Doubts over Truth. Help Please!

[findingIslam]

Assalamu Alaikum brothers & sisters.

I'm not sure if any of the members recall I posted quite a few months back about some problems regarding my Imaan.
Anyway I wanted some advice. I thought my doubts had been erased by gaining the answers to the questions floating around in my mind. However it seems like eventhough I have the answers the thoughts still come. Worse yet, it seems like my belief in Islam has totally disappeared. I'm not sure if it's because everywhere I look I see people who are either Christians or have no faith. I don't know if it's because of the country I'm living in and the fitnah and lack of belief around me is rubbing off on me. But I feel like my heart is closed to Islam and no matter what I listen to or read the right things won't stick in my mind or affect my heart.

I'm worried now that like the Qur'an Ayahs say, my heart has been hardened and I am blind to the truth. Led into the darkness so to speak. How do I get my Iman back? My du'as and prayers seem so empty and you know.. I don't want to die in this state!

Jzk if anyone replies. I would really really appreciate it (again!)

Wasalaam.

[kayra]

:salam: sis,

Sorry to hear things haven't improved yet! First of all, if your heart had really been hardened or sealed, you wouldn'T be worrying about it. Secondly: I worry about it all the time, by the way - a hard heart, I mean - so that makes two of us! I also worry incessantly about being a hypocrite, may Allah protect us all. When I say worry, I mean REALLY worry. What's more, I have these quite frequent apolcalyptic, end-of-the-world dreams and they're never nice dreams, so that just continues the anxiety even when I'm asleep! Half the reason I'm awake at this hour - nearly 3:30 am - is my worry about being a hard-hearted hypocrite. Or rather, my way of dealing with this worry - begging Allah to soften my heart and strengthen my iman and give me ikhlas. Just begging over and over, whether I feel sincere or not.

Because, sis, sincerity and faith and love are not things you can acquire independently of Allah. It sounds self-evident, I know - after all, ALL things come from Allah - but Allah gives faith to whomever He pleases, whenever He pleases, and Allah knows best. Allah is also the one who makes us long for faith, and makes us feel desolate and miserable and worried when we can't "detect" our own faith. Imagine, if Allah so willed, you could have been a perfectly happy-go-lucky, carefree person who thought "faith" was a George Michael song and "heart" was a generic shape for Valentine's Day balloons. You could simply not care at all! But Allah WANTS you to care, He has chosen you to be a person worrying about the state of her heart and her Imaan. Alhamdulillah!

Now for practical tips (talk about the blind leading the blind, here!). We know some fundamental things that poison/ kill the heart - sins, obviously, so a soul-searching inventory is a good idea (my own personal inventories turn up all sorts of nasty things - I feel quite ill some nights when I tot up my daily sin score - especially those deadly sins of the tongue and heart); music, a full stomach, too much talking, too much sleeping. Then of course the company we keep - difficult when you have very little choice in the matter, I know, but you can keep company with saints and righteous Muslims simply by holding them in your heart/ mind throughout the day, remembering their words and deeds. Even the awliyah are negatively affected by just a few minutes spent in the company of impious people, so who are we to remain immune?! Then we should be scrupulously careful about what we spend, what we eat, etc. - haram money and food is obviously filth for the heart, but so is "doubtful" food and money from "dubious" sources.

So, if we eat little, speak little, sleep little, keep the company of pious people, avoid music and all haram stuff, carry out our religious obligations, and make an effort to do lots of things that please Allah like sadaqa and naf'l ibadah, then inshaAllah our hearts will start to soften and our faith will grow. I know it sounds stupendously hard work, and it is, but we also know that Allah starts to make things easier for us if we really make an effort to do the right thing.

Tonight it looks like I'll get very little sleep, alhamdulillah. So if I can just keep my mouth shut tomorrow, keep away from the yummy cheese my husband has just bought, and keep our beloved Prophet :saw: in my mind all day, maybe I'll have something positive to report by this time tomorrow!

May Allah give you beautiful, imaan-inspiring dreams tonight and send you an uplifting, pious friend tomorrow, sister.

:ws:

[qibla]

Assalaamoalaykum-w-w
The only consolation I can give in this case is that majority of the muslims have doubts over truth. There is a stage of Ihsan the heart reaches when it becomes free of major doubts BUT minor doubts still linger on.
The fact that you are worried about leaving this world without iman is testimony to your strength of iman. Most people dont even get there.
Keep on praying your salaat InshaAllah this will keep you strong!
May Allah love us and protect us from Was wasaa.
Aameen Allahumma Aameen.

[Al-Faruqi]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

@ Sister kayra:
Jazak Allahu khayran, I wish all the best for you and your family. May Allah guide and strengthen you and make you true believers. Amin.

@ Sister findingIslam:

You having fear for your Iman and fearing that you might be a hypocrite is an actual sign of Iman.

Sister, do not engage in these doubts from the accursed shaytan (Audhubillahiminashshaytanirrajeem) but do lots of dhikrullah (e.g. Quran recitation) and continue improving your Islamic knowledge in those things that matter for you. May Allah guide and protect you.

[findingIslam]

@ Sis Kayra - Thank you for all the advice. I've been trying to do all those things from the advice I received on the forum afew months ago upto the point I'm kinda abit manic when it comes to what's halal, haram and doubtful. But inshallah I'll try and improve on all those things. I do the same thing, i'm scared to sleep at night in case I die as with the wrong beliefs etc so I stay awake just doing pointless things, nothing productive until 4/5 am. I hope things are made easier for you sis. In my humble opinion, mashallah you sound like an amazing Muslim! May you and your family be blessed with an abundance of iman and happiness!

I can't explain to you guys how it feels but it's like the belief in Allaah isn't there anymore, almost like eventhough all the evidence points to Islam being the right religion and from God there is always something there that is telling me 'what if... such and such is a lie' 'what if this religion is right instead'. etc

The thing is, I'm not as worried. I know to worry is a sign of Iman but I just don't seem as worried anymore, I don't feel anything really!

@ Qibla, I have those major doubts. The doubts reign my life at the moment, basically about the existance of God, about the authenticity of Islam etc.. It's really frustrating because even when I learn more about Islam the thoughts and doubt about God are still there! :-(

[saqfu]

sister i was in exactly the same position as u and experienced exactly the same thing. a wali ullah told me to read 1 tasbeeh of laholawala koowata illah billah and 1 tasbeeh of ayat kareem daily. since i have started reading it the doubts have almost finished

[verdana]

:salam:

Sister,

I strongly recommend you to get this wonderful book called "The Words" by the author Said Nursi (translated by Sister Şükran Vahide).
Link1 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-Said-Nursi-Bediuzzaman/dp/975432025X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1265052705&sr=8-1)
Link2 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/975432025X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=9757388319&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0AVHTKB9FDPBGFCRETFW)

In case you don't have funds to buy it, or can't find the book or feel comfortable to read it on PC, then please download this book. It is in Word format:
www.lisan.hostzi.com/books/thewords.zip [you can also print the pages and read it that way].

