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European and Western views
See also: Medieval Christian view of Muhammad

The biographical knowledge about Muhammad in the learned, Latin circles of the Middle Ages in Europe, was remarkably precise to some extent and a good amount of concrete data about his life was known. Learned European circles of the time interpreted the data in such a way that Muhammad was viewed as a charlatan who, being driven by ambition and eagerness for power, seduced the Saracens into his submission under a religious guise.[14] This knowledge about Muhammad's life in the Latin theological texts was not reflected in the popular literature of the Middle Ages where Muhammad was viewed as an idol or one of the heathen gods.[14]



Some medieval Christians said he had died in 666, alluding to the number of the beast, instead of 632;[170] others changed his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate".[171] Bernard Lewis writes "The development of the concept of Mahound started with considering Muhammad as a kind of demon or false god worshipped with Apollyon and Termagant in an unholy trinity."[172] A later medieval works, Livre dou Tresor represents Muhammad as a former monk and cardinal.[14] Dante's Divine Comedy (Canto XXVIII), puts Muhammad, together with Ali, in Hell "among the sowers of discord and the schismatics, being lacerated by devils again and again."[14]



After the reformation, Muhammad was no longer viewed as a god or idol, but as a cunning, ambitious, and self-seeking impostor.[172][14] Guillaume Postel was among the first to present a more positive view of Muhammad.[14] Boulainvilliers described Muhammad as a gifted political leader and a just lawmaker.[14] Gottfried Leibniz praised Muhammad because "he did not deviate from the natural religion".[14] Friedrich Bodenstedt (1851) described Muhammad as "an ominous destroyer and a prophet of murder."[14]



According to Watt and Richard Bell, recent writers have generally dismissed the idea that Muhammad deliberately deceived his followers, arguing that Muhammad “was absolutely sincere and acted in complete good faith”.[173] Watt says that sincerity does not directly imply correctness: In contemporary terms, Muhammad might have mistaken for divine revelation his own unconscious.[174] Although Muhammad's image in the west is much less unfavorable than in the past, prejudicial folk beliefs remain.[175]



Watt and Lewis argue that viewing Muhammad as a self-seeking imposter makes it impossible to understand the development of Islam.[176][177] Welch holds that Muhammad was able to be so influential and successful because of his firm belief in his vocation.[14] Muhammad’s readiness to endure hardship for his cause when there seemed to be no rational basis for hope shows his sincerity.[178]

The difference between Mohammad and other Messengers is three fold:

i. All previous Messengers were sent to a specific nation in specific region of Earth. Their teachings were also limited for a specific time and period. However, Mohammad was sent to entire mankind and his guidance is for all mankind until the end of times.

ii. It is a fact that the teaching of all previous messengers except Mohammad have all but disappeared, and whatever remained of it is so much altered and mixed with falsely made up stories that it is very difficult to recognize the original teachings. Whist the teaching of Mohammad and the Quran is preserved in its originality, and Allah has promised to protect it until end of times.

iii. Since, the teachings of previous Messengers were limited to specific nation and time, their laws relating to ethics and moral code, justice, trade and financial deals, civilian laws were incomplete. Allah (swt) through his final Messenger Mohamad completed the Religion and perfected it. It includes all the teachings from previous Messengers, and abrogated what was specific to those people and time.

Thus, now the teaching of Mohammad is the only trustable source to reach guidance of Allah. And if one wants to follow teachings of Moses and Jesus, who also brought the religion of Allah to their nations, then he has no other choice but to accept the teachings of Mohammad who left with us the trustable source to guidance from Allah in Quran and Sunnah.


The belief in Mohammad includes four:

i. That he is the Messenger of Allah who brought us the Book of Guidance "Quran"

ii. That he brought us the Deen (religion) that is complete and perfected, and it's applicable to all mankind until end of times

iii. That he receives his guidance from Allah and that his knowledge and guidance his perfect from any defects

iv. That he is the Last and Final Messenger of Allah who has perfected the Deen (religion) of Allah, and there will be no further Messenger after him, as none is needed after the Deen is completed and perfected. And teachings of Mohammad are for remainder of mankind.

Main article: Muhammed 294



Habib u'l A'zam, Imam u'l Anbiya Sayyidina Muhammed ibn 'Abdullah,(53 B.H-11 A.H; 571-632 AD) [47] is the last prophet in Islam ("seal of the Prophets" Idolatry of any of the prophets should be avoided, as their messages from God hold the most weight. His father's name was 'Abdullah ibn 'AbdulMuttalib and his mother's name was Amina bint Wahb az-Zuhriyya. Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam). Born in Mecca in 571 AD (53 AH), Muhammed spent the first part of his life as a well-travelled merchant. He would often spend his time in the mountains surrounding Mecca in prayer contemplating the situation with the city.


At the age of forty, during one of those trips to the mountain, Muhammed began to, despite his illiteracy, receive and recite verses from Allah which today make up the Qur'an. He quickly spread the message he was receiving, converting a few others in the city, including his wife. He is the last (seal) of the prophets with a message to all humanity. When oppression became intolerable for his followers, Muhammed first asked his fellow Muslims to migrate to Medina and later himself migrated to Medina away from the oppressors in Mecca.


Muhammad served not just as a prophet, but as a military leader who helped defeat the Meccans in 624 during the Battle of Badr. He continued to lead the Muslims as Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula. He performed the first hajj in 629 and established Islam as it is still practiced by Muslims today. Others continued Muhammad's legacy after his death in 632, having been given the position of caliph (or successor) to Muhammad. The Five Pillars of Islam were established from his Hadiths after Muhammad's death.

@Ty4real:

Olabowale!

Just a question for you,Are you the anti-Christ?I have observed the tenacity with which you tackle christian beliefs!I believe in God the father,the son and the Holy Spirit.Three in one and jsut as I am a body with a soul and a spirit,the concept of the trinity is easy to understand but its your choice what you choose to believe,But the way you go about it is what am yet to get sir!I sure hope you are not the antichrist ooooo !Abi you don't understand that one tooo?

You make me laugh. I have not heard that antiChrist will be a black african, Yoruba man from Nigeria, in New York City. And InshaAllah my next permanent residenc will be in Nigeria. Am still debating where though, since I love the water so much. Anyone have a good suggestion for me. I need over 2 miles square of space, to do horse racing and stable, with a little bit of car race course.

Muslim can never be an antiChrist. You and I are certain about it. Just becauseI am asking you to explain Mark 12 Verse 29 in the light of your Trinitarian claims, is not saying that i am an enemy of Jesus son of mary. Rather those who lie against him are. When you call him god, then you have lied by making him an object of worship. He never said worship him, but wrship God the Lord Almighty. I have this business associate and his skype signature is "Now is the time to praise him: Thank you Jesus." I always asked myself, is this guy for real? Does he not know that he has elevated this simple man to his own god, object of worship? Hey, he is a christian, so what else do I expect?

1 John has already confirmed it. What is even more funny is that this man understands very little . . . you can answer one question and he'll be back next week asking the very same thing.
Ask him one thing about islam and he'd either spam the thread, run away or try to force a change of topic.

Dont be surprised bro.

Please answer this question, once and for all, how do you explain Mark 12 Verse 29, in the face of trinitarian concept? And now don't act as if you ever asked me any question which i dock. Ask again, here and now. already answer the Faith in Islam question. The same day, I provided Qur'anic verses to make it clear. I did not interprete. Unlike you who will hav to interprete every verse, while it is clear as Mark 12 Verse 29 is, confirming directly what Jesus meant. When Jesus says that his Lord God is One and he Jesus is subjected to that Supreme entity, the same way others are subjected to Him, how do you leap to deny it and then theorize that Jesus is more? You know jesus more than jesus knew himself, or you are following the gimmick of Paul? Please proof me wrong.

@Itsolajide:

Your analysis is quite shallow. Barnabas did not preach to Paul. Read Galatians 1 where Paul said "The gospel I preach I received it not from man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ".

Will Jesus be given from heaven, a revelation that opposes his own earthly preaching? Read Paul's preaching, again and compares it to what Jesus preached in his gospel, while he was alive! Its very convenient for Paul to insinuate whatever he wanted, knowing fully well that Jesus was never going to come back to challenge him. Note that all he preached was from his mind, including his letters, which he attributed to God and Jesus! Madness at its highest! And the Christians, in all of these generations neve caught up with the lies. Fantastic phenomina.

If you are trying to introduce a 'Gospel of Barnabas' to us you have failed. We knoe Him well enough than to draw back to unbelief.
With regards to their conflict, read it up yourself in the Acts.

Arrogance. Between you and barnabas, who should know Jesus better? Between Paul on one side and the true disciples of Jesus on the other, whereby we will include Barnabas (many of you will deny this, am sure, eg davidylan, et al), who should be in authority to know Jesus better? Paul is not in the position to claim any superior knowledge and messages of Jesus, relative to the others in the opposing group, individually or collectively. Paul is nothing more than a usurper and a means of deviations.

Other prophets
Muslims believe in other prophets other than those mentioned by name in the Quran. There are many verses in the Quran treating this:

"And certainly We sent messengers (rasul) before you: there are some of them that We have mentioned to you and there are others whom We have not mentioned to you, "
[Qur'an 40:78]

"For We assuredly sent amongst every People a messenger, "
[Qur'an 16:36]

Muslims believe that God has sent 124,000 (or 224,000) messengers all over the world, as mentioned by the prophet Muhammad in the Sahih Hadith.

Al-Imran is mentioned in the Qur'an, he was father of Maryam. Al-Khidr is not mentioned by name, but is traditionally assumed to be referred to in Qur'an 18:66. Biblical prophets Danyal (Daniel), Ishaia (Isaiah), Armya (Jeremiah), and Samuel are mentioned by Ibn Kathir in his book as prophets.

Luqman is mentioned in the sura named after him but it is unclear whether he is a prophet or a wali. According to the most wide-spread shiite belief, Luqman was a wiseman, not a prophet nor a wali. The reported news hold that Luqman had a dream, and in that dream he was asked to choose between being a King and a wiseman, and he chose the second.

Additional numerous historical figures may have been prophets, but this is a source of debate and contention, among them: Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, Socrates [48], Merlin, Confucius [49], Krishna [50] (who is also mentioned in some books of Hadith) and Rama. However, Muslims will state that there is no way of knowing for sure since they are not mentioned by name in the Qur'an. An argument often used in support of the prophethood of such men is that they came with the word of God, but it was later corrupted, this accounting for the differences between Islam, and the respective religions with which each man is associated. The Hadith and Qur’an support such claims that say that a messenger was sent to every people.


[edit] Maryam mother of 'Isa
Main articles: Maryam and Mary
A few scholars (e.g. Ibn Hazm)[51] have argued that she may have been a nabi and a prophetess, since she was sent a message from God via an angel. The Qur'an, however, does not explicitly state that she is one. According to the Islamic belief, she was a holy woman, but she was not a prophet. In the Qur'an, 'Isa is usually referred to as 'Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary), a matronymic, indicative of Jesus having no father.


