For Muslims: Our attitudes towards Kuffars

[AhlaamBella]

Indeed! Let's remember that Islam even encompasses it's own legal system and governs every aspect of a Muslim's life from which side of the bed to sleep on to what to use to brush one's teeth. Everything!

There is so much to learn. That's the beauty of it

 

[Ansariyah]

My Science teacher called me once, and when I answered my fone, I coulnt believe it was my teacher. He asked me to make dua for his wife (who was diagnosed with lung cancer". He also said, pls pray for my wife, I believe that God will hear u. He's a Xtian.

 

[AhlaamBella]

My Science teacher called me once, and when I answered my fone, I coulnt believe it was my teacher. He asked me to make dua for his wife (who was diagnosed with lung cancer". He also said, pls pray for my wife, I believe that God will hear u. He's a Xtian.

SubhanAllah

 

[glo]

A way of life . A purpose. And constant inner peace

But you have to understand that many non-Muslims will make very similar claims about their faith.
I doubt that there is an objective way of measuring the peace, fulfillment and meaning people gain from following their religion. All we have are their own experiences and perceptions.

Can you really claim that yours is better than theirs?
And on what grounds?

Salaam

 

[AhlaamBella]

Can you really claim that yours is better than theirs?
And on what grounds?

Salaam

I have been a christian. I have been a girl without any faith at all. And I am now a muslim. Yes I can say my inner peace now is better than anything I have felt before. I can see it from both sides

 

[YusufNoor]

But you have to understand that many non-Muslims will make very similar claims about their faith.
I doubt that there is an objective way of measuring the peace, fulfillment and meaning people gain from following their religion. All we have are their own experiences and perceptions.

Can you really claim that yours is better than theirs?
And on what grounds?

Salaam

on the grounds that our Din [way of life] comes directly from the Creator and Sustainer of all that Exists! NO other religion can make that claim, not even the other Abrahamic "traditions." Judaism owes more to Ezra than to Moses and Xtianity owes more to Paul than to Jesus.

so ours is REAL,as it comes from Maliki Yawmid Din and Allahu Samad! others have substituted the ways of men, so while they may feel that they have "A way of life . A purpose. And constant inner peace" they are merely deluded.

it's simple really, thanks for asking!

 

[glo]

I have been a christian. I have been a girl without any faith at all. And I am now a muslim. Yes I can say my inner peace now is better than anything I have felt before. I can see it from both sides

I can understand that ... but it is still anecdotal and your personal experience. It's meaningful to you, but not necessarily to anybody else ...

I have been a 'cultural Christian', an agnostic, a pagan, and now a committed Christian. And I can say that I am happiest, most content and at peace the way I am now.

I cannot compare my present situation with Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and all the other faiths I have not 'put to the test' - just as you cannot say with proof and certainty that other religions would not give you more fulfillment than Islam.
You may be convinced beyond any personal doubt that Islam in true ... (as I am convinced of my faith)
The Qu'ran (being the basis of the Islamic teaching) may tell you that Islam is true ... (as my Holy Book tells me about my faith)
Other believers may reinforce your beliefs and thinking ... (as fellow believers do with me)

... but by the end of the day all we have is our own perception, experience and conviction.
You and I are no different really.
We serve God with all our heart and to the best of our understanding.
Despite our differences in beliefs, we are in the same boat, sister! And dependent on God's grace and mercy, and subject to his will.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

We serve God with all our heart and to the best of our understanding.
Despite our differences in beliefs, we are in the same boat, sister! And dependent on God's grace and mercy, and subject to his will.

i disagree people with different beliefs are in completely different boats.

if you dont have the correct belief your not serving God correctly. Your serving other then God

if i told a people to do something and i told them "in order to do this you must do it THIS way" and i sent them a manual yet they make their own manual and try to achieve the goal in another way and say "they tried their best" will i be happy? NOPE i'd say "i gave you everything you needed but you rejected it"....

 

[glo]

i disagree people with different beliefs are in completely different boats.

if you dont have the correct belief your not serving God correctly. Your serving other then God

if i told a people to do something and i told them "in order to do this you must do it THIS way" and i sent them a manual yet they make their own manual and try to achieve the goal in another way and say "they tried their best" will i be happy? NOPE i'd say "i gave you everything you needed but you rejected it"....

You misunderstood me, brother.
I did not mean to imply that all faiths are the same.
By 'being in the same boat' I meant that RoseGold and I both follow our personal conviction, we both love and serve God, and we both are at his mercy.

