Surviving in a Non muslim world

[goldenmuslimah21]

seriously I really thinking about doing a documentary about this, it may not be out for awhile but my question For all you wonderful brothers and sisters in Islam

How in this world are you surviving living amongst all the non-muslims?

I mean, when I am in class that telling me the only way I will have money for future is to invest in stocks and saving accounts which is based on riba

and then I really want to meet ppl and being alone all the time is not fun but alot of women organizations tend to only want me because I am muslim and for some ppl that may sound great.......................yeah a chance to give dawah but that is not what I will be used for I will probably be exploited to be a symbol of diversity................ and also I can't see myself growing stronger in my deen and then call these non-muslims my sister.

And whenever we have class dicussions I am only one giving the religious stand point and sometimes feeling attack because out 30 students I am only muslim.


HOw do you surivive, am I suppose to interact with non-muslims, I don't even know what to call them, Are they bad for me to be friends with? and even join their clubs?

 

[Southrn_Muslimah]

:salam2:

Good discussion topic to brainstorm how to keep strong.

seriously I really thinking about doing a documentary about this, it may not be out for awhile but my question For all you wonderful brothers and sisters in Islam

Good idea!

How in this world are you surviving living amongst all the non-muslims?

Good question and I have no idea how I keep myself sane I usually just keep a smile on my face because I feel anger is such a waste for the body and the mind. I try to pull the positive out of every negative situation and try to build on that.

I mean, when I am in class that telling me the only way I will have money for future is to invest in stocks and saving accounts which is based on riba

Well luckily I have never been pushed into this direction. My parents do not believe in credit cards and what not. If you don't have the money, you dont get the thing you are purchasing.



and then I really want to meet ppl and being alone all the time is not fun but alot of women organizations tend to only want me because I am muslim and for some ppl that may sound great.......................yeah a chance to give dawah but that is not what I will be used for I will probably be exploited to be a symbol of diversity................ and also I can't see myself growing stronger in my deen and then call these non-muslims my sister.

And whenever we have class dicussions I am only one giving the religious stand point and sometimes feeling attack because out 30 students I am only muslim.

I totally know what you are going through with class discussions. Sometimes I do not participate because I feel like the lynch mob is going to attack. What me and some of the sisters do is try to take some classes together so we will not feel alone. It helps out a great deal.



HOw do you surivive, am I suppose to interact with non-muslims, I don't even know what to call them, Are they bad for me to be friends with? and even join their clubs?

 

[misalat]

:salam2: siter,
It's not so easy to live in such a non-muslim country, it has alot of effects.
as human beings we will tend to adopt the environment unless we are so careful with out selves. Unless one is very strong in his/her imaan, then there will be surely some bad effects when you be so close with such non-muslim friends, that is no doubt. I would suggest you be friend with these people, but with a carefull manner, the knoweldge that they can cause you some bad effect is important ... just be careful, do not over stay untill they make you leave your prayer timings etc. do not feel shy to excuse the pray as per the time precribed ... it happens to many of us.
May Allah increase our Eman and increase our knowledge in our diin.

Ma'asalaama ...

 

[al-fajr]

HOw do you surivive, am I suppose to interact with non-muslims, I don't even know what to call them, Are they bad for me to be friends with? and even join their clubs?

Youre asking for survival tips - lol, I kept myself to myself mostly, its not fun but i figured its better to be alone than in bad company, you are what your freinds are after all, and you dont want to be like them, if you choose to ride alone, then yes it can be really - boring, and it could drive you nuts.

They do haraam actions, which means you cant do everything they do, or go to all the places they go, in light of that, i felt it was best to not even start being freindly with them. Im not saying what i did was right, in fact looking back, i think i missed some good dawah opportunities whats worst, i may have even put people off Islam, i really hope not, i have noway of measuring the effects of staying 'away' from them really.

Dont you have even...1 muslim person to hang out with?

May Allah give you sabr.

 

[al-fajr]

Asaalamu Aliakum
I hope this will help you sister isra
It Says In The Quran Surah 3 Verse 28 :
Choose Your Friends Carefully

[3:28] The believers never ally themselves with the disbelievers, instead of the believers. Whoever does this is exiled from GOD. Exempted are those who are forced to do this to avoid persecution. GOD alerts you that you shall reverence Him alone. To GOD is the ultimate destiny.

28. Let not the believers Take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah. except by way of precaution, that ye may Guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you (To remember) Himself; for the final goal is to Allah.

