Anywho, I made to the lower part of the city and met up with Sr. N from school. The little mosque (Which is a converted apartment building) is in the center of an adorable Islamic neighborhood. They had abayas in their stores!!!! I'm so going back during the day and doing some shopping. They also had a lot of halal restaurants. YAY!
The first talk was on the importance of Wudu. I apologize, I don't remember a lot as my back was in severe pain and I forgot my notebook. She basically talked about how wudu is our preparation to have an audience with the Most High. When we pray, we are asking for an audience with Allah and we should be in the most pure and clear state we can be in out of respect for Allah. It's sort of like if you are going out to meet an important person the first thing you will do is make sure you are clean and well put together. Focused as well on what you will say to this person. We should use this same focus when asking for an audience with Allah. Wudu wakes us up to the task at hand and prepares us to speak to Allah in our purest of hearts and intentions.
Then we talked about Dhikr or remembering God. She talked about how everyday when we have a free moment we should remember the greatness of Allah. We should say "laillaha illallah" or "Subhannallah" or anything that calls to the greatness of Allah. This will keep us at peace throughout the day and remind us why we are here. The job of a muslim is to praise Allah at all times and to become as close to Allah as possible.
Then we discussed the talks (this is a male and female event) and other subjects related to being a faithful muslim. A lot of it went over my head as by this time I was in so much pain I couldn't concentrate. I remember the Sheikh who came talking about how we need to avoid some of the haram things by peacefully boycotting them. He mentioned that people only do what they are suppose to when they are being watched: for women he mentioned a wedding he went to where the woman did not wear hijab until he walked in the room and she threw a scarf on her head. For the men, only obeying traffic laws when a cop is present (What is with sheikhs being so obsessed with our scarves!?) He said that when you go to a wedding, you should leave if there is alcohol. I later learned from Sr. N that Shias aren't even allowed to sit at a table where alcohol is present. No wonder My Love's parents leave weddings when there is alcohol. Of course, he also mentioned music being haram but I've come to the conclusion all of it is not and I'm just not going to let it ruffle my feathers anymore. Allah knows what is in my heart and I will not believe it can all be bad when 75% of Christian worship is done is song.
On the way home, Sr. N and I talked about how Christianity and Islam are connected. And that the Catholics are the Shias of Christianity (so are, if you are Catholic you know what I mean). She actually did a paper on this comparison and she said what she loved about Catholicism was its use of ritual and how they paralellel a lot of Shia ritual. I had never thought about it before but its pretty true. Some of the thought processes are similar as well. She asked me my issue and of course I told her it was Jesus being God, and that if I was any Christian religion I'd be Unitarian at this point (turns out she had a friend who was a Unitarian and she totally agreed with me). She asked me about the Gospels and how they can be thought as truth. She actually believes though that muslims should read them since without Christianity there would be no Islam (Alhumdillah). And that is when I realized what the Gospels mean to me:
The Gospels are not about whether or not Jesus actually said these words. They are not about their "authenticity". They are not about who wrote them or when. What matters about the Gospels is their message, a message inspired by a truly great prophet. Their goodness and beauty outweigh the few things that seem out of place because the message of Jesus is still there. And that message, even in its imperfect form, is what makes it pure and Word of God. Subhanallah.
I also met a convert!!!!! She actually just texted me to say how nice it was to meet me and hopes to see me again soon and if I ever need to talk she is here. We will call her Nina. Nina has been muslim for a couple of years, from a Hindu family. She is strong, gorgeous, and full of personality. I hope she and I can become friends. I need someone like her.
All the women were actually quite lovely. I can't wait to get to know them
On a side note, my immediate family stopped drinking!!!! Alhumdillah! Mostly for health reasons but still, I find that fantastic.
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I totally know what you mean about the scarf thing. When I'm in my parents' city and out with friends I need to be really careful when I don my hijab; I can't risk any of my parents' friends seeing me in it. I was in the mall once with my best friend and I walked right by one of my mom's good friends who obviously doesn't know I'm Muslim (and is an evangelical Christian and actively tries to convert people, especially Muslims and Jews, to Christianity). I thought I was going to have a heart attack right there. Alhamdulillah, she didn't see me. :D
ReplyDeleteYay for Islamic clothing stores and halal restaurants! Oh my gosh, yesterday I went to a halal fried chicken joint that sold every fast food known to man; I was in ecstasy.
