Islam is very simple

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Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the world and this misunderstanding is being used to promote those who oppose it. In such a climate, it's necessary to portray the reality. The beauty, peace and strength of Islam knows no equal and is rarely seen in the world today.



All praise is due to Allah, the Creator of all. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His last messenger to mankind. May Allah bless the Prophet, his family and companions and all those who strive in His way until the Day of Judgement.

The message of Islam is simple. It is the call to worship and obey Allah, the Al Mighty - to obey Him and follow His Guidance, which will ultimately lead mankind to peace, happiness and success.

It is the message to mankind which began in the beginning of time with Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and was completed with the advent of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Islam coincides with the nature of man (fitra) ; it outlines the necessary factors and environment which will enable mankind to achieve their fullest potential in this life and the next. It marks the boundaries for human behavior while at the same time keeping back the tides of evil and confusion (fitna) that prevents man from exercising his freedom and developing himself.

May Allah bless and guide humanity to all that is right and good and make us wise enough to keep away from evil and to understand the best way of overcoming the problems which surround us.
Becoming a Muslim

Accepting Islam as a way of life is not only the declaration of faith but it includes changing one's thinking, behavior and friends. Turning the old habits into new habits. Meeting new people and trying to understand where one fits in.

All the events and experiences that a person faces before, during and after becoming a Muslim, come together to mould them into the person they are.

The following are real life accounts of people's past and present circumstances that led to their final acceptance of Islam

[........]

Why I became a Muslim



I always felt close to ‘God’ and prayer was a way of life for me. Deep in my mind, for I could never voice any doubts, I had some misgivings; some things that didn’t make sense to me but as a missionary I felt I was calling to God, not to that particular church.



I was raised in a house where we prayed every night and morning. We were not taught set prayers but to pray from the heart. We went to church every Sunday and were active participants in the activities held there. By the time I was in my late teens I was a missionary.


I always felt close to ‘God’ and prayer was a way of life for me. Deep in my mind, for I could never voice any doubts, I had some misgivings; some things that didn’t make sense to me but as a missionary I felt I was calling to God, not to that particular church. I knew God, to be the Infinitely Powerful Being Who had created all there is. I could recognize a harmony and structure in all the nature around me, yet I found an absence of order wherever I looked around people. I learned to love Jesus as a messenger of God but it seemed strange to me, that God would require a sacrifice in order to forgive us. I believed that God was above having any need. I felt I could communicate with God as I was, without the necessity of an intermediary because, again, God didn’t need any help to hear what I said.


One day I moved into a flat and met my neighbors who were Muslims. I thought I would try out some missionary work on them. They listened to me patiently and then I too, listened to them . They didn’t try to explain any complicated issues, they just read to me from the Qu’ran. First they read in Arabic, then in English. It was Sura (Chapter) Maryam. I listened in silence. The beautiful sound of the Arabic recitation touched my heart and then the plain and direct language of the English translation struck a chord within. The beautiful story of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) and his miracle birth to the virgin Mary was a marvel of simplicity. God, or as I learned to call Him, Allah s.w.t. had provided mankind with Prophets and Messengers since the beginning of time. From Prophet Adam (peace be upon him), Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them all) and many others. They were all sent with God’s message to disdain all worship except, worship of the One true God and to submit to His Will. Such is the meaning of Islam. A Muslim is one who bows to the will of Allah s.w.t. refusing the worship of anyone or anything else and seeking to establish piety on earth

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:sl:

MashaAllah, a nice article to read :)
to be contd... ? ???

:D :D :D u r too fast bro ;) :D

[........]

Dressed all in white - the coward within



This is how I entered a mosque for the very first time. It was an event that would change my life forever! I was confronted by the inconsistencies in my behavior and the weakness of my understanding. It served to shake me a little and wake me up, so I could take the necessary steps to more sincerely submit to Allah.



"Ok, I'll come," I said, as my friends beckoned me to hurry up or we would be late.
"Oh, by the way," I asked as I came running back to the car,
"What do you wear to a Mosque?"
My friends looked at each other and said,
"Your best clothes. Wear your best clothes!"
I ran inside the house excitedly and changed into what were at that time, my best clothes.
"How's this?" I asked as I stood beside the car. "Do I look Ok?"
I heard them sigh and say "Come on, get in."

