IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE OWNER OF THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT
The Concept of God
For most of us, we presuppose a premise that God is above any need or want - and hold fast to this idea as a firm base for belief.
However, we as a species are diverse and have many languages. And with prejudice, we often build up barriers which stop us from learning about each others true theology.
We may find we have more in common than not.
One of the main factors I see prop up on forums is the idea that if a God is of a different name - it is a different God. If the theology is different, then yes - it's a different god that is worshipped.
But in most cases I have found that people of the world, even parts where Islam may never have reached, have had held onto the idea that God is 1 and is above need and want - is the creator of all. And this alludes to the possibility of prophets who may have visited these people in an ancient past undocumented.
As wondrous as this is, we find ourselves arguing and debating idiots with agendas on forums without giving eachother much of a chance to actually share something amazing which can make us all really take a step back in wonderment and appreciate God in all His magnificence as much as we humanly can.
yes, we still find the odd person who will say "Your God is different to my god because the names are different".
I don't believe it matters, as long as we are referring to the same God - the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, Everything - we should aim to call him by the best of names.
It's quite fascinating to learn that even the jungle cultures of this world have remarkable similarities to the Monotheistic concept of God, and how the concept relates directly to the rendering of the spoken name of God.
THE ZULU CONCEPT
In South Africa, the Zulus, a very virile and militant people - a nation akin to the Qureish of pre- Islamic Arabia - have given a name to God Almighty - uMVELINQANGI. This word when properly articulated in its own dialect, sounds identical to the Arabic words Walla-hu-gani, meaning - "And Allah is Rich" (Bounteous). It also sounds like "Allegany" of the Red Indians of North America (Remember their ALLEGANY mountain). The origin or real meaning of the word "Allegany," is not commonly known to the American people. But ask any Zulu as to who or what this uMvelinqangi is and he will surely explain to you in Zulu:
Believe me, this is almost a word for word translation of Sura Ikhlas, Chapter 112 of the Holy Qur'an.
SAY: HE IS ALLAH THE ONE AND ONLY;
ALLAH, THE ETERNAL ABSOLUTE;
HE BEGETTETH NOT, NOR IS HE BEGOTTEN:
AND THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO HIM. - Holy Qur'an 112:1-4
Now, compare the above verses with my free translation of what the Zulu actually said:
"Oh Sir! He is a pure and Holy Spirit, He does not beget and He is not begotten, and further there is nothing like Him."
Every African tribe, South of the Zambesi River, that is, in Southern Africa, have given different names to the Almighty - Tixo, Modimo, uNkulunkulu, etc., and each and every African language group will take pains to explain the same pure and holy concept as the Zulu. It is to the glory of the African nations that though they had no written languages, and hence no written records, therefore not being able to recount the names of their respective prophets, yet not a single one of the tribes ever stooped down to worshipping idols or images of either of men or animals, until the White man first introduced his religion and gave the African his anthropomorphic concept of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, and brought the African down to bowing before the statues of Jesus, Mary, St. Joseph, St. Christopher and so on.
Out of the dozens of African tribes inhabiting this part of the world, not a single one of them ever made "umfanegisos"(images) of their God. Yet they were capable of carving out of wood, elephants and lions, and reproducing men and women also, in clay. Besides, the Zulus also had some knowledge of metallurgy. When questioned an old Zulu as to the reason, why the Africans did not make umfanegisos of their Gods, he replied, "How could we make images of Him (God Almighty) when we know that He is not like a man, He is not like a monkey, or an elephant or a snake: He is not like anything we can think of or imagine. He is a pure and Holy Spirit."
