What does Islam mean to you
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My name is Carrie.
I am newly converted to Islam.
I just wanted to say hi to everyone and open a discussion as noted above.
This is a question that I posted on BeliefNet board but did not have much of a response.
This is My opinion only, for I am far from an expert, however being new to Islam I come without preconceptions of what is required simply because of years of tradition/culture rather than what I have read in the Qu'ran.
Islam stands for sumbmission to God. Surrendering ones heart to God and having doubtless faith in HIM.
I have come across repeatedly that what is required to please God is to submit to him as one God, to do good works and to believe in the Last Day . This is sufficient to gain favor for the afterlife and is extended to both the Jews and the Christians because while they have been misguided they are still People of the Book and believers.
?Those who believe, and those who are Jewish, and the Sabiens, and the Nazarenes; whoever of them believes in God and the Last Day and does good works, then they will have nothing to fear nor will they grieve.? (Qu'ran 569)
Being a believer and submitting to one God,doing good works and believing in the Last Day is what initially makes you a Muslim.
The second stage to this would be to become one of the righteous. This entails the following rules for following the Straight Path as noted in the firm verses of the Qu'ran.
?Come let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden for you that you should not set up anything with Him; and be kind to your parents; and do not kill your unborn children for fear of poverty, We provide for you and for them; and do not come near lewdness, what is plain of it or subtle; and do not kill the soul which God has forbidden, except in justice. That is what He enjoined you that you may comprehend.?
?And do not come near the money of the orphan, except for what is best, until he reached his maturity; and give honestly full measure and weight equitably. We do not burden a soul except by what it can bear, and if you speak then be just even if against a relative; and regarding the pledges made to God, you shall observe them. This He has enjoined you that you may remember.?
And this is My path, a Straight One. ?So follow it, and do not follow the other paths lest they divert you from His path. That is what He has enjoined you to that you may be righteous.? (Qu'ran 6151-153)The righteous would also be required to follow additional rules such as fasting, Salat, Charity, Hajj ect.
I think that however, it is important to note that as a person grows in their knowledge and faith that they will also grow in their righteousness.
I do not think that one is expected to blindly accept others interpretation of the appropriate way to practice the teachings of Islam. Or that one would be expected, in their infancy stages of learning, to following all of the rules from the very beginning. It would be like expecting a child to run before they can crawl.
I believe that Islam is a journey in developing a closeness with God and that one must first understand in order to effectively practice.
And is it not said in the Qu'ran
"You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them." (Qu'ran 1736 )
This is what Islam is to me.
Peace and Blessings Carrie )
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Zenje and MazzyStar
Thank you for the warm welcome.
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Peace Carrie,
Welcome aboard. You've answered pretty much in your above summarized version of "What does Islam mean to you", which almost all of us here on this board believe in.
The rest is simply navigating this forum for additional and indept collective information which many talented members have thoughfully presented, some of which are continued ongoing discussions to better understand our Ways of Life as per the Natural System of GOD, spiritually and physically.
Looking forward to your paritcipation and presentations.
GOD Bless.
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My name is Carrie.
I am newly converted to Islam.
I just wanted to say hi to everyone and open a discussion as noted above.
This is a question that I posted on BeliefNet board but did not have much of a response.
Carrie, May Allah Grace His Peace upon Us!
You wrote
"You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them." (Qu'ran 1736 )You are not a new convert! You are original mumin in my view. I embrace you in Islam.
drfazl
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Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome.
I am very happy to have found a site that is geared towards the beliefs in my post.
I have not had the greatest reception from Traditionalist Muslims.When I first converted I thought great.....It will be me , my Quran and Allah as Islam talks about there being no intecessors. I found this very appealling as I have always felt that too many Christian religions are more about politics than they are about religion.
It soon became clear however, that according to traditionalist, that this is not how it works at all. Now there is the community, the imans, the tradions, the culture all pressing down on you. It was so becoming so murky, hard to find the disctinction between what was practiced becasue it was written in the Quran or becasue years of passed down Tradition/Culture.
I am so thankful for this site.
Peace
Carrie -
Salaamun alaikum Carrie, everyone
CarrieIt soon became clear however, that according to traditionalist, that this is not how it works at all. Now there is the community, the imans, the tradions, the culture all pressing down on you. It was so becoming so murky, hard to find the disctinction between what was practiced becasue it was written in the Quran or becasue years of passed down Tradition/Culture.
The irony is, Al-Quraan's FIRST address to 'those who believe' is to tell them to say 'do not herd us' (treat us like cattle). Direct experience of God is most necessary to advance in Islam, yet it the very nature of Sunnism is to deny this.
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peace and welcome to you carrie,
this is the view, i think, of most of those on this forum. i may only add this, or put the same in additional expression saying that the Book, God's revelations actually provides a life orientation, a way of life where rules adn regulations set for a specific time and place may not nessecerily be ideal for other times and places. the most important thing is the Orientation we adopt to live in accordance with. Rulesa re lately formualted and regulations to run a society are established step by step and according to community needs but are based on the Principles of the Orienation the members of the society have accetped.
this establishing step by step is actaully a refelction of the evolvement of the society itself (or the individual). but we should not forget NO FORCING is acceptable.
peace to you all,
mh
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Salaams Carrie,
I don?t think the two words, submission and surrender, can describe Islam. Doesn?t the word submission engage a negative feeling? I used to think that ?surrender? is perhaps a better word but now they feel the same to me. There is something negative about them. There is no willingness and no dignity there. When you give in, it means to me that you have lost! Or that there is some sort of a battle there!
My understanding of Islam is that it is the love of Allah and the love for Allah. It is when you love Allah so much that you give your all to HIM, willingly, lovingly.
Islam is love based on awareness, not weakness or ignorance. The more you are aware of Allah, the more your love will show in your actions, in your appreciation and gratitude, the more you will be a Muslim.Taj
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Peace Carrie
When I first came across this forum and the concept of believing in the Quran only, I considered myself a convert. I have been brought up in a traditional muslim family. There are many practices that I now realised are not from the Quran and which I have been doing blindly. Now almost all my family follow the Quran only. So Even though I have been a Muslim for so many years I found myself new to this way of life. I agree with TAJ who says that love is an important element in our everyday life. When there is love, there is the willingness to please and do good to your surrounding and at the same time follow God's word to do good and to believe in Him alone. -
Thank you to everyone who replied.
Anyone else care to post a view? I am always interested to hear opinions, even those which are in opposition to what I believe. This is the only way that we ever learn anything.
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Peace be upon you,
"Islam" means peaceful submission to the WHOLE. To work in unison with all things so there will be peace.
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Peace,
Anyone else care to post a view? I am always interested to hear opinions, even those which are in opposition to what I believe. This is the only way that we ever learn anything.
We are riding the same boat...I was born a Muslim, but I haven't understood the whole system we call Islam.
I have understood God however and God is love, the best thing? in the entire universe, awesome, cool, nice, helpful and the list goes on....God rocks!
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Anyone else care to share view?
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peace to all,
i believe islam means to submit my heart and mind to Allah......to believe in Him as One God without associating otherswith Him or as equal to Him; islam has become a peaceful way of life since i found this website; i'm very thankful to Layth, Zenji, AmeenR and mquran who i met in a paltalk chatroom and they invited me to this site........changed my life for the better, May Allah reward them all.
anyway, i think as long as we uphold The God's laws as best we can, treat people kindly, remember Him, believe and do good works we will be ok, God Willing.........it's hard to stay on the straight path all the time but we can always come back and ask for forgiveness, guidance, blessings. Also we should remember to thank Him. in short i feel its important to have a clean heart and mind.peace
