Your religion orders the worship of a man because Muslims are called Muhammadans. How to handle this?

Praise be to Allah,
The name of our religion is Islam, and those who follow it are Muslims. The name Muslim is given in the Quran (22:78) to the followers of Islam, and never did the Quran or Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) call the followers of the religion “Muhammadans”. Moreover, the Muslims never used the word “Muhammadan” as a name or title to describe all Muslims.
Etymologically, the name “Muhammadans” has been given to us, Muslims, by the Europeans of the Middle Ages. This labeling may have been out of spite and animosity, to imply that we are a cult of followers of one man. (Western Hostility to Islam and Prophecies of Turkish Doom, by Kenneth Meyer Setton (1992). DIANE Publishing. pg 4-15. Mohammedanism a Misnomer, by R. Bosworth Smith, Paul Tice. pg 133.) Some may, also, have done that out of ignorance, or because they were Christians, and being called after the Christ (blessings and peace be upon him), they may have, through analogy, thought of us as “Muhammadans”.
In the history of Europe during the Middle Ages, the distortion of names had been a common occurrence. The Europeans of the Middle Ages have, also, called us “Saracens” and “Moors” amongst other more offensive names.
The fact that Islam emphasizes the worship of God alone and forbids, with utmost condemnation, the ascribing of partners to Him, regardless of their status, should be beyond debate. No serious intellectual or writer of our times would contest that.
The Quran affirmed the humanity of Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) in many verses, including the following, ( قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ ) الكهف/110 .
“Say (O Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is One God” [Quran 18/110]
“وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ أَفَإِنْ مَاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انْقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَابِكُمْ وَمَنْ يَنْقَلِبْ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَنْ يَضُرَّ اللَّهَ شَيْئاً وَسَيَجْزِي اللَّهُ الشَّاكِرِينَ” آل عمران/ 144.
“Muhammad is no more than an apostle: many were the apostle that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah. But Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.” [Quran 3:144] The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said,
‏( لاْ تُطْرُونِيْ كَمَا أُطرِيَ عِيْسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ ، وَقُولُوْا عَبدُ اللهِ وَرَسُولُهُ ) رواه البخاري . ‏
�Do not exaggerate about me as was exaggerated about �Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus, son of Mary). Say: the slave of Allah and His Messenger.� [Narrated by al-Bukhari, the most authentic collection of the Prophetic sayings.]
The Muslims didn’t betray that legacy of Prophet Muhammad, which was also the legacy of Prophet Jesus (blessings and peace be upon them both.) The first successor of the Prophet, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (Allah be pleased with him), clearly highlighted this fact, upon the death of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), in his famous speech in which he said,
“من كان يعبد محمدا فإن محمدا قد مات ومن كان يعبد الله فإن الله حي لا يموت “.
“Whoever used to worship Muhammad, Muhammad has died. But he who used to worship Allah, Allah is alive and never dies.” [al-Bukhari] Allah, the Most High, instructed us to do and say the following, “وَلَا تُجَادِلُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَقُولُوا آمَنَّا بِالَّذِي أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَـٰهُنَا وَإِلَـٰهُكُمْ وَاحِدٌ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ”
“And argue not with the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), unless it be in (a way) that is better (with good words and in good manner, inviting them to Islamic Monotheism with His Verses), except with such of them as do wrong; and say (to them): “We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our God and your God is One (i.e. Allah), and to Him we have submitted (as Muslims).” [Quran al-’Ankaboot 29:46] I hope you will find, here above, an answer to your inquiry.

Asalamu alaikum, I have been a type 1 diabetic for close to 15yrs who is dependant on insulin. I’ve been to somalia and tried many herbal remedies like camels milk, black seed, water that a sheik read quran on, and pure honey (malab saafi). I would like to know is there a cure because i read a hadith that says theres a cure for every disease except death.

