God working in our lives

[tango92]

every man cant claim to be being guided by God, otherwise every tom and harry will come up with new philosophies and their will be conflict in the land. does anybody actually know what Allah feels like? or do we percieve god because we want to percieve him?

when god truly reveals himself its in the form of miracles, can anyone actually say theyve experienced a personal miracle? not quranic miracle, probs not cause these are reserved 4 prophets and those truly close 2 Allah swt.

what we know to do is what has been revealed to us in the quran and once we have any kind of understanding of even 1 verse it will dictate your thought process. then you are on guidance.

 

[Insaanah]

That is exactly what I did 2 years ago, very little of what I now do is actually of my own desires and as a result my life has improved so much, I can not even begin to describe what happened, but it is wonderful. A short 2 years ago I was basically an invalid, no longer able to drive, could only stand for short periods of time, seldom left my room, depended on my daughter and with a very poor medical prognosis. I was simply preparing for death which was imminent. I had discussed with the Admins here about reigning as a Mod. But out of the blue Allaah(swt) sent Aabidah into my life, neither of us had any desire to remarry. Yet, we were basically forced into accepting that it was the will of Allaah(swt) to marry. We both decided to just resign from personal life and turn our life over to the will of Allaah(swt). The results have been beyond belief. Physically I am now doing things I could not do since I was a teenager, driving up to 20 hours daily several days a week, riding horses, doing farm chores all for the goal of serving Allaah(swt) and bringing Islam to people that had never even heard of Islam.

That is a beautiful story Uncle Woodrow, of how Allah miraculously changed your personal life for the better, subhaanallah.

As for feeling called/prompted/guided by God, a valid question:

How do you know if you are following God or following the devil?

Moral of the story.. well it should be obvious .. but the next time you think those whispers are from God or maybe attribute to good or your own soul as we surely all justify our 'good deeds' to self , know that it can be your eternal enemy making your life-style and deeds appear all the more good to you to drive you to the abyss!]

every man cant claim to be being guided by God, otherwise every tom and harry will come up with new philosophies and their will be conflict in the land.

So true, and we've already seen that happen. George Bush thought he was being prompted/called/guided by God to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.

What we know to do is what has been revealed to us in the quran and once we have any kind of understanding of even 1 verse it will dictate your thought process. then you are on guidance.

 

[جوري]

That is a beautiful story Uncle Woodrow, of how Allah miraculously changed your personal life for the better, subhaanallah.

As for feeling called/prompted/guided by God, a valid question:





So true, and we've already seen that happen. George Bush thought he was being prompted/called/guided by God to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is like I always say, if you think God is calling you telling you to do things, then you should have your head examined.. there are very few ways left for said communication and I really doubt going upstairs and having god tell you to make a cup of tea is one of them!

 

[glo]

That is exactly what I did 2 years ago, very little of what I now do is actually of my own desires and as a result my life has improved so much, I can not even begin to describe what happened, but it is wonderful. A short 2 years ago I was basically an invalid, no longer able to drive, could only stand for short periods of time, seldom left my room, depended on my daughter and with a very poor medical prognosis. I was simply preparing for death which was imminent. I had discussed with the Admins here about reigning as a Mod. But out of the blue Allaah(swt) sent Aabidah into my life, neither of us had any desire to remarry. Yet, we were basically forced into accepting that it was the will of Allaah(swt) to marry. We both decided to just resign from personal life and turn our life over to the will of Allaah(swt). The results have been beyond belief. Physically I am now doing things I could not do since I was a teenager, driving up to 20 hours daily several days a week, riding horses, doing farm chores all for the goal of serving Allaah(swt) and bringing Islam to people that had never even heard of Islam.

I didn't realise, Woodrow.
That's so wonderful to hear.

Praise God! Alhumdulillah!

P.S. Please give my warmest wishes to Aabidah.

