WHY ISLAM IS OPPOSED?

What is Islam?

Meaning of the Arabic word Islam is obedience. It’s another meaning is peace. To attain peace in this world and in the hereafter is the principle proposed by Islam.

 In practice it implies that we have to do whatever our Creator commands us to do in this world and refrain from whatever He prohibits us from. The acts which are commanded by Him are known as Good deeds or ‘punya’ or ‘dharma’. Whereas the acts prohibited by Him are known as evil or ‘paaba’ or ‘adharma’. Whoever accepts and adopts this code of life is known as Muslim (Obedient) in Arabic.

It is free for anyone to accept and adopt this principle and live accordingly. It is not a property of any particular tribe, race, sect, country or color. It is not a new religion too. Right from the beginning of mankind the messengers of God sent by Him to different parts of the world have been preaching the same principle to their respective people to reform them. Today the same has been reintroduced by Prophet Muhammad (peace is upon him)

= whoever follows this way of life – that is doing good and refraining from evil – will be rewarded with paradise in the life hereafter. Whosoever ignores and rejects the way of life proposed by God and live a life of disobedience will enter Hell in the life hereafter.

= The basic tenet of this faith is that exclusively the Creator and Cherisher of the world only deserve to be worshipped. None of His creations, be it a king, be it a spiritual leader, be it a celebrity or any great man … and so on… absolutely do not deserve any worship.  One should strictly refrain from the worship of grave or statue of any dead man or animal or of any senseless and lifeless object. Man should worship God directly without any intermediaries.

= Next important tenet of this faith is that all mankind has originated from a single pair of male and female. That is human beings irrespective of their belongingness to any religion, any country, any color, any race or language are brothers and sisters belonging to the same family. So they are all equal in status and to impose any inequality among them on the basis of country, language, color, race etc is prohibited. Islam says that one can excel over others only through piety. It becomes mandatory on those who accept this principle that they should enjoin good and keep away from evil. They should forbid evil in all possible manners.

Now you can yourself make out why Islam faces so much opposition.

= Those that live upon adharma rise deadly against the spread of dharma. The growth of this faith cannot be tolerated by those who exploit people on the basis of injustice, iniquity, oppression, robbery, usury, prostitution, drugs, etc. The fascist forces and the colonial powers fear that this will undermine their dominance.

= When it is told that man can approach and worship God directly, it displeases the intermediaries who have been exploiting people in the name of God by spreading superstitions in the society hitherto.

= Growth of this movement will not be liked by those who have been exploiting weaker section in the community in the name of superiority of color, race, creed etc.

= As this principle creates awareness of self respect, the people embracing this faith turn against the oppressors. As a result they start fighting against the colonial and oppressive rulers to liberate their countries and safeguard their national wealth from them.

= Thus, this reformation movement spoils the sleep of defenders of Adharma all over the world. Hence they stand united to suppress the growth of Islam.

But the Sovereign Lord and Master of this world say that Islam has been sent as a mercy to mankind and no one can stop the growth of this movement. He declares in His Book thus:

They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah* refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it. (Holy Quran 9:32)

(* Allah means ‘the One and the only God worthy of worship’)

But no one need to fear or worry about the growth of this movement. It does not intend to lift up or defeat or destroy any community, country or race whereas it aims at establishing peace and justice in the world by bringing discipline in individual, family and societal life through self reformation. If this is understood by those who oppose will turn promoters of this movement. That is what indicates the growth of this faith in America and the Europe.

WHY ARE WE HERE? 
http://houseofpeaceblr.blogspot.in/2013/02/why-are-we-here.html

திருக்குர்ஆன் மலர்கள்: பகுத்தறிவால் பயனடைந்த பெரியாரின் தாசன்!

திருக்குர்ஆன் மலர்கள்: பகுத்தறிவால் பயனடைந்த பெரியாரின் தாசன்!: பாரதிராஜாவின் ` கருத்தம்மா ’, ` காதலர் தினம் ’ உள்பட பல்வேறு தமிழ் திரைப் படங்களில் நடித்தவர் பெரியார்தாசன். பச்சையப்பன் கல்லூரியில் பொ...

Is life after death possible?

Why do we need a life after death (Hereafter)?

