if you had been brought up in a different part of the world, where you would have been told a different fairy tale (like christianity, judaism, hindisuim etc). Would you have been a muslim today? So the fact that one belongs to a particular religion, is MOSTLY due to their upbringing was in that religion.
Yes, no?
Re: so tell me honestly...
No ... I was bought up in a part of the world where the fairytale was atheism ... but I'm no Atheist.
if you had been brought up in a different part of the world, where you would have been told a different fairy tale (like christianity, judaism, hindisuim etc). Would you have been a muslim today? So the fact that one belongs to a particular religion, is MOSTLY due to their upbringing was in that religion.
Yes, no?
Yes majority of religious people follow the religion of their parents and think they have been blessed to be born into the true one.
Re: so tell me honestly...
When I was a little boy of 7 years old, at home my mother was making me recite the Quran in arabic, a language that I didn't understand at all, meaning I didn't understand a single word of the Quran I was reading.
At the same time, at school they were making us read the Bible in English, a language that I understood fully.
I still grew up Muslim.
Re: so tell me honestly...
Hi Yea_Boii
So what is the religion of your parents?
Re: so tell me honestly...
muslim
Re: so tell me honestly...
^ You mean Islam ... well you are obviously not a Muslim ... so either your sphere of influence is not from your parents, in which case your argument for the thread does not include parents but location, and if this is the case you really need to factor in to your assumption that different parents play a different level of influence despite the society that a given person is raised in.
It is a combination of 'nuture' and 'nature' - i.e. we are a combination of our inherent capabilities as well as moulded by our environments. I consider the chances of being Muslim ZERO is Allah (SWT) did not exist, because there is just so much that disadvantages belief in Islam, yet we see rapid increases in conversions to this faith. The defying of the odds is surely a sign.
In addition to nurture and nature I would add nomination, which is despite our nurture and nature we can still believe simply because it was chosen by God - nominated. This is His Mercy.
^ You mean Islam ... well you are obviously not a Muslim ... so either your sphere of influence is not from your parents, in which case your argument for the thread does not include parents but location, and if this is the case you really need to factor in to your assumption that different parents play a different level of influence despite the society that a given person is raised in.
oh wow ....
can you please tell me if "I" am muslim ...cuz obviously ONLY u are given this authority :@:
Peace BlindHope
Umm apology … I should make myself clear … It was based on previous discussions with Yea_Boii that led me to make that ‘claim’ … Here look at this … would you say this?
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/6580507-post3.html
But point taken …
Re: so tell me honestly...
Yea_Boi, I will provide you 2 explanations for this, both from different perspective but not unrelated either.
1) Before we came to this world, our creator Allah (swt) made a covenant with us and tested us as stated in the Holy Quran:
[7:172] And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness against their own souls: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! we bear witness. Lest you should say on the day of resurrection: Surely we were heedless of this.
Many aspects of our lives in this world and our test here is related to Alam e Dharr/Zurr. This is a lengthy topic and you may wish to study it in the light of some other verses of the holy Quran on similar theme and also the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt who have eloquently explained this topic among many other relevant topics such as Adl or Justice of Allah (swt).
2) One simpler way to look at look at this is to look at how some of us are born in rich families while some not. Some are born perfectly healthy and some with deficiencies. Some have a lot of strength whereas some are weak etc etc.
The test for each of us is what we can do with what we are given. If you are rich/healthy/strong then your test is mainly of 'shukr'. On the day of judgement you shall be questioned about what you did with what you were blessed with. Whereas if you are born poor/unhealthy/weak then its mainly going to test your 'sabr' and steadfastness in the way of difficulties.
[2:155] Verily, We shall put you to test with some fear, and hunger, and with some loss of wealth, lives, and offsprings. And (O Muhammad) convey good tidings to those who are patient, who say, when inflicted by hardship, "Verily we are of God and verily to Him shall we return;" upon them is the blessings of Allah and His mercy.
If a child is born a believer, and specially a follower of Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt, then s/he will be questioned especially about what s/he did with this 'naimat'. And just like a strong person is expected to help the weak, a believing person is to carry a lot of weight on his/her shoulder and strive be a shinning example of 'haq' wherever they go or whoever they deal with.