 

[Abdul-Raouf]

That is exactly what I did 2 years ago, very little of what I now do is actually of my own desires and as a result my life has improved so much, I can not even begin to describe what happened, but it is wonderful. A short 2 years ago I was basically an invalid, no longer able to drive, could only stand for short periods of time, seldom left my room, depended on my daughter and with a very poor medical prognosis. I was simply preparing for death which was imminent. I had discussed with the Admins here about reigning as a Mod. But out of the blue Allaah(swt) sent Aabidah into my life, neither of us had any desire to remarry. Yet, we were basically forced into accepting that it was the will of Allaah(swt) to marry. We both decided to just resign from personal life and turn our life over to the will of Allaah(swt). The results have been beyond belief. Physically I am now doing things I could not do since I was a teenager, driving up to 20 hours daily several days a week, riding horses, doing farm chores all for the goal of serving Allaah(swt) and bringing Islam to people that had never even heard of Islam.

I was very happy after reading that.. ...Alhamdulilah.
You take one step in the right way...HE comes running to help ...

 

[Woodrow]

It is like I always say, if you think God is calling you telling you to do things, then you should have your head examined.. there are very few ways left for said communication and I really doubt going upstairs and having god tell you to make a cup of tea is one of them!

I agree with that.

In my opinion Allaah(swt) uses several tools to guide us.

In my case it is being faced with multiple choices the guidance comes from studying to see which is the choice that is Halal without doubt, or a choice that carries a sense of obligation and once knowing what the choice entails it is a failure to fulfill an obligation if it is ignored.

To me the submission to follow Allaah(swt) comes in the form of following or trying to follow the choices that are halal and fulfill an obligation.

It is sort of like following road signs. I want to get from point A to point B. As I travel down the path I pass signs that lead to beautiful scenary and signs that direct me to the most direct route. I focus on what is going to get me to point B and to me that is what I see as guidance.

The guidance comes in the form that I actually have no choice if my desire is to lead a halal life. Perhaps it is secondary that I am left with a very warm feeling and a sense of being rewarded after I choose that which helps me fulfill obligations.

I do have very many faults and when I do make an error and choose based on my desires alone, I find myself paying the price and suffering the consequences.

 

[tango92]

^yh a good self check mechanism for desicions is which is more halal, or which may later lead to haram whilst seeming islamic now....

anyway i just wanted to add these quotes.

(And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a way out and He provides for them from (sources) they never could imagine.) (At-Talaq 65:2–3)

Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.

- Bukhari - that for me is Allah working in my life.

 

[glo]

I did wonder whether this thread would show agreement between Muslims and Christians on the matter of divine guidance, or whether it would crystallize out certain differences.

It seems so far that the Christian perception is more that of a God who has a personal interest in and a personal relationship with his people.
Is the Muslim perception less so? Rather than God drawing people to himself, it is their responsibility to find him?

Woodrow and tango, are you saying that guidance from Allah comes from the Qu'ran and it's instructions alone, not from a more direct and personal guidance from Allah himself?

That makes sense to me for those who have already committed themselves to Islam.
But how then does God guide those who are non-Muslims?
Woodrow, before you became a Muslim, in your times of being a Christian/agnostic/atheist, how did Allah guide you then? I remember that you had been reading the Qu'ran for a long time, so supposedly you had been exposed to it's contents long before you turn towards Islam. But do you not think it was Allah who stirred you to accept it to be the truth? Or was that completely your own doing?

What about those who have never read the Qu'ran or even heard about it?
How are they guided by God?

 

[glo]

I had some more thoughts on this whilst I was out running.

Of course we have to weigh anything we think might be God's guidance to ensure that it really is God's guidance.
In Christian thinking, God would firstly not give any guidance which goes against his own Holy Book. So the first thing to do would be to check whether the guidance with receive is in line with God's word.
Secondly, we should pray and wait for confirmation that we have 'heard correctly'.
Thirdly we should consult and pray the issue over with other - ideally more mature and knowledgeable - Christians.

Therefore, statements such as 'God told me to set fire to my neighbour's car', 'God told me to steal this diamond ring' or 'God told me to sleep with my wife's best friend', clearly aren't from God. They are founded on human desire of anger, greed and sexual urges, but not on God's will for us.

