NooB with lots of questions

[qoheleth]

Greetings,

I just want to start by saying that I am currently a sometimes practicing Orthodox Christian. I was Baptized into the faith merely three years ago. I feel that many people in that faith are very close to God... closer than most Christians. However, after years of praying to Jesus I just feel I can't pray to a man anymore. The Trinity has confused the hell out of me. So what do I do? I believe in God because I've had some pretty incredible experiences that I attribute to God and which have had me on a lifelong search for my creator. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought to consider Islam... until I started reading the Quran about a year ago. Also, I live down the street from my only city's mosque. I want to go in sometimes, but am not sure how to approach it.

The thing I love about Islam is tawhid! And the fact that Jesus, who I've always sort of viewed as one of God's prophets, is still loved by Muslims. And the fact that there are no intermediaries between man and his Creator. I do have many, many questions, though. Here are just a few to get started with. If anyone can help clear some things up for me, I'd really appreciate it.

1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

2) Also, could a guy (like me) even become Muslim if my wife is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim (and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon)?

3) Does one have to learn Arabic to really get to know the Quran? Also, I heard there are different 'levels' of meaning in the Quran... how does one learn the more subtle or less obvious meanings?

4) What do most people think of Sufism? Are there more orthodox ways of practicing the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), such as repeating the names of God?

5) According to Islam, are good believing Orthodox Christians eligible for paradise? Or only Muslims?

That should do it for now. If you take the time to read my post, I thank you in advance. And if I say anything that is offensive to Islam, please note that is only out of ignorance (for I have the utmost respect for Islam).

Steve

[Woodrow]

Peace and welcome to the forum

At the moment I am only going to address your first question:

1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

The evil is man's own choice. It is through Allaah(swt) we have the ability to do good or evil.

I am not certain exactly what you are asking in the second part. But, we do believe both Judaism and Christianity are no longer what they originaly were. We do believe that at one timethey practised the truth, but later went astray and no longer follow the true scriptures that were given to them. We believe 4 books were given to mankind the Tauret (Torah), The Zaboor(Psalms) and the Injil(The real gospel) and the Qur'an of those only the Qur'an still exists unchanged.

[Seeker1066]

Welcome to the Seekers Club at the forum. You will shortly receive many good answers. Just wanted to say hello and encourage you to seek truth.

[جوري]

:welcome: aboard..
You can be married to 'people of the book' yes..
you have to learn a bit a few suras in Arabic just for prayers but Arab Muslims makeup only 20% of the Muslim world.
I don't think most traditional Muslims (90%) majority have a favorable opinion of Sufism. You can mention God's name without twirling around like a looney.
some people's judgment starts on the day of recompense.. no one can tell you where anyone is going. .. we don't know where we ourselves are going or if Allah swt will accept our intentions into paradise..

peace

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[Alpha Dude]

1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

According to Islamic theology, this life is meant to be a test. It is a drop in an ocean compared to the life of the next world. Every single little aspect of life is a test. Allah will try people from childhood till old age.

We are not here to have fun or build a happy life. People will be thoroughly tested and shaken. The more beloved a person is to Allah, the more he is tested. Experiencing hardship wipes away sin so such a person would meet Allah on the day of judgement with less sins on his scale.

However, it is said that Allah does not burden a soul more than it can bear. So that's why people who commit suicide are punished in hell because they gave up on the mercy of Allah, despite having been given the ability to cope with the test they were given.

It goes without saying that the rewards for being severely tested in this world are extremely great in the hearafter.

If a child under the age of accountability dies, he goes straight to jannah. A blind person is not held accountable either. So this (apparent) unfairness is fully compensated.

An important principle that needs to be understood is that Allah is Most Wise. This means there is always a purpose behind everything that happens. Good or bad. As an example, a person might be on his way to a once-in-lifetime tryout session for football but he could trip over something and fall requiring an immediate hospital check-up. At the check-up, the doctors might find this person has a serious illness that if left unchecked would result in that person dying soon. I hope you can now see the wisdom behind that guy tripping in the first place? He may have missed his football practice, but is able to take precautions against the unknown serious illness.

In this way, there is always a reason for everything to happen. Divine wisdom is always at work. A boy's parents could die in an earthquake and leave him behind to be raised by the local mosque run orphanage, exposing him to Islamic knowledge and inculcating in him the yearning to become a great Islamic scholar with the desire to change the world.