[edit] See also
To answer any query on the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammed (Salallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) from The Sealed NEctar / Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum, refer to: h t t p : / / w w w . i s l a m q a . c o m / e n / c a t / 3 7 6

[edit] Notes
^ see the Qur'an [Qur'an 3:45]
^ a b c d Uri Rubin, Prophets and Prophethood, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
^ a b A.J. Wensinck, Rasul, Encyclopedia of Islam
^ Qur'an 19:56
^ a b c d e f g h i j Qur'an 6:89
^ Qur'an 26:107
^ Qur'an 26:105
^ a b c d e Qur'an 42:13
^ Qur'an 26:125
^ Qur'an 7:65
^ Qur'an 26:143
^ Qur'an 7:73
^ Qur'an 19:41
^ Qur'an 9:70
^ Qur'an 2:124
^ Qur'an 87:19
^ Qur'an 22:43
^ Qur'an 26:162
^ Qur'an 26:160
^ a b Qur'an 19:54
^ a b Qur'an 19:49
^ a b Qur'an 21:73
^ Qur'an 26:178
^ Qur'an 7:85
^ a b Qur'an 19:51
^ Qur'an 53:36
^ Qur'an 43:46
^ Qur'an 19:53
^ Qur'an 17:55
^ Qur'an 37:123
^ Qur'an 37:124
^ Qur'an 37:139
^ Qur'an 10:98
^ Qur'an 3:39
^ Qur'an 19:30
^ Qur'an 4:171
^ Qur'an 57:27
^ Qur'an 61:6
^ a b Qur'an 33:40
^ Qur'an 42:7
^ Qur'an 7:158
^ http://www.islam-guide.com/frm-ch1-5.htm
^ "40-78". Qur'an. www.ahadees.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
^ Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an, [Qur'an 38:47]
^ "Prophet Yunus". The Prophets. Islam101.com. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
^ "Prophet Zakariyah". The Prophets. Islam101.com. Retrieved on 2006-05-06.
^ Great Muslims Of All Times
^ http://alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_1_section_5.html
^ http://alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html
^ http://alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_1.html
^ Ibn Hazm on women's prophethood

Qur'an
The following table lists the prophets mentioned in the Qur'an. Biblical versions of names are given where applicable:

“ And undoubtedly, We sent many Messengers before you, of them, there are some whose story We have narrated to you, and there are some whose story We have not narrated to you, and it is not for any Messenger that he should bring any sign without Allah's permission, but when the command of Allah will come, the matter shall be decided with truth, and then the men of falsehood shall lose there." „
—Qur'an, [43]


Name (Arabic & Arabic Translit.) No. of verses with mention

Adam Adam Main articles: Islamic view of Adam, Adam (Bible), and Adam and Eve 5
"Adam is the first prophet of Islam and the first human being. He was created by God but brought to life forty days after being kept as a dry body." He is an important figure in Judaism and Christianity as well and he is best known for the story of Adam and Eve.


Idris Enoch Main articles: Idris (prophet) and Enoch (ancestor of Noah) 3
Idris lived during a period of drought inflicted by God to punish the people of the world who had forgotten God. Idris prayed for salvation and an end to the suffering, and so the world received rain.[citations needed]


Nuh Noah Main articles: Islamic view of Noah and Noah 7
Although best known for the Deluge, Nuh was a primary preacher of monotheism at his time. Muslims believe his faith in God led to his selection for building the Ark.[citation needed]


Hud Eber Main article: Hud (prophet) 9
Muslims believe Hud, for whom the eleventh chapter of the Qur'an is named, was one of the few people to survive a great storm inflicted by God, similar to the Deluge five generations earlier, to punish the people of the `Ad who had forgotten about God. Hud, by comparison and records, is never mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible.[citation needed]


Saleh Shaloh Main article: Saleh 7
According to the Qur'an God ordered Saleh to leave behind his people, the tribe of Thamud, after they disbelieved and disobeyed God's order to care for a special camel and instead killed it. In Saleh's and his followers' (believers) absence, God punished the people with an utter cry from the skies that killed his people instantly. Note that Saleh is not Shelah mentioned in the Old Testament.


Ibrahim Abraham Main articles: Islamic view of Abraham and Abraham 5
Abraham is regarded by Muslims today as one of the significant prophets, because he is credited with rebuilding the Kaaba in Mecca. His family, including his son Ishmael, is also credited with helping create the civilization around Mecca that would later give birth to the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. Ibrahim is also noted for almost sacrificing his son Ismail (Ishmael) for God in an event now commemorated annually by Eid ul-Adha. He is also the first prophet to name the believers as "Muslims" meaning "those with full submission to God".[citation needed]


Lut Lot Main articles: Islamic view of Lot and Lot (Bible) 2
Lot is most notable in Islam for attempting to preach against homosexuality in Sodom and Gomorra in addition to preaching for his people to believe in the Oneness of God, only to be mocked and ignored by the people who lived there. Islam also denies the acts attributed to Lut that are mentioned in the Old Testament, like drinking and being drunk, and having intercourse with and impregnating his two daughters.


Isma'il Ishmael Main articles: Islamic view of Ishmael and Ishmael 9
Ismaïl, first-born son of Ibrahim, is a notable prophet in Islam for his near-sacrifice in adulthood. As a child he and his mother Hagar's search for water in the region around Mecca led God to reveal the Zamzam well, which still flows to this day.


Ishaq Isaac Main article: Isaac 9
According to Islamic tradition, Isaac, second-born son of Ibrahim, became a prophet in Canaan. He, along with his brother Ismaïl, carried on the legacy of Ibrahim as prophets of Islam.


Yakub Jacob Main article: Jacob 2
Yakub, according to the Qur'an was "of the company of the Elect and the Good"[44] and he continued the legacy of both his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. Like his ancestors, he was committed to worshipping God exclusively.


Yusuf Joseph Main articles: Islamic view of Joseph and Joseph (Bible) 3
Yusuf, son of (Yakub) and great-grandson of Ibrahim, became a prominent advisor to the king of Egypt since the king was believed to have seen a dream, which was interpreted by Yusuf that predicted the economic state of Egypt. He spent a large part of his life away from his eleven brothers, who were jealous of Yusuf because their father favored him. They took him one day, telling their father that they where going to play and have fun, but they planned to kill him. Instead, they threw him down a well and told their father Yaqub that he was eaten by a wolf. According to Islam Yusuf was gifted with half of the beauty granted to mankind.


Ayyub Job Main article: Job (Bible) 8
According to Islamic tradition, Ayyub was rewarded by a fountain of youth, which removed all illnesses except death, for his service to God in his hometown outside Al Majdal. Ayyub is believed to have suffered an illness for 18 years as test of patience by God.


Shu'aib Jethro Main articles: Shoaib 2
Shu'aib was a direct descendant of Abraham. According to Islam, he was appointed by God to guide the people of Midyan and Aykah, who lived near Mount Sinai. When the people of the region failed to listen to his warnings, God destroyed the disbeliever's villages. Although it is mentioned in the Qur'an, and by the reported speeches from Muhammad that Musa married one of Shu'aib's daughters, and the same thing is mentioned in the Old Testament for a man named Jethro, some scholars believe that Jethro in the Old Testament is not the same person as Shu'aib in the Qur'an.


Musa Moses Main articles: Islamic view of Moses and Moses 5
Moses, referred to in the Qur'an more than any other prophet, is significant for revealing the Tawrat (Torah) to the Israelites. The Qur'an says Musa realized his connection with God after receiving commands from him during a stop at Mount Sinai. He later went on to free the enslaved Hebrews after the Egyptian pharaoh denied God's power. Musa subsequently led the freed Hebrews for forty years through the desert after they refused to obey God's command and enter the Holy Lands, saying to Moses (as mentioned in Qur'an [Qur'an 5:24], "O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it.

So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here." During this long journey, on another trip to Mount Sinai Musa received the Tawrat and the Ten Commandments. At the end of his life, according to Islamic tradition, Musa chose to die to be closer to God instead of taking an offer that would have extended his life.


Harūn Aaron Main articles: Islamic view of Aaron and Aaron 8
Harun (Aaron) served as an assistant to his older brother Musa (Moses). In Islam, he, like Musa, was given the task of saving the Israelites from the Egyptian pharaoh. He would often speak for Musa when Musa’s speech impediment prevented him from doing so himself.


Dhul-Kifl most likely Ezekiel Main articles: Dhul-Kifl and Ezekiel 5
The status of Dhul-Kifl as a prophet is debatable within Islam, although both sides can agree that he was indeed a righteous man who strived in the way of God. Some studies also note that Dhul-Kifl can be also Obadiah, who is mentioned in the Old Testament to be the one that took care of 100 prophets. He is also believed to have possibly been Gautama Buddha.


Dawud David Main article: David 7
In Islam, the Zabur (Psalms) were revealed to Dawud (David) by God. He is also significant as he is the one who defeated Goliath. It is worth to note that the story of King David with Uriah according to the Islamic tradition is different, thus the acts attributed to King David in the Old Testament like sending Uriah to be killed for the purpose of marrying his wife is denied in Islam.


Süleyman Solomon Main articles: Islamic view of Solomon and Solomon 6
Süleyman (Solomon) learned a significant amount from his father Daud before being made a prophet by God. According to Islamic tradition, Süleyman was given power to manipulate nature, including the jinn. Known for his honesty and fairness, he also led a kingdom that extended into southern Arabia.


Ilyas Elijah Main articles: Ilyas and Elijah 3
Ilyas (Elijah), descendant of Harun (Aaron), took over control of the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula after Sulaiman's (Solomon)kingdom collapsed. Islamic tradition says he attempted to convince the people of the Peninsula of the existence of only one God, but when the people refused to listen they were smitten with a drought and famine.


Al-Yasa Elisha Main articles: Al-Yasa and Elisha 3
Al-Yasa (Elisha) took over the job of leading the Israelites after Ilyas' (Elijah) death. He attempted to show the king and queen of Israel the powers of God, but was dismissed as a magician. Subsequently, the Assyrians were able to make people burn and inflict significant damage on them.


Yunus Jonah Main articles: Islamic view of Jonah and Jonah 5
Islamic tradition shows that Yunus (Jonah) was commanded by God to help the people of Nineveh towards righteousness. However, after Nineveh's people refused to listen to God, he became disgruntled and became angry for God. After an incident where Yunus was spared death, he decided to re-commit himself to striving for God, attempting to lead the people of Nineveh to righteousness. But after returning to evil, illicit ways, the Scythians conquered them.[45]


Zakariya Zechariah Main articles: Islamic view of Zechariah and Zechariah (priest) 6
A descendant of Süleyman, Zakariya (Zachariah was a patron of Maryam (Mary) the mother of 'Isa. According to the Qur'an, he prayed to God asking for a son, since his sterile wife al-Yashbi could not provide one. God granted his wishes, temporarily lifting his wife's sterility and allowing her to give birth to Yahya (John).[46]


Yahya John the Baptist Main articles: Islamic view of John the Baptist and John the Baptist 2
Yahya (John) was cousin to Isa and Islam says that, throughout his lifetime, Yahya captivated audiences with his powerful sermons that preached Abrahamic monotheism. The Qur'an does not mention baptism.


