Marriage contract

[babybunny 2]

Thanks for this post Rahma, as I myself seem to find myself writing a marriage contract for my marriage at the moment....LoL

Marriage in Islam is a contract. Thus, as in any contract in Islam, there are elements which are considered essential to its existence, called arkaan, the possibility of stipulations of different kinds, legal effects of the contract, etc. Each of these should be understood properly in order to ensure that the marriage has been performed in the proper manner and the rightful effects of the marriage are granted to each of the participating partners.

<H4 align=left>The Arkaan of a Marriage According to the Jamhoor (Majority of Scholars)</H4>

1. <div align="left">Offer and acceptance are among the arkaan. For most of these scholars, the offer must be from the woman's side and the acceptance from the man.</div>
   
2. <div align="left">The two parties to the contract: the prospective husband and the guardian of the woman.</div>
   
3. <div align="left">The presence of witnesses.</div>
   
4. <div align="left">Dowry.</div>
   

According to the majority of the scholars, it is not necessary for the marriage contract to be transacted in Arabic, even for those who have the ability to speak Arabic. Those in the Hanbali school who required the use of forms of the words nikah or zawaaj also required that the contract be transacted in Arabic for this reason.

With respect to marriage, there are four different kinds of conditions which must be met:

1. Conditions Required for Initiating the Contract (shuroot al-in'iqaad). These are the conditions that must be present with respect to the arkaan or fundamentals of the marriage contract.
   
2. Conditions Required for the Soundness of the Contract (shuroot as-sihha). These are conditions which must be fulfilled in order for the marriage to have its proper legal effect. If these conditions are not met, the contract is "defective" (faasid), according to Hanafi fiqh, "void" (baatil) according to the others.
   
3. Conditions Required for the Execution of the Contract (shuroot an-nifaadh). These are conditions which must be met for the marriage to have actual practical effect. If these conditions are not met, then the marriage is "suspended" (mauqoof) according to Hanafi and Maliki fiqh. For example, a minor girl until she reaches puberty.
   
4. Conditions Required for Making the Marriage Binding (shuroot al-luzoom). If these conditions are not met, then the marriage is non-binding meaning that either of the two parties or others may have the right to anull the marriage. If they accept the marriage with such shortcomings, it becomes binding.
   

It is a general principle in fiqh that customs can take the status of law. It becomes understood that people are going to behave in a certain fashion. Since that is understood, one party has the right to ask it of the other even if it is not stated in the contract. In the area of marriage, there are some stipulations that are known by custom. These do not have to be mentioned in the contract to be considered binding. However, there are some strict conditions that must be met before a customary act is considered something equivalent to a legal stipulation. These conditions are as follows:

1. The customary practice cannot contravene or contradict anything expressly laid down by the shari'a. For example, it is custom in some parts of the world for the woman to pay dowry to the man. In other parts, it is customary to prepare two or three times amount of food that the guests could possibly eat at the walima (wedding feast). Neither party has the right to demand of the other the fulfillment of such customs.
   
2. The customary act must be common, well-known and universal and not something practiced only by some portions of the population.
   
3. The custom must have been in existence and known before the marriage contract took place.
   

Even those who accept these stipulations all agree that certain conditions are not allowed. Among them are the following:

1. Nikaah Ash-Shighaar. This is where the two dowries are stolen and "exchanged". For example a man marries his son to another's daughter in "exchange" for the other marrying his daughter to the first one's son. Neither woman receives their dowry.
   
2. Nikaah Al-Mut'a. Any kind of marriage with a stipulated time limit.
   
3. Nikaah At-Tahleel. A woman who has been divorced three times and wishes to return to her first husband marries a man on the condition that he divorce her. If this is discovered or if this is her intention, the first husband still does not become lawful for her in spite of this marriage.
   

I strongly urge anyone who is considering putting conditions or any of the following clauses in their marriage contract or working out a prenuptial agreement with their spouse-to-be to consult a qualified Islamic scholar as well as a Muslim lawyer well grounded in marriage and divorce law of the land. I know myself I have spoke with an islamic scholar and a lawyer familiar with the subject.

Some things I have thought over in the last few months....

• both husband and wife agree to discuss all issues that arise in their marriage and arrive at mutually agreeable conclusions. Differences of opinion concerning a point of Islamic practice will be referred to the Quran and Hadith. Both will admit if they are simply expressing personal opinions, which will not be binding.
  
