Questions ?

[farhan]

i meant to say "if you worship AT a mosque" and wondered what the situation for men and women's worship spaces was at your mosque.

Usually the mosques that I have seen have 40-20 % of space reserved for women , & its not b/c Islam says so . What happens is that Its recommended ( I dont think its obligatory , but I may be wrong on that ) for men to offer their prayers at the mosque , while its preferred for women to pray at home . So there R always more men & less women in the mosque . Because of this there is less space reserved for women . If the number for men & women in the mosque were equal , then equal space would have been reserved for both .

@ Mason

Well man I think U R at some crossroads of your life . These R the times when your mind plays games on U . U get double/tripple minded . Mind/heart , logic/intuition kind of conflicts occur .The more U want to go one way , the more your mind throws opposing views on U . The more U try to stop those opposing views , the stronger they get . I think U should take your time while making big decisions , be easy on your self . We R all humans , with our weaknesses & streangths , nobody is perfect .

Anyways, now something for my learning . I have never met anybody believing in many gods & not following any religion ( Wicca & Hinduism have gods , but they R religions ) . So why do U believe in many gods ( no insult intended ) ??

Secondly,... I was wondering if there is a reason why most of the mosques i have seen (from photographs) have domes that are just one single plain colour and some have a patterned, miti-coloured dome. Is this because the patterned domes belong to Shia mosques and that the plain single colour domes belong to Sunni mosques? Or does it just depend on where the mosque is built?

ITs based on culture . In Arabian & African regions & associated cultures , plain domes were in fashion . In Persian/Turkish regions & regions influsnced by them , like India & Central Asia , tiles/marble R much more in fashion , than plain buildings . There R mosques in which there R no domes at all , like King Faisal Mosque in Pakistan ( 2nd largest mosque in the world ) .

[thipps]

This is King Faisal mosque in pakistan.

[Mason]

Anyways, now something for my learning . I have never met anybody believing in many gods & not following any religion ( Wicca & Hinduism have gods , but they R religions ) . So why do U believe in many gods ( no insult intended ) ??

I'm glad you asked this Farhan, because i was going to post why anyway,... and i'm not insulted ^_^

Well, its because people worship many different deities. For instance, if i believed that there was only one god,*I would be saying that these millions of people that don't worship my god are worshiping nothing, and that i am right and they are wrong. This however i believe is not my place to say, and I can not refute peoples faith, and verify another.
So i choose to believe that there are many gods, governing their own people, and their own heaven, etc.

*I could say that they were worshiping my god, but in a different form, with a different statue, etc. I choose to believe the other option as many religions are very different as in something like Shinto which is unlike Christianity, Judaism, & Islam.

I also believe that our earth was created naturally, so to halt any confusion about which deity is responsible.

[Mason]

I would like to say thanks to Thipps for that photo of the King Faisal mosque in pakistan.
&
Thanks to ISFP for wishing me luck (post #38), sorry if i seemed rude not replying before. ^_^

[Friend]

Well, its because people worship many different deities. For instance, if i believed that there was only one god,*I would be saying that these millions of people that don't worship my god are worshiping nothing, and that i am right and they are wrong. This however i believe is not my place to say, and I can not refute peoples faith, and verify another.
So i choose to believe that there are many gods, governing their own people, and their own heaven, etc.

Salaam
Mason, I think respecting others choices is different from believe in their faith and believe that they are choose the right path. and you have mind to think and choose .

I also believe that our earth was created naturally, so to halt any confusion about which deity is responsible.

Ok , if your mind guide you to this idea ...!!!!,ask your self these questions : Did you see before one adobe house built by itself ( naturally !!) ??, or did you see before one machine designed and formed naturally !! ??, also did you see watch (clock) designed to move by itself ??


did you hear before within the last 2 thousand year one animal developed to be human beings ??

did you see the chemical structure of the materials around you changed ( like the water , Iron ,copper ,the ratio of Gases Air ....) if they are change what will happen to us ???


If there is no earth gravitation ...How we can move and walk in this earth ??? Is it by accident that we have this gravitation power in our earth ??

