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Originally Posted by Halanna
Why do you have to pray so many times a day? Is it respect to Allah ( is that the correct name?) or a way to salvation or a multi daily confessional of sorts?.
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prayer is considered one of the most important rituals in islamic lifestyle. it is the connection between the person and his Creator, and creates an intimate relationship when done with the right intentions.
it is said that sin is washed away between each prayer. but it can also been seen in another light - increasing ones 'good deeds' therefore tilting the 'scales' in your favour in order to attain the ultimate goal - paradise.
why so many? 5? it is the number god commanded to muhammad. i know what you're going to ask...why 5? im not sure, but i can find that out for you.
however, prayer is not a confessional. we dont have a pope, and our 'confessions' are known by god. as muslims prayer is directed purely at god, and we dont need intermediatries in order to gain access to god. ie. praying to statues, pictures, ikons, or other dieties.
if you are interested i can go into the details of prayer and the requirements of it too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Halanna
Do you confess your supposed sins to Allah (?) and are they forgiven if you do confess?
Is there a thing like the catholics have that you do penance?
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we dont 'confess' our sins as such. God is the 'all - knower' and there is no need to inform god of something that god is aware of already. but when you ask god for forgiveness it must be with the intention that you stop committing that sin. it doesnt have to be in prayer. its the intention of regretting that action and promising oneself and god that you intend on not doing it again.
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Originally Posted by Halanna
Why does the religion believe that women should wear a veil in public?
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the reference to veiling in the Qur'an refers to calling on the women to 'cover their chests and be modest'. however, during the times of muhammad, the women were asked to cover their head, hair and bodies.
now going back to the Hadith and Sunnah which i mentioned earlier (the hadith is the writings of what he did, and the sunnah is was his daily doings) so from these, islamic jurists deduce judgements based those actions that go hand in hand with the Qur'an
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Originally Posted by Halanna
What do you believe happens when you die? Male and female. Are there two different outcomes?
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i touched on this earlier i think, but quite simply theres heaven or there's hell.
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Originally Posted by Halanna
Your original post offered all to ask questions, I'm very sorry if my questions cause offense.
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no offence taken..im glad people can be so open with me. and im happy to reciprocate that openess to everyone here.
---------- Post added at 02:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:14 AM ----------
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Originally Posted by Martian
This is a fascinating thread, and I thank you Dlish for being willing to share your beliefs so openly and help educate those of us who are less informed.
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actually, i was responding to you in another thread, when you mentioned that you didnt know much about islam, so i offered that you PM me if you had any questions. i was PM'd by someone else, so i decided to put post this thread. it was something i'd intended for a while, but was wondering what sort of reception i'd get
so we have you to thank Martian!
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Originally Posted by Martian
A practical question: What are the necessities of Halal? I know there are specific requirements regarding how food is prepared, but I don't know the details. Is it similar to kosher rules?
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similar to jewish kosher, except that kosher is stricter on a lot of other things. Levite touched on it a few weeks ago in another thread, so i welcome his comments!
in laymans terms, halal literally means 'permissable' in arabic. in order for a muslim to eat halal meat, there are certain conditions that must be met.
the first and foremost is that the name of God be mentioned prior to the slaughter.
secondly, the death must be swift, and you must reduce the suffering as much as possible.
thirdly the animal's throat must be cut in a certain spot to drain all the blood.
fourthly - all the blood must be drained from the animal
fifth - the animal cannot be swine. even if swine was killed in the correct manner, it can never be halal, unless in necessities. ie. you're out in the bush and theres nothing else to eat sort of situation.
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Originally Posted by Martian
And a more philosophical question: Does the Muslim faith make allowances for non-Muslims who are basically good people
I'm comparing this to my understanding of Judaism, for example; my understanding is that the Jewish faith holds that, because the Jewish people were the ones who made the pact on Mt. Zion, their beliefs and restrictions don't apply to those outside the faith. Does the Muslim faith teach a similar tolerance for non-believers, or do they take a more strict view?
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as i mentioned earlier, one of the Major sins (a sin that cannot be forgiven except with the mercy of god) is called 'shirk' which means to associate partners unto him. so the non-muslim no matter how good he may have been, if he had commited such a sin, cannot enter paradise.
so in essence, one must be a muslim to enter paradise. however, those that followed the message of the prophets before hand, even though they came to the jews would enter paradise, as they are also considered muslims, as they followed the message of the 'Oneness of God'. the word Muslim literally means 'someone who submits'. by that, it means submitting to the one true god.