Salam.
I and Mine are for some personal reasons curious about Islam.I have decided to create this thread to ask questions about Islam,everything we need to know.
Pls,Pls and Please,this is NOT a place for atheists,Christians or even Muslims to bring in their fights,logic or hatred for each other.
Muslims please answer only asked questions and go straight to the point.
Thanks

What is Islam?

ifyalways:

Salam.
I and Mine are for some personal reasons curious about Islam.I have decided to create this thread to ask questions about Islam,everything we need to know.
Pls,Pls and Please,this is NOT a place for atheists,Christians or even Muslims to bring in their fights,logic or hatred for each other.
Muslims please answer only asked questions and go straight to the point.
Thanks

Good stuff. . Fire away and let the good muslims educate us all
I am interested in learning as well

The little ~I know about Islam does not sound good I better not say it.

agabaI23:

The little ~I know about Islam does not sound good I better not say it.

The little you know? Why dont you find out more?

tanimz:

The little you know? Why dont you find out more?

It rests on you to tell me more if you are an adherent.

Why should I should get into a house if the entrance has corpse littered. Someone has to let me know that it is not like that inside the house.

agabaI23:

It rests on you to tell me more if you are an adherent.

Why should I should get into a house if the entrance has corpse littered. Someone has to let me know that it is not like that inside the house.

Learn from people, dont you have muslim friends?

Bia Fake,carry your romance go somewhere else,I am serious here.
Where are the real Muslims,dont keep me waiting.
First question,what really is Islam?

Its a way of life!!!!!

Tks Tamiz though its NOT very clear oooh.
Now,Is Muhammed a god,demi-god or a prophet?Infact what does he represent and stand for?

Muhammed is a prophet and a messenger. He is a normal person that just passed the word and knowledge of Islam to the world

He got revelations and his first wife- Khadija encouraged him. That was how he started preaching.

He is a great man in Islam and the last of messengers from Allah

. . . .Meaning there were other prophets before him?
How long did stay/live on earth b4 his death,how did he die,did he foresee his death,did he resurrect or predict resurrection,where is he now?

@Ifyalways

I logged on specifically cos I sense some genuinity in your question and i have been away from NL for sometime. May God always guide you and direct your heart towards his light always.

Now What is is islam - In simple terms,  Islam is the total submission of ones self to the will of the one true God. An unconditional surrender and it is "aslama" in arabic meaning surrendered. It is generated from the root word Sa la ma which is also the root word for peace. Islam doesnt literally mean peace as some people claim but it means through surredering ones self to his lord , thereby being at peace with his creator which will translate to peace with the people as well. "The fear of God is the begining of wisdom" as they say.

Who is Muhammad (PBUH)  - Muhammad is not a god  neither is he a demi god rather he his a prophet and a mesenger of God to the mankind. He is the last messenger of God to mankind. In islam there is a difference betwen a porphet and a messenger. A mesenger is a prophet that was sent with a specific message (i.e book). All messengers are prophets but not all prophets are messengers. There were prophets and messengers before muhammad PBUH and the five greatest of such messangers are Noah, Abraham,Moses, Jesus and mohammed (May the peace and blessings of God be on them all). In islam we consider all of these noble men to be muslims and followers of islam as defined above. We believe in them all and do not distiguish in their mesage as they came to complement each others work and muhammad was just the seal on prophethood.

Your next questions on his death and so on.
He lived for 63 years and he died due to illness. A jewish woman poisioned him years earlier when he and some his companions were invited to dinner. The woman wanted to test if he was a prophet or not by poisoning their food. The other companions died following the meal but nothing happened to the prophet of islam which was a miracle from God and he passed the test. It was years after on his death bed he said he felt like the poision of the years before was now affecting him and this was Allahs way of elevating him to highest ranks of the matrys as he always wished for.

Yes he did forsee his death and that was the reason why he gave the wonderful and everlasting farewell speech in his first and last hajj after the rulings of hajj was revealed. 

He never resurrected and no human ever and will ever ressurrect until the day of ressurrection. He did predict lots of signs to preceed the day of ressurrection some of which have already come to pass and the major signs are yet to happen. He his in his exalted position in the heveans where Allah has put him in. The other prophets are in various exalted positions as well.

