I know u r wondering what this thread is about? Read this Hadith : “There will come a time of patience when the one who adheres steadfastly to his religion will be like one who holds a burning coal.”
so what do u do when the coal gets hot, do you let go?

We now live in a world were Muslims are scared of being Muslims We no longer wear clothes that look 'islamic', we don't want to be seen with friends that are too 'islamic', our usernames are not unislamic but far from being Islamic, BUT ABOVE ALL WE OURSELVES ARE ASHAMED OF BEING ISLAMIC.

during my university years abroad I always insisted my food was pork-free which usually makes my order time longer that usual, this cought the attention of a Jewish guy who also doesn't eat pork, and since then we go to the restaurant together in pork-free solidarity movement along the way a White south African Christian joined our launch break pork-free click (so why do Christians in 9ja eat pork?)

Well I will like to hear you experience where practicing Islam has made you look strange to the public (actually I enjoy those all-eyes-on-me moments ) like

Praying in an busy international terminal

Praying at the back of the plane flying into Europe  (my personal favourite )

Asking for prayer breaks instead of lunch break at work

And lots of burning coal moments which others will let go rather than hold on to.

Share ur expirience,

My bad! I wanted to post this in the Islam section, the mod van move it there.

Muslims should learn about Islam.and before that,they should learn about christianity to see the differences,then they will appreciate Islam more.i picked christianity since it is the religion conniving with ungodly america to tarnish the image of muslims through missionary activies with the aim of converting us all.


with proper study,then the muslim will have confidence in himself.most muslims lack confidence to defend what they believe in or even stand by it openly because they lack knowledge.

Praying in an busy international terminal

Praying at the back of the plane flying into Europe (my personal favourite )

Asking for prayer breaks instead of lunch break at work

werent you the one saying you prayed in china on top of a mountain?

you're really too much into a public display of religion- it seems like privately you feel something is missing.

during my university years abroad I always insisted my food was pork-free which usually makes my order time longer that usual, this cought the attention of a Jewish guy who also doesn't eat pork, and since then we go to the restaurant together in pork-free solidarity movement  along the way a White south African Christian joined our launch break pork-free click

good for you- you made some friends.

let's allow others to eat whatever animal they want in order to avoid unnecessary aggro.

it goes in their own gullet, not so?

(so why do Christians in 9ja eat pork?)

because it's their business what they eat.

i would not knowingly eat a camel but i dont concern myself with those who do.

@ op, i see d need to be proud of what you do and never to be ashamed of being a Muslim. but, at the same time, we have to be careful of something, riyaa(show off) which is highly forbidden in Islam. It is okay to pray at these places when it is time for salaah but the intention should never be to draw attention, as in that case, the reward for the act would be lost.

I hope many can be proud to express themselves as Muslims everywhere. We have the best of what is good for mankind, why then should we be shy of it.

LagosShia:

Muslims should learn about Islam.and before that,they should learn about christianity to see the differences,then they will appreciate Islam more.i picked christianity since it is the religion conniving with ungodly america to tarnish the image of muslims through missionary activies with the aim of converting us all.


with proper study,then the muslim will have confidence in himself.most muslims lack confidence to defend what they believe in or even stand by it openly because they lack knowledge.

Thank you, my brother.  I agree that it is important to know a little bit about other religions in order to make a comfortable choice or feel secure with what was handed down to you.  As I grew up, I read and understood the basic tenets of other religions, and once an adult, even visited many churches.  All it did was make me more confident that I was already practising the right religion FOR ME, and spurred me to try and learn and practice more than the really non-observant (Muslim) way I grew up.  lol. I don't know it all, but I know I wouldn't change to a different religion for anything!  There is no compulsion in Islam.  

Salaam.

