Just a question about Islam...

[Wayward Soul]

Salaam!

Over the past year or two I have flip-flopped between Christianity and Islam. However now I have chosen Islam as my path. I have not recited the Shahada this time (I have many times before, but reverted back to Christianity) because I feel guilty about doing it the other times and going back on my word to Allah and turning back to Christianity. So I will not recite it this time until I am completely sure about my faith, as I do not wish to disgrace or betray Allah by bearing false witness and going back on my Shahada.

The reason I went back to Christianity all those times, honestly, was because of Western propaganda against Islam. I felt guilty being a Muslim and I felt that I was somehow the enemy of my fellow Americans, because that is how Muslims are so often portrayed on television and in the cinema. While I know that that is not true, my faith was easily shaken because of my fear of how others would see me. I understand that was weakness and immature and I have repented to Allah time and time again for it.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this feeling of guilt when reverting to Islam from Christianity? Also, I just wanted to add that reading the Koran has definitely had more of an impact on my life than the Bible has. I've recently had my heart broken and shattered by a heartless woman, and just by reading the Koran I felt at peace inside and was able to quickly recover. The Koran is truly a holy book, much more so than the Bible!

[- Qatada -]

Wayward soul, if you have firm belief that Islam is the truth - then you should say your shahadah. Islam is to believe in the heart, and to profess it on the tongue, and to practise it with your body. Keeping faith in your heart alone is not enough.

So if you are convinced by its truth, then say the shahadah; I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. - Say; Ash hadu an laa illaaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasool Allah.



Secondly; you might find it hard to follow Islam due to your strangeness in the sight of others. But ask yourself; wasn't Jesus a stranger in the presence of his people? The majority being Jews or Romans, whereas he was the only one upon the truth.


I recommend you read this article;

Strangeness of the Strangers;
http://www.islamicboard.com/general/...strangers.html


It will make you realise that being strange is a sign of belief in Allah and His message of truth, and that being strange is a sign of future good news.

You might find this relevant too;
http://www.islamicboard.com/manners-...nt-muslim.html



If you believe Islam is the truth, then say that with your tongue, and practise it with your body. Allah is your witness, and He will support those who are sincere in His cause.

[AhlaamBella]

It all comes on to what maes you revert in the first place. If you believe trly in your heart that Go has spoken to you through the Qur'an and his laws need to be followe, then the west could do whatever they liked and you wouldn't falter in your belief of what God wants from you

[iloveislam1]

This e-book should be of relevance to you...

Strengthening of the Faith

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[omar ibrahim]

hi bro i would like to tell you that people around you will not benefit you in the here after

[saarah]

..if u revert just bcoz of media may b its high time u qs ur eeman ..n studied more about islam...so dat ur heart is satisfioed n u knbow what when is wrong...n how smthing is correct.....i tel u brother...its imp dat eeman enters ur heart n once it is dere u wil find peace n strenghth...u qs urself..y do u want to b muslim???if u think islam is an anemy y u embrace islam n if its not..y lisetn wat de media says....

[sunnyhayat]

There is no need to flip flop brother. There is only one correct path and that is the one shwon by our beloved Prophet saw.

[smilewithhaqq]

Brother stick to your faith in Islam because Allah swt is the only God and Muhammad is the final messenger. You can respect all religions but the thing is Allah swt is testing you with trials you need to be strong bro. Also do not feel ashamed of your religion your religion is a big part of you bro you must be proud to be a Muslim and as a matter of fact Islam promotes good things so by you being Muslim you're also promoting good things and it's helpful for everybody in your community. salam.

