I'm going to be speaking about Islam the
Misunderstood religion there is no
doubt that Islam is one of the most
misunderstood religions in the world
today sometimes this is to do with pure
ignorance sometimes this is also to do
with negative
propaganda in the media sometimes
Perhaps it is that people don't want to
know the truth about Islam but my
objective is over the next few series of
programs to explain some of the things
that are commonly
misunderstood about Islam and Muslims
and so I've chosen
for the
topics some common ideas and some common
Concepts that are often misunder
understood about Islam and Muslims the
first being Allah the first topic I want
to talk about is who is Allah what is
Allah is
Allah the same
God of the Bible or is Allah a different
God then I want to talk about Islam what
does Islam mean what is the religion of
Islam really all about the other topic
I'm going to be discussing is the sh
what is the
sh the fourth topic I intend to discuss
is the topic of women in
Islam and then also I intend to
discuss the topic of jihad these topics
cover some of the most commonly
misunderstood aspects of the religion of
Islam so let's talk about Allah is Allah
the same God of the Bible is Allah the
same God of Moses of Abraham of Jacob of
Jesus or was Muhammad may God's peace
and blessings be upon him calling people
to worship a new God a different God
first of all let's examine the
actual name of God Allah in Arabic
people who are experts in the Arabic
language have given various meanings and
interpretations for the origins of the
name Allah but one of the best
explanations and that has been given by
the great scholar IB tya he mentioned
that Allah is a composite of two words
in Arabic Al which means
the which is a deity and in Arabic is
anything which is woried anything in
which people put their faith and their
hope and their trust and they worship it
this is
an a God or a deity in English so Allah
is a composite of two words in Arabic Al
the definitive article the a
deity and from that to Allah so
therefore the word in Arabic means the
god the
deity it is very clear from the Quran
that Allah is
the Creator the
sustainer the controller of the heavens
and the Earth and this was a fact that
was acknowledged by the Pagan
Arabs the Pagan Arabs in the time of
prophet Muhammad who used to worship 360
Idols around the Kaa never actually had
an idol or an image of Allah Allah
subhah wa ta'ala alludes to this in the
Quran
where he
says which means say oh Muhammad to the
pagans to the idol worshippers Allah in
the Quran is telling the prophet
Muhammad to ask this question to the
idol worshippers who is the lord of the
seven
Heavens who is the lord of the seven
heavens
and who is the lord of the Glorious
Throne they will say it is Allah in
other words the Pagan Arabs knew that
Allah was the lord of the seven Heavens
that Allah was the lord of the Glorious
throne in other places in the Quran
Allah subhah wa taala asks the prophet
Muhammad to require of the Pagan Idol
worshippers similar question questions
for example who sends down the rain from
the sky who causes the crops to grow who
causes that which is living to die and
brings that which is dead back to life
in all of those instances it is said in
the
Quran they will say it is Allah in other
words the Pagan Arabs recognized that
Allah was the Lord the r that he was the
creator the sustainer that he caused the
rain to fall the crops to grow he gave
life and caused death so this is a fact
that the Pagan Arabs knew and they
recognized similarly Jewish Arabs or
Jews who were living in Arabia at the
time and Christians until today who
speak Arabic refer to God as Allah if
one is to open the
Bible which is written in Arabic then
you will find that the Bible in Arabic
also refers to God as Allah in fact the
very word Allah is very similar to the
words used in Hebrew which of course is
the original Mosaic language and Aramaic
which most Scholars agree was the
language of Jesus then we find that
various words are used for God in Hebrew
including L El Allah
Elohim all of these bear a striking
similarity to the Arabic word for the
Creator
Allah the Aramaic word for God is almost
exactly similar to the Arabic the
Aramaic term and this is the language
that was supposed to or scholars believe
that was used by Jesus is Allah almost
exactly the same as the Arabic term
Allah
so this is not surprising in fact
because both Hebrew and Aramaic are
Semitic languages and Hebrew and Aramaic
and Arabic are in fact very similar
languages so therefore both in terms of
the actual name of God Allah and of
course more importantly the concept of
God the idea that Allah the Creator the
god is a Transcendent being that God is
different and distinct from the creation
God is the one who has brought the
universe into existence who has created
it who sustains it who knows all and
hears all and who guides all things
within this universe to what is good for
them and to what is best for them this
concept therefore of God of Allah of the
