Guidance to Straight path comes from Allah Alone!

Source: Usool al-Deen al-Islami by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri

Allaah has created man and given him reason, and He has sent down to him Revelation and sent to him Messengers to call him to the truth and warn him against falsehood. Then He has left him to make his own choice.

“And say: ‘The truth is from your Lord.’ Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve  [al-Kahf 18:29 – interpretation of the meaning]

Allaah commanded His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to convey the truth to all of mankind. Then they have the choice to do as they wish. If a person obeys, he benefits himself, and if he disobeys, he harms himself, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say: ‘O you mankind! Now truth (i.e. the Qur’aan and Prophet Muhammad), has come to you from your Lord. So whosoever receives guidance, he does so for the good of his own self; and whosoever goes astray, he does so to his own loss; and I am not (set) over you as a Wakeel (disposer of affairs to oblige you for guidance)’”[Yoonus 10:108] 

Islam is the religion of the natural state of man (fitrah), the religion of reason and thought. Allaah has distinguished the truth from falsehood. He has enjoined all that is good and forbidden all that is evil. He has permitted good things and forbidden evil things. There is no compulsion in religion because the benefits or harms come back upon the created being, not upon the Creator. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taaghoot (false gods) and believes in Allaah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break” [al-Baqarah 2:256]

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for (the benefit of) his ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves”[Fussilat 41:46] 

Guidance is in the hand of Allaah. If Allaah willed, He could guide all of mankind, for there is nothing that He cannot do on this earth or in the heavens. Nothing happens in His Dominion except that which He wills.

“Say: ‘With Allaah is the perfect proof and argument, (i.e. the Oneness of Allaah, the sending of His Messengers and His Holy Books, to mankind); had He so willed, He would indeed have guided you all’”[al-An’aam 6:149 – interpretation of the meaning] 

But in His Wisdom, Allaah has created us with the ability to choose, and He has sent down to us guidance and the Criterion. So whoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger will enter Hell, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, proofs have come to you from your Lord, so whosoever sees, will do so for (the good of) his ownself, and whosoever blinds himself, will do so to his own harm, and I (Muhammad) am not a watcher over you”[al-An’aam 6:104] 

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has no part in guidance; all that he and the Muslims have to do is to explain and convey the message, and show them guidance but they cannot force people to follow it, as Allaah said to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you (O Muhammad) then compel mankind, until they become believers”[Yoonus 10:99] 

And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the duty of the Messenger is only to convey (the Message) plainly”[al-‘Ankaboot 29:18] 

Guidance to the truth is in the hand of Allaah alone and no human being has any share in that, as Allaah said to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, you (O Muhammad) guide not whom you like, but Allaah guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are the guided[al-Qasas 28:56] 

Allaah guides whomsoever He wills and sends astray whomsoever He wills. He has told us that He guides those who obey Him and turn to Him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their piety”[Muhammad 47:17] 

But whoever disobeys Allaah and turns away from Him, Allaah will not guide him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Truly, Allaah guides not him who is a liar, and a disbeliever”  [al-Zumar 39:3]

Allaah is Omniscient and knows what has happened and is happening and what is yet to come. Allaah knows the believers and the disbelievers, and what they will do, and He knows what their fate will be in the Hereafter. He has written all that in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz (the Preserved Tablet), as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And all things We have recorded in a Book”[al-Naba’ 78:29] 

Allaah has created man with the ability to choose, and He has created him able to do both, either believer or disbelieve, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful”[al-Insaan 76:3] 

Man has the choice in terms of his reason only; if he loses his reason by which he is able to distinguish between the alternatives of good and evil, truth and falsehood, then he is not accountable. Hence according to Islamic sharee’ah, the pen is lifted from the insane person (i.e., he is not accountable) until he recovers his senses, and from the child until he reaches the age of understanding, and from the sleeper until he wakes up. None of these people are accountable until they gain or recover the reason by which they may distinguish between the alternatives of faith and disbelief, truth and falsehood, and so on.

