^the type of people who mentioned in early part of your post are "followers" and not "believers". From Islamic perspective there is a clear difference between "Muslimeen" and "Momineen". Quran also states numerous times that some Christians and Jews are believers and will not be among the losers on the day of judgement (because they believed in what they knew). Remember that Allah is just and he will not try any soul on the judgement day for more than the soul knew in the world(Quran 7:42, 2:286)
Now as for believing in God, it certainly is not solely all brain work. It is Allah (swt) who guides whom he wills. And he is best of the knowers. He will judge all of us according to what we know only and the efforts we made towards knowing the truth by using our aqal (remember that truth is in-built within all of us regardess of which religious tag we are born with). Now reflect on these verses of the Quran:
91:0 In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
91:1 By the sun and its brightness.
91:2 The moon that follows it.
91:3 The day that reveals.
91:4 The night that covers.
91:5 The sky and Him who built it.
91:6 The earth and Him who sustains it. 91:7 The soul and Him who created it.
91:8 Then showed it what is evil and what is good.
91:9 Successful is one who redeems it.
91:10 Failing is one who neglects it.
Sorry i am not answering your posts properly as i am a bit short on time. I will quickly try to answer the point you raised about the logic about not eating the pork. Perhaps i could give you my example to clarify what i am trying to explain:
1-My faith is built around 2 sentences: There is no God but Allah. And Mohammad (saww) is his prophet.
I am free to either believe or reject the above as there is no compulsion in religion. After i am born, as my mind grows, i gain knowledge and use the gift of aqal to either accept or reject the above.
2- If i truely believe Allah to be my lord and Prophet Mohammad (saww) to be his prophet (i.e. Iman) then i try to submit myself to Allahs' will (In order to understand Allahs' will we are given Quran and as main role models we have Rasool Allah and his chosen family)
3- Allahs' will becomes the axis around which my life revolves. The role of aqal thus become limited and i do not have the right to ask the Prophet why he is for example forbiding pork, because my Iman assures me that there is a great wisdom behind every order they have given me.
[quote]
So how did one finds out what to follow and search what is right or wrong?
Are we ready to answer anyone why we chose to stay in one or other religion/sect?
[/quote]
I guess these are most important questions that shapes us into individuals what we are!
My childhood fears drove me towards religion. As I grew up I found that the best way to overcome fears is to drop them and face the life instead of holding onto a religion.
I firmly believe, a sane mind is individuals best teacher. And, Questioning everything we come across will show us the right way that will lead us to Truth.
^It's very true. I guess one has to remain agnostic to find the right. Once we hold onto religion, most of our efforts will be spent on defending rather investigating the beliefs.
If we attribute all the matters to only hidayat, qismet or destiny, that is not right either. As far as what I believe is that, every sane mind will be accountable for his/her good or bad deeds at the day of judgement,. Even in this world, when many events seem to occur as a reaction/response from nature, as a result of one's own acts.
Is liyay, the justuju or struggle by the intelligent being(human) should continue, till the last moment in this temporary world.
^It's very true. I guess one has to remain agnostic to find the right. Once we hold onto religion, most of our efforts will be spent on defending rather investigating the beliefs.
If we attribute all the matters to only hidayat, qismet or destiny, that is not right either. As far as what I believe is that, every sane mind will be accountable for his/her good or bad deeds at the day of judgement,. Even in this world, when many events seem to occur as a reaction/response from nature, as a result of one's own acts.
Is liyay, the justuju or struggle by the intelligent being(human) should continue, till the last moment in this temporary world.
Hidayat comes when it is asked.
Qismat comes only if nothing is done to counter it.
Destiny comes no matter what you do. Its the result by definition anyway.
Mind/aqal/wisdom/power to choose, is what seperates us from animals.
We as humans are blessed with the gift to choose. God has blessed us with mind, and told us what the good choices are from bad ones. Now we are free to make whatever choices we like. And it is these choices that we will be judged upon on the day of judgement.
I would like to share a passage from a book written by Martyr Muthari called Man and His Destiny:
Human acts are among the events which have no definite and irrecocable destiny. They depend on thousand and one causes, including man’s own will and choice. All the possibilities which exist in the case of inorganic material, plants and the instinctive acts of the animals, are valid in the case of man also. In addition he has intellect, will and choosing power.
Man for his own reasons and of his own will can abstain from doing a thing which is fully in keeping with his natural and animal instinct. Similarly without being compelled by any external forces he can do a thing which is totally against his nature, if he thinks that it is advisable to do that. Man like animals is influenced by his instinctive motives and emotional desires, but he is not tied to them. Even in the presence of all the factors which compel an animal to act instinctively, man is free to use his will power and to decide whether he should or should not take a particular action. His performance of an act depends on like an executive authority. That is why man influences his destiny as a free agent. He is always at liberty to do or not to do a thing.
Anyhow, his liberty does not mean that he is not subject to the law of causation, or he can evade it. In fact human liberty does not mean man’s freedom from the law of causation. In contrast such a freedom will actually amount to compulsion, for practically there is no difference between man’s being forced by a particular factor to act against his will, and the act itself not being dependent on has liberty and freedom, we mean that his acts emanate from his will with the approval of his power of discrimination and no-external factor, whether it is destiny or anything else, forces him to do a thing against his desire.
In short all causes are manifestations of the divinely ordained fate and destiny. The number of imaginable destines in respect of an event will be corresponding with the number of the causes and the alternatives which can be imagined. The particular course which an event takes will be in accordance with a divinely ordained destiny, and the course which it does not take will also be in accordance with a divinely ordained destiny.
i may totally ignore that comment if i am told by someone following other religion
but when our fellow muslims tell me that ,i try finding out myself and clearing up confusion
Its the time before you actually make up your mind which is important.
Those who had religious up bringing still need to do at least once to try to disconnect and see religious matters independantly. If come back to same religion/belief, the effect is somewhat more strong and long lasting.
But the time of 'detachment' is crucial and delicate. Anything may occur during that period.