[freethinking]

If the quran gives yoiu peace it can be the light of falsehood for the Bible warns that satan can decieve as such. What satan cannopt do is replicate real Love but he can and does all else to steal people from God.
Two questions for those who seek the truth
what new WISOM is in the quran that was not already in the Bible
and why did such a small work as the quran resut from the only prophet who had to go into a cave for his revelations and had apparently 23 years of revelations compared to all the Biblical prophets who had only one or tweo revelations yet produced much more truth and profundity and the bible is much bigger than the quran, The Bible is spiritual too and only truely undertandable by the grace of God's holy spirit.
The Holy spirit is the one true Comforter and it is such a rich and Glorious feeling when God's Holy Spirit is with you

Bless you

[جوري]

If the quran gives yoiu peace it can be the light of falsehood for the Bible warns that satan can decieve as such.

The only real satanists are those who persist in ignorance and falsehood!

5:41 (Asad) O APOSTLE! Be not grieved by those who vie with one another in denying the truth: such as those [50] who say with their mouths, "We believe," the while their hearts do not believe; and such of the Jewish faith as eagerly listen to any falsehood, eagerly listen to other people without having come to thee [for enlightenment]. [51] They distort the meaning of the [revealed] words, taking them out of their context, saying [to themselves], "If such-and-such [teaching] is vouchsafed unto you, accept it; but if it is not vouchsafed unto you, be on your guard!" [52] [Be not grieved by them-] for if God wills anyone to be tempted to evil, thou canst in no wise prevail with God in his behalf. [53] It is they whose hearts God is not willing to cleanse. Theirs shall be ignominy in this world, and awesome suffering in the life to come-

What satan cannopt do is replicate real Love but he can and does all else to steal people from God.

and I believe that is indeed the case of christians who don't worship God, but a man named Jesus as they were instructed by the dissolute and non-chosen apostle 'Saul'

Two questions for those who seek the truth
what new WISOM is in the quran that was not already in the Bible

here are a few:

Textual Integrity

Logical Consistency

Miraculous Features

Supernatural eloquence
Scientific statements far ahead of its time

and why did such a small work as the quran resut from the only prophet who had to go into a cave for his revelations and had apparently 23 years of revelations compared to all the Biblical prophets who had only one or tweo revelations yet produced much more truth and profundity and the bible is much bigger than the quran, The Bible is spiritual too and only truely undertandable by the grace of God's holy spirit.

The Quran is no small work, it is comparable to the bible (sans the OT) which you already do not follow in commandments, however content is an entirely different challenge. Since the bible isn't even up to par with classic fables. Also I'd never compare the Quran to the bible, if anything at all it would be compared to ahadith, since the Quran is the living word of God while the bible is a collection written by nameless charlatans -- the ahadith themselves have a proper chain of Isnad which is more than anything the bible and its authors could possibly hope for by way of integrity.. we won't touch upon the absurdities that lie therein.. you know along the lines of:

Lot had sex with his two daughters. One might even conclude that he had God's help in this, as he was both very old and very drunk at the time. There was no punishment for any of them. On the contrary, both daughters were rewarded with sons who founded nations (Gen 19:33-38). Earlier (Gen 19:8), Lot had offered his daughters to be used by a mob. And Peter said that Lot was a "righteous man" (2Peter 2:8).

Islam is a complete way of life, spiritual, political, economical, social structure, it impacts and covers every aspect of man's life.. while the bible is much ado about nothing for even your basic tenet which is the death of the self-immolating man/god isn't even mentioned by Jesus (p) he prayed according to you then forsake himself, he impregnated a young child with himself, was born to suckle of her and then die.. what sort of nonsense do you pass for a religion and then come speak of the devil.

May the one true God, the God of Abraham and Moses and all the righteous guide him.. and you, well good luck to you!

to the OP to answer your Q, we all have our moments of weakness but you should only put the love of God and fear of God only in your heart.. people are just people, they are mindless goats the more they B.S the more animal like they become and that really shouldn't faze you!


all the best

[peaceandlove]

Salaam!

Over the past year or two I have flip-flopped between Christianity and Islam. However now I have chosen Islam as my path. I have not recited the Shahada this time (I have many times before, but reverted back to Christianity) because I feel guilty about doing it the other times and going back on my word to Allah and turning back to Christianity. So I will not recite it this time until I am completely sure about my faith, as I do not wish to disgrace or betray Allah by bearing false witness and going back on my Shahada.

