My dogs

https//lh5.googleusercontent.com/-eXDVjKmZOGk/TuJ9YYrvWqI/AAAAAAAACEA/jFQ9OU-JTyg/s239/PB060014.JPGhttps//lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UbNRTgMiH1k/TuJ4_nxqR_I/AAAAAAAACDg/AlHWerzaJqA/s239/PB060017.JPG

No issues in my house. Was there supposed to be?

For transparency, I do maintain a pet-free space for praying, in a spare bedroom. This is strictly because my dogs and my cat would bug me endlessly when on the floor, haha.

Tells people to find the straight path and then goes to show them what's far from the straight path. Brilliant

To each his or her own journey. Let God be the judge of us all, not each other.

Salam & Ii-wy em hotep, Gnosis )

I used to be a Gnostic Christian (toward the end of my Christianity), as well as following strong Kemetic roots when I was much younger, just before I became a Christian. I actually went on a retreat to the US one year to be with others who were of Kemetic-persuasions. It was a lot of fun, but ultimately not where I felt most comfortable as time went on.

Still I find it interesting to find both of these points in a single person here on this forum of all places D

Love it!

Peace~

Salam! Welcome to the forum, I am also quite new here.

You are from Texas! That must be a very difficult place to be anything but Christian o I hope everyone has treated you well along the way.

Salam. Thank you for your input, I agree with some but disagree with some of what you've said. Such is life )

Ultimately I do not seek religion. Religion is a man-made construct. I just seek the straight path and way of life, and I do so with both heart and mind. The latter may come across as seeking "religion", but I am just a cerebral individual, so it is a natural personal derivative on the path of life.

@Kaiokenred Thank you, my dogs are dear to me ) The white one (who is the youngest) broke her leg 5 weeks ago She had surgery to repair it with metal plates, and then a cast for awhile, but now she has no cast and is doing very well D

I have forgotten to post about it, but I have since decided to embrace Islam / submission to God, subhan'allah

I am very excited to be on this path and to find this forum.

I see it is being used for that now.

When I first got here though, the name of the forum suggested it was for people who ALREADY converted though.

I would recommend from a newcomer's standpoint to perhaps adjust the title of the forum somehow ) That is just a humble opinion though, nothing more. It took me days before I even clicked on it because I thought "Well, that area isn't really for me right now."

Cheers~

Edit Also, the description of the forum backed up my initial assessment "We would like to hear and share the stories/histories of people who came to find the path of GOD Alone." which sounds like it is a forum area strictly for converts to share stories, and not for "everyone" to introduce themselves.

Thank you, Youssef, for all this information. It is so much easier to see all these things in one place, rather than trying to root through all the forums and threads sorting it all out (which I've been trying to do for days now ) so this was very helpful!

group

Thank you )

While reading the Qur'an I actually came across a very short statement that finally made sense to me. I suppose I must have missed it or not absorbed it through other readings..

"397 If you reject, then know that God is in no need of you (snip)"

This makes sense to me. If you reject, then God has no need of you.. you aren't listening, you aren't trying to listen, you aren't trying to follow, you aren't seeking.. so what can God do with you, I suppose, since we have free will to choose.

This makes sense, and I guess that's an example of the Qur'an containing the answers to my own questions ;D

Salam,

I also pray in English. I know the prayer in Arabic and used to say it that way, but it is just sounds. I was still "speaking"/translating the Arabic sounds I make with my mouth, into english in my head so whats the point?

This is exactly it, in a nutshell. I'm translating in my head anyway, and God knows what's in my head, so really it is a touch unnecessary.

