09-26-2005, 03:51 PM
Bismillah
As Salam alaikum
I was not replying to Anyabwile because I did not want to be percieved as attacking him or his new found happiness. Insha'Allah everything that he believes was lost due to Islam will be returned to him (his family or anything else). Since it appears that he has given his farewell, I think a lesson can be drawn from this situation.
I am posting to point out the fallacy that many converts fall into. I will be honest and include myself. Upon coming to Islam, it is so amazing that we jump headlong into "knowledge." We read books and believe that we can learn on our own. I feel silly that I believed that this would be sucessful. Did I go to my math class and just teach myself it without a teacher? Has anyone ever tried doing that? Not a small feat. Even if there is some sucess there are nuances that I would overlook due to my untrained eye. These nuances are not that big of a problem in the beginning. As time progresses (anyone know about the chaos theory?), these small miscalculations will lead me to great misunderstanding.
It amazes me that people will not understand things like calculus but do not doubt that it works because they see the buildings and bridges that it helps build. Also, they had a basic foundation of math and understand that 2+2=4 and that 2x-6=6 then x must =6. This foundation gives them faith to believe the mathemeticians when they claim that the higher math works. Remember in math class at the beginning of the year? Ever flip to the back to see what was ahead? For me, most of the time it never made much sense. "We're going to be learning this?!?" Yet at the end of the year because of the guidance of our teachers and the foundation laid earlier, we come to understand it. In religion though, man thinks that he should understand everything immediately. If not, then it must be false. We would mock someone who dismissed calculus just because they did not understand it, especially if they had not had anyone to teach them.
Maybe one of the reasons that we converts tend to do this is because all most of us had to do was read the Qur'an and reflect it and creation. Thus we believed in Islam. If the foundation is so easy to understand, then we must believe that the religion as a whole is as easy to understand. As was mentioned by others, they are many schools of thought and study in Islam, each so deep it takes students a life time of studying to even come close to mastering them. That's if they even come close.
The Prophet warned us about trying to take on too much and understand everything about Islam quickly for the very reason that happens to many converts. We get confused and then leave the religion. Fortunately, Allah Guided me to those who could answer my questions. Which leads me to the other problem that some converts will fall into, going to nonmuslims to have Islam explained to them. Of course, the people who do not like Islam are going to encourage these doubts and what appear to be discrepacies. If I had a problem in calculus, I would go to the math teacher not the art teacher or history professor. If I was trying to major in mathematics, these other professors might even encourage me to change my major to their field of study. "If this stuff is so hard, maybe it is not what's right for you. Have you ever considered...?"
The Prophet set up the sunnah of having his companions turn to him in times of confusion. A verse in the Qur'an mentions praying when the white thread becomes apparent from the black one. One sahaba put two threads under his pillow and kept chekcing them for changes all night until dawn. The threads did not change at all. So he left Islam because he did not understand? No. He went to the Prophet for clarification and Muhammad, alayhi salatu wa salam, explained that the verse was talking about the predawn prayer, fajr. The sahaba was thus satisfied and his doubts were eliminated. If this man would have went to his Quraishie friends and been like, "The Qur'an said these threads would change and they didn't." What do you think their responce would have been. "See... Muhammad does not know what he's talking about. We told you it was just jibberish." The nonbelievers would have affirmed the man's doubts.
Islam has a very strong foundation with which it can reach lofty heights of scholarship. All of us on this message board must remember that there is not one scholar or even serious student of knowledge upon this message board. All the answers are <b>not </b>with us. If there are doubts, go to those who will have knowledge. Still does not make sense? Continue your search for the teacher who will answer you in a way in which you mind will be able to grasp what is troubling you. We live in a time where knowledge is difficult to find. It is a fitnah with which we must be patient.
A few months or years of independent study does not result in extensive knowledge of this deen. Guaranteed. To expect that during this time of unguided searching that one will surpass the scholars of our time and times past is faulty, to say the least. One cannot even begin to be a serious student of Islam until Arabic is learned. The Qur'an states that it was revealed in Arabic so we may better understand. Even scholars from nonarabic speaking nations understand and stress the importance of learning Arabic in order to engage Islam on any kind of deeper level of scholarship.
As converts we must be careful of arrogance. I have felt pride in "discovering" Islam while most were just born to it. I put much effort and reflection into coming to Islam, as most converts have. Because of this "elevated sense of awareness" about Islam, we feel that we will know it all and understand it all very easily. Because of the depth that we soon find Islam contains, we either come to terms with our limited human knowledge or we cast it aside due to our own ignorance (lack of knowledge).
Is something not working because it is broken or because we do not know how to work it?
Any benefit from this is from Allah. Any shortcomings is, as previously stated, due to my great ignorance of the deeper Islamic sciences. May Allah Forgive me, Protect us from Pride, and Guide us all.
As Salam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu