I am struggling with Islam
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I'm not sure if this is the right place to write this. But I don't know where else to go. I've tried talking to my parents, but they labelled me a "kafra," and refused to answer my questions.
So here I go. I am really struggling with Islam. I was born a Muslim, and lived in a Muslim country most of my life. I used to love Islam, and practiced it as much as I can. Although I have to say that from the age of 19, I had my doubts, and started researching other religions, which confused me even more.
So anyway, a couple of years ago, two important things happened. A friend of mine from uni, who I was very close to, converted to Christianity. Of course this was a big shock. The second thing, is that when I moved to a multicultural society, I struggled with the idea that there is a one true faith. I also struggled with many issues of Islam, such as the treatment of women, violence, and other very disturbing Ahadith.
Now I'm torn between Islam, Christianity, and just not having a religion at all. I've stopped praying, which is weird, because I've been praying regularly since the age of 15. I miss God, and I miss Islam, but my heart is just not into it. I don't know what to do.
Can anyone here advice me?
I agree with reading the Quran but I think (this is an opinion) one should pray to God and ask for what they seek. At the same time one should try to make sure that they are not doing anything wrong as a person.
Peace and God bless
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Now I'm torn between Islam, Christianity, and just not having a religion at all.
Can anyone here advice me?Peace
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the MercifulSay ye "We believe, in Allah and the revelation given to us and to Abraham Isma`il Isaac Jacob and the Tribes and that given to Moses and Jesus and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord we make no difference between one and another of them and to him (GOD)we submit." (136) So if they believe as ye believe they are indeed on the right path; but if they turn back, it is they who are in schism; but Allah will suffice thee as against them, and He is the All-Hearing the All- Knowing. (2-137)
Islam is a religion that most of people do not understand. Islam is the religion of the human being since their creation. Islam is the religion of total Submission to God by submitting to his Commandments that are written in his true book?The Quran, The Bible and the Torah?as the verse 2-136 states.
Thus, becoming Christian or Jew is not the solution to your confusion; your confusion will get worse if you leave false teaching (of Suni or Shia) and choose another; but will get better if you choose to follow the right guidance that exist in the books that suni, Jews, and Christian have, but chose to ignore its LIGHT and follow the darkness of the other man made books (the books that were written after the death of the prophets).
May God comfort your soul and lead you to his Light.
Peace peace
Peace
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If I were to give my two cents, I would say to try going without religion for a little while. Attempt to make decisions as if you didnt believe in any sort of god/life force.
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Peace
Struggle is important in islam. Perhaps you should embrace it and see where it takes you. If you cannot come to terms with islam than you do not need to adhere to it. Maybe you need to study more, burn the chaff, trash the trash, and grasp the beneficial. Whatever, keep to your struggle and you will become your proof before you Lord.
Joe
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Peace,
Respectfully.I am very sorry to hear this but all is not lost.
You are at the very important intersectiona dn it is up to you to decide and if you want to be guided RIGHT, God will guide you but only if you want to, God doesn't want to force you, thoguh He could.There is no compulsion in the religion, remember?
If they want to believe, let them believe, if they want to disbelieve, let them disbelieve.I forgot the nukmbers where these sentences stand but these verses speak loud.
The question is now this do you want to be guided right?
Do you want God to guide you?
If you are honest and sincere about it and if your requets is honest, sincere, true and real and comes from your heart, then make a request, ask God and He will give you.I can assure you that God answers within seconds, if needed. I am a witness to this.
Peace.
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Thank you guys for all the help.
I've read the quran so many times. My problem is with some of the stories around the life of the prophet, and the Sahaba, like Ali.I don't understand why they married so much, and why they had concubines. I mean if they behave like that, then no wonder Muslim men are confused about how they should treat their women.
Thanks
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If quran makes sense to you that is it! You won't be asked for the deeds of the prophet and his companions.
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Thank you guys for all the help.
I've read the quran so many times. My problem is with some of the stories around the life of the prophet, and the Sahaba, like Ali.I don't understand why they married so much, and why they had concubines. I mean if they behave like that, then no wonder Muslim men are confused about how they should treat their women.
