Peace and greetings!
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I just want to introduce myself.
I am an American, currently living in Canada, and I converted to Islam at the beginning of 2014 "officially" in a mosque during fajr prayer with a handful of sleepy-eyed brothers. It all started with a Muslim co-worker and I talking about religion, and me realizing that I had never actually read the Qur'an. I owned a copy - a little paperback version of the Yusuf Ali translation - but could never get "in" to it and read it. So I ordered a translation and commentary for people with zero knowledge, and my first Qur'an was Yahiya Emerick's "The Qur'an in Modern English" which while a good translation, is not the most poetic, but the notes are amazingly well explained to someone coming from the point of view of an American with zero background knowledge. And as to the Qur'an itself, it was when I began reading chapter 5 that I realized that this was a message from God to me, and that I was a Muslim. It was quite a shocking, profound experience.
The more I studied, though, the more issues I had with "traditional" Sunni Islam, and with a lot of the silly superstitions and cultural accretions and just plain weird things that had nothing to do with the Qur'an, and being a white guy, the racism was pretty insane too. The more I studied the more I found that my objections were answered in Shi'a theology, but then the more I studied that the more I realized that it eventually gets so far away from the Qur'an that it becomes it's own thing.
At some point I learned about the "Qur'an Only" movement, and the more I researched the ideas there I realized it wasn't so insane to cling to the Qur'an alone, but that a lot of people have some very strange ideas about how to interpret Islam through the Qur'an alone, and it becomes somehow more confusing. Though through my research I also discovered a lot of new-er academic work and translations being done in the west, and new examinations of classical Arabic and challenges to long held assumptions, and it's getting pretty exciting to be reading the Qur'an in the 21st century.
My first "Qur'an Alone" translation that I have read was Sam Gerran's recent work, which is quite excellent......even if I find some of Mr. Gerrans personal opinions objectionable and/or stupid (The Earth is not flat. Period. That's not an argument, and hasn't been for thousands of years. NASA is not engaged in a vast conspiracy.). I actually just got a hard copy of the Monotheist Group translation in the post yesterday, and so here I am.
As to personal details, I am 30-something, married, 2 cats, no children, I read to an unhealthy degree, and enjoy lifting heavy things up over my head and then putting them down again (also carrying them a distance).
I hope to learn a lot, and have some interesting exchanges here. And at the very least not be told I will burn in hell for various reasons as I usually am on other Muslim forums.
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Peace person_of_the_book.
Welcome to the forum
http//www.total-loyalty-to-god-alone.co.uk/different-topics-from-good-logic/
GOD bless you.
Peace -
Greetings and Peace, all group
@person_of_the_book welcome
It is true that there are different perspectives. Consider the best of what is being said...
3918 The ones who listen to what is being said, and then follow the best of it. These are the ones whom God has guided, and these are the ones who possess intelligence.
This being said...
1736 And do not uphold what you have no knowledge of; for the hearing, and eyesight, and mind - all these you are responsible for.
The comment regarding people telling others who will burn in hell reminded me of a physics argument...
https//www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm
sun
May ALLAH see fit to Guide all seekers.
peace
~Abdul-Hadi
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I just want to introduce myself.
Yay, you're here! sun Welcome to the forum!
I converted to Islam at the beginning of 2014 "officially" in a mosque during fajr prayer with a handful of sleepy-eyed brothers.
Why during fajr? ???
As to personal details, I am 30-something, married, 2 cats, no children, I read to an unhealthy degree, and enjoy lifting heavy things up over my head and then putting them down again (also carrying them a distance).
I love cats. Also, please share your secrets to your love for exercise. That sounds like exercise I need!
There's no amount of reading that can be unhealthy. I'm slowly trying to get into it more. Check out the recommended reading list https//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16391.0
I hope to learn a lot, and have some interesting exchanges here. And at the very least not be told I will burn in hell for various reasons as I usually am on other Muslim forums.
Eh. You can avoid that. Just have to pick and choose your battles.
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Why during fajr? ???
I work nights, and this was in the winter time, so I was able to go after work. There really wasn't anything special about the specific time, I just remember stewing the whole night and finally realizing that I just needed to do something, take action, etc, etc.
Also, please share your secrets to your love for exercise. That sounds like exercise I need!
I kind of hate exercise, but my ancestors were all farmers going back to the 15th century and I just have this need to do heavy, physical work. This is not possible to do in this civilized age of ours (well, it is possible, but you have to sacrifice the concept of being able to afford to eat food), so I turned to lifting heavy things. There's a book called "Starting Strength" that is an introduction to power lifting that many recommend. I am starting a new thing lately that's more into the strongman style thing, and I am currently in intense pain from running up and down the street in front of my apartment building with 120 kg in hand.
There's no amount of reading that can be unhealthy. I'm slowly trying to get into it more. Check out the recommended reading list https//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16391.0
My wife has been on a natural history kick, so I'm reading a bunch of books on mycology at the moment. Also, did you know that fungi digest their food on the outside of their bodies? (Bodies being used loosely, of course.) Also, their exterior structures are covered in chitin like insects!