format_quote Originally Posted by
Insaanah
In Islam we are encouraged to obey Allah, out of Love (amongst other things) for Him:
"Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Qur'an 3:31)
Love for God is not divorced from keeping rules and rituals, on the contrary, it is incorporated in them.
I am glad to hear it.
To correct any misunderstandings about God, one must go back to the very concept of God. I encourage you and invite you to explore the concept of God in Islam. A concept that is simple, logical, makes sense and is easy to understand.
• There is One God, other than Whom there is none worthy of worship.
• He has no associates whatsoever in His Divinity.
• He has no sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents or relatives of any kind.
• He does not beget, not is He begotten.
• He is not composed of any number of persons, godheads, essences or anything else.
• He is Eternal, Immortal, indivisible.
• He is free of all need and dependence.
• He is Loving and Forgiving, but also Severe in punishment, yet He is Fair and the Most Just, such is the perfectly balanced nature of Allah.
No trinity, no sons, no 3-in-1s, just One, in the truest sense of the word.
Jesus (peace be upon him) is one of the mightiest messengers of God. We believe in all God's messengers as they were, the noblest of humanity chosen and sent to guide and warn mankind. We neither reject any of them, nor exaggerate the status of any of them to something it wasn't, i.e. divine.
This world is our test. Nobody has taken the test for us. As it would not be allowed in this world for someone to sit your test on your behalf, so such an injustice is not allowed with God, for God is the most Just. Each person is responsible for their sins, and on the Day of Judgement we will either pass or fail. It is this, coupled with God's Mercy, that we hope will enable us to pass. We worship God with a balance of love, hope and fear.
While this may be new to you, Muslims already meet God intimately, at least five times a day, when in prostration, and when remembering, glorifying, praising, and thanking God even when going about their daily business, be it walking down the street, commuting, when in the kitchen, even praising God for having relieved them when coming out of the bathroom. And those of my Muslim brothers and sisters who are fortunate enough to wake up for Qiyaam al Layl, worshipping God in the last third of the night, forsake their beds for the love of God. However there is much we can all do to become closer still.
Most people who become Muslim, do so after questioning, reasoning, and learning - they come to realise that in Islam they do not need to separate their spiritual selves from their logical selves, because the concepts actually make sense.
Peace.
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