I’m a convert to Islam AMA

[Candyapplesandhearts]

All in the title really.

feel free to ask. I know this has been done before but irl people always seem fascinated but too afraid to ask yet have LOTS of questions

i’ll answer a few in advance: I’m white british
I’ve been Muslim 12 years. Since my early 20s
i didn’t convert for a man (Christians and Jews wouldn’t need to anyway)

hope this can be a place to ask a question you’ve wanted to ask IRL but maybe felt too shy or was worried someone would take it the wrong way

Sorry OP, forgot this was your AMA and I was waffling on above.

What's the most impressive or beautiful mosque you've been in?

The ones you hear the most are:

Inshallah - God willing. Said in relation to any future event.

Mashallah - God has willed it. Said when complimenting something.

Subhanallah - glory to God. Said when appreciating something. Sort of like a “oh wow”.

Alhamdulillah - praise be to God. Said when thanking God or showing gratitude.

Another one you might hear is Wallahi. It’s used colloquially. It’s said when swearing on God’s name that you’re telling the truth.

Anyways, sorry OP to hijack your thread! Will bow out!

im rusty but I can read the Quran, not properly though but I can’t speak much above the very basics of conversational Arabic but I’d love to learn. I read it in translation and read the tafsir (explanation) of it

to avoid distraction and I think as a safe space for women, it’s not just for prayer it’s a place where you would go for lectures and many people bring their children, may breastfeed there etc

Don’t apologise, it’s a really interesting place and space to hear different perspectives or the different nuances of different beliefs. I learned something from your comments so thank you!

lots the Abu zayd mosque in Abu Dhabi is lovely but so is the Paris central one

Really helpful, thank you!

Thank you 😊

I have been to one of those mosques and I agree it is stunning.

Sorry the gender difference?

are you referring to why men can marry a Jew or Christian but women can’t?

(let’s ignore the minority view that says it’s ok because it’s not expressly forbidden or those who say it applies to the dominant partner)

its that typically men (at least historically speaking) have been the ‘head of the household’ and the children follow the religion of their father and his influence in the household and position of relative power may also pressure the woman away from Islam

I understand that you didn't convert "for a man", and I am aware that Muslim men are permitted to marry Christian or Jewish women anyway. But did you convert before getting into a relationship with a Muslim man or after?

About 3 years before I ever met my husband.

i was single at the time I became Muslim

Thank you for answering.

Since you converted before meeting your husband, what traditions did you take on? Like, do you now do things the way your husband's family does because they have established traditions or do you do things the way you were taught while converting? Sorry if that's a silly question! I'm Jewish and there are so many different traditions in Judaism depending mostly on where you're from. It really affects eg what food you eat, so I guess I'm assuming it's similar for Muslims :)

If you have a daughter, would you encourage her to wear a hijab, and at what age?

So culture shouldn’t impact religion, innovation or certain traditions different from the sunnah (path) of the prophet are a grave sin. So it’s best to stay away.

i don’t wear ethnospecific clothes or clothes from his culture as it’s a bit like cultural appropriation to me

ive learned certain recipes from his culture though which is nice

So from puberty she will have to wear one at a mosque. Outside the home, I think I’d encourage modesty but not explicitly the headscarf, I think that’s something I’d want her to be 100% comfortable with as it does become a core part of your identity

Do you feel that she would be under pressure in the community to wear one, or is it very personal?

Maybe but there’s pressure all around at the end of the day, in every culture but she’s her own person

I'm glad that she is, it's difficult for teenagers and cultural norms, whatever the background.

Hi OP, thanks for this thread. A question I've had for a little while re the Qu'ran, is this: in my understanding a central Muslim belief is the perfection of the Qu'ran, especially in the original Arabic (I don't speak Arabic so not in a position to say if it's particularly special in that way). This perfection obviously includes being factually correct in every way, but I'm aware of a couple of errors the Qu'ran makes regarding Christian doctrines. One is, Mary the mother of Jesus is identified as the sister of Moses (several hundred years apart), the other which also relates to Mary, states that the Christian Trinity includes Mary as one of the three in one. Obviously neither of these is right, so I'm wondering how you reconcile that with such a definitive claim of perfection? Thanks again!

So the Quran doesn’t claim her to be the biological sister of Moses in that sense rather attributes her to a prominent figure from her lineage

https://www.abuaminaelias.com/quran-mistake-maryam-harun/

https://www.islamic-awareness.org/quran/contrad/external/mary

mary isn’t though to be part of the trinity the verse you’re referring to is just an example of the Quran saying Mary is just human too, don’t worship her
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/islamic-belief/does-the-quran-imply-that-mary-is-part-of-the-trinity/

Thanks @Candyapplesandhearts

I was not aware of "sister of" as an honorific thing, except within the same generation where I could see it being used euphemistically. I still feel it's more likely to be a case of mistaken identity because the name of Maryam's father is given as Imran as well, which is IMO too close to Amram (Miriam's father in the Torah) to be a coincidence, you essentially have two members of Miriam's family associated with Mary/Maryam there.

On the second point I believe the verse is along the lines of the People of the Book (Christians) being told not to worship Jesus and Mary along with God/Allah, because they are just humans, they eat food etc. So it comes across as telling Christians to stop worshipping Mary. To me that is a misunderstanding as well.

Thanks again for the reply, I have not had an opportunity to ask any Muslim about these. I hope I haven't caused any offence. I am reading the Qu'ran and find it very interesting, and I really like some aspects of the Muslim way of life in terms of the structure.

Some Christians DO worship Mary though, she’s prayed to, islamically that is worship.

Christians do not worship Mary.
In the RC religion, saints are figures of intercession. You can pray for specific things, focussing on the nature of their sainthood.
You may disagree with this practice , but Mary is not a god.
Christians believe in One God.

I agree that Christians do not worship Mary.

I think this is where the issue is. Catholics pray to Mary for intercession, so they believe she has the ear of God, not that she is God. Muslims may belive things of other religions, but that doesn't mean they are correct. It just means they are applying their own belief systems to other peoples beliefs.