Tired of living in a closet
-
Oh sweety,
Big hugs... it can be difficult. At my masjid I am active, but I do keep most beliefs to myself. Most label me as "ooh she is new she does not get it yet"...lol Go and learn your Quran, they can't say anything about that. I pray with my congregation, I just don't say all that they say, but we are not saying tashoud out loud. I would like to think most people on this forum will be here for you. For me this is my family and friend network. I would have lost my mind with out all the wonderful people on here. Trust me.. venting can be a good thing!
So there is hope!!! I have to be careful with my in-laws, they live in Cairo too. My greatest benefit is the ocean. My husband is not a strict sunni. He does tend to take most quran over hadith. Except the anti-christ and all those end time things. We talk but there are certain topics concerning Islam we agree to not bring up as it will cause a huge argument.
I pray you find some peace sis
Yes I really am grateful for this forum. When I first denounced sunnism, I felt so alone. I felt like nothing will ever be the same again. I suddenly felt like a foreigner among my community. Few days later I found this forum and it has helped sooo much! I'm so fortunate al hamdulilah <3.
I wish I could attend those conferences and meetups you guys do in the UK and US. Been trying to get those in Egypt on free-minds to meet for a while now but no one seems to be responding! bleh!
And I know what you mean about your husband. My husband just recently woke up to the fact that there is no second coming of Isa and all the end times stuff. He does have difficulty understanding why so many hadiths predicting the signs of judgement day are coming true. I used to struggle with that, but not anymore. Im trusting God's word over the hearsay and so-called predicitions.
But I still have different views than my husband. For example he is not quite open to the idea that Muhammad may not have been the last messenger but only the last prophet, I on the other hand, so far, think that this is true. And its a very sensitive subject to talk about and sometimes get hot and not in a good way D.
-
I not sure honestly where I stand on that, but I was writing what I have understood so far from the Quran and im just starting out on this journey. Also I would lieing if I said other quranists didn't influence that opinion. I don't think the majority do, and I wouldn't call them out and call them mushrikeen, because that's for Allah to judge, but there are some that really do almost 'worship' the prophet. Many lectures I've listened to and the sheikhs would tell the muslims they will not enter heaven if they don't truly love the prophet, and put him above all else, except Allah. They may not be praying to the prophet directly in the sense of ritualistic worship, nor depend on him for matters in life and their troubles, but sometimes sunnis and shias and put the prophet and/or his family on a pedestal.
im sorry I didn't mean to state it as fact, of course only Allah knows and like I said, this is just a preliminary assumption at best. I don't really know.
And you're right, it's not fair to say that. I apologize. I wouldn't like it if others called me a kafir or mushrik for my beliefs either.
I really relate to your original post and am glad that you put your feelings out there! I converted at the beginning of the year and I think that I will just stay to myself. I live in Indiana, United States and I dont think there is a big muslim community, however the masjid where I took my shahada I havent been to since taking it because of the very things you talked about in your post. I really do not know why I have to pray with my hair covered, and I feel absolutely silly wearing hijab to pray when I don't wear it out in the streets; of course I know I can't go to a masjid without it. I have nothing against the scarf and I wear it sometimes when I feel like it (and not in the traditional sunni way, I tie mine turban style usually...which I guess is also unacceptable in the masjid) but to me it is just an accessory like any other Jacket or hat etc...
It seems to me also that the Prophet is put on a pedestal, this is clear. I find it ironic because if you ask a Sunni directly about how they view the Prophet-- oh he is just another prophet as John and Moses and Abraham and Jes?s and Noah before him, only he is the last.....but yet every movement in their life is in someway revolved around what the Prophet Mouhammad did and said and thought,,,not around what the Prophet Mouhammad and the other 200 or so prophets did and said and thought. I mean at least in Christianity they are up front about their skirk lol. But hey man what about what God swt says for us to do and say and think? It always seems as though it is an afterthought.Question for you pixelangel--is the return of Jes?s not mentioned in the Quran I thought it was,,or maybe I assumed that it was but is this from hadith instead
-
Peace be upon you PixelAngelBaby
Imagine how nice it would be to live in a world were we could be 100% true to ourselves and express our thoughts and opinions without being criticised or condemned for it. But unfortunately such a world seems to be far far away.
