Muslim, Throw Away The Rug, Go To a Library?!?

[JAFFERSH]

can you define knowledge??

[ItsAmadWorld2]

Whatever it is, it sounds far more important than 70 years of prayer. Being the case, THAT is the knowledge that sounds like one should seek out no matter what.

[JAFFERSH]

true knowledge is knowledge of the unseen (i.e., God). Therefore, other types of knowledge (such as scientific knowledge, mathematical knowledge, etc. etc.) r inferior and r not considered true knowledge, in the sense that such knowledge is not useful for salvation in the strict sense. I feel that the title of ur video is misguided, for prayers are wajib (ie obligatory). Search furoo-e-deen (branches of faith). The very 1ST one is prayers, and seeking knowledge is not one at all. Continued....

[ItsAmadWorld2]

So, Muhammad really didn't mean what he said?

[JAFFERSH]

again, you are only reading one thing, but you have failed to make the connections with other things that prophet muhammad (pbuh) said. Firstly, you must verify the authenticity of the hadith (narration), and then you must dwelve deeper to find its deeper meaning. But never mind for now, I will try to address this in a video. But to be honest, I strongly feel that u r not asking or posing these questions for the sake of knowing the truth, but only to ridicule and mock, which is not appreciated.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

I understand. I wouldn't want something I hold dear mocked and ridiculed either, but, hey, it's expected that what I hold dear will be mocked and ridiuled because not everyone believes or thinks like me. By the way, could you point out what you feel is me mocking and ridiculing something here? Better yet, WHAT have I posted here that is untrue? To me, being truthful is where it's at.

[JAFFERSH]

hmmm well let's see....when you say things like "patooti in the air" and "throw away your prayer rugs" (as if it is absolutely necessary that prayers must be offerred on a rug), is this not ridiculing?? You need to learn that just because YOU feel that you are not doing such, does not mean that others feel the same. I bet every Muslim will agree with what I am saying about your demeanor of posing issues.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

Sorry. However, when I come upon Muhammad saying "seeking knowledge for one hour is better than 70 years of prayer", or, "contemplating on the severity of hell for one hour is better than 70 years of worship" AND I don't see "mindless worship", or, "mindless prayer", it makes me think...man, if so, that's a kick in the up-raised patooti in prostration. HOW can it NOT be? And, by the way, five times a day, your patooti IS the highest point of your body in the air, so, how am I mocking? When

[ItsAmadWorld2]

you are on your knees, and the flat part of your nose is touching the rug in prostration, what is seen? Especially if you are in BACK of that person?  You usually see a big patooti in the air. How is this mocking by pointing this fact out? I mean, I'm not calling it "ass in the air". To me, THAT sounds offensive. I'm calling it a "patooti in the air", and, face it, DURING a part of the salat, it IS...in the air. IT's the position HARDEST to forget. Especially if a pretty girl does it.

[JAFFERSH]

Moreover, I feel u r just reading certain pieces of information separately, and u r not piecing it together as a whole picture. As Balthassar has beautifully stated: it is "serious research [which] can enrich faith ... provided that it does not depart from the attitude of faith but applies itself to show how the strands of tradition come together, penetrate each other and acquire distinct forms." In light of this, knowledge can enrich one's faith such that his/her worship is also enriched

[ItsAmadWorld2]

I bet that's what Balthassar says, alright. But, Balthassar is not Muhammad. In Islam, I think it's a bit of a waste of time NOT to quote or listen to anyone or thing BUT the Quran, being sooo many Muslims now claim to be "Quran only". Besides, there are a LOT of sayings from the Hadith that make Muhammad sound crazy and evil...ACCEPT for his saying seeking knowledge in the Hadith.

[JAFFERSH]

Not sure if u r being sarcastic about Balthassar but here is the source (Balthasar, Hans Urs von. Does Jesus Know Us? Do We Know Him? Graham Harrison, trans. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1983). Ur comment here proves ur ignorance; observing the teachings of others can be very beneficial. The Prophet (pbuh) never said it was wrong to do such. And yes there are many hadith which make our prophet look bad, yet u already know that many r fabricated lies. Lastly, shias do not rely on Quran only.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

Are you Shia? As you know, I'm getting mixed messages. Sunnis tell me that only Shia believe in the Hadith, and, more and more Sunnis are claiming to be "Quran only". However, I KNOW I'ved talked with those claiming to be Sunni to believe in Bukhari and Muslim, which are Hadith. So, who am I to believe? I NEVER get a straight answer. Again, are you Shia?

