam you must have good knowledge of Islam and the Quran. It isn't a Divine thing.

3. Islam is very respectful to Jesus (PBUH). It acknowledges Jesus' (PBUH) teachings and his virgin birth from Mary (PBUH). The only real difference here is Islam doesn't believe Jesus (PBUH) is God or the Son of God. Instead we believe he, like Muhammad (PBUH) and Moses (PBUH), was a Messenger of Allah (SWT) who was the founder of Christianity. In Islam, Mary (PBUH) is the greatest woman to ever live. Muslims love both Jesus (PBUH) and Mary (PBUH).

4. Muslims do not believe Jesus' (PBUH) teachings were corrupt. We believe the Bible, which has been altered by men such as Paul, has been corrupted by man and no longer speaks of what Jesus (PBUH) was teaching originally. We don't believe todays Bible is the Relevation from God given to Jesus (PBUH), we believe it is corrupted by humans.

Hope these answer your questions.

Salam

 

The Bible itself points to Paul having corrupted it. Paul contridicted Christ so much that some early Christians beleived him to be a spy sent by the Jewish High Priests to infiltrate Christianity.

 

Which is ironic because it is believed by Muslims that it was a group of Jews who changed the previous Holy Books.

 

Sure does.......................

 

Yes, and thank you for the informed reply.

I was afraid people would think that this post was flamebaiting and that was not my intention.

So...could we not also agree that the difference between Muslims and Christians is also childish?

And is it possible that Jihad refers to a spirtual war rather than a war of bloodshed? A Muslim friend of mine once told me I did not understand Jihad.

 

Your post was both civil and sensible.

To some extent, yes, but I think (*my* personal view) that people in general want to simplify their surroundings mentally, and in doing so, we will always dislike those unlike us, and so on. It's natural human behaviour to blow certain differences out of proportion. But yes, I would call the difference childish.

Now, I'm no Muslim, but I'll give this a shot, Jihad means struggle (roughly). You can struggle with an opponent in battle, but you can also struggle with a maths problem or with a tough personal decision.

Sometimes, one uses the words greater Jihad for spiritual war, and lesser Jihad for physical war, but I personally believe that is more of a one time description in the Qu'ran.

 

You're welcome.

There is a thread like this that ended up being just like that, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt

Well I would say it's somewhat childish, simply because neither of us have any physical proof Jesus (PBUH) even existed, other than our faith in our respective Holy Books. But compared to fighting over Ali and Abu Bakr, I wouldn't say it is childish, because it's a major factor of both religions.

Jihad, as already mentioned above, means "struggle". In the Quran it is clear that a Muslim can only fight in Allah SWT (God's) name only in an act of self defence against agressors and oppressors. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) fought countless defensive battle against the Quraish tribe who persecuted Muslims.

There is also a Hadith of the Prophet saying lesser Jihad is fighting in a war, and greater Jihad is fighting our own evil desires.

Now, this Hadith has been called false from some Scholars, but seeing as Jihad means struggle it does not only need to mean war, right? For example, a protest for a Holy thing in Islam - lets say, for example the Hajj was blocked off from Muslims from some reason and Muslims protested to open it back up, this would also be considered Jihad, I think.

But Jihad can't be fought how the "Jihadists" claim to be doing. They are just murdering innocent civilians of any faith.

Salam

 

It is better to talk than to fight and there is a lot of mis-understanding in this country and I can only guess their is a lot of mis-understanding elsewhere.

I have no problem believing that Jesus exsited...he changed the history of the western world. And I have no doubt that Muhammed existed.

If I spelled his name wrong please excuse...I do not type it often.

I think the main reason that their is so much violence is because of 9/11 and the conflict in Israel. I am in the process of trying to find out about this "settlement" thing.

I am not saying anyone is right in the Israel conflict...because I don't know...and honestly...it is such an emotional issue...it is hard to find out.

 

The world is full of misunderstanding these days. No part of the world is innocent these days when it comes to misunderstanding things. But you are right, it is better to talk rather than fight. However, if you look at the Middle East today, some don't have that option. Voice (for the most part) brought down dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia. However force was needed in Libya, and Bahrain and Syria will also need to use force it seems.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying the existance of anybody, especially Jesus and Muhammad (PBUT). Both of them, along with Moses (PBUH) changed the world. Their existance is visible in the 3 largest faiths today.

There are many ways to spell "Muhammad", don't worry about it

The Taliban and al-Qaida are cancerous cells in Islam. Nobody wants them, unfortunately they are quite powerful in the Eastern part of the Middle East. But they don't represent Islam or Muslims, I can assure you that. They aren't fighting Jihad, when a suicide bomber dies he does not have 72 virgins waiting for him in Paradise. Suicide of any type, for any reason is considered a sin in Islam. As is killing innocent people. That's why I don't even considers "Islamists" or "Jihadists" real Muslims.

The "Israel" problem is quite complicated I'll give you some time to look into it more before getting into that.

Salam

 

This thread tickles me pink. Wouldn't it be great if everyone would interact and communicate like this?
Mutual respect is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

 

Sure is...

 

first off, jesus aint 'christ'

second, perhaps read the quran if you want to know what is comprehended of jesus

you tell me:

Matt 16:20 Then did he charge his disciples that they may say to no one that he is Jesus the Christ

and you called him what?

ie... HE said, (charged) per bible NOT to call him that.

