Some religions have strict codes against idol-worshipping, however it is not clear what is idol-worshipping and what is not. This article is written to stimulate discussion on this topic.
Padma Kappa in her Patheos article wishes Hindus to distance from the terms “polytheist” and “idol-worships.” Her concern is to find a proper fit with monotheist exclusivist Christians, Jews and Muslims (Abrahamics) in America.
Just like anyone else, I am a man with a wavering-mind and I need a focus point to pray to the God. When I visit any Hindu temple, I expect to take “darshan” of more than 20 idols (deities) and will bow to every one of them. It is not enough “idolatry” for me so I will also visit Jain and Buddhist temples and bow to many more “idols.” Further, I have bowed to Jesus and Mary’s “idols” and have eaten Jesus’ body (bread); thought I did not like the taste of the wafer! I have also
The word idol can be defined very broadly. A Christian radio described “idolatry” as being “idle,” praying to the cross without faith, being alcoholic and drug addict and so on. If so, I am absolutely not an idol-worshipper. I rarely watch television and love to live very active life. Further, I prefer to spend time for betterment of society than into religious institutions trying to please the God, if there. However, to an intolerant Abrahamic who has an allergy to the word idolatry, I would certainly tell that I am a proud idol-worshipper.
During my childhood, I have seen my mother going every morning to several temples, putting flowers on some sacred stones, tightening a red thread around a Pipara tree trunk, watering to a holy Tulsi shrub; and while returning bowing and feeding a cow. Whatever her approach may be to connect to the God, I have certainly learned from her to respect any and every one, including the Mother Nature and animals.
The Hindu Namaste greeting means I see divine in you and blow to you, how beautiful! I am so proud to be taught Hindu Philosophy of seeing God in every one, be that my boss or servant. Respect to others and nature around us will certainly make this World a better place to live, rather than being an exclusivist or man-centric.
Swami Vivekananda had no reservation associating with the word idol. He has stated, “If such (his guru) Ramakrishna Paramahamsas are produced by idol-worship, what will you have – – the reformer’s creed or any number of idols? Yes idolatry is condemned! Why? Nobody knows. Because some hundreds of years ago some man of Jewish blood happened to condemn it? That is, he happened to condemn everybody else’s idols except his own.”
By reading the Bible and Koran, I learned that Abrahamic faith scriptures provided no tolerance for the believers in “other gods.” It is basically a war of “us” against “them”. The first of two of the Ten Commandments state that there is no god other than LORD God and if you pray to other gods, the LORD God will punish you for several generations (Exodus 20:3-5). The Bible states, “Our God is greater than all gods.” (II Chronicles 2:5) Jesus said, “Who is not with me is against me.” (Matthews 12:12) Further, He added, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
To add to it, Lord Krishna also stated “I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings” (Gita 10:20) and “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects.” (Gita 4.11) Then, is Krishna’s message any less exclusivist than the Christ?
Scriptures cannot be changed now but we have to learn to interpret the scripture in its context and historical significance. It is possible Jesus may have said a few statements in his “parabola” to explain to a common man in a simple way but others may have over-interpreted him. Actually, Jesus himself never used the word “idol” or “other gods” in any of his direct messages. It is difficult to believe that Jesus, who changed the Second Commandment of jealousy and anger to – Love thy neighbor – (Matthew 22:39), will ever recommend to send Mahatma Gandhi to hell just because Gandhi was not Baptized or Gandhi did not endorsed that Jesus is the true savior.
Is my idol better than yours? Is my Barbie doll better than yours? Instead of fighting, why not go and play with all dolls, if allowed to.
It is time to give up childish talk and be a true pluralist.
Readers, can you help make a list of “idols” used by different religions? Who is an idol worshipper and who is not? Express your views?
Return to InterfaithShaadi.org
Be a friend on FACEBOOK.
| Religion | Idols? | Counter views |
|---|---|---|
| Islam | Kabaa, Koran, Muhammad, Mecca, stone house, Darga of Saints, Ayatolla, Persian writings, Apostle’s (PBUH) act of kissing the stone, go to a grave and pray the dead, blank wall, Hafiz Ali, idols inside Kaaba?…? | Indian,… |
| Judaism | Jerusalem Wall, candle, Star of David, …? | Christianity | Gold and wood crosses, Mary, Baby Jesus, John, Peter, Paul, Pope, Mother Teresa, Santa Clause, Our Lady of Guadalupe, angel, ….?? | Hinduism | The list will be too long, since Hindus have liberty to see the God in any thing and anybody. They will say we see divine in you, namaste! | rkdskd, …. | Sikhism | Guru Granth Sahib, A statue or photo of Guru Nanak, the Golden Temple, … | SikhiWiki |
Sant Kabir on idol-worshipping:(15th century)
Broadcast, O mullah, your merciful call to prayer–you yourself are a mosque with ten doors.
