Interested in Islam?

[loversrock]

Ok so I'm interested in looking into Islam. I think I believe in god but I wouldn't say I'm religious at all. I know little bits about Islam but I'm not full of knowledge. I'm quite a factual person so need something to 'blow my mind' to believe if that makes sense? Any reverts here that could point me in the right direction? Also what made you revert did you suddenly become a believer or did it take time to read and look into it? Thanks :)

Sorry fekko I was referring to zipeys health warning just prior to yourself.

Sorry fekko I was referring to zipeys health warning just prior to yourself.

I got you (though it was 😂)!

Hi pannnn How did things go for you ? I remember reading about you and your lady.

To the OP. Read about the prophet Mohammed and see how he lived his life according to Islam. True Islam is actually very practical . It's about being honest , kind, trust worthy, generous, gracious, clean , loving , gentle etc in your day to day life. There is no hierarchy or additional deities. Your relationship is directly with God.

Hi there! Thank you for remembering!

All is well thank you. We have a date for a wedding in December at the mosque and a civil ceremony in the city next July.

Yes I know there is an emphasis in personal conduct in Islam as you outline. Sometimes it's very challenging!

pannnn that's such great news! I'm so excited for you guys :) sending many huggs and best wishes ! Hope you have a beautiful wedding day and a beautiful life together :)

For the Op, If I could sum up what Islam is , i would say , its when you are faced with a choice , choosing the right thing , the just thing to do, the kind thing to do etc. Both for yourself and society as a whole.

When learning about Islam surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook on life and on islam (and faith in general) . People who are supportive and kind and who are likely to support you what ever you decide to do in the end . Like you would when selecting any other friendship basically.

Don't fall into the trap of "original sin" , apologising for the life you have lived etc and shedding your identity. ( unless of course that's your personal choice ) but I say try to see Islam as a way of life as you said and its probably just labelling a lot of things you may already believe , feel or think. And just probably just being more consciously aware of what it means to live a good life .

Sorry about the long post but hope it makes sense.

Death is the ultimate sanction for apostecy (Iran, Saudi, Syria have carried this out in the recent past) but there are other less severe punishments such as imprisonment etc.

Children don't have a choice in joining a religion but as an adult to actively join is madness.

I'm not sure loversrock has too much to worry about re death for leaving Islam and 'revenge' from middle eastern states.

zippey lots of Muslims dont believe there is any punishment for apostasy at all, the Qur'an states that there is no compulsion in religion.

yes this apostasy is death obsession serves lots of different parties. about the only people it doesnt piss me off to hear that from is refugees, iv heard of and met a few myself who convert to christianity in order to help their asylum applications. sincere conversions or not - and maybe when they see the kindness from native christians the conversion becomes real - theres hundreds of such cases in the UK alone and theyre not sought out and killed. likewise in other parts of Europe. they say 'dont send me back to Iran/Iraq/Syria/Afghanistan apostasy laws argh' but they happily go around in the UK/Germany even trying to convert other muslims ha.

but you know what i dont begrudge them that i wouldnt want to return to their basket case countries either and well, shit doesnt travel upstream and why should they stay there when they can paddle up? And if the muslim community hasnt done such a good job of helping and taking care of them in many places its the christians who go out of their way - thats sin on us not them.

OP you can choose an easy theology but a practise based religion like Islam or a difficult theology but a non rules based religion like Christianity.

muslim converts from christianity tend to like the orderliness of islam and christian converts from islam tend to leave because of that same thing. I like Christianity for its ease, some days i also wonder 'gah theres just too many rules wouldnt it just be easier.....' but its the bible and its trinity that dissuades me. both its complexity and the subsequent need and reliance on a priest class to explain it. as an earlier poster pointed out, there are no intercessors in Islam its very much between you and God.

i like christians, the nice ones have more love for humanity and all its dysfunctions than muslims. (in my personal opinion). theyre very merciful loving people. but i just dont think christianity is practical. nice idea like communism but where theres no motivation where comes the struggle for self improvement? giving everyone a get out of jail free card because of belief in Jesus as saviour i think doesnt help the human condition and our spiritual and social ailments. as desmond tutu put it, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in." i think Muhammad's tradition addresses that much more thoroughly than Jesus' tradition.

Trust me, my mum had a hotline to god. I think the vicar was scared of her, bless her.

and in islam, you can be the most prayerful person but if youve wronged someone God doesnt ignore that. you must take steps to ask forgiveness of that person and/or make it right otherwise ones immortal soul is in peril. God can forgive lapses in worship towards Himself, or engaging in behaviours that can harm ones own self. but God does not easily forgive offences against other people.

"O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin of mine. I ask You to forgive me all the injustices against Your servants that You have enumerated against me; for Your servants have against me many claims of violated rights and injustices to which I am held captive. O Allah, even if these evil deeds of mine are many in number, they are a paltry few in sight of Your forgiveness. O Allah, any male or female servant of Yours who has against me a claim of injustice, that I forcefully seized from him something of his land or wealth or honor or body- whether he was absent or present, or whether he or his representatives demanded from me compensation for it but neither was I able to return it to him nor did I seek to be pardoned for it- I ask that You, with Your benevolence, generosity, and abundant treasures, satisfy them on my behalf; and do not give them over me power to take away and decrease my good deeds. For indeed You possess what can satisfy them on my behalf, and I do not. And do not make a way for their bad deeds to overcome my good deeds on the day of Judgment."

that prayer by the famous ascetic Imam Hasan Al Basri is the simplest way to explain islamic belief on sin.

Thank you everyone this post has been very interesting!

Accepting Islam / Reverts: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBSBWuupj82tb5JemZ70_gpSk3tgvc3xV

Hi, I especially like the Jeffrey Lang video in this playlist, it's worth watching.

sun I'm a well paid career woman, dh does the school runs grin

There are 100's of 1000's well paid Muslim career women living very happy lives in the Middle East and plenty of Muslim dads doing the school runs [winks]