Dating : Islam: angel or demon?

Islam is a religion preached by the Prophet Muhammad and based on the Koran.

According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was born around 570 B.C. in Mecca. He became an orphan at an early age and was raised by his grandfather and his uncle. Growing up, he started to work as a servant for a rich widow named Khadija working in trade and who became his first wife.

It was in 610 B.C. in the Hira cave that Archangel Gabriel appeared to him for the first time to share the words of God. Muhammad then founded a group of believers who were called Muslims. The word “muslim” was inspired by Abraham and it refers to the person submitting voluntarily to Allah.

There are 5 pillars of Islam:

1. The shahada, or the declaration of faith
2. The zakat, or alms
3. The Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca
4. Fasting
5. Praying

But even though Islam isn’t based on hate, why does it seem to be the cause of a lot of issues we all have to face?

The causes of our misfortune can take various forms. For example:

– Misery: radical Islam only grows from homes that face harsh poverty;

– Bad government: this leads to poverty not being manageable and then turning into religious radicalism;

– Religion: in my opinion, this is the real cause of religious terrorism. Spirituality should be a journey where individuals would find their way to God through their life experiences, by reading sacred texts. Because of the religions work they prevent us from having this train of thoughts and they put us at the mercy of middlemen who often do not lead us towards the light, God, or Allah.

I know that my opinion may not be relevant to you so far which is why I will use the 2 following examples to explain better. But before anything else, we must agree on one thing: it is no secret that Muhammad recognizes the other Abrahamic religions as originating from God and that Christians and Jews are designated as believers.

Example 1: Marriage with a person from another religion

It is common to hear that a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim (Christian or Jewish) but that a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman. This trend in Islam leads to people being forced into converting. But what exactly does the Koran say?

In the Koran 2:221, Allah says: “And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men [to your women] until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness, by His permission. And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember.”

Example 2: Muslim women divorcing

It is common to hear that Muslim women do not have the right to divorce and that divorce would only be accepted if the man no longer wants the woman or if the divorce is accepted by a Muslim court. But what exactly does the Koran say?

In Sura 64, it is clearly stated that a woman has the right to repudiate herself and thus to dissolve the marriage on her own, either through tafwid or khul.

Tafwid is established at the time as the marriage contract. The husband then deprives himself of his right of repudiation and grants the wife the right to repudiate herself.

Khul allows the wife to divorce her husband if the court refuses to grant her divorce, in return for compensation.

This way, by returning the dower (dowry) given to her at the time of marriage, the woman can terminate the marriage.

Based on these 2 examples, we can understand that many Muslims do not abide to God’s instructions directly but rather to the ones of “middlemen” who believe the know God better than anyone else. God has given each one of us eyes to read, a brain to use and think and a soul so He could speak to us directly if we need to hear Him. Turn away from middlemen (imams, sheikhs…), read the Koran and make up your own mind.

The Koran is a remarkably well-written book and can help us find peace and happiness as well as the way to God. But in order for that to happen, we must follow the Koran and not what people have to say.

Remember this: Man is sin and everything he touches is sin.