Shirk & Idolatry in Islam

[The Cat]

The problem of Shirk in Islam is manifolds and I hope to have help on this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirk_(Islam)

We'll cover (in different posts):
1. The Shahadah and Muhammad.
2. Ibrahim the Hanif (ie. apostate of idolatry).
3. Shaytan refusing to bow to Adam.
4. Koran 12.106; --6.159; --30.32
5. How much are the Hadiths idolatrous?

1. The Shahadah and Muhammad.
Lā ilaha illa al-Lāh, Muhammadun rasūlu l-Lāh
There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

On the flag of Saudi Arabia


http://www.submission.org/true-shahada.html

To profess their faith in Islam , the Sunnis make this declaration: "I bear witness that there is no god except God and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. " (Arabic transliteration: "Ash hadu anlaa ilaaha illallaahu wa ash hadu anna muhammadar-rasulallah"). This testimony is called the Shahadah and according to Sunni belief it must be recited by every Muslim as an attestation of their allegiance to Islam. Consequently any person who does not 'bear witness' is not accepted as a Muslim by them.

To associate anything or anyone with God is known as 'shirk', the highest degree of blasphemy, which God does not forgive. This is made clear in chapter 4 verse 48. The Quran also stipulates that Muslims must profess faith in the One God and not call on anyone else. The Shahadah, therefore, cannot be the correct way to affirm faith as the name of the prophet Muhammad, besides God, is included in this attestation and also used in the salat prayers.

17:36
(O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked. (comment---You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them).

Abu Hurairah
# The Shahadah testimony that is recited by the Sunnis originates from Abu Hurairah and is recorded in the 'hadith' - the oral traditions attributed to the prophet Muhammad. The hadith given below is from "Mishkat-ul-Masabih", translation by Maulana Fazlul Karim, Volume 1, Chapter 1, no.27. (Published by the Book House, Lahore, Pakistan). As there are a many versions of this hadith, the collections of Tirmidzi should also be read.

# The hadith regarding the Shahadah says: One day Abu Hurairah went to the people and told them that the Messenger had authorized him to go and tell them to recite the Shahadah "ash hadu anlaa ilaha illallhu wa ash hadu anna muhammadar-rasulullah". Another version reads " muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu". The first person Abu Hurairah came across to give the Shahadah was Saidina Omar (later the second caliph). When Omar heard it he promptly punched Abu Hurairah in the chest and knocked him to the ground. Then Omar put his foot on Abu Hurairah's neck and asked him how dare he utter such a blasphemy.

# Abu Hurairah (who is recorded in the hadith as having received quite a few beatings from Omar during his lifetime) then cried out and named the Messenger as his authority. When again challenged by Saidina Omar, Abu Hurairah pulled out a pair of leather slippers and showed them to Omar. The slippers, he said, were given to him by the Prophet, as proof for what he was saying. Recognizing the prophet's slippers, Omar simmered down. Everyone then happily started reciting the shahadah. This most incredible story is the background. (...)

# Abu Hurairah's ridiculous fable not only contradicts the above verse but also contradicts Sura 6:51 where God tells the Messenger (and by implication the companions and whomever the Quran reaches): [6:51] And preach with this (Quran) to those who reverence the summoning before their Lord - they have none beside Him as a Lord and Master, nor an intercessor - that they may attain salvation.

# Instead Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet handed over his pair of slippers to him and told him to preach with the slippers in hand as proof of authenticity. By his confession Abu Hurairah was beaten by Omar, who argued with the Prophet and said that the Shahadah was unwise. Does the basis of a Muslim's faith rest on such an absurd tale? Surely this cannot be part of Islam, which is based on reason and logic?

# No one seems to know the correct identity of this Abu Hurairah even today scholars cannot agree on his real name. Despite there being a hadith (also attributed to Abu Hurairah) that we should not call people by nicknames, Abu Hurairah is itself a nickname which means "the Father of Cats". So the originator of the Sunni Shahadah was an unknown man who was attacked unceremoniously by another companion of the Messenger! It is now apparent that there is significant evidence to show that the Shahadah testimony of the Sunni people has a very dubious background based on ludicrous hadith falsely attributed to the prophet Muhammad whom they claim to love!

# How then does Abu Hurairah's Shahadah contradict the Prophet's true teachings? The Quran was revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad who then passed on this message, first to the companions and then to the rest of the people. Besides being God's own revelation, the Quran represents what was actually said by the prophet Muhammad. Anyone who rejects this simple fact cannot at all claim to be a Muslim.

# So what did God commanded the Messenger to tell us?
72:18 The places of worship belong to GOD; do not call on anyone else beside GOD.

# However, in the Shahadah of Abu Hurairah, the Sunnis call on the Messenger as well as God. The Sunni scholars will argue that the mention of the Messenger's name is only out of respect. But then in the same breath, they will insist that the salat prayer to God Almighty is nullified if the prophet Muhammad's name is not mentioned in the Shahadah during the salat prayer. This is tantamount to idolatry as associating another person with God is committing 'shirk' the unforgivable offence.

39:45 And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter are repelled, and when those (whom they worship) beside Him are mentioned, behold! they are glad.

9:102 And (there are) others who have acknowledged their faults. They mixed a righteous action with another that was bad. It may be that Allah will relent toward them. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

God is enough as a Witness
# Again God says that His own witness is enough: "Say, Whose testimony is the greatest'' Say, "God's (testimony is the greatest). HE IS THE WITNESS BETWEEN ME AND YOU that this Quran has been inspired to me, to preach it to you and whomever it reaches.." Sura, 6:19. Because "... God suffices as a witness..." Sura 4:79 and 4:166., the Shahadah as proclaimed by Abu Hurairah is therefore a lie – a fabrication by whoever wrote the 'hadith'.

# Despite the evidence of the Quran, which no Muslim will deny is the truest teaching of the Messenger, the hypocrites insist on bearing witness to Muhammad's Messengership. They insist on bearing witness when God says He needs no other witness apart from Himself.

