I have lost my faith, and need help getting it back

[JenGiove]

I'm so sorry...

Brother B232,

Please allow me to convey to you my apologies for the behaviour of Naw333. It was uncalled for and I will be reporting it. I am quite upset by it. You came here on faith looking for help and you are not the first person to ask those same questions.

Please excuse their words as exhaustion. I hope they get plenty of rest.

Again, I'm so sorry.

Salaam..

 

[Ibn Uthaymin]

If only i took Philoshpohy....dammit!

 

[JenGiove]

If only i took Philoshpohy....dammit!

ROTFL!!!!!!! I know....the thing is, Philosophy is in my family! lol! Yer priceless!

 

[Salam2You]

Salaam..

Is it me or are people getting more aggressive each day?
Seeing replies to common posts just make me think, astaghfirullah.

Though the Prophet peace be upon his soul was picked on, physically attacked and verbally, gone through all this pain to spread the word of Islam, yet people nowadays are shouting at people who are interested in Islam... AND even though our brother B232 is having misconceptions, please be patient towards him, where is the sunnah, guys?
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.” (An-Nahl: 125)

Brother B232, whatever you do, don't lose your path, surely it is shaytan who guides whom astray. Also, don't listen to the media, which is full of propaganda..


P.S. I know I'm being random at this point, but the proof I always pick out is from the Qur'an when it comes to science vs Islam..

Would you ever think that 1400 years ago somebody would know that rain was made from wind?
"It is Allah Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His servants He wills, they rejoice." (Qur'an, 30:48)

That's only one of the Qur'an miracles. This Book truly is the Word of Allah's!
Please brother, read the Qur'an fully, and if you have atleast try again, you may be guided again!




Wassalamm, take care brother, hope you will chose the right path Inshallah. !

 

[JenGiove]

Salaam..

Is it me or are people getting more aggressive each day?
Seeing replies to common posts just make me think, astaghfirullah.

Salaam...
Nope, not you.

where is the sunnah, guys?

Sorry but I found this hysterical! thanks!

P.S. I know I'm being random at this point, but the proof I always pick out is from the Qur'an when it comes to science vs Islam..

Would you ever think that 1400 years ago somebody would know that rain was made from wind?
"It is Allah Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His servants He wills, they rejoice." (Qur'an, 30:48)

I've always found that the more I study science, the more amazed I am at the wonderous nature of the Creator!

 

[B232]

Salaam..

Is it me or are people getting more aggressive each day?
Seeing replies to common posts just make me think, astaghfirullah.

Though the Prophet peace be upon his soul was picked on, physically attacked and verbally, gone through all this pain to spread the word of Islam, yet people nowadays are shouting at people who are interested in Islam... AND even though our brother B232 is having misconceptions, please be patient towards him, where is the sunnah, guys?
“Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.” (An-Nahl: 125)

Brother B232, whatever you do, don't lose your path, surely it is shaytan who guides whom astray. Also, don't listen to the media, which is full of propaganda..


P.S. I know I'm being random at this point, but the proof I always pick out is from the Qur'an when it comes to science vs Islam..

Would you ever think that 1400 years ago somebody would know that rain was made from wind?
"It is Allah Who sends the winds which stir up clouds which He spreads about the sky however He wills. He forms them into dark clumps and you see the rain come pouring out from the middle of them. When He makes it fall on those of His servants He wills, they rejoice." (Qur'an, 30:48)

That's only one of the Qur'an miracles. This Book truly is the Word of Allah's!
Please brother, read the Qur'an fully, and if you have atleast try again, you may be guided again!




Wassalamm, take care brother, hope you will chose the right path Inshallah. !

Thank you for the advice. I am aware of the possible scientific miracles in the Quran, including those relating to embryology, and possibly mountains, and the origin of the universe--Big Bang. I have a little book that I once read regarding these. This is one of the reasons that I have not completely given up on Islam, and thrown it to the wind. I am torn because while I see much validity in Islam, I find that there is so much contradiction with the concept of God.