I understand how you feel. It's not easy to be alone with our beliefs. It's not easy to have no one to share our beliefs with. Its not easy to be misunderstood and misinterpreted day after day. It's not easy to pretend to be something we are not, or hide who we truly are.
I remember all the times I met my friends, and tried my best to enjoy the moment fully, but even dough I had company, I was still alone. I was alone spiritually. Because my friends did not know the real me. They didn't know who I am deep inside. My heart was not united with their hearts, because our belief systems were totally different. No matter how much they thought they knew me, they never knew the true me. I guess some people will never fit in. They are destined to be alone. Aloness is their destiny. But what is this thing called aloneness? Are we ever truly alone? Or is aloness an illusion? These are questions that I have sometimes pondered on.
I once read a verse in Quran which said that a believer will experience some aloness in his path, if I remember correctly. That verse was very comforting to read because it showed me that some periods when I have been alone in my life have benefited me. I don't know if I have ever felt truly alone. Because as long as I have God with me, I can not be truly alone. Even if I was trapped in a desert, or in a mountain thousand of miles away from civilization, I would not be alone as long as God is with me. I truly believe that. How can we be alone if God is with us? A man or woman who has forgotten God, will be alone even if he or she has thousands of friends. But if someone is alone in a desert or in a mountain, and no one else is with him or her, he or she will not be alone, even if he or she stays there more than one hundred years.
Mario--I do not mind feeling alone as you do; infact I prefer to be by myself. People annoy me too much lol. The difference with me is I feel alone and I do not feel as if God is always there. It is like, theoretically I believe He is there because he is suppose to be everywhere all the time, but I do not feel as if is directly connected to me. It as if my phone rings, and I answer it, but the person on the line does not say hello---but you do not hear the the dial tone so you know someone is there. And I don't mean that literally I am expecting God to speak to me, but...as it has been discussed on this f?rum...I feel like He is just there to watch everything and that is all. I do not feel I have a unique relationship with him, or I feel the relationship is 1-sided and I don't hear anything back. I dont know if that makes sense. I don't mind it I suppose, but I just wonder how you said that you are never alone and God is always with you...I don't think I have felt that before.
-
peace PAB,
Do you have some inside info on what is going on in Egypt at the moment, i.e. demonstrations, rioting, factions, political turmoil etc?
From the news coverage I read there is apparently friction between "Islamist" and secular/liberal parties.To an outsider looking in, such as myself, I fail to see why there is so much turmoil. Surely, BOTH sides have the very basics in common, e.g. http//www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml or similar. Sure they may disagree on some things, but surely they can work together and enshrine the core stuff into law.
Perhaps I'm missing something, hence me asking you here.
-
All the "Muslim" countries are doomed to fail in any system other than a dictatorship. Democracy won't work in those countries because the majority of the people are ignorant and incapable of using logic. Only force works against ignorance. Sunni/Shi'ite religion promotes ignorance. The people either want to be fanatic "Islamists" (whatever the hell that means) or they want to go in the complete opposite direction and remove religion altogether. There is no balance. Because the sectarian Muslim way of life is unnatural. Unnatural conditions lead to moral deviance. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not speaking about each individual. I'm speaking about those societies as a whole. That's just my opinion based on all the "Muslim" countries I've visited.
-
All the "Muslim" countries are doomed to fail in any system other than a dictatorship. Democracy won't work in those countries because the majority of the people are ignorant and incapable of using logic. Only force works against ignorance. Sunni/Shi'ite religion promotes ignorance. The people either want to be fanatic "Islamists" (whatever the hell that means) or they want to go in the complete opposite direction and remove religion altogether. There is no balance. Because the sectarian Muslim way of life is unnatural. Unnatural conditions lead to moral deviance. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not speaking about each individual. I'm speaking about those societies as a whole. That's just my opinion based on all the "Muslim" countries I've visited.
hey AAMER, are you originally from an islamic country and maybe grew up in more western society? or were you totally born outside of Islamic country?
-
hey AAMER, are you originally from an islamic country and maybe grew up in more western society? or were you totally born outside of Islamic country?