All praise be to Allah, and may His Blessings and Peace be ‎on His Last Messenger, ‎
Dear brother, ‎
We ask Allah, the Great, Lord of the Great Throne to give ‎you a cure that leaves no infirmity in your body.‎
Dear brother, there is a cure as the Messenger of Alalh ‎‎(blessings and peace be upon him) said, but it is the will of Allah ‎that there should be disease and suffering in this life, for it is a ‎station of trials and tests. That is why we may not find that cure. ‎
In a report of at-Tabarani in al-Awsat, there is an addition ‎to the hadeeth, which reads, “…whether or not someone ‎knows it…” So, even though there will be a cure for every ‎disease, we, as humans, may not be able to find it. We were ‎encouraged to do our best in seeking that cure, and there is ‎nothing beyond that.‎
Again, the Insulin that you take is a partial cure, because it ‎allows you to stay healthy and functional. A few decades ago, ‎the diagnosis of diabetes was almost a slow death sentence. So, ‎praise be to Allah who enabled man to find that “partial” cure. ‎
You seem to have done your best, and I would advise you ‎to accept your condition and be consistent with your insulin ‎therapy, and lead a healthy life style physically and spiritually, ‎and continue your du’a’ (supplication) for cure. If you do that ‎and put your trust in Allah, and show patience and resolve, you ‎will start to feel much better inshallah. ‎
Finally, don’t forget the reward of patience; Allah said,‎
‏(وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ ‏وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ) (البقرة: 155-157)‏
‎
“And certainly we shall test you with something of fear, hunger , loss‎‏ ‏‎ ‎of wealth , lives and fruits. But give Glad tidings to the patient who ‎when afflicted with calamity say truly to Allah we belong & truly to him ‎we shall return. They are those on whom are Salawat (blessings & ‎forgiveness) from their lord & mercy , and it is they who are the ‎guided ones”‎
The patient ones shall be paid their reward without reckoning as ‎Allah said, and that is probably why the Prophet (blessings and ‎peace be upon him) said, ‎
‏”يود أهل العافية يوم القيامة حين يعطى أهل البلاء الثواب لو أن جلودهم كانت قرضت في الدنيا ‏بالمقاريض”‏
‎
“The people who were fortunate and healthy in this life will wish on ‎the Day of Judgment that their skin would have been clipped up in ‎the donya with clippers.” [reported by at-Tirmidhi from Jabir]‎
اللهم اشف أخانا واملأ بدنه عافية وقلبه رجاءً.‏

O Allah, grant cure to our brother and confer health on his body ‎and fill his heart with hope. ‎
Allah knows best.‎

‎ ‎‏ ‏

I went to a fortune teller 5 years ago and I believed in all the things she told me now I want to repent for believing in fortune telling. I know what I need to do to repent, regret it, try to not do it again and in my case also I must not believe anything she said, this is where the problem comes. now (5 years on) I can only remember some of the things she told me, I have forgotten the rest. I remember after I visited her I went home and wrote down everything she told me in a book, I still have the book. if I look in it now I will be able to recall all the things she said to me (including the ones I forgot). I was so ready to repent, I had deep regret in my heart, I was determined to never commit this mistake again and anything which I do remember she told me I completely disbelieve in them now then this person came and confused me. he said my tauba will only be valid if I disbelieve in EVERYTHING she told me, I can’t because I have forgotten most of it, he then said I have to look in my book (which contains everything she said to me) and I have to disbelieve in all of them only then will my tauba be valid. is he correct? anything which I do remember I disbelieve in should I just ignore him and repent or is he right do I need to disbelieve in all that she told me in order for my tauba to be valid. this man really confused me please tell me what to do I just want to repent

Alhamdu-li-llah wa as-Salatu wa as-Salamu ‘ala Rasool-il-llah,

This advice you received is entirely mistaken. Please throw that book away and ignore the advice.
May Allah accept our and your repentance.

Allah knows best.

Why I chose to submit and become Muslim.

First I will provide my simplistic answer, and then I will try to support it on a more sophisticated level, although I prefer simplicity.

Now, to answer the question of does God exist, you will have to hypothesize so let us do that, and I will make hypothesis 1 yes and 2 no.

The simplest answer is:

 What if hypothesis 2 is true what did I loose, and the clear answer is nothing; in fact there was much for me to gain by being a believer (things like mental stability, peace of mind, having some being to rely on when I need to amongst many other gains) and then we will all turn into dust. And yes someone may say but you lost the freedom to do what you please with no fear from someone overmatching you but, I find that no one does have this absolute freedom, after all we fear from the police, the IRS, the CEO or supervisor, and many other things. Also, to have bounds and limits is good for the soul, whereas indulgence in the worldly pleasures is destructive, and it leads to loss of purpose, hedonism, boredom, depression and much more. (Depression and suicide rates in the west are much higher than they are elsewhere.)

