Immodesty Causes Earthquakes

Salon.com

And this is why the US cannot find much respect for Islam. Every time some "cleric" says something like this we go two steps back. And it happens A LOT. And this is purely non-sense and and frankly makes Muslims look rather stupid.

Oh Tehran, why? You are better than that....I hope.

Lent and Easter....for me

A lot of my friends were surprised that I am seeing some of my extended family for Easter. I was a bit taken a back by their surprise as it is a family thing. To me, holidays are far more than religion only events. They are both cultural and familial events that are often very important to parents. But I understand their questions, especially my muslim friends: If I don't believe Jesus is God, and I don't believe he died to absolve our sins then why am I observing Lent and Easter?

I had to ask this of myself. Especially since I started reading "Jesus Prophet of Islam" again. I won't go into much detail as to not offend my Trinitarian Christian readers, but the author goes into great depth in explaining how Jesus may not have been crucified. And the interesting part of it: This man's explanation made sense. It wasn't based on God magically switching Jesus or snatching him away at the last second, or barely based on God masking another person to look like Jesus. It made sense. And it made me wonder "what did I believe for that last 25 years?".

His book goes on to describe Paul's innovations to the Christian church. Let's just say I know where I stand 100% now. And its fascinating because it is exactly like what is happening in Islam and what happened to Islam after Muhammad passed. The Trinitarians destroyed (literally) all the Unitarians that came in their path. Much like some muslim groups are trying to destroy other muslim groups because they feel they are the "right path". Its so sad really. Especially since the muslim groups are much closer in belief than the Trinitarians and the Unitarians. And then of course the battle continued with the Catholics and the Protestants. So much death over debates of rules. Debates over the divinity of Jesus. This isn't what Jesus wanted. This isn't what Muhammad wanted. And the same thing happened to both religions: The minute the prophet died (or left the earth) men took over, made changes, and formed their own vendettas. I guess this sort of thing is human nature.

So then I reflect as to why I still choose to do Lent, why I want to go to Easter even though I am completely unclear as to what actually happened to Jesus. For one thing, I would feel horribly guilty if I decided that he was not crucified and he actually was. That I didn't recognize his suffering and thank him for it. But that seems more of a self preservation than a true belief.

So why then do I still want to do Lent?

Because I want to honor Jesus and the sacrifices he did make in his life time. Whether he died on the cross or not Jesus made a multitude of sacrifices so he could spread the word of God. And I want to use Lent to recognize him and thank him for all he did for mankind. Truly the greatest of hearts was sent to us to build a bridge between the first and the last.

So thank you Jesus, may God bless you and may you bring us all order on the last day.

Subhanallah

How Much of Shariah Law Do You Have to Follow?

This is something I have been wondering for a long time. How much of Shariah Law are you required to follow? Or more so: In what way are you required to follow Shariah? I know a muslim should follow the Qur'an, follow the pillars, follow the prophet. But how much of our lives should be conducted by Shariah Law? This law was barely developed at the time of the prophet, he did not construct the Shariah Law we have today. So how do we know that this is what the prophet wanted the muslims to follow? Shariah Law is a combination of the Qur'an, Hadith, the Ulama, and fiqh (If you are Shia you would add the Imams to the list). Shariah is understood through the opinions of educated men on a variety of topics concerning the lives of muslims drawn from these sources. But how many of these "opinions", however extensively educated, are we to follow?

Now, I have to admit that the marjas have helped me to understand Shariah. But each one has their own opinion of what is and is not halal, haram, recommended, or not recommended. But they are helpful to look at for an answer. That is why you pick one, so you don't have five hundred opinions flying at you. Some have really great answers to questions and they really can show you that not all of Shariah Law is bad. Some of it is helpful and logical. Some of it is great and did amazing things for law in general around the world. Some of it changed the rights of women as well. But this doesn't mean that they have done away with rules that simply don't make a lot of sense. Or that seem to go against what the Qur'an and what the prophet taught. A lot of rules have multiple, and opposite, interpretations. I will give you a few examples.

A woman's hair must at least come to her shoulders. Anything shorter is haram. She must consult her husband if she even so much as wants to trim her hair. if he says no then she is not allowed to cut her hair. (You aren't suppose to have short hair because men have short hair and you will be imitating a man which is haram. But I'm pretty sure its my biology and not my hair that makes me female. Although I do think it is polite to ask your spouse what he/she thinks prior to making a big physical change. Not all marjas agree with this. Some think its fine providing it is not a man's haircut and its ok with your husband. Everyone says you are not allowed to shave off your hair....not sure why.)