Isa Jesus Main articles: Islamic view of Jesus and Jesus 3
One of the highest ranked prophets in Islam, Eisa al-Maseeh, (Jesus the Messiah) was sent to guide the Children of Israel. The Qur'an makes it very clear that in Islam, Jesus is not the begotten (physical) son of God, but rather a nabi and rasul (messenger) of God.

'Isa performed many miracles with the permission of God. For example, raising the dead, creating a bird from clay, talking as an infant. Islamic traditions states that he abstained from drinking alcohol. It also states that he received a revelation, the Injil (Gospel), though according to Islam, it has been distorted. Muslims believe that 'Isa was not crucified, meaning he was not killed on the cross. They believe that Isa was raised up to God and will return to Earth to fight the Dajjal during the time of the Mahdi, however in Quran there is no evidence and clear indication of Isa's return to Earth to fight the Dajjal.


Muhammed Main article: Muhammed 294
Habib u'l A'zam, Imam u'l Anbiya Sayyidina Muhammed ibn 'Abdullah,(53 B.H-11 A.H; 571-632 AD) [47] is the last prophet in Islam ("seal of the Prophets" Idolatry of any of the prophets should be avoided, as their messages from God hold the most weight. His father's name was 'Abdullah ibn 'AbdulMuttalib and his mother's name was Amina bint Wahb az-Zuhriyya. Muhammed (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam). Born in Mecca in 571 AD (53 AH), Muhammed spent the first part of his life as a well-travelled merchant.


He would often spend his time in the mountains surrounding Mecca in prayer contemplating the situation with the city. At the age of forty, during one of those trips to the mountain, Muhammed began to, despite his illiteracy, receive and recite verses from Allah which today make up the Qur'an. He quickly spread the message he was receiving, converting a few others in the city, including his wife. He is the last (seal) of the prophets with a message to all humanity. When oppression became intolerable for his followers, Muhammed first asked his fellow Muslims to migrate to Medina and later himself migrated to Medina away from the oppressors in Mecca.


Muhammad served not just as a prophet, but as a military leader who helped defeat the Meccans in 624 during the Battle of Badr. He continued to lead the Muslims as Islam spread across the Arabian Peninsula. He performed the first hajj in 629 and established Islam as it is still practiced by Muslims today. Others continued Muhammad's legacy after his death in 632, having been given the position of caliph (or successor) to Muhammad. The Five Pillars of Islam were established from his Hadiths after Muhammad's death.

The difference between Mohammad and other Messengers is three fold:

i. All previous Messengers were sent to a specific nation in specific region of Earth. Their teachings were also limited for a specific time and period. However, Mohammad was sent to entire mankind and his guidance is for all mankind until the end of times.

ii. It is a fact that the teaching of all previous messengers except Mohammad have all but disappeared, and whatever remained of it is so much altered and mixed with falsely made up stories that it is very difficult to recognize the original teachings. Whist the teaching of Mohammad and the Quran is preserved in its originality, and Allah has promised to protect it until end of times.

iii. Since, the teachings of previous Messengers were limited to specific nation and time, their laws relating to ethics and moral code, justice, trade and financial deals, civilian laws were incomplete. Allah (swt) through his final Messenger Mohamad completed the Religion and perfected it. It includes all the teachings from previous Messengers, and abrogated what was specific to those people and time.

Thus, now the teaching of Mohammad is the only trustable source to reach guidance of Allah. And if one wants to follow teachings of Moses and Jesus, who also brought the religion of Allah to their nations, then he has no other choice but to accept the teachings of Mohammad who left with us the trustable source to guidance from Allah in Quran and Sunnah.


The belief in Mohammad includes four:

i. That he is the Messenger of Allah who brought us the Book of Guidance "Quran"

ii. That he brought us the Deen (religion) that is complete and perfected, and it's applicable to all mankind until end of times

iii. That he receives his guidance from Allah and that his knowledge and guidance his perfect from any defects

iv. That he is the Last and Final Messenger of Allah who has perfected the Deen (religion) of Allah, and there will be no further Messenger after him, as none is needed after the Deen is completed and perfected. And teachings of Mohammad are for remainder of mankind.


[edit] The reception of the prophets
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] Stories of prophets
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Summary of the purpose of sending Messengers of Allah is following:

i. Messengers were sent to every nation to guide them to Path of Allah:

Pickthal Translation: And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. Then some of them (there were) whom Allah guided, and some of them (there were) upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers! (Qur'an 16:36)


ii. Messengers warn them to follow Allah’s commands and gave them glad tidings:

Pickthal Translation: Lo! We have sent thee with the Truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner hath passed among them. (Qur'an 35:24)


iii. And these Messengers gave us guidance from Allah, taught us knowledge and provided a path to purify us:

Pickthal Translation: Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you, who reciteth unto you Our revelations and causeth you to grow, and teacheth you the Scripture and wisdom, and teacheth you that which ye knew not. (Qur'an 2:151)


iv. Allah explained that obedience to Him and His Messenger will earn paradise:

Pickthal Translation: These are the limits (imposed by) Allah. Whoso obeyeth Allah and His messenger, He will make him enter Gardens underneath which rivers flow, where such will dwell for ever. That will be the great success. (Qur'an 4:13)


v. And whosoever disobeys will earn Hell fire:

Pickthal Translation: And whoso disobeyeth Allah and His messenger and transgresseth His limits, He will make him enter Fire, where he will dwell for ever; his will be a shameful doom. (Qur'an 4:14)


vi. Allah said that He will judge us only after we have received the Message from His Messengers, and everyone will be judged based on his own actions:

Pickthal Translation: Then verily We shall question those unto whom (Our message) hath been sent, and verily We shall question the messengers. Then verily We shall narrate unto them (the event) with knowledge, for We were not absent (when it came to pass). (Qur'an 7:6-7)

Pickthal Translation: Whosoever goeth right, it is only for (the good of) his own soul that he goeth right, and whosoever erreth, erreth only to its hurt. No laden soul can bear another's load, We never punish until we have sent a messenger. (Qur'an 17:15)

Pickthal Translation: As it would burst with rage. Whenever a (fresh) host is flung therein the wardens thereof ask them: Came there unto you no warner? They say: Yea, verily, a warner came unto us; but we denied and said: Allah hath naught revealed; ye are in naught but a great error. (Qur'an 67:8-9)


vii. Thus, those who received His message will not have excuse of ignorance:

Pickthal Translation: Messengers of good cheer and of warning, in order that mankind might have no argument against Allah after the messengers. Allah is ever Mighty, Wise. (Qur'an 4:165)

[edit] The status of the prophets
The Qur'anic verse 4:69 lists various virtuous groups of human beings among whom prophets (which include messengers) occupy the highest rank. Verse 4:69 reads:[2]

And whoever obeys God and the messenger, these will be [in paradise] with the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous, upon whom God has bestowed favors"

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. ====>> Do your own research.

[edit] Modes of prophetic revelation
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. ===> Do your own research.


[edit] Signs and miracles
Many miracles were performed by the Prophet Muhammad by God’s permission. These miracles were witnessed by many people. For example:

When the unbelievers in Makkah asked the Prophet Muhammad to show them a miracle, he showed them the splitting of the moon.1

Until now, the split crack at the moon is still there even Prophet Muhammad have died for almost 1300 years. The mail tought that Neil ArmStrong, the astronaout discover the spliting crack on the moon.

Another miracle was the flowing of water through Muhammad’s fingers when his companions got thirsty and had no water except a little in a vessel. They came to him and told him that they had no water to make ablution nor to drink except for what was in the vessel. So, Muhammad put his hand in the vessel, and the water started gushing out between his fingers. So, they drank and made ablution. They were one thousand five hundred companions.

[42]


[edit] Prophets and scriptures
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. ==> Conduct your own research.


[edit] The prophets and Muhammad
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. ==> Conduct your own research.


[edit] The scope of the prophetic mission
Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. ==> Make a research.

Prophets of Islam
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Prophets of Islam (Arabic: نبي) are human beings who are regarded by Muslims to be prophets chosen by God. The term for prophet in Islam is nabi (pl. anbiyaa). All prophets preached the same message; to believe that there is only one God, not to commit idolatry, and to follow the word of God, not to commit sin, etc, and that they all came to preach Islam and to tell of the coming of the final prophet and messenger of God; Muhammad. They were, however, just different in Sharia (or the practice of religion) that they taught to their nations.

Islamic tradition dictates that messengers were sent by God to every nation. In Islam, only Muhammad was sent to convey God's message to the whole world, whereas other messengers (rasuls) were sent to convey their messages to a specific group of people or nation.

Unlike Judaism and Christianity, Islam distinguishes between a direct messenger of God (rasul) and a prophet (nabi). Both are divinely inspired recipients of God's revelation. However, in addition, rasuls are given a divine message or revelation for a community in book form. While every rasul is a nabi, not every nabi is a rasul.

Muslims believe that the first prophet was Adam, while the last prophet and nabi was Muhammad, thus his title Seal of the Prophets. In Islam, Jesus is regarded as a nabi and a rasul because he received wahi (revelation) from God, through which God revealed the Injil (Gospel) to him.[1] Contrary to Christianity, though, in Islam, it is heresy to claim that God had a son.

