Can You Believe This???!!
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Peace Y'all,
I have something that I need to get off my chest. After two and a half years of following the path of GOD Alone and Quran Alone and trying to wake up the people around us in our hometown, my wife and I have finally decided to call it quits. We wanted to start a community here that is based strictly on GOD Alone.....a community who's strength and unity is based on sincere and humble monotheism. We have went to almost every Mosque and every Imam in Pittsburgh with the hopes that someone would wake up and see the light.
In the last two years we have managed to reach only three people, neither of which are willing to uphold this truth and help to promote it to others. One of them (my wifes friend) agrees with the message but still does the sunni prayers and goes to the sunni mosques and still practice and uphold all the things that makes a sunni a sunni. My wifes other friend is not willing to take charge and tell the rest of the sunnis that she is willing to give up sunnism. And a long time friend of mine has some serious issues that's preventing him from becoming a serious striver in GOD's cause. All three of these people have their own sets of baggage that is in the way of their own personal progress let alone being willing and able to establish the life that's needed.
7 years ago, a former acquaintence of my wife did indeed approach us with the Quran Alone message and we denied and ignored it. Come to find out that she was getting it from someone else and she wasn't even serious about it because now she is a full-fledged salafi who doesn't want to have anything to do you if your not following the sunnah!! Goes to show.......
Anyway, two weeks ago my wife just so happened to run into the girl who was feeding my wifes friend the Quran Alone and GOD Alone message and they started conversating because she noticed that my wife is no longer wearing the hijab. It was in that conversation that everything came to light. What makes it so funny is that this young lady happens to live in my neighborhood. Who knew?? Or who would've guessed?? She and my wife have been keeping in touch and talking on the telephone. She said that there are many people here in Pittsburgh that are monotheists...some come from a Christian background, some from a so-called muslim background, and even some from a background with the 5% Nation of Islam (those from the east coast may know about this. They are mainly concentrated in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.)
Here is the gripe that I have though. This person has been on this path for at least the last 7 or 8 years an she says that she and the others get together for Salat, Quran Study Sessions and even have dinner at each other's homes. What gets me upset is the fact that they seem to be content with this sort of set-up and they have no way of people reaching out to them when they too come to this path. Before my wife had ran into her, we truly were under the impression that we were the only monotheists in Pittsburgh. This changes nothing. We still plan to leave here because I believe it's a problem that there are people who profess monotheism here and absolutely no one knows about them. They have no established community and they have no way of others knowing about them and reaching out to them for support and sharing info. And they don't seem to be active at all when it comes to spreading GOD's Message. This is why I'm upset.
I am not satisfied with being a monotheist and that's all there is to it. We are absolutely 100% duty bound to spread this message to the best of our talents and abilities!!!
I am very sorry to rant and rave like this, but I had to get it out of my system. On a closing note I will say this. I am a Pittsburgh native. Born and raised here. I can tell you that there is a standard Pittsburgh mentality that can only be described as CLIQU'ISH. There is a huge cliqu'ish mentality that plaques the city of Pittsburgh. And that is a huge problem.
There is so much more that I can say concerning this whole situation, but I would be at this keyboard forever.
Thanx for your time and patience....I just felt a need to vent a little.
Peace be with y'all.
GOD Alone/Quran Alone,
Damon. -
Salaams Damon,
sorry Br. but i honesty don't think there is anything wrong in praying in the traditional sense , except may be you would probably be wasting a lot of useful time .Everybody has the right to dig holes in the earth and keep on filling them,whether you do five or a hundred does it realy matter,we still shouldn't see them anything other then brothers in islam.
They arn't doing anything to harm anybody or anything surely,then again they could utilise there brain power and their time to improve themselves and evrything around them instead.
As everybody else seems to have started to do.Which is what Allah is telling us to do i think.
Salaams , God Bless.
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Peace Damon,
I'm definitely feeling what you have to say. Just remember not everyone is as strong as you and your wife. Also, not everyone is as good at expressing themselves and getting their point across without looking like a fool. A lot of sunnis have a cult mentality and a lot of times it's hard to break away from that, especially when on many occasions, Sunnis take it so personal that you have a difference of opinion. Personally, I think it will be like that wherever you go. If people choose to remain blind to the message, that's their choice. Like it says in the Quran, God places a seal over their hearts. This movement of going back to God Alone is not going to spread overnight, and it might take generations to get past this grass roots underground thing, just as long as it took for people to get away from God Alone. It's going to take faith, good education, strong wills, and perseverance and a united front for this message to spread. Stay strong, bro. Peace be with you.
ThaPhenom
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Peace Damon,
I really can understand your fustration, but when you consider that this forum has just a worldwide membership of 700 odd folk, i think the word we have to use for the 'God Alone' movement is embryonic.
It will always be difficult to emancipate people from their ingrained cultural safety zones.
The 'God Alone ' path is yet a lonely one, in regards to numerical numbers of us. Though alone physically we may be, it is important to keep recognising that we are joined and eternally guided on this path by God.