The reason I went back to Christianity all those times, honestly, was because of Western propaganda against Islam. I felt guilty being a Muslim and I felt that I was somehow the enemy of my fellow Americans, because that is how Muslims are so often portrayed on television and in the cinema. While I know that that is not true, my faith was easily shaken because of my fear of how others would see me. I understand that was weakness and immature and I have repented to Allah time and time again for it.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this feeling of guilt when reverting to Islam from Christianity? Also, I just wanted to add that reading the Koran has definitely had more of an impact on my life than the Bible has. I've recently had my heart broken and shattered by a heartless woman, and just by reading the Koran I felt at peace inside and was able to quickly recover. The Koran is truly a holy book, much more so than the Bible!

:sl: Brother

I cannot comment on you doing , just want to suggest you one thing

I think you already know in your heart that Islam is true and you just fear from people that what they think or you might get harm

If you really fear that you can get harm , so just donot disclose your acceptence to Islam yet to those people whom you feel fear or damange , and in your heart and private and those people who you know can disclose your feeling or even to least just donot disclose it to any body yet and accept it in your heart i think its much better option for you then what you might be doing.

May Allah guide us all to the ture path

[B_M]

he impregnated a young child with himself

You play your own faith when you say that. If the Qu'ran says Jesus was born of a virgin.. explain to me how he was conceived..

[جوري]

You play your own faith when you say that. If the Qu'ran says Jesus was born of a virgin.. explain to me how he was conceived..

The same way Adam was created!

all the best

[Muslimman]

Dear bro,
You have to understand that True Islam and True Christianity are both Islam. There is only one religion which is Islam and 3 messages with different rules, but with one message. All the reasons you mentioned are not related to Islam. So you have to drop all of them and remember that you can't please everyone, espcially if it were at the cost of true religion.
May Allah protect you

[IAmZamzam]

If the Qu'ran says Jesus was born of a virgin.. explain to me how he was conceived..

By way of God using His omnipotence to override the need for there to be a father at all, perhaps by making a sperm materialize out of thin air in one of her ova or perhaps by altering the way the way that particular ovum worked. In any case there was no father, which is a very natural, logical, intuitive corrolary to there being no father: it is Christianity, not Islam, that has a lot of 'splain' to do in this regard.

[Predator]

You play your own faith when you say that. If the Qu'ran says Jesus was born of a virgin.. explain to me how he was conceived..

3:59: The similitude of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was.

So as you can see God states that Jesus and Adam are similar in his sight, however so what does that mean?

Jesus' similitude to God is that of Adam, means that just like Adam, Jesus was also created in a miraculous way, through a virgin birth and having no father. This was very similar to Adam, Adam was created without a mother or father.

And it is this that God is emphasizing, how both these men were created in a very similar fashion, without having parents, and without the act of sexual intercourse. It also refute claims of him being divine. It is very important to remember this point, that the context is also meant to refute any claims of Jesus' divinity, and one common argument and claim brought up to show Jesus is divine is that of his virgin birth.

Hence God precisely brings up Adam and the similarity in his creation and coming into this world with that of Jesus, to refute the weak claims of Christians, because if Jesus is divine for a virgin birth with no father, then Adam must be double divine because he has no father or mother! So therefore God is refuting this silly claim, and making it clear to the believers that both Jesus and Adam are similar in their creation, which did not come about through sexual intercourse, but came about directly from God himself.

If the claim is made that Jesus is God's son because he was created without a father, then the same claim befits Adam even more. However, since such a claim regarding Adam is obviously false, then making the same claim about `Jesus is even more false.

Furthermore, by mentioning these facts, God emphasizes His ability, by creating

1Adam without a male or female,
2.Eve from a male without a female,
3.Jesus from a female without a male,

compared to His creating the rest of creation from male and female. This is why God said in Surah Maryam,

(And We made him a sign for mankind) [19: 21].

