Post by Jafar on Feb 14, 2012 13:59:15 GMT -6
I'm going to discuss atheists now. Atheists are of two types, and only two types. One type denies the existence of God and says that the world has a beginning. One type denies the existence of God and says that the world has no beginning.
How does what has a beginning get its beginning? Because it was brought into existence. So obviously, it was created by a creator. So the one who claims that God does not exist and claims that the world has a beginning is contradicting himself. There is nothing logical to back up his claim.
Now, the world changes, obviously. The entire universe changes. Every change needs a changer. Change is transitioning from one state to another, which means that one created state was supplanted by the creation of another state. So obviously, since change is created by a creator, that which changes, i.e., the entire universe, is created by a creator. So the one who claims that God does not exist and claims that the world has no beginning is contradicting himself. There is nothing logical to back up his claim.
Both types of atheists contradict themselves. If they look into their wallet and find less money than they had, they will not believe that their money just vanished without either being stolen (a change) or lost (a change). Yet they deny the existence of a creator of the money? They will claim that the money was made by a mint, and that that mint was made by a minter, and that that minter was made by his parents, who were made by more people, who were made by people... All the way to the first human, and the atheist may claim that the human came from another type of creation, and the atheist may go all the way back and make the claim that the universe is where it goes back to... And the atheist will have the thought that the universe is in need of a creator, but the atheist will still go against the judgment of the mind and deny the existence of that creator, the One Who creates but is not created.
What do atheists say when asked about God? A lot of them say that they "hate God". Doesn't something have to exist to be hated? Clearly it does. A lot of atheists call Muslims "people of emotion". But isn't hate an emotion? Clearly it is.
In summary, the one who denies the existence of God has no evidence to support his claim. We being creations, we are limited, but we were given what animals do not have, what landforms do not have, what elements do not have--a mind--to come to these conclusions about God, the Creator, and His creations! Without our minds, what are we? What do humans do besides think and use logic? Eat, sleep, drink and fornicate? How is that any different from what a donkey does? If someone were to call a sane person a donkey, I am absolutely sure the person called a donkey would not accept. The mind is a very valuable tool. We should use any tool properly, not in a way that insults it! If someone who does not know how to swim tries to cross a deep lake with a car rather than a lifeboat, he'll sink, and what human can navigate a highway with a lifeboat rather than a car?
Similarly, if the mind when used properly brings one to the conclusion that this universe has a creator and that God, the Creator, is clear of all imperfection, then what is someone who insults the mind by denying the existence of God or calling Him what He is not doing with a valuable tool? Not what it is meant to do. Not in a way that is going to bring that person success.
Now, onto Dave's claim. From what you are saying, it sounds like you are claiming that God rests, and rest is imperfection. Nothing is difficult for God. He has perfect Power. Rest is a sign of difficulty! Why does someone retire? Either because they can no longer perform their work, which is weakness, or they have a lot of money and decide to retire to relax, which shows that they do not feel up to continuing their work. One retires because one is weak in some way. So obviously, God being perfect, God does not retire, or rest, or any other synonym of that word.
The one who admits that God creates is admitting He has Power. God does not change, because change needs a changer, and certainly the One Who does not need anything is not owned, managed or changed by anything. So, God does not change from the state of applied Power to unused Power. Change of any kind is impossible to happen to God.
When I say that God and His Attributes are eternal and everlasting, I am clearing Him and His Attributes of being subject to time, which is a creation. God is the same now as He was in the past as He will be in the future. If someone admits that God was needed in the past, it logically follows that if they believe their own claim, which does agree with the mind, that they should admit that God is needed now, and will be needed in the future. One of the names of God is As-Samad, with the s's being more whistle-like than the English 's'. This name means, "The master Who is restored to in one's needs." Would you resort to a retired ex-employer if you needed something? You'd consider him not able, or he won't be willing, or he will be willing to help, but to do so would have to either return to work entirely, which shows he yearns for his job and wants it back, or return to work even to a tiny extent by advising you. The one who is retired is weak, and the one who never worked is weak. God being clear of all weakness, it follows that His Power is un-interrupted, and does not change, as I explained in a previous post His name Al-Mateen means.
