deansass:

sorry for the late response! I wanted to make sure I could put together the good things for you and make sure the websites I link don’t have false info 🙂 Let me know what you think/if you have more questions! I’d love to hear back from you if you feel like talking again!!

so basically, Islam means submission. It’s submission to God. And to God, everyone is equal; when you submit to God, he only judges you by your actions. Never by your gender, race, ethnicity, wealth, fashion, etc.

The religion revolves around that ideal. Whatever you do, you do it for the sake of God. You do a good thing? Your intention should be that it’s for God, for the people. You’re not doing it to have other people admire you, or to look cool. You do it because you honestly believe in the cause.

Islam has 5 basic pillars; shahada, prayer, fasting, zakat, hajj. I’ll explain them, because they are probably new terms for you:

• Shahada is simply you saying that you believe that only one God exists, and that Muhammad is one of his prophets. You have to technically “say” it in Arabic, by repeating it after someone. It’s more about your intention than pronunciation though, of course.

• The prayers have their own set of steps, but they’re not hard. And for me, it’s the best time to make a prayer (aka like, ask God for sth), because you feel like you’re just so connected to God in that time period. Usually a prayer takes 2 min at max?
• But before it you also have to wash your body (your face, ears, hands, feet, it’s something called Wudu) to make sure you’re “pure”. Some people have no access to water, so they can do it with “dust”. Again, it’s the intention that matters.
• And some people can’t pray because of physical illness or disability, so they have modifications. Women also don’t pray when they’re on their periods.

• It may seem hard, and it can be, but usually past the first few days, you get used to it, and your body feels a lot healthier. It’s not food deprivation, because you eat a lot after iftar (breaking your fast at sunset) and before sunrise.
• Also, fasting is only for people who can do it. Pregnant women can’t fast (unless theyre at 6+ months and they feel like they can), women on their periods can’t fast, sick people, young people, old people who can’t fast, people travelling, etc. And if you miss some days, you can make it up during the year, too.

• Zakat is charity. You’re supposed to donate 2% of your unused money to charity every year. For example, you have 10 gold bracelets you don’t wear, you should pay zakat for them. You have some money in your bank you don’t use, pay zakat. Rich people have to pay more, ofc, because they have more.

• Hajj is where people do pilgrim in Mecca, and it’s only if you’re capable of going.

The Quran is the holy book; it has a lot of stories, and many guidelines. The prophet’s sayings, called hadiths, are also important and following them is called sunnah (aka not mandatory but very much preferred) and usually they explain stuff in detail.

Of course in islam, you have to believe in

all prophets. We believe that judaism, christianity, and Islam are all one religion––but some people reworded the Torah and Bible, creating their own versions and adding things on. The Quran has never been changed, or reworded, since it was revealed (~1437 years ago).

Islam is also about science and knowledge. The Quran stated many scientific facts before scientists “discovered” them. Muslims believed that Earth rotated around the sun centuries before Europeans did (but they got the credit). Muslims built hospitals, which were free, and universities (also free), because care and education are very important.

Kindness is very important, too. You must respect your parents, unless they are abusive. You must be kind to neighbours, friends, strangers. You can’t call people derogatory names. You should help orphans, and people in need (this is so important in the Quran).

You must have patience. Life gets tough. But that’s okay. Because we believe in another life after this one; this is a test. You live through it, and your actions (not wealth, friends, family.. only your actions and intentions) decide whether you’re a good person or a bad person. Islam is not black and white. You make mistakes. We’re human, we all do. But that’s why we can repent, ask God for forgiveness, and try to improve.

When something in life goes wrong, you should know that God (Allah) probably loves you. Because he wants to test you, your patience, your virtue. Because if you push through, and keep your head up, and keep going, you’re doing it because you know that all of this will pass. Life will pass. When you’re patient, through the toughest times, you show true faith. And having faith is more important than calling yourself a Muslim. Because Allah doesn’t care about titles, he cares about you.

Sometimes we don’t see that. We think that if Allah loves us, then life must proceed without mistakes. Without sadness, without bumps. But that’s not true. What happens might be better for you in the future, or in your after life. Maybe you just can’t, and don’t see it.

it’s happened to me a lot. Something goes bad, and i get sad and pissy. But then it proves to be beneficial. I’m sure it’s happened to you, too.

Now, you see this, and you say, why are some Muslims bad, then?

The answer is simple: They don’t follow Islam.

Remember what I said about faith > title? You call yourself Muslim, and do everything against Islam, you’re not Muslim. Simple. But people don’t see that, especially ones who don’t know what Islam is. They assume Islam is what bad Muslims show it to be.

Islam, in a nutshell, is just about morality.

Prophet Muhammad said that he was only sent to help improve morals and ethics.

Because that’s what makes us good people; our morals, actions, and ethics. And that’s all Allah wants.

We also believe that angels exist, and that after death, a person goes to Heaven or Hell. But some people can spend time in Hell to pay for their sins (those who did not repent), then return to Heaven. And there are 7 levels of Heavens.

This website overall is A+. It links you to many books, but it can be a bit hard for you to find specific ones, so if you need a specific topic I can find you a good one.

However I found this book for you, I think it may be nice. You can look through the chapters and subheadings on the left 🙂

edit

I just found this in my drafts????? I never published this???? @strawberryrockyroad if you are still on this website…. here is your answer god knows how many years later