Allah More merciful than Yahweh

<header class="entry-header" style="border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: italic;">In his new book, Miles arrives at some surprising conclusions on the nature of God in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran.</span></span><span style="font-size: xx-large; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 16.5px; height: auto;"><img class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image lazy-load" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" src="https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-807x454.jpg" srcset="https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-807x454.jpg 807w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-300x169.jpg 300w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-427x240.jpg 427w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-768x432.jpg 768w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-215x120.jpg 215w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-470x264.jpg 470w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-990x557.jpg 990w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819-600x338.jpg 600w, https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles3-011819.jpg 1600w" style="border-radius: 2px; border: 0px; cursor: zoom-in; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; width: 627px;" /></span><div class="featured-img-caption" style="align-items: center; background: rgb(245, 246, 249); border: 0px; color: #333333; display: flex; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>“God in the Qur’an” and author Jack Miles. Cover image courtesy of Penguin Random House; Miles photo by Louis Pescevic</i></div><div class="post-meta-info" style="align-items: center; background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--lightgreyborder); border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: flex; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 16.5px; justify-content: space-between; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="post-meta-left-side" style="align-content: center; border: 0px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; margin: 0px 0.5rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="single-category-headline" style="border: 0px; color: #555555; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">January 22, 2019</div><div class="the-author" style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 1rem; font-style: italic; margin: 0.25rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">By <div class="multiple-authors-target-shortcode pp-multiple-authors-layout-post-author" style="border: 0px; display: inline; font-size: 16.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="author_index_1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="author url fn" href="https://religionnews.com/author/yonatshimron/" rel="author" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yonat Shimron</a></span></div></div></div><div class="swp_social_panel swp_horizontal_panel swp_flat_fresh swp_default_full_color swp_other_full_color swp_individual_full_color scale-100 scale-full_width" data-float-color="#ffffff" data-float-mobile="none" data-float="none" data-min-width="1100" data-transition="slide" style="-webkit-box-align: stretch; -webkit-box-pack: justify; align-items: stretch; border: 0px; clear: both; direction: ltr; display: flex; flex-basis: 50%; flex-wrap: wrap; height: 34px; justify-content: space-between; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 20px !important; margin-left: 0px; 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line-height: 32px; margin: 0px 5px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; text-rendering: auto; text-shadow: none; transform: translate(0px, 0px); vertical-align: baseline; width: 20px;"></span><span class="swp_share" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; height: 30px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 6px; max-width: none; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: middle;">Email</span></span></span></span></a></div></div></div></header><div class="entry-content" style="border: 0px; font-family: var(--serif); margin: 1.5rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img src="https://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/webRNS-Jack-Miles1-011819-248x369.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(RNS) — Ever since 9/11, Americans have been treated to a host of conflicting, often ill-informed, views about Islam and its deity, Allah.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some insist Allah is a vengeful being who commands his followers to kill nonbelievers. Others plead that Islam is a religion of peace and its God not different in kind from the one worshipped by Jews and Christians.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jack Miles, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “God: A Biography” and a retired professor of religion at the University of California Irvine, now offers an erudite and highly readable close reading of Allah’s real nature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In “God in the Qur’an,” he compares the God of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament with God as he is portrayed in the Quran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Along the way he also compares the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and Jesus, all of whom appear in both the Bible and the Quran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Miles has long been fascinated with the nature of God in Scripture. Though he himself is Christian and claims limited knowledge of Arabic (he earned his doctorate in Near Eastern languages from Harvard), he is also a trained literary critic and draws on a deep well of biblical and theological knowledge.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Miles, a onetime Jesuit seminarian and a 2002 MacArthur “genius” fellow, now serves as the Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations at Boston College.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following interview was edited for length and clarity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What led you to try to tackle the Quran?