Very interesting!
“WHAT A CHRISTIAN ISMAILI CONVERT SAYS ABOUT ISMAILISM”
The following is a question/answer session with an American who renounced his Christian faith to embrace Sunni Islam which he later renounced to embrace the Ismaili Muslim sect about thirteen years ago.
Can you tell us who Ismaili Muslims are?
Certainly! Ismaili Muslims are a Shia sect of Islam headed. by their 49th imam, their spiritual leader, His Highness Prince Karim Agakhan who is, also, a direct and hereditary descendant of Prophet Muhammad.
Soon after the Prophets demise, there was a split. contrary to the Prophet's will and wishes, one faction decided to elect Abu-Bak air, one of the Prophet's companions as Khaliph (temporal ruler), and accept the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, for guidance, instead of the Prophet's designated successor, Ali, in spite of -the oath of allegiance they had already given him. This group called itself "Sunni."
The second group decided to abide by the will of the Prophet and stay loyal to his successor, Ali. They came to be known as "Shias." The Shias accepted Ali and his hereditary descendants as the guides and heads of the faith.
Is there something wrong with just settling for the Holy Book?
Let me explain by an example. Have you ever come across a school where students have been told that there will be no teacher provided to teach them for a full year and instead the students will have to seek instruction, form the text -book?
Is it true Queen Victoria gave your 48th Imam Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah the honour to sit on the throne that she had designated for Jesus Christ at a royal banquet in the presence of scores of foreign ambassadors
I have seen a clipping of Saint Gazette of 22nd July, 1898 in which this incident was reported.
Does the Ismaili faith believe that those who are not in its fold will go to hell?
Not at all! The Quran says:
"Those who have believed, and the Jews, the Christians and the Sabaeans, whosoever believe in God and the Last Day and act righteously, they shall have their requital from their Lord and shall neither fear nor grieve. " (2:62, 5:69)
Our 48th Imam, Sultan Mohamed Shah says in his MEMOIRS:
"And I further pray that all who truly and sincerely believe in God, be they Christian, Jew, Buddhist or Brahmin, who strive to do good and avoid evil, who are gentle and kind, will be joined in Heaven and be granted final pardon and peace.
All Islamic schools of thought accept it as a fundamental principle that for centuries, before the advent of Muhammad, there arose from time to time, messengers illumined by divine grace, for and among those races of the earth which had sufficiently advanced intellectually to comprehend such a message, thus Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the prophets of Israel are universally accepted by Islam.
Muslims, indeed, know no limitation merely to the prophets of Israel, they are ready to admit that there were similar Divinely-inspired messengers in other countries- Gautama Buddha, Shri Krishna, and Shri Rama in India, Socrates in Greece, the wisemen of China, and many other sages and saints among peoples and civilizations of which we have now lost trace.”
Is Ismaili Islam only 1400 years old? VERY INTERESTING
No! It is as old as the Creation itself. All the angels that bowed to Adam practiced Islam and were Muslims because they submitted to Allah's command. Islam has existed under different labels prior to the advent of Muhammad. What Muhammad preached was Ismaili Islam. What all his predecessors such as Jesus, Moses, David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam preached was Ismaili Islam. The Quran calls them all Muslims. Two of the many verses revealed to this effect were: "He (Allah) hath ordained for you that religion which He commended unto Noah, and that which He commended unto Abraham and Moses and Jesus " (chapt 42 verse 13)
The Prophet is asked to tell the people:
"Say. We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and that which was given unto Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims to Him" (111: 84)
8000 years ago, before the advent of our Biblical Adam, there existed and flourished a civilization on the soil of the Indian sub-continent. At this time in history, Ismaili Islam existed under the divinely inspired Buddha (not Gautama Buddha), and before him under Krishna, and before him under Rama.
The Ismaili Islam traces itself further back to the time when there was nothing but aquatic life.