LIKE THE ARABS
This term, uMVELINQANGI, though well known to the Zulus, was not commonly used. Again they were like the pagan Qureish of Pre-Islamic Arabia who knew the name Allah, but passed Him by, because they felt that He was too High, too Pure, too Holy to be approached, so they went for their substitutary and imaginary gods - their Al- Lats, AI-Uzzas and Al-Manats and a hundred besides. The Zulus too would not call upon uMvelinqangi directly, but he was better than the Arab of the Ayyam-ul-jahiliyya (days of ignorance), because he did not go after false gods; he only invoked the spirits of his ancestors to intercede with uMvelinqangi on his behalf, exactly as the Catholics do in invoking the Virgin Mary and the Saints.
The more common term used by the Zulus for their God is uNKULUNKULU which literally means - the Greatest of the Great or the Mightiest of the Mighty (Almighty). More colloquially when taking oath, they would exclaim "iNkosi phe-Zulu" meaning - the Lord Above (knows), or the God in Heaven (knows), or Heaven knows, that I am speaking the truth. The word "zulu" in the language of the Zulu literally means High Heaven, and they consider themselves to be superior to the numerous other tribes of Southern Africa, being in this respect like the Querish among the dwellers of the desert before Islam.
CONCEPT FROM THE EAST
The Hindi word for God Almighty is PRAMATMA. In Sanskrit, the language of ancient India, "Atma" meant the soul, and"Pram-atma" meant the Great and Holy Soul, or the Holy Spirit, which is really a beautiful description of the "Father" in Heaven. The Bible says, "God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Not in form, shape or size, but in SPIRIT.
Despite his pantheistic* interpretation of the Divinity, the name the Hindu gives the Supreme Being, in his classical language, is OM (Aum), which means Guardian or Protector. A very suitable attribute about which the Muslim can have no misgivings.
* "Pantheism:" a doctrine in which people believe that God is everything, and everything is God. The Muslim puts the right emphasis when he says - "EVERYTHING IS GOD'S!" Do you realise the stupendous difference this apostrophe 's makes to the concept of God?
CONCEPT FROM THE WEST FROM THE WEST
The Anglo/Saxon and the Teuton in their own and other allied European languages call their object of worship "GOD" or words of similar sound and import, i.e.
God in English;
Got in Afrikaans (the language of the descendants of the Dutch from Holland in South Africa);
Gott in German; and
Gudd in Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages.
The ancient Phoenicians called their God - ALLON - (not far from Allah if we could only hear it articulated), and the Canaanites - ADO. The Israelites not only shared the word EL with the original people of Palestine, but borrowed the name of their chief deity - ADO and turned it into ADONAI, and everywhere the four-letter word YHWH occured in their Holy Scriptures, they read "Adonai" instead of "Yahuwa." You will not fail to notice the resemblance between the Jewish Adonai and the heathen Adonis. ADONIS was a "beautiful godling loved by Venus" in the Greek pantheon.
THE LATIN CONCEPT
In the Latin-dominated languages of Western Europe, where Latin had remained dominant in learning and diplomacy for centuries, the chief term used for God is DEUS:
Deus in Portuguese;
Dieu in French;
Dio in Italian;
Dies in Spanish;
Dia in Scotch and Irish; and
Duw in Welsh.
Surprisingly in all the languages above, Deus and all the similar sounding words mean heaven.
Moulana Vidyarthi, in his monumental work - "Muhammad in World Scriptures," devotes a hundred pages to the names of God in the different languages. And out of a list of 155 attributive names, over 40 of them use the word "Heaven" or the "Above," in their language in describing God. Though the Muslim chants the Asma-ul-husna (the most beautiful names), 99 as derived from the Holy Qur'an with the crowning name, ALLAH; "Heaven" is not one of those ninety-nine attributes. Symbolically, heaven may be described as the abode of God, and in the words of Wordsworth in Tintern Abbey:
WHOSE DWELLING IS THE LIGHT OF SETTING SUNS, AND THE ROUND OCEAN AND THE LIVING AIR, AND IN THE BLUE SKY, AND IN THE MIND OF MAN: A MOTION AND A SPIRIT THAT IMPELS ALL THINKING THINGS, ALL OBJECTS OF ALL THOUGHTS, AND ROLLS THROUGH ALL THINGS.
