Quran 14:4 Every Nation its own Messenger?
-
Peace to all,
First, I am not a messenger or prophet of God, but I do have some questions about some verses in the Quran. IN 144 and many other verses the Quran says that GOd has sent or will send a warner to every nation on earth to teach them and warn them in their own language. It also says that God will not judge a people or hold them to account until they have been sent their warner or messenger. As many of you may know, I am the last person you would think would become a Muslim. I am from a small Native American Tribe in the middle of nowhere, and there is not a single muslim for many miles around. So I am confused why God has chosen me to find him in Islam and become a submitter/ muslim. Most in my tribe are some form of chistian/ nativist/ nature worshippers, etc. Most have no organized religion, and way to many are into drugs , alcohol, and many other types of abuses. I have been hiding my being a muslim and Islam from my people because I am scared how they will react and treat me. I also descend directly from the Crane Clan who are the traditional leaders of my Tribe, and my family has always been and still is today the respected leaders of our Tribe, though many today are also corrupt. So why did God allow me to become a muslim? Am I supposed to just keep my religion and the Quran to myself for my own personal salvation, or was I chosen and a burden placed on me to share what I know and to help spread Gods message of peace and submission to him in Islam, I really dont know and I have been struggling with this question for over 5 years now. I am hoping some of you can help me think through this subject and offer me some guidance and advice. I will listen to all with patience and respect, I thank you all in advance.
Kurt
-
By acknowledging the existence of our creator, you have a choice - submit to "his" will OR face punishment. It requires a thorough knowledge of what is actually "his" will, a human would surely not judge a rational disbeliever in God who does good to deserve chastisement, so how can one expect God, the most merciful to do so?
I believe there is a simple path to uniting people in islam and making them get the message. And what is that? The straight path, of course, following the way of islam! This has the minor job description of radiating peace and love everywhere you go in return for a massive paycheck - a life of good and then an eternity of wonder.
Now remember that it is NOT incumbent on you to preach the message of "Islam". Rather, you preach the message by being a believer - enjoining others to good and showing them how good is done by doing it yourself under the rules of the loving almighty creator. In essence, all you need to do is radiate peace and love and then when it is safe and you have enough people on your side, divulge that all along you have merely been following the quran (don't stop radiating the love after either!).
If the quran is the truthful word of the almighty then you have no room for fear, and that frees up a massive amount of space for love! Oxytocin is the best drug on the planet and we are all oxytocin addicts. Withdrawal symptoms are horrid, don't prolong others' agony )
Peace!
-
Peace to all,
First, I am not a messenger or prophet of God, but I do have some questions about some verses in the Quran. IN 144 and many other verses the Quran says that GOd has sent or will send a warner to every nation on earth to teach them and warn them in their own language. It also says that God will not judge a people or hold them to account until they have been sent their warner or messenger. As many of you may know, I am the last person you would think would become a Muslim. I am from a small Native American Tribe in the middle of nowhere, and there is not a single muslim for many miles around. So I am confused why God has chosen me to find him in Islam and become a submitter/ muslim. Most in my tribe are some form of chistian/ nativist/ nature worshippers, etc. Most have no organized religion, and way to many are into drugs , alcohol, and many other types of abuses. I have been hiding my being a muslim and Islam from my people because I am scared how they will react and treat me. I also descend directly from the Crane Clan who are the traditional leaders of my Tribe, and my family has always been and still is today the respected leaders of our Tribe, though many today are also corrupt. So why did God allow me to become a muslim? Am I supposed to just keep my religion and the Quran to myself for my own personal salvation, or was I chosen and a burden placed on me to share what I know and to help spread Gods message of peace and submission to him in Islam, I really dont know and I have been struggling with this question for over 5 years now. I am hoping some of you can help me think through this subject and offer me some guidance and advice. I will listen to all with patience and respect, I thank you all in advance.
Kurt
Peace be upon you,
with all due Respect.Borhter, i know how you feel. In my own family, out of so many relatives i got in Slovenia, Bosnia, Germany, Belgium and San Francisco, i'm the only who prays and even in the very area i live there are no practising muslims. These sunnis in Slovenia (50,000) are not practising and i feel the same as you, why do only i follow Quran alone in this entire region.
I would say that this is only the evidence that God really guides whomever He wants and i also believe that we should try our best to spread The Message to our closeest ones. We should see the examples of those before us in The Quran and carefully transfer The Message of The Quran. Some people here are interested in The Quran, because i always start by telling them that Quran is authenticating previous Messages and i also tell them about the difference between muslims and sunnis.