We traveled one hundred kilometers to reach the Mosque and by the time we reached there, I understood how inappropriate my short dress, make-up and high heels were. There was nothing else to do. I'd had no time to change, so I'd have to go like that.

When we arrived, my friends pointed to a stair-case and told me
"When I say go, you run over to those stairs and stay up there until it's time to go home. Well run I did! I don't think anyone saw me. The men had already lined up to pray and when I climbed the stairs I entered another world. I saw many women and girls and they looked at me but didn't make me feel uncomfortable. One young woman showed me how to wash and another old woman showed me a box full o

f long skirts and veils. She helped me put these over my clothes and adjusted it to fit me properly. "You look like an angel my dear. What's your name?"
I told her my name but I certainly didn't feel like an angel.

I had felt like I was a Muslim for a few years. I'd read a lot about Islam and read the Qu'ran a number of times. I sympathized with the way Muslims are oppressed in many parts of the world. I had a bit of catching up to do on the practical side of things but part of me felt completely at home with these gentle, kind and serene women.

I sat in the mosque with them, watching some of them pray, some reading Qu'ran, others just sitting thinking, while I sat watching. I looked up at the high round dome above me and felt myself so small among the multitudes of human beings that had passed by this earth. I lowered my head in gratitude that I was sitting there that day watching people whom I wanted so much to be like.
I thought to myself that if I keep these clothes on, I should be able to venture downstairs and have a look around.

When I went downstairs, I saw something I'd never seen before. Rows of men praying together. Every country or race of people you could imagine was represented in these rows of people, all standing, bowing and prostrating before the Maker of all. No intermediary - just the individual and the Creator. A unison of individual worship. Not only did they stand together in solidarity but after the prayer they shook hands, hugged each other and ate together. This scene contrasted strongly with the faith I'd been raised in, where black people were not allowed to hold any official position and where the leaders were all white, upper middle-class men.

I found myself affiliated more and more with these people, who had no class or race distinction. We were all just Muslims who happened to have been born into this world in the same era, sharing the responsibility of caring for each other and this world, by following the word of Allah and the example of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).

On this particular day, Yusuf Islam (alias Cat Stevens) was visiting the mosque and holding a press conference. I'd read a lot about him and had listened to many cassettes telling about his life story. I listened to the press conference with great interest.

I felt myself divided that day. One part of me felt completely at home and comfortable with the Muslims but the other part of me felt like a cheat, a coward, who didn't really belong at all. I was someone who understood the message of Islam but as yet, had failed to align my life with the commands of Allah.

After the press conference, I walked around a little more. My friends wouldn't come to pick me up for another half an hour but I didn't really care. I was preoccupied with what was happening within myself. I had an earnest desire to re-arrange and fix myself and my life. To shake off the shackles of a life-style that only desired material progress and trivial, transient entertainment. I knew that the happiness this life had to offer never lasts. When the song is over, we're left feeling either depressed or aware of a sense of anti-climax. And then life continues in its mundane fashion. So human beings try to dress-up the daily practices of eating, drinking, sleeping, working or resting with as much variety and joy as possible, but it passes and we are left like something the tide left behind.

That was me, on my hands and knees trying to climb out of a lifestyle that was bent on destroying me - not physically perhaps, but spiritually. That inner light, that we all have or had at some time in our existence, was nearly burnt out for me. But in the Mosque, with the Muslims, I found a feeling of peace, inner solitude and quietness that I'd also found in reading the Qu'ran and pondering over its meaning and trying to practice what it tells us.

I left the mosque that day somewhat different to how I'd entered it. I was determined to learn and to slowly and steadily practice what I knew was true. It took some time but after a while I was able to take my place within the ranks of the Muslims and say with confidence, warmth and a feeling of deep rooted pride founded in humility, that 'Now! I am a Muslim.'

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[AnonyMouse~]

So true :P

thanks for the post.

[Yanal]

:sl:
Sister if you read the LI rules posting on a old thread is a 10% infraction. Just so you know for next time. Nice articles.