> Help!

[Da Pwr f Truth!]

I want 2 know hw i can start an islamic grp or better how do i practice dawah, in my university. n how to proceed with it? how can i mke dis Ramadhan fruitful for my university?
Im really very depressed abut da conditions there. plz help!
Im frm India.
Jazak-allah-khair.

[Assad]

You can make ramadan useful by increasing your social work .

[IbnAbdulHakim]

First priority is unity. If you can gather strong relations with the sisters/brothers at your uni then you can work your way up from there.

Invite lecturers/set up stalls etc etc... unity is the beginning.


Assalamu Alaikum

[Assad]

IbnAbdulHakim nay sahe bat ke hai. You should have alook at the Prophet Muhammad PBUH prophecies in Vedas and talk to your friends calmly.

Regards

[Assad]

First of all let me thank you for allowing me the opportunity to help you.

The most effective way to do Dawah with a hindu is first to know him what type of faith he possess. There are many kind of hindu with many different thoughts unlike the people of Abrahamic faith.

Some believe in millions of God , some believes in hundreds of God and some believe in One God but with many other semi gods and some believe purely in One God.

So we cant just use the same stick against all of them. We first need to understand the type of ideology the person possess.

How to deal with those who believe in millions of God

Often when discussing religion, one hears the statement that none has the right to judge anyone else?s beliefs, or that religion is a person?s private matter and we can not say that it is wrong or right. Throughout history, societies have based their laws and ethics upon ?absolute truths? which they deem to be ?right?, and this is either a result of an exterior text regarded as supreme, or of the trait found in the innate nature of humans that causes them to see certain things as good and others as evil. Humans, to a limited scale, can see certain things as good and evil. For example, all humans, left to their natural state without perversion of the mind, will see feces and urine as filthy. Also, certain deeds, like stealing, killing and lying are also known to be evil, while truth, sincerity, and honor are seen to be lofty. This is a result of a trait that was created in all humans, but as mentioned above, this sense is limited.

If one says that they do not have the right to judge other?s beliefs or actions, they are, in fact, contradicting themselves. If you were to ask many of these people whether killing infants or suicide is correct and acceptable, they will naturally answer that it is not. But when we look into certain societies, such as some religions found in Central America, infanticide was seen to be a way to draw near to their gods. Also today, in Hindu religion, it is praiseworthy for a wife to kill herself after the death of her husband. If they truly believe that religion is something left to the individual and that none have the right to interfere or judge them, then this would necessitate allowing that killing babies is something which is correct to those who believe it is praiseworthy, and that people have no right to judge them.

If we were to bring this issue to an individual level, we would see that each person has their individual perception of good and evil, whether this perception is based upon religion, law, culture, or individual contemplation. One might believe that it is perfectly acceptable to commit adultery while another might think it to be wrong. One might believe that it is permissible for them to indulge in narcotics since it is their own body, and others might believe it to be a crime. None would be able to say that anything is right or wrong, and all people would be left to their own devices to believe and practice what they perceive as ?correct.?

If we were to implement this belief in society, we would have a community based upon anarchy, where no laws could be legislated nor executed, for law is based upon the principle that certain things are to be good and others are evil. If one were to say that there are certain truths agreed to by all humans which can be used to legislate laws, this statement is true to a certain limit, as we stated that all humans do naturally have a trait to know right from wrong in a limited sense. But as seen, this trait many times becomes perverted through environmental, psychological, or religious factors, in that certain acts which were at one time seen as evil and immoral are later seen as sound and acceptable, and some things which do not accord to human nature are seen to be the keys to salvation. This can be clearly observed in democratic societies which base their laws on the majority. We see that many things which were considered to be outright absurd or immoral are now socially acceptable, to the extent that if one holds a different opinion in regards to the issue, they are seen as outcasts.

For this reason, humans cannot be left to their own accords to legislate what is correct and incorrect. Even in societies of the same religion which have instituted the separation of religion and state, although they are in agreement to those things which they maintained from their religion, they differ greatly in regards to what is deemed correct and incorrect in their societies. What is considered as the legal age of consent to sex in France is considered rape in America. While abortion is legal in one country, it is a crime in another, and when homosexuality is seen as a valid way of life in one society, it is seen as a grave sin in another.