# Most importantly, the Shahadah of Abu Hurairah, by its purpose, goes against Sura 72:18 and Sura 39:45 in that it associates the Messenger's name with God. Without bearing witness on the Messenger, the Sunnis say that the salat prayer and faith are void. Even though by evidence from the Quran this is shown to be idol-worship, "shirk" of the highest order. Each time people say the Sunni Shahadah they are committing idol-worship, "shirk", the unpardonable blasphemy for which they may burn in hell.

It truly looks like most self-called Muslims are rather Mohammedans.

46:9 Say: I am no new thing among the messengers (of Allah), nor know I what will be done
with me or with you. I do but follow that which is inspired in me, and I am but a plain warner.

33:45 O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner.
33:46 And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light.

10:105-6 And, (O Muhammad) set thy purpose resolutely for religion, as a man by nature upright,
and be not of those who ascribe partners (to Allah). And cry not, beside Allah, unto that which
cannot profit thee nor hurt thee, for if thou didst so then wert thou of the wrong-doers.

6:51 Warn hereby those who fear (because they know) that they will be gathered unto their Lord,
for whom there is no protecting ally nor intercessor beside Him, that they may ward off (evil).

4:48 Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will.
Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin.

72:18 And the places of worship are only for Allah, so pray not unto anyone along with Allah.


Islam's Other God.
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification1.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification2.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification3.html
http://answer-islam.org/MoDeification4.html

AhmedBaghat brought some courageous and daring topic on this...
In the Old Forum: Al Mushrikoon Exposed
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38763
On the Shahada
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewt ... 019#777019

In the new one:
viewtopic.php?p=14787#p14787
viewtopic.php?p=14788#p14788


For comments, please open a thread in the 'Islam Questioned & Defended' Main.
I'll complete this as time allows...

[The Cat]

1. The Shahadah and Muhammad. (-II-)
The Medina Prophet isn't the same as the former...

In surah 33.28-60 (Chr.90th), on Muhammad and Zainab,
we clearly see how Allah becomes & acts as his alter ego.


Then, as soon as we turn into the Hadiths, the Deification of Muhammad is quite defined...

Abul Kasem's Bismi Allah, part 10.
Muhammad is Allah (a must see, loaded with quotes)
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index. ... e&sid=1273

Allah loves to please only Muhammad.
Do not laugh when you read the above caption. It was not the duty of Muhammad to please Allah, it was the other way around,—Allah rushed to please Muhammad. Here are a few verses to demonstrate how desperate was Allah to delight Muhammad.

Muhammad could change his rotation system with his wives as he wished; he is free to have sex with any women with whom he had previous separation (Allah did this to please Muhammad)...33:51

Allah's angels send blessings to Muhammad; all believers must also send blessings to Muhammad (i.e. they must say peace be upon him after his name is uttered)…33:56

Allah curses those who annoy Muhammad; there is a humiliating punishment for annoying Muhammad (death for blaspheming Muhammad)…33:57. Allah has cooled Muhammad's temper and purified his heart (removed his sins)...94:1-2


Sahih Bukhari tells us that Allah hurries to please Muhammad (Sahih Bukhari, 7.62.48): Narrated Hisham's father: Khaula bint Hakim was one of those ladies who presented themselves to the Prophet for marriage. 'Aisha said, "Doesn't a lady feel ashamed for presenting herself to a man?" But when the Verse: "(O Muhammad) You may postpone (the turn of) any of them (your wives) that you please,' (33.51) was revealed, " 'Aisha said, 'O Allah's Apostle! I do not see, but, that your Lord hurries in pleasing you.'"

Part 10 (ii): The Shahadah
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index. ... e&sid=1292

The foundation of Islamic belief is Sahada or a declaration that No god is to be worshipped except Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger (La Ilah Ila Allah, Muhammadur Rasul Allah).

Please note that if a convert pronounces in the presence of two Muslim witnesses the first part of Sahad only, he does not become a Muslim. To be a Muslim he/she must declare the first and the second part of Sahada concurrently. Thus, Muhammad and Allah are welded together in the Islamic Sahada, in an inseparable bond. Verses 37:35 and 47:19 contain the first part of Sahada and verse 48:29 contains the second part of Sahada (strange indeed, there is no verse in the Qur’an which contain both parts in one verse). (...)

Annoy Muhammad and you annoy Allah—get beheaded
Read the following verses to find the closeness of Muhammad to Allah. According to these verses, Allah, in fact, became Muhammad (or the other way round, if you do not mind). Allah stipulated that if anyone annoyed Muhammad, it was as if he had annoyed or insulted Allah. Let us read the following verses from the Qur’an.

Do not raise voice above the voice of Muhammad; do not shout at him; it is like shouting at Allah...49:2

Allah forgives those who talk to Muhammad in a lower voice...49:3

Affirming that insulting/criticising (even mild) Muhammad was indeed tantamount to debasing Allah, He legislated terrible punishment for those who dare to indulge in uttering any words which might offend Muhammad (and Muslims). Here are sample retribution of Allah to the detractors of Muhammad (= Allah).

Criticise Muhammad, get killed or get crucified, no exception (Ash Shifa). Ibn Sahnun says that when a heretic reviles the Prophet and then repents having done it, his repentance does not prevent him from being executed. (Ash Shifa, Tr. Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley p 402).

The one who curses the Prophet is not killed for his disbelief. He is killed in order to preserve esteem for the Prophet and to free him from any blemish. (ibid). Muhammad ibn Sahnun said, “A Muslim does not escape execution by repentance when he has cursed the Prophet because he did not change from his deen to another deen. He did something which entails the hadd punishment of execution. Unlike the zindiqi, there is no pardon for it because he did not move outwardly from one deen to another deen. (ibid, p 403).

He is an unbeliever if he calls the Prophet a liar, rejects him or anything of that nature. This is something about which there is no doubt and which incurs execution. If he repents of it, we do not accept his repentance and we kill him after he has repented. His execution in this case is for a hadd because of what he has said for his earlier disbelief. After this his affair is in the hands of Allah who is aware of the soundness of his renunciation And knows his secret thoughts. (ibid, p 404 405). The community agree that anyone among the Muslims who disparages him or curses him is to be killed. (ibid p 371). (Based on 33:57, 9:51, 33:53).

