Muslim women: veiled, oppressed, trapped, victim of domestic violence, honour killing, lack of human rights. Is this really the status given to women in Islam?
The simple answer to the question posed in the subheading is NO. This is evident from the Qur’anic verse “…and they (women) have rights similar to those (of men)…” (Chapter 2, Verse 229).
The portrayal of Muslim women in the media is immensely distorted and misunderstood. Such representations are a false stereotype and completely contrary to the true teachings of Islam.
Having viewed the above photo, I draw the attention of the viewers to the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), where he explains the characteristics of the donkey of Dajjal / Anti-Christ which was to be ridden by Dajjal who was to appear before the advent of Imam Mahdi and Jesus in a second advent. He said that Dajjal would make an appearance on a white donkey whose two ears would be 30 yards apart and between whose legs there was to be a distance of a day and a night's journey. The donkey was to travel on water as well as land and in the air. It was to eat fire and leave clouds of smoke in front of it as well as behind it when it travelled. He also said that people would ride inside its belly, and not on its back. Today after seeing the trains and aeroplanes and other means of transport we know what the Holy Prophet (saw) was referring to. However, at that time when he explained to his companions about the means of transportation that the Dajjal / Anti-Christ would have, he had to use the vocabulary that people of that time could understand.
Now, the question arises as to why a literal Dajjal / Anti-Christ has not appeared when the prophecy indicating his advent has been fulfilled.
The Disappointment of 1844 will be even greater on the Day of Judgement for those who continued believing “Jesus is God”; died on a cross, raised from death and ascended bodily to heaven and is there alive taking care of spiritual matters.
Though William Miller was incorrect with his month dating, he was nevertheless correct with his calculation of the 19th century. According to both Islamic and Biblical scriptures, the 19th century was the appointed time for the second coming of Jesus. Therefore, the Great Expectation and Disappointment of 1844 must be understood from both a Biblical and Islamic perspective, because it is the belief and teachings of both Christians and Muslims that Jesus was to return some time in the 19th century.
With the exception of one Muslim group who believes that the term second coming is metaphor, and that the prophecy was fulfilled in the 19th century, the remaining Muslims and Christians believe the second coming of Jesus is literal, and by that Jesus will descent from the skies in a physical body.
Prophecy News Live has studied the prophecies and event of the Great Disappointment of 1844 from both Islamic and Biblical teachings, and has published a great dill of information on the fulfilment of the prophecy. Some of the most astonishing facts and conclusive evidence on the issue can be read on Prophecy News Live.
Halloween is a celebration of artificial fear. No goblins or witches are really going to cause harm to us. For Christians, the deeper and more genuine fear may come from within our own faith. If taken seriously, after all, it threatens to upend our society. Let's look at just five scary directives of Jesus, taken from the Gospels:
“I am not a seeker after religion, but rather a seeker after truth, truth which has been manifested through scriptural prophecies. In this age, true Muslims preach the fulfilment of Islamic prophecies, and the reappearance of Jesus is a fulfilled prophecy of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). Indeed, the reappearance of Jesus has fulfilled in Islam just as the second advent of the Prophet Elijah has been fulfilled in Judaism and Christianity”; says Iman Jihad Fedee, a former Christian borne in the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, who converted to Islam when he changed his Christian name from Crispin Fedee to his Muslim name - Iman Jihad Fedee.
_________________________________________________________________________________
After converting to Islam through the Sunni Muslim sect, in 2008 Iman Jihad joined the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community becoming the only Ahmadi Muslim on the Island of St. Lucia. Concerning this decision he said in an interview with Prophecy News Live, “my duty is not only to propagate the true teachings of Islam as taught by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, but in this age, true Muslims must also propagate the fulfillment of his prophecies and that of the Holy Qur'an".
According to Iman Jihad, the establishment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a result of prophecies foretold. And by that, the prevailing decline and internecine strife among Muslims of our time are matters of which the Holy Prophet Muhammad prophesied. Through divine revelation, he prophesied one thousand four hundred years ago that in latter days, the religion would be in a state of decline - at which time, Muslims would split into several sects. He described the pitiable plight of Muslims in such detail; as of a view of our time had unfold to him. Thus, the Prophet's predictions has come true. His prophecies contain graphic descriptions of Muslims of our time. However, along with such sorrowful forewarnings, Prophet Muhammad(saw) also gave glorious tidings. He said that in spite of the dire distress true Islam would not perish and by that, God will raise in the beginning of every century Reformers who will restore the purity of Islam. 'The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community was no doubt a Reformer'; said Iman Jihad.
One of the Bible’s most astonishing and incredible stories is that of the first two persons to settle in Mecca after the flood. Hagar is known as an African Arab woman from Egypt and the second wife of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) who bore Abraham’s first child named Ishmael. It is said that, by God’s command, while Ishmael was still an infant, the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) journeyed his second wife Hagar and their child into the wilderness and left them there to settle. At which time the land was nothing but barren desert, unpopulated having no signs of food or water. But with time, the place grew into what is now known today as the Holy City of Mecca.
