Jefferson 1800
Thankyou so much for your reply. I have a question for you that I have been wondering about for a while .. OneGod and any others reading this, please add your comments as well
I understand that the Sunni stream of islam holds more strongly to the Hadiths than the Shi'ite stream does? Is that true?
Now, the Hadiths are important as sources of information but they are not part of God's revelation to Muhammad, for only the Qur'an holds that place?
the Sunna and the Hadiths teach Muslims how to live based on Muhammad's life and the Quran
When a Muslim reads the hadith or Islamic history , and the action seems to contradict Qur'anic teaching, how do they/ you reconcile this?
For example, the Qur'an seems to give the impression, that Muslims are not to attack the people of the book unless they are attacked first. the Qur'an seems to give the impression that the holy places of the People of the Book are not to be attacked ( surat al-hajj 40)
This would give the impression, that when Muhammad sought to expand Islam by the sword, his expansion into christenised areas and against the Jews in Mecca was quite contrary to the Qur'an.
Whereas the Qur'an permitted four wives, Muhammad took many others, including a child.
In the hadiths, some dilemmas are found for example, muhammed espoused the medicinal virtues of camel urine "The prophet ordered them to follow his camels and drank their milk and urine, till their bodies became healthy. (7:590)
Muhammed taught that anyone who "neglected his sunnah did not belong to him." in other words, if you don't do what he did, you are unacceptable to Allah.
The hadith and the Sunna to a Muslim appear to give the impression that Muhammad was a picture of perfection.. "the best of the prophets and his creeds the noblest of all creeds." yet, we see that he behaved and believed many questionable things, and was even quite superstitious.
To discuss Muhammad's life is one thing, to try and copy it, as commanded by many Muslim websites, is something quite different. The historical accounts that are held in christendom presents a Muhammad who declared "fight the pagans wherever you find them." (Sura 9:5). the World within Islam presents a man who is seen as a hero and a blessing and noble.
OneGod, here is a quote from the website you gave me
Muslims were fighting to attain God's pleasure, to raise God's word over all others and to remove material obstacles facing Islam which aims to liberate man from slavery and oppression. On the other side of the spectrum, the Pagans were fighting for lowly worldly aims, corrupt decrepit ideas or in fanatic support of a tribe or clan.
Reality is.. when they battled, they were promised salvation.. and all that that meant to them as rewards in paradise
"Let those fight in the cause of Allah, who sell the world for the Hereafter. To him who fights in the cause of Allah, whether He is slain, or gets victory, soon shall we give him a reward of great value." (Sura 4:74)
If this is the only way to be assured salvation for your soul, wouldn't you also fight in the battles?
If you look at history from both perspectives.. christian and Muslim, the same scene can produce a totally different, equally justifiable picture, which is why any discussion on Muhammad must be outside the Christian/Muslim historical perspective.
I am interested in your responses
Carol