Most people here are brainwashed. I can't help guide them. But i can talk to them and as Morpheous said to Neo"I can only sjhow you the door, you gotta walk through it."
God bless you.
Start with something small, brother.
Remember, you're an example as well.
Peace. -
Peace Kurt )
I don't think you should be confused that you have found monotheism. Maybe i am wrong, but i actually think there is a verse in the Quran that tells us that those who are guided have deserved their guidance. And everything happens for a reason (The law of cause and effect).
When it comes to revealing or hiding your beliefs, there is a lesson in this verse below
Quran 4028
And a believing man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his belief, said Will you kill a man simply for saying My Lord is God, and he has come to you with proofs from your Lord? And if he is a liar, then his lie will be upon him, and if he is truthful, then some of what he is promising you will afflict you. For God does not guide any transgressor, liar.The believing man from among the people of pharaoh had concealed his belief. God tells us that he was a believing man. So if concealing our beliefs would be against the Quran, the man would not have been called a believing man. But in the Quran god calls him a believing man even dough he actually concealed his belief. And i think the reason why he concealed his belief is because telling his people what his true beliefs are would put him in danger. However the thing which is interesting is that he supported moses when it was needed. But he had concealed his belief until moses needed help. It seems that he backed up moses by argumenting in an indirect way. What do i mean by indirect? He supported moses through the question he asked his people but still he did not reveal his beliefs. He instead used a reasonable approach and gave his people good advice. From using logic and reason, this is my understanding of the verse above. And i believe every verse and every story in the Quran is there for a reason. There are many lessons we can learn from the stories in the Quran. And from my study of the Quran, there are no verses that tell us that we have to tell our true beliefs to anyone. However, there is a story about Abraham, where he told his people what his beliefs are and then they rejected him. Even his own father rejected him. But Abraham put his belief before his family. So there is without a doubt an important lesson to learn from the story of Abraham. The lesson is relevant to this thread. But at the same time, i think we should be ready for something before we do it. Are you mentally ready for the consequences before you reveal your beliefs to family members and other people in your tribe?
What if they reject or ignore you and you become an outkast? Do you have a job or money that can support you for a while. Or what if they hurt you verbally or physically? Are you ready for that kind of treatment? I think these are questions we should ask ourselves before we reveal our true beliefs to everyone. However, i believe that when the time is right; when somebody is independent (have a job and have their own house) then i think they can reveal their beliefs. This seems like the most logical thing to do in my opinion. There is a powerful quote that we can learn from
"When the student is ready the teacher will appear"
So if you think that telling your tribe your true beliefs would put you in danger, and that they might hurt you or reject you and ignore you, then i if i were you, i wouldn't have told them that i was a muslim. At least not if i was economically dependent on them and had to live in the same area as them due to job or family etc. At the same time i think that we sometimes make an issue seem more dangereous than it actually is. We enlarge an issue and create the worst possible scenarios in our head. I have been there and done that in the past.
If people want to conceal their true beliefs i don't think there is anything wrong with that approach as long as it don't hinders them from following the laws in the quran and as long as it don't hinders them from contributing (doing good). You can still spread the message of God without telling anyone what your true beliefs about islam are. Some people even claim that by hiding your true beliefs you can reach more people when you want to spread a message. Because when you tell someone that you are a muslim (especially when you tell this to a non-muslim), you might loose before the discussion has begun. Instead of focusing on what you have to say or your arguments they will start to focus on you and you being a muslim and they will judge you because of that. They will focus on the beliefs of the person instead of the arguments. And then it will be harder for you to convince them. Because as we know, many people are very judgmental and have many prejudices. Calling ourselves muslim does not mean much in my opinion. What is on our hearts is more important. And what our beliefs and actions are is more important. Labels can not change the world. Most of the time labels actually divide people. Personally nowadays, if i am going to use any label, i think monotheism is the best label to use. The quran also tells us that we should follow the creed of abraham, be monotheists
Quran 2135
And they said Be Jewish or Nazarenes so that you may be guided! Say No, rather the creed of Abraham, monotheism;for he was not of the polytheists.However, the translation above can be wrong so we should verify it before we accept it. I am not completely sure if monotheism is the right translation. So we should be critical.