Now concerning this, the following Biblical verses says that God spoken to Hagar at the time when she and her baby Ishmael were alone in this wilderness now called Mecca. At which time, God heard their cry; an Angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said unto her:
It is 120 years since the prophecy of the eclipses prophesized by the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) which indicated the arrival of Imam Mahdi has been fulfilled. Concerning this prophecy, as reported by Muhammad bin Ali, the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) is reported to have said:
"There are two signs for our Mahdi which have never been manifested for any claimant since the creation of heaven and earth. They are that the moon will be eclipsed in the month of Ramadan on the first of the nights appointed for its eclipse, and the sun will be eclipse in the same month of Ramadan on the middle one of the days appointed for its eclipse". (Sunan Dar Qutni, Vol. 1; p. 188)
Almighty God has provided for all our physical needs. The Holy Quran says:
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth (2:30).
And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; all this is from Him (45:14).
Just as Almighty God has taken care of all our physical needs, He has also provided for our spiritual and moral needs. For this purpose He has been sending His Messengers and Reformers in all parts of the world among all nations from time to time. Thus the Holy Quran says:
As we know from our daily experience, metaphors persuade us to stop and think. It is this deeper reflection that brings forth desired wisdom. In addition to better comprehension, the acceptance of this latent wisdom results in bigger and better rewards, while rejection of accepting the metaphoric light may result in misguidance. For example, the Jews were waiting for the advent of Messiah; when Jesus (peace be upon him) presented himself as the awaited Messiah, they objected saying that the prophet Elijah had to physically descend from heaven before the advent of Messiah; as Elijah had not physically descended from heaven, they refused to accept him.
On 18 Feb. 2014, Pastor Jamie Coots died after being bitten by a poisonous snake in a controversial religious practice.
The 10th time he'd been bitten and the 10th and final time he refused medical treatment. He's one of the community of Christians who say vipers are as vital to their services as the bible itself.
Pastor Coots and his followers believe they are called by god to handle venomous serpents. It comes from a passage from the bible that they take literally.
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them…” (Mark: 16:18)
Pastor Jamie Coots: "I know its life or death every day. I realize that. I choose that. I believe this is what the bible means".
Pastor Coots refused treatment. Cody Coots, the pastor's son: "I was just standing there, and I seen him get bit. And he dropped the snakes. And he picked them back up… He always told me you get bit you either die at home or god brings you through".
Mark 16:9-20 has been called a later addition to the Gospel of Mark by most New Testament scholars in the past century. The main reason for doubting the authenticity Mark 16:9-20 is that it does not appear in some of the oldest existing witnesses, and it is reported to be absent from many others in ancient times by early writers of the Church. Moreover, the ending has some stylistic features which also suggest that it came from another hand. The Gospel is obviously incomplete without these verses, and so most scholars believe that the final leaf of the original manuscript was lost, and that the ending which appears in English versions today (verses 9-20) was supplied during the second century. Regarding this, in following video on Religious Hard Talk, a courageous Christian Theologian (SDA Professor) explains the Bible’s current state of authenticity.
If we Examine Trinity, through the lens of the Old Testament, It is not Believable! Rabbi Tovia Singer makes a good point about absence of Trinity in the Old Testament and Prof. William Lane Craig has no genuine answer as to why God confused and not give the complete picture of Divinity to the Jewish prophets for 2000 years before Jesus, may peace be on him. However, William Lane Craig, an expert and an articulate debater that he is, weaves a verbose response of confusing and not defined terms, to keep those who are indoctrinated into Triune understanding bewildered! The fact of the matter is that the term Trinity is not mentioned even in the New Testament.
For 2000 years before Jesus, the Jews never thought of Trinity, as in Craig’s own words there was no reason to, going by the Old Testament. So, how can Trinity be legitimate if none of the Old Testament Prophets preached it. Mind you, the Old Testament makes 75% of the Bible and the New Testament mounts to nothing if it is not preceded by the Old Testament and that was the reason, why the Christian Fathers included it in the canon of the Bible.