• none of them will have a right to physically hurt each other.
  
• the husband must learn to speak and read Arabic fluently.
  
• that the husband will not require the wife to move out of her home town.
  
• the wife will bring all twenty of her cats to live in her husband's house.
  
• husband and wife both will share responsibilities of cooking, cleaning and other homemaking tasks.
  
• income of husband and wife both will be pooled together in one account operable by each one individually with mutual consent.
  
• husband will not exercise his option of another wife
  
• husband is the leader of the family who will run the family in consultation with the wife.
  
• wife will not be required to work outside the home. If she chooses to work, she will be not be stopped from it and she will not be required to share that income for the family needs.
  
• wife will not work to earn money without the consent of husband.
  
• wife will be solely responsible for homemaking.
  
• children will be raised as Muslims in home and through Islamic education.
  
• home will be run Islamically as described in the Quran and Hadith
  
• Children will not be taken to church.
  
• A court granted divorce will be considered, Islamically, a first level of Talaq (divorce), which has a room for remarrying the same person without any condition.
  
• husband or wife will facilitate each other's Islamic work and will not stop each other from it.
  
• in case of a dispute, husband and wife will appoint one person each to arbitrate between them
  
• if either husband or a wife suggests marriage counseling, the other party must agree to it.
  
• husband will not ask wife to stop her Islamic practices like Hijab
  
• if anyone indulges in Haram (what is forbidden), it will be an acceptable ground for divorce.
  
• in case of divorce, children will be with Muslim spouse and will be raised Muslims.
  
• in case of any spouse's death, the surviving spouse will be responsible for the distribution of inheritance according to the Islamic law.
  
• family will not move out to another country without mutual agreement.
  

my contract is totally diffrent..

hahaha how different?

it dont contain alot of that garbage!

[Together4ever 1]

It would seem to me that if the man is agreeing to something that he feels is haraam, he is the one making something haraam that God made halal, not the woman who only made the request. Not only that, but if a man is compromising his faith (as he perceives it) to please a woman, there are certain assumptions that could be made about his faith.

That is not to say that I think these marriage stipulations make something haraam that is halal, but that I think your logic is off.

I would say they both are to blame. Her for requesting it and him for agreeing but that's just my opinion. You don't have to agree with my logic, it's rather obvious that we don't agree on many issues and you point it out regularly even citing fake websites as your 'proof' against me.

I don't believe that stipulation would be binding though since you would be making a law for you marriage that Allah didn't make and again, Allah warns about making any laws other than His.

Please don't misunderstand my tone, I don't want to argue with you I'm just stating my opinion as you have.

I want to reiterate... NOWHERE does it state a man MUST have more then one wife. He is given the RIGHT OF CHOICE. If he willingly makes a choice not to, based on a request OR OTHERWISE, it is NOT haraam. IF he concedes merely to please without meaning it, that's between HIM and Allah, not the woman making the request. There is absolutely nothing haram about a woman making the request or the man choosing only one spouse.

Yes, we all know YOU wouldn't and that's your CHOICE. I think agreeing to disagree at this point is a good idea.

[Nagishkaw 510]

[Bosco 1]

It would seem to me that if the man is agreeing to something that he feels is haraam, he is the one making something haraam that God made halal, not the woman who only made the request. Not only that, but if a man is compromising his faith (as he perceives it) to please a woman, there are certain assumptions that could be made about his faith.

That is not to say that I think these marriage stipulations make something haraam that is halal, but that I think your logic is off.

I would say they both are to blame. Her for requesting it and him for agreeing but that's just my opinion. You don't have to agree with my logic, it's rather obvious that we don't agree on many issues and you point it out regularly even citing fake websites as your 'proof' against me.

I don't believe that stipulation would be binding though since you would be making a law for you marriage that Allah didn't make and again, Allah warns about making any laws other than His.

Please don't misunderstand my tone, I don't want to argue with you I'm just stating my opinion as you have.

What fake websites? Websites that are critical of Salafism/Wahhabism are fake? You may not agree with the criticism but that hardly makes it fake.

I don't want to argue either. However, we do disagree on many things.