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was hesitant at first. I have not made a study of Islam. But finally, I could see a way to do it with my own limitations and that was by studying how the Quran treats signal characters and episodes in the Bible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Quran is not narrative. It doesn’t tell all the biblical stories again. It’s not a revised edition of the Bible. It alludes rather than repeats. There’s a distinctly different emphasis. That’s how I found my way into doing this.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Were you interested in correcting the record?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I offer examples of great violence from Jewish and Christian Scriptures and note that we don’t deduce from that that all Jews and Christians are terrorists in waiting. If we don’t do that for ourselves, we shouldn’t do it for Muslims. But that’s a secondary motive, I would say. Once you get that out of the way, you’re free to look at the text, look at the characters and the episodes. That’s a pleasure. It’s a fascination.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>What you found is that Allah is more merciful, consistently so, than in the Bible. Is that accurate?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, it is. A friend asked me, what was the biggest surprise you discovered in writing the book? I said, Allah is more merciful than Yahweh. Understand, we’re talking about the same being, but the presentation (in the Quran) stresses not just Allah’s mercy, but also the themes of repentance and forgiveness. I should say, these episodes that involve biblical material probably are no more than a quarter or a fifth of the overall material in the Quran. So, my comment that Allah is more merciful than Yahweh is confined to that portion of the Quran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I’ll give two examples. Adam and Eve in the Quranic version immediately repent of their sin and throw themselves on the mercy of Allah and Allah forgives them on the spot. They do have to leave paradise, but if they live a good life then at the Last Judgment they will ascend to the heavenly garden. Adam and Eve in the Bible never do repent.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, the Israelites, just after crossing the Red Sea, create the Golden Calf and God decides to exterminate them as punishment. Moses dissuades him from that, but still there’s horrendous violence imposed on them, a mass slaughter of the lead offenders. In the Quran, the Israelites immediately repent and Allah forgives them. The tablets of the law are not broken. In something approaching efficiency, the Israelites get over it, Allah gets over it and everyone moves on to the Promised Land.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>You point out in your book that the biblical idea of humankind created in God’s image doesn’t really exist in the Quran. A lot of interfaith leaders might be surprised to hear that.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, that’s right. Jews pray to “Avinu Malkeinu,” “our Father, our King,” and “Our Father, who art in heaven,” is the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer in Christianity. But there isn’t a similar kind of rhetoric or emphasis in Islam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Allah is at pains to say that Jesus is not his son, and actually there’s a scene in which Allah and Jesus are speaking and Jesus explicitly repudiates any notion that during his life on earth he ever claimed such as a blasphemous thing. No, he is not the son of God. God had no son, or spouse, and no one really closely associated with him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This has the effect of making Allah a more awe-inspiring, more august being. Christian theology itself sometimes uses the phrase that God is the “wholly other.” That phrase, “wholly other,” is a pretty apt description of Allah in the Quran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>It appears the theology of the Quran is fairly straightforward in comparison with the Bible. Would you agree?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yes. I make the point that the Hebrew Bible came into being over a thousand years. The Quran came into being as 20 years of revelation to the Prophet Muhammad from the year 610 to the year 632. So, there is much greater consistency in the portrayal of the character of Allah. He is more moral in a way. He’s more exacting, but always in a predictable manner. Of course, the complexity that Christianity has by having the deity be both divine and human at the same time is also completely absent. So, by being “wholly other” Allah can be wholly simple. That provides a kind of appeal, a kind of fascination, but it isn’t a fascination of complication and conflict.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>How would you describe the Quran as a literary work?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In its broadest sense, it’s oratory, and narrowing it a little further, it is preaching. Although a preacher may include an anecdote or allusion to a particular event, the point is always, “How are hearers going to change their lives or go forward in a moral way?” People want that inspiration and correction and direction. Sermons can be great literature. Oratory is a branch of literature and almost a foundational branch. The greatness of the Quran as literature is an oratorical kind of eloquence with music and rhyme built into it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5rem; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: white;">[</span><a href="https://religionnews.com/2019/01/22/more-merciful-than-yahweh-jack-miles-on-god-in-the-quran/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">RNS</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>|<span style="background-color: white;"> Religion News Service]</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5rem; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Read also <a href="/2019/03/comparing-bibles-mercurial-god-with.html">The Washington Post's review</a> on this book <a href="/2019/03/comparing-bibles-mercurial-god-with.html">here</a>.</p></div>

