Salam to everyone.

Is anyone here from Atlanta, GA? Do any of you meet locally based on your city? It would be nice to meet, study the Quran and pray with others locally.

Salam and hello to everyone. I have been reading this forum for about 3 years now and I haven't posted or introduced myself. I am finally ready to meet with other Muslims who believe in the Quran only as the final criterion which overrides everything else and as a source of guidance because I feel like I can't just deal with this make believe Hadith religion alone anymore.

So here is my story

I was raised Catholic and during my teen years, I had a hard time believing in the Trinity so I kind of became Agnostic. During college and early 20s, I explored different belief systems, Eastern beliefs, The Secret and the Law of Attraction, and a lot of New Age stuff. I still had doubts about those too. So after a lot of soul searching I decided to pick up a copy of the Quran. I started reading it little by little here and there. Then some personal things happened in my life which pointed me to the Quran and Islam as a way of life because it was the only religious system I felt was true monotheism, according to the Quran. So I took my shahada at a local masjid. I began reading the entire Quran a few times. I also read the Submission.org website and other articles on Quran alone because a friend who was thinking of becoming Muslim sent those links to me. So from day one, I knew the Quran was the sole criterion and that hadiths weren't reliable.

I kept researching how the Hadiths were not authentic and every day it just became more clear to me and I was firm on this belief. However, I still wanted to attend group prayers and socialize with other Muslims. The problems I had were that I just didn't believe in so many of the so called "traditions" and the Sunnah which are made up anyway. Also, as a woman, I felt a lot of these so called hadiths degraded women and really just made things difficult. So this posed some issues and internal conflict. For instance I am left handed so I eat with my left hand. People tell have told me that this is haram. I could go on an on but I would be writing a book.

I just can't accept the lies anymore. Saying that the Messenger (SAW) said stuff that he didn't and creating lies about him and Allah. That is just wrong and I just don't want to support the lies anymore. I go to Jumah and hear the same Khutbah's about how some people will be punished in the grave and that some Muslims will go to hell then Allah will take them out of it....such a lie. Allah says that once you go there you will never come out. Also the hadith about the Shaytan being locked up for Ramadan. How could they be locked up? Were they locked up this year, when the Palestinians were being massacred? That is a very serious thing to tell someone when their whole family is being slaughtered during Ramadan. They Shayatin clearly are not locked up.

So I have just gotten tired of the lies. And Allah says in the Quran "Say Verily, those who invent a lie against Allah will never be successful". Therefore, I just can't make believe that I accept this.

However, I do want to state that I don't believe in sectarianism. So I don't think that people who follow Quran should separate themselves from other Muslims, instead we should all be united for common purposes like charity and community development. We should all work together. Also, I believe in the 5 daily prayers, Ramadan, and the Pilgrimage (although some of the rituals have been added on). I know this may be difficult for some but the Quran does say not to divide ourselves into sects. Also, there are a lot of good Sunnis, Sufis and Shias. So it is not good to be against people even if they have different beliefs.

So this is my brief story. And Allah knows best. If anyone lives in the Atlanta, GA area, send me a PM. I would love to meet with other people who believe in the same things.

Salam