There is a verse in the Quran which says: "in the beginning, Allah's throne was on water." (14:7). This indicates how well Ismaili Islam and Science are in harmony with each other. Christianity claims the Creation is 6000 years old -as old as Adam - which is scientifically inaccurate. Ismaili Islam claims it is billions of years old and that there have been hundreds of Adams before the Biblical Adam, and this Ismaili theory is in agreement with the present scientific data. Adam in Arabic simply means anything made out of clay and water. We are all Adams of our time.
Do you mean to say all the afore-mentioned religions were true?
Yes, they were in their own time. There is only one God, with only one religion, one truth, and one message for mankind, but there have been innumerable messengers who brought this message and took it to various parts of the globe to those who needed it. The Quran testifies to that.
Why do you not turn your faces to Mecca during prayers
Because the Quran doesn't require it! I'd much rather go straight to the Quran for guidance in this matter. "To God belongs the East and West. Withersoever ye turn, there is the presence Of God. For God is all-pervading, All-Knowing (2. 115)
Do Ismaili Muslims go to Mecca on pilgrimage?
No. One of the Prophets hadiths (sayings) says:
"If you provide a needy pupil with a pencil to write with, Allah will bless you with a reward as big as seventy pilgrimages can afford." Although we are a minority within a minority, we, Ismailis, have gone way beyond just providing pencils!
Moreover, as Jamshid explains, our Hajj (pilgrimage) is performed also by seeking the deedar (glimpse) of the Imam of the time. Since his Noor is present in every Jamatkhana (prayer house), going to Jamatkhana -everyday is equal to performing hajj. As explained earlier, the Kaba in Mecca is holy because Ali was born there. For us, the Noor of Ali is present in the Jamatkhana which to us is our Mecca.
Do you Ismailis offer five prayers a day?
The Quran has prescribed only three regular prayers and we offer them daily at the prescribed times. To support my statement for three prayers, I refer you to the following Quranic Ayats (verses):(11: 114; 2: 233; 3:191; 17: 7
Isn't it unlslamic for Ismaili women not to cover their faces when in public?
No! The Quran has not asked for it. The Quran asks the believer of each sex to "lower your gaze and guard your chastity."
Quite a few Muslims have whispered to me that you Ismailis are not true Muslims! How would you react?
With silence! But for your satisfaction, I'll answer it at length. Islam is divided into 73 sects. There is a Prophet's saying, widely accepted by both, Sunni and Shia Islam, that the faith of his brother Moses divided into 71 sects and only one stayed on the right path; that of his brother Jesus divided into 72 sects and only one stayed on the right path; and he predicted that his own faith would divide into 73 sects after his death and only one would remain on the right path. Now, which of the 73 sects can claim, with certainty, that it is the one on the right path?
Has your Imam himself ever claimed he is the interpreter of the Quran
Yes, indeed!
What prompted you to renounce the Christian faith in favour of Islam?
The Bible, itself.
My parents were devout Christians. Right from childhood, the Bible made no sense to me. At that time -I wondered why according to the Gospel of Mathew, Jesus had 26 ancestors in his genealogy, whereas he had 41 ancestors according to the Gospel of Luke! I also wondered why Joseph was mentioned as Jesus father when he (Jesus) was born of immaculate conception. Was the Bible really a word of God?
As I grew up, I began to critically analyze the Bible and found there was hardly anything spiritually or morally uplifting. There were scores of other things apart from the inaccuracies in the scientific and historic data. I became convinced the Bible could not be the word of God.
I concurred with George Bernard Shaw, fully, when he wrote: "The most dangerous book (the Bible) on earth, keep it under lock and key. "
The Bible we have today is not what Jesus preached. The gospel that Jesus preached was the Biblewhich never got recorded during his lifetime. What we have is mere hearsay.
The Quran testifies to this fact in chap 2 verse 79:"And woe to those who write the book with their own hands And then they say.*"This is from Allah. "Then there were all kinds of biblical versions; some with several chapters eliminated. In some copies, Isaac has been called the only son of Abraham. And, in other copies, he is called the elder and Ishmael the younger son.