The Unitarians build their case on what is central and fundamental and explain away allegoric and peripheral in light of that and the Trinitarians do the exact opposite and no wonder their teachings give rise to countless contradictions and absurdities, some of which are highlighted in the articles linked below. One I would mention here, a literal son, who is co-eternal with his Father, as the Trinitarians will have us believe, is logically and philosophically, simply silly. The Father has to at some point in time father the literal son and predate him, otherwise the son is literally not a son! Additionally, even if Jesus was magically eternal before, when he died for three days and three nights by the Trinitarian, childish counting, he is not eternal anymore. The understanding of what the debaters are doing is certainly in light of a profound verse of the Holy Quran, from Sura Aal-e-Imran, as the Rabbi focuses on central and fundamental and William Lane Craig, like any other Trinitarian, obsesses over what is ‘susceptible of different interpretations.’ The Quran says:
He (Allah) it is Who has sent down to thee (Muhammad) the Book; in it there are verses that are decisive in meaning — they are the basis of the Book — and there are others that are susceptible of different interpretations. But those in whose hearts is perversity pursue such thereof as are susceptible of different interpretations, seeking discord and seeking wrong interpretation of it. And none knows its right interpretation except Allah and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge; they say, ‘We believe in it; the whole is from our Lord.’ — And none heed except those gifted with understanding. (Al Quran 3:8)
The Trinitarians choose to obsess over Jesus and God the Father, but seldom or infrequently trouble the Holy Ghost. In their obsession about the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Trinitarian apologists choose to read the Triune God, every time the word ‘God’ is mentioned in the Old Testament, which is hundreds of times, but, for 2000 years before Jesus, none of the Jews ever read the word in Triune terms and understood only one God, who is God the Father, in the later Trinitarian Christian understanding.
Churches have done awfully strange things to attract new worshippers -- and one Pennsylvania congregation took a leap of faith with its 'God Loves Sex' billboard.
“Thinking maybe it’s advertising the 309 Cinema, but it’s actually advertising a church. I just thought it was a little off the wall,” said Joyce Smetana.
"What we want to do is let people know that the Bible is relevant to everyday life. When it comes to sexuality... God is the inventor, author and creator of it," Restored Church's Pastor Dan Nichols told HuffPost.
“If the culture can be so bold, I think the church can be so bold and speak directly on the subject and be up front about it," Nichols told WNEP 16.
Restored Church opened its doors on September 8, 2013 and has a congregation of roughly 100. The church's first billboard was erected for its grand opening with a message that read "No perfect people allowed", with the intention, Nichols said, of highlighting Jesus' own perfection.
The strategy worked at the time, but the feedback over the recent billboard has been mixed, Nichols said, with particularly harsh criticism coming from other Christians.
The establishment of Ahmadiyya Jama'at in Jamaica is not a result of luck or chance. It is fulfillment of prophecy of its Founder. The Promised Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was certain that his message would have successfully reached every corner of the earth as God had assured him: ''I will carry thy message to the ends of the earth''. This was an astonishing announcement at that time coming from a man whose message had not yet left his tiny village in India, and whose followers at that time did not even number fifty. Today however, his community is the most dynamic, fastest growing revival movement within Islam. It span over 206 countries with a membership of over 260 million – Muslim men and women standing united under one spiritual leader called Khalifa. In fact, since the demise of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) a little over a century ago, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been the primary Islamic organization to reestablish central authority or Khilafat, (spiritual institution of successor-ship to prophethood). Over a century ago, the Promised Messiah reminded his followers of God Almighty’s promise to safeguard the message of Islam through Khilafat. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community believes that only spiritual successor-ship can uphold the true values of Islam and unite humanity. Five spiritual leaders have succeeded the Promised Messiah since his demised in 1908. Its headquarters, and fifth and current spiritual head, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, resides in the United Kingdom.
Scriptures Preceding The Holy Qur’an Were Not Granted Divine Protection.
The Qur'an points out that all the previous Scriptural Books were sent for specific nations and times. As those Books were not final and universal, they were not provided the special protection for authentication and against interpolations as was granted to the Holy Qur'an. Regarding the formation of the Bible, in this video, a courageous Jamaican Christian Theologian (SDA Professor) explains the Bible’s current state of authenticity.
KIM LAWTON, correspondent: "We visit the Islamic Center of Greater Miami to look at the rising number of Latino Muslims in the US—as many as 250,000, according to estimates. Some of the converts say that in Islam they have found theological simplicity and “no intermediaries with God.” The Islamic Circle of North America reports that more than half of the US Latino converts are women. “I just felt that the minute I put my head down to the ground,” says Nadia Echevrria, “I felt like I was really talking to God.”"
LAWTON: Today, Ruiz is an attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Miami. And he’s part of one of the fastest growing segments of Islam in the US: Latino Muslims. More and more Hispanics are embracing Islam, in part, Ruiz says, because they find a cultural familiarity that stretches back centuries, to the Moors in Spain.
RUIZ: Latinos soon reconnect with a hidden past. They say, “Islam is not really that foreign to us. Islam is us. It’s part of us.” Four thousand words from Spanish come from Arabic: Camisa, pantalón, tomate, ensalada.
RORAIMA AISHA KANAR: After going to, Catholic school for 12 years, my faith needed a little bit more depth in it, and I was able to find it in Islam.
LAWTON: Most Latino converts come out of Christianity, especially Catholicism.
