Sunday, 18 December 2016

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Bible and Quran

19/12/2016



2:146

"Those to whom We gave the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognise him (Muhammad SAW or the Ka'bah at Makkah) as they recongise their sons. But verily, a party of them conceal the truth while they know it - [i.e. the qualities of Muhammad SAW which are written in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)]. " (Quran 2:146)


1. Muhammad's name in bible

God starts the chapter by drawing our attention to a very special person that He will send. He describes this person as:

"Behold, My Servant whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations." (Isaiah 42: 1)

"Here is My servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations (Gentiles)" (Matthew 12: 18)
 
Isaiah is originally written in Hebrew. Hebrew and Arabic shared lots of common words because they are both semitic languages. Prophet Muhammad is also known as Abdullah, Mustafa and Habibullah.
 
Another names of Prophet Muhammad:
God's servant = 'Ebed' (Hebrew) = 'Abd' (Arabic) => Abd-Allah (The servant of Allah)
God's chosen one = Mustafa (Arabic)
God's delight = Habibullah (Arabic) => Beloved of Allah
 

"His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend,
    O daughters of Jerusalem." (Song of Solomon 5: 16)

Translation of Hebrew Bible to English
 
Prophet Muhammad's name in Hebrew language (the origin language of Bible)

Muhammad means 'The Most Praised One/ The Praiseworthy/ altogether desirable'. 
 
2. Illiterate
Prophet Muhammad was an illiterate man. He cannot read and he cannot write. There is no way that he copied the bible. There are some similarities between Islam and Christianity because we are all from the same God, and Allah (God) revealed the books of scripture for human to follow. Allah appointed messengers (Prophets) to warn human to worship Allah, not to worship idols, pagans, another human being, and all of His own creation. All these prophets brought the same mission, to preached human to worship Allah. The prophets restored messages from the prophets before themselves.
 
Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet and Allah perfected the religion of Islam (Quran 5:3). That's why there is no other prophet and scripture after Prophet Muhammad and Quran.

"The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, "Please read this," he will say, "I cannot, for it is sealed."
Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, "Please read this." And he will say, "I cannot read" (Isaiah 29: 11-12)
 
 
29:48
 
"And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt." (Quran 29:48)
 
The first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad through angel Gibrael is "Iqra" which means "Read"
 

96:1
 
Recite in the name of your Lord who created - (Quran 96: 1)
 
Let us increase our knowledge by READ the Quran and other books that can elevate our intellectual and knowledge.

3. A New Prophet

"I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him." (Deuteronomy 18: 18 - 19)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14: 15 - 17)


4. The Last Messenger

"Behold, the former things have come to pass. Now I declare new things." (Isaiah 42: 9)

"But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 
And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning."
(Gospel of John 15: Verse 26 - 27)

"But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."
(Gospel of John 16: Verse 7 - 11)

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you." (Gospel of John 16: Verse 12 - 14)
 
 
33:40 
 
Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing. (Quran 33: 40)
 
 


Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Why non muslims can't enter Mecca?

14/12/2016
Kiblah

Kiblah means the direction of the Kaaba (the sacred building at Mecca), to which Muslims turn at prayer. Kiblah is a direction for prayer, as a sign of unity. However, muslims do not worship the Kaabah, but muslims worship Allah, the creator directly. The Kaabah was built by Prophet Abraham and His son, Prophet Ishmael. Muslims follow the words of Allah in Quran:

Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Chapter 2, Verse 144:


2:144
"We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do." (Quran 2:144)

Malay
Kerap kali Kami melihat engkau (wahai Muhammad), berulang-ulang menengadah ke langit, maka Kami benarkan engkau berpaling mengadap kiblat yang engkau sukai. Oleh itu palingkanlah mukamu ke arah masjid Al-Haraam (tempat letaknya Kaabah); dan di mana sahaja kamu berada maka hadapkanlah muka kamu ke arahnya. Dan sesungguhnya orang-orang (Yahudi dan Nasrani) yang telah diberikan Kitab, mereka mengetahui bahawa perkara (berkiblat ke Kaabah) itu adalah perintah yang benar dari Tuhan mereka; dan Allah tidak sekali-kali lalai akan apa yang mereka lakukan.



I went to the Putra Mosque for volunteering after work yesterday. I had a chance to meet 2 tourists from Sweeden. They asked me, "Can I enter Mecca since we are non muslims?"
My answer is, "You need to be a muslim before you can enter Mecca". Mecca is for the muslims only. It is a place of worshipping, not for tourism. Though Mecca is very historic and large, it can't afford to have billions of muslims worldwide at once. That's why the Saudi government set quota for each muslims from each country to visit Mecca. Logically, it is prioritize to allow the muslims that worship Allah to enter Mecca, rather than those who do not worship Him.
Allah mentioned in the Quran regarding the prohibition:
Surat At-Tawbah (The Repentance), Chapter 9, Verse 28:
9:28

Sahih International
O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise. (Quran 9: 28)
Malay
Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Sesungguhnya (kepercayaan) orang-orang kafir musyrik itu najis, oleh itu janganlah mereka menghampiri Masjid Al-Haraam sesudah tahun ini; dan jika kamu bimbangkan kepapaan, maka Allah akan memberi kekayaan kepada kamu dari limpah kurniaNya, jika dia kehendaki. Sesungguhnya Allah Maha Mengetahui, lagi Maha Bijaksana. 
 Surat 'Ibrāhīm (Abrahim), Chapter 14, Verse 35:
14:35
Sahih International
And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham said, "My Lord, make this city [Makkah] secure and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols.(Quran 14: 35)
Malay
Dan (ingatlah) ketika Nabi Ibrahim berdoa dengan berkata: "Wahai Tuhanku! jadikanlah negeri Makkah ini negeri yang aman, dan jauhkanlah daku dan anak-anakku dari perbuatan menyembah berhala. 
 Surat An-Naml (The Ant), Chapter 27, Verse 91:
27:91
Sahih International
[Say, O Muhammad], "I have only been commanded to worship the Lord of this city, who made it sacred and to whom [belongs] all things. And I am commanded to be of the Muslims [those who submit to Allah ] (Quran 27: 91)
Malay
(Katakanlah wahai Muhammad):" Aku hanyalah diperintahkan supaya menyembah Allah Tuhan negeri (Makkah) ini yang telah menjadikannya suci lagi dihormati dan yang menguasai segala-galanya; dan aku diperintahkan supaya tetap menjadi dari orang-orang Islam (yang menyerah diri bulat-bulat kepadaNya), -