We need a life after death, because complete justice cannot be established in this world. Let us see a few examples.

Hitler killed six million Jews during his reign of terror.Even if the police had arrested him, what punishment can the human law give Hitler? The most they can do is to send Hitler to the gas chamber. That will only be punishment for the killing of one Jew. What about the remaining five million, nine hundred and ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine Jews?

How do we punish a suicide bomber who kills himself and also kills hundreds of innocent people? We will not be able to punish him as he is already dead.

We have heard of judges writing multiple life sentences which can go up to 100 years for the convicted criminals. This is because the criminal deserves so many years of punishment. Will the convict complete his term of punishment if it is 100 years?

True and perfect justice would mean that the people who were victims are also taken care of. What compensation can we give to those innocent people who were killed by people like Hitler and suicide bombers? We will not be able to compensate them because they are already dead.

Several righteous people were tortured and some even killed. Don’t you think those righteous people should be rewarded for their righteousness?

Rational thinking will lead us to conclude that there is definitely a need for an eternal life after death to compensate people for what they did in this world. God who is most just will not let people go without being rewarded or punished for what they did.

Islamic concept of Hereafter

Islam teaches that the whole world will come to an end one day. All the human beings, from the first man to the last will be brought back to life (Resurrection) on the Day of Judgment and will be questioned for their deeds. People who have done good deeds and lived a life in accordance with God’s command will receive a reward and people who have disobeyed God will be punished. The reward will be Heaven and the punishment will be Hell. The life in Heaven and Hell will be eternal and never-ending.

Since the life in Heaven and Hell is eternal and never ending, God can punish Hitler and the suicide bombers six million times or even more in the hell fire. Similarly, God can reward and compensate countless times, the righteous and the innocent people who were killed.

Is resurrection possible after we die?

God Almighty says in the Quran in Chapter 36: Verse 79, 

Say, "He will give them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all creation, Knowing."

God who created us for the first time will give us life the second time after we die.

We all know that creating something for the first time will be difficult. Repeating the same creation again will not be as difficult as the first time. God did not have any difficulty creating us the first time, why will He find it difficult to give us life after we die? Bringing us back alive after we die is indeed very easy for God.

Issues with the concept of birth and re-birthThe whole of concept of Hereafter (Life after death) rests on complete justice.

One fundamental principle in establishing justice is to make sure that the person who is punished or rewarded is aware why he is punished and rewarded.

For example: the court will not hang the convict if he is insane. The court will wait for him to become sane, as the convict needs to understand that he is being punished for his crime.

You would also be aware that when the judge reads his judgment, he clearly mentions the crimes the convict has done and the corresponding punishment for each crime. This is to ensure that the convict is fully aware, why he is being punished.

Keeping this in mind, we will examine the concept of birth and rebirth.

   1. Do we know if our birth in this world is our first or second or third or Nth?
   2. Do we know for what previous actions of ours we are rewarded or punished in this birth?

If the answer is NO for both the questions above, how can we say that complete justice has been established?

When our judicial system does not accept punishing a person without letting him know why he is punished, how can we imagine that God who is most wise and most just, will punish human beings without letting them know the reason for punishment?

Another aspect of justice is for the victim to know that the aggressor was punished. For example: A man rapes a woman. The man is the aggressor and the woman is the victim. The woman is called to the court and is made to witness the judgment (punishment) for the aggressor. Our common sense would tell us; this is how it should be.

Is this aspect of justice found in birth-rebirth? The answer is NO.

For example: What happened to Hitler? Was he punished? If yes, how many births has he taken? (Ideally, he needs to take 6 million births). Do the people who were killed by him know that Hitler was punished and do they know how he was punished? Were the poor victims of Hitler compensated?

None can answer these questions.

How can we expect such a huge flaw in the justice system of God?
World has to end for complete and perfect justice

The world has to come to an end for complete and perfect justice to be rendered to human beings.

For example:  I plant a tree and the tree benefits people by giving fruits and shade. You would agree that I need to be rewarded for it. Let us say I plant the tree and I die a few years after I planted it. The tree continues to live for some 200 years. If I am re-born before those 200 years, I am not rewarded fully for planting that tree as the effects of that good deed still continue. So I will have to wait for 200 years till the tree dies to be fully rewarded for planting that tree.