Pls this is just th esimplest and concise way i could explain this to you. Plase do not hesistate to ask further questions to water your curiosity.

Just to add to the person that says islam is a way of life that is true. In fact it is a complete way of life as a result of surrendering ones self to the will of his/her creator and sustainer. The meaning of islam is not a way of life rather the way of life is a consequene of submission.

And God knows best

Lagos boy,thanks a million.
Lagos boy,is there anywhere in the Koran where Killing is justified,for any reason?
why do ladies sit at the back of the mosque during prayers?
Salam.

LAGOS BOY,while he was alive did he perform any miracle?do Muslims believe in Miracles or signs and wonders?

where is lagosboy?
Why do Muslims have to pray only in Arabic?

Millions of apologies to you ifya i have not been ever present on NL lately. However i will keep up to date just for you till your curiosity is satisfied inshallah.

ifyalways:

Lagos boy,thanks a million.
Lagos boy,is there anywhere in the Koran where Killing is justified,for any reason?
why do ladies sit at the back of the mosque during prayers?
Salam.

Yes there are places in the quran where killing is justified.
1. A person who kills another person intentionally is to be killed as well. - Punishment of a murderer is the death penalty. However if the famliy of the deceased want blood money instead and do not press charges then so be it.
2. In a legitimate war there is bound to be killing and God encourages the enemy should be slain in war till they return to justice and if they sue for peace the muslims should not transgress and should make peace.
Below is the most quoted verse by non muslims to highlight islam's legitimising of killings. I have nothing to hide so let me post it below:

Q9 vs 5-6
"Then when the Sacred Months (the Ist, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar) have passed, then kill the Mushrikun  wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perfom salah and give charity then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

And if anyone of the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allah (the Qur'an), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not"

The verse is in the context of war and a comand from God to the muslims to defend the newly established islamic state from the agression of the polytheists. Muslims are not hypoctrircal idealists who live in an imaginary world without wars. There will always be war till the day of judgement but the message of islam was to always repel evil and if force is neccessary then the use of force is permitted within the boundaries and limitations of islam. The repelling of injustice is to establish peace eventually and security of life and property of muslims, christians and jews living in the islamic state.


On the issue of women praying at the back in the mosque.
In the time of the prophet (PBUH) the men used to pray in front the children in the middle and the women at the back. Islam tries to establish a balance in life and frowns at excessive and uneccessary intermingling between men and women. The mosque is a place where worshippers should concentrate and focus on God and not the women looking at at the men during salah and vice versa. Imagine the women prayed in front and the men behind then some men when the women bow down will be looking at the women with the biggest bakassi and all sorts  Lets be real here humans will always be human and subject to desires of the heart. The mosuque is for worship and concentration is required. distractions on either side shouldnt be encouraged.

If you follow some of my posts here i am not type of muslim who take advantage of women and relegate them to the background. There are few muslims societies where extreme things are practicsed but it is not of islam  rather of their culture and almost every culture had taken advantage of women. Islam emancipated the arab women from so many evil things and till today women are liberated by islam except some few muslims whose cultures still dominate them.
See https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-274394.0.html  for some of my discussions on women related issues.

ifyalways:

where is lagosboy?
Why do Muslims have to pray only in Arabic?

Muslims dont have to pray in arabic. In islam prayer is not simply what you term as prayer in chrisitianity. We have the 5 obligatory salah which has to be said in arabic but the prayer you mean (which we will call supplication) can be said in any language as God understands all languages. The salah is done in arabic to unify the mode of worship of muslims as the quran was revealed in arabic. A chinese muslims travels to Auchi town in Edo state and he will lead the prayer there perfectly and everyone wil understand what he says as they say it to despite them not understanding their individual language. After the salah , verious muslims supplicate to God and ask him for their needs in igbo, yoruba , spanish, fula and whatever language.

ifyalways:

LAGOS BOY,while he was alive did he perform any miracle?do Muslims believe in Miracles or signs and wonders?