Make your mind your Mecca, your body the Kaaba–your self itself is the Supreme Master.
In the name of Allah, sacrifice your anger, error, impurity–chew up your senses, become a patient man.
The Lord of the Hindus and Turks is one and the same–why become a mullah, why become a sheikh?
Kabir says, brother, I’ve gone crazy–quietly, quietly, like a thief, my mind has slipped into the simple state. (Adi Granth, Raga Bhairava, Shabad-4)
So I’m born a weaver, so what?
I’have got the Lord in my heart.
Kabir: secure in the arms of Ram,
free from every snare. (Add Granth, Sakhi 82; Hawley and Juergensmeyer 2004:p58)
Other articles written by InterfaithShaadi:
Bar Mitzvah for Hindus?,
Torah on Hindus?,
Koran on Hindus?,
Bible on Hindus?,
Hindus, Abrahamics and Intolerants,
Can Allah be the Father God?,
A Jealous and Angry God,
One God, Allah?,
Idol Worshippers: Who is and Who is Not,
Circumcision: Science or Superstition? ,
Saif and Kareena: Religion and Marriage,
Religious Conversion for Marriage,
Ten Points of Interfaith Dating ,
FAQ on Interfaith Marriage,
45% of Muslims Marry outside their faith,
38% of Hindus marry Abrahamics,
Interfaith Marriages: A Message to Dharmics,
Hindu-Muslim marriages,
Hindu girl/boy, Muslim girl/boy,
Hindu-Christian Marriage,
Hindu-Jew marriages,
Meera Verses Margaret,
Marriage laws,
Follow Jesus not the church
Be a friend on Facebook. Return to InterfaithShaadi.org. To share your experience, read.
A Muslim Girl: My Boyfriend is a Hindu…....Rahul or Javed?
All the stories told in the holy books of the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an put the next generation man in front of the man of the previous generation in order to judge him, to try and start improving himself. In order to see that enmity and malice or absolute adherence to a particular way of thinking, which is prejudice, brings misery to man and destruction to the world, because the cause of all the murders and robberies committed by people who claim to worship God is that They forgot that God was the destination and made the path to reach Him, which is not more important than the destination itself, the criterion of their own judgment and action. I think the first and most basic lesson we should learn from the analysis of these events is to do our best to accept each other as we are and not to judge other people through the lens of our own beliefs and to respect each other’s rights.
Excellent message! We like it. To do good karma is more important than the destination. This is very true, “best to accept each other as we are and not to judge other people through the lens of our own beliefs and to respect each other’s rights.”
Nonsense. Kaaba is a direction for Muslims to pray. Single direction is followed to establish unity in prayer. Kaaba is not God or idol. Allah is the only God for Muslims. Allah has no form or image. There’s no idol for Allah. Every Muslim knows it and nobody thinks otherwise. How foolish of you to assume about a religion in which you have zero knowledge. Quran is our holy book and Prophet Muhammad PBUH is our guide, so on. You don’t even know what’s an idol is. Insensible article. This shows how useless your portal is.
Your answer is called apologetics …
You seriously need to go to school and get some education about religions. May God help you in understanding him and his faith. Spitting towards the sky will not make anything but your face dirty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48D468WzDeQ
please watch this link .
When a Muslim bow five a day at exact time like a clock, who they are bowing to?
1) Is that to Saudi Arabia (not Mother-India or Germany)?
2) Is that Kaaba building complex (sure, it is beautiful!)
3) Is that to wonderful black cloth covering kaaba?
4) Is that to stones made that cube? or
5) Is that all idols stored inside the cube?
Why Kaaba worshipping is any different that someone worship to a marble statue, a wood-cross or a (Jews) candle. Why one is idol and not the other?
In Judaism, candles and the Star of David are not bowed to or used as idols.
When the candles are lit, the purpose is to welcome the holy spiritual light of the Jewish holiday of that day. A prayer is said, but no bowing or other object worship takes place, The star of David is an artistic object & is a symbolic representation. It has no religious value. Any bowing in Judaism is to g-d only & never to an intermediary. It’s blasphemy to bow to anything else.
Dave,
Likewise, Muslims are not praying to Kaaba and Hindus are not praying to the marble Krishna murti, but they pray to God/LORD God/Isvara/Allah only. It is different names and different objects used as an intermediary, but objective is the same.
dear brother.musalman ney idol puza nahi kartey hain.
