format_quote Originally Posted by
catbrown
Part of me would love to try embracing Islam, but I don't want to leave Christian, at least for the foreseeable future, and besides heaps of fear of embracing it, I wouldn't have a clue where to start.
Greetings Catherine, and welcome to the forum.
It's heartwarming to hear you're interested in Islam, and in particular how Muslim women should dress and behave. I wonder if that's because they mainly look modest, serene and at peace, or whether because it seems to be close to how the noble virgin Mary (peace be on her) is dressed in depictions (though we believe that idols/statues are wrong).
If we translate that to belief, Muslims also believe about God what Mary (peace be on her) believed and what Jesus (peace be on him) believed and taught.
Perhaps at the moment, Christianity is your comfort zone, and you don't want to venture out of it, and it feels easier to stick with what you know, might have been brought up with, and are familiar with. Or perhaps you feel you'd have to give up Jesus (peace be on him). If you ask the former Christians here who are now Muslims, they'll tell you that they feel closer to Jesus (peace be on him) now, and love him, honour him, follow him and believe in him more than when they were Christian. It may also be, because you wander what would happen about salvation, as at the moment, you may believe that he died for your sins and in accepting him gratefully as your saviour, you are saved (though this is not the Islamic belief, and I could explain what we do believe in another post).
As I said, I don't know how much you know, and don't want to bombard you, so, will just leave you for now with a few of the main beliefs surrounding the concept of God in Islam. Please let us know any questions you have, and don't hesitate at all to ask more or for clarification.
There is only One God. He alone should be worshipped. He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He has no sons, daughters, spouses, siblings, parents, cousins, or relatives of any sort.
He is eternal and does not die. He does not depend on anyone/anything yet we all depend on Him. He is free of all want and need.
There is nothing like Him. He is all Hearing, all Seeing, all Knowing, all Powerful, Incomparable, the Creator of the Universe.
He did not/does not, become flesh, dwell in human or animal bodies, nor are there any incarnations of Him. He is not mixed up in His creation in any way.
He is not composed of persons, nor a trinity. There are no secondary, lesser, greater, equal, or multiple gods, nor any intermediaries. And no denying of God's existence either.
There are no sharers, associates, persons or parts whatsoever in His exclusive Divinity. Simply, He is One, in every sense.
Muslims love and respect Jesus (peace be upon him) and believe in him as he was; one of the noblest and purest of humanity to ever walk the earth, and one of the greatest messengers of God, sent to the Children of Israel. We do not reject him (as Jews do), nor do we deify him (as Christians do). Neither he, nor any other messenger, ever claimed divinity, or to be God's son. We believe he was born miraculously of the noble virgin Mary (peace be on her), and that he is the messiah. We do not however, believe that he died or was crucified. He'll return to earth near the end of time.
Peace.