Whatever direction a person takes, there will be reward and punishment, If he obeys, there will be Paradise:

“Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allaah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds”  [al-Shams 91:9 – interpretation of the meaning]

and if he disobeys, there will be Hell:

“And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allaah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds” [al-Shams 91:10 – interpretation of the meaning] 

The choice of one of these two ways is something about which a person will be questioned by the Lord of the Worlds. Hence it is clear that faith or disbelief, obedience or disobedience, is the matter of personal choice. Allaah has made reward and punishment dependent upon this choice:

“Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for (the benefit of) his ownself; and whosoever does evil, it is against his ownself. And your Lord is not at all unjust to (His) slaves”[Fussilat 41:46] 

Whoever loves Allaah and His Messenger and desires good in this world and in the Hereafter, let him enter Islam, and whoever turns away from that and is content with this world and has no interest in the Hereafter and does not submit, then his abode will be Hell. The individual is the one who will benefit or harm himself. There is no compulsion to choose either. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, this (Verses of the Qur’aan) is an admonition, so whosoever wills, let him take a Path to his Lord (Allaah)” [al-Insaan 76:29]

O Allah show us the right path, the path of those whom u have favored! Ameen!

Who is Allah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit

Question:

Please explain clearly about these:

1. Who is Allah?

2. Who is God?

3. Who is Jesus?

4. Can I see all of them?

5. Whether they are all the same, since we say that Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are the same.

6. Suppose I want to pray, how should I start praying?

Answer

Thank you for your questions. I would like to start out by saying that Muslims believe that all prophets of God preached the same simple truth of the One Sovereign God.

Who Is Allah? Who Is God?

Allah is God. The name Allah is the Arabic word for God. More precisely, it is the One Eternal Creator, Lord of the whole universe. It is the same Arabic name for God that is used in the Arabic Bible.

It is pronounced almost the same in other Semitic languages: “Eloha” in Hebrew, and “Allaha” in Aramaic. According to Jesus (peace be upon him), God is One, with no partner whatsoever. I quote the following verses from the Bible:
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and him only.’” (Matthew 4:10)
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.” (Mark 12:32)

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’” (Mark 12:29)

Who Is Jesus?

Jesus is one of a long string of prophets of Allah sent to all nations throughout history, starting from Adam, who received the first guidance from Allah, to the final one, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
According to the Bible, Jesus was sent particularly to the Israelites, to set them back on the proper track of Moses. The Gospels record these words of Jesus:

“I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you: ‘Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’” (Matthew 5:17-18)

The Qur’an, which Muslims consider the direct revelation says what means:

*{The Messiah (himself) said: O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! whoso ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden Paradise. His abode is the Fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers.}* (Al-Ma’idah 5:72)

Jesus was a full human Prophet of God, as he emphatically declared:

“As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” (John 8:40)
“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.” (Luke 24:19)

Again, the Qur’an also affirms Jesus’s prophethood:

*{And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah}* (As-Saff 61:6)

In all aspects, the Gospels portray him as a human who was born and circumcised (Luke 2:5-7, 21, 40, 52, 11:27); who suffered hunger and thirst (Matthew 4:2, 11:19, 21:18); who got tired and slept like any human being (Matthew 8:20, 24-25, Luke 8:23, Mark 4:38, John 4:6); who was subject to human feelings of fear, astonishment, and sadness (Matthew 26:37, Mark 14:33-34, John 11:33, 35, 38); and who prayed to his Creator like any human believer does (Mark 1:35, 14:35, Luke 5:16, 6:12).

Logically speaking, having no father does not mean he was the son of God. Adam had neither father nor mother, yet both Adam and Jesus are bondsmen of Allah created by His will and power, by His word “Be” — Adam from earthly dust, and Jesus in the womb of Virgin Mary.

This is precisely and unequivocally defined in the Qur’an as follows:

*{The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”. And he was.}* (Aal `Imran 3:59)

So neither Jesus nor Adam is a son of God. References to Jesus in the Bible as son of God should not be taken in the literal sense, rather in the metaphoric sense of affection and nearness to God. Jesus himself affirms that we are all “sons” of God in this sense:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Similar references to human beings as “sons of God” are also used in the Old Testament:
“You are the children of the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 14:1)

Finally, in his own words, Jesus declared himself as the Son of Man:

Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” (John 3:14)

Can We See God?