Muslims believe that God has sent over 124,000 messengers all over the world as mentioned in the Sahih Hadith. Five (sometimes known as Ulul Azmi or the Imams — i.e. leaders — of the Rasuls) are accorded the highest reverence for their perseverance and unusually strong commitment to God in the face of great suffering. These five are Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad.[citations needed]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Prophets and Messengers in the Qur'an
2.1 Distinction between Prophets and Messengers
2.2 The status of the prophets
2.3 Modes of prophetic revelation
2.4 Signs and miracles
2.5 Prophets and scriptures
2.6 The prophets and Muhammad
2.7 The scope of the prophetic mission
2.8 The reception of the prophets
2.9 Stories of prophets
3 Qur'an
4 Other prophets
4.1 Maryam mother of 'Isa
5 See also
6 Notes



[edit] Etymology
In both Arabic and Hebrew, the term nabī (pl. nabiyyūn and anbiyāʾ) refers to "prophet". These terms occur 75 times in the Qur'an. The term nubuwwa meaning "prophethood" occurs five times in the Qur'an. The terms rasūl (pl. rusul) and mursal (pl. mursalūn) denote “messenger” or "apostle" are more prevalent and occur more than 300 times. The term for a prophetic “message” is risāla (pl. risālāt) and appears in the Qur'an in ten instances. [2]

The Syric form of rasūl Allāh (lit: messenger of God) is s̲h̲eliḥeh d-allāhā which occurs frequently in the apocryphal Acts of St. Thomas. The corresponding verb for s̲h̲eliḥeh, i.e. s̲h̲alaḥ, is used in connection with the prophets in the Old Testament (Exodus, iii, 13-14, iv, 13; Isaiah, vi, 8; Jeremiah, i, 7). [3]


[edit] Prophets and Messengers in the Qur'an
In the following table the exact verses that mentioned the role of any Prophet or Messenger in Qur'an are arranged:

Prophets and Messengers in Qur'an Name Prophet Messenger Imam Book People Shari'a
Adam (Adam)
Idris ( Enoch) Prophet [4]
Nuh (Noah) Prophet [5] Messenger [6] People of Noah [7] Shari'a [8]
Hud (Eber) Messenger [9] A'ad [10]
Saleh (Shaloh) Messenger [11] Thamud [12]
Ibrahim (Abraham) Prophet [13] Messenger [14] Imam [15] Books of Abraham [16] People of Abraham [17] Shari'a [8]
Lut (Lot) Prophet [5] Messenger [18] People of Lut [19]
Isma’il (Ishmael) Prophet [20] Messenger [20]
Ishaq (Isaac) Prophet [21] Imam [22]
Yaqub (Jacob) Prophet [21] Imam [22]
Yusuf (Joseph) Prophet [5]
Ayoub (Job) Prophet [5]
Shoaib (Jethro) Messenger [23] Midian [24]
Musa (Moses) Prophet [25] Messenger [25] Books of Moses [26] Pharaoh [27] Shari'a [8]
Harun (Aaron) Prophet [28]
Dhul-Kifl (Ezekiel)
Daud (David) Prophet [5] Zabur [29] (Psalms)
Sulayman (Solomon) Prophet [5]
Ilyas (Elijah) Prophet [5] Messenger [30] People of Elijah [31]
Al-Yasa (Elisha) Prophet [5]
Yunus (Jonah) Prophet [5] Messenger [32] People of Jonah [33]
Zakariya (Zechariah) Prophet [5]
Yahya (John) Prophet [34]
Isa (Jesus) Prophet [35] Messenger [36] Injil [37] (Gospel) Children of Israel [38] Shari'a [8]
Muhammad Prophet [39] Messenger [39] Qur'an [40] All people [41] Shari'a [8]


[edit] Distinction between Prophets and Messengers
According to Uri Rubin, the Qur'an, as in the New Testament, ranks apostles (rasūl) higher than prophets (see 1 Cor 12:28-31; cf. Eph 3:5; 4:11). For example, in the Qur'an whenever both titles appear together, messenger comes first. The Qur'anic commentators state that a messenger is a prophet who is additionally given a message, a book which must be delivered. According to the Muslim scholar al-Baydawi, a messenger establishes a new religious law (sharia) whereas a prophet continues an old one.


Furthermore, a prophet experiences revelation only in dreams whereas a messenger receives it from an angel. These would imply that prophets were more numerous than messengers and occupied a lower rank.[2] According to A.J. Wensinck, both prophets and messengers are sent by God as preachers and warners to their people. In the case of messengers however, there seems to be a close relation between them and their people (ummah): God sends only one messenger to each people. This messenger will be the witness that God will take from that community on the Day of Judgment (see Sura X, 48; XVI, 38; XXIII, 46; XL, 5; IV, 45; XXVIII, 75).


According to the Qur'an, Muhammad is sent to a people to whom no messenger has been sent yet. [3] Lastly, a distinction should be made between celestial and human messengers. In the Qur'anic world, God has made the angels messengers but not prophets. The human messengers however are also prophets though not every prophet is a messenger.[2]

Prophet AL-YASA (ELISHA) (peace be on him)

Al-Yasa has been mentioned twice in the Holy Qur'an:

And commemorate Ismail, Elisha and Dhul-kifl; each of them was of the company of! the good. (38:48)

And Zachariah and John and Jesus and Ilyas all in the ranks of the righteous; and Ismail and Elisha (Al-Yasa) and Jonas and Lot; each have We preferred above the nations. (To them) and their fathers and progeny and brethren, We chose them and We guided them to a straight way. (6: 85-87)

The commentators give no account of him except that he was the son of Ukhtub. The Bible says that his father was Shaphat.

Al-Yasa was the cousin and spiritual successor of the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him).

One day Ilyas (peace be upon him) passed through the fields while the owner (Al-Yasa) was busy in ploughing. No sooner had the owner seen the Prophet than he abdicated his own work and approached Ilyas (peace be upon him) in hot haste. Al-Yasa began to follow him. The Prophet was much surprised and remarked: Why do you accompany me after leaving your own work? Al-Yasa retraced his steps and fetched his ox. He slaughtered it, lit the fire and cooked the beef. He fed Ilyas, his companions and many other guests to seek the pleasure of Allah. The Prophet was much pleased with the host for his sincerity, hospitality and righteousness.


When Ilyas(peace be upon him) was about to depart, Al-Yasa expressed his keen desire to live in the company of his honourable guest during the rest of his life and serve him whole heartedly as a humble servant. As the noble attitude of Al-Yasa had enamoured Ilyas (peace be upon him), the latter accorded him permission without hesitation. When the Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) was on his death-bed, he wished to bid him farewell. AL-Yasa was not prepared to leave him. Then Ilyas (peace be-upon him) asked him to express any of his desires to be fulfilled. Al-Yasa said: I wish that Allah may bestow blessings upon me in the same way as He has blessed you.


The Prophet Ilyas (peace be upon him) supplicated and invoked blessings of Allah upon his successor. His prayer was granted. Allah chose Al-Yasa as His Prophet after the death of Ilyas (peace be upon him). He derived spiritual magnificence from the company of his guide and became the favourite of Allah.

After some time he proceeded to Yariha to preach the religion of Allah. The inhabitants of that locality gave him a warm reception. At that time they were under the spell of starvation. The land was barren and water was not available. Al-Yasa (peace be upon him) supplicated to Allah to show mercy to the famine-stricken people. His prayer was granted and Allah showered his bounties upon them.

Islamic tradition
In the Qur'an, Elijah is a prophet known as Ilyas (إلياس) in Arabic. Similar to the story in the Hebrew Bible, Elijah preaches in opposition to Baal, pleading with the people not to forsake Allah.[40] He also causes a famine and prophesies destruction on Ahab and Jezebel.[41]

In the Gospel of John, the Baptist was asked by a delegation of priests if he was Elijah. To which, he replied "I am not (John 1:21)." The author of Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 17:10-13 however, makes it clear that John was Elijah but was not recognized as such.

In the above enboldened section, who is correct about John; John himself in the Gospel of John 1 verse 21, where he denied that he was Elijah? Or Jesus in Matthew 11 Verse 14, where Jesus said John was Elijah? Was somebody else putting words in the mouth of these noble men, John the son of Zachariah and Jesus son of Mary? It seems as if Jesus statement hereis saying that he believed in reincarnation. Oro poo nnu iwe kobo!

Yahya ibn Zakariyya
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Yahya ibn Zakariyya ( يحيى ابن زكريا) is a Jewish prophet of Islam traditionally associated with the biblical figure John the Baptist. According to the Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God (Arabic: Allah), Yahya was a righteous prophet who would herald the coming of Jesus (Arabic: `Isa).[1]

Contents [hide]
1 According to the Qur'an
2 Shrine
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
6.1 References to John (Yahya) in the Qur'an



[edit] According to the Qur'an
According to the Quran, Yahya or John (in Christianity) was the son of Zakariya, and his tidings were foretold to his father by the angel, Gabriel ( [Qur'an 19:7], [Qur'an 3:39]). Yahya was exhorted to hold fast to the Scripture and was given wisdom by God while still child ( [Qur'an 19:12]). He was pure and devout, and walked in the Presence of God. He was dutiful towards his parents and he was not arrogant or rebellious ( [Qur'an 19:13]). Yahya has been praised in the Quran and God has sent peace on the day he was born. He, along with all the Prophets, will be resurrected one day ( [Qur'an 19:15]).

Yahya is called a righteous, honorable and chaste person, as well as a Prophet of the Righteous ( [Qur'an 6:85], [Qur'an 3:39]). He came to confirm the Word of God ( [Qur'an 3:39]).

His story was retold by Jafar to the Abyssinian King during the Migration to Abyssinia [2].


[b][edit] Shrine

Shrine of Yahya b. Zakariyya located at the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.[3]The veneration of Yahya prevailed amongst some Muslim groups who were partly influenced by Byzantine Christian practices. This veneration, according to Muslim scholar al-Bīrūnī, included a feast commemorating Yahya's beheading on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Av. A shrine existing through to modern times is the oratory (maqām) of Yahya, located in the congregational mosque of Damascus. Some early reports mention that Umayyad caliph al-Walid I unearthed the head of Yahya and placed it in a pillar in Damascus, which had an architectural capital shaped like a basket of palm leaves.[3]

Other sources, such as the Iraqi scholar al-Harawī, mention that the head had been transferred to the city of Aleppo by Mu'izz al-Daula Thimal bin Salih of the Mirdasid dynasty in 1043. Historians Zayd b. al-Hasan al-Kindī and Ibn al-Adīm note that the head was then stored in the upper oratory of the Aleppo citadel within a basin made of marble. The head was later evacuated to the Aleppo congregational mosque due to invading Mongol forces who had burned down the Aleppo citadel and upper oratory. There, according to Ibn Shaddad, it was buried west of the minbar (pulpit), with another oratory built for it. It thus became another spot of veneration for Yahya, and a place where some Syrians believed extra blessings (barakah) existed.[3][/b]

[edit] See also
Prophets of Islam

[edit] Notes
^ "Yahya", Encyclopedia of Islam
^ The Sealed Nectar The Second ‘Aqabah Pledge on sunnipath.com
^ a b c Meri (2002) pp. 200-01

[edit] References
Meri, J. W. (2002). The Cult of Saints Among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199250782.
Rippin, A. "Yahya b. Zakariya". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Ed. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers, ISSN 1573-3912.