I do love the Arabic language though and I like to encompass some Arabic into my prayers because I think it is beautiful and it makes me feel peaceful. If that makes any sense at all

Salam and Welcome Raine,

I too come from a non-islamic backround. I was born and raised and live in the USA and 100% of my family and friends were or are various forms of Christians. I was never one of them, but I studied the Bible but could not follow Christianity due to its contradictions and illogical stance on God in areas like the Trinity doctrine and the nature of Jesus. I was an agnostic for many years while I still searched and wondered about God until He had me "stumble upon" Quranist Islam 20 years ago. In a way you are blessed because you haven't been exposed or confused by Hadith and Sunnah and Islamic sectarian teachings or a society that has ingrained certain ways of thinking about the Quran and traditional Islam. You get to come at the Quran with a blank, clean slate.

I understand your view of Quran and it's apparent negativity. I used to be taken back by it myself until you understand that there is a reason for it that you might relate too. Christianity has made God into a love sick animal so loving of man that He has become our servant and nothing we could do would ever anger Him or cause Him to cast us in Hell.

The Quran is blunt and straight forward to dismiss these notions. God is direct so that people will not make the mistake of thinking this life is just a waste of time till Heaven and that they will certainly not misunderstand the nature or consequences of failing the Test of this life. That is actually a Mercy from Him to enable people to understand God is serious about obeying Him and upholding His Commandments.

It is a Beacon, Mercy, Guide and a Healing for Believers but it is also a blunt and severe warning for those that don't believe or reject Him and His teachings. Thats also a Mercy from God so that we will understand clearly what is at stake and what is required of us. Its a little like "tough love" so to speak.

You are here simply because God willed you to be here. He knows your heart and He knows you were "searching" for Him much like He brought me to it a long time ago. God has brought you here and given you a wonderful gift of access to information about Him and Quranist Islam. What you do with this opportunity is part of your Test and I pray you make the best use of it and that you always seek to find God and understand Him with a sincere heart.

This post makes so much sense to me, thank you )

And thanks to everyone who responded, I really appreciate it.

Thank you all for the responses It helps a lot.

I do like the "three vowels" thing ;D

That is an interesting graphic, do you have a larger version?

Atheists bear witness that God exists.

Atheists lie to themselves that God does not exist

As a former atheist I can assure you that atheists don't go out of their way to "lie" to themselves. In fact, they think the same of believers.. that believers lie to themselves about the existence of God. Currently I'm in the middle as an agnostic.. so I can see both sides. I see the two sides fighting and defaming each other. It is truly a pity.

I do not necessarily think that anyone sets out to deceive themselves. Instead, people simply lose their way.. would it not be wise of God to step in if that was the case?

No man is born a disbeliever. You are forgetting one of the most important things that God gave every single being ....FREE WILL. If a person decides to be a disbeliever it will be based on his or her own actions and God will have nothing to do with it. God only guides those who willingly submit to his will and acknowledge his signs.

You make a good point, I never thought of it like that. At the same time, I keep thinking "what if someone needs help?"

I know for me, I need assistance to see the right way of things.. so, it is almost like a paradox If you don't find the way, then you never get assistance. But if you never get assistance, you may never find the way.

Though people may not be born disbelievers (atheists would disagree, haha), if they fall away it is not always by their own conscious choice. This is something I know personally... so this is all a touchy subject for me.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions thoughtfully at-length, thank you.

It is a very interesting and new-to-me way of viewing the situation.. that unbelievers are "not of God". I was at one point a Christian for about ten years before I became an atheist (and now am agnostic, seeking) ... in Christianity they always profess the love of God to everyone, that "You don't love God but God loves you" idea. In a way that was the one and only thing that kept me going as a Christian to begin with.

To think that God would have nothing to do with me as an "unbeliever" is a bit.. depressing.

How can anything of this world not be a part of God? God created everything, or so I thought. Nothing exists but of the will of God, or am I incorrect? Nothing can spontaneously come into existence without God's knowledge or hand in it...

... so how are unbelievers not of God?

I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to keep this going when obviously at least one other person feels the issue is done with ("/thread&quot. I, however, continue to feel my question is not answered because I can't imagine anything on Earth not being "of God". Surely God would be angry with those who would reject, but is there not always love and forgiveness still?

