Our Lord's Name Is Allah

By Harun Yahya

In the Qur'an Allah has revealed that the unbelievers will constantly resort to various means and mobilize all their forces to prevent people from believing in Him, adhering to His path and remembering Him:

Those who disbelieve spend their wealth barring access to the way of Allah. They will spend it; then they will regret it; then they will be overthrown... (Surat al-Anfal, 36)

This labor of opposition may sometimes be carried out using open methods and means, and at other times by the use of secret tactics. Yet the objective is always the same: to prevent the remembrance of the name of Allah and thus to turn people away from religious moral values.

The various trends that have recently emerged simultaneously in various countries are noteworthy from this point of view. Clearly, these world views, which speak in veiled terms of a cosmic force, an energy, or a designer of the universe, but which stubbornly refuse to recall the name of Almighty Allah, the only Creator of all things, serve a false purpose. This may be an effort to misdirect the spiritual quest in people and to prevent them from living by the true religion.

At heart, this is a project aimed at establishing an artificial religion, a kind of mixture of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Under this artificial religion, people will accept the existence of a power that brought the universe into being, but the identity of that power will be unclear (Surely Allah is beyond that); they will not recall the name of Allah, and will not learn and appreciate His great attributes as they should. They will ignore the fact that He is the only Creator and Lord of the entire universe, and there will thus be no need for them to live by the religious commandments He revealed to mankind.

It is clear that this represents a grave threat to religious moral values. This is why true believers must be on their guard against movements that avoid recalling the name of Allah and openly stating that Almighty Allah created the entire universe from nothing, and that instead seek to hide behind confusing and indirect terminology such as a designer, a cosmic force, or energy.

For sincere believers, recalling the name of Allah and exalting His glory is a great religious observance, a source of enthusiasm and excitement, performed with joy and love. As is revealed in the verse: "He is Allah - the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and Earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise," (Surat al-Hashr, 24) those who believe that Almighty Allah flawlessly created all things from nothing should feel a great sense of honor at recalling our Lord by His most glorious names.

A Muslim Rejoices at Recalling the Name of Allah

As we are informed in another verse, "Your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the Earth in six days and then settled Himself firmly on the Throne," (Surat al-A'raf, 54), our Lord is Almighty Allah. He is the Creator of all. He is Guardian over all things. He is the sole owner of the heavens and the Earth, and all that lies between. There is no other god but Him. Verses reveal that Allah, our Lord, is sublime and great:

... That is Allah, your Lord. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He is the Living - there is no god but Him - so call on Him, making your religion sincerely His. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. (Surah Ghafir, 64-65)

One of the responsibilities of the faithful throughout their lives is to communicate the message, in other words to tell all people of the existence and oneness of Allah, to call them to the true religion, to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. The nature of the path that Muslims must follow in discharging this honorable responsibility can clearly be seen in the Qur'an and the life of the Prophet (saas). As always, a Muslim must be honest and sincere in communicating the message, and must not forget that it is Almighty Allah Who will guide to the true path. It is evident that this will not be possible without recalling the name of Allah and telling people of His existence and oneness. Muslims must describe the existence of Allah and His attributes in the manner and style He revealed in the Qur'an. The glorious attributes of our Lord are revealed thus in the Qur'an:

Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the Earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the Earth and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. (Surat al-Baqara, 255)

Another feature that must be seen in a Muslim who speaks of the existence and oneness of Allah is a joyous, passionate, sincere and deep love of Him. In one verse it is revealed that the faithful love Allah above all things:

Some people set up equals to Allah, loving them as they should love Allah. But those who believe have greater love for Allah... (Surat al-Baqara, 165)

Clearly, the mindset that despite all this still avoids recalling the name of Allah, that deceives both itself and others by using veiled terminology, and that moreover imagines it is doing so in the name of religion, is making a grave error. It is useless to ignore or seek to avoid this truth. Those with such a mindset have been warned in the Qur'an:

That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of everything. There is no god but Him - so how have you been perverted? (Surah Ghafir, 62)

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites http://www.harunyahya.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Harun_Yahya

What Does "I Am A Christian" Mean?

By E. Raymond Rock

When we say that we are a Christian, or Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, or Hindu, what does that mean? When I was a faith-based Christian, it meant that I believed. I believed in God, Jesus, the Church, and I believed in Catholicism. I was proud of being a Catholic. It didn't matter whether my beliefs had any logical or scientific support, I simply believed, and that was good enough for me. After all, how could humankind's puny science or logic ever stand up to God's word? As a matter of fact, I believed so strongly that when my belief was challenged, I was ready to defended it with my life. I believed, because my mother, and the Church trained me to believe, and as the training took affect, I developed an emotional attachment to the religion, and to God and Jesus as well.

When we say that we are Green Bay Packer fans, that doesn't necessarily mean we play football. We are usually only fans; armchair quarterbacks at best. While real football players are risking their lives and sweating it out on the field, we are more than likely eating popcorn in front of our big screen TVs. If someone makes a sarcastic remark about the Green Bay packers, odds are we will become downright belligerent.

Therefore, although I was Catholic, I didn't necessarily think that I had to "be" Catholic, that is; keep the commandments so religiously that I would have nothing to say in the confessional - except maybe talk about the weather! Merely believing, along with some occasional good works, would do the trick, I believed, and place me smack dab in heaven seated at the right hand of God.

Identifying with a football team, or a religion, is a natural thing. It goes back to the early days when we lived in tribes, huddling together to provide mutual security. Wherever we found ourselves, that's the tribe we instinctively supported. Presently, if we are born in Iraq, we huddle with Muslims, in India, with Hindus, in America, Christians, in Southeast Asia, Buddhists, and in Israel, Jews. It is a natural thing, All of us will defend our particular religions just as we defend our favorite football teams.

