I'm curious to find out about Islamic teachings about the beginning of the world. Even before the world was created. What was the story?
How did Satan come about? When/why was Adam created?
I understand that Islam is the youngest religion. May I know in Islamic teachings, what is the explanation of why there are so many religions when there is only one God? Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism. I heard from a Muslim that Hinduism religion actually worships a Djinn. Is this true?
Appreciate your helpful response and kindly explain in layman's terms.
Why is islaam the truth? Let's start off with the fact that the majority of the world believes in a God, or 'Higher being.' The difference between islaam and all other faiths is that instead of just recognising that there is a God, we believe that the Creator created us with the purpose of submitting to Him, worshipping Him alone sincerely without any associates.
These associates can be stone idols, it can be humans (or human legislations) it can be a person's desires etc.
Islaam call's to the worship of God, known as Allaah in arabic. If you're confused about why God is Allaah in arabic, realise that people from spain call God - Dios, the french call God - Dieu etc. So there's nothing confusing about God being called Allaah in the arabic language.
Allaah has sent messengers to convey the same message of calling to the worship of God since the beginning of time, since Adam (peace be upon him) the first person to ever live. All the messengers came to call to Allaah's worship, and this is the purpose of our creation - to worship Allaah, without no associates, so no idols, no humans, no law which opposes the law which Allaah has revealed to His messengers.
We as muslims believe that Noah, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad (peace be upon them all) were prophets. There have been a total of 124,000 prophets that have come to mankind to call to the worship of Allaah Alone. However, the majority of mankind has fallen astray, because they do believe in a Creator, but they reject the fact that He should be worshipped alone.
Any deeds we do, we do them sincerely to gain Allaah's Mercy, and if we gain it - we will enter the eternal paradise which all the prophets have called to also. However, if someone rejects the worship of the One God - without any associates, they will be punished in the hellfire. This is the only sin which God does not forgive, why should He, if the person is saying that a stone is God? Or a human is God etc.
We all will die and be raised back on the day of recompense, when Allaah/God will judge between us on all that we did. No-one will be judged unfairly because Allaah is the Most Just. Allaah can bring the dead back to life, the same way He brings the dead land back to life by sending down rain.
If you feel that God is being unfair to His servants by punishing those that associate partners with Him, then the justice for this will also be balanced out. Allaah will ask those who associated partners with Him to ask the one's they worshipped for reward. So if someone worshipped a stone idol, they will ask that for recompense on the day of judgement (obviously the stone won't be able to do anything.) If someone worships a human, even if the human is pious, the person will have to get their reward from this human [but obviously everything is dependant on the Creator.] The one's who worshipped God Alone, sincerely without no associates - they will be rewarded by Allaah, the Exhalted with an eternal paradise where they can have all that they desire, and more.
If anyone feels that it is unjust, then they have to stop being unjust to their own Creator. If Allaah created man so he should worship Him, then why worship the stone idol, or why worship a human when you can turn towards your Creator?
Allaah Almighty knows best.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask insha'Allaah.
If i find any more information related to the beginning of creation, i will post it up insha'Allaah (God willing.)
Hi,
I'm curious to find out about Islamic teachings about the beginning of the world. Even before the world was created. What was the story?
How did Satan come about? When/why was Adam created?
I understand that Islam is the youngest religion. May I know in Islamic teachings, what is the explanation of why there are so many religions when there is only one God? Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism. I heard from a Muslim that Hinduism religion actually worships a Djinn. Is this true?
Appreciate your helpful response and kindly explain in layman's terms.
David
Hello David,
As I understand it, Islam is not the youngest religion, rather it is the first and only true religion. It began with Hadhrat Nabi Adam [alaihi salam], the first human being created by Almighty Allah, as well as the first Prophet among mankind. He [alaihi salam] was created to be the progenirator of the human race, and the reason why Allah created humanity was so that we may worship Him and be a testament to His Holy Attributes:
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ I have not created the jinn and the men except that they may worship Me
[Az-Zariyat 51:56]
I do not know when Hadhrat Nabi Adam [alaihi salam] was created, but I imagine it was quite a while ago. People can calculate when he was created according to what is available from the Bible, but that calculation is neither confirmed nor denied by Islam.
Satan (Shaitan) was a jinn created by Allah before Hadhrat Nabi Adam [alaihi salam]. His name is Iblis, and he is the greatest satan, and he constantly tries to take mankind off the Straight Path of obedience to Allah. The purpose of creating Satan was to test mankind, according to the Wisdom of Allah. Because we have free will, if we act righteously we becoming worthy of a reward from Allah, and likewise if we are wicked and evil we becoming deserving of His wrath. Unlike Angels who have no free will and only function in according with Allah's commandments (66:6), not able to deviate therefrom, we have a higher spiritual rank as is evident from Allah commanding the assembly of Angels to prostrate before Hadhrat Nabi Adam [alaihi salam] (2:34).
