Salaam Stranger,

Thank you for that. I struggle with patience often. This was a good reminder.

Peace and Blessings.

Peace Ustahi,

I too, have been very drawn to your posts and feel perhaps God is trying to tell me something through you.

Could you please explain if there is a particular method for Cleaning? Does it change for different kinds of 'messes' we find ourselves getting into in this life God has chosen for us?

Also, which of the scriptures do feel are the true word of God. You've mentioned the Quran and the Torah, any others?

Peace and Blessing be upon you.

Thank you God, The Knower of all things.

That was very well said David. I very much agree.

Being a former Jew and living in the typical mostly white middle class American suburban community, I don't see any benefit to share my beliefs with someone unless I am asked so it very rarely comes up. It seems to me, most people are so caught up with their work, families, and pleasure seeking activities they barely think about God. I am raising my children as best I can under these conditions so they do not feel ostrisized by their friends.

There is only one Mosque in my area, I went to confirm my suspicion that they believed in hadith which they did. I did not get to speak to the Imam and perhaps will go back to see where he stands. But for now...this forum and the friends I've made around the world are the only believing community I have.

When I divulged to my father my belief (Islam through Quran alone) 14 years ago, it changed our relationship forever. In order to get on with our lives and have a relationship at all, the top of religion is off the table and is not discussed. I total get what God means by 'Choosing the difficult path'. I always look forward to friendly discussions about religion with people of different belief systems. You never know when someone will see the truth. But like David, I find, keeping my beliefs to myself unless asked is a much easier way to go.

Peace and Blessings

Peace Everyone,

So....according to brother Ayman's interpretation, Ramadan starts on the first full moon after the summer solstice and it is only a 10 day fast? Did I interpret his article correctly? If so...I would be very curious to know how many of you also observe Ramadan in this manner. Thank you for responding.

Peace

I do not know arabic, however, IMHO if you are having sex in a place where other people can plainly see you I feel that goes against God's instructions to maintain modesty as said in 2430 and 2431.

Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their chastity. This is purer for them. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything they do.
And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers, that you may succeed.

I suppose one could argue a married couple could have sex in public without taking off their clothes but I feel it still goes against being modest.

However, there are many situations where a married couple could be out and about away from the privacy of their home, (the woods, a deserted beach, a secluded parked car...use your imagination!) If no one can see, there is no one to offend.

Peace

Two weeks ago, I started to add most the prophets in my Shahada for the reason you mentioned.

Most...not All? God tells us not to distinguish between the prophets. How about leaving out the prophets when saying the Shahada and praying to God Alone?

Peace

Peace All,

Thanks Brother Bahman for your points. I found it quite interesting how this thread I started turned out some very interesting conversations.

I don't need and Imam....I only need God and Quran. I can't go to a masjid where they invoke Muhammad in their prayers and preach hadith. God commands us NOT to pray in such a masjid.

There are those who abuse the masjid by practicing idol worship, dividing the believers, and providing comfort to those who oppose GOD and His messenger. They solemnly swear "Our intentions are honorable!" GOD bears witness that they are liars.
You shall never pray in such a masjid. A masjid that is established on the basis of righteousness from the first day is more worthy of your praying therein. In it, there are people who love to be purified. GOD loves those who purify themselves.

I have downloaded all of RK's khutba's and was thinking I would take a break from work and view one each Friday. That is at least something. God willing, maybe one day I will meet more people like myself and we can get together on Friday's for Jumah.

As much as I wish there was a community of believers like myself where I live, I still feel blessed that I know the truth and that God is with me. I am also grateful for this site which has put me in touch with some wonderful people and I've made some great friends.

Peace and Blessings.

It can be watched here...

http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html

Peace

Peace Darcus,

You trusting in God in this and for all situations is of course the best path to take. It sounds as if your wife is at least supportive of you talking to your in-laws in asking them to stop meddling in your marriage. Is this the case? I'm sure you realize they may not abide by this right away and the first chance they have to talk with your wife alone they may be up to their old tricks in trying to influence her. Just keep the lines of communication open between you and wife as much as possible. When talking to your in-laws, as hard as it may be.... do as God says and deal with them in 'the nicest possible manner'.

May God continue to guide you and your families.

Almighty God preserved the Quran Mathematically. There is no need to tamper with it. Taking out or moving any verses destroys many of the twelve thousand plus digit numbers that are multiples of 19. All of the very long numbers are derived from putting every verse in order along with using Sura numbers, numbers of verses, and sums of verses in various combinations. The criteria for these numbers can be observed here http//www.masjidtucson.org/quran/appendices/appendix1.html

I realize these numbers are based on verses 128 and 129 of Sura 9 being omitted. That is for another debate. One number I am particularly fond of is a 13038 digit number (not included in the link above) which includes Sura number, number of verses, the verses in order and assigns a zero for the Basmalah, accounting for every single verse in the Quran. I was able to fit this number on an 11x17 inch sheet of paper. I've color coded the Sura number and Basmalah in red, the number of verses is in blue. See attachement.