Take your time and start reading it. Believe me by the end of 10th Word your Iman will be incredible strong, inshAllah.

May Allah make your Iman strong.
Allahumma, la tuzigh quluubana ba'da iz hadaytana. Amin

[Abd-Rahmaan]

As-salaam 'alaykom,

There is no such thing as doubt in Allah or Islam. It's all in your head and have no real value as all of them can be addressed, alhamdolilah.

I can proof to you that a God exists. That's the beginning, from there onwards you look at the religions...

I can proof to you that Christianity (as you mentioned it in your post) is not a solution (as chosen by God). There is only one way; Islam, anything else can be discussed and disputed (academically).

Feel free to ask,
Jazaki Allahu khayran, Sister your heart is not of stone; otherwise you wouldn't have bothered sharing your problems with us.

[a_muslim]

:salam:

May Allah Ta'ala help you and give you the highest place in Jannah. Ameen

You said:


I can't explain to you guys how it feels but it's like the belief in Allaah isn't there anymore, almost like eventhough all the evidence points to Islam being the right religion and from God there is always something there that is telling me 'what if... such and such is a lie' 'what if this religion is right instead'. etc

You mentioned "there is always something there". That "something" is obviously the whispers of the accursed shaytaan. I think there is an incident of a Sahabi coming to Rasulullah :saw: and telling him that he is having such thoughts that he would rather die than tell Rasulullah :saw: what the thoughts are. To this Rasulullah :saw: said Alhamdulillah (or something similar) to which the Sahabi was surprised. Rasulullah :saw: told him something to the effect that the fact he is having these thoughts are a sign of his strength of iman, and therefore shaytaan is trying to attack him. All I can tell you is to continue do what you have been advised and also try your best to stay away from sin and follow islam.

May Allah Ta'ala help you and your family and give you Jannah. Ameen

[kayra]

:salam: sister:

Alhamdulillah, yesterday Allah in His infinite wisdom made me practice what I preached --- a series of bizarre circumstances forced me to remain sleep-deprived, empty-bellied and silent for almost the enitre day (and there is no such things as coincidence). It was also my day for scrubbing all the carpets and bathrooms - my nafs really doesn't enjoy that activity. Anyway, I am happy to report that by maghrib I was feeling much less nafsani, and I experienced that fantastic sensation of eagerly counting down the minutes to the next salah - which once again felt like ibadah, not just a series of repetitive movements and memorized words. Alhamdulillah! Could it really be that simple?

So, sis, InshaAllah the "sleep/eat/talk little" rule will work for you just as effectively. It may sound a very strange thing to do to help your imaan, but it isn'T really: the shaytaan uses our nafs as a tool, and if our nafs is well-fed, sated with sleep and occupied with talk, it is a strong nafs and therefore a strong tool. A suddenly deprived nafs is a confused and weak tool, in other words!

@ Br Faruqi: jazakAllahu Khayran for your duaa - maybe it was your duaa that led to my strange circumstances yesterday!

:ws:

[findingIslam]

As-salaam 'alaykom,

There is no such thing as doubt in Allah or Islam. It's all in your head and have no real value as all of them can be addressed, alhamdolilah.

I can proof to you that a God exists. That's the beginning, from there onwards you look at the religions...

I can proof to you that Christianity (as you mentioned it in your post) is not a solution (as chosen by God). There is only one way; Islam, anything else can be discussed and disputed (academically).

Feel free to ask,
Jazaki Allahu khayran, Sister your heart is not of stone; otherwise you wouldn't have bothered sharing your problems with us.

Brother, if you could help me step by step I would really appreciate it. I think because there are so many things I don't have knowledge about, I get a book to read to improve my Iman but instead because I don't know how to understand it and no one is there to explain properly, it takes on it's own meaning.




sister i was in exactly the same position as u and experienced exactly the same thing. a wali ullah told me to read 1 tasbeeh of laholawala koowata illah billah and 1 tasbeeh of ayat kareem daily. since i have started reading it the doubts have almost finished.



Brother, what is Ayat Kareem? insha'Allah I will do this also.

@ Brother Verdana. Thank you for the link. I am on the First Word and insha'Allah it will help.

Thank you all for your duas and advice. Sis Kayra, I think I will start fasting. That way I can follow the eating/talking/wasting my time rule inshallah. Probably the best way for me as I'm at university all day.




You mentioned "there is always something there". That "something" is obviously the whispers of the accursed shaytaan. I think there is an incident of a Sahabi coming to Rasulullah and telling him that he is having such thoughts that he would rather die than tell Rasulullah what the thoughts are. To this Rasulullah said Alhamdulillah (or something similar) to which the Sahabi was surprised. Rasulullah told him something to the effect that the fact he is having these thoughts are a sign of his strength of iman, and therefore shaytaan is trying to attack him. All I can tell you is to continue do what you have been advised and also try your best to stay away from sin and follow islam.

Brother, I know that it's supposed to be a sign on faith, but it's like I have nothing in my heart regarding love for Allah and Islam anymore, and I don't even understand how it got this way...

Thank you for all ur duas and words of wisdom. Insha'Allah we will fight against any whisperings and not fall prey to them.

[Usama2]

Salam alaikum

Sister, what is BELIEF / FAITH / IMAN according to your understanding?

What is your understanding of the 'heart' regarding Allah (SWT)?

[ErtanK]

look at things this way. First, one must realize why we are having doubts. havings doubts if proof of the shaitan, in which allah tells us about in the quran, so having doubts should strengthen yor faith, for if there is a shaitan, there must be allah. now, when ti comes to confusion about religion and rules, we have to attain knowlege, by learning, we will see that islam is the only religion that is logical and complete, nothing is missing from it for our lives and the hereafter. now we msut tell ourselves, would God let us wander the Earth lost and aimlessly? no, that is not a quality of Allah, Allah is merciful. So if you know that god exists and Islam is the truth, we must learn how to fight the shaitan.

The second step is to ignore the whispers. the shaitan immitates our voice to make it seem like these thoughts are coming from our self; in believing so, this causes turmoil and pain for the muslim. learning to ignore the whispers takes practice. When it comes to you, seek rufuge. dont try and think how to stop it, put your trust in allah to dispel it from your heart. if weare assulted with a sick thought, the initial reaction is like oh no, or you began trying to forget, but in trying to forget what u heardm you are only thinkign about it more, and therefore cant forget it(hope i dont sound too confusing). When a whisper comes, continue as if you have never heard anything. absolutly ignoring this and seeking refuge is the only way to overcome it, by keeping our minds away from it. the shaitan is weak and gives up quickly; believer are the ones who are strong. we struggle and work our entire life, insha'allah.

