22 March 2006

What is hell?


A friend of mine is studying and gathering information to find out if Islam is a religion for her. She is really serious about converting, so she has all these questions about this and that; Very interesting questions!

Last week she asked me what my intake on wearing Al-hijab was. And just like I always say, I told her that as long as you purify your heart and deeds your appearance remains a plus and not an absolute necessity. Islam is a tolerant religion, in other words as long as you respect its 5 pillars, the others and yourself the complementing details are between God and you.

This is not the first time I am put in such position, where a dear person come to me with such questions or asking for clarifications about ‘MY’ religion. But is it really my religion? Now ask because, I have the feeling that it is not and that though I love it so much and I love everything about it, I am just perpetuating a tradition. Unlike my friend I haven’t studied Islam but inherited it and no matter what I do, I won’t have the same spiritual strength people who study it will gain.

I am Muslim myself I don't have answers to some of her questions. I just now put my finger on one of the things that are behind the issues and contradictions we suffer from in the Muslim world. It is not Islam we practice, we haven't--at least I know--I haven't studied the religion as deeply as my friend is now doing. I have inherited the religion but I have never taken time to build my own understanding of it is principles.

Here is a question for you, she asked me: What is hell?

10 comments:

Reda said...

Quote : is it my religion?
------------------------------
Beside the fact that we(i'm muslim too) inherited it, all the signs we receive from the Muslim world( the last one is the capture of the christian guy in Afghanistan) make me feel that my Islam is not the same one that a lot of people believe in. And as Bush said : it's really troubling.

soumiaz said...

Tell me something Reda,

What is it exactly? Is it lie you said our religion? Or is it us who do not practice it right?

What is it? I am starting to get confused...

Anonymous said...

Hi, pleased to red this article,
first excuse, my bad english, i don't speak very well english,

yes you have reason, a lot of people are in reallity, have just inherited Islam, but this isn't a real faith, to have faith means to have a basic intellectual understanding of his religion. I think that we must constrain ourselves to have this basic understanding, it's shame to pursue something just by heritage

Reda said...

Basically, i think that all the religions at a certain point can be dangerous. Concerning Islam, i have two choices : This religion is badly represent by a large part of its addicts and then my point of view is my Islam is not the same as the one of those people, or Islam is fundamentaly bad. I don't think yet the second option is the good one.
But one thing is sure, Islam(nowadays) sometimes doesn't respect human values as accepted in the West.

Anonymous said...

Here is a link to know more about islam, probably for your friend who is gathering info related to islam
http://sultan.org/

i hope to have the same occasion (to meet someone intrested on Islam)

soumiaz said...

Reda--when you say that "Islam(nowadays) sometimes doesn't respect human values as accepted in the West." it is us who misrepresent this beautiful religion.
Sa--Merci beaucoup! J’espère te voir sur mon blog plus souvent. J'aime beaucoup ma religion mais il m'est très pénible d'accepter ce que certains fanatiques en font

Anonymous said...

De rien soumiaz,
it's a pleasure for me too to read your post, I find your point of view very intereting, also pleased to know that you love_like our religion.
I think that the real danger and source of fanaticism is ignorance

Anonymous said...

Anybody that is thinking about converting to Islam should really consider the implications of following a man that did the things that Mohammed did. Read Islam's own accounts of the life of this man. Consider all the special rules he gave himself (or Allah decreed them as a special favor to his last prophet, depending on your view). The fact is that much of what we see today in the Muslim world is just Muslims doing what their dear leader did. Think about this!
John Kactuz

soumiaz said...

Sa--Totally agree! Ignorance.
Jhon--I am afraid i did not get your comment

Anonymous said...

slam is a caustic blend of regurgitated paganism and twisted Bible stories. Muhammad, its lone prophet, conceived his religion solely to satiate his lust for power, sex, and money. He was a terrorist. And if you think these conclusions are shocking, wait until you see the evidence.

The critics of this work will claim that Prophet of Doom is offensive, racist, hatemongering, intolerant, and unnecessarily violent. I agree - but I didn't write those parts. They came directly from Islam’s scriptures. If you don't like what Muhammad and Allah said, don't blame me. I'm just the messenger.

Others will say that I cherry-picked the worst of Islam to render an unfair verdict. They will charge that I took the Islamic scriptures out of context to smear Muhammad and Allah. But none of that is true. Over the course of these pages, I quote from almost every surah in the Qur’an - many are presented in their entirety. But more than that, I put each verse in the context of Muhammad’s life, quoting vociferously from the Sunnah as recorded by Bukhari, Muslim, Ishaq, and Tabari - Islam’s earliest and more trusted sources. I even arrange all of this material chronologically, from creation to terror.

http://www.prophetofdoom.net/chapter.aspx?g=401&i=41003