Then I read the Quran. I read through the book, expecting to find the same kind of errors as in the Bible, for it was alleged by hostile Christian writers in the West that Prophet Muhammad was the author of the Quran, and that he had copied most of the Quran from the Bible. I read and re-read, but as I read and reflected, I stayed amazed, for it contained none of the incorrect historic or scientific data of the Bible.
What's more, our dear Mary, the mother of Jesus, is referred to as "a woman chosen above women of all nations." Like any person of average intelligence, I wondered why this Prophet of Islam would choose Mary, a Jewess, for such high honour!
There is a chapter in the Holy Quran, named Sura Maryam (Chapter Mary) (XIX) named in honor of Mary. Such an honor is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son, Jesus.
If Muhammad were the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have omitted to include in it the name of his own mother Amina, his dear wife Khadija, and his beloved daughter, Fatima. It does not make any sense why, Muhammad who was a Muslim would set aside the names of his loved ones and instead include the name of Mary, a Jewish woman, in the Holy Book of Islam, which he is alleged to have authored! But the truth is that the Quran is not his handiwork. It is divine revelation. He had no choice but to reveal the Quran to us as it was revealed to him, whether he liked it or not, and he also ensured that the revelations of the Quran got recorded as soon as they were brought to him by Angel Gabriel.
Once a word of God is revised by humans, its no longer a word of God, though in the case of the Bible it never was ever a word of God, and that's why the gospels are preceded with the words "according to", for example, "the Gospel according to Mathew", or "the Gospel according to Luke,"
Bible scholars continue to find errors and discrepancies in the Bible. A Christian magazine called AWAKE (September 08, 1957) had an article called 50,000 errors in the Bible. Even the original four books of the Bible were an account of hearsay by Mark, John, Luke, and Mathew.
What do you mean by that?
Well, when Virgin Mary was the talk of the town and accused of immoral conduct, which holy book came forward to defend her honor? None!
In a recent ABC TV broadcast, Peter Jennings ran a documentary called THE SEARCH FOR JESUS in which it was claimed that a good number of present-day Bible scholars believe Jesus was illegitimate. Most Christian scholars, archbishops, and priests, themselves do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, and yet, strangely enough, all the one billion Muslims at this hour implicitly believe, in the virgin birth and Jesus' miracles.
What was it that babe Jesus said to the accusing townsfolk as per the Quran?
Something quite amazing! He said:
1. I am the servant of God.
2. He gave me the Book and made me a Prophet.
3. He made me blessed wherever I might be.
4. He enjoined on me the Prayer and Almsgiving as long as I am alive.
5. He enjoined on me to be kind to my mother
6. Peace be the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I will be raised up.
And as for my converting to Islam, let me clarify that I am a better Christian now, more enriched than ever. I have not distanced myself from Christ by accepting Islam, but instead I have come closer to him.
But, how did you first become acquainted with the Shia Ismaili Muslim faith?
Initially, I had embraced Sunni Islam, but stayed frustrated for months because I ended up with more unanswered questions. I found Sunni Islam more at odds With logic, reason, and the Quran. I also lost my sleep over the most vital matter concerning the tithe (zakat) that I gave to different recipients every month while beset with doubts if they (recipients) were legitimate.
Twelve years ago, I was amazed to see that the same Islam which-was being maligned, on the one hand was being celebrated in our North American universities where the Shia Ismaili Muslim Imam, Karim Agakhan, was being received and honored
When I was in Spain, I was just astounded by the relics of the glorious past of the Ismaili I Muslims Who ruled in Spain for, over 200. years in the 13th century. This period of their rule was known as Fatimid period, named after Fatima, the Prophet's daughter.