Note: Surahs quoted here are all late Medina (33=90th; 47=95th; 48=111th; 49=106th; 9=113th).

Islamic reaction over the Danish cartoons controversy: Annihilate, exterminate, behead, massacre...



Part 10 (iii)
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index. ... e&sid=1312

The believers should obey Allah and Muhammad, lest Allah nullifies their works (obeying Muhammad is obeying Allah)…47:33

You must not hesitate to believe in Allah when Muhammad instructs you to do so…57:8
Obey Allah and his messenger (Muhammad); the duty of Muhammad is to proclaim the message of Allah clearly and openly...64:12
Believers must obey Muhammad and trust him; angels do…81:21

Muhammad's invocation is same as Allah's invocation... (Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.634).

Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 634:
Narrated Ibn Abbas: Allah's Apostle said to Muadh bin Jabal when he sent him to Yemen. "You will come to the people of Scripture, and when you reach them, invite them to testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is His Apostle. And if they obey you in that, then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers to be performed every day and night. And if they obey you in that, then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them Sadaqa (i.e. Rakat) to be taken from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them. And if they obey you in that, then be cautious! Don't take their best properties (as Zakat) and be afraid of the curse of an oppressed person as there is no screen between his invocation and Allah. (...)

In verse 4:150 151 Allah admonished those Muslims who had slight doubt that Allah and Muhammad were one and the same. Sounding stern warning, Allah told these Muslims that Muhammad and Allah is the same entity. Then Allah threatened those who differentiate between Allah and Muhammad. Let us read these two important verses.

4:150. Verily, those who disbelieve in Allâh and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allâh and His Messengers (by believing in Allâh and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, "We believe in some but reject others," and wish to adopt a way in between. 4:151. They are in truth disbelievers. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating torment. (Tr. Hilali and Khan, the Noble Qur’an).

Ibn Kathir writes that in those two verses Allah threatens those who differentiate between Allah and Muhammad.

Surahs written in Medina: 4=92th; 47=95th; 57=94th; 64=108th. No coincidence possible anymore!


A symbol of freedom and honor?


Emancipator of slavery?


Most honest man that has ever lived?


To insult the Prophet is to wage war against Islam.


39:44-45: Say: Unto Allah belongeth all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. And afterward
unto Him ye will be brought back. And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who believe not in the Hereafter
are repelled, and when those (whom they worship) beside Him are mentioned, behold! they are glad.

See also: -2.152; -3.144; -4.113; -10.35-36; -14.22; -42.21; -46.9.

Answering-Islam on the Shahadah:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Index/S/shahada.html
Sam Shamoun's articles:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/real_shahada.htm
Muhammad and Idolatry
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/idolatry.htm

Abraham would never have placed a black idol for his descendants to kiss, especially in light of the fact that one of his descendants received divine commands forbidding the honoring of any visible object:
(...) Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars - all the heavenly array - do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshipping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. Deuteronomy 4:15-19

Hence, the true God of Abraham would never send a black stone for his followers to kiss.

NOTE: the whole serial of Abul Kasem's Bismi Allah can be found (amongst so many others) here:
http://www.news.faithfreedom.org/index. ... d=4&page=1

[The Cat]

2. Ibrahim the Hanif (ie. apostate of idolatry).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanif

The former concept of Islam was that of Abraham the Hanif and a whole sura is named after him (14=72th).
In Islam, the concept of prophethood is centered around those who rejected the idolatry of their own time.
In the beginning, Muhammad seemed to be much influenced by Zayd bin Amr bin Naufal & Waraqa B. Naufal.


Who authored the Quran? -An Enquiry (by Abul Kasem): Zayd bin Amr bin Naufal
Excerpts, edition in paragraphs only.
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/Ab ... 1205p2.htm

During Muhammad’s time, a religious movement to counter paganism was taking shape. Led by a group of ‘freethinkers’, this group rejected paganism, and to fulfil their spiritual needs they were searching for an alternative religion. They were known as Hanifites or simply as Hanifs.

The Dictionary of Islam (Hughes Dictionary of Islam, pp.161-162) writes that the original meaning of Hanif was a convert or a pervert [sort of apostate--to say]. The other meanings of Hanif are:
1. Any one sincere in his inclination to Islam
2. One orthodox in the faith
3. One who is of the religion of Abraham.

W. St. Clair-Tisdall (The Sources of Islam, The Origins of the Koran, p.289 writes: ’The word Hanif, indeed, originally signified “unclean” or “apostate,” and was so used by the idolatrous Arabs of Zaid, because he abandoned the worship of gods.’

Muhammad later used the word Hanif, first for the religion of Abraham, then for any sincere believer of Islam. Thus the Muslims are supposed to be Hanifs—and truly speaking, the followers of Zayd! In the same essay W. St. Clair-Tisdal (ibid)) writes further, “The name pleased the Prophet and was used by him in a good sense.”

According to Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, p.99) the most famous of those apostates (Hanifs) in Mecca during Muhammad’s time were:
1. Waraqa b. Naufal: he became a Christian.
2. Ubaydullah b. Jahsh: he became a Christian after migrating to Abyssinia.
---His wife was Umm Habiba d. Abu Sufyan whom Muhammad married later.
3. Uthman b. al-Huwayrith. He later went to the Byzantine emperor and became a Christian.
4. Zayd b. Amr b. Naufal left paganism saying that he worshipped the God of Abraham.

Waraqa was the cousin brother of Khadijah, Muhammad’s first wife. Some authors suggest that he was a Jew before embracing Christianity. Ubaydullah was the grandson of Abd al-Muttalib and Uthman b. al-Huwayrith was offered a high position in the Byzantine court of Syria. Only Zayd b. Amr remained a diehard Hanif. He used to say (ibid, p.287), “I worship the god of Abraham,” but he blamed his people for having chosen the evil ways. According to W. St. Clair-Tisdal (The Sources of Islam, The Origins of the Koran, pp.229-230) Zayd worshipped yearly in a cave near Mecca, and no doubt influenced Muhammad who used to visit the same place for quiet and lonely contemplation. (...)

