my name is vipin viswanathan. i accepted christainity 15 years ago. i have many muslim friends and shared their faith to me. today i read quran for first time. i read only 100 verse in al baqarah.
my doubt
al baqarah verse 62. what does it mean?
62. Those who believe, and those who are Jewish, and the Christians, and the Sabeans-any who believe in God and the Last Day, and act righteously-will have their reward with their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
does it mean christains have nothing to fear and grieve as long as we continue believe in god, last day and act righteously?
This is a very big discussion.
I will say in short.
Many people think Islam is a new religion and Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the founder of this religion. This is not true.
Islam is not a new religion.
Islam existed since time immemorial, since men set foot on the Earth.
Islam comes from the root Arabic word Salam, which means Peace. It also comes from the word Silm which means "submitting your will to God". As a whole, Islam means "peace acquired by submitting your will to God". Any human being who submits his will to God, in Arabic we call as Muslim.
But the point to note here is, God sent different Prophets and Messengers with revelations from time to time, to let people know there is 1 God. Since God didn't find it fit to preserve those scriptures, hence those scriptures were meant for a particular group of people and was meant to be followed for a particular time period. Allah says that "He sent a revelation in every age", and "there's not a single nation to whom He has not sent a Messenger".
But like I said, since God didn't find it fit to preserve them, hence those revelations and laws were meant for a certain group of people and was meant to be followed till a certain time period.
The last and final revelation however is the Quran, and the last and final Messenger is Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Since he is the last messenger and the Quran is the last revelation, so there's no more messenger or revelation to come again. Prophet Muhammad PBUH is hence not only sent for the Muslims or the Arabs, but the whole of humanity and the Quran isn't only for the Muslims, it's for the whole of humanity and is meant to be followed for eternity. Allah clearly says in the Quran that He completed the religion for us and have chosen for humankind Islam as a religion, nothing new can be added, nothing can be subtracted.
So we understand that today, Islam is the only religion that is to be followed.
The verse you mentioned speaks of the people of that time, at those times those who followed their messenger and teachings, they will go to Paradise. Because their law was meant for them and for a particular time period. Hence THOSE people, at THAT time, who followed the teachings of the messenger, correct teachings, they will go to Paradise. But today it's the time of last revelation, Quran, so one can only go to Paradise by following the Quran and Sunnah, not otherwise. What you mentioned is for the past, those people, that time, not us or this time, hope this helps.
You read Baqarah but you missed the point of verse 38. It mentions "....then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve."
Did you ponder what those guidance were? Would they also include the Torah, Psalms, Bible and the Quran?
Did you also not notice the verse before it (37) where we learn that Allah forgave Adam for his error. . .and that Adam received words from Allah, (where he 'talked' to Adam). There was no anger, no punishment.
They merely:
Veiled themselves and didn't flaunt it
Sought forgiveness and didn't persist
Took ownership of it and don't justify it
And acted with excellence after they had erred - Ibn al-Qayyim
In simple term, that verse is referring to those Christians/Jews who believed in the Messengers sent to them before the arrival of the last and final Prophet, Muhammad SAW.
Before, during and after the Message of the last Prophet (pbuh) reached them, those who believed in God, submitted to Him and established His laws were considered to be in submission to God.
the Negus of Abyssinia refused to reject the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) despite the opposition he received from his subjects and was very warm towards the Muslims, however continued upon the guidance of Allah he had with him, this was not rejected by the Prophet pbuh while the final shariah was still in it's early stages of formation and it is reported that the Prophet pbuh even prayed the funeral prayer of the Negus on the day the Negus died. (the information of the death was unlikely to have reached him via human sources).
edit: check this link, it appears that there was a second negus: http://justpaste.it/najashi
if you read the first verses of surah Ar-Rum (ch.30) you'll find that the Romans were considered believers and that Allah was helping them while the Prophet pbuh was already receiving revelation.
it is only after they reject/refuse to accept/purposefully ignore the renewed message of God that they become ungrateful disbelievers.
some verses were later abrogated by others, however some continued to be recited (always for a reason) and made it into the final compilation. (check the alcohol prohibition verses to understand this).
فَلَمَّا جَاءتْهُمْ آيَاتُنَا مُبْصِرَةً قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
But when Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) came to them, clear to see, they said: "This is a manifest magic."
وَجَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنفُسُهُمْ ظُلْمًا وَعُلُوًّا فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدِينَ
And they belied them (those Ayat) wrongfully and arrogantly, though their ownselves were convinced thereof [i.e. those (Ayat) are from Allah, and Musa (Moses) is the Messenger of Allah in truth, but they disliked to obey Musa (Moses), and hated to believe in his Message of Monotheism]. So see what was the end of the Mufsidun (disbelievers, disobedient to Allah, evil-doers, liars.).
Quran 27:13-14
the best most complete and certain answer one can give is the answer of Musa pbuh to Pharaoh in verse 20:52, "the knowledge of that is with my Lord in a record, my Lord neither errs, nor forgets"
(you can possibly fathom the amount of conjecture that would have drowned out the topic had the faith of the king at the time of Yusuf pbuh been raised for nit-picking.
1141. It is related that 'Abdullah said, "We used to greet the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he was praying and he would reply to us. But when we returned from the Negus [in Abyssinia] we greeted him and he did not reply to us. He said, 'In the prayer is occupation enough.'"
Bukhari 1188.
It is related from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, announced the death of the Negus on the day that he died. He went out to the place of prayer and people formed rows and he said the*takbir*four times.
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever prays over the bier." He said, "Pray over your companion." He said, "Pray for the Negus." He called it prayer (salat) even though it contains neither*ruku' nor prostration nor recitation. It does contain*takbirs*and the*taslim.
1263. It is related that Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, announced to us the death of the Negus, the Ruler of Abyssinia, on the day that he died. He said, 'Ask forgiveness for your brother.'"
1269. It is related from Jabir that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed for Ashama the Negus, and said the*takbir*four times. Salim said "Ashama" and 'Abdu's-Samad corroborated it.
(smile) It is an interesting verse, isn't it? There is a stream of thought that states that it refers to peoples before the time of the Prophet Mohammed. But I myself feel that it could be equally applied today. There are many people who are very little aware of the Guidance in the Qur'an, and indeed quite a few who have no knowledge of it at all.
(smile) Furthermore, among various peoples are different understandings of their traditions and texts. You know, as a child in Catholic school, I believed in God, but I never understood the trinity. It made no sense to me. I had a deep respect for Jesus (may God Bless him), but I didn't understand how he could be God. (smile) Before I learnt of the Qur'anic teachings on God and Jesus, therefore, what was my status?
Finally, in the end, Judgment is God's prerogative alone. Not I, nor you, nor anyone else can say for sure what is going to happen to people after they die. (smile) Even the Prophet Mohammed (may God Bless him) did not know, unless God specifically Gave him this knowledge (he did tell us of a few people's status, but in general we don't know).
(smile) God reassures us in the Qur'an that if we believe and try hard, that we won't have anything to worry about in the Next Life. (smile) But, you know, all sincere believers are always a bit concerned that they are making mistakes in this life. Because we do make them... all too often... and so we should always be alert to this fact, and strive to do better. No matter what we may call ourselves.
(smile) You have been invited to take a closer look at God's Word in the Qur'an. (smile) You have already started this process, and that is a wonderful thing! I would suggest that you continue. But realize that different people have different opinions and interpretations of God's Word, and that translations always include a certain amount of interpretation. (smile) What is important is that you read the Qur'an looking for God's Guidance, not for anyone's (including your own) opinion. Just open the book and read. (smile) As it says in the beginning of Chapter 2, Al-Baqarah (The Cow) [my own rough translation]: In this book, there is no doubt, is Guidance for those who reach out their awareness seeking God. Those that have trust and belief in the Unseen, who stand in prayer, and who give to others from what We have Gifted them. Those that have trust and faith in what was Sent down to you [Revelation] and what was Sent down before you, and who are convinced of the reality of the Next Life. Those are the ones on the Path of their Protecting Lord, and those are the ones who will reap the success of their efforts.
(smile) If you open the Qur'an in faith and goodness, seeking Guidance from God... you will find it.
May God, the Benevolent, the Kind, Guide us to seek His Goodly Pleasure.
Last edited by MuslimInshallah; 10-10-2015 at 07:16 PM.
Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 62, (its English translation is):
Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
Please note 2 important points:
1. We have to consider all the texts for a confirmed rule of Islam. If you see other verses and ahaadeeth ( the saying of the Prophet Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam ), you will understand that Allah will not admit a person to Paradise if he /she is not a believer in and the follower of Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam.