As i said earlier if concealing your beliefs do not hinders you from contributiong and from following the quran and contributing (doing good), then i think there is nothing wrong with that approach. For example you can create a website about islam and keep your true beliefs hidden. And through that website you can spread knowledge about islam based on the quran.
Sometimes we might think that by revealing our beliefs, automatically people would start to follow islam. But if we analyze the world through a realistic view we can see that this is far from reality. Because the quran tells us that we can not guide those whom we love. Its is only God that can guide people, only god can show them the true islam (2856).
Are there any benefits of telling about our beliefs? Yes. If we do not tell people about our beliefs we might miss many oppurtunities. For example you might be in a political or religious debate and by telling your beliefs publicly, likeminded people might take contact with you there and want to get to know you. Or by telling your beliefs (revealing your true identity), if you are spreading knowledge about something people might take what you say more seriously. For example if you are telling people about islam and misconceptions in it and the real message of it, then sunni or shia muslims might accept what you say more easily. Why? Because they can relate with you since you both are muslims.
If i can give you a last advice, i will tell you to listen to your intuition. You may wonder why. No matter what you decide to do, listen to your intuition. Our intuition is higly accurate. It can tell us what is right or wrong. Its an inner compass. Our intuition might not tell us what we want to hear. But it will tell us what we have to do. And what we should do is the right thing.
Much respect,
David -
Kurt,
Analyse these,
Are they not peacefull on their own way? compare your place with the so called guided muslim's places.To me nature worshiping and praising those that serves them naturally , is way better than worshipping money, false rituals, sacred mosque or some people.
If they really need the change, you will not be alone, there will many more people thinking like you, identify them and get their support.
-
For all those who are IGNORANTS........
"And the example of the disbelievers is similar to one who calls upon one that hears nothing except screaming and yelling; deaf, dumb, blind - so they do not have sense." - Quran
"And those who deny Our signs are deaf and dumb in realms of darkness; Allah may send astray whomever He wills; and may place on the Straight Path whomever He wills." - Quran(639)
"They will not be able to escape in the earth, nor do they have any protecting friends apart from Allah; they will have punishment upon punishment; they were unable to hear, nor used to see." - Quran(1120)
"And when Our verses are recited to him he haughtily turns away as if he did not hear them - as if there is deafness in his ears; so give him the glad tidings of a painful punishment." - Quran(Luqman 317) ...
Brothers....come to ISLAM .....The RIGHT & STRAIGHT PATH........
-
Salaam Ironsky,
Good advice in the previous messages.
What I would say to you is that may be you should emphasize that there is just one religion, coming from the divinity. That your ancestors' religion came from God. That all religions have gone astray and will go astray because that is the way of humans, that, in general, they deviate. We have seen it happen with every religion on earth. One has deviated this way, another one has deviated another way, but all have truth at the base.
Claim your ancestors religion, extract the best of it, and prove that that is islam.
In a sense you are lucky that you have it closer to you. In Europe, all religions or traditions earlier than christianity have plainly dissapeared. Mostly if we want to get back some of the anciente wisdom we have nowhere to get it from. We must phantasize, we must guess. Christianity may have been a blessing for its own sake, but it has also been a great curse that it has demolished every tradition previous to it. The grecoroman culture may have sipped in its own way to remain as "culture", but other than that a complete black out. I can't but laugh when christians blame muslims because they have done away with this and that. Really funny.
Of course I am not saying that you should preach or speak against christianity. What is done cannot be undone, but try to reach back what is affordable of your ancestors' spirituality. It is true, if it feels right through to your heart that is also islam, and may be that is the best way to introduce and reveal quranic wisdom. Speak in those terms, that God established no monopoly of His word and that is what the Qur'an upholds, all people have been blessed through themselves. No need of a chosen people. It may be buried, but humanity has already suffered too much because of destruction of traditions, namely and terribly in Europe. Qur'an says we all got the same religion, God warned all of us through the ages, through his messengers. Alhamdulillah. Claim your spiritual traditions, because if they have deviated, that is where the truthful Qur'an will help. That is what it was revealed for to set truth from falsehood.
I wish you all blessings in your endeavours, and as others brothers have said, relax and reveal of your own what seems most appropriate. You do not have to become a mrtyr nor a victim just for the hick of it. Service is the key. What serves your people, that is the best. No need to expose yourself if people are not going to get anything out of it. Just preach and speak the truth. You do not always need to put labels to that truth.
Best courage!
Salaam