[edit] External links
Prophet Yahya (John) in the light of Islamic tradition. The same content is also available at [1]
Prophet John (Yahya)
Shrine of Prophet Yahya inside Jaami al-Amawi 2
Quran in Action (John)

[edit] References to John (Yahya) in the Qur'an
Appraisals for Yahya:
[Qur'an 6:85], [Qur'an 19:7], [Qur'an 19:12], [Qur'an 19:13], [Qur'an 19:14], [Qur'an 19:15]

Yahya's prophecy:
[Qur'an 3:39], [Qur'an 6:85], [Qur'an 19:12]

[show]Prophets of Islam in the Qur'an
Adam Idris Nuh Hud Saleh Ibrahim Lut Ismail Is'haq Yaqub Yusuf Ayoub
آدم إدريس نوح هود صالح إبراهيم لوط إسماعيل إسحاق يعقوب يوسف أيوب
Adam Enoch Noah Eber Shelah Abraham Lot Ishmael Isaac Jacob Joseph Job

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shoaib Musa Harun Dhul-Kifl Daud Sulayman Ilyas Al-Yasa Yunus Zakariya Yahya Isa Muhammad
شُعيب موسى هارون ذو الكفل داود سليمان إلياس إليسع يونس زكريا يحيى عيسى مُحمد
Jethro Moses Aaron Ezekiel David Solomon Elijah Elisha Jonah Zechariah John Jesus Mohammed v • d • e


Note that I finally included in bold letters, the evil influences of Christianity on some muslims. It confirms the ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad (as), which says some muslims will immitate the people of the book so much that if the people of the book enter a lizard hole/abode, these muslims will follow them.

@Davidylan:

Who asked you about shoaib? Please stay on topic please . . . here are the prophets again -

Jethro
Elisha
Elija
John the baptist.

Please where are their messages IN THE QURAN?

Shoaib was mistaken for Jethro, by the Jews. In essence they may have the same name, but lives centuries apart from each other. Shoaib, is not the father inlaw of Moses. maybe thats what Jethro was. Jethro was not an important personality in Islam. Shoaib (AS) was, and he is part of Arab history. Now read the 45th entry of today on this topic. Then pay attention to the enboldened part of that entry. In all the 45th entry was about Shoaib and in Islam there is no Jethro persay. You will see the Qur'anic verses concerning him.

Now I will deal with Yahya son of Zakariah who performs the Bermitve for Jesus. Bermitva is the ritual for the rite of coming of age of the bani Israel. Its performed when a person turns 13, there bench mark age for maturity. That will not be the bench mark age for the american or their surrogate mother, continental Europe. Proof that age of maturity is local instead of universal. And for the record, the Bermitva is still going on within the quarters of Jews, while baptizm never once went on. I repeat never. This shows that Bermitva could have been what the Christians called Bptizm! Otherwise, they have invented a lie, again!

I will also deal with Elijah and Elisha. And by the way I answered your faith question, in the section where the question was asked. I gave Surah baqarahs verses 2, 3, 4 and 284 to explain it. All the essential part of faith. Then I defined True faith in Islam as True Belief, the essence of the why a Person is a muslim, instead of other religion, eg Christianity. I also indicated faith means believe and obedience to God. Read these verses, again and stop being a mischievious soul!

Shoaib: Prophet of islam (AS).

Shoaib (circa 1600 BC - 1500 BC?)[1] [2], (Arabic: شعيب‎ ; also Shuʕayb, Shuʕaib, Shuaib, literally "Who Shows the Right Path"[citation needed]), was a prophet of Islam mentioned in the Qur'an[3]. He is believed to be Ibrahim's great-grandson[citation needed]. He was sent as a prophet to the Midianites to warn them to end their fraudulent ways. When they did not repent, God destroyed them [4].


[edit] Shoaib in Islamic tradition
Al-Quran stated that Shoaib was appointed by God to be a prophet to the people who lived east of Mount Sinai, the people of Midian and Ayka. The people of these lands were said to be especially notorious for cheating others through dishonest weights and measures. Shoaib warned them against such actions but they did not listen. Subsequently, both lands were destroyed by the wrath of God. (see 7:91)

Despite this claim, according to Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his commentary on Chapter 7:85 he said:

[b]Shu'aib belongs to the Arab rather than Jewish tradition, to which he is unknown. His identification with Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, has no warrant, and I reject it. There is no similarity either in names or incidents, and there are chronological difficulties. If, as the commentators tell us, Shu'aib was in the fourth generation from Abraham, being a great-grandson of Madyan (son of Abraham), he would be only a century from the time of Abraham, whereas the Hebrew Bible would give us a period of four to six centuries between Abraham and Moses. The mere fact that Jethro was a Midianite and that another name, Reuel, is mentioned for a father-in-law of Moses in Num.x.29, is slender ground for identification. As the Midianites were mainly a nomad tribe, we need not be surprised that their destruction in one or two settlements did not affect their life in wandering sections of the tribe in other geographical regions. Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1946). The Holy Qur’ān : text, translation and commentary. Washington: American International Printing Co., 365, n. 1054. [/b]

He further argued that the mission Shu'aib brought was in one of the settled towns of the Midianites, which was completely destroyed by an earthquake (see 7:91); and that if this happened in the century after Abraham, there is no difficulty in supposing that they were again a numerous tribe three or five centuries later, in the time of Moses.

As they were a mixed wandering tribe, both their resilience and their eventual absorption can be easily understood. But the destruction of the settlement or settlements (if the Wood or Aika was a separate settlement, (see 15:78) to which Shu'aib was sent to preach was complete, and no traces of it now remain. — ibid.

The Midianites were in the path of a commercial highway of Asia, viz., that between two such opulent and highly organized nations as Egypt and the Mesopotamian group comprising Assyria and Babylonia. Their besetting sins are thus characterised here: giving short measure or weight, whereas the strictest commercial probity is necessary for success; a more general form of such fraud, depriving people of rightful dues;
producing mischief and disorder, where peace and order had been established (again in a literal as well as metaphorical sense);

not content with upsetting settled life, taking to highway robbery, literally as well as
metaphorically, in two ways, viz., cutting off people from access to the worship of God, and abusing religion and piety for crooked purposes, i.e., exploiting religion itself for their crooked ends, as when a man builds houses of prayer out of unlawful gains, or ostentatiously gives charity out of money which he obtained by force or fraud, etc.
After setting out this catalogue of besetting sins, Shu'aib makes two appeals to the past:

You began as an insignificant tribe, and by God's favour you increased and multiplied in numbers and resources; do you not then owe a duty to God to fulfil His Law?
What was the result in the case of those who fell into sins? Will you not take warning by their example?
So Shu'aib began his argument with faith in God as the source of all virtue, and ended it with destruction as the result of all sin. — op. cit., n. 1055, p. 366
Here[citation needed] again Yusuf Ali further extends his argument:

Can we get any idea of the chronological place of the destruction of the Midianite? In Chapter (7:85) we have discussed the geographical aspects. The following considerations will help us in getting some idea of their period:

The story of Noah, Hud, Salih, Lot and Shu'aib seem to be in chronological order. Therefore Shu'aib came after Abraham,see 11:89) whose nephew Lot was.
If Shu'aib was in the fourth generation from Abraham, It would be impossible for him to have been a contemporary of Moses, who came many centuries later — this difficulty is recognized by Ibn Kathir and other classical commentators.
The identification of Shu'aib with Jethro the father-in-law of Moses is without warrant; see 7:85.
Shu'aib must have been before Moses; see 7:103.


The Midianites who were destroyed by Moses and by Gideon after him were local remnants, as we may speak of the Jews at the present day; but their existence as a nation in their original homeland seems to have ended before Moses (7:92).
Josephus, Eusebius, and Ptolemy mention a town of Madyan, but it was not of any importance.
After the first centuries of the Christian Era, Madyan as a town appears as an unimportant place resting on its past.
— op. cit., n. 1064, p. 369

[edit] Shoaib's Tomb
The tomb of Shoaib [5] is well preserved in Jordan; it is located 2 km west of the town of Mahis in an area called Wadi Shoaib [6]. Another site recognized by Druze as the tomb of Shoaib is located near the Horns of Hattin in the Lower Galilee. The site is holy to the Druze.


[edit] External links
The Story of Shu'aib

[edit] References
^ The Truth of Life
^ :: www.zainab.org
^ Al-Araf - Verse 85
^ Al-Araf - Verse 85 - 91

[hide]Prophets of Islam in the Qur'an
Adam Idris Nuh Hud Saleh Ibrahim Lut Ismail Is'haq Yaqub Yusuf Ayoub
آدم إدريس نوح هود صالح إبراهيم لوط إسماعيل إسحاق يعقوب يوسف أيوب
Adam Enoch Noah Eber Shelah Abraham Lot Ishmael Isaac Jacob Joseph Job


Shoaib Musa Harun Dhul-Kifl Daud Sulayman Ilyas Al-Yasa Yunus Zakariya Yahya Isa Muhammad
شُعيب موسى هارون ذو الكفل داود سليمان إلياس إليسع يونس زكريا يحيى عيسى مُحمد
Jethro Moses Aaron Ezekiel David Solomon Elijah Elisha Jonah Zechariah John Jesus Mohammed v • d • e

@Davidylan:

babs don't be such a hypocrite . . . i did not ask for ANY of those "prophets" you put up there . . . i asked for:

Jethro
John the Baptist
Elisha
Elijah

Yahya who conducted the bermitva of Isa, am familiar with. I am also familiar with Elijah and Elisha. But who is Jethro? The Christians calls Ester a prophet or something like that. Is Jethro another one like that?

Please help me out here with the messages they were specifically sent, their detailed lifestyles (not just a few places where their names are forced into the quran).

I can tell you their messages. But minute details of their lifestyles as to what they eat for lunch is unimportant. For one, they all preached the oneness of god and him being the Only One to worship. They also did not claim to be his son. No sir. They know the relationship they have with Him is Master and they are His servants. None of them or their followers ever claimed them to be co equal with God. They always knew him to be their Lord, One God the almighty Creator. They being His creations, slaves and servants. They did not abrogate any law that He sent them, unless He gave them a better or equal law to replace what he allowed them to replace. They did not eat pork or become uncircumcised! By the way, I will get to their messages soon.

The bible contains an entire book on Job alone, 150 psalms for David plus ample portions of Samuel and Chronicles, we have almost 25 verses in Genesis for Abraham alone . . . all you have done is mentioned a few bits where the names of these "prophets" are mentioned . . . i need concrete details bro.

The David who you called adulterer and killer, and a covetor of his neighbors properties, wife. You should be ashamed of yourself even bearing his name. If my parents have named be Ogun, Osun, Oya, shango, something or any of the other nonsense names, I would change it and adopt another name. Alhandulillah, even my Yoruba family name is none of those horrors. And if I were named paul, I would have changed it because of the reputation of the guy who is aften associated with the name.

Notice also a huge huge difference, each of the stories you quote are all written in the third person . . . could not allah have recorded the events as they happened over 4000 years ago?

Was Qur'an revealed to Muhammad 4000 years or after the events? Duuh. You could do better than this, David. You are even worse than me, the way you reason. Its got to be your deceitfulness. In my case is the age thing. So how do you relate the story of a time past to a person who came in the future, except to talk about that event in a third person?

I'm too old for this hypocritical stance. Anytime you can't defend islam you resort to scare tactics. It wont work.

Is it scare tactics when you are been reminded that you will die and you will not escape death, because there will not be any rapture? Think again blood. Everyone who thought he would be raptured died waiting for it. Even the american have this saying: 2 things are certain "DEATH" and taxes. But Taxes can be repelled. But death can't. Allah the Almighty said that every soul shall taste death. Every, not some. You digg, man?

