Islam/Muslim Discussion Thread

[Allentyr]

Not all Muslims learn Arabic, but many do simply because that is their ethnicity or because most other Muslims they know are of that ethnicity so they adopted that style of prayer.

Exactly, hence my question - so why do so many English speaking Muslims refer to their deity in Arabic rather than English?

Maybe to make sure there's not a hint that they're grouping Him up with other gods?

[Arkotania]

I tend to use God when speaking in English.

I learned Arabic so I could read the Quran and all(my parents made sure I learned it). But for some reason I never could really grasp Arabic as a language. I can read the Arabic in the Quran, but I don't really understand any of it(except for the infrequent word that sounds the same as a similar word in Turkish). It's kind of why I had to get a translated Quran to supplement the one I have in Arabic, because I really don't know what I'm reading

[Allentyr]

I tend to use God when speaking in English.

I learned Arabic so I could read the Quran and all(my parents made sure I learned it). But for some reason I never could really grasp Arabic as a language. I can read the Arabic in the Quran, but I don't really understand any of it(except for the infrequent word that sounds the same as a similar word in Turkish). It's kind of why I had to get a translated Quran to supplement the one I have in Arabic, because I really don't know what I'm reading

Hehe, join the party :3

[Grenartia]

On behalf of the denizens of the Christian Discussion thread, I'd like to apologize to the members of the MDT for the above poster's bullshit, and suggest ignoring him/her/them, while continuing on with the legitimate conversation here. Don't feed.



I am curious about the Muslim perspective on the underlined. Is it anything like the Christian perspective on it?

I'm asking... not answering, lol.
Check my sig to see what happens when nobody answers.

I know you were asking. I was just seconding the question.

[Shaggai]

You read the Quran in arabic, you pray in arabic, so calling God Allah just makes sense.

Why not read it in English, and pray in English? Christians do not pray read the Bible in Greek or pray in Aramaic.

I believe it's because the Quran is considered to be the literal word of God, and any translation will necessarily be slightly different, so it won't technically be the Quran. Presumably the prayers are the same.

[Tarsonis Survivors]

Not all Muslims learn Arabic, but many do simply because that is their ethnicity or because most other Muslims they know are of that ethnicity so they adopted that style of prayer.

Exactly, hence my question - so why do so many English speaking Muslims refer to their deity in Arabic rather than English?

I think it's just a culture thing. It got passed around faith and became standard custom. This never happened in Catholicism, so we don't say Deus, though we could.

[Reploid Productions]

Sorry for the disruption from Mr. Crusader. I've split out his spam and am in the process of writing up a warning on him.

~Reppy

[Jamjai]

We're going to a banquet on Sunday and they are going to give speeches. I think the people we go to on Friday Prayer are hosting it

[Arkotania]

Why not read it in English, and pray in English? Christians do not pray read the Bible in Greek or pray in Aramaic.

I believe it's because the Quran is considered to be the literal word of God, and any translation will necessarily be slightly different, so it won't technically be the Quran. Presumably the prayers are the same.

Using Arabic creates a standardized language for the religion, so all followers who learn the language can better connect with one another.

At least that's how I understand it.

Plus the prayers are also done in Arabic(along with the call to prayer). So its all pretty much uniform. Why not just keep the language in which the religion was first introduced? No mistranslation nightmares and no confusion with prayers being done in a variety of languages.

[Seljuq Kyiv]

Only if the person offering prostration has bad intentions.

Oh my, that's the same question I keep asking!
Another one is "If they don't have contact with the rest of the world (See:Amazonian tribes) thus having no idea of Islam... Are they in trouble?"

Of course.... Prolonged periods of weird answers I can barely comprehend has lead to... well, right now.

It is the teaching of Islam that all peoples were sent a Prophet to reveal God's Law. To Sodom He sent Lot, to the Israelites in Egypt He sent Moses and Aaron, to the 'Ad He sent Hud, to the Thamud he sent Saleh, etc.

But let's say, for argument's sake, that the aforementioned group of people (say, the Amazonians, or the Inuits) have never heard of any of God's Revelations. God knows best, but I believe, because it was not possible for them to have known, that they are granted access into Heaven, if God wills it. I would assume this is if they practiced good, and shied away from evil (rape, murder, theft, lies, etc.), but, again, God knows best.

You read the Quran in arabic, you pray in arabic, so calling God Allah just makes sense.

Why not read it in English, and pray in English? Christians do not pray read the Bible in Greek or pray in Aramaic.

The Arabic form of the word is most apt to describe Him, in my opinion. God in English just means something that is worshipped (ex: Bob is a god amongst men (not blasphemy, just an example — please don't hurt me)); it may or not be the Creator, and it may or may not be the Lord of All Worlds. It doesn't imply a single Supreme Being.

Allah means THE God, in the most literal translation — meaning One. In other words,

Say: Allah, the One and Only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begetteth not, nor is He begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him.

But of course, if you understand God (or its equivalent in your language) to refer to Allah, there is no harm in referring to him in any language. Yes, you can even call him the LORD (Rabb) if you want, as long as you distinguish it from a lord.

You must recite the Qur'an in Arabic, but you are allowed to read it in any language you want. It is more important to understand what the Qur'an is saying. However, translations may corrupt the message of the Qur'an, as Arabic words can translate into many other different things in different contexts.