This attachment to our particular brand of religion, the religion that we identify with, causes problems amongst the religions, no different from the friendly competition amongst football fans. We can argue which football team is best, but only a game will prove who is right. The problem with religion is that there are no friendly games, only religious wars. The Muslims, Christians, and Jews are warming up for another doozy in the Middle East, or so it seems, and although there have been countless wars in the past; nothing has been solved. Of course, the coming conflict might be nuclear, which may very well end our worries about future wars, and humankind as well.

This is what religion has come down to in many cases, a spectator sport, so to speak, with no one playing the game seriously. Just as football fans talk endlessly about football statistics and players yet never pick up a ball, we religious people love to talk about our religions and what they mean to us, mentioning our faith in every other word that we speak, but seldom do we do any heavy spiritual lifting.

Actually, the most successful religions, based on numbers, are the ones that require the least inconvenience to their followers. Even the Catholic Church has made adjustments. Who hears of "Meatless Fridays" anymore? If a religious organization's requirements become too demanding, or inconvenient or not very entertaining, attendance drops. "What's in this for me in the short-run" is written on all our foreheads.

I mean, what the heck, if we can get to heaven the easy way, why not, especially if our religion doesn't get in the way of our enjoying ourselves and making money, after all, the important thing is that our religion doesn't interfere with our economic development! Asceticism and discipline went out with Christ and the Buddha, a long time ago. Lucky us! This is the feeling today in many organizations, and although they might say otherwise, the proof is in their activities. Why should religion get in the way of our lives, shouldn't it enrich our lives by giving us something to brag about?

We can boast that statistically, people who practice their religion in this fashion die the happiest; content and confident that they will be taken care of in the hereafter. Whether Buddhist, Christian, or any of the other 4,000 religions on this planet, they will be okay. It is a win-win situation. Yay.

But that brings up a serious question: Which way was it with Christ and the Buddha - were they simply stupid, or were they very smart? Maybe they were stupid, because all they would have had to do was kick back and enjoy life as we do. Or were they smart, knowing that a life of ease not only would never get them far in the after-life, but would never make them happy on earth?
That's a good question, because if we think that they were stupid in praying and working so hard, then we are following stupid people! If, on the other hand, they knew something that we have conveniently forgotten or never knew, we might be in trouble!

There are hints throughout religious literature that sincere effort must be made, tremendous effort actually, in order to insure our destinies. We can rationalize as much as we wish, and die psychologically content and happy if we choose to, but what actually happens after death remains a mystery. If we truly believe in an afterlife, and that what we do on earth will affect the quality of that afterlife, and also that the eternal afterlife, compared to the fraction of a millisecond we spend on this earth, is all that we should be concerned with, how can we whistle in the dark as we do, continuing to view our religion as some kind of a football game?

When will we seriously begin practicing? Religious practice, and the benefits of religious practice, if understood, would replace many present nonsensical activities. The Christ and The Buddha understood this, that's why they pretty much turned their backs on the world in order to go deeper. They tried to show us how to do the same. They didn't save us so that we don't have to do anything, in my opinion - they saved us by showing us the way to save ourselves.

As usual, it is strictly up to us. We have to get up from the couch, turn off the big-screen, pick up the ball and start playing . . .or praying. Who knows, searching within might open up a completely new world for us, since this present world is becoming nothing great to write home about! Or are you still amused?

If enough of us began playing, or praying and meditating, maybe the world would be something great again, filled with compassion, decency, love and understanding. It's a question of becoming disciplined once more, which serious football, or prayer and meditation, requires.

Wouldn't that be radical?
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=E._Raymond_Rock

Muslim Dating Site - Advantages and Disadvantages

By Nancy Dunstan

Muslim dating site can be defines as websites that are available for Muslims to find themselves life partners. Some sites are very popular, because they may spend time advertising themselves on the internet. Most Muslims these days are turning to such matrimonial sites for the purpose of marriages. As with all businesses there will be advantages and disadvantages.

The internet is a place where you can get a lot of things from just sitting at home, but there are also dark shades to it. For instance, some people may be misusing Muslim dating sites. A lot of people may just register for the sake f it to have fun. Though a lot of time is spent on trying to curb such activities, it seems to be endless.

The management of these sites will obviously have to spend so much time hunting down people who are not genuine, through several thousands of profiles. Yes, it is true. There are several thousands of profiles, and it is growing by number each day. This is because the internet is becoming more cheap to use, and also available in many remote corners of the world.

Some people may use Islamic dating sites, to lure people with money into their company. So it is with other matrimonial sites too. So, one always has to be careful when you register yourself on matrimonial sites. This is not meant to frighten users. In fact, this is probably such a great deal of common sense, that is, to use matrimonial sites.

You will not be stuck with choosing between two or three photographs. Any Muslim belonging to any caste can be found on such sites. A user will have a wide choice to choose from. These sites are also very protective about their users. For example, they will not allow anyone else to steal your identity. If someone does that, they may pose as you to other people.

These sites also work a lot towards fighting spam. In return, the least any user can do, is to behave in a manner that is appropriate. They can do so by being kind to other users. If you are not interested in someone, you must be very polite, and say so. Not giving them an answer will allow them to understand the situation in a different way.

They might even think you are pondering over their request. At all times, Muslims using dating sites for Muslims, must keep their families involved. This way, all of you together can pick the right person. This way, you can also ensure that the person you are picking is good enough in character, and will be able to support you.

You cannot figure this out over the internet of course, you can just approach them and check their background. All these sites operate the way the religion wants them to be. They will not go against the wish of their God, by indulging in activities that are not right. So Muslims who want to marry, need not fear.

Muslim dating site - The unique and most safe way to find life partners within the Muslim community