Hinduism and Buddhism are not mentioned directly in the Holy Quran. However, we know that Christianity and Judaism are corrupted version of the original message and religion brought to them by their Prophets via revelation from Allah. The only religion the Prophets of Allah preached was Islam, and when Hadhrat Masih Isa [alaihi salam] descends from Heaven he will clarify the doubts and false beliefs regarding him and restore true Islam and be a follower of the Last Prophet, Hadhrat Nabi Muhammad Mustafa [salallahu alaihi wa salam], insha Allah.
There are quite a few stages after death, of which include:
- the trial of the grave.
- the blowing of the trumpet when all the graves will be overturned, and everyone will run around in fear & confusion.. this will be the beginning of the day of Ressurection.
- Hellfire and Paradise will be near and shown.
- The deeds of the people will be weighed. And they will be judged on what they did in this world.
- Those who rejected the message will be asked to get their reward off the one's they worshipped as associates with God, i.e. idols, humans, pious people, anything worshipped/obeyed besides God etc. Obviously the reward will be with no-one except our Creator Alone, God Almighty. So the people who never accepted all of God's Messengers will be liable to the punishment of God because they took God's message in jest.
Those who never had heard of God's message in this world will be trialled on the Day of Ressurection by God to see if they are worthy of God's Paradise.
- The book's of the persons deeds will fall either into their left or right hand. If the person did alot of evil - it will fall into their left hand & behind their back (in shame.) If they were a good believer, the book will fall into their right hand and they will celebrate.
After this those who disbelieved will be thrown into the fire (we seek refuge in God from that.) The reason for this is because the person didn't do any good to please God Alone, so their reward won't be from Him. Faith/Belief also comes hand in hand with deeds, and one without the other is lacking.
- The Siraat. The Siraat is a path which leads to Paradise, and anyone who wants to reach Paradise will have to cross this path. The speed the person crosses this path on is according to how much faith and deeds they had in this world.
Some may fall off it and fall into the fire. If they were believers, they may fall into the fire for a temporary amount of time, then once their sins are expiated - then they will be rewarded for even an atom's amount of good they did to please their Creator in Paradise.
Those who disbelieved in God, associated partners with Him and rejected His messengers, and their call that He should be worshipped Alone. Then they will be punished in the fire forever.
Those who believe and do good to please their Lord will be rewarded with a paradise where they can have all that they desire and more.
You can check this section on the forum called Al-Aakhirah (The Hereafter.)
im interesed 2 no wen did dinosaurs cum on the earth.
I think there are things which there isn't any given knowledge, so we can't really say whether they really existed or not. So we should say Allaah Almighty knows best.
The only religion the Prophets of Allah preached was Islam
The idea that Islam existed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fascinates me. Did the earlier prophets teach people to avoid alcohol and music, like Muhammad (pbuh) did? Did they teach people to pray five times a day and go on the Hajj?
I think there are things which there isn't any given knowledge, so we can't really say whether they really existed or not. So we should say Allaah Almighty knows best.
Are you seriously saying that you don't know whether dinosaurs existed or not?
The idea that Islam existed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fascinates me. Did the earlier prophets teach people to avoid alcohol and music, like Muhammad (pbuh) did? Did they teach people to pray five times a day and go on the Hajj?
Are you seriously saying that you don't know whether dinosaurs existed or not?
Peace
i no they existed bro wot im askin was were they 1 on the first creatures on earth?
The idea that Islam existed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fascinates me. Did the earlier prophets teach people to avoid alcohol and music, like Muhammad (pbuh) did? Did they teach people to pray five times a day and go on the Hajj?
All the Prophet's called to the worship of God Almighty without associating partners with Him. Whether they were other deities such as idols, or man made laws etc.
The laws differend in regard to lifestyle, but all these prophets called to the same message of worshipping God Alone. They all brought the same message of the consequences of our deeds and in regard to the afterlife, the day of judgement, hellfire and paradise etc.
There are many surah's in the Qur'an which are named after these prophets, i.e. Surah Nuh [Noah], Ibrahim, Hud, Yusuf [Joseph], Yunus [Jonah] etc. most of these surah's were revealed in Makkah so no - they weren't copied of the jews or christians because the jews were located in Medina, and most christians were in Greater Syria or Yemen.
Are you seriously saying that you don't know whether dinosaurs existed or not?
Peace
I don't know if theres any divine evidence that has any mention of it. That's only what i know, so there may be some. Which mean's even if they existed or not doesn't contradict the islamic teachings. And Allaah knows best.
