Salaam and Hi everybody

Thought I'd join up and bring some life to this forum

If any one has any questions about Islam, then dont hestiate to ask them, and I'll research up the answer [if I dont allready know it] and will be more than pleased to answer them.

Peace and blessings to all

Welcome Ibrahim! Good to have you on this forum : )

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May your awareness be perfection

Welcome to the forum Ibrahim. We are happy to have you here with us. Have you read this recent interview we did with Jamal Rahman?

The Fragrance of Faith/Jamal Rahman

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InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

Hi there,
I understand that there are different currents or denominations in the Islam, such as Soenis and Shiites....(I'm not sure about the spelling). Anyways, I wanted to ask you what are the different denominations and what are their main differences.

Tnx.
Roel

Hi there everyone, Salaam [Peace]

Thank you all for a warm wellcome

I'm sorry to have been away for sometime; got caught up in the hectic argumentative life of participating in other forums and kinda forgot about this one, lol, but I'm here now and will regularly participate here God-willing.

Lightkeeper; thank you for that link and I will have a read and give you my opinion on it...

Hi Roel,

Thank you for your patience and interest in learning about Islam.

Islam has two main sects which are Sunni and Shi'ite and there are smaller one's such as Wahhabi/Salafi, neo-mutazila, ismaili, but some of these are subdivisions of Sunni Muslims and shias.

The main differences between Sunni and Shia Islam is that the Shias beleive in twelve Imams that have Prophet like status, allthough they dont say they are Prophets, and some of these Imams of theirs are still left to come; they also have their own source of hadiths [saying of the Prophet [saw] and they may share a little of the hadiths which Sunni's use too and they differ over who was supposed to be the righteous successor to the Prophet [saw]; they hold that it was Ali [ra] that was supposed to be Caliph and they reject the Sunni Caliph, Abu Bakr [ra] as a righteous Caliph. They reject a lot of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad [saw] to be righteous too.

The Sunni's regard Abu Bakr to have been a righteous Caliph, allthough they have verry high respect for Ali [RA] and regard him to be righteous as well; they respect and regard all the companions of the Prophet [saw] to have been righteous, and they dont believe that any Imam with Prophet like status ever existed or would ever exist in th future.

Hope that helps

Peace.

Hi Lightkeeper,

I've read parts of that link and was rather surprised at what Jamal was saying; he said that there is divinity inside of human beings?; he said that heaven and hell is metophorical, and these concepts do go against the fundemental teachings of Islam.

Islam teaches that olny God is divine and to attribute divinity to anything other than God is the greatest of all sins for it is tantamount to believing in plural deities.

We say that heaven and hell are litterally true and they litterally exist, allthough there is a valid opinion in Islam that the pleasures of heaven that are described in the Quran in the material sense are metophorical.

Peace.

Some Sufi sects do astray from the authentic teachnigs of islam and they even include some polythiestic concepts in their teachings, and other sects are in accordance with Islam and these are the sects that believe in all the fundemental teachnigs of Islam and they just focus more on their inner selves by praising God more, engaging in meditation, and they renounce the world to a greater then other Muslims.

A Great Sufi, Ibn Al-Arabi said:


"Beware lest you ever say anything that does not conform to the pure Sacred Law. Know that the highest stage of the perfected ones (rijal) is the Sacred Law of Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). And know that the esoteric that contravenes the exoteric is a fraud" (al-Burhani: al-Hall al-sadid, 32).

Peace.

may Peace be on all of you

a couple of verses I was going through and pondering over
and am sharing with you all on this forum


"Do they seek for other than the religion of Allah? - while all creatures in the heavens and on earth have, willingly or unwillingly, bowed to His will (accepted Islam). And to Him shall they all be brought back."

Holy Qur’an 3:83

"O people! Worship your Guardian Lord, Who created you and those who came before you that you may become righteous. Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith fruits for your sustenance; Then set not up rivals unto Allah when you know (the truth)."

Holy Qur’an 2:21, 22

"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), in the Taurat and the Gospel; For he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him and follow the Light which is sent down with him, It is they who will prosper.."

Holy Qur’an 37:15

"And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant then produce a Sura like thereunto; And call your witness or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah, if your are truthful. But if you cannot – and of a surety you cannot then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, - which is prepared for those who reject faith."

Holy Qur’an 33:40

Its is wrong to say that different sects of Islam have a poltheistic concepts.

If this was the case than all muslims wouldnot have believed in 1 true God .

The difference between these 2 major sects of Islam goes back to historical and political differences rather than differences of dogma.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh)majority of the muslims demanded that Abu Bakr(Ra) should be the 1st Caliph of Islam but a minority had the opinion that Ali(Ra) should be the 1st Caliph of Islam since he is more knowledgable and a relative of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh).When Abu Bakr(Ra) became the 1st Caliph of Islam,these minorities didnot accept him as the 1st Caliph of Islam and considered Ali(Ra) to be the Caliph no matter what and they believed that Caliphate/Imamate is not man chosen position but it is God who appoints Caliph and only the desendants of Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) deserve this position not any outsider.

This is the main cause of the difference between shias and sunnis.


I hope this helps.