I think the way you portray Salafism as the "real Islam" rather than the Islam you choose is disrespectful to Muslims who choose different paths. Your posts often contain slights suggesting other Muslims are not following a true path. I think implying someone is an unbeliever is wrong, and you do that with your insinuations that Salafism is "true". I also think your representation of Islam is misleading to the many people on these forums who don't realize your thinking is not mainstream Islam, including things like saying you will allow your daughter marry when she is 12 "to the right man".

Edited August 29, 2006 by Bosco

[Together4ever 1]

It would seem to me that if the man is agreeing to something that he feels is haraam, he is the one making something haraam that God made halal, not the woman who only made the request. Not only that, but if a man is compromising his faith (as he perceives it) to please a woman, there are certain assumptions that could be made about his faith.

That is not to say that I think these marriage stipulations make something haraam that is halal, but that I think your logic is off.

I would say they both are to blame. Her for requesting it and him for agreeing but that's just my opinion. You don't have to agree with my logic, it's rather obvious that we don't agree on many issues and you point it out regularly even citing fake websites as your 'proof' against me.

I don't believe that stipulation would be binding though since you would be making a law for you marriage that Allah didn't make and again, Allah warns about making any laws other than His.

Please don't misunderstand my tone, I don't want to argue with you I'm just stating my opinion as you have.

What fake websites? Websites that are critical of Salafism/Wahhabism are fake? You may not agree with the criticism but that hardly makes it fake.

I don't want to argue either. However, we do disagree on many things.

I think the way you portray Salafism as the "real Islam" rather than the Islam you choose is disrespectful to Muslims who choose different paths. Your posts often contain slights suggesting other Muslims are not following a true path. I think implying someone is an unbeliever is wrong, and you do that with your insinuations that Salafism is "true". I also think your representation of Islam is misleading to the many people on these forums who don't realize your thinking is not mainstream Islam, including things like saying you will allow your daughter marry when she is 12 "to the right man".

I don't want you to feel picked on VP, because of course each of us is free to make decisions about our perspectives and beliefs, but I agree with Bosco. I am oposed to claiming a "brand" of Islam and refuse to do it. That is also my choice. But I really have trouble with anyone claiming they alone have the truth. If you want the "truth" none of us is truly capable of possessing it, we can only do our best.

I'm also very irritable these days, so take it for what its worth.

Edited August 29, 2006 by just_waiting

[Veiled Princess 1]

What fake websites? Websites that are critical of Salafism/Wahhabism are fake? You may not agree with the criticism but that hardly makes it fake.

I don't want to argue either. However, we do disagree on many things.

I think the way you portray Salafism as the "real Islam" rather than the Islam you choose is disrespectful to Muslims who choose different paths. Your posts often contain slights suggesting other Muslims are not following a true path. I think implying someone is an unbeliever is wrong, and you do that with your insinuations that Salafism is "true". I also think your representation of Islam is misleading to the many people on these forums who don't realize your thinking is not mainstream Islam, including things like saying you will allow your daughter marry when she is 12 "to the right man".

Fake websites like Islam Q&A and calling them salafi and suggesting that I or other salafis somehow affiliate with them just because you claim they are salafi. Salafism is following the Quran and Sunnah the way the prophet and his righteous companions did. You may not like the prophet and his companions but I believe they were the best generation of muslims and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion. I don't believe in changing the religion that Allah called 'perfected'. If you do then that's between you and Allah. I never said anyone who doesn't follow as-salafiyyah is a non-believer and no salafi scholar says that so you are making claims when you don't know the facts.

Mainstream Islam? Rasool Allah said that when Islam first came it was strange and near the final hour it will be strange again... so much so that even muslims will not recognize it.

The Sunnah shall become corrupted:

We are taught in the revelation that the Sunnah shall become corrupted and this corruption would become the norm, so much so that the people who follow the Sunnah would become as strangers, and those that call to purifying the sunnah would be slandered and reviled. The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "Islaam began as something strange, and it shall return as something strange as it began. So Tooba (a tree in paradise) to the strangers." It was asked, "who are the strangers?" He replied, "those that purify and correct what the people have corrupted of my sunnah" (Tabaraanee in al-Kabeer [6/202])

And what is this corruption, it is none other than innovation, introducing into the pure religion of Allaah new ways of worshipping Him that He has not taught, blemishing His religion with our whims and desires, something that Allaah Himself condemns, "or do they have partners that legislate some religion which Allaah has not given permission for?" (42:21)