Creator is also the same concept concept
that is shared by Judaism and by
Christianity and indeed many other
religions also have in different ways
and in different respects a similar
basic fundamental concept of a supreme
Transcendent being who has brought all
things into existence and sustains them
and maintains
them so this is a fact that the Pagan
Arabs knew and they recognized similarly
Jewish Arabs or Jews who were living in
Arabia at the time and Christians until
today who speak Arabic refer to God as
Allah if one is to open the
Bible which is written in Arabic then
you will find that the Bible in Arabic
also refers to God as Allah in fact the
very word Allah is very simp similar to
the words used in Hebrew which of course
is the original Mosaic language and
Aramaic which most Scholars agree was
the language of Jesus then we find that
various words are used for God in Hebrew
including El ELO Allah Elohim all of
these bear a striking similarity to the
Arabic word for the Creator
Allah the Aramaic word for God is almost
exactly similar to the Arabic the
Aramaic term and this is the language
that was supposed to or scholars believe
that was used by Jesus is Allah almost
exactly the same as the Arabic term
Allah so this is not surprising in fact
because both Hebrew and Aramaic are itic
languages and Hebrew and Aramaic and
Arabic are in fact very similar
languages so therefore both in terms of
the actual name of God Allah and of
course more importantly the concept of
God the idea that Allah the Creator the
God is a Transcendent being that God is
different and distinct from the creation
God is the one who has brought the
universe into existence who has created
it who sustains it who knows all and
hears all and who guides all things
within this universe to what is good for
them and to what is best for them this
concept therefore of God of Allah of the
Creator is also the same
concept that is shared by Judaism and by
Christianity and indeed many other Rel
religions also have in different ways
and in different respects a similar
basic fundamental concept of a supreme
Transcendent being who has brought all
things into existence and sustains them
and maintains them the Quran sums up
this belief in God in a very beautiful
Surah a very beautiful chapter of the
Quran
called andas goes like
this
[Music]
which means say he is Allah the one the
term in Arabic means one and alone this
negates any concept that someone or
something shares in the Divinity of God
shares with God's complete power and
control over all things so God is alone
means not only one but alone and Allah
which means Allah is a a means that
Allah is the one upon whom all things
depend everything depends upon Allah
every atom of the universe Every
Creature every object animate and
inanimate depends completely and
entirely upon Allah while Allah
depends upon nothing Allah is in fact
completely self-sufficient and free from
all wants and free from all needs this
is all understood in the term
ass which means that God is Not begotten
no one has given birth to God God is not
the son or the daughter or the child of
anyone or anything this is emphasizing
and making clear that Allah is distinct
and separate and different from the
creation and also Allah is not the
begetter Allah is not the begetter nor
is he the
begotten God is not the begetter and nor
is he begotten so this also teaches us
that Allah is not in any real physical
sense a father because God is not a
creature to beget to have intimate
relations with for example a woman in
order to beget a child so the Quran
makes it very clear that Allah is
distinct and separate and unique from
his
creation and finally this brief chapter
of the Quran
concludes and there is nothing that can
be likened unto Allah whatever we we can
imagine whatever image that we could put
into our head Allah is not like that
Allah is not like any created thing
Allah is not like the moon Allah is not
like the Sun God Allah is not like a
human being or like an animal Allah is
not e like an existing created thing nor
is Allah a combination of created things
because some people may imagine that God
is a combination of created things maybe
with the body of a human the legs of an
animal the head of another animal no
Allah is not like a created thing or a
combination of created things and since
the
only things that a human being can
actually imagine the only things that we
can actually imagine are created things
we can only ever imagine in our heads
and envisage something either that
exists in reality for example say like a
lion or a rat or the Sun or the moon we
can envisage these things that actually
do exist or sometimes human beings can
create images that are or ideas of
creatures or things that don't actually
exist but they are in fact a combination
of things that do already exist but
Allah is not a created thing Allah does
not look like any created thing
Allah is unique in fact to even imagine
that Allah to even imagine that the
Creator to even imagine that God is like
a created thing is an insult to God it