KABBA toa sirf ek direction hei. logoo ku ek{1} direction mey laney key liey.or KABBA ka ander kuchh bhi IDOL nahi hey.eyy sab galat femi hey.or kuch log ISALAM ku badlam karney key liey.KABBA ka barey fake news sher karteyy hey.
mey ekk MUSALMAN ho neey key nateyy kabaka upar panano (LEG) rakhe sakta hu. kya app ekk hindu honey key nattey. ek SIBA or sri KRISHNA ka murti (IDOL) ka uper appna LEG (PEAR)or PAANAO rakhe rakh saktey hey kya.
ekk HINDU ey kam kabhi nahi kar sakta hey.lekin ek MUSALMAN KABBA ka uper 100% appna LEG (PANNAO)rakhe saktta hey.
fir kon bollta hei musalim IDOL worship karta hey.
aggar app ku isslam ka barey mey jadda jankari lena hey, toa mery sey contact kar saktey hey,
JAI HIND.
Mirza,
Hinduism is real religion in world.. Please contact me if you want to convert.. Islam is a hatred and terror and false relgion hai
Holy ‘Black Stone’ or idolatry?
The Quran says: “O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and stone idols, and the games of chance are abominations of the devil; you shall avoid them, that you may succeed” 5:90
All throughout the Quran God commands believers to stay away from stone and alters, for they have no power to benefit or harm any one. The story of Abraham and the stone idols of his people is a clear reminder of this issue. Howver, during the visit to the Kaaba, and at one of its corners, Muslims from all over the world push and shove their way ferociously to get to what is called ‘the black stone’ in order to touch it and kiss it. The extraordinary thing about this event is that if you were to ask any of them: why are you kissing the stone? They will say because the prophet kissed it! If you then ask why did he kiss it? You will not get any rational answer!
But, could there be a rational answer to explain why any Quran follower should kiss and cherish a stone that can neither harm nor benefit any human?
Do they think this stone will bless them in some way? More important, could a genuine prophet have total disregard for God’s commands and go kissing stones in a flagrant act of idolatry? The obvious answer is NO.
Hadith attributed to the prophet:
Not surprisingly, this idolatrous ritual has no sustenance in the Quran whatsoever, but originates instead from a number of corrupt ‘hadith’ which state that this stone was descended from heaven since the time of Abraham and that it is thus sacred! The hadith further states that the prophet used to
kiss it!! When one reads these hadith and then sees the millions believing it and committing such gross acts of idolatry by idolising such a stone, one cannot help wonder, have these people not read the Quran!!?’ The Quran informs us that Abraham destroyed all the stone that his people were worshipping and said: “Do you then worship beside God what possesses no power to benefit you or harm
you?” 21:66
But those kissing and idolising the black stone will readily say: We do not worship the black stone, we only kiss it because the prophet kissed it, so it must be holy/sacred! But this reply only exposes their idolatry. The fact that they regard a piece of stone as holy or sacred in any way is in itself an act of idolatry, if they only knew.
They prefer to believe a dubious hadith which is in total violation of the Quran, rather than believe God when God declares that no stone can ever harm or benefit the human being. If this black stone was truly descended from heaven, would God not tell us so? Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 667: Narrated ‘Abis bin Rabia: ‘Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said “No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen
Allah’s Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you” Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 673:
Narrated Salim that his father said: “I saw Allah’s Apostle arriving at Mecca; he kissed the Black Stone Corner first while doing Tawaf and did ramal in the first three rounds of the seven rounds (of Tawaf)” Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 26, Number 682: Narrated Ibn Abbas The Prophet performed Tawaf of the Ka’ba riding a camel, and every time he came in front of the Corner (having the Black Stone),
he pointed towards it with something he had with him and said Takbir!!
I have to challenge two glaring errors: God gave the command about Idols and not Jesus, the command still stands, even if as you say Jesus did not mention idols. Reading the verse in Matthew that you quote and reading Exodus 20, I can’t see where Jesus Changed anything.
Matthew 22:36- 40, where Jesus SUMMARISED the intent of the Ten Commandments in two parts:(he did not change anything.
Exodus 20: 1 – 8 ~ SUMMARISED as the First & Greatest commandment. How to treat god (Love him and put him first).
Exodus 20 9 – 17 ~ SUMMARISED The Second commandment. How to treat your neighbour, treat them as you treat yourself (any resonable person would would not commit such sins against themself).
SORRY TO BURST YOUR BUBBLE.
Dear Vee,
Thank you for sharing your interpretation of our statement, “Actually, Jesus himself never used the word “idol” or “other gods” in any of his direct messages. It is difficult to believe that Jesus, who changed the Second Commandment of jealousy and anger to – Love thy neighbor – (Matthew 22:39), will ever recommend to send Mahatma Gandhi to hell just because Gandhi was not Baptized or Gandhi did not endorsed that Jesus is the true savior.”