CONCEPT FROM BEYOND THE FAR EAST
Among all the 155 tantalising names of God in the various tongues, the one that tickled me most was - "A-T-N-A-T-U!"
WHAT IS SO FUNNY OR SO NOVEL ABOUT ATNATU?
The aborgine of South Australia calls his God "Atnatu" because some philosopher, poet or prophet had programmed him, that the Father in Heaven is absolutely free from all needs; He is independant; He needs no food nor drink. This quality, in his primitive, un-inhibited language, he conversely named ATNATU, which literally meant "the One without an anus - the One without any flaw" - i.e. the One from Whom no impurity flows or emanates. When I started sharing this novel idea with Hindu, Muslim and Christian friends, without exception, their immediate reaction was one of mirth, they giggled and laughed. Most of them not realising that the joke was on them. The boot was on the other foot. Though the word "anus" is a very small word, only four letters in English, most people have not heard it. One is forced to use the colloquial substitute which I hesitate to reproduce here, nor will I use the same in public meetings because of people's hypersensitivity - because in the words of Abdullah Yusuf All, people "HAD PERVERTED THEIR LANGUAGE ONCE BEAUTIFUL, INTO JARGONS OF EMPTY ELEGANCE AND UNMEANING FUTILITY."
Therefore to ease the situation, in a round-about-way let us say that where you have an "input," you must allow for an "output." The one who eats, must have the call of nature - the toilet or the bush - and our primitive friend smelt the need, which he could never attribute to his Creator. Therefore, he called his God - ATNATU! 'The one without the excretory system or its tail end.
GOD EATS NOT!
This novel concept of God by primitive man, is not really altogether novel. God Almighty conveys the same truth to mankind, as in His Last and Final Revelation - The Holy Qur'an - but in a language so noble, so sublime, as befitting its Author. But because of its very finesse, and refined manner of expression we have overlooked the Message. We are commanded to say to all those who wish to wean us from the worship of the One True God -
SAY: "SHALL I TAKE FOR MY PROTECTOR ANY BUT ALLAH
THE ORIGINATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH?
WHEN IT IS HE WHO FEEDS BUT HAS NO NEED TO BE FED." - Qur'an, Surah An'am 6:14
In other words, we are made to declare that - "WE WILL NOT TAKE ANYONE AS OUR LORD AND PROTECTOR, OTHER THAN ALLAH (Lit. - The One God), WHO IS THE WONDERFUL ORIGINATOR OF THE UNIVERSE.".
__________
What you shouldn't do is attempt to claim you worship a different God based on the name you are knowing HIM by.
What you may be surprised to find is that theologically, people actually have a lot more in common and Islam has the truth of the fruit to prove it. Just re-read this post if you do not believe me.
Astonishing as it may sound, it is an admitted fact that prior to the sixteenth century, the word "Jehovah," was unheard of. Whenever the origin of this word appeared in its true Hebrew form in Jewish Scriptures (read from right to left as in Arabic) Yet, Huh, Wav, Huh; or Y.H.W.H. these four letters were preceded by a substitute word "Adonai," to warn the reader that the following word was not to be articulated. The Jews took meticulous care in repeating this exercise in their "Book of God" six thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three times - interpolating the words "Adonai" or "Elohim." They sincerely believed that this awesome name of God was never to be pronounced. This prohibition was no ordinary affair: it called for a penalty of death on one who dared to utter it, and this taboo has been more successful than all the "DO's" and "DON'T's" of the Ten Commandments put together.
If Jehovah is the name of God Almighty, and if the 27 Books of the New Testament were inspired by Him, then it is an anomaly of the highest order, that He (Jehovah) signally failed to have His Own Name recorded in "His Word" (N.T.) the Christian addition to the Jewish Bible. The Christians claim that they have in their possession over twenty-four thousand so-called "originals" of their Holy Writ in the Greek language, and yet not a single parchment has "Jehovah" written in it. Curiously this "name of God" (?) has been sacrilegiously replaced by the Greek words ky'ri.os and the.os', which mean 'Lord' and 'God.' Yet, miracle of miracles - Alleluya! - no devil or saint has been able to eliminate the word "ALLAH" from the so-called New Testament of the Christians.