Wa-alaikum salam,

Indeed yes, i used those ayahs to justify not talking or mixing with them

azhar37

 

[AZAM_SIDDIQUI]

everything in this world bother is calling others to itself .wherever we go somebody is telling us about something in a way trying to get us interested in their way of thinking ,living and dying.spreading their ideas as the best ,trying to convert us.ooops but IS that not WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO????????????
NO DOUBT then when we do no doWHAT we were supposed to do we feel suffocated.
"and argue with them in the most beautiful ways....." {quran}
"you are the best of peoples send forth in the best interests of mankind
ou forbid the wrong and do good" 3;10

 

[AZAM_SIDDIQUI]

and then afterall they are apeople without understanding.

 

[AZAM_SIDDIQUI]

to survive in a non muslim world. convert it.

[B]:tti_sister: [/B]Steadfastness until death.


O Muslims! Steadfastness upon the right way, maintaining oneself upon the straight path and avoiding other paths which lead one astray, are
indications of wisdom and good sense in a person. The highest rank of
steadfastness is upholding oneself upon Islaam and protecting the
heart from fluctuating.
For this reason, the fear of straying away from the right path was
the main concern of the people of proper understanding and the way of
those with sound minds and those firmly grounded in knowledge, those
who desire for themselves means of access to their Lord, fear His
punishment and hope for His mercy. Allaah mentioned in the Qur'aan
how they supplicate and ask His help to remain steadfast and keep
away from deviation as in the verse, which means, "It is He, Who has
sent down to you the Book. In it are Verses that are entirely clear,
they are the foundations of the Book (verses including commandments
and penal laws); and others not entirely clear. So as for those on
whose hearts there is a deviation they follow that which is not
entirely clear thereof, seeking trials and seeking its hidden
meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings except Allaah. And those
who are firmly grounded in knowledge say, `We believe in it, the
whole of it is from our Lord'. And none receive admonition except men
of understanding. (They say) Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate
after You have guided us, and grant us from Your Mercy. Truly, You
are the Bestower" (Aal `Imraan: 7-8).

Slaves of Allaah! This supplication which reflects humility and
humbleness to Allaah, was the supplication of the best of creation,
our Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. Uttering this supplication
is an indication of perfect imitation of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, as `Um Salamah, may Allaah be pleased
with her, said, `The Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam used to
repeatedly say this supplication, "O Controller of the hearts! Make
my heart steadfast upon Your religion" so I asked him, `O Prophet of
Allaah! Do hearts fluctuate?' He said, "Yes, all mankind's hearts are
between two of the fingers of Allaah. If Allaah wills He maintains a
man's steadfastness, and if He wills He deviates him" (Ahmad &
Tirmithi).

Likewise, in the narration of aHHAnas, may Allaah be pleased with
him, he said, `The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam used to
repeatedly say, "O Controller of the hearts! Make my heart steadfast
upon Your religion" so I said to him, `O Prophet of Allaah! We
believed in you and in what you came with; do you fear that we may deviate?' He said, "Yes, all mankind's hearts are between two of the fingers of Allaah. He changes them as He pleases" (Tirmithi & IbnMaajah).
If the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam, feared a change of
heart of those who were the cream of Muslims, the pioneers of Islaam,
the ones firmly grounded in faith, with strong certainty in Allaah
and sincere servitude to Him and are the best of all generations, as
the Prophet informed us; if this fear was regarding those people,
then how would the case be concerning those who came after them,
especially people in our era? This era during which trials are
plentiful and successive; falsehood has spread everywhere under
decorated banners; doubts and desires attacked people's hearts;
misguiding temptations have attacked people through what they see,
read and hear; and deviant ways have become strong and taken control
over people's minds and hearts, such as the common sight of ladies
who come out of their homes dressed but look as though they are naked.

In addition, a group of people have started slighting some of the
commandments and tenets of Islam. The worst of this deviated trend is
their doubting the Qur'aan and its perfection or some of its rulings,
casting doubts regarding the message of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam and that it is not the final message or
that it is not sufficient and useful for all times. They have even
come to the point of doubting the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa
sallam himself, and how successful he was in his mission, his Sunnah
and his conduct. These are a few examples of what some of the people
of falsehood say or do, and there are many more.

Further, innovations have spread among other Muslims, and new
practices, which are not a part of Islam, have been added to it. In
some cases, their traditions and customs have been made a part of
Islam, as well as acts of worship, which have no basis in our
religion, have been invented, through which they hope to come closer
to Allaah and gain His reward.

Consequently, differences and disputes have increased between Muslims until brotherhood in faith has become jeopardized, and in some casesblood has been unlawfully shed between Muslims based on doubts. Bydoing so, people abandon the commandment of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam when he said, "Verily, your blood, your
properties, and your honor are sacred for each other, just as sacred
for you as this day in this month and in this city until you meet
your Lord. Have I conveyed the message?" the companions, may Allaah
be pleased with them, replied, `Indeed' He sallallaahu `alaihi wa
sallam said, "O Allaah! Testify. Let those who are present inform
those who are absent, because the person receiving the message might
understand it better than the one who originally heard it. Do not
become disbelievers after my death, and start killing each other"
Ibn `Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, `I swear by The One In Whose hands my soul is! His advice to his entire nation was, "do not become disbelievers after my death, and start killing each other" (Bukhaari).