First, thank you for confirming, “God gave the command about Idols and not Jesus”, yes that is our interpretation too. Thus we are okay for “Jesus himself never used the word “idol” or “other gods” in any of his direct messages”. So we are in agreement here.
You know the Second Commandment, “You shall have no other gods1 before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above2, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God3, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject Me.” (Exodus 20:3-5)”.
Jesus modified the Second Commandment stating, “And the Second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). Further, Jesus added, “There is no commandment greater than these (love thy neighbors)” (Mark 12:31). Why Jesus changed the Second Commandment? Please explain it to us.
Every religion is indulging in Idol worship. In a mosque, the Muslims are staring at a blank wall. What is this wall ? It is made of concrete, or mud. It is another form of idol worship. The Kaaba itself is a piece of a meteorite that fell in the desert, the nomads had no idea what it was and since it fell from the sky, they inferred that God had sent it. Is not worshipping a rock equivalent to praying an idol ? The Muslims claim that there is only one God and he resides in Mecca, then why mosques are being constructed everywhere ? Every mosque other than the one at Mecca is a structure akin to an idol. So Muslims should also deem themselves as idol worshippers.
As regards the followers of Christianity, it is a miracle based religion. The Catholics are obsessed with miracles, strange creatures that have wings and are called angels, the churches are full of these creatures. Idols of white men and women predominate in their churches. Idols made of wood, rock, cement, poreclain, plastic and metal. Yet they accuse others of idol worship. To distinguish themselves from others they claim that they are worshipping statues, how funny. Imitating Hinduism, Christian converts in Kerala, in India, are offering Hindu dishes to these idols of white men and women ! How these statues/idols are eating ?
Superb point, all are idol worshippers!! So, don’t blame Hindus. Only difference is Hindus are accepting it, while others deny it.
actually they circambulate a huge black stone in mecca it means they think their god is sitting in the balck stone then. Every faith has clear explanations about the iconography. For hindus the deities are conduits for puja. Hindu god is Brahman who has no physical form or gender, who is infinite, beginningless. The stone/wooden sculptures are representations of the nirguna Brahman. No hindu thinks that actually god is sitting in the stone. Muslims savagely destroyed hindu temples out of hatred for centuries, hindus dont hate others. Varanashi mandir was destroyed and looted seven times and it stood up seven times. Muslims deliberately misinform about hindus. Just google, ‘distorted history books, pakistan’ you will get many links.
The concept of Hinduism given by Suma is very correct. If Hindus assume that God is everywhere, it means that it is but impossible to apprehend anything in universe without the will of God. All things whether visible or not can be apprehended only because God enables us to do so. We can feel the presence of God only when God wills so. When we worship God before a statue, a symbol of making pointed concentration on God , it is foolish to assume statue as God. However since statue is linked to God, we keep it clean, attractive and held it sacred in the same manner as we keep our homes clean which is one of the very important means of our living. As “Living ” is the main thing but home is somehow related to it and when we think of Home, we think of living at the same time. In a way, living is an entirely different and alive thing whereas home is a dead and non-living thing but both are related due to necessity felt by us humans. If we only think of living and give importance to it only, it will be fine. On the other hand, if we think of living and describe it through a non living thing like home, it is not altogether a wrong assumption. As soon as we talk about home, we immediately relate it to living. Now if someone says to stop this nonsense, does he suggest something very fantastic and elicit a noble truth ? In a way, Hinduism has made the worship of God a very simple procedure where before a statue of God, we concentrate our mind on God while assuming at the same time that God is just present before us not as statue but as God himself. Actually we invoke God through the symbols and do not worship them at all. We thus invoke God to fill us with his vital energy and become one with Him. One more thing, when a person becomes fully enlightened and becomes one with God in every moment, there is a option before him to either reject this method of worship of God through symbols or conduits altogether or retain it just for the sake of strengthening the belief of less evolved worshippers. So Hinduism is unique in the sense that a worshippers evolves gradually from a simple worshippers to an enlightened being. It is like to cover a distance from one point to the other whereas other exclusivist religions enjoin on their worshippers to stick to an uniform method of worship. In essence, this is the whole concept of worship of God in Hinduism. Though we revere our own method, we do not hold other belief systems in contempt and also give them their value. People here are perplexed as to why do the Hindus worship the stones, wood, photos and so on but it is very certain and a fact that we worship God and God only and not the other things. Some people alien to this wonderful faith do not comprehend the real purpose behind this whole beautiful set up and unnecessarily assume the Hindus as ignorant ones. I wish all the like minded persons throw some more light of wisdom on this misunderstood phenomenon known as Hindu belief system.