That is not to say that we are both right in God's eyes, and that he won't judge us (he will!).
Indeed one of us may end up saying those very words on the day of judgement: "I tried my best", to be told by God "I gave you everything you needed but you rejected it" ...

May God be merciful with us all.

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

^ i apologise if i misunderstood you

also loving God is easy to say, but to feel it and live by it is another thing... entirely another thing.


i wont ever claim to love God (as much as i wish i could), i can only hope he loves me through his mercy...

have you seen anyone as crazy about God as they are with their beautiful newly wed partner?... (always thinking about them, spending hours in prayer with them, always mentioning them in every gathering...doing only things they love, always trying to please them..) becoz i actually hav.... and im not at that stage yet...

 

[AhlaamBella]

^ i apologise if i misunderstood you

also loving God is easy to say, but to feel it and live by it is another thing... entirely another thing.


i wont ever claim to love God (as much as i wish i could), i can only hope he loves me through his mercy...

have you seen anyone as crazy about God as they are with their beautiful newly wed partner?... (always thinking about them, spending hours in prayer with them, always mentioning them in every gathering...doing only things they love, always trying to please them..) becoz i actually hav.... and im not at that stage yet...

Reminded me of an article I read recently : The Greatest Love of All

I agree with Glo to a certain extent about being in the same boat. We've been in different faiths. Yet, I wouldn't class myself as the same as a Christian

 

[glo]

I agree with Glo to a certain extent about being in the same boat. We've been in different faiths. Yet, I wouldn't class myself as the same as a Christian

I am glad you took my post in the way it was intended, Rose.
In some ways our faiths clearly differ - yet in others there are strong similarities.

There is much in Islam I deeply respect and admire ... and yet for the things that set our faiths apart I cannot class myself a Muslim.

Salaam

 

[AhlaamBella]

I am glad you took my post in the way it was intended, Rose.

No problem

There is much in Islam I deeply respect and admire ... and yet for the things that set our faiths apart I cannot class myself a Muslim.

I always ask this, what exactly do you disagree with?

 

[Grace Seeker]

But you have to understand that many non-Muslims will make very similar claims about their faith.
I doubt that there is an objective way of measuring the peace, fulfillment and meaning people gain from following their religion. All we have are their own experiences and perceptions.

Can you really claim that yours is better than theirs?
And on what grounds?

Salaam

I have been a christian. I have been a girl without any faith at all. And I am now a muslim. Yes I can say my inner peace now is better than anything I have felt before. I can see it from both sides

But again glo's point remains. (I think you two made that connection above.) There are folks whose life journey follows other tracks. Some lead into Islam. Some out of Islam. Some through Islam to some other faith. And likewise with Christianity and I suspect other religions. And nearly all of these people that I come in contact with will at some point reflect on their lack of peace at where they were in their earlier life and the peace they found later. It might lead someone like Pygoscelis to simply conclude that it isn't about a faith journey as much as it is about maturity. And were it not for the fact that I also see other people move from peace to anxiety over time, even I might agree with him.

I think each journey is so individual it is hard to draw conclusions from one's own life about what others are likely to experience on their own. I am sad that you didn't find peace as a Christian, but am glad you have found peace as a Muslim. I'm even happier that Glo has found her peace in Christ, but that in no way makes your peace less than what it is for you and others who have found the same peace you have in Islam. I just suggest that for those with eyes and ears to seek it there, it is every bit as much in Christianity as well.

 

[Grace Seeker]

on the grounds that our Din [way of life] comes directly from the Creator and Sustainer of all that Exists! NO other religion can make that claim, not even the other Abrahamic "traditions." Judaism owes more to Ezra than to Moses and Xtianity owes more to Paul than to Jesus.

so ours is REAL,as it comes from Maliki Yawmid Din and Allahu Samad! others have substituted the ways of men, so while they may feel that they have "A way of life . A purpose. And constant inner peace" they are merely deluded.

it's simple really, thanks for asking!

But our peace doesn't come from following Paul or even Jesus. Even though as disciples we are called to participate in a journey of following Christ, our peace doesn't come from following at all. Our peace comes from living in the presence of God, a presence we experience because of the reality of the Holy Spirit living within us.

Again, not to say that you don't know real peace. But please don't denigrate ours just because you don't know it as we do.

 

[AhlaamBella]

I think each journey is so individual it is hard to draw conclusions from one's own life about what others are likely to experience on their own. .

I speak for every Muslim revert/convert. They understand what I mean. You, I'm afraid to say, haven't got a clue.

