La ilaha illAllah - No God except Allah?

[Nickkname]

If Allah is the Arabic word for God, how does this phrase “La ilaha illAllah” make sense? ilaha means God in arabic, why don’t Muslims say La ilaha ill ilaha? That would translate there is no God but God. But the phrase La ilaha illAllah specifically names the Muslims God as ‘Allah’. We know from Jewish scripture God’s name is YHWH or Yahweh, not Allah. Allah was one of hundreds of God’s worshipped pre-Islam before Muhammed brought Islam to the Arabian peninsula.

I just found this very interesting as I always heard “there is no God but God”, and just assumed it would translate “there is no Allah but Allah”. I never realized Allah was the name of the Muslims God and not the word for God.

Muslims worship God along with Christians and Jews. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 841, here: vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P29.HTM#2G6

Notice it says “one merciful God”, not Judeo-Christian God. You know why? Because God is not just the God of Judaism and of Christianity - he is the God, the only living God. He is not a god of a religion, nor one god out of many gods - no, he is One. God is God.

 

[dolphinlove]

I would not mind at all if you came to me and told what you liked to tell me. You are welcome as long as you are peaceful. You come and teach me something good. That is good of you and I will appreciate. But at the same time do not please tell me anything bad such as the drinking and gambling and free sex that is going on full scale in the christian countries.

You teach me and I teach you peacefully. There is no harm. Such is life.

The problem is planten, we do, and repeatedly give you peaceful advice on Christianity, but, even after we tell you, you still hold onto your ideas of what we believe. What we have displayed to you is how peaceful and loving Jesus is, how perfect he was, even in human form. What he has done, everything. But you still dont quite grasp the meaning of Christianity.
As for the drunken part in western countries, thats a pretty bad attempt to describe the way a true Christian lives. Because we are allowed to drink alcohol, doesnt mean we are going to get blind drunk now does it?
Would you like it if i started comparing all Muslim countries with suicide bombings etc? not very nice is it?

 

[Angelos]

We are different to you…

You have a right to hate islam and dislike muslims, there are many muslims who will hate and dislike you back…

But if you attack and insult islam and spread lies then the least a muslim should do is demand that you people atleast try to be moral and decent and stop the innovation and follow the example of Prophet Jesus…

This is the true notion of justice in Islam: Muslims are allowed and encouraged to dislike Jews and Christians, insult their tenets and scripture, and spread lies about those two major religions in the name of criticizing them. Whenever a Jew, Christian or Atheist attempts to criticize Islam and the Koran fairly (without resorting to lies), Muslims are cruelly called to action: stop the infidel and kill him for the sake of Allah.

The innovation is in the Koran, which was written by men who knew nothing about the Bible six hundred years after Jesus.I would suggest you people at least try to be moral and decent so as to stop following the corrupted and false image of Jesus in the Koran.

Dont follow what you have been taught, I believe that alot of the bible has been corrupted, yet muslims still are commanded to respect the Injeel (Gospels) because the shadow of the will of God remains amongst the corruption that humanity has created…

Muslims are still commanded to respect the Injeel (Gospels) only because Mohammad needed the Bible to prove people that he was the final mesenger of God. Please tell your Allah to do us a favour by separating the corrupted verses of the Bible from the genuine ones. Finally, Mohammad’s scribes incorporated apocryphal Gospels and Jewish legends into the Koran due to their ignorance. Thus, the Koran is the only book that contains apocrypha and fables invented by men.

But even amongst those words you will find things like the way Jesus prayed, the way he spoke, the words he used…

In the Koran Jesus is depicted as a man denying the Trinity and asking people (Jews! ) not to take partners with Allah. This proves that whatever is written in the Koran with regard to Jesus is not authentic and reliable. It was unthinkable for Jews, who did not believe in Jesus at all - to make Him equal to God. More, the Koran never endorses the idea that Jesus’ followers worshipped Him when He was on earth. Consequently, Jesus’ teachings and statements in the Koran are adapted to the Islamic denial and critique of basic Christian tenets in the 7th century! This disregards the notion of history!

