Losing my religion

[oz_girl]

it has...thanks for the replies...

here i thought i was satan incarnate..

[Paragon]

^Oz girl, I am glad to hear sister.

 

Just like Siren has mention in her post, doubt or confusion happens to many people, but with Allah's help they regain their faith.

 

I don't know whether you know about it but even one of our best known Muslim philosophers (Imam Ghazali) had the same crisis of faith. So it happens, my dear girl

 

And I pray that you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Amin.

[Blessed]

If you don't ask, how will you know.. and if you don't know, how can you believe? The Quran is full of stories of how the righteous people of the past struggled in their search for God. Our Messenger has spent many years in seclusion, questioning, contemplating about the Creator before Allah guided him. The Quran challenges to think, ponder and keep searching..

 

How do we know the prophet said these things? Is it not possible people could have fiddled with the quran? Is it not possible that the witnesses could have misheard or misinterpreted what the prophet said?

I think this is the most important question of all. You need to have firm faith in the Quran first and foremost as you can find the answers to all the other questions in the Quran itself.

 

Can I ask what lead you to question the validity / authenticity of the Quran?

 

As for your Q.

 

The Prophet (SAW)ensured that his companions knew and understood the Quran by:

 

1.Explaining the meanings of verses in the Quran..

 

2. He practised it's teachings to the extent that Aisha described him as a 'walking Quran'.

 

3. He recited different chapters of the Quran in Salah.

 

4. He thought them how to recite the Quran correctly and encouraged those who knew to teach it to others. Every verse that as revealed was thought to the masses - who were encouraged to pass it on.

 

5. A number of companions have memorised the Quran and almost every Muslim had committed a few chapters to memory (as that's a requirement to establish prayer).

 

6. He also had scribes who would write verses of the Quran on bones, animal skin - leaves.

 

The Quran was therefore eveywhere and part of the daily life of Muslims in the era of the Prophet (SAW)- It didn't just sit in a shelf collecting dust as is sadly the case in many Muslim homes - in our era.

 

After the death of the Prophet (SAW), during the Khalifah of Abu Bakr it as decided that it was a necessity to record the Quran in book form. A committee made up Zaid (the Prophets chief scribe), companions who memorised the Quran and those who were with Him in his last Ramadan when he reviewed the whole Quran - came together collected all the various verses that were written down. They have compared what was written to what was memorised and it was recorded in order in a leather book. All the other copies of the Quran were made from that book/.

 

Within the Quran itself - Allah has stated that he will preserve and protect it. This was not a promise that Allah has made in previous scriptures. The miracle of the Quran, it's contents which give details of scientific facts that made no sense in that age also negate the argument that it's of human authorship.

 

 

Apply the quran to today’s standards? Why would god prevent us from evolving?

Does he want us to follow rulings that were created for a different era and apply it to our current situation?

First of all which standards? Are they universal? Who sets these standards and how permanent are they? Have our base human needs, desires, abilities really changed since the era of the Messenger? If so, how?

 

 

You said you don't believe in God but not in the Islamic sense- what have you learned about the Islamic teaching of God - that has put you off? What are your parameters of what god is or isn't?

 

 

I hope I'm not confusing you even more but Insha Allah - if you tell us your concerns then we can help you out / point you in the right direction ala books and sites.

[oz_girl]

i appreciate all your replies...

I need to do a lot of soul searching and read more on the religion before i make a final decision either way...

Thank you so much for your help sol members...

*ramadan kareem*

[Oz]

Salam Oz sis, Hope all the advice given above helps you achieve your faith.

 

Please find time for this Doubts about faith

[oz_girl]

will do...

thanks oz

[Peacenow]

This is a great post. And to the poster. I say this. Don't let them dare to make you unhappy. Do whatever makes you happy and content. I support you.

[Sabriye amp co.]

I'm Glad that Our sister OZ_girl has found some good advice and pointers here in this post.

 

What strikes me the most is the number of incidents in which Shaytan uses ones whims and desires to cast doubt in a believer’s mind and have them edge towards loosing faith in THE CREATOR! i.e Why isn’t GOD the way I want GOD to be? Failing to see if everyone was to have a god that fit their preferred description... we would be stuck with millions of so called gods! Astaqfurulah.

 

A Counter to these mindsets would be a real grasp of knowledge in the concerning theology “ DIIN” or Our way of life “ ISLAM”, for the more you know about Islam the stronger Your imaan grows and the lesser prone you’ll be to pitfalls.