Thanks
Salam alaykum,
Respectfully.Yes, we are told to marry 2 or 3 or even 4 widows, if we can support them.
Right?
Widows.
What are the chances that 4 widows live here near by? That means, best to my knowledge, God knows best, to me it means that a horrible war has happened, many men died, apparentlu the few male survivors are left and too many women, the human race is at stake - the end of it.
Therefore, marry widows for the purpose of repopulate the world. Marring 4 women does not mean to abuse this verse and have sex every day with a different woman.Prophet's companions were his friends and they wrote down what prophet heard from Gabriel who brought the revelations from Exalted God. Obviously the sahabas wrote down what prophet Muhammad told them and he was the supervisor, to make sure they wrote it correctly and right.
Later, 200 years after prophet Muhammad died, enemies of Islam, Quran, Muslims, prophet Muhammad, started writing things of their own and attribute them to the prophet who could not object, being dead.
Do this tests compare the prophet Muhammad as portrayed in the Quran and the prophet Muhammad portrayed in the hadeeth stories. You will be amazed at the discovery.
God bless you.
Peace. -
Thank you guys for all the help.
I've read the quran so many times. My problem is with some of the stories around the life of the prophet, and the Sahaba, like Ali.I don't understand why they married so much, and why they had concubines. I mean if they behave like that, then no wonder Muslim men are confused about how they should treat their women.
Thanks
It was 7th century Arabia; Why would them having lots of wives be surprising? Whilst Ali was married to Fatima he didn't marry anyone else. It was only after she passed away that he married others and all of his wives consented to marrying him so it was their choice.
Prophet Muhammed said "The most perfect believers are the best in conduct and best of you are those who are best to their wives." (Ibn-Hanbal, No. 7396)
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If you follow Allah, there is no way you earn any hardship or your path is turbulent; and Allah gives his word that He had not sent down this Quran for you to suffer. There were no companions for the prophets for they had not come to stroll through the streets with a few friends but had been picked up by Allah as a glad tiding to the entire humanity. You stand as a model for the present generation by following the straight path rejecting Buhari, Muslim, Tirmithi and their colleagues and companions and their hell bound followers. Only in this way you get rid of your confusion. And it is very important that you are not an imposter.
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I am struggling, too. I?m still struggling with the idea that the Quran is God?s Word, conveyed to a mere human through an angel. And why did it take 20 years? If God had already conveyed his message to the messengers before Muhammad, why did it take so long? And why are so many critical issues vague and left open to interpretation, e.g., when and how long to fast, polygyny (just mothers of fatherless children or other women too?), headscarf or no headscarf, to name a few. Had the verses regarding these issues been made crystal clear, we may not have the different sects and bickering about which way is the ?right way? that we have had throughout history and still have today.
However, out of all religions I have studied and religious books I have read, the Quran does make the most sense to me. The Bible and Torah are filled with such nonsense and contradictions that I can?t help but wonder how anyone can believe such obviously fabricated, ridiculous stories clearly written by men. Catholics believe that Jesus was God, yet he is often depicted praying. Why would God pray to himself?? How can any rational person believe such a thing?! Boggles my mind, really. Now the Quran may very well be the word of God, I?m just not 100% convinced. There is much I still don?t understand and much that still doesn?t make sense to me. I guess that would explain my name. I am here in search of truth. I hope I find it. )
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If you follow Allah, there is no way you earn any hardship or your path is turbulent; and Allah gives his word that He had not sent down this Quran for you to suffer.
There are many good, righteous people in this world doing good deeds and trying to live their lives in accordance with God?s Word who have faced and continue to face plenty of hardships, their path has been quite turbulent and they have suffered quite a bit. I happen to know a few myself.
Then there are the natural disasters that we have witnessed most recently, like tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes that have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands more suffering, without family members (innocent children without parents), homeless, hungry -- basically without anything. I can?t imagine they were all evil.
And how about all the small children dying and suffering from cancer and all sorts of other painful and disabling diseases? I visited a children?s hospital not too long ago and left in tears. Why must innocent children suffer so much? These are the things that make me question whether there is an all-knowing, all-seeing loving creator or just a creator that got the ball rolling and then moved on to other things.