Tigress,
I was born in India. Not an Islamic country but the area I come from is majority Muslim. I have spent a lot of time in Saudi Arabia but grew up in the United States. While the rest of India is really progressing, my area remains in the dark ages. I think religion is a key factor. Also look at India and Pakistan. They were both formed together. India is moving it's way up the global ladder while Pakistan remains in chaos. Israel is one tiny newly formed country and they could defeat the entire Muslim world. And it's not like Muslims are stupid. Many brilliant individuals come from a Muslim background. But they usually have to leave their countries because their talents are wasted in the Muslim world. Sectarian Islamic societies are not a conducive atmosphere for progress, development and accountability. Is it the religion? I think so. The religion promotes closed mindedness and injustice. -
Peace Pixel,
@Shirley Yes I live in Egypt actually, im aware of the dangers involved if people were to know I am a quranist. You can see why im frustrated .
Firstly, welcome to the forum
Secondly, the dangers are actually not that bad in Egypt. In fact, people who follow Quran alone are the fastest growing group in Egypt and the trend has accelerated since the so-called Islamists took power. Many years ago I was the only Egyptian I personally know with that view . Now at least one out of every five Egyptians I talk to rejects Hadiths to one extent or another. Being in Egypt you are part of this historic shift.
Egyptians have been revolting and fascist rulers have been using corrupt clergy and tyrannical Sunni dogma to quell revolt long before our time. Just look at how Mohamed Ali thwarted the Egyptian revolution of 1809 by conspiring with the clergy of Al Azhar against Omar Makram. Similarly, Nasser used the Brotherhood to quell the popular demonstrations against him demanding restoration of democracy in 1954. So the only way to save the fascist system was to give it a religious face since most Egyptians blindly follow the clergy. The military-religious alliance as represented by ?Magles Aldefa3 Alwatany? (the real ruler of Egypt not the clown Morsi) was the way to subdue the Egyptian revolution and achieve stability. However, the fascist regime didn't anticipate the following
-
By putting the religious fascists in power in a country that doesn?t have oil and has so many economic and social problems that require real intelligent solutions, the imaginary ideal of the slogan ?Islam is the Solution? proved to be a measurable real world miserable failure. This is why now the majority of Egyptians are disillusioned with the religious establishment as a whole and this made them start to question the sanctity of the clergy and established dogma. I personally know many people who just a few months ago were pro-Brotherhood and pro-Wahabis and who are now completely against them.
-
With the foolish Sunni theocrats in power, everyone started loudly hearing their idiotic Hadith-based nonsense such as breastfeeding of adults, drinking animal urine, marrying and raping children, and all sorts of stupidities. So now when someone tells you how come you don?t believe in Hadith, you can give all those examples that everyone knows and then tell them that if they believe in such crap, they should be happy with the Brotherhood and shouldn?t complain.
-
Egyptians are naturally fun-loving amazingly creative people who in time of hardship express their frustration with jokes. By getting involved in politics and taking power, the so-called Islamists turned themselves into easy targets for this natural Egyptian sarcasm. This is why Bassem Youssef in a few months succeeded in doing more damage to the Islamists than 30 years of Mubarak iron fist. In fact, the rapid deterioration of the sanctity of Sunni clergy in the past few months is UNPRECEDENTED IN HISTORY.
-
Egypt has a compartmentalized culture and this can be seen in the widespread focus on ritual and superficial appearances instead of conduct. Therefore it is not uncommon in Egypt, for example, to find even hardcore criminals performing the rituals in the Mosque and then going back to doing their crimes. People who are deeply compartmentalized lose touch with both reason and conscious and will exhibit many social ills such as low work ethic and dishonesty despite being religiously conservative. Compartmentalization had allowed these conflicting ideas to co-exist by inhibiting direct or explicit interaction between separate compartmentalized self states. This compartmentalization was broken, perhaps irreversibly, when theocratic rule became the regime and caused the public beliefs about an imaginary theocratic ideal to conflict with the measurable reality of catastrophic government failure.
This brings me to an important point about the Sunnis real underlying motives. Most Egyptians (even liberals who hate so-called Islamists) hypocritically defend Hadiths because they worry about their rituals (and thus about their comfortable compartmentalized state) with the loss of Hadiths. This is why their first question is usually how you will do the rituals without Hadiths. In my opinion, the battle of Hadiths is already being won and we should start planning for the next phase, which is the alleged rituals.