So if we now say that the truth is absolute and one and is not relative to each individual and society, then the next question is what are the morals which make truth manifest and who is to decide them? What are the laws which should be implemented in society? Should they be decided by lawyers and judges who have reached a level of ?legal enlightenment?, politicians who usually make decisions for their own benefit or the benefit of their own countries, or philosophers which have come to know the universal truths through their own contemplation? As seen earlier, humans cannot be left to decide these issues, lest there be catastrophic results, as seen today in many societies ridden with numerous ills. The only One who has the right to legislate right and wrong is the One who created us and knows what is best for us, and that is God Almighty. It is God who created the world and it is God who set the scales of justice. It is God who is perfect and it is God who has no faults whatsoever.

Most of our discussion has dealt with the issues of belief which deal with morality and deeds, but what is even more important is those beliefs which deal with God, and this will be discussed in the following article.

Those who believe that the truth is relative and that all beliefs are correct deem that it is not possible to say that a person?s beliefs are wrong, because religion to them is a purely individual belief. The falsehood of this statement is quite apparent and we do not need to delve into great detail to prove it. If one religion believes that Jesus was a false prophet, another maintains he is God, and yet another that he was a human specially chosen to be a prophet, how can they all be true? Jesus, may God praise him, must inevitably be one of the three things mentioned above, and all three statements cannot be correct. Therefore, as only one of these statements can be correct, whichever is established as true determines that the others must then be considered as false.

This does not, however, mean that a person does not have the right to believe as they wish, as this is a right that God has invested to all humans. But at the same time, it does not mean that one must take the other extreme and say that they are all correct, and that one does not have the right to form a judgment about them. Also, giving a person the right to believe what he wishes does not necessitate that they have right to openly practice or publicize these beliefs, for laws implemented in society always look at the effects of actions at the greater societal level and whether those actions are advantageous or harmful to the society at large.

From what we have discussed, we can unequivocally come to the conclusion that all the religions found today in the world are either all false, or that there exists one among them which is the comprehensive Truth; for although various religions do contain similarities, they also have fundamental differences.

If we were to say that no religion in the world today is correct, then this would entail believing that God is unjust because He left us to wander about on earth in sin and transgression without showing us the right way to do things, and this is impossible for a Just God. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that there is One True Religion, which contains guidance in all spheres of life, religious, moral, societal, and individual.

How do we know what this one true religion is? It is upon each and every human to investigate this matter. Humans were created to fulfill a great purpose, not just to eat, sleep and go about finding their daily sustenance and satiate their desires. In order to fulfill this purpose, one must try to find what their purpose is, and this can only be done by investigation. If one believes that there is a God, and that God must not have left humans to wander in misguidance, then they must search for the religion and way of life which God revealed. Furthermore, this religion would not be hidden or hard for humans to find or understand, for that would defeat the purpose of guidance. Also, the religion must contain the same message throughout time, since we mentioned that everything returns to one absolute truth. Also, this religion cannot contain any falsities or contradictions, for falseness or contradiction in one matter of the religion proves the falsity of the religion as a whole, since we would then doubt the integrity of its texts.

There is no other religion which fulfills the conditions mentioned above except for religion of Islam, the religion which is accordance to human nature, the religion which has been preached by all prophets since the dawn of man. Other religions found today, such as Christianity and Judaism, are the remnants of the religion brought by the prophets in their time, which was Islam. However, over time, they have been altered and lost, and what is left today of these religions is a mix of truth and falsehood. The only religion which has been preserved and preaches the same message brought by all prophets is the religion of Islam, the one true religion, which rules all sphere?s of humans? lives, religious, political, societal, and individual, and it is upon all humans to investigate this religion, to ascertain its truth, and to follow it.

Source : ( http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/7/ )

[Assad]

How to deal with those who believe in ONE GOD

Since the believe in One True Eternal God is a reality and obviously a part of a Muslims faith so this is very need to excerise a bit of caution.

A hindu may ask : I follow One God and I may call him by any name like Bhagwan , Pharmaishwar or Allah. I also believe in doing good works but Its not necessary to follow Quran and obey Muhammad PBUH.