The final idea, you should ask your self about if we have different Gods ... Why we all have the same interior design ?? we all have blood ?? we all need water ??we all breathing the same material (O2 ) ?? we all have the same sky ?? we all protect from the bad rays which come from the outer cosmos ??........



Thanks

[Mason]

Mason, I think respecting others choices is different from believe in their faith and believe that they are choose the right path. and you have mind to think and choose.

I believe this because of the absence of religion in my life and i want to be as fair as possible, so that if and when i do choose to take up a religion, i have not criticised it as being false...

Have i offended you Friend?
Your questions don't really seem to make much sense, but i will try to answer...

Did you see before one house build by adobe by itself (naturally!)??, or did you see before one machine designed and formed naturally!!??, also did you see watch (clock) designed to move by itself??

Well, scientifically the earth could create itself,... though i'm sure a 'washing machine' for instance could not... the reasons are obvious and almost endless.

Next you seem to speak of evaluation, but its hard to understand, then...

If there is no earth gravitation ...How we can move and walk in this earth??? Is it by accident that we have this gravitation power in our earth??

I always though 'mass' was the source of gravity, even humans have some gravity of there own, atleast i think so...

The final question you should ask your self about if we have different God ... Why we all have the same interior design?? we all have blood?? we all need water?? we all breathing the same material (O2)?? we all have the same sky?? we all protect from the bad rays which come from the outer cosmos??

Maybe because the gods didn't create us, they just guide and protect us.
Maybe when a planet like earth is created, both physical and spiritual are born too?

I can't tell you any more about my basic beliefs because i'm abit tired, so its hard to think about it anymore.... and their (my beliefs) aren't very extensive anyway.

^_^

[farhan]

Hi mason ,

Our problem doesent start with earth , but with the universe .

According to the first law of thermodynamics , there shouldnt havebeen a bigbang at all , b/c a thing cant be created from nothingness .

According to the second law of thermodynamics , the entropy of a system always increases . When the bigbang had occured , there shouldnt havebeen any coherence in the system .

There needs to be a single intellegent entity/energy behind this . Random events never make a system coherent , & we R talking about making a system out of random events.

More than one "intellegent faculties" also creates the same problems . 2 different people would make 2 differnt & conflicting things .

[thipps]

H|,
this is for ISFP.
I found the thread regarding the discussion of prayer and what r0les men and women take in which situation. Please see the following link:
http://www.comparative-religion.com/...?t=1835&page=2
The part about the prayer stuff is in the second half of post#30 which is the last post on that page.
Hope this helps,
And Allah knows best.

[ISFP]

thipps-

thank you again, friend. though i still disagree on some of these points of gender, i'm glad to see where you're coming from on this. thank you for the info!

[Mason]

> Farhan & Friend

Yes, and i care so little about these basic beliefs of mine, that i don't bother to think whether they are riddled with floors or not.

I'm by no means trying to justify or 'preach' these basic, worthless beliefs, but at the beginning of this subject i was just trying to say that i don't wish to deny the existence of any deity, until i'm very sure...(and, i don't think i have the right to do so anyway). All that followed, was just from accumulation over years of trying to make sense of the mess that my "basic beliefs" had coursed.

I honestly don't want to waste another second thinking and talking about them... ^_^ *nods once, with a fed-up smile*

[THUNK]

Originally Posted by Friend

Salaam
Mason, I think respecting others choices is different from believe in their faith and believe that they are choose the right path. and you have mind to think and choose .
Ok , if your mind guide you to this idea ...!!!!,ask your self these questions : Did you see before one adobe house built by itself ( naturally !!) ??, or did you see before one machine designed and formed naturally !! ??, also did you see watch (clock) designed to move by itself ??


did you hear before within the last 2 thousand year one animal developed to be human beings ??

did you see the chemical structure of the materials around you changed ( like the water , Iron ,copper ,the ratio of Gases Air ....) if they are change what will happen to us ???


If there is no earth gravitation ...How we can move and walk in this earth ??? Is it by accident that we have this gravitation power in our earth ??