During the medieval period, 1000 years ago, there came into existence, AI-Azhar, the world's well-known university in Cairo, Egypt, followed. by Dar-es-Sana College of Industry in Sicily; Dar-ut-Tib, Medical College at Palermo, Sicily; University of Cordova in Spain. Some of the largest libraries were established in Alexandria, Egypt; Cordova, Spain with 400,000 volumes; at the Academy called Fatimid Bait-ul-Hikmat at Cairo with books estimated at 2 million volumes; the library at Tripolis in Syria had about 3 million volumes.
When in Egypt, I learned about all their glorious past and positive contributions to the society of the time. "Kahira" was the name of Egypt's capital. Later it became corrupted to "Cairo." Kahir was the name of the Ismaili Imam Al-Kahir around that time, and the capital had been named after him as "Kahira.
" 1400 years ago, the Quran told us, clearly, that the sun was luminous while the moon wasn't and that it (moon) borrowed its light from the sun. Did the West know about this then?
1400 years ago, the Quran said every heavenly body including the sun was in motion. The West knew nothing about it until recently.
The Quran says all life has aquatic origin. Did the west know about this 1400 years ago? I could go on and on with astounding scientific secrets that the Quran has held for 14 centuries and is still holding for those with open minds to fathom them.
Owing to time constraints, I shall desist from fully discussing astounding revelations that the Quran made, 1400 years ago, about human conception and a stage-by-stage development of the human embryo the information on which became available to the West through modem technology only 70 years ago.
1400 years ago the Quran stated our most recent theory of the Big Bang as a fact. First scientists said the universe was a onetime event. Recently, they revised their theory and said the universe was continuously expanding.
1400 years ago the Quran said the universe was continuously evolving. What leaves an inquiring mind amazed is the fact that all these Quranic revelations were conveyed through the lips of Muhammad who was an literate man Contrary to the Quranic statements, the Book of Genesis (The First Testament) tells us it took God six days to create the universe, detailing what was created on each day.
For example:
The creation of the earth (on the third day) came before that of the heavens (on the 4th day) when it is a known fact that our planet comes from its own star, the sun
-The creation of light on the first day before the creation of the stars which produce this light
The existence of an evening and a morning before the creation of the earth
While, the Quran merely says that God only has to say "Be' and it happens, thus attesting to God's omnipotence.
In chapter 7, verse 54, the Quran also does say that God created the universe in six days, but it doesn't go further than that.
You said Ali was present but not manifest with each prophet. Can you explain?
With Adam, his own son Seth was Ali. With Noah, it was his own son Shem who was Ali. With Abraham, it was his own son Ishmael who was Ali. With Moses, his own brother, Aaron, was Ali. With Jesus, Simon Peter, his Companion, was Ali. With Muhammad, his own cousin and son-in-law All, was Ali, under the same name.
There is a tradition of Prophet Muhammad where, one day, he said to Ali, "0 Ali, you were present, but unrevealed, with all the prophets before me, while during my mission, you have been present and manifest, both."
The Bible says Jesus was crucified, but the Quran says he was not.
What!! Do you mean to say the whole Christian world - about 4 billion strong - are wrong for their belief in crucifiction?
That's what the Quran says! You will appreciate that fourteen centuries ago in the absence of our modem-day scientific advancement, it would have been much harder for the Quran to be accurate on the complex matters relative to the scientific principles and the laws of Nature than the matters relative to simple historical data such as the fate of Jesus! And yet, we see the Quran is right on. So, if the Quran is right on the complex matters relative to the creation of the universes and the laws that govern them, then it can be many times more likely right on a simple historical data such as the fate of Jesus! Wouldn't you agree? It's the Quran that told us, 1400 years ago, that there were universes and not just one universe. Our scientists discovered this fact just recently.
Was there anything in Quran to indicate Ismaili faith was the right answer?