@ tipia

I am only responsible for what I type and not what you understand therefrom. Feel free to see it as public display, I derive pleasure in sharing my priceless personal experience and reading about others, it's called motivation. (by the way are you intimidated by travels )
And on the issue of eating pork are you paranoid? Who said anything about forcing anybody to eat anything? I don't eat pork so me and my Jewish and Christian friends go to halal restaurants or insist we are not served pork. Is asking for your right forcing anybody?

@deols

Thanks for ur thoughts. I must say riya is one of the killers of the best deeds, and although a fine line separates riya and sincerity, it isn't lost on me.
Remember the story of one of the sahabahs during the early yrs of Islam (perhaps it was ibn Abbas) who used to go to the Kaaba surrounded then by kuffars and publicly declare his faith, and he will be beaten unconscious, only to return the next day to repeat the same thing and beaten again
So you see sometimes it helps to publicly act to encourage others and at the same time guard against riya. It's called 'SAABQU FIL KHAIRAAT'

But thanks for your advice.

@ Lagosshia

You hit the nail on the head. When I was a kid growing up in lagos we attended missionary school ( we were the only Muslims there then) I had all sort of children's bible, songs of praise etc. And as an adult now I have looked into Christianity and seen that intrinsically it offers very little, and most of it teachings are from the church, the priests and evolution over time (how else can you explain gay and female priests).
So yes my knowledge of Christianity has helped confirmed my certainty in islam

tpia@:

werent you the one saying you prayed in china on top of a mountain?

you're really too much into a public display of religion- it seems like privately you feel something is missing.

@tpia

Idont think it is public display. Any devout Muslim knows prayer is timed obligation upon them.

I remember onece rushing down to eko hotel for an interview only to remember I was so much in a haste I missed my Dawn prayer, I had to spread my jacket on the floor in the waiting section and pray there.

BIGER BOY:

@tpia

Idont think it is public display. Any devout Muslim knows prayer is timed obligation upon them.

I remember onece rushing down to eko hotel for an interview only to remember I was so much in a haste I missed my Dawn prayer, I had to spread my jacket on the floor in the waiting section and pray there.

as much as not missing prayer and observing prayer is obligatory in Islam,if you were already late or forgot to pray your salat al-fajr (dawn prayer) and the stipulated time has past,you should not have done what you did.the time has already past anyways and you were going to do it "qada" (i.e. repeat/replace it).so you were already late and the specified time for observing that prayer has past.you should not have done that where you went for an interview as it could hamper your chances of being employed.Allah (swt) has not placed any burden on us.we dont have to burden ourselves.being confident and proud is different from doing things with an "excess" which could negatively affect you.

if also you are desperate for a job and you have a family depending on you for its livelihood,you could attend the interview first and come later to pray if the interview would not make you miss salat within the stipulated time.for instance,lets say the duhur prayer is between 2pm to 5pm (just taking random timing) and your interview is at 2pm.you could attend the interview till 3 pm and then come back to offer your salat for duhur.it is still done within the time limit.but ofcourse that is not to say you should not pray on time or earliest (within the stipulated time) when the prayer is better to offer.you should pray on the recommended time and avoid delay especially when you are not under compulsion.

the above are my opinions to the best of my knowledge.Allah (swt) knows best and it is better to clarify these issues with any qualified islamic alim like through the below websites of two reputable and qualified alims (may Allah prolong their lives):

www.sistani.org

www.leader.ir

isale_gan2:

Salaam.

Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

Mai-suya:

@ tipia

I am only responsible for what I type and not what you understand therefrom. Feel free to see it as public display, I derive pleasure in sharing my priceless personal experience and reading about others, it's called motivation. (by the way are you intimidated by travels )
And on the issue of eating pork are you paranoid? Who said anything about forcing anybody to eat anything? I don't eat pork so me and my Jewish and Christian friends go to halal restaurants or insist we are not served pork. Is asking for your right forcing anybody?

you were asking why christians in nigeria eat pork, were you not?

whatever animal somebody decides to put in their body shouldnt really concern other people.


not room for generalization simply because you saw one person/s who decided not to eat pork.

nobody was referring to your insisting restaurants dont serve you food you're not comfortable eating for whichever reason. Its your prerogative to eat food that agrees with your conscience.

but extending your personal preferences to others and insisting they conform to your personal habits, is taking things a bit too far imo.

