Pledge, Pictures & Prophet

Shahdah (Pledge) and Pictures of Prophet Muhammad

Mohammad,

Qur'aan speaks about the first part of the pledge, the Shahadah - There is no God but God and the second part - Muhammad is God's messenger. These two are not together in Qur'aan, but have been in practice. It does give a complete sense to the pledge. I believe most Muslims are aware of it.

I do agree with you that a few Muslims adore the Prophet to a point of making him next to God, that adulation makes one human, granted that is not part of the essence of Islam. Prophet was abundantly clear that only God is to be worshipped and one else, that he is God's messenger like the other messengers, that the focus ought to be the message and not the messenger.

The point to be made is that no Muslim worships the Prophet, he is adored, praises are sung for him and he was about freedom, liberty and justice. Even the few Muslims, who almost make him God like, will respond to you that he is not God, if you were to ask them the blunt question.

Today's Muslims or Muslims in the past have given an exalted status to Prophet Muhammad. That does not mean that they ever think less of other prophets. No Muslim in the world has ever said a derogatory word about Moses, Adam, Solomon, David, Jacob, and Joseph, John the Baptist or Jesus. It is part of their faith to respect all the prophets and messengers, whether they are know (25 of them) them or not (123, 975 of them). 124,000 Prophet is a metaphorical number to mean infinity, I don't know if it has any mathematical component to it, but it simply means to respect the teacher, the imparter of knowledge who works to create peace and justice in the world, no matter who it is, it is God sent.

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
World Muslim Congress..
_________________________

From: STUDENT of THE QURAN
Date: Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:41 pm Subject: Pictures of Prophet / response to a moderator

[1:1] In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
[25:30] The messenger said, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran."
Dear Moderator of World Muslim Congress,

Salamun Alykum.

I supported my comments by the Quranic verses. So, if you think that my comments carry a radical thought to many a Muslims, doesn't it mean that they have no idea what is in the Quran?!

The messenger said, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran." (25:30)

For example: Islam has been always one and same. The first pillar of Islam has been always one and same. The Prophet never preached a different Islam or a different shahadah.

[37:35] When they were told, "Laa Elaaha Ella Allah [There is no other god beside GOD]," they turned arrogant.
[37:36] They said, "Shall we leave our gods for the sake of a crazy poet?"
[37:37] In fact, he has brought the truth, and has confirmed the messengers.

If you tell the majority of Muslims that the correct shadah is mentioned in the Quran which is Laa Elaaha Ella Allah, they will think that you are crazy and it is a radical thought, and they will oppose you. They believe in the hadith based Shahadas and not the Quran based Shahadah.

LAHILAHA ILAL LAHA (ISLAMIC SHAHADAH
LAHILAHA ILAL LAHA MUHAMMADUR RASOOLULLAH (SUNNI SHAHADAH)

LAHILAHA ILAL LAHA MUHAMMADUR RASOOLULLAH ALI UN WALI ULLAH (SHIA SHAHADAH)
The Prophet Muhammad preached with the Quran. One of his important teachings was not to idolize him beside God:

Never would a human being whom God, blessed with the scripture and prophet hood say to people, "Idolize me beside God." Instead, (he would say), "Devote yourselves absolutely to your Lord alone," according to the scripture you preach and the teachings you learn." (Quran 3:79)

So, if people worship his image that is one kind of idolization according to the Prophet's teaching :

Recall that Abraham said to his father Azar, "How could you worship statues as gods? I see that you and your people have gone far astray." (6:74)

But, if people use his image for the purpose of education, like what WIkipedia did in their website, then what is wrong with it according to the Prophet's teaching?!

Say, "Who prohibited the nice things GOD has created for His creatures, and the good provisions?" Say, "Such provisions are to be enjoyed in this life by those who believe. Moreover, the good provisions will be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection." We thus explain the revelations for people who know.(7:32)

They made for him anything he wanted - niches, statues, deep pools, and heavy cooking pots. O family of David, work (righteousness) to show your appreciation. Only a few of My servants are appreciative. (34:13)

Sadly, millions of Muslims ignored the Prophet's teaching. They are entrapped by the satanic teachings of so-called hadiths or hearsay, scholars (ulamah) or leaders (imam) and truly idolize him against his will !!

