Allah (SWT) describes the qualities of some of His beloved servants at the end of Suratul Al-Furqan:

“And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those: Who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!" Those who spend the night in adoration of their Lord prostrate and standing. Those who say: "Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell, for its Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous, " Evil indeed is it as an abode, and as a place to rest in". Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not stingy, but hold a just (balance) between those (extremes).Those who invoke not, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred, except for just cause, nor commit fornication, and any that does this (not only) meets punishment. ( But) the Penalty on the Day of Judgment will be doubled to him, and he will dwell therein in ignominy, unless he repents, believes and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion. Those who witness no falsehood and, if they pass by futility, they pass by it with honorable (avoidance). Those who, when they are admonished with the Signs of their Lord, droop not down at them as if they were deaf or blind. Those who pray, "Our Lord! grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous." Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven, because of their patient constancy: therein shall they be met with salutations and peace, dwelling therein; how beautiful an abode and place of rest! Say (to the Rejecters): "My Lord is not uneasy because of you if ye call not on Him: but ye have indeed rejected (Him), and soon will come the inevitable (punishment)!"      (Al-Furqan 25:63-77)

We should keep in mind that the servant of Allah is different from ordinary creations. Being given the honor of the title "Ibad-your-Rahman" implies the satisfaction of God by their deeds and qualities. Here, in these verses, Allah is describing the 13 unique qualities which raise a human being from the level of ordinary creation to being the beloved servant of Allah. The 13 traits are:

1. They walk on the earth with humility:

This implies that they do not walk arrogantly just because they are physically or materially better than other people. Servants of Allah keep in their minds that whatever good they have is given to them by the mercy and blessing of Allah. Thus, they are humble and modest in their manner. We should note, however, that walking humbly does not mean walking in a lazy or slow manner because, from the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) we know that he used to walk swiftly.

2. Their response to the ignorant is ‘peace’:


When people ignorant about Islam taunt and attack them verbally, the servants of Allah’s response is ‘peace’. We don’t want to fight you. We just want to spread the message of peace. Servants of Allah should not get drawn into fights even if others taunt or verbally abuse them. Through such manners, they will be able attract others to the beauty of the belief they have; as Allah (SWT) ordered His prophet (pbuh) in Surah Fussilat (41:34-35) to act:

And (O Prophet), goodness and evil are not equal.  Repel evil with what is best.  You will see that he with whom you had enmity, has become your closest friend.


3. They spend their nights in worship:

They spend their nights worshiping God standing and prostrating. Since night worship is voluntary this automatically implies that they are already fulfilling their mandatory five prayers. And besides these five prayers they are working on voluntary worship. Because of the many good virtues that voluntary (Sunnah) prayers have, one should try to perform them as much as possible. Among these virtues the fact that they will be a shield which will guard the mandatory prayers. So if the Muslim gets tired or the devil (Satan) tries to deceive him by saying that it is difficult on him to perform his prayers; he might miss some of the voluntary ones, until he remembers and comes back to Allah. If he is not used to Sunnah prayer, he might miss the mandatory prayer, which is a very serious problem. Also, on the day of judgment, the first deed that is judged the Salah (Prayers); if it is accepted then other deeds are judged. If not, his other deeds will be rejected. So the Sunnah prayers will — by the grace of Allah — compensate for the shortcomings that occur in the mandatory prayer.

Some scholars say that if one did not worship or pray the whole night because of decent responsibilities, and he prayed the Isha (Night) and Fajr (Morning) prayers in congregation, then this could be considered as worshiping the whole night.

4. They ask for safety from Hell- Fire:

In spite of their performance of both voluntary and mandatory prayers they do not feel that they have done enough and they still fear the punishment of Allah. They are so humble, before Allah, that they do not say, ’Allah give us Heaven for the good deeds we have done’, rather they ask for safety from Hell- Fire for the evil deeds they might have done knowingly or unknowingly. No one should ever think that he deserves Heaven by his deeds. One can never pay back a small portion of the blessings of Allah in this life only, even if he spent all his life in worship. This is why the prophet (saaw) said in a Hadeeth: "No one shall enter Heaven by his deeds"; when his companions replied "even you, o messenger of Allah", he said "even me; unless Allah bestow his mercy on me"

5. They spend their money wisely:

That is they behave in neither a miserly nor extravagant manner. This is because they know that whatever wealth they have is blessing from Allah, and He has given it to them as a trust. Thus, they spend their wealth in a manner pleasing to Allah, neither hoarding their money away so that no one can benefit from it, nor spending it in a wasteful and unproductive manner. A Muslim’s first obligation is towards himself and his family. Once a Muslim has satisfied the needs of his family then, whatever wealth is left, can be spent in the cause of Allah.