A victim of paedophilia could later grow up and dedicate his life to helping other victims of paedophilia come to terms with their experience. Had he not been a victim, those others would not have had the help coming to them.

I hope these examples are enough to show that we shouldn't think only of the short term effects. Islam means to submit. What does that mean? It means to resign yourself to Allah's will. You accept the conditions Allah places on you while acknowledging that there is benefit in whatever has happened becasue Allah is indeed Most Wise.

Allah is also Most Just. Therefore, every single unjust act that has ever been committed by a human will be brought to account on the day of judgement. So an unrepentant and unforgiven paedophile would be punished very severely in the fire of hell compared with eternal bliss for the victim if he remained steadfast in his life. There's the justice.

[Perseveranze]

Greetings,

Asalaamu Alaikum(peace be with you), this is what Muslims greet others, it is in fact how Jesus(pbuh) used to greet people.

2) Also, could a guy (like me) even become Muslim if my wife is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim (and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon)?

Islam is for mankind, you will find vast number of Muslims from all races from all over the world. In fact 80% of the Muslims in the world are Non-Arabs. As for your wife, it is perfectly fine for a Muslim man to be with a woman of another faith. This applies to the Muslim man only though, for two reasons; a) The wife is more likely to convert, b) Any spouse would more likely take after their fathers religion. And there's other reasons which I can't really remember.

3) Does one have to learn Arabic to really get to know the Quran? Also, I heard there are different 'levels' of meaning in the Quran... how does one learn the more subtle or less obvious meanings?

You don't have to learn Arabic, the translation is fine. But believe me, if you really want to listen and understand to the true beauty of the Quranic words, the only way to do that is to learn Arabic. No translation in the world could do the Quran the least bit of justice, translaters themselves always admit this.

The only time anyone HAS to learn Arabic is if they are a Muslim and that is so they can pray (all Muslims, pray in the same langauge). The prayers are very easy to learn though.

4) What do most people think of Sufism? Are there more orthodox ways of practicing the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), such as repeating the names of God?

From my understand, Sufism is a "sin" and the majority of the Muslims in the world don't consider "Sufi" as Islamic. Some posts here will hopefully better explain this to you - http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...3181013AAz87pj and http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/1388/

5) According to Islam, are good believing Orthodox Christians eligible for paradise? Or only Muslims?

This is pretty debated (in terms of whether a Non-Muslim can enter paradise), there's actually evidence to support both. One way a Non-Muslim could enter paradise is if he/she has never in their life heard of Islam and have lived a rightoues life, then maybe they would enter paradise on the basis that they never were tested with that faith. There's also other examples, like the Quran talks about some Christians and Jews (At the time of the Prophet) being rightoues (and this is because they did not affiliate any partners with God), this is unfortunatly one of the biggest sins, by affiliating any partners/spouses with God. The Quran also says that God will never be unfair to any human on the day of Judgement and will Reward/Punish them with Just dues.

But honestly, do some research on it, I have little clue on this subject.

That should do it for now. If you take the time to read my post, I thank you in advance. And if I say anything that is offensive to Islam, please note that is only out of ignorance (for I have the utmost respect for Islam).

Steve

No problem :) Let me know if your interested in reading some interesting books about Islam and the final messenger(pbuh), some stuff will definitly make you think!

[Maryan0]

Greetings,


1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

Nothing can happen without Allah's permission but evil actions come about because of the actions of evil people who will receive their recompense. As to disease and natural disasters everyone will die whether through deaths by disease, natural deaths, or deaths in accidents. Death isn't a punishment it's a part of life.

2) Also, could a guy (like me) even become Muslim if my wife is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim (and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon)?

To my knowledge muslim males are allowed to marry the people of the book and Jews and Christians are people of the book.

3) Does one have to learn Arabic to really get to know the Quran? Also, I heard there are different 'levels' of meaning in the Quran... how does one learn the more subtle or less obvious meanings?

Learning and knowledge in general take a lifetime and the Quran isnt black and white so there are deeper meanings than what you may read at first glance. You can read an english translation but it would be better to learn arabic because it arabic was the language it was revealed in. Also many things can be "lost in translation".