The Companion, Abdullaah ibn Mas’ud laments, "how will it be when the trials overcome you, in which the young grow old and the old grow senile. And the people take the bid’ah as the sunnah, and when it changes they say: the sunnah has changed. It was said: when will this be O Abu Abdurrahmaan? He replied: when your speakers are many and your scholars are few, and the wealthy ones are plenty and the trustworthy ones are few." (ad-Daarimee)

How true this statement is today, that the innovations have become so widespread in the religion that the people have taken then to be the Sunnah. And when the true scholar speaks out against these innovations he is labeled as a ‘wahhabi’ by the people because to them it seems that he is changing the sunnah. To Allaah we complain of the ignorance of our times!

http://www.troid.org/articles/manhaj/innov...finnovation.htm

All I was saying about making that stipulation in the contract is that it seems to me that you are forbidding something that Allah has allowed and that's not our place to do.

I take great pride in being one of the "strangers" who follows Allah's religion the way His messenger and prophet taught us.

[Jenn! 918]

I'm just curious if a contract is usually only made when both the man and woman are muslim.

[Veiled Princess 1]

including things like saying you will allow your daughter marry when she is 12 "to the right man".

Also about this part... what I said is that I would rather her marry at that age then to sleep around and have ####### children at that age as is becoming acceptable in the more 'modern' cultures.

[AngelK96 0]

I'm just curious if a contract is usually only made when both the man and woman are muslim.

nope, I am christian and my husband is muslim and we had an Islamic marriage in Jordan and we have a contract.

[Bosco 1]

What fake websites? Websites that are critical of Salafism/Wahhabism are fake? You may not agree with the criticism but that hardly makes it fake.

I don't want to argue either. However, we do disagree on many things.

I think the way you portray Salafism as the "real Islam" rather than the Islam you choose is disrespectful to Muslims who choose different paths. Your posts often contain slights suggesting other Muslims are not following a true path. I think implying someone is an unbeliever is wrong, and you do that with your insinuations that Salafism is "true". I also think your representation of Islam is misleading to the many people on these forums who don't realize your thinking is not mainstream Islam, including things like saying you will allow your daughter marry when she is 12 "to the right man".

Fake websites like Islam Q&A and calling them salafi and suggesting that I or other salafis somehow affiliate with them just because you claim they are salafi. Salafism is following the Quran and Sunnah the way the prophet and his righteous companions did. You may not like the prophet and his companions but I believe they were the best generation of muslims and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion. I don't believe in changing the religion that Allah called 'perfected'. If you do then that's between you and Allah. I never said anyone who doesn't follow as-salafiyyah is a non-believer and no salafi scholar says that so you are making claims when you don't know the facts.

Mainstream Islam? Rasool Allah said that when Islam first came it was strange and near the final hour it will be strange again... so much so that even muslims will not recognize it.

The Sunnah shall become corrupted:

We are taught in the revelation that the Sunnah shall become corrupted and this corruption would become the norm, so much so that the people who follow the Sunnah would become as strangers, and those that call to purifying the sunnah would be slandered and reviled. The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "Islaam began as something strange, and it shall return as something strange as it began. So Tooba (a tree in paradise) to the strangers." It was asked, "who are the strangers?" He replied, "those that purify and correct what the people have corrupted of my sunnah" (Tabaraanee in al-Kabeer [6/202])

And what is this corruption, it is none other than innovation, introducing into the pure religion of Allaah new ways of worshipping Him that He has not taught, blemishing His religion with our whims and desires, something that Allaah Himself condemns, "or do they have partners that legislate some religion which Allaah has not given permission for?" (42:21)

The Companion, Abdullaah ibn Mas’ud laments, "how will it be when the trials overcome you, in which the young grow old and the old grow senile. And the people take the bid’ah as the sunnah, and when it changes they say: the sunnah has changed. It was said: when will this be O Abu Abdurrahmaan? He replied: when your speakers are many and your scholars are few, and the wealthy ones are plenty and the trustworthy ones are few." (ad-Daarimee)

How true this statement is today, that the innovations have become so widespread in the religion that the people have taken then to be the Sunnah. And when the true scholar speaks out against these innovations he is labeled as a ‘wahhabi’ by the people because to them it seems that he is changing the sunnah. To Allaah we complain of the ignorance of our times!

http://www.troid.org/articles/manhaj/innov...finnovation.htm

All I was saying about making that stipulation in the contract is that it seems to me that you are forbidding something that Allah has allowed and that's not our place to do.