Allah More merciful than Yahweh

In his new book, Miles arrives at some surprising conclusions on the nature of God in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. “Go...

Allah More merciful than Yahweh

In his new book, Miles arrives at some surprising conclusions on the nature of God in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. “Go...

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Can You Please Tell Me, Is There God?

<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYArspaUEnVQlxx3xqWDvDQyvrIRadePwXHDyb20UBCigp8iULNFpsvV-Hpcfo4lpGAOltMW5SsHPSCdfhyphenhyphen0puulNe_G6KiYCd3WD2sluEFmJvhDbuDfuA7k80dGe0uDg-h4TGOZkVJv0/s1600/emptiness.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="450" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485117319966480658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYArspaUEnVQlxx3xqWDvDQyvrIRadePwXHDyb20UBCigp8iULNFpsvV-Hpcfo4lpGAOltMW5SsHPSCdfhyphenhyphen0puulNe_G6KiYCd3WD2sluEFmJvhDbuDfuA7k80dGe0uDg-h4TGOZkVJv0/s640/emptiness.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="800" /></a><i>This is a very old file I found still interesting and remains helpful to assist those who are seeking for the truth about Islam and the existence of Allah SWT - the only God of the universe. Hope you'll like it as much as I do</i> ~ <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gus Mendem</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question</span> (Dated): 2003: "I have a friend who doesn't even believe in god, and I said whatever I could, but her side of the argument was that if everything came from something, and there was a creator of everything, then where did god come from, and I don't know what to say. I'm kinda stuck!"</span></blockquote></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bismillah Rahman Raheem,</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you for writing and for your question. First let us begin with <a href="http://www.islamtomorrow.com/word/">Basics Of Islam</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Here are some important points to keep in mind and these should be used when you are answering questions about Islam:</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">First - Tell them that we are pleased they are asking about Islam. Say, <span style="font-style: italic;">"Thanks for asking me about my religion."</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Second, tell them two important things about our religion:</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">1. As Muslims we cannot lie about anything, especially about our religion.</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">2. We have original recorded sources of our religion: </span><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span">A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. </span><a href="http://www.islamtomorrow.com/quran/">The Quran</a></span></strong></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong>B. <a href="http://islamtomorrow.com/islam/muhammad.htm">Teachings of Muhammad</a></strong></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong> This is a unique part of Islam, not available in any other ancient religions.</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now explain to them, sometimes "questions" contain misinformation. We must qualify what it is that someone is saying against what they are implying. We will need to straighten out the questions before giving answers.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And finally, ask them, <span style="font-style: italic;">"If during the answer, you hear yourself saying, "I didn't know that"</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">"This is good,"</span> then are you ready to worship your God and your Lord without any partners?</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tell them, <span style="font-style: italic;">"This what Islam is really all about. The most important subject is the worship of Almighty God, without any partners or associates or 'gods' besides Almighty God."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong>Now we are ready to begin to give the answers.</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"></span></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Answer:</span> 2003 - Sept 15 14:40 EST -</span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The question that atheists usually ask regarding our belief in God, vary to some degree, but they are quite predictable over all. Let us consider a few:</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong>1. If God created everything - then who created God?</strong><span style="font-size: 85%;"> (may Allah forgive me)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt=""><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt=""><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Remember to use the formula above - i.e.; <span style="font-style: italic;">"Thank you for asking me about my religion..."</span> etc.) According to the Quran, Allah tells us that He is the only creator and sustainer of all that exists and that nothing and no one exists alongside Him, nor does He have any partners. He tells us that He is not created, nor is He like His creation in anyway. He calls Himself by a number of names and three of them are:</span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The First - (Al-Awal) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Last - (Al Akhir) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Eternal - (As-Samad)</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who is sought after by His creation, while He has no need from them at all. He always has existed and He never was created, as He is not like His creation, nor similar to it, in any way.</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;">2. How can you believe in God, when you can't see, hear, touch, smell, taste or even imagine what He is?