Masha'Allah, those are very good descriptions of wudu and dhikr. It's sometimes a pain for me to make wudu, especially before fajr, but this was a good reminder of how important it is. And Subhanallah, dhikr is a very beautiful thing. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about a spiritual epiphany I had while I was making dhikr.
Even though I don't believe that the Torah and Gospel are in their original forms, and that we should follow the Qur'an exclusively, I do recognize that the Torah and Gospel were originally revealed to Musa (as) and Isa (as) by ALLAH. We can't deny their importance because they, in their original forms, were the words of ALLAH. Even though Muslims get their laws from the Qur'an, the essence of the Torah and Gospel are still present: There is one God, Who is All-Powerful and Most Merciful, and if we serve Him to the best of our ability and do good deeds, then He will reward us. Even though the laws and details were different, the basics are the same. If we had lived before the time of Muhammad (saw), we would have had to follow the Gospel. If we lived before the time of Isa (as), we would have had to follow the Torah.
Yay converts!! It's always nice to have friends that are in similar situations. Remember, if you're ever in my city, let me know and we can hang Insha'Allah.
ALLAHU AKBAR!!! That's terrific news! Alcohol causes so many problems, both physical and mental, and I am grateful that ALLAH has forbidden its consumption. Insha'Allah they will notice positive changes that come along after giving up alcohol.
That all sounds very positive! You sound happy. That's good.
ReplyDeleteI loved what you said about the gospels. :)
The explanation of wudu makes a lot of sense. I think cleanliness rituals are completely natural. Even Christians who don't have those rituals will wear their "Sunday best".
I don't think it's just Shias with the alcohol. My husband says Muslims are not allowed to go to a place where alcohol is served, nor allowed to even hold a bottle or glass containing it. Funny thing is, even academic seminars in Scotland serve alcohol. It's kind of hard to avoid!
I'm sorry about your back pain, that sucks... hope it gets better soon.
Sarah: Yeah its not only Shias but I've noticed they seem to be strict about it....I agree its just almost impossible to function in America and completely avoid alcohol. Unless all your friends and family and co. workers are muslim. Then you will be fine. Alhough Ive decided that Insha'Allah I get married the alcohol is going in a separate place from the reception and my family will have to deal with not having wine with their food. It makes me too uncomfortable now and I should be comfortable at my wedding. And I dont want my muslim friends to not come over something silly like alcohol. My family can deal for a bit.
ReplyDeleteI miss people wearing their sunday best. What happened to that? Whats with the PJs at church? LOL
Thank you, my back is getting better. Hopefully it will all be well soon....but it sure is hard to pray lol
I liked what you said about prayer. I just wonder about ritual prayer. When people start repeating the same old thing over and over again in my ear, I just tune them out. To me, ritual prayer is doing the same thing to God. Of Course, I am a Christian and the bible specifically states that ritual prayer should not take place, but that is one of my major things against it. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHubby: Hi Hubby! I see what you are saying. Ritual prayer is present at church every Sunday though so it must be a specific type of ritual prayer the Bible refers to? You are actually the first person I've heard to mention that. I always thought of ritual prayer as any set prayer set for a specific time, date, or place. So I'm guessing the Biblical definition must be slightly different than mine. I never learned this rule myself.
ReplyDeleteI personally love it. Its a great meditation tool and has helped me be closer to God. I think it is a problem when the only thing you are doing is repeating words over and over and not thinking about what you are saying. It means nothing if you are just repeating them to get it over with. Does that make sense? Because that I have an issue with. You have to feel and be present in what you are saying, saying it alone is good but it doesn't really connect you to God unless you are awake and aware of what you are doing.
It can be a double edged sword I guess :)
This is part of the reason why Shias are heavily encouraged to do du'a or personal, non ritual, prayers to God as well. Shias are encouraged everyday during the 5 prayers to recite a prayer of their choice, you can even make it up, and "talk" to God in your own voice (yes it can be in any language you choose). Its still my favorite part. It is not enough to just repeat prayers in which have been prescribed for you, you must also find your own way to speak to God.
