I?m a stand up guy. I looked up, saw the bus was going the wrong way so I...
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?I?m a stand up guy. I looked up, saw that the bus was going the wrong way so I stood up, pulled the cord and got off the bus.?
I was born in a Muslim family ? both my parents converted to Islam from Christianity in the late 70?s. I grew up in a tightly knit Sunni-Muslim community and perpetual brotherhood with fellow believers across the world. handshake Camaraderie with Ahki?s in the community was stressed. I grew up learning & reciting Quranic surahs and learning & reciting the many stories, legends and superstitions of Sunni Islam. I recall some of them, such as don?t clap or whistle - you call the >jinn when you do that. Stay away from dogs, especially black ones with watch patches under there necks for they are Shayateen (Satan Dogs.) There are too many to list but as I grew into my early teenage years I discovered I was blessed had a melodious singing voice. A brother I used to look up to for his singing skills told me he stopped making music altogether because all music is Haram. He suggested that I stop too before I got to into it. Others said that ?male vocals are not Haram but musical instruments are.? Others said that ?male and female can?t be heard together in harmony.? ?Only Nasheeds are Halal.? ?Lucifer in the Bible was a brilliant singer, therefore singing is bad!? None of this info was backed by Quran but it was nonetheless confusing confusedbecause I had been taught that Hadith were vital to a Muslim because with the Quran alone ? you know nothing yeah. You had to have the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to be a complete Muslim.
I continued to proudly label myself Sunni Muslim or orthodox, if you will, into adulthood because I felt that it was Islam in its purest form (not a sect) unlike the other sects across the globe. And believe me I am a very well read young man and would not follow a way with out knowing the history of a thing I was too blinded by the truth of Islam and the myth of equality and brotherhood to see the lies mixed in. However, I was in a paradox. I was becoming an arrogant ignore yet pious American Muslim angel, content with my beliefs and slightly judgmental yet open minded of other believers. Furthermore, I was not quite sure if music, which was somehow wired in my DNA was even permissible for me to enjoy/perform. However, I also continued to ask Allah to guide my heart and tongue to the straight path as I have since my pre-teen years.
When I went away for college, my awakening was sprouted and eventually came to fruition. In my freshman year I was humbled by my first glimpse of racism in the ranks of Islam. I was very involved in the MSA among other organizations at the University. I frequently attended Halaqas and even though I lived way off campus on the other side of town, I made prayers in congregation at the local Masjid as much a possible. One night, the iqama for Isha was called and no one stepped up to lead prayer. We waited for several seconds and no one stepped forward, so I did and the elder of the masjid reluctantly allowed me to lead. I lead the prayer like I did most of my life, recited a few of the same surahs (I pronounced a couple of words wrong during Surah Dhuha) I did in other settings with no problems. Once we finished prayer, the elder stood up and said that for an American, my Arabic grammar was great but not good enough to lead prayer and that according to Hadith the Salat must be made over being lead by one with a better grasp of Arabic. brickwall This started a large uproar in the masjid with most people arguing over the elder?s decision. I couldn?t but come to tears over this humiliating situation. In the end half the brothers said that the prayer I made would suffice and argued with another Hadith that The Messenger (pbuh) was an unlettered one. Those immigrants that defended made me feel slightly better. The elder and several others made Isha over. Ironically, I was a friend of the elder?s son and he came to me and apologized for his father saying he is just an old immigrant stuck in the ways of the past. I saw not only a racial/ethnic divide but a generational one rearing its ugly head before my eyes (who doesn't see the gender disparities?). However, I continued to attend that masjid until I transferred back to my home state university a year or so later.
At my state university, I joined the MSA and became even more involved than before. There I would see first hand a Shiite pray totally different than a Sunni and discuss it with my fellow students. Arguments would ensue between us and them about which Jumaat was the chosen one jedi. The older Shiite would tell us youngsters not to be so sure that we are the chosen group spoken of in the Hadith. Among ourselves we would hold discussions of ways to be closer to The Prophet such as wearing our pants at the ankles and growing are beards thicker so that we could be the chosen ones out of the 70 plus sects group.
My beliefs were shaken forever when I attended Halaqa one night and the discussion was performing Wudu for prayer. Were we reading from the Quran that you are to wash your face, hands to elbows, head and feet to ankles. However, the teacher kept insisting that you must wash your mouth, nose, ears and neck 3 times each. He kept beating it across like I was a new convert that I must follow the parenthesis (in English translation) to be rightly guided elektro. I had known for a time that the way I was taught to cleanse before prayer was not what the Quran teaches but I blindly ignored this truth. However, the teacher?s insistence on the Quran not being complete and sufficient really made me self ?reflect on my life long beliefs ? Sunni Islam is a sect and all sects are forbidden. I was then compelled to follow the Allah?s Word alone and to shy away from shaky Hadith and traditions ? no other Hadith is need accept The Kitab, Al Quran!!! ! Praise Allah for guiding me and others to the true Hikmah. May He protect me from being judgmental and becoming arrogant because just I feel I like I have become enlightened for Allah?s nur can be taken away and I?ll again be lead astray? peace
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Peace hak solo,
Welcome to Free-minds bro. Looks like you're an interesting guy to chat with... Looking forward to your participation in the discussions.