Muslims seriously attempt to follow the example of the our messengers from Adam to Moses, to jesus to Muhammed, we REFUSE to contemplate any so called renaissance where Gods will is made to fit in with human desire and the demands of society and the state,

Muslims seriously attempt to follow the example of all the messengers mentioned in their Koran alone by stealing figures from the Bible and turning them into robots programmed by Mohammad so that they can support his ideology.

It is true that Muslims believe in a god that alters his word to satisfy Mohammad’s demands and desires.

 

[Khalfan]

Jesus did not tell us to bow while praying, for example.

And you think everything Jesus(a) said is there in the bible?

 

[inJESUS]

And you think everything Jesus(a) said is there in the bible?

1- no and the Bible already says it.

2- He mentionned other “forms” of prayer like standing up or looking up which means God is not that interested in positions.

 

[Nickkname]

1- no and the Bible already says it.

2- He mentionned other “forms” of prayer like standing up or looking up which means God is not that interested in positions.

Oh, so suddenly you’re an expert on what God thinks? Or are you just making an assumption based on your own belefs? Because it’s one or the other.

Also, the Catholic Church dose teach the important of prayer position, such as when we kneel before the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, or we stand for the Our Father at Mass.

 

[Angelos]

Oh, so suddenly you’re an expert on what God thinks? Or are you just making an assumption based on your own belefs? Because it’s one or the other.

Also, the Catholic Church dose teach the important of prayer position, such as when we kneel before the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, or we stand for the Our Father at Mass.

inJESUS is an expert on what Jesus wants His followers to do because he knows the New Testament.

I am not Catholic, but I do not think the Catholic Church teaches that prayer positions determine our access to the Kingdom of God or specifically distinguish the followers of the true religion from the false ones.

 

[Nickkname]

inJESUS is an expert on what Jesus wants His followers to do because he knows the New Testament.

Is that sarcasm or a compliment?

I am not Catholic, but I do not think the Catholic Church teaches that prayer positions determine our access to the Kingdom of God or specifically distinguish the followers of the true religion from the false ones.

No, see, that’ s not why prayer positions are important. They’re not meant to determine our access to heaven or distingush Christianity from other religions: they’re meant to show the soul’s reverence of and submission to God, just as a thumbs up or a thumbs down would show a man’s approval or disapproval of something. Kneeling, for example, is a position that is hard on the knees and can be tiring, but it shows the soul’s love of God and submission to God’s will rather than the soul’s will. Each position - kneeling, standing, sitting, prostrate - is meant for a specific manner of communion with God, whether its listening to Him in the Bible or contemplating Him in the Blessed Sacrament or adoring Him in the Tabernacle or raising the heart and mind to Him in petition or thanksgiving.

 

[Angelos]

Is that sarcasm or a compliment?

It was a compliment for my great friend and brother inJESUS.

No, see, that’ s not why prayer positions are important. They’re not meant to determine our access to heaven or distingush Christianity from other religions: they’re meant to show the soul’s reverence of and submission to God, just as a thumbs up or a thumbs down would show a man’s approval or disapproval of something. Kneeling, for example, is a position that is hard on the knees and can be tiring, but it shows the soul’s love of God and submission to God’s will rather than the soul’s will. Each position - kneeling, standing, sitting, prostrate - is meant for a specific manner of communion with God, whether its listening to Him in the Bible or contemplating Him in the Blessed Sacrament or adoring Him in the Tabernacle or raising the heart and mind to Him in petition or thanksgiving.

I do not think that gestures and prayer positions are imposed on humanity by divine commandment. God is Spirit and truth, and we should worship Him in Spirit and Truth. In the light of this statement, it is ridiculous to say that one certain prayer position is better than the other. This is what inJESUS has been trying to teach Muslim posters

 

[dolphinlove]

It was a compliment for my great friend and brother inJESUS.