Again, if I were to choose a religion, I would choose Islam. I find it to be the most logical.

Thank you again.

 

[B232]

Brother B232,

Please allow me to convey to you my apologies for the behaviour of Naw333. It was uncalled for and I will be reporting it. I am quite upset by it. You came here on faith looking for help and you are not the first person to ask those same questions.

Please excuse their words as exhaustion. I hope they get plenty of rest.

Again, I'm so sorry.

Salaam..

Thank you for your kind words Sister Jennifer. There is certainly no need for you to apologize on behalf of this individual; each is responsible for his own actions.

To be honest, one of my problems is managing grudges. I used to be such a forgiving individual; now when I am wronged or aggressed against, I can't let go of the resentment and the grudge. What this user has said/done is fairly minor in comparison to what I've experienced. And I'm forcing myself to learn to have thicker skin and not hold on to grudges. At first, I felt angry by his posting, but I quickly let go of it, and one of the problems I'm continuing to work on is to let go of grudges, because I have found that although the targets of those grudges are more than deserving, in the end the grudges and resentment hurt me the most, because I am unable to take any action and just continue to suffer from the resentment and grudgery that can't be vented. It is much easier to just have thicker skin, and not even register the aggression on my radar in the first place.

If something very minor is going to set off my anger and force me to hold a grudge, what have I left for the greater injustices of life.

 

[B232]

My apology for being too harsh. I would love to take time to gather some info to help you regain your faith--which is not so hard. I promise I won't forget you. In return, promise me you'll throw everything out and start fresh. Then you can answer your own questions. Deal?

Thank you for apologizing. There are no hard feelings. And the posting which appears to have been made four minutes after yours was actually started before your post but because of it's length, it got posted, before I saw this post of yours.

I'm assuming you're a brother. Listen brother, I'm not angry at you, and I forgive you; I've seen far more aggressive online postings.

Didn't understand what you meant by "Then you can answer your own questions."

 

[JenGiove]

Thank you for your kind words Sister Jennifer. There is certainly no need for you to apologize on behalf of this individual; each is responsible for his own actions.

To be honest, one of my problems is managing grudges. I used to be such a forgiving individual; now when I am wronged or aggressed against, I can't let go of the resentment and the grudge. What this user has said/done is fairly minor in comparison to what I've experienced. And I'm forcing myself to learn to have thicker skin and not hold on to grudges. At first, I felt angry by his posting, but I quickly let go of it, and one of the problems I'm continuing to work on is to let go of grudges, because I have found that although the targets of those grudges are more than deserving, in the end the grudges and resentment hurt me the most, because I am unable to take any action and just continue to suffer from the resentment and grudgery that can't be vented. It is much easier to just have thicker skin, and not even register the aggression on my radar in the first place.

If something very minor is going to set off my anger and force me to hold a grudge, what have I left for the greater injustices of life.

Brother,

Your brain is so big and your heart has been hurt so many times, it is no wonder you have a problem of deen. Allow me please to tell you a bit about my experience here. Because I did not come here looking to Revert and I was not a Muslim, people had a very difficult time understanding and accepting me. While I will not say that I am accepted as "one of the girls", I have learned which threads I had to stay away from, for the good of the boards, and which people I had to limit communication with. In a technical way, I would be classified as Kafir though I find that term to be used more as an insult than as a statement of fact. To be dismissed summarily simply because I'm not a Muslim even though I have displayed nothing but support and have tried to keep my beliefs out of the conversation is incredibly hurtful and insulting. I also find it to be not in line with Islam. Top it all off with the fact that I'm an American...well, you can understand why my trying to correct misconceptions about America on the News and Current Events forum might be a wee bit difficult, eh?

I know thick skin. Mine is still growing. Strangely, some of those same people who I dislike, I can understand the easiest. Go figure.

