Muslims: Please help me understand this...?

Question

Why are most religions/faiths so contradictory? I am not talking about people who practice the different types of religion, but the religion and teachings themselves. For a while, I had been considering to convert to Islam, you know, since it is the religion of “peace.” I know many of you will beg to differ because you have convinced yourself that Islam is the “ultimate truth” (just like I had when I was a Christian), but A LOT of things don’t register in my mind. If Islam is really the religion of “peace,” then why does it establish a sense of “preference” towards the “believers:”

“…Believers, do not make unbelievers your intimate friends and supporters rather than the believers. Do you want to establish clear evidence against yourselves before God?” (4:144)

I don’t understand. If it were really about “peace,” wouldn’t it be COMPASSIONATE and UNBIASED towards EVERYONE?

Answer 1

Peace can only be established when people truly understand the meaning of "La Ikrahaa fiddeen."

At the time of the Prophet (sa), in the last 2 years of his life, he was king of arabia.  All religions lived peacefully, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Pagans too.  There was no religious fighting or molestation.

This was because the Prophet (sa) required freedom of thought and peace for all religions.  If people today simply stop forcing their beliefs on one another in a matter of compulsion, peace is a heart beat away.

The evidence is that this is exactly what happened at the Prophets (sa) time.

love for all, hatred for none

Answer 2

each chapter of holy quran [except one] with bism Allah alrahman alraheem = in the name of God The Mercy_Giving , The Merciful.

in it in light of this that you can understand He is indeed Compassionate.

i can answer your questions , use my email ; [e-mail]

Answer 3

what evilwahabi said :)

Answer 4

Historically, all monotheist religions, going back to Pharaoh Ikhnaton, have been totally intolerant of opposing viewpoints, even to the point of forced conversion and genocide.  You site a total of two religions (Christianity and Islam) out of thousands that have been practiced world wide throughout History, and call them "most", in point of fact the vast majority of religions taught respect for each others Gods, which is why Religious warfare has been restricted to the ones you mention.  You should also recall that the Christians have as blood soaked and brutal a History as anyone, look at the Crusades, the witch hunts, and the North American Indian Wars.

Answer 5

Your looking for askin muslims that question... when the easiest answer is then believe in christianity.

Answer 6

You will NEVER get a STRAIGHT answer from these clowns; they like going around in circles and using cop-outs. And I agree, these clowns need to acknowledge that ONE is ultimately responsible for ONE'S OWN ACTIONS, and not the responsibility of those you associate with.

Answer 7

How does this go against peace? God did not command you to belittle them or claim you are superior or attack them. Just becareful how you let them influence you.

When one takes the unbelievers as intimates he begins to imitate them [think peer pressure] the more time he spends with them. Why? Because what if forbidden to you is perfectly normal with them. And I speak from experience, I still have such friends but I often feel there's a struggle between what God promotes and what they promote. Yet always I find myself going back to the earlier and only then do I feel content.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with."

In the end it is a benefit to you and you alone, choose your friends wisely.

Answer 8

I'm no expert.

But sometimes religious texts have been written by many people over many many years. These people don't check exactly what they're saying with one another and things can get confused.

Or maybe as things were being written by scribes (not copy machines back then), mistakes were made.

Or things got lost or added in translation.

I think.

Answer 9

Peace doesnt nacessarily mean you have to be a pacifist and let everyon trample over your beliefs.

Islam is about actively establishing peace and then maintaining it.

Islam IS compassionate and unbiased towards everyone on this planet. They all have an equal chance at learning and embracing Islam. They all have an equal chance at enterning heaven based upon thier worldly deeds.

But Islam also tells you to fight the oppressor, help the opperesed and defend your self.

as for the verse you qouted about not taking friends with non-believers. Its NOT about the peace, the idea there is that not to put yourself in situations that may harm your soul!

Answer 10

The meaning of peace that is associated in Islam is not just "harmony between all people" or w/e. In fact, if everyone were a perfect Muslim then peace would prevail (duhh). But everyone's not & God knows that, SO, our rules factor that in & account for non-Muslims. Honestly, if a non-believer goes to h**l or not, why do I care? It's his life & he can live how he wants (that sounds peaceful enough to me!). It's not like Imma force him to be Muslim.

But I sure as h**l don't wanna put my a** on the line! That's why we must stick with other believers firsts; because YES, we do believe our religion is right & we DO want to do what we BELIEVE is right. YOU don't pray 5 times a day, do you? Probably not, but if we are constantly around Muslims who DO, then it will rub off on us & help us reach heaven, hopefully.

But the broader sense of peace in Islam comes from submitting our will to God's greater plan & changing what we can & accepting what we can't. Ultimately, either your desires are the master of you or you are the master of your desires. The only way to master your desire is to be a slave to God. It's this duality; giving up our desire, so that we may attain mastery of mind, body & soul--that we strive for. We, still however, MUST be compassionate & gentle toward all creatures & establish justice amongst all in this world. But sticking with other Muslims to support us in our religion is crucial.

Peace =]] I hope I helped & was frank enough for you to understand.

Answer 11

I disagree that most religions are contradictory.  Let's take Islam and Christianity as an example.  Both religions are monotheistic.  Some prophets in Islam, (Moses, David, Jesus), were also mentioned in the Bible.  Both religions stress moral responsibility.  They both believe in the day of judgement and the reward or punishment after death.

Answer 12

@ eviwahhabi...exactly my point

“…Believers, do not make unbelievers your intimate friends and supporters rather than the believers. Do you want to establish clear evidence against yourselves before God?” (4:144)

Allah didn't order Muslims to not have peace with the non believers, rather have peace, but not mingle with them or get in their company, because surely they do haram and forbidden stuff which you definitely wanna stay away from. Or in other words, have peace but don't associate with them.

