Help

[mr p]

I was born into a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school.

However I never truly belived in what the RC church was saying and I kept finding contradictions in what was being said each week in mass.

I honestly just believe the story that Jesus was the son of God was too far fetched more than anything.

I recently started reading lots of books about muhammad Ali and have seen how converting to Islam has changed his life for the better.

For this reason I am interested in the Islamic way of life and in its different beliefs.

I have read some things in the koran and it speaks true to me.

Where would be the best place to start studying Islam?

Thanks

[vinod]

Hmmm...I am not going to directly answer your question. But there is something more important I'd like to say. The study of a religion, any religion, is not a mere matter of reading a book or two. It really is a matter of years during the course of which one must be very true to one's conscience and heart. I just want to set this expectation for you. I am sure you will get responses from others that directly answer your question. I wish you the best in your spiritual quest. Keep at it. It really is a matter of a life time.

[mr p]

thanks man, not out for a quick fix

just a helpful shove in the right direction :P

[Kabeer]

Assalamu Alaikum Mr.P, to the forum.

The parent site to this forum: http://www.understanding-islam.com/

Is a great place to start, it gives answers to many questions about Islam.

Peace.

EDIT: I agree with Vinod's post too, not everything everyone guides you with might be right. I stick with my reccomendation above just because it helped me a lot.

[alan]

Islam in comparison to Christianity,just cuts straight to the chase,it says there is only one God who can be worshipped,the rest is delusion,the ego,the work of Satan or any other distraction you may think of,which draws you away from God.He is closer than your jugular vein.

[khalid zaheer]

asslaam o alaikum Mr. P

welcome here, may Allah bless you with all his blessings and bless you with His special grace to understand His unique message.

I will request you first of all read Quran, think over deeply and examine it before you learn diff. ideologies around yourself.

But always remenmber a thing that Quran is guidance only for those who realy want to get the right path. First give up bad habits if you have and clean yourself, then pray in front of Almighty for guidance that O Allah give me divine help to understand this unique message and make me able to act upon. Inshallah soon you will see yourself on the right path. may Allah bless you


regards

[mr p]

thanks for the advice guys, i believe ther is a god but haven't really felt his influence in my life yet.

hopefully i will soon.

[mr p]

interesting for me to read that muslims are encouraged to eat with their right hands.

this is something i've done naturally since i was little. obviously this was peculiar to others in my community but kinda makes sense to me now.

[CheckList]

I was born into a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school. However I never truly belived in what the RC church was saying and I kept finding contradictions in what was being said each week in mass. I honestly just believe the story that Jesus was the son of God was too far fetched more than anything.

The notion of Jesus as the literal son of God is not necessary in Christianity; there are devout Christians who do not believe Jesus was the son of God. I recommend you take a close look at the Texts of your own heritage, and see how these Christians interpret them.

Where would be the best place to start studying Islam?

In my opinion, the best place to start preparing to study Islam would be the Torah, which is the Five Books of Moses. Not the whole Bible; just start with the Torah.

Why the Torah? According to Islam, the Jews made drastic changes throughout the Torah, from beginning to end. Not just a word here and there, but a thorough revision of the Text. The alleged Textual changes to the Torah include, but are not limited to the following.

The Jews conspired to expunge all prophecies from the Torah regarding the coming of Mohamed; regarding Mohamed as the "seal" or last prophet forever; and regarding Mohamed as a prophet that should be accepted by the Children of Israel.

The Jews conspired to alter descriptions of the biblical patriarchs and prophets who, according to Islam, are completely sin-free and flawless. Thus, any Torah stories about human flaws, poor behavior, or sinful incidents involving the patriarchs and prophets (such as Lot getting drunk and having sexual intercourse with his daughters) are Jewish lies.

The Jews conspired to corrupt all Textual references to Ishmael, in order to rob Ishmael (and his descendants) of birthright ahead of Isaac. For example, the Jews falsified the Torah so that it records Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac instead of Ishmael.

The Jews conspired to falsify Abraham's own birth order, as yet another ploy to rob Ishmael (and his descendants) of birthright. Specifically, the Torah teaches that Abraham was not the firstborn son. As one forum member here complained about the Torah, it's all too "convenient" that Abraham wasn't the firstborn son, that Isaac wasn't the firstborn son, that Jacob wasn't the firstborn son, that Judah wasn't the firstborn son, etc. In other words, the Torah has been falsified to hide the true laws of birthright and inheritance; it's part of the Jewish conspiracy to deny Ishmael's rightful inheritance.

The Jews conspired to even change many of the day-to-day laws. As just one example, the Koran claims that all food legally permitted to Muslims are also legally permitted to Jews. Except, the Torah legally prohibits lots of food that the Koran does not prohibit. This means that either (1) the Koran's claim is false or (2) the Jews conspired to falsify the Torah laws. The answer, according to Islam, is that the Jews falsified the Torah.

So, before you make up your mind - before you reject the Torah as a massive collection of falsifications - I recommend you study the Torah under the tutelage of a respected Rabbi.

A Rabbi will give you an insightful, detailed, indepth view of the Torah that is likely more educational than what you received in Catholic school - and certainly different than the view presented by many Muslims.

The Rabbi can open up the wisdom of the Torah for you, and you will have the opportunity to properly judge whether or not the ancient words "speak true" to you. Moreover, the Rabbi will explain to you that conversion to a new religion is completely unnecessary for you to partake in any universal wisdom and truth that you may find there.

So perhaps this is my most important recommendation; find a traditional Jewish Rabbi to learn and understand the Torah from the traditional Jewish perspective. I think this is part of making an informed decision about Islam.