How can one find God if God turns His back on the disbelievers? Would God not want to guide anyone who seeks, believer or not?

This was always one thing that made me hesitant about Islam (I am an agnostic seeker currently, studying Islam for about a year, and finally learning that the sectarian ways are definitely not the right path for me), the language part.

I was always told everyone was to pray in Arabic for "unity" or something along that line. And so I've tried and tried to learn this or that, but in the end all I've done is memorize a bunch of phrases that I have no idea what they mean.

Sure I've looked up the translations, but what I mean is.. when I say the words? I don't recognize what is coming out of my mouth. This makes no sense to me! If I am praying or devoting to God, how does it mean a single thing if I don't understand what I'm doing? I'm an English speaker. I was born in the English-speaking world. It does not make any sense for me to commune with God in any other language.

I think the Arabic language is lovely and beautiful, but I just don't have a knack for this language stuff. brickwall

sorry for the rant D

Since there's no real "intro" area, I thought I'd take example from others and put mine here.

My name is Lynn! I'm a 29-year-old Canadian girl, happily married, with two dogs, one cat, and no kids. I live in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada. I work full-time for the same company for 4 years now. My dogs are the highlight of my life (aside from my husband, haha). Here's a picture

https//lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Uk68vlnveUY/TqBELgrTfEI/AAAAAAAABjM/EKS6e-D-Vvc/s400/begging.jpg

How I got here

I was raised by agnostic parents, but in my youth converted to Christianity by myself. But it never sat "right" with me.. I never could accept that Jesus was God who was also his own son About half way into my Christian journey, I moved toward being a liberal Christian and I declared that I felt Jesus was just a prophet and not the son of God (this was prior to my knowing anything about Islam). I was disowned by nearly every Christian person who knew me at this point.

I stayed a Christian for another four years after that, but in the end I felt I could not reconcile much of what modern-day Christianity was trying to tell me. So I left the faith and swung the other way completely, becoming an atheist.

I was an atheist for about the last three years. During this time, I was still feeling like something was still missing. Though I tried to condemn the notion of God along side my other atheist friends, something just wasn't right. So I decided to start studying other religions and became agnostic during the process.

I started studying Buddhism, then Taosim, and Judaism. None of it really stuck with me. Then during the last year, I started studying Islam, and for whatever reason I just felt drawn to it, which is why I've studied it the longest out of them all.

But there were still a lot of "issues"... a lot of things that didn't jive for what I was being taught by mainstream sectarian Islam.

And that's when I discovered the concept of Quranic Islam, or God Alone, whatever one wants to call it.

I can't call myself a "convert / revert" at the moment, but I've been upping my studies, trying to absorb some of the language slowly over time, and I've begun praying (though I admit not as regularly as I should be). I've adopted a more modest style of clothes and have been trying to bring myself more in line with what I think God would want from me.

I feel good about the path, but I can't say I'm really "there" yet. There are a lot of doubts and questions and concerns and little things holding me back. I'm trying to shake them all off, but it is a process, not something that happens over night.

Soo.. that's a bit about how I got here and a bit about me.

It would be nice to have an "Introduction" area for new people, and then existing members can say hello and welcome them or make suggestions based on basic information the person may be looking for.

This is a staple in all other forums I've ever been apart of over the last decade.. it is shocking to find nothing here for this )

I'm new here I have a question

I've spent a lot of time reading the Qur'an, and it talks a lot about how God basically hates non-believers. I mean a lot. As in constantly.

But it also talks about the forgiveness, mercy, and love of God..

To me right now, these two things seem miles apart. Are not the disbelievers also part of God, made by God, God's creations? Whether or not one believes or not.. even if a child strays from his or her parents, do most not still love their children anyway, rather than resort to hate?

Right now I am not a Muslim.. so God hates me despite any and all efforts to be a good person?

What are your thoughts?

Cheers