The thing is you have to read the verse properly, think over it for awhile and then post it elsewhere for further clarification. It's disrespectful to even doubt the decisions of Allah and take out the verses from Qur'an like that.

Answer 13

There will always be two sides to every arguement. It is wrong to exert one's power onto a weaker person, no matter what (i.e. whether wrong or right) Yet the Quran says beat disobedient wives (under "certain" circumstances). What if the man is wrong and the woman is right? She can't exert any power. There's no way wife-beating can be justified.

But when you follow a religion, you don't use reason and logic in order to consider something right or wrong.

If God says the Holocaust was justified, then it is! Why? For some crappy "reason" that doesn't logically sound right but is accepted because God can't be wrong.

When you don't get the message of God, it could only mean two things: Either  God didn't give you an intelligence capable of understanding the message, or God was unable to produce an understandable message. You're not guilty in either case.

Answer 14

you're right, but nothing you say will change anything

Answer 15

pesce is not word which describes Islam..

Islam means SUBMISSION,, to the WILL of Allah Allmighty..

and the will of Allah Allmighty is in Glorious Quran,,we have to Submit to Allah Allmighty's command and Laws decreed By Allah Allmighty..

Allah Allmighty ordered Prophet Ibraheem to built KAbaa,,and to bow towards Kabaa,,its not that we Bow to Kabaa,the fact is we Bow and Fall prostrate to The Will of Allah Allmighty...

mere quoting a verse and commenting on it is tunnel visioning..

[4:141] They watch you and wait; if you attain victory from GOD, they say (to you), "Were we not with you?" But if the disbelievers get a turn, they say (to them), "Did we not side with you, and protect you from the believers?" GOD will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection. GOD will never permit the disbelievers to prevail over the believers.

[4:142] The hypocrites think that they are deceiving GOD, but He is the One who leads them on. When they get up for the Contact Prayer (Salat), they get up lazily. That is because they only show off in front of the people, and rarely do they think of GOD.

[4:143] They waver in between, neither belonging to this group, nor that group. Whomever GOD sends astray, you will never find a way to guide him.

[4:144] O you who believe, you shall not ally yourselves with the disbelievers, instead of the believers. Do you wish to provide GOD with a clear proof against you?

[4:145] The hypocrites will be committed to the lowest pit of h**l, and you will find no one to help them.

[4:146] Only those who repent, reform, hold fast to GOD, and devote their religion absolutely to GOD alone, will be counted with the believers. GOD will bless the believers with a great recompense.

[4:147] What will GOD gain from punishing you, if you became appreciative and believed? GOD is Appreciative, Omniscient.

perhaps now you might understand the context of Verse 4:144

in Islam there is a freedom of choice ,you are free to believe any thing you want to...there is NO compulsion in Religion

Answer 16

We are told not to associate much with unbelievers, then we will be probably be influenced by their habits, like drinking alchohols, eating pork, committing abominations, ectra.

And by the way those verses are for hypocrites:

144. O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers: Do ye wish to offer Allah an open proof against yourselves?

145. The Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire: no helper wilt thou find for them;-

146. Except for those who repent, mend (their lives) hold fast to Allah, and purify their religion as in Allah.s sight: if so they will be (numbered) with the believers. And soon will Allah grant to the believers a reward of immense value.

147. What can Allah gain by your punishment, if ye are grateful and ye believe? Nay, it is Allah that recogniseth (all good), and knoweth all things.

Answer 17

Not really.

Islam means peace.

But as a Muslim, we should stay away from non believers because associating with them, we can adopt their habits too (like homosexuality-drinking etc)

Peace is different from association. We want peace but no association.

Answer 18

Can I just first of all say, if you quote verses out of context, no doubt they will appear to be contradictory. In order for one to understand the Qur'an, one mustn't snip verses out of context, and it's very important where you look up these verses or other Islamic revelations.

There are many deceiving (Anti-Islamic) websites on the internet, which do not represent Islam or the Qur'an... All these stories circulating around and found on some sites on the Internet are derived from corruption deliberately spread to entice hatred.

You've asked a lot of questions up there, I will answer one of your questions, thoroughly, so you understand how easy it is to interpret a verse out of context.

You quote the verse "Slay them wherever you find them...Idolatry is worse than carnage...Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme." (Surah 2:190-)… Now let me explain this verse okay…

So you mention vers 2:190 “slay them wherever you catch them” But who is this referring to? Who are "they" that this verse discusses? The preceding and following verses give the correct context:…. "Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for God loves not transgressors.” This is the following verse to 2:190….

And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith. But if they cease, God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevails justice and faith in God; but if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practise oppression" (2:190-193).

It is clear from the context that these verses are discussing a defensive war, when a Muslim community is attacked without reason, oppressed and prevented from practicing their faith. In these circumstances, permission is given to fight back -- but even then Muslims are instructed not to transgress limits, and to cease fighting as soon as the attacker gives up. Even in these circumstances, Muslim are only to fight directly against those who are attacking them, not innocent bystanders or non-combatants.

All of the verses that speak about fighting/war in the Qur'an are are in this context. Now can you understand how easy it is to misinterpret, or see the Qur’an its teaching to be contradictory? Just by snipping a verse out of context?

I hope this partially answers your misconceptions.

Answer 19

SLOW DOWN!

Holy Qur'aan=

corrected all man-made errors in the Holy Bible,

Gave HUNDREDS of logical arguments from Allah swt / God to you and me and the rest,

contain no 1 single error,

it is a unison harmonic speech to the heart and brain at the same time (science, philosophy, and literature)

If you care to chat, you can on YM me or talk to me via MSN at [e-mail]

Answer 20

Islam IS a religion of peace

Sadly for those who wish to destroy it past and present it isnt a religion of pacifism