As written previously, because of his uncompromising stand on Hanifite movement and because of his deriding remarks on paganism, the Quraysh expelled Zayd b. Amr from Mecca and he was forbidden to live there. He was a severely ostracised person, boycotted and utterly disdained by the larger section of the Quraysh. He had to live in the cave of mount Hira, opposite the city. Muhammad, being a forlorn person at that time used to meet Zayd in the cave of Hira .

Ibn Ishaq also writes that Gabriel used to visit Muhammad at the Hira cave. When we consider the fact that on many instances Muhammad had confessed that Gabriel, on many occasions, had met Muhammad in the form of human beings it is quite likely that when Muhammad visited Zayd b. Amr many times to learn about the new religion of the ‘Hanif’ he might have thought Zayd to be the angel Gabriel. It is also quite probable that Zayd b. Amr took an interest in teaching Muhammad how to read (and write)—his poetry (or verses) that later became Qur’anic verses!

Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, p.105) writes that Muhammad used to pray in seclusion in Hira every year for a month to practice ‘tahnanuth’, a pagan practice (thus confirming again Muhammad’s pagan background). According to the Quraysh, ‘tahannuth’ meant religious devotion.

Sahih Bukhari confirms that Muhammad had encountered Zayd b. Amr in the Valley of Hira Mountain (then quoting Bukhari 7.64.407 & 5.58.169 where he refused to eat meat of animals sacrificed to idols brought by Muhammad) (...)

The second Hadis apparently contradicts the first Hadis (7.67.407) on Muhammad’s consumption of ‘pagan’ or Haram meat. However, a little thought on this Hadis evidently shows that Muhammad followed Zayd with respect to Halal meat, and from Zayd he also obtained the idea of Allah to be his (Muhammad’s) God. Can we not, therefore, conclude that the idea of Islam really came from Zayd? In the biography of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, pp.100-102) we find several verses of poetry written by Zayd that are quite similar to some verses of the Qur’an. Therefore, isn’t it sufficient to say that after the sudden, mysterious and untimely killing of Zayd Muhammad took up his mantle, philosophy, poetry and the zeal to propagate ‘Hanifism’?

Verses influenced by Zayd bin Amr bin Naufal and the concept of Hanifism (apart from sura 14, or 72th).
Abul Kasem notes that many times the word Allah was written instead of the original koranic 'Haneefan',
or DIN (deen, the righteous path) instead of the original Hunafaa. The verses he mentioned are:
2.135
3.67
3.95
4.125
6.161
6.79
10.105
16.120
22.31
30.30
98.5
+ Condemnation of the burying alive of female infants, also from Zayd:
16.58; --17.31; --81.8-9.

Overlook and definition
http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/Hanif/165495
From answers.com
http://www.answers.com/topic/hanif
Hanif Islam
http://www.hanif-islam.com/
Koranic 'Din' & 'Millet' (lifeway) is not a religion (muzdhab isn't found in the Koran).
http://www.wakeup.org/anadolu/02/3/din_quran.html
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedi ... rabic-term)

Islam 101: A Lexicon for Dummies (by The Cat)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34806

Hanif: Pejorative expression used by the Meccans to talk about the freethinkers of their time, those who rejected their polytheism, branding themselves as somehow 'Apostates (quiters) of idolatry''. Many quranic verses talk about Ibrahim (Abraham) the Hanif. Muslims took over this expression and made it highly qualitative while still killing their own apostates and freethinkers. In their bloody expansion, Muslims spared the city of Harran (658) and recognized them as 'Hanifs'. It is also through this Hanif sparing that the obligation to kill Hindus was levelled... for practical (taxes) reasons, not humanitarians nor in conformity with any Islamic standard. See Idolatry and One (God).

It's clear to me that the former intent of Islam has been perverted into the Cult of Muhammad for imperialist purposes.
In the former DIN of Islam, Ibrahim was the perfect example to be followed in righteousness, NOT Muhammad.

So the Koran states!
2:124 And (remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with (His) commands, and he fulfilled them, He said: Lo! I have appointed thee a leader for mankind. (Abraham) said: And of my offspring (will there be leaders) ? He said: My covenant includeth not wrong-doers.

2:130 And who forsaketh the religion of Abraham save him who befooleth himself? Verily We chose him in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he is among the righteous.

2:131 When his Lord said unto him: Surrender! he said: I have surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.

2:132 The same did Abraham enjoin upon his sons, and also Jacob, (saying): O my sons! Lo! Allah hath chosen for you the (true) religion; therefore die not save as men who have surrendered (unto Him).

2:133 Or were ye present when death came to Jacob, when he said unto his sons: What will ye worship after me ? They said: We shall worship thy God, the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God, and unto Him we have surrendered.

2:134 Those are a people who have passed away. Theirs is that which they earned, and yours is that which ye earn. And ye will not be asked of what they used to do.

2:135 And they say: Be Jews or Christians, then ye will be rightly guided. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Nay, but (we follow) the religion of Abraham, the upright, and he was not of the idolaters.

2:136 Say (O Muslims): We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered.

2:137 And if they believe in the like of that which ye believe, then are they rightly guided. But if they turn away, then are they in schism, and Allah will suffice thee (for defence) against them. He is the Hearer, the Knower.

73 sects of Islam (by Sahara)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26630
Muhammad is more important than Allah (by Truth Seeker)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45046

[The Cat]

3. Shaytan not bowing to Adam

The thing about the Islamic Adam which blows my mind though is that Allah ordered Shaytan to bow to him.
That comes down to give Allah a partner, which is totally against the fundamental Islamic precept -shirk-.
Thus, condemning Shaytan because he refused to bow and worship Adam... Allah becomes heretical to Islam!

Muslims will argue that to bow is not necessarily to worship. But 2.43 seems to say they can mean the same...
2:43 Establish worship, pay the poor-due, and bow your heads with those who bow (in worship -added-).