The Bible doesn't necessarily say that ritual prayer should not take place, but it does say that we should 'not babble like the pagans, who think that by their many words they will be heard' (Matthew 6:7).
ReplyDeleteTo me, this means that you may only say each prayer once (unless perhaps you feel you were not sufficiently concentrated the first time around to 'really do it right'), and most importantly, that if you have an intention to observe prayer at specific times of day, you can't make it up later if you miss. So you need to be very careful about actually observing your prayer times if you're going to do them. I know I have a problem with this myself...
Caraboska: so no repeating choruses in hymns then?
ReplyDeleteOk I knew about that, I got a little confused. I see what you mean, bad part is its such a fine line. I do believe in making up prayers but you have to careful about it, so careful. I have a few to make up due to my back issue and I could sit here for a hour and do them all at once but I won't because I know I will loose my concentration. To avoid "babbling" you need to be focused. There is a lot of emphasis put on focus and prayer in Islam so you do not end up babbling. I think that is also why they emphasize praying on time. Sadly, in the west that is really hard to do if you work.
ReplyDeleteWWR, They're probably OK. I mean, such things occur in the Psalms and in at least one place in the New Testament. But I like my hymns to be very obviously based on Scripture. I get annoyed when they aren't - you know, that touchy-feely stuff that is annoying for the same reasons that conversion testimonies that are all about 'what God did for me' are annoying. They're enough to make you wonder whether the person worships God or the supposed benefits they're getting from Him. This is a problem which, unfortunately, particularly plagues Christians. So no one misunderstands me, it is more than possible to give Christian testimony that does not suffer from this flaw, but it is *very* rare to hear it done publicly. The thing about repetition of the sort Jesus is speaking of is that one is in danger of worshiping one's own prayers instead of God. God hears us when we pray understanding that He hears us because of His revealed nature - not because of our merits.
ReplyDeleteLK, That's why there is much to be said for being self-employed. But even then, it is difficult to do it when you are outside your home, because the rest of the world does not organize their life around prayers.
ReplyDeleteCaraboska: Yes I get you. The whole "doing things for the reward" always bothers me. Its big in Islam too. I'd rather do for God, then for what I think I will get for myself.
ReplyDeleteSadly yes it is hard in our society to pray during the day.
Ha ha, I don't like the "touchy-feely" stuff either! :)
ReplyDeleteI think Jesus just meant: quality not quantity.
Hope your back is better soon, LK :(
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post.
To answer you back LK,
ReplyDeleteMatthew 6:5-8
"And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in teh synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him."
I realize that most churches have many public prayers. However, I don't follow this. I try not to be seen when I pray. I like to talk to him as if he were my Dad on earth while realizing he is much much more. Anyway, I hope my quoting the bible here was okay as I was just trying to answer the question you asked me.
Hubby: Of course its ok! The Bible is very welcome here :)
ReplyDeleteAh I see what you mean. That passage can be taken many ways but I do understand what you are saying. I do not feel I am doing this and I do not feel that muslims who understand why they pray 5 times a day using those specific prayers do this. But yes, I'm sure a lot of people, some by accident, might be guilty of too much repetition. There is a hadith where Muhammad tells his people something about how 100 prayers is not better than one if that one is the most sincere. That basically, a bunch of repetition is not going to get you "points" with Allah so don't do it. In this sense, I think muslims would agree with this biblical passage.
I understand your position that is a beautiful thought, talking to Him as though he is your dad.
I've heard the comparison drawn before between Shia Islam and Catholicism. As far as I understand Shia Islam, I can see it. Sooo... that makes the Sunni the Protestants. Way to go LK, you're on the 'right side'. ;)
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole, 'ritual prayer is forbidden in Christianity', well, obviously I don't agree with that. Christianity grew out of Judaism, which is a highly ritualistic faith. Jesus kept all the rituals - He was an obedient Jew. No where does he condemn the rituals themselves - even in the passage Hubby quoted, He's not condemning public, ritual prayer, but the manner in which it was being done by (for instance) the Pharisees. They were praying in public places merely for the sake of being seen, being seen for their 'piety'.