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There are many good, righteous people in this world doing good deeds and trying to live their lives in accordance with God?s Word who have faced and continue to face plenty of hardships, their path has been quite turbulent and they have suffered quite a bit. I happen to know a few myself.
Then there are the natural disasters that we have witnessed most recently, like tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes that have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands more suffering, without family members (innocent children without parents), homeless, hungry -- basically without anything. I can?t imagine they were all evil.
And how about all the small children dying and suffering from cancer and all sorts of other painful and disabling diseases? I visited a children?s hospital not too long ago and left in tears. Why must innocent children suffer so much? These are the things that make me question whether there is an all-knowing, all-seeing loving creator or just a creator that got the ball rolling and then moved on to other things.
This world, God tells in the Quran, is a trial, good things for us are for trial, bad things are trial. When we get good things we must give thanks and see that we do with them what God has commanded us to do. When we get bad things we must give thanks and see thst we do with them what God has commanded us to do. Punishment can be in this world or in the next, but a trial is not a punishment. What we are short of in terms of good deeds or what we are too long in terms of bad deeds we may reckon ourselves looking at ourselves as honestly as we are capable of, but with all certainty all of them will be laid out clearly for us when God recalls us. And this world, dunya is for trial, so that we know our Rabb, that is what we must do, whether we suffer or we enjoy, and nowhere has God promised that if we are good we will be duly rewarded in this world and that we will not suffer. Quite the opposite, we get plenty of examples where righteous people suffer and are patient and obedient to good. God tells us we will see the atom of good we do and the atom of evil we do. So it cannot be clearer, but we see life as if it was a film, we want to know the end or rather we want to be reassured that right now is the end and it is right now where everybody should be happy. Well, it is not like that, we are still here and still living our life of seekers of God. Therefore we should take whatever amount of suffering we become for granted. God is not punishing us he is just leading us in our way to him and we will be unfailingly rewarded. That is promised, and many people who have suffered could tell you that for nothign they would rennounce their suffering, because it is a gift and it is fruitful if you do the effort of being patient and trying to understand. It is not a punishment it is a blessing just as much as enjoyment. Sometimes we only understand and love and forgive after having gone through some very painful and wreaking experiences. God is good and gives us true values, not pink dreams.
Salaam
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There are many good, righteous people in this world doing good deeds and trying to live their lives in accordance with God?s Word who have faced and continue to face plenty of hardships, their path has been quite turbulent and they have suffered quite a bit. I happen to know a few myself.
Then there are the natural disasters that we have witnessed most recently, like tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes that have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands more suffering, without family members (innocent children without parents), homeless, hungry -- basically without anything. I can?t imagine they were all evil.
And how about all the small children dying and suffering from cancer and all sorts of other painful and disabling diseases? I visited a children?s hospital not too long ago and left in tears. Why must innocent children suffer so much? These are the things that make me question whether there is an all-knowing, all-seeing loving creator or just a creator that got the ball rolling and then moved on to other things.
It is true that He doesn't intervene, but He didn't leave us alone, He gave us revelation so we can create a society that is more efficient in sustaining and helping itself. In such a society, medical knowledge would develop so fast, sufferring would be brought to almost zero.
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This world, God tells in the Quran, is a trial, good things for us are for trial, bad things are trial. When we get good things we must give thanks and see that we do with them what God has commanded us to do. When we get bad things we must give thanks and see thst we do with them what God has commanded us to do. Punishment can be in this world or in the next, but a trial is not a punishment. What we are short of in terms of good deeds or what we are too long in terms of bad deeds we may reckon ourselves looking at ourselves as honestly as we are capable of, but with all certainty all of them will be laid out clearly for us when God recalls us. And this world, dunya is for trial, so that we know our Rabb, that is what we must do, whether we suffer or we enjoy, and nowhere has God promised that if we are good we will be duly rewarded in this world and that we will not suffer. Quite the opposite, we get plenty of examples where righteous people suffer and are patient and obedient to good. God tells us we will see the atom of good we do and the atom of evil we do. So it cannot be clearer, but we see life as if it was a film, we want to know the end or rather we want to be reassured that right now is the end and it is right now where everybody should be happy. Well, it is not like that, we are still here and still living our life of seekers of God. Therefore we should take whatever amount of suffering we become for granted. God is not punishing us he is just leading us in our way to him and we will be unfailingly rewarded. That is promised, and many people who have suffered could tell you that for nothign they would rennounce their suffering, because it is a gift and it is fruitful if you do the effort of being patient and trying to understand. It is not a punishment it is a blessing just as much as enjoyment. Sometimes we only understand and love and forgive after having gone through some very painful and wreaking experiences. God is good and gives us true values, not pink dreams.