Sister Kayleigh spoke about religion being separate from God. I agree but allow me to have you think about this. You don't need to figure out who's right and who's wrong and how do we behave and how do we not. You need to figure out who your parent is (I use parent because God really doesn't have a gender but...). Figure out how you feel you look like in his eyes. Are you a spec of flesh that doesn't matter? Are you a child he loves and cares about deeply? Are you a slave with a master? Are you an orphan looking for a parent? Are you a child who needs punishment in order to satisfy his heavenly chess game? Then you can answer the greatwer questions such as "HOW do I respond to his ever changing game/his love/his regulations...etc.....Who,What,Where,When,Why,How....they will all get answered if you take it one step at a time.

 

[B232]

:ma:

Brother,

Your brain is so big and your heart has been hurt so many times, it is no wonder you have a problem of deen. Allow me please to tell you a bit about my experience here. Because I did not come here looking to Revert and I was not a Muslim, people had a very difficult time understanding and accepting me. While I will not say that I am accepted as "one of the girls", I have learned which threads I had to stay away from, for the good of the boards, and which people I had to limit communication with. In a technical way, I would be classified as Kafir though I find that term to be used more as an insult than as a statement of fact. To be dismissed summarily simply because I'm not a Muslim even though I have displayed nothing but support and have tried to keep my beliefs out of the conversation is incredibly hurtful and insulting. I also find it to be not in line with Islam. Top it all off with the fact that I'm an American...well, you can understand why my trying to correct misconceptions about America on the News and Current Events forum might be a wee bit difficult, eh?

I know thick skin. Mine is still growing. Strangely, some of those same people who I dislike, I can understand the easiest. Go figure.

Sister Kayleigh spoke about religion being separate from God. I agree but allow me to have you think about this. You don't need to figure out who's right and who's wrong and how do we behave and how do we not. You need to figure out who your parent is (I use parent because God really doesn't have a gender but...). Figure out how you feel you look like in his eyes. Are you a spec of flesh that doesn't matter? Are you a child he loves and cares about deeply? Are you a slave with a master? Are you an orphan looking for a parent? Are you a child who needs punishment in order to satisfy his heavenly chess game? Then you can answer the greatwer questions such as "HOW do I respond to his ever changing game/his love/his regulations...etc.....Who,What,Where,When,Why,How....they will all get answered if you take it one step at a time.

Sister, let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contributions to this thread. Despite disagreeing with you on an important point in this thread, your caring demeanour brought some comfort and solace to my heart.

I understand completely the perspective you come from.

I used to have many interactions with deeply religious people in Islam. Let me tell you that while they are overall good people, they tend to be quiet callous and impersonal. They're hearts have been turned into stone, they are so judgemental, and even spiteful. They will fret over a missed prayer, but won't think twice about tormenting another individual, or being a hypocrite for personal gain. It is such a shame, because when you read the hadiths of the prophet, you get a very different image.

A case in point is a comparison between you and Naw333. You, not a Muslim, are clearly a very kind and compassionate individual and the world would be so much better with more people like yourself who actually understand the concept of empathy. Versus Naw333 who came on her, and lambasted me rudely and disparagingly for asking a few questions. I was not at all angered by his harshness. Someone could tell me that he believes I will go to Hell with this belief set, I can understand. But to be rude, disparaging, and belittling is a completely different matter, especially when you claim to ostensibly be a Muslim.

What I would like to believe to be true, but which I have been unable to believe is that God exists, he loves all those who are good, hates all those who are evil, and duly rewards people according to whether they have been good or bad to others, and whether they have lived a moral life.

I know how some Muslims will view you--always as an outsider and a kaafir. However, I cannot possibly express these beliefs in person, because I am born a Muslim and would thus not only be regarded as a kaafir but an apostate--similar to how a traitor may be viewed.

But people must learn to differentiate. Firstly, I did not affiliate myself with another religion for personal gain, or to write a book and hit the airwaves. I didn't do it for the lifestyle. For example, I don't drink. I did it because I could not hold on, and I felt I was holding on to a fallacy, and following rituals such as praying, etc... because of a fallacy. I know that people's instinctive reflex-can be to cringe at such blasphemous talk, especially those more religious, and especially in consideration of the fact that I'm a former Muslim. But I really feel that only the truth can set you free, and expressing yourself freely is so important.

