36 replies to this topic

[CanuckGirl]

Hi everyone,

Was anyone here agnostic/atheist before reverting?  I currently call myself agnostic, and as much as I would like to believe, I just don't feel it, so I'm wondering what made you realize that there is a God?

Thanks!

[The Canuck]

Just thinking about the miracles of the world/universe.  The largeness (sky, planet, space, star system, galaxies) and the smallest (molecules, particles, electrons), the ecosystem, animal kingdoms etc.  It's just too remarkable, and no matter how much our studies and theories (science) can explain things, it still leads to being absolute miracles. There must be some power behind it, a creator.  There is no evidence to disproove that God exists, yet there are evidences that proove his existence.  The arguments that disprove his existence are not valid (at least to me, I did not find them to hold a strong argument, there is nothing to deduce and it's been non-conclusive).  The scale tips much over to the side that God does exist.  In my opinion of course.

Also when I take into account the "human" miracles, thought, feelings, abstract thoughts such as the soul etc, faith, how it can change many things, mood, stress, health, the human miracle also tips the scale over to God must exist.  Again, my own opinion, maybe I haven't worded this well.

I think logically there is a God, it's peoples interpretations of religion and their misguidedness or mistakes that show the illogical side of religion.

ws

[Muhammed Ali]

CanuckGirl, on 12 July 2010 - 10:19 PM, said:

Hi everyone,

Was anyone here agnostic/atheist before reverting?  I currently call myself agnostic, and as much as I would like to believe, I just don't feel it, so I'm wondering what made you realize that there is a God?

Thanks!

Belief isn't just about feeling, it is about reasoning. The feelings are amongst a set of proofs which support the reasoning process.

[Muntasir]

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Just thinking about the miracles of the world/universe. The largeness (sky, planet, space, star system, galaxies) and the smallest (molecules, particles, electrons), the ecosystem, animal kingdoms etc. It's just too remarkable

Therefore god exists; its quite remarkable also that a sun is blowing up every second. Quite some intricacy.

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, and no matter how much our studies and theories (science) can explain things, it still leads to being absolute miracles

How so?

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There is no evidence to disproove that God exists, yet there are evidences that proove his existence

There are proofs, not evidences however to disprove the existence, but however this is a weakness in its own its inability to be purported with evidence, and unfalsifiablity.
The proofs for his existence are not evidence. Just plausible assertions. None of which are really great...

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There must be some power behind it, a creator

Must be Zeus. This gets you to the deistic position, in which no one really can even prove yet.

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it's peoples interpretations of religion and their misguidedness or mistakes that show the illogical side of religion.

True that.

[Abu Hadi]

I was raised as a Christian but considered myself agnostic before I reverted to Islam. I always believed in God(s.w.a) and always believed in His mercy. I was always into astronomy, as a hobby and I knew about the big bang. I knew that the entire universe including all matter and forces (gravity, electro-magnetism, strong force) were created in a single instant about 10 billion years ago and before that nothing existed that we knew of. I knew that there is no possibility that the big bang was a random event and that there is no evolution when it comes to this event since before this, there was nothing to 'evolve' because nothing existed, not even time. So even though the main premise of Christianity, which is the Trinity, didn't make sense to me, I didn't stop believing in God because I knew that there were too many proofs all around us in our world of the existence of God and the unified existence of God. If you take regulation of matter, for example, it is dependent on three forces, and two of those forces (gravity and electromagnetisim) are both dependent on one force (the force which holds together the nucleus of the atom, which scientists call the strong force) because without this force (the strong force), matter would not exists, or at least not exist in the form we know it. The universe was created from a single event (the big bang) and all human beings began life as a single cell. Also, everthing that we know of is governed by the law of cause and effect and all cause and effect can be traced back to the Prime Cause, which is the creation event, which occured sometime before the big bang, and we don't know how long because time didn't exist then.

So if you look out at the universe and within ourselves, there is actually very little that is random and left to chance. These things are very well regulated and the regulation has nothing to do with us and is not within themselves, but is governed by an outside force, which scientists call 'Nature' and we call Allah(s.w.a) or God. These are just a few of the facts that made me turn toward consideration of God and religion. I can post more if you request but these are enough to get you thinking, if you really ponder on them.

[Gypsy]

For me it was the question of Soul and Death.