NEW FANGLED DOCTRINES
A hundred years ago, all of a sudden, more than a hundred new cults and denominations of Christiandom mushroomed in the United States of America. The Seventh Day Adventists, the Christian Scientists, the Menonites, the Christiadelphins, The Jehovah's Witnesses and the like. The founder of the last named cult, a Judge Rutherford, about whom the orthodox Christians say that he was no "Judge." This Judge was a voracious book-worm and a prolific writer. He stumbled across the word "Jehovah" which tickled him immensely, and he made a religion out of it.
Judge Rutherford, followed by Charles T. Russell created a new "church," which in its system of organisation and administration is second to none in the world. There is very much we Muslims can learn from their enthusiasm and methodology. Read, "Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave" by Schelin. It is not their theology I am enamoured with but their modus operandi (the way they operate). Read, how this incorrigible sect came very close to conquering Germany before Hitler. Read, about their second come- back in West Germany. Think, why they are making a most concerted effort in Nigeria. Will the system or religion that prevails in Nigeria, be utlimately the norm of the rest of Africa! This giant is the hero of the majority of the African people south of the Sahara. Muslims must reflect.
VIRILE SECT
The "Jehovah's Witnesses," have made the most phenominal progress of all the religious sects of the past hundred years, on a percentage basis. The Bahaies are moving at a snails-pace in comparison, actually receding in ratio with the other Christian off-shoots. These "Witnesses" are the fittest in their fight against the other Christians as well as against the Muslims. Simply because they programme themselves five times a week in their "Kingdom Halls," and what they learn they implement during the week-ends. We Muslims are supposed to be "programmed" five times a day in our daily Salaat, but we have lost the true purpose of this Pillar of Islam. Our Salaat is for earning Sawaab (spiritual blessings) only.
They have made the word JEHOVAH famous. They knock at people's doors, asking the question - "What is His Name?" The orthodox Christian replies - "God." They say, "God is not a name, it is an object of worship. What's His Name?" "Father," says the orthodox as a second try. "Is your father God?" Of course not! So what is His Name? "JEHOVAH! is His Name," says the "Witness" to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. He has become a professor of this one word. He has made it into a religion.
THE "TETRAGRAMMATON"
Why not for a change ask him, a question or two. Ask him where he got the word Jehovah from? He will surely reply - "From the Holy Bible." What does it say? Does it spell out the word J-e-h-o-v-a-h? "No," he will reply. "There is a 'tetragrammaton' in the Bible from which the word Jehovah is derived." What is a tetragrammaton? No one seems to have heard this highly mystical term. In the University of Illinois in the U.S.A. I asked a gathering of students and lecturers whether any one had heard this jaw-breaker! Not one of them knew its meaning! But every Jehovah's Witness seems to know, even the commonest of them. They have really specialised - ours is a world of specialisation. They are Professors of the one word - Jehovah.
What then is a "tetragrammaton!" The Jehovah's Witness replies, "Y H W Hi!"
"No!" "What I want to know from you is, what does the word tetragrammaton mean?" You will find him most reluctant in explaining. Either he does not really know, or he is feeling embarrassed in replying. "Tetra," in Greek means FOUR, and "grammaton," means LETTERS. It simply means "a four letter word."
Can you read into Y H W H the word Jehovah? I cannot. "No!", says the Jehovah's Witness, "we ought to add vowels to these four consonents to produce the sound. Originally, both Hebrew and Arabic were written without the vowel signs The native of each language was able to read if even without those vowels. Not so the outsider, for whose benefit the vowels were invented.
THE "J" SICKNESS
Let us add the vowels as the "Witness" suggests. YHWH becomes YeHoWaH. Juggle as you like but you can never materialise Jehovah! Ask him, from which hat he drew his "J". He will tell you that "this is the 'popular' pronunciation from the 16th century." The exact sound of the four letters YHWH is known neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, yet he is ramming JEHOVAH down everyones throats. The European Christians have developed a fondness (sickness) for the letter "J" They add J's where there are no Jays. Look!
Yael he converts to Joel
Yehuda to Juda
Yeheshua to Joshua
Yusuf to Joseph
Yunus to Jonah
Yesus to Jesus
Yehowa to Jehovah
There is no end to the Westerner's infatuation for the letter "J." Now in the busy streets of South Africa, he charges people who carelessly cross them for "jay-walking," but nobody charges him for converting Jewish (Yehudi) names into Gentile names.
The letters Y H W H occur in the Hebrew (Jewish) Scriptures 6 823 times, boasts the Jehovah's Witness, and it occurs in combination with the word "Elohim;" 156 times in the booklet called Genesis alone. This combination YHWH/ELOHIM has been consistently translated in the English Bible as "Lord God," "Lord God," Lord God," ad infinitum.
COMMON ORIGIN
What is YHWH; and what is ELOHIM? Since the lews did not articulate the word YHWH for centuries, and since even the Chief Rabbis would not allow the ineffable to be heard, they have forfeited the right to claim dogmatically how the word is to be sounded. We have to seek the aid of the Arab to revive Hebrew, a language which had once died out. In every linguistic difficulty recourse has to be made to Arabic, a sister language, which has remained alive and viable. Racially and linguistically, the Arabs and the Jews have a common origin, going back to Father Abraham.
Note the startling resemblance between the languages, very often the same sounding words carry identical meaning in both.
HEBREW ARABIC ENGLISH
Elah Ilah god
Ikhud Ahud one
Yaum Yaum day
Shaloam Salaam peace
Yahuwa Ya Huwa oh he
YHWH or Yehova or Yahuwa all mean the very same thing. "Ya" is a vocative and an exclamatory particle in both Hebrew and Arabic, meaning Oh! And "Huwa" or "Hu" means He, again in both Hebrew and Arabic. Together they mean Oh He! So instead of YHWH ELOHIM, we now have Oh He! ELOHIM.
THE MIND BLOW
As we know, Arabic and Hebrew Aramaic are sister languages.
Consider that of the 99 names of Allah the Muslims were given, one is Al Hayy (The ever living)
And the Ayaat - "wa huwa ala kulli shay'in kadeer" - And He is the ONE with Mights (power/able to do all things)
Wa huwa / Ya hovah - mean the same thing. "He is". The great I AM is expounded upon in more detail in the Qur'an - when we learn the context it fits, the verse completes with "the One with Might (Power/able to do all things)"
The suffix "IM" of the word "ELOHIM" is a plural of respect in Hebrew.
(Remember that in Arabic and Hebrew there are two types of plurals. One of numbers and the other of honour (the Royal Plural) as in Royal proclamations. Since the plural of honour is uncommon in the language of the European, he has confused these plurals to connote a plurality in the "godhead," hence his justification for his Doctrine of the Holy Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Ghost).
Hence ELOHIM = ELOH + IM. Now I want you to perform an exercise. Do you see the words: YA-HUWA ELOH-IM? Place your left hand index finger on the first two letters "YA" meaning oh! and the other index finger on the "IM" a plural of respect. What you now have remaining in Huwa Eloh or Huwa Elah.