((This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.)

meaning, this is the only true story about `Jesus, and what is beyond truth save falsehood God next commands His Messenger to call those who defy the truth, regarding `Jesus, to the curse

[Ramadhan]

You play your own faith when you say that. If the Qu'ran says Jesus was born of a virgin.. explain to me how he was conceived..

Do you believe in God?
if yes, go next

Do you believe God created this universe, a universe that is vast vast beyond comprehension?
if yes, go next

Do you believe God created Adam (as) out of nothing (or from clay, will you) with no father, no mother?
if yes, go next

and then now you are asking that it is not possible for God to create Jesus (as) without a father?

I think you are the one who should examine your own faith.

[Perseveranze]

If the quran gives yoiu peace it can be the light of falsehood for the Bible warns that satan can decieve as such.

Lol, is that what they are telling you?

This book, preaching about taking in orphans, giving to the poor, taking care of parents, working for widows/elderly, praying 5 times a day... "the Satan can be very decieving" - And Christians buy that?

Wow lol.

[B_M]

So by God's command, Jesus was conceived..

So in Luke when it says 'the power of the Most High will overshadow you'.. nobody here feels it's the same difference?

Same concept, different terminology, no?

[جوري]

So by God's command, Jesus was conceived.. So in Luke when it says 'the power of the Most High will overshadow you'.. nobody here feels it's the same difference? Same concept, different terminology, no?

No.. aside from the dubious sources of your bible and lack of textual integrity or consensus on what actually took place.. We don't know who you consider the most high?.. it seems most of you delegate the position of God to a middle eastern man named Jesus!

all the best

[IAmZamzam]

What concept? Be very specific.

[Predator]

So by God's command, Jesus was conceived..

So in Luke when it says 'the power of the Most High will overshadow you'.. nobody here feels it's the same difference?

Same concept, different terminology, no?

The Biblical Version states

"And the angle answered and said into her : 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee" (Luke 1:35)

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, (as husband and wife) she was found with child of the holy ghost."(Matthew 1:18)


Can't you see that you are giving the atheist, the skeptic, the agnostic a stick to beat you with? They may well ask "How did the Holy Ghost come upon Mary?" "How did the Highest overshadow her?" The language used here, is distasteful.

Now contrast this with the language of the Quran:

The Quranic Version
"He said (the angel says in reply): 'Even so: Allah (God) createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a
plan, He but saith to it, 'Be,' and it is!' " (3:47)

This is the Muslim concept of the birth of Jesus. For God to create a Jesus, without a human father, He merely has to will it. If He wants to create a million Jesus' without fathers or mothers, He merely wills them into existence. He does not have to take seeds and transfer them, like men or animals by contact or artificial insemination . He wills everything into being by His word of command "Be" and "It is".

There is nothing new in what I am telling you,.

It is in the very first Book of your Holy Bible,

Genesis 1:3 "And God said..." What did He say? He said "Be" and "It was".

He did not have to articulate the words. This is our way of understanding the word "Be", that He willed everything into being.

Further, if the Christian splits hairs by arguing that Adam was "created" from the dust of the ground, whereas Jesus was immaculately "begotten" in the womb of Mary, then let us remind him that, even according to his own false standards, there is yet another person greater than Jesus, in his own Bible . Who is this superman?

(Hebrews 7:1,3)

"For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God... Without father, without mother, without
descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life..."

Here is a candidate for Divinity itself, for only God Almighty could possess these qualities.

Adam had a beginning (in the garden), Jesus had a beginning (in the stable); Adam had an end and, claim the Christians, so had Jesus "and he gave up the ghost". But where is Melchisedec? Perhaps he is hibernating somewhere like Rip Van Winkel (a fairy tale character who slept for many ages.)

