What is the difference between a mosque, madrassah and masjid?
Mosque is the english word for 'Masjid', both of which denote a Muslim place of worship. A Madrasah is an Islamic school.
What is a Mullah and is that different than an Imam and what exactly is a kalifate?
'Mullah' is a title used in some cultures to refer to someone who is learned in the religion. The most common title used is 'Shaykh'. Someone knowledgeable is also said to be an 'Âlim.
Imam means 'leader' and is most commonly used to refer to the one who leads the prayer; the person who leads is usually the one who knows the most Qur'an. The word 'Imam' is also used to refer to prominent Muslim scholars. eg. Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (the preceding 4 are often called 'the four imams'), Imam Ibn Kathir, Imam Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalani, Imam Al-Barbahari, Imam Adh-Dhahabi and so on and so forth.
Do muslims believe the hadiths are just as important as the quran? why do muslims need hadiths?
The hadiths are an integral source in Islam as they are comprise the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh which the Qur'an commands Muslims to follow. All of the religious practices are understood through the the teachings of the Prophet pbuh. For more info, you can refer to this thread: http://www.islamicboard.com/islamic-...nah-islam.html
How come muslims dont do things from Judaism and Christianity like Baptism or Mikvah?
Muslims have their own religious practices so they have no need to borrow and mimic practices from other religions. The Qur'an actually responds to the issue of baptism. We baptise our souls in the religion of God: 2:138 Our way is the Baptism of God. And who is better than God in baptizing? Him alone do we worship.
In the Qur'anic commentary called Ma'âriful Qur'ân, the verse is explained as follows:
And the verse declares that the only colouring [i.e. Baptism] worth the name is the colouring of a genuine and unabrogated religion - that is, Islam - the only colouring which can guarantee physical and spiritual purification, and the only one which shall remain, Then the word Sibghah or 'colouring' has a deeper meaning too. Just as a certain colour is openly and clearly visible to the the beholder, the signs of genuine and pure Îmân [faith] should shine through the face, the movements, the habits and the behaviour of a Muslim. In this sense, the verse is a commandment, asking Muslims "to dye" themselves in the "colouring of Allah", outwardly and inwardly by offering unalloyed worship to Him alone, by submitting themselves totally to His commandments, and by gladly accepting His will. (vol. 1, p. 357)
do muslims really believe the black stone is an angel... why is it so important...
No, the black stone is not an angel. The stone, in and of itself, holds no special significance however there are certain Islamic practices of pilgrimage that are related to the stone.
why is there so much attention payed to how you pray rather than why you pray...? like why is it so important?
The attention given to how we pray is not a replacement for attention given to why we pray. For an action of worship to be acceptable in Islam one's intentions must be correctly for the sake of God and the action must be in conformity with the way of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh. It is the former requirment that leads us to focus on why we pray and it is the latter requirement that leads us to focus on how we pray. Both are necessary.
do muslims have saints?
No.
Regards
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]
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