Hi, gals. I read your comments and I am very appreciative of them.
Yes, I am taking my time and being very deliberate in my studying. I'm going to write down the questions I come up with and pose the Islamic ones to the sisters at the masjid, and the Christianity-related ones to a local church.
The one thing that I have found odd is that I keep hearing "the Bible has been altered/corrupted/changed". My question is this: if the Bible has been corrupted, why did God instruct Mohammed/the people to ask the people who had read the Scripture before (meaning the Bible) if they misunderstood something in the Qu'ran?
Surat Yunus 10:94 --
YUSUFALI: If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.
PICKTHAL: And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before thee. Verily the Truth from thy Lord hath come unto thee. So be not thou of the waverers.
SHAKIR: But if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Book before you; certainly the truth has come to you from your Lord, therefore you should not be of the disputers.
These are three different translations of the Qu'ran. I doubt that God would instruct people to follow the truth of a "corrupted" Bible.
Second: All the different "versions" of the Bible aren't versions. Like the Qu'ran, they're different translations. Unless I totally miss my guess, we still have the original books of the Bible, so the translations are likely being done from the original, not from translations of translations of translations of the original. I don't know how the Catholic Bible or the Book of Mormon or any of that fit into this subject (or if these are the "versions" that the sisters have referred to), since I've never read them.
Third: Why would Mohammed edit the Qu'ran, if it were whole and true? From what I've read, Mohammed revised/edited the Qu'ran every year, not just adding things, but taking things out. This leads to my next question.
Fourth: Why would God supposedly give a commandment (for lack of a better word), but then take it back a little later? I'm forgetting the examples I read of this, but I'll make a note in the future if I find it again.
Fifth: Muslims claim that the Bible says nothing about Jesus being the Son of God, and that Jesus Himself never claimed it. If not, then what about the baptism of Jesus, where a dove flew from the heavens and God said "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."?
I know I've left out some things, but I'll continue with this when I remember. This is what I get for not writing things down. : )
I am trying very hard to be objective in my study, but most of my questions are Islam-related, since I have been a part of Christianity my whole life and have more knowledge and background on it.
Showing posts with label Islam 101. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam 101. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Islam 101
Yup, I actually went, even though I was pretty nervous. I was wearing niqab.
I didn't know where to go at first, so I just went in through the women's entrance. I went into the prayer room and there were two women there. One was probably around 50 and had been Muslim for a month (she'd converted from Catholicism). The other was probably a little younger than me, and she'd been Muslim for four months, but had studied for the eight months prior to her conversion. We chatted for a while, and another lady (another new convert) came in with her 17 month-old daughter. I talked to her for a bit, and then we all went to the class, in what was actually the cafeteria, in a separate building. There were two men there (one the teacher), and the rest (about 10-12) were women.
The man who was teaching the class seemed to know a lot. One thing he said got me to thinking. He said "People are made to want to worship one God, not 2 or 3 or a thousand." He also mentioned that all of the prophets had come with the message that God was the only God, and only He was to be worshiped. Like it says in the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt have no other God before (besides) Me.
After he said that, the wheels in my head started turning. He'd made a very valid point, regardless of whether or not I agreed with the rest of what he said (and I didn't disagree, really).
It left me with a lot to think about.
I also found out that there is a Muslim clothing store here -- it just opened a couple of weeks ago, and it's not too far from my house. It's called The Sunnah The Better. I talked to the lady who owns it for a long time -- she was very nice and gave me a CD with a sermon called "Why You Should Be Muslim". The sheikh/imam who gave it was a convert. I've listened to it, and it's very good. He brings up a lot of interesting points, including one about people who stay with the religion they grew up with because it was what their parents taught them. He said that his own mother was Christian and believed in the trinity because that was what her parents had taught.
So, even more to think about.
If I were to convert, the hardest part would be having to change my belief in Jesus. It would be like turning my back on everything I'd ever been taught or believed about Christianity. How could I reconcile that? I guess my biggest fear about all this is converting to Islam, and finding out after I die that I was wrong and Christianity was the right religion, or not converting and finding out that Islam was the right religion. I wish there were a way to know for SURE which is the right path to take.
Which of you ladies has converted from Christianity to Islam? What convinced you to do so?
It feels like a huge dilemma right now. I guess I'll keep studying and see if God nudges me one way or another.
The good thing about there being no classes during Ramadan (because they have to use the cafeteria for the after-dusk meal) is that I'll have plenty of time to read through the Qu'ran and write down any questions that I have.
I bought a new Qu'ran today -- the one I had had such small print, it was hard to read. The new one is better.
Lita (the girl around my age) invited me for Jummah prayers tomorrow. I'm planning on going.
Even right now I want to go back and sit in the prayer room and think and pray about what to do. It's like I'm being drawn back. Could that be an indication in and of itself?
I didn't know where to go at first, so I just went in through the women's entrance. I went into the prayer room and there were two women there. One was probably around 50 and had been Muslim for a month (she'd converted from Catholicism). The other was probably a little younger than me, and she'd been Muslim for four months, but had studied for the eight months prior to her conversion. We chatted for a while, and another lady (another new convert) came in with her 17 month-old daughter. I talked to her for a bit, and then we all went to the class, in what was actually the cafeteria, in a separate building. There were two men there (one the teacher), and the rest (about 10-12) were women.
The man who was teaching the class seemed to know a lot. One thing he said got me to thinking. He said "People are made to want to worship one God, not 2 or 3 or a thousand." He also mentioned that all of the prophets had come with the message that God was the only God, and only He was to be worshiped. Like it says in the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt have no other God before (besides) Me.
After he said that, the wheels in my head started turning. He'd made a very valid point, regardless of whether or not I agreed with the rest of what he said (and I didn't disagree, really).
It left me with a lot to think about.
I also found out that there is a Muslim clothing store here -- it just opened a couple of weeks ago, and it's not too far from my house. It's called The Sunnah The Better. I talked to the lady who owns it for a long time -- she was very nice and gave me a CD with a sermon called "Why You Should Be Muslim". The sheikh/imam who gave it was a convert. I've listened to it, and it's very good. He brings up a lot of interesting points, including one about people who stay with the religion they grew up with because it was what their parents taught them. He said that his own mother was Christian and believed in the trinity because that was what her parents had taught.
So, even more to think about.
If I were to convert, the hardest part would be having to change my belief in Jesus. It would be like turning my back on everything I'd ever been taught or believed about Christianity. How could I reconcile that? I guess my biggest fear about all this is converting to Islam, and finding out after I die that I was wrong and Christianity was the right religion, or not converting and finding out that Islam was the right religion. I wish there were a way to know for SURE which is the right path to take.
Which of you ladies has converted from Christianity to Islam? What convinced you to do so?
It feels like a huge dilemma right now. I guess I'll keep studying and see if God nudges me one way or another.
The good thing about there being no classes during Ramadan (because they have to use the cafeteria for the after-dusk meal) is that I'll have plenty of time to read through the Qu'ran and write down any questions that I have.
I bought a new Qu'ran today -- the one I had had such small print, it was hard to read. The new one is better.
Lita (the girl around my age) invited me for Jummah prayers tomorrow. I'm planning on going.
Even right now I want to go back and sit in the prayer room and think and pray about what to do. It's like I'm being drawn back. Could that be an indication in and of itself?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Going to Islam class tonight...maybe...kinda....
There's an Islam 101 class being held in a couple of hours at the Islamic Center here. I'm thinking about going.... Actually, I've been trying to get up the guts to go for a while! So chicken, I am. : P
Why do silly things like this make me so nervous?
Cute niqab photo above to bolster my courage. LOL
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