[mralabama]

Arabia is blessed because of Islam. If Arabia is devoid of Islam then it is devoid of all blessing. Allah's blessings is upon the believers be an Arab or Non-Arab

This is why I said I couldn't find an answer to my question. This explanation doesn't mean anything and ignores my question...
-Jas

[AutocadOemM]

This is why I said I couldn't find an answer to my question. This explanation doesn't mean anything and ignores my question...
-Jas

Why don't you review your question itself? The vast majority of Muslims have been and are Non Arabs.

Arabic or the blessings of Arabia is not why they became Muslims. They are Muslims because of Islam and blessing is for the believers.

[Kennypor]

Out of curiosity, how do Muslims reconcile the fact that everything blessed is located in Arabia? God sent this prophet to Arabia, speaking Arabic, praying to this Qibla in Arabia, traditional Arab medicine (hijama) is recommended, Arabian water (zamzam) is blessed, Hajj pilgrimage is to Arabia, etc. Certainly if the world is created by God and is so large, why isn't anything blessed located in, for example, South America or China? Why is the final religion so Arab-centric?

I shall try to make you understand. First of all we should understand, Allah our Creator knows a lot of things we do not know. So Him choosing a place will have its own wisdom. Also have in mind if the blessed location was in SA or China, then people would have asked why isn't it in India or Africa.

Now lets try to understand the wisdom of Arabia being the location of Prophet Muhammad . First of all we should try to understand the condition of Arabia before the Prophet . Arabia was just a barren desert with no natural resources to sustain a great civilization. If we look into the history, in those times great civilizations were usually settled around rivers or places with a lot of natural resouces, life fertile land etc. During those times Persians and the Romans were the dominant two civilizations. It is said that Alexander reached the boundaries of Arabia and said, there is no use in conquering this land and he went back. Such was the deplorable state of Arabia. It was basically secluded from world civilization. The whole world never expected anything good to come out of this piece of desert.

On a side note one should take note on the level of the language of Arabic among the people there. Even though most of the people couldn't read or write, Arabic was almost at its peak at that time. Because the lack of influence from other cultures and sparse immigrants. The language of Arabic was in a highly refined mode.

Now Lets look at how the rest of the world were looking at Arabia. Suddenly in a span of 23 years a Man claiming to be a Prophet has suddenly united the Arabs and preaching a religion which people are accepting in the masses with a Holy book called Quran. He is said to be surrounded by Companions who are steadfast and people of justice. Even after His death the religion is gaining momentum. Now suddenly these companions and the followers of this Religion has reached the borders of Arabia challenging the Romans and the Persians. Within a few years they defeat both this empires. Their soldiers say 'We love the life of the Hereafter as you love this world', they have no fear of death. Suddenly Islamic scholars pop up in thousands and spreading across the world.

All this is History, Just Imagine if African tribals from Madagascar in Africa suddenly spreads across the world defeating America, Russia and China. People would call it a 'miracle' wouldn't they? It is exactly what Happened with Arabia. Arabs were considered 'uncivilized' and primitive by the rest of the World before the coming of the Prophet . It is Allah's wisdom that He let his mercy come out from such a barren and unforgiving land.

[AutocadOemM]

I shall try to make you understand. First of all we should understand, Allah our Creator knows a lot of things we do not know. So Him choosing a place will have its own wisdom. Also have in mind if the blessed location was in SA or China, then people would have asked why isn't it in India or Africa.

Now lets try to understand the wisdom of Arabia being the location of Prophet Muhammad . First of all we should try to understand the condition of Arabia before the Prophet . Arabia was just a barren desert with no natural resources to sustain a great civilization. If we look into the history, in those times great civilizations were usually settled around rivers or places with a lot of natural resouces, life fertile land etc. During those times Persians and the Romans were the dominant two civilizations. It is said that Alexander reached the boundaries of Arabia and said, there is no use in conquering this land and he went back. Such was the deplorable state of Arabia. It was basically secluded from world civilization. The whole world never expected anything good to come out of this piece of desert.

On a side note one should take note on the level of the language of Arabic among the people there. Even though most of the people couldn't read or write, Arabic was almost at its peak at that time. Because the lack of influence from other cultures and sparse immigrants. The language of Arabic was in a highly refined mode.