So is the religion (and bible) corrupted?

confucius

best lesson jesus ever shared. He meant, EACH can forgive, personally!!!!!

praying is for morons

i answered all of them and aint a religious wingnut from/of any religion.

 

Whether they are real Muslims or not, the Jihadists/Islamists are the PROBLEM, and thy certainly aren't limited to Al Qaeda and the Taliban. There are hundreds of violent Islamist groups throughout the world, and hundreds of non-violent Muslim Brotherhood Islamist groups in the USA, and many more scattered throughout 80 countries around the globe. There are thousands of Islamic terrorist web sites as well. All of these (both the violent and non-violent) have openly proclaimed that destruction of western civilization is their goal. As for whether the Koran and real Islam is a part of this, I would have to say that it is. There just are too many writing in the Koran commanding Muslims to kill "unbelievers", and they are not talking in self-defense one bit. Muslims need to stop making excuses for the really bad parts of the Koran and for once, stand up tall and reform them.

*********************************************


"When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them."
Quran 9:5; "Repentance," Dawood, p. 186

"Prophet, make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fate."
Quran 9:73, "Repentance," Dawood, p. 198

"Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them. Know that God is with the righteous."
Quran 9:123, "Repentance," Dawood, p. 206

Lie in ambush ? Make war on the infidels ? Who dwell around you ? Doesn't say "who were attacking you". Doesn't sound very self-defensive.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66401.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/opinion/16friedman.html

http://aifdemocracy.org/

http://www.islam-watch.org/IW/aboutus.htm

 

Nope just a troll...and I have read the Quran...back when it was spelled Koran.

And Christ means "annointed one"...so he would be Jesus the annointed one.

Maybe you need to read at least one of the books you are so much against.

I never said I subscribed to any faith...I simply asked questions.

The last "book" of the quran is called "The Table"...it might be a good idea to have some knowledge of what you are trolling about.

The Quran is a prayer book.

 

It might be a good idea for you to announce who the hell you're talking to.

 

so then you would know the answers to the OP questions

how is that? If he was the annointed one, then why is the world still in turmoil and not cleansed of the garbage.

What happened to the other three horseman, if he was to be on the white?

Why would he have to come back to even finish the job?

Why didnt he have the name of 'god' on his head?

i aint against the book(s) so much as the people who use them to lie.

but if you read the quran, you should already know them answers you asked.

And since i read bible and read the 'charge' by jesus (per se) that he did not want to be called 'jesus the christ' then i wonder if faith is your focal pursuit or if trolling is how you operate?!?!?

the book of the quran, already shares that jesus was not 'god' or the christ (name holder)..................... but a teacher.

So my questions are to you; are you just misleading that you did read the quran and/or the bible? Or are you representing that you havent comprehended either and sustain beliefs over the understanding of what you have read?

i am contesting the trolling

that is what some consider it

 

Yes, and also an inspirational book filled with a number of good things. But I bet you also don't realize that Islam is also unfortunately a political system meant to subjugate (and teach utter hatred towards) 80% of all of humanity, to increase the political power/legacy of it's founder. This makes it dangerous, of course.

It's stunning that sheer illogical hatred is taught by at least a whopping 20% of the world's population:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).Sahih Muslim, 41:6985, see also Sahih Muslim, 41:6981, Sahih Muslim, 41:6982, Sahih Muslim, 41:6983, Sahih Muslim, 41:6984, Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:56:791,(Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:177).

Christianity teaches sheer hatred too, of course.

How can we best defeat the cancer known as religion?

 

nuclear war will make people hide

i have seen that, too of course

with the use of compassionate reasoning

with the use of knowledge combined with practical application.

 

Great point!
Also, the majority of Mohammad's slaughter was offensive (not defensive) in nature.
Mohammad was clearly not a good overall role model.


Christianity/Jesus is not a good overall role model either, as he approved of slavery:
"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ." (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

"Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them." (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

In the following parable, Jesus clearly approves of beating slaves even if they didn't know they were doing anything wrong.
The servant will be severely punished, for though he knew his duty, he refused to do it. "But people who are not aware that they are doing wrong will be punished only lightly. Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given." (Luke 12:47-48 NLT)

(from evilbible.com)

 

Good thinking.

 

Well on your first part, the bible has several parts where god orders innocent poeple murdered......

 

Um, Jews don't make up 80% of the worlds population. And Islam doesn't preach hatred against Jews.

Yes, the followup to the Day of Judgement involves a war between Muslims and Jews. But it's deeper than that.

I guess we should of expected hugs and kisses and flowers leading up to the end of the world....

Just a fun fact, about the name Abdullah. The root words of the name are Abd (Slave) and Allah (God). It means "slave of Allah." Just wanted to share that.

Salam

 

Diologue is a good thing between people.

I started this thread to get a conversation going and I hesitate to take the opinion of someone that is dead set against all religion to explain Islam(or any other religion) to me any more than I will have a Christian explain Islam to me.

I would also hesitate to have someone of the Muslim faith explain Judisim to me or take the word of a Christian to explain any other faith than Christianity to me.

But if the teachings of Jesus are accepted by both Islam and Christianity...they should get along...that is what he taught.

And this should be common ground.

 

And for very many people this already is common ground:
http://www.acommonword.com/