Today's Muslims consider Muhammed as the source of the religion (sunnah) without his knowledge, which according to the Quran is idol worship (6:114; 9:31; 12:40; 18:26, 109, 110; 41:6). One such verse states - "You do not worship beside Him (God) except innovations that you have made up, you and your parents. God has never authorized such idols. All ruling belongs to God, and He has ruled that you shall not worship except Him. This is the perfect religion, but most people do not know." (Quran 12:40)

Today's Muslims recognize Muhammad as the most honorable messenger of God despite this Quranic fact - "The messenger has believed in what was sent down to him from his Lord, and so did the believers. They believe in God, His angels, His scripture, and His messengers: "We make no distinction among any of His messengers." They say, "We hear, and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord. To You is the ultimate destiny." (Quran 2:285) Another verse states - "Say, "I am no more than a human being like you, who has been inspired that your god is one god. You shall be devoted to Him, and ask His forgiveness. Woe to the idol worshipers." (Quran 41:6)

Many Muslims claim that Muhammad possesses power of intercession despite the Quranic fact that only God Almighty possesses all power of intercession (2:48, 123, 254; 6:70, 94; 7:53; 10:3,18,49; 13:16; 39:44,45; 43:86; 74:48; 82:17-19). One such verse states - "Say, "All intercession belongs to God." To Him belongs all sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you will be returned." (Quran 39:44)

According to the Quran, Prophet Muhammad was human being like us (18:110) who committed errors like human being (4:79; 9:117;33:37; 40:66; 41:6; 42:52; 47:19; 48:2; 66:1; 80:1-10; 93:7) One such verse states - "He found you astray, and guided you." (Quran 93:7) Despite these Quranic facts, many Muslims believe that Muhammad was created from light and infallible !!!!!

The Muslim scholars (ulamah) invented a Miraj story about his ascension to the heavens on a horse named Burrakh. In this story, they portrayed Muhammed as more merciful than God Almighty, who negotiated with God and successfully reduced the number of prayers from 50 to 5 after seeking advice from Moses !! According to this story, Most Merciful God failed to understand that 50 prayers a day (one prayer every 28 minutes) would be extremely difficult for us to do !! This is totally against the spirit of the Quranic teaching (17:1; 53:1-18). We learn in the Quran - "As the stars fell away. Your friend (Muhammed) was not astray, nor was he deceived. Nor was he speaking out of a personal desire. It was divine inspiration. Dictated by the Most Powerful. Possessor of all authority. From His highest height. At the highest horizon. He drew nearer by moving down. Until He became as close as possible. He then revealed to His servant what was to be revealed. The mind never made up what it saw. Are you doubting what he saw ? He saw him in another descent. At the ultimate point. Where the eternal Paradise is located. The whole place was overwhelmed. The eyes did not waver, nor go blind. He saw great signs of his Lord." (Quran 53:1-18)

The Quranic Testimony (Shahadah) in brief is "La ilaha illa Allah". This testimony was taught by God Almighty in the Quran. Muhammed preached and followed this testimony (7:172-173; 3:18; 47:19; 20:14; 10:90; 37:35-36). One such verse states - "When they are told, "La Elaha Ella Allah", they turned arrogant. They said, "Shall we leave our gods for the sake of a crazy poet ?" (Quran 37:35-36) Sadly, millions of Muslims revert to idolatry, added Muhammed's name in the Testimony after the death of the prophet, practice this corrupt shahadah daily basis. According to the Quran this is idol worship (39:45; 3:18; 37:35).