However much we know about human body, we just can't explain the soul and death. I couldn't find any decent/reasonable explanation about soul. I needed to know if I can exist without my body and where did the soul originate. I also needed to know what will happen to me once I die. Science doesn't even try to go there. Only Islam has given me a very satisfying answer.

[The Canuck]

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, and no matter how much our studies and theories (science) can explain things, it still leads to being absolute miracles

How so?

For example, you can explain how a baby is born.  It's still a miracle.

Quote

Quote
There is no evidence to disproove that God exists, yet there are evidences that proove his existence

There are proofs, not evidences however to disprove the existence, but however this is a weakness in its own its inability to be purported with evidence, and unfalsifiablity.
The proofs for his existence are not evidence. Just plausible assertions. None of which are really great...

Proof and evidence mean the same thing.  Attempting to disprove God's existence without evidence, then would be weak proof.  Yes, prooving God's existence is a difficult task, and it's also an area perhaps without solid evidence (or easy evidence).  Everyone has to judge based on their own understanding and thoughts, and level of knowledge.  The arguments and notions for God's existence still out-weigh the arguments against his existence (in my opinion).  Also, with reasoning and logic the arguments against his existence still offer very minimal weight if it can even be awarded that amount.

[Abu Hadi]

Mujahid, on 14 July 2010 - 10:11 AM, said:

Proof and evidence mean the same thing.  Attempting to disprove God's existence without evidence, then would be weak proof.  Yes, prooving God's existence is a difficult task, and it's also an area perhaps without solid evidence (or easy evidence).  Everyone has to judge based on their own understanding and thoughts, and level of knowledge.  The arguments and notions for God's existence still out-weigh the arguments against his existence (in my opinion).  Also, with reasoning and logic the arguments against his existence still offer very minimal weight if it can even be awarded that amount.

This point has been discussed by many of our ulema throughout history. To summarize, I would say that you can prove the existence of God, or Allah(s.w.a), but you cannot use the method of deduction. For instance, there is no such an argument that goes like 'Because A and B, therefore C (God exists)'. Methods of deduction are only valid when all variables can be quantified. Since God, or Allah(s.w.a) is infinite, and therefore cannot be quantified, we need to use a different method in order to prove the existence of God. The methodology used by the Holy Quran as well as our ulema is an inductive methodology. The Quran constantly asks us to look at creation in order to induce the existence of the Creator. This is an inductive method, and just as valid as deduction, from a logical point of view. In science classes, you will hear silly statements by 'learned' professors, such as inductive method is not science and not scientific, although they themselves depend on induction in order to prove their deductive arguments. The theory of evolution is an inductive and not deductive argument or case. Salams,

Edited by Abu Hadi, 14 July 2010 - 12:24 PM.

[Awaduli]

Honestly, I think I am an agnostic. I would like to be a real Muslim, though. I don't feel that I believe in God in my heart. I believe in Him in my head, but I feel nothing in my heart (belief-wise). I believe in God because I think that there needs to be order, and I think that living in a world without God is pointless. I want to believe in God, but I don't. I agree with Islam on an intellectual level, I think that it makes sense and is very beautiful; but I think I am an agnostic at heart.  

[Abu Hadi]

Awaduli, on 14 July 2010 - 05:01 PM, said:

Honestly, I think I am an agnostic. I would like to be a real Muslim, though. I don't feel that I believe in God in my heart. I believe in Him in my head, but I feel nothing in my heart (belief-wise). I believe in God because I think that there needs to be order, and I think that living in a world without God is pointless. I want to believe in God, but I don't. I agree with Islam on an intellectual level, I think that it makes sense and is very beautiful; but I think I am an agnostic at heart.  

When I first reverted to Islam, I believed in it intellectually, like you, but my heart was not fully into it. I used to believe that there was a clean seperation between feelings, thought, and actions. Actually now, and according to most modern research into the brain, that is not the case. There is no clean seperation and what you do also influences how you think and how you feel. So if I were you, since you have some belief, I would start to do more actions like extra prayer, fasting, giving charity, volunteering to feed the homeless, etc. You will see that as your good works increase, your Imam(faith) will also increase and thus your feelings will change. It will be gradual but the changes will be lasting and you will someday start to enjoy the ibadat (acts of worship) and not consider them a chore. Also, any involvement in haram activities will definitely undermine your Iman and your feelings toward God and the religion of Islam. So getting rid of the haram habits is just as important as doing good works. I , now, truely believe that you are what you do and what you don't do and this is the basis of faith, and it is not merely an intellectual point or a feeling. Salams,

[CanuckGirl]

Thanks for all the responses!!

