Originally posted by siam
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Divine Relationship---Muslims have a personal and private relationship with God, in that, the Quran is considered a letter/message to the individual Muslim from God. God's approach to humanity is one characterized by Compassion and Mercy that is balanced by Justice. The human's approach to God is characterized by Taqwa (love of God/God awareness)---together they form the concept of Reciprocity. Reciprocity balances a relationship and balance creates harmony which generates Peace.
Deterrence---In order to not commit bad action, deterrence is helpful.
"Jesus is our beginning and ending point." ---That was very well put---I think it captures Christian spirituality well. (...what of the Holy Spirit?...could one say it a substitute/representative of Jesus Christ?)
ONE God--Which God answers prayers the False God or the True God?---If we say the "True" God answers all prayers...and God is only One (There are not more than One "True" God), then ALL prayers go to that ONE God....because he is the only one that exists. In other words...whatever images or materials or concepts any person holds, All prayers are granted ONLY by the one God that exists.
So, a demon or Satan or False God cannot send Prophets/Messengers, books of Guidance, answer prayers, etc.
Humans can (choose to) deceive themselves---and that is why Humans are responsible for their actions---at Judgement day they cannot blame someone else for deception in order to escape accountability.
That is why the etymology of the word "Kaffir" means--one who covers truth with falsehood (self-deception)....and comes from "farmer"---one who covers a seed with dirt. (In order to cover "truth" one must know it first---so Kaffir can only apply to someone who knows truth but covers it up---not to someone who does not know truth---which is why not all polytheists (mushrikeen) are kaffir, because some are simply ignorant....)
This means that Satan is a weak force---Satan can only tempt---to fall into his temptation (or not,) is a human choice. Pride, arrogance, ingratitude, are some characteristics of persons who may be prone to rejecting good and accepting bad.
So what is so bad about idolatry, polytheism...etc? Division....or what in Islamic context is called Shirk---a world-view based on Shirk, Divides---it places a false barrier (division) between ONE God and his creations. It places divisions between his creations by promoting hierarchies. Divisions and hierarchies lead to arrogance, tensions, aggression which lead to wars. Wars harm and destroy what God has created. Unity (Tawheed) promotes a worldview of balance and harmony based on Equality (equivalent value of human worth) and Justice. Such a paradigm is more constructive towards fulfilling the Human obligation/responsibility of being God's Trustees on earth and managing and caring for all his creations. God is Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Most Just and so he gives us Guidance and forgives our errors when we repent.
Truth---Truth cannot be corrupted---it can only be covered with deception---when the deception is removed---the Truth is seen. The Quran does not deny that Truth exists in all previous scriptures. (...because Truth does not perish.) For example---In Judaism, there are two Talmuds, the Yerushalmi and the Barelvi---one of them is correctly based on the Universality of God (God for all), the other is based on the concept of "My God"/God of Israel and therefore implies---"your God"/the "other" God. Can you see which one has been corrupted? (and...if one uses ones intellect and reason---one can see the buried truth)
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a
"Whoever destroys a soul from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he saved an entire world."
Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:1 (22a)
"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."
Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a
"Whoever destroys a soul from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life from Israel, the Scripture considers it as if he saved an entire world."
Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:1 (22a)
"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."
If Islam/Quran says previous scriptures have been corrupted---then ofcourse any Muslim must also take into consideration if the Quran (also a scripture) has been corrupted or not---to not consider such an option is to have blind belief which is understood as "superstition" and is against the advise of the Quran. Faith(Iman) = the use of ones intellect and reason to arrive at conviction. In order to arrive at conviction (Iman), all possibilities have to be considered---even the idea that a demon/evil spirit deceived the Prophet(pbuh)---and the Prophet himself considered this possibility---and we must use our intellect and reason to arrive at truth.
The Prophet(pbuh)---I am not familiar with "When the Moon Split". But if you have read His Biography, then You are probably aware that When the Prophet received revelations, he first recited these revelations to those closest to him, later he recited them in public.
The duty of a Prophet is to bring the Message of Shema/Tawheed to the people of his community. He needed to fulfill this responsibility/obligation to God. Doing so created a lot of hardship for himself, his family, and his followers. They were persecuted, their lives threatened, and they were forced to leave their homes and tribes. However, God also opened a way for them. Initially the Christian King of Abyssinia gave some Muslims asylum. Later, the community of Yathrib invited the Prophet as Mediator and Teacher (of Islam) in order to bring peace to a community torn apart and nearly destroyed by tribal tensions and aggression. When the Prophet left for Yathrib, his followers followed---and this could have created a lot of scial tension and problems in Yathrib, because the immigrants were destitute---they had to leave everything behind. The Prophet solved this problem by instituting a system of mentorship, where the immigrants would be the teachers (of Islam) and the residents/families of Yathrib would be the mentors/host and teach them the customs of Yathrib. (The name was changed to Medina). The people of Medina voluntarily converted to Islam (some did not convert). The Constitution of Medina established the rights and responsibilities of all Muslim and Non-Muslim members of the "Ummah"/community. Both Muslims and Non-Muslims had a tax---the Non-Muslim tax was called the Jizya---in return, the Non-Muslims were exempt from protecting the "Ummah"/community in case of battle. Initially the Non-Muslims were required to honor their peace treaties---which required them to remain neutral....some did not, and the Jizya was implemented.
Then Muhammad and the Muslims were allowed to fight pagan tribes that allied with the Quraysh.
Then Muhammad and the Muslims were allowed to fight the Jewish tribes of Medina, when these tribes violated the Constitution of Medina and their pact with the Muslims.
Subsequently, Muhammad and the Muslims were allowed to fight the "People of the Book" (Christian and Jews). If the People of the Book paid a poll tax (jizya), then the Muslims were forbidden to fight them.
Muslims were required to make peace with any polytheist, Jews or Christians who embraced Islam, and were required to embrace them as fellow Muslims." Excerpted from pages 145, and 146. The book is available online in PDF form, I assume legally on a website called IslamicBlessings.con
Wealth---As I explained, in Islam, a human being not only has rights, but also responsibilities---the first duty of a person/man is to care for his family---that is a responsibility/obligation that God has placed. To give away all one's wealth at the expense of one's family is not pleasing to God---it is irresponsible. That is why only excess wealth must be given away. Even if one is not married, a person still has responsibility for one's Parents who are family. The extended members of our family who are in ill health, widowed, orphaned, handicapped...etc also have a right to our wealth before it is used to help the larger community. Responsibility is an important concept in Islam. We were given the responsibility of trusteeship and this obligation must be fulfilled. God's will = Right belief that promotes right intentions that lead to right actions for the benefit of all of God's creations---and our family, our community, and humanity ARE God's creations.
So how is morality arrived at in Christianity?---I know the Catholic Church has Catechism which seems to list some of their ethico-moral stand---what about your Christianity?---is there any methodology to arrive at ethico-moral principles?
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