Dipped in Jannah

I'm an American, a new revert, and was fairly ignorant about Islam until this year. I remember the bombing of the Golden Mosque and at the time (2006) I thought well, it's another mosque being blown up, one of many such attacks. Certainly a tragedy. But now that I have read and learned more, I can comprehend more the full horror. As one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the attack was clearly done to incite Sunni-Shia violence and conflict. I am not the most educated Muslim on the planet and I have so much to learn, but truly, is it not extremely evil for one Muslim to try to incite anot

You also have the opportunity to support a wide variety of charities, send your zakat to Iraqi charities, etc.

I have read and heard many times that Prophets do not commit serious sin. They may make human mistakes (a math problem or something) but they do not sin. However, according to the Qur'an, Adam was tempted by Shaytan and ate of the tree (7:19-24, 20:115-123, etc.) So Adam was sent down to Earth. Now, I know Adam made penance for 40 days and was forgiven by Allah ÓÈÍÇäå æÊÚÇáì. But...didn't Adam commit serious sin by directly disobeying Allah (swt) and eating of the forbidden tree?

Hello, I live in the US in Oregon and have lived all over in my past. There are many groups here that are non-religious. If you want to post or PM (if that is allowed on this board) specific organizations I can comment. Most religious organizations are obviously Christian. Most I think would welcome non-Muslims but of course some would not, but that should be pretty obvious. As far as where...that's a big question :-) In general, you will find a lot more masjid and fellow Muslims in the East coast, or the Bay Area (San Francisco). But those are the most expensive places to live. Your org

At my age (40s), no, because women my age typically do not have them. My wife does not have any tattoos and neither do I. They just weren't popular when I was younger. I could certainly see a young woman getting a tattoo because it's the popular thing to do these days (at least in the West). She's young, she gets a tattoo, later she matures and regrets it - I would not have a problem with that. She might even be a revert to Islam. Fortunately, it is not a problem I expect to ever have - an advantages of being old :lol:

ShiaChat.com :)

One day he will thank you.

Yes, absolutely. Do not give him money or help him pay off his debts. It is unfortunately a difficult time for 'tough love". Consider this...if a close personal friend came to you and said "brother, I think you need to get some counseling about (something)", would you go? I would, even if I didn't think I had a problem. I think all of us would consider it at least if someone who truly cared about us said "I am worried, I think you need to get help". If you say this to your friend and he shrugs it off, that is only further evidence that he is denying his problem and truly has one. You migh

If my 15-year-old daughter lied to me, I would be very upset with her. If my 2-year-old daughter lied to me, I would not like it but I would not truly view it as a fault with her, because she is just barely speaking. I guess Muslims are more "mature" and are judged by more adult standards :lol:

I am not a scholar, and am a new Muslim, so please keep that in mind. I think the "problem of evil" is something of an illusion because we only see this life. Imagine a man who life is one calamity after another, tremendous pain and suffering. Then he goes to Jannah and lives in bliss for all eternity. Would you trade 70 or 80 years of agony for an eternity of paradise? I would! (Though of course, I do not need any agony, thank you very much...) If you evaluate this world only based on this world, yes, it is unjust and we do not understand why there is evil, why Allah (swt) could permit th

Yes, that is true. I found ShiaChat on a list of the biggest Islam forums, and spent some time reading here. I know a little about the difference between Sunni and Shia, but not enough really to speak in an educated fashion about them. From my perspective, both are very old traditions that go right to the heart of Islam, and both have much in common. (this is just my observation and I admit my great ignorance at this point in my life - I do not mean to start any kind of flame war :-) I definitely need to read and learn more.

You are welcome to do so!

Hello brothers and sisters, I made Shahada last night. I am American and am now a Muslim. I have enjoyed reading ShiaChat for several months. I don't consider myself a Shia (I still have so much to learn) but there is much good and interesting information on this board, so I thought I would join. I wrote up the story of my Shahada, in case anyone is interested to read about my "cyber-shahada": My Shahada