No Label

I underestimated how complicated religion can be. . . I should rephrase that: Not how complicated religion can be, but how complicated people can make religion. It seems the more you develop into a religion, the more the people around you want you to embrace their interpretations/ways of following. I am ALMOST afraid to tell others of what I have learned! I should explain myself. . .


There are different denominations of Muslims. Everyone knows of the Sunnis & Shias, as well as the Sufis. Those really are the "main," recognizable names for most people. I have heard plenty from Sunni Muslims, some from Sufi Muslims, and none from Shia Muslims. Obviously, as what is natural, every individual thinks their path is correct, and the other paths are incorrect. This bothers me, personally. 


A very good family friend told me a beautiful way to look at it. Let's say Allah is electricity. All these different homes have electric sockets to plug into and provides electricity into their devices. All these homes have access to this electricity, just in a different place. There are different paths to Allah. Who are you, as a person, to say what way is correct or incorrect for another, if you are all following a path of Allah. If one believes in the Qur'an & loves Allah, is that not enough? When one takes Shahadah, is it not a testimony that there is no god but Allah, and Mohammed (pbuh) is His messenger (and nothing further)?


It's funny, because some Muslims are quick to say, "No, that is not enough," and follow it by telling you that you are not Muslim unless you follow X, Y, & Z. Has Allah given humans the power to condemn another to Hell or allow into Paradise? Has Allah given humans the ability to see inside others' souls & recognize the connection (or lack thereof) to Allah? Who is to say if someone can legitimately be called "Muslim," other than God Almighty? 


If I were to walk into my Qur'an study & say, "I only believe & follow the Qur'an itself, the direct word of Allah," I wonder what my friends there would say to me? Would it be:

• "This is wonderful news! Alhumdilallah! Believe as you feel is right, and always trust & remember Allah!"
• "I cannot say that I agree, but I know that Allah is All-Knowing & will lead a believer in the correct path."
• "Oh, no, you cannot be Muslim then. It is not correct. You must follow hadith, and if you do not, you cannot call yourself Muslim!" 

I'm afraid that the first option would not happen at all. I would hope to at least get the second option!    I am saddened by this judgement.

Apparently, I am not alone in what I feel. There are certain Muslims that are labeled Qur'anists. These Muslims believe in the Qur'an & follow the holy text alone. Each individual varies on their stance of hadith, but they all basically reject that hadiths have authority and are requirements to Muslims. If/When you have time, please click the link I provided for a quick overview of Qur'anists from Wikipedia. 

I hope against hope that my fellow Muslims are at peace with any decision I make concerning how I personally follow Islam & how my relationship is with Allah.

Sufi School

So today, I'll be going to MTO Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism, Inshallah. I am so freshly a Muslim that I still have yet to learn of the differences between denominations of Muslims. From what I've learned so far from others, Sufi is the "spiritual" aspect of Islam (using their words). I am intrigued by this idea & love the spiritual side of things. But. . . Isn't Islam itself "spiritual?" Isn't the very nature of religion about spirituality? Maybe I just don't understand what others mean when they use that term to describe Sufism.

I am quite excited to attend the school today, actually. I have no idea what to expect from the lecture we will hear. I do know, however, we will be chanting & praying. Also, everyone is encouraged to wear white. I have a white top, but I'm probably going to wear some black slacks or light color jeans.

I read something that threw up a flag in my mind in the Qur'an the other day. I read that if you kill (purposely) a fellow believer (Muslim), your punishment is Hell. It makes me think of the extremists we see on the news constantly, who are guilty of killing Muslims. . . If they claim to believe in the Qur'an, did they just kind of. . . SKIP that surah or what? This is very clearly stated. How does one misinterpret that?