Now Lets look at how the rest of the world were looking at Arabia. Suddenly in a span of 23 years a Man claiming to be a Prophet has suddenly united the Arabs and preaching a religion which people are accepting in the masses with a Holy book called Quran. He is said to be surrounded by Companions who are steadfast and people of justice. Even after His death the religion is gaining momentum. Now suddenly these companions and the followers of this Religion has reached the borders of Arabia challenging the Romans and the Persians. Within a few years they defeat both this empires. Their soldiers say 'We love the life of the Hereafter as you love this world', they have no fear of death. Suddenly Islamic scholars pop up in thousands and spreading across the world.

All this is History, Just Imagine if African tribals from Madagascar in Africa suddenly spreads across the world defeating America, Russia and China. People would call it a 'miracle' wouldn't they? It is exactly what Happened with Arabia. Arabs were considered 'uncivilized' and primitive by the rest of the World before the coming of the Prophet . It is Allah's wisdom that He let his mercy come out from such a barren and unforgiving land.

A question to You? Are a Muslim because of the Arabs, or the blessings of the Arabs or because of the Arabic language. And btw are you an Arab?

Just answer plainly why you are a Muslim.

[Kennypor]

A question to You? Are a Muslim because of the Arabs, or the blessings of the Arabs or because of the Arabic language. And btw are you an Arab?

Just answer plainly why you are a Muslim.

Bro I think you misunderstood my post. I was trying to make abid786 understand the wisdom of Allah Ta'ala sending the Prophet to Arabia. All this I posted is not my own opinion, this is what I have heard from the lectures of Ulema. We should understand the miracle of how the Prophet able to convert the ignorant Arabs who used to kill their baby girls to the people of best character who were just even to their enemies.

Ofcourse an Arab doesn't have superiority of over Non-Arab. I m not an Arab. I am a Muslim because I believe in Allah and his Rasool . bro.

[AutocadOemM]

Ofcourse an Arab doesn't have superiority of over Non-Arab. I m not an Arab. I am a Muslim because I believe in Allah and his Rasool . bro.

[AutocadOemM]

Out of curiosity, how do Muslims reconcile the fact that everything blessed is located in Arabia?

God sent this prophet to Arabia,

The Prophet was indeed sent to Arabia but He was not the Prophet of Arabia . He was sent for the whole of mankind. His message has crossed Arabia and spread to all corners of the world

speaking Arabic,

The language is blessed for the Muslims. The Non Muslims are devoid of the language's blessings. The Qur'an is in Arabic and it is a blessing and cure Not for the Arabs but for the Muslims

praying to this Qibla in Arabia,

Again the Qibla is a blessing for the Muslims. The Kaaba is the first House of Allah on this Earth. It is blessed by Allah and not because it is in Arabia

traditional Arab medicine (hijama) is recommended,

Even Greek, Indian and Modern medicine is recommended

Arabian water (zamzam) is blessed,

The 'Arabian' water ZAM ZAM is again a blessing for Muslims, Arabs & Non-Arabs alike. It is not permissible to give ZAM ZAM to a Non Muslim. Allah 's blessings are for the Believers

Hajj pilgrimage is to Arabia, etc.

same as above

Certainly if the world is created by God and is so large, why isn't anything blessed located in, for example, South America or China? Why is the final religion so Arab-centric?

The Final Religion is Allah-centric.

I am honeslty looking for an answer. I was very very close to saying my Shahadah (even started praying regularly before) but I backed out only because I couldn't get an answer to this question to my satisfaction.

-Jason

May Allah guide you to Islam

[mralabama]

I shall try to make you understand. First of all we should understand, Allah our Creator knows a lot of things we do not know. So Him choosing a place will have its own wisdom. Also have in mind if the blessed location was in SA or China, then people would have asked why isn't it in India or Africa.

Now lets try to understand the wisdom of Arabia being the location of Prophet Muhammad . First of all we should try to understand the condition of Arabia before the Prophet . Arabia was just a barren desert with no natural resources to sustain a great civilization. If we look into the history, in those times great civilizations were usually settled around rivers or places with a lot of natural resouces, life fertile land etc. During those times Persians and the Romans were the dominant two civilizations. It is said that Alexander reached the boundaries of Arabia and said, there is no use in conquering this land and he went back. Such was the deplorable state of Arabia. It was basically secluded from world civilization. The whole world never expected anything good to come out of this piece of desert.