The miserable situation of the Muslims of dispute and differences is pleasing to the enemies of Islam, who enjoy criticizing Islam.
Through such situations, a Muslim fears the deviation of his heart,
and his need for the help of Allaah to make him steadfast increases, and the greatness of the afore mentioned supplication of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam and the need for uttering it at all
times, become evident.
There are ways by which a Muslim can be protected from deviation.

· Truthfulness in faith, strong certainty in Allaah and
sincerity in the belief in the Oneness of Allaah is one way. There
can be no prosperity, salvation nor success except by fulfilling the
belief in the oneness of Allaah by adhering to the Sunnah and
shunning all that opposes it. Shunning what opposes the Sunnah means
abandoning innovations, because each innovation is misguidance. The
Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam clarified this in the narration
of Al-`Irbaadh Ibn Saariyah, may Allaah be pleased with him, "He
amongst you who would live after my death will see many things which
he does not recognise, so adhere to my Sunnah and the way of the
rightly guided caliphs after me, stick to it and bite on it with your
molar teeth; and beware of innovations, because every innovation is
misguidance" (Ahmad, Tirmithi and others).

· Another means of protection from deviation is to hasten to
persistently perform good deeds with sincerity to Allaah before
trials take place. The Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
said, "Hasten in performing good deeds before the time comes when trials would be as dark as nights; a man would wake up a Muslim and go to sleep a disbeliever, and go to sleep as a Muslim and wake up a disbeliever" (Muslim).
Slaves of Allaah! Fear Allaah and take provisions from the way of the Prophet, because it is the best source for provisions, and ask Allaah to keep your hearts steadfast upon Islam and to help you in staying away from deviation
Slaves of Allaah! Adhering to what pleases Allaah is one of the major causes for remaining steadfast and staying away from deviation. The Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam said to his cousin `Abdullaah Ibn `Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, "O young boy! I wish to instruct you in some matters; be watchful of Allah, (i.e. the commandments of Allah) He will be watchful of you. Safeguard His rights, He will always be with you; if you must beg, beg of Him alone; if you need assistance, supplicate to Allah alone for assistance, and remember that if all the people jointly desire to benefit you with something, they will be unable to benefit you, except with that which Allah has preordained for you. And if all of them intend to do harm to you, they will not be able to afflict you with anything except that which Allah has predestined against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried" (Ahmad &Tirmithi).
Therefore, when a slave is watchful of Allaah and safeguards His
rights, Allaah will be with the slave through his life until he dies
upon the state of belief and Allaah grants him Paradise. So fear
Allaah, and maintain all reasons of steadfastness and beware of whatmight deviate you. It is only when you do so that you will be succeed. :ma:

 

[AZAM_SIDDIQUI]

rabbana latuzighqulubana baada iz haddatana wahablana milladunka rahma.innaka antal wahhaab.
this is the dua mentioned up there.

 

[goldenmuslimah21]

bear with it

so I guess I had to just bear with it, and no I don't have any muslims sisters down here, that is another reason why I am moving insha'llah

 

[kayleigh]

Salaam,

I usually don't clash with the rest of my world. I'm a student, in the US, a convert, and compared to most people on here I'm rather liberal and pretty understanding.

I believe religion is a very personal thing and should remain that way, which is why it rarely ever comes up when I'm interacting with other people. It's never an issue at work. The only time it comes up with friends or in class discussions is if we're talking about religion specifically. Otherwise, if I have a stance on a topic in a debate, I defend it other ways - I don't just say "Well, I think this or that because my religion tells me to." It actually works to my advantage, because I feel like understand things more - I know why most things are right or wrong for me - it's not just because someone or something tells me so.

I suppose if I were an investment banker or something like that, it would be more of a problem. But, like I said, I'm just a student, so for now it's not a problem.

 

[Aapa]

Salaam,

Surviving is a non-Muslim country is akin to a personal jihad. When we are surronded by the kuffir all day.. I end up being tired and confused. It takes me an hour to center myself again. I get on-line..sometimes just seeing the word Allah subhana talla calms my soul. I make contact with Muslims via telephone so I can hear a Muslim voice. I need to hear the mashaAllah's, the alhumdulilia's and the subhanaAllah's to keep me going. It is my spritual food.
I do not have any credit cards. I use cash. I have a Muslim pediatrician, I go to the two Muslim owned business to buy pizza'a and drink coffee. I buy my hijab's from a Muslim brother.
I keep to myself in my neighborhood. Whenever an opportunity presents itself I attend the masjid. To see another Mulsim is a treat.
And I know I can drive the moderators crazy here but this is a life-line to me. I try to stay connected with my brothers and sisters.
But, Allah subhana talla has placed me here and I accept it. It is beautiful and the slogan for West Virginia is correct..it is almost heaven..what would make it heaven would be to be surronded by Muslims in front of me, behind me and by my sides...what I would do if I were in a traffic jam full of Muslims.

