The translation is as follows. I believe it largely captures the essential verses:
1. Praise is for Allah only -- The Lord of All being !
2. The Benevolent, the Merciful !
3. Master on the Day of Recompense !
4. Thee only do we serve, and Thee alone do we ask for help.
5. Direct us to the...
Its not a silly question. If you want a real friend then I don't think there is any preset way. If you're lucky you will find a real friend.
If by friend you simply mean some person who shares your interests with and you can pass your time comfortably with him/her then the way to "get" such a...
Reminds me of a small story involving Mawlana Rumi:
Rumis love and honor for all religious traditions was not always popular in his day, and often provoked criticism from the more dogmatic. A story is told that one such public challenge came from a Muslim dignitary, Qonavi, who confronted Rumi...
I am as yet unclear how you define the "self" in the word "selfish" to be. I hold the view that the self has many levels which fundamentally can be broken down into two - those emanating from the body and those emanating from the spirit. According to certain Sufi viewpoints the spirit is a...
Given a scientific paper, based on my own experience, I think the percentage of the people in the world who have read and understood it would be miniscule as compared to the percentage of people who when told about it will accept it without reading it. That sort of qualifies as blind faith...
What does saying this even mean? Abraham(pbuh) was a messenger of God according to the Quran, but likewise according to the Quran there have been messengers of God in all nations of the world. So what do you think? Should Islam be called an Abrahamic religion?
@ Vrindavan Das: The verse 3:7 has an even more extended meaning then what you propose. It condemns unauthorized interpretations and furthermore says that only God knows its full meaning. The words "and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge; they say, "we believe in it; the Whole is from...
I feel the spirit of the Quran is against polygamy. It doesn't outright reject it (and sanctions it in precisely 1 verse) because of the context of its time. The verses of the Quran have to be understood at various levels, some have historical context and should not be applied arbitrarily at all...
Many Islamic scholars feel that these do not mean that words of the previous scripture have been changed, rather that some people have not bothered to understand and are making interpretations on their own. The way you understand the above verse is taken to be limited and incorrect in context by...
As I understand the original topic was whether Krishna can be equated to God as we understand in Islam. (After that the discussion got convoluted and I haven't really perused the whole thread.) However it is my humble opinion that such an equation has two levels: it is flawed at the level of...
I feel the main problem that intended aid (whether by NGO's or through government channels) doesn't reach the poor in such countries (including India) is because there is a lack of complete understanding, both qualitative and quantitative, regarding the poor in these countries. Proper...
Dear Venugopal
There is a more generic understanding of the word belief as well. I took a look at the verse 18:29 in Arabic and the word Kafir used there means one who hides the truth. A person who does not "believe"/disbeliever is not neccessarily a Kafir. The Quran itself recognizes that it...
I today wrote a post here which you may find relevant to this topic. Since I don't think cross posting is allowed if you are interested you can take a look here.