This is the case with every good deed you initiate. Imagine starting an orphanage. You can be given the full reward only after the orphanage ceases to exist.

This is the case with a bad deed you do as well. For example: Take the example of the atom bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Doctors say that the consequences of that bomb are still seen today. As long as the consequences exist, the people who were behind the dropping of the bomb can never be fully punished. They have to be brought into complete account for all the damage they caused.

To put it in a nutshell, unless the world ceases to exist, effects of many good and bad deeds will not cease to exist. So logically, the world has to come to an end for complete and perfect justice to be rendered.

This aspect of justice is totally missing in the concept of birth-rebirth.

Hypnosis and Rebirth

The process of hypnotizing a person to make him remember the details of his previous births is called as Past Life Regression. This subject has been studied by various psychiatrists over a period of time.

One such person who did an experiment on this subject was: Nicholas Spanos, who was a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Laboratory for Experimental Hypnosis at Carleton University, Canada.

Spanos’ research leads him to the conclusion that past lives are not memories, but actually social constructions based on patients acting "as if" they were someone else, but with significant flaws that would not be expected of actual memories. To create these memories, Spanos' subjects drew upon the expectations established by authority figures and information outside of the experiment such as television, novels, life experiences and their own desires.

The details of this information can be found in the book "Multiple Identities & False Memories: A Socio-cognitive Perspective. Washington: American Psychological Association."

For the sake of argument, if we agree that the rebirth is proved through hypnosis, it still brings up the issues mentioned above with justice rendered in the concept of birth and rebirth which will lead to the conclusion that God's system of justice is flawed and inadequate.

Such a conclusion will become irrational as God is Most Just and Most Wise.

Aspects of Justice in Islamic concept of Hereafter

1) Each criminal knows what he did and for what he is going to be punished.

"And the record [of deeds] will be placed [open], and you will see the criminals fearful of that within it, and they will say, "Oh, woe to us! What is this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has enumerated it?" And they will find what they did present [before them]. And your Lord does injustice to no one." Quran, Chapter 18: Verse 49.

2) Victims need not despair or lose hope as the full compensation for them will be given on the Day of Judgment.

"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion." Quran, Chapter 3: Verse 185

3)  None can escape being questioned and rewarded or punished for every deed they did.

"So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it." Quran, Chapter 99: Verses 7 and 8.

"The Day every soul will find what it has done of good present [before it] and what it has done of evil, it will wish that between itself and that [evil] was a great distance. And Allah warns you of Himself, and Allah is Kind to [His] servants." Quran, Chapter 3: Verse 30

4)  No injustice is done and people are compensated multiple times for their good deeds which encourages every human being to do as many good deeds as possible.

"Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward." Quran, Chapter 4: Verse 40

Explanation for handicapped children, early deaths etc.

Islam teaches that this whole life is a test and is a temporary place of existence for all the human beings.

"[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving."  Quran, Chapter 67: Verse 2.

People are tested by various ways. It can be through wealth, health, family, longevity etc.

For example: On the Day of Judgment, a wealthy man will be questioned about how he spent his wealth. On the other hand, a poor man will get full marks for the question on wealth, as he had to suffer lack of wealth or poverty.

On the Day of Judgment, we will be questioned how we used our eyes on this earth. On the other hand, by default a blind person will get full marks for the question on usage of eyes.

On the Day of Judgment, we will be questioned how we used our limbs. On the other hand, by default a handicapped person will get full marks for the question on usage of limbs.

We can understand how things will get even on the Day of Judgment.

As a reminder "Indeed, God does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight:" Quran, Chapter 4: Verse 40.

Summary

1. There is a need for a life after death since justice cannot be fully established in this world.

2. The concept of life after death is very rational.

3. The element of perfect justice is missing in the concept of birth and rebirth.

4. Proof for the concept of rebirth using Hypnosis is ambiguous and not proven.

5. All the elements of justice are found in the Islamic concept of life after death (Hereafter).

6. This world is a temporary place of dwelling and the Hereafter is our permanent and eternal abode.

7. This world is a place of test and trial. We are tested by various ways like: wealth, health, family, death etc.

8. God will not do the least bit of injustice to any of us.

Courtacy: www.invitetogod.com