As for salah, one can feel the full benefit of salah for every salah, insha'allah. this as well takes practice. I beleive its safe to assume that if we dont feel the full blessing of salah, then we can deduce we arent getting its full reward either. Before the opening takbir, we must humble ourselves and forget about absolutly everything and ask allah to humbles us and help us concentrate. Durign salah, my mind yearns to wander about other things, (this is the msot difficult part) its really the shaitan trying to take away your rewards. this is why you msut choose one point and focus and abosolutly clear your mind. focusing on one point on the ground is proven to help concentration, which is what the shaitan tries to break. Wqe mustnt think about anything other than realziing we are standing before allah, and we must listen to the recitation and let all these whispers pass right through us. This is easier said than done, but may allah help us all to perfect our worship and to attain perfection of faith, ameen. allahu ackbar, islam is such a perfect religion, everything about it is perfect that it must be from God.

[AbuFatimah]

Salaam alaykum sister

Are you a western convert like myself living in an area full of non muslims?

I struggle wallahi but four pieces of advice i have for you sister bi ithnillah:

1 my iman goes up when i visit my muslim brothers in the city during weekends. they are strong practicing brothers so i always get an imaan boost. I advise you to move to an ethnic area inshallah with a nice masjid and good community.

2 i got married into a muslim family. This helped me as they act as support and i have a family who cares about the religion and who i can share ramadan with etc and have a partner whom keeps me firm and whom i try to keep firm. We both wish to see each other in jannah bi ithnillahi t'ala so we constantly remind each other and teach each other and engage in ibadah etc. I suggest marrying a good muslim from a good family inshallah.

3 i went through different sects. i was with sufis, shia, political muslims, and most other kinds and it never felt quite right till i found the salafis. I suggest getting involved in the salafi dawah inshallah although you'll have to discover thos for yourself so do your research and dont settle till your sure the group your with is practicing the exact same islam as the prophet saw and his sahaba.

4 hold firm no matter what. As a revert im in the same situation as you, not having a family or community to pull me back in and my imaan goes weak but i rectafied the problem by marrying and finding a good community and when i hit low times id hold on to my islam for dear life because i know it was a beautiful gift from allah. The prophet saw gave words that have stuck in my head to this day. HOLD ONTO YOUR RELIGION LIKE HOT COAL.

I always remember this and no matter what, no matter how low my iman goes i hold onto my religion like a piece of hot coal because its a test from allah

Allah knows best and may allah make things easy for you dear sister

[Usama2]

Salam alaikum

Here is an article which explains how the reasonable mind is able to arrive at belief through the common sense:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20170491/The-Way-to-Belief


Here is an article by which the Muslim can comprehend the heart 'qalb' and how to purify it:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17493729/The-Purification-of-the-Heart


Sister, I hope you are able to respond. May Allah guide you and have mercy on you.

And Allah always knows best.

[findingIslam]

Salam Br.

No I'm not a revert to Islam, my family are Muslims etc. I feel like I am discovering Islam, Religion and Life in general for myself rather than what I have been taught by my family. I live in the North West of England so it is a pretty multicultural society. I do make some little effort to spend time at the University Islamic Society I am with but I do generally spend most of my time away from home with non-Muslims.

In regards to the different Sects, I am a Sunni. I have friends who are Shia and Salafi amongst others, but do find myself most comfortable with the Sunni way of thinking.

I do try and hold as desperately as I can to my Iman but I feel like I was so much stronger before and am not doing anything near as much as I should to rectify and sort out these doubts.

I am at a terrible stage right now, where I sometimes feel like I am agreeing with the Atheist way of thinking (astagfirullah). It seems like all the arguments for there being a God don't stick and all the wrong arguments stay with me.

Brother Usama, sorry for the late reply. What I believe about Iman/Faith/Belief? I think it's when you whole-heartedly believe that the way is right. That it is completely true. I feel like a person who has Iman in regards to Islam and Allah is someone who wholly follows it and does not have any doubts about any aspect of it.

I know that the heart in Islam is something which must be looked after by way of deeds and intentions. The heart should be kept pure by remembrance of Allah. But I feel like we almost sometimes have no control over what our heart feels.

To be honest, even though Islam gives proof of it's authenticity, I still have questions/arguments against it. It really annoys me because say for example with something like the fact that in the Qur'an it talks about how the mountains are roots for the earth, keep it steady or something like that and how would Muhammad (Saw) who didn't know how to read or write, know this if it hadn't been divine revelation? Well, maybe he dug up the ground so far down. I mean Egyptians built the Pyramids so why not something like this. It doesn't make sense. I can't tell you how frustrating and angry it makes me. I just want that sure belief, that contentness and peace. I can't concentrate on anything else as I feel like if something like my life and afterlife are at risk, why should I be focussed on anything else.

[DefendingIslam]

To be honest, even though Islam gives proof of it's authenticity, I still have questions/arguments against it. It really annoys me because say for example with something like the fact that in the Qur'an it talks about how the mountains are roots for the earth, keep it steady or something like that and how would Muhammad (Saw) who didn't know how to read or write, know this if it hadn't been divine revelation? Well, maybe he dug up the ground so far down. I mean Egyptians built the Pyramids so why not something like this. It doesn't make sense. I can't tell you how frustrating and angry it makes me. I just want that sure belief, that contentness and peace. I can't concentrate on anything else as I feel like if something like my life and afterlife are at risk, why should I be focussed on anything else.

For this you would have to know the weight Islam gives to observational science. I am not saying those propagating this view are wrong, but sometimes too much is made of modern science and its findings, and the Muslims should be wary of agreeing to things before finding out what is the Islamic ruling on it.

[M-Kamran]

:salam:

I used to have the exact same problems as you and :alhamd: and by the will of Allah I was eventually able to find that peace and contentment in Islam you are looking.

I think brother defendingislam is correct, I used to base my whole Islam and Iman on scientific evidences and though they are to some degree some scientifically related things in the Quran , it is sometimes, due to the society we live in, given too much weight over other things.

Here's perhaps a different and more satisfying aspect of the Quran you should look into. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaS5NsvZ4yM .

After watching that I stumbled on Br Nouman Ali Khan's tafseer on the short surahs of the Quran ( http://bayyinah.com/dream/podcast/ ). I remember you saying that you got much waswas when reading the Quran. Well I used to have the same problem in a big way, but after listening to his lectures and learning about the literary miracle of the Quran (and the reasoning behind why the Quran talks about things in the style, order and tone it does),
I was convinced like I had never been before in my life that the Quran is from Allah :taala: . After that things started falling into place :subh:

Another thing I have learnt by looking back is that no amount of logic is gonna give you contentment, peace or iman. In my experience doing zikr of Allah is the main thing that drags you out of the logical loop holes, faulty thinking and of waswasa that trap you in constant doubt. Remember that whilst your thinking over the doubts and trying to logically overcome them, this is all time wasted in not spending time in the zikr of Allah, it is a tool of the shaytaan to keep you away from it. Those simple doubts in my experience just simply disappear or seem silly after beginning regular zikr of Allah.

Anyway, I hope that those videos and lectures help. May Allah give you the happiness you are looking for.

:ws:

[Usama2]

Thank you for responding sister.