The prophet of islam (PBUH) perfomed so many miracles in his life time but muslims dont emphasisie on miracles because all prophets of God perfomed a kind of miracle and sign. The companions did not wait fo those miracles before they accepted islam and that was the kind of faith the had. Some of the prophets miracle was the splitting of the moon into two when some disbeleivers asked him to do that to prove his genuinity. The prophet fed hundreds of people from a single pot of food, enabled hundreds of people drink milk form a single cup that was passed round by abu huraira without the milk finishing, He enabled a blind man see, healed the sick, enabled some poor people become super rich, the prophet predicted several thigns that amazed the companions and so many more . However, the greatest miracle of the prophet is the quran and that is what we like to emphasise . The qur'an is an outstanding miracle that will forever stand the test of time. The prophet PBUH was unlettered and illiterate which is a proof he couldnt have written the quran himself or copied it from somewhere. Is it the scientific miracles of the quran we want to talk about ? or its superantural mode of prose and poetic presentation that amazaed the super arabian poets, or its numerous messages. I might open another thread to englighten you about the scientific miracles of the quran .

Physical miracles like healing and so on we do not emphasise as the devil himslef can perform all this, even Jesus said in the bible false prophets will do greater works than he did and warned his followers to beware of them. The chiefs of pharouh in th e qur'an cast rods into snake as well but Allah showed his superiority by the Staff of Moses swallowing the other snake. Physical miracles are nothing in fact and only an amazament to the sub intelligent people. However the quran is an intellectual miracle to challenege the brightest of minds and intellectuals to its divine origin. Hence the various rhetorical questions in the quran " Afala yaqulun", "Afala yatadaburuna al quran", "Afala tufakiruno al qur'an" - Have you no intellect, Do you not punder on the qur'an , Do you not reflect and ruminate on the verses of the qur'an.
These kinds of verses usually end the verses of scientific revelation , charging muslims to use their brains but it was centuries later, science began to prove these miracles and will forver as new and new facts are being discovered.

Inshallah i hope to get the time to take you through these verses.

@Anyone that can answer,

I am a catholic christian and find many of the things found in Islam (i.e., practices, traditions) different, when compared to my own faith.  My question, why do muslims have to pray and bow towards the kaaba?  What is the significance of the kaaba?  When I went on wikipedia to read up on it, I found some of the things I was reading off putting.  For example, before Muhammad dedicated the kaaba to the worship of his God (see below) it was used by the local populace for holding many icons of their tribal gods and religious images of christian figures (i.e., Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary):

At the time of Muhammad (CE 570-632), his tribe the Quraysh was in charge of the Kaaba, which was at that time a shrine containing hundreds of idols representing Arabian tribal gods and other religious figures, including Jesus and Mary.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba

Basically, why do muslims have to pray and bow towards the kaaba?  Are muslims supposed to venerate the kaaba?  Is it a holy site/building? And if so, why?

Omenuko:

@Anyone that can answer,

I am a catholic christian and find many of the things found in Islam (i.e., practices, traditions) different, when compared to my own faith. My question, why do muslims have to pray and bow towards the kaaba? What is the significance of the kaaba? When I went on wikipedia to read up on it, I found some of the things I was reading off putting. For example, before Muhammad dedicated the kaaba to the worship of his God (see below) it was used by the local populace for holding many icons of their tribal gods and religious images of christian figures (i.e., Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary):

Basically, why do muslims have to pray and bow towards the kaaba? Are muslims supposed to venerate the kaaba? Is it a holy site/building? And if so, why?

Firstly, wikipedia is not a full authentic source for any faith's doctrine.

The ka'aba is a house of God built/rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. The spread the word of God to the arabs in their time. However as centuries passed by the arabs mixed idol worship with their faith. They still beleived in God but they worshipped him trhough different idols which had their abode at the ka'abah.

The prophet of islam came to revitalise and fulfil the mission of earlier prophets, hence when islam was eventually established the muslims destroyed all the idols at the ka'aba purified it and returned it to its sanctitity purified of false worship. Initially the muslims prayed towards the quds in jerusalem which is another holy site for all the abarahmic faiths. However, God commanded the muslims to face the ka'aba and we have done so for 1400 plus years.

