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nadya
USA
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 Topic initiated on Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 7:56 PM 
Welcome Message.
Asalamu Alaykum
(peace be upon you)
I wanted to welcome everyone to this new forum for Interfaith Dialogue.
Let us use this platform to reflect upon issues relevant to all children of Adam. Let us talk about the truths towards which this cosmos indicates. Let us talk about the purpose of our lives, of creation.
We need to bridge our gaps and understand each other and help each other towards truth and away from ignorance and fiction, for therein lies our dilemma. And in our endeavor let us remember that mankind stands equal before God with only our degrees of strife towards truth and piety differentiating us in His sight.
Let us approach matters without prejudice and predetermined opinions in an effort to honestly try to discover the truth. Religions through time have been abused and manipulated by sections claiming to uphold its banner, because of ignorance or to serve the underlying agenda of a few. Let us try to discover the true message of religions and of Islam, let us help each other in this effort. Let understanding be the merit by which we judge belief systems and events around us.
May God help and guide us in our endeavor.
Best Regards,
Nadya Omer. |
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hkhan
UNITED KINGDOM
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 Posted - Friday, September 24, 2004 - 4:18 AM 
alhandulillah that Studying Islam has finally been able to initiate this long wished/awaited forum
may Lord bless the efforts. 
amen
Edited by: hkhan on Monday, September 27, 2004 4:27 AM |
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vlias1
USA
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Posted - Friday, September 24, 2004 - 7:06 PM
What a great idea for a forum. Looking forward to interesting discussions as we all travel on this journey toward truth.
I guess I'll go ahead and step out and identify myself as a Christian. I have been for 11 years, since I was a teenager, and I've been trying to just study Islam and learn more about it. Not for the purposes of converting, but moreso just to learn.
Looking forward to some healthy and informative discussions!
Take care everyone. |
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muslim
CANADA
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Posted - Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 12:11 AM
aslam o alaikum,
peace be with you,
A really good topic to be put on forum.
May Allah accept the sincere efforts.Ameen.
well!brother vlias -- great to here you have knowledge on Islam -- so you how do you find it?one thing is for sure--the moral teachings of almost all religion are the same -- correct me if i am wrong plz.
wasalam
Ayesha |
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nadya
USA
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Posted - Saturday, September 25, 2004 - 9:55 AM
| Sister Ayesha you have made a good starting point for discussion about the morality of religions. Would anyone like to respond and tell us what they think? What is morality and do you think all religions share a common morality? |
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vlias1
USA
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Posted - Monday, September 27, 2004 - 2:22 PM
Hi muslim from Canada,
And just as a clarification, I am a female. : - )
Most people just call me "V".
As to your question about how I find your religion..... I am actually not sure I know how to answer that question quickly and to the point. (I tend to be long-winded).
I guess, to try to sum it up, I started researching and reading and studying about it years ago. I really started to think that maybe I was on the wrong path, at one point. But I just kept praying, seeking, studying....
In the end, I truly believe that I won't convert for many different reasons. But, I still study so I won't be ignorant of what the true teachings are and so that I can understand better those who follow this faith.
I do find it an interesting study, though.
As far as the "moral" teachings of other religions, I guess the basics are usually the same. Usually, the very BASICS of a faith are very simple and straightforward. It's the "deeper" things of each one that separates us.
Beyond that, I don't believe every religion was revealed by God, so that invalidates them altogether for me. |
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muslim
CANADA
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Posted - Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 2:59 AM
sorry sister v
Morality is code of conduct put forward by society or religion.
Moral teachings of Islam are being truthfull,honest,just.
Keeping away from backbiting,talking ill of others,making fun of others.
Respect for every memeber of the society.
I am sure christianity and judaism have the same teachings.
In Islam the understanding of accountability before Allah is important.All our actions will be judged by our intentions by the Almighty and our intention has to be that we do everything according to Islam and to please Allah,not for some gain or favour.
The rituals of Islam form our foundations and together with the moral behaviar demanded in Islam makes a strong MUSLIM character.