El in Hebrew means god, and Elah or Eloh also stands for the same name - god. Therefore, "Huwa el Elah" or HUWA 'L LAH, which is identical to the Quranic expression - Huwal Lah (meaning: HE IS ALLAH) of the verse QUL HUWAL LAH HU AHUD
QUL - SAY:
HUWAL LAH - HE IS ALLAH
HU AHAD - HE IS ONE (the one and only) (Qur'an 112:1)
(Mind Blowing Stuff)
The above exercise proves that El, Elah and Elohim are not three distinctly different words. They all represent the single Arabic word Allah. This is not my wishful thinking. Please see below. It is a photostatic reproduction of a page from the English Bible, edited by Rev. C. I. Scofield,D.D., with his Bible Commentary· This Doctor of Divinity is well respected among the Bible Scholars of the Christian world. He is backed in his "NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION" of this translation by a galaxy of eight other D.D.'s:
Rev. Henry G. Weston, D.D., LL.D., President Crozer Theological jeminary.
Rev. W. G. Moorehead, D.D., President Xenia (U.I,) Theological Seminary.
Rev. lames M. Gray, D.D., President Moody Bible Institute.
Rev. Elmore Harris, D.D., President Toronto Bible Institute.
Rev. William !. Erdman, D.D., Author "The Gospel of John," etc.
Rev. Arthur T. Pierson, D.D., Author, Editor, Teacher, etc.
Rev. William L. Pettingill, D.D., Author, Editor, Teacher.
Arno C. Gaebelein, Author "Harmoney of Prophetic Word," etc.
I have not listed the above luminaries to awe you. They have been unanimous in supporting Rev. Scofield in his "New and Improved" commentary.
Please note that in their comment No. 1 below left, they concur that - "Elohim, (sometimes El or Elah meaning God)" and alternatively spelled "Alah" (line three, third word). All the eight D.D.'s above could not have been blind in dittoing the spelling "Alah" for God. How far were they from the Arabic word spelled - ALLAH - in English, I ask you dear reader? This is Allah's handiwork, but the Devil (I must give him a capital "D," he deserves it) was not slow in making a quick come-back through his agents. You will find these references in the recent reproduction of "The New Scofield Reference Bible." You will not be able to lay your hands anymore on the Bible with "Alah" in it. The Devil has seen to that.
QUICK ABROGATION
"Now You See It" - "Now You Don't" is an old, old gimmick in the West. Compare the above and see how cleverly, how deftly the new band of missionaries expunged the word "Alah" from the "Authorised King James Version" of the Scofield translation of the Bible.
__________
Hebrew Aramaic and Arabic are sister languages, so it comes as no surprise that when Moses (pbuh) was in Exile, he married Jethroes daughter - Jethroe was an Arab - and Moses was able to communicate with the Arabs simply because their languages shared the same roots - they were Semitic.
For those who may be finding this difficult to follow, I will attempt to explain in sha Allah.
The idea being that the promise of God to Abraham that He will make Abrahams seeds mutiply and prosper, was truthfully witnessed in biblical timelines - Moses, descended from Isaac, and Jethroes daughter, descended from Ishmael.
Furthermore, as we discovered earlier in this thread, the Jews have traditionally staved off calling God by His glorious names, and refer to Him rather inconspicuously, this has led to many confusions within Christianity and even led to a few modern day sects which have no idea what they blabber on about, such as the Jehovas Witnesses.
The penny drops though, when we are shown real evidence regarding the words YHWH and Eloh-im, and understand they are parts of an incomplete statement - or - declaration of faith, "YHWH-ELOH-IM" - "Oh HE -(is)- GOD(Royal Plural)"
YHWH-ELohim (hebrew) / Yahuwa'llah (Arabic) / Lo - He is God (English)
Mind blown yet?
It is US, the MUSLIMS, who have this truth. While they keep guessing at its meaning and approach the name of God with no understanding.
Hallelujah - ye say? but know not, what it means...
Al Hayyu'l Qayyum: Yahweh / YHWH
Allahu laa ilaha Illahuwa'l Hayyu'l Qayyum!!! The Greatest Named Attribute of God is this, according to authentic Muslim sources.
____________ ___ _____________
format_quote Originally Posted by Sister TU from VCforum
Scimi, sometimes you hurt my brain with all the information you get into...your lengthy posts are ones to go back to and digest a little bit at a time. Especially in the mornings. Which reminds me I haven't prayed in a few days....