These are questions that I would have loved to ask my religious mentors when I was in contact with them, but I would have cringed at the thought, because their immediate reaction would have been very negative judgement, and possibly ostracizing me. They would have lost all trust in me, rejected me, and treated me as an outsider.

 

[Abdul25]

:ma:


I used to have many interactions with deeply religious people in Islam. Let me tell you that while they are overall good people, they tend to be quiet callous and impersonal. They're hearts have been turned into stone, they are so judgemental, and even spiteful. They will fret over a missed prayer, but won't think twice about tormenting another individual, or being a hypocrite for personal gain. It is such a shame, because when you read the hadiths of the prophet, you get a very different image.

.

:salam2:
Quite true , My experience with deeply religious people has hurt me so much, i cant write those experiences here , i will be banned :lol:. if it wasn't for Prophet Muhammad SAW,his sahabs and the holy Quran , i would not be here , my experience is similar to that of yours.thats why i rarely go to mosque . as concerning your questions and doubts , i would say let them come, one of my dearest friends who was deeply religious turned to be an atheist , why, there are many reasons , i cant write them here but i can understand your questions and your doubts , this is natural when u think deeply and in too much depth then you come up with such questions.logic and rationalism cant prove many things, you have to have faith . i hope your doubts and questions are answered inshAllah

 

[MohammedMaksudul]

:salam2:

Brother korai, you should not stop going to the mosque. It is highly recommended that you visit the mosque to pray. Remember, you are not in Islam because of any religious man. You are in Islam because Allah has guided you and bestowed His Mercy on you.

For all brothers and sister: you should all listen to nouman ali khan's Islam and ego lecture.

 

[Mohamad Fazril]

Salam B232, what I can say is you must free your mind from your conception of the world and your culture. Islam is not based on culture nor the conception of the world( Prophet Muhammad SAW marriage to Aisyah, the existence of the world). It is a way of life for those who believe in it and the truth for those unbelievers. It is the way of the real truth for God.
I have pity for you that you have not been given the hidayah completly (with all the doubts in your mind).
But surely you have the time for saving your soul for God will not leave its servant in drift without having given the hidayah if his servants are trying hard in serving him.
I can only advice you that you should not given up hope. Always ask for guidance for god will not leave the one who search Him astray. Go see someone who has the believe and knowledge of Islam for he may give you better answer and good example.
You should sacrifice a lot of things in finding the truth for the truth is worth much more than everything in your life. This is something that we as a Muslim felt and we are happy to serve Him for He had give something which have worth more than this world. That is Islam.

 

[MalikBrother]

I will explain everything later. Meanwhile, make sure to read the Quran, and compare the Quran to Science (Biology, Physics), Universe....etc, and you will be surprised that the knowledge of DNA, Universe, the whole world has already been mentioned in Holy Quran, were just submitted by Professional with their expertise in the late 20th century.

I know the world is in bad place with full of violence cases, disgusting that is mainly unhuman, and there have been numerous wars. You do know that we are truly blessed, and we are made of clay, (Google it), and Allah instructs Angels and Non Angels to look after human people in Earth, but Non Angels refused as they were made of fire of smoke, valued the status of their better than our, but Angels supported us with the instruction of Allah. Non Angels have refused, and hence, they are devils. They do exists, and only target those who don't have faith or lose faith. Therefore, they can be easily misguided by anyhow (can't be explained). Those who have faith, will always be safe no matter what, and always will be protected no matter.

For what is happening in today world because people have lost the faith, and some people have misunderstood of people doing Jihad or at least that's what gave the impression to the world, and at the moment, they were either taking revenge for whatever reasons. Ever since, there have been wars, based on women, powers, lands, countries,....etc.