Peace and God Bless

Do you believe the Quran came from God CD?

Peace everyone

I've only been Submitting fully for that last 4 months. I have my moments when I falter...many of us do...all I can do is ask forgiveness and try to do better.

I feel that it's the intent that counts the most. For me....personally....I choose to do the 5 salats with 17 rakas. It's what I'm comfortable with at this time in my life. I would hope that God understands my attempts to please him even if I'm doing what some people think is a non Quranic ritual. I'm not claiming that particular ritual is commanded of me by God and his words from Quran. It's my personal choice. If a believer chooses a different form of prayer, I would think that God knows that believer's intent and would accept their prayer. What is commanded is that we pray to Him, glorify Him, remember Him, thank Him...as much as possible throughout the day and the night.

God commands us to bow and prostrate in the Quran.
O you who believe, you shall bow, prostrate, worship your Lord, and work righteousness, that you may succeed.

So I bow and prostrate. It doesn't say how many times or in what order the bowings and prostrations should be. The debate as to how many times a day to pray salat, when to pray salat, what to do and say during salat I've come to learn is a much heated debate from this forum and seems to have been going on for centuries.

As long as your intent us pure, I feel God will accept your prayers, in whatever form you conduct them.

May God guide us all.

I can't wait to see that movie!

Salaam Ayani,

I can very much relate to what you are saying. Even though I know deep deep down God is with me and in control of everything....my ego seems to get in the way. I feel like I'm going through the motions when I pray but I keep telling myself if it's part of our path to God and God willing in time I will experience more joy from it.

We all have our personal journeys. I know I'm where I'm at because of the way I've lived my life for the last 25 years and It's only been 3 1/2 months since I submitted to God totally and practicing Quran alone. I have much to atone for. So I just try my best to engage in the behaviors that I know are the right ones. It's not easy and sometimes I falter. All I can do is to ask for God's forgiveness and try to do better next time.

When I'm having these feelings I really try to think about eternity and the paradise God promises us for being righteous in this life. 80ish years is NOTHING compared to eternity. I just pray I can atone enough for my sins before my time is up in this life. The triumph of heaven sounds indescribably amazing.

I hope this helps.

May God grant you peace and blessings.

Peace Angel,

Another book which may be helpful to you is written by my dear friend Dr. Douglas Brown. It is called

"Hislam Corrupt Religion And the Search for Spiritual Peace" and can be found at Amazon.com

http//www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-6435524-3664819?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=hislam&x=11&y=16

His other book... "Self-Knowledge and Spiritual Yearning The Role of Spirituality in Psychological Health" is also a great read.

http//www.amazon.com/Self-Knowledge-Spiritual-Yearning-Spirituality-Psychological/dp/0595437672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205953895&sr=1-1

Peace and Blessings,

Bob

Peace everyone,

I've had this 'big idea'....for a long time....I think God is guiding me to it and perhaps a major purpose for why I was put here, but it is based on the 19 miracle and I'm not sure how well it will be received here. I feel with all my heart it may get the US media and eventually the whole world to take a good hard look at the Quran, however, I don't want to start uproars and arguments. If there are people interested to hear it, I will post it in detail which is sorta long, but like I said...it's a BIG Idea.

Bob

Welcome Sister,

May God bless you and keep you on the straight path.

I really like the point that is made in the Nov. 2005 edition of Submitters Perspective. It is mathematically impossible for Bukhari to have collected 600,000 hadiths. Below is an excerpt from the article.

"How reliable was Bukhari? How did he manage to pick the ?genuine? hadiths from his collection of over 600,000 hadiths? Is it possible to achieve this overwhelming task physically in one?s lifetime? It is reported that Bukhari lived 62 years. Had he spent a mere hour per hadith for compilation, checking the authenticity, and for recording it, he would require 600,000 hours total. This translates into more than 68 years! Assuming that he started collecting hadith at birth; if he did not sleep, did not eat, did not do anything else but work, he still would not manage to complete his work before he died. Therefore it certainly defies logic, especially considering the reported instances where he supposedly traveled to places that sometimes took days, or weeks to check the authenticity of a given hadith."

Just the mathematics alone proves that the ridiculousness of the claim and exposes hadith as....well.....BS.

May God Bless All the Believers.

Thanks for your reply HD and the gender clarification.

Perhaps we will cross paths on some other topic in this forum.

Peace and God Bless.

Dear Sisters Fadhli and Humandesign,

I just wanted to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed your exchanges. It was very enlightening. Even though I have complete faith that God is running EVERYTHING, every sub atomic particle, 24/7, and that the Quran is indeed God's word and message to us, I am only human and still struggle with being content. Lately is seems to be a constant test that God is putting me through. Reading your posts help give me some perspective. Thank you for all that you shared.

May God continue to bless and guide us all.

Thank you brothers and sisters for your sincere welcomes and replies. Today is 3 weeks that I accepted Submission fully into my heart. I thank God I have been guided. It is a peaceful and wonderful feeling. Feel free to contact me. I appreciate those who have already and the new friends I am making.

Peace

Bob