Understanding Islam
By Leo Gura - April 2, 2018 | 20 Comments
What most Westerners & Muslims don’t understand about Islam
Mayur says: Mashallah !
They say god is one, but don’t they know yet ? god is alone.
Ali Rida says: What if someone dies with out attaining some level of enlightenment in his life. You do know that all relegions are based on the presence of heaven and hell. I feel I didn’t explain the question right but I hope your answer anyway.
Aditya 
Ryan says: “When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty.” Jesus, Gospel of Thomas, Logion 3
“And be not like those who forgot Allah , so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.” Quran 59:19
Daniel says: Hey Leo,
What I’ve got to say hasn’t got anything to do with the video. But have a question about your Religion vs Science video.
The movie ‘Contact, starring Jodie Foster and Carl Sagan wrote the book in the mid 80s, is definitely one of my favourites of all time. I’ve been watching a lot of your videos over the years and continue to go down the rabbit hole with my spiritual enlightenment journey.
But If you haven’t seen the film, I highly recommend you seeing it. Personally, the film relates a lot to what you teach in your videos. I would like your thoughts about this movie and if you have any movies are worth investigating on.
Yann says: You’re interpreting Islam to make it match spiritual awakening. In a sense, you’re doing concordism. God in Islam, or Judaism or Christianity is clearly separate from humans. That’s the very foundation of these religions: a unique and separate God. Muslims themselves accept the fact that Mohammed was a ruthless warrior. Moreover he would consider this video identifying god with everything as a pantheist sacrilege. As for Jesus, he was truly revolutionary not least by saying we are all equal in a period of ontological inequality. And as you say, he’s mentioned numerous times in the Koran in which it is said that he will come at the end of times (strangely enough, his role is therefore hugely more important than the one of prophet Mohammed.)
Ryan says: The Quran does not ever say this. That is from Hadith.
As to “ruthless warrior”, read the Charter of Medina- it’s the inverse of ruthless.
As Leo says in the forum, unifying people under God and one banner can’t be all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.
Yann says: According to the Hadiths, jewish were slaughtered. And he himself practiced lapidation, torture, etc. Not enlightenment in my book. And what a difference with Jesus! Get real!
Ryan says: Matthew 10:34-40:35
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”
Ego encountering Truth = heinousness of mankind (in both directions).
Ryan says: Correction: 10:35 (not 40:35)
Ryan says: Which is to say, When ego encounters Truth it either lashes out with murderous violence and persecution or tries to subjugate Truth under it’s own superficial rewrite in order to maintain it’s illusion of separation and preferred superiority and control. Twas ever thus. And Jesus knew humankind and knew what it would do with “the good news”.
Yann says: Interesting. This verse is known to mean that the message of Jesus would divide people and families. However, I doubt the gospel is about non-duality
Joe E 
Outlandish says: Excellent talk
Yann says: I doubt you read the Quran at all! A muslim believing that each one of us is God and that there are other ways than Islam to find (this inner) God is simply not a muslim.
And you’re also saying that muslims don’t leave Islam because somehow it’s like spiritual awakening. Nonsense. And they do leave Islam, to the extent that it has become a serious concern among muslim scholars. Sheikh Ahmad Al Katani, the president of The Companions Lighthouse for The Science of Islamic Law in Libya said in 2006 on Al-Jazeerah: in every hour 667 Muslims convert to Christianity, everyday, 16 000 muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 millions Muslims convert to Christianity.
Of course they are also conversions from Christianity to Islam but this shows the other side.
Yann says: I doubt you read the Quran at all! A muslim believing that each one of us is God and that there are other ways than Islam to find (this inner) God is simply not a muslim.
And you’re also saying that muslims don’t leave Islam because somehow it’s like spiritual awakening. Nonsense. And they do leave Islam, to the extent that it has become a serious concern among muslim scholars. Sheikh Ahmad Al Katani, the president of The Companions Lighthouse for The Science of Islamic Law in Libya said in 2006 on Al-Jazeerah: “in every hour 667 Muslims convert to Christianity, everyday, 16 000 muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 millions Muslims convert to Christianity”.
Of course they are also conversions from Christianity to Islam but this shows the other side.
Ryan says: 18:54
I’m very much doing the “spiritualized ego” thing. It’s an improvement from the indignant atheist I was before, but it continues to be mostly just an intellectual pursuit.
At this point, I’m something of a Jungian structuralist. I take it as monotheism in secular dress.
Thank you for this video. It has helped to relieve me of some lingering contempt for Islam.
Dhammafollower says: Hey Leo,
have you done a Vipassana Retreat ?
Just completed my first one and i think it is a good and effective Path/Technique.
I just asked because i noticed that you didnt mention Buddhism or Dhamma in your Video.
Cheers