Now, what if hypothesis 1 is true, what did I gain being a believer? you may say well that depends on your belief because, each religion claims salvation only for its followers; and you would be right to say that and, that will be a coming part of my answer but, let us say that my religion is the true one then without you even knowing what my religion is you will be able to expect what the gains could be like.

 

Now let us go to the dry part of this discussion (rationalization)

 

First of all I agree with you that there is no such a thing like creation science because science studies material and the physical laws of the universe and, creation is not about any of that, (this also applies to explaining the immaculate conception of Jesus although I am a physician and I can try to sound more sophisticated in my discussions I usually say to people who doubt it God makes the rules but, He doesn�t have to go by them.)

In other words you cannot explain the making of something out of nothing on any scientific basis.

 

I also agree with you that the universe is probably more than a few thousand years old and, we don�t have in Islam any indication that it was. On the contrary we have indications that it is much older.

 

And also, I agree with you that there are questions that we shouldn�t be asking because, obviously we don�t have the power to comprehend and, it is wise to respect one�s own limitations, in other words we have not seen God or examined him with any of our senses so there will be a lot of questions about him that we will not be able to answer.

 

I disagree with you about religion being the most pernicious myth in history but, I agree that so many atrocities were committed in the name of religion but, they are simply because of human tendencies to be unjust to the other so, before the Romans were burning my Egyptian ancestors to convert them from orthodox to catholic they were doing the same to them and many other nations for a myriad of other reasons.

After all Hitler was not motivated by religion, neither was Churchill who said: � Britain reserves the right to bomb the nigers.�

 

Now does creation make more sense or an eternal universe?

1-Scientifically

 First I have to remind you and myself that the scientific theories are not facts and the two get mixed up a lot so, despite that the scientific facts are few the theories are innumerable.

From a scientific perspective the creationists were under the wheel in the 19^th century. But, now they are on top since, the latest developments in cosmology and many  other type sciences  are not in favor of an eternal universe, and, let me quote some of the most devout atheists confessing to this

       Anthony Flew, an atheist professor of philosophy at the University of Reading and the author of Atheistic Humanism, makes this interesting confession:

Notoriously, confession is good for the soul. I will therefore begin by confessing that the Stratonician atheist has to be embarrassed by the contemporary cosmological consensus. For it seems that the cosmologists are providing a scientific proof of what St. Thomas contended could not be proved philosophically; namely, that the universe had a beginning. So long as the universe can be comfortably thought of as being not only without end but also without beginning, it remains easy to urge that its brute existence, and whatever are found to be its most fundamental features, should be accepted as the explanatory ultimates. Although I believe that it remains still correct, it certainly is neither easy nor comfortable to maintain this position in the face of the Big Bang story  

Henry Margenau, Roy Abraham Vargesse, Cosmos, Bios, Theos, La Salle IL: Open Court Publishing, 1992, p.241

            The English materialist physicist, H.P. Lipson, unwillingly accepts the scientific fact of creation. He writes:

I think …that we must…admit that the only acceptable explanation is creation. I know that this is anathema to physicists, as indeed it is to me, but we must not reject that we do not like if the experimental evidence supports it

H. P. Lipson, “A Physicist Looks at Evolution”, Physics Bulletin, vol. 138, 1980, p. 138

           Besides these discoveries in cosmology astronomy and quantum physics there was the collapse of the 19^th century type theories of Darwin, Marx, Engels, Nietsche, Durkheim and Freud.

That is why some one like The American geneticist, Robert Griffiths, acknowledges this fact when he says, �If we need an atheist for a debate, I go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.�

Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, p. 123

You may now say well I don�t agree with the guys you quoted and I wouldn�t blame you because, after all I would have challenged the scientific community of the 19^th century and early 21^st century but, what fair people should agree on is that you can�t use science to prove or disprove the existence of God.

2-Rationally

 I would say that the following statement makes perfect sense  (If something exists now then something must be eternal)

Now is this God or the universe? I would say that it makes perfect sense to say it is God.

Why?

Because (amongst many other reasons I personally found the two following reasons to be most convincing):

a) We have examined this universe our selves including the most intelligent species� man� and we found it to be in need of a creator to exist and, I would say that no the same does not apply to God because, we have never seen him so, you can�t judge that which you have not seen and examined.

b) The unpredictability and arrhythmia of the natural phenomena such as wind, floods,.. Etc testifies to the existence of an intelligent being that did not only create but also is in control.