I agree with Defending Islam that a lot of popular Islamic literature focusses on the scientific aspects of the Quran, and yet the foundation of the miraculous character of the Quran is the style of the arabic text itself. Such scientific focus has been known to confusehte thinking of Muslims about the issue of the miracle of the Quran, some times presented by writers as overshadowing it insomuch that many people may know of etymology of the Quran but may not realize the arabic text's style is what's miraculous.

Sister, there is a distinction between the feeling of nearness with Allah in the heart and the Iman that is a decisive assent that conforms with reality and is based on conclusive evidence.
The Muslim has decisive assent in the existance of Allah (AWJ).
There is no possibility of doubt regarding the decisiveness of His existance.

The Muslim has decisive assent in the Prophet (saaw). No human or jinn is able to produce a book like the Quran. Its text, word choice, rhythm, depth of meaning. In fact,


"the Arabic language and Arab speech are divided into two branches. One of them is rhymed poetry. It is a speech with metre and rhyme, which means every line of it ends upon a definite letter, which is called the 'rhyme'. This rhymed poetry is again divided into metres or what is called as al-Bihar, literally meaning 'The Seas'. This is so called because of the way the poetry moves according to the rhythmic patterns. There are sixteen al-Bihar viz; at-Tawil, al-Bassit, al-Wafir, al-Kamil, ar-Rajs, al-Khafif, al-Hazaj, al-Muttakarib, al-Munsarih, al-Muktatab, al-Muktadarak, al-Madid, al-Mujtath, al-Ramel, al-Khabab and as-Saria'. Each one rhymes differently. For metres of Arabic poetry please see please see Lyall's book Translations Of Ancient Arabian Poetry, Chiefly Pre-Islamic.[1] He discusses al-Kamil, al-Wafir, al-Hajaz, at-Tawil, al-Bassit, al-Khafif and al-Madid briefly.[2]

The other branch of Arabic speech is prose, that is non-metrical speech. The prose may be a rhymed prose. Rhymed prose consists of cola ending on the same rhyme throughout, or of sentences rhymed in pairs. This is called "rhymed prose" or sajc. Prose may also be straight prose (mursal). In straight prose, the speech goes on and is not divided in cola, but is continued straight through without any divisions, either of rhyme or of anything else. Prose is employed in sermons and prayers and in speeches intended to encourage or frighten the masses.[3] One of the most famous speeches involving sajc is that of Hajjaj bin Yusuf in his first deputation in Iraq in post-Islamic and Quss bin Sa'idah in pre-Islamic times.

So, the challenge, as cAbdur Rahim Green mentions, is to produce in Arabic , three lines, that do not fall into one of these sixteen al-Bihar, that is not rhyming prose, nor like the speech of soothsayers, and not normal speech, that it should contain at least a comprehensible meaning and rhetoric, i.e. not gobbledygook. Indeed

The Qur'an is not verse, but it is rhythmic. The rhythm of some verses resemble the regularity of sajc, and both are rhymed, while some verses have a similarity to Rajaz in its vigour and rapidity. But it was recognized by Quraysh critics to belong to neither one nor the other category.[4]

It is interesting to know that all the pre-Islam and post-Islamic poetry collected by Louis Cheikho falls in the above sixteen metres or al-Bihar.[5] Indeed the pagans of Mecca repeated accuse Prophet Muhammad(P) for being a forger, a soothsayer etc. The Arabs who were at the pinnacle of their poetry and prose during the time of revelation of the Qur'an could not even produce the smallest surah of its like. The Qur'an's form did not fit into any of the above mentioned categories. It was this that made the Qur'an inimitable, and left the pagan Arabs at a loss as to how they might combat it as Alqama bin cAbd al-Manaf confirmed when he addressed their leaders, the Quraysh:

Oh Quraish, a new calamity has befallen you. Mohammed was a young man the most liked among you, most truthful in speech, and most trustworthy, until, when you saw gray hairs on his temple, and he brought you his message, you said that he was a sorcerer, but he is not, for we seen such people and their spitting and their knots; you said, a diviner, but we have seen such people and their behavior, and we have heard their rhymes; you said a soothsayer, but he is not a soothsayer, for we have heard their rhymes; and you said a poet, but he is not a poet, for we have heard all kinds of poetry; you said he was possessed, but he is not for we have seen the possessed, and he shows no signs of their gasping and whispering and delirium. Oh men of Quraish, look to your affairs, for by Allah a serious thing has befallen you.

It is a well known fact that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf (or seven forms) to facilitate greater understanding of it among the Arabs who had different dialects. This was also to challenge them on their own grounds to produce a surah like that of the Qur'an. The challenge became more obvious when none of the seven major tribes could imitate it even in their own dialects as no one could claim that it was difficult to imitate due to it not being in their own dialect.[6]



This is a sound article that explains the miracle of the Quran NOT for its scientific observations, but for the actual text itself.
I urge you to read it, please.
http://english.islammessage.com/articledetails.aspx?articleId=943


Rational deduction is the thinking process where logical conclusions are drawn from a universally accepted statement or provable premises. This process is also called rational inference or logical deduction.

In the context of the Qur’an’s uniqueness the universally accepted statement supported by eastern and western scholarship is:

“The Qur’an was not successfully imitated by the Arabs at the time of revelation”

From this statement the following logical conclusions can be drawn:

1. The Qur’an could not have come from an Arab as the Arabs, at the time of revelation, were linguists par excellence and they failed to challenge the Qur’an. They had even admitted that the Qur’an could not have come from a human being.

2. The Qur’an could not have come from a Non-Arab as the language in the Qur’an is Arabic, and the knowledge of the Arabic language is a pre-requisite to successfully challenge the Qur’an.

3. The Qur’an could not have come from the Prophet Muhammad due to the following reasons:

a. The Prophet Muhammad was an Arab himself and all the Arabs failed to challenge the Qur’an.


b. The Arabs linguists at the time of revelation never accused the Prophet of being the author of the Qur’an.



c. The Prophet Muhammad experienced many trials and tribulations during the course of his Prophetic mission. For example his children died, his beloved wife Khadijah passed away, he was boycotted, his close companions were tortured and killed, yet the Qur’an’s literary character remains that of the divine voice and character. Nothing in the Qur’an expresses the turmoil and emotions of the Prophet Muhammad. It is almost a psychological and physiological impossibility to go through what the Prophet went through and yet none of the emotions are expressed in the literary character of the Qur’an.


d. The Qur’an is a known literary masterpiece yet its verse were at many times revealed for specific circumstances and events that occurred. However, without revision or deletion they are literary masterpieces. All literary masterpieces have undergone revision and deletion to ensure literary perfection, however the Qur’an was revealed instantaneously.



e. The hadith or narrations of the Prophet Muhammad are in a totally different style then that of the Qur’an. How can any human being express themselves orally over a 23 year period (which was the period of Qur’anic revelation) in two distinct styles? This is a psychological and physiological impossibility according to modern research.



f. All types of human expression can be imitated if the blueprint of that expression exists. For example artwork can be imitated even though some art is thought to be extraordinary or amazingly unique. But in the case of the Qur'an we have the blueprint - the Qur'an itself - yet no one has been able to imitate its unique literary form.

4. The Qur’an could not have come from another being such as a Jinn or Spirit because the basis of their existence is the Qur’an and revelation itself. Their existence is based upon revelation and not empirical evidence. Therefore if someone claims that the source of the Qur’an to be another being then they would have to prove its existence and in this case proving revelation. In the case of using the Qur’an as the revelation to establish Jinns existence then that would mean the whole rational deduction exercise would not be required in the first place, as the Qur’an would already have been established as a divine text, because to believe in Jinns existence would mean belief in the Qur’an in the first place.

5. The Qur’an can only have come from the Divine as it is the only logical explanation as all other explanations have been discarded because they do not explain the uniqueness of the Qur’an in a comprehensive and coherent manner.



Sister, you said your friends are mostly nonMuslims. How much of your time with them is spent discussing Islam, the miracle of the Quran, and the existance and essence of Allah? And how much of your time is spent with them discussing secular things, or things which dont have anything to do with Islam, nothing to do with Islamic beliefs, or living according to Islam? So I ask you: who's ideas and way of life is dominating your friendship?
Consider the answer carefully and how it is affecting you.

And Allah knows best.

[kayra]

:salam:

Awww sister, please remember me in your duaas! Allah has made you obsessive about your imaan and akhirah - alhamdulillah! Look around you - pious people focus on their imaan and akhirah, while people with less or no imaan are obsessive about the dunya.

Forget proof. Proof is a requirement of the aql (intellect) while imaan is a state of the heart. Your heart is fine, mashaAllah. A heart without imaan wouldn'T give a toss about imaan, would it?! Your intellect (together with Shaitaan and Nafs, of course!) is keeping you awake at night. All the advice given here is good. Immerse yourself in good deeds, pious company and ibadah, and stop torturing yourself. You are sitting there listening politely to the accursed SHaitaan, sworn enemy of mankind, as he happily spouts his rubbish and tries to fulfil his pathetic purpose - stealing our imaan.

Don't give the Shaitaan air-time, sister! Come on! Just get on with what your heart KNOWS is the right thing (ibadah, good deeds, etc.), and keep your mind and heart busy with Allah's remembrance. Keep "topping up" your wudhu, reciting ayah, and making duaa. All things which Shaitaan hates, all things which weaken him (oh and trust me, simple hunger weakens both Shaitaan and nafs!). Stop listening to the "what ifs".

Sister, most of us have fears. I fear hypocrisy. I do pretty much the same thing as you do, question and agonize for hours, only my focus is on the "sincerity" of my heart. Do I "sincerely" love Allah above all else? Did I "sincerely" say something or do something for Allah's pleasure alone, or did my nafs get some secret satisfaction from it, was I showing off to myself or others, do I act on my own advice, do I keep my promises for the sake of Allah's pleasure or so that the person I made a promise to will like me and admire my trustworthiness? When I am typing these words here, do I sincerely wish to help a sister find peace of mind, or am I secretly hoping that a bunch of anonymous invisible forum members (no offence!!) will agree with my words and admire me or like me? Am I actually a big fat fake and, come Judgment Day, will I be dragged to Hellfire on my face for conning even my own self that I am a Muslim when my heart is telling a different story? How can I be sure, what is the PROOF of sincerity?!

Then comes the small leap to... What's the point? If only Allah gives ikhlas, and it isn'T something to be earned through hard work, then why keep trying so hard? Allah will either give me ikhlas or not, and besides, my destination in the akhirah was decided aeons ago, so....

ANd there you have it. Follow any line of "logic" or questioning, and in the end, you're almost sure to end up in despair, may Allah protect us all.

In the end, all we can do is all pious Muslims have done throughout the ages. We beg. We pray. InshaAllah we weep, or beg to be able to weep. Our fate, our hearts, our imaan, our ikhlas, all are in Allah's hands, and only Allah can give us faith, only Allah can give us sincerity, so we can only ask Allah. And keep begging Him until we die.

:ws:

[findingIslam]

I think it's true when u say brother that zhikr is what helps to get out of this problem, but if I give you an example of just how bad this is getting. Before you go to sleep, you read Ayat-ul-Kursi right, well when I try and read it I have to preoccupy my mind by texting on my mobile or talking to my sister whilst reciting it in between because otherwise I get bombarded with bad thoughts or feelings, and I just can't read it. Imams have told me to read various dhikr but what they don't understand is how difficult it is for me to even read one word of zhikr. I've stopped reciting most of the tasbeeh I used to because it just brings too many bad thoughts.

In answer to your question Usama Br, we do sometimes have discussions about our separate beliefs and why we choose the way we do, but recently i've found one of them always seems to make jokes about Islam and Terrorism so for that reason I have started to lessen the time I spend with them as much as possible. I am worried because I have read the hadith that we will be in the company of those we love on the Day of Judgement and I DO NOT want to be amongst their company then.

Sr Kayra, May Allaah bless you and your family with every success in the Akhirah insha'Allaah. The thing is, no matter what proof is laid out in front of me, something will always be bothering me, or I will always have some sort of argument or problem about it. Which is why I agree that maybe just begging, doing zhikr etc will be the only way to regain a firm sense of belief.

[suleimanibnsalim]

Bismillah...
As-Salamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullah...

Ask me whatever is unclear from the following passage...


The evidence of His existence, exalted is He, is the occurrence (createdness) of the
world. For if it had no Originator, rather it existed of itself, that would necessitate that
one of two equivalent states (i.e. either existence or non-existence) be equivalent to the
other while at the same time be prevalent over it without any (external) cause! Such a
matter is impossible.

The evidence for the occurrence (createdness) of the world is its inseparability from
those occurring (created) conditions such as, motion, stillness and so on. And that which
is inseparable from a created entity is itself created. The evidence for the occurrence
(createdness) of these conditions is the witnessing of their alteration from non-existence
to existence and from existence to non-existence.

...then we will proceed, insha Allah!

Was-Salam

[Instructor]

Bismillah...
As-Salamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullah...

Ask me whatever is unclear from the following passage...



...then we will proceed, insha Allah!

Was-Salam

I wouldn't hold my breath. Certain people have done a very good job distancing Muslims from using their minds. People generally tune out when presented with a rational proof for the existence of the Creator. It's a tragedy.

http://deoband.org/2010/03/aqida/allah-and-his-attributes/clearest-rational-argument-for-the-existence-of-a-creator/

[kayra]

I wouldn't hold my breath. Certain people have done a very good job distancing Muslims from using their minds. People generally tune out when presented with a rational proof for the existence of the Creator. It's a tragedy.

http://deoband.org/2010/03/aqida/allah-and-his-attributes/clearest-rational-argument-for-the-existence-of-a-creator/

:salam:

It's strange, but I've always felt that faith was independent of "rational proof" and "the mind". Otherwise, it wouldn't be faith, would it? Rational proof works with rational minds when it comes to CREATED things - gravity, or mathematical formulae, or DNA testing.