Being stoned to death is considered the required punishment for adultery. (In the Qur'an it is lashing after excessive proof is given for the adultery. The lashing is also not suppose to kill the person. In some opinions, the punishment of stoning only applies to women).

One can eat food prepared by a Christian or a Jew providing the meat is halal or its vegetarian but cannot eat anything prepared by a someone who is not "of the book" (Hindu, Buddhist, etc.) That food is considered haram even if the meat is halal. (Some say it does not matter as long as the food is halal).

A muslim man may temporarily marry a Christian or a Jew but it is highly unrecommended that he permanently marry one. It is also highly unrecommended that a shia marry a sunni. (The Qur'an says a muslim man may permanently marry any person of the book, which of course would include other sects of Islam. There are a couple of marjas (such as Ayatollah Khomeni) who say marrying anyone other than a muslim is haram. Some say its not a problem at all providing the children are raised muslim. Above is Sistani's ruling).

Jews and Christians are commonly considered najis, although it is not improbable that they are Pak, but it is best to avoid them. -Sistani (The holy Qur'an says that Jews and Christians are part of the "People of the Book" and should be welcomed as part of the Ummah. Therefore, according to the Qur'an, there is no chance that they are najis. Sayyid Khameni and Fadlullah disagree with this statement and say they are Pak. This again belongs to Ayatollah Sistani. There are also views that Trinitarian Christians are not included in the "People of the Book" because they do not believe in "One God" even though they do)

This could go on forever so I will stop now. The opinions on music are ENDLESS. Same with women and their menstrual cycle. And food, clothes, movement, gatherings etc. I find this horribly stressful. I do not want to worry every five seconds wondering if what I am doing is haram. Its far too many rules for any one mortal person to handle. Plus, there are so many opinions. As you can see, the marjas can't even agree amongst each other.

So what do you all think? How much should Shariah Law govern the life of a muslim? Do we take it and follow without question or do we let it be a guide but ultimately make our own decisions?

Reverse: Humanity before Religion

So in my post : Blame Humanity Not Religion everyone seems to agree that it is perfectly fine to leave a religion due to the community. That if the community has completely betrayed or turned you off leaving is justifiable.

But what about the other way around. What if you join a religion because of the community? Is that acceptable and justifiable?

Most will say a flat out no. Its not. So why does it work the other way around? If someone truly loves a particular community why should that not justify their conversion? This could even apply to those who convert to marry. If you love the community, love the worship, love the people, love the way of life then it seems plausible to me that converting will make you very happy. So why is it then that if someone converts for these things its considered to be in poor taste?

I'm actually not sure myself. The more I study the more I think community can be a good reason to convert. Community is religion is some senses. One of the main reasons a person chooses an organized religion is because they want to belong to a community. Otherwise we would all go on our marry own ways. They want to belong to something. So community should have a huge impact on conversion. And since the only absolute truth is God it should not matter what you choose. So if it makes you truly happy, brings you closer to God, then what is so wrong with choosing based on a community?

Thoughts?

Blame Humanity, Not Religion

It bothers me every time I see a comment or a post bashing a religion saying how awful it is. Usually the person belonged to the religion previously and got so disenchanted with it they left. I always read them looking to see if their complaints have anything to do with the actual religion. Nine times out of Ten they have nothing to do with the actual religion. They will be complaints about priests molesting children, corrupt mosque owners, caddy women, verses that bring women down, corrupt governments etc. Thing is this:

None of these things have anything to do with the actual religions.

I have to admit I was like this once. I use to bash Catholicism because I got so disenchanted with it. I use to say that the Bible degrades women, bringing us to a lower level. That I can't associate with a religion who's clergy abuses children. I would be appalled by the church's use of its money, building yet another bigger house for the priest or buying a high tech moving light up sign instead of feeding the poor. The corrupt clergy of the past and present pulling scheme after scheme to get money for themselves. The priests who boycott funerals, condemning homosexuals saying "Matthew Shepard deserved to die a horrible death" or the ones that say people deserve natural disasters like in Haiti. The Crusades were the worst, they turned me off the most. I just couldn't believe how the church manipulated its people into fighting a war like that. It was disgusting.

It took me up until 2 years ago when studying Islam to realize none of these things are the fault of the religion. I was afraid of Islam like most Westerners. All we hear about is how the war is in Afghanistan and what the Taliban does. I thought these wars were part of the religion. I thought hatred for women was part of the religion. I thought Muhammad condoned these things. Then I came to learn it is one small group that does these things. One group. And most muslims do not even consider these people, these Wahabis, muslims.