4) What do most people think of Sufism? Are there more orthodox ways of practicing the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), such as repeating the names of God?

I personally have nothing against sufi's or those who practice the tasawuf but Sufism like any practice can be distorted and there are many that do distort it.

5) According to Islam, are good believing Orthodox Christians eligible for paradise? Or only Muslims?

I dont think there is a cut and dry answer to that, I assume judgement day is for judgement so I would leave the judgment to al Hakam (the judge) unless you are a mushrik(polythiest) or kufar(disbeliever) who refuses to accept guidance even when faced with it, in which case hell will most likely be your abode.
Salam

[aadil77]

Welcome to the forums, I'll try and answer your questions best I can

1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

This world is a test for us, we have been given free will by the will of Allah to do what ever we want. Its up to whether we want to be decieved by satan and commit evil or instead do good as commanded by Allah.

2) Also, could a guy (like me) even become Muslim if my wife is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim (and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon)?

Nothing can really prevent you from becoming muslim, regarding being married to non muslim, christian, jew that may be an issue once you become muslim.

3) Does one have to learn Arabic to really get to know the Quran? Also, I heard there are different 'levels' of meaning in the Quran... how does one learn the more subtle or less obvious meanings?

You don't have to learn arabic, rather be able to recite certain verses of the Quran, they're easy to learn even from transliterations. Its worth learning how to read arabic, so you can recite the Quran, it doesn't take long to learn. Understanding arabic and being able to speak it much harder, though majority of muslims do not understand arabic.

4) What do most people think of Sufism? Are there more orthodox ways of practicing the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), such as repeating the names of God?

Its best to stay away from sufism, yes rememberance of god can be anytime by reciting His names, reading Quran verses, saying subhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, asking for forgiveness etc

5) According to Islam, are good believing Orthodox Christians eligible for paradise? Or only Muslims?

All previous believers who followed the message of their prophets correctly will go to paradise. So followers of prophet Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses) etc. But currently such messages no longer exist and they have been replaced by the Quran and the message of prophet Muhammad, so it is compulsary to follow that.

Hope that helps

Any more questions, feel free to ask

[qoheleth]

I would like to say thank you for all of the responses so far. I appreciate the insights, and have lots to think and pray about.

[IAmZamzam]

1) If all things happen because Allah wills it, then even terrible atrocities (like child abuse, war, rape, or disease) are to be attributed to God? I am not sure I understand how Muslims view evil in the world if all things come from Allah... can anyone explain? Am I correct in understanding that Islam rejects the Fall of Judaism and Christianity?

Allah is the ultimate author of this story and has written out everything that will happen in the physical cosmos but since this story's characters are alive and have the choice to play their predetermined parts willingly or unwillingly they can still often be morally, spiritually responsible for their actions when they do something atrocious.

2) Also, could a guy (like me) even become Muslim if my wife is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim (and doesn't plan on becoming one anytime soon)?

Anyone can become a Muslim. All they have to do is accept the truth of it when God presents them with the opportunity. In fact, the only rituals involved with conversion (such as saying the shahadah in front of 2+ Muslims witnesseS) are little more than small traditional formalities.

3) Does one have to learn Arabic to really get to know the Quran? Also, I heard there are different 'levels' of meaning in the Quran... how does one learn the more subtle or less obvious meanings?

Technically speaking one has to learn the original language of anything translated in order to really know the text inside and out, but most Muslims in most countries do not know Arabic. It is not a tenet of our religion that you know a particular language or anything. Nevertheless, it's still a good idea.

4) What do most people think of Sufism? Are there more orthodox ways of practicing the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), such as repeating the names of God?

The Koran forbade Muslims from splitting their religion up...so they responded to that by splitting it right up! Anyone who knew anything about human nature would have seen that coming. "Sectarianism forbidden? Okay, then, here come the sects...." It's best you think of Islam as a single whole.

5) According to Islam, are good believing Orthodox Christians eligible for paradise? Or only Muslims?

It depends on whether or not they have any viable excuses for believing in the incarnation and Trinity and for not being Muslims. We are judged for the next life only on what we were trying to do, not for innocent mistakes.

Is there anything else I can help you with, Steve? Perhaps a few more reasons to believe in Islam I could tell you would help you make up your mind?