American Soldier Still a Bit New to Islam
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Hi, I am a soldier stationed at FT. Hood. I accepted submission to God after I read the Quran. While that may seem strange to some, it is real. I read the Quran after I realized that I had been deployed to countries with majority Islamic populations and yet knew nothing about Islam. I used to deride and hate Muslims but after reading the Quran I know the truth. I believe that it was God which spurred this desire to read the Quran. Also, a long time ago I was once a Christian and many of my future posts will probably reflect my upbringing. As the Quran tells us, I believe in the earlier scriptures as well and so I hope to bring engaging and useful questions or comments before fellow believers. I know that I do not know everything and so do not be afraid to reply to anything which I post.
Thank You
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I ended up in this forum because I was specifically searching for those who also believe that the Quran is a complete message from God in itself. I attend Mosque but I do not feel as if I can speak what I truly believe there in regards to sunnah, hadith, or in anything which I truly believe. As the quran states, I believe in that which God revealed to Muhammad and in that which was revealed before. Often, if I do not understand something I will look to see how the subject was treated in the Torah, and the Bible to try and get a better understanding. Probably the biggest influence on my decision to follow my gut instinct, and not follow sunnah or hadith, are the words of the prophet Jesus who said that we must be more righteous than the scholars if we want to enter paradise.
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I ended up in this forum because I was specifically searching for those who also believe that the Quran is a complete message from God in itself. I attend Mosque but I do not feel as if I can speak what I truly believe there in regards to sunnah, hadith, or in anything which I truly believe. As the quran states, I believe in that which God revealed to Muhammad and in that which was revealed before. Often, if I do not understand something I will look to see how the subject was treated in the Torah, and the Bible to try and get a better understanding. Probably the biggest influence on my decision to follow my gut instinct, and not follow sunnah or hadith, are the words of the prophet Jesus who said that we must be more righteous than the scholars if we want to enter paradise.
That's lovely. Thank you.
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Salaam,
Welcome to the forum, I hope you will enjoy your stay.
Finally, someone who agrees with me about the stories in the Bible about Jesus. Even though distorted words in the present versions of the Gospel, reading about Jesus and his life teaches a lot.
I am too of Christian origin, I never swallowed the trinity belief, so I was a pure monotheist Christian and that might have blessed me with certainty and a pure view of Islam without any additions to the Quranic teachings.
Ok, I will try to keep myself short for once, so I end my post here.
God bless you
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Salaam and welcome to the forum
I hope my user name isn't too controversial (I'm kidding) Are there very few converts to Islam in the US military, if you don't mind me asking?
Often, if I do not understand something I will look to see how the subject was treated in the Torah, and the Bible to try and get a better understanding. Probably the biggest influence on my decision to follow my gut instinct, and not follow sunnah or hadith, are the words of the prophet Jesus who said that we must be more righteous than the scholars if we want to enter paradise.
That sounds like you really thought about - in terms of the Prophet Jesus part and how the Hadith didn't fit for you. I think I should start reading the Torah and Bible a bit more after some of the posts. Whenever I have come across parts of the Bible, there have been exact matches in terms of general ideas and thoughts about God. It makes me wonder how after reading it anyone would think Jesus is God and that he can be called Lord. It's like there is enough still preserved in there for people to figure it out and maybe this is what God intended although I obviously don't know that for sure.
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By the way, how is that seen by your colleagues? Do they accept your way?
My peers and subordinates do not bring up religion at all at work. My conversion is out there for them to see and so I assume that maybe they are afraid to offend me by bringing it up. However, the soldier's who I work with are good-hearted men and women who have known me for some time and know the deeds which I have done in the unit. I get a lot of thanks from fellow soldier's who I help with issues and so I think that even if they are anti-islam they will not act disrespectfully towards me out of respect. Hopefully I have, thanks to God, effected a change in their views.
I have had one of my soldiers who, after doing an online course on recognizing terrorists, turned to me and told me, in jest, that I fit most of the criteria to get reported to security. However, the training mentioned things like reading the Quran everyday, being angry with the government, and etc...
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Greetings and peace, all group
@czmead welcome
You aren't alone! There are many current and former military members on these forums that follow the Deen.
I'm also in the US military (ARNG), and also accepted Islam after reading and carefully considering a reasonable interpretation of Al Qur'an (commonly abbreviated as AQ). I happened to be in Afghanistan at the time, but that's another story.
The good thing about being muslim in the military is that a good person sets a good example to others, and is in a position to prevent abuses. There are plenty of opportunities afforded in the military to undertake positive acts, and to help other people. yes
There will be people who have reservations about your faith, but many of these people will change their minds after you normally perform your duties. Faith is a bridge in many places of the world, and will allow better dialogue with other people of faith.
Remember that it is disallowed to proselytize in uniform--and also that if you publicly reject hadith in many countries that you may be in special danger. Chaplains and chaplain's assistants can and will help you solve problems if you talk with them on an as-needed basis.
Don't worry about the "haters"--be they here or anywhere else.
Feel free to shoot me a PM anytime.
May ALLAH see fit to Guide all seekers.
peace
~Abdul-Hadi
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The good thing about being muslim in the military is that a good person sets a good example to others, and is in a position to prevent abuses. There are plenty of opportunities afforded in the military to undertake positive acts, and to help other people. yes
Salaam, Abdul-Hadi,
Good point. It may very well be that Allah wants to place people in certain positions or professions to allow for betterment of a situation or people within that area.
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Salam,
I'm very happy to see that you have seen the truth, and that God has guided you to seek more knowledge. Books such as the Hadiths are not untouchable, only our Holy Qu'ran is, as it is the real word of God. Welcome to the forum.
Peace and Blessings peace
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Hi, I am a soldier stationed at FT. Hood. I accepted submission to God after I read the Quran. While that may seem strange to some, it is real. I read the Quran after I realized that I had been deployed to countries with majority Islamic populations and yet knew nothing about Islam. I used to deride and hate Muslims but after reading the Quran I know the truth. I believe that it was God which spurred this desire to read the Quran. Also, a long time ago I was once a Christian and many of my future posts will probably reflect my upbringing. As the Quran tells us, I believe in the earlier scriptures as well and so I hope to bring engaging and useful questions or comments before fellow believers. I know that I do not know everything and so do not be afraid to reply to anything which I post.
Thank You
welcome