Hello everyone,

I hope I don't upset many people here.  On second thought, I hope I do but before you get fired up (as I know most of you who claim to be reasonable do) please, allow me to explain that I believe in Allah, the Quraan, the prophet Muhammad and all preceding prophets.  So here goes...

Have you (Muslim) ever came across a thought or situation and didn't know how to react because your logic didn't agree with your religion?  I say "your logic" because what most people think to be logical is not. 

I question the practice of praying at certain times and a certain number of times.  I pray daily but not five times a day and not when I am told to pray.  The manner in which I pray is the same as everyone else.  I sometimes wonder why I had to wake up and pray at 5am, go back to sleep and wake up again at 8:30 and get to work, which back then started at 9:30.  These days I pray between 5am and 6am but only because that�s when I wake up.  I think by waking up at five, splashing water on my face and moving up and down I have woken myself up and I can�t sleep again.  The way most Muslims pray would work well if we started work at sunrise and finished by dzuher or aser but that�s not how the business world works.

Another thought I have is a teenage girl that wants to join her high school volleyball team.  Should she refuse to wear shorts?  Dress in baggy pants and cover her hair and play volley ball or is that haram because when she�s in a game there may be male eyes focusing on her?

Am I seriously damned because I chose to tattoo my body?  I read a post here about tattoos and the Imam described them as repulsive.  I�ve seen some repulsive tattoos but I�ve also seen some amazing ones as well.  How is he suddenly an expert on tattoo art to say it�s repulsive?   Seriously!  Am I damned because I am tattooed?  All the years of praying, zakat and fasting won�t get me into heaven?

When a woman in public reaches out to shake my hand am I supposed to look away and decline her hand shake?  I had a friend who would do that and frankly he embarrassed me a few times by embarrassing my friends.  He also didn�t like that fact that I was using my left hand to hold the fork and eat my steak.  My right hand was used for cutting it.  Why does it matter?

This could very well be a book if I keep typing but I�ll end it here.  Please, if you feel inspired, share your thoughts and if you feel enraged, share your thoughts as well.  If you feel like damning me to hell then do so.  I don�t mind.  I�d rather be damned by you than by God.  You may think I�m an arrogant man who likes to shorten peoples fuse but I�m not.  I�m very serious about Islam.

Salaam,

Firstly I would like to congratulate sister MishMash on the excellant answer to issues faced by Barazi, congratulations.

Brother Barazi, I myself was in a similar situation 3 or so years ago, my mind was corrupt with all the impure thoughts of today�s world. I struggled to understand the basic concepts and pillars of Islam. My advice is it is good to start with a little amount, it is stated in the hadith a person who commits sin and feels remorse has the lowest level of Imaan, a person who commits sin and feels no remorse has no Imaan (Not sure from which Hadith, but think it is Sahih-al-Bukhari, may Allah (swt) forgive me if I am wrong). The question you should ask yourself is, do you feel and amount of guilt or remorse when or after committing a sin ?

Wasalaam

Bismillah irrahman irrahim

Assalamu alaikum

Allah swt says in Holy Quran that He created man to worship Him and on another place He created life and death to see who is better in conduct.  Allah swt has put in each and every individual a sense of what is right and what is wrong but His mercy does not end there, He send His Prophets(as) to give code of life, now with timings of prayer if it was in the times that we were absolutely free the how do you think that be a test for us? Allah swt put it in a time that we have to break our sleep and remember Him, it is some what hard on soul so Allah swt sees that what is dearer to us, Him or our precious sleep, now day time we are working, busy making money but the purpose of life is totaly different so through His complete mercy He puts salah in the time so we don't forget Him, again going away from what u rather be doing, making money that is, you break the net of your nafs and shaytan and say labaik to ur Lord,  last thing you are ever so tired at 11 at night but there is one last prayer so again a test of your will, so you see Allah swt ask us to remember Him and then He makes means for it.