Yes, indeed! I'll quote the verse: Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of Imran above all people - a line of descendants, one succeeding the other, and Allah heareth and knoweth all things" (3: 33, 34)
There's another verse in the Quran where Allah says:
"0 ye, who believe, obey God and the messenger and those in authority amongst you" (4:59)
Once I was convinced that Muhammad was Allah's last and final prophet, Islam His final message, and the Quran His final book in which all His previous messages and messengers had been acknowledged, all I had to do was to look for a living guide or Imam that was both from the progeny of Imran and the Prophet. The Quran says that Ale-Imran (the progeny or descendants of Imran) will be on earth till the day of Judgment. Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet, was the son of Imran who was popularly known as Abu-Tallb. Imran (Abu-Talib) was the Prophets paternal uncle and guardian. As for any other Shia sects, there is no living guide in them, so my task to locate the Ismaili sect became quite easy.
AMAZING
During the life-time of the Prophet, an especially privileged group of select believers were made aware of Ali's exalted status with Allah, and this group would gather together in private and participate in a special ritual prayer (salat) which was different from the Namaz that they commonly offered with all the Muslims in the mosque. The first three Khaliphs, Abu-Bakkr, Omar, and Othman were not part of this select group though history has falsely named them as the Prophet's close companions. The select group consisted of people who were intellectually and spiritually capable of transcending the plain exoteric interpretation of the Quranic scriptures. In this prayer Ali's name was also recited for supplication to Allah.
65. King Hussain of Jordan claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet.?
He might very well be one! But he never claimed he was a hereditary successor to the office of Imamat. For example, Queen Elizabeth has several descendants but Prince William is the only hereditary future successor, and not his uncles, Andrew or Edward.
For that 'Matter, there could be scores of such descendants of the Prophet out there and may not even know about it. What's critical Is the hereditary succession to the office of Imamat
Was there anything else that appealed to you when studying the Ismaili faith?
Certainly! Off the top of my head, we all know how we, in the west, have thrown away our moral values and succumbed to a way of life which in the Bible can compare with that of Sodom and Gomorrah, all of which for our individual freedom. When addressing a large Muslim audience in Karachi our present Imam said:
......... I have observed in the Western world a deeply changing pattern of human relations. The anchors of moral behavior appear to have dragged to such depths that they no longer hold firm the ship of life: What was once wrong is now simply unconventional, and for the sake of individual freedom must be tolerated. What is tolerated soon becomes accepted. Contrarily, what was once right is now viewed as out-dated, old-fashioned and is often the target of ridicule”
In all sincerity, please tell me if you really believe the Quran is authentic!
Let me explain. Thanks to Caliph Othman, its verses are not in the order they were revealed, I do believe it is not interpolated and that is why what it tells us about the universe and its laws tallies with the present scientific data. But, if you ask me if the Quran that we have in the book form is total and complete, then I personally believe it is not! I believe all verses directly referring or pertaining to Ali have been eliminated by Khaliph Othman. And here's why I say so.
Immediately, upon the Prophet's death, Abu-bakkar, the first Khaliph made known his intention to launch the task of compiling the Quran. Whereupon Ali presented himself before the Khaliph and offered a copy of a compiled Quran to him. Abu-Bakkar rejected the copy and said they would compile their own. Several years after the death of the Prophet, the Quran that the Muslims have today was compiled by Othman, the third Sunni Khaliph, who was corrupt to the core. Othman was a king of nepotism and bribery. Under such an environment where hostility against Ali was celebrated, it would be illogical to expect the verses in favour of Ali would be preserved in the Holy Book.
History tells us that self-seeking Muslims after the Prophets demise coined their own hadiths (sayings) and ascribed them to the Prophet just to serve their own ends. Bukhari, a reliable Sunni hadith analyst only found 4000 of the 600,000 hadiths to be authentic. Why should I then believe the Quran has not been tampered with?
I have often wondered why Ali has not been mentioned so openly and as often in the Quran as he was in the speeches of the Prophet. History tells us that every time Islam came close to being wiped out, Ali turned up to save it, and although the Prophet said, "Ali was with the Quran and the Quran was with All," and although he called Ali "the gate to the city of knowledge," hardly do we see Ali directly mentioned in the Quran.