Where are all these MESSAGES IN THE QURAN? Where is the message Allah gave to Moses, Elisha, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jethro? Where are they please? That is all i ask.

For starter, I will tell you that our shoaib is not your jethro, based on time, time and time of their existence, several centuries apart. I will now give you our naabi shoaib's life, then I will follow it with others you asked. I don't have to do anything. Wikipedia have done it for me. Enjoy. I hope you make good use of the information.

@Udyro:

@14:9 ', if you see me you see the Father". Col 2:9 says that in Christ dwells the fulness( all of God) of God bodily (in a body form). Col1:15 says that He Christ is the image of the invisible God (Jehova).

The collosians Book that you are quoting so liberally from, was it written in the time of jesus or after he had been lifted up to heaven? Could you actually make jesus responsible for what was said while he was already lifted up? Can you tag Jesus as the author of what others wrote? Can you tag God as the author of Jesus statement, eg when he unilaterally find a wise way to help the woman accused of adultery. Or when he reduced the 613 laws, including the 10 Cimmandments to a 2 parter laws of Love for god and Neighbor.

Jesus cried out to the Father- This is what it means. The flesh Called Jesus Christ was crying out to the Spirit (Jehova) that was dwelling in that flesh. Period.
That was why after Christ's baptism, God spoke from heaven saying "This is my beloved son IN WHOM i'm well pleased".

If Jehova was dwelling in the belly of jesus, as you claimed, say from when he was ermitva (Baptized), then he was wrong to have said "Father in Heaven," in the Lord's prayers. It will also going to surprise anyone when Jesus cried out that he was forsaken by the entity that he has in his belly. Don't you think?

Haba! Is this MISUNDERSTANDING or CONTRADICTION?, please look for a Bible Scholar to make the gosple clear to you. along with its interpretations, if your pas, or You can't.

I think it is you that is misunderstanding as well as contradicting yourself. Thanks to your Bible. I guess you are in good company, since the bible verses contradict others. Now explain Mark 12 Verse 29, to fit Trinity. You can't do it or can you?



@~Lady~: I will probably response to your accusation that I made a suggestion that it is okay to continue to think about a next door neighbor in a sexual sense. But I will do that later. What a person thinks about because of satanic suggestion is different from consciously wanting to fantasize at it. The first, you struggle against it. the other is something brought to the heart for evil purpose. I will expanciate and give you what my bride said.

@KunleOshaob:

Alhaji, no matter how much i write you would never undersrtand, firstly you brought up some arguments which i did not state, i think you are confusing me with David,

Aren't you are david bowing to the same gods? There is no confusion here.

but i would comment on the issue of the trinity and Jesus being God. Firstly the issue of trinity is a church doctrine and it's basis is not in the bible, however it is not wrong. what it tries to depict is that God is one with his son and the hoy spirit.

Who is the wife of God? We know who bore Jesus, Mary? Ae you saying Mary is God's wife? Are you saying that God had sex with Mary? How does anyone become a true son of a father, except the father god their mother pregnant, by depositing his semen? In the case of Jesus and mary, please explain how God Almighty becomes the father, when He is not Mary's husband? Would it be impossible to create Jesus by just a mere command of the process? Afterall, He God was always a Creator, having that capacity, before He even created anything.

Another way of looking at it is this Chief Aremu Lagbgaja, Master ade Lagabja and Mister akin Lagbaja are all Lagbaja  because they bear the same surname.

And when Chief Aremu Lagbaja dies, you will therefore assume that Master Ade Lagbaja and Mister Akin Lagbaja also die with him? Or when Mr Ade Lagbaja is sleeping with his wife Yemi, Chief Aremu Lagbaja and Mister Akin Lagbaja also were in bed with them? Finally, when Mister Akin Lagbaja goes to school, the Chief Aremu Lagbaja and Master Ade Lagbaja were all there in on his lectures and his studying sessions in the library and resting in the dormatory. Abi bee ko? How best can you explain it to fit Trinity that you are trying to explain?

I am not one of those who claim Jesus is God, the bible makes it clear that Jesus is the son of God and Jesus always refered to God as his father so the bible is very clear on that.

How does jesus becomes son of God, if his mother was not sexually or artificially inseminated, with the semen of God? Who is Gods wife or surrogate mother for His son? In either case there must be sperm coming from God to do this, getting the woman pregnant before the child from it can be called child of god! What happens to Jesus situation in this case? Or you guys are just saying it without even a minimum thought about its truthfulness or its impossibility?

But we also know that Jesus is one with God and God gave him authurity over the heavens and the earth (he has Godly powers) hence the reason some people refer to him as God.

Godly power minus being able to not allow the devil to run him wild into the wilderness, or tempted him three times after that, or being able to dissern that no tree will fruit in its off season, or his not nowing the time of the hour, or begging another God in heaven to take the cup off his head, or crying out to another God as to why he, Jesus was forsakened? Should i continue to poke holes on your terrible statement above?
 

As christians we have the bible to guide us and the holy spirit to lead us,

Okay, tell me how is the bible guiding you and the holy spirit leading you on Mark 12 Verse 29? I need an answer!

if you are genuinely a chritian and the spirit is is in you, your conscience would guide you aright and not lead you to "help" your neigbhours wife. When Jesus said you should love your neighbour he added "as you love your self", so if you are ok with your neighbour helping you with your wife, i guess you can go ahead and help him with his(lol)

You actually miss the point. If a man does not mind somebody helping himself to his wife, so he goes to have a helping of some other person's wife, is this man a man of moral standing conscience? Though, he obeyed Jesus's "Loves of neighbor as oneself?" There are people we call sadists among men. They enjoy pain. It will not be surprising that thy can give pain to some other person, who does not like it. They will be thinking that everyone is like them or at least they are within the confine of jesus' love neighbor as oneself. Is there no moral compass that guide people in Christianity but this flimsy 2 parter laws of God and neighbor? No wonder everything is god to the christians. And almost every goes, too. Poor morality.

that was on the lighter note, but it takes alot more to understand christianity. The law is wriiten in our hearts and not on paper. But even then Paul warned belivers not to continue in sin because of the grace they enjoy.

Try me for size in presenting Christianity. But of course, since hearts are different based on many factors, it is no surprise that we see that most people in lude industries, are christians. And are never ashamed to wear their cross, the symbol of their Christianity during these dispeakable times. Like i said, you are no even ashamed to mention the name of Paul, while you ignored the name of Jesus to provide the warning. Didn't Jesus warned people not to abolish the laws? Was his warning not about being relegated to the least position in the kingdom of heaven, for does who did not heed his warning?

I realise just now that you failed to even approach my question about what your hope is on the matter of kingdom of heaven. Are you working towards being the least in there or are you hoping to be in the highest of level, withhis shurdy faith and work that you ae putting forward? You can be among the greatest, if you do not follow the commandment of jesus as to heed his warning not to abolish any of thelaws, even the least of it! What did Paul do as to circumcision and dietary as to eating pork? Who bore false witness against Jesus and calls him God in the face of Mark 12 Verse 29?

@Littleb: Jazakallahu Khair. Brother, David and his kind think that Prophets are exclusive properties of a prevelege few; the Jews for the most part and then the Christians. They think that Muslims have no right to any so called, "Biblical Prophets,' as if they own them!

Who therefore own Adam? Considering that Bible came with Moses, the Torah part of it. So who own all of the prophets before him? Was Moses and others after him not sent by the same God, Who also created all things? The best is to sometimes ignore their foolish thinking. There is no sense in them at all. Is as if one is to assume that Yar'Adua is a President for his own tribe people, alone, yet claiming the Presidency of Nigeria, under her constitution. God's human prophets belongs to all, but following their basic and uniform message is another thing.

When you hang out with the jews, you got to hear how they dog the Christians as idol worshippers. And the Jews know they can not say that about muslims. They, in particular always want to justify their religion by refering to a single verse of the Qur'an, where they were referred as people of the Book. I have heard Benjamin Natayanhu use it so often, you will think that the torah does not exist anymore in his heart.

@KunleOshob:

when jesus was asked which of the laws (613 of them) was the most important, he did not mention a single law what the said was that you should Love God and you should love your neighbour as your self. finito.

Are you saying that Jesus therefore considered all the laws of circumcision, what to eat and whta not to eat, especially the consumption of Swine and the 10 commandmends, irrelevant and therefore he discarded them? Why then did he warned that whosoever discard and or encourage anyone to discard, even the least of the laws, that person will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven? Tell me, are you confortable to be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven, by the master himself, Jesus Christ son of Mary? What is the different between a person Jesus calls the great in the Kingdom of heaven, being in the highest of honors, compared to whom he calls the least, being without honor at all, or insignificantly honored, if any? Are you shooting for least in the kingdom of heaven? If you go against Jesus saying then you may just as well count yourself among the least!

Just as i davidylan said Olabowale would change topic when confronted with facts. The central theme of Paul's message was love, which was the exact Gospel Jesus Christ brought to man kind. Very unlike another relgion which preached hatred and war (jihad) and uptill today is still amputating petty thieves while the big crooks amongst them roam around freely perpetuating their illicit activities.
@Olabowale
i suggest you read and digest Galatians 3 very well, it would help you understand the true message of Jesus christ to us and his Love which was demonstrated by setting us free from oppressive laws after his death. This are the same oppressive laws Islam tried to return people to.

My post is lost on you. David was shouting about faith. I had answered him. Read again. faith in Islam is sincer belief. What is faith in Christianity? About the big crooks who were allowed to roam about freely, is so because you have hypocracy in Islam. Last week I read from the PM News paper of Nigeria, about President Yar'Adua's removal of Nuhu Ribadu and his immediate successors because of their intended indictments proceeding against Sola Saraki and his son, Bukola. Although, I do not live in Nigeria, if I were, I would not be less vocal about it.

My disappointment is simply that these three are "muslims,' and none of the muslim schollars or people of influence have raised any opinion that the president should allow them to have the chance to defend themselves, since they are accused for sinking Societe Generale Bank! To me, the president action amounts to discouraging the citizenry from practicing honesty. WE see from his action that only the powerful and the influencials are going to be protected. Who protects the poor, the less powerful who were accused with less offences, but the full weight of the law in brought to bear on them? The same hypocracy tha Jesus defended the woman accused of adultery from the hands of the hypocrite and influencial Pharisees.

Why do I need to read galathians? Is the word of Jesus in the gospels not enough? Now tell me who is God Lord that Jesus is referring to in Mark 12 Verse 29, himself or a greater Lord God Who is One and not manifested in multiple? Read the verse again, because it is direct and very clear that he was not talking about himself. How then can you develop Trinity in the face of this very verse? Which is a lie here, Mark 12 Verse 29 or Trinity?
Is the least in the Kingdom of heaven that Christians are shooting for, or the highest?

