Why Follow Islam- a conversation

Salam Alikom Sister,

You Wrote (whatevers between **********)

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Therefore even when the prophets teach many do not understand the prophets. And when the prophets die the people form religions or the people worship the prophets instead of worshiping God.

I see that the most important thing at the present time is for people to all get along with each other and respect each others beliefs. Even for me this is hard to do when people take the bible literally.
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As i said in the comment. The Prophets teach us the Deen, or the path to Allah, which in the west is translated as "religion." At any rate the prophets come and explain for us the Deen of Allah, Allah says what is translated as: (please try to read all these, haha i spent alot of time researching and choosing the)

2. Verily it is We Who have revealed the Book to thee in Truth: so serve Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, to him alone is the DEEN.

3. Is it not to Allah that the sincere devotion of DEEN is due? But those who take for protectors other than Allah (say): "We only serve them in order that they may bring us nearer to Allah." Truly Allah will judge between them in that wherein they differ. But Allah guides not such as are false and ungrateful.
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11. Say: "Verily, I am commanded to serve Allah with sincere devotion;

12. "And I am commanded to be the first of those who bow to Allah in Islam."

13. Say: "I would, if I disobeyed my Lord, indeed have fear of the Penalty of a Mighty Day."

14. Say: "It is Allah I serve, with my sincere (and exclusive) devotion, for him alone is my DEEN: (Quran 39)



And to Him belongs all, there is in the heavens and the earth, and Deen is (rightly) His alone. Why is it, then, that you fear others the way yon should fear Him (alone)? (Quran 16:52)

2:83. Do they seek for other than the DEEN (religion) of Allah.-while all creatures in the heavens and on earth have, willing or unwilling, bowed to His Will (Accepted Islam), and to Him shall they all be brought back.

98:5. And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith) to his DEEN; to establish regular prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the DEEN (Religion) Right and Straight.

10:104. Say: "O ye men! If ye are in doubt as to my DEEN (religion), (behold!) I worship not what ye worship, other than Allah. But I worship Allah - Who will take your souls (at death): I am commanded to be (in the ranks) of the Believers,

105. "And further (thus): 'set thy face towards DEEN (religion) with true piety, and never in any wise be of the Unbelievers;

106. "'Nor call on any, other than Allah.- Such will neither profit thee nor hurt thee: if thou dost, behold! thou shalt certainly be of those who do wrong.'"

12:40. "If not Him, ye worship nothing but names which ye have named,- ye and your fathers,- for which Allah hath sent down no authority: the command is for none but Allah. He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him: that is the right DEEN (religion), but most men understand not...

42:21. What! have they partners (in godhead), who have established for them some DEEN (religion) without the permission of Allah. Had it not been for the Decree of Judgment, the matter would have been decided between them (at once). But verily the Wrong- doers will have a grievous Penalty.

3:19. The DEEN (Religion) before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account.

It is He-Allah-Who sent his Messenger with true Guidance, and with the True Deen to make it triumph over other deens, caring naught what annoyance this may cause to those who associate others with Him. (Quran 9:33)
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So From all these versus, it is very clear that
1. The Deen is estblished by Allah
2. Those who make paths or ideologies contrary to the will of Allah have created false deens
3. The Prophets established this deen.

!!!!!!!!! In fact Allah completed and perfected the Deen with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)!!!! Allah Says in 5:3

"This day have I perfected your DEEN (religion) for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your DEEN (religion)."

So it is clear that the Deen was perfected by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) during his lifetime. All other so called deens are the deviations from the deen of Islam and inventions by man, Islam is the deen of allah revealed to ALL the prophets and perfected by Allah with muhammad (Pbuh)

Praise be to God that the Islam taught by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was never changed by ppl after him, and Muslims have never worshiped their Prophet after him. As a matter of fact the Prophet Muhammad cursed the people of all faiths who worshiped their prophets and holy men instead of God and warned the muslims not to do the same, and praise be to God, muslims to this day have never done such a terrible crime.

The Most important thing we must do is gain God's Pleasure. If getting along with everyone means displeasing God and turning away from the truth, then we should not try to get along with everyone. muslims are those who "ordain good and forbid evil." Nonetheless if one takes the Quran literaly, then he/she will have No problem living peacefully with the ppl of all faiths and cultures, while helping the oppressed by opposing all those who oppress others. The one who follows the quran wholly and literally will actualy treat ppl of other faiths the best. That is why although Jews and Christians could not even live peacfuly under other Jews and Christians, under Islamic Rule, they were able to live peacefully and justly.

Of course, not only can never, but you SHOULD NEVER force someone change their religion. Please pay Special Attention to verse 256 from chapter 2:

255. Allah. There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).

!!!!!!256. Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things!!!!

257. Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (For ever).

Of course while you can never force/coerce anyone, whoever freely chooses to believe in Allah and all his prophets has chosen the Deen of Islam.

The Best way to "help people worship and know God better" in fact the only way, is to show them the way to worship and know God, which God himself revealed which is Islam. All else are the conjectures and opinions of Human beings. Why else would God reveal Islam if it was not to be worshiped and followed. That is why Allah Says

4:64. We sent not an apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah.s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful.

Two important lessons in this verse is that
1. Prophets MUST be Obeyed
2. And they are to be obeyed according to the will, or deen, of Allah, on God's terms which he revealed not according to our own opinions.

So there is no doubt that the way to show ppl how to be near to allah, is only to show them what allah himself has revealed, Islam.