We do not worship the ka'aba neither do we bow to it. We only face the direction as commanded by God and recognising that it is his house on earth. We were told by the prophet that the ka'aba is directly beneath the bait ul mamur (another house of God in the heavens). There is a conncetion btw the two houses and the angels in heaven circumbulate the bait ul ma'mur 70,000 new angels everyday. ~This direct connection has being proven as nothing can directly fly over the ka'abah and i repeat NOTHING. The birds when they fly turn to the sides of the ka'aba to get across as they cannot cross it. Neither can a helicopter or plane fly across it. This is due to the direct linkage with the bait ul ma'mur in the heavens.

The jews also pray at the wall in jerusalem which is their holy site. holy sites is not a new thing within the abrahmic faiths.

I hope i have been able to answer your question.

@Lagosboy, May Allah increase u in knowledge (ameen). Job welldone

@ifya

I assume your queries have increased some understanding?

Lagosboy,U never know what ur replies mean to Me . . .thanks a milliom and keep them coming.
Now about The killing stuff and blood money,what u are saying is that The murdered fellas family can accept to be paid in lieu for their dead brother?
Does it mean u guys dont believe in the popular saying "Vengeance/Revenge is of the lords'?

What happens or is it permissible for a muslim man to have a non-beliver as wife?If yes why and If no,give me reasons.
Who is Jesus to muslims?
what does this PBUH that comes before the prophets name stand for?
Salam.

ifyalways:

Lagosboy,U never know what your replies mean to Me . . .thanks a milliom and keep them coming.
Now about The killing stuff and blood money,what u are saying is that The murdered fellas family can accept to be paid in lieu for their dead brother?
Does it mean u guys dont believe in the popular saying "Vengeance/Revenge is of the lords'?

No worries ifya inshallah i will keep answering to the best of the ability i am given by the All knowing.

Yes i mean the family could either sue for revenge killing or accept blood money which is forgiveness. Below are the verses that talk about this in the quran.

"O you who believe! Al-Qisâs (the Law of Equality in punishment) is prescribed for you in case of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But if the killer is forgiven by the brother (or the relatives, etc.) of the killed against blood money, then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness. This is an alleviation and a mercy from your Lord. So after this whoever transgresses the limits (i.e. kills the killer after taking the blood money), he shall have a painful torment.

And there is (a saving of) life for you in Al-Qisâs (the Law of Equality in punishment), O men of understanding, that you may become Al-Muttaqûn (the pious)"  Q2 vs 178-179

In another chapter Q4 vs 92 God talked about killing by mistake and the punishement for this is either simple forgiveness or also accepting blood money

"It is not for a believer to kill a believer except (that it be) by mistake, and whosoever kills a believer by mistake, (it is ordained that) he must set free a believing slave and a compensation (blood money, i.e Diya) be given to the deceased's family, unless they remit it. If the deceased belonged to a people at war with you and he was a believer; the freeing of a believing slave (is prescribed), and if he belonged to a people with whom you have a treaty of mutual alliance, compensation (blood money - Diya) must be paid to his family, and a believing slave must be freed. And whoso finds this (the penance of freeing a slave) beyond his means, he must fast for two consecutive months in order to seek repentance from Allâh. And Allâh is Ever All­Knowing, All­Wise. "

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allâh are upon him, and a great punishment is prepared for him" vs 93

In another chapter and i believe these are all the verses relating to this matter.

This verse also talks about either forgiving or accepting blood money for manslaughter and not murder

Q17 v 33
"And do not kill anyone which Allâh has forbidden, except for a just cause. And whoever is killed (intentionally with hostility and oppression and not by mistake), We have given his heir the authority [(to demand Qisâs, Law of Equality in punishment or to forgive, or to take Diya (blood money)]. But let him not exceed limits in the matter of taking life (i.e he should not kill except the killer only). Verily, he is helped (by the Islâmic law)[].

Does it mean u guys dont believe in the popular saying "Vengeance/Revenge is of the lords'?

Ifya we do believe in the concept in fact one of the 99 names of Allah is Al Munteqim -  which means The Avenger. However if you notice the end of the verses i quote one said  . . . . And there is[b] (a saving of)[/b] life for you in Al-Qisâs (the Law of Equality in punishment), O men of understanding
Another ended with And Allâh is Ever All­Knowing, All­Wise.

Sometimes we as human think in a way and God here is telling us he knows better. These punishments serves as a deterrent for intentional murder and it also prevents the killing of a person whose crime is manslaughter and not murder. These are wise rulings that set limits to the excess of humans.