[JAFFERSH]

if we view it in such a way, we can see how knowledge is important in that knowledge of the unseen (ie, true knowledge) increases the faith in a person such that his/her worship is more valuable. For example, when I was younger I seldom did my prayers, yet when I did, it was mere body movements and words which were devoid of spirit. When I attained more knowledge of the unseen, I was confirmed in my belief. Thereafter my worship was from the heart, mind, and soul. My entire being was in worship.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

So, when Muhammad says, "seeking knowledge (contemplation), for one hour", that they are better than sixty or seventy years of worship (prayer)", that means sixty years of mindless prayer and mindless worship?

[JAFFERSH]

well u should ask yourself this question: is mindless worship worth anything? And just curious, are you Christian?

[ItsAmadWorld2]

I don't think mindless worship is worth anything. But, I take it that THAT is what you feel Muhammad was talking about? That one hour of seeking knowledge is better than 70 years of MINDLESS worship or prayer, true? By the way, I consider myself a Christian, even though many Christians I talk to consider me a heretic. I guess you could say that I'm kind of alone in my beliefs.

[JAFFERSH]

i think you can see where i am going with this. i will try to post a video on this issue as well to better illustrate my point. I just need to find some free time to do it, so please be patient.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

Let me know when you do. I'm looking foreward to it.

[DiscoveringIslamOrg]

Seeking knowledge is very important in Islam. However, that does not mean we should stop praying. Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.) and his companions used to pray regularly 5 times a day.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

In otherwords, Muhammad was joking about seeking knowledge for one hour being better than 70 years of prayer?

[DiscoveringIslamOrg]

If the Hadith you are relying on is mentioned only in Shia books, we, as Sunni Muslims, cannot accept it. If you can find it in Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, let me know.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

How much do you rely on Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim?

[DiscoveringIslamOrg]

About 85% of the Hadith in these 2 books is authentic. By the way, these books are not holy scriptures. They are collections of Hadith screened by Bukhari & Muslim who were good scholars, yet humans so they may make mistakes in their judgement about the authenticity of a particular Hadith.

[ItsAmadWorld2]

In otherwords, all things stupid sounding, like the sun asking permission to rise, eating seven ajwa dates protecting against poison,and magic, the greatest Jihad is saying a truth in the presense of a tyrant, the Jew hiding behind a rock, well, all those are false, true?

[HAGROOS]

I feel that the address of this video is somehow offensive, what does the rug of prayers have to do with going to libraries ? I'm a muslim, I pray 5 times a day. yet, I go to the library and read books, I usually get high marks in my study, I love watching scientific, political and religious documentaries, I do so because seeking knowledge is an obligatory task to every muslim as the prophet said but I don't see any conflict between the ritual prayers and reading !!

[ItsAmadWorld2]

Well, due to Muhammad saying, "Seeking one hour of knowledge is better than 70 years of prayer", it makes me think the prayer he was talking about must have really been really worthless OR, seeking knowledge for one hour is better than ALL kinds of prayer, so, throw away the rug and, do what you are doing right now, which is seeking knowledge.

[HAGROOS]

Although seeking knowledge is an obligatory task for every single muslim, many muslims don't make any efforts to gain knowledge, many muslims don't even know any thing about Islam, they were only born to muslim families and didn't make any effort to learn any thing about Islam and its teachings, for this reason, there are many muslims who commit evil acts that completely conflict with the teachings of Islam, but unfortunately other people always link these acts to the teachings of Islam.

[HAGROOS]

the concept of worship in Islam is very broad, it includes all the aspects of the Muslim's life,any good act which is done by a muslim for the sake of God and for the sake of other people is considered a worship by Islam, making prayer is a worship, giving charity is a worship, being nice with other people is a worship, seeking knowledge is a worship, helping the needy is a worship, we can't separate between prayers and seeking knowledge as they are both essential worships as our prophet told us

[pakirockstarz]

quoting:

The imperative iqra' may be rendered as "read" or "recite". The former rendering is, to my mind, by far the preferable in this context inasmuch as the concept of "reciting" implies no more than the oral delivery - with or without understanding - of something already laid down in writing or committed to memory, whereas "reading" primarily signifies a conscious taking-in, with or without an audible utterance but with a view to understanding them

[ItsAmadWorld2]

What do you think the angel, or spirit, or, Jibriel was telling him to do?