The story gets tricky when we wonder if Shaytan was an angel or a jinn.
An angel as per 2.34; 7.11; 15.28-31; 20.116 and 38.71-74?
or a jinn according to 7.12; 18.50 and 38.76?

The Maze
Angels having no free wills couldn't refuse anything to Allah. Only Humans and Jinns have free wills.
In refusing to bow to Adam, Iblis is using such free will, thus can't be an angel. But, if a Jinn, than
the order is not addressing to him but to angels and thus his punishment becomes utterly unjust.

To avoid the dilemma in 18.50, Muslims scholars will say that he became a Jinn when refusing.
But it doesn't solve to problem of angels having no free will, unable to refuse anything at first!
Jinns are reputed to have been created from fire, while angels were created from light...

Now, that story of Iblis having to bow to Adam was copied from a Jewish apocrypha...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_and_the_Qur'an

In the Qur'an, Satan originally has favor with God. When God creates Adam, he commands all the angels to bow to him. Satan refuses to bow to Adam and is therefore rebuked by God. The apocryphal Jewish work Life of Adam and Eve also contains this narrative.

Qur'an 15:28: Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud moulded into shape; "When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him." So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together: Not so Iblis: he refused to be among those who prostrated themselves. (God) said: "O Iblis! what is your reason for not being among those who prostrated themselves?" (Iblis) said: "I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape."

The Life of Adam and Eve
Then Michael came; he summoned all the troops of angels and told them, "Bow down before the likeness and the image of the divinity." And then, when Michael summoned them and all had bowed down to you, he summoned me [Satan] also. And I told him, "Go away from me, for I shall not bow down to him who is younger than me; indeed, I am master prior to him and it is proper for him to bow down to me.”

Answering-Islam
http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Zw ... chap10.htm

The date of this apocryphal book of Adam, which is of uncertain origin, is put by Hort “not earlier than the first century A . D ., nor later than the fourth century.” The author, or authors, were Jewish Hellenists. A version of it in Syriac, The Cave of Treasure, appeared in the sixth century. There were early versions also of this Life of Adam in Arabic, Ethiopic, and Armenian, which indicate the early spread of the story regarding the worship of Adam by the angels.

Summing up the evidence, therefore, it seems that there are two cycles of legends behind the Koran narrative: the one dealing with the objection to the creation of Adam on the part of some angels, of which the original is found in Jewish sources: the other telling of Satan’s refusal to worship Adam, which appears to be extra-Talmudic and Christian.10 Mohammed and the later compilers of Moslem tradition confused the two, and it is from looking at the remains of the independent accounts that we are able to reconstruct the whole in its original form.

The Tagleeb rule of Shakir Naik
Additionally, says Wikipedia, some confusion comes from the Qur'anic passage because in it God speaks to the angels, implying that Satan is an angel while elsewhere in Islam Satan is called a jinn instead, this is because of the grammatical rule called tagleeb in the arabic language, in which the majority in a certain area gets the noun. For example, if in a room there is 100 boys and one girl, the tagleeb rule applies all in the room as boys because they are the majority but the girl is still a girl, thus when God says to the angels "Prostrate" Satan was in the area but is not an angel.

Now, that rule of tagleeb is itself pretty shaky when one analyzes the implication.
It was brought forth by Sakir Naik, but it is plainly a fallacy of false analogy.
http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/iblis.html

It is obvious that the girl in Naik's analogy falls under the same general category of classmates and children, so a reference to boys can include her since the term boys wouldn't be gender specific in this case. (But even that would have to be gleaned from the context in which the word is being used since you may have a class which is made up of entirely boys). The mention of boys in this context would be a general statement referring to a group consisting of young children and schoolmates. The term would therefore include all the persons which would fall under that category, irrespective of gender.

Hence, the only way Naik’s example could serve as a valid analogy is if we were to take for granted that Iblis belongs to the same category of angels. But arguing this way leaves us with the problem of Iblis disobeying Allah when the Quran says that angels are never disobedient.

The Story of Satan refusing to bow to Adam is also found in the Book of Enoch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve

Adam takes a prominent role in Islamic traditions concerning the fall of Shaytan(Satan), which is not recorded in the Torah, but in the Book of Enoch which is used in Oriental Orthodox churches. In these, when God announces his intention of creating Adam, some of the angels express dismay, asking why he would create a being that would do evil. Teaching Adam the names reassures the angels as to Adam's abilities, though commentators dispute which particular names were involved; various theories say they were the names of all things animate and inanimate, the names of the angels, the names of his own descendants, or the names of God.

When God orders the angels to bow to Adam one of those present, Shaytan Iblis in Islam, a Djinn who said "why should I bow to man, I am made of pure fire"), refuses due to his pride, and is summarily banished from the Heavens. Liberal movements within Islam have viewed God's commanding the angels to bow before Adam as an exaltation of humanity, and as a means of supporting human rights, others view it as an act of showing Adam that the biggest enemy of humans on earth will be their ego.

Allah, Adam & The Angels
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/ ... angels.htm

...after using deception to silence the angels Allah then proceeds to command the angels to worship the man. This command to worship was obviously the result of the man having bested them by naming the things which Allah had personally taught him. We therefore need to ask, why make angels worship Adam for being able to name things that they couldn't when the man only knew these names as a result of Allah having taught them to him? And why is Allah commanding them to bow down to Adam, a creature, when it is absolutely forbidden to do so in Islam? If it is argued that the prostration signified respect and not worship then why are such acts of respect forbidden in Islam today? (...)

The late Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote in his Quranic translation: 50a. Iblis is one of the jinn or the evil spirits, so it is an error to take him for an angel or a good spirit. The spirit of evil is always rebellious, and it is against this that man is warned, so that he should resist every evil tendency. --Why then does Allah blame Iblis for not obeying a command directed to angels, not to the jinn?

Adam & Eve, the first polytheists?
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/ ... _shirk.htm

I leave you the pleasure of discovering another formative shirk in the wild theology of Islam...

