Questions about Islam

college_student

New Member
Hello TurnToIslam Community!

My name is Loran, I am a native Texan and I'm currently going to school in upstate New York. One of the classes I am taking this semester is Religion in the Media. This website was one that we visited in class and it seemed to be a great site to gain a little insight into Islam.

Our next assignment is to write a term paper on religion. I watched the video on this site called "Turning Muslim in Texas" and I found it fascinating. I am hoping to write my paper about conversion stories; more specifically Americans converting to Islam. I would be grateful if there is anyone in the community that would be willing to share their story or just help me learn more about Islam and tell me how conversion stories effect your faith, if at all.

I feel that I myself do not know much about being Muslim and I would love to learn more. I would appreciate any help or knowledge you can offer me.

Thank you very much,

Loran
 

a_stranger

Junior Member
You are most welcome dear , all members will be very happy to help you. The most important concept in Islam is that it teaches people to worship the creator with sincerity. To worship in Islam means to love the most love with deep humility.

With regards
 

Mairo

Maryama
Greetings Loran! Great to have you here and very interesting to learn about the subject in your class.

There are many reversion stories of TTI members included in this thread:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20400

I am also an American who reverted to Islam, a basic introduction of my path to Islam is here:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24096

I love everything about Islam. The more I learn the more my faith in God deepens and the more peace & joy I attain in my heart & soul.

Hope you will enjoy learning more about Muslims and the religion of Islam. Any questions feel free to ask.
A really good resource for learning more about the religion of Islam can be found in the Islamic Articles Library portion of the forum:
http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10
 

college_student

New Member
Thank you all so much for making me feel welcome and for the links!

I am going to search the site thoroughly and I'm sure I will have more questions about Islam.

I would love to know more about all of your relationships with Islam; were you born Muslim, did you revert, how did you know Islam was the right religion for you?

Thanks!

Loran
 

Itqan Ullah

Time is Running!!
Hello Miss Loran. Welcome to TTI.

You can also write about the famous personalities who reverted to Islam Like Napoleon Mutah Wassin Shabazz Beale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_(rapper)

Laren Booth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Booth

Yvonne Ridley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Ridley (This is really Interesting Story, Plz do read :) )

I have vid interviews too for all of these If you like I would share.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...the-rise-and-rise-of-the-convert-6258015.html

Feel Free to ask anything about Islam & related Issues. :)
 

