Hence if i was born into a muslim family they will influence me and i will grow up to be a muslim
Similarly a jew/sikh/christian is so because they are born into jew/sikh/christian families etc, similarly an atheist born into an athiest family will probably be an athiest because of the influence his/her family has over them.
so..
How can we say non muslims will go to hell?? when its not their fault they were born in a family following another faith, Allah introduced them into this world through a family of another faith. I know if i was born in a family of sikhs i would probably follow sikhism as in my eyes I would only know sikh as my religion and would believe beyond doubt that its the true religion. The same can be said in all cases.
So does this mean non-muslims and muslims alike will be going to heaven?
You are wrong. There is a verse in the very begining of Quran (in second or third chapter) in which allah explains that he has deliberately blocked their minds so that they do not listen (sorry, the words can be different, but meanming is same)....
and in another verse Allah explains that for this invalidity (blockled mind) he will send them to hell.
"And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false," *(2 Thess. 2:11). *
"And the Lord said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go," *(Exodus 4:21). *
"So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and** He hardens whom He desires," **(Rom. 9:18).
"But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today
"For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses," (Joshua 11:20).
so Allah hardens their hearts and then sends them to hell for it?
rizwanfareed...beautiful point. I couldnt agree with you more. a majority of us do not have the time or patience or the correct sources to research on the "True" religion and way of life. just as christians do not spend their time researching the wonderful things about islam, we do not research the wonderful religions such as for example buddhism. and if we believe in a fair and just god, then a fair and just god wont send people to hell for living thier lives the way their nature is, and human nature is to think oneself superior to others.
I don't understand that thinking when people say if you are not following religion X you will go to Hell. God made all prophets and religions so the Word of God could spread around the world. People follow their beliefs and customs in different ways but the root is the same. When you look at the major religions of the world the basics are all very similar. So how can we say that a Buddhist who is peaceful, compassionate, kind and humble will go to Hell?
Following info is just FYI for other sources. May/May not reflect my point of view. Hence I am not arguing about them:
First of all There is no defination of "RELIGION". If you consider all the major religions of the world you cannot come up with a single theory that will define all.
Buddha inspired himself by hinduism. He eventually realized and is considered "awaken" one. Bhudist all try to achieve this awakened state. Now its all good but bhudism isn't exactly a practical religion because it is self-less [a good thing] and rely on others (for food and basic necessities) [bad thing]. Also there are some aspects of life and universe that doesn't make sense in bhuddist philosphy.
Source Book : What Man Beleives by Evans ...
Praying to idols is considered the oldest religion of the world. Doesn't attract most people now, since its man made idols. There are many theories such as these idols are just representation of gods cuz humans can associate tangible things more than intangible
People of the book (ISlam, judiasm, christianity...) [Islamic perspective:] is same religions that started with Adam n Eve (AH). It was changed by people as time progressed hence it was re-affirmed. (In a way it is the original and oldest religion of the world but generally not accepted by most religions)
What does it say about original rizwan question? Nothing :)
hmm im kinda confused about this topic as well...it's been a major debate in my family and among friends as well. I was told that ppl of the book will not go to hell...am i wrong?
Its true that as a child you have really no way of knowing right from wrong, as to what your parents teach you. And that is why, those who die as children will not likely be grilled on their beliefs. But once you grow up, you are exposed to all kinds of faiths and beliefs and you should chose the right path. Thats the choice all humans have in this world.
And this is not an unrealistic assumption as well. You see plenty of "muslims" who are born to regular muslim parents and grow up to follow something else. A lot of christians, hindus and muslims grow up to be practically atheist, by not following anything of the religion and faith systems of their parents. Many people convert to other religions. There are people I know who converted from Budhism to Christianity. It happens all the time.
However, if you present an argument that people born in far-flung tribes of African and South American (etc) rain forests, who have no access to information and knowledge from rest of the world, how can they be expected to find the true path of their Creator, when they had no way of knowing... I'd say, Allah shall decide on their fate. Like He will decide on everyone else's ofcourse.