When you get disenchanted its hard to see through all the red tape, all the hurt you've been through. You've been jaded and all you see is the scars that have been left from years and years of looking at your own religion without rose colored glasses. Its painful to be sure and understandable when one holds a grudge. But we have to remember that these things are not part of the religion. They are the fault of humanity. It is humanity that is corrupt, dishonest, and manipulative. Not religion. That is the problem and the blessing of organized religions: they involve humanity and all the interpretations that come with it.

My apology to Catholicism

Wresting with Religion's Sarah got me thinking. She just posted a very heartfelt post on what happened with her and Islam. Its beautiful, but full of agony. And at first I miss understood the post then I thought about it again and went "That's how I use to view Christianity".

We try so hard sometimes to make ourselves fit into the wrong part of the puzzle. We push and push and dent the sides of our piece. Sometimes we can shove our piece into the spot only to have it dented and bruised. It looks like it fits, but does it really?

This is what I tried desperately to do with Christianity, particularly Catholicism. I pushed so hard to make concepts work. I kept going "If I can just find a way to justify A B C I can do this, I can make it work." Let me tell you ladies and gentlemen you cannot make a religion work for you. You will only cause yourself great despair. You will feel like you have been torn into a million pieces. Its definitely not pretty.

I remember sitting there with books going "If A B C only worked like D E F then it would be fine. Can I twist it so it will be fine?" Once you start doing that you are really forcing a religion onto yourself. Catholicism and Christianity became so much work for me. So much hard work to make myself believe. It was so hard, so taxing I got to a point where I just wanted it NOT to work so it would be over. I would sit in church and it would pain me because I knew that what I was hearing , saying, doing didn't agree with me. But I wanted it to, oh how much easier life would be if I had just been able to accept Catholicism.

About 2 years ago I officially let go. And although it was sad it was a relief. I was so angry with myself for not being able to believe that I had lost all touch with God. When I finally said "Stop, you can't do this anymore. Let go." the door back to God opened for me. I got so clouded by trying to "make it work" I forgot what I was working for in the first place: A solid relationship with God. I let go and although it has been lonely and frustrating floating through religion limbo I know it is better than forcing a religion upon myself.

Through Islam I gained a greater respect for Catholicism and Christianity. I saw the true beauty behind them. It is a beautiful path, a true path. Perfect for many. I will never belittle these faiths, never run them through the mud. In fact I will defend them because for many they are the truth. And they deserve to be respected and understood.

If Christianity and Catholicism were people I would want to say this: I apologize if I disrespected you. I apologize if I miss represented you. I apologize for the pain I caused, for the arguments we had. I have a great deal of respect for you, I see your true beauty. Although we can never be together, I hope that we can continue to have a friendship that will last a lifetime.

A little Confusion

I've been a bit confused lately and it seems to be confusing all of you as well. I've been getting quite a few messages asking me if I've become muslim. The answer is I have not. I did go back and look at my last few posts and can totally see where everyone is getting this. They sure sound like I have become muslim. I am stuck in this weird middle ground at the moment. Not Christian, not a muslim. I more often say "we do this" in reference to Islam and "They do this" in reference to Christianity. I have also been doing a lot of "if I am muslim" senrios. I've just been thinking a lot about it and all has been going so well. Allah has made this so far easy for me. I have been able to have a dialogue with my family who says they won't disown me, I have a loving man to teach me and support me, a school to learn from with wonderful helpful people, and many mosques nearby. Halaal food is easily accessable, muslims are common in my area, and modest clothing can be found. My studies have been mostly productive in a good sense, with very few disagreements. I am actually waiting for something terrible to happen. It seems so off balance, all these good things.

I finally feel like after 10 years of looking I am on the right track. I am so excited about that. I have looked so long for peace and understanding in religion. I now stand on the brink of finding an answer which is both exciting and terrifying. I never expected to find anything. Now every day I get closer to Allah and my answers.

Isha'Allah Allah will make it easy for me. I am waiting for a revelation so to speak. I just know that one day, I will know without a doubt what to do. Then I will make plans for what to do next. I just know that right now is not the right time. Not for me, My Love, or my family. There is much still to do. I have to finish the Qur'an, learn to pray, and learn to at least pronounce Arabic. I can't even say the Shahada properly. I'm pretty sure I should wait till I can say it! My family also has to have more time to get use to the idea and My Love needs a little time to figure out what he wants to do if I do become muslim. We need to be careful about the engagement so people do not think I became muslim just to marry him. All needs to be handled in a delicate manner.