[The Cat]

4. Around --12.106; --6.121 & 6.159; --30.32
In all honesty, I must thanks AhmedBahgat for his outstanding probity on this crucial matter.

a. Context and chronological order.
Surah 12 (Chr. 53th)
12:104 Thou askest them no fee for it. It is naught else than a reminder unto the peoples

12:105 How many a portent is there in the heavens and the earth which they pass by with face averted!

12:106 And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners (unto Him). 12:107 Deem they themselves secure from the coming on them of a pall of Allah's punishment, or the coming of the Hour suddenly while they are unaware ?

12:108 Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge. I and whosoever followeth me - Glory be to Allah! - and I am not of the idolaters.

12:111 In their history verily there is a lesson for men of understanding. It is no invented story but a confirmation of the existing (Scripture) and a detailed explanation of everything, and a guidance and a mercy for folk who believe.

----------------------
Surah 6 (Chr. 55th)
6:112 Thus have We appointed unto every prophet an adversary - devils of humankind and jinn, who inspire in one another plausible discourse through guile. If thy Lord willed, they would not do so; so leave them alone with their devising;

6:121 And eat not of that whereon Allah's name hath not been mentioned, for lo! it is abomination. Lo! the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters.

6:123 And thus have We made in every city great ones of its wicked ones, that they should plot therein. They do but plot against themselves, though they perceive not.

6:130 O ye assembly of the jinn and humankind! Came there not unto you messengers of your own who recounted unto you My tokens and warned you of the meeting of this your Day ? They will say: We testify against ourselves. And the life of the world beguiled them. And they testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.

6:148 They who are idolaters will say: Had Allah willed, we had not ascribed (unto Him) partners neither had our fathers, nor had we forbidden aught. Thus did those who were before them give the lie (to Allah's messengers) till they tasted of the fear of Us. Say: Have ye any knowledge that ye can adduce for Us ? Lo! ye follow naught but an opinion, Lo! ye do but guess.

6:149 Say - For Allah's is the final argument - Had He willed He could indeed have guided all of you.

6:159 Lo! As for those who sunder their religion and become schismatics, no concern at all hast thou with them. Their case will go to Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do.

6:161 Say: Lo! As for me, my Lord hath guided me unto a straight path, a right religion, the community of Abraham, the upright, who was no idolater. 6:162 Say: Lo! my worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. 6:163 He hath no partner. This am I commanded, and I am first of those who surrender (unto Him).

-----------------------
Surah 30 (Chr.84th)
30:28 He coineth for you a similitude of yourselves. Have ye, from among those whom your right hands possess, partners in the wealth We have bestowed upon you, equal with you in respect thereof, so that ye fear them as ye fear each other (that ye ascribe unto Us partners out of that which We created) ? Thus We display the revelations for people who have sense.

30:29 Nay, but those who do wrong follow their own lusts without knowledge. Who is able to guide him whom Allah hath sent astray ? For such there are no helpers.

30:30 So set thy purpose (O Muhammad) for religion as a man by nature upright - the nature (framed) of Allah, in which He hath created man. There is no altering (the laws of) Allah's creation. That is the right religion, but most men know not -

30:31 Turning unto Him (only); and be careful of your duty unto Him and establish worship, and be not of those who ascribe partners (unto Him); 30:32 Of those who split up their religion and became schismatics, each sect exulting in its tenets.

30:33 And when harm toucheth men they cry unto their Lord, turning to Him in repentance; then, when they have tasted of His mercy, behold! some of them attribute partners to their Lord.

________________________
b. Links and argumentations
Question regarding Mushriks (Q.12.106, by Aksel Ankersen)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57181

Does becoming a mushrik automatically make one a kaffir, according to Koran?
Regarding Koran, Sura 12 verse 106: ومايؤمن اكثرهم بالله الا وهم مشركون

-----answered by AhmedBahgat-----
The verse is clearly talking in general, it is not related to any specific story during the prophet, it came at the end of sura 12 which was dedicated fully to the story of Yusuf, this means the verse is talking generally about most "Akthar" of the believers in Allah "Yumin Bi Allah", i.e. the verse is covering anyone who claims to believe in Allah, in fact I only see the verse applying to the Muslims because the Christians and the Jews claim that their gods are not Allah, this leads to that most Muslims are Mushrikoon, while it sound shocking, it is very real and truthful, look around you and you should see most Muslims are mushrikoon:

1) They take religious laws from humans and force others to obey as if it is from Allah.
2) One of these religious laws is considered the first pillar of Islam despite that Allah never mentioned it in the Quran, the shahada, it was only based on some hearsay hadith by the doubtful Abu Hurairah, this shahada is nothing but mentioning other names next to Allah name all the times, even when they say, good bye.

An Exegesis of Shirk in Islam, by AhmedBahgat!
Obeying others is enough to constitute SHIRK, by AhmedBahgat.
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52727

(On 6.121): --Allah is informing us what the Shaitans from the Jinn will do to other Jinns and humans: وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَآئِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ, i.e. and most surely the Shaitans suggest to their guardians that they should contend with you, the guardians who contend with us in here must be the humans, because the Jinn whom we can't see can't contend with us, i.e. the Shaitans from the Jinn are only suggesting for their Awliaa (their guardians) to contend with the believers, now if the believers follow other humans who are contending with them, then the believers are Mushrikoon, see h0ow Allah said it next: وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ, i.e. and if you obey them, you shall most surely be polytheists.

How clear is that brother?, well it's clear that committing shirk is not by only taking others as gods, rather there is a more common type of shirk, which is to obey others in religious laws (being flawed or dandy) which were never sanctioned by Allah.

(On 12.106): -- See: And most of them do not believe in Allah unless they are polytheists., we are talking here about those polytheist WHO BELIEVE IN ALLAH, i.e. 12:106 must cover the Muslims who claim to believe in Allah, i.e. Most Muslims are polytheists.

(On 30.30-31): --In verse 30:30 Allah is telling any believer what he/she should be doing in this life: Then set your face upright for the religion, the nature of Allah in which He has created the people;, the problem is, most of the people don’t really know that what Allah is telling us about our religion is very valuable: there is no altering of creation of Allah'; that is the valuable religion, but most of the people do not know,, see how Allah is telling us that most of the people don’t know that this religion sent to us is very valuable.