HC, there is a verse in the Qur'an that means, "God created humans and jinn to worship Him." Also, think... Do you know what non-existence feels like? No, because the only reason you feel anything is because you and your feelings exist. The opportunities we have in life are uncountable. The beauties we can witness are great, and the pain we can bear is great too. Clearly, this entire universe is complex. But, our purpose is clearly stated for us, and it makes perfect sense. Nothing is obligatory on God, but He created us, gave us existence, and gave us many endowments, such as eyesight, intelligence and strength. Surely we should repay Him by worshipping Him. To worship something is to have the ultimate submission and humbleness to it, and God is the only One Who is ultimately perfect. To worship God properly is to worship only Him.
It is important to note that God not changing, He is not benefited or harmed by anything we do. Rather, our Creator being the creator of benefit and harm, we are benefited and harmed. God promised that those who die as pious believers, performing all obligations and avoiding all prohibitions, will not be harmed in the afterlife. But those who do not worship God alone and die on this state as accountable people (sane, pubescent, heard the basic message of Islam [No one is God but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God]) cannot expect to be rewarded for their ingratitude to their Creator. How does one show gratitude to God?
There is a verse of the Qur'an which means, "Those who choose a religion other than Islam and die on that state will be losers in the afterlife." There is another verse which means, "Fear God properly and do not die but as Muslims." There is another verse which means, "Those who believe in God and His Messenger without a doubt are Muslims." There is another verse which means, "Those who do not believe in God and His Messenger are blasphemers, for whom God has prepared Hellfire." There is another verse which promises Paradise for those who die as believers, and what is belief? The ultimate submission and humbleness to one's creator, God. The previous sentence is the definition of Islam.
The non-Muslim who wishes to enter the religion of Islam must know with his or her mind that no one is God but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, believe this in his or heart and declare this with his or her tongue, being sure to pronounce Muhammad with a 'h' that is deep and throaty, like the one in 'hen' but deeper. If one cannot pronounce this h, one can say that "No one is God but God and Abul-Gasim is the Messenger of God" while knowing and believing in the meaning of this testifaction to become Muslim. Abul-Gasim is another name of Muhammad.
Now, HC, I do not recommend reading a so-called translation of the Qur'an. God said in the Qur'an what means, "The Qur'an has two types of verses: explicit and implicit. Those with deviant hearts will misinterpret the implicit verses and use these misinterpretations to misguide people." For example, the verse which means that "Absolutely nothing resembles God, and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight" is explicit, which means that in the Arabic language, the words used in the verse have only one meaning. An implicit verse is a verse in which a word in it can have more than one meaning. For example, the word "Noor" can mean light, or guidance. A verse of the Qur'an which means "God is the creator of the guidance [Noor] in the hearts of the people of the sky [angels] and some of the people of the earth [some humans and jinn]" if translated directly from Arabic to English may be misinterpreted by someone as "God is the light of the sky and the earth", and this is illogic. There is no illogic in the Qur'an. In English, the word "close" can mean close in distance or dear to someone, right? So certainly Arabic is similar in the respect that some words have multiple meanings. God did not say that He is light, because light is a creation, not the creator. Rather, he said that He is the creator of the guidance in the hearts of all angels and in the hearts of some humans and jinn. This is why I advise you against reading translations of the Qur'an, because just because someone knows English and Arabic does not mean he understands the Qur'an. God does not contradict Himself, and there is nothing about the Qur'an which contradicts another part of it or the sayings of Prophet Muhammad. If you come across anything that claims there is a contradiction, that is because someone with a deviant heart took the wrong meaning of a multiple-meaning word like "Noor", exactly as God mentioned in the verse I mentioned at the top of this paragraph.
How do I know the meanings of some verses? Because I learned from Muslims who learned from scholars who learned from scholars who go all the way back to Prophet Muhammad. If you want to learn about the Qur'an, I suggest that you ask me by private message and I'll explain it more clearly there.
The religion of Islam truly is beautiful; it's changed my life immensely in just over half a year of me learning about it. If you want to learn about it, talk to someone who knows about it, like myself. There is a lot of misinformation and fabrication about Islam on the Internet. Just remember: the definition of Islam is the ultimate humbleness and submission to God, the One Who created you and every other creation. Anything you hear that goes against the belief that God is truly perfect is a lie, because God said in the Qur'an what means, "Take the devil [Satan, and those who follow him in misguidance] as your enemy."