I want to thank everyone for all the support you have given me and continue to give me.

Salaam

Question/Compulsion Part 2

My post below made me think of something else.

How many of you that believe only your religion goes to heaven have had anyone close to you who belonged to another religion die or have family members or close friends of another religion?

This is my main issue. I would love to have you all answer this question, I think it could be truly fascinating to see the results.

I take the stance that many groups could be eligible for Heaven because I have a lot of friends and family who are not the same religion. I have an issue with believing that a wonderful person dedicated to God and doing good could go to Hell simply for being the wrong religion. I am suppose to believe that Mother Teresa, or Ghandi, or Martin Luther King, or Buddha could have gone to Hell because they were the "wrong" religion despite all the good they did for the world. That is not just, that is rather ridiculous.

Here are examples to my thinking:

If I were muslim I would then have to believe my parents will go to Hell simply for being Christian. Despite the fact that they are both good people and that my mother is particularly dedicated to her religion.

I am suppose to believe that my friend who is firmly dedicated to the belief in one God and doing good for others will go to Hell because she does not associate herself with one organized religion but chooses to follow her own path.

I am to believe, if I stayed Christian, that My Love and his family, all great believers in God and charity, will go to Hell because they are not Christian.

I am to believe that my aunt who passed almost a year ago could have gone to Hell because she was Jewish. Despite her years of working with children, her involvement in charity, and her time she gave to volunteering at a hospital even into her late 80s. I am suppose to believe that this wonderful woman could have gone to Hell only because Judaism might have been the "wrong" religion.

Do you see what I am getting at? Do we see how this view lacks the mercy and justice God is suppose to possess? We are imperfect beings who like to see things in black and white but the world functions in shades of grey. We do not have the right to condemn another group of people. God is the only one who can judge us and we should leave it up to Him.

There Is Compulsion In Religion

The compulsion to be right that is. Why is it that humans have this insatiable need to be right? Why is it that so many believe their can only be one right answer and all others must be wrong?

I do not see what is so difficult about accepting the fact that their may be multiple answers to one question. Yet, in religion and in life, people seem to have this irresitable attraction to being right. Only the Christians can go to Heaven, Only the Jews, Only the muslims. Why not all believers?

I see no value in saying that only one group goes to Heaven. If God had wanted us to be all one religion He would have made it so. Obviously, that was not the case and there must be a reason for it. What the reason is, I do not know. I do know that God is suppose to be just and merciful. A just and merciful God would not go “Ok here are three religions all which praise and glorify me. One of them is the right one, figure it out or you can't go to Heaven.” That is completely unmerciful and unjust. That is ridiculous. I will never believe that my religion is the only group that can go to Heaven. In fact, I don't think you need to be part of an organized religion to go to Heaven. If a person is pious, strong in their faith in God, and is a good person I see no reason why they can't be eligible for Heaven even if they dont belong to a particular faith.Your admitance to Heaven is based on your relationship and service to God. Not what set of rules or book you follow.

I get how the Jews and the Christians obtain this veiw. The Jews are the “choosen people” and many take that literally. The Christians believe that Jesus was sacraficed so they may be saved therefore if you don't believe in Jesus as the savior you haven't been saved and you can't go to Heaven (this is WAY more complicated, I just don't feel like writing the whole thing out. If any of my Christian readers feel the need to elaborate, please go ahead). But I do not know where the muslims get the idea that they are the only ones that can be saved when the Qur'an clearly states countless times that this is not so.

My favorite ayah is this:

Sura Al Baqara 2:62

Those who believe (in the Qu'ran)

and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures)

and the Christians and the Sabians

Any who believe in God

and the Last Day

and work riteousness

Shall have their reward

With their Lord on them

There shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve

There is a portion of this ayah in almost every surah of the Qur'an. The idea of all believers being able to achieve oneness with God is reenforced so often that I do not understand how any muslim can believe they are the only ones that go to Heaven. The Qur'an even says that God will judge between the believers for their mistakes and decide which ones are forgiveable. The Qur'an says that yes the Christians and the Jews and even the Muslims made mistakes but if those mistakes were made in good intention they can be forgiven. When I read through the Qur'an again, I am going to record every ayah that mentions this topic so that it can be clearly seen how important this message was for us from God.