I thought, and I may be wrong, that faith by definition requires a certain room for doubt, as in, one can choose to believe or not to believe - there is no solid, universally-accepted, undeniable, scientific "proof".

Otherwise Allah could provide individual "proofs" of His existence to every person alive, bombarding them with undeniable miracles until there was aboslutely no way that they could deny His existence.

Just my point of view.

:ws:

[suleimanibnsalim]

Sayyidi Instructor:


Every now and then, the Creator, Exalted be He, will do something which contradicts the normal pattern based on His infinite wisdom and in order to guide His creation to the truth. This is the basis of miracles. A miracle is an act of God done contrary to the normal pattern of observed cause and effect. In the case of a miracle, He will do this in order to strengthen a Prophet in his claim to prophethood. The act thus stands in the place of the Almighty Himself saying, ‘My servant has spoken the truth’.

I firmly believe this, but would like clarifiication as to how a miracle accompanied by a claim to prophethood necessitates Allah revealing to a prophet. My understanding is that the miracles prove Allah's support. However, I was wondering what the proof was that Allah revealed to an individual based on the fact that Allah supports him?

Was-Salam

@Sister Kayra: As the link above illustrates, rational proof DOES lead you to accept Allah exists and Sayyiduna Muhammad Sallallah `Alayh wa Sallam is a messenger on account of his miracles, so clearly Allah made it so that rational proof leads to the truth.



Otherwise Allah could provide individual "proofs" of His existence to every person alive, bombarding them with undeniable miracles until there was aboslutely no way that they could deny His existence.

The Qur'an says: La yus`alu `amma yaf`alu wa hum yus`alun: He is not asked about what he does, and they are asked (i.e. us). Allah clearly made it this way, as the link illustrated, and so it is.


Rational proof works with rational minds when it comes to CREATED things

and it is precisely using what we know about created things we arrive at the conclusion, rationally, that a creator exists.

[Instructor]

:salam:

It's strange, but I've always felt that faith was independent of "rational proof" and "the mind". Otherwise, it wouldn't be faith, would it? Rational proof works with rational minds when it comes to CREATED things - gravity, or mathematical formulae, or DNA testing.

I thought, and I may be wrong, that faith by definition requires a certain room for doubt, as in, one can choose to believe or not to believe - there is no solid, universally-accepted, undeniable, scientific "proof".

Otherwise Allah could provide individual "proofs" of His existence to every person alive, bombarding them with undeniable miracles until there was aboslutely no way that they could deny His existence.

Just my point of view.

:ws:

:ws: This what you're presenting is the not the Islamic way of thinking. It's the masee'Hi usloob (Christian way of thinking), i.e. making a distinction between the heart and the mind, while inadvertently elevating the heart and its people above the intellect and its people.

I believe there are two reasons why so many Muslims have become alienated from rational proofs and using their minds. I can talk about these reasons later, but it would be great, if people actually read the article I linked to and tried to understand it first.

We shouldn't forget that Allah SWT also mentioned in his book:

إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَأَيَـٰتٍ۬ لِّقَوۡمٍ۬ يَعۡقِلُونَ

إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَذِكۡرَىٰ لِأُوْلِى ٱلۡأَلۡبَـٰبِ

وَٱتَّقُونِ يَـٰٓأُوْلِى ٱلۡأَلۡبَـٰبِ

إِنَّ فِى ذَٲلِكَ لَأَيَـٰتٍ۬ لِّأُوْلِى ٱلنُّهَىٰ

وَتِلۡكَ ٱلۡأَمۡثَـٰلُ نَضۡرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ*ۖ وَمَا يَعۡقِلُهَآ إِلَّا ٱلۡعَـٰلِمُونَ

وَقَالُواْ لَوۡ كُنَّا نَسۡمَعُ أَوۡ نَعۡقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِىٓ أَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلسَّعِيرِ

It is mentioned in the Mukhtaar as-Sihaah:

al-Qalb: al-fu'aad wa qad yu'abbaru bihi 'an al-aql. qaala al-Farraa fi qawlihi ta'aalaa: inna fi dhaalika ladhikraa liman kaana lahu qalbun ay 'aqlun. wa haadha lianna 'urf al-quran wal-islam laa yufarriqu bayn al-'aql wal-qalb. qaalaLlahu ta'aala: afalam yaseeroo fil-ardhi fatakoona lahum quloobun ya'qiloona bihaa al-aayah

In the above, it clearly says that the heart and intellect are both used interchangeably in the terminology of the Qur'an and Islam.

[True Life]

:salam:

Mufti sahib I read your article but I think I need to read it once again with a dictionary to really comprehend it. lol

[O A M M A S C O T D]

Asalamu - alaykum

Sister findingIslam you seem to be going through the same faze that I was going through at one stage I know exactly what you mean when you start to wonder about the state of your faith and your imaan. One starts to doubt his intentions and i fully understand when you say that your salah and sometimes your other acts of ibadah seem empty. Firstly sister i don't think you should worry about the start of your imaan, alhamdulillah the fact that you are showing your concern is a sign of someone who does care about his/her deen. I remember reading somewhere that those who have imaan are constantly anxious/fearful.

I remember feeling like prayer, fasting, zhikr it all felt strange and empty, like a chore sometimes. I think that it is in these times that Allah tests our imaan, it is fine to practice when everyone is practicing (i.e. ramadhan) around you and everything is rosy, but its when we are going through the low points in our life that is when Allah tests us and sees if we continue our ibadah or better yet intensify it!!!!

i have a few practical pointers for you and hopefully they will bring you some sort of peace:

1) recite quran in a loud voice: the prophet (SAW) came across Umar while he was in ibadah, Umar (RA) was reading in a loud voice, the prophet then came across Abu Bakr (RA) who was in ibadah but reading in a low voice. the prophet (SAW) asked Umar why he recited in a loud voice and Umar said that it stirred those where sleepy and it drove shaitan away. So look to read what you can in a loud voice, it will drive shaitaan away.

2) when you read salah imagine Allah is before you and you can see/sense their prescence, if not imagine that Allah can see you, and if not then think remember and think about the meanings of what you are reciting.

3) Shaitaan is going to come to you when you try and do something good, i myself have felt this when reading quran. read ta'awuz - i seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan the accursed then (if possible) spit dryly to your left three times.

4) make dua to Allah that he makes you steadfast and strong in your prayer and remember that allah loves the acts of worship that are done consistently. the quality of being steadfast is one that i dont think alot of people appreciate, be firm in your salah and you will find that your imaan will strengthen as a result.

5) alot of muslims place an emphasis on the scientific miracles of the quran and sunnah but remeber that science in the modern world is an everchanging field, today we have a study proving global warming and tomorrow we will have another study disproving it. that is the way that research works, as muslims though we know if the quran has said something then it is the haqq and we don't need any other study to confirm it for us.

