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can be say God insted of Allah
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psyco View Drop Down
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Points: 2 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote psyco Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 December 2010 at 9:54pm
what was the religon of mohammads father ?
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Hayfa View Drop Down
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Points: 2368 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hayfa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 December 2010 at 4:05am
It is good to use the work Allah so you are clear exactly what concept of God you are referring to.

however I do think that it depends upon context and what the discussion. If you are in a mixed-company (of faiths) you use the term Allah and people are not familiar with the word people won't understand. And they then think its "the Muslim God"

For instance i a mixed setting of different faiths, I might say Praise be to God. Language cannot be taken in a vaccum of just the word. In a mized setting you cannot know everyone's perceptions of God. There are in fact many people in American who  believe in God, our Creator, but not affiliated with a particular viewpoint.

When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy. Rumi
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Points: 937 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Matt Browne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 December 2010 at 9:39am
Sign Reader, different terms can refer to the same entity or concept or person. Muhammad is referred to both as the last prophet and the messenger of Allah.

I'm not an expert in theology. Maybe this helps:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity

... teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one divine Being.

It is very clear to me that there is only one God. To me the concept of 'son of God' has a spiritual and symbolic meaning. Not a biological one. I'm fine with seeing Jesus as a prophet. What matters is what he had to say. And to me the notion of being a savior has the following meaning:

Jesus reminded us that we make ourselves very unhappy when we hate other people. This reminder might save us from living a miserable life.

This is why I don't hate anyone. This is why I appreciate all tolerant people of all faiths. This is why I also appreciate tolerant atheists and agnostics.

Tolerance is appreciation of diversity, the ability to live and let others live, the ability to adhere to one's convictions while accepting that others adhere to theirs.


Edited by Matt Browne - 04 December 2010 at 9:47am
A religion that's intolerant of other religions can't be the world's best religion --Abdel Samad
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people--Eleanor Roosevelt
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Points: 939 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gibbs Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 December 2010 at 1:00pm
Jesus also said "Ye are gods and children (or Sons) of the most High!"
 
I find it comical that a discussion on whether God's name is capitalized or whether we should call God by an Arabic, English Deutch, or Spanish name. God, if he is "closer to us than our jugular vein" knows our intentions, knows when we address him (or it) so again, why does it matter? God has many names in many languages and the variances between those languages are known.


Edited by Gibbs - 04 December 2010 at 1:01pm
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semar View Drop Down
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Points: 1830 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote semar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 December 2010 at 2:51am
Salam,
 
Mohammad's father was a pagan (polytheist).
Salam/Peace,

Semar

"We are people who do not eat until we are hungry and do not eat to our fill." (Prophet Muhammad PBUH)

"1/3 of your stomach for food, 1/3 for water, 1/3 for air"
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Points: 937 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Matt Browne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 December 2010 at 8:08am
Originally posted by Gibbs Gibbs wrote:

Jesus also said "Ye are gods and children (or Sons) of the most High!"
 
I find it comical that a discussion on whether God's name is capitalized or whether we should call God by an Arabic, English, Deutsch, or Spanish name. God, if he is "closer to us than our jugular vein" knows our intentions, knows when we address him (or it) so again, why does it matter? God has many names in many languages and the variances between those languages are known.


It matters to some people who ask whether there is no god, one god or more than one god. To me questions like these are perfectly legitimate. Humans depend on languages to understand questions and answers, but meaning in language is a highly complex issue. Most words have multiple meanings. And how do we describe meaning? We rely on language again. There's also the concept of connotation.
A religion that's intolerant of other religions can't be the world's best religion --Abdel Samad
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people--Eleanor Roosevelt
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Matt Browne View Drop Down
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Points: 937 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Matt Browne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 December 2010 at 8:10am
Question to those who speak Arabic:

What is the Arabic word for gods (plural) for example when talking about the pagans who lived in Mecca at the time of the Prophet?
 
A religion that's intolerant of other religions can't be the world's best religion --Abdel Samad
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people--Eleanor Roosevelt
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Points: 939 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gibbs Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 December 2010 at 11:08am
Originally posted by Matt Browne Matt Browne wrote:

Originally posted by Gibbs Gibbs wrote:

Jesus also said "Ye are gods and children (or Sons) of the most High!"
 
I find it comical that a discussion on whether God's name is capitalized or whether we should call God by an Arabic, English, Deutsch, or Spanish name. God, if he is "closer to us than our jugular vein" knows our intentions, knows when we address him (or it) so again, why does it matter? God has many names in many languages and the variances between those languages are known.


It matters to some people who ask whether there is no god, one god or more than one god. To me questions like these are perfectly legitimate. Humans depend on languages to understand questions and answers, but meaning in language is a highly complex issue. Most words have multiple meanings. And how do we describe meaning? We rely on language again. There's also the concept of connotation.

 
I actually disagree. I'm no linguist nor am I acting as if I am one, but there are known variations within languages that are obvious distinctions. In english it is commonly known when refering to God or one deity, we say God. When referring to multiple deities we say gods. These same distinctions are known in Hindi language, Arabic, Aramaic and Hebrew. The author of this thread kinda made somewhat of an argument saying that in English God can be plural (which I believe he or she is saying that it leads to polytheism).
 
Now my wife informed me actually 5 minutes ago that Allah is gender-neutral so I don't know if anyone can validate that....So although I disagree with 99% of what you said Ron (LOL) I agree that language is complex because the subject of gender within language is also complex. However what perplexes me when it comes to gender-neutral issues within language God in the Qur'an is referred to as "He" or "Him" same as in the Torah and parts in the Bible.
 
Truly, if God is unlike anything in the universe he surely has a known gender. I tend to think consequently, God is genderized due to the dominant influential gender that being male I don't know if what I think in this context is right.


Edited by Gibbs - 06 December 2010 at 11:09am
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