If you want to fix your social problems, your financial problems, etc., you first need a firm grasp of your purpose in life. The one lost in figuartive haze won't find that. The knowledge is out there. You just got to be willing to go for it.
How does what has a beginning get its beginning? Because it was brought into existence. So obviously, it was created by a creator. So the one who claims that God does not exist and claims that the world has a beginning is contradicting himself. There is nothing logical to back up his claim.
Now, the world changes, obviously. The entire universe changes. Every change needs a changer. Change is transitioning from one state to another, which means that one created state was supplanted by the creation of another state. So obviously, since change is created by a creator, that which changes, i.e., the entire universe, is created by a creator. So the one who claims that God does not exist and claims that the world has no beginning is contradicting himself. There is nothing logical to back up his claim.
Both types of atheists contradict themselves. If they look into their wallet and find less money than they had, they will not believe that their money just vanished without either being stolen (a change) or lost (a change). Yet they deny the existence of a creator of the money? They will claim that the money was made by a mint, and that that mint was made by a minter, and that that minter was made by his parents, who were made by more people, who were made by people... All the way to the first human, and the atheist may claim that the human came from another type of creation, and the atheist may go all the way back and make the claim that the universe is where it goes back to... And the atheist will have the thought that the universe is in need of a creator, but the atheist will still go against the judgment of the mind and deny the existence of that creator, the One Who creates but is not created.
What do atheists say when asked about God? A lot of them say that they "hate God". Doesn't something have to exist to be hated? Clearly it does. A lot of atheists call Muslims "people of emotion". But isn't hate an emotion? Clearly it is.
In summary, the one who denies the existence of God has no evidence to support his claim. We being creations, we are limited, but we were given what animals do not have, what landforms do not have, what elements do not have--a mind--to come to these conclusions about God, the Creator, and His creations! Without our minds, what are we? What do humans do besides think and use logic? Eat, sleep, drink and fornicate? How is that any different from what a donkey does? If someone were to call a sane person a donkey, I am absolutely sure the person called a donkey would not accept. The mind is a very valuable tool. We should use any tool properly, not in a way that insults it! If someone who does not know how to swim tries to cross a deep lake with a car rather than a lifeboat, he'll sink, and what human can navigate a highway with a lifeboat rather than a car?
Similarly, if the mind when used properly brings one to the conclusion that this universe has a creator and that God, the Creator, is clear of all imperfection, then what is someone who insults the mind by denying the existence of God or calling Him what He is not doing with a valuable tool? Not what it is meant to do. Not in a way that is going to bring that person success.
Now, onto Dave's claim. From what you are saying, it sounds like you are claiming that God rests, and rest is imperfection. Nothing is difficult for God. He has perfect Power. Rest is a sign of difficulty! Why does someone retire? Either because they can no longer perform their work, which is weakness, or they have a lot of money and decide to retire to relax, which shows that they do not feel up to continuing their work. One retires because one is weak in some way. So obviously, God being perfect, God does not retire, or rest, or any other synonym of that word.
The one who admits that God creates is admitting He has Power. God does not change, because change needs a changer, and certainly the One Who does not need anything is not owned, managed or changed by anything. So, God does not change from the state of applied Power to unused Power. Change of any kind is impossible to happen to God.
When I say that God and His Attributes are eternal and everlasting, I am clearing Him and His Attributes of being subject to time, which is a creation. God is the same now as He was in the past as He will be in the future. If someone admits that God was needed in the past, it logically follows that if they believe their own claim, which does agree with the mind, that they should admit that God is needed now, and will be needed in the future. One of the names of God is As-Samad, with the s's being more whistle-like than the English 's'. This name means, "The master Who is restored to in one's needs." Would you resort to a retired ex-employer if you needed something? You'd consider him not able, or he won't be willing, or he will be willing to help, but to do so would have to either return to work entirely, which shows he yearns for his job and wants it back, or return to work even to a tiny extent by advising you. The one who is retired is weak, and the one who never worked is weak. God being clear of all weakness, it follows that His Power is un-interrupted, and does not change, as I explained in a previous post His name Al-Mateen means.