Instead of subduing the revolution and maintaining the fascist regime, by bringing religion into the mix, the fascist military-clergy alliance has created the situation where the only way for the revolution to succeed it must also become a religious revolution. I think that we are fast heading into a condition that resembles Europe before the end of the dark ages and the protestant religious revolution. The internet is playing the role of the printing press and the Egyptian jokes that are killing the sanctity of the clergy are playing the role of the plague that killed half of the clergy of the dark ages and forced commoners to find out about religion for themselves.
And yes I know arabic, a great deal but its not perfect or very polished. Its a little choppy when i talk but I can read and write and I went to an egyptian school and they teach you grammar so i have a good idea.
I was actually thinking about going to a masjid and take quran memorization sessons, for myself and so I can respond to critics or questions. Personally I'd like to so I can better understand the Quran if I have it on (in) my mind more often and it would push me to decipher it and read more into it as I memorize bit by bit.Since you can read Arabic, the following book presents the ?rituals? from the quran?s perspective and thus renders Hadiths irrelevant to begin with. You can download it from this site
Please let me know what you think.
Peace,
Ayman
-
-
Peace be upon you
Let's see if Quran tells us if it is forbidden to remain married to someone who is putting partners with God?
423-24
Forbidden to you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your aunts paternal and maternal, and a brother's daughters, and a sister's daughters; and your milk-mothers, and your milk-sisters; and the mothers of your wives; and your step-daughters - who are your foster children - born of your wives with whom you have consummated your marriage; but if you have not consummated your marriage, you will incur no sin ; and the spouses of the sons who have sprung from your loins; and to have two sisters at one and the same time - but what is past is past25 for, behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
And all married women other than those whom you rightfully possess this is God's ordinance, binding upon you. But lawful to you are all beyond these, for you to seek out, offering them of your possessions, taking them in honest wedlock, and not in fornication. And unto those with whom you desire to enjoy marriage, you shall give the dowers due to them; but you will incur no sin if, after this lawful due, you freely agree with one another upon anything behold, God is indeed all-knowing, wise.According to 424 all married women are forbidden to a man. However, lawful to you are all women beyond these (in other words all unmarried women are lawful for marriage whether they are believers or not).
243
The adulterer will only marry an adulteress or one who is an idolatress. And the adulteress, she will only be married to an adulterer or an idolater. And this has been forbidden for the believers.According to 243 adulterer or an idolater is forbidden for the believers. In other words a woman who is a believer can not marry or remained married a man who is an idolater (polytheist), someone who puts partners with God.
It seems that the verses 423 and 243 are contradicting each other. Because according to 423 a person can marry anyone as long as she is unmarried. But according to to 243 a believer (whether male or female) can not marry an idolater (polytheist). Why do the message in these two verses contradict eachother? Because one or both of the verses are mistranslated. There is no other logical explanation.
I think 243 is just a conituation of commands, the specifics. Like the verses that discourage alcohol, then later forbids it. 424 is a general command terms of social conditions for marriage. 243 is for the spiritual/deed conditions.
-
I know how you feel. I used to be so scared at first, and this is in the US. It is a major thing coming out in a traditional country. I have heard that the family of Ahmed Subhy Mansour was persecuted during mubarak's rein.
I think you should be quite and learn as much as you can, and if you feel you have learned enough and on a basis, then you could consider coming out. Otherwise, try to keep in touch online. Or try maybe to move/emigrate.
In any case, keep trying to learn, and yes if you can, try to memorize the Quran, especially the verses about Quran alone, preaching with it, and not setting up idols. Learn, knowledge is power jedi
-
All the "Muslim" countries are doomed to fail in any system other than a dictatorship. Democracy won't work in those countries because the majority of the people are ignorant and incapable of using logic. Only force works against ignorance. Sunni/Shi'ite religion promotes ignorance. The people either want to be fanatic "Islamists" (whatever the hell that means) or they want to go in the complete opposite direction and remove religion altogether. There is no balance. Because the sectarian Muslim way of life is unnatural. Unnatural conditions lead to moral deviance. Sorry if I offended anyone. I'm not speaking about each individual. I'm speaking about those societies as a whole. That's just my opinion based on all the "Muslim" countries I've visited.