Our human capabilities are limited by the nature of our senses: vision in a certain wavelength range (4 to 7 X10-7 meters), hearing in a certain frequency range (2.500 to 4,000 cycles per second). Even the power of our instruments, however advanced, is limited in two ways:

■scale: by the huge universal dimensions in light years
■nature: to our detectable electromagnetic wave systems. So we cannot see or detect anything different from or beyond (in nature, time, or space) these systems: neither the angels nor any non-earthly being, nor God the Creator and Dominator of all His creation.

This is affirmed both in the Qur’an and in the Bible:

*{No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.}* (Al-An`am 6:103)

“Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.” (John 5:37)

Are God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit the Same?

First: who is the Holy Spirit? A careful reading of the Gospels clarifies that the Holy Spirit is the Angel Gabriel.
Compare the two narrations of Matthew and Luke:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:18)

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27).

This accords with the Qur’an:

*{Then We sent her our angel [literally, spirit], and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. … He [the angel] said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.”}* (Maryam 19:17,19)

So God the Lord, Jesus the human prophet, and the Holy Spirit Gabriel are each separate. The doctrine of the Trinity was never preached by Jesus, nor by his followers for three centuries. The word ”trinity” is nowhere in the Bible. The whole concept was derived from the words of John, who never met Jesus.

The myth of trinity gradually crept into Christianity, influenced by pagan beliefs and Greek mythology, and was adopted by Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

“How Can I Start Praying?”

The answer to this, James, really depends on you and the choices you make in your life. If you fully accept Islam, that is, belief in the One God, and the message revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the miraculous word of God, the Qur’an, this would be your first honorable step to the truth of Islam.

The following steps are straightforward, and can be taken without any intermediary or clergy. It is something between you and your Creator, yet in the way He ordained. You can find the necessary details in the links provided below; and you could better still refer to a trustworthy Islamic Center for guidance and support.

Best wishes for you on this most blessed trip to the pure Divine Truth.

Series Of Prophecies In The Bible For The Advent Of Muhammad (pbuh)

| Author: M.A.C. Cave | Language: English | Size: 2MB | Pages: 50 | Format: PDF

The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) is pleased to bring out this booklet, “The Prophecies in the Bible for the Advent of prophet Muhammad (pbuh),” by Mr. M.A.C. Cave. This publication documents the various prophecies in the Bible on the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), as Messenger of Allah (God). “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1). It is a tributre to Mr M.A.C. Cave for his dedication and zeal in marshalling documentary evidences from the Bible conveying the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). This booklet should serve as an eye-opener to those in quest of truth. Read this publication without the blinkers or prejudices, God’s willing, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Colour Coded Tajweed Qur'an PDF

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We have obtained a our coded Tajweed Qur'an published by Dar Al Maarifah that is available online on Google Books.

It is 608MB in size.

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Tafsir Surat Al-Kahf (Chapter – 18)

Imam Ibn Kathir | Language: English | Format: PDF | Pages: 108 | Size: 1 MB

The Tafsir of Surat Al-Kahf (Chapter – 18), Which was revealed in Makkah

What has been mentioned about the Virtues of this Surah and the first and last ten Ayat, which provide protection from the Dajjal

Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Bara’ said: “A man recited Al-Kahf and there was an animal in the house which began acting in a nervous manner. He looked, and saw a fog or cloud overhead. He ment ioned this to the Prophet, who said:

(Keep on reciting so and so, for this is the tranquillity which descends when one reads Qur’an or Because of reading Qur’an;) This was also recorded in the Two Sahihs. This man who recited it Was Usayd bin Al-Hudayr, as we have previously mentioned in our Tafsir of Surat Al-Baqarah.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Ad-Darda’ that the Prophet said:

(Whoever memorizes ten Ayat from the beginning of Surat Al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjal.) This was also recorded by Muslim, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i and At -Tirmidhi. According to the version recorded by At -Tirmidhi,

(Whoever memorizes three Ayat from the beginning of Al-Kahf.) He said, it is “Hasan Sahih.

In his Mustadrak, Al-Hakim recorded from Abu Sa` id that the Prophet said:

(Whoever recites Surat Al-Kahf on Friday, it will illuminate him with light from one Friday to the next.) Then he said: “This Hadith has a Sahih chain, but they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

Al-Haf iz Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi also recorded it in his Sunan from Al-Hakim, then he narrated with his own chain that the Prophet said:

(Whoever recites Surat Al-Kahf as it was revealed, it will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection.)

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