The Unofficial "Ask a Muslim" Thread.

[BuffedGuy]

Alright I just saw some of the members pictures and I feel like an ant now.

[dieselmack]

prolly the best thread ive every seen in any off topic section ,
i have learnt alot and its motivated me to learn more..
i was so misinformed ,not that i have any ill feelings to any culture
but my veiws couldnt have been more wrong..
now if we could just link the rest of the world to this thread
top work buffedGuy i will have some question soon just wanna do
some research myself first..
cheers mate

[dieselmack]

Back again i have a couple of silly questions to ask. Excuse my ignorance but
is it forbidden to mark the skin in the form of tattoo's ?
and are then any restrictions on what music one would be able to listen to ?
thank you
cheers mate

[BuffedGuy]

Peace be unto you, DieselMack.

In the Name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

prolly the best thread ive every seen in any off topic section ,
i have learnt alot and its motivated me to learn more....cheers mate

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Back again i have a couple of silly questions to ask. Excuse my ignorance but
is it forbidden to mark the skin in the form of tattoo's ?

I'll answer this question first, and hold off on your second question until I answer PT's question (I've been working on a "summary of Islam" for a few days now and I want to complete it soon, God-Willing). If I forget addressing your second question in a day or two, please remind me.

As for tattoos, they are forbidden in Islam. However, the one who has a tattoo from pre-Islamic times is not considered sinful, since all sins are erased upon converting to Islam. If a Muslim got a tattoo whilst he was less practicing, then this is a sin from which he needs to repent from. He should also seek to get the tattoo removed if that is reasonably feasible, which it usually is with today's technology.

We Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad [s] came with God's Final Message, which is a culmination and pinnacle of the Abrahamic Faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Therefore, you will notice that Islam affirms many of the rules in the Old Testament. We read:

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:28)

In the Care of the Lord,
-Saladin.

[BuffedGuy]

Dieselmack, I'll answer your question shortly, God-Willing. (I realized that my summary will take forever, so might as well answer questions in the meantime.)

Anyways, I just wanted to post a quick note that some people might find interesting. I debate with Muslim extremists a lot (I eventually want to work in the de-brainwashing programs that have been opened up in some Muslim countries by the orthodox scholars). So anyways, what I wish Non-Muslims would know is that it is EXTREMELY important for the extremists that Obama be extremely pro-Israeli and anti-Muslim in his policies.

The media has it so wrong that it's not even funny. During the election, the extremists were hoping that McCain would win, whereas the moderate Muslims were hoping that Obama would win (although most of us still don't like his foreign policy, but he sounds less intimidating in his rhetoric as compared to McCain). Actually, most moderate Muslims would vote for Dr. Ron Paul in a heartbeat, if they knew his views on foreign affairs (and if he stood a chance).

Meanwhile, the Al-Qaeda types would suffer a huge blow if someone like Ron Paul were elected. Their recruitment would lag. There was NOTHING that recruited more extremists than Bush and company. They had field days emailing news items about his rhetoric and actions. The torture thing, Guantanamo and Abu Gharib really helped them recruit people. And of course the greatest thing was the Iraq war.

The moderate Muslims want someone conciliatory to be the leader of America, so we can work together with him for an era of peace. But this is anathema to the extremists, who are bent upon war. So to stay in business they need extremist neo-conservatives in power.

Right now, the extremists are circulating a letter of Obama in which he sided with Israel over the people of Gaza. And they are saying sarcastically "good job you 'moderate' Muslims for voting for this guy, see now how he will kill Muslims." So now it is like a betting match between the extremists and moderates to see how Obama will deal with the Muslim world when he comes to office. It will be a HUGE blow to moderate Muslims if Obama continues a reckless path of aggression and neo-imperialism. The extremists will say "see, we told you so."

McCain's claim that Al-Qaeda wanted Obama to win was horribly off. (It was totally the other way around). NOW, Al-Qaeda is now desperately trying to turn the Muslims against Obama by making inflammatory videos calling Obama an "Uncle Tom" and other such things. They desperately need a villain in the White House.

[BuffedGuy]

Peace be unto you, Dieselmack.

and are then any restrictions on what music one would be able to listen to ?
thank you
cheers mate

Music is a controversial issue amongst various Islamic Ulema (clergy). I have not studied the issue indepth myself so I do not want to speak on this issue too much. What I will say is this: without a doubt, lyrics about sex, dating, fornication, adultery, lyrics that involve cursing and vulgar language, lyrics that promote arrogance, self-aggrandizement, etc., all of these things are forbidden for sure. As for the rest, that is an issue of great controversy nowadays. I'll be able to speak more on it when I study it for myself, since I dislike speaking from third-hand knowledge.

Generally speaking, Muslims go through stages of religious development and improvement. For example, a recent convert to Islam I know was kicking the bad habit of cocaine. That was his Jihad. Cocaine was the priority for him, and he might be lax in some other things which would take a backseat to this. Meanwhile, a very practicing Muslim who is a student of religious knowledge for many years would probably not be listening to music at all, since it is said that music distances a person from worship of God, from reciting the Quran, and has a detrimental effect on one's soul, etc.

One more note: music in worship is strictly forbidden, not just as a sin of lenience but of blasphemous "innovation" (i.e. adding to the pure religion what was not in it from the beginning, thereby corrupting it). We believe that music in worship is pagan. For the first few hundred years, the Christian Church strictly forbade music in the churches, condemning it as paganism. This is similar to our Muslim belief.

Hope this helps.

In the Care of the Lord,
-Saladin.