mnemonicus
Junior Member
:salam2:
Greetings to all of you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ed, I'm 26, and I'm an American graduate student (graduated this week!). I am studying history and Islamic studies, hopefully to become a teacher in this field. I'm slowly learning Arabic, too. I've read the Quran in detail with my tutor, and I've studied Islamic literature. These are really beautiful studies, and I enjoy them immensely. Needless to say, academically, Islam fascinates me. So, this is the foundation from which I approach Islam at the present - one of learning.
However, spiritually, I have been in limbo for some time; after leaving Christianity as a matter of conscience, I have had no religion other than a very simple monotheism. In this, I have sought God, and he has taken me somewhere - I'm not quite sure where, yet... But I can see that Islam is very attractive to me because it simply makes sense to me, and I can forgive the things that may be disagreeable to others, as a matter of historical context. In short, I am in great need of a great spiritual anchor - I deeply desire to take that spiritual hand-hold offered by Allah in Quran 2:256, and to know the wonderful God discussed in the preceeding aya... but I suppose I do not know how to approach this decision. I think to take up Islam is a very serious life decision, and I don't want to muck it up due to being unready, uncertain, and insufficiently educated as to what I'm choosing to do!
My questions are the following: I would like to look into making Islam my religion, but I am not sure how to build the social and educational foundation that is right for me in this pursuit. How would you go about this? It's unfortunate that there are probably few Muslims in my area, especially since it would be stupid to dive right in while having no support. I need to meet Muslims I trust, and I need to learn from the right people. My professor is a good person, and fine teacher who has done his religion justice, but I do not believe that it is appropriate to approach him with this, at least while I am studying under him in a scholarly context.
And - How do I respect and or disregard various commentary and interpretation of the Quran, e.g., tafsir? Should I just read it for myself and worry about that later?
Also - how do I choose which interpretation of Islam to follow, e.g., Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, etc, and how would I choose to follow their respective fiqh? I should note that I am wary of overly legalistic religion in general - not because I do not like laws and rules - but because I believe one's spirituality cannot be boiled down to behavior and action through law.
Lastly - I am especially interested in the internal, esoteric aspects of Islam, e.g., batin. What are good things to read (aside from the Holy Quran) to build up a deeper understanding of the relationships between Allah and man, Allah and creation, and the nature of Allah?
Thank you very much, and I look forward to meeting many of you,
Edward
Greetings to all of you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ed, I'm 26, and I'm an American graduate student (graduated this week!). I am studying history and Islamic studies, hopefully to become a teacher in this field. I'm slowly learning Arabic, too. I've read the Quran in detail with my tutor, and I've studied Islamic literature. These are really beautiful studies, and I enjoy them immensely. Needless to say, academically, Islam fascinates me. So, this is the foundation from which I approach Islam at the present - one of learning.
However, spiritually, I have been in limbo for some time; after leaving Christianity as a matter of conscience, I have had no religion other than a very simple monotheism. In this, I have sought God, and he has taken me somewhere - I'm not quite sure where, yet... But I can see that Islam is very attractive to me because it simply makes sense to me, and I can forgive the things that may be disagreeable to others, as a matter of historical context. In short, I am in great need of a great spiritual anchor - I deeply desire to take that spiritual hand-hold offered by Allah in Quran 2:256, and to know the wonderful God discussed in the preceeding aya... but I suppose I do not know how to approach this decision. I think to take up Islam is a very serious life decision, and I don't want to muck it up due to being unready, uncertain, and insufficiently educated as to what I'm choosing to do!
My questions are the following: I would like to look into making Islam my religion, but I am not sure how to build the social and educational foundation that is right for me in this pursuit. How would you go about this? It's unfortunate that there are probably few Muslims in my area, especially since it would be stupid to dive right in while having no support. I need to meet Muslims I trust, and I need to learn from the right people. My professor is a good person, and fine teacher who has done his religion justice, but I do not believe that it is appropriate to approach him with this, at least while I am studying under him in a scholarly context.
And - How do I respect and or disregard various commentary and interpretation of the Quran, e.g., tafsir? Should I just read it for myself and worry about that later?
Also - how do I choose which interpretation of Islam to follow, e.g., Sunni, Shiite, Sufi, etc, and how would I choose to follow their respective fiqh? I should note that I am wary of overly legalistic religion in general - not because I do not like laws and rules - but because I believe one's spirituality cannot be boiled down to behavior and action through law.
Lastly - I am especially interested in the internal, esoteric aspects of Islam, e.g., batin. What are good things to read (aside from the Holy Quran) to build up a deeper understanding of the relationships between Allah and man, Allah and creation, and the nature of Allah?
Thank you very much, and I look forward to meeting many of you,
Edward
borthers and sisters who gave short answers. New member need just to be welcomed and let him or her free and if they have questions, answers will be welcome.