2. The verse 62 of Al-Baqarah gives a few conditions, one of them is that "they do righteous deeds". If a person doesn't follow Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam, his actions cannot be accepted as amilus-saalihaat i.e. righteous deeds. So this part of the verse (red here) points to the following of the Final Prophet Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam. A person who understands and believes that he/she must follow Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam to be protected from Hell, then he/she will certainly believe in his Prophet-hood.
Note it please that the words عمل صالحاً and عملوا صا لحا ت which mean "that one or those who do righteous deeds", point to a vast topic. It includes 5 times daily prayer, fasting in Ramadhaan, paying yearly the obligatory charity on wealth, gold, silver and agricultural produce etc. as well as Hajj once in life if a Muslim can afford it. All of these actions will be acceptable only if the first pillar of kalimah Shahaadat is said with tongue and believed in with heart and mind. So one shouldn't think that righteous deeds merely means the ordinary harmless deeds which even a kaafir performs. In Islam it is a very broad term which includes the above mentioned pillars as well as the character of Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam in all dealings with all kind of people.
That was a good read. Learnt something new... Thanks alot.
format_quote Originally Posted by Abz2000
The Negus of Abyssinia refused to reject the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) despite the opposition he received from his subjects and was very warm towards the Muslims, however continued upon the guidance of Allah he had with him, this was not rejected by the Prophet pbuh while the final shariah was still in it's early stages of formation and it is reported that the Prophet pbuh even prayed the funeral prayer of the Negus on the day the Negus died. (the information of the death was unlikely to have reached him via human sources).
edit: check this link, it appears that there was a second negus:
Just to clarify to the readers, the Negus quoted above is the Second Negus of Abyssinia (aka Ashamah- A Muslim) and not the first Negus who was kind and warm to the Muslims but never accepted Islam, according to reports.
That was a good read. Learnt something new... Thanks alot.
Just to clarify to the readers, the Negus quoted above is the Second Negus of Abyssinia (aka Ashamah- A Muslim) and not the first Negus who was kind and warm to the Muslims but never accepted Islam, according to reports.
He was the first Negus, the one who was kind to the Muslims who migrated to Habshah. He didn't announce his Islam in Public due to the Christians but he had praised and accepted the verses of surah Maryam which was recited to him by the Muslims; and the Prophet Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wasallam prayed his funeral prayer when he passed away. So he was confirmed Muslim. See the seera books for proof. This also proves that Allah accepted his hidden faith.
Regarding the verse 62 of surah Al-Baqarah, we must keep in mind another situation too. It is possible that some people of any religion like Christianity, Judaism and saabi'een may be located in places where any knowledge or information about Muhammad salla Allaho alaihi wa sallam and The Holy Qur'aan didn't reach, Such people if simply believe in One God and the Hereafter and do righteous deeds according to their Divine books, Allah's promise given in this verse will also include them. But those Christians who make Jesus God or the son of God are not included in this verse. There are many Christians who believe in One Single God because their conscience (dameer) accepts only One Single God. According to the verses 172, 173 and 174 of surah Al-A'raaf, Allah Almighty has put a sense in every human being to believe in One Single God. The English translation of these verses is:
172. And when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."
173. Or [lest] you say, "It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with Allah before, and we were but descendants after them. Then would You destroy us for what the falsifiers have done?"
174. And thus do We [explain in] detail the verses, so that they will return (to the belief in the Oneness of God).
In simple term, that verse is referring to those Christians/Jews who believed in the Messengers sent to them before the arrival of the last and final Prophet, Muhammad SAW.
This is exactly what it means.
God sent many messengers before MOHAMMED (pbuh), and those who followed those messengers will have no fear and they'll go to heaven in shaa ALLAH.
my name is vipin viswanathan. i accepted christainity 15 years ago. i have many muslim friends and shared their faith to me. today i read quran for first time. i read only 100 verse in al baqarah.
my doubt
al baqarah verse 62. what does it mean?
62. Those who believe, and those who are Jewish, and the Christians, and the Sabeans-any who believe in God and the Last Day, and act righteously-will have their reward with their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.
does it mean christains have nothing to fear and grieve as long as we continue believe in god, last day and act righteously?
any insight appreciated.
that verse refers to past Christians, before the advent of Prophet Muhammad [saw], i.e, those monotheist [Unitarian and not Trinitarians] Christians and Jews who believed in Allah and the Prophets [pbut] and did right before Prophet [saw] came with his message will go to heaven, but since God ahs sent Prophet Muhammad [saw] to all mankind and the new Islamic message to all mankind then the only way of salvation for anyone is whoever hears of it has to convert to Muslim
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