Ask questions about Islam!
Hi there lovely souls! This thread is just a way for you to ask questions about Islam. I know that many of people don't know much about this religion that is why I would try to answer your precious and curious questions here. Feel free to ask.
And also it is not any type of preaching but rather a way for you to get the answers to questions bothering you in this regard. Please try to ask polite questions rather than anything that can feel offensive to anyone! Regards❤️
@hopefuldew5845 hi ❤ I would love to hear about your traditions, and beliefs, and lifestyle, I don't know much about many religions, but I'm eager to learn how people live, and their beliefs 🙂❤ always trying to learn new things
Sure! You can ask open ended and a little targeted questions then it will be easy for me to tell you everything.
Islam is not just a religion but rather a whole different lifestyle!
We have our Festivals called Eids. Two of them actually. First is Eid ul Fitr that is after Ramadan the fasting month. Second is Eid ul Adha which is a reminder of Prophet Ahrahim's sacrifice.
We Muslims usually don't greet each other by Hello or Hi. Rather we have a common phrase for Muslims all over the world "Assalam o Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabaraqatu" that means " Peace be upon you and blessings of Allah and prosperity too". It's a prayer which we use to greet non Muslims too sometimes.
Let me know if there is something I missed to tell you that you want to know. ð¥°
And also one point that I forgot. We pray five times a day. These prayers decide most of our timetable for a day.
First early in morning before sunrise Fajr prayer. It is a reminder to wake up early and start our day with the fresh breeze and atmosphere.
Second is Duhr prayer offered at about 2pm to 3pm. For that we have our lunch on near 12 pm or 1pm then a quick power nap. We wake up just at time for Duhr.
Third is Asar prayer timed on about 5pm till sunset.
Fourth is Maghrib which is offered between sunset and sky turning completely dark.
Fifth is Isha prayer for which time starts almost one hour after Mughrib and ends a little before Fajr calling next morning. It inspires early sleeping habit!
This way Prayers decide our whole day timetable and hence making us punctual. 🤗
@hopefuldew5845 I have heard about the Eid festival and I know about Ramadan too ❤❤ what a beautiful way to greet each other. I found many different religions and countries greet each other in such lovely ways.❤ I would be ok with the timing of the prayers, I'm always up before sunrise. Sunrise is my favourite time of the day. However the last prayer being so late I would struggle with. But I think it's great ❤ when you said lifestyle, does that include like laws or morals you follow?? Perhaps different ways you are brought up compared to other religions??
I don't mean this in any offensive way, but I was brought up by a bad Christian cult. Now I don't class myself as any religion, but I believe in God, angels and heaven🙂❤ but I'm a curious person, and I love learning about how people live ❤
You can always offer Isha prayer with the calling too. You don't have to wait any long. I usually offer Isha prayer between 8pm to 9pm.
And yes we have our laws and morals. Islam provides guidance in each phase and aspect of life.
Like eat and drink using right hand. Meat of chicken, goats, sheep, cows, camels, deer and fish is Halal. Pork is not allowed. Alcoholic beverages that cause mental instability are not allowed.
We are taught to respect our body by not showing it off in public. Physical relationship before marriage is not allowed as they are big threat to family structure. That is why muslim countries usually have a strong family structure.
And if we come to laws and punishments then there are some strict laws to lower crime rate. To apply those laws is usually dependent on each country's government.
And one big moral value in Islam is that if a person kills another person without revenge of some murder or any actual reason(like state order) he will bear the sin of killing all humanity. And if a person saves another person's life, he will be rewarded as he saved all humanity.
And then this beautiful right to women that their husband will bear her expenses but she is not obligated to spent her money on him.
There are a lot of guidelines regarding each aspect of life so you never feel lost. I would love to answer all your questions if you have more.
Oh and one funfact, whenever you have a question that you can't seem to find answer to just open Quran from any random page and you will find your answer in the verses' translation or explanation!
In mainstream Islam*, is there an accepted authority or institution to which curious people can turn? I know that Islam is not like Catholicism--it doesn't have a central church or hierarchy of command. But presumably there are imams/theological seminaries/etc. that are commonly trusted by the majority of Muslims, at least within a given nation.