 

[glo]

I remembered this story I heard on the radio recently:

A woman was going on one of her regular walks, when she came to a crossroads and felt suddenly prompted to go a different way to her usual route.
She took a different way, as prompted, and soon came across an older man and his grandson who had been cycling and had both fallen into the river. The grandson had managed to climb out of the water, but was too young to help his granddad out.
The woman was able to offer the old man help, potentially saving his life.

Now, was this feeling to take a different way

1. coincidence,
2. simply the woman's own thoughts and desires, or
3. divine intervention?
   
   
   What are your thoughts?
   
   
   

 

[جوري]

I agree with that.

In my opinion Allaah(swt) uses several tools to guide us.

In my case it is being faced with multiple choices the guidance comes from studying to see which is the choice that is Halal without doubt, or a choice that carries a sense of obligation and once knowing what the choice entails it is a failure to fulfill an obligation if it is ignored.

To me the submission to follow Allaah(swt) comes in the form of following or trying to follow the choices that are halal and fulfill an obligation.

It is sort of like following road signs. I want to get from point A to point B. As I travel down the path I pass signs that lead to beautiful scenary and signs that direct me to the most direct route. I focus on what is going to get me to point B and to me that is what I see as guidance.

The guidance comes in the form that I actually have no choice if my desire is to lead a halal life. Perhaps it is secondary that I am left with a very warm feeling and a sense of being rewarded after I choose that which helps me fulfill obligations.

I do have very many faults and when I do make an error and choose based on my desires alone, I find myself paying the price and suffering the consequences.

I have always known that dreams are 1/40th of prophet-hood as such it is one of the very few means left for us..

I don't believe that Allah swt guides those who have gone astray unless they wish to genuinely change themselves.. there is no sin after kuffr..

 

[tango92]

please glo, you need to recognize this thread is mostly muslims giving personal accounts and opinions regarding a matter which noone really has the definitive answer to. the fact is Allah swt guides whom he wills, what we have to do is ensure we are deserving of that guidance because the entire purpose of our creation is to serve Allah swt.

as for guiding non believers, of course he must have, how else would they become muslim? if no signs of islam have reached a certain individual then it makes sense Allah swt would guide them to the truth if they were of a sincere heart. but then in the sun, nature and human soul are signs of Allah swt existence which reach everyone.

many muslims have a deep connection with Allah, just this is something between Allah swt and the believer. its seen as a mater of extreme importance that we do not let our desires, or the devil trick us into misleading ourselves thinking we are following the path of Allah. thats why we need to verify our thoughts by the quran and the example of prophet Muhammad pbuh. i wouldnt consider the quran the word of god if i didnt see it as miraculous or have some other miracle associated to it.

 

[glo]

please glo, you need to recognize this thread is mostly muslims giving personal accounts and opinions regarding a matter which noone really has the definitive answer to.

I'm aware of that, and that's not problem at all.
In fact, I am very much interested is people's own perceptions and experiences - much more so than copied and pasted information.
As far as I am concerned, there are no right or wrong answers ... just what individual posters' own experiences!

as for guiding non believers, of course he must have, how else would they become muslim? if no signs of islam have reached a certain individual then it makes sense Allah swt would guide them to the truth if they were of a sincere heart. but then in the sun, nature and human soul are signs of Allah swt existence which reach everyone.

That makes sense to me.

many muslims have a deep connection with Allah, just this is something between Allah swt and the believer. its seen as a mater of extreme importance that we do not let our desires, or the devil trick us into misleading ourselves thinking we are following the path of Allah.

O can relate to that too.

Now then, do you have any story of your own you would be happy to share?

 

[Cabdullahi]

God is truly working in our lives i remember as a mischievious child i cut an electric kettle chord in half with a kitchen knife and i got a mild shock.....few years ago i asked my physics teacher and he told me people can actually die from doing this

sorry for messing up your thread

 

[glo]

God is truly working in our lives i remember as a mischievious child i cut an electric kettle chord in half with a kitchen knife and i got a mild shock.....few years ago i asked my physics teacher and he told me people can actually die from doing this

sorry for the messing up your thread

I can't imagine you being mischievious, Abdullahii! ;D

Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[islamirama]

I'm aware of that, and that's not problem at all.
In fact, I am very much interested is people's own perceptions and experiences - much more so than copied and pasted information.
As far as I am concerned, there are no right or wrong answers ... just what individual posters' own experiences!