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Nice to meet you Hak, I have also found that the Islamic world is seething with racism, prejudice and misdirection. though they talk a nice game, you will often encounter situations where their true beliefs are laid bare. Their minds have been so corrupted, the quran just goes over their heads.
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Peace hak solo,
Welcome to Free-minds bro. Looks like you're an interesting guy to chat with... Looking forward to your participation in the discussions.
Thank you - it is good to be here. I look forward to mingling with like minds. I have been a longtime reader of the articles here on Free-Minds, it will be interesting to chat here as well.
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Nice to meet you Hak, I have also found that the Islamic world is seething with racism, prejudice and misdirection. though they talk a nice game, you will often encounter situations where their true beliefs are laid bare. Their minds have been so corrupted, the quran just goes over their heads.
Well I most definitely agree. Its almost as if the Quran pales in caparison to their fiqh and traditions. It has gotten to the point where the "sunnah" is no longer adjunct to the message of the Quran but it is held at an equal or even higher esteem in some circles. This standpoint is bound to warp the perspective of followers caught up in the dogmatic and backwards guidelines of the madhabs. When you serve two masters at some point you must choose - many are choosing to stick with their father's traditions and following the crowd than to stick with the Quran and worshipping Allah alone. Maybe because of the fact they see "the crowd" daily but they cannot see Allah that they choose to disregard The Message in favor of what is pleasing to men.
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?I?m a stand up guy. I looked up, saw that the bus was going the wrong way so I stood up, pulled the cord and got off the bus.?
Congratulation...you made the right decision.
Now, Make sure to not get on the wrong bus again. As God always tell us, Satan and his followers will always be out there; they will try to make us take the wrong bus.
My advice to you is to not follow any advice that is not in Quran.
May God bless and protect you from going astray.
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welcome sir
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Dear Hak
You are not the only one, who has gone , is going thru or will go thru this dillemma in life.
I was introduced to a translation on line at www.ourbeacon.com section QXPiv and when I read it cover to cover along side two other translations, it was quite an eye opener.
There are still several issues with this on line translation, but here the translator has used a lot more sensible arguement in support of his rendition then what we see so many other times. If you choose to read it, please compare to some other also and look for correction and better understanding all your life.
There is an ongoing effort on many sites, including this site, to reunderstand the meanings of words used in Qur'Aan. The understanding of language and some knowledge of linguistics will be of help. I am reading Grammar book by William Wright., E H Palmer, and online Arabic Lexicon by Edward Lanes which are essentially translations of previous great Arabic scholars.You may find some discussion on linguistics in some of the forums on this site also. It is a hard way forward, but worthwhile.
Another interesting book I read recently by an author Ayesha Musa, where she discusses various important issues on arguements related to Hadith collection, both for and against by different scholars.
May Rab continue to help you, as you seem to be searching for the real truth, rather than most who just follow. -
Yes, QXP is a great translation. Really brings a lot of moral values from a metaphorical point in many metaphorical verses that link to the context so well - many times it makes much more sense that other normal translations. Keep in mind that QXP is a rendition.
If an interpretation fits well to all context in the Quran, it's like the correct answer for multiple equations in math.
Peace.
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I also added QXP and Ayesha Musa's book to my summer reading list.
Hak, may I also recommend Jeffrey Lang's book Loosing My Religion A Call for Help. It discusses the problems in the American Muslim Community; though Lang is not a Quran aloner, he is not oblivious to the issues American Muslims have wit hadith. Nevertheless, it is an interesting read.
And last but certainly not least A hearty welcome to the club from me!
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I also added QXP and Ayesha Musa's book to my summer reading list.
Hak, may I also recommend Jeffrey Lang's book Loosing My Religion A Call for Help. It discusses the problems in the American Muslim Community; though Lang is not a Quran aloner, he is not oblivious to the issues American Muslims have wit hadith. Nevertheless, it is an interesting read.
And last but certainly not least A hearty welcome to the club from me!
I remember reading in one of his books that he said for a while he hung on to the Qur'an only, while dealing with the hadiths ... and he also said he's been studying the hadiths for 20 years and hasn't come to a conclusion yet. Even if he doesn't really believe in the hadiths, it would be more dangerous for him to say that IMO.
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Music was I think the biggest issue that got me to realize the general bs of the "ahadith".
That and the issue of keeping the beard. Hadithist logic states that to shave the beard is to imitate the female. I think I don't need to prove how ridiculous that belief is.
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Music was I think the biggest issue that got me to realize the general bs of the "ahadith".
That and the issue of keeping the beard. Hadithist logic states that to shave the beard is to imitate the female. I think I don't need to prove how ridiculous that belief is.
These are 2 of numerous hadiths. There are also ones telling you where you can or cannot face while being on the toilet!
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I remember reading in one of his books that he said for a while he hung on to the Qur'an only, while dealing with the hadiths ... and he also said he's been studying the hadiths for 20 years and hasn't come to a conclusion yet. Even if he doesn't really believe in the hadiths, it would be more dangerous for him to say that IMO.
It looks like Lang's basically a hadith agnostic.