Walaikum Asalaam
Give him a translated Quran to read on his own.
format_quote Originally Posted by
m786
- he thinks religion has ruined mankind and made people more hateful towards each other
People have hated each other since the beginning of time. It's not religion, it's the nafs.
format_quote Originally Posted by
m786
- he cant understand why God would only accept our prayers if done in a certain way (i.e. salah) that simply remembering God sincerely is good enough prayer
The islamic prayer serves several functions. Firstly we have to remind ourselves Who we are praying to. It's Allah right? So we should pray to him in a purified state. Since ALlah has blessed us with so much, we pray 5 times a day to remind ourselves of our blessings, to ask for forgiveness of all the sins we committed between each prayer, and to create a relationship with our Lord during a humbling and tranquil state, and that is the LEAST we can do, but Allah has made it sufficient for us. It also increases brotherhood because a person who becomes a muslim for example, can always be reminded that he has an Ummah who is there to support him, remind him, guide him no matter what he looks like or what he's done. It also unifies us as an ummah to know that everywhere in the world we are all praying in the same manner, the old, the young, the rich, the poor, the fluent in arabic and the nonfluent --doesn't matter, we all pray the same way and say the same words. What differs however, is what's in the person's heart and his personal du'a to Allah. And lastly, it's a part of our identity. The islamic prayer is unique to Muslims. Whenever you see someone praying in that way anywhere in the world, you know this person is Muslim. He is MAKING time in the day to worship his Lord no matter what because he understands that ALlah is the maintainer of his affairs. It's not us who defines "what is good enough for Allah"..Allah defines what we have to do to attain his Pleasure and acceptance, and praying 5x a day is an obligation he gave to us as well as a remedy for our daily sins.
format_quote Originally Posted by
m786
- believes that we misinterpret the Quran (he can't understand why God who loves us so much would punish a muslim for marrying a non-muslim)
The biggest sin in Islam is shirk or atheism. So why would Allah want us to marry someone who is not good for our akhira and who despises or disbelieves in Allah? Marriage is a religious union sanctified by Allah, not a vanity.
format_quote Originally Posted by
m786
- he says look at the state of muslims today - if they are the guided people why are they in such a bad state. And does this mean people of all other religions are stupid or blind (he didn't take it very well when I said idol worship is the biggest sin )
Islam is perfect. Muslims aren't. If Muslims followed their religion like they are supposed to, they'd be the best of people, but the fitnah that they are going through is because of their lack of piety, not because of their steadfastness in it.