:salam2:
Assalam-o-alikum brother Zarif.
Let me try to answer:
1. "Surrender" means wholly that, and no less. It seems to me, from the outside, that one accepts Islam, not as a simple intellectual agreement, or perhaps a fashionable moral ascension, but a change of lifestyle such that Islam becomes the absolute core of their lives, rather than a 'part' of it.
You are right. Except I would correct that "Submit" would be a better word than "Surrender:. Islam means submision. But Islam also means peace. So it is peace one gets after volenteerly submitting. Suppose a mother says to her child that first do your homework then you can play. Now the child can do the following:
1. He throws a tantrum and cry and yull and get mad and slams the door and refuse to do what he is told. This child is a rebellion. He is neither submitting nor at peace.
2. He cries and get mad but still does the homework grudgingly. This child has submitted but not at peace.
3. He says "OK", and completes his homework Comes to his mother and says "Mom I finished my homework, can I play now". Mother says "OK honey". This child has submitted and is also at peace. We call such behaviour as being Muslim.
2. My Christian upbringing exposed me to people extolling various kinds of 'doing your faith'. Everything from fanatical spiritualists that probably could have benefited from professional mental intervention, to cerebral academics who cared for nothing more than ceaseless talk and debate on hairsplitting issues. It seems that even in Islam, there are these sorts of folks also, but it also seems to me that it would insult the Creator to measure him by human behaviors.
Prophet Mohammad never condoned any of the things you mentioned here, and true Muslims don't do this either. But the thing is that anyone can talk as a Muslim.
I suppose I'm asking for prayers to the Creator to remember me and clear the fog in my head that comes from being a former American Christian.
Ameen !!!
3. I would like to know if it is appropriate that I, learn how to pray properly. What is the most acceptable way to begin?
Of course you can learn how to pray properly. Normally when you say prayer to a Muslim he thinks "Salah" which is more than prayers... It is worship. But we also do suplication which is called "Dua". We ask Allah for everything. To forgive our sins. To accept our worship/prayers, to keep us healthy etc.Allah is a living and active God. He listens to every suplication and prayers of all his creation and responds to them.
I presenting here first 6 verses from chapter 57 of the holy Quran here with tafseer (explanation). To give you some more ideas about Allah.
(57:1) All that is in the heavens and the earth extols the glory of Allah. *1 He is the Most Mighty, the Most Wise. *2
*1 'That is, "It has always been so that everything in the universe has proclaimed the truth that its Creator and Sustainer is free from every blemish and defect, every weakness, error and evil. He is glorified in His essence, He is glorified in His attributes, He is glorified in His works as well as His commands whether they relate to the creation, or to the religious law for mankind. Here sabbaha has been used in the past tense; at other places yusabbihu has been used which includes both the present and the future tenses. This would signify that every particle in the universe has always been extolling the glory of its Creator and Sustainer in the past, is doing 60 at present and will continue to do the same in the future for ever and ever."
*2 That is, not only is He All-Mighty and All-Wist, but the truth is that He afoot is AII-Mighty and All-Wise. The word 'Aziz signifies a mighty and powerful Being Whose decrees cannot be prevented by any power in the world from being enforced, Whom no one can oppose and resist, Who has to be obeyed by every one whether one likes it or not, Whose rebel cannot escape His accountability and punishment in any way; and Hakim signifies that whatever He does He does it wisely. His creation, His administration and rule, His commands and guidance, all are based on wisdom. None of His works is tarnished by any tract of folly or ignorance.
There is another fine point here, which one should fully understand. Seldom in the Qur'an has Allah's attribute of `Aziz (AII-Mighty) been accompanied by His attributes of being Qawi (Strong), Mugtadir(Powerful), Jabber (Omnipotent), Dhuntiqam (Avenger) and the like, which only signify His absolute power, and this has been so only in places where the context demanded that the wicked and disobedient be warned of Allah's relentless punishment. Apart from such few places, wherever the word 'Aziz has been used for Allah, it has everywhere been accompanied by one Or other of His attributes of being Hakim (Wise), Alim (Knower), Rahim (Merciful), Ghafur (Forgiving), Wahhab (Generous) and Hamid (Praiseworthy). The reason is that if a being who wields un-limited power is at the same time foolish, ignorant, un-forgiving as well as stingy and devoid of character, its power and authority cannot but lead to injustice and wickedness Thus, wherever injustice and wickedness is being committed in the world, it is only because the one who wields authority over Others, is either using his power un-wisely and foolishly, or he is merciless and hardhearted, or evil-minded and wicked. Wherever power is coupled with these evil traits of character, no good can be expected to result. That is why in the Holy Qur'an Allah's attribute of `Aziz has necessarily been accompanied by His attributes of being All-Wise and Knowing, Compassionate and Forgiving, Praiseworthy and Generous, so that man may know that the God Who is ruling this universe has, on the' one hand, such absolute power that no one, from the earth to the heavens, can prevent His decrees from being enforced, but, on the other, He is also AlI-Wise: His each decision is based on perfect wisdom; He is also AII-Knowing whatever decision He makes, it precisely according to knowledge; He is also Compassionate: He does not use infinite power mercilessly; He is Forgiving as well: He does not punish His creatures for trifling faults, but overlooks their errors; He is also Generous: He does not treat His subjects stingily, but liberally and benevolently; and He is also Praiseworthy: He combines in Himself all praiseworthy virtues and excellences.
