Disbelievers Can Not Become Muslims!

[Dan]

Bismillah


As Salam alaikum


He is probably back on the X-tian board trying to get assistance due to the wonderful job that our members have done in addressing his question. Alhamdulillah. Was it a question in the first place?


As Salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu

[Deen]

Assalaam Alaikum,


I wouldn't hold your breath for too long waiting for Martini. He'll probably be back with a few verses from the internet trying to prove the contradictions, not knowing that the quran is in arabic rather than in english.


Or maybe he is still trying to grasp the concept of the issue with a few glasses of Martini on the rocks!


Islam is superior, its superiority cannot be surpassed!

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom


or may be he/she is trying to think deeply and starting to grasp the concepts


May Allah Assist him /her and brings him back ameen

[NewBeginning]

Salaam Alaikum,


I'm very shocked at how far this conversation is going. Interestingly, I was going over an email that my friend sent me today. It was about divine decree. I have read it over about 2 time so far, thinking about it more deeply each time, so that I can understand it all.


I can say that there are some things in this that I've always had a belief in before Islam, which makes the learning much easier. I won't for a second pretend that it's easy to grasp at very first glance either.


It really takes alot of thought, and deeeeep thinking to get the concept of living out a predestined life with free-will. To us simple humans, the future is unknown to us and all; so the concept of God knowing our future before even being born is alot to accept, and then that leaves you with the question, 'Well, if it's already planned, then I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, right?'.... and this gives us room to make bad choices, thinking that God willed it that way.


This is how I understand it, and maybe you all can help me with this, because as I said, this is new for me. But so far, I'm thinking: When God wrote down our life in His book, each and every plan, event, change, and decision has a border around it. We move within these borders with our decisions.


Envision this, or get a pencil and paper and draw it. Everything in our life as they unfold are circles, in the center of the circles is a dot, that dot is the perfect plan from God, and it is also our goal/target. Now, the space/distance from that perfect plan, and the the end of the circle, or the border, is where we are using our free will. The entire cirlcle is FILLED with all kinds of scenarios and possibilities. We move around making these decisions, and living out the scenerios. They can range from anwhere to anything....... but.... it's still within site of the plan itself. All these circles are inside of one huge overall circle, and that is God's overall plan, but the dot in the middle is God Himself, our goal is to be closer to, and to progress towards Him. We have to work our way through all His plans for us, and make the right decisions in life. When we hit closer and closer to the variouse targets in life, we move near him faster and faster.


Think on this:


Is it any irony that the word sin that is found in the Bible is translated literally as "missing the mark"?


Salaam.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom Shaunee


I will hold my comments for now


I just wanted to know what is the relation between the bible comment and the original post??

[NewBeginning]

Salaam Muslimah,


Actually, it's not an actual Bible verse I was talking about, but rather the translation of the word from it's original language. When you translate the original word from Hebrew, it comes out "miss the mark", but , as translations went along, the word became sin.


The connection of missing the mark, (sin) is to what I was saying about reaching a goal.


Missing the mark, making a bad decision, sin, etc. These were just my personal thoughts about divine decree and fate. Like I said, it is something that I recently recieved in the mail. I was recieving a series of writings about the basic beliefs in Islam, and this was the last subject, so, by all means, if my views are wrong, then please point them out to me. If no one pointed me in the right direction, I'd be wondering all over the place.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


dont wander dear shaunee i will write more Insh a Allah sometime later

[honeycomb]

dear martini,


i'm so glad you're born muslim, but i'm sad you dropped the religion... i wonder why. honestly, when I was 16, i went through such phase myself. my life was very hard at that time, I was on the verge of asking, why Allah made this upon me, while i've been so nice & good. from then on i went lax in my prayers & fasts, rarely read the Quran... & spiralled to a meaningless life. i was the best student, yet i was hollow inside. even when everything's great, it's like there's something missing in my life.