All these rules which u mentioned they are there bcos Allah swt wants to see whether we comply to them or not, just sit down and think what is logic, it is which makes sense to a human, now be honest to urself does ur own self makes sense to u every time, sometimes ur heart or ur head says to u which is total alien to ur own logic, do u have complete knowledge of ur soul, just know that ur ability of understanding has a limit no matter how bigger genius you are, that is our test to give up what is dear to us for sake of Allah swt even though sometimes u dont understand it completely,

I think sister amah gave you an excellent advice, contemplate on Holy Quran and if you don't understand something, dont start questioning it straight away, ask Allah swt that you don't understand it and ask Him to make it easy for you, one thing i want2 say, is there some thing in ur life which is very dear to you and u know that its haram? give it up for sake of Allah swt, i know its going to be extremely hard but just try, even though it don't make sense at start believe me Allah swt will grant u understanding when u submit to His will with most difficult thing of your life, Allah swt says in Holy Quran 'is there any reward for good other than good' and you will find Him the ONE who keeps His promises and who is most rewarding

wassalam

Barazi M G wrote: Another thought I have is a teenage girl that wants to join her high school volleyball team.  Should she refuse to wear shorts?  Dress in baggy pants and cover her hair and play volley ball or is that haram because when she�s in a game there may be male eyes focusing on her?

I'm not muslim but you do not need to wear shorts to play volley ball, at school in winter and if it wasn't raining then we played volley ball in P.E, winter time we wore tracksuit pants in sports, some girls would just put the skirt (netball skirt and they wear short but had bloomers on) over it  

There are few muslim girls here that play soccer and they are covered up  

Before continuing in this discussion I would like to say that I�m pleased to see everyone being calm and supportive.  I really admire that.

Answering and replying to your questions and comments:

Mishmish: 

First Comment;

Yesterday I read a post.  Someone was having trouble praying and they were blaming the devil.  We could argue about whether or not that is a logical blame.  I would blame myself before I blame the devil.  The most illogical response was a man who said, �Dry spit three times to the left.�  What does that mean?  Is that supposed to scar away demons or the devil?  Why can�t this person just stand up, do it over again and focus.  I�ll admit that I lost focus sometimes in prayer.  It doesn�t happen often but sometimes it does.  When that happens I stop, close my eyes, breath and relax to clear my mind and then start over with prayer.

Second Comment;

You said that we must remember Allah always and by praying five times a day we would remember him.  This way we will not steer away from the path.  I think we should give human beings more respect than that.  Are we so ignorant and blind that we can�t stay on a straight path for more than a few hours?  Sure some people are like that.  It reminds me of a clinical ill person who needs drugs every few hours to stay sane.  I pray three times a day.  I used to pray five but I didn�t find it helpful for me.  I pray first thing in the morning then after my day is finished and then before I sleep.

Third Comment:

I think so called �Scholars� disagree too much.  I don�t believe in the hijab all together.  I don�t see it mentioned in Quraan and I don�t see why it�s necessary when even women who wear hijab can be rapped.  So what if men look?  You can�t stop that.  It�s the mans fault for having a dirty mind, not yours.  If you reveal too much of your body then you have contributed to the sick mind of a man who will undress you in his head but believe me when I say that nothing can interrupt a mans thoughts when they are dirty.  It�s the character of the man and his respect that should be questioned here.  Not a woman hair.  I also don�t believe in being offensive.  If I�m in a place where most women wear hijab I will ask my wife to do the same.  Even if all the men are dressed a certain way I would want to imitate them out of respect.  I�m not saying, �When in Rome do what the Romans do,� because the Romans were sick people as are many people in the USA and all over the world.  I�m just saying that it�s harmless to show your hair when you are a confident, conservatively dressed person in the USA.  Even in Syria.  I only mention the tow countries I have lived in.

Fourth Comment:

I�m not risking a sin because I don�t see the sin.  If you say a tattoo is altering my body then is changing the color of your car altering the car?  No.  It�s changing the appearance.  A tattoo on my should is not as drastic as an entire cars paint job but it�s a similar situation.  I believe if I remove my hand intentionally or modify my bodies basic function then I�m altering my body.  Altering, not decorating.

Fifth Comment:

I am not embarrassed by my beliefs.  Where and when did Allah say I can�t shake your hand?  If you politely decline my hand shake I would smile at your and respect your belief.  Even if in the back of my mind I think you�re wrong I would respect your decision.  Personally I don�t see what�s wrong with a hand shake.  It�s confusing.  I walk into a room with women wearing hijab and I have no idea whose hand to shake and whose hand I shouldn�t.  Some women want a hand shake and some don�t.  It doesn�t bother me but it�s just something I think about.  Like this whole right hand right foot issue.  It�s silly.

