Ask Me Anything: Muslim Edition

  • Thread starter Thread starter shazirah
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Haha cool! I wish you the best on your research. I converted to Islam and stayed for a good while before becoming Catholic last year. Everything I loved about Islam I have found it in the Catholic Church. I look forward to talking with you more. Also, is your brother on this site too?
 
shazirah said:
As-salamu alaykum! I have a feeling this is going to be like drinking from a firehose, but Inshallah we’ll all learn something from the experience. 🙂 I like to build bridges whenever I can and I think talking to a real live member of a group that seems scary to some people is a good way to do that. I’m not a theologian and I’m not here to convert anyone, be converted, or argue theology, just to try to answer questions as an average everyday Muslim person as best I can. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll do what I can to find the information for you. Islam is a huge religion with many different cultural variations in practice. Maybe there are some other brothers and sisters around who can chime in as well.

To give you an idea of the background I’m coming from, I am what some people of my generation call a “SuShi” Muslim, meaning that I have a Sunni parent and a Shia parent. Personally, I think of myself as just Muslim, though I observe mostly the Sunni prayer style and traditions since I’ve grown up closest with my Sunni grandparents. I’m inclined towards modernist thought, but I don’t really see myself as being Westernized. I’ve spent considerable amounts of time in both majority Muslim countries and in Western countries. I wear a headcovering in public, eat halal, and follow most traditional Muslim practices.

So, what’s on your mind? 😃
Click to expand...
I have quoted this verse from the Quran to several Muslims, some of whom I know, and asked them if it was just in the context of the time and they told me no that it still applies today.
That means Islam teaches that unbelievers (even People of the Book which are Jews and Christians) are to be killed. This is why it is easy for terrorists like ISIS to justify what they do.

Quran (9:29) - “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”

I can quote you many more verses with the same theme, that is to kill the unbeliever (meaning non Muslims).
 
Last edited:
shazirah said:
In cases where people choose never to have children, clearly that violates the good of the family. However, delaying or spacing children or choosing not to have more children due to the mother’s health can be beneficial to the family.
Click to expand...
This too is aligned with catholic thinking. And many more rationales may properly underpin a decision not have more children. The Catholic (and not so long ago, all faithful Christians) have fewer options for what they may do to effect the decision - in fact they only have one: abstain at times.
 
shazirah said:
As-salamu alaykum! I have a feeling this is going to be like drinking from a firehose, but Inshallah we’ll all learn something from the experience. 🙂 I like to build bridges whenever I can
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the risk to build bridges between our faiths. I would also recommend that Catholics do something similar. I have been posting on an Islamic forum for about twelve years, in the hope of building bridges. I have felt welcomed, and feel there is hope for peace.

https://www.islamicboard.com/
 
The Christian God is all loving (He is love), all merciful, and for Catholic Christians incredibly intimate in that he comes to us continually in the Eucharist–his complete self, body, blood, soul, and divinity. The closer one gets to this God in love, the less one fears him (except for “fear” in the sense of reverence). As the Gospels tell us, “Love casts away fear”.
Can you describe how this differs from a Muslim’s relationship to Allah?
 
Not so good at Muslim religion,but i struggle with the lands that are from the NT…also views of some morals (not every Muslim,there are very nice people),views of Jesus and other persons also dating this Religion.
 
Is Islamic rule for marriage divine or administrative?

Why does a Muslim man can marry four wives but a Muslim woman cannot marry four husbands?

Why Muhammad could have more than four wives? Why was he different from ordinary men?
 
وعليك السلام Wa alaykum assalam!
Many thanks for your effort. It’s great you are doing this.
My question: do you feel Islam is closer in theology to Christianity or Judaism?
 
I picked up the expression “Inshallah” while serving in Iraq, and now it’s just become something I casually say instead of “God willing.” Does that seem offensive at all, as a non-Muslim? I can’t see why it would, since it’s just a direct translation of the phrase.
 
Hmmm! reverse is the case In northern part of Nigeria. Muslim women are actually subjugated, you can imagine a leader saying his wife belong to the kitchen and other room. Most of their Islamic clerics always kick against women holding a leadership position because according to them it’s against the teaching of Islam. How I wish you can prove me wrong with facts that your clerics are not sexists, or north Nigeria are the one misinterpreting the. Quran?
 
Not that I know of, but he might just be hiding from his bossy big sister. lol
 
Many people interpret this verse out of the context of the greater documents and the Islamic hadith. In the beginning, Islam was a state surrounded by hostile forces that were trying to destroy it. This verse is interpreted in the spirit of protecting Muslims and people living under and Islamic government, not aggressing against other people. Here are some examples of how this verse has been interpreted correctly in Islamic law:

A fatwa from Sheikh Hânî al-Jubayr, who was a prominent scholar and judge
If the non-Muslim country did not attack the Muslim one nor mobilize itself to prevent the practice and spread of Islam, nor transgress against mosques, nor work to oppress the Muslim people in their right to profess their faith and decry unbelief, then it is not for the Muslim country to attack that country. Jihâd of a military nature was only permitted to help Muslims defend their religion and remove oppression from the people.

The Persians and Romans did in fact aggress against Islam and attack the Muslims first.

The Chosroe of Persia had gone so far as to order his commander in Yemen specifically to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Romans mobilized their forces to fight the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the Muslims confronted them in the Battles of Mu’tah and Tabûk during the Prophet’s lifetime.