On a side note one should take note on the level of the language of Arabic among the people there. Even though most of the people couldn't read or write, Arabic was almost at its peak at that time. Because the lack of influence from other cultures and sparse immigrants. The language of Arabic was in a highly refined mode.

Now Lets look at how the rest of the world were looking at Arabia. Suddenly in a span of 23 years a Man claiming to be a Prophet has suddenly united the Arabs and preaching a religion which people are accepting in the masses with a Holy book called Quran. He is said to be surrounded by Companions who are steadfast and people of justice. Even after His death the religion is gaining momentum. Now suddenly these companions and the followers of this Religion has reached the borders of Arabia challenging the Romans and the Persians. Within a few years they defeat both this empires. Their soldiers say 'We love the life of the Hereafter as you love this world', they have no fear of death. Suddenly Islamic scholars pop up in thousands and spreading across the world.

All this is History, Just Imagine if African tribals from Madagascar in Africa suddenly spreads across the world defeating America, Russia and China. People would call it a 'miracle' wouldn't they? It is exactly what Happened with Arabia. Arabs were considered 'uncivilized' and primitive by the rest of the World before the coming of the Prophet . It is Allah's wisdom that He let his mercy come out from such a barren and unforgiving land.

I really appreciate your reply but in the back of my mind I still can't stop thinking negative things. "Either this man was a Prophet and got revelations and conquered the world, or he was just a man and made everything Arab-centric because he himself was an Arab". My mind may want to beieve the former but my heart believes the latter.

I appreciate the answer and will continue to ponder.

And also, let's say today a Malagasy (from Madagascar) tribe arises and does a similar thing to the Prophet Muhammad. Would you believe their religion? Hypothetically speaking. Why or why not?

-Jason

[Kennypor]

And also, let's say today a Malagasy (from Madagascar) tribe arises and does a similar thing to the Prophet Muhammad. Would you believe their religion? Hypothetically speaking. Why or why not?

-Jason

The change of Arabia is just one of the miracles that Allah showed us. The real Miracle is the Quran, there will never come such a book ever again. Even if Malagasy tribe rise to power I wouldn't bat an eyelid InshaAllah. Because I already believe Prophet Muhammad is the last messenger. Also He has warned us of the coming of Dajjal, false Messiah. Dajjal will be one of the biggest test that the Muslims will face, since Allah has given Dajjal the power to show miracles. This will be a big test of Faith. Only who have very good Imaan(faith) in Allah will be able to withstand his Fitna(trouble).


I really appreciate your reply but in the back of my mind I still can't stop thinking negative things. "Either this man was a Prophet and got revelations and conquered the world, or he was just a man and made everything Arab-centric because he himself was an Arab". My mind may want to beieve the former but my heart believes the latter.

I appreciate the answer and will continue to ponder. Don't worry bro. Just be sincere in seeking the truth. Just keep on saying the that you will strive to understand and accept the truth till your death. May Allah make it easy for you.

I hope you have heard the Hadith of the Prophet :
“You should know that no Arab is superior over a non-Arab and, no non-Arab is superior over any Arab,
no white is superior over black and no black is superior over white. Superiority is by righteousness and God-fearing [alone].
(Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 411)

Keep on striving bro, you will comprehend the truth one day, InshaAllah.

[benderkoz]

Assalamu alaikum,

I didn't go through htis thread properly but I saw one question which was why is this final religion so Arab centric.

This is not a good question to begin with in my opinion. The final prophet had to be sent somewhere. Prophets were sent in every region but the final one had to be in one of those regions. If he was sent in China then we would be saying how come the final reliiogn is so Chinese centric.

Since he was sent in Arabia the blessed and sacred things of this religion is also Arabic centric. Since Allah knew where the last prophet would come and what His plan is, He established those blessed places from before.

We do not know if Allah blessed certain things in other regions where prophets also definitely came. It could very well be. But if it is then we do not know of it now.

Think logically. It had to be somewhere. If it is was in England we would be saying why England and not anywhere else.

Moreover what is your definition of "Arabia"? Jerusalem was under the Romans when Islam came. The middle east areas of Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Iraq were not Arab lands. They were Arabized after the Muslims conqured those lands.