-> In the next verse 30:31 Allah continued to tell us what the believers should be doing: Turning to Him, and fear Him and stand up for the prayer, then Allah issued His very common warning: وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ , Wa La Takunu Min Al Mushrikeen i.e. and be not of the polytheists, , now, the next verse is the rest of this warning, the next verse simply describes Al Mushrikoon further: مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا , i.e. Of those who divided their religion and became sects, see. Let me put it to you together:

وَلَا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ, مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا
Which means: and be not of the polytheists, of those who divided their religion and became sects.

This means that any Muslim who boast about following any sect MUST BE A MUSHRIK according to 30:31-32, any sect follower with no exception to any sect, a sunni, a shia, an ahmadi, a bahai, etc etc, all of them are Mushrikoon, they just don’t know it, see how verse 30:32 ended by telling us a clear fact about those sects: every sect with what is with them is rejoicing , how clear is that, indeed every sect being a sunni a shia or whatever is rejoicing with what is with them, what is with them is nothing but their man made crap which was invented to suit their low desires while at the same time detesting the man made teachings which other sects stand for: every sect with what is with them is rejoicing.

http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewt ... 53#1066353
(On 21.98 and 37.22-23): --Many including Muslims think that physically worshipping another entity as a god is the only thing that constitute Shirk, but I firmly believe that this is not the only case to constitute Shirk (...) If you choose to ignore God proposition and obey satan proposition then you have shirked and worshipped/served satan because part of worshipping/serving God is to obey His messages, therefore if you obey others who order you to do the opposite to what the God orders you to do then you have shirked. See, even though those Mushrikoon don’t consider satan as a god they still obeyed him in a proposition which was the opposite to what Allah said.

(On 35.6): --Please pay attention to the words: ” He only invites his adherents, that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire.”, this is the only thing satan can do, he can only invite them so they become his companions in the blazing fire, I have to say, these words: ” إِنَّمَا يَدْعُو حِزْبَهُ”, which was translated as “ He only invites his adherents”, are translated wrong, the word ”Hizb” means ”Party”, i.e. Satan calls his party, which is the opposite to Hizb Allah which means the Party of Allah...

Continued
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewt ... 54#1066354

The 73 sects of Islam (by Sahara)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26630

Added from: Exposing a Hadith worshipper (by AhmedBahgat)
viewtopic.php?p=19631#p19631
viewtopic.php?p=19632#p19632
viewtopic.php?p=19872#p19872

I think AB should work out a detailed booklet on this, something like:
An Exegesis Of Shirk In Islam, ...otherwise another one will steal it!

[The Cat]

5. How much are the Hadiths idolatrous?
The Shirk of Making An Idol Out Of A Prophet through the Hadiths.


35:40 Say: Have ye seen your partner-gods to whom ye pray beside Allah ? Show me what they created of the earth!
Or have they any portion in the heavens ? Or have We given them a scripture so they act on clear proof therefrom ?
Nay, the evil-doers promise one another only to deceive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadith
History of the Hadiths
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hadith
Incredible Hadiths (by froggy)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13509
Islam 101: A Lexicon For Dummies (by The Cat)
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34806

Hadiths (ahadiths): Mohammed's lifestories recognized as authentics: they do establish the perfect examples set by the Prophet, to be followed by all true Muslims though there were none before a hundred and fifty years after the death of Mohammed. Still to reject the Hadiths, as many western Muslims dare to do, is definitively heretical by all Islamic standards. Example of Hadith: ''The Prophet ordered for some iron pieces to be made red hot, and their eyes were branded with them and their hands and feet were cut off and were not cauterized. Then they were put in a place called al-Harra, and when they asked for water to drink they were not given till they died'' (Bukhari v8, b82n796). Those heretics, disbelievers or doubters of Hadiths, are named Munkareen al-Hadith and should be killed. See Hypocrites, Islam (history), Moderate Muslims, Mohammed (historical), etc.

Islam (history): We simply have no internal testimonies of anything related to Islam before -692AD- and no manuscripts at all (Qur'an or Hadiths) before around 800AD. We have none of the alleged texts from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Abu Musa, Zaid ibn Thabit or Ubayy bin Ka'b, not even an original of the alleged 'Uthmaic Recension.' The disintegrated argument doesn't stand since we have plenty of documents, lest important, prior to that. The more time elapsed, the more knowledge of Mohammed we have! For example, al-Wakidi (d.950) gives many informations ignored by Ibn Hisham (d.834). Al-Bukhari, it is said, kept 7397 Hadiths over 600,000 meaning that 592,603 of them (99%) were false and so scraped. Where did those 600,000 Hadiths came from? Who told al-Bukhari which ones were correct, and why? But, without the Hadiths, the Qur'an stands as an atoll in the Pacific! The very name of Mohammed is only mentioned 4 times therein! See Mecca and Mohammed (historical).

Mohammed (historical): Nothing is ascertained about the historical Mohammed, who looks more like the built-up of professional story-tellers (à la Robin Hood) than factual reality. --''The Prophet Muhammad died in 632 C.E. The earliest material on his life that we possess was written by Ibn Ishaq in 750 C.E., in other words, a hundred twenty years after Muhammad’s death. The question of authenticity becomes even more critical, because the original form of Ibn Ishaq’s work is lost and is only available in parts in a later recension by Ibn Hisham who died in 834 C.E., two hundred years after the death of the Prophet. (...) The Muslim sources are too late, and unreliable, and there are no cogent external grounds for accepting the Islamic tradition'' (Ibn Warraq, Origins of the Koran). The very name of Mohammed is only written four times in the whole Qur'an! Can we image the Pentateuch with Moses' name written only 4 times, or a New Testament with only four mentions of Jesus' name? See Circular Argument, Fallacies, Islam (historical), Hadiths, Mecca and Qur'an.

This segment could be called: An Exegesis on Shirk in Islam, Part II, by AhmedBahgat (thanks AB).
Tas-hih Al-Bukhari (Authenticating Bukhari) Excerpts...
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45657

Quran 12.111: In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding. It is not a HADITH which could be forged, but a verification of what is before it and a distinct explanation of all things and a guide and a mercy to a people who believe.

