My long overdue introduction (long in length as well)
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Peace, Kukumber !
Remarkable journey indeed! Praise be to Allah that you made it through all of those hard times, and finally you are beginning to see the light! sun
I'm glad you don't feel alone anymore. Many of us have admitted that we too are feeling a bit lost as well - I know I am. But I am confident that Allah appreciates an open truth-seeking heart, over a closed one merely following whatever dogma they are fed by random people. So, I think you're on the right path.
May peace be with you.
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Salam,
Read all of it, since this website is for freedom of minds, most of the testimonies you will read are similar one way or the other. Most of us have very similar upbringing in a sense that non of us ever bought into the idea that we just accidentally landed in a family where the "Sahih" religion is being followed and we just have to blindly copy whatever our forefathers did to get in to heaven. I believe that makes us rebels against that blind system, and the bad side effect is loneliness.
From your story, it sounds like society could not kill your common senses. Let me quote from your story
I got some helpful advice, on which ayahs to read, and how many times each to increase my chance of passing my exam.
Its funny how their own believed first revelation refutes this and establishes education by the pen to be a way towards knowledge not blindness. As we see below
961 Read in the name of your Lord who has created.
962 He created man from an embryo.
963 Read, and your Lord is the Generous One.
964 The One who taught by the pen.
965 He taught man what he did not know.I hope you already read this from the Qur'an. Just going to the index of any modern day Qur'an and looking under the labels of "knowledge" clarifies all doubts. Indeed, Allah is the most high, king of all kings, the merciful Lord.
May Allah increase you in knowledge and guide you to the straight path.
------------------- Student of Allah
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peace,
so now I am just floating nowhere with no firm opinions on anything
A woman without strong opinions on anything....... I find that hard to believe. ;D
On a more serious note, you reminded me of something I wrote
I now realise it was necessary to break down my beliefs and rebuild on a solid foundation . Like most I started with a core starting point (belief in God) but had built upon it a mixture of Islam+tradition+culture+myths+hearsay+bias. This was not a solid strucutre, so I began to dismantle it using the ultimate reality smasher The Quran. Akin to how a sculptor does not keep adding clay to his subject, actually, he strips away the inessentials until its true form is revealed, and the truth is beautiful.
I recommend just to be good and do good, and read AQ regularly. See what comes of it.
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...And that was over a year ago, and now I am stuck in a rut. I have shed beliefs, and beliefs and more beliefs, but have not really replaced them with anything, so now I am just floating nowhere with no firm opinions on anything, and that can be very anxiety producing in itself. So I tell myself, well then go read the Quran, and read this and that, and figure stuff out. But I don't. I just bury my head in the sand.
So yah, that's how I came to something, and lets see how it goes from here.
Highlights above are from me.
Dear Sister,
I have two suggestions for you, nothing more.
1st Start by just CONTEMPLATING verses 262 & 569.
2nd Stop consuming processed foods, solid, liquid or mixed. Stop consuming DAIRY products, except low fat PLAIN YOGURT. Stop eating sugary and starchy foods. Change your diet to glutton free foods. Eat fresh fruits and lots of vegetables every day. Start eating QUINOA on a regular basis. Substitute it for bread, rice, pasta, cereals, and potatoes? Stay away from red meat. Eat only white meat and fish moderately. Have a couple of boiled eggs with the yoke still runny a few times a week. You may have just ONE every day. ;D And last but not least, exercise moderately on a regular basis.
Peace,
Khalil -
Thank you for your kind words Eikonoklastes )
Peace Student of Allah. Yes I completely agree, life is hard work, not oh lucky me, I landed into a family where I am guaranteed salvation. It would be harsh to say everyone we grew up with never questioned anything, but the ones that did, it was more divide stuff into cultural and religious. Cultural could be questioned, but nothing ever changed, because no one wanted to be the one to instigate the change.. Anything religious was never questioned. It was left to us rebels . And even for a quieter person who keeps all his rebellious thoughts to him/herself, its still lonely, because you know inside that you don't belong. And thank you for the Quran verses. I remember them well from my Religious Education class. We had to memorize them in arabic, with their approved English translation ).
Peace Wakas. I guess I was not very clear. I have strong opinions on many things, just nothing any more it seems to do with islam. I know, I don't like labels, and the word "religion" does not really fit with islam, And I can clearly and succintly say why, but that's about it. I think the first thing I need to work on is my concept of God.
Thank you for the quran verses kgwithnob. And as for your second part, I do exercise regularly as my means of transportation is a bicycle. Plus I go for runs depending on weather, and if I have time. And as for your food suggestions, thank you for them. I also agree that the foods you eat are very important in determining your mood and motivation. But I am also wary of diet fads. I have a very strong foundation in nutritional sciences due to my educational background, and the tools to make healthy eating choices. Like your example with gluten free foods (Im sure you did not mean glutton D). Gluten is a protein found naturally in wheat. Some people do have a gluten sensitivity, and cannot consume regular breads. I fortunately am not one of them, so there is no benefit to me as far as I am aware of avoiding gluten free foods. I believe in everything in moderation, and everyone has a diet that works best for them. For me who has the tendency to shrink (as in lose weight for no apparent reason), eliminating so many foods is a recipe for disaster ).
Thank you everyone for your kind words.
Kukumber
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Salam and Peace!
-------------I believe that makes us rebels against that blind system, and the bad side effect is loneliness.
No, we are not lonely.
Allah is with us.
961 Read in the name of your Lord who has created.
962 He created man from an embryo.
963 Read, and your Lord is the Generous One.
964 The One who taught by the pen.
965 He taught man what he did not know.So, sad!-----The Salafis, Sunnis say that the Prophet was illiterate.
It means, according to them, the Prophet himself did not obey Alalh's Commandment ___961 Read in the name of your Lord who has created.
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