I agree with you but not on the cause. Its not ignorance and the inablity to use logic for me. Many of the people there want democracy and more freedoms. But they can not foresake Islam also. They want democracy and Shariah law at the same time. They want an Islam that is compatible with a free democracy where all citizens are equal. But they want to believe that this is compatible with Islam and Shariah law.
If you look at the Islamist involved in the new post revolution Arab politics like Nahda party of Tunisia and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt they all claim they believe in a free democracy where all citizens have equal rights regardless of race, gender and ideology. But they are all following the Sunni/Shia Islam. They do not have, or rather, they do not know of any other Islam. Hence the clash between Islam and democracy since Sunni/Shia Islam was not designed for a free democracy. Sooner or later this clash will lead to a need for change since Arab societies are not going to give up on modernity.
And thats when we come in. Where there is a demand there will be a supply.
-
I agree with you but not on the cause. Its not ignorance and the inablity to use logic for me. Many of the people there want democracy and more freedoms. But they can not foresake Islam also. They want democracy and Shariah law at the same time. They want an Islam that is compatible with a free democracy where all citizens are equal. But they want to believe that this is compatible with Islam and Shariah law.
If you look at the Islamist involved in the new post revolution Arab politics like Nahda party of Tunisia and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt they all claim they believe in a free democracy where all citizens have equal rights regardless of race, gender and ideology. But they are all following the Sunni/Shia Islam. They do not have, or rather, they do not know of any other Islam. Hence the clash between Islam and democracy since Sunni/Shia Islam was not designed for a free democracy. Sooner or later this clash will lead to a need for change since Arab societies are not going to give up on modernity.
And thats when we come in. Where there is a demand there will be a supply.
There is merit in what you say. I wouldn't be sure it is 100% right, but it is right. I think that the brotherhood is simplyu politicians like in so many democracies and they use the religion for THEIR political aims and they have vested interests in keeping islam as just "their" islam and sharia law, because that is the islam that serves them They wouldn't want any other. But also, and this you say, they know they cannot push too hard, because people do want "democracy", that is, not to be abused.
May God make your forecasts right, that the tide will turn and the peoples turn to real values and truth.
Salaam
-
There is merit in what you say. I wouldn't be sure it is 100% right, but it is right. I think that the brotherhood is simplyu politicians like in so many democracies and they use the religion for THEIR political aims and they have vested interests in keeping islam as just "their" islam and sharia law, because that is the islam that serves them They wouldn't want any other. But also, and this you say, they know they cannot push too hard, because people do want "democracy", that is, not to be abused.
May God make your forecasts right, that the tide will turn and the peoples turn to real values and truth.
Salaam
Yes I believe the tide will turn whether the Muslim masses like it or not. Al Shafi used the "progressive" argument against why we can not follow the Quran alone. He basically said there will be too much diversity which he saw as division and that societies will be too liberal and free since the Quran allows different interpretation. This may have been a problem in 9th century Middle East but this is certainly an asset in 21 century Middle East. The Sunnah after all came to prevent afree and progressive society. The dictator who used to support the Sunnah is now gone. Mind you, everyday the trend is moving towards more freedom and individualism. There is no stopping this. Global communication will only increase. More and more people will be eductated. Societies will be more and more urban. More cosmopolitan. There is no way to stop this. More and more Sunni/Shia Islam will look outdated and out of step and in the wrong side of history. They have no outlet for change or reform since they are designed to resist that.
Right now the only things standing in the way on Muslim societies is Shariah law. The salafi rise will not decline. There will always be an opposite push and continous clash. Sooner than later this will lead to an unbearable situation. We won't have to go anywhere. The masses will come to us. Initially reluctantly. Like many former Sunnis who come to this forum. There is an initial hesitance as they try to maintain a conservative agenda. Conservatism by its very nature is resistant to change. There is a fear of freedom and change. This is not long lasting though. Taboos are made of glass.
-
Mario--I do not mind feeling alone as you do; infact I prefer to be by myself. People annoy me too much lol. The difference with me is I feel alone and I do not feel as if God is always there. It is like, theoretically I believe He is there because he is suppose to be everywhere all the time, but I do not feel as if is directly connected to me. It as if my phone rings, and I answer it, but the person on the line does not say hello---but you do not hear the the dial tone so you know someone is there. And I don't mean that literally I am expecting God to speak to me, but...as it has been discussed on this f?rum...I feel like He is just there to watch everything and that is all. I do not feel I have a unique relationship with him, or I feel the relationship is 1-sided and I don't hear anything back. I dont know if that makes sense. I don't mind it I suppose, but I just wonder how you said that you are never alone and God is always with you...I don't think I have felt that before.