(For example, the word Alaqah)

As for prayer in Arabic (by which I suppose you refer to salat, formal worship with both words and bodily actions rather than just spoken prayers, du'a), it is a religious injunction, and I know for one that it makes prayers standard whether it is performed in Morocco or Seoul or St. Petersburg or Johannesburg, no matter where you are from.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

I tend to use God when speaking in English.

I learned Arabic so I could read the Quran and all(my parents made sure I learned it). But for some reason I never could really grasp Arabic as a language. I can read the Arabic in the Quran, but I don't really understand any of it(except for the infrequent word that sounds the same as a similar word in Turkish). It's kind of why I had to get a translated Quran to supplement the one I have in Arabic, because I really don't know what I'm reading

I tend to use Allah when I speak in English. I learned Arabic in first and second grade in senior high school, but never grasp it completely, due to the high difficulty of the language, but still, I can read the Arabic Qur'an.

[Arkotania]

When they remove the Tashkeel/Harakat, I have no idea what I'm looking at. It was why I never got far in Arabic language when I was learning it as a kid.

[Seljuq Kyiv]

When they remove the Tashkeel/Harakat, I have no idea what I'm looking at. It was why I never got far in Arabic language when I was learning it as a kid.

Whn thy rmv th tshkl hrkt a hv n d wht am lking t. at ws wh a nvr gt fr n rbc lngg whn a ws lrnng t s a kd

When the sentence turns something like ^, it is probably why.

If they hadn't introduced those signs, I doubt non-native Arabic speakers could have read it today. Keep in mind that most of society was illiterate at the time, and it survived on the memorisation skills and oral passing of the verses.

[Conscentia]

[...] It doesn't imply a single Supreme Being.

It does when capitalised. "God" refers to a monotheistic concept (hence it is treated as proper noun). The lower case "god" is a synonym for deity.

Allah means THE God, in the most literal translation — meaning One. In other words,
[...]

"Allah" is means "God". It is a contraction of the Arabic "al-Ilahu" - "the God". "Ilah" is related to the Hebrew "eloh" - meaning "god".

[Kemalist]

In Turkey; some people say "Tanri" (which means God in Turkish and is derived from Tengri). Of course; more religious people prefer "Allah". But not-so-religious secular-leaning people avoid using Arabic-originated words.

Also; Tanri was used instead of Allah in Turkish Adhan before it was changed back into Arabic.

-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

[Conscentia]

I tend to use God when speaking in English.
I learned Arabic so I could read the Quran and all(my parents made sure I learned it). But for some reason I never could really grasp Arabic as a language. I can read the Arabic in the Quran, but I don't really understand any of it(except for the infrequent word that sounds the same as a similar word in Turkish). It's kind of why I had to get a translated Quran to supplement the one I have in Arabic, because I really don't know what I'm reading

I tend to use Allah when I speak in English. [...]

Why?

[Conscentia]

[...]
-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

The Arabic is catchier than the Turkish in those examples.

[Kemalist]

[...]
-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

The Arabic is catchier than the Turkish in those examples.

Well; probably because it's more familiar.

[Ikh Mongol Uls]

In Turkey; some people say "Tanri" (which means God in Turkish and is derived from Tengri). Of course; more religious people prefer "Allah". But not-so-religious secular-leaning people avoid using Arabic-originated words.

Also; Tanri was used instead of Allah in Turkish Adhan before it was changed back into Arabic.

-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

I find this very fascinating, as a Tengrist from Mongolia. For example, if I were to say "Tengri is Great" I say Тэнгэр агуу юм (Tenger aguu yum.) This seems similar to Turkish!

[Conscentia]

The Arabic is catchier than the Turkish in those examples.

Well; probably because it's more familiar.

Familiar? Maybe in Turkey.
I mean the actual sentences are catchier.

[Conscentia]

In Turkey; some people say "Tanri" (which means God in Turkish and is derived from Tengri). Of course; more religious people prefer "Allah". But not-so-religious secular-leaning people avoid using Arabic-originated words.

Also; Tanri was used instead of Allah in Turkish Adhan before it was changed back into Arabic.

-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

I find this very fascinating, as a Tengrist from Mongolia. For example, if I were to say "Tengri is Great" I say Тэнгэр агуу юм (Tenger aguu yum.) This seems similar to Turkish!

Mongolian & Turkish are both Altaic languages.

[Treumland]

I like the Islam and it has a very interesting history

[Kemalist]

In Turkey; some people say "Tanri" (which means God in Turkish and is derived from Tengri). Of course; more religious people prefer "Allah". But not-so-religious secular-leaning people avoid using Arabic-originated words.

Also; Tanri was used instead of Allah in Turkish Adhan before it was changed back into Arabic.

-Tanri Uludur- (God is Great/Allahu Akbar)
-Tanri'dan baska yoktur tapacak- (There's no another God to be worshipped/La ilahe illallah)

I find this very fascinating, as a Tengrist from Mongolia. For example, if I were to say "Tengri is Great" I say Тэнгэр агуу юм (Tenger aguu yum.) This seems similar to Turkish!

Hail my brother.

[Kemalist]

Well; probably because it's more familiar.

Familiar? Maybe in Turkey.
I mean the actual sentences are catchier.

You might have heard "Allahu Akbar" a number of times so it sounds catchy.

[Grenartia]

Familiar? Maybe in Turkey.
I mean the actual sentences are catchier.

You might have heard "Allahu Akbar" a number of times so it sounds catchy.

Nah. Its more of an alliterative thing.