Things in Islam I am curious about...

[Grace Seeker]

I have always got the same answer. There is one true God. It is a sin to worship an image of god.
Go back to the old testiment. The story of the golden calf gave the clear message that we are to have NO image of god. No symbol to worship.
Ask yourself why would god reverse himself later and send a physical representation of himself. The whole purpose of the ban on images IMO was that you need to rely on faith. If you have an image, idol, physical representation then you aren't going on pure faith.

First, if we accept the Christian scriptures, there is nothing wrong with an image of God in and off itself (Genesis 1:26-27 & Genesis 9:26). God creates humankind in his own image. Christians are enjoined to be conformed to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29 & 1 Corinthians 15:49). Christ is declared to be the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4 & Colossians 1:15).

What people are NOT supposed to do is to create something themselves and then claim that it represents God. God is THE creator. We are not. Notice the "for yourself" aspect of the commands:
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." (Exodus 20:4)
"Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 26:1)
"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." (Deuteronomy 5:8)

The reason is not just that only God is the Creator. It is also that images are representations of the real thing. While God is capable of creating that which he wants to represent himself -- exactly what we do when we are obedient, and one of the reasons that disobedience is a sin, because we are not representing what we were created to represent. But humans do not have this ability to create something that would adequate represent God.

As far as faith goes, I agree. Christ being God incarnate in no way lessens the importance or role of faith.

 

[Muslim sister.]

beautiful nasheeds

grace seeker was inquring about music in Islam, the answer is Islam disapproves of egocentric type of music because its harmful for the soul. However there are many nasheeds of pure theme and help get the message of faith across and infolds meaningful aims. here is a list of some nasheeds which i hope you would like;

how could you deny -no beats necessary
give thanks to Allah-zain bikha
i look i see-Yusuf Islam
99 names-huda tv

 

[Student1996]

Edit on request of Grace seeker himself: This thread covers significantly more issue than just music which in has been sufficiently addressed over the last several month; new posters are requested to join the thread in progress on the last page, rather then just repeating what has already been stated numerous times among the many pages of this thread.

Having read the Quran and other books about Islam, and having been on these boards a short period of time there are many things I have learned about Islam. Some I agree with, some I don't. Much I respect. A few things I am still leary of.

And then there are those things that I still don't fully understand, or at least don't understand the reasoning behind them. (Perhaps for some there is none; maybe it is just what is commanded.)

First, among the things I am curious about, is the role of music, or maybe I should say the absence of a role for music. Music plays an important part in the life and worship of both Christianity and Judaism. If Islam is the same message that would have been presented by all of the prophets, and music had such an important place previously in the practice of worship, why didn't those prophets condemn it? And since they didn't, why is it not allowed now? And yet, the call to worship itself sounds like a type of chant, isn't this a form of music?

Is it just in worship that music is not allowed? On the forums I hear people talk about music as if it is itself an evil thing? Yet I know that many Muslims enjoy music, that folk music is central to the lives of many people scattered around the world in nearly every country, and these include Muslims. The whirling dervishes of Turkey are supposedly a type of worship and are most certainly accompanied to music. Some people grow rich by marketing special types of music specifically to Muslims. So, many of these things just don't fit together for me.

What is halal and what is haram in regards to music? What makes one halal and the other haram?

Here is one of my recent Quran versed That i have become quite fond of.
2:113: The Jews say "The Christians have nothing [true] to stand on," and the Christians say, "The Jews have nothing to stand on," although they [both] recite the Scripture. Thus the polytheists speak the same as their words. But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.