Bismillah....
-
Alhamdulillah...... i am so, so, so pleased and grateful to have found this group..... i had no idea there were other seekers / Muslims who feel the same way i do, and also struggle with Islam.
i have been seeking a spiritual home for years now, and there is so much in Islam that i love dearly, feel drawn to, and feel is of God. i am reading the Quran and am falling in love, while also questioning other things within it.
something that has left a deep, deep imprint on my spiritual life was a sort of personal epiphany a couple of years ago. i had been reading and studying a number of thinkers, namely Kahlil Gibran and Ibn Al-Arabi, and was beginning to personally ask God if there was a way to understand Him and His will or to know if He existed. and something actually came to me. i suppose i would call it a verse...
"to touch the Most High ; to touch the life of another ; to touch one's own heart ; may we do these things always in good faith ; may we always be mindful ; and turn not from the suffering of others".
there is something startling, intimate, and true in these words, and reflection on them continues to be the central point of my prayer life. i feel that there is an ocean in these words, even as there is an ocean in a verse from the Quran. the more i read of the Quran, the more i am convinced it is a plea from God for intimacy, understanding, and seeking from humans. at the same time as i read the Quran and make salat, a devotion to that revealed verse comes to the forefront.
please excuse me if i'm causing offense- i am not such a person who claims to be a prophet or to speak for God- but i do feel that He has spoken something of His Word to me. i do call myself a Muslim, as i love Allah dearly, and wish to draw closer to him. i love the tawhid of Islam, and the emphasis on humility, devotion, and connection to God. i love the Ummah.
thank you all for listening! again, i am deeply grateful to have found this forum. may God draw near to you and give you His peace.
-
ah, thank you, guys! it is good to be here.
i had wandered around but not joined ummah.com and was a little shocked... sincere arguments about whether or not to close one's eyes during prayer, debates about right-over-left or left-over-right during salat... and more hadiths than i knew what to do with, honestly.
if that is a good way for them, that is fine, but i couldn't make heads or tails of it, nor see myself being at home there.
-
Salaams Ayani,
Isn't this soooo exciting??? I reallyfeel like I'm getting down to the real 'meat' of the religion if you will. When I think of some of the conversations and situations I have had in the past 10 years since converting its really making me laugh. I was really misguided on a lot of things. Once my friends and I were turned away from a masjid because my friend had her ears showing. (This was the same masjid where during the salat my purse and money was stolen, I guess I should have realized then something was wrong). Once in the middle of prayer at another masjid, a woman yanked my arm during prostration because she said my body was in the wrong formation. I had a friend once who stopped wearing yellow clothes because he found some hadith that said we shouldn't wear clothes the color of saffron. Someone else told me I shouldn't wear my red jacket to the masjid. Some others told me that singing in the shower was haram...I have many more stories that I won't bore you with at this time.
It Seems like as soon as you convert, people bombard you with the things you AREN'T allowed to do, many of them which are plain rediculous. The irony is that the reason I came to Islam is because of what it GIVES me and not what it takes away. I feel and always felt that Islam should make your life more beautiful and not more difficult...
-
Jippy-
exciting and awesome! if anyone here is on facebook, i suggest the groups "progressive muslim alliance" and "monotheism" run by Sanam Niazi. both remarkable groups, full of bright and engaging people. actually, the former group is how i found this site.
what the Quran asks of us is to pray, fear Allah, remember Him, to good and stay away from evil, and be equitable with others. i am struggling to believe, and taking lots of steps back to consider what i feel is right, and where i can stand vs. not stand with traditional muslims.
i'm recalling those claims that "islam is your birthright" and "all children are born as muslims", and i've asked numerous muslims, "then why bother to persecute or reject other faiths, and where are all these traditions and rules coming from?" not that traditions and rules are "bad". i don't think one should throw up one's hands and reject all traditions or ritual aspects of religion, as i think they serve a symbolic purpose of unity and humility, which is good.
still....
-
... something that has left a deep, deep imprint on my spiritual life was a sort of personal epiphany a couple of years ago. i had been reading and studying a number of thinkers, namely Kahlil Gibran and Ibn Al-Arabi, and was beginning to personally ask God if there was a way to understand Him and His will or to know if He existed. and something actually came to me. i suppose i would call it a verse ...
... thank you all for listening! again, i am deeply grateful to have found this forum. may God draw near to you and give you His peace.
Salam again Ayani,
It was a pleasure to read your post and all the warmth and humble good faith between the lines ...
Ab
Abd-Allah Muhammad ibnAli ibn Muhammad ibn al-`Arabi ( ), Muhyi id-Din ( ) or 'Revivifier of religion' and al-Shaykh al-Akbar ( ) or 'Great Master' has added a great deal to my life as well ... sorry, just couldn't resist the temptation to be elaborate ... temptHis intensely beautiful and always passionate advocacy of wahdat al-wujud ( د or the 'unity of being' in both al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya and Fusus al-hikam rocked my world as they continue to this day. From Fusus al-hikam -
If you see a Prophet speaking a language outside the simple ordinances of the Shari'a, that is due to the fact that he is a wali and a knower of Allah. For this reason, his station in respect to his being a man of knowledge and a wali is more perfect and complete than it is due to the fact that he is a Messenger or someone who legislates and has a Shari'a. If you hear one of the People of Allah speaking, or it is related to you that he said, "Wilaya is higher than prophethood," that speaker only means what we mentioned. Or if he says that the wali is above the Prophet or the Messenger, he means in the same person. He is the Messenger, and inasmuch as he is a wali, he is more complete than he is by simply being a Prophet. It does not mean that the wali who follows him is higher than him. The follower never overtakes the followed in that in which he follows him. If he had overtaken him, then he would not be his follower. So understand that!
How totally RAD is that ? ...
Thanks for the wonderful moments brought about by your post.
Peace, Sohel
-
Sohel ~
salam aleykum, and namaste.
thank you, man. i look forward to hearing more from you, and getting to know you better.
your own intro thread was simply awesome. may Allah bless and guide you.
peace, brother. http//i122.photobucket.com/albums/o275/grace-tilton/world%20faiths/peace.gif