Muslim : You're right that Allah is one and we may call Him by any name but my brother why dont you want to follow the teachings of Quran and the last Messenger of God PBUH ?

Hindu: Religion is just all man created , I only believe in doing good.

Muslim: You say that Religion is man created but you believe in doing good means you are creating your own religion i.e. again that is a man-made religion?

Hindu: I am not creating any religion I just want to do good thats it.

Muslim: Do you expect that by disobeying the last and final messenger of Allah you can expect to " do good " ?


So from here on the the conversation will lead to the truth of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. I dont want to go in that detail as you will find many good stuff on that on this forum and also on http://www.prophetofislam.com

Make sure that you do tell him about the prohibition on idol worship in there own books and also the prophecies regarding Prophet Muhammad PBUH in Vedas.

Good luck

[Assad]

Common Concept of God in Hinduism:


Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion. Indeed, most Hindus would attest to this, by professing belief in multiple Gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, some believe in thousands of gods, and some others in thirty three crore i.e. 330 million Gods. However, learned Hindus, who are well versed in their scriptures, insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God.

The major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim perception of God is the common Hindus’ belief in the philosophy of Pantheism. Pantheism considers everything, living and non-living, to be Divine and Sacred. The common Hindu, therefore, considers everything as God. He considers the trees as God, the sun as God, the moon as God, the monkey as God, the snake as God and even human beings as manifestations of God!

Islam, on the contrary, exhorts man to consider himself and his surroundings as examples of Divine Creation rather than as divinity itself. Muslims therefore believe that everything is God’s i.e. the word ‘God’ with an apostrophe ‘s’. In other words the Muslims believe that everything belongs to God. The trees belong to God, the sun belongs to God, the moon belongs to God, the monkey belongs to God, the snake belongs to God, the human beings belong to God and everything in this universe belongs to God.

Thus the major difference between the Hindu and the Muslim beliefs is the difference of the apostrophe ‘s’. The Hindu says everything is God. The Muslim says everything is God’s.


2.


Concept of God according to Hindu Scriptures:


We can gain a better understanding of the concept of God in Hinduism by analysing Hindu scriptures.

BHAGAVAD GITA

The most popular amongst all the Hindu scriptures is the Bhagavad Gita.

Consider the following verse from the Gita:

"Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures."
[Bhagavad Gita 7:20]

The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. ‘gods’ besides the True God.




UPANISHADS:

The Upanishads are considered sacred scriptures by the Hindus.

The following verses from the Upanishads refer to the Concept of God:

1.

"Ekam evadvitiyam"
"He is One only without a second."
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
2.

"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah."
"Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
3.

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Him."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
4.

The following verses from the Upanishad allude to the inability of man to imagine God in a particular form:

"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."

"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4

1[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 447 and 448]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 1 ‘The Upanishads part I’ page 93]

2[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 745]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page 263.]

3[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 736 & 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]

4[The Principal Upanishad by S. Radhakrishnan page 737]
[Sacred Books of the East, volume 15, ‘The Upanishads part II’ page no 253]







THE VEDAS
Vedas are considered the most sacred of all the Hindu scriptures. There are four principal Vedas: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.



1. Yajurveda
The following verses from the Yajurveda echo a similar concept of God:

1.

"na tasya pratima asti
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]5
2.

"shudhama poapvidham"
"He is bodyless and pure."
[Yajurveda 40:8]6
3.

"Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste"
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti."
[Yajurveda 40:9]7

Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.
4.

The Yajurveda contains the following prayer:
"Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander."
[Yajurveda 40:16]8

5[Yajurveda by Devi Chand M.A. page 377]

6[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538]

7[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith page 538]

8[Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith page 541]


2. Atharvaveda
The Atharvaveda praises God in Book 20, hymn 58 and verse 3:
1. "Dev maha osi"
"God is verily great"
[Atharvaveda 20:58:3]9


3. Rigveda
1.

The oldest of all the vedas is Rigveda. It is also the one considered most sacred by the Hindus. The Rigveda states in Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46:
"Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names."
[Rigveda 1:164:46]
2.

The Rigveda gives several different attributes to Almighty God. Many of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1.

