Hello from Alabama
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Hello everyone. I've been reading this website for a couple of weeks and decided to introduce myself. I just began to seriously study Islam about 4 months ago. I grew up going to Southern Baptist and Church of God churches. I was taught to pray to Jesus and always wondered why we prayed to him if he wasn't God. I never understood the Trinity or even remember being taught it until I was much older. Eventually stopped going to church as a teenager and became agnostic. I first encountered Islam during my deployment to Iraq. That was the first time I had ever met any Muslims, as there aren't too many in south Alabama. A couple of interpreters talked us about their beliefs so we could understand the culture. I found it interesting and it seemed to me that they were worshipping the same God as Christians but in a different way. Anyways fast forward a couple of years and I'm having an argument with my brother who is a huge born again Christian. He was trying to make the point that Islam is a devil's religion and that Muslims are to kill all Christians and Jews. When I mention the fact that I worked with some very nice Muslims in Iraq he said "If they worked with you than they aren't being good Muslims. According to their religion Al-Qaeda members are the good Muslims" He said he had read the Quran and it had said as much. So I then decided to read the Quran and look into Islamic beliefs to prove my brother wrong lol. But what I found was wonderful. Most of what the Quran said was what I already felt and I knew that this was the truth. So I began to look further online and study everything I could. That's when I came across the Hadiths. At first I was confused. It was like "Ok so I've got the Quran, but now I need this other book." Admittedly I've read very few of the hadiths. But they just weren't really making much sense to me. The Quran says Allah makes our religion easy for us, but the hadiths seem to do the opposite. Things like prayer being invalid for various reasons, angels not entering a house with a dog (not sure if it's hadith but I read it somewhere. And I've always lived with dogs so that one was hard to swallow), and some others I can't remember right now. I'll read them eventually to be well versed if nothing else. Anyways by the grace of God I found this site, where I discovered I wasn't the only one who felt like this. So now I'm just trying to do my best to follow God's path. And I'll eventually thank my brother for arguing with me since that is what lead to me reading the Quran D
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Peace and welcome Rachel.
Great story. Everything happens for a reason.
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Peace,
Respect.welcome welcome to the forum, sister.
I loved your story and if youw ant, you can always use this verse from The Qur'an, God's Own Words, to fight the hadeeth, regarding the dogs.1818 And you would think they are awake while they are asleep. And We turn them on the right-side and on the left-side, and their dog has his arms outstretched at the threshold. If you looked upon them you would have run away from them and you would have been filled with terror from them!
I've only quoted part of a story but the point is this dogs are not forbidden in Islam and on many occassions they actually save lives and protect humans. Nowhere in The Qur'an does it say that dogs are bad or evil or thaty angels don't enter the hosue where dogs live. Nowhere.
In fact, I was watching Discovery few months ago and a woman with epilepsy said how her dog helps her in preventing seizures. Also, she told how one night her dog actually, literally saved her life.Dogs and cats clean themselves much more then certain humans.
Here in UK they made a investigation and discovered that feces were found on the hands of some males.
There are some men that I have seen, who do not wash their hands after using toilet. London can be a scary place.Anyway, God bless you and take care.
Peace be upon you and keep up the smile. sun -
Welcome to the forum.
I recommend www.StudyQuran.org
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RachelRTR WELCOME
Allah said Read in the name of your lord who createththerefore the only way to find the truth is read, evrything, you will get wise and than you be able even to teach of what you learned, remember, there's no scholar in the quran, there's onlt students, no matter how far one ca go in undestanding the quran, he or she'll always be a student of allah, no intermediares, no priests, no imams no rabis;, the message is for me, and it is for you , and it is for everyone who accept it therefore read and welcome among your brothers, students of the quran, always.