Othman ensured every verse pertaining to Ali be removed. Why would he or his predecessors, Abu-Bakkar or Omar, want Ali's name appear as part of divine, revelation when they were the ones who first usurped caliphate from him (Ali) and even broke the allegiance they had paid him in front of the Prophet?
Ali was looked upon with utmost jealousy and hostility by them, and there was no way the mad Othman would have retained any verse that was directly referring to Ali. The verses with hidden meanings referring to Ali were retained because Othman knew not what they meant, one such example being the verse I quoted twice about Ale-Imran.
Another such verse Othman presumably knew not who it was referring to was:
"Oh Apostle! Deliver what hath been revealed to you from your Lord. And verily if you did not do this, you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people. Surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving. " (5:67)
The above verse came at a time when the Muslim community was returning home from Mecca after the Prophet's last pilgrimage. The revelation came as a reminder of some previously revealed command not yet carried out by the Prophet. God had never used such harsh words when addressing His beloved Prophet, and here He clearly threatens to wipe out his total prophethood and mission of 40 years If he failed to carry out a certain command.
What was that previously revealed command that the frightened Prophet was hesitating to convey to the people? Why was he afraid of the people from whom Allah assures him divine protection? He was commanded to declare Ali as his successor. The Prophet was keenly aware of the hostility among his own companions against Ali as he happened to be his cousin and son-in-law.
But, Allah's angry threat caused the frightened Prophet to waste no more time. The Prophet ordered immediate rounding up of the homebound pilgrims lest Allah should carry out His threat against him. Those who had gone ahead, were called back. An assembly of about 140,000 people was gathered at Gadir-e-Khuum, an oasis in the desert. Ali on his side, the Prophet got up on a make-shift platform made out of saddles and declared Ali as his heir, successor, and their master.
“Ali is the Lord of those whose Lord I am. Oh Allah, love those who love Ali, hate those who hate Ali and let the truth be with Ali until the Day of Judgment”
The huge audience acknowledged Ali as their master. Omar was the first to congratulate and pay his allegiance to Ali but broke it as soon as the Prophet passed away., As soon as Ali was declared his successor, Allah sent a revelation to say that He had perfected the Prophet's religion and was pleased to name it Islam.
Allah kept out Ali's name from the above verse. The Prophet knew who the verse was about but Othman didn't. We know who it is referring to from the immediate reaction of the Prophet who rushes to declare Ali and also from Allah's reaction who perfects the imperfect religion as soon as Ali has been declared: Sunni experts have advanced different illogical interpretations of "Today I have perfected your religion”. None of them have made sense to me.
Had Othman known the verse referred to Ali, he would certainly have dropped it from his compilation. It was this verse that ended the era of prophethood and launched the beginning of the era of Imamat.
Remember, we talked about the six days God took to create the world? The Prophet symbolizes the sixth day. Ali's declaration symbolizes the seventh day, in which culminated the mission of all those 124,000 prophets whose primary mission was to prepare mankind to eventually receive Ali as Allah's manifest representative.
Othman would never have tolerated an open mention of Ali's name in the Quran. This sort of intrigue in politics is similar to what happens even in our civilized North America during election time. When do our political candidates speak well of their contestants?
Therefore, I believe the Holy Book is incomplete, though to me as an Ismaili, it is immaterial because "Ali is with the Quran and the Quran is with Ali", and as every hereditary Imam from I the progeny of the Prophet and Imran is Ali who is the embodiment of. the essence of the Quran, who himself is the "speaking Quran" as claimed by Ali, himself, on the battlefield of Siffin. We have a complete Quran in our Imam-e-Zaman.
“WHAT A CHRISTIAN ISMAILI CONVERT SAYS ABOUT ISMAILISM”
sofiya,
I have a great deal of respect for you. But I would be remised if I did not make the following comments:
First, being an "A CHRISTIAN ISMAILI CONVERT" or an American does not make him a well informed Ismaili. I read his responses, and I think he has learned what Ismailis are but I think he was influenced or informed or taught of Ismaili Faith with a certain flavor and I am not sure he was made aware of other traditions or thoughts within Ismaili Faith.