I have been busy lately. Hence the late reply.
I can relate to what you are saying. I can't remember that I have said, in my last post, that I never feel alone. As a human being, I will off course feel alone if there are periods when I don't have contact with anyone. But I very rarely feel alone. That was my point. I think that feeling alone is related to God-conciousness. It seems that the more we are concious of God, the less we will feel alone. It seems that being concious of God is based on how far someone has reached in his or her spiritual journey. It appears that there are different levels of God-conciousness.
From my experience these things will make us more concious of the creator
Spreading the message When we strive to create islamic reform by spreading knowledge about islam and the quran we will become more concious of our creator. Our level of belief will increase and we will become better muslims. There is an old saying "As you sow so shall you reap." For example, if you sow the seed of an apple, you will get an apple tree. So, if you sow the seed of an apple you will only get apples. You can not sow the seed of an apple an expect to get bananas. If you want bananas you have to spread the seed of a banana. If you want to increase your level of belief and become a more convinced muslim, you must spread knowledge about islam and the quran. By spreading knowledge about islam and the quran, knowledge that literally can transform the minds of people, you will get positive results from your actions. "You become what you do." What you throw out in the universe will come back to you. As an example, I love sports and I especially love soccer. But If I use all of my spare time spreading information about soccer, through a website or through youtube videos, it will not benefit me spiritually. Perhaps if I dedicate my life to sports, I will follow my personal desire. If I follow my personal desire two things will happen. My level of belief will not increase (I will not become a better muslim) and I might be led astray from the straight path. So therefore I choose to have sports as an interest, but not as a way of life. Islam is "the way of life" I have adopted. By the way, I consider islam as a "way of life", not as a religion. This view is not based on a personal opinion, but it is based on the Quran. The most important thing in my life is to continue to walk in the path I have been leaded to. As a servant of God, my duty is to serve the creator. By serving the creator, I will benefit my brothers and sisters around the world. I am not here on this planet to only benefit me.I think that personal desires, personal gain, and self-interest will hinder us from reaching further in our spiritual journey.
-
Seeking knowledge When we increase our knowledge, we will see God's signs in nature and within our self. Then we will become more concious of God. It is is important that we seek knowledge which is related to islam and the quran. For example, if I only seek information about soccer, it will not benefit me spiritually. My level of belief will not increase, and I will not become. If I want my level of belief to increase and if I want become a better muslim, then I should seek knowledge about islam and study the quran. "You become what you read."
-
Doing good deeds When we help others and make their lives better, our own lives will become better and we will become more concious of our creator. A true believer is not only a teacher, but he or she is also a doer. What we do counts more than what we say. Deeds are more powerful than words. Actually someones deeds reveal everything about who they are. Words can be deceptive. If we want to know the character of a man or a woman, and know how sincere he or she is, we must look at his or her deeds. If someone spreads knowledge about islam and the quran, but does not do any good deeds she will not reach her full potential. If however, someone spreads knowledge about islam and the quran, and also does good deeds, her contributions will become a full circle. If she spreads knowledge about islam and the quran and goes to poor country in africa or asia to build a school, an orphanage or a hospital then she is contributing fully to the state of mankind. Action is the most powerful argument on earth. No one can argue against deeds. Throughout history, many politicians have spoken about peace but started wars. Their words were good, but their deeds were evil. A man who speak good words but do bad deeds is not a good man. Only a man who does good deeds is a good man.
"When deeds speak, words are nothing."
- African Proverb
Whosoever is seeking pride, then know that to God belongs all Pride. To Him ascend the good words, and He elevates the good deed. And as for those who scheme evil, they will have a painful retribution, and their scheming will fail. Quran 3510
-
-
I have been busy lately. Hence the late reply.
I can relate to what you are saying. I can't remember that I have said, in my last post, that I never feel alone. As a human being, I will off course feel alone if there are periods when I don't have contact with anyone. But I very rarely feel alone. That was my point. I think that feeling alone is related to God-conciousness. It seems that the more we are concious of God, the less we will feel alone. It seems that being concious of God is based on how far someone has reached in his or her spiritual journey. It appears that there are different levels of God-conciousness.