kashif_nazeer

~~~Alhamdulillah~~~
Hello,
Welcome to the website,I hope you will find it resourceful insha'Allah(Allah willing).
We are muslims from all over the world,many of whom are reverts.
Feel free to ask anything insha'Allah : )
 

*pink niqaabi*

Junior Member
Hi, i like many other reverts converted because of the scientific miracles in the Quran, even famous scientists who spent their time trying to disprove Islam ended up converting because of this!
I think the thing that attracts most to Islam is the fact that you have a direct relationship with God, no middle men (i.e. priests), no worshipping Mary, the holy spirit, the angels and the saints. We only worship God.
There (as you will find) no "mysteries" in Islam unlike in christianity. In Islam we are encouraged to ask questions, to think and to evaluate whereas you would be frowned upon in the church. In Islam there is a logical answer for everything, and everything is simple and makes sense, theres no trinity or strange concept of God to try and get your head around.
 

strive-may-i

Junior Member
Hi !

Welcome here :)

There are lot of material, discussions here related to most things about Islam. We are hopeful you will find them fair and useful.

I want to quote a question and an answer:
.......I would love to know more about all of your relationships with Islam;............
Loran

......you have a direct relationship with God........
Islam is all about an Individuals relationship with creator.


Next your question was "how does conversion story effect your faith".
Before understanding this, you have to understand the reality of Gods Existence and the effect of Belief in God. Even those born in muslim family, at some stage in their life abandon all falsehood and turn to Almighty. Born or Converted, the effect of following right path is same.
 

college_student

New Member
Thanks again to everyone for all the help, I'm learning a lot.

Some of the posts have referenced "reversion" rather than "conversion". Through my research and class I have a vague idea of why one reverts to Islam but I would love to hear from all of you why exactly it's reversion and what the process of reversion is or how one would get led away from Islam, if it happens?

*pink niqaabi* said:
I think the thing that attracts most to Islam is the fact that you have a direct relationship with God, no middle men (i.e. priests)

I wanted to know if you, or anyone else, could tell me how specifically you maintain your relationship with God, is there prayer or other practices that you perform to do so?

I will continue to go through all of the links that you have sent me and I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

Thank you all!

Loran
 

IHearIslam

make dua 4 ma finals
Hey Loran,

Hope your research is coming along pretty well :) Glad you chose this website and these fine brothers and sisters to answer your questions.
I do not have any references and thus all I say here are from my own basic knowledge.

Some of the posts have referenced "reversion" rather than "conversion". Through my research and class I have a vague idea of why one reverts to Islam but I would love to hear from all of you why exactly it's reversion and what the process of reversion is or how one would get led away from Islam, if it happens?

Reversion VS. CONVERSION: In Islam we believe that EVERYONE is born a Muslim (one who submits to the Will of God peacefully and willingly). So, they're born with what is called Fitrah which is basically the nature of the individual. So, all young babies are therefore Muslims, until they grow old and start adhering to religions other than Islam. Now, lets give the definitions of reversion: It means to go back to what you used to do or have right? Which is why many "reverts" choose to label themselves with that word. When they embrace Islam, in essence they are reverting back to their basic nature which is belief in ONE GOD without any partners. However, the use of the word conversion might be in place as well. We understand that when someone leaves a religion (or a lack of) they are essentially "converting" to another. So, others might use that word instead of "reversion." However, you will find that MOST people use reversion because of what I stated above.

I wanted to know if you, or anyone else, could tell me how specifically you maintain your relationship with God, is there prayer or other practices that you perform to do so?

Every act we do in Islam is a relationship with God----if we have the right intension. We have the basic five pillars of Islam: The testimony of Faith, The prayer (which is done five times a day), Fasting the month of Ramdan (we fast from sun rise to sun set...we fast from everything including water), Almsgiving, and pilgrimage to the holy place of Makkah (only ones in a lifetime and if you can finically afford it). These are the basic requirements of the religion of Islam. If you want more details of each, please do search within the website.

I hope my brothers and sisters can give you more in depth explanations and maybe some useful links.
Gotta go now....It is the call to prayer!
Peace :)
 

helpinghumanity

Junior Member
Hello TurnToIslam Community!

My name is Loran, I am a native Texan and I'm currently going to school in upstate New York. One of the classes I am taking this semester is Religion in the Media. This website was one that we visited in class and it seemed to be a great site to gain a little insight into Islam.

Our next assignment is to write a term paper on religion. I watched the video on this site called "Turning Muslim in Texas" and I found it fascinating. I am hoping to write my paper about conversion stories; more specifically Americans converting to Islam. I would be grateful if there is anyone in the community that would be willing to share their story or just help me learn more about Islam and tell me how conversion stories effect your faith, if at all.

I feel that I myself do not know much about being Muslim and I would love to learn more. I would appreciate any help or knowledge you can offer me.

Thank you very much,

Loran

Peace and Blessings be upon you Loren,

Welcome to the TTI and also welcome to New York. I hope you will get used to of the weather. :)

Do you intend to only engage in a virtual research (you tube videos, articles etc) or
a personal one to one or a group conversation is also an option.

We hope that you will benefit from this website.
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Assalaam walaikum,

We have mandatory prayer. We have the prescribed actions and words. In addition we are reminded time and again to believe in our total dependence on Allah subhana wa taala. That is the key to building and maintain our relationship with Allah subhana wa taala. In reading the Quran we gain comfort and knowledge in the reality of His Word and Truth.
We are also given many many avenues to keep in constant communication with Allah subhana wa talla. We have verses to recite to be constant remembrance of Allah.

Our lives are dedicated to striving to seek knowledge of Allah. He loves us when we call upon Him. Each action we make starts with His Holy Name.

I could go on and on..there is much information on this site that is well written and all the members here will help you..
 

TheAuthenticBase

Assalaamu 'alaykum!
Thanks again to everyone for all the help, I'm learning a lot.

Some of the posts have referenced "reversion" rather than "conversion". Through my research and class I have a vague idea of why one reverts to Islam but I would love to hear from all of you why exactly it's reversion and what the process of reversion is or how one would get led away from Islam, if it happens?

I wanted to know if you, or anyone else, could tell me how specifically you maintain your relationship with God, is there prayer or other practices that you perform to do so?

I will continue to go through all of the links that you have sent me and I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

Thank you all!

Loran

Assalaamu 'alaykum (peace be upon you),

The best book i can recomend is "A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islaam". You can read the book online here:

http://www.islam-guide.com/

in reference to muslim reverts in texas, the most famous one i knw of is shaykh yusuf estes
 

kashif_nazeer

~~~Alhamdulillah~~~
Thanks again to everyone for all the help, I'm learning a lot.

Some of the posts have referenced "reversion" rather than "conversion". Through my research and class I have a vague idea of why one reverts to Islam but I would love to hear from all of you why exactly it's reversion and what the process of reversion is or how one would get led away from Islam, if it happens?

*pink niqaabi* said:


I wanted to know if you, or anyone else, could tell me how specifically you maintain your relationship with God, is there prayer or other practices that you perform to do so?

I will continue to go through all of the links that you have sent me and I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

Thank you all!