 

Moving on from human whims and desires, there are certain regions that Iblis indeed tries to push a believer in and these regions are beyond human comprehension. For example questioning the Wisdom of the all mighty or to question the essence of ALLAH, His Nature. To ask the question "what came before ALLAH?" is an area where we should refrain our brain from going forward in. Similarly, to question the will of ALLAH.

 

When people delve into such things, they should start realizing that they are in absolutely no position to do this. For people to seriously consider questioning the nature of ALLAH and His Will, then they must be extremely arrogant not to realize how much they are in no position to be doing such thing because then they would be deceiving them self’s into thinking they have the ability to comprehend the whole and complete Knowledge and wisdom of ALLAH, which undoubtedly is a false and a very dangerous assumption!

[hodman]

I think it is very courageous to voice these doubts. Thank you for being brave enough to ask. I also believe like the other sister mentioned that doubt happens sooner or later if you are a thinking human. How you react is the key difference and seeking knowledge to counter the doubts is very important. Nur maybe you should elaborate on the specifics of the steps needed to counter the doubts

[Castro]

^^^^ "Blessed is the mind too small for doubt."

[rudy-Diiriye]

oz-gal is just a drama queen! wonder why dqs are plenty in down under...must be the water.

[Nur]

Hodman sis

 

You Suggest:

 

"Nur maybe you should elaborate on the specifics of the steps needed to counter the doubts"

 

 

The problem of doubt is prevalent among young adults in their spiritual formative years, I can relate to it because I went through the same confusion the sister is talking about.

 

Many Muslims of all ages experience these bouts of "WASAAWIS" as its known in the Arabic language, whose origins are either a wild thought from the blue, or reading an article on the web by an agnostic, or an argument at school or work.

 

Different people handle these WASAAWIS differently, some resolve it by systematically seeking answers for the questions that triggered the particular WASWAAS, and if they are objective, they usually find a satisfying answer, others, who have a similar background like the Sister OZ girl ( being raised by parents who do not practice Islam, yet claim to believe in Islam), are hit the worst with the scourge of religious doubt on fundamentals of faith.

 

The person who suffers these bouts of WASAAWIS also needs to persist in seeking answers for questions that trigger the confusion, and usually the questions fall in one of the following categories:

 

1. Questions about the existence of Allah

 

2. Questions about the attributes of Allah ( How Allah administers Justice, and Allah's Mercy, etc)

 

3. Questions about the Integrity of the Prophet SAWS.

 

4. Questions about validity of the Sharia.

 

5. Questions about Democracy.

 

 

If diseases can weaken our physical well-being and when left untreated, can lead to death, likewise, unanswered questions in our minds can weaken our spiritual fiber leading to Kufr if not treated with convincing answers.

 

The narrower the question and its implications, the easier in finding a suitable answer in Islam, however, when the question is an open ended question like those submitted here by sister Oz Girl, we find it more challenging in finding a suitable answer the will satisfy her , because the questions are fuzzy, anyone trying to answer her questions can be challenged to the foundations.

 

Another factor that I find as a problem for Oz Girl is her limited education in Islam as she was not brought up to practice Islam nor was her questions as a child answered in a convincing way due to the environment in which she grew up.

 

 

But I agree with you Hodman sis that I should address the WASAAWIS problem in depth in one of the upcoming eNuri threads inshallah. Your Duaa is appreciated for an "Ilhaam minalllah", innahu samiicun basiir.

 

 

Nur

[Taleexi]

Good discussion

[Dhagax-Tuur]

Many converts to Islam and even some who were born in Islam, but never knew nothing about, would tell you that it is exactly this state of affairs that the sister is going through has eventually led them to the safety of Islam and eventually their hearts have found peace and tranquility in Islam. I hope that you do.

 

My suggestion to you is, be sincere about your search and if, that is if, you believe in there being a Creator ask him, sincerely (I cannot stress enough of the importance of being sincerity) to direct you to the right path.

[bint hamid]

Many Muslims of all ages experience these bouts of "WASAAWIS" as its known in the Arabic language, whose origins are either a wild thought from the blue, or reading an article on the web by an agnostic, or an argument at school or work.

totally! and its even harder in kufrstan where theres always somebody telling you how horrible muslims are..jazakallah khayran akhi for your articles..may Allah use ur words to strengthen the eeman of brothers and sisters in need