Salam Alikom friend..you have been through many studies as I can see.. you are very vey intelectual, learned and educated.. being skeptic is a good thing BUT to an extent.. if it goes beyond it can result in the opposite of what it was designed for.. I am not as learned as you are regarding religions or whatever you want to call them but I found all I needed in Islam. I am not calling you to Islam this is just a mature conversation where I can learn from you and share an experience with you. For me Judiasm, Christianity and Islam are from God and I believe so although the 1st 2 have been abreviated and changed while the 3rd did not. I believe also that they are some how confirming each other. For me also studing about Prophet Muhammad made all the sense because he was illeterate in an area of illeterate people and there was no source or civilization where he can get all the kind of information about everything as an illeterate or even as a learned man and knowing all he has put in Quran with all the precision and accuracy does not fit an illeterate or a human being at all which was enough evidence for me to really accept Islam the 2nd time by choice and not by birth. He could have also said that Jesus is son of God and this would have helped a lot with Christians. He was also offered all a man could wish for, wealth, women, estates and the leadership of Mekka to stop his call to this religion and his answer was if you put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left to leave this I would die first and not do it. He could have had all he needed but he refused. He also died very poor and had little food at home always and when he died his shield was mortagated at a jewish guys shop. For me with all the legislations and all that I found in Quran this was enough. There is no contradiction in Quran and I challenge any one to get me one vs. the bible for example which is full of those. Also all what he taught people through Quran and through his morals fitted for me the example of a prophet. he gave rights and respect to women when they were down graded to the extent that they were part of the inheritence form a dead father or uncle. They were like inheriting the house. They even have more rights than European women to the contrary to what is thought. Also at that time that society had very perverted sexual habbits that came to stop, he was kind to kids, animal and plants and when sending an army to war he advised them with the most beautiful commands: not to burn at tree or kill old people women or childern, not to destroy a house of worship or attack civilians, not raid houses or terrify people.....etc.. He brought equality and gave the black people the same right in a very racist society and encouraged people to free the slaves, he prevented drinking wine gradually (some people might consider this not acceptable because they like it but it makes more problems left permitted it is prohibited in the old testiment too) he prevented eating pork (because they eat garbage and dead animals) which is also in the old testiment, he gave great advise, he was humble. .actually you have to read about him from a trusted source. You can also see a youtube video of "Garry miller converting to Islam". This was right before he announced he converted. In it he was talking about Muhammad. You can see that he was very shook up because he was a Christian missionarry who went in to read Quran to find falts and start debating Muslims. The result was that he converted.
Now before we go any futher with this, there are several kinds of people in this world.. there are those who worship nothing or a God of some sort and others who unknowingly worship there minds (admiring its intelectual abilities to learn and understand and reason) others worship themselves (too engaged focusing on it) also there are those who worship science and scientist and believe that this is THE reference to all.. this same science we had very little of, few decades and few 100 years ago and still we do not have the full ultimate science or picture but we still worship it anyway (in Quran it is said that we will only be given little knowledge no matter how much it is and even though we think other wise it will still be so).. we still do not know how to stop aging and avoid dying and live forever and cure every desease and create people without disease, we have not reached the end of the galaxy we are in because we do not have the means to do so not to mention the hundreds of millions of galaxies and at the end we still die and go some where. Money is also one of these Gods..where we forget every thing and focus on how to get it, we sleep and wake up thinking about it. Some people sacrifice everything and give away anything for money. .. and there are many other Gods besides the above mentioned.Those Gods are mentioned in Quran and we are requested not to follow or worship them.. worshipping here is not praying to these or so but rather too much admiration that prevents him from seeing God or how life really is for us (a small part of a long journey but life still is the decisive part with very limited pleasure in comparison with the detailed description of heaven which we have). I know that many people have turned to science, facts and logic and forsaken religion and spirituality but let me share something with you. God made us from both and in need of both. Without spirituality you can never find God or peace...in case you are looking for him in the first place.. if you are and have an open heart and mind.. in Islam we have both logic, science concerning our Donia or life and spirituality where you can feel peace and serenity. I was born a Muslim but I did not accept that just that easyily as a rebelious person who needed to make sure that he was on the right track and who had lots of questions and also a particular questin in my mind, if we as Muslims were right how come all Islamic nations are mostly 3rd world countries? (I found the answer later on on my journey). Back then I also believed that peace, serenity and spirituality are bull**** and a big mythical lie that had no way to be reached.. after a very long journey I assure you I discoved I was wrong. Serenity is there and depends on many things in the relation between you and God and depends on a lot of knowledge and not just an illusion. Back then I enjoyed hours of debate and admiration of my intelectuale abilities without regards to whether I was right or wrong.. I only wanted to win a debate to prove that I am superior like many here on these forums and at that time I worshipped myself only binded by this urge which also as I discovered originates from a feeling of being uncomplete and a bit empty. I have no problem now losing any useful debate because I am concerned more about learning and understanding than about my complexes being fed or filled up. I am at peace. Many will never know that. Here I would only like to share the beauty I found in Islam with whomever cares to know without wasting our best resources which is time. Now back to our subject.. if you are sincerely looking for him and did pray to him saying for example.. "please guide me if you are there and if you are the all mighty as they say you are" sincerety and truthfulness is key. If you have this in your heart.. believe me.. he will guide you. He is looking for you as well. Now back to the subject of someone worshipping his mind.. which happens when he is very inteligent and bright especially if you add to this reciepe lots of knowledge and more like if he studies in top universities under very reputed professors.. now the mix is very suitable and dangrous enough.. in Quran God says that if he spreads a lot of his givings (including knowledge, money, physical strength....etc. many of the human would most certainly go about practicing tyriny and this is why he gives little bits at a time ( too much learning and knowledge, as well, for some can spoil their minds because they actually have minds vulnerable to this plague of exessiveness mentioned above and due to this instead of understanding they wrongfully believe that they are unique when actually they have rotten minds that they cannot actually use properly blinded by this too much knowledge). There is a long chapter in Ahadeeth Quodsia (Gods words but not Quran) explaining this in detail..let me also tell you about a mind: it gets sick,if deprived of sleep, sugar, nurishment or water or exposed to super stresses can break down or halucinate and make mistakes. Also minds can get tumours or alzaheimers... etc. therefore you can't count on it alone.. again you need a higher power that does not change or make mistakes to guide you through this life. Notice that you have brilliant proffessors all over the world worshipping any and everything e.g. animals and trees.. even the vagina!! they worship it in india and they have temples for it! Counting on the mind alone is a big mistake that so many do knowadays. Now I leave you with 4 things from Quran again before I find your evidence..
Very clear facts from Quran that Muslim did not comprehend at that time till the last few decades. Here I assure you there is no taking anything out of context or so. These are simple ones that as an Arabic speaking person:
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Surat Al Hadid: "We sent Iron down" as you might know it was discovered that Iron was not made on earth and that it came with Meteors to earth over a long period.
Female spider builds a web: a fact discovered latter that most of the webs are built by the females. This was though to be a mistake by some non Muslims and they used to attack Muslims on that point telling them why the female was spider was mentioned in this spot and not the male or a general spiders instead. This is very simple and clear.
Because the Quran is very precise there a verse that says that God has not created 2 hearts inside one man and it was strange to many why not say human or mention both man and woman and the answer was that at some point in her life a woman has 2 hearts inside her when she is pregnant.
In the Quran it is mentioned that: We made mountains as wedges. It was discovered in the 20 century that the mountains look like wedges and are actually holding the crust of the earth. Sorry for writting this much but you are touching on very interesting and sensitive subject.