The idea that Islam existed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fascinates me. Did the earlier prophets teach people to avoid alcohol and music, like Muhammad (pbuh) did? Did they teach people to pray five times a day and go on the Hajj?
Are you seriously saying that you don't know whether dinosaurs existed or not?
Peace
1.) Even though alcohol is allowed in Judaism, Muslims believe that Judaism was distorted to accommodate more liberal rulings. The etymology of "Islam" indeed came from Mohammed's lifetime, but the Islam's teachings had it's roots long before. The notion Hajj and prayer are just practices and do not define the essence of Islam. Islam is the belief in one God, and the rituals and laws are just provided to conform with this.
2.) The existence of dinosaurs is an irrefutable fact.
Last edited by Philosopher; 02-27-2007 at 07:16 PM.
All the Prophet's called to the worship of God Almighty without associating partners with Him. Whether they were other deities such as idols, or man made laws etc.
I accept that this is the core belief of Islam about ultimate reality, and this is something that the religions also share in various ways, but to call this core of beliefs (albeit including hell, paradise etc.) 'Islam', despite the varying laws on lifestyle that existed around it in prior religions, seems odd.
There must be more than one meaning of the word 'Islam'. Now that I think about it, does 'Islam' mean:
>peace
>submission
>belief in the oneness of god, hellfire and paradise
>belief in the oneness of god, hellfire and paradise and the apostolate of Muhammad (pbuh), and hence the rulings of the Qur'an
>the religious and cultural intellectual-legal edifice based on the Qur'an
>the ummah and its beliefs
or all of these things?
There are many surah's in the Qur'an which are named after these prophets, i.e. Surah Nuh [Noah], Ibrahim, Hud, Yusuf [Joseph], Yunus [Jonah] etc. most of these surah's were revealed in Makkah so no - they weren't copied of the jews or christians because the jews were located in Medina, and most christians were in Greater Syria or Yemen.
Does that mean that word of the existence of these prophets came to the Makkans through divine revelation, rather than word-of-mouth, or through other natural means?
I don't know if theres any divine evidence that has any mention of it. That's only what i know, so there may be some. Which mean's even if they existed or not doesn't contradict the islamic teachings. And Allaah knows best.
There is still a tinge of doubt in your words. If I wanted to know whether an animal existed or not, I wouldn't go to scripture to find out. I'd go to a biology book or encyclopedia.
The idea that Islam existed before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fascinates me. Did the earlier prophets teach people to avoid alcohol and music, like Muhammad (pbuh) did? Did they teach people to pray five times a day and go on the Hajj?
Islam has existed since the first human being, Hazrat Nabi Adam (alaihi salam). No Prophet ever taught beliefs contrary to the beliefs taught in Quran and Sunnat. Fundamental beliefs such as belief in Allah, His Oneness, Angels, Revelation, Heaven and Hell, and the Resurrection, were never denied by the Prophets. However, the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (salallahu alaihi wa salam) once said:
"l warn you against him (the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."
[Sahih Bukhari; Kitab-ul-Anbiya]
So while no prophet contradicted the beliefs taught in Quran and Sunnat, their teachings were not complete Islam. But with the advent of the last prophet (salallahu alaihi wa salam), Islam has been completed, including all of the beliefs we must believe in.
This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you islam as your religion.
[Al-Maidah 5:3]
With regard to commandments, whatever was revealed and incumbant upon the previous Prophets and their peoples has been abrogated (i.e. the Sabbath), and now all of humanity must abide by the law of Quran and Sunnat.
I accept that this is the core belief of Islam about ultimate reality, and this is something that the religions also share in various ways, but to call this core of beliefs (albeit including hell, paradise etc.) 'Islam', despite the varying laws on lifestyle that existed around it in prior religions, seems odd.
There must be more than one meaning of the word 'Islam'. Now that I think about it, does 'Islam' mean:
>peace
>submission
>belief in the oneness of god, hellfire and paradise
>belief in the oneness of god, hellfire and paradise and the apostolate of Muhammad (pbuh), and hence the rulings of the Qur'an
>the religious and cultural intellectual-legal edifice based on the Qur'an
>the ummah and its beliefs
or all of these things?
I'm not an arabic expert, i don't even know the basics really lol. But i think islaam means submission according to the views of some students of knowlege [like i've read from brother Ansar etc.]
Obviously with islaam we have belief in the concepts of prophethood, belief in the hereafter, paradise and hellfire. We believe that we're responsible for our actions in the sight of God. This is what all the prophets called to, and warned us of.
Does that mean that word of the existence of these prophets came to the Makkans through divine revelation, rather than word-of-mouth, or through other natural means?
The reason why i was saying that is because the Makkans were polytheists and they never really even understood the concept of a prophet, yet alone know the names of the prophets of earlier times. This was only known by the jews and christians who never even lived in Makkah.
