back to the basic belief
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peace topo. I agree,lots of different interpretations. I just try to be a peaceful,respectful person by using rationality and experience(along with interaction with people and the world) to try to decrease the suffering in the world, and increase the peace,tolerance,love,respect and learning for all beings. people can do this with the quran or with other methods.(what works for me may not work exactly the same for others) At different stages in our lives we have different requirements and understandings-so freedom and tolerance is very important. Each person can find their path to happiness with the help of themselves,and others. Read my post to jhamza in the 'whats the consensus on the calendar' thread in the 'islamic calendar and ramadhan' section.
Peace all. -
"Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewis, the Christians, the converts, ANYONE who believes in God, and believes in the Hereafter, and leads a righteous life, will recieve their recompense from their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve" (Quran 569, 262)
Salam,
That verse says to not have any fear, but I still do. I'm afraid of not being a good muslim/person. I know I have a good heart and feel a great love for all humans of every race, but I'm still afraid of not being a good muslim in God's eyes. Does anybody else share this same feeling?
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Peace brothers and sisters,
after joining this forum for a couple of weeks and read postings on different types of subjects, i got one thing that i didn't expect, that is CoNfuSioN so many interpretation on so many things in the quran
Were you here looking for guidance? ? I hope not, coz then you'd really be lost. idea Look only to the Creator, the Almighty for that. )I know I have a good heart and feel a great love for all humans of every race, but I'm still afraid of not being a good muslim in God's eyes. Does anybody else share this same feeling?
I don't. But I just wanted to say, it's not a bad thing to be 'awake' and checking yourself all the time. However, if you giving yourself a heart attack over it, then it's also a problem.Done is what had to be done. )
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Peace heart. From what you say that is a good 'fear' to have. Try to turn your fear to improving yourself. I have this fear,it is called conscience.(and it asks questions like;am i doing the right thing). If you dont have this fear there could be something wrong. We all have room for improvement. If you have a great love of all people,races and religions(including animals and all life)why would god not think you are a good muslim? You sound on the right track.
Peace all. -
Peace heart. From what you say that is a good 'fear' to have. Try to turn your fear to improving yourself. I have this fear,it is called conscience.(and it asks questions like;am i doing the right thing). If you dont have this fear there could be something wrong. We all have room for improvement. If you have a great love of all people,races and religions(including animals and all life)why would god not think you are a good muslim? You sound on the right track.
Peace all.I think fear is a primitive emotion and is tied up with our instinct for self-preservation. You have to overcome this primitive fear before you can see things for what they are.
Lack of compassion for your fellow man perhaps is the thing to worry about. When you stop feeling for the people you have around you then something is going wrong for sure.
Regards,
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That verse says to not have any fear, but I still do. I'm afraid of not being a good muslim/person. I know I have a good heart and feel a great love for all humans of every race, but I'm still afraid of not being a good muslim in God's eyes. Does anybody else share this same feeling?
Absolutely. Inside, I desperately want to be a good person. But I am almost always afraid that I am not doing enough. I wanted a clear and consise set of rules and laws that would define whether I was in fact doing enough. I thought the Quran might be what I was looking for.
But after much "learning", I feel that laws and rules are NOT what its about. Also, due to the ambiguity of meaning in many of the verses it is impossible to know whether one is actually following the laws "to the letter". I feel the only way to proceed is to truly do your best as concerns the following;
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but truly righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the Prophets, and spends his money out of love for God, on the kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and those who ask for charity and for ransoming the captives; and observes prayer and pays the Zakat; and those who fulfil their promise when they have made one, and the patient in poverty and afflictions and the steadfast in the time of war; it is these who have proved truthful and it is these who are truly God-Fearing." 2177
And the best in the sight of God, are the most righteous. 4913
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Salam all,
If you have a great love of all people,races and religions(including animals and all life)why would god not think you are a good muslim?
Because I don't always seem to follow the rules of the Quran. That's why I get the feeling that I'm not being a good muslim. Sometimes I think it's satan who makes me feel bad and makes me think that I'm not a good muslim. ?
But after much "learning", I feel that laws and rules are NOT what its about. Also, due to the ambiguity of meaning in many of the verses it is impossible to know whether one is actually following the laws "to the letter".
I don't think that's true. Yes, the belief in God, the hereafter and his messengers is necessary to be a good muslim, but to stick with God's rules is also one of the crucial valuable requisites for being a good muslim.
'The good deeds take away the bad.'
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Peace heart and nazz and all. I agree with nazz,its the 'spirit ' of the laws not the letter. And i dont think all knowledge is just in one book. We all have a conscience,awareness,interaction with the world, and our mind to decide whether something is harmful(to others or ourself) or beneficial. You have to modify and adapt the basic rules to each person and each situation. I think a basic rule is to try not to harm anything,and if you accidently do; then try to make amends.
Peace all. -
True Peace All, trance
Because I don't always seem to follow the rules of the Quran. That's why I get the feeling that I'm not being a good muslim.