To be honest, I don't know what my problem is!  I believe is an afterlife, and I believe in ghosts which someone in another forum said could be jinn, so I don't know why I have such a hard time accepting that God exists. And I really do want to believe so I'm not sure what's holding me back. I think part of it may be the beliefs in science that I have (Big Bang, evolution, etc) but none of those things rule out the possibility of God.  

Right now I'm starting to feel really upset about this.  Almost like if there is a God, He's forgotten about me or doesn't care. I have prayed for help and guidance but I don't feel help or guidance. I try to live a good life, so sometimes I feel that either I'm not good enough, or maybe God just isn't real.

Sorry, I'm rambling. But I've been feeling this way for a while and I don't know what else I can do.  I was thinking of fasting for Ramadan even though I'm not Muslim, so maybe that will help? I don't know. I'm just starting to get frustrated

[Gypsy]

CanuckGirl,
Maybe you haven't read enough about Islam/God?  

You can start with reading the nahjul balagha http://www.al-islam....ahjul/index.htm

Start with sermon 1 http://www.al-islam.org/nahjul/1.htm

Read one sermon a day.

Please feel free to ask or if you need more clarification. We are here to help all the newbies (to Islam) and those who are interested to know more about Islam.

[Abu Hadi]

CanuckGirl, on 15 July 2010 - 06:39 PM, said:

Thanks for all the responses!!

To be honest, I don't know what my problem is!  I believe is an afterlife, and I believe in ghosts which someone in another forum said could be jinn, so I don't know why I have such a hard time accepting that God exists. And I really do want to believe so I'm not sure what's holding me back. I think part of it may be the beliefs in science that I have (Big Bang, evolution, etc) but none of those things rule out the possibility of God.  

Right now I'm starting to feel really upset about this.  Almost like if there is a God, He's forgotten about me or doesn't care. I have prayed for help and guidance but I don't feel help or guidance. I try to live a good life, so sometimes I feel that either I'm not good enough, or maybe God just isn't real.

Sorry, I'm rambling. But I've been feeling this way for a while and I don't know what else I can do.  I was thinking of fasting for Ramadan even though I'm not Muslim, so maybe that will help? I don't know. I'm just starting to get frustrated

Here is the key to that. First, you have to have sincerity in your heart. You have to be really seeking guidance from God only and not praying for some other reason, like a particular situation or outcome to happen. Second, you have to be willing to accept the answer, even if it may seem strange or uncomfortable to you. In Islam, life in this world is like one long examination. Like Imam Ali(a.s) says, this world is the world of sowing, and the next world is the world of reaping. Whatever you do, in terms of work in this world, you will get the great majority of the reward for it in the next world. You do get rewarded in this world for you efforts, but this reward is usually an internal reward which takes the form of peace of mind and heart and not something external (usually). This system is set up by God to sort out the ones who are truthful and truly seeking guidance from the ones who are liars and only after something in this life and don't really care about truth. So if you are seeking truth, sincerely, you will find it but it may not be in the place and form that you expect or is comfortable for you. This is the first part of the test, like I said. If seeking and finding guidance was easy and in the expected way and place, everyone would find it easily and there would be no test and no criteria to sort the truthful ones from the liars. Pray to God with a sincere and humble heart for guidance and you will find it, that is for sure. Peace, Salams.

[Awaduli]

Thank you for those encouraging words, Abu Hadi.

[JimJam]

CanuckGirl, on 15 July 2010 - 06:39 PM, said:

Thanks for all the responses!!

To be honest, I don't know what my problem is!  I believe is an afterlife, and I believe in ghosts which someone in another forum said could be jinn, so I don't know why I have such a hard time accepting that God exists. And I really do want to believe so I'm not sure what's holding me back. I think part of it may be the beliefs in science that I have (Big Bang, evolution, etc) but none of those things rule out the possibility of God.  

Right now I'm starting to feel really upset about this.  Almost like if there is a God, He's forgotten about me or doesn't care. I have prayed for help and guidance but I don't feel help or guidance. I try to live a good life, so sometimes I feel that either I'm not good enough, or maybe God just isn't real.