I do not think that gestures and prayer positions are imposed on humanity by divine commandment. God is Spirit and truth, and we should worship Him in Spirit and Truth. In the light of this statement, it is ridiculous to say that one certain prayer position is better than the other. This is what inJESUS has been trying to teach Muslim posters

Everything we try to teach Muslim posters just does not seem to sink in though…
I guess one day they might want to learn…

 

[Khalfan]

1- no and the Bible already says it.

Thank you. You and Bible agree that all the teachings of Jesus (a) is not there in the Bible. So, you don’t know exactly, if Jesus (a) did teach his companions how to pray, including the positions.

2- He mentionned other “forms” of prayer like standing up or looking up which means God is not that interested in positions.

Difinitly. God indeed is not interested in the positions without involvement of worship. I don’t think it is a new thing to Muslims.

Another question.

Whatever is there in the Gospels as the quotation from Jesus (a), do you think all those sayings, word to word are exactly as he said?

 

[dolphinlove]

Thank you. You and Bible agree that all the teachings of Jesus (a) is not there in the Bible. So, you don’t know exactly, if Jesus (a) did teach his companions how to pray, including the positions.

This is what we do know:
Luke 11:1
1 Now it happened that he was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'
2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come;
3 give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
4 for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.’

 

[Angelos]

Thank you. You and Bible agree that all the teachings of Jesus (a) is not there in the Bible.

Jesus’ teachings are in the New Testament, not in the Koran for sure.

So, you don’t know exactly, if Jesus (a) did teach his companions how to pray, including the positions.

You don’t know exactly that Jesus taught us in the New Testament how to pray (check dolphinlove’s post).

Difinitly. God indeed is not interested in the positions without involvement of worship. I don’t think it is a new thing to Muslims.

You must teach this to hamba2han, your Muslim friend.

Another question.

Whatever is there in the Gospels as the quotation from Jesus (a), do you think all those sayings, word to word are exactly as he said?

We do not THINK, we KNOW and BELIEVE that whatever is attributed to Christ in the Gospels is actually and essentially from Him.

BTW, welcome back to the forum. I guess you remember me

 

[Khalfan]

Jesus’ teachings are in the New Testament, not in the Koran for sure.

Hi Angelos,

I respect your assumption.

You don’t know exactly that Jesus taught us in the New Testament how to pray (check dolphinlove’s post).

Not ‘exactly’, but as dolphinlove said ‘what we do know’. Indeed, we have limitations to know EXACTLY what he said and taught all his life.

You must teach this to hamba2han, your Muslim friend.

I hope he will agree with me. Actions without belief doesn’t mean anything to God.

We do not THINK, we KNOW and BELIEVE that whatever is attributed to Christ in the Gospels is actually and essentially from Him.

Why do we see differences in the same event if we read the same event in different gospels?

BTW, welcome back to the forum. I guess you remember me

Thank you and I do remember many of you except the new ones.

 

[Angelos]

Hi Angelos,

I respect your assumption.

Hi Khalfan,

I respect your assumption that the facts I state be assumptions.

Not ‘exactly’, but as dolphinlove said ‘what we do know’. Indeed, we have limitations to know EXACTLY what he said and taught all his life.

Who can restrict anything related to Jesus? We KNOW exactly what Jesus said and taught all His life as long as He allows us to.

I hope he will agree with me. Actions without belief doesn’t mean anything to God.

You should discuss this issue with him.

Why do we see differences in the same event if we read the same event in different gospels?

The answer to your question is in your question. There are different accounts of the same event because there are different Gospels. If all the Evangelists had recorded the same event in the identical form and manner, there would not be four Gospels.

To remind you, differences do not denote contradictions.

Thank you and I do remember many of you except the new ones.

You are welcome

 

[dolphinlove]

Not ‘exactly’, but as dolphinlove said ‘what we do know’. Indeed, we have limitations to know EXACTLY what he said and taught all his life.

When i typed ‘what we do know’ was in context of how Jesus taught us to pray, i wasnt answering for any other part of your post or showing any other ‘limitations’, so please stop taking things out of context and using them to your own views.

 

[Khalfan]

Hi Khalfan,

I respect your assumption that the facts I state be assumptions.

‘Facts’ is what we are discussing and lets continue that.