God not only is working our lives but is also protecting us as well. Just look at a child and see how many times a he/she could have gotten hurt and yet by a miracle the child is unharmed. The kind of crazy childhood i had, I would not be here today if God wasn't working in my life and looking out for me.

 

[glo]

I find this thread just wonderful thank you all ! I know it's true what you're talking about.
I also agree with brother aadil that for some people because of modesty or because they fear that people don't believe them they prefer to not talk about the blessing and wonderment they receive from God. Personally I can feel God's presence in the most darkest moment's in my life, and without Allah's help I couldn't get out many problems I faced in my life.

That's beautifully said, marwen. I agree with you.

But I have to ask a question here, and it's mainly adressed for atheist brothers and sisters here or for those who don't really believe in God's existence : In your whole life, didn't you feel some divine power that helped you in a strange/miraculous way to get out from some complicated problem that you didn't imagine that there is a way out ? I mean let's forget logical/rational resoning for a while, didn't one day feel the presence of a supernatural entity (that can be a God) that influenced you destiny or your life in any manner ? I'm not being a priest now or making da'wa, but just I want to know from your own experience.

Some of you will tell me it's jus hallucinations or some psychic weakness or even coincindence, But I want a response from your heart about a real experience.

I think your last sentence points to the answer.

Personally, I believe that all of us are touched by God, whether we believe in him or not. But it is up to us whether and how we respond to that touch. And I guess in this age of reasoning and scientific thought, it is fairly easy to disregard something divine and supernatural as 'delusion' or a momentary mental instability.
We cannot prove the existence of God - therefore, when we think we have experienced his presence, we have to accept that by faith.

I remember clearly when I experienced God's presence in my life for the first time - and at first I had doubts and questions and unbelief. But over the course of some days, I continued to feel prompted and 'called' by God - and in the end I submitted to his calling and believed.
Looking back, I could just as easily have denied him and walked away, passing the whole episode off as a moment of weakness or madness ... hew

Perhaps it is hard for some people to accept the existence of and believe in an invisible, all-powerful creator God - something which seems to fly in the face of scientific reasoning ... :hmm:

I pray that the day will come when all people bow down and worship the One True God!

 

[glo]

It is like I always say, if you think God is calling you telling you to do things, then you should have your head examined.. there are very few ways left for said communication and I really doubt going upstairs and having god tell you to make a cup of tea is one of them!

Hi Lily

I chose to ignore your comment the first time round - mostly because I was quite taken aback, as I found your words unnecessarily personal and hurtful.
But you mentioned my story about God 'speaking' to me again in another thread just recently, and that tells me two things:

1. You have a better memory than I do. (My husband always tells me I have a memory like a sieve! )

2. My story seems to have left you with negative feelings. Perhaps you found it inappropriate or ridiculous or even offensive?

I would sincerely like to know why you disagree with my story. Could you try and explain?

Is it that, according to your own experience of God and/or the Islamic understanding of God, God does not concern himself with such minor issues such as the relationship between two individuals?
Does God not involve himself personally with people?
Does God not prompt us to do what's good and right?
Or does God guide/speak to people, but only to Muslims?
Or are there other reasons why you disagree?

I am asking you very politely to please be respectful in your reply.
You don't have to agree with my views or like my story. But please respect that it is a story which is personal and important to me.
I cannot stop you from ridiculing it in this forum environment, but I would like to ask you respectfully please not to. It simply isn't a kind thing to do.

I would love to hear your views on the questions I have asked, and I am hoping for a friendly and peaceful continuation of this thread.

Salaam

 

[Pygoscelis]

as for guiding non believers, of course he must have, how else would they become muslim?

The same way new Christians become Christian and the same way people come to any religion (or ideology for that matter). Surely you wouldn't argue that the radical christian right (who hate Muslims) got that way because Allah guided them there?

 

[glo]

Pygo, have you ever had 'God moments', which left you wondering for a brief while about the existence of God, but which - presumably - you found a rational, non-divine explanation for?