Re: so tell me honestly...
no .. because no matter .. where you live or where you are on the planet or not God/Allah .. the creator has given something called a brain to a man/human. and It is proven over time n time that a human brain works naturally :@: ... and so .. even of no human was there to tell about Islam or what being a muslim means and has never heard of Prophet SAW or a Prophet AS.. It is natural for a human to discover that there IS a higher/supreme being out there.. and this discovery IS what we as muslims beleive as Oneness of Allah.
so personally, no matter where i was .. even if i didnt know or wasnt told about a prophet .. I think after discovering naturally ..that there is a being out there ... id definatly be curious to look / research further to which am sure I would fine Islam as best for me ..cos if One discoverrs A supreme being ..that supreme being instills faith in that person to be curious and look further .. since this human has discovered this supreme being .. the person would want to knw more about this supreme and ultimatley lead you i.e. to Islam and the Oneness of Allah SWT.
Re: so tell me honestly...
Majority of people inherit religion from their parents and thats a fact. Sure, there are many who convert to different religions later but the MAJORITY doesn't.
Many people leave Islam too, but ofcourse that never gets reported for obvious reasons.
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There is a condition of murtad - this means one must have chosen Islam to have chosen to leave it. A person who is brought up Muslim and choses Islam is not a murtad in the strictest sense.
^Those who leave Islam after becoming Muslim are very few indeed.
Salaam Yea_Boii,
First of all, Islam is not a fairytale- it is the other name of ultimate REALITY. Though it is not to say that anyone who decides to call himself or herself a “Muslim” is a true believer and adherent of the message of Islam. Nor can we say that all the other religions are complete fairytale. It is a little bit more complex than that and in the end with Allah (swt) is all the knowledge.
I would like to suggest that you read the following very useful book of Shaheed Murtada Mutahiri: http://www.al-islam.org/religiouspluralism/
wasalam
ramesha
1) Before we came to this world, our creator Allah (swt) made a covenant with us and tested us as stated in the Holy Quran:
[7:172] And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness against their own souls: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! we bear witness. Lest you should say on the day of resurrection: Surely we were heedless of this.
Many aspects of our lives in this world and our test here is related to Alam e Dharr/Zurr. This is a lengthy topic and you may wish to study it in the light of some other verses of the holy Quran on similar theme and also the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad and his Ahlul Bayt who have eloquently explained this topic among many other relevant topics such as Adl or Justice of Allah (swt).
Salaam bro Abbas,
I would like to share a couple of Hadiths from Al-Kafi:
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p) said that some people of Quraish asked Prophet Muhammad (p), why had he been given excellence and supremacy over all other prophets?
The Prophet Muhammad (p): This is because I was the first to believe in my Lord-Sustainer and when God took the covenant from the prophets and made them witnesses to it, and asked them, “Am I not your Lord?” I was the first to say, “Yes”. I preceded them in accepting God.
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (p) said that God, the Almighty, the Glorious, drew forth the children of Prophet Adam (p) from his loins, to take the covenant of His Lordship and the prophethood of every prophet. First of all, the covenant of the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (p) was taken [see 3:81].
Then God asked Prophet Adam (p): Tell me what you see?
Prophet Adam (p) looked at his descendants. He saw that the entire sky was filled with them like an ant-hill and he asked: O my Creator, I have so many descendants! Why have you created them? Is it your will to take a covenant from them?
God: I have created them so that they may worship Me and not ascribe partners to Me and to believe in My prophets and to obey them.
Re: so tell me honestly...
I'd probably be not a Muslim if I were not born to Muslim parents in a predominantly Muslim society.
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in my opinion its not possible that if some ones parents are from different religion then the child is obeyer of any other religion.
have you read the hadith that when every child's birth takes place he is on Allah's faith,these are his parents who make him christian,jew etc.
if you had been brought up in a different part of the world, where you would have been told a different fairy tale (like christianity, judaism, hindisuim etc). Would you have been a muslim today? So the fact that one belongs to a particular religion, is MOSTLY due to their upbringing was in that religion.
Yes, no?
Yes :) in my 'opinion' (as in my God-given right) as of June 10th 2010
Re: so tell me honestly…
Re: so tell me honestly...
Never a muslim or christian. may be buddhist.