What is religion!!

muslima · 07-22-2005, 08:31 AM

"What is religion is it love for God or it is fear for God are u just pretending to love him.. its just the fear for his punishment.You are forced to bend n pray for him."This is one of my Friends view on religion what do u guys think...

Friend · 07-22-2005, 11:21 AM

Salaam

your subject here is very nice .... I can say that I'm agree with Ima`m Zayn al-'Abidin,( peace be on him in his vision about this )...he said : "If people worship Allah, the Great and Almighty, because of fear (of Him), their worship is (similar to that) of slaves. If they worship Him because of desire, their worship (similar to that) of traders, and if they worship Him to show gratefulness toward him, their worship is that of the free. "

suanni · 07-22-2005, 02:51 PM

Religion is organised collective faith based upon the prophecies of (sometimes) one man.

Faith is individual belief in a Divine not religion

That's my view anyway

nomanshake · 07-22-2005, 03:44 PM

But these messengers had something special, Mohammed(SAW) was the last messenger , Jesus was a messenger given special qualities, being the holy son.

suanni · 07-22-2005, 06:49 PM

But they didn't create the religions, they were the messengers.

We're due for another one...

nomanshake · 07-22-2005, 07:02 PM

They did create religion, but one thing really looks arguable to me is that their religions told us to follow them too and consider them as special secondly after God. Like in Islam, a person who believes in Allah, but does not have the secondly belief in Mohammed(saw), he is usually referred to as a non-muslim.

muslima · 07-23-2005, 08:28 AM

Quote:

"If people worship Allah, the Great and Almighty, because of fear (of Him), their worship is (similar to that) of slaves. If they worship Him because of desire, their worship (similar to that) of traders, and if they worship Him to show gratefulness toward him, their worship is that of the free. "

Yes if u fear Allah then why would we call Allah for help when we are in pain or grief..i think its trust and love that hold the faith.
But If the faith u choose gives u purpose of life does the religion matter in the end?
I know Allah choose special person as messenger...where all the messengers sinless?

thipps · 07-23-2005, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muslima

But If the faith u choose gives u purpose of life does the religion matter in the end?

Ofcourse it would matter because the 'purpose of life' question must be answered correctly for the religion to be correct. Furthermore, there is something else to consider. IF you are right, then any religion will do and it doesnt matter what we follow BUT if you are wrong, then what you are proposing only sounds good but will lead to a very bad end.
Now, who is better to answer than God?That is one of the reasons, i gather, the Prophets/Messengers throughout time started with the teaching of Tawheed [Monotheism]. If you believe that there is ONE God and that He has no equals/partners and that He is the Creator of all. He feeds, He gives life and death... so on and so forth... everything else will stem from that like the branches of a fruit-bearing tree. if you believe that He is All-Knowing and that He is Most-Wise, then you would have no troubles accepting His Words. Allah says in the Qur'an that He has chosen for us Islam as our religion [5:3]. He didnt say that all paths lead to God which, i feel, you are alluding to. The purpose of one's life, as defined by the Quran, is clearly written in 51:56.
Thats my 2 cents.
Hope this helped.
And Allaah knows best.

muslima · 07-26-2005, 06:58 PM

I know it takes few minutes and sometimes many years for some people to realise and accept the true religion.
that was more than 2cents

Thanks thipps.

17th Angel · 11-02-2006, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muslima

"What is religion is it love for God or it is fear for God are u just pretending to love him.. its just the fear for his punishment.You are forced to bend n pray for him."This is one of my Friends view on religion what do u guys think...

It is a fear of being responsible for your own actions. It is a fear of death. It is a fear of being in this big scary world... just widdle old you on your own. It is mainly an animal called mankind that got too intelligent and some seek for something special... something higher something more... sadly I believe it to be in vain...

Amica · 11-03-2006, 11:29 AM

Peace.

When Muslims talk about fear of God Almighty, they mean they fear His punishment. God can grant His Mercy to who He pleases but can also punish fiercly, as seen in the earlier revelations: punishment of Sodom & Gomorrah, talk of Hell fire, punishment to pharaohs of Egypt, etc.
If a person does not fear God's punishments, or at least does not think they they are possible, the person allows himself/herself to indulge in sinful actions thinking that NO MATTER WHAT they will be forgiven (i.e. murder, blasphemy, suicide, prostitution, stealing, abusing animals and people, starting wars/genocide, etc).

PluckyAli · 11-03-2006, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muslima

"What is religion is it love for God or it is fear for God are u just pretending to love him.. its just the fear for his punishment.You are forced to bend n pray for him."This is one of my Friends view on religion what do u guys think...

nice question.It's somewhat both in my pov.But first comes fear of God.It's only fear that keep us going in the right path.It's also love because God cares for us,he made us and he gives us food.But God love and fear demands that you pray five times,be a good muslim.
p.ali