Allah has blessed us with many Prophets before Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) with Holy Quran, for the whole mankind, and last messenger of Allah. The reasons the many Prophets were sent because of us, and our wrongdoing that have damanged the world, and misused and abused humanity. The reason for the whatever humanity is left, is because of Islam, is the last source to save Humanity from dying, and bring us to the right path. The example of Holy Kaaba goes way too back, even before Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H).

I live in Canada, and i can understand your situation especially athetism people with their contribution for the humanity, but you have forgotten one thing that Allah is the most merciful, and the most beneficient and if we ask forgiveness of our misdeeds, and announce yourself 'There is no God, but Allah and Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) is his messenger', and Allah will forgive us, and grant us to the Jannant. It's never late for those who aren't Muslim.

I will explain better examples of Islam and humanity to restore your lost faith later. Meanwhile, research the Holy Quran to gain better understanding about the Holy Quran.

 

[unbreak]

What ever happen, in the past. Allah forgive your mistake.

Ask forgiveness from Allah. Allah is so Merciful.

Allah love those who ask forgiveness, even thou you did not commit a sins.

If can say everyday As-tagh-firullah, Allah like you so Much.

As-tagh-firullah, meaning
= I seek forgiveness from Allah (we are taught to say this frequently, because we are always prone to sinning, and we are always in need of Allah's forgiveness)


because we do make mistake, and sins every day, even thou we thing it's not mistake or sins

like i said even thou you didn't make a mistake or Sins. Say: As-tagh-firullah everyday. Allah love you so much.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Check out ZAKIR NAIK in facebook or youtube
or
check out yusuf estes in facebook or youtube

ALSO CHECK OUT THESE WORD AND MEANING

In-Sha-Allah = God willing (we should say this whenever we talk about an event in the future)

Subhan-Allah = Glorified is Allah (It's one of the most common words use to praise Allah, along with Alhamdulillah and Allahu-Akbar)

Al-Hamdu-Lillah = All praise (and thanks) belongs to Allah (We say this all the time, like when being thankful, or just generally praising Allah)

Allahu-Akbar = Allah is Great (Another common word used to praise Allah)

Maa-sha-Allah = The closest English translation is "God has willed it" (we say this in events of joy and praise, or to an individual for a good accomplishment, or upon hearing good news, and things of this nature)

 

[MohammedMaksudul]

:salam2:

Regarding your question "Who created God?". Allah says in the Quran that he is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Well brother, again I would ask you to first agree on the fact that your brain has a limited capacity. If it were to be hooked up to a computer somehow and you were given signals for images somehow, your brain would take that as reality. Allah says in the Quran that this world is nothing but deception. Now considering this point of our limited capability, we have to understand that there are something which is beyond our scope to understand at this point. Agree or deny but its a fact that no scientist has been able to DEFINE time (there are lot of theories, etc) but no one could define time in its physical manner of behavior. Not just distance divided by speed. If you go about searching for answers to questions like these, your brain crashes (gets confused) and that effects your faith basically. Not to forget that the shaytan takes advantage of this situation, as well. If you look to find answers to questions like these then I am sorry to say (may be its a little hard, but its true) that you can never find peace or a solid ground in your life. As you can always keep on asking this question "Who created God?" for if anyone even did give you an answer you can re-ask the question. Get my point? You will push yourself into an infinite loop that never ends, has no logic and basis. Our limitations demand that we don't get into such thoughts. Allah says in the Quran that He, The Almighty, does not like the transgressors. So brother, please try and understand the answer to these type of Questions can never be found, as the question itself is Invalid. And brother do you realize that that it is almost as if you want to see Allah, in this world to believe in Him. Submission to Allah does not come only with logic and reasoning, but a part of it is a gap and a leap that we all take and believe in the Unseen.The Unseen can not be proved brother (in this world) and to submit to Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala you have to take such a leap and believe in the Unseen. Have patience you will meet your Lord on the Day of Judgement and you will have your proofs then.