Dats completely wrong. Allah only hardened thier hearts beacuse they said such things to prophets as,'' Why doesn't your God sends a storm on us or uproots our civilisation if he claims to be that powerful and then Allah sent them what they wanted. A curse that they will never come to the right path even if they see it afterall they wanted him to display his godliness didn't they. You know what when Prophet Muhammad (Sallalah-o-alyehey wa Aal-e-he wasallam) was born, Jews recognised him immediately as the Prophet who Jesus (Hazrat Esa) had I already prophicised about but the only reason they restrained from accepting his Prophet-hood was that he was the great great grandson of Hajar not Sara. So you see they Rejected Allah and Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and they tried to slaughter Jesus they burnt the real torah and started worshiping a golden lamb instead. I GUESS THAT ALLAH DOES HAS THE RIGHT AND THE POWER TO BLOCK THIER HEARTS AFTER WHAT THEY DID. If you on not agree with his Holly wisom then you might as well declair yourself as an Atheist. Why live in confusion?
Who is a Kufr? ………..The person who rejects the ayats of Quran. And the person who accepts Islam but follows nothing Islamic or follows very little that is Islamic. A Muslim who very rare offers namaz, consume alcohol, misbehaves with his women, indulges himself in luxury, tortures innocents, money maker for personal gains…….all fall into the category of Kufr and are definitely destined to hell.
I doubt if Allah sends the majority of Muslims to heaven.
Non-Muslims are secondary.
A long time ago a mouse was sleeping in the forest under a tree. A gush of wind went through the forest and knocked a branch of the tree down, and as the branch fell it landed on the sleeping mouse. The mouse woke up and startled it began to run!
The mouse ran faster and faster passing a rabbit, the rabbit asked “Why are you in such a hurry?” The mouse said, “Because the wind blew hard and knocked a tree branch down hitting me.”
The rabbit then began to run with the mouse and as they ran they came upon a marten. The marten asked, “Why are you in such a hurry?” The rabbit said, “Because when the mouse was sleeping the wind blew hard uprooting an entire tree almost killing all the animals that were beneath it!”
The Marten then became startled and in fear began to run with other animals, and as they ran they came upon a goat. The goat asked, “Why are you in such a hurry?” To which the Marten replied, “Because when the mouse was sleeping their was an earthquake which caused an opening in the earth almost swallowing all the animals that were in its’ path!”
The goat then became startled as well and in fear ran with the other animals. Every animal that came upon their path became startled with the ever changing story… what a task it would be to catch them
…
Im sorry I think that I have the right to question my faith and If you are going to follow something blindly…by all means go ahead and do it and call me an atheist while u are at it, doesnt make a difference to me. I will still question the parts of islam, chirstianity, judaism etc that i do not agree with. because if i was sent to the world to follow religion blindly, then i would have no need for a MIND and brain.
When you speak of “They” who are u referring to? the people who lived hundreds of years ago who did not accept the prophet due to their egos? ok so lets agree with your statement here and say that to get back at what they did allah hardened their hearts…two problems with this…
That means allah wanted to make things harder for his prophet…why harden their hearts when he could soften their hearts and make life a whole lot easier? if allah loves the prophet so much he should have made everyone accept islam. so maybe he did it to test the prophet? so in that case it isnt still the fault of those people if allah is responsible for making them accept islam or reject it.
You cannot…i repeat…cannot…hold the jews and christians today responsible for what happened hundreds of yrs ago. and if u say that they have a responsibility to go back and learn what really happened and question their religion…all i have to say to that is…look what people had to say to me when i question my religion…they call me an atheist. not very encouraging is it?
and finally …an atheist is someone who does not believe in God. My belief in God is strong…its the people that I dont trust because they are people just like me and not perfect.
you see shweetdreamz knows where I am coming from in my original question, I am a muslim and Inshallah I aim to be a good one too, however my discussion does not make me a non believer, i only find it intruiging when people say all non muslims will go to hell and i explained why i find this confusing based on my argument earlier.
how about pple that live in the wildnerness (africa , south america, wherever.)...and have no contact with the "outside world"...how do they know antyign about religion, and what other kinds of religion is out there, and if islam is the true religion for everyone..what will happen to them???? will they go to hell?
one more thing....what aobut pple that are true to their religion (eg catholic)...pray to god daily, never did any bad things, and etc...what woudl happen to them? the only difference between them are good muslim pple is the fact they have a more emphasis on jesus....