HC, there is a verse in the Qur'an that means, "God created humans and jinn to worship Him." Also, think... Do you know what non-existence feels like? No, because the only reason you feel anything is because you and your feelings exist. The opportunities we have in life are uncountable. The beauties we can witness are great, and the pain we can bear is great too. Clearly, this entire universe is complex. But, our purpose is clearly stated for us, and it makes perfect sense. Nothing is obligatory on God, but He created us, gave us existence, and gave us many endowments, such as eyesight, intelligence and strength. Surely we should repay Him by worshipping Him. To worship something is to have the ultimate submission and humbleness to it, and God is the only One Who is ultimately perfect. To worship God properly is to worship only Him.
It is important to note that God not changing, He is not benefited or harmed by anything we do. Rather, our Creator being the creator of benefit and harm, we are benefited and harmed. God promised that those who die as pious believers, performing all obligations and avoiding all prohibitions, will not be harmed in the afterlife. But those who do not worship God alone and die on this state as accountable people (sane, pubescent, heard the basic message of Islam [No one is God but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God]) cannot expect to be rewarded for their ingratitude to their Creator. How does one show gratitude to God?
There is a verse of the Qur'an which means, "Those who choose a religion other than Islam and die on that state will be losers in the afterlife." There is another verse which means, "Fear God properly and do not die but as Muslims." There is another verse which means, "Those who believe in God and His Messenger without a doubt are Muslims." There is another verse which means, "Those who do not believe in God and His Messenger are blasphemers, for whom God has prepared Hellfire." There is another verse which promises Paradise for those who die as believers, and what is belief? The ultimate submission and humbleness to one's creator, God. The previous sentence is the definition of Islam.
The non-Muslim who wishes to enter the religion of Islam must know with his or her mind that no one is God but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, believe this in his or heart and declare this with his or her tongue, being sure to pronounce Muhammad with a 'h' that is deep and throaty, like the one in 'hen' but deeper. If one cannot pronounce this h, one can say that "No one is God but God and Abul-Gasim is the Messenger of God" while knowing and believing in the meaning of this testifaction to become Muslim. Abul-Gasim is another name of Muhammad.
Now, HC, I do not recommend reading a so-called translation of the Qur'an. God said in the Qur'an what means, "The Qur'an has two types of verses: explicit and implicit. Those with deviant hearts will misinterpret the implicit verses and use these misinterpretations to misguide people." For example, the verse which means that "Absolutely nothing resembles God, and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight" is explicit, which means that in the Arabic language, the words used in the verse have only one meaning. An implicit verse is a verse in which a word in it can have more than one meaning. For example, the word "Noor" can mean light, or guidance. A verse of the Qur'an which means "God is the creator of the guidance [Noor] in the hearts of the people of the sky [angels] and some of the people of the earth [some humans and jinn]" if translated directly from Arabic to English may be misinterpreted by someone as "God is the light of the sky and the earth", and this is illogic. There is no illogic in the Qur'an. In English, the word "close" can mean close in distance or dear to someone, right? So certainly Arabic is similar in the respect that some words have multiple meanings. God did not say that He is light, because light is a creation, not the creator. Rather, he said that He is the creator of the guidance in the hearts of all angels and in the hearts of some humans and jinn. This is why I advise you against reading translations of the Qur'an, because just because someone knows English and Arabic does not mean he understands the Qur'an. God does not contradict Himself, and there is nothing about the Qur'an which contradicts another part of it or the sayings of Prophet Muhammad. If you come across anything that claims there is a contradiction, that is because someone with a deviant heart took the wrong meaning of a multiple-meaning word like "Noor", exactly as God mentioned in the verse I mentioned at the top of this paragraph.
How do I know the meanings of some verses? Because I learned from Muslims who learned from scholars who learned from scholars who go all the way back to Prophet Muhammad. If you want to learn about the Qur'an, I suggest that you ask me by private message and I'll explain it more clearly there.
The religion of Islam truly is beautiful; it's changed my life immensely in just over half a year of me learning about it. If you want to learn about it, talk to someone who knows about it, like myself. There is a lot of misinformation and fabrication about Islam on the Internet. Just remember: the definition of Islam is the ultimate humbleness and submission to God, the One Who created you and every other creation. Anything you hear that goes against the belief that God is truly perfect is a lie, because God said in the Qur'an what means, "Take the devil [Satan, and those who follow him in misguidance] as your enemy."
If you want to fix your social problems, your financial problems, etc., you first need a firm grasp of your purpose in life. The one lost in figuartive haze won't find that. The knowledge is out there. You just got to be willing to go for it.