Oh haha sorry sister TU.
Imagine having to find this info yourself and then understand it, then post it so others can follow it - makes my brain hurt too hehe.
But it's sooo worth it - we get to know "things" which are deeply buried secrets. Things that help us to see reality more clearly. To understand the past, to be able to measure it with a yardstick that can compensate for the things we did not know before... this to me is fascinating and makes me feel closer to God because in the process of comparative studies I find that God has placed all the clues there for us to follow.... problem is, not many follow on. Hardly anyone is interested in comparative religion or comparatvie history, as both of these sound boring - nothing could be further from the truth.
They are amazing subjects.
Scimi
format_quote Originally Posted by Sister AnonymousDamsel from VCforum
What an amazing article.Such interesting information.Zulu girl up in here!!
I'm pleased you liked it
Shangdi or Shang-ti (Chinese: 上帝; pinyin: Shàngdì), also written simply as Di or Ti (Chinese: 帝; pinyin: Dì; "Emperor"), is a supreme god and sky deity in China's traditional religions. At a point he was identified as Tian, "Heaven", the "Universe", the "Great All".
The earliest references to Shang Di are found in oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty in the 2nd millennium BC.
I doubt it - we have not made the same mistakes the ancients did.
We have a preserved Qur'an, and even the Ahadeeth have been commented on by non Muslim scholars with comments such as "The stringent methodology by which the early Muslims collated the sayings of their prophet, is an example by which we can authenticate any known word attributed to another, but only if we take a leaf out of their (the Muslims) book."
or to that effect.
We have the sign and the seal.
We will not suffer as they did - but we will be tested at each step. If we take that step, we are safe for Allah tells us, take a step towards me, I come running to you.
If anything, I'd say we are helping to recorrect the mistakes of the ancients.
What exam? please do elaborate - you know I have no education? I was a failure in everything, so what you wrote has really touched me deeply. If anything I, an uneducated person can teach someone who is educating themselves and sitting exams - I feel like Allah has blessed me with an atom of a drop of knowledge.
I just hope what I share is good, because all the good comes from Allah and only the mistakes are mine.
What exam? please do elaborate - you know I have no education? I was a failure in everything, so what you wrote has really touched me deeply. If anything I, an uneducated person can teach someone who is educating themselves and sitting exams - I feel like Allah has blessed me with an atom of a drop of knowledge.
I just hope what I share is good, because all the good comes from Allah and only the mistakes are mine.
Scimi
Alhamdulillah, it was a very beneficial post and may we all learn and benefit from it.
I am in my final year of A-levels, one of the subjects I am studying is Islam and within that the concept of God both in Islam and also other religions. This suited the specification nicely and will be a huge help, alhamdulillah.
I wouldn't say you were a failure or uneducated. Academic education is very important in some respects, but in all honesty sitting at a desk for fifteen years of your life and gaining some slips of paper to declare that at the end make a very small part of being 'educated' or 'literate'. Academic success doesn't necessarily mean you are well educated or particularly knowledgeable. When I speak to someone, it is not their qualifications which call out to me, but their character and manners. And this form of education you don't learn at an institution, you learn it from life and its vast experiences. And those who learn from life are amongst the most educated people I've met, and they may not have a single academic qualification to their name.
In that respect I am uneducated, very much a student of life probably in grade 1 .
I've spent years chasing questions which bugged me. Purchasing books, learning various methods of study, and the ologiies which come with it. My main study was Surah Al Kahf, ayahs 83-99 - I wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery of Gog Magog and Dhul Qarnayn... I now have no questions left with that study as the answers I have come to understand through diligent research and beseeching Allah to open my understanding - have paid off.
I have what I feel are secrets which none but those I share with, know.
I learnt to ask better questions and received better answers, and today, no info on the story of dhul qarnayn and yajuj majuj hold any weight except for that which is in the Qur'an.