The full importance of this statement of the Qur'an can be better understood by those people who are aware of the discussions of the philosophy of politics and law on the question of sovereignty. Sovereignty connotes that the one who possesses it should wield un-limited power: there should be no internal and external power to change or modify his decision or prevent it from being enforced, and none should have any alternative but to obey him. At the mere concept of this infinite and un-limited power, man's common-sense necessarily demands that whoever attains to such power, should be faultless and perfect in knowledge and wisdom, for if the one holding this power is ignorant, merciless and evil, his sovereignty will inevitably lead to wickedness and corurption. That is why the philosophers who regarded a single man, or a man-made institution, or an assembly of men as the holder of this power, have had to presume that he or it would be infallible. But obviously, neither can un limited sovereignty be actually attained by a human power, nor is it possible for a king, or a parliament, or a nation, or a party that it may use the sovereignty attained by it in a limited circle faultlessly and harmlessly. The reason is that the wisdom that is wholly free of every trace of folly, and the knowledge that fully comprehends all the related truths, is not at all possessed even by entire mankind, not to speak of its being attain d by an individual, or an institution, or a nation. Likewise, as long as man is man, his being wholly free of and above selfishness, sensuality, fear, greed, desires, prejudice and sentimental love, anger and hate is also not possible. If a person ponders over these truths, he will realize that the Qur'an is indeed presenting here a correct and perfect view of sovereignty. It says that no one except Allah in this universe is possessor of absolute power, and with this unlimited power He alone is faultless, All-Wise and All-Knowing, Compassionate and Forgiving, and Praiseworthy and Generous in His dealings with Hid subjects.
(57:2) His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death, and He has power over everything.
(57:3) He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, *3 and He has knowledge of everything.
*3 That is, "When there was nothing, He was, and when there will be nothing, He will be. He is the most Manifest of all the manifest, for whatever manifests itself in the world, does 50 only by His attributes and His works and His light. And He is the Most Hidden of all the hidden, for not only do the senses fail to percieve Him but the intellect and thought and imagination also cannot attain to His essence and reality. The best commentary in this regard are the words of a supplication of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings). which Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Baihaqi have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, and Hafiz Abu Ya'la Mosuli in his Musnad on the authority of Hadrat 'A'ishah:
"Antal Awwal, fa-laisa qablaka shai'in; wa Antal Akhir fa-laisa ba 'daka shai 'in; wa Antal Zahir, fa-laisa fauqaka shai in; wa Anfal Batin, fa laisa dunaka shai'in. " "You alone are the First; none is before You; You alone are the Last: none is after You; You alone are the Exalted none is above You; You alone are the Hidden: none is more hidden than You. "
Here, the question arises: How does this accord with the immortality and eternal life of the dwellrs of Paradise and Hell mentioned in the Qur'an when Allah alone is the Last and Eternal? Its answer has been provided by the Qur'an itself: "Everything is perishable except Allah Himself." (AI-Qasas: 88). In other words no creature is immortal in its personal capacity; if a thing exists or continuos to exist, it does so because Allah keeps it so, and can exist only by His letting it exist; otherwise in its own capacity everything is perishable except Allah, Immortality in Heaven and Hell will not be bestowed upon somebody because he is immortal by himself, but because AIIah will grant him eternal life. The same is true of the angels: they are not immortal by themselves. When Allah willed they came into existence, and will continue to exist only as long as Her wills.
(57:4) He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then established Himself on the Throne. *4 He knows all that enters the earth and all that comes forth from it, and all that comes down from the heaven and all that goes up to it. *5 He is with you wherever you are. *6 Allah sees all that you do. *4 That is, He alone is the Creator of the universe as well as Its Ruler. (For further explanation, see E.N.'s 41, 42 of AI-A'raf, E.N.4 of Yunus, E.N.'s 2 to 5 of Ar-Ra'd, E.N,'s 11 to 15 of Ha Mim As-Sajdah).
*5 In other words, He is not only the Knower of the wholes but also of the parts. He knows each seed that goes under the layers of the soil, each leaf and bud that comes out of the soil, each rain-drop that falls from the sky, and each molecule of the vapour that ascends from the seas and lakes to the sky. He is aware of every seed Iying anywhere under the soil. That is how He causes it to split and sprout up and develop. He Is aware of how much vapour has risen from each different place and where it has reached. That is how he collects it into cloud and distributes it and causes it to fall as rain in due measure on different place of the earth. The same is true of the details of everything that goes into the earth and comes out of it, and of everything that ascends to the sky and descends from it. If aII this were not comprehended by Allah in His knowledge, it would not be possible for Him to plan and order each thing separately and to regulate and control it in a wise manner.
*6 That is, "Nowhere are you outside Allah's knowledge, His power, His rule, His management and administration. Allah knows wherever you are, whether in the earth, or the air, or the water, or in a secret place. Your being alive there is by itself a proof that Allah is providing for you in that very place. If yow heart is beating, if your lungs are breathing, if yow hearing and yow sight arc functioning, it is only because all parts of yow body are working under Allah's rule. And if death comes to you at any place; it comes because Allah takes a decision to stop providing for you and to recall you from the world."
(57:5) His is the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and to Him are all matters referred (for judgement).
(57:6) He causes the night to pass into the day, and causes the day to pass into the night, and He fully knows all that is hidden in the breasts (hearts) of people.
so you've been reciting Quran with a beautiful voice mashallah.