6. They do not make partners with God:

This is the most important quality. Without this one, the others are all useless. The real servants of God do not associate anyone with God. There are two main types of association. First, the obvious type of association is when a person includes people or other gods with Allah. The second type of association is less obvious, and it is when a person allows worldly pursuits to interfere with his worship of God. Some examples of this are: neglecting required religious duties for the sake of a job; or fearing people more than you fear Allah. Servants of Allah do not worship anyone or anything other than one and only one God.

7. They don’t kill without reason:

They don’t kill or destroy any life, which Allah has made sacred, without a valid religious reason. The only reasons in which a life may be taken are a) If a Muslim judge orders someone to be killed as a punishment for a certain crime which deserves such a punishment, like killing an innocent soul; b) During war, while fighting for a Muslim army, in which only fighters are killed but not innocent civilians; or c) while defending the life, property, or honor of oneself or ones family.

8. They do not commit adultery:

They only have sexual relationships with their spouses and do not indulge in such acts with others. They preserve their honor and sanctity; and restrain themselves from the lust and desire which might seem good for a short period of time, but ultimately destroys the the person and the society by spreading all types of social and physical diseases. This is in addition to the grave punishment of Allah in the hereafter.


9. They do not witness any falsehood:

They do not become part of ignorant acts nor witness them. If, by chance, they come across such situations, then they should restrain themselves and honorably walk away.

10. They do not drop deaf and blind on the signs of God:

According to the scholars this has two meanings. First, that the servants of Allah don’t feel bored and close their minds when someone mentions the signs of God in front of them. Nor do they pay no heed to the person trying to guide them. Second, they don’t follow anyone blindly. Rather they use the wisdom Allah has given them to understand His message and then they follow it with strength and perseverance.

11. They pray for righteous wives (and women pray for righteous husbands) and children:

They pray for God to grant them righteous spouses and children who are a coolness for their eyes, and bring about peace and satisfaction to their souls. They pray that their spouses and children help them on their journey towards Heaven and not be a burden. The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned in a Hadeeth that the joy of this world is a righteous wife. Spouses support each other and they are the cornerstone of any family. Thus, a righteous spouse will help you face the difficulties of this world, resist its temptations, and raise, God willing, righteous children.

12. They wish to be the leaders of the pious believers:

That is, they ask Allah to invoke such good qualities in them that they be fit to be the leaders of the good believers. Here, an important thing has to be mentioned. According to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) it is strongly prohibited to seek leadership. In fact leadership should not be given to those who ask for it. It should be given to those who are of excellent religious qualities and are reluctant to become leaders. Thus, in this verse, the servants of Allah are praying to Allah (not asking other people) to give them a chance to be so good that they would be considered as leaders of the already good Muslims.

13. They are patient and consistent:

This is one of the most important features. Servants of Allah are patient for whatever burdens they have to bear for the sake of Allah. They are also persistent with their good deeds. Even if these good deeds are few one should not stop doing them. The Prophet (PBUH) said that a small good deed done with consistency is better than a big good deed that is done inconsistently. In the end of the verses Allah says that the reward for Muslims in which these thirteen qualities exist is the highest level of Heaven. There they shall live forever in perfect peace.

After all the points made in your outline, there are a few concerns here:

belloti:


6. They do not make partners with God:

This is the most important quality. Without this one, the others are all useless. The real servants of God do not associate anyone with God. There are two main types of association. First, the obvious type of association is when a person includes people or other gods with Allah. The second type of association is less obvious, and it is when a person allows worldly pursuits to interfere with his worship of God. Some examples of this are: neglecting required religious duties for the sake of a job; or fearing people more than you fear Allah. Servants of Allah do not worship anyone or anything other than one and only one God.

Well, how do you defend that quality with the very same thing that the Qur'an permits? Who are these "gods" associating themselves with the *Allah* of the Qur'an? Check them out:


Sura 6 vs.94
"And behold! ye come to Us bare and alone as We created you for the first time. . ."

Sura 7 vs.11
"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who prostrate."

Q.23 vs.12
"Verily We created man from a product of wet earth"

Q.51 vs.47-49
"And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample. . . And of every thing We have created pairs. . ."