From my experience these things will make us more concious of the creator
Spreading the message When we strive to create islamic reform by spreading knowledge about islam and the quran we will become more concious of our creator. Our level of belief will increase and we will become better muslims. There is an old saying "As you sow so shall you reap." For example, if you sow the seed of an apple, you will get an apple tree. So, if you sow the seed of an apple you will only get apples. You can not sow the seed of an apple an expect to get bananas. If you want bananas you have to spread the seed of a banana. If you want to increase your level of belief and become a more convinced muslim, you must spread knowledge about islam and the quran. By spreading knowledge about islam and the quran, knowledge that literally can transform the minds of people, you will get positive results from your actions. "You become what you do." What you throw out in the universe will come back to you. As an example, I love sports and I especially love soccer. But If I use all of my spare time spreading information about soccer, through a website or through youtube videos, it will not benefit me spiritually. Perhaps if I dedicate my life to sports, I will follow my personal desire. If I follow my personal desire two things will happen. My level of belief will not increase (I will not become a better muslim) and I might be led astray from the straight path. So therefore I choose to have sports as an interest, but not as a way of life. Islam is "the way of life" I have adopted. By the way, I consider islam as a "way of life", not as a religion. This view is not based on a personal opinion, but it is based on the Quran. The most important thing in my life is to continue to walk in the path I have been leaded to. As a servant of God, my duty is to serve the creator. By serving the creator, I will benefit my brothers and sisters around the world. I am not here on this planet to only benefit me.I think that personal desires, personal gain, and self-interest will hinder us from reaching further in our spiritual journey.
-
Seeking knowledge When we increase our knowledge, we will see God's signs in nature and within our self. Then we will become more concious of God. It is is important that we seek knowledge which is related to islam and the quran. For example, if I only seek information about soccer, it will not benefit me spiritually. My level of belief will not increase, and I will not become. If I want my level of belief to increase and if I want become a better muslim, then I should seek knowledge about islam and study the quran. "You become what you read."
-
Doing good deeds When we help others and make their lives better, our own lives will become better and we will become more concious of our creator. A true believer is not only a teacher, but he or she is also a doer. What we do counts more than what we say. Deeds are more powerful than words. Actually someones deeds reveal everything about who they are. Words can be deceptive. If we want to know the character of a man or a woman, and know how sincere he or she is, we must look at his or her deeds. If someone spreads knowledge about islam and the quran, but does not do any good deeds she will not reach her full potential. If however, someone spreads knowledge about islam and the quran, and also does good deeds, her contributions will become a full circle. If she spreads knowledge about islam and the quran and goes to poor country in africa or asia to build a school, an orphanage or a hospital then she is contributing fully to the state of mankind. Action is the most powerful argument on earth. No one can argue against deeds. Throughout history, many politicians have spoken about peace but started wars. Their words were good, but their deeds were evil. A man who speak good words but do bad deeds is not a good man. Only a man who does good deeds is a good man.
"When deeds speak, words are nothing."
- African Proverb
Whosoever is seeking pride, then know that to God belongs all Pride. To Him ascend the good words, and He elevates the good deed. And as for those who scheme evil, they will have a painful retribution, and their scheming will fail. Quran 3510
Beautiful .
-
-
Maybe it is some relief to know that the Prophets suffered too, like Ibrahim had a father who believed in idols and he could never convert him even despite praying, and Nuh had a son who disbelieved and a wife who was noted as not a good lady. Musa was surrounded by bad people, even among those he was trying to help. In the Bible, Job's friends all betrayed him and blamed him for his illness. Jesus had almost no one either, and on and on. It seems to be made that way, that the sincere are few and far between and the majority are always believing silly things.
For me, it isn't so much about relief noting that, but accepting the way reality is and coming to terms with it. Its undoubtedly hateful, and you're not wrong to feel bad about a bad situation, but such were the situations in the past too
2214
do you think that you could enter paradise without having suffered like those who passed away before you? Misfortune and hardship befell them, and so shaken were they that the apostle, and the believers with him, would exclaim, "When will God's succour come?" Oh, verily, God's succour is near!Someday you might move out of the closet, and into a spacious cupboard or pantry.