The ideal of which we have as our Prophet MUHAMMAD(peace be upon him).
sister nadya ---if you can add upon this and sister v can further tell us about moral teachings of christianity.
peace be with you all |
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nadya
USA
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Posted - Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 6:35 AM
Asalamu Alaykum
Thank you for your response Ayesha and V.
You've both made interesting points.
I think morality is the code ethical judgments or evaluations about what is right and wrong behavior and beliefs.
Morality encompasses all spheres of our lives, personal or communal. It ranges from business/work and medical ethics to war ethics, from ethics of personal to social conduct and the list goes on. Moral values can be based on the beliefs of a society, culture or ethnicity or they may be religiously derived.
Religious morality also focuses on right and wrong beliefs about matters of metaphysical nature along with morality of conduct. It also points towards the correct perception of reality and purpose and aim of being as opposed so an incorrect viewpoint. The laws of religious morality that govern the action of man and the rights and duties it lays out all have the defining character of "right" or "good" as opposing to other laws which might then be considered wrong.
I think the moralities of most religions differ on the very core of their moral philosophy when they differently define the very reality and purpose of being and exclude all other beliefs about it as incorrect. Also while most religions will uphold the moral values in the Ten Commandments of not killing, lying or committing adultery, they will differ in the moral laws they lay down to ascertain such behavior.
I think this is a very complex debate in which one cannot simply state whether the basic morality of all religions is the same or not.
Regards. |
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muslim
CANADA
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Posted - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 2:34 AM
aslam o alaikum,
hmmmm
now that we are discussing about morality we should be getting everything straight so that we have no doubt and queries in mind.seems like i was wrong in saying that moral values are same in all religion
Well,we are waiting for sister v to tell us some thing.
Also sister nadya,I think we should get solid viewpoint of a scholar---how abour Ahmad Deedat or Dr Zakir Naik---some one active in comparitive studies.because they will explain everything in light of Quran and AHADITH AND COMPARISONS.and then keeping them in mind we can workout further.
or if you have some one else in mind sister Nadya.
and also sister v can tell us the morals of christianity (from authentic sources)It will definitely be of help for all of us.
peace be with you. |
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vlias1
USA
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Posted - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 4:01 PM
Sorry it's taking me so long to respond to this question. For some reason, it's a difficult question for me and I think that the problem I have is with the word "moral" itself. I know that we have people from all over the world on this site; I am from the U.S. And here, the word "moral" is used so loosely that it almost has no meaning or value to me.
To me, life is about living the way that is pleasing in the sight of God. And I suppose that this would include being a "moral" person. But then again, these day, even atheists talk about having morals; polytheists have "morals". Being moral does not mean that a person will enter Heaven.
Morals appear to be a list of "do's and don'ts" while a TRUE life of faith is about pleasing and serving the Almighty; a life totally based upon Him. Anyone in general, even people who don't believe in God, can know basic right from wrong. That alone does not make them able to enter Heaven.
(Forgive me for my ranting. :-) Just wanted to make my stance and position on this clear.)
But, for the sake of discussion, I guess I can outline what most other people consider to be the "moral" teachings of Christianity and the Bible. Look for my next post... |
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vlias1
USA
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Posted - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - 4:15 PM
1) You should not be drunk with alcohol.
2) You should not be gluttonous (overeating).
3) You should not covet (lust after) what someone else has (i.e., possessions, status, power, spouse, etc.)
4) You should not murder.
5) You should not lie, steal, cheat, deceive.
6) You should discipline your children.
7) You should read your Bible regularly.
8) You should praise and worship God; that is your reasonable responsibility.
9) Dress modestly.
10) Sex outside of marriage is wrong (fornication and adultery).
11) Divorce for any reason other than adultery is wrong.
12) Husbands must see to it that they love their wives and lay down their lives for them.
13) Wives must submit to, honor and respect their husbands.
14) Children should obey their parents in the Lord.
15) Parents should not provoke their children to anger.
16) Homosexuality is wrong and improper.