The Sons of God

The Muslim takes strong exception to the Christian dogma that "Jesus is the only begotten son, begotten not made". They know that according to their own God given (?) records, God has sons by the tons:

"...Adam, which was the son of God."(Luke 3:38)
"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair... And when the sons of God came in unto
the daughters of men, and they bare children to them..." (Genesis 6: 2,4)
"...Israel is My son, even My firstborn:" (Exodus 4:22)
"...for I (God) am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn." (Jeremiah 31:9)
"...the Lord hath said unto me (David): 'Thou art My son: this day have I begotten thee." (Psalms 2:7)
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 18:14)

Can't you see that in the language of the Jew, every righteous person, every Tom, Dick and Harry who followed the Will and Plan of God, was a "Son of God". It was a metaphorical descriptive term commonly used among the Jews.

[R4SH33D]

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, brother Wayward Soul;

I find it a shame your sincere post and question has been turned into a common debate which could be dealt with on many other posts more relevant to 'Cristianity vs Islam' or whatever. So I will try to answer your question with my own experiences, which is what I think you asked for in the first place.

Brother I also grew up in the Christian faith, but after reading the Bible (which by the way is ONE of the holy sciptures, let us not forget) numerous times, I found a major contradiction between the sciptures and what other 'Christians' tried to teach in schools etc. So I could never bring myself to worship Jesus (pbuh) as God, even as a Christian I prayed to The Almighty God Himself, Allah. Now this was long before I even learnt of Islam and ever since I did discover Islam I knew there was more truth to it than that of 'Christianity'.

I have a feeling your case is similar and that you know deep down in your heart, that you have been guided to the truth. Embrace it brother, do as another brother advised in the first replies and say your Shahadah, say it every day. Keep your faith strong in your heart and indeed let it roll off the tongue.

As for the fear of what people around you will think and/or do, I also had the same feelings. Sometimes I still do but as you grow stronger in faith you will find it becomes much easier. For now, simply keep your faith just that, YOURS. Allah knows what is in our hearts brother. He even tells us we can deny our faith to the non-believers if we are in fear of harm from them, as long as we never deny it in our hearts or go back from the truth which has now been revealed to us.

You're a muslim my brother and as a muslim you will be tested by our Creator. I said my Shahada only once in public when I converted to Islam, afterwards a brother said this to me "Always remain a muslim now, bro. Even if it's a bad muslim." Ever since that day I have wayed and strayed, but I remain a muslim and advise you do the same, insha'Allah.

P.S. Try watching less television too ;)

[B_M]

The Qur'an also states..

O ye People of the Book! believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was (already) with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition, and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers, for the decision of Allah Must be carried out. - 4:47

Or do they envy mankind for what Allah hath given them of his bounty? but We had already given the people of Abraham the Book and Wisdom, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. - 4:54



So how could one say that This Bible is all full of twisted illogical lies? When The Qu'ran itself is implying The Bible is unchanged? Jesus spoke in parables throughout his whole ministry. Parables. Stories.

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.. yes.. and what do we think that means?

It sounds like God's presence to me. Overshadow? What does that sound like? To me, sounds like God's power.

You say God says 'Be' as God says 'Be' in Genesis. Do we believe that literal? Do we really think God spoke with his mouth, said 'Be' and it was? I thought it's blasphemy to put human attributes to God? So, God (and as Christianity teaches, The Holy Ghost is God) comes upon thee, overshadows thee, and says 'Be' and it was. How could we take 'comes upon and overshadows' literal.. and not 'Be'.

All 3 statements imply the same result.


And to the previous poster....How doesn't this go with the topic?

[IAmZamzam]

You say God says 'Be' as God says 'Be' in Genesis. Do we believe that literal? Do we really think God spoke with his mouth, said 'Be' and it was? I thought it's blasphemy to put human attributes to God? So, God (and as Christianity teaches, The Holy Ghost is God) comes upon thee, overshadows thee, and says 'Be' and it was. How could we take 'comes upon and overshadows' literal.. and not 'Be'.

All 3 statements imply the same result.

