Growing up with lots of budhist and hindu children around I found the concept of rebirth very interesting. Basically the idea of having another chance at life seems tempting... Even people who want to go to heaven dont want to die to get there. But here's the thing - death is what makes life valuable and here is my question... if a child is born blind you say he sinned in his previous life but he is not aware of what sin he committed. It is almost like he is being punished without a reason.
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At the same time why would a just/merciful God allow a child to be born blind and cause immense hardship to the child and his familly??
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I was waiting for this question. Sometimes you love someone so much that you want to know how much they would sacrifice for you. You want to know what their reaction would be when you are sick or disastrous. You go to the extent of testing them with little difficulties to see how much they can put up with. Its the same with God. He tests different people in different ways.
Furthermore to a person born handicapped that is all he/she knows so it would be normal. if all of humanity was blind it would be normal. There are some difficulties and they adapt. When good happens we say thanks and when bad happens we are patient.
Thank you for the comment even if it was anonymous!!
what about the childs parents?? isn't it an unfair burden? or an unfair test at its best? God is not just if he tests different people in varying degrees...
the comments have to be anonymous as apostasy is punishable by death according to Islam.. plus at least some muslims tend to get very aggresive and violent towards people who question Islam... its a risk I do not wish to take...
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besides - most people would never intentionally 'test' their loved ones with 'difficulties' just to 'see' how much they can put up with.. thats simply a cruel thing to do...
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I would say it is more of a test to the parents than to the child. Varying degrees of tests because not all people love and worship God the same way. Some do it for reward or fear of punishment, some do it for show off or having no other choice while some others do it out of love and delight – in that God really deserves to be worshiped they way he is worshiped! If everyone was equal then yes equal tests would be fair.
As for apostasy – correct me if I am wrong but there were people during the prophets time who went away from submitting their will to God but they were not killed. Unless they are causing corruption in the land there is no ruling on a death penalty. It probably is one of those misunderstood view points.
If muslims are getting worked up by a comment it is because they themselves don't have enough faith in their religion. That is their problem and not yours. Many educated Muslims today are welcome to criticism because they are well read and can take it!
apostasy is punishable by death according to sharia - alcohol was permitted during the early stages of Islam.. however later prohibited and this is what stands today.. it is the same with apostasy... If it is a misunderstanding about Islam - muslims worldwide should first work towards repealing this law... from Sharia and from states such as Saudi Arabia and Iran...
I do have a problem when I already know at least some people get worked up about my comments/opinions and have issued warnings and threats... I take them seriously as I do not want the security and well being of me or my family compromised...
Of course it is hard to resist an intelligent debate about religion...therefore the comments.... I do not wish to pursue this further.. we as humans have our own way of justifying our beliefs...
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Yes it may be cruel if you or I do it but as I said God in his infinite wisdom has the ability to decide what is cruel. May be parents who are barren would rather have a disabled child than no child at all. If there was no poverty the rich would never appreciate what they have. The child with the A grade only values it because not every child can get that A grade. If we can propose a better solution than God can, we should. Otherwise we should leave it to Him to decide what's best for all!
Everyone tries to explain life and death to the best of their ability – hence the theory of rebirth and atonement etc. They need something to fall back on because the human mind is such that we need to reason out everything. The challenge is to reach that point where you can no longer continue thinking and then believe! You then don't have a problem with good and bad happening around because you come to realize that there is an ultimate power through which everything revolves.
Yes Jamal Badawi and other well known scholars are doing their best in demonstrating the teachings without these misleading facts. However, it will take time. KSA is a different story altogether. Every Muslim country is not an Islamic country. We do not follow what they say, rather we follow the teachings of the Quran and the prophet. The fact that you have questions is because you doubt your beliefs/ disbeliefs and are in search of the truth. May Allah help and guide us all!
“besides - most people would never intentionally 'test' their loved ones with 'difficulties' just to 'see' how much they can put up with.. thats simply a cruel thing to do...”
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I had trouble coming to terms with the test thing myself. Which brings me to question why did God create us in the first place? We didn't ask to be created did we? To this question I heard one of the scholars say : but you don't ask your employer why he employed you?
Coming back to the comment, I just want to repeat that all of us have weaknesses and disabilities in ourselves. Being born blind or deaf – don't look at this a bad thing. It is hard but when you think a little about it you will realize that there is good in everything.
Of course I have doubts and questions.. I try to keep an open mind about everything - including Islam .. I am proud of that... questions and doubt has and will always be the beginning of knowledge and progress of humanity as a whole... similarly - you probably question other faiths on your blog as you have your own doubts and questions.. which is not a bad thing at all...
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No, not bad at all. It is very good indeed because when you understand other people's faith you can understand and appreciate your own much better. having so many friends from other faiths I have to learn as much as I can to be able to talk to them.
"Being born blind or deaf – don't look at this a bad thing. It is hard but when you think a little about it you will realize that there is good in everything"
Sorry to continue with this and start rambling again but I just cannot accept that... good in everything??!!??...
Try telling that to someone who just lost his limb/child/eyesight due to a roadside bomb... or the palestinians in refugee camps for years with their homes demolished...or an African child raped in Darfur...or the child who's entire family was destroyed by an Israeli shell - while playing on the beach in Gaza.. a different problem for each person??!!?? how can yours or my problems even compare to some of the issues faced by these people...... We are just the fortunate few ...the day to day issues faced by millions, cannot compare to the inconveniences/worries we have to handle..
besides why is God so insecure to keep testing man to convince himself of mans love and loyalty....
I hope you don't take offense at this comment... I have nothing against you .. just something against A God who claims to be all powerful, merciful and just and does nothing about the misery in the world..If I were God - I would just let people be and love them unconditionally - especially if they are my creation...and maybe give this satan guy a good whack and get him out of the picture, so there is no mischief in the world....IMHO it is a perverse pleasure for someone all powerful to simply watch all this misery and do nothing about it - just so the 'good' people could be chosen for heaven.... I believe that if there ever is a God he is probably a very cruel one... As for the current model of God being all merciful and just - I think I am more merciful than him....
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For you and me the good may be difficult to comprehend. But for the All Knowing with unlimited intelligence and Wisdom who sees the picture of not just the next 10,000 years but forever; the good may be obvious. No offense taken on the criticism because truth is from the land and there is no compulsion! That's why God gave us a brain instead of just making us all angels. You can also clarify your doubts from some of the scholars, (the contacts of whom I can provide if necessary) because I know that my answer will not be satisfactory to you as I am still just a student.
Tried the whole 'ask the scholars' scenario.. in a vain attempt to salvage our beliefs.. believe me we desperately wanted to cling to Islam.. sometimes I still wonder why we ever went down that path of questioning our faith.. in certain ways life would have be so much easier had we remained muslims..about the scholars, honestly I found your comments more insightful and interesting than some responses we got from the 'learned' ones...
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I hope you spoke to the right people. At the top of my list are Yassir Fazaga, CA and Yusuf Estes, VA. They are open minded and easy to talk to.
Sorry this is a bit late: but here it is
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1141277529583&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaEAskTheScholar
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