Saniyah!
And strive hard in Allāh's Cause as you ought to strive (with sincerity and with all your efforts that His Name should be superior). He has chosen you (to convey His Message of Islāmic Monotheism to mankind by inviting them to His religion, Islām), and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship, it is the religion of your father Ibrahim (Abraham) (Islāmic Monotheism). It is He (Allāh) Who has named you Muslims both before and in this (the Qur'ān), that the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) may be a witness over you and you be witnesses over mankind! So perform AsSalāt (Iqamat-as-Salāt), give Zakāt and hold fast to Allāh [i.e. have confidence in Allāh, and depend upon Him in all your affairs] He is your Maula (Patron, Lord, etc.), what an Excellent Maula (Patron, Lord, etc.) and what an Excellent Helper!"
I should have responded earlier and intended too, but I drifted away into contemplations again.
Thank you for these encouraging and comforting words, I really liked reading this, and the quotes in red, especially the second one.
Thanks for the links to explore too. You really look after me don't you.
Assalamu alaikum Saniya,
welcome brother, hope Allah will guide u to the right pass. I really admire your courage and wish u the best
Thank you for the welcome, and good wishes.
walaykum assalam Aisha,
Brother Im sure u will not be bothering them ,there should be many brothers who can help u and usually they offer different classes in studying islam for new muslims and even arabic classes also
Well, the imam said that there was one attendee that he was teaching Arabic to, but then, he will have got on with this to a certain extent and so if a new person joined in he would have to divide his attention and all that so I'm not sure if this could happen. I don't know, I'd have to ask, but like I say I don't want to be getting in the way, or make anyone feel obligated to do something for me for religious reasons or anything - so I'll leave that one. The mosque near me is very small. You see, it's a small seaside town, I need a mosque in a city really that has loads and loads of people that go to it. I really ought to think about moving away - I just absolutely hate living on my own though, I've never liked it, it can get miserable.
Even more there are Im sure might be some brothers who converted ,dont be shy to go there and ask as many questions as u can
There was a guy there who had reverted from Christianity, and he was the one learning Arabic.
When I converted I had no single muslim around me and I lived with my Christian family and we had a priest coming every sunday preaching in our house .
Really? Dear me, I bet that felt a bit strange with a preacher coming around and you knowing you had embarked on a Muslim path. So how did it work out, with your family I mean, if you don't mind my being nosey. It can feel a bit isolating when there hasn't been someone that has actually lead you into the faith can't it? I'm glad this place is here though.
People tend to think I was a Christian, although I was never christened or baptised.
When there was a national census in 2000, where it said 'Religion:', I didn't know what to put, I most certainly couldn't put 'athiest', I've never been quite so completely irrational as that, and I couldn't put 'agnostic' either, which is just as daft, and yet I had no religion as such, so I just ended up ticking 'other', and put, 'openly spiritual', in other words, 'desperately seeking my religion, open to suggestion'.
It reassuring to hear that you found confusion but that it eventually fell into place in the end, so I'll get there, I'm not worried about it now.
Thanks for responding Mairo.
Glad to hear from you again - you had us worried!
Hehe. Yes, I have a flair for drama as you can see. lol.
It is equally important to learn about Islam from both the Quran, and the Sunnah (example) of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. I hope you will continue to endeavor to learn both to the best of your ability.
Indeed. I'm really into the hadiths. You see I'm one of those people that loves collections of quotations anyway and so the hadiths really appeal to me. If I'm not looking into the Quran or these though, I'm reading books about Islam in general or researching or taking note of something or other about Islam, and it's like being a kid in a sweet-shop, I'm almost not sure what to choose, as I love all the information - this path just keeps being confirmed and confirmed - how odd that the religion I had absolute and complete prejudice against was secretly waiting to reveal all I had sought - He certainly moves in mysterious ways (and weirdly, it was a biligerent racist (into 'Blood and Honour') that acted as the catalyst for me to satisfy my intrigue about Islam. Honour?! They don't know the meaning of the word. They haven't even got the guts to show their faces without censorship on the website, cowardly, spineless little wretches that they are).