Sorry, I'm rambling. But I've been feeling this way for a while and I don't know what else I can do.  I was thinking of fasting for Ramadan even though I'm not Muslim, so maybe that will help? I don't know. I'm just starting to get frustrated

Religion is based on faith in God, you cannot find true satisfaction in faith unless you do not try to understand what sort of thing God is. Read the teachings of the Imams about Allah

http://www.al-islam....anthology/1.htm

& this post has additional narrations of the Imams about Allah
http://www.shiachat....ost__p__2070453

Edited by JimJam, 16 July 2010 - 06:58 PM.

[Abu Muntazer]

CanuckGirl, on 12 July 2010 - 10:19 PM, said:

Hi everyone,

Was anyone here agnostic/atheist before reverting?  I currently call myself agnostic, and as much as I would like to believe, I just don't feel it, so I'm wondering what made you realize that there is a God?

Thanks!

I hope this finds you well.  While the intellect can lead one to faith in terms of contemplation on the Universe and wrestling with issues like the so called problem of evil, this is only a very rough starting point.  "I was a secret which wanted to be known,"  God wants you to know Him.  One who truly seeks God will find Him.  its like magnetism or gravity.  If you take a step towards Him, He will take ten towards you, if you walk towards Him, He will run towards you.  

If you have ever had a spiritual experience that is God knocking on the door to your heart asking you to open it and allow Him to enter.

[CanuckGirl]

Abu Muntazer, on 29 July 2010 - 03:29 AM, said:

I hope this finds you well.  While the intellect can lead one to faith in terms of contemplation on the Universe and wrestling with issues like the so called problem of evil, this is only a very rough starting point.  "I was a secret which wanted to be known,"  God wants you to know Him.  One who truly seeks God will find Him.  its like magnetism or gravity. If you take a step towards Him, He will take ten towards you, if you walk towards Him, He will run towards you.   

If you have ever had a spiritual experience that is God knocking on the door to your heart asking you to open it and allow Him to enter.

Thanks for all the links...I'm slowly making my way through them all.

Abu Muntazer...I haven't had a "spiritual" experience, at least not one that I've recognized as spiritual. To the part I bolded...I feel like I must be so far away to not have found Him yet...I'm taking the steps as best I know how, but nothing   It's frustrating. Sometimes I want to give up...

[macisaac]

CanuckGirl, on 01 August 2010 - 09:27 PM, said:

Thanks for all the links...I'm slowly making my way through them all.

Abu Muntazer...I haven't had a "spiritual" experience, at least not one that I've recognized as spiritual. To the part I bolded...I feel like I must be so far away to not have found Him yet...I'm taking the steps as best I know how, but nothing   It's frustrating. Sometimes I want to give up...

Perhaps you're path to God is not of the type most would call "spiritual".  That is, perhaps you don't feel attuned to a more feelings-based approach to religion, or experiential, mystical one.  That's not to say you have no way to finding your place in religion.  Perhaps, like myself, you're approach would be more an intellectual one, less emotional in its orientation.  For that, I'd recommend feeding the intellect.  Our religion in fact highly stresses on the relation between the intellect and faith, so don't feel at all bad if you find yourself more attuned to that end of things.  Do that, and the emotional end might follow suit.  Or not.  Doesn't necessarily matter in the end, so long as you're taking a road to the end goal of truth.  And don't worry about "finding" God, He isn't lost.  All you need to do is first, for yourself, assent to His unique existence (note I said assent, I did not say you have full knowledge and conviction by this point).  The rest (developing faith, conviction, certainty), that follows afterwards and can take a long time.

[Abu Muntazer]

CanuckGirl, on 01 August 2010 - 09:27 PM, said:

Thanks for all the links...I'm slowly making my way through them all.

Abu Muntazer...I haven't had a "spiritual" experience, at least not one that I've recognized as spiritual. To the part I bolded...I feel like I must be so far away to not have found Him yet...I'm taking the steps as best I know how, but nothing   It's frustrating. Sometimes I want to give up...

MacIssac gives excellent advise regarding feeding the intellect.

But I have to ask, have you never been overwhelmed by the beauty of a sunset?  Or experienced unbounded joy in the adoration bestowed upon you by a loving child? Those feelings and experiences (substitute in which ever experience best applies to you) are sparks of spirituality.

[Yasoob Al Deen]

Peace, CanuckGirl.

I'm not really much of a spiritual person in that sense. I've always prized the intellect, even if the truth is bitter to me. Check out this article I composed: http://www.pathofisl...ining-muhammed/ It's an intellectual examination of the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him and his chosen family. I wrote it ages ago (before I was Shi'i), so it has the occasional error but its principles are still valid. Check it out!