*presumably Sunni, if we're going by percentages
Sunni is just a subdivision of Islam like other ones. You always have an option to listen to real Islam because these subdivisions are not something appreciable but unfortunately common. I myself go with just Muslim status instead of any of these subdivisions.
There are some Scholars that usually answer to non muslims questions and guide them. One is Dr. Zakir Naik who answers all these questions and another is Rizwan Khalid Chaudhary. These two belong to Indian Subcontinent. Dr. Naik is internationally known scholar who probably has a few websites too and also arranges seminars. You can find videos of those seminars where he answered a lot of questions asked by curious people.
Second is not a certified scholar but he is very committed person who has given a lot of thought to these topics. He currently lives in Canada i guess and you can find him on f b.
And also the center of Islam is Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet instead of any institutions because these two things are never changing so the essence of this religion is preserved.
If you have any other questions please feel free to ask! 🤗🌹
About subdivisions,in early years of Islam there were none. At that time the Caliph was the authority.
After a few hundred years of that, there were scholars called Imams. Each of them explained Islam in their own way according to their own comprehension. Subdivisions were formed when people started taking each one of those Imams as their center like Sunni follow Imam Abu Hanifa only.
Being just muslim has this advantage that you can follow the teachings of all Imams that appeal to you. This is better way because you have more knowledge at your hands from them all and you can test those according to Quran and Sunnah and then follow the teachings that you feel like you should follow!
I hope I have cleared this confusion to you. If not then feel free to ask again🤗
@hopefulmoon5845 You certainly answered my question, yes. Thank you. Until now all I knew was the basic story behind the Sunni-Shi'a split...apparently it was an argument over who should've been (who should be?) the legitimate "khalifa" to rule the Muslim community & carry out the laws.
Imams still exist today, don't they? It's a current term for Muslim clergymen in western countries.
@hopefulmoon5845
MashAllah and JazakAllah Khair...it's good you are taking the time to answer such questions and make this thread. I thought to add that we have imams (leaders of prayer who have general and more basic Islamic knowledge), scholars ( who have dedicated their lives to studying religious texts) and sheikhs are generally scholars but it is a term ofc respect and can be used for older people too.
Scholars interpret the texts of Islam and then explain them to the general Muslims...not everyone has time to go into detailed study of the religion. Such people also have the knowledge and capacity to bring out religious verdicts from the texts when necessary...since new situations and new circumstances might require an in-depth knowledge and insight about issues that were not around before and not explicitly mentioned. Therefore, scholars, sheikhs and Imams are supposed to be knowledgesable as well as trustworthy and morally upright. We take the religious verdicts of such upright but not from people who might claim to be religious leaders or scholars but dont have the correct understanding, intentions or evidence for what they are saying.
Also even if such upright people are trustworthy and good people they might still make mistakes or errors as human beings. If someone knows this they are not required to follow them and if someone is able to correct them they can do so.
Generally there are four schools of thought that have survived throughout history (in sunni Islam) but there have been others that have appeared and disappeared with time so these are not the only interpretations and understanding of the religious scriptures and within themselves four there are also different interpretations sometimes.
Contrary to what most people assume Islam is actually a very open minded religion that accepts and makes room for differences and new situations...we beleive in all the prophets and one of the goals or aims of shariah law is actually to help us live in peace and acheive peace in our persobal life. Peace is actually the goal or many forms of worship and many things put forward in the Quran, rsther than happiness. In fact, Islam itself means peacefully submitting to God. And I guess if you trsnslate the meaning of Muslim from Arabic it would be Peaceful submitter.
I do apologise if I took away from your answers but just to add these things for extra support
@slowdecline48 You should read this post. She has explained concept of Imams and Scholars in a more comprehensive way.
Nowadays we usually call the caretaker person of the mosque and leader of prayers "Imam". The concept of Imam has changed over the course of time.
The interpretation of religion that was previously done by Imams is now done by Scholars.
@hopefulmoon5845 Can you let me how you've got into Islam
Of course.
I was born in a Muslim family but I always had my differences with them. I wasn't always a faithful person but rather quite atheist.
Few years ago I got caught into a situation where I could see no way out of it. That time for the first time in my life, I actually prayed to God to help me out of it. I wasn't sure if He was going to help me as I didn't believe in Him . But then I saw miracles happening and unexpected ways opening up for me. That incident changed my heart.