</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We know from the teachings of Muhammad, peace be upon him, that no one has ever actually seen God - at least not in this lifetime. Nor are we able to use our senses to make some kind of contact with Him. However, we are encouraged in Islam to use our senses and our common sense to recognize that all of this universe could not possibly come into existence on its own. Something had to design it all and then put it into motion. That is beyond our ability to do, yet it is something that we can understand. We don't have to see an artist to recognize a painting, correct? So, if we see paintings without seeing artists painting them, in the same way, we can believe that Allah created everything without having to see Him (or touch, or hear, etc.).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt=""><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Can God do anything? - Can He make a rock so big that nothing can move it? - If He did make a rock so big that nothing could move it, would that mean that He couldn't move it too? Or would it be impossible for Him to make something so big that He couldn't move it?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"> </span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;">Allah tells us that <span style="font-style: italic;">"Allah is capable of doing anything that He Wills to do."</span> He can make a rock (or anything for that matter) that is so large or heavy that nothing in the entire universe can move it. As regards Allah "moving" it, He is not in the universe and He does not resemble His creation. Whenever He wants anything done, He merely says "Qun! Faya Qun!" (Be! And so it will be!)</span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong>4. Where is God?</strong></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />Some other religions teach that "God is everywhere." This is actually called "pantheism" and it is the opposite of our believe system in Islam. Allah tells us clearly that there is nothing, anywhere in the universe that resembles Him, nor is He ever in His creation. He tells us in the Quran that He created the universe in six "yawm" (periods of time) and then He "astawah 'ala al Arsh" (rose up, above His Throne). He is there (above His Throne) and will remain there until the End Times.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;">5. Why did God create everything? </span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Allah says in His Quran that He did not create all of this for any foolish purpose. He tells us that He created us for the purpose of worshiping Him, Alone and without any partners.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;">6. Is God pure, good, loving and fair? - If so, then where does evil, hatred and injustice come from? </span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Allah tells us that He is Pure, Loving, and absolutely Just in every respect. He says that He is the Best of Judges. He also tells us that the life that we are in is a test. He has created all the things that exist and He has created all that happens as well. There is nothing in this existence except what He has created. He also says in the Quran that He created evil (although He is not evil). He is using this as one of the many tests for us.</span></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;">7. Does God really have power of things? - If so, then why does He let people become sick, oppressed and die?</span></div><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oppression is something that Allah forbids for Himself to do to anyone and He hates it when anyone oppresses someone else. He does have absolute power over everything. He allows sickness, disease, death and even oppression so that we can all be tested in what we do. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong>8. Can you prove there is a God?</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span family="FIXED" lang="0" pt=""><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;">Can you prove that you exist? Yes, of course you can. You merely use your senses to determine that you can see, hear, feel, smell, taste and you have emotions as well. All of this is a part of your existence. But this is not how we perceive God in Islam. We can look to the things that He has created and the way that He cares for things and sustains us, to know that there is no doubt of His existence.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />Think about this the next time that you are looking up at the moon or the stars on a clear night; could you drop a drinking glass on the sidewalk and expect that it would hit the ground and on impact it would not shatter, but it would divide up into little small drinking glasses, with iced tea in them? Of course not.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />And then consider if a tornado came through a junkyard and tore through the old cars; would it leave behind a nice new Mercedes with the engine running and no parts left around? Naturally not.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />Can a fast food restaurant operate itself without any people there? That's crazy for anyone to even think about.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />After considering all of the above, how could we look to the universe above us through a telescope or observe the molecules in a microscope and then think that all of this came about as a result of a "big bang" or some "accident?" (See also "Quran" below)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">9. Does God know everything that is going to happen? - Does He have absolute control on the outcome of everything? - If so, how is that fair for us? Where is our free will then?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;">Allah Knows everything that will happen. The first thing that He created was the "pen" and He ordered the pen to write. The pen wrote until it had written everything that would happen. And then Allah began to create the universe. All of this was already known to Him before He created it. He does have absolute and total control at all times. There is nothing that happens except that He is in control of if.