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In the Name of God بسم الله

What Does Religious Mean?

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I think people who have a good opinion of religion would have a good opinion of religious but people who have a bad opinion of religion will have bad opinion of religious.

 

So here I would like us to discuss what it means to be religious.

 

In my view, religion is what brings morality, kindness, abstention from evil, altruism and virtues, and it brings organization, efficiency and integrity.

 

This is my view of religion so whenever I see the word religious I think positive, religious people, religious governance, religious relations means goodness for me and so I use religious as a compliment. 

 

However some people view religion as bad, they see it as unnecessary, a justifier of moral wrongs, its practices are seen as evil, it suppresses human virtues and it ruins organization, diplomacy, and reliability.

 

This griefs me that being religious has become something bad in the eyes of people, mainly because there are so many crimes committed in the name of religion therefore the religious are treated as supporters of crimes in the name of religion.

 

I personally do not ever consider ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaida, Al Nusra, Saudi family, monarchies, and Salafis as religious because these are all what religion is against, therefore it would not be correct to call them religious.

 

I consider the good organizations, good leaders, virtues men and women, just and moral people as religious because these qualities are what religion teaches in its pure essence. Therefore I think only this is the correct attributes of a religious. 

 

It griefs me when someone says religious and uses it to describe the damned people.

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I think people who have a good opinion of religion would have a good opinion of religious but people who have a bad opinion of religion will have bad opinion of religious.

 

So here I would like us to discuss what it means to be religious.

 

In my view, religion is what brings morality, kindness, abstention from evil, altruism and virtues, and it brings organization, efficiency and integrity.

 

This is my view of religion so whenever I see the word religious I think positive, religious people, religious governance, religious relations means goodness for me and so I use religious as a compliment. 

 

However some people view religion as bad, they see it as unnecessary, a justifier of moral wrongs, its practices are seen as evil, it suppresses human virtues and it ruins organization, diplomacy, and reliability.

 

This griefs me that being religious has become something bad in the eyes of people, mainly because there are so many crimes committed in the name of religion therefore the religious are treated as supporters of crimes in the name of religion.

 

I personally do not ever consider ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaida, Al Nusra, Saudi family, monarchies, and Salafis as religious because these are all what religion is against, therefore it would not be correct to call them religious.

 

I consider the good organizations, good leaders, virtues men and women, just and moral people as religious because these qualities are what religion teaches in its pure essence. Therefore I think only this is the correct attributes of a religious. 

 

It griefs me when someone says religious and uses it to describe the damned people.

I'll be terribly frank with this one. I have a very good opinion of religious people--I love them and connect with them--but I can't say the same for religion as a whole. I fulfill all my religious duties, but I just don't feel that connection anymore. I can't remember the last time I made dua. The only times I make dua is when my mom hits me on the head cause I wasn't supplicating.

Just being frank here. There aren't any religious people around me. The net is my gateway. I've become terribly lonely because of religiosity. Lost most of my friends, have lost my ability to concentrate and focus( I can't stop being paranoid about mssing namaz!!!). 

 

Overall, if someone asked me if religion made me weak or strong, my tribal loyalty to Islam would make me answer that it made me strong. Truth is, it's made me less than half the person i was.

 

Totally honest here.

 

Mithrandir.

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Overall, if someone asked me if religion made me weak or strong, my tribal loyalty to Islam would make me answer that it made me strong. Truth is, it's made me less than half the person i was.

 

Totally honest here.

 

Mithrandir.

Same here brother, I never make Dua but I should, I do ask in normal speech. 

 

I was also great with friends and had many but now when I look at old friends nothing interests me about them, all they do is pointless and has no purpose, the only thing they push each other to do is bad things like check that girl out or talk to her, so I have lost all my contacts with all of the people from my school and college.

 

It depends on what kind of a person you were, if you were a better person and you treated people nicely then in this case if you are halved than you have done something wrong, most likely you haven't learned the correct way to practice Islam. 

 

If you were a bad person and you have been halved then this is good, you are half as bad as you used to be.

 

Anyway, my advice is do whatever you want but try to have a reason for doing it or a purpose, you can have some leisure time to relax since it is mustahab, but avoid Haram in all cases.

Religious is not just positive.  ISIS are religious but their religion is far from the religion of God.

When I say religious I mean a follower of God's guidance, so following distortions and misinterpretations of divine guidance is not religion at all. Hence why religion and religious is always good.

 

Or have I got the definition of religion wrong?

Edited by Khalilallah
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When I say religious I mean a follower of God's guidance, so following distortions and misinterpretations of divine guidance is not religion at all. Hence why religion and religious is always good.

 

Or have I got the definition of religion wrong?

 

That would mean people of other faiths that are wrong and not upon guidance can't be religious. So yes your definition of religion is wrong.

 

The religion of God is guidance, but people have different religions then the religion of God.

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I agree with you that religion teaches us the good (whatever good is) and keeps us away from evil (whatever evil is) but what kind of religion are we talking about?

 

Religion is in fact a lifestyle and shows how one can live. Religion is a term abused like many others namely freedom, justice, etc.

 

The origin of a religion clarifies the goodness/evilness of it. If the origin is good so the religion is good otherwise the religion is bad.

 

Religious is one who follows a religion. If his/her religion is good so he/she is too, otherwise not.

 

Please note these points:

Religion is a general term and every lifestyle can be called religion.

 

Knowing the origins is a must before we evaluate any religion/religious

 

We cannot ignore that some people are not really religious and just misuse it to justify their wrong actions

 

and finally the misunderstandings and misinterpretations cannot be ignored as well.

 

 

Correct me if i'm wrong

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Today its a label with so many connotations, its just another word to exert power, to credit or discredit, to box in, to promote or vilify, to characterize, and to set an agenda be it positive or negative. 

 

Who gives that label?  If somebody/something declares themselves "religious", and others oblige and echo that characterization, then they are "religious". But are they really?  When IS calls itself "Islamic", and powerful external voices call them "Islamic" as well, then any third voice saying they are not will have a tough time being heard. 

 

So maybe the real question is not what the word "religious" means, but rather who has the most power in defining and exerting the term.  Otherwise, whatever personal definitions we come up with are meaningless in the grand social scheme of things. 

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I personally think a person is religious if they actually think of, care about and fear God in all things. For instance, I can bet if some mullah type finds that his little brother was mistreated for some excess or mischief, he will most probably not investigate and get straight to looking how to settle the score and help his guilty brother, being unconcerned with truth or justice or the wronged party. Whoever today has excessive money they will almost always never make excessive charity regardless of the beard on their face or their titles or their fame at the mosque. People will pray and stress that everyone prays, but never try to bother and understand their own selves or God the object of their worship or even why they are praying or if they are praying correctly or not.

 

Perhaps its the fluoride in the toothpaste to blame. To be very, very honest, most of us muslims aren't really muslim in reality (just being honest). "Islam is determined from deeds and not words". But we men like to deceive ourselves. See for yourself today. You will find that God is absent from our thoughts and in the things we do.

Edited by Darth Vader
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Salam,

It all depends on environment.

In French society one is religious if he/she believes in God after puberty.

In average Muslim society one is religious if he doesn't go to mixed weddings where music is played.

In Islamic society one is religious if he follows the way of his forefathers to Hawza.

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