I've not done the conventional study either, in my search for the identity of Dhul Qarnayn, I looked to the ancient historians such as Josephus, Pliny the Elder, Pseudo Methodius, Cyropaedia of Xenophon - and of course my favourite - Herodotus (people most Muslims have never even heard of)... and it was here between Josephus, Xenophon and Herodotus that I found the real identity of Dhul Qarnayn, and that - after the investigation into Jeremiah, Isaiah, and other bible books were all expended in my research.
I was thus able to identify with satisfaction wh Dhul Qarnany really was in history, and further, where he travelled to, the scope of his journey, the matching of his travels to those of the Qur'an and the location of the barrier he built out of Iron and what I identify as "lava" from a nearby volcano. And thus, I was also able to identify who was termed as Ya'juj and Ma'juj in the Qur'an.
This info I sent to scholars such as Shaikh Imran Nazar Hosein, who didn't entertain the proofs I gave to him as it would most likely mean he would have to revise three books he has written.
We stand on the shoulders of giants when we step out into research. It's a journey like no other, I sleep and I dream of times past, I walk with ancients and listen to them as they impart words of wisdom, I witness the sweeping arc of their arms as they attempt to relay ideas unknown to their people, and I follow on from those sympathetic revelations which I find in the very research I have committed ten years to (possibly more).
Maybe I should write a book... maybe I should keep quiet. The info I have is world changing.
Scimi
EDIT: sorry I got lost in that rant - What I wanted to relay was this: everything posted in this thread is part and parcel of me searching for dhul qarnayn and yajuj majuj... these are parts of the offshoots I learnt during my investigations. And so, this thread
Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
I'm truly honoured to have this thread your first subbed one
It has truly made my day even more enjoyable.
I love sharing knowledge, and having it shared back to me in return.
Often I do not reply straight away because I love to mull over what I read, let it digest and form new thought, before I respond. But that's just me... My mouth can get me into trouble if I don't exercise caution. hehe.
This subscription button works like a treat Alhamdulilah.
Jazahka Allah for the recommendations - insha Allah i'll have a read soon.
Maybe this is why the first word that prophet Muhammad saw was given was 'Iqra' - Read!
The right knowledge really does change us for the better in more ways than we can count. Alhamdulilah.
In Islam, knowledge comes before action; there can be no action without knowledge, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So know (O Muhammad) that Laa ilaaha ill-Allâh (none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh), and ask forgiveness for your sin, and also for (the sin of) believing men and believing women”[Muhammad 47:19]
Allaah warns every Muslim against speaking without knowledge, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And follow not (O man, i.e., say not, or do not, or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allâh)”[al-Israa’ 17:36]
https://islamqa.info/en/10471
May Allah swt continue to bless you & us with intellect Ameen.
Pain and hardships allow you to grow spiritually Alhamdulilah so smile when a so called calamity befalls upon you.
Alhamdulilah Allah swt is the greatest.
Brother Najimuddin... I don't know, the thought is quite overwhelming. But if I die, this knowledge goes with me. Allahu Alam. I should start, you are correct.
Knowledge is one of those treasures which becomes priceless when shared with others, if it is kept to oneself then it doesn't achieve the heights it can in our lives.
SubhanAllah, I think there is a hadith which says that the Prophet's (pbut) do not leave behind material wealth, they leave knowledge - which is the inheritance of the Prophets (pbut).
So I think you should definitely write a book, this thread is really interesting ma'sha'Allah as well as the fact this is the result of your own research - I'll be waiting for it .
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE OWNER OF THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT
The Concept of God
For most of us, we presuppose a premise that God is above any need or want - and hold fast to this idea as a firm base for belief.
However, we as a species are diverse and have many languages. And with prejudice, we often build up barriers which stop us from learning about each others true theology.
We may find we have more in common than not.
Um, don't the majority of Gods command something from there followers?
That's pretty strong evidence God wants or needs something, after why would you command a action otherwise?
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
JazakAllah khayr
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Bookmarks