Last Comment:

A few years ago I was what I call a, �Blind Muslim.�  I went to the Masjed every Friday and at least two times a week I was there for Fajr prayer.  I was always among the first 10 people in the Masjed on Friday and among the last to leave.  I prayed AT LEAST five times a day with all the sunnah prayers after and before.  It got old!  I felt like it was too much and it didn�t mean anything so I cut down to the basic five prayers and brief visit to the Masjed only on Fridays.  Then I started to learn more about Hadeeth.  This is when my outlook on Islam COMPLETELY changed.  I ONLY follow the Quraan.  There is nothing to prove Hadeeth.  If the prophet said to do something that is good then it�s safe to do it.  If he said to do something that doesn�t make sense and it�s not in the Quraan then I don�t think it�s something he ever said at all.  I study Islam regularly alone and with scholars and groups.

Amah:  I read the Quraan in detail.  I�m not an expert because I recently started.  If there is anything to learn here I will do so and I will always ask questions.  I appreciate your willingness to help.  I believe that the Quraan should be read with explicit attention to detail and with a solid foundation of Arabic.  The misinterpretation of the Quraan comes from the lack of understanding Arabic.  Even the best scholars in this world don�t always understand Arabic.  There is a very simple formula to use for those who don�t understand certain words.  It�s all WITHIN the Quraan and not just in our Arabic classes.  Hadeeth, however has not way to be proven true.  If it�s backed by the Quraan then I will believe it.

BlueSun:  No.  I don�t feel remorse.  I can�t feel remorse when I don�t believe I�m sinning.  I hope that makes sense.

Fatima:  There was once something in my life that I thought was dear.  GIRLFRIENDS and lots of them.  I was ignorant and I was more interested in my pleasure.  I will admit that it was then where I was remorseful and knew I was committing sins.  I gave it up because I knew it was wrong.  Now I�m happily married to woman who shares my religious beliefs.  Currently I don�t feel like I�m committing any sins.  Do you suspect anything?  LOL

Angel:  I�m glad to hear that.  I wasn�t only thinking about volleyball and shorts.  I hope you understood my point.

Barazai M G

As' Salaamu Alaikum,

Brother I understand your position and somewhat feel the same way you do, and as a Islamic Philosophy Student I too sometimes struggle with the particulars of religion. Like most mainstream monotheistic faiths, there is no unision in the sense of what is correct to follow and not correct to follow except the belief in God and the obligatory aspects of belief following that. I understand what you mean when you say how can we discern from faith and superstition brother as we all are traverlers in god's universe its up to us to find our own answers.

Unfortunately in reality our beliefs aren't in unison to each other that is why we must strive to better ourselves in our endeavours whatever they are. Brother I extend an ofer to you if you wish to discuss more issues privately I will be more than happy to help you.

Brother, you are free to believe what you choose to believe. That is your right, and the Quran states:

Al-Baqara (The Cow) 

2:256 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.

However, just because you don't see a sin doesn't mean it isn't there. I believe only the Prophets and Messengers of God saw sin with clarity, and they were still just men. If men were able to judge this on their own, there would have been no need for the Prophets, the Messengers, or even the Word of God. We would have just known.

There are some Hadith which may contradict each other or the Quran, but the message of the Prophet Mohammed and Islam is a way of life, and following the Prophet means following his example, as it meant with those Apostles who came before him.

An-Nasr (The Help) 
10:15 AND [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us [are wont to] say, "Bring us a discourse other than this, or alter this one.�  Say [O prophet]: "It is not conceivable that I should alter it of my own volition; I only follow what is revealed to me. Behold, I would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that ,awesome Day [of Judgment]!"

Al-A'raf (The Heights)
7:157 those who shall follow the [last] Apostle, the unlettered prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah that is with them, and [later on] in the Gospel:  [the prophet] who will enjoin upon them the doing of what is right and forbid them the doing of what is wrong, and make lawful to them the good things of life and forbid them the bad things, and lift from them their burdens and the shackles that were upon them [aforetime].  Those, therefore, who shall believe in him, and honour him, and succour him, and follow the light that has been bestowed from on high through him-it is they that shall attain to a happy state."

As for men looking and women dressing modestly, the Quran says this:

Allah knows all that you say and do.

  Barazi and Israfil pls keep discussing this topic over here instead of private. Am sure there are many people like Barazi {thoughts} and they need a very good guidance from members like u.

Fatima, Amah and Mishmish , loved u r posts.

Hello Barazi.