To know about true message of islam one can vist http://www.usislam.org. All the post here under are islamic name are fake and do not belive as they are antiislamic
Smh at all the fighting…..and that’s what religion teaches no mater the costs…..i hop….e God is and understanding God….if all of you follow different religions who go’s to hell andwho go’s toheaven……so what of your in a country that had no religion do you go to hell….if you never knee Jesus….what then…..smh….all i see is another train for Ppl to fight….smh and all will fall short…..sorry about the errors its the phone
Is there any mechanism in Islam to liberate the soul ? Please explain.
HERE I AM USING THE LANGUAGE WHICH I NORMALLY HATE TO USE. BUT IF FORCED…………
We find that people of the world of all religions, except Hinduism are prepared to wash the others buttocks than washing MAL-ODOUROUS shitted buttocks of their own.
When compared to other religions I am very proud that I am a Hindu like my elders. I hate being hated and killed as Kafir, or idolators because of my religion. INDIA is the only country wherein because they follow non-violence, they are and were and will be violated because they follow Hinduism. Eight crore Hindus were killed in India itself from 638 AD out of 28 crores of people the entire world ONLY by ISLAM. All Hindus must raise up to teach in one voice against – Islam and Christianity expansionists to show what is violence to them. WE ARE RICH ENOUGH TO TEACH OURSELVES IN RELIGIOUS ASPECTS. MUJHE THUM SE KUCH BHI NAHIN CHAHIYE. MERE HAL PE CHOD DO. Or else WE will have to fight as my Bhagawat Gita commands me when violence is thrust upon me, I must take arms upto teeth against violators. I am normally against violence, but if forced,— I will fight. ‘DON’T ENTER INTO A QUARREL BUT BEING IN, BEAR IT, THAT THE OPPOSED MAY BEWARE OF THEE (Shakespeare)’
You are absolutely right Gopal brother. The only thing that forces the hindu brotherhood from being ONE, is cast system, which is not a problem any more. What i call upon is TIT for TAT with full force, support BJP and other pro hindu movements. Unfortunetly – This is the only way. No matter how much secular hindus and christians try to become, this half cut muslims will show there true colors in one way or the other, they are against india, secularism and all the good things, All they want is Convert India to muslim land. Thats why all the other countries just hate them so do all true hindus.
Muslims! SMASH your Islamic Idols – Kaaba, Quran, Muhammad and Mecca. Don’t commit shirk. Worship ALLAH ALONE.
The Islamic world has descended into the dark ages because the Muslims the world over commit the worst sin under Islam, shirk. Instead of worshiping ALLAH ALONE, they have associated 4 idols with Allah – Kaaba, Quran, Muhammad and Mecca. The day they SMASH these idols and come back to worshiping ALLAH ALONE is the day the Islamic world will come out of the dark ages. These are the creations of Allah, you should not revere the creations, you must revere only the creator. Muslims love to smash idols except their own. In order to smash an idol you MUST desecrate it in thoughts, words or deeds. Muslims always claim that they do not worship the Kaaba, Muhammad and Mecca. But the only way to prove that something is not your idol is to smash it, denigrate it, desecrate it. There is no other way to disprove worship. To smash the Islamic idols, repeat after me:
I piss on the Kaaba. I don’t worship it. I WORSHIP ALLAH ALONE.
I piss on the Quran. I don’t worship it. I WORSHIP ALLAH ALONE.
I piss on the prophet Muhammad (may shit be upon his head). I don’t worship him. I WORSHIP ALLAH ALONE.
I piss towards Mecca. I don’t worship it. I WORSHIP ALLAH ALONE.
Turn away from shirk before its too late. SMASH your idols to remove idolatry. Come back to worshiping ALLAH ALONE. Only then the Islamic renaissance will be unleashed. Allah will again bless the Islamic world for worshiping ALLAH ALONE.
Some Mohammedan idolaters and Quran idolaters say ‘if you worship Allah you will RESPECT HIS message book and HIS messenger’. That is exactly what a Hindu will say ‘if you worship god you will RESPECT HIS creations, HIS creatures, HIS idols’. Respect is just a cover for idolatry. Only disrespect can remove idolatry. Allah knows whats in your heart you Mohammedan idolaters. I once asked in a forum, “Is Allah all powerful? CAN he send more prophets?” Note: I asked ‘CAN he’ not ‘WILL he’ but the vote was 9 to 0 against Allah. No Mohammedan idolater believes in Allah’s power to send more prophets. Allah is just a straw god in whose name Mohammad is worshiped. Mohamed is dead, Allah isn’t dead is he?
Some Kaaba idolaters and mecca idolaters say Kaaba and mecca unites the Muslims. This is laughable, Muslims are the least united of all people. They are as united as a bunch of cats tied by their tails and hung over the clothes line, always scratching and tearing at each other. The biggest countries of the world are all non-Muslim. The land of the mecca Arabia is divided into a dozen countries. Mecca cannot unite the Muslims, only Allah can, but then Muslims will be the last persons on the planet to believe in the power of Allah.