In other we should let our conscience guide us as to what i right and what is wrong.

I see your point. Then, its okay that everyone therefore decide by his own conscience, what is moral or not. I see unmarried people shacking up and having continuous sex with each other, as long as they don't do it every day, or having a multiple partnership, or doing what was practiced in the bath houses of New York city, before the HIV/AIDS epidemic breakout. Or they may just do that. They are the ones who make up their own standard of morality by the guide of their conscience. You see how silly your presentation above is, as long as Jesus disregarded the 613 laws? You are a terrible thinker. I wonder what is good moral compass for people like you?

If you read the bible at all you would see that Jesus was constantly at logger heads with the pharisees over the issue of the law and that is why he said he came to fufil the law and not abolish it. What was being said here is that Jesus came to fufil the spirit / purpose of the law and not the letters of it. there is a clear difference which you need to understand.

Jesus at logger heads with the Pharisees because they were not sincere in obedience of all the laws. They were just lip serving the laws without conscience. These people were hypocrites, like their fathers of old, who made up a Golden Calf to worship, instead of the One Lord God who made them victorious over Fir'aun, without them engaged in any fight! How did Jesus fulfil the law of not stealing, Circumcision, not eating pork, etc? Can these laws listed here be fulfilled by spirit alone, without actually fulfilling it in its letter? How do you obey not eating pork law, in spirit alone, when you go to the butcher shop and buy Pork chop, for your sunday afternoon/evening barbecue? Yookkie!

How dishonest can you be when you are asked to remove your foreskin and you said water Bermitva is enough? Yet you still have the foreskin attached to your genital, and you claim, boldfacely that you are circumcised? Was Jesus not circumcised before his cousin John Bermitva (Baptized) him? Could you do less than Jesus, if you wanna be Christ like, unless you are saying you are paul like instead? How do you cancel out though shall not steal, though shall not covet your neighbors properties, eg his very attractive wife, who is always home alone, while the husband is away on business journey?

The woman, who is not with any baby yet, nor is she pregnant, while she unfortunately not getting enough love from the busy husband. You are now on summer vacation from school. She is next door to you. Always engaging you in conversation and has invited you to hang out many times with her? How do you avoid her advances, when both of you are now thinking with your little brains, instead of the ones in your heads? You see, as a muslim, we have the law that guides us against it. You have the Law of Allah in the Living Qur'an to remind you of your morality. You don't make it up by yourself. We have a standardized moral code, and you Christians don't. Remember everything is compressed to 2 only. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Loving your neighbor as youself could be helping your neighbor to keep his wife sexually satisfied, so she is not jumping into  every otherneighbors' bed, but your own alone. Interestingly, there are men, you get off by seeing some other man sleep with their wives. These people are called swingers. Or those who will recrd everything from hiding place, for future viewing. THese people will assume that what they are doing is okay by their own conscience. See your problem?

The law had a purpose which was to Love God and to love your fellow man. Jesus made it clear that this two points were the whlole purpose of the law and what is more important is keeping this ideal rather than the letters of the law.

Like I said above, it will therefore not be difficult to love the neighbor by mounting for him, his always home alone young newly wedded attractive wife. Thats loving your neighbor. No doubt about that. His wife is satisfied. He is happy and you are happy. End of story. Christianity, the easy religion. Anything goes. As long as you have attachment to Jesus.

Jesus also said the "law was made for man and not man for the law"

I agree. Therefore mold the law, the way that best fit your own moral compass. You know if I didn't know better, I would just have became a Christian since the early 70s. I could not have been stiffened with the moral codes of Fornication in the Qur'an. Remember that the law about sex outside marriage is thrown out the window, by Jesus 2 laws which replaced the 613 former laws and the 10 Commandments.

The were several examples of cases were jesus went against the letters of the law in the bible examples of which are, the law of the sabbath and attempted stoning of the woman caught in adultery. This questions about th law and the position of christ on it was thoroughly dealt with by paul and i woud post a few scriptures to back it up.

Again, it will be interesting to know, if after Jesus wisely stopped the attempt to stone the woman accused of adultery, did adultery remain as a sin or not? Did anyone ever was stoned for it, during the lifetime of Jesus, in the whole of the Israelite territories of 12 Nations? Was anyone ever was accused of it there after? If so, did they used to give the example of Jesus about the woman to save their own skin, from stoning?

I as a muslim boldly submit to you that Jesus saved that woman in question, for two reasons, pointing out the hypocracy of the would be executioners and showing that there is also mercy in dealing in even an almost a slam dunk situation. In Islam, you see where Allah said that not killing a killer and not taking the blood money for the life taken, but depending on Him alone is the best reward. Yet it is prescribed that the life of the killer, after judgement can be taken, if revenge is sort. But true forgiveness is allowing him to go and not even take any compensation from him.

@Davidylan:

KunleOshob . . . don't mind me, i just had to show alhaji he would no longer get away with dodging serious questions with outright plagiarised spam. Its easu for him to ask questions of the bible, the minute you ask on the quran he runs away.

Haba, David. Aburo. Sebi mo ni ishe ti mo nshe. Ara ti ndara agab die die. I got to sleep sometimes, I am not as strong as I used to me. You have you as an advantage of Strength over me. But I will not take advantage of your inexperience because of your age. I see though, that you want me to go just as much as you push me. You are really not fair, there. Ma ti pa mi. There is some live in me yet. So I just have to pace myself, like the old bull, when the young bull is eager to get to the yams across the fence. You ae that young bull. Pele pele o. lol. On your accusation, tell me again what was your question? I answered the question about what faith is, from Islam. A sincere/true faith is the same as sincere/true belief. Iman is Faith. Only hypocrites will say that they believe but lacks faith.

Good post on the laws and its place in christianity today, however i am afraid alhaji is not likely to understand it at all. He has been programmed (and like every other muslim) to accuse brother Paul of distorting the scriptures - it is their only way of explaining away the huge discrepancies between Paul's message and the fraudulent words of a 12th century "prophet".

Suddenly, Qur'an is now 12th century work. I thought Muhammad lived is the 6th and 7th centuries. How can these be transformed to 12th century? David, you are like Hoodinni. Or David Coppersfield. Iro ni won npe gbogbo yen. Your brother Paul, is the originator of magic in christianity and no surprise that you follow him, step by step, falling for his okeydoke, hook, line and sinker.

Posted on: Today at 05:01:13 AMPosted by: olabowale
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@Davidylan:

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answer your own question, what religion did they practice and please give us concrete proof.

We are going to assume, that, Ibrahim and his son Isiaq practiced the same religion. So I will concentrate mainly on Ibrahim, from the two noble men, being the father whose footstep his son followed. We therefore see in Surah An Am (The Cattle) Verses 161 and 162, Ibrahim spoke about his life and all his deeds, his Salah and death for the pleasure of his Lord and declaring himself that he was the first in his generation to totally submit himself, to the Will of Allah, as a Muslim.

In Surah Araf (The Height) Verse 143, Musa spoke about himself being the first in his generation as a true believer (Mumini), after he had asked God Almighty to forgive him by showing Mercy on him in any of his infractions. This is because he was insisting that he wanted Allah to show Himself to him, since the Children of Israel were not even satisfied with all the Miracles, including the total destruction of Fir'awun the Tyrant, but wanted to see God face to face.

Alhamdulillah, David, I answered your questions. Tackling your assignment was very easy. I do not have a great deal of Islamic Knowledge. But Allah has helped me. The Greatest Miracle, the Qur'an is still here with us. Now try to tackle my own assignment to you. Answer the questions about your Bible verses going against trinity, Omo Obanta. Stop begging the quetions. Allah will soften your heart at the right time. All the Bravados mean diddley if there is no true guidance to true Faith. Faith in God Almighty directly.

@Davidylan:

answer your own question, what religion did they practice and please give us concrete proof.

We are going to assume, that, Ibrahim and his son Isiaq practiced the same religion. So I will concentrate mainly on Ibrahim, from the two noble men, being the father whose son followed his footsteps. We therefore see in Surah An Am (The Cattle) Verses 161 and 162, Ibrahim spoke about his life and all his deeds, his Salah and death for the pleasure of his Lord and declaring himself that he was the first in his generation to submit to the will of Allah, as a Muslim.

In Surah Araf (The Height) Verse 143, Musa spoke about himself being the first in his generation as a true believer (Mumini), after he had asked God Almighty to forgive him in showing Mercy in any of his infractions. This is because he ws insisting that he wanted to show Himself to him, since the Children of israel were not even satisfied with all the Miracles wrought, but wanted to see God face to face.

Alhamdulillah, David, I answered your questions. Tackling your assignment was very easy for me. I do not know a great deal in islam. But Allah has helped me. The Greatest Miracle is still here for us to see. Now try to tackle my own assignment for you. Answer the questions, Omo Obanta. Stop begging the quetions. Allah will soften your heart at the right time. All the Bravados mean diddley if there is no true guidance and true Faith. Faith in God Almighty directly.

@RedHotChic:

How can Abraham, Isaac and moses be moslems when christianity predates islam?

So tell us what religion, these people above practiced. Did they have a religion under which the WORSHIPPED God?
Is it Judaism or a form of Islam, since Muslims are known by many other names?

@Davidylan:

I too can copy and paste.

It shows. No wonder your biblical knowledge is very poor. Even poorer than mine. I do even have a Bible. There is no obligation for me to have it though.

Follower of Jesus

Suppose that someone observed Jesus two-thousand years ago, and he left this planet, or he went to sleep for two-thousand years an returned today to look for the followers of Jesus, who would he find? Who would he recognize? Christians? I conclude with just this food for thought: the Bible says very clearly that Jesus used to fast. Do Christians fast? Muslims fast; it is obligatory on month every year. The Bible says that Jesus prayed by touching his forehead to the ground. Do Christians pray in this manner? Muslims do. It is characteristic of their prayer and no one on earth is probably ignorant of that fact.

According to Jesus, he told his disciples to greet one another with the expression, "Peace be with you." Do the Christians do that? Muslims do, universally, whether they speak Arabic of not. The greeting for one to another is Assalamu' alaikum (peace be with you).

The brother of Jesus in the Book of James, stated that no man should suggest what he is about to do of highlight his plans for the next few days in anyway without adding the phrase "if God wills." Do not say "I will go here and there do this and that" without adding the phrase "if God wills." Do Christians do that? Muslims do, whether they speak Arabic or not. If they so much as suggest they are going downtown to pick up some groceries, they will add Insha-Allah, which in Arabic means, "If God wills."

These conclude my thoughts on this subject. May Allah guide us always closer to the truth.


@Davidylan:

Posted by: davidylan
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Its just a simple question:

what is FAITH according to the quran?

It doesnt require so much plagiarism of off-topic, unrelated material.
You can say you don't know . . . its more honorable than to decieve yourself hoping i'll get tired and stop asking.