I m not studing anythink, nothing, just basics scools...I m sory if I m not talk Logicaly ;)

If you allow me, i want say my comments...

Everyhuman has different thought of Logic. ...

Somethinks can logicaly for you but for me not....

There  can always a Logic in every think, its up to human, how he/she  see and think it...also knowledge is important

There is thinks, I tryed find the logic for somethinks, after anothers explain of Logics so that was not Logicaly for me..  After many years passed so I got the Logic...

I think my comments are not so important..But That is my Logic about Logic ;)

Bismillah irrahman irrahim

Assalamu alaikum

You would appreciate every one being reasonable to you replying to your post and I hope I get the same even though some thing I would say seem harsh to you. I would want to answer to your comments to sister Mishmish and hope she don�t mind me doing this, I totally agree to your first comment that we should have a stronger will than giving in to shaytan every time and this is proven with a hadith which mentions that our worst enemy is our own nafs, shaytan only whispers in our ears and to listen to it is up to us but spitting three times on your left is what is mentioned in a sahih hadith, I would advise you to be bit more respectful when you mention ahadith even though you disagree with their authenticity.

I disagree with your second comment, Allah swt who is our creator knows us more than ourselves, Allah swt says in Holy Quran that He created man as weak, in another place He said that if it was not for the fact that even the strongest of believers would steer away from right path, Allah swt would give so much to disbelievers that it fills all the space in earth (or its between the heaven and earth) because that�s all they are ever getting, pleasure for a very short while and that�s how little this world means to Allah swt.  Now your comment about salah, brother it is not upto you to decide about Laws of Allah swt, there is consensus over the fact that a person who thinks five times prayer is not fard on him and leaves it, is falling in a major sin, not being able to pray five times a day due to being lazy and negligent is a different  matter but I pray and hope that none of us fall into first category.

Your third comment, well issue of hijab being discussed in too too much detail and if you go to sister�s section you will find Quranic evidence along with sahih Ahadith which mentions necessity of women covering up, brother you think that not practising the islamic dress code and shaking hands with opposite sex is no big deal, few generation later it might be tight jeans and kiss on the cheek and few generation later having a relation then its drugs and all that, I am not just saying it, it is an educated guess cos that�s the route for western cultures and that�s why Allah swt did not leave it for humans to decide because in His complete knowledge He knows that this finite being is short sighted.

Now your last few comments involve you thinking that if some thing is not in Holy Quran, its upto you to follow the ahadith or not, well very respectfully but you cannot be more wrong, Allah swt says in Holy Quran, �4:80] Whoever obeys the Messenger, he indeed obeys Allah, and whoever turns back, so We have not sent you as a keeper over them�. There are ahadith which prohibit the tattooing, shaking hands with opposite sex and lastly prayer of five times are mentioned in Holy Quran at two different places, do you not think that if it was more beneficial Allah swt would have just send His laws and commandments straight down from heaven without a Messenger (as) in between, actually come to think of it that would have been bigger miracle a book coming down from the blue sky but He did not, He chose to send Prophets (as) because that�s easier way for His slave to follow.  when Allah swt left the details of some basic matters out of Holy Quran and then said follow the Messenger (saw) and that�s is following your Lord,  don�t you think He is going to make sure that practises of His Messenger (saw) reaches to all the generations there are to come?  Allah swt says in Holy Quran that He is not going to give a reason to disbelievers to make their case of disbelief on The Day of Judgment.

You said rightly in your comment to sister amah that understanding Holy Quran in its totality is not even possible for scholars, ahadith tells us that it was not even possible for Messengers (as) to completely understand what is in the Holy Books. But brother Allah swt says in Holy Quran that some part of the Book are clear (muhkamat) and some not so clear (mutashabihat) and we should learn second type through first not the other way round.

Lastly before I say what I want to say I am clearing it up that when some one tells you that what you doing is wrong, they don�t mean that you going to hell in result of it as there are plenty of ahadith which tells us that a person could be sinning all his life and still go to paradise due to his last act as you are raised from state in which you die and judgement is only for Allah swt not for us human to decide who is going where, saying that yes till the day you don�t have a firm belief in your heart that five daily prayers are fard, you are sinning, that�s is the major issue, the other things which you belive in like necessity of covering up and tattooing and only believing in ahadith which suite you well they put you in wrong, and I am saying all this in a hope that you don�t mind my honesty as you expected the same from us

All knowledge is with Allah swt

Wassalam