Who can restrict anything related to Jesus? We KNOW exactly what Jesus said and taught all His life as long as He allows us to.

The source of information about his life and teachings are very limited. We have only 3 years from his life that is mentioned in the gospels. We don’t know what he was doing for 30 years. In that 3 years we have a very snap shot picture of his days. Many of teachings/sayings that found in different gospels, differ from one another which showes that Jesus (a) might have said something like that but not exactly as mentioned in any of those gospels. Many of his important teachings like “I am the way, the truth, and the life” are not found in most of the gospels which shows that many of his other important teachings are missing in the gospels.

‘as long as He allows us to’ -can you explain it further?

You should discuss this issue with him.

The point was raised by inJESUS by the way.

The answer to your question is in your question. There are different accounts of the same event because there are different Gospels. If all the Evangelists had recorded the same event in the identical form and manner, there would not be four Gospels.

To remind you, differences do not denote contradictions.

Not always contradictiones, but different teachings in different accounts about the same event leads to the conclusion that all of the accounts of the same event can vary from the original event.

You are welcome

 

[Khalfan]

When i typed ‘what we do know’ was in context of how Jesus taught us to pray, i wasnt answering for any other part of your post or showing any other ‘limitations’, so please stop taking things out of context and using them to your own views.

Relax. I my intention wasn’t misquoting you. But to say that source of information that we have about the life and teachings of Jesus (a) are very limited.

 

[Angelos]

‘Facts’ is what we are discussing and lets continue that.

This sounds like another assumption, but anyway

The source of information about his life and teachings are very limited. We have only 3 years from his life that is mentioned in the gospels. We don’t know what he was doing for 30 years. In that 3 years we have a very snap shot picture of his days. Many of teachings/sayings that found in different gospels, differ from one another which showes that Jesus (a) might have said something like that but not exactly as mentioned in any of those gospels. Many of his important teachings like “I am the way, the truth, and the life” are not found in most of the gospels which shows that many of his other important teachings are missing in the gospels.

First, I should remind you that none of the Gospels was written as Jesus’ biography. You assert that there is limited information about Jesus’ life and teachings in the New Testament primarily because you mistakenly regard the Gospels as books written to relate Jesus’ whole life story.

What we read in the canonical Gospels is by no means limited since the Gospels give testimony to what Jesus taught when He began His prophetic mission at the age of thirty. More to the point, one-third of every Gospel relates Jesus’ passion in details, which makes sense when one remembers that Jesus’ passion and resurrection are of primary significance with regard to the basic tenets of Christianity about atonement and salvation.

Since statements like “I am the way, truth, and life” IS in the Gospel of John, it is irrational to claim that these teachings are missing from the Gospel.

‘as long as He allows us to’ -can you explain it further?

Whatever written in the Gospels about Jesus is by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus commanded His disciples to preach His teaching to the nations. Everything we know and teach about Jesus is dependent on Him.

The point was raised by inJESUS by the way.

inJESUS wrote that post in response to hamba2han, who was the first person to bring up this issue by contending that certain gestures and positions during a prayer were more significant than some others.

Not always contradictiones, but different teachings in different accounts about the same event leads to the conclusion that all of the accounts of the same event can vary from the original event.

Different teachings? No way.

Different accounts of the same event in the Gospels result from the Evangelists’ wish to approach the same tenet/teaching from a different perspective and to address a different audience while proclaiming Jesus’ same truth.

 

[LutheranDK]

I think that is translated “there is no God except Allah”, Allah is the actual name of God. It would be equivalent to us saying “there is no God but Yahweh”.

“Allah” has come to MEAN “God”, and it is not the name of the “god” of islam. “Allah” was indeed the chief god worshipped by the pagan Arabs, but in the 1400 years since, the word has come to bear the meaning of “God” - not the name of a god.

Secondly, I don’t know who “Yahweh” is - because the pronounciation of the tetragram יהוה is uncertain.
So, to be precise, we Christians could say "there is no God but יהוה ", but to say “There is no god but Yahweh” would be running the risk of mispronouncing God’s name…