May Allah guide us all. And May peace and blessing be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
Click to expand...
A fatwa from Shaykh Jalal Abualrub
These Ayat (Quranic verses) stress the necessity of fighting against the People of the Scripture, but under what conditions? We previously established the fact that the Islamic State is not permitted to attack non-Muslims who are not hostile to Islam, who do not oppress Muslims, or try to convert Muslims by force from their religion, or expel them from their lands, or wage war against them, or prepare for attacks against them. If any of these offenses occurs, however, Muslims are permitted to defend themselves and protect their religion. Muslims are not permitted to attack non-Muslims who signed peace pacts with them, or non-Muslims who live under the protection of the Islamic State. (Abualrub, Holy Wars, Crusades, Jihad)
Click to expand...
So, you can see how this verse is typically interpreted. Much of the Koran has to be interpreted in a particular historical context and with a knowledge of medieval Arabic. The historical dimension is the hostile environment that early Islam began in. In general interpretation of jurisprudence, this refers specifically to an area that is already under Muslim control and it refers specifically to defending the faithful from hostile disruption and attack, not conducting foreign aggression.

A side note about jizya: Muslims pay zakat for the poor as part of their religious practice. Non-muslims are not obligated to pay zakat when they live in Islamic lands. Instead, they pay jizya. If I moved to the UK, I would pay a healthcare surcharge so I could receive services from the NHS, because as a non-citizen I wouldn’t necessarily pay all the same taxes as a citizen. Same thing, basically.
 
I don’t feel that it really does differ all that much from an Islamic relationship with God. We’re not afraid of God. We strive for unfettered reverence of God in the way that a child holds their father in reverence. Allah is all powerful and all merciful, greater and more vast than we can possibly ever understand. When a Muslim prays, we are communing with God just as Christians and Jews do. A large part of Islam is learning to live in complete submission to God, but it’s the same submission that a wife shows to a good husband or a child to a good parent. We do it because Allah loves us more than we can comprehend. Sufi Muslims in particular seek out the mystical nature of this connection, but all faithful Muslims are to pursue that connection to God.
 
It’s understandable. There are people in every religion who don’t live up to their values. I’ve met some really reprehensible Christians, but I know that’s not what their religion stands for as a whole and it doesn’t represent all Christians. There are always going to be people in every faith who twist the message of God and deceive themselves and other people into doing wrong. In our case, I think it doesn’t help that there is such a big culture difference between East and West and that there has been a traumatic history of warfare between the two.

In the course of my work, I’ve had an opportunity to talk to a few so-called Jihadis and every time I come away with the feeling that this is a human being who was thoroughly traumatized by their life before they ever picked up a gun or started preaching filth and heresy, may Allah have mercy on them.
 
Last edited:
shazirah said:
Technically, uneducated Muslims are prohibited or at least heavily discouraged from reading the Torah or the Bible because while Muslims believe that the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms were all given from Allah, the current state of them within Christianity and Judaism is believed to be corrupted.
Click to expand...
Respectfully toward and welcome to the forum!!! Greatly appreciate your time given in answering questions put forward!!
Question as mention above, stating Christianity and Judaism to be corrupt. Does one consider Christianity and Catholics as being one and the same? If not looked upon as being the same, why not?
Thank you kindly and looking forward to be more educated and enlighten in ones Belief. Peace 🙂
 
Last edited:
It’s both, but we see it a little different from the “two become one” thing in Christianity. In Islam, marriage is both holy and practically necessary for the good of human society. Each person in the marriage remains their own person. In fact, women are not supposed to take their husband’s names. However, Islam preaches that men and women are complementary. We exist for the betterment of each other and marriages works in the pursuit of living a sinless life. My grandmother likens it to the “stoning of the devil” ceremony that happens on Hajj, because the devil hates nothing more than watching people enjoy themselves without sin and loving one’s spouse is an act of defiance against sin as much as it is an act of submission to God.

At the same time, we have a very practical view of marriage. It exists to strengthen social communities, satisfy animal urges that would otherwise lead to sin, and produce children. If those goals can’t be accomplished through the marriage, then it might be better to dissolve the marriage. So, divorce is acceptable in Islam, but there are a lot of rules to it to ensure that everyone is treated equitably.

Muslim men are allowed to have more than one wife for several reasons. One is for humanitarian reasons. Widows had a hard time of it in the ancient Middle East and with wars being fought and other dangers that disproportionally effect the lifespan of men, it was not always easy for a woman to marry or remarry. So, Allah allows men to take multiple wives in the interest of making sure that all women are protected and provided for adequately. Also, the death rate of children in the ancient world was pretty high, so it made sense as a means of ensuring the continuity of the family. Beyond that, the natural sexual drives of men and women vary, so Allah leaves us some room to accommodate different preferences and biological needs without resorting to sin, and it also accounts for female infertility. If a man loves his wife, but needs to produce children for his family, it would be cruel to force a choice between a wife he loves and his family whom he loves. Muslim men are not commanded to have more than one wife and in fact I don’t personally know a single Muslim guy that has more than one wife, because the rules for doing so are pretty strict and most people are just fine with their one spouse. Men are obligated to provide equally and reasonably for their wives under law, both financially and with their time. So, it’s an undertaking. Women do not have the same obligations as men, and so it makes no logical sense for them to have more than one husband at a time.

Well, Mohammed (peace be upon him) was a political leader in addition to a religious leader. Islam was a state at that time, and as the head of state, he would have been expected to marry for political reasons in addition to producing a lasting family line. Other Islamic rulers have traditionally been allowed to have more than the usual number of wives for the same reason. As the nexus of community relations, Islamic rulers have typically married a wife from each prominent clan in their domain as a means of promoting peace.
 
Personally, I think we’re closer to Judaism with our focus on law and right behavior instead of the grace bestowed by Jesus’ sacrifice that Christians believe in. But, I know a little bit more about Judaism than I do about Christianity, too, so that might just be my bias.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top