Peace.

Edited by Perseverance, 02 August 2010 - 08:17 AM.

[Muhammed Ali]

CanuckGirl, on 15 July 2010 - 06:39 PM, said:

Right now I'm starting to feel really upset about this.  Almost like if there is a God, He's forgotten about me or doesn't care. I have prayed for help and guidance but I don't feel help or guidance. I try to live a good life, so sometimes I feel that either I'm not good enough, or maybe God just isn't real.

God hasn't forgotten you, otherwise you wouldn't be here speaking about this. Remember that separation makes the heart grow fonder. Sometimes you need to experience being without a thing to really appreciate it when you get it. Struggling for something is also another factor which makes a person really appreciate that thing when they get it. For example a mother's love for her new born only increases with the struggles that she had to go through before birth. Also you may not be ready or in the right situation to experience those spiritual feelings. However when it happens, you will know it. You need to work on it in the right way.


Have you ever been to a mosque?

Quote

I think part of it may be the beliefs in science that I have (Big Bang, evolution, etc) but none of those things rule out the possibility of God.

They prove God. For example:

Edited by Muhammed Ali, 02 August 2010 - 01:54 PM.

[Ya Baqiyatullah (aj)]

God is something that transcends our human minds, but this doesn't mean we dont have proof for His existence.

I can never truly express the surity I have that God exists, it would be like someone trying to define love, you will never get the full meaning I want to convey, no matter how many words I put.

The only way I answer to why is that my intellect (mind) and my heart (my feelings) and my soul (spirituality) have never been joined together in such a way to exude "There is no God but Allah". Unless someone else is convinced in their mind of His existence and his/her heart says yes to it and their soul has a longing desire to please/meet him, it's hard to relate.

For me the major proofs if I had to be very very brief would be personal experience, common sense and Qur'an and Ahlul Bayt. Like another poster said, it took me a while to go from believing Him as a academic point of view to feeling His presence in my heart.

[CanuckGirl]

macisaac, on 01 August 2010 - 09:48 PM, said:

Perhaps you're path to God is not of the type most would call "spiritual".  That is, perhaps you don't feel attuned to a more feelings-based approach to religion, or experiential, mystical one.  That's not to say you have no way to finding your place in religion.  Perhaps, like myself, you're approach would be more an intellectual one, less emotional in its orientation.  For that, I'd recommend feeding the intellect.  Our religion in fact highly stresses on the relation between the intellect and faith, so don't feel at all bad if you find yourself more attuned to that end of things.  Do that, and the emotional end might follow suit.  Or not.  Doesn't necessarily matter in the end, so long as you're taking a road to the end goal of truth.  And don't worry about "finding" God, He isn't lost.  All you need to do is first, for yourself, assent to His unique existence (note I said assent, I did not say you have full knowledge and conviction by this point).  The rest (developing faith, conviction, certainty), that follows afterwards and can take a long time.

I've been trying to learn as much as I can about Islam as I think you're right - I need to start with the intellectual approach and go from there.

Abu Muntazer, on 01 August 2010 - 10:54 PM, said:

MacIssac gives excellent advise regarding feeding the intellect.

But I have to ask, have you never been overwhelmed by the beauty of a sunset?  Or experienced unbounded joy in the adoration bestowed upon you by a loving child? Those feelings and experiences (substitute in which ever experience best applies to you) are sparks of spirituality.

I've never really thought about those as spiritual experiences...

Last year I was in the Czech Republic and visited some caves. There was one section where the cave roof had collapsed, so suddenly we were in this bright area full of lush green grass. We literally came out of the dark into the most beautiful scene you could imagine...but I never thought of it as a spiritual experience...it was just awe at how beautiful nature is.

But that's kind of the feeling I want with faith...to feel like I'm coming out of the dark and into the light...

Perseverance, on 02 August 2010 - 08:16 AM, said:

Peace, CanuckGirl.

I'm not really much of a spiritual person in that sense. I've always prized the intellect, even if the truth is bitter to me. Check out this article I composed: http://www.pathofisl...ining-muhammed/ It's an intellectual examination of the Prophet Muhammed, peace and blessings be upon him and his chosen family. I wrote it ages ago (before I was Shi'i), so it has the occasional error but its principles are still valid. Check it out!

Peace.

Thanks for the link! I will check it out later (have to get back to studying - Boo!)

