Islam reading: chapter 4

Islam is monotheistic and there is no trinity. Islam forbids all realistic representations of people and mammals. Muslims think that all movies about prophets are bad because they change how we view Allah. The movies give people a false view of prophets. Muslims do not like the idea that western cultures produce that we are all Gods and Goddesses.

There has only been one time in history that anyone (Moses) has come close to seeing Allah before going to heaven. No human has ever actually seen Allah in this life. Islam teaches that there are no chosen people, his attention is not exclusive. The idea that he makes any kind of racial preference is reprehensible. The prophet Muhammad grew up disliking idols, he grew up around people who worshiped them. People believe this is a big reason why he was chosen by God.

Muslims believe that God hears us (thoughts, prayers...). People who believed in idols opposed the new way of thinking (one and only god). Islam teaches that everyone has to face God alone on judgement day. Muslims believe that the false idols will be brought up on this day and made to speak. The blame is ALL ON YOU!!!

Jesus is believed to be a prophet of God, not his son (god does not have actual children). The Qur'an denies that Jesus was killed on a cross, but rather states that God rescued him and took him to paradise. It states that he is saving him for the day when he needs to combat the anti- christ.

We are all born pure. Adam and Eve did sin. Their sin was not passed down through the generations.

God is not in a form we can understand. Instead of focusing on physical forms we focus on his qualities. Ninety-Nine Names of Allah. These are the adjectives that make us not focus on his physical form.

He has no gender. In arabic there is no name for "it" so the pronoun "He" is used to refer to God.

God can do whatever he wants, he does not need a helper.

Islam reading: chapter 3

Humans have animal like desires, and instincts. Islam believes that humans are born good, and free of sin. However, we fall prey to our natural weaknesses. There are levels of spiritual development: the animal self, the accusing self, and the contended self. The aim of our fitrah (inner nature) is to elevate our minds to seek God. The struggle of our animal self is made hard by an evil jinn named Shaytan (sounds like Satan). He tries to corrupt us so we will forget about God. Once the soul reaches the accusing self big questions begin to arise. For instance, what is the meaning of life. Once this happens the person is ready to look for God. According to Islam oneness with God creates an at ease heart. The third stage, the restful self, the person still has a normal life but realizes the higher purpose of life, and is awaiting their meeting with God. To a Muslim, surrendering to God means to believe in him and to follow a harmonious life. To Muslims the Qur'an is considered the last installment of divine guidance, and cannot be changed by humans. Islam makes a clear line between right and wrong. There are no set listing of "the seven deadly sins", however there are 11 main sins and 10 mains good deeds. Islam holds that when you sin it will be held against you and put into your "record book" for judgement day. The only way to remove a sin is to follow a four step process (tawba). Only a few sins resolve in physical punishment. On judgement day if you do not repent your sins and ask for forgiveness, rejecting God and staying with the animal self will result in a corrupt and warped soul. Some souls can be changed but other are too warped and will forever life in hell.

Islam reading chap 2 (I posted it on the wrong blog on friday ooops)

1- Muslim lifestyle is based on God, they follow a set of daily rituals to remind oneself of allegiance to God. Penalty for self indulgence is a stint in Hell.

2- Allah is the one and only God. When people talk about the god of Abraham, Moses...they are talking about Allah. Everything exists due to His will. Things always return to Allah for review (even the stars). There are 4 proofs of God

* Natural world, beauty

*Human abilities and capabilities

*Revelation of God's guidance and the existence of religion

*Our inner feelings

3- You can either resist Allah or surrender, either following God's way or resisting. The whole universe follows Islam. Muslim means they have surrendered to Allah. Animals and plants are Muslim, they follow their instinct.

4- Jinns are like genies. They are the cause of supernatural occurrences and paranormal events. They pre upon human by guiding them towards doing the wrong things. They know Allah exists.

5- Angels are Muslim (they do not have a choice). God's robots, no shortcomings or foibles. There are four top angels:

*Jibra'il (Gabriel)- revelations to prophets

*Azra'il-angel of death

*Mika'il-contorls weather

*Israfil- will blow the horn signaling the end of the universe

they are supposed to look for people who are praising God and join them.

5- You have the choice to do right or wrong. When you choose to do right you go to a whole new level. God offered the gift of self awareness.

6- God created humans and jinns so that they could serve him and surrender to his will. Islam states that our most basic needs are fulfilled when we achieve union with God. Muslims are free from stress and are calmer because they accept God. Love of God is the ultimate reward.

7- Humans have FREE will, self awareness, and intelligence. We have a moral compass. We have a "soul".

8- Humans have a weakness: desire. Our animal desire plague us. We need a nudge from the inside to counterbalance the animal instinct. At birth we are equipped with free ill, we have the choice to surrender to Allah.

9- Physical bodies are Muslim, blood, cells..everything works as they were made to. We are half Muslim and half not. Our final destination is to return to God and be as sincere as we can make ourselves.