The Bible and the Torah do not condemn others who believe in one God either. So it begs the question; Where did this zelous attitude about being right come from? I do wonder if the leaders of the religions developed it to scare people from leaving their religion. People would be much more free to explore other faiths if they didn't need to fear about being “right”. My mother's major fear in my studies is that I may be wrong about my theory that all believers are eligible for Heaven. She worries about what if I do need Jesus as my savior and the Son of God to obtain paradise. That is her, and I'm sure many parents, objection to her daughter's exploration of Islam. Look how much less converts would have to deal with if this need to be right didn't exist. I'm sure we would be met with a lot less hostility from our families if all religions of one God were acceptable paths. And look how much more peace there would be in the world. The religions of the world would be much less likely to get people to ralley against an opposing religion if they did not have the “right religion” argument on their side. Our world would be a much better place.

I choose to believe that all believers, regardless of religion, can be eligible for Paradise. I choose to believe in the message of the Qur'an, not opposing hadiths or scholars on this topic. This is my choice and regardless of what religion I choose to be I will stay firm in this belief. Always have, always will.

Biblical Translations and Muhammad (AS)

Hijab Chic just posted a really interesting post on the passages in the bible that mention the coming of another prophet.  I know that it is popular to attribute these passages to Jesus or the Holy  Spirit.  Often they are removed all together.  

Out of curiosity I grabbed my bible "The New American Bible" (Catholic bible; 1987; student edition)  to see what they looked like in mine.  Here are the differences.  

HC: "The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the line of the prophets comes to end, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent."

[Jeremiah 28:9]

Skipped.  It goes directly from 7 to 10.  8 and 9 are not present.

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee Moses and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."
[Deuteronomy 18:18-19]

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from amongst their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth: he shall tell them all I command him.  If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. ----- goes on to say-----But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.

The reasoning behind leaving this passage in is the Christians feel they can easily say Muhammad (AS) is not a prophet because false prophets will come preaching in the name of God as in line 20

"Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, 'Please read this.' And he will say, I cannot read."
[Isaiah 29:12]

Not in my bible.  Goes from line 11 to 13

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
[John 14:16-17]

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you."
[John 16:7-14]

And I will ask the father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.  the Spirit of Truth which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it.  But you know it because it remains with you and will be in you.

But I tell you the truth: it is better for that I go.  For if I do not go the Advocate will no come to you.  But if I go, I will send him to you.  And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation sin because they do not believe in me; righteous because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me condemnation because the ruler of this world has been condemned.  I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you all to truth.  He will not speak on his own but he will speak what he hears and will declare to you the things that are coming.  He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

 Interesting huh?  Same book, very different translations.  Some verses missing all together.  I wish I had an older bible or a newer christian denomination's bible.  Many newer churches put back a lot of the verses the Catholic church took out way back in the day.

Just thought it would be interesting.  Thanks Hijab Chic.

Note: this is why when you take religion class they assign a particular edition of the bible.

This is also why reading the bible is incredibly frustrating for me and why it is hard to believe it is the "word of God" when many editions can be drastically different.

I Guess I'm Not Christian

The following was just posted on my friend's facebook. We will call her C.

C: was informed this week that apparently her belief in evolution means she is not a Christian, despite her belief that Christ was God's one and only son who died for our sins so that we might be forgiven and go to heaven, which is really the only ...requirement of being a "Christian" when you get right down to it.

And I replied:

yes what makes Christianity Christianity is the belief that Christ is God's son and that Jesus died to save us from original sin and bring us forgiveness. That is it, not evolution. Silly uneducated people.

I do not believe in original sin nor do I believe that Jesus is God, nor do I believe that Jesus is the direct "son" of God. No more than Adam is a son of God. I also don't believe that Jesus died to absolve our sins since I don't believe in original sin to begin with and I believe we are responsible for our sins. Otherwise that would mean that no one went to Heaven before the death of Christ because we did not have the capability to have our sins forgiven. So this can only mean one thing:

I am not Christian.

I'm not sure I ever was since I have always struggled with these concepts. But I am not a muslim.

So what am I?

O_O *so confused*

NOTE: I have no issues with anyone believing such things, it is only my personal feelings. I do not consider this train of thought wrong in any way.

Khadija Ramadan 2009

I just finished watching another lecture from Hassanain Rajabali on Khadija and the women of Islam.  It really is a beautiful explanation of the role of women and what it truly means to be a muslim woman.  It also makes you realize how amazing Khadija was.

Enjoy

On another note I ordered my first Quran!  Well, 2 actually.  One with commentary and another with a transliteration for the Arabic that I thought might come in handy both by the same scholar.   I can't wait till they get here!