 

[nasa]

seriously I really thinking about doing a documentary about this, it may not be out for awhile but my question For all you wonderful brothers and sisters in Islam

How in this world are you surviving living amongst all the non-muslims?

I mean, when I am in class that telling me the only way I will have money for future is to invest in stocks and saving accounts which is based on riba

and then I really want to meet ppl and being alone all the time is not fun but alot of women organizations tend to only want me because I am muslim and for some ppl that may sound great.......................yeah a chance to give dawah but that is not what I will be used for I will probably be exploited to be a symbol of diversity................ and also I can't see myself growing stronger in my deen and then call these non-muslims my sister.

And whenever we have class dicussions I am only one giving the religious stand point and sometimes feeling attack because out 30 students I am only muslim.


HOw do you surivive, am I suppose to interact with non-muslims, I don't even know what to call them, Are they bad for me to be friends with? and even join their clubs?

I totally understand your concern

 

[Optimist]

masha'allah ... fascinating and diverse replies. Very important topic indeed.

As a father of a very (and that's VERY) young son, I keep asking my self how will he fair in this environment. i just worry for him.

I guess the answer is to enjoin what is good, and forbid what is evil. We need to look around us to see the good things / activities and then enjoin it. It does not have to be exclusively muslim.

We MUST talk and interact with non-muslims. I personally think that you can take them as friends if you feel your religion is safe and that this would be a better course of action in the way of da'wah. Please remember that the people of Makkah used to do really bad things (like going to ka'abah NAKED) but this did not prevent the prophet (PBUH) from interacting with them on all levels.

Allah knows best.

 

[islam iwk]

i have the same quiston what if u get loved shocked wat i mean is that u found some one u like but cant marry becuse shes non anyway i dont have
a prob like tat luckily but i still need an awnserw plzzz reply

 

[palestine]

seriously I really thinking about doing a documentary about this, it may not be out for awhile but my question For all you wonderful brothers and sisters in Islam

How in this world are you surviving living amongst all the non-muslims?

I mean, when I am in class that telling me the only way I will have money for future is to invest in stocks and saving accounts which is based on riba

and then I really want to meet ppl and being alone all the time is not fun but alot of women organizations tend to only want me because I am muslim and for some ppl that may sound great.......................yeah a chance to give dawah but that is not what I will be used for I will probably be exploited to be a symbol of diversity................ and also I can't see myself growing stronger in my deen and then call these non-muslims my sister.

And whenever we have class dicussions I am only one giving the religious stand point and sometimes feeling attack because out 30 students I am only muslim.


HOw do you surivive, am I suppose to interact with non-muslims, I don't even know what to call them, Are they bad for me to be friends with? and even join their clubs?

:salam2: well how i live with the non muslims is i basically just say what i need to at the time. it always includes Islam...because if they are making inaccurate statements such as "don't marry your cousins, or you'll have a handicapped kid" (in science class, coming from the teacher), i correct them and say exactly what i need to. and i just tell them the truth and try to help them understand our way of life and compare it to other things. i g2g, i'll reply much more some other time. love your sister in Islam.:salam2:

 

[Wulf]

A'salaamu 'aleikom

Survival? Hmmm...Good question.

I have become solitary. Treated as an outcast by my neighbours, but then again they do tend to overindulge a lot, and treated as a Curiosity by Muslims. You know, the sidelong look, smile then quickly move away.

One Muslim actually had the temerity to ask me if I was just pretending and if I am a spy for ASIO. But then again I can understand the paranoia that exists.
It seems that if one is not "Born Muslim" from an Arab or Muslim culture, one tends to be treated as some form of lower lifeform. Hardly an incentive for keeping New Muslims in the Faith.

W'salaam

Ibrahim

 

[Aapa]

Salaam,

First let me tell you how nice it is to see you post dearest friend.

I am born Muslim..I was at the masjid during Eid festivities and a Pakistani woman asked me if I was Arab..the Arabs smiled..I do not look Arab...the Pakistani woman was positive I was not Pakistani..

So dear brother there are some of us that puzzle others...I was always under the belief that the real stuff is the content of my heart ..

In any case...it is a solitary existence...I still want to be in a traffic jam full of Muslims