Quran 4.87: Allah, there is no god but He-- He will most certainly gather you together on the resurrection day, there is no doubt in it; and who is more true in HADITH than Allah?

And most of them do not follow (anything) but conjecture; surely conjecture will not avail aught against the truth; surely Allah is cognizant of what they do. And this Quran is not such as could be forged by those other than Allah, but it is a verification of that which is before it and a clear explanation of the book, there is no doubt in it, from the Lord of the worlds. Or do they say: He has forged it (Al Quran)? Say: Then bring a chapter like this and invite whom you can other than Allah, if you are truthful. Quran 10.36-38. (...)

Bukhari was not happy with his 70,000 hadith that he learnt in his first 10 years of life, he wanted more, far more indeed, now Bukhari at a later age learned another 530,000 hearsay after talking with more than 1000 hearsayers, Bukhari was fully aware that many of those 600,000 hearsay may have been forged, it makes no sense to expect that the prophet since the age of 40 (when he started his message) till his death at the age of 63 has narrated 600,000 hearsay, this means the prophet was saying a hadith every 20 minutes 24 hours a day, so Bukhari knew that this is impossible, so he only included about 7000 of those 600,000 hearsay, the fatal mistake of Bukhari though that he admitted that many of his 7000 sahih hadith are Daif, i.e. Weak, yet he included them in his book, the hadith advocates and his followers defend his foolish act and say, he included them so the Ummah be aware that those hearsay that are Daif.

Hmmm, I say, don’t you think if he didn’t include it from the first place NO ONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IT?, well and if that defence by his followers is true then why he didn’t include his 593,000 possibly forged ones so the Ummah will be aware of it too?

I say this 600,000 hadith that he learnt is as ludicrous as his 70,000 hadith he memorised by the age of 10, in fact if he needed 8 years to memorise 70,000 hadith with their complete chain of narrations going from him to his teacher and from his teacher to his teacher’s teacher and all the way to the prophet then Bukhari needed 68 years working 24 hours a day to be able to achieve that.

Opps, Bukhari only lived for about the same number of years (there is actually a conflict to how many years he lived and what year he died), again it does not make any sense, and again how they bloody confirmed this hearsay that he indeed memorised this huge number of hearsays that is equivalent to more than 96 full Qurans? If we consider that one hadith = I Quran verse in length, it can only make sense if they just took the hearsay about Bukhari himself for granted. (...)

49.12: O you who believe! avoid most of conjectures, for surely conjectures in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful. Quran

in 49:12 Allah is telling us to avoid most conjectures, you expect that the reason to avoid MOST of it is, because MOST conjectures are false but Allah didn’t say that, He said avoid MOST conjectures because SOME of it is false, i.e. avoid MOST conjectures even if MOST of it is true, exactly as the human law in court.

Therefore, Bukhari, Mulsim and their likes are nothing but hearsayers promoting conjectures, Bukhari, Muslim and their likes are part of that chain of conjecture, so in a way Bukhari Muslim and their likes are not just telling us that all those hearsayers in their chain of hearsay are people of high integrity but Bukhari, Muslim and their likes are also people of high integrity and we Muslims should take that without questioning it, we can’t bloody question it despite their hearsay is telling us that the great prophet was not doing what the Quran told him to do in clear violation to what the prophet was ordered to do by Allah...

Very interesting with many related topics
http://www.quranic.org/

6.115-116: The Word of your Lord is complete in truth and in justice. None can change His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. If you obey the majority of people on the earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They follow only conjecture, they only guess.

34.20-24: And Satan indeed found his calculation true concerning them, for they follow him, all save a group of true believers. And he had no warrant whatsoever against them, save that We would know him who believeth in the Hereafter from him who is in doubt thereof; and thy Lord (O Muhammad) taketh note of all things. Say (O Muhammad): Call upon those whom ye set up beside Allah! They possess not an atom's weight either in the heavens or in the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor hath He an auxiliary among them.

No intercession availeth with Him save for him whom He permitteth. Yet, when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: What was it that your Lord said ? They say: The Truth. And He is the Sublime, the Great. Say: Who giveth you provision from the sky and the earth ? Say: Allah, Lo! we or you assuredly are rightly guided or in error manifest.

Looks like Shirk in industrial in the Islamic faith!


What, then, should our dear Muslims emulate but the... 99 qualities of Allah Himself! Among them:
To be Merciful, Beneficent, Self-Sufficient, Creative, Rightful, Open, Knower, Forgiving... etc, etc!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Names_of_God
A post of mine on this topic to some totally disoriented Muslims...
http://www.faithfreedom.org/forum/viewt ... 692#783692

Nowhere the Arabic word for religion (muzdhab) is found in the Koran; Instead, al-Din or deen al-Haq (The Righteous Path).

[The Cat]

I wish to add these two threads herein...

Muhammad -Myth vs Reality
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=5518

The Deception of the Koranic 'proper names' (a resuming of the work so far).
viewtopic.php?p=110064#p110064

[Lotus Feet]

Good work Cat, I have been asked to look at the Shirk today. What I find interesting is that I have across a few words in Arabic that mean the complete opposite to those in Hebrew.

The word shirk in English would also apply.

I remember when we were children and hearing people say 'No shirking' in other words 'Don't be idle', 'do your duty', 'fulfill your agreement'.

Whereas in Islam it means the opposite to the true intention of the relationship and sacred union with the LORD God.

You have provided a lot of great work. However, I feel that it is really important to keep this very simple to reach the hearts of Muslims, who mostly desire a relationship and to experience God, their own scriptures ban them from doing so.

As I understand it the word for 'SHIRK' in Arabic generally means 'to share'.

So here is a few examples of what they are not allowed to partake in:

1. A relationship with God.
2. A relationship with a Prophet of God.
3. A relationship with Spirit and spiritual experiences.
4. Sharing with other spiritual people.
5. Sharing themselves in a sacred spiritual union.
6. Sharing divinity.
7. Sharing anything that relates to divinity.