Being born into islam i sure do know how to pray , that i need to pay zakaat and read the Quran and so on.
But when someone asks me tough questions i often dont have any answers. I dont have the knowledge to refer them to so and so hadith or Quranic Ayat.
When people say your scholars are sitting there discussing stupid issues, i dont have the knowledge to guide them to the proper scholar, book, or whatever or even NAME one scholar who i believe would be a good authority on that particular issue.
So here i am asking the knowledgeable amongst us, to guide me on how to start understanding my religion properly. I know i need to really start reading the Quran’s translation along with Tafseer. Is that enough to answer the tougher theological and philosophical questions ?
What is fiqh, how do i learn it.
JAzakallah khair, any and all information will be appreciated.
Maniac, i am in the same boat. I think that reading Quran translation ONLY (without Tafseer) is the first step. next is with tafseer. third is seerat-un-nabvi in detail, i think by Molana Modoodi.
Brief overview on fiqh is that they are just different schools of thought.
the 4 that SHOULD be followed are:
1) Hanafi
2) Shaafi
3) Humbli
4) Mallicki
For example I'm hanafi... (btw All the 4 fiqhs are AUTHENTIC and are REKNOWNED Schools of thought.)
I read my Dua-e-Qunoot after my al fatiha and surah...in my witr during Isha.
Shaafi followers read it after they get up from rukooh.
Both ways and methods are authentic, however are from 2 differnet schools of thought, Fiqhs.
Lotsa debate and arguments amongst people...but only fools do that...you follow one school of thought and that is it.
Secondly brother, learn Arabic. Learn the Quran and understand it DIRECTLY. Tafseer in urdu and english might be alright, but Learn arabic to begin with and then read the Quran to understand it better.
^
come on, the guy wants to learn Islam and not some twisted version of a certain sect....
the first step cud be to avoid websites as source of learning, and rely on better books....
try starting off with tafsir (or atleast translation of The Quran), the try reading saheeh hadith books (u can start off with only Bukhari, even an abridged version wud do)....
if u dont have a good understanding of Quran and Hadith, fiqh is not yet there for u....
fiqh talks about problems and solutions, and depending upon his viewpoint, the fiqh orders change from scholar to scholar....
hence u will find many contradiction there: not something advisable for a person who is just starting to learn about religion....
i read it with my eyes very well open and hence i do not wish others to be misled by such false sites as the one mentioned above....
sites like these r full of lies and shud be avoided....
more idotic was an attempt to bring forward the beliefs of a minority when obviously the question was put before the mainstream muslims....
anyways maniac, when you read the Quran..don't forget about the following ayat:
say (0' Muhammad unto mankind): I do not ask of you any reward for it (preaching the message), but love for my near relatives Ahlul-Bait'; and whoever earns good, we give him more of good therein; Holy Our'an 42:23
Sheraz, i was born a Sunni, raised a sunni, and now i consider myself a MUSLIM, without any sect. I follow the Quran and Sunnah and i believe those are sufficient for me. However no offence but i donot believe in the shiite sect, or the ahmadi one. To each his own however and so i dont go around slamming anyone outwardly atleast.
Thanks for the links but nah, i dont think i`ll be reading up on them.
Armughal, code-red, cresent and irem, jazakallah khair for your posts. I will start as advised insha'Allah.
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Who told you that you need to answer theological and philosophical questions in order to become a good muslim ?
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Its an issue that bothers me because my kids are going to be growing up in an extremely messed up world. One just has to look at GS with a slightly critical eye to see the degredation of society which it seems is increasing at a very fast pace.
I wanna be able to guide my children to the right path, but nows it seems even if they grow up in pakistan they will be growing up in a society that has more or less given up on religion and Allah, that society is going to have a massive affect on their minds, sooner or later they MAY END UP questioning the whole concept of Allah itself. How am i to answer them.
my advice for you is to find out if there is a good scholar in your area and go and learn from him...that is he best way make him your spiritual leader....and also try and jooin some study circles where you can learn the seerah which is v v important because it is through learning about the seerah that you will love our beloved nabi (Allah bless him and give him peace) this will then InshAllah lead you to emulate his ways, morals, manners, and above all his sunnah.....and by doing so you will be gaining Allah's pleasure, and this should be our greatest aim becoming closer to Allah.
also join study circles to learn fiqh which is basically the manners on how to do things in your daily life, it doesnt matter which school of thought u learn and follow, you wont b sinful for following one over another, find out which is the majority fiqh in your area, that should help you...and also study the tafseer of the quran.
*another tip: dhikr (rememberance of Allah)...Allah has said "verily in the rememberance of Allah do hearts find rest" (13:28) ..this increases our iman and tranquilty within ourselves.there are many forms of dhikr, the best dhikr is *La ilaha illa 'Llah. *dhikr should be done with concentration and devotion. *
also Allah loves consistency...so when you perform an act try to do it consistently everyday, it doesnt matter how big or small your act is what matters is that you are consistent.
May Allah make things easy for you,perfect you character in everyway, grant you success in everyway in this life and the hereafter and guide you to the sweetness of iman.
Maniac ..Don't complicate things for urself..Go slow..otherwise the quicker u ignite urself the quicker u'll blow out.
Start with the most authentic & original book with tafseer (the Quran)..If u have time to learn arabic then do so others wise don't as Allah never tells u to burden yourself .Your approach is excellent , ie, started off as a muslim rather then a sect..Study religion with an open mind..ask question when in doubt..understand the fundermentals of Islam 1st , ie, the farz, & try to understand why they are farz..then later u can start attempting to understand the nitty & gritty & small print which unfortunately most of us get bogged down by. ( and argue about)
Theres a very good site called IRF ( Islamic Research Foundation) which is based in India..and is run by Islamic scholars and orators from all over the world including Dr. Zakir Naik, Dr. Israr Ahmed, Ahmed Deedat (before he became bed stricken)..& lots of other world reknown Islamic scholars..There is lots of information explaining the basics & basis of islam from every perspective. U can can also become a member & listen to recorded speeches on various topics..I think u can even write to them re-queries...Good Luck.
Maniac -- I think the best way to learn is mostly on your own. Read read and read more. Read anything and everything to do with Islam. Im sure you already know what you believe in, so you will know what you agree with and what you disagree with.
There are a great many learned folks out there who can help you. I think it helps a lot of you can ask your questions from a religious scholar. For sure.
But I dont think you should depend on just one person. And always make sure you look carefully at the sources when its online.