Salaam
Peace,
Although I agree partially with what you say, but suffering is what WE allow or cause many times, so we cannot say it is trial by God, but a self-caused suffering by Mankind itself. We seek the blame to much with God...
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Peace,
Although I agree partially with what you say, but suffering is what WE allow or cause many times, so we cannot say it is trial by God, but a self-caused suffering by Mankind itself. We seek the blame to much with God...
I hate the word "blame". When we say blame it is as if there was no more to talk about. It is neither God's blame nor anybody's blame. It is the world as created by God. No human being told Him to do so. SO he has created the world he wanted. If people do wrong, he knows people would do wrong and counted on it, because otherwise the world would not be what it is. And the wrong of some is the trial of others. That is the way it is and that is the way we grow and we learn and we LOVE.
So what you are saying is there are two kinds of wrongs or evils. One God induced in his laws, two man induced through their errors. Both are the creation of God and follow its laws (of creation). For the first kind I suppose is where you agree 100% with me.
For the other, again, blame whoever you want, it exists and it is there and people who suffer it, do suffer it and cannot escape it mostly. So saying it is somebody's fault doesn't help either, unless you become God and resolve that you are going to force those bad people to be good. Which by his very creation of man God doesn't want to be that way.
So yes, unless God, changes His creation of man, there is bound to be suffering on earth Man induced, and men will suffer it. We even suffer when somebody looks angry at us... of course it is like that and it will be like that the point is that this creation is just only a Creation and after this creation we will be delivered into another one. That is what religion tells us, that there is light, that th't n?ere is justice, that there is truth and that they reign supreme, and if we hadn't known suffering and limitation and darness, we wouldn't be delivered, and we couldn not appreciate the majesty of justice and truth and beauty as they will be revealed to us, when we are let free of the three dimensions.
Salaam
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So what you are saying is there are two kinds of wrongs or evils. One God induced in his laws, two man induced through their errors. Both are the creation of God and follow its laws (of creation). For the first kind I suppose is where you agree 100% with me.
No there are only consequences. And as God's laws are static, unchanging, this means we can learn them and protect ourselves against them. People get a virus, people get sick. If we do not have a stable society wherein we can research and discover a cure, we carry the consequences. But since the wealth and energy of mankind is not focussed on universal development but on personal wealth and salvation, we are lacking behind in our potential. So the evil lies only in the dis-unity and ignorance among mankind. But since we only develop through encountering obstacles as diseases and disasters, we need these for our development and exploration of our potentials. But as long as mankind doesn't create a logical approach to reality and is locked up in superstition, blind rituals, selfishness, nationalism, racism, false beliefs, we must carry the consequences harder then is necessary.
I felt in your posts a sort of saying suffering is good because we need it to learn, that it is part of this world, but I do not agree it is that simple and I believe it is a partial escapegoat. It is good we can learn from suffering, as then atleast we can turn any harm into good on a certain level. But suffering is built in as a consequence, which we can atleast learn from, it is not a REQUIRMENT of life to learn things, which is what I felt from your initial post that it is a requirment.
I believe the Qur'an tries to teach us how to avoid suffering by developing means to protect ourselves, in this way Allah is Ghafour, the Protector.
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I never said it is a requirement, and don't worry I don't expect myself or others to feel divinely exalted because they are suffering. What I do say is that IT IS A FACT and that, the same as ease, it is a trial, and as such a means of evolving and seek nearness to God, and that for what we do with our suffering and for what we do with our enjoyment we are accountable.
As to laws of God being static, I don't really care to form an opinio on that right now. They are, they operate, and God is alive, hayy, qayyum.what annoys me in wht you say that suffering comes from us and that kind of thing, is that in the end we are back to square guilt (something very ingrained in christianism and which I am glad to have left behind).