 

[MustafaMc]

That is not to say that we are both right in God's eyes, and that he won't judge us (he will!).
Indeed one of us may end up saying those very words on the day of judgement: "I tried my best", to be told by God "I gave you everything you needed but you rejected it" ...

Yes, our fundamental beliefs are quite different and we can't both be right. This side of Judgment Day neither of us can KNOW that we are right. Personally, I believe to my innermost core that Islam is the Straight Way that leads to Paradise, just as I am certain that you believe in your inner most being that Christianity is the only means by which man can become reconciled with God. I am certain that you are at least as sincere in your faith as I am in mine.

May God be merciful with us all.

Seeing as how I once was a Christian and how none of my blood-family is a Muslim, I can't help but hope that Allah will be merciful to the sincere adherents of other religions who don't attack my faith.

 

[Grace Seeker]

loving God is easy to say, but to feel it and live by it is another thing... entirely another thing.

In many ways this is very true. Especially when it is just words. But...

i wont ever claim to love God (as much as i wish i could), i can only hope he loves me through his mercy...

...but, love is not just something we say. It is not just an emotion we feel. Love is also something we choose. We can choose to act loving toward people, toward God. And there is nothing wrong with saying that we have chosen to love God. That choice leads us to all sorts of actions such as works of charity, acts of piety and devotion, practices of obedience, living in peace with othes (both as nations and as individuals). We may not be perfect in all that we do, but if we choose God we will nontheless act more loving in these regards with one another and that will be an important way to express love towards God.

have you seen anyone as crazy about God as they are with their beautiful newly wed partner?... (always thinking about them, spending hours in prayer with them, always mentioning them in every gathering...doing only things they love, always trying to please them..) becoz i actually hav.... and im not at that stage yet...

Yeah, I have seen that too. It's a beautiful thing. If you want to get there, may I encourage you to do what those who practice it with their human beloveds do -- keep your eyes focused on the one you love and don't look around at other things or people to be the source of pleasure or joy in your life. Let God be your all-sufficiency. (Don't know if that's one of the 99 names of Allah found in the Qur'an, but it certainly describes the God revealed in both the Bible and the Qur'an, so I suspect it still fits.)

 

[Grace Seeker]

I speak for every Muslim revert/convert. They understand what I mean. You, I'm afraid to say, haven't got a clue.

I'm sure every revert/convert has an experience similar to yours. I wasn't disputing that. In fact I wasn't disputing anything. I'm just making some observtions, among them that each person's journey is their personal journey. For all the similarities two journeys might be, because they are the journeys of individual people, they are still unique to that person and that person alone.

You're journey was one that led to peace in Islam. You started as a Christian, but did not find that it spoke to you. Rather Islam did, and at the end of that journey came a sense of peace in knowing that you were where God had lead you, called you, and wanted you. You now felt that you were right with God in a way that you had not been before in your life. Praise God!! As I said above. I am glad you found peace in Islam. I'm always glad when people find peace in their lives.

But don't you notice that there are also persons who leave Islam to become something else. There are people for whom Islam was NOT a source of peace in their lives. They had to find it elsewhere.

You say that every convert/revert to Islam understands what you mean by this inner peace which is better than anything you ever felt before. I don't doubt that. But I would ask you to reconsider your assertion that I haven't got a clue. For you see every convert to Christianity claims that very same experience. That is what I mean by saying "I think each journey is so individual it is hard to draw conclusions from one's own life about what others are likely to experience on their own."

You found peace down one path, that doesn't mean that all others will find it on that same path and that those same others cannot find it taking a different way. While all seek peace, the search for peace is very much something that individuals find in different places and for different reasons. But when they find that peace, it is for each of them the greatest experience of their lives. That sense of peace is something we have in very much in common.

 

[AhlaamBella]

As I said before. You. Have. Not. Got. A. Clue. Ok? I'm saying it again. Anyone who has left Islam have left because their culture has dominated their lives and the line of distinction between culture and religion has become blurred. But, isn't Islam also the fastest growing religion? muslims are reverting everyday. You consider that.

You know I feel so sorry for you. Muslims will understand why I'm saying this. The energy and love that fills you is nothing you will ever be able to imagine until you experience it. My mother is a revert. she feels the same. My uncle Idrees is a revert. He feels the same. My best friend is a revert. she feels the same. my aunty Aisha is a revert she feels the same. Along with the entire muslim ummah... WE ALL FEEL THE SAME.

But you refuse to see that. InshAllah, Allah will remove the blindfold and the seal on your heart so you can feel this amazing love and happiness.