Talking about revenge is for God, if a thief comes into the house and kills both parents , despoils sisters  or even despoil the mother before killing if you had the means would you not kill this murderer? We cannot be holier than our Lord neither can we be wiser than him. Capital punishment is a deterrent for murder and the capital punishment is not carried out by the victim but by the state after a judicial process and the judge decides its a murder case.

ifyalways:

What happens or is it permissible for a muslim man to have a non-beliver as wife?If yes why and If no,give me reasons.
Who is Jesus to muslims?
what does this PBUH that comes before the prophets name stand for?
Salam.

A muslim man is not allowed to marry unbeleievers in general but he his allowed to marry from the people of the book - Jews and christians.

This is because non muslims like hindus,Budhist and so on are non believers in all the prophets of God. The jews believe in all the prophets of God and believed in God except Jesus PBUH. The Christians believe in all prophets apart from Muhammad PBUH. the muslsims believe in all of them and make no distiction btw them all. So, in priniciple a muslim man is allowed to marry a christian woman.

However both of them have to consider the practicality,children and their environment. I am not a marital expert i can only say what islam says about it.

Who is Jesus to muslims?

Jesus PBUH is the great prophet of God , a messenger among messengers , the prophet whose messgae Muhammad PBUH came to fulfil. Jesus is among 5 greatest messengers of God i suppose i mentioned earlier. Jesus PBUH perfomed many miracles by the permission of God. He spoke as a baby in the cradle to defend his mother Mary PBUH when she was accused of an illegitimate child. He made birds from paper and gave it life by the permission of God , He did lots of wonders and he corrected lots of jewish rituals devoid of the spirit of the ritual. We as muslims belive in him , believe in his miracles in his message and in his prophethood. However we do not accept him as being the begotten son of God as God cannot beget anything far above that is He. We do not deify Jesus PBUH by calling him God or one in a three. According to islam Jesus is comming back to the world and he will kill the anti christ and lead the muslims and he will eventually die a normal death as he did not die before his ascension to heavens.

Ifya this question about Jesus is indeed very wide and i fear people might fly into this thread and derail it. I will suggest we leave this question till the last question.

what does this PBUH that comes before the prophets name stand for

PBUH simply means Peace Be Unto Him, we say it after every prophets name as a sign of respect and our love for the sacrifices they all endured in calling the people to the path of God. Belief in all the prophet is one of the articles that completes the faith of a muslim.

And God knows best.

Next query if the answer satisfies your question.

LagosBoy,U are wonderful.
What does the Trinity mean to Muslims?
Do muslims believe in Rapture,New earth,Heaven and Hell?
Latsly,what does the names Habibah _sp and Abdul Razak mean?

Lagosboy,quick one,What do u mean by slaves?
who is a slave?can a slave be bought?how and where?
About the inter-marriage,Do u think its workable for a muslim male to marry and live with a Christian lady in same roof,both praticing their religions?

ifyalways:

LagosBoy,U are wonderful.
What does the Trinity mean to Muslims?
Do muslims believe in Rapture,New earth,Heaven and Hell?
Latsly,what does the names Habibah _sp and Abdul Razak mean?

Habibah - means the loving or the loved one for a female. For a man it will be Habib and it is derived from the word Hubb which means love.

Abdul Razaq - means servant of the Sustainer/Provider/Nourisher. Allah's name is Ar Razaq which means The Sustainer .

They are wonderful names.

Thanks,Oya move over to the next questions.

ifyalways:

Lagosboy,quick one,What do u mean by slaves?
who is a slave?can a slave be bought?how and where?
About the inter-marriage,Do u think its workable for a muslim male to marry and live with a Christian lady in same roof,both praticing their religions?

You cant buy slaves anymore. The slave-trade era has long passed (at least in our part of the world). Sure inter-marriage is workable, but it isnt permissible if it vice versa. Because, a man has more power than the woman, it is believed that he can convert the woman. And if he cant, he would be able to raise their kids on the path of Islam.

Rapture,Hell,Heaven,New earth,casting of demons/devil ie deliverance
what are the significances of going to Mecca?Must a Muslim go to Mecca?