There is still a tinge of doubt in your words. If I wanted to know whether an animal existed or not, I wouldn't go to scripture to find out. I'd go to a biology book or encyclopedia.
Peace
I understand what you mean, i was just saying i don't think theres any specific mention of it in the scripture, and that may be because it's not really of much relevance in regard to our beliefs. I don't really have much interest in dinosaurs and stuff anyway.
By the way, i don't think its a good idea to hijack someone elses thread - so sorry keiko.
A heartfelt thanks for sharing your knowledge and views on this matter.
There seems to be some puzzlement with my statement :-
"I understand that Islam is the youngest religion."
Which was refuted as "Islam is not the youngest religion, rather it is the first and only true religion."
I should have explained more clearly that we were referring to the phrase "Islam" in different context.
What I actually meant was the teachings of Judaism has been known to man since 2000BC.
And Christianity since 0AD.
And Islam is known to man since 601AD.
My dates may not be very accurate, as I referenced Wikipedia for the dates.
So I was referring to "Islam" in humanly terms as being the youngest religion.
But I think you were referring to "Islam" as God's message, which has been around since Adam's time (first and only religion). Which is also true.
Islaam mean's submission (to God Almighty) and this was the same message recieved by the rest of the Messengers of God which include Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and all the 124,000 prophets which were sent by God to mankind (peace be upon them all.) We believe that these messages were distorted by the people after these prophets.
This was on another thread:
First of all, we accept the previous scriptures [the Old Testament, the Gospel etc.] When these were sent down to the prophets, it was upto the nation to preserve it.
We know that from among them, there were some people who distorted them. Why was this? Because they wanted to follow their own whims and desires. For instance we know that there are so much copies of the Bible today, each with its own different interpretation. None of these are in the original language, and we know that if a scriptures not in its original language - then it's just a translation, its not the actual scripture. [Look at the bible, and ask yourself why you're using that specific version, why can't it just be that you get the original one? The reason for this is because the original doesn't remain. What does this mean? It mean's that you can't compare any of these versions to see what the original message sent down to Jesus was.]
Therefore, we as muslims do believe that the previous scriptures were revealed to the prophets of the earlier nations, however - these got distorted, even though it was upto these people to preserve the message which was sent to their prophet. And we can rightly say that it doesn't exist no more.
Due to the fact that these scriptures were distorted, and the people started worshipping others besides Allaah, and said things about Him which they shouldn't have said (i.e. we're God's children etc.) Allaah sent the message to the final prophet - Muhammad (peace be upon him.) Muhammad (peace be upon him) would come to confirm what was in the previous scriptures [calling to the worship of Allaah/God Alone without any associates] and this message would be for all of mankind (instead of just for the children of Isra'eel.) This message will be preserved by Allaah, and no-one is able to alter it by Allaah's Mercy. We know that till this day [since over 1400yrs ago] the Qur'an is still in arabic and is still preserved the same way it was over 1400yrs ago.
Why you may ask? Why did Allaah not preserve the message of the previous prophets, yet He preserves the message of Muhammad (peace be upon him)? The answer to this is simple. When Allaah sent a messenger to his people, it was upto the people to preserve the message, but they never had to spread it to different parts of the world. However, the message given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) was for the whole world, so Allaah has preserved it, but it is our duty to spread it to mankind. [If you feel this is wrong, you will find verses from the bible which claim Jesus (peace be upon him) being commanded to “Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel!” Matthew 10:6]
Whereas Muhammad (peace be upon him) is being told:
"Say: 'O mankind! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth." (Qur'an 7:158)
If you use try reading the Qur'an, you may find things which you find confusing, or verses which you don't understand. You may even accidentally take the verses out of context, so i'd just like to point out that the Qur'an can't be interpreted to our own understanding, rather - it should be understood according to how the Messenger of Allaah, and his companions understood it, due to the fact that they lived it throughout their life.
Therefore you'll have to look at the sciences of tafseer to get a true understanding of the interpretation of the Qur'an. You can do that by visiting these sites insha'Allaah (God willing: )
We don't totally reject the previous scriptures, we believe that they were original once upon a time. Think of it this way, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Final Testament (the Qur'an.) The Final Testament confirms what was in the previous scriptures, yet whatever was fabricated/distorted in the previous scriptures has been refuted in the Qur'an/Final Testament, and the Authentic Sunnah [prophetic way/sayings etc.]
So islaam (submission to God) is actually the only religion accepted by God;
Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam. And those who were given the Scripture did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves. And whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah , then indeed, Allah is swift in [taking] account. [Qur'an 3:19]
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (Submission to Allah), Never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost." (Qur'an 3:85)
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