Mai-suya:

When I was a kid growing up in lagos

i find that very hard to believe.

do you speak yoruba?

Some people should not just be attended to,i just wondered how their husbands cope with them,thats if they have any.

^^ u give jokes sha. hope u'r back for real.

even among Muslim brethren, it's hard being a Muslim sometimes. I won't b sharing experiences for now.

...

isale_gan2:

Thank you, my brother.  I agree that it is important to know a little bit about other religions in order to make a comfortable choice or feel secure with what was handed down to you.  As I grew up, I read and understood the basic tenets of other religions, and once an adult, even visited many churches.  All it did was make me more confident that I was already practising the right religion FOR ME, and spurred me to try and learn and practice more than the really non-observant (Muslim) way I grew up.  lol. I don't know it all, but I know I wouldn't change to a different religion for anything!  There is no compulsion in Islam.  

Salaam.

Shukran

@greateros,so because he is in a plane,he should not observe prayers?pls be mindful of your writtings,christianity or other religion is not like Islam.

@Deols,av been watching you guys,but just dnt reply,most particularly when they start to call Allah and his messengers names,it breaks my heart,so i dnt really have to be here,until the topic is changed.

You have a heart?

Are you sure?

tpia@:

You have a heart?

Are you sure?

Bad belle. Mai Suya send me some Suya.

@tunji

Masha Allah, kwansida rit done!
Just drop a 500 naira glo pin here and I will send you pictures of the suya

@ greatos
The concept of salaat (Ill-translated to prayer) is a compulsion on every soul. And it is never waived in any circumstance hence Muslims pray even in the battle field. (that's how much we revere our lord)

Mai-suya:

@ greatos
The concept of salaat (Ill-translated to prayer) is a compulsion on every soul. And it is never waived in any circumstance hence Muslims pray even in the battle field.

five times daily, right?

Mai-suya:

@tunji

Masha Allah, kwansida rit done!
Just drop a 500 naira glo pin here and I will send you pictures of the suya

Recharge card for pictures does not look like a good bargain. Recharge card for a trailer load of Suya sounds good to me.

LagosShia:

Muslims should learn about Islam.and before that,[b]they should learn about christianity to see the differences,then they will appreciate Islam more.[/b]i picked christianity since it is the religion conniving with ungodly america to tarnish the image of muslims through missionary activies with the aim of converting us all.


with proper study,then the muslim will have confidence in himself.most muslims lack confidence to defend what they believe in or even stand by it openly because they lack knowledge.

Why must Islam be appreciated when juxtaposed with Christianity first? Can't it stand on its own? Is Islam that insecure and not sure of itself? There is this fear or apprehension in Islam about the battle for or retaining of converts with Christianity more than any other religion.

If any religion thinks it needs to woo me then let it try. My faith should see me through (if its a faith at all)

How many Hindus, Maos etc juxtapose their religions with another to strengthen it? 

brentkruge:


Why must Islam be appreciated when juxtaposed with Christianity first? Can't it stand on its own? Is Islam that insecure and not sure of itself?


If any religion thinks it needs to woo me then let it try. My faith should see me through (if its a faith at all)

How many Hindus, Maos etc juxtapose their religions with another to strengthen it?

firstly you have claimed not to be a christian.so you should shut-up.

secondly,you are not a muslim and far from it.so you should get out from here.

thirdly,christianity sepnds millions to fight Islam,lay prey for the unsuspecting and not-so-knowledgable muslims to confuse them and to spread lies and propagte evil things against Islam.so we should fight that,and expose them and what they stand for.i also called for Muslims to learn about Islam very well.knowledge in Islam is the step towards exposing evil.