I take great pride in being one of the "strangers" who follows Allah's religion the way His messenger and prophet taught us.

Gupt quotes Q&A, not me. And yes, the scholar who runs that site is a Saudi "scholar". I never said you "affiliated" with them, VP, so cut the lies.

This is a prime example of your typical posts and what they imply "I take great pride in being one of the "strangers" who follows Allah's religion the way His messenger and prophet taught us". You may not realize what you are saying, and I think the sad reality is you don't. But when you say YOU follow his way as TAUGHT you are IMPLYING that other people don't. Is it really that difficult to understand how your statements come across?

Another example "You may not like the prophet and his companions but I believe they were the best generation of muslims and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion. I don't believe in changing the religion that Allah called 'perfected'" Again, implying that if someone doesn't do it your way they may not like the Prophet or they have changed the religion.

It is also sad that you obviously know very little about the history of Wahhabism and Salafism. You often throw about the word innovation and say you "and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion". When do you think Salafism/Wahhabism were introduced?

No, you don't come directly out and call people non-believers, but you imply it over and over again and have thrown kufr/kufir around quite a bit in the past.

Since you like to quote ahadith, here is one I hope you will reflect on.

“Whenever a man accuses another of being a kafir or wrong-doer, this accusation will rebound on him if the one accused is not in reality a kafir or wrong-doer.” Sahih Bukhari

[Together4ever 1]

I'm going to step in it because I'm grumpy anyway...

Islam is Islam. Your "way" is right and everyone who does not follow the particular brand of interpreting it as you do is wrong? Hardly.

I really have a problem with sects. They form their own interpretations and encourage followers. This does not encourage much of a deep individual relationship or finding one's understanding on a deep level. But then this is MY opinion.

You can keep the prideful attitude VP... go read what the quran teaches about pride.

[hurriya 0]

I have waited SO long for someone to step up and state this.

No, you don't come directly out and call people non-believers, but you imply it over and over again and have thrown kufr/kufir around quite a bit in the past.

I have not yet been the direct subject of one such lashing, but I have felt it many times. I try to read objectively and remove emotions from the statments in hopes of just getting the meaning of the various posts, but I have often felt that the person(s) who state this is projecting a "holier-than-thou" attitude about their acts/beliefs of faith. I don't claim to be a "perfect" Muslim/Christian/Jew/Buddhist, whatever for I don't believe there could ever be such. My beliefs are what they are, labeled or not, but I DO know that tearing down and chastising the belief/practice systems of others will get me no closer to paradise/heaven than I am now.

[Veiled Princess 1]

Gupt quotes Q&A, not me. And yes, the scholar who runs that site is a Saudi "scholar". I never said you "affiliated" with them, VP, so cut the lies.

This is a prime example of your typical posts and what they imply "I take great pride in being one of the "strangers" who follows Allah's religion the way His messenger and prophet taught us". You may not realize what you are saying, and I think the sad reality is you don't. But when you say YOU follow his way as TAUGHT you are IMPLYING that other people don't. Is it really that difficult to understand how your statements come across?

Another example "You may not like the prophet and his companions but I believe they were the best generation of muslims and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion. I don't believe in changing the religion that Allah called 'perfected'" Again, implying that if someone doesn't do it your way they may not like the Prophet or they have changed the religion.

It is also sad that you obviously know very little about the history of Wahhabism and Salafism. You often throw about the word innovation and say you "and anything introduced into Islam after them is worthless in my opinion". When do you think Salafism/Wahhabism were introduced?

No, you don't come directly out and call people non-believers, but you imply it over and over again and have thrown kufr/kufir around quite a bit in the past.

Since you like to quote ahadith, here is one I hope you will reflect on.

"Whenever a man accuses another of being a kafir or wrong-doer, this accusation will rebound on him if the one accused is not in reality a kafir or wrong-doer." Sahih Bukhari

Gupt quotes from there but you and others here are always quick to jump in and claim 'oh that is a salafi website... they are salafi like veiled princess and not real Islam' or something to that effect even though I have told you time and again that's not true and have openly disagreed with what that shaykh says. You also falsely claim the terrorists and al-qaida are salafis even though I have provided proof from true salafi sites that salafi scholars have frequently condemned acts of terror and all the groups that call for it or act on it.