is an insult to God I'm sure no one no
one of us would like to be called a
piece of dirt no one of us would like to
be called an insect a cockroach a rat
none of us would like to be referred to
in these terms
so how about therefore if we imagine or
envisage that Allah the Creator who is
unique who is albar who is greater than
anything we can imagine that we refer to
Allah in terms or in a manner that we
describe Allah as being like a created
thing this is insulting to Allah this is
insulting to the Creator in order to
really try and
understand how great Allah is I want to
finish by mentioning a saying of prophet
Muhammad the prophet Muhammad may God's
peace and blessings be upon him said
that the Universe compared to the kury
the kury means literally in Arabic it
could mean a chair or a pedestal I'm
sure you must be familiar or you must
have seen pictures or maybe even seen a
throne that a king sits on the king sits
on a throne and the King puts his feet
on a pedestal this is what they call in
Arabic a kury the Quran tells us that
Allah subhana tala has a kury a
pedestal and this kury is compared to
the universe the universe rather
compared to the Kur is like a ring you
know imagine a ring and you take this
ring and you throw it in the desert the
universe is like this ring and the kury
is like the desert that is how vast just
the Cy or the
pedestal of Allah is compared to the
universe and by the way scientists tell
us that our universe is 10 billion light
years across 10 billion light years
that's a distance so vast we can hardly
imagine so for us the universe is huge
but in reality it is like a ring thrown
in the desert compared to the kury and
the kury is like a ring thrown in the
desert compared to the throne of God the
AR or the Throne of God so that means
our universe is like an infantes small
Speck compared to the throne of God how
about then God himself it is beyond
imagining how great God is and if we
understand this fact if we understand
this truth then we must also understand
why it is insulting to Allah that we
should refer to the great wise and
Powerful creator of the heavens and the
Earth as being like or compared to or
similar to some created being in fact
this is a crime that is so
severe it is a crime that is so terrible
in the sight of Allah that if a person
dies and meets Allah on the day of
judgment which is the the day when Allah
will gather all human beings together
after all the human beings have died God
will recreate us and God will question
us about all that we have done in this
life if a person has died imagining or
believing or making some equals or
Partners or Rivals with God or imagining
or believing that Allah is like
something in this universe or imagining
that something in this universe is equal
with Allah they have made such a great
insult to Allah they have made such a
grave insult to the creator of the
heavens and the Earth that he will never
forgive that person the Quran tells us
that Allah could forgive any sin that he
wishes on the day of judgment but he
will not forgive that we have ascribed
partners and that we have ascribed
Rivals and equals to him in fact the
prophet Muhammad told us that on the day
of judgment Allah subhana wa ta'ala will
bring a person and this person had
enjoyed so many things in this world and
Allah will ask this person if you had
the world and everything in it twice
over imagine that everything in the
world all the Palaces all the food all
the wealth all the riches of this world
would you Ransom it now to save yourself
from the Hellfire and when the person
hears that they will say yes my Lord and
Allah will say to that person I asked
you for less than that I only asked you
that you should worship me and worship
only me this is what Allah subhana tala
wants Allah wants us to recognize his
greatness Allah wants us to recognize
his Oneness and of course in this
respect this is where Islam differs with
some aspects of Judaism and some aspects
of Christianity because we believe
that the concept of God has become
corrupted the God is the one God Allah
is the one Creator but in some respects
that concept and that idea of God has
been corrupted by other religions and
the purpose therefore of the Quran is to
return human beings to that correct and
that pure and that true understanding
which is in fact deeply emed within our
own Consciousness our own nature we
believe our very nature helps us to
understand this fact it's what we call
what is called in Arabic f the natural
disposition and that is why in times of
trouble in times of distress when we
really think everything is going to fail
us then that is the moment that we
remember God and we call upon God
completely believing in only the Creator
is going to help us and going to save us
so to
conclude the concept of God in Islam is
a Universal concept the god of the Quran
is essentially the same God as the god
of Moses the god of Abraham the god of
Jesus the God in the Bible and in fact
Allah is the same God that is
universally recognized by human beings
all over the
world