Keep on keepin' on brother
Pilgrim. )
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Peace Damon,
It's been roughly 3-4 years since I have been a God alone follower (though arguably I was never anything other). I have lived in 4 different cities in that time and you have to believe me that there was no difference between them as far as mentality in matters of belief went.
People are people everywhere. What I found was that in my daily life I could invite to the way quite successfully just in my daily encounters. This was hardly ever to sunnis or traditionalists. I'd talk broadly about things and put in the word about God and the true message when it was appropriate. This would happen at my places of work, taxi cabs, anywhere where there was a person to share the message with.
Most people belong to an man made organised religion and my comments would usually begin by stating the corruption of this form of belief and its negative aspects. I always state that I believe in God but that I do not allow myself to be led by men's ego trips in the form of organised religion etc. Anyway you get the idea.
Yesterday I ordered a copy of Muhammad Asad's translation from Amazon - the only major translation I don't have and was surprised by the location of the subsidiary that shipped the book. It was a shop by the name of "Noble Books"...
We are a specialized bookstore carrying books on Islam and Muslims.
Thanks once again for your order from The Noble Book Foundation,
366 South Bouquet St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213Have you any information on them at all or have you visited the shop? I have found some people who deal with books to be very tolerant of different ideas. Maybe they would listen to the God alone message?
I think you certainly have an advantage somewhat in living in the USA. Why not meet up with another US free-minds member for a day or two to see what it's like elsewhere. I think you'll find that it's pretty much the same everywhere. Unfortunately I live in a place with a dearth of muslims let alone God alone muslims, but I take opportunities to invite to the way when I visited the local masjid during ramadan last year.
Are there any other people from Pittsburgh on the forum? I've noticed there was a 'Neil Maybanks' who lived in the same city as myself, but it seems he has not posted here for a while.
So loneliness is in the nature of this, persevere and I'm sure you'll find that things improve.
Regards.
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Peace be with you Truth,
Yesterday I ordered a copy of Muhammad Asad's translation from Amazon - the only major translation I don't have and was surprised by the location of the subsidiary that shipped the book. It was a shop by the name of "Noble Books"...
We are a specialized bookstore carrying books on Islam and Muslims.
Thanks once again for your order from The Noble Book Foundation,
366 South Bouquet St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213Have you any information on them at all or have you visited the shop? I have found some people who deal with books to be very tolerant of different ideas. Maybe they would listen to the God alone message?
WOW, it really is a small world, isn't it??!! Yes, I am a long time customer of the Noble Book Foundation. When I was still a sunni, I would visit him every other friday after Jumah to buy some new books. The owners first name is Mazen. I never knew his last name...but he's from Syria and he's a really good brother. Soft spoken, mild manner, humble, a really pleasant person to be around.
What's even more funny is that he is the one that I got my copy of Muhammad Asad translation from. Two years ago when I first came to this path, brother Zlatan recommended that I get a copy of Muhammad Asad translation. I went on the internet to see who had it and Noble Books popped up. I gave him a call and asked him to put a copy aside for me. I payed like $40 and some change for it.
Sadly, that was the last time that I've been there as it was at the beginning stages of my journey to GOD Alone and Quran Alone. I don't know what his major is, but he's actually a student at Pitt University. His house and bookstore are in the same neighborhood as the school.....it's in Oakland which is uptown.
I guess I can try and pay him a visit and see if I can spark up the appropriate conversation. How would you all suggest that I approach him with this?? He's a few years older than I am and being that he's from an Arabic speaking country he may not be humble enough to accept what I am advocating. Unfortunately alot of Arabs have this superiority complex when it comes to matters of Islam and it's even worse when they are dealing with a young African-American who they may see as being somewhat beneath them.
Salaam,
Damon. -
Peace Damon,
Please don't take this the wrong way, but maybe proselytizing isn't the way to go. As Truth eluded, the God-Alone message can be spread in subtle, and perhaps more effective ways. It might be wise to pick and choose your spots, to wait for the right opportunity to spread the message verbally.
I sincerely admire your focus and committment, bro. I would think that if you channeled that energy in the right direction, you could truly make a difference. Again, to echo Truth's comments, people are people. They get caught up in routines and habits. We are creatures of comfort, and breaking the mold we've been programmed into takes a lot of work. Perhaps it isn't worth the frustrations you're experiencing.
The thought has crossed my mind recently of establishing some sort of learning center in the not too distant future. Whenever I daydream about winning the Mega-Millions jackpot, I imagine, among other things, building a school/library/community center, where people can gather not to worship, but to learn and exchange ideas. I imagine regular lectures, and guest speakers, and readings of articles posted on sites like free-minds. I imagine volunteer opportunities, to feed the homeless, to help people get on their feet, to take in orphans, a daycare center, a language center, a multi-cultural studies center, etc. I imagine all this at the community level, here in NJ, and I imagine that this one center would be a model for other centers to start popping up all over the country, and all over the world. It would be a center, not of one idealogy, but of many ideas under the umbrella of God-Alone, of Unity, of the One-ness of the universe. Then I realize that I only have 4 hours left to get some sleep time before I have to get up and go back to work.
I guess my point is, you can't turn poison ivy into olive trees. You have to plant the seeds for the next generation, which is already upon us.