Iraq was under Persia and Syria, Palestine and Jordan were under the Romans. In those lands there are blessed places like Jerusalem, etc. The land of Sham (which is now Arab due to conquest but was not always Arab) hosted many prophets who came to the Jews.

Also the Torah was revealed in Mount Sinai. Again not initially Arab. None of the Jews are Arab and yet they had so many prophets.

How about the seven sleepers. Most guesses put them in somewhere in Turkey. It is not even Arab to this day.

I will reiterate again. God commanded Ibrahim alaihi salaam to build two places of worship - one in Mecca and one in Jerusalem. He was not an Arab and Jerusalem was not in Arab lands. Allah sent many prophets to Jerusalem and surrounding areas and the last prophet to Arabia. Allah also sent other prophets to other regions but their religions were corrupted and no records exist now and no traces. Maybe Allah also blessed certain things in those lands. It is possible.

But I cannot emphasize enough the answer to your question: The last religion had to come somewhere.

[mralabama]

The final prophet had to be sent somewhere. Prophets were sent in every region but the final one had to be in one of those regions. If he was sent in China then we would be saying how come the final reliiogn is so Chinese centric.

Of course the final Prophet had to be sent somewhere. And given that it was 1400 years ago, there were no planes to travel all around the world so he had to be confined to a relatively small area. But my point is if it's the FINAL religion, then why isn't it more universal? Like why aren't the blessings spread throughout the world so everyone can access them easily?

Think logically. It had to be somewhere. If it is was in England we would be saying why England and not anywhere else.

True.. we do like to complain as humans.

Moreover what is your definition of "Arabia"?

I mean the Old World in general and the Middle East in specific, I guess. It seems that because humans didn't know of the New World at that time, it mysteriously doesn't appear in the religions either (The Romans and Egyptians are mentioned in the Quran and I think the Chinese and Persians in the Sunnah). Similarly the Jews, Christians, Arabian Pagans and polytheists (Hindus?) are mentioned, but no Native American religions. These facts give me doubt in my heart.

Thanks for your answer.

-Jas

[Kennypor]

Of course the final Prophet had to be sent somewhere. And given that it was 1400 years ago, there were no planes to travel all around the world so he had to be confined to a relatively small area. But my point is if it's the FINAL religion, then why isn't it more universal? Like why aren't the blessings spread throughout the world so everyone can access them easily?

Bro Quran is a blessing that everyone carry with them. They can memorize it and it will be with them in their hearts. No one can snatch it. As for people congregating in a single place eg: for Hajj, it is an awe filled moment when people of all races, colour, sizes, age, all wearing 2 pieces of cloth (ihram) calling out 'LabbakAllahumma Labbaik' meaning 'Hear I am to obey you, O Allah !' . Around 3 million pilgrims performed Hajj last year. This increases unity and every Muslim will remember that all Muslims around the world are their brothers and sisters. Even if they do not speak the same language, they will be able to do Salah in congregation. Where do you get such a thing that unites Human beings?

Brother keep on pondering and keep your heart open, you shall find the truth, InshaAllah.

[AndyPharmc]

I really appreciate your reply but in the back of my mind I still can't stop thinking negative things. "Either this man was a Prophet and got revelations and conquered the world, or he was just a man and made everything Arab-centric because he himself was an Arab". My mind may want to beieve the former but my heart believes the latter.

I appreciate the answer and will continue to ponder.

And also, let's say today a Malagasy (from Madagascar) tribe arises and does a similar thing to the Prophet Muhammad. Would you believe their religion? Hypothetically speaking. Why or why not?