Furthermore, just because someone is "Saudi" does not by default make them "Salafi".

Wahhabism is not a manhaj, Wahhab was a shaykh who called people to the worship of Allah based on the Quran and Sunnah the way the companions of the prohpet understood it. To learn about as-salafiyyah I suggest starting here http://www.salaf.com/ and follow the links to trustworthy sites. You might look for the link about salafiyyah being a 'new' thing. The salafi scholars call people back to the worship of Allah the way it was in our prophet's time so it's not 'new'.

Regarding the hadith you quoted... you should quote it correctly and not just the way you want it to read. What it says is "whoever calls his brother a kafir"... that means not to call other muslims non-believers. There is no prohibition against calling kufar... well kufar.

Kufr is something very important to warn against as it will lead a person to hell forever. I think it's something important to discuss. We should all be well aware of the various acts of kufr and what makes one a kafir to protect ourselves from those things.

We, as muslims, should call to Allah by making people aware of the favors of Allah and His rights to be worshipped alone as well as by warning the kufar that Allah has created hellfire for everyone who rejects Him and the only way to escape it is by la ilaha illa Allah. It is not wise to call to Allah by pretending that kufr does not exist and that everyone, kufar and muslimeen alike, will be together in jannah.

Allah says in the Quran:

"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers."(Aal-e-Imran, Chapter 3, Verse 85)

You should know that there are not many paths that lead to Allah, there is only one... Islam. To claim that there are many paths is actually a very pagan thing to say and quite irresponsible.

I'm not trying to bash you and I'm by no means implying that you are a kafir... so we're clear. I'm just tired of being bashed and lied about on here by people who profess to be muslims when it's rather clear that some people here have little or no knowledge of Islam at all other than what their local imam feels about it.

There is a lot of misinformation concerning Islam that goes on here. Most of the time I stay out of it because anytime I comment (like this time) I get attacked by the kufar and the 'mods' alike

I mean I think it's sweet that some of you ladies here love Islam and want to talk about it and discuss things here but really Islam was not meant to be about what we 'feel' about it. It's sanctioned by Allah alone and we shouldn't let our personal feelings get in the way of worshipping Him the way He instructs us.

[Jenn! 918]

I mean I think it's sweet that some of you ladies here love Islam and want to talk about it and discuss things here but really Islam was not meant to be about what we 'feel' about it. It's sanctioned by Allah alone and we shouldn't let our personal feelings get in the way of worshipping Him the way He instructs us.

VP, I think you just don't realize how patronizing this sounds. I'm not Muslim, but I can see how others feel. I think it's just a matter of choosing your words more carefully.

[Veiled Princess 1]

I'm going to step in it because I'm grumpy anyway...

Islam is Islam. Your "way" is right and everyone who does not follow the particular brand of interpreting it as you do is wrong? Hardly.

I really have a problem with sects. They form their own interpretations and encourage followers. This does not encourage much of a deep individual relationship or finding one's understanding on a deep level. But then this is MY opinion.

You can keep the prideful attitude VP... go read what the quran teaches about pride.

It has nothing to do with pride and everything to do with truth. Allah warns about being extreme in the religion and everyone calls out the taliban and al-qaida claiming they are being extreme (I don't agree because I don't believe they follow the religion at all so it's not possible for them to be extreme in it) but that warning extends to extremities in the other direction as well. Everyone is not going to be in jannah. There will be many people in hell fire for eternity. To pretend otherwise is careless.

I mean I think it's sweet that some of you ladies here love Islam and want to talk about it and discuss things here but really Islam was not meant to be about what we 'feel' about it. It's sanctioned by Allah alone and we shouldn't let our personal feelings get in the way of worshipping Him the way He instructs us.

VP, I think you just don't realize how patronizing this sounds. I'm not Muslim, but I can see how others feel. I think it's just a matter of choosing your words more carefully.

I'm not trying to patronize anyone here. I am and will continue to defend my faith inshallah, and also to try to encourage anyone here who is looking for valid information towards proofs instead of someone's feelings.