Among the various attributes of God, one of the beautiful attributes mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3, is Brahma. Brahma means ‘The Creator’. Translated into Arabic it means Khaliq. Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Khaliq or ‘Creator’ or Brahma. However if it is said that Brahma is Almighty God who has four heads with each head having a crown, Muslims take strong exception to it.

Describing Almighty God in anthropomorphic terms also goes against the following verse of Yajurveda:

"Na tasya Pratima asti"
"There is no image of Him."
[Yajurveda 32:3]

Another beautiful attribute of God mentioned in the Rigveda Book II hymn 1 verse 3 is Vishnu. Vishnu means ‘The Sustainer’. Translated into Arabic it means Rabb. Again, Muslims can have no objection if Almighty God is referred to as Rabb or 'Sustainer' or Vishnu. But the popular image of

9[Atharveda Samhita vol 2 William Dwight Whitney page 910]



Vishnu among Hindus, is that of a God who has four arms, with one of the right arms holding the Chakra, i.e. a discus and one of the left arms holding a ‘conch shell’, or riding a bird or reclining on a snake couch. Muslims can never accept any image of God. As mentioned earlier this also goes against Svetasvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19.

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Him"

The following verse from the Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being:
3.

"Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata"
"O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone."
[Rigveda 8:1:1]10
4.

"Devasya samituk parishtutih"
"Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator."
[Rigveda 5:1:81]11



Brahma Sutra of Hinduism:

The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is:

"Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan"

"There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit."

Thus only a dispassionate study of the Hindu scriptures can help one understand the concept of God in Hinduism.

0[Rigveda Samhita vol. 9, pages 2810 and 2811 by Swami Satya Prakash Sarasvati and Satyakam Vidyalankar]

11[Rigveda Samhita vol. 6, pages 1802 and 1803 by Swami Satya Prakash Saraswati and Satyakam Vidyalankar]



as from the sun." The Prophecy confirms:

1.

The name of the Prophet as Ahmed since Ahmed is an Arabic name. Many translators misunderstood it to be ‘Ahm at hi’ and translated the mantra as "I alone have acquired the real wisdom of my father".
2.

Prophet was given eternal law, i.e. the Shariah.
3.

The Rishi was enlightened by the Shariah of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an says in Surah Saba Chapter 34 verse 28 (34:28):



"We have not sent thee but as a universal (Messenger) to men, giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin), but most men understand not."


Source : ( http://www.irf.net/irf/comparativereligion/index.htm )

[asma]

asslam alaikum

mashallah the above post was too good.

i realize whats the atmosphere in indian universities. get together the muslim freinds - but then see it to that u dont completely boycott others and emerge as a minority group. and then patiently and naturally plan up small programs or helping each other out. like waking up each other at fajr and so. i mean first create a sense of belonging amongst the near by momin and mumina rest it will follow inshallah

[Umm Sufyaan]

Originally Posted by Da Pwr f Truth!

I want 2 know hw i can start an islamic grp

I think you should start with you and your friends. basically, just a few people. then inshallah, when others see that your going strong and beneficial, they would want to participate, also. Start small, is the way to go, in think:o

or better how do i practice dawah, in my university.

i think actions speak louder than words. i think when peole see that your firm in your practise, etc, than they will

n how to proceed with it?

i wouldnt worry about that just yet. take it step by step, inshalla. fulfill the basics first;)

how can i mke dis Ramadhan fruitful for my university?

im guessing you uni's a mixed enviroment? If so i think you definatley should touch upon something like that. or perhaps talk about something like the basics of aqeedah (creed), the benefits fo ramadan. Basically something that people are falling short in, but need a gentle reminder in[/QUOTE]

First priority is unity. If you can gather strong relations with the sisters/brothers at your uni then you can work your way up from there.

unity is definatley important. theres no point in starting something when each of you dont share the same goals, ideas, etc. its pointless. :)

[Assad]

Walikum Asssalam

Thank you sister Asma for your positive comments.

I want like to add up as being a neighbour to India i.e. Pakistani I can understand that the most important thing which we need to do is to create a good atmosphere around us. We need to represent our faith by our actions . This is most important.

We need to discipline our self and help eachother out and have no hatred for our muslims brother based on social or family status.

Good luck