[alan]

interesting for me to read that muslims are encouraged to eat with their right hands.

this is something i've done naturally since i was little. obviously this was peculiar to others in my community but kinda makes sense to me now.

I do too,naturally.Some muslims asked me if I had trained myself to do this,so I presume,some go to great lengths to have this wonderful,natural tallant we have been blessed with?

[Al-Boriqi]

I was born into a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school.

However I never truly belived in what the RC church was saying and I kept finding contradictions in what was being said each week in mass.

I honestly just believe the story that Jesus was the son of God was too far fetched more than anything.

I recently started reading lots of books about muhammad Ali and have seen how converting to Islam has changed his life for the better.

For this reason I am interested in the Islamic way of life and in its different beliefs.

I have read some things in the koran and it speaks true to me.

Where would be the best place to start studying Islam?

Thanks

Islam enjoins on the servant (i.e. all humans) that they should direct all worship, throuhg sincere intention, to Him and Him alone without any partners, His divieness is exclusive with regards to His worship, His Names and Attributes, and in His Lardship and His sole right to judge certain religious and worldly realities. We beleive He loves the whole of humanity on general terms, and we beleive that through this love is why He sent prophets and Messengers to humanity in oder to spiritaully and physically bring man to his fullest potential. We beliv that the first of these prophets was our father Adam alaihi salam and we beleive in the rest of the prophet (most of them mentioned in the bible) and in Jesus. We beleieve he did not die for our sins nor will he bear the brunt of other peoples sins, but that each will bear the burden of what they themselves have done. We belive he was sent to his peoples to ease and incorperate the law of Moses and that Allah saved him from his enemies who wished to kill him. Allah saved him and raised him up to the heavens until the before the hour (day of judgement) is established.

We beleive that Muhammad was the last line of the prophets and the seal of the messengers, of who no prophet and messenger comes after him. he is the one that completed in totality the religion Moses, David, Abraham, Isaac, Isma'eel, and Jesus mandated upon their people.

Do to our beleif in Muhammad, we beleif he is to be followed as a guiding example of our daily lives and we are taught the sunnah (traditions or ways) of the prophet through the texts of the hadeeth. we as well see his guide through the practices the muslims in general perform provided that their actions are supported and sanctioned through authentic textual evidences.


therefore, we beleive that the abding of the servant (humans) to the command of their Lord is to affirm the statement of absolute monotheism of ash hadu anla ilaha ilallah (there is no diety deserving of worship except Allah alone) and that Muhammad is His last and final messenger.

after the readiness of the servant to accept this as his sole purpose in life, he by default of that recognizes he was commanded to observe the salaah(the muslim prayers), to perform the zakah (giving the charity), to fat in the month of ramadhan, and to at least once in his life, perform hajj if he has the means and is capable of doing so.

the bleif of the muslim is that he has faith and beleif in Allah (in the way as explained up) and to have faith in the all of the prophets and messenger that were names in the quran and sunnah specifically and others generally, and that he beleives in the angels, and that he beleives in the revealed books (like the old scriptures like the torah, gospel, psalms), and to have faith the divine decree, both its good and its ba, and that He is the most knowledgeable of all matters and knows everything that wll happen and nothing is hidden from His knowledge, and that he must beleive in the last day, the day of judgement, whom all creatures and their actions will be judged according to the intentions that were used in carrying out such actons. and that no injustice will be dealt with on that day, and everything that will happen will be just and most deserving.

likewise we also beleive that in order for all of what has been stated above to be correctly done upon correct intentions, that one must rectify oneself. in fatc i say this very pillar (which is what vinod alluded to) is the very essence of what makes everything else work. this is called the heart. if it is corrupt, everything he does will be corrupt. therefore we beleive that the muslims are to purify their inetions on all matters, whether it be seeking knowledge of Islam or performing the worship to Allah.

therefore with regard to the acceptance of all deeds, the intention must be correct
that is why we say that No speech is accepted except with action, and no speech and action are accepted except with intention, and no speech, action, and intention are accepted unless they agree with the sunnah (way of the prophet)"

thereore i say as vinod says. make sure you intention and purpose is correct and that you sincerily and ardently wish to worship ALlah nad sincerily beleive in Him and what he revealed in the Qur'an

i hope things go well for you

[Lamp Of Light]

May Peace and Truth be with us always !

We beleieve he did not die for our sins nor will he bear the brunt of other peoples sins, but that each will bear the burden of what they themselves have done.

I think this is a misunderstanding of what we believe. We as christians are ALSO accountable for our words and deeds. Specifically in doing what we know as sin. Christs sacrifice is not a "Free ticket to sin", but rather it is the means provided whereby which we CAN be forgiven, and God still remain a perfect and just God. Consider that if sin demands death and rejection, and no sinner can enter into heaven, then there must be a means whereby which death is administered and sin is prevented from heaven, else God cannot remain just. It is through Jesus whereby which we believe this occurrs. If , for example, you are determined by God to go to heaven, and yet you have sinned in your life, then the sin demands your rejection and death, yet how can God allow you into heaven, and remain perfectly true to His word and remain just ? It is Jesus who carries that sin on your behalf as the perfect unblemished sacrifice. Priests used to offer up sacrifices of various sorts for various sins (to attone for them), but, Jesus sacrifice is once for all, and he remains our high priest forever. Hope this helps!

May the Glory of the Lord be upon your heart forever !

[alan]

Removed this to LOL,other thread,as maybe not appropriate for this one.Alan

[mr p]

Today I bought the book Islam for Dummies.

This'll tell me the basics in a nutshell before i get down to really reading te koran.

[Kabeer]

I think iv seen that book some years ago. Its fairly good.