Question from my Jehovah's Witness friend

[BrotherMatthew]

:salam2:

Salaam Brothers and Sisters in Islam. A friend of mine, who is a Jehovah's Witness, had a question and I wasn't sure of the answer and would like to hear from others.

The Question he asked me was - Is it permissible in Islam to refer to God as Jehovah or Yahweh (Basically is it ok to call Him Jehovah)

I would appreciate any responses
May Allah reward you for your answer

 

[ShyHijabi]

I don't know the answer to your question but let me give you a little history lesson on the name Jehovah and Yahweh. You see the Jews believed their was a sacred name of Allah and the name itself contained power. So if you wrote it or spoke it then you actually invoked the power of Allah.

In order to protect this name they removed the vowels and since then no one really knows how to pronounce it, or write it. Basically the altered name was YHWH, people have basically made up the vowels and wrote YaHWeH to say/write something at least pronounceable. Then someone decided to increase upon this mistranslation and write YeHoVaH...or Jehovah.

So basically we are looking at a mistranslation of a mistranslation. I seriously think the name is useless and why call Allah by a big muck up?

 

[saifkhan]

salam alaikum warahmatu-llah

Jehovah, tell him that it is not a name, rather an addressing.

I'd rather say you to read the book:

What is his name by ahmed deedat,
here is the link: http://www.archive.org/stream/WhatIsHisName_417/What_is_His_Name#page/n3/mode/2up

read it and pass it, I think he will also be convinced.

may Allah guide him to straight path

may Allah keep us on straight path until the Day of judgement

wa 'alaikum salam

 

[tariq353]

:salam2:

Brother Matthew,


Quran
7:180. And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names They will be recompensed for what they have been doing.

17:110. Say, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful [ar-Rahman]. Whichever [name] you call – to Him belong the best names." And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way.

20:8. Allah – there is no deity except Him. To Him belong the best names.



i think we should call Allah only by the 99 names...because each name has got some attributes given... by calling with other name we can give any false attribute or anything which is not Saheeh.

I m waiting for other knowledgeable brothers n sisters to throw sm light over the matter.....


Wa salam

 

[JenGiove]

:salam2:

Salaam Brothers and Sisters in Islam. A friend of mine, who is a Jehovah's Witness, had a question and I wasn't sure of the answer and would like to hear from others.

The Question he asked me was - Is it permissible in Islam to refer to God as Jehovah or Yahweh (Basically is it ok to call Him Jehovah)

I would appreciate any responses
May Allah reward you for your answer

:salam2: Matthew,

I am neither a Muslim nor a Jehovah's Witness but I was raised in the congregation.

I would advise caution with your friend. The witnesses are as versed in their religion as Muslims are in theirs and since your friend is speaking with you, he undoubtedly has already researched a great deal about Islam through the resources provided by The Awake and Watchtower Society...the governing body of the witnesses.

While Da'wah is compulsory in Islam, it is nearly obligatory as a Witness. There are two forms of witnessing for them, formal and informal. With you, he may be trying to informal witness by steering to conversation towards the beliefs of the Witnesses. He will use the "New World Translation of the Holy Bible", historical facts, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Witnesses attend bible study, Sunday service and a sort of "how to witness effectively" service. There is also the endless home study.

Since you are so new to Islam, I caution you to be wary of conversations with him untill you are better versed in the Qu'ran and Hadiths.

For now, I would only say to him that in Islam there is one proper name for God and that is Allah. Any other proper name is unrecognized in Islam.

Be well..

 

[ShyHijabi]

I had some witnesses come to my door once, it didn't end well for them. teehee Basically I was able to refute a lot of their beliefs, especially stuff from Leviticus, bc I am able to read Hebrew. They never came back.

 

[Valerie]

:salam2:

I have a Jehovah's Witness lady come to my door once a month (at least). She gave me one of the books they use to counter arguments from people. That sounds bad, but I don't mean it to.

In the section about Muslims, and I'm not going to type it out unless everyone wants me to, one of the topics for discussion is the name of God. I'll put it in bold so its obvious which part is in the book she gave me.

After laying a foundation, as above, you may be able to point out what God said to Moses about His personal name. (Ex. 3:15; Deut. 6: 4,5).

I have a copy of the Bible she gave me so here's those verses:

Then God said once more to Moses:

"This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, 'Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation." Ex. 3:15


"4) Listen, O Israel; Jehovah is our God is one Jehovah. 5) And you must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your vital force." Deut. 6: 4, 5

I looked them up in the King James Version and it says "Lord God" and "Lord".

The version I quoted above is the New World Translation, which is the version Jehovah's Witnesses use.

I don't know the original Hebrew or translation of it (ShyHijabi would be wonderful for that), but I'm not sure of "correct" translations. The ladies that visit me tell me that their translation is the most correct, but then I think everyone thinks their translation is the most correct.

Funny part about the book she gave me, I was asking about head covering for women and she gave me the book about responding to questions/arguments. Nice lady though.

 

[Valerie]

I found a section of that book that talks about the name "Jehovah" but it's really long and I'm not sure it applies to the conversation. I can type it out if anyone wants, but I'm not going to spam the thread with unnecessary information.

Sorry I found it after I finished the other post.