Loran

Hi again,
Reversion and conversion are essentially the same ,the former term has been explained by sister IhearIslam.We believe every person is born in the state of fitrah,it is their parents or the society which converts the child to Christianity,Judaism etc,this is in accordance to the gist of a hadith of prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The fitrah is the innate, intuitive disposition of each soul:
It is an inherent capacity through which truth can be realized, recognized and it is simply the soul having been programmed upon certain fundamental universal truths, from which are that whatever is originated must have an originator and the anticipation or expectation of justice (when wronged) and other innate dispositions and feelings. When Allaah took all the souls of all of Children of Aadam from the back of Aadam (peace be upon him), he made them testify concerning that He is their Lord, (see 7:172).This is an inherent acknowledgement within the soul which does not need anything beyond itself to recognize this fact.
When someone emberaces Islam,they are returning to this original state and in a way knowing their Lord again.Hence many use the term "reversion".Conversion can also be used.
According to Allama Iqbal a thinker of the East,"Major role of the Qur'an is to awaken in human beings,a higher consciousness ,with respect to their manifold relations with God and the universe."
When we pray five times a day we say a surah(chapter of Qur'an) in every unit of the prayer,it is the first chapter of Qur'an.Therein are the following verses:
You (Alone) we worship, and you (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).[1:5]
This verse tells us that we have a direct relation with Allah,we can ask Him directly and pray to Him directly.
There are five pillars of Islam 1)Kalima Shahdah(testimony of faith) 2)Salah(prayer,it basically means to connect) 3)Saum(fasting in the month of Ramamdan) 4)Zakah(poor due charity tax,it is for those who are capable) 5)Hajj(Pilgrimage for those who are able physically and wealth wise,to Makkah)
A muslim has to follow these pillars,it's obligatory.

A muslim's life is 24X7 relationship with God from the time he wakes to the time he goes to sleep.This can be maintained by following what He has ordained in Qur'an and Sunnah,which includes the pillars and prayers; and avoiding that which He has forbidden through His revelations,like ascribing partners in worship to Allah,murder,drinking,adultery etc.
Forgetting Allah has very big consequences
It says in the Qur'an:
And be not like those who forgot Allah , so He made them forget themselves.[59:19]

So the knowledge and consciousness of Allah is pivotal in the knowledge of our ownselves.Thus this is a relationship which has to be maintained throughout the day and more so,throughout our lives.That is how we maintain our relationship with Allah.
This relationship can be strengthened or weakened based on our actions,which are either in sync with what has been ordained or they go against it.
I hope you will go through the links which brothers and sisters here have posted.
Feel free to ask,if you have any more questions insha'Allah.
 

TheAuthenticBase

Assalaamu 'alaykum!
sorry i was needed, back now... so yh yusuf estes is a revert muslim from texas, he was a priest or something, and now he reverted to Islaam. he has many lectures on youtube....

clearing misconceptions:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L5goZmG_Us"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L5goZmG_Us[/ame]

how/why he accepted islaam:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEb7jGtxSO8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEb7jGtxSO8[/ame]

introducing islaam to non-muslims:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJttCU_Tzb4&feature=bf_prev&list=PL007D22F6DBF0CCD5&lf=results_video"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJttCU_Tzb4&feature=bf_prev&list=PL007D22F6DBF0CCD5&lf=results_video[/ame]

^This one hasa load of chain videos....

I also recommend my blog:

http://IslamAndChristianity.Wordpress.com

thats it for now i guess....

wassalaamu 'alaykum (peace be upon you).
 

TheAuthenticBase

Assalaamu 'alaykum!
I wanted to know if you, or anyone else, could tell me how specifically you maintain your relationship with God, is there prayer or other practices that you perform to do so?

I will continue to go through all of the links that you have sent me and I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

Thank you all!

Loran

Assalaamu 'alaykum (perace be upon you) - again! lol...

i just realised i never answere ur auestion and went on with random other stuff...

as for how muslims maintain our relationship with God its by the 5 daily prayers we do throughout our day... the first is done just b4 sunrise, the second is done just after noon, the third os done mid-afternoon, the fourth is done just after the sun sets, and te fifth os done at nightfall...

in these prayers we recite the 'main prayer' (in arabic its known as faatihah), we recite some quraan, pray for our guidance and the guidance of mankind, sek forgiveness for our sins, ask for peace upon ourselves, the prophets, and the pious slaves of God, etc...

This 'main prayer' that we recite 5 times a day is:

In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to God, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists). The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection). You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray. [Quraan: 1:1-7]
 

TheAuthenticBase

Assalaamu 'alaykum!
In these five daily prayers, we stand, bow down, and prostrate on our faces to the One Who created us....

Like this:
Sajda.jpg


This act of falling on one's face and worshipping The Creator is something which is even found in the bible:

All Prophets Prayed Doing Sajda.

(Sajda is the act of prostrating oneself to Almighty God by putting ones forehead on the floor – As we Muslims do five times a day).

PROOF:

[Genasis 17:3] “…and Abraham fell on his face and prayed.”

[Numbers 20:6] “…and Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and prayed.”

[Joshua 5:14] “…and Joshua fell on his face and prayed.”

By now, you’re probably thinking “But Jesus never done it” so I show you…

[Matthew 26:39] “…and Jesus fell on his face and prayed.”

[Mark 14:35] “Going a little farther, he (Jesus) fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.”

Ands such has also been attested to in the Qur’aan:

[Soorah Maryam 19: 30-34] “He ['Iesa (Jesus)] said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I live. And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest. “And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!” Such is ‘Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). (it is) a statement of truth, about which they doubt (or dispute).”

Also:

[Soorah Bayyinah 98:5] “And they (the Jews and Christians) were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him), and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and give Zakat: and that is the right religion.”
 
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