Source: http://shankaranarayanan.com/muslims-smash-your-islamic-idols-kaaba-quran-muhammad-mecca-dont-commit-shirk-worship-allah-alone/
Now Hindu hater is teaching us about Islam by trying to copy paste from some Anti-Islam website.
Firstly no Muslim in the world worships Kaaba, Prophet Muhammad or Quran.Have ever seen any idol in any mosque? Kaaba is only the direction(Qibla) so that all Muslim pray in one direction.
Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to mankind sent by Allah with his message similar to Prophet Jesus, Moses, Abraham.
You pasted a link by some shankernarayan about Islam. It is like asking a Pakistani about India or Chinese about America. If you need to know about Islam ask a Muslim similarly if you want to know about India ask a Indian and not Pakistani. Similarly i need not ask you a hater to know about Islam. Secondly stop abusing my Religion.
Thats what happens when people like you only talk to people who favor your views. You never get the both sides of any story and your views are always biased. You have to ask a pakistani to know the bad side of India and vice versa because most of them are brain washed and dont know their bad side. Same with the religion, you have to ask people from other faith to because people from your faith, specially muslim, are not allowed to even think about it. Hindu’s at least have freedom and guts to challenge their own religious beliefs, with change in time. Dont preach me that, islamic views are pure and dont need to be challenged, you cannot have the capability to hear the reply as you showed in your reply.
Read Muhammad as an idol at https://www.interfaithshaadi.org/?p=1476&cpage=1#comment-29027
Do Muslims indeed worship only Allah? What is worship in Islam? Does it not involve bowing to the ground? Well if over 1 billion Muslims all over the world bow five times daily to a stone house, how can you say they worship only Allah?
As for your comment on asking only Muslims about Islam, I do not agree. Everyone of has three images of himself: the self as seen by you, the self as seen by others and the self as seen by God. Muslims may have a high self image of themselves and their religion, but what do others see in them? Terrorists, murderers, people who enforce their religions on others at the pains of death, people who see heaven only in terms of sex and wine. If there were no sex in the Islamic heaven, would the Muslim still love Allah? If rewards in the hereafter are not promised, would the Muslim still love and serve Allah? If there were no hell to endure for failure to worship Allah, would the Muslim still love and serve Allah?
As a Christian, my faith says to me, do not create a god, be it physical or imaginary. In other words, what I am allowed to believe God is, is not what I think he is but who he says he is. The Bible, which is partly a Jewish document, teaches that God revealed himself to us in three selves of himself. He is not three, but he has chosen to reveal himself in three distinct selves of his One divine self. I have no authority to say he is three, and yet I have no authority to say he has not revealed himself in these three selves of himself, which we call the Blessed Trinity. This may not fit with logic, but who says that God must fit with human logic?
My Christian faith says to me man is a sinner and every sin must be punished with the fires of hell forever because the glory of God which sins infringes upon is eternal. Why should a just God punish an eternal crime with less than eternal misery? This is Why God’s other self had to become man to atone for my sins. And any sin not atoned for will be punished in hell. Yet Islam rejects the only way God made available for the salvation of mankind and chooses the washings of body parts with water as a means of purification!
You may need to read from Jewish Old Testament about the second self of God receiving worship from men just as the other Self was being worshiped by angels. Read Daniel 7:9 – 14. Note that Daniel was not a Christian but a Jew, and the Jews believe God is One, yet here he say One Like the Son of Man, being worshiped right in the same throne with God, the Ancient of Days. Our understanding is that God does not allow a creature to be worshiped, so if The Son of Man would sit in the same throne with God and receive worship, then he must be God in a second self of himself, for La illaha illa huwa!!
Dr Rao,
As a muslim, Let me explain you why idol worship is banned in all Abrahmic Religions and even in Hinduism.
Firstly There is only one God, the creator and everything else is his creation. Only the creator is worthy of worship. There is no comparison between Creator and anything from his creation. This is the first commandment for jews , Christians and Muslims.
How can one even compare wood, stone or plaster of Paris to be God, who cant even protect themselves.
For muslims Kaaba is only a direction (Qibla). This helps all the muslims to pray in one direction.The black stone has no relevance in islam or to muslim.It is meaningless for muslims.They do not worship it like Hindus and pagans worship wood, stone or animals.
Bowing or worshiping before Dargah is not permissible in Islam. If one needs then he can pray only to God and can do it anywhere. One can go to any grave and pray for the dead ones.But there are loads of Muslims who do these things due to influence of culture , other practices.
The one who wrote this article is obviously not aware of Islam and Quran.