After years of struggling to be a real believer , I can finally feel a connection with Him and trust me there is nothing like the feeling of being connected to your Creator. 😊
So, me-fully Hindu -but I have most of the people known -from Islam.
They are sweet,soft, caring. What makes you that ?
But I have two more questions (TRIGGERING)
*What do you do between 1 pm to 3 pm during Fridays*
*Why colour Green is mostly chosen-some significance?*
We Hindus love Yellow/Orange Colour For Worship coz its considered very auspicious here.
Thank you for asking. I'll answer these questions.
Firstly,talking about sweet, soft and caring nature the credit goes to those muslims as well that you have known. We are taught to be best in our moral values as our Prophet (PBUH) called himself " Mualam ul Ikhlaq" meaning " teacher of high moral values". Quran has the same teachings. Moreover as stated in Hadiths A perfect muslim is the one from whose tongue and hands no one gets hurt.
About Fridays, one thing in this time is constant that is Prayer for everyone. Normally we use this time to get Sunnahs of Friday done that include trimming nails, taking bath, brushing hair, put on some scents so that we can offer Friday prayer with full physical purity as Friday Duhr Prayer is considered special . Men offer Friday Duhr prayer in mosques as it is obligation. After that, there is Friday Sermon by Imam of mosques.
About green colour, it is narrated that green was the favourite colour of Prophet (PBUH). It is also considered refreshing and nature's colour so that has its impact too. That may be the reason that green has so much significance here.
Let me know if I left something out🤗
@hopefulmoon5845
One of my friend's marriage proposal got rejected because he works in a bank, i would like to know why is it considered bad in Islam?
Working in bank is not considered bad in Islam. The thing is that mostly banks have interest system in loans. This is called "sood" and is not allowed. So some people avoid bank jobs as they think that the pay given to them would be from interest money which is not permitted to them by religion. Not all people think the same about bank jobs but those people who are conscious about earning sources to be halal.
If this gives rise to more questions, please ask. I'll be happy to answer those.
@hopefulmoon5845
I understand.. but if this is haram (i guess) then is taking tax from people halal or haram?
Tax is not haram as state takes it from people in return of providing all facilities. But if taxes exceed the limit and state doesn't provide promised facilities to people it becomes haram to take from people.
The thing that makes sood (interest) haram can be explained by example that let's suppose person A gives person B hundred dollars loan but when asking it back he demands for hundred and twenty dollars due to whatever reasons. Those extra twenty dollars make it haram for person A because loan was never supposed to be a business deal to have interest in it for person A. And also because people take loan when they are not strong financially so these extra money to pay is injust deal.
I hope it answered your question. Otherwise don't hesitate to ask again.
To paraphrase one of your statements (& as I've heard from others), Islam is a complete way of life...perhaps a total way of life. You also mentioned laws & punishments to deter would-be criminals. That is something most societies need, for sure. But thinking about this led to other questions: does the foregoing include governance? That is, does Islam mandate a certain kind of government when a sufficient number of Muslims live in an umma or community? If so, does this law or requirement apply universally?
Great question, thanks for asking.
The application of Islamic law and order rules basically depends upon the government of that certain region. Islam gave all these laws to assist them and it's now rulers choice whether they apply those laws completely in their society, extract a few rules from it or don't apply it at all.
About mandatory government for a Muslim community, there is no such thing according to my knowledge. Only requirements that Islam wants a government to fulfill is preservation of civil rights of its citizens. To give them right to live according to their own ways without violating rules by murder, harming anybody else's property, honor or lives and disobeying moral values (that include physical relationships before marriage, drinking alcohol in public and indecent exposures in public etc) which is universal and equally important to both Muslim and Non Muslim societies.
Now mostly the Muslims living in Non Muslim states face problems there. So they do form some communities in such areas where they are in majority but that doesn't serves the purpose of a government either but instead just a way for them to stay connected for their religious festivals and preserve their living styles.
I hope it answers your question.
@hopefulmoon5845
Alsalam Alykum wa Rahmet Allah wa Brakatuh
I really like your post idea thank you so much 😇
May Allah bless you
Have a nice day
Allah Hafiz