I guarantee you my dear sister that if you were to meet my Sheikh/spiritual master, you would definitely be surprised, and not disappointed. You will instantly see the Nour (divine Light) on his face which is so strong every non muslim thats seen him has told me about it, and feel his spiritual aura. Further his morals and actions are impecable. of course that is all the blessing of God. You Must make sure the spiritual masters you meet are the real deal and not charlatins. Just today we read about the dangers of many of those halfway on the spiritual path who begin to see them selves as spiritual masters because of a few spiritual experiences and openings god has blessed them with. It is such ppl which give the true Sheikhs a bad name.

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Oh but it has. The people always say my religion is better than you religion. My religion is the only true one. My prophet is better than your prophet, my spiritual Master is better than your spiritual Master. Sad but true.
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Right, So long as people faction and deviate from God's Deen their will be conflict, but the conflict will be comeing from those who oppose. Moses, Jesus, and Muahammad peace be upon them , all came peacefully, with peace, and the message of peace, the conflict only came from those who violently rejected them. Also no Muslim will ever say "My prophet is better than your prophet" For ALL the prophets of God are our prophets and we cannot dare insult or belittle any of them.

This is what the Allah says in the Quran in Chapter 2:

"285. The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His apostles. "WE MAKE NO distinction (they say) between one and another of His apostles." And they say: "We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

The Muslim, makes no distinction between any of the prophets for they are all brothers:

The Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him has said:

“We, the Prophets of God are brothers, and the likeness of me and the prophets before me is like that of a beautiful building with one stone of it missing. I am the complete and final stone of this building."

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary There was no Prophet between him and me. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a very important concept. We in fact would follow any and all of the Prophets of God. However, the reason we Primarily follow Muhammad (pbuh) though we regularly quote and equaly honor other prophets is because his is the only message we have remaining unchanged.

For example The Quran Says in chapter 23:23. (Further, We sent a long line of prophets for your instruction). We sent Noah to his people: He said, "O my people! worship Allah. Ye have no other god but Him. Will ye not fear (Him)?"" But why do we not Follow Noah? well we do, we follow his message of islam, but the reason we do not refer to him daily is simply because we have lost his specific teachings, sayings and books. All we have left is his message "O my people! worship Allah. Ye have no other god but Him" But the instructions on how to do that given by Noah (peace be upon him) No longer exists, that is why God sent Abraham, and then moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them) and we would follow them all. But Their teachings have all been lost or distorted, but the minutest details of prophet Muhmmad peace be upon him, have still be preserved and thus we follow him as the perfect example to humanity (as other prophets were like, the diff being is his message has been preserved till today. Nonetheless a Muslim would never say "my prophet is better than your prophet" for they are all our prophets, only a non muslim who has deviated from the teachings of the prophets would say that, due to his/her misunderstanding of the universality of the Prophets and their messages.

Finaly my sister Ebelyn

"Understand that it is not the word Muslim or Islam it is the teachings that one has to understand."

True, but nontheless, why reject the name given to us By Allah and Abraham.

The Quran says "It is the faith of your father Abraham, he has called you the Muslims."

And "The Deen of Allah is Islam"

So why reject the names given to us by Allah. Anyway the important point to remember dear sister, is that these names are not nouns, but verbs. A Muslim is one who totally submits to Allah. TO say you are not muslim means you either reject God, or reject one of his teachings, otherwise, if you accept all of Gods teachings you are Muslim

In Logic "A"= "Accept ALL of Gods Teachings"
"."= "and"
and "M"= "Muslim"
"~"= "Not"

It is necessary that "A.M"
if you have ~A then You automatically have ~M according to the rules of Logic
And by the same token, if you have ~M, then you automatically and necessarily have ~A. But if you have A then by Definition, you Have M, and if you Truly have M (not just by name) then you by definition have A. Make sense? In Logic it is Impossible to have A.~M or ~A.M, because A.M are together, so you either are both, or none. So if one truly A then one is M and if one is M then they Must A.

So while the practice is the important thing, to reject the name given to us By Allah, besides being logically impossible since it is a verb and "A.M", it is also rejecting God, for to reject a ruling or name given by God in his holy book, is to reject part of his holy book, and thus rejecting God himself.

So if you practice you should be proud tot ake the name given by God and His Prophets.

Islam Calls for the straight middle path, and shuns hypocrisy as one of the worst sins. The Definition of Hypocrisy is "To Say with the tongue, what is not in The Heart, or to express outwardly what is not inward" So If one on the outward claims Islam and being a Muslim, but then does not practice, nor find importance in practicing, than that person is a hypocrite (though we should never judge an individual, this is a general principle only, god alone is the real judge) By the same token, if one believe and practices Islam but then does not utter it, than that person too is also a hypocrite (unless forced to hide their faith of course).

Islam calls for the middle path, where your heart, practice, and tongue are consistent. Where you believe Islam, Practice Islam, and Claim Islam, with no hypocrisy. Just because those people claim Islam but do not practice, does not mean we too should not claim Islam. Perhaps their claims to Islam are false, God only knows. None the less just because they do not practice and may not be really muslim does not change the truth of real Islam and the true Muslim.

A and M come together by definition so long as one REALLY A and REALLY M (really accepts all teachings and really is a Muslim) , you cannot have one without the other. yes the important thing to learn is the teachings, but since the name of the teachings is a verb, given to us by Allah, it is not fitting for us to reject is.

ahh, my brains fried, I will ned with this verse

"39:36. It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path."

I hope you take these words to heart and that we benefit from one another spiritually. And I Sincerely urge you to take to pause some time and read at least the intro and first 200 pages of Mariful Quran (Basicly the first 5 pdf's from http://www.islamibayanaat.com/EnglishMarefulQuran.htm)
I will now email you some readings, but please before else, please read the intro up to the first 200 pages of that book, i realy hope to discuss those pages with you soon.

Take care sister, and keep me in your prayers,

Peace