If you read the entire chapter of Mark, He's condemning several acts of piety that can be corrupted by your intentions behind doing them. He starts with giving to the poor, then prayer, then fasting. He instructs us not to store up treasures on earth, but rather to focus on Heaven, and the treasures that our good deeds, rightly intentioned will earn us. (Of course we're not speaking of *actual* treasure in Heaven...apparently I don't get a Ferrari to tool around in. Dang.)
Funnily enough, right after the verse where Hubby cuts off is where Christ gives us the Our Father. Of course, I assume that some Protestants (those who are so against 'repeated' prayer) don't use the Our Father. I mean, it's a set of words, and if you repeat it more than once...isn't it all in vain? And how do they know for sure that they haven't used an exact set of words for prayer before? Do they write them all down and check before they pray? /end sarcasm/
Amber: I went back and read it too and it totally agrees with me. Its not ritual prayer that is the problem, its how you do it and what your intentions are. Islam teaches the same thing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is why Protestants dont use a rosary? :) Uh oh, Muslims do. Shias LOVE the tasbeeh.
ROTFL I actually just burst out laughing at work. Right Side. So funny. Its amazing the similarities though. If I ever get a chance I'd love to write a paper on it. Hmmmm good choice for a piece in my Grad School portfolio. :)
It's one of the similarities between Christianity and Islam. It's not what you do, so much as *why* you're doing it. Lived rightly, your entire life can be a sanctified act of worship to God.
ReplyDeleteFor some Protestants, sure, that's part of the issue. But I think a lot of it is their Mary-phobia. After all, we use the Hail Mary in saying the Rosary, and they're afraid they'll start 'worshiping' her or something...
Hah! I win! I made you laugh at work. Where's my prize? *finds orange in lunch box* My prize! Yummy.
That would be an excellent topic. Make note of it for later. :)
OH yeah Mary-phobia. Its because a lot of people did worship her I guess. I dunno Protestant churches confuse me. :) Each one is different, they were very hard for me to research. Actually studying Islam has helped to make a lot more sense of Catholicism. Strange, but true.
ReplyDeleteI may just write that paper :). I will try to remember that one.
*nods* Protestants are confusing. And even if you can pin down what one denomination believes, just because a particular church calls themselves, for example, 'baptist', doesn't mean that they *actually* follow baptist teachings or are a part of any larger group of baptists. Basically anyone can put out a sign saying they're the First Baptist Church of Josh and no one can stop 'em. *rolls eyes*
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I think the Mary-phobia is an overreaction to rituals and Traditions that the Protestants just don't understand. They went in with the idea that people were worshiping Mary, and so that's what they saw. *shrug* I do know of some Protestants who use the Rosary beads, they just replace the Hail Mary's with the Jesus Prayer or something they feel comfortable with. Some do include the Hail Mary, because of it's Biblical basis.
Now now, Amber, you are confusing me. I think I read a bit ago where you admired Sarah's UU thinking and now you are downing Protestants for doing their own 'cherry picking.' I think we all do this to some extent. Thus why you have Catholic politicians who are for gay marriage and abortion whereas the official Catholic church may think otherwise. Even Muslims do this - whether they choose harsher or more liberal interpretations.
ReplyDeleteI do believe there should be a standard, but what is it? Perhaps Paul had the right idea in Romans 14 where he said not to condemn those whom God has chosen. Some eat pork, some don't. Some drink wine, some don't. Some celebrate special days, others don't. He said we each must be persuaded in our minds. I guess this is the Holy Spirit's working in us??? What do you think?
I don't think anyone of us does *exactly* like the people in our belief system does. Is this OK for Catholics, but not OK for Baptists? Just thinking out loud here. :)
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteWhere was I downing the Protestants for cherry picking? Perhaps there's something I've stated badly, but that wasn't my intent.
I attempt, for the most part, to have a 'live and let live' (emphasis on the *attempt*, as you've seen in action...) attitude with regards to Protestant thought. I disagree with them (you know *that*), but it's not my job to convince them that they're wrong. All I can do is state what I believe, what the Church teaches, and leave it at that. When I say that *I* find Protestant's confusing, it's nothing but the truth. I personally find Protestantism confusing and very hard to pin down - I can't go to any church under the label of 'Baptist', 'Methodist', 'Lutheran', 'Anglican' or 'Episcopalian' and be certain that the teaching I hear there would be the same at a different church under the same label down the street.