-Jason

Muhammad sallaho alaihe wa sallam was geographically in Arabia but his message is universal,the real blessing is the message,not the places,these places are holy because these are the signs of Allah and are associated with the prophets of Allah,Kaaba,because it was built by Ibrahim AS,'ZAM ZAM,because it was a sign of Allah,Arabic language because it is the language of Quran and so on.We Muslims love our Prophet and all the other Prophets,and every thing associated with them,so we love Arabs,we love the language,we love every act of every Prophet authenticated by Quran,so in Haj we do Sai to remember Ismail AS and syed a Hajera ra,we do Rami to remind ourself of Ibrahim AS.Islam is a Din,and every thing in Islam is FOR Din.The new Islamic calendar starts from Hijra,not from the date of Birth of our beloved Prophet sallaho alaihe wa sallam,unlike other religions.
As for as the person of the Prophet was concerned,please note he was not an Arab leader,he was a prophet for all human beings.Which leader will stop Sadaqat and zakat on his close family members and his offsprings till the end of this world?If a person is so selfless regarding his family,how can his struggle be for just pity nationalism.?.When the Son of the Prophet sallaho alaihe wa sallam passed away,there was Sun eclipse on that day,people thought it was due to the demise of the Prophet,s son;On hearing this Rasoolullah sallaho alaihe wa sallam called all the people and declared that the Sun and the moon were signs of Allah,they have nothing to do with the death of any one.If he was a leader,that was a golden opportunity for him to establish his reputation even further....on the contrary he openly denied it...Is this what a leader would do?
And see how his close associates learned from him.In the time of Syedena Umar RA,the governor of Egypt did some thing wrong with the local population,on hearing this Umar RA wrote to him "Those people were born free to their mothers,how can you make them slaves now?".Would you call it Arab nationalism.?
Brother Islam is against all kinds of prejuidice based on race,language,clour and creed.Islam divides people in two groups only...on the basis of faith.....those who follow the prophets,(the final of them being Muhammad sallaho alaihe wa sallam),and those who follow shaytan.The idea behind Islam is :"INNA SALATI wa NUSUKI wa MAHYAYA wa MAMATI lillahe Rabbil ALAMINA, la sharika Lahu"

[papadopul]

I really appreciate your reply but in the back of my mind I still can't stop thinking negative things. "Either this man was a Prophet and got revelations and conquered the world, or he was just a man and made everything Arab-centric because he himself was an Arab". My mind may want to beieve the former but my heart believes the latter.

I appreciate the answer and will continue to ponder.

And also, let's say today a Malagasy (from Madagascar) tribe arises and does a similar thing to the Prophet Muhammad. Would you believe their religion? Hypothetically speaking. Why or why not?

-Jason

The question that you are posing has been asked time and time over, both by Muslims and non-Muslims. Its not surprising that one hears about many people every year claiming to be either a god or a prophet all over the world. You can see many people such as Sai Baba, etc in India who claim to be either god, or his appointee on the earth. But you know how successful they really are, mostly, you will find that within their lifetime, these false deities are debunked and proved phoney, cheater, charlatan, whatever, and soon after they die their evil deeds are exposed. Invariably, these cults don't become a religion and die very quickly. It takes much much more than just a charismatic leader to create a religion.

To be really honest to yourself and to your quest, you need to first have an intention of finding the truth, and then start acquiring knowledge from the Quran, Hadith and other books written by pious Aslaafs.

You need to see what Muhammad (saw) brought and how he (saw) conducted his affairs. Muhammad (saw) was given Quran AlKareem by Allah (swt). We Muslims believe that Quran AlKareem is word of Allah (swt), and its a miracile in itself. Have you ever see a book that is obiquitious and that there is no difference at all from the copy that is found in say Chile to the one found any other place on earth? Have you ever thought how can there be millions of people in the world who have memorized this book? There has to be something in there that gravitates millions of people towards this book, and makes it easy for even an illiterate person to be able to memorize this within 2-3 year with minimal effort. You can as well analyze it by reading a Tafseer.

Next thing to think would be that for over more than a thousand years, people both Muslims and non-Muslims have analyzed each and every word of Quran AlHakeem, and Hadiths or sayings and actions of RasoolAllah (saw), however, do they have to show anything against it?

Finally, you have to look at the people who really understood the teaching of RasoolAllah (saw) - the Khulafa Rasheedun (raa), and how they interacted with outside world. Do you hear any genocide taking place on poor, women, children and men, during their reign? Were they oppressive on non-Muslims and usurped their wealths and enslaved them? Was Jaziya a repressive tax? Were people who were conquered forced into Islam, or did they accpet Islam due to its beauty of equality, justice, and honesty (attributes of the conquerers)?

All this research demands a lot of sincere effort and hard work, its not possible for anyone to convince you in one post. While you are going through your research undoubtly you will have many question, to get those answered don't just go to any lay person like myself, go to a scholar - one from Deoband if you can find one.