House cleaning and faith? Someone is having a mare.

Calm down man. Stop hyperventilating. I am with you, brother. I know that in Christianity Faith and Belief are not the same thing, because of your hypocracy. You have clearly pointed that out before. cardinal Arienze of nigeria stated it yesterday on a local Catholic channel that i was watching. He said somebody may receive Jesus and do not receive grace. I mused at that statement. What i came out with is not different from you are saying. The Nigerian cardinal was bold enough, in a way insinuating that receiving Jesus was not enough. But receiving Grace without receive jesus seemed to be enough.

You on the other hand that a believer may not have faith in Jesus Christ in Christianity. Those people, if they were Muslims will be called Munafiqun or Hypocrites. It seems thats what has plagued the whole of christianity. Reason is that they have the wrong belief in Jesus. Hence their faith is the wrong one.

Now to answer your question. The second verse of Surah baqarah answered your concern, by saying this is a Book, certainly with clearness and no crookedness, a guidance for those who have faith. That is fate in direct and completely as in true guidance, believing in the total Unseen; God almighty, His Angels, Paradise and Hellfire, the future and of course the Prophets who are already passed. I did not see Adam, Idris, Noah, Ibrahim, Ismail, Isiaq, Yaqub, Yusuf, Musa, haruun, Dauda, Sulaiman, Ezra, Yunusa, Salih, Lut, Idris, Elyas, Hud, Shuib, Sulaiman, Zakaria, yahya, Isa and Muhammad (AS Jamia). Yet I believe in every one of them and all the others i did not mention here. In as long as they are true Messenger and,or prophet of Allah.

Disclaimer: None of your Post Muhammad (AS) Christian prophets! Lol.

Paraclete

There is a lot of argument over the meaning of this word 'Paraclete'. For now we can leave that aside. What is a 'Paraclete'? It does not matter. The first letter of John shows that Jesus was a 'Paraclete'. He is called a 'Paraclete' and we have Jesus promising another 'Paraclete' is going to be sent. We lose a lot by this word 'another' in English because it is ambiguous. If someone's car breaks down, and it is a Toyota, and I say, '" I'll go get you another car," maybe I mean, "I'll go and get you another Toyota because this one you have is broken," or maybe I mean, "Forget Toyota, they're no good; I'll go and get you a Datsun." It is an ambiguous word. But the Greeks had a word for it. When they meant 'another' of the same kind, they said aloes. When they meant another of a different kind, they said heteroes. The important thing there is that when Jesus, who was himself a Paraclete, said "God will send you another Paraclete" he used the word aloes, not heteroes.

Christians want to say that this other 'Paraclete' that has been sent was different from Jesus. It was not a man, it was a spirit. What Jesus said was: God will send you another one like me, another man." Muslims believe that Muhammad is the fulfillment of this prophecy by Jesus. The Qur'an says that this man is mentioned in the scriptures of the Jews and the Christians (see7:157).

Christians came to expect that the return of Jesus because of a Jewish misunderstanding. 'Messiah' and 'Son of Man' have been given special significance by the Jews, even though may people were called by this same name as in the Bible. The Jews came to expect a victorious leader. When Jesus did not turn out to be quite what many expected, they hatched the idea that he would return some day and fulfill all these prophecies.

House Cleaning

Now we go to the words of the prophets themselves, which represent another path that leads to Islam. In the Persian scriptures, which have been around for thousands of years, we read:

"When the Persians should sink so low in mortality, a man will be born in Arabia whose followers will upset their throne, religion and everything. The mighty stiff-necked ones will be overpowered. The house which was built and in which many idols have been placed will purged of idols and people will say their prayers facing towards it. His followers will capture the towns of the Farsi, Entaus and Balkh, and other big places round about. People will embroil with one another. The wise men of Persia and others will join his followers." (Desature no.14)

The Muslims recognize this very quickly because the Ka'bah, the building which all Muslims face in prayers everyday, was at one time filled with idols and it was part of the mission of Muhammad , peace be upon him, to purge the house of idols till today. It was in the next generation, after the time of the Prophet that the wise men of Persia and others did join his followers.



                                                                A Prophet Like Moses

In the Bible, in Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, we have the words of Moses who reports that God told him that H would raise up a prophet, from among the brothers of the Israelites, like Moses.

Christians wish to apply this to Jesus, to say he was the prophet like Moses. It is uncomfortable for them to recognize, however that Jesus was not very much like Moses and Jesus had no father, no wife, no children; he did not die of old age, and he did not lead a nation; all these things Moses had or did. But they say, well, Jesus will return; he will return as a victorious person, and so he will be more like Moses. Do they really expect he will return to also acquire a father and a wife and children and then die of old age? Not usually. Moreover, Jesus was an Israelite. The passage of scripture says that this prophet that was foretold would be raised up among the brothers of the Israelites, not from the Israelites.

In the third chapter of Acts, the disciple Peter speaks to a crowd of people and explains that Jesus has been take up and he is in heaven. He will remain in Heaven and he cannot return until all the things that were promised but God come to pass. So what are we still waiting for, does he tell the crowd? He quotes this very saying of Moses saying:

"For God will raise up a prophet from among the brothers of the Israelites like Moses, "

The point is very clear. Christians like to see this prophet as being Jesus. But read carefully Acts chapter three, what it says is that Jesus awaits a return. He cannot return until the fulfillment of this prophecy, that another prophet has to come. Jesus spoke of it himself and the words survived, just barely, but they survived in the bible. Jesus spoke of God sending another 'Paraclete'.

A Different Story

There are those who insist that the Qur'an was copied, that it originated in Christian and Jewish sources. As a matter of fact, a book published in recent years called Worshipping the Wrong God has stated, as though it were a fact, that after the first revelation of the Qur'an came to Muhammad, peace be upon him, that his wife died and so he quickly married a Jew and a Christian, and this is where he drew the rest of his sources for his book.

Well, they have the facts partly right. It was ten years after the first revelation of the Qur'an that his wife died, and it was another ten years after that when the Qur'an was virtually completed that he married a Jew and a Christian.

Did he copy from Jewish and Christian sources? In the Qur'an, the ruler of Egypt who opposed Moses is known as Fir'aun, not Pharaoh. The Jews and Christians have always said 'Pharaoh'. It is easy for an Arab to say 'Pharaoh'. But in the Qur'an, it is Fir'aun, with an 'n'. Why? Surely the Jews must have teased them about that and said: "You've got the word wrong. It's 'Pharaoh' and not Fir'aun." But they insisted on it and it continues that way in the Qur'an, Fir'aun.

As it happens, this historical writings of Herodotus, the Greek historian, exist to this day, and Herodotus comments on the ruler of Egypt, being in his day and in the centuries before him, one man who went by the title of Fir'aun.

Did the book copy from the Christians sources? The Qur'an insists that Jesus was not crucified, that this was only an illusion, but that the Jews who thought they crucified Jesus were mistaken because it was not really so. Christians would have no part of that. As it happens, the idea that Jesus was not really crucified is really very ancient and can be traced back to the first century. But Christians who believed that were eliminated as heretics within the first two-hundred years after the time of Jesus and they were not teaching this doctrine anywhere around the Arabian Peninsula fourteen centuries ago.

Could the author of the Qur'an have been copying from Christian sources when he says that Jesus spoke to man as a babe (3:46) and in later life? The Arabic word used indicates that he was still speaking to man and teaching to them in the forties. The Christians have always maintained that Jesus was gone by the time he was thirty-three. It indicates that there could have been no copying. In fact, a man would have to be stubborn and insists on the points as explained in the Qur'an in the face of Christian opposition who would have said: "No! No! I wasn't like that. We tell the story differently."

Attributing it to the Devil

I had experience, on one occasion, describing some of the contents in the Qur'an to a man who did not know the book I was talking about. He sat next to me with the cover turned over. I just told him about the book, what it contained and told him it was not the Bible. His conclusion was, the book was miraculous. This man was a minister in a Christian Church. He said, "Yes, that book could not possible have originated with the man and therefore it must come from the devil, because it's not the Bible."

The Qur'an comments on this suggestion in chapter twenty-six, verse two-hundred and eleven, as to those who would suggest that the book came from the devil. It points out that it does not quite suit him, does it? Is this how the devil misleads people? He tells them, worship none but God, he insists that they fast, that they practice charity. Is this how the devil misleads people?

Compare the attitude of someone like this, to the attitude of the Jews who knew Jesus and opposed him until the very end. There is an episode reported in the Bible where Jesus raised a man from the dead, one Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. When Lazarus came out of the tomb, alive again those Jews who were watching, what did they do? Did they suddenly say that this man is a true prophet and become believers? No, the Bible says they immediately discussed among themselves that "since this man is working on his signs soon everyone will believe in him. We've got to find a way to kill him," and they attributed his miraculous powers to the devil. He raised that man by the power of the devil.

Now, the Christians who read that episode will feel very sorry for those Jews who had clear evidence right before their very eyes and attribute the miracles to the devil. Does it not appear that they may be doing the same thing when we illustrate what we have in the Qur'an and their final excuse is only: "It originated with the devil."

Challenge

Another interesting verse is a challenge which is addressed to those non-believers. It reads:

"Have they not considered the Qur'an, if it came, other than Allah, surely they will find in it many inconsistencies." (4:82)

Here is a challenge to the reader. If you think you have an explanation where this book came from, have another look at the book. Surely you will be able to uncover some inconsistencies to support your case.

Imagine a student submitting a term paper or a final exam and then writing at the bottom of the page a not to his teacher: "You will find no mistakes in this paper. There are no mistakes on this exam." Can you imagine the teacher letting that rest? The teacher would probably not sleep until uncovering some inconsistency after a challenge like that. It is not the way human beings speak. They do not offer challenges like that. But here we have it in the Qur'an, a direct challenge saying: "If you have a better idea as to where this book came from, here's all you need to do. Find some inconsistencies."

There are critics who make the attempt, critics who try to say the Qur'an contains inconsistencies. A publication that came to my attention recently suggested that the Qur'an was contradictory on the subject of marriage, because in one place, it says: "don't marry more than one wife unless you can provide for them all," and in another place it says: "Don't marry more than four." They see this as a contradiction. What they have is a counter-distinction. In one case, the qualification for marrying more than one has been given. In the other case a limitation on how many may be married is given. There is no contradiction.

Critics are too quick to grab hold of something, give it an interpretation, and then offer it as an excuse to escape the reality of this document.

For critics who would attack the Qur'an and insist it contains mistakes, we can use the same method as in our reply to Christians who claim that Jesus is on record as claiming to be equal to God. Remember the three categories of evidence offered. The evidence offered was insufficient, ambiguous or impossible.

You see, if someone cites a verse from the Qur'an, trying to show that it is a mistake, we only need to show that the verse cited is insufficient to establish that there is a mistake or we need to show that the verse cited cannot possible have the interpretation which the critic is giving it. It will always fall into one of these three categories.