I suppose it is true that if we were perfect everything would be perfect. But the thing is that we are not perfect and everything is not perfect. You say that we are not perfect because we do not want to, or we are not interested enough or knowledgeable enough or whatever Through some fault of ours. A certain person I know would throw you out of the window for saying that, because that would be the most hopeless news you could give anybody. And then if it was true, however hopeless, one would accept it. But I feel the same as when I was exposed the marxist creed, and how in the future so, and so, a wonderful world. And what do you do with all those who are not of the future and have crumbled under opression through the ages? No hope? And since we are not seeing anywhere a glimpse of such future, in fact the glimpses are no good at all, so we are nicely............. (excuse the implied word. My English when I get spontaneous fails me).
In a sense I understand that you mean it well, you are saying that there is human potential for a wonderful world. I cannot object anything to that, because I am sure of that and become often saddenned for so much we are missing and failing. But from that you go to affirm that in fact, since it is possible, that we will eventually have it. OK. Fine. The moment we have it, we talk again. Right now what I feel when you say that it is because of ourselves (and ourselves is me too) that we suffer is that that kind of encouragement is not an encouragement. No need to have God examine your deeds nor be merciful to you because really we could have done better than that.
I suppose you do not mean it that way, but the point is that right now, things are what they are and not what should be if... or what they will be if... and that to talk about guilt is a cheap blow that doesn't make people's suffering lighter, but rubs vinegar on it and fills them with discouragement.
Salaam
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I never said it is a requirement, and don't worry I don't expect myself or others to feel divinely exalted because they are suffering. What I do say is that IT IS A FACT and that, the same as ease, it is a trial, and as such a means of evolving and seek nearness to God, and that for what we do with our suffering and for what we do with our enjoyment we are accountable.
As to laws of God being static, I don't really care to form an opinio on that right now. They are, they operate, and God is alive, hayy, qayyum.what annoys me in wht you say that suffering comes from us and that kind of thing, is that in the end we are back to square guilt (something very ingrained in christianism and which I am glad to have left behind).
I suppose it is true that if we were perfect everything would be perfect. But the thing is that we are not perfect and everything is not perfect. You say that we are not perfect because we do not want to, or we are not interested enough or knowledgeable enough or whatever Through some fault of ours. A certain person I know would throw you out of the window for saying that, because that would be the most hopeless news you could give anybody. And then if it was true, however hopeless, one would accept it. But I feel the same as when I was exposed the marxist creed, and how in the future so, and so, a wonderful world. And what do you do with all those who are not of the future and have crumbled under opression through the ages? No hope? And since we are not seeing anywhere a glimpse of such future, in fact the glimpses are no good at all, so we are nicely............. (excuse the implied word. My English when I get spontaneous fails me).
In a sense I understand that you mean it well, you are saying that there is human potential for a wonderful world. I cannot object anything to that, because I am sure of that and become often saddenned for so much we are missing and failing. But from that you go to affirm that in fact, since it is possible, that we will eventually have it. OK. Fine. The moment we have it, we talk again. Right now what I feel when you say that it is because of ourselves (and ourselves is me too) that we suffer is that that kind of encouragement is not an encouragement. No need to have God examine your deeds nor be merciful to you because really we could have done better than that.
I suppose you do not mean it that way, but the point is that right now, things are what they are and not what should be if... or what they will be if... and that to talk about guilt is a cheap blow that doesn't make people's suffering lighter, but rubs vinegar on it and fills them with discouragement.
Salaam
Peace Huruf,
Sorry if i misunderstood you, I only responded to what I understood from your post. Please do not feel attacked, nor did I understood you felt special because of suffering. As for the rest, my view has nothing to do with guilt at all. I am talking about the development of a species (we humans) within the universe and the things that block their ability to overcome obstacles. The obstacles are there, viruses, earthquakes, the possibility to go to war, to hate. All these are there to overcome, to learn from them, but they are meant to be overcome, to be left behind us.
And as we as a species must overcome them, God does not take them away since this is the way a species develops into a higher phase. But He does help us by giving us revelation, the guide to further evolution.
So I am glad we are on the same line, we just different wording.