Sura 10 vs.12
"When trouble toucheth a man, he crieth unto Us (in all postures)- lying down on his side, or sitting, or standing. But when We have solved his trouble, he passeth on his way as if he had never cried to Us for a trouble that touched him! thus do the deeds of transgressors seem fair in their eyes!"

Q.21 vs.73
"And We made them Imams who guided (people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good and the keeping up of prayer and the giving of the alms, and Us (alone) did they serve" (transl. by Pickthal: "and they were worshippers of Us (alone).".

Q.21 vs.35
"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. to Us must ye return."

belloti:


8. They do not commit adultery:

They only have sexual relationships with their spouses and do not indulge in such acts with others. They preserve their honor and sanctity; and restrain themselves from the lust and desire which might seem good for a short period of time, but ultimately destroys the the person and the society by spreading all types of social and physical diseases. This is in addition to the grave punishment of Allah in the hereafter.

Did Muhammad not encourage sexual relations that say the opposite of what you preach here? See these:

Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 62, Number 136:
Narrated Jabir:We used to practice coitus interruptus while the Quran was being revealed.
(see Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 62, Number 135: Narrated Jabir: We used to practice coitus interruptus during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle).

Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 62, Number 137:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: We got female captives in the war booty and we used to do coitus interruptus with them. So we asked Allah's Apostle about it and he said, "Do you really do that?" repeating the question thrice, "There is no soul that is destined to exist but will come into existence, till the Day of Resurrection."


I wonder if you would still qualify Muhammad based on the fact that Islam sources actually show how he failed the tests you highlighted.

The Qur'an forbids Muslims to do the very same thing it is guilty of doing - worshipping many *allahs*. To join or associate any or many gods to Muhammad's *allah* was considered a blasphemy that risked unforgiveness. Yet, when Muslims pray or worship, they really do not see that they are actually directing their worship to the many 'gods' that Muhammad came to preach under a pretence of 'strict monotheism'.

I beg those who still adhere to the book of Muhammad to read its pages without the usual Islamic bias. They will find the disguised polytheism of this 'prophet' exposed and that will be the start of a new discovery for many people. May God indeed help such to discover the truth before it os too late.

Another one for you, belloti:

belloti:


11. They pray for righteous wives (and women pray for righteous husbands) and children:

They pray for God to grant them righteous spouses and children who are a coolness for their eyes, and bring about peace and satisfaction to their souls. They pray that their spouses and children help them on their journey towards Heaven and not be a burden. The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned in a Hadeeth that the joy of this world is a righteous wife. Spouses support each other and they are the cornerstone of any family. Thus, a righteous spouse will help you face the difficulties of this world, resist its temptations, and raise, God willing, righteous children.

Let's visit some of the sources (including the Hadeeth) that reveal Muhammad's true views about "righteous wives" and children:

Qur'an 24:6
"And for those who launch a charge against their wives, accusing them, but have no witnesses or evidence, except themselves; let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies, (swearing four times) by Allah that he is the one speaking the truth."

Tabari IX:113
"Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain, they have the right to food and clothing. Treat women well for they are like domestic animals and they possess nothing themselves. Allah has made the enjoyment of their bodies lawful in his Qur'an."

Ishaq:584
"Tell the men with you who have wives: never trust a woman."

Qur'an 33:59
"Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and all Muslim women to draw cloaks and veils all over their bodies (screening themselves completely except for one or two eyes to see the way). That will be better."

Tabari I:280
"Allah said, ‘It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent.' Because Allah afflicted Eve, all of the women of this world menstruate and are stupid."

This is how Muhammad sees women, nevermind how he treated children. Does he qualify as one of the "Servants of Allah, Most Merciful"?

Others to follow soon.

Part 1.
4. They ask for safety from Hell- Fire:
"In spite of their performance of both voluntary and mandatory prayers they do not feel that they have done enough and they still fear the punishment of Allah. They are so humble, before Allah, that they do not say, ’Allah give us Heaven for the good deeds we have done’, rather they ask for safety from Hell-Fire for the evil deeds they might have done knowingly or unknowingly. No one should ever think that he deserves Heaven by his deeds. One can never pay back a small portion of the blessings of Allah in this life only, even if he spent all his life in worship. This is why the prophet (saaw) said in a Hadeeth: "No one shall enter Heaven by his deeds"; when his companions replied "even you, o messenger of Allah", he said "even me; unless Allah bestow his mercy on me"

@Belloti,
Sometime ago, you opined that you do not see how christianity makes sense; well, you've revealled one of the most important reasons why Islam DOES NOT make any sense, and that the Grace of God through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven.
If you read through your quotation above with attention to the highlighted portions: you can see that Muhammed has "actually confessed" indirectly that there is no Salvation in Islam!!! How? Since the theology and doctrine of Islam preaches salvation by works, sunnah etc, how do you reconcile that with "No one shall enter Heaven by his deeds" (?). Everything presented in Islam is all about belief, deeds and works and NO faith!
In addition, going through the above quote again, it is very clear that Islam is an opportunity to live in "Antinomianism" (please look for the meaning if you dont know it)

Part 2:
Tabari I:280
"Allah said, "It is My obligation to make Eve bleed once every month as she made this tree bleed. I must also make Eve stupid, although I created her intelligent."