Dear Indian
Can I have replies to your statements parawise;
For muslims Kaaba is only a direction (Qibla). This helps all the muslims to pray in one direction.The black stone has no relevance in islam or to muslim.It is meaningless for muslims.They do not worship it like Hindus and pagans worship wood, stone or animals.
My query: If Kaaba is only a direction and that stone has no relevance, than why is it washed and prayed to. Please ask all Muslims to come together and say it. Or ask a Muslim body accepted by all to say it on International media. Please Mr Indian don’t spread false information about the black stone and its significance for muslims. You are saying that it is meaningless because you have been caught on wrong foot and you are trying to defend yourself by false statements. The fact remains that the fact of all Muslims praying towards Kaaba is only paying reverence to the black stone which is an idol of worship.
Bowing or worshiping before Dargah is not permissible in Islam. If one needs then he can pray only to God and can do it anywhere. One can go to any grave and pray for the dead ones.But there are loads of Muslims who do these things due to influence of culture , other practices.
My query: If bowing to Dargah is not permissible then why not remove the dargahs. Please recommend to your Muslim clergy or protectors of Islam to issue a direction in this regard. This will help many roads in Hyderabad to be widened which is now occupied by Dargahs. This too is only to defend your illogical statement to hide from the fact that Muslims too are Idol worshipers and do not want to accept it. If a religion and its followers can get influenced by culture and other practices then that religion is a weak religion. Check this Ask a devout Hindu married lady to remove her bindi as done by others, she will never do it. History is proof that Rajasthani women committed Sati than fall in the hands of the Muslim invaders. Can Islamic history give some example like this to us.
In fact Mr Indian it you, who is obviously not aware of Islam and Quran.
If people pray to a grave then that is shirk not allowed in islam and please don’t say that we got caught coz that is just stupid as we are only sharing our knowledge in islam there will be 73 sects only one is correct so . Islam is the only religion which the book of Allah(God) will never change as it is n always will be in the hearts of people May Allah guid those who are misguided n bring them back to the truth
bro indian n other plz read these links
it makes a clear distinicton beetween true islam n false practices n conspiracies towards islam
n chage understanding of both of u
http://islamic-research.org/holy-black-stone-or-idolatry-2/
n read this one
http://www.chekanoormoulavi.com/node/114
kindly msg me on my email id
hafiz007ali@gmail.com
i m waitting for ur feed backs
thanks
Sorry, Krishna’s message is not just what you have quoted. He also said, “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.”
Even the part which you have quoted has the tone changed. He is saying that if you worship Him as Jesus, He will come to you as Jesus, if you worship Him as Buddha, He will come as Buddha, etc. In the Gita, He describes so many ways and means of approaching Him – through Knowledge, through Devotion, through selfless action, and simply by stilling the mind – by a combination of one or more or all of these. The pros and cons of each of these methods are discussed. So yes, his message is inclusive, not exclusive.
If God is everything and everything is God, then your god is the most confused of all matters, he is not a being. God is a person with super intelligence. He is not the subject of our conjecture but of his self revelation. Faith is believing what God says about himself, not what we conclude about God.
In the Christian religion, God revealed himself in stages down the history of humanity. He is One Eternal Being, but it has pleased him to reveal himself to humanity in three distinct selves of himself and he gives us names by which we MUST distinguish those personalities of himself: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I could wish that it was just one of himself revealed because that is easy to understand. But he did not; he revealed three of himself, and I must believe him. To reduce him to just one as in Islam or to multiply him beyond the three selves of his revelation as in Hinduism and other isms is to create an idol of my imagination and claim deity for it.
Look at world history and read the Bible and you will find that these events were predicted long ago. The rest will surely happen as God says in the Bible. One major event we await is the return to earth of Jesus, God the son. All who receive him will receive a blessed immortality and eternal life also. Those who reject him have ahead of them eternal damnation in hell. He said his return would be at about the time that Israel will return from their predicted captivity. The captivity happened in AD 70 and they returned in AD 1947. I think it is time to turn to Jesus and let him save your soul and give you eternal life
Shady, your arguments are very fine but you are justifying God on the basis of words,, words as per your very own religion. The same stand will be taken by adherents of other faiths like Islam, Hinduism and so on. The beauty of concept of God is that God cannot be proved by us mortals but felt nonetheless. What one really experiences about God cannot be transferred to other co-believer exactly and so everyone’s experience about God is distinct and one’s very own. All enlightened persons of different faiths including Shady’s have described about such an experience in words but the lesser mortals can only indulge in debates and arguments on a superficial way like Shady and likes of me do. To me, to justify God from the point of words of one’s own religion is to restrict the glory and greatness of God,rather we should revel in the variant songs of every religions attributed to God and keep the windows of our mind open to receive wisdom coming from all quarters. Pity that we behave like true dictators and not as true democrats when we talk about religion and God! Shady everything about your writing is fascinating but I find it hard to disgust that such a thinker indulges in glorifying truths mentioned in his religion and throwing all indignation and malice to the directions of other religions. Is this religiosity, my friend ? Please write something to ignite real love in the hearts of your co-humans like God is assumed to be doing in our hearts. Do you think God ever discriminates between two of his created humans? Then why do you indulge in creating animosity, hatred and I’ll-will between adherents of different faiths ? It is very certain that we mortals cannot behave like God but at least we can be humane in our religious approach. Notwithstanding above, Shady, I appreciate your style of writing which seems beautiful but bereft of right choice of words and religious maturity. So I would rather suggest you to go through the uttering of great enlightened persons of Christianity at least and if you feel hunger for real truth, there is no limit and you can bath in the ocean of thoughts of various enlightened persons of different faiths. You will not be harmed by your endeavor rather you will usher in a new divine way of thinking but the choice ultimately rests with you and there is no compulsion at all.