 

[tariq353]

:salam2:

Insha'allah these books of Ahmed Deedat (May Allah forgv his sins n enter him into jannah) will help u in tackling them...


wa salam

 

[justoneofmillion]

:salam2:I have had the opportunity to meet Jehova witnesses many times.The first time I was about 12 years old they knocked at the door,and asked for an adult I told them we were Muslims but That I would call my uncle.hehe as soon as we got back they were not there anymore,I was scared to death I tought I had seen some Ghosts or something haha sweet memories.

The second time two girls in summer a couple of years ago who appeared to me looking more bootyliscious than a Pentecost preaching mother Theresa really.So I did not figure out what they wanted,and tried to go my way at first until they gave me a pamphlet with pictures of Fishes and other animals arguing that men actually did not create anything,and that they just copied nature,to build cars ,planes...etc,
It was so genuine and simple that I felt sorry for them,As I was a lot into the Quraan scientific hype at the time(Big bang,expansion of the universe,Earth rotation,primary nebula..etc),Their presentation was so simple yet thought as some sort of sensational discovery! it made me think of how poor spiritually the broader society had become subhnallah!We had a long discussion on the bible,Quraan and found that we actually had a lot in common like their rejection of the trinity doctrine and the false belief of Jesus being God incarnate..etc.

I do not know what has become of them,I have tried to increase their curiosity about Islam the best I could.

The Third time and last was a Russian friend of Mine who announced me one day that he had become Muslim,(He was a Jehovah witness)We have had so many discussion on the subject before.Allah guide whom he wills.

As far as your question is concerned brother Aiman and sister Sarah nailed it,already.And Like Deedat would say Allahluya,Praise be to God!!

 

[justoneofmillion]

I found this as the Hebrew text of Deut 6:4,

"Shama Israelu: Adonai Ilahayno Adna ikhad"

Which means: Hear ye O Israel, the Lord our God is one lord.

Sister Sarah, please confirm.

:salam2:This is called the shema in hebrew brother Aiman,in Arabic it would be ISmaa or listen,Hear in english.
Issmaii ya isreailou rabbana ilahan wahidan or Ahad like in sura Ikhlas, koul houwa llahu Ahad.Jesus PBUH confirmed it again in Mark 12:29 .

Wassalaam.

 

[BrotherMatthew]

Jazaaka Allahu khair Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

[ShyHijabi]

I found this as the Hebrew text of Deut 6:4,

"Shama Israelu: Adonai Ilahayno Adna ikhad"

Which means: Hear ye O Israel, the Lord our God is one lord.

Sister Sarah, please confirm.

:salam2:

That is correct, the name Adonai the name of God in that sentence. No Jehovah there, not even the term Yahweh.

 

[Ahsen]

Why can't he call our creator as Allah.Does it hurts him in anyway.Islam means submission,means to submit and tawheed is the very first part of it.There is no one in the universe who is called Allah except our Lord and Creator.

 

[Valerie]

:salam2:

That is correct, the name Adonai the name of God in that sentence. No Jehovah there, not even the term Yahweh.

:salam2:

That is fascinating, thank you (and ayman1). So that right there makes the translation misleading at best, incorrect at worst.

I seriously need to learn to read other languages.



Edit: I don't mean to say that anyone is being intentionally misleading or incorrect. I, myself, obviously don't know what correct translations are. I'm sure there are translations that have a motivation for their choice of words, but I would never accuse someone of that. The Jehovah's Witness ladies that visit me are very nice, kind and friendly. Good people with good intentions, so I don't mean to sound like I'm saying something against them

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,

I do love having visitors. Just imagine the poor person who happens to knock on my door. ( I hope everyone is smiling ) They get coffee and cake and a very long lecture. I even invite them back!!!

This thread aroused my curiosity. I dug up an article from the Catholic Church on the history of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The link is posted below.

We have to understand that the Jehovah's Witnesses are not part of mainstream Christianity. There are significant doctrinal differences.

As the doctrine of the Witnesses is so different from traditional Christianity it is important to bear in mind when conversing with a Jehovah's Witness one is not taking to a traditional Christian. The construct of God is not the same as the Catholic or Protestant.


http://www.catholic.com/library/History_of_the_Jehovah_Witnesesses.asp

 

[brmm]

:salam2:

Salaam Brothers and Sisters in Islam. A friend of mine, who is a Jehovah's Witness, had a question and I wasn't sure of the answer and would like to hear from others.

The Question he asked me was - Is it permissible in Islam to refer to God as Jehovah or Yahweh (Basically is it ok to call Him Jehovah)

I would appreciate any responses
May Allah reward you for your answer

Assalam Alaikom brother,
Jahovah name is not in the Bible. The Jews believe that they should not even read the name of God because of their misunderstanding for the Torah.
As a result, they have lost the name of God, they put YHVH instead of the the God's name without vowels.

Johovah and all the Christian claim that they follow Jesus instruction, but this is not the truth. Except for the Arabian and some other Christian who call God Allah, all the others do not know God's name.

Jesus PBUH have called his god Allah, and since it is a name it can not be translated to any other word.
The whole Bible (The Latin ones) has never mentioned the name of God even for one time.

Pls download the material in the link " The Truth about Christianity....etc" if you need more info.
Pls see the attached pic.

BRMM