17) Be careful of the things that you watch, see or listen to as they can affect your heart.
18) Do not gossip or slander.
19) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
20) Give to the poor and needy; see to it that the widows are provided for.
Those are some rather general one's that I could come up with. |
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muslim
CANADA
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Posted - Friday, October 1, 2004 - 2:14 AM
aslam o alaikum,
well!all that sister v wrote is exactly what is there in Islam.But sister v i think these things do count that we enter paradise.although yes there are other things also which will count.I agree that one must lead lives according to what is pleasing to Allah.so we have to know what is pleasing to Allah......nobody would want to think they are on the wrong path.but we get this life just once right---so we better think.
sister Nadya ,i hope we get a wise view point regarding this matter.
peace be with you. |
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nadya
USA
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Posted - Friday, October 1, 2004 - 5:45 AM
Asalamu Alaykum
I would like to say that by expressing my view on morality I am not saying that "only my opinion is correct". This is just a topic of general discussion which can be looked at from various perspectives and analyzed in different angles. By looking through different perspectives we can gain a deeper view of any subject and also learn about the merits and demerits of various analysis.
However I would like to say that "comparative religion" is a secular study meaning that it looks at all religions from an unbiased point and does not pass judgements on the morality or practices of any religion. It only seeks to understand all religions from a sympathetic point of view.
Any study which seeks to evaluates other religions from the viewpoint of a specific religion cannot be termed as a study of comparative religion. For studies which seek to promote or provide evidence or justify any single religion in the face of other religions is a study of theology, not of comparative religion.
Nonetheless Sister Ayesha if you want to share with us the views of any Muslim scholar please do.
Regards. |
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nadya
USA
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Posted - Friday, October 1, 2004 - 5:56 AM
Asalamu Alaykum
V you have raised a very important point about how words are generally defined in any culture.
Our very concepts are based on words therefore a lot depends on how words are defined. Often words are defined very loosely or acquire different meanings through usage. Sometimes one word can convey different meanings thus different concepts in different cultures.
I think we should we should try to be very clear about defining words since language shapes our very concepts.
The dictionary defines what is "moral" as:
a : of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior
b : expressing or teaching a conception of right behavior
c : conforming to a standard of right behavior
d : sanctioned by or operative on one's conscience or ethical judgment
Another good point that you've raised is that often people have different moralities that is because, like I have pointed out before, that morality can be derived from various sources and religion is also a source of morality. The question about which source is more valid than other and why is another debate.
Regards. |
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nadya
USA
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Posted - Friday, October 1, 2004 - 6:46 AM
Asalamu Alaykum
Thank you for your list V.
However Sister Ayesha this is not all exactly the same as Islam.
"1) You should not be drunk with alcohol."
Islam does not even allow drinking alcohol here the emphasis is on not getting drunk.
"11) Divorce for any reason other than adultery is wrong."
Islam does not bind divorce to particular reasons.
"12) Husbands must see to it that they love their wives and lay down their lives for them."
This is a very encompassing statement and I do not sure what it is exactly saying. Therefore I cannot vouch that this is exactly what Islam says.
Sister Ayesha you have made a good point that it is not easy for anyone to admit that they might be wrong and that we should be careful about the way we live our lives because we only get this life once. Therefore I believe one must always be receptive and not take it for granted that he/she is undoubtedly right for we can all fall into error. We should pray to God for guidance and honestly try to discover the truth about matters keeping our minds and hearts free from prejudice and preconceived notions. With our intentions clear and not rooted in any agendas and our efforts strong and persistent, God will indeed reward us for our efforts. |
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vlias1
USA
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Posted - Friday, October 1, 2004 - 5:46 PM
Allow me to clarify one statement. When I say that these things do not guarantee a person going to heaven, I mean from a Christian standpoint.
From the list I gave, if a person did everything else except No. 8, they could (and actually would) still go to hell.
You can't simply perform "moral" actions and expect to be let into the holy place of God, heaven.... according to Christian teachings and beliefs. |
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