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />There is a mistake in the question: "Free Will." Allah alone, has Free Will, He Wills whatever He likes and it will always happen as He wills. We have something called, "Free choice." The difference is that what Allah "Wills" always happens and what we choose may or may not happen. We are not being judged on the outcome of things, we are being judged on our choices. This means that at the core of everything will always be our intentions. Whatever we intended, is what we will have the reward for. Each person will be judged according to what Allah gave them to work with, how they used it and what they intended to do with it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />As regards the actual "Judgment Day" - Allah tells us that everything we are doing is being recorded and not a single tiny thing escapes from this record. Even an atom's weight of good will be seen on the Day of Judgment and even a single atom's weight of evil will be seen too.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />The one who will bring the evidences against us will be ourselves. Our ears, tongue, eyes and all of our bodies will begin to testify against us in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment. None will be oppressed on that Day, none will be falsely accused.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He could have put everyone in their respective places from the very beginning, but the people would complain as to why they were thrown in Hell without being given a chance. This life is exactly that; a chance to prove to ourselves who we really are and what we would really do if we indeed had a free choice.</span></span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Allah Knows everything that will happen, but we don't. That is why the test is fair.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong><br />10. If there is only one God, then why are there so many religions?</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />Allah does not force anyone to submit to Him. He has laid out a clear path and then made it known to them the two ways (Heaven or Hell). The person is always free to make his or her own choice. There is no compulsion in the way of "Islam." Whoever chooses to worship Allah without partners and is devoted to Him and is obeying His commands as much as possible, has grasped the firm handhold that will never break. Whoever denies God and chooses some other way to worship or not to believe at all, for them there is an eternal punishment that is most horrible (Hell).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><br />All religions originated with Allah and then people began to add or take away from the teachings so as to take control over each other. Man made religions are an abomination before the Lord and will never be accepted. He will only accept true submission, obedience and in purity and peace to His commandments.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;"><strong><br />11. How do you know that the Quran is really from God?</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;">Muslims have something that offers the most clear proof of all, The Holy Quran. There is no other book like it anywhere on earth. It is absolutely perfect in the Arabic language. It has no mistakes in grammar, meanings or context. The scientific evidences are well known around the entire world, even amongst non-Muslim scholars. Predictions in the Quran have come true; and its teachings are clearly for all people, all places and all times. No one has been able to produce a book like it, nor ten chapters like it, nor even one chapter like it. It was memorized by thousands of people during the lifetime of Muhammad, peace be upon him, and then this memorization was passed down from teacher to student for generation after generation, from mouth to ear and from one nation to another. Today every single Muslim has memorized some part of the Quran in the original Arabic language that it was revealed in over 1,400 years ago, even though most of them are not Arabs. There are over nine million (9,000,000) Muslims living on the earth today who have totally memorized the entire Quran, word for word, and can recite the entire Quran, in Arabic just as Muhammad, peace be upon him, did 14 centuries ago.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span family="SERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="font-size: 100%;"><strong>More important links re: </strong><a href="http://islamtomorrow.com/islam/"><strong>Islam</strong></a><span style="color: blue;"><strong> - </strong></span><a href="http://islamtomorrow.com/menu/"><strong>Research</strong></a><span style="color: blue;"><strong> - </strong></span><a href="http://www.islamalways.com/"><strong>Answers</strong></a><span style="color: blue;"><strong> - </strong></span><a href="http://www.islamyesterday.com/"><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Audio</strong></span></a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.Islamtomorrow.com/live" style="font-weight: bold;">Broadcast</a></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">-</span> <a href="http://www.islam-qa.com/" style="font-weight: bold;">Fatwa</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks again for your question. All good is from Allah & mistakes were from myself. May Allah guide us in Truth, ameen.</span></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Salam alaykum - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_Estes">Yusuf Estes</a><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Answers from Sheik Yusuf Estes, National Muslim chaplain. American born & former Christian, student of many scholars, he offers help with authentic information about ISLAM in easy English.</span><span family="SANSSERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="color: black; font-size: 100%;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><span family="SANSSERIF" lang="0" pt="" style="color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 100%;">[Re: Proof there is God - Says Ex-Christian preacher who came to Islam]</span></div><div face="georgia" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>

Can You Please Tell Me, Is There God?

This is a very old file I found still interesting and remains helpful to assist those who are seeking for the truth about Islam and the exis...

Can You Please Tell Me, Is There God?

This is a very old file I found still interesting and remains helpful to assist those who are seeking for the truth about Islam and the exis...

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