 

[B232]

You have just proved yourself to be a very immature individual. I had doubts about the sincerity of your apology--needless to say, those doubts have been cleared up.

I'm not a clone of another person with whom you evidently have a vendetta. Either you're lying about this, or for some reason think that I am this other person. In either case, there's nothing I can do to remedy this situation.

And I don't need your help, because insincere help is of no use to me. You don't even read posts before replying, you're attacks are illogical and unrelated to the content of the posts, and you're frankly rude and uncivil. I'm happy to here that you will not be involved further in the thread.

 

[kashif_nazeer]

salam alaikum

You will believe if you want to.No one can guide anyone except Allah.

Surah Al Baqarah provides charecteristics of believers,disbelievers and hypocrites :
I'll be posting the verses inshaAllah which talks about believers:
الٓمٓ (١) ذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَ*!ۛ فِيهِ*!ۛ هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (٢) ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ يُنفِقُونَ (٣) وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ وَبِٱلۡأَخِرَةِ هُمۡ يُوقِنُونَ (٤) أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَىٰ هُدً۬ى مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ*!ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ (٥)

Alif. Lam. Mim. (1) This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). (2) Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them; (3) And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter. (4) These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.

Why do kuffar go to hell?
After knowing the truth they reject it ,so as to say reject it,well they are bound to be doomed.Allah knows best.
There are some of the disbelievers to whom the truth has'nt reached or it has reached in a distorted manner,for them they are called ahlul fitrah.
They may go to heaven or hell,Allah will decide because he knows what is in hearts,i.e either they would have believed or disbelieved if truth were made manifest to them.
The kuffar who reject truth after knowing it are in my opinion "stuck up".How do you except to be successful if you are on the wrong path willingly?The world is their only relief.Final return is to Allah.Disbelief is root of all evil,I gues,if you are not certain of what's right and what's wrong,then what else is left to say?
Allah knows best.

 

[B232]

:salam2:

Regarding your question "Who created God?". Allah says in the Quran that he is Omnipotent and Omniscient. Well brother, again I would ask you to first agree on the fact that your brain has a limited capacity. If it were to be hooked up to a computer somehow and you were given signals for images somehow, your brain would take that as reality. Allah says in the Quran that this world is nothing but deception. Now considering this point of our limited capability, we have to understand that there are something which is beyond our scope to understand at this point. Agree or deny but its a fact that no scientist has been able to DEFINE time (there are lot of theories, etc) but no one could define time in its physical manner of behavior. Not just distance divided by speed. If you go about searching for answers to questions like these, your brain crashes (gets confused) and that effects your faith basically. Not to forget that the shaytan takes advantage of this situation, as well. If you look to find answers to questions like these then I am sorry to say (may be its a little hard, but its true) that you can never find peace or a solid ground in your life. As you can always keep on asking this question "Who created God?" for if anyone even did give you an answer you can re-ask the question. Get my point? You will push yourself into an infinite loop that never ends, has no logic and basis. Our limitations demand that we don't get into such thoughts. Allah says in the Quran that He, The Almighty, does not like the transgressors. So brother, please try and understand the answer to these type of Questions can never be found, as the question itself is Invalid. And brother do you realize that that it is almost as if you want to see Allah, in this world to believe in Him. Submission to Allah does not come only with logic and reasoning, but a part of it is a gap and a leap that we all take and believe in the Unseen.The Unseen can not be proved brother (in this world) and to submit to Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala you have to take such a leap and believe in the Unseen. Have patience you will meet your Lord on the Day of Judgement and you will have your proofs then.

OK. I'm going to grant you this. I'm not totally convinced though. I understand the logic you're employing, and I'm partially swayed. I think this is a point that could conceivably be negotiated/overcome.