NUSAIBA GUERRERO-MACIAS: The Trinity was very confusing to me. I didn’t understand how God was a man or how man could become a god.
NADIA ECHEVRRIA: I just felt that the minute I put my head down to the ground, I felt like I was really talking to God.
LAWTON: Ruiz says many Latinos like that in Islam, there are no intermediaries with God, such as priests.
Depictions of Jesus throughout history have caused controversy for many in the Christian faith. The Gospel accounts do not present a description of Jesus’ physical form, yet many different ideas of what he looked like have emerged over two thousand years. Some believe the images are not biblically consistent, and even disruptive to one’s personal view of God and themselves.
KIM LAWTON, correspondent: "For two thousand years, visually depicting Jesus, whether in sacred art or pop culture, has been a complicated, often controversial endeavour".
PROF. EDWARD BLUM (San Diego State University): "We vest so much emotion into the figure of Jesus, whether it’s love him, find our redemption through him, whether it’s animosity toward Jesus, that you live in a culture that, that prizes Jesus and you don’t believe in him, the stakes are so high, the emotions are so high. ...Whenever we give bible figures actual visible bodies, it can play into our own problems with, whether it’s race or gender or sexuality".
“I, the
claimant of both these dignities, have been among you for twenty-five years.
Who then are you waiting for beside me? All these signs refer to the one who is
present at the time of their manifestation, and not to someone of whom there is
no trace in the world. It is a case of strange hard-heartedness. I simply fail
to understand why people still await someone else when my claim has been
affirmed by all the relevant signs and all opposition against me has
frustrated! …I prophesy that after me and till the end of days, no Mahdi will
ever appear from God who will create disturbance in the world through war and
bloodshed, nor will there be any Messiah who will descend physically from
heaven. You had better bid farewell to both these notions. These are vain
desires which the people of this generation will carry with them to the grave.
No Messiah will descend and no blood-thirsty Mahdi will appear. He who was to
come has come, and I am that one fulfilling God’s promise. He who does not
accept me, fights God for having sent me”. [The Essence of Islam vol. 4, pp.
101-102. Majmu’ah Ishtihaarat, vol. 3, p. 520].
Judaism Christianity and Islam are the three monotheistic (Abrahamic) Faiths, and for centuries prior to the advent of Islam, Jews and Christians have been at variance with regard, both, to the birth as well as the death of Jesus Christ who was born among the Jews. Islam, being the youngest of the three Semitic faiths stands practically as the adjudicator guided by God. Unlike the Jews who totally rejects Jesus’ Divine Office, Islam confirms and teaches that Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him), was a true and beloved prophet of God just like the Old Testament prophets before him, and that he was the Messiah foretold for the Jewish people in their scriptures. In this respect, a commonality of Christians and Muslims is the belief in the Holy personage of Jesus – though they hold their respective teachings concerning his life and purpose.
If religion is from the Almighty Creator, it should be comprehensible and simple so as to make sense to persons of all ethnic group and intellectual levels. Therefore, for religion to have its natural and proper place in one’s spiritual and everyday life, it must be founded upon facts – though many will dislike the truth. In this discourse we venture to explain the meaning of the Biblical term “mark of the beast”. And on this note we will agree that when interpreting scriptural allegorical expressions, interpretations should be supported by rational and irrefutable logical facts.
First, what really is the beast in the sight of God? Answering this question, God states in the Qur’an:
“Surely, the worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are the disbelievers, who will not believe” (Qur’an 8:56).
The question now arises; how can we recognize the Biblical Beast? Who are they? What physical signs identifies them?
Among the many signs supporting the reappearance
of Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of false prophets. In fulfillment
of this prophecy, the world had never witnessed false prophets before, like it
did in the last decades of the 19th and early 20th century. During which time
there appeared several men and women from around the world claiming to be
prophet and forerunners of Jesus (peace be upon him). Among the many, there was
not another like Dr. John
Alexander Dowie of Zion, Illinois, a prominent American
Christian evangelist spiritual healer who enjoyed good health and wealth. Dr.
Dowie was an uncrowned King in his founded city named Zion. In 1901 he claimed
to be Prophet Elijah the Third who came to prepare the way for the expected
descent of Christ.
Rabbi Tovia Singer makes a good point about absence of Trinity in the Old Testament and Prof. William Lane Craig has no genuine answer as to why God confused and not give the complete picture of Divinity to the Jewish prophets for 2000 years before Jesus, may peace be on him. However, William Lane Craig, an expert and an articulate debater that he is, weaves a verbose response of confusing and not defined terms, to keep those who are indoctrinated into Triune understanding bewildered! The fact of the matter is that the term Trinity is not mentioned even in the New Testament. 
NUSAIBA GUERRERO-MACIAS: The Trinity was very confusing to me. I didn’t understand how God was a man or how man could become a god.