But the True God said in Isaiah 1:18 that "Come now, let us reason together,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"; and also David said in Psalms 139:14, in describing us, God's creation: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Another evidence that 'allah' is not the true living God!!!!

i would love to have replied all of you but i noticed some deliberate attempt at falsehood by Havila and Maliki, i dont need to go after an exercise in futility. Mr Havila as always choose to create some unreasonable and flimpsy excuses to tarnish islam just because he had to do it not for any sensible purpose.

Ibadur Rahman or rather the servants of God are basic descriptions of pious muslims and i dont see how that can be confusing to any responsible adult. Allah SWT in the Holy Book always uses the appellations We and Us to refer to His majesty and the muslims are well aware of that so if that confused you mr shahan its basically because you are not a muslim and nothing else.

belloti:

i would love to have replied all of you but i noticed some deliberate attempt at falsehood by Havila and Maliki, i don't need to go after an exercise in futility. Mr Havila as always choose to create some unreasonable and flimpsy excuses to tarnish islam just because he had to do it not for any sensible purpose.

Ibadur Rahman or rather the servants of God are basic descriptions of pious muslims and i don't see how that can be confusing to any responsible adult.

@Belloti,
It is really glaring that you do not think through your posts before posting them. WHy dont you address that so-called "delibrate flasehoods" in my post? You cannot because I have revealed the futlity of your belief system called Islam. Isn't it idiotic that you are saying a write-up backed up by saying of "allah" should not really be used to judge the doctrine you profess? You are exercising the same dogmatic "closed-reasoning" that makes you resist a critique of the tenets of Islam. Why dont you objectively read throug my rejoinder, search the scriptures and then respond or get understanding, instead of sulking like a child. Belloti, I am not tarnishing Islam, you are the one tarnishing islam by bringing it under the limelight for the world to see that it is all false. You cannot reconcile your position because you lack the basic intellectual capacity to contructively appraise!
By the way, have a wonderful new year, and give my regards to your family. God bless.

belloti:

i would love to have replied all of you but i noticed some deliberate attempt at falsehood by Havila and Maliki, i don't need to go after an exercise in futility.

I'm sure those gentlemen will take up your challenge and claims in their own time. But i acn't understand why you gave no point or outlines of what you perceived to be "some deliberate attempt at falsehood"?? This sounds more like a careful backdoor escape from real issues.

belloti:

Mr Havila as always choose to create some unreasonable and flimpsy excuses to tarnish islam just because he had to do it not for any sensible purpose.

Can you please highlight the unreasonable and flimsy excuses??

belloti:

Ibadur Rahman or rather the servants of God are basic descriptions of pious muslims and i don't see how that can be confusing to any responsible adult.

Tell you what responsible adults do: they don't gullibly base their lives or settle a matter on "titles" - they go one step further to verify and ascertain what the titles in question actually mean, and if they can be applied to those claiming such.

Now, my concerns were not merely about titles; rather, after going through your post, I querried if Muhammad fitted the descriptions of what you stated for those you recognise as the "Servants of God". It doesn't matter if the title is in Quraysh or Aramaic, the question is: does Muhammad qualify as any such, judging from what you posted and what he actually did?

belloti:

Allah SWT in the Holy Book always uses the appellations We and Us to refer to His majesty and the muslims are well aware of that so if that confused you mr shahan its basically because you are not a muslim and nothing else.

I never came here claiming to be an Muslim; and my efforts are geared more as to why I cannot be one or encourage anyone to even contemplate it.

Now, it is interesting that the WE and US you call majesty shows how much you chaps don't read. let me offer you this: go through the Qur'an again and see that it was not the chief "god" that was speaking, but rather the lesser "gods" claiming to be doing the very same thing as the chief god who Muslims call *Allah.* If you can't see the difference after having gone through, then I'll gladly come back and point you to those texts.

Cheers.