so i thank Allah so much that He has Guided me back to Islam. I don't even know when exactly, maybe when I was 18, I had an accident. then I was stricken with starvation (i had no money to eat for weeks, i only had water until i feel like i was going to die). then miraculously, Allah sent me Help. in minutes! Allah just, <i>Kun Fayakun</i> & His Help is there! not really like Mary, though, of course Allah sent me people who feed me food. but it was the best, most memorable dinner I've ever had! I thank Allah so much...


then Allah sent me new, good, pious friends. <b>Che Diah</b> is one, who modelled me the muslim lifestyle I yearn for. at this phase of life, i'm now a little richer. so meeting the poor, village girl was an eye-opener! She has very less money than I do, but she's the one who always brings food & gifts to me. how amazing is that! she said she likes to give away things she loved herself, i used to think that's just stupid. but now i understand. she's right... i love her so much.


then Allah sent me to work at a Hajj Institution, where I was accepted & loved & shown the muslim way of life... Allah clearly showed me the way. after I spiralled to a world of doom, now I know how it feels like in both worlds. forgetting Allah, i'm such a loser -- hollow & meaningless. with Allah, there's this joy in my heart that's indescribable! <b>i don't know how to say it, it's like being happy for no reason, except the knowledge I have a God, that is Allah - my true <i>auliya</i>.</b>


now I truly believed, my life has been so blessed & destined. Allah has make it like that & showed me so much signs. If I don't heed the signs, what I fool I am...


Now, I'm turning a new leaf, sometimes I look at a revert & felt ashamed. She looks so much pious, why am I not like that, while I'm born-muslim. I don't know why I didn't read the Quran before. I used to feel, the religious books are so boring. But now they're jewels! The Guidance of Allah is so much more valuable than anything. i know it's cliche, but yes, it's true... every life's problems can be solved if only we follow Allah's Guidance. the Quran, the words would just make you cry. because it's so true... & because it's the answer, I've been looking for so long.


that's why I believe in Allah. it's this feeling & joy, I don't know how to tell you. even when people are rude, i remember Allah told us that <b>some of us are a test for some others</b>. there's so many great guidance, when we follow it, we will be in the safe & good life.


i thank Allah, so much. I hope you would too. & muslims say it all the time <b>In The Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful.</b> when we really believe in it, the joy is indescribable. just like Moez Masoud once said, i hope i'll maintain this way always. i'm not really that great myself, but i'm learning, step by step. Alhamdulillah...


"i really hope you will feel this feeling too... but if you don't i wont' stick swords into you" (quote from Abdus Salam).

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


as salam alykom Shaunee


As I told u I will comment Insh a Allah, what caught my site is that for the second time u r making bible related comments on how to relate the issue we are discussing. We all explained to u that as a Muslim u can not take the bible as a guide, u have the Quran which is more that enough.


As for your explanation, I know it is hard to fully comprehend it, it takes everyone sometime to and in some cases people even can never attain full comprehension.


I will give u just one example to think about.


Why did the Messenger advice us to pray Istikharah when we are about to do anything, buy anything, take a new job, move to a new house, in other words make any decision? Is it because we are living through Allah's Plan or because we are allowed to make decisions but in making Istikhara we are councelling the All Wisdom? Allah's Knowledge is different from Him Forcing things on us or else, how did u choose to be Muslim with no force. Allah Knowing this in advance is different.


matter of fact this same issue in particular I was discussing with Anya like 3 weeks ago and Insh a Allah I feel like putting something from Quran on it.


Make dua Allah Helps me to that.

[NewBeginning]

Okay, so besides the one word I used, which by the way, I never used the Bible itself, I never made a reference to a chapter or a verse, but rather the Hebrew language itself. Besides that, am I correct in my understanding of our free will and God's plan and how they work simultaneusely(sp?) because I don't want to get a specific train of thought stuck in my head for too long, and if I am looking at the subject as a whole the wrong way, then the time for me to re-evaluate it would be now.


So, putting aside the one word sin, is it true that God has a predestined plan for us, and that when He made these plans for us, they included a series of decisions and outcomes, and that is when and where we use our free will?