Exactly. That's exactly it. The Koran says that all God has to do is say, "Be," and something is. It does not say that this word out of His mouth is part of God Himself, or anything other than an effect He causes, like the rest of His creation. A word out of a person's mouth is a very different thing from the person himself. All God had to do was command the virgin birth to take place and it did. That means that God is not the father of Jesus (P) anymore than He is the father of the universe itself, and to the degree that He is there is no difference in the sense between the two cases.

As for the Koran confirming the Bible, I am sick to death of debunking that. Just go to the link in my signature and read my articles on the subject: I have many, and I disprove the notion six ways from Sunday.

[جوري]

O ye People of the Book! believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was (already) with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition, and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers, for the decision of Allah Must be carried out. - 4:47

The books revealed unto the previous messengers as well the message was one.. what you have in your hand today has nothing to do with what the previous messengers, in spite of your self-assurances. I recommend that you read the Quran in totality and not the selective parts you desire, you may gain a bigger picture that doesn't include mengods and self-immolation and breaking of commandments ..

all the best

[Ramadhan]

The Qur'an also states..

O ye People of the Book! believe in what We have (now) revealed, confirming what was (already) with you, before We change the face and fame of some (of you) beyond all recognition, and turn them hindwards, or curse them as We cursed the Sabbath-breakers, for the decision of Allah Must be carried out. - 4:47

Or do they envy mankind for what Allah hath given them of his bounty? but We had already given the people of Abraham the Book and Wisdom, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. - 4:54



So how could one say that This Bible is all full of twisted illogical lies? When The Qu'ran itself is implying The Bible is unchanged? Jesus spoke in parables throughout his whole ministry. Parables. Stories.

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.. yes.. and what do we think that means?

It sounds like God's presence to me. Overshadow? What does that sound like? To me, sounds like God's power.

You say God says 'Be' as God says 'Be' in Genesis. Do we believe that literal? Do we really think God spoke with his mouth, said 'Be' and it was? I thought it's blasphemy to put human attributes to God? So, God (and as Christianity teaches, The Holy Ghost is God) comes upon thee, overshadows thee, and says 'Be' and it was. How could we take 'comes upon and overshadows' literal.. and not 'Be'.

All 3 statements imply the same result.


And to the previous poster....How doesn't this go with the topic?

Can you bring this to the comparative religions section.
I am sure plenty of our brothers and sisters will be able to help you open your eyes to see that you've been committing the most heinous blasphemy by worshiping others than One God,
and oh, by answering about your cut-and-paste "query" about the verse.

[R4SH33D]

And to the previous poster....How doesn't this go with the topic?

B_M, why don't you go back to the start of this thread and look at brother Wayward Souls actual question. Have you felt that guilt he speaks of, have you ever even reverted to Islam from Christianity? If so please do carry on, but if not then tell us how are you actually helping answer his question? He has obviously made his mind up about his beliefs and is quite clearly asking us Muslims to help reassure him in his faith. So what is the point in having a debate about what The Quran and The Bible says here?

Try the Quran Vs Bible thread under the General Forums section, but I honestly can't see how discussing things like jesus' (pbuh) birth etc is helping with brother Wayward Souls problem in the slightest.

Anyway, all the best to you.

Wayward Soul, may Allah give you strength to overcome the trials of this life.

Wa-Alaikum-Salaam, everyone.

[Predator]

You say God says 'Be' as God says 'Be' in Genesis. Do we believe that literal? Do we really think God spoke with his mouth, said 'Be' and it was?

It means when that Allah decrees a matter ,he merely wills it and the thing comes into being.

I thought it's blasphemy to put human attributes to God?

So you would also admit that its blasphemy for your biblical "God" to have both human and animal attributes ill-befitting him like these

(a) A "hissing" God (?) ISAIAH 5:26, 7:18, ZECHARIAH 10:8
(b) A "roaring" God (?) ISAIAH 42:13, JEREMIAH 25:30
(c) A "barber" God (?) ISAIAH 7:20
(d) A "penitent" God (?) JEREMIAH 15:6, GENESIS 6:6
(e) A God "riding" a cherub (?) 2 SAMUEL 22:11