      You may like the following website www.hyahya.org

If you are interested to know why I chose Islam versus all other religions, let me know.

Regards

Hatem al-Haj

I have a practical question as a food for thought and I don’t have a good answer for it myself.
At work, by the time it is 3 PM and I still have to see few more patients, my glucose level is running low despite the ample amount of fat I have and that probably is being mobilized causing Beta oxidation and ketone production due to starvation. That increases fatigue and slows down my mind and I have made a few errors over the last few years with the patients that I have seen during that time frame. Now, on top of it, I wake up early to fulfill what you have said, I then am depriving myself of the sleep and thus worsening the issue at hand. So, do you think that those instructions were for people 1400 years ago who didn’t have issues with malpractice and being sued or does it also apply today with today’s work ethics and fast paced life and accountability.

It is just a question and only meant for me to understand life in 2008 better when comparing it to 1000 years ago. Would instructions be different today had we had a prophet come in these times.
Thanks

All Praise be to Allah, and His Peace and Blessings be on His Last Messenger.
Here are my thoughts regarding this issue:

1- The fact that we deserve more leniency than the people who lived fourteen centuries ago seems irrational to me. They lived in the desert under the scorching heat of the sun, and did harder labor, compared to any work we do.

2- The acts of worship were prescribed in a detailed way by Allah and His Messenger, to be suitable for all people at all times. They transcend time and place. The same applies to etiquettes and manners. As for transactions, important guidelines were laid down, and must not be transgressed. Yet, the details were left for the shari�a to accommodate all times and places. Allah, who sent His Messenger fourteen centuries ago, and made him the seal of all prophets and Messengers, knows more about our time, as well as all times to come, than any of us.

3- The fast pace of this life is what needs to be interrupted for times of great pauses; for man needs to contemplate the most important existential question which is the purpose of his creation. That fast pace may have brought some worldly leisure to the people who choose to be cogs in this huge machine. Yet, it never brings true happiness and contentment to them. I don�t find myself having to quote statistics here, for it is too obvious to be denied.

4- Ramadan comes once a year to assert that there is something beyond matter that is worth investing in. By man�s natural inclination, many choose to serve the physical aspect of their being all year round, and give it more attention than the other aspect. Ramadan comes to bring some balance to this equation between the body and soul. Islam, unlike other religions, does not despise the body or deny it its due rights. Yet, again, it is about the moderate balance between serving the body and serving the soul. God helps us on ourselves by making us contain our carnal desires of food and sex for the spirit to take a chance to rise to heights that it could have not risen to while being too busy in the pursuit of gathering and hoarding; the pursuit of mutual boasting and seeking of abundance.

5- As for the body, it is known that fasting has many undeniable health benefits, so the body also will benefit by denying it some of its desires during this month. It is known that energy is re-directed from the digestive system to the metabolism and immune system. The body detoxifies itself by ridding itself from the chemicals stored in the fat cells, like DDT for instance. It also heals itself while seeking energy resources. Autolysis of the weaker and abnormal cells, including overgrowths also takes place during fasting. The improved immune system, as well as increased production of hormones including the growth hormone, contributes to improving the overall health of those who fast. Note that most of the research done on this issue was conducted by non-Muslims.

6- Many people fast and have no problem maintaining their jobs. You and I are of those people. The battle of Badr was during Ramadan, and subsequently many battles were won by the Muslims during this blessed month.

7- If someone can�t work past a certain time in Ramadan, they may ask for their schedule to be changed or take their vacation during Ramadan. Devotion is about sacrifice; Allah says, “أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ.” �Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested?� [Al-Ankaboot, Chapter #29, Verse #2] We see Christian physicians take leaves of absence all the time to go on religious missions. In fact, one of my colleagues just came back from a three-months-mission.
8- If someone could not fast because of his hard labor, and could not take any time off, and had to work to suffice himself and his family, he may break the fast and make it up at some other time, and if he couldn�t because his work is continuous without vacations, then he will feed a poor person per each day he did not fast.

9- All of this ratiocination is not enough until we mention the clear proof, which is the statement of Allah: “يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ.” �O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.� (Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #183).

Now, if we agree that this speech is from Allah, then, we have to choose whether or not we are being addressed by the beginning of it.

Allah knows best.