Hindus are not the only idolaters. Every religion practices the same. Why then all muslims keep their face towards Kabah while praying. What is inside Kabaa is also an idol. Will all muslims come forward and go against the Apostle’s (PBUH) act of kissing the stone. Every Church has an idol of Christ on the Cross and they kneel down before it. Is that not an idol?
As per Islam or Holy Koran, no image or any form should be in the house of a true Muslim, but u enter any Muslim home and you will find so many images of Mecca Masjid and other Persian writings. Further the Holy Koran preaches that apart from ALLAH, a devout Muslim should not bow down before any other person or thing. Then why Muslims are going in thousands to the DARGAH’s of saints. Is that Islamic?
In fact if we separate facts from claims/beliefs then Islam is revealed as nothing but an idolatory of Muhammad. The claim is made that an omniscient and omnipotent creator of the whole universe was speaking the Quran. But the fact is that in an apparent self-contradiction of his omniscience and omnipotence this author of the Quran limits himself only to Muhammad. By some inexplicable and unbelievable process this creator of the universe makes himself a part of just one man… This is hard to believe but many believe it out of force of tradition and social/family, religious compulsion. The only thing we can say is that whatever wrote the Quran did so as a part of Muhammad’s personality, spoke with his voice and used his body. The only reasonable explanation is that this was Muhammad himself and that Allah is a part of Muhammad’s personality. Hence Islam, the worship of Allah is nothing but an idolatry of Muhammad. If Muslims say that idols cannot express God then non-Muslims should not be forced to believe that just one little human being in a 7th century backwater of the world could express god. Clealy, Islam is the idolatry of Muhammad either consciously or unconsciously claiming to be Allah.
Excellent point. Why Muhammad is given so much importance in Islam, including he is a part of the Shahadah oaths (There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger)? Why a messenger is given so much important along with the message?
Actually in whole World’s history, most two idolized human beings are Jesus and Muhammad!!
In Shahadah, it says, I bear witness that that there is no God except Allah (Allah is the Arabic word for God) and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his servant and messenger.
First of all we all should understand that ALLAH is not a name for any God like in the case of other faith.
In reality a person says there is no other Gods, but God the almighty, he is one and only.
Islam is the only religion as it means Submission to the good will of God, together with obedience to His beneficial Law.
Prophet Muhammad ( PBUH) is not the founder of Islam, nobody worshiping Muhammad (PBUH), but he is the messenger from the God. He him self says that he is the last prophet from the line of prophets send by God which is apprx 124,000. Being a Muslim one should believe in all prophets.
Muhammad (PBUH) is important because, he is the final prophet through him we received the final revelation from God, the Quran. Quran itself says that it is not a new revelation, but it is the continuation of earlier revelations from the God. Unfortunately all earlier revelation were altered. So in Quran God says, the protection of Quran is the responsibility of God and thus can not be altered.
If you study the six articles of faith in Islam, it says,
Belief in Allah, The Only God.
Belief in the Angels.
Belief in Holy Books (Quran)
Belief in the Prophets.
Belief in the Day of Judgment.
Belief in God’s predestination.
Dear Dr Rao
You state Every Church has an idol of Christ on the Cross and they kneel down before it. Is that not an idol?
This is not totally accurate. I belong to a charismatic church and we have no statues or pictures up. If you are speaking about Catholics I agree with the statement but leave it to the Father to deal with their idol worship.
Our Bible state categorically you may have no other gods before God as He is the only God all others are fictions of people imagination. Some may be demons hidden in idols. The bible states we are to Worship the Creator God the Father, not His creation. Rom_1:25 They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen.
Blessings
Gwanny D’