Yes, as you pointed out, you will always get individuals whose opinions stray from the Church's teachings, (and I myself am one of them on some issues). But it is easy enough to turn to the Church and prove that the Catholic Church doesn't teach what that individual is saying. It's harder to do with Protestantism. None of us follow our faith 'perfectly' because we're not perfect people.
Amber, sorry for the confusion.
ReplyDeleteI was replying to this:
"just because a particular church calls themselves, for example, 'baptist', doesn't mean that they *actually* follow baptist teachings or are a part of any larger group of baptists. Basically anyone can put out a sign saying they're the First Baptist Church of Josh and no one can stop 'em."
And I thought if you admire UUs then if one Baptist church wants to believe X while another believes Y, what's the big deal as long as they are "nice things"? Just like Muslims vary in what they believe and Catholics as well. That was my point.
Just struck me kind of weird to admire UU for it's universalism and then basically talk down about Baptists for taking what they like and leaving the rest. That's kind of what Universalists do. They take the good from all religions and, yeah, I know some Baptists take the bad stuff (e.g. "God hates gays"), but they are just weird and not taking the good. Just their own hatred is shining forth.
Anyway....I guess I shouldn't have said anything. It's Monday afterall and I woke up with a headache and couldn't even think of the right pour/poor/pore to use this morning in my post. *sigh*
Old old old age is settling in.
*sigh again*
Thanks for your reply.
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteNo worries. :) I'm a confusing person.
I see what you're referring to. To be honest, when I used that example of 'Baptist' I was thinking of the 'Westboro Baptist Church' specifically. It's basically a cult that consists of family members, all around this one man that preaches nothing but vitriol and hatred for *everyone* and *everything*. Go to YouTube and search for the documentary 'The Most Hated Family in America' to see what they're like. They call themselves a 'Baptist' church, but speak to *any* Baptist conference or any Baptist leader, and they will vehemently deny any commonality with these people. Yet they can still call themselves 'Baptist' and a person who doesn't know better will believe that all Baptists believe the same way. Which isn't, of course, true. It's an extreme example, no doubt, but it's just the illustration. It can happen in any denomination, not only Baptists. I promise I'm not picking on the Baptists. :)
I'm not sure I'd use the term 'admire' for how I feel about UU. I can't deny that there's a part of me that *likes* the idea of all roads leading to the same place. But that's just the part that doesn't want to believe that anyone goes to Hell. *shrug* I take Christ at His word that the only path to the Father is through Him. I just try to not judge other people (no matter their professed faith) because I don't know God's plan for them - I cannot be assured of my own place in Heaven, let alone the place of another in the next world.
If I said anything to any other effect in regards to that, I was either mistaken or I expressed myself badly.
No, you should always say something. If you misunderstood, chances are someone else could too. We all know how sharp you are, even suffering the debilitating effects of your extremely advanced old age. ;)
Hope your head feels better.
Amber, thanks, yeah. Everyone always thinks of Westboro as a perfect example of a hateful "church." I can see why! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your clarification. I am like you in that I wish other roads lead to heaven. I've expressed this before on Sarah's blog. Would love for it to be true for all who are 'good' people.
Despite my "advanced old age," I'll try to remember you in my will. I really need to revise that thing before I pass to the other side. *ahem*
To that young chick who got the prince and fox story wrong, oh so wrong, I leave to you my . . . ;)
Susanne,
ReplyDeleteWell, and they were fresh on my mind. We'd just gotten another 'press release' from them. *gags* I take great delight in taking those things and running them through my shredder. It's a vicarious little pleasure. :)
*I* know what's going in your will. A provision that every so often, someone emails/calls/writes me reminding me about how right you were, and how wrong I was on the prince and the fox. I'll be reminded of it *forever*! :)
Ohhhhh, perfect!
ReplyDelete*copying and pasting that to my will*
:-)
Yeah, shredders can be fun!