Happy to have found a like-minded community - Hi!
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Hello everyone, I'm new here, and I see it's encouraged to give an intro about oneself and I'm happy to share!
Like many, I was born in a Muslim country. That said, I've always had trouble following the religion, it was always so rigid, full of rituals and rules which didn't make sense to me. God gifted me with a very analytical and mathematical mind that has served me well in my professional life, but my spiritual life always suffered because it didn't make sense.I was always discouraged from reading the Quran because I had to do it with the tafsir books in hand, as us regular people shouldn't try to interpret the book by ourselves. Even better Imams and religious leaders know better and have distilled our religion into rules to follow, I should just do it and shut up. Attend the Friday prayer and listen to the imam, attend religious study groups, listen to TV channels or Radio stations with scholars who know what they're talking about. I'm sure a lot of you here identify with this.
This never sat right with me, and kept me in a state of continuous contradiction One side tells me that our religion doesn't put anyone between us and God, and the other tells me I need to follow rules and authority. Which one is it? Worse yet, I disagreed with a LOT of the rules and teachings, which didn't make sense to me. That was leading me towards leaving the religion. I asked God for guidance, and he inspired me to pick up a Quran and start reading, which I've done.
This decision has changed the whole course of my life. Everything finally started making sense to me. What I was taught since I was a kid was mostly brainwashing for the masses to fall in line and do the biddings of corrupt leaders. Not only is Islam as described in the Quran MUCH simpler and straightforward, it also contradicts most of the teachings I was given since I was a kid, especially those I always disagreed with.
God really speaks to each one of us individually through the Quran. That's why he encourages us to read it and to think for ourselves. That's why religious authorities are so desperate to not allow us to read it alone.
I've told my parents about my discoveries because I was naive, and they instantly went absolutely mad at me. They called me a Kafir, they didn't want to hear anything about it. How dare I not take the Hadith and not elevate the Prophet above everyone else? How dare I read the Quran alone when it's impossible for someone uninitiated to understand it. How can I know how to practice without the thousands of rules that imams crafted over centuries? The Quran alone surely isn't enough! It doesn't matter that there are verse warning us about this exact thing, I should turn a blind eye and listen to the leaders.
My father tried to get a friend of his who's a university teacher of islamic studies, and I sat with him. I had everything ready so he can explain to me what the many verses saying the book is complete, nothing is left out of it, it's simple and accessible to all, that we shouldn't blindly follow what our fathers taught us, that we should reflect by ourselves, that we shouldn't seek books other than the Quran, etc... and he had absolutely nothing aside from calling me names, and saying that what I tell him is dangerous. He also told me I'm a "Quranist" and we are an extremist group.
I didn't think much of it at the time, but I continued my journey. Today I'm in a point in my life where I was feeling very sad and alone, because it felt like I'm the only one seeing how corrupt the so-called islamic world and teachings are, and how far away muslims are from the message of God.
That's when I remembered the term "Quranist" that I've been called before, did a google search about it and found your community. I'm very happy to be part of it, and hope to learn a lot from your experiences and journeys, and hopefully help others here too.
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Welcome to the forum TechyQuranist.
Those who believe GOD and know they have His words will value GOD s words above any others.God in Qoran is telling us that the fate of every human was already decided by God- He knows our past, present and future-. Everything is done by God- 817 and is already recorded
Anything that happens on earth, or to you, has already been recorded, even before the creation. This is easy for God to do.
*5722
ما أَصابَ مِن مُصيبَةٍ فِى الأَرضِ وَلا فى أَنفُسِكُم إِلّا فى كِتٰبٍ مِن قَبلِ أَن نَبرَأَها إِنَّ ذٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسيرٌ, GOD HAS SENT HIS VERSION OF EVENTS THAT HE TELLS US WITH CONTEXT, HIS OWN CHOSEN WORDS THAT GIVE THE TRUE VERSION AND IS 100% ACCURATE WITH THE MOTIVES AND INTENTIONS OF THE SUBJECTS.
Absolutely no contradictions or lies with GOD s version of events
We narrate to you the most accurate history through the revelation of this Quran. Before this, you were totally unaware.
نَحنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيكَ أَحسَنَ القَصَصِ بِما أَوحَينا إِلَيكَ هٰذَا القُرءانَ وَإِن كُنتَ مِن قَبلِهِ لَمِنَ الغٰفِلينَOr , another story
We narrate to you their history, truthfully. They were youths who believed in their Lord, and we increased their guidance.
نَحنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيكَ نَبَأَهُم بِالحَقِّ إِنَّهُم فِتيَةٌ ءامَنوا بِرَبِّهِم وَزِدنٰهُم هُدًىThe history is told from several angles that give more information but never contradict or contain any error.
Only GOD has been present through the whole history of mankind and knows all their secrets , speech and everything they have done.
Knowing GOD, is having confidence that every word that GOD says is the absolute truth.
Without knowing God, there is no belief (2384-90). Bad things are incurred by us we are most likely to err, misunderstand and lie, all these traits are only executed by Satan, in accordance with God's laws (478-79, 4230).
If one sees contradictions or errors in GOD s words, try again . All errors only come from our side of events.If on the other hand , one is convinced ,why believe GOD has sent false information, errors or nonsense?
You are right to trust only GOD and His words. And absolutely right to use your own faculties - eyes ,ears and brain- to try and understand what GOD is saying to you.
GOD never forces any human to follow him or His deen, why should we be forced to follow human s made up religions and words?
May the Lord bless you and guide you.
Peace. -
Hi TechyQuranist,
When you discover something against the norm or orthodoxy it can feel very lonely.
Scholars and learned have a place in society but we have the duty to study, question, think and reflect. Ultimately, we are all fallible and only God is perfect, our perceptions and understandings are limited to our world knowledge, environment, experiences and even ego/desires.
Sometimes things don’t make sense which may be good for us and sometimes they are not. Sometimes we like a thing which may be bad for us and vice versa.. Sometimes I wonder is there more to it than I know? Or why do I feel so strongly against xyz. I feel I’ve become a little less judgy and more curious.
To question a person’s core value is triggering and out of fear/love/shame it’s easy to get the whole you’re a kafir reaction. Plus, people are so dependent on society and being accepted. To some degree many of us have herd mentality. No one wants to be ostracised.
There are variations of interpretation even within traditional circles. Out with the traditional perspective it opens a whole can of worms you could say, as interpretation comes down to the reader.
Being a Quranist or even being a traditionalist can be extreme, it’s all subject to how one practises and interprets. I think for most people, regardless of religion is that we inherit practises and identity. Not everyone is an open thinker or researcher, and it’s time consuming and it can be difficult. Inheriting practises and knowledge is a lot easier, your world view of how far away many Muslims have become could vary so differently from another perspective. How many are truth seekers, how many are blind faith followers?? God knows but to a degree ignorance can be bliss.
Ultimately, I believe we must be honest and true to ourselves.
Welcome to the forum )