The final idea, you should ask your self about if we have different Gods ... Why we all have the same interior design ?? we all have blood ?? we all need water ??we all breathing the same material (O2 ) ?? we all have the same sky ?? we all protect from the bad rays which come from the outer cosmos ??........



Thanks


[/size]

Here's some honest views on Muslims, and only honest exchanges reveal thruth;

I have known many Muslim clients over the years. They are generally money obsessed. Most here own many properties and if the rent is ever late get incredibly upset even if the tenant has suffered a personal problem. (No forgiveness). They soon forget thier agressive behavior in worship - very convienient.

They tend to own shops and cash businesses and work all hours even once they become rich - but why? Once they are comfortably set - up, why seek to amass more?? Surely better to give thier time or extra wealth to charity? WHAT WOULD GOD WANT?

I always find they seek every Tax avoidance loophole going. How is this good moral behavior?? Surely they are happy to see thier tax spread amongst the poor?

They pray 5 times per day yet dont spend much of thier time on charitable endeavours. Watch any charitable event on TV, almost no muslims participate as to busy earning money and praying for thier place in Heaven.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to build a comfortable life, but I find it a little gauling that supposedly good religous people are so concerned with personal wealth and enrichment through endless worship and working such long hours that they for - go much time that could be spent with thier children and charity work.

[Friend]

Salaam

THUNK,
thank you for your reply, Firstly when I saw the quote text from my previous reply ,I thought you will discuss an idea about it .
Anyway , my friend you talk about people , and we all know that people doesn't always reflect their religious tenets , also Muslims now 1/5 of the world population ,so if you met some of them I think they aren't represent all Muslims .

many Muslims casting away their countries for economic reasons because they have economic problems ,so if you see some of them did what you said , surely they have reasons for that . But in Islam we have one foundation regarding charity , we call it (Zakah ) in which we must as Muslim pay ratio of our money to the poor people yearly .and another system called ( Sadagh ) in it we have the choice to pay for poor people or give any kind of help for them ,actually Islam encourage to do that in order to clean our soul and to be near from our God as much as we can .

to read more about Zakah in Islam you can see this link:

http://www.jdci.org/publications/inglish/p9.htm


Prophet Mohammad (PUH) said: “Islam is based on five: The testimony of Faith, the performance of Salah, the payment of Zakah, the performance of Hajj, and the fasting of Ramadhan.” - Buhkari & Muslim

[Mason]

I have another question. This even seems a little silly to me but i really want to know, so here goes...

I am wondering what a muslim i supposed to do if it is time for afternoon prayer for instance and they are on an airliner,... as in they are in a cramped, un-private place and want to pray... how would they do it?

I will understand if i don't get an answer, maybe none of you have been on a plane. ^_^

Thanks

[Mason]

I have a better question...
I read this on a site thats sells prayer-beads:

The Misbaha is an instrument designed to facilitate the remembrance of Allah Most High. Beyond being simply a means of keeping count of invocations, the use of the misbaha is the application of the age-old technique of using the hand to teach the heart. Physical, rhythmic and repetitive motion, coupled with the verbal remembrance, Dhikr has a deep, transformative resonance in the spirit.

How important are these Beads, and what is their connection to Islam...?

[Friend]

Originally Posted by Mason

I have another question. This even seems a little silly to me but i really want to know, so here goes...

I am wondering what a muslim i supposed to do if it is time for afternoon prayer for instance and they are on an airliner,... as in they are in a cramped, un-private place and want to pray... how would they do it?

I will understand if i don't get an answer, maybe none of you have been on a plane. ^_^

Thanks

Salaam

Mason , about the pray we Muslims can practice it where ever we are, even when we are in a plane over the earth , and when we can't ( for example when we ill)lay down to make( Sjwood) we can do our pray in our mind with our eyes .
Islam is very simple and Allah said in his book Quraan which can be translated as :

285] The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His Messengers. "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His Messengers." And they say: "We hear, and we obey, (we seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."


[286] On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; our Lord! lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; help us against those who stand against Faith."