6) try and do zhikr of the names of allah:

as-salam (source of peace)

al mu'min (inspirer of faith)

al ghafur (forgier of faults)

i.e. ya allahu, ya salam

ya allahu, ya ghafur etc etc

lastly seek the help or guidance of an ulema

if i have made a mistake then i apologise, and Allah knows best.

[kayra]

This what you're presenting is the not the Islamic way of thinking. It's the masee'Hi usloob (Christian way of thinking), i.e. making a distinction between the heart and the mind, while inadvertently elevating the heart and its people above the intellect and its people.


:salam:

Well, owch :)

May Allah erase each and every trace of non-Islamic thinking from my memory.

Or maybe I just put it badly. Yes, I make a disctinction between the mind and the heart, (or the intellect and heart, rather) because without this distinction, I wouldn't get very far in my tasawwuf "efforts". I've spent over two years trying to "develop" my heart, as opposed to over two decades previously, which were spent on trying to "develop" my intellect.

Embracing Islam was never an intellectual decision, as far as I'm aware. And I have spent the past couple of years doing my best to supress my intellect, as it is so vulnerable to flawed "reasoning". I believe that, while many aspects of Islam are extremely logical, and the Quran, the Hadeeth appeal to my rational mind, my brain is an inadequate organ for grasping the core of imaan. And every day when I do dhikr in my mind, I listen for its echo in my heart. I could never hope for my aql to understand Allah; but inshaAllah one day my heart will know Him.

:ws:

[Instructor]

:salam:

Mufti sahib I read your article but I think I need to read it once again with a dictionary to really comprehend it. lol

Treat each paragraph like 5 paragraphs. Don't expect to appreciate it fully on one single reading!

The article takes into account at least 800 pages of reading I've been doing over the course of the last 5-6 months. How would it be possible to fully appreciate it by reading it once!


I firmly believe this, but would like clarifiication as to how a miracle accompanied by a claim to prophethood necessitates Allah revealing to a prophet. My understanding is that the miracles prove Allah's support. However, I was wondering what the proof was that Allah revealed to an individual based on the fact that Allah supports him?

This is a side topic. Notice that I did not include it in the main body of the article. The skeptic or atheist does not need to agree on this. The proof in the main article would be compelling regardless. Please keep that in mind.

Having said this, there is a difference between the rational necessity we claim regarding the existence of the Creator, and that of the truthfulness of messengers based on miracles. Maulana Thanwi [ra] mentions that miracles are based on imtinaa' 'aadi (as opposed to imtinaa' 'aqli). If you are able to illustrate general impossibility without being able to show rational incoherence with regards to a non-prophet being able to produce something like a miracle, then that is enough. The adversary would need to contemplate and either believe or reject.

[Instructor]

:salam:

Well, owch :)

May Allah erase each and every trace of non-Islamic thinking from my memory.

Or maybe I just put it badly. Yes, I make a disctinction between the mind and the heart, (or the intellect and heart, rather) because without this distinction, I wouldn't get very far in my tasawwuf "efforts". I've spent over two years trying to "develop" my heart, as opposed to over two decades previously, which were spent on trying to "develop" my intellect.

Embracing Islam was never an intellectual decision, as far as I'm aware. And I have spent the past couple of years doing my best to supress my intellect, as it is so vulnerable to flawed "reasoning". I believe that, while many aspects of Islam are extremely logical, and the Quran, the Hadeeth appeal to my rational mind, my brain is an inadequate organ for grasping the core of imaan. And every day when I do dhikr in my mind, I listen for its echo in my heart. I could never hope for my aql to understand Allah; but inshaAllah one day my heart will know Him.

:ws:

I apologise for the previous message. The reason I needed to emphasise this is because truly many people believe that no matter of faith, not even the existence of a Creator or the createdness of the universe, is rationally discernable. They push this way of thinking very hard, as if the tenets of faith in Islam are somewhat irrational, and we need to stay away from thinking.

True, there are matters of faith which are not rationally attainable, and which are known purely through scripture. Blurring this division is not the way of the scholars. Instead one should attain the proper reasoning methods which have their root in the Qur'an and thus be able to distinguish between a doubt and a proof. Imam al-Ghazali even in his later life maintained the importance of these 'rules of measurement'. read the article to see how 2 of the 5 rules were employed. It is all intuitively deductive.

[kayra]

I apologise for the previous message. The reason I needed to emphasise this is because truly many people believe that no matter of faith, not even the existence of a Creator or the createdness of the universe, is rationally discernable. They push this way of thinking very hard, as if the tenets of faith in Islam are somewhat irrational, and we need to stay away from thinking.

True, there are matters of faith which are not rationally attainable, and which are known purely through scripture. Blurring this division is not the way of the scholars. Instead one should attain the proper reasoning methods which have their root in the Qur'an and thus be able to distinguish between a doubt and a proof. Imam al-Ghazali even in his later life maintained the importance of these 'rules of measurement'. read the article to see how 2 of the 5 rules were employed. It is all intuitively deductive.

:salam:

No need to apologize, I wasn't offended, just a little worried.

Most of my teens and early twenties were spent almost "worshipping" logic. I thought anything that couldn't be explained with logic and rational thinking was a flawed concept or delusion. I am still struggling to free myself from this confined outlook. To be able to accept something "because Allah says so" was a huge breakthrough for me. Whole new horizons opened up.

Imam Ghazali is wonderfully, almost devastatingly logical, and his very logic is capable of startling the heart into a reaction. Unfortunately for me (not wanting to make this personal, but I have no right to speak for other reverts coming from a Western education, media environment and upbringing), faith is not something that can be attained through rationalization; love and fear of Allah may be - and most certainly ARE - supported, fed and bolstered by knowledge and intellect. However, the one is useless without the other - in my own personal experience and limited observation. Love without intellect is dangerous; intellect without love is equally so, perhaps more, because knowledge brings responsibility.

:ws:

[Instructor]

:salam:

To be able to accept something "because Allah says so" was a huge breakthrough for me. Whole new horizons opened up.

:ws:

Actually, it is completely rational to base each and everything on "because Allah says so". If they ask us, why hijaab, why no pork, why no wine, that would be our reply. This is purely rational. If they ask us, why a Creator, here one is justified in citing personal intuition. I am not saying it must be based on reason and logic. Just do not deny that a compelling argument can be formulated, i.e. for those that do not share this degree of intuition. The Qur'an asks us to summon the people using three methods. It does not say, scripture, scripture and scripture. It says, wisdom, good admonition and disputation in a manner which is better. This is further elaborated in another verse which says, book, balance and iron. What in one verse is being called wisdom in the other is being called 'the balance'. What is this balance? It is a combination of certain 'rules of measurement' which all involve intuitively deductive ways to combine known knowledge in order to arrive at the unknown. In the first verse, where it says, disputation in a manner which is better, it means, taking the known knowledge, i.e. those matters which the adversary knows to be true and using only them to remove the controversy. If they still deny out of stubbornness, then the other verse prescribes iron fihi ba'sun shadeed (in which there is a terrible torment).