Secondly, Ismaili Faith is accepted by one and certainly he is from AhAl-Bait faith; no one should advise him to "renounced" one of the AhAl-Bait member/foundation. Ismaili Faith is a progressive faith, it progressed from AhAl-Bait and to renounce the foundation or without that foundation there is no progress.
Lastly, I am not sure if he is a real person. Even though if he was a real person he or whom ever came up with questions and answers (author or "he"), seemed as if it is a propaganda against Christianity. First, he seems to be able to quote parts of Quran all over but misses one? He is familiar with many of the Farmans of the 48th but he is miss-informed or conveniently forgets a repetitive farman of the 48th that is read on every new moon commanding us not to talk about (in demeaning manner) of others or other faiths...
I have a great deal of respect for you. But I would be remised if I did not make the following comments:
First, being an "A CHRISTIAN ISMAILI CONVERT" or an American does not make him a well informed Ismaili. I read his responses, and I think he has learned what Ismailis are but I think he was influenced or informed or taught of Ismaili Faith with a certain flavor and I am not sure he was made aware of other traditions or thoughts within Ismaili Faith.
Secondly, Ismaili Faith is accepted by one and certainly he is from AhAl-Bait faith; no one should advise him to "renounced" one of the AhAl-Bait member/foundation. Ismaili Faith is a progressive faith, it progressed from AhAl-Bait and to renounce the foundation or without that foundation there is no progress.
Lastly, I am not sure if he is a real person. Even though if he was a real person he or whom ever came up with questions and answers (author or "he"), seemed as if it is a propaganda against Christianity. First, he seems to be able to quote parts of Quran all over but misses one? He is familiar with many of the Farmans of the 48th but he is miss-informed or conveniently forgets a repetitive farman of the 48th that is read on every new moon commanding us not to talk about (in demeaning manner) of others or other faiths...
Quran Sura 2:62
"Those who have believed, and the Jews, the Christians and the Sabaeans, whosoever believe in God and the Last Day and act righteously, they shall have their requital from their Lord and shall neither fear nor grieve. "
this Ayah was quoted in the above mentioned interview.
Does any body know what Or who Sabaeans are. There name is mentioned with jews, Christians and Muslims as if they were a major religion does any one have a clue?
"Those who have believed, and the Jews, the Christians and the Sabaeans, whosoever believe in God and the Last Day and act righteously, they shall have their requital from their Lord and shall neither fear nor grieve. "
this Ayah was quoted in the above mentioned interview.
Does any body know what Or who Sabaeans are. There name is mentioned with jews, Christians and Muslims as if they were a major religion does any one have a clue?
As far as I know Mandaeans are though to be Sabaeans as reffered to in the Quran but not the Harrians who took the Sabaean name to protect them selves from Muslims. It is worth noting that Harrians were the first to give names to the days of the week.
Sabaeans had the same belief system as the other two of monotheism but never came into contact with Judaism or Christianity (during the Prophets’ time). Sabaeans were out of present day Iraq and Southern Arabia present day Yemen with common Arabic heritage. Sabaeans were brought into the Islamic fold you can say that they were the ones who used to say in Arabic, “La Illaha Ill al Allah”, there in no other god but one God, prior to Mohammed and now a day you can find a few Sabaeans but not the ones that Quran refers to.
Sabaeans had the same belief system as the other two of monotheism but never came into contact with Judaism or Christianity (during the Prophets’ time). Sabaeans were out of present day Iraq and Southern Arabia present day Yemen with common Arabic heritage. Sabaeans were brought into the Islamic fold you can say that they were the ones who used to say in Arabic, “La Illaha Ill al Allah”, there in no other god but one God, prior to Mohammed and now a day you can find a few Sabaeans but not the ones that Quran refers to.
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