What are the rules!? Salat 3,4,5 times? Alcohol ok? Polygamy? Masturbation? Gambling? Are Jinn real demons, or just the "demons" of the soul? How does this affect the concept of Satan?You will find that despite the sincerity of almost everyone on this board, there is zero collective understanding or agreement on any of the above issues. arrow Therefore, how can you go on everyday worrying about whether you had that one beer you "shouldn't have"? Looked at some porn and masturbated? Scratched a "Scratch & Win" Lotto ticket ?
Vietnam?go out at night, and take a stroll through the streets. The homeless, the needy, the deformed and the poor are in true abundance. Spend a night out giving to these people, and all of those little rules and laws become absolutely meaningless.
its the 'spirit ' of the laws not the letter.
Absolutely. If you live by the law you shall die by the law.Jesus set a magnificent example when he healed the sick on the sabbath. That's what its all about. Extending one's hand to those who need it, whenever they need it?not Umming and Ahhing over insignificant details.
'The good deeds take away the bad.'
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Peace heart, all
you're absolutely not alone, except may be zenje wink
i also often analyse and scrutinize my acts and thoughts and wonder if they were the right thing to do...
with age it gets better in a way, but i wouldn't want it to stop altogether, coz when u believe that every thing u do is the right thing then u really have a problem lol
lk
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Peace nazz and elke. Magnificent posts!Great wisdom. Thanks. D
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Peace all. Nazz made two superb points in his post,i would like to repeat these;
1)'Vietnam-go out at night and take a stroll through the streets.The homeless,the needy,the deformed and the poor are in true abundance.Spend a night out giving to these people and all of those little rules and laws become absolutely meaningless.'
2)'Jesus set a magnificent example when he healed the sick on the sabbath. Thats what its all about. Extending ones' hand to those who need it,whenever they need it-not umming and ahhing over insignificant details.'
The single most insightful post i have read. !
Ponder and reflect please... idea idea idea
Peace and respect all. Thanks nazz.
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Peace everyone,
1)'Vietnam-go out at night and take a stroll through the streets.The homeless,the needy,the deformed and the poor are in true abundance.Spend a night out giving to these people and all of those little rules and laws become absolutely meaningless.'
2)'Jesus set a magnificent example when he healed the sick on the sabbath. Thats what its all about. Extending ones' hand to those who need it,whenever they need it-not umming and ahhing over insignificant details.'
I have to disagree. We have to ask ourselves why those people are living on the streets in the first place. Is it not b/c we as a society just do not care? We have the resources to fix practically everything that is wrong with the world, but we individually just do not care enough to fix them. That is why it is extremely important to fix yourself before you go out and tr6y to help others. So, these "little rules," as you call them, in my opinion, are much bigger than going out and helping people. If we individually cannot look to God and our conscience, then how are we to help others and truly fix what is wrong with our world? Thes little rules like salat, zakat, right and wrong are there for this purpose. So, they are not little at all! We cannot continue to say "ohh, there are so many ills in the world, why should we care about insignificant things like praying and whether or not gay people should get married or if fetuses should be aborted" Just b/c there are other problems does not mean that others should be disregarded. We don't say "children are getting killed in sierra leone, so let's stop worrying about cancer." We have to care about all of it for everything to work well, or nothing will work at all.
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Peace ichephren and all. I dont disagree that some people need salat,zakat etc.. to discipline themselves. However is not the goal of these practices to have more compassion and refrain from harmful acts?(2945)
When referring to 'insignificant' rules and laws i mean the 'mass' of different(and sometimes contradictory) interpretations. I dont mind any intepretation anybody has(except if someone says my way is the only way.),What i regard as 'insignificant' is when these laws are a means in themself without making a person more aware or do good deeds. The laws have an objective; which is to reduce suffering? If they are not for reducing suffering then in my opinion they are insignificant. And with regard to whether gay people should get married and the other philosophical issues you talked of,yes they are truly valid issues,but still we talk about them in an effort to alleviate suffering,not to increase suffering?Thinking and philosophy are means to an end? Karl marx said 'philosophers have sought to understand the world.The point is to change it'.
Now that is not saying philosophy is insignificant(in fact it it a great medium for change and understanding)but the point is that philosophy should achieve something positive.(even if changing ones own
understanding positvely).
When my wife is in pain(or my children) then my first priority is helping her.(i can philosophise before, during and after helping her. ) Now extend this attitude to all life(and all that exists) ;im not going to wait till i understand every issue of life till i help someone. You can learn and improve your personal development while helping others.
Peace all. ps;a great way to get goodie points in all religions; help yourself and others. -
Peace all. A story from buddha;
Regarding those who philosophise innappropriately,or want to know answers to questions which are currently not in their grasp.(or not a priority);
'Like a man with an arrow in his chest(close to death)asking 'who shot me?From what direction?What was the arrow made of?How heavy is the arrow?
Answer; Get the arrow out of your chest and get help,then ask your questions.(you can live for another day and then find the answers you need,or think you need.)
Can anyone see the relevance?
Peace all. ps;5101.(quran).