If you want to see an example of two of these balances being employed meticulously, please read the article:

http://deoband.org/2010/03/aqida/allah-and-his-attributes/clearest-rational-argument-for-the-existence-of-a-creator/

[kayra]

Actually, it is completely rational to base each and everything on "because Allah says so". If they ask us, why hijaab, why no pork, why no wine, that would be our reply. This is purely rational. If they ask us, why a Creator, here one is justified in citing personal intuition. I am not saying it must be based on reason and logic. Just do not deny that a compelling argument can be formulated, i.e. for those that do not share this degree of intuition. The Qur'an asks us to summon the people using three methods. It does not say, scripture, scripture and scripture. It says, wisdom, good admonition and disputation in a manner which is better. This is further elaborated in another verse which says, book, balance and iron. What in one verse is being called wisdom in the other is being called 'the balance'. What is this balance? It is a combination of certain 'rules of measurement' which all involve intuitively deductive ways to combine known knowledge in order to arrive at the unknown. In the first verse, where it says, disputation in a manner which is better, it means, taking the known knowledge, i.e. those matters which the adversary knows to be true and using only them to remove the controversy. If they still deny out of stubbornness, then the other verse prescribes iron fihi ba'sun shadeed (in which there is a terrible torment).

If you want to see an example of two of these balances being employed meticulously, please read the article:

http://deoband.org/2010/03/aqida/allah-and-his-attributes/clearest-rational-argument-for-the-existence-of-a-creator/

:salam:

Read the article the first time you posted it. JazakAllah Khair.

AFTER fully unconditional acceptance of the perfection of ones Creator, of course the unquestioning acceptance of His orders is perfectly rational. But for me to be able to do this was a personal breakthrough, to stop asking "Why?" first. Accepting first, then learning any comprehensible reasoning later - as opposed to demanding "Why?!" first, and feeling resentful if my mind did not agree with any reasoning behind a command or statement.

:ws:

[findingIslam]

i have a few practical pointers for you and hopefully they will bring you some sort of peace:

1) recite quran in a loud voice: the prophet (SAW) came across Umar while he was in ibadah, Umar (RA) was reading in a loud voice, the prophet then came across Abu Bakr (RA) who was in ibadah but reading in a low voice. the prophet (SAW) asked Umar why he recited in a loud voice and Umar said that it stirred those where sleepy and it drove shaitan away. So look to read what you can in a loud voice, it will drive shaitaan away.

2) when you read salah imagine Allah is before you and you can see/sense their prescence, if not imagine that Allah can see you, and if not then think remember and think about the meanings of what you are reciting.

3) Shaitaan is going to come to you when you try and do something good, i myself have felt this when reading quran. read ta'awuz - i seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan the accursed then (if possible) spit dryly to your left three times.

4) make dua to Allah that he makes you steadfast and strong in your prayer and remember that allah loves the acts of worship that are done consistently. the quality of being steadfast is one that i dont think alot of people appreciate, be firm in your salah and you will find that your imaan will strengthen as a result.

5) alot of muslims place an emphasis on the scientific miracles of the quran and sunnah but remeber that science in the modern world is an everchanging field, today we have a study proving global warming and tomorrow we will have another study disproving it. that is the way that research works, as muslims though we know if the quran has said something then it is the haqq and we don't need any other study to confirm it for us.

6) try and do zhikr of the names of allah:

as-salam (source of peace)

al mu'min (inspirer of faith)

al ghafur (forgier of faults)

i.e. ya allahu, ya salam

ya allahu, ya ghafur etc etc

lastly seek the help or guidance of an ulema

if i have made a mistake then i apologise, and Allah knows best.

Jazakallahu Khairan Br for the advice, May Allah reward you inshallah.

[Salman_Hanafi]

Assalamualikum Sister

I had the same problem about a couple of years ago but then it was related to some teachings and practices in islam i could not comprehend....Your problrm seems a little different but it concerns iman so here is what gave me strength..

I read a hadith and believe me i wasnt looking for it...Allah made me read it....It says that once a sahabi came to RasoolAllah Sallallahu alaihe wassalam and said that such bad thoughts about imaan come in my mind that i feel like throwing myself from a mountain...Rasoolallah replied that this is a sign of imaan because shaitan does not attack the empty heart...

I read somewhere that one who has doubts about imaan should recite verse 3 of surah Hadeed

Mufti sahib plz correct me if i m wrong on both these narrations

[findingIslam]

DepressedMuslim: Jzk, inshallah I will try reading that ayah. The Hadith that you have mentioned, I have read that but sometimes it just doesn't work because I still feel like my imaan has just gone.

I have afew questions which if anyone could answer I would really appreciate. I was thinking (probably too much!) about the purpose of life, and us as a creation, and I don't understand it. We were created to worship Allaah, but will be punished if we disobey Him. I know that i think it is a Hadith that says that if we never made mistakes, Allaah (swt) would have replaced us with a creation that did just so He could forgive them and accept their repentance. But if He wanted us to worship Him then why were we created with the possibility of straying from the right path. I asked a learned person this once, and they said that it was so Allaah could show us He was forgiving and merciful, otherwise How else would we know Him, but He doesn't need to show us, He is our Lord! I am just confused and utterly distressed with the way I overanalyse this. Any help in this because it's been bugging me. Jzk.

[TripolySunni]

DepressedMuslim: Jzk, inshallah I will try reading that ayah. The Hadith that you have mentioned, I have read that but sometimes it just doesn't work because I still feel like my imaan has just gone.

I have afew questions which if anyone could answer I would really appreciate. I was thinking (probably too much!) about the purpose of life, and us as a creation, and I don't understand it. We were created to worship Allaah, but will be punished if we disobey Him. I know that i think it is a Hadith that says that if we never made mistakes, Allaah (swt) would have replaced us with a creation that did just so He could forgive them and accept their repentance. But if He wanted us to worship Him then why were we created with the possibility of straying from the right path. I asked a learned person this once, and they said that it was so Allaah could show us He was forgiving and merciful, otherwise How else would we know Him, but He doesn't need to show us, He is our Lord! I am just confused and utterly distressed with the way I overanalyse this. Any help in this because it's been bugging me. Jzk.

Salam aleykum, It's true for Allah it doesn't really matter, He has control over all and he knows the past, present and future... Why is he doing this? when i ask this then i know that I have crossed the line, Allah gave us reasons, he created actions and reactions for our world But is Allah one in need of reasons? Why Allah does it? Allah knows best, he is a God and I'am a creature that cannot comprehend my God...however if it doesn't matter for him it should matter for me the creature, I want heaven and eternal life, this is a goal I've set up, in the end those in hell will glorify him and those in heaven will glorify him but for these creatures there is a huge difference between both situations...because Allah says that you will never want to last forever in hellfire. the day of judgement is a day in which all creation will witness the great mercy of Allah, it is a day when all creation will believe in Allah forever.

Salam