Yes, I know some horrible people, I need to become a beacon of light for them all. I hope so anyway.
Thanks for the quotes from the Quran. I understand what your saying. What would be your opinion on the meaning of, 'from behind a veil', in the first quote?
You know, I'd actually like a sufi opinion on this kind of thing, visions and the like. I know you're now all horrified and will warn me against this, but this is my path, and I need to investigate. I have had visions and extra-sensory perceptions all my life, I'll share eventually as time goes on, and it's just part of who I am, and I'm not sure I need an exorcism or that I am somehow plagued by Satan. The Sufis seem to be more emotional people, like me, more heart than head, more 'Love' than 'Justice' (and whatever is done in Love, Justice comes automatically anyway). I have read the very well written and detailed critique of sufism here, but I have also read some completely impartial essays as well.
Also, this from a hadith:
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying. "Nothing is left of the prophetism except Al-Mubashshirat." They asked. "What are Al-Mubashshirat?" He replied. "The true good dreams (that conveys glad tidings)." Volume 9. Book 87. Number 119
What do these things have to do with prophetism?
I have had three precognitive dreams in my life (that I can recall), one turned out to have been a warning pertaining to a future event, but I didn't know it at the time, but when it came to pass just as I had seen it, I was stunned, and it was no mere 'coincidence' (all coincidence is very meaningful anyway, if it's significance can be discerned).
Another related how futile a future path would turn out to be if I was to embark upon it, and yet I didn't know this at the time either, until it became clear.
The other I recall, revealed to me a fact that I could not possibly have been known by any normal means.
The first two didn't 'convey glad tidings', they were warnings but I didn't know it at the time. The third, was neither good nor bad, just very surprising.
And also:
Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others; but if he sees something else, i.e., a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Satan, and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody, for it will not harm him."
Well, the 'wave washing over', and 'the base of the robe' things I saw, which later I realised was drawing my attention to a particular hadith I found soon after, were neither likeable nor dislikeable, they just 'were'.
I was quite fascinated with the quotes regarding Abraham, the sun, moon and Venus (the star), but I'm not sure if I understood the 'moral of the story'. Is it that although signs can be seen in the sun, moon and stars, we are better just going higher than all these things, and just asking for signs straight from Allah - but then does Allah not give the signs in the heavens anyway? I'm confused. As Allah is All Things, what's the difference?
I do not think that the quote you shared from the Quran that you opened earlier and randomly pointed to has anything to do with understanding your current situation.
It's called stitchomancy apparently. I would have thought that to do this with the Quran isn't the same as doing it with any old book. I won't do it again then, but I cannot help but think that it is relevant or it wouldn't have happened. There is no such thing as mere coincidence. Everything means something, but you have to discern the meaning, sometimes you can, sometimes you can't and sometimes you get part of it. Randomness is an illusion of conciousness, everything proceeds according to the will of Allah, and he knows the outcome of all things, so what appears to us as apparently random, isn't in fact at all random to Allah. I know what I'm trying to get across here, but I'm not articulating it very well, it touches upon Jungian psychology.
May Allah guide us to all that is good, and keep us safe securely on the straight path.
Indeed.
Assalamu Alaikum Nazir,
There is no need to be worried; we Muslims do not, and certainly will not regard you as the 'other side' since your 'British', as the bonds of spiritual brotherhood, woven through submission to Allah, are a thousand times stronger than 'blood ties'; your blood is as sacred as any individual coming from a lineage of 10 muslim generations!
Thanks for your reassurance.
Killing innoccent people is against humanity, and moreso against that teachings enshrined in Islam; if you are afraid of becoming Muslim for fear of being percieved as equals to the murderers who under the false guise of Islam perperate horrific killings of innocents, then using the same logic, you have more to fear of being a human, as the sum total injustices perperated by the human species are countless! Likewise, when the British soldiers carry out crimes against humanity, we do not hate the people who have had nothing to do with this. Imagine if this was the case, you would probably caught a glimpse of me on the news!