I think at this point, my biggest confusion is how God could possibly eternally damn someone to Hell (which I would imagine is of excruciating pain) eternally merely because he didn't believe in him. Talk about moral relativism. I can see the evil of murder, the evil of theft, the evil of a host of things. But to burn someone not for action or intent, but for merely not believing something. And something that understandably requires a leap of faith to believe in. Do you understand where I'm coming from. Let's say you spend your entire life helping the poor, the weak, the orphaned, and you sacrifice your money, your pleasure, and your life to help all of these people in need. You try your best to be kind to others and to not harm others, and when you die, God says to you: "You didn't believe in me, so you're going to Hell. Forever. You can plead, you can regret, you can recount all of your noble deeds, but I'm going to burn you in hell because you weren't convinced of my existence." And then to the guy who murdered a hundred humans and then repented, he says: "Well, you made a sincere repentance, so I'm forgiving your sins, and welcome to heaven, where you will live in eternal bliss and happiness, because you repented and believed in me." As I understand it, this is what God is like according to Islamic, Christian, or Jewish thought. (Other religions I'm not going to address because I think they're full of inconsistencies and fallacies to the degree it's obvious to many.) If you believe this, how can you love God, even if you believed in Him. My first reaction would be to absolutely resent God, to think of Him as an egotistical maniac. This is my biggest concern. Why so much suffering and torture for a very poor reason; because someone wasn't convinced. OK, maybe not believing is an insult to God. I can understand that. Burn him for a month or a year, and give him a lower level in heaven (if he was righteous) but to put him eternally in Hell--just the though of it is absolutely terrifying. I am literally terrified of death because of this fact. Imagine, if I were to die right now, while typing, I would be in Hell forever--if God exists. Which means those submitting to God are submitting in terror--similar to submitting to a brutal dictator--except this one has the power to carry on with the torture forever, and there's no escape. Why the malice? Why the pain?

The only way I could see around this point is if God conveyed in his books that there is a Hellfire for those who disbelieve in order to get people to believe, in order for them to then follow his laws (many of which are very necessary). But in reality, there's no hell, and God is just deceiving humans for them to toe the line. I don't find this very compelling, and admittedly I'm going out on a limb.

 

[World Peace]

Salam aleacom brother B232

When I read the title of the post, I prayed in sha Allah rabana guide you. Because your heart and soul are searching for him, for his guidance and for inner peace. Allah never abandens those whom sincerly look for help. In sha Allah, by coming into this forum and doing that, Allah will enlighten your heart and soul, and is the begining of your guidance. He is with you always, open your heart to him, speak to him, make dua to him to guide you. He want's to hear your voice. There is wisdom behind everything that occurs in life. Continue to seek knowledge to know him more and to be closer to him.


He is close to you

"It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein." (The Holy Quran, Chapter 50, Verse 16)


"When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way." (The Holy Quran, Chapter 50, Verse 186)

There are some things which are beyond our understanding.
I would like to share with you the following.

Beautiful poem

The One and Only One
How can enough praise be ever offered to the one....​

Whose Praise is indefinable
Whose Love is unsurpassable
Whose Mercy is immeasurable
Whose Hope is unquantifiable
Whose Forgiveness is incalculable
Whose Power is undiminishable
Whose Might is unchallengeable
Whose Knowledge is unimaginable
Whose Glory is unthinkable
Whose Majesty is indecipherable
Whose Guidance is invisible
Whose Light is inconceivable
Whose Wisdom is unfathomable
Whose Exaltedness is inexplicable
Whose Justice is inestimable
Whose Decree is unalterable
Whose Trust is incomprehensible
Whose Beauty is ungraspable
Whose Truth is incomparable​

He is the One, the Only One
La ilaha illa Allah.​

Author: Unknown
........................................................................​

Websites​

The Existance of God
http://www.islamreligion.com/category/39/​

True Happiness and Inner Peace
http://www.islamreligion.com/category/104/​

The Purpose of Life
http://www.islamreligion.com/category/52/​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fugf1DcNyc&feature=player_embedded

How does Islam Differ from Other Faiths
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/643/viewall/

The Divine Decree
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/40/

Wasalamo aleacom