Muhammed Ali, on 02 August 2010 - 01:50 PM, said:

God hasn't forgotten you, otherwise you wouldn't be here speaking about this. Remember that separation makes the heart grow fonder. Sometimes you need to experience being without a thing to really appreciate it when you get it. Struggling for something is also another factor which makes a person really appreciate that thing when they get it. For example a mother's love for her new born only increases with the struggles that she had to go through before birth. Also you may not be ready or in the right situation to experience those spiritual feelings. However when it happens, you will know it. You need to work on it in the right way.


Have you ever been to a mosque?



They prove God. For example:

No, I've never been to a mosque. Too shy...

Ya Baqiyatullah (aj), on 02 August 2010 - 07:39 PM, said:

God is something that transcends our human minds, but this doesn't mean we dont have proof for His existence.

I can never truly express the surity I have that God exists, it would be like someone trying to define love, you will never get the full meaning I want to convey, no matter how many words I put.

The only way I answer to why is that my intellect (mind) and my heart (my feelings) and my soul (spirituality) have never been joined together in such a way to exude "There is no God but Allah". Unless someone else is convinced in their mind of His existence and his/her heart says yes to it and their soul has a longing desire to please/meet him, it's hard to relate.

For me the major proofs if I had to be very very brief would be personal experience, common sense and Qur'an and Ahlul Bayt. Like another poster said, it took me a while to go from believing Him as a academic point of view to feeling His presence in my heart.

Yeah, I've asked coworkers (both Muslim and Christian) why they believe and they say the same - that's it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't "get it"  

How do you go from believing from an academic point of view to believing because you feel Him?  I've been thinking of observing Ramadan this year...would that help?

[Abu Muntazer]

CanuckGirl, on 04 August 2010 - 07:55 PM, said:

Last year I was in the Czech Republic and visited some caves. There was one section where the cave roof had collapsed, so suddenly we were in this bright area full of lush green grass. We literally came out of the dark into the most beautiful scene you could imagine...but I never thought of it as a spiritual experience...it was just awe at how beautiful nature is.

But that's kind of the feeling I want with faith...to feel like I'm coming out of the dark and into the light...

There is a verse in the Qur'an which reads in part, "God is the Guardian of those who believe; He takes them out of darkness into light. . . ."2:257.  I immediately thought of it when I read your post.  The wonders of nature are continuing signs from God to us calling us to Him.  It is also striking to me that you had this experience in a cave, as the practice of our Prophet was to go to a cave to mediate.  The angle Gabriel came to him to inform him that he was a prophet and delivered the first revelation to him there in that cave.  That your experience parallels that of this verse and the experience of our Prophet is in and of itself miraculous.  

I am personally not an academic.  I can tell you that the feeling you experienced in the cave is exactly what faith is like.  Know that the difficult task is not finding faith it is keeping it vibrant.  This is why we pray five times a day, and why contemplating the signs in nature is so important. Be ready to be at times overwhelmed.

[Yasoob Al Deen]

CanuckGirl, on 04 August 2010 - 07:55 PM, said:

Thanks for the link! I will check it out later (have to get back to studying - Boo!)

Aww. Yeah I know what you mean. I'm studying too

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No, I've never been to a mosque. Too shy...

Awww. Don't worry. Just don't bring a pet pig to the mosque and you should be fine haha. All joking aside, when you do go God-willing, it's best to take a bath, wear something modest, not sit on the seats provided for elderly or disabled women. Before entering the actual prayer room, put your shoes on the shoe rack provided. If someone says "salaam" (peace) or "salaam alay-kum" (peace be upon you), you respond "wa alay-kum sal-laam" (and upon you be peace). Don't talk too loudly. Don't walk directly infront of a praying person (i.e. leave some space), cos praying people go on the floor in prostration during their prayer. Feel free to socialise and ask questions.

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Yeah, I've asked coworkers (both Muslim and Christian) why they believe and they say the same - that's it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't "get it"  

Probably because they can't provide evidence for their belief...Although not everyone is like that.

Quote

How do you go from believing from an academic point of view to believing because you feel Him?  I've been thinking of observing Ramadan this year...would that help?

You don't need to "feel" Him. Some people have a Christian viewpoint where they expect miracles and swimming in spirituals feelings and experiences. Nope. It's much more subtle than that. And it comes after time. After worship. After intellectual pursuit of Islam.

Do read the link I provided when you have time. Now get back to revision

Peace.