Well, yes, I see your point here.
I understand your civility in not going to the masjid to ask the imam about your various inquiries and requests, however that is what an imam is there for, his job is to serve the community!
I know, yet I don't want to bother someone in knowing that they'll feel obliged to say, 'yes', because it's their job, and he's already doing one to one Arabic with someone, and he has a wife and young children and plenty of other things to be getting on with I'm sure. I don't want to put a load upon someone, as a matter of respect, especially if I can find such things out by other means, if I had no other possibilities at all, then it would be different.
And about reading in the Qur'an that one should not enter the prayer with a befogged mind, it is referring to the time where alcohol was only discouraged and not prohibited at that time
Are you sure? I can't find the reference now. In any case, I'm not ready to go back to a masjid until I'm either go with someone or until I know what I am doing with absolute precision.
Salaam Samiha,
Thanks for such a detailed response.
The only way to recitify our nation and alleviate suffering to a degree is by being the best muslims we can, by spreading Islam and tawheed, by presenting ourselves as best as we can and returning to the original Islaam. It's not by watching a video, and just increasing in hatred and frustrations all while not doing anything about it. We dont want to drop people in doubts, in frustrations, but we acknowledge the rampant horrors which continue on in all parts of the world.
Yes, I know what you mean.
You know, part of facing the world is seeing it in its actualization. Its frankness, its good and its bad. You cant just take one side of the picture and not look at the rest. It might digust you, horror you, but in fact its what brings you to the shocking reality and the differenciation between good/bad, right/wrong. One cannot really exist without the understanding of the other.
Very true. I never wanted to see one of those particular incidents in one of those videos, but yes, it does make you more resolute to counteract evil, by having witnessed how evil this world can be. I have observed how it is strange that the darkness can lead you to the light, and if we have not experienced pain and sadness, we cannot fully appreciate pleasure and happiness when we have them.
What is the solution to this?
Well I don't really know, other than to try and counteract it I suppose.
You worry some might despise you because you are british? Well prove them otherwise, because YOU know you arent like some british, so why are you already percieving yourself with them?
With who?
Did you know that nearly the entire population of Britain was absolutely opposed to being lead into dropping bombs on Iraq, for the sake of George Bush? There were massive campaigns on the streets of London. However, Tony Blair didn't give a damn what his people thought, democracy being fallacious of course, and went ahead with Bush anyway - and so completely misrepresenting the will of the people in the eyes of the world. So I think that there are many that think, 'Britain = enemy of the Muslim world', when they just don't know.
It was also that lovely man Blair, who in not paying the ransom of releasing a prisoner, that gave the nod for Ken Bigley to have his head cut off, on film, despite his emotional pleas to his leader, and the film was then subsequently sent to hundreds of British e-mail addresses at random so that families could wake up to be greeted by the spectacle over breakfast. The two Italian journalists that had been similarly captured and awaited the same fate, were saved by their own leader, because they payed the ransom. The British public never forgave Blair for that either, I most certainly didn't.
You are in the best position, when you know what a crocodile looks like, you know how to stay away from it better.
Hehe. True.
I dont think I can explain this clearly but, to put it simply, Arabic has a tri-consonantal system in which three main letters form the base of the word. From here they go outwards into other words. And you could say that all the words with these same basic roots have similar/connected meanings to them, although there could be more than one definition.
Well that's interesting, I'll look it up.
I'll check out the link on 'fitnah'.
Oh, I wanted to ask, are animals also considered to be in a natural state of 'fitrah'?
"O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you." [4:29]
So please next time remember that, and do not do anything that dangerous for no reason other than believing it was needed. It scared me.
Sorry about that. Yes, I can just be a bit wild and wacky sometimes, I wanted to do something that would really scare me and dedicate that to a higher purpose somehow, but then, well, there was no point in it which I realise now.