The places of worship (masjid) belong to God Almighty. We learn in the Quran - "The places of worship belong to God; do not call on anyone else beside God." (Quran 72:18). Despite this Quranic fact, the Muslim scholars added the name of Muhammed in their Adhan and ignored the Quran (72:18; 3:18; 2:285). Today's Muslims display the prophet's name next to God's name on the masjid wall, in their houses and in their automobiles !!!! Two of my friends displayed "Yaa Muhammed !" plaques on the main entrance of their houses. Believe it or not, the name of God Almighty is totally missing from that place !!!!! The idol worshiping of Muhammed is deeply rooted in the lives of today's Muslims. Satan used the bait of loving Muhammed and successfully trapped millions Muslims into idol worshipers of Muhammed !!!

Our salat prayers must be devoted to God Alone (72:20; 20:14; 13:36; 6:162). One such verse states - "Say, "My Contact Prayers (salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to God alone, the Lord of the universe." (Quran 6:162)
Abu Lahab, Abu Jahl, and the idolaters of Quraish used to observe salat prayers (8:33-35). and worship Laat, Uzzah and Manaat beside God (53:19-28). Today's Muslims replace Laat, Uzzah and Manaat with the prophet Muhammed and observe salute and salwat both on him in their salat and other religious functions !! Additionally, they also added the name of prophet Abraham in their salat prayers.

Satan succeeded in turning the majority of Muslims into idol worshipers of the Prophet by hadith based interpretation of this verse - "God and His angels support the prophet; O you who believe, you shall support him and regard him as he should be regarded." (Quran 33:56). Ignorant Muslim masses perform salute and salwat (darood) on the prophet day and night, despite this Quranic fact - "O you who believe, you shall commemorate God continuously, and glorify Him day and night" (Quran 33:41-42) It is interesting to note that like verse (33:56), we read that God and His angels do the same to all believers and not just to the prophet (33:43, 2:157). Even, God commands the prophets to do the same for believers (9:103). To know more on this, double click onto this link : www.submission.org/glorify.html. Additionally, they attribute to Muhammed many names of God such as Raheem, Haseeb, Kareem, Hakeem and so on !!

A glaring proof of the idolatry committed by today's Muslims is the designation of Muhammed's tomb as a "Sacred Masjid". The Quran mentions only one Sacred Masjid (2:144, 149-50,191,196,217; 5:2,97; 8:34; 9:7,19,28; 17:1;22:25; 48:25,27). One such verse states - "Wherever you go, you shall turn your face (during salat) towards the sacred masjid. This is the truth from your Lord. God is never unaware of anything you all do." (Quran 2:149)

Why do Muslims put Muhammed's position next to God Almighty in every aspect of their religious activities !? The answer can be derived from the the Quran - "Absolutely, the religion shall be devoted to God alone. Those who set up idols beside Him say, "we idolize them only to bring us closer to God; for they are in a better position!" God will judge them regarding their disputes. God does not guide such liars, disbelievers."
(Quran 39:3)

Sadly, these people are absolutely wrong ! God Almighty should be sufficient for us as understood from these verses of the Quran- "Is God not sufficient for His servant? They frighten you with the idols they set up beside Him. Whomever God sends astray, nothing can guide him. And whomever God guides, nothing can send him astray. Is God not Almighty, Avenger? If you ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they will say, "God." Say, "Why then do you set up idols beside God? If God willed any adversity for me, can they relieve such an adversity? And if He willed a blessing for me, can they prevent such a blessing?" Say, "God is sufficient for me." In Him the trusters shall trust." (Quran 39:36-38)

Last but not the least, this is one of the many reminders from the Quran - "God is the One who created you. He is the One who provides for you. He is the One who puts you to death. He is the One who resurrects you. Can any of your idols do any of these things ? Be He glorified. He is much too exalted to have any partners." (Quran 30:40)

Idol worship is the only unforgivable offense as understood from this verse - "God does not forgive idolatry, but He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who sets up idols beside God, has forged a horrendous offense." (Quran 4:48)

Sadly, Muslims these days idolize Muhammed to such an extent that some time non-Muslims think that Muhammed is the name of their god !!!! Today's Muslims most of the time mention the name of God without any praise, but they hardly mention the name of Muhammed without phrases of praise !! - "They do not value God as He should be valued. God is the Most Powerful, the Almighty" (Quran 22:74)

Thank you and may God guide us.

M Irtaza

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