If you build it, they will come wink
Just my humble thoughts.
Peace,
Tay -
Salaam Tay,
Great post, excellent wisdom and advice.
Just to be sure that everyone understands the point that I was trying to make in my first post, my gripe is not that the sunnis here are not interested in The GOD Alone message. My gripe is the fact that there is a group of GOD Alone believers here in Pittsburgh and we found out about them through a chance encounter.
My gripe is that they only keep to themselves!! They show no interest in doing any of those great things you mentioned in your post above. Logically speaking, these people as well as me and my wife cannot truly be the only monotheists in Pittsburgh. But anyone else here who is would never know that such people do in fact exist in Pittsburgh because they have no way of networking and letting other monotheists know that they have a community to reach out to.
The way that the young lady had put it, there is a very sizable group of people here that she keeps in touch with who subscribes to the GOD Alone message, and yet........
When all is said done brother Tay, I now realize that the advice you gave is the best advice there is concerning this situation. Insha'allah I'll do it that way.
Salaam.
GOD Alone/Quran Alone,
Damon. -
gripe is the fact that there is a group of GOD Alone believers here in Pittsburgh and we found out about them through a chance encounter.
Damon
We've never met but I love you like a brother - and as a brother in islam I say this to you -
There is no such thing as a 'chance' encounter. It shows a lack of humility on your part to believe that such a thing only occured by chance. Allah, your creator and sustainer chose this moment to reveal to you the presence of other believers in your home city. And He did so only after you had made the effort (jihad) to seek out others through all the mosques and imams you visited. Doesnt that tell you something?
Settle your anger - unite with these people and draw close to them, overlook their faults and pray they overlook yours.
I doubt I need to provide you with the ayats to support the above sentence bro! - just thank Allah for this great opportunity.
god bless you man and forgive my forthright tone
asdfjk
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Peace be upon yo uDamon,
Lead that group by YOUR example. If you are around them and set the tone, perhaps they will follow your lead. But remember, PATIENCE is a big part of this System/Order. The God says His help comes through Patience and the process of learning(salaat).
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Salaam Damon and everyone,
Thanks for sharing your experience and everyone else on their views/experiences. I think most of it has already been said. I was just going to add -
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And be patient, for your patience is on none but God. And do not grieve for them, and do not be depressed by what they scheme.
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You cannot guide whom you love. But it is God who guides whom He wills; and He is fully aware of those who receive the guidance.
My gripe is that they only keep to themselves!!
First of all, remember that not everyone can spread the message or be a messenger. Some people fear people more than they fear God. Some people are content knowing that they are on the path, and that's enough, they only have to answer for themselves after all. Some people get into the fetal position and decide to stay there. Some people think they are guided, but they are not... I echo 'truth' and Tay here - people are people. You can only do so much to show them the way. After that, it's not really up to you... whether any of us like it or not. Expect the same reaction wherever you may go, atleast then you won't be too dissappointed. winkMe?.. I 'convinced' one person after 2 years. My brother. These days, I don't try so hard as I used to. The responses are pretty much the same. But once in a while I get someone who's actually willing to listen (as opposed to preaching!). And then once in a blue moon, I find another person following God alone. This mainly happens on Yahoo chat, since I don't visit the mosque anymore and I don't know many people here as it is.
Today, my brother had a 'fight' with my dad. It went something like this. My dad was prescribing some weird concoction of a medicine (somehow based on sunniism) to his wife who wasn't feeling well. My brother couldn't stop himself from telling him, that was shirk! Well, you can guess what happened from there. My dad started saying something about my bro not knowing arabic and went downhill from there. ? This is the reason I don't even mention deen when I talk with my dad anymore.
One last thing I wanted to mention about spreading the message... there's a member who doesn't post here anymore (I would prefer to keep him anonynous). This guy gives 'lectures' to people from all walks of life every week, on God alone. He's been doing this for some years. He arranges for everything, sometimes, at a hall or any gathering place. Up to now, he has done approximately 600 'lectures'. Sometimes he doesn't even use quran verses in his lectures. Some sunnis have changed their ways. Some hindus even stopped going to their temples after listening to him. Recently he even 'converted' an ulama who studied "Islam" in egypt for several years. When I heard this, I was just in shock! shock Here we are talking, discussing, dissecting, lamenting... while people are seriously doing. I don't know if I'm getting my thoughts across very well here. It's also worthy to mention that this person lives in a country where the "sunni/shia muslims' practice their religion vehemently. Not only that, he has been threatened several times. I just thought I'd share this bit of info with you guys. When I first heard this just about 2-3 weeks ago, it just blew my mind and changed my view on things.
Anyway, thats all I have for now, I hope most of it makes sense. Damon, my brother, don't let it frustrate you, I know it's easier said than done, but put your trust in God and just do what you got to do.
Peace.
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peace brothers Damon & Truth, All,
I ordered my copy of Asad's translation about 3 weeks ago and received it today. Its bigger than I thought it would be. Its 7 volumes in one big book, 1200 pages.
It states its from "the book foundation" and they are registered/based in the UK.http//thebook.org/
Wakas