Another thought I had - is that this is what the suicide bombers think.
The Qur'aan altogether is a book of guidance. All of it is a cure, a remedy for the hearts but we should not think that it's a book of fortune telling, or anything like that. So that's not really the best way to go about finding something. There really isnt any source for that sort of thing, so personally I think it's best to avoid yeh?
I see the point, it's more a case of coming to know it, and so when an answer is needed to something, then you'd be more like, 'Hmm, now where's that part which refers to...', or remembering a quote.
Crazy people are the most fun, but I doubt you are one of them, just a bit confused of late.
Oh no, I'm completely bananas, trust me. :tongue:
When you see things, they could be from Shaytan, they could just be from yourself!
Well, I'll go with from myself, but I have a hard time thinking there was anything Satanic about it, I mean, what I tried to do was just my eccentricity and that I wanted a spiritual experience, and to challenge myself to overcome fear, and somehow, with a mind to a higher purpose.
The seeing the bottom of the robe thing and finding that hadith meant that this one has particular relevance for me for some reason. Simple. No evil or good implied, it just is what it is.
So I dont think it always must have meaning to it.
All my life I have felt that everything means something, and there is nothing that cannot be 'read', there is so much more to read than words, there is nothing in all existence that cannot be read.
'Where should I go?'.
You look up. A chance encounter. A shooting star appears. Streaks into the West. You're coming from the East.
'Go West, proceed as you have been doing.'.
Perhaps it goes the opposite way:
'Turn back!'.
However, I do undertstand not everyone tunes into that kind of thing, I mean, I don't tune into mathematics, or snooker but I don't see them as demonic.
Islam it seems, doesnt like art, unless it's mathematical and geometric, it seems, I am finding, to favour cold, hard rationalism over intuition, sentiment and mystery, as if both aren't equally essential in the rich tapestry of life, as if one might not be a little more important for some than for others. Which puts me in a bit of a spot really.
I'm not sure what you saw it as at first?
It was cream, or a dirty white, and the material was like a thick cotton. The toes peeping out from beneath, weren't bare, but 'slippered' is all I could say, and these were brown, like suede.
Dont give up, we're made of stronger substance than that. Until you memorize the proper Surahs and things needed in Salaah, I've heard you can just read " Subhan'Allah Alhamdulillah Laa illaha illahu Allahu Akbar" ... in the postions in which it is required to say something. THEN at the same time, learn arabic slowly and interject them into the positions for which they should be placed.
I'll bear this in mind. The end is, 'God is Great', but what's the beginning?
Think, if people all started to pray however they wanted, then this religion wouldnt have been maintained as it is now would it have? The Jews and the Christians also at one point had a specific number of prayers, time to do it etc, but over time since its manner perhaps wasnt as stressed people changed and changed, so that it doesnt really have an semblance of anything anymore.
I see what you mean, very good point.
I think you're thinking just too much too soon. It's like you get a cake and think to consume it in one sitting. ... Someone will feel the stomach ache! Try to enjoy Islaam, take one step at a time and try to implement it in your life and then go to the next.
You're absolutely right. I do over think things, and I'm a worrier as well.
Thanks for all that Samiha.
Mabrook (congratulation) brother Peter! Insya Allah, Allah is always with us and everything that occurs in your heart (i.e. your worries, pains, anxieties...), Allah knows... Masha Allah, you be strong in your faith to Allah. If there's any woe(s) that are worrying you (i.e. not understanding Arabic, believe me, I am also not an Arab and it is not easy to learn the blessed language but, where there's a will there's always a way, but, take your time... insya Allah), you can just message your worries/inquiries here or if there is an islamic religious scholar in your place, then, all the better!
Thank you so much Nabilah.
Yes, it is good that I have the brothers and sisters here to talk to.
... so the only way we can properly practice is through both. 
. No one is perfect as you know, so please ignore it, stay, and learn as much as you can from yr bro/sis. we are all here for you. Allah guide to the right path those he loves and surely you are one them. I hope you stay 
