In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Religion is a fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons. It is the practice of certain religious beliefs, a ritual observance of faith. To worship or be obedient to a supernatural power or powers that have control of human destiny.
Many religions come with their own customs, histories and symbols. Religion explains the meaning of life and the origin of life.
The use of religion is to attain a certain lifestyle that fits with your religion. It is a way to achieve the preferred laws, ethics and morality.
1150-1200; Middle English religioun ( < Old French religion) < Latin religiōn (stem of religiō) conscientiousness, piety, equivalent to relig (āre) to tie, fasten ( re- + ligāre to bind, tie; cf. ligament) (source: dictionary.reference.com)From this dictionary entrance we can conclude that the word itself means to bind. Which makes sense, because that is what religion does to people. It binds a person to a group of people that believe in the same thing. It binds a person to a supernatural power. But in some cases it also binds a person to culture and history.
There are people that categorise religions the same as they do superstition and mythology. These are the people that do not believe in a supernatural power. They think that religion is simply a story that used to be told to people to obtain control over them.
Personally, I used to have doubts about the existence and authenticity of religions. It seemed so weird for me that there could be someone else looking down to us and controlling us. The way I was always taught was that there was a God sitting in heaven, looking down at us people and He concocted all things people did. I couldn't believe that there was someone out there that controlled me completely, that I had no free will or anything of the sorts.
However, I found out that this was not what religion was about per se. I did research about religions and found that the rules and morals of Buddhism matched my own morals and my beliefs of what religion should be. It suited with the way I thought life should be - peaceful, the pursuit of happiness, putting aside wealth. One thing I found hard to believe was the rebirth the Buddhists believe in. The other thing I had a problem with was that Buddhism is a nontheistic religion, Buddhists don't believe in God. I believed in God.
I was surprised to learn that Islam had many of the same rules and morals that Buddhism had, combined with believing in God. For me this was a very good reason to start reading the Qur'an, and when I did I knew I had found the right path.
Islam is a peaceful, just, religion that lets their followers strive for Jannah, heaven. As long as you are a good person by heart, follow the rules of Islam and, most importantly, believe in Allah (swt) you can go to heaven.
I believe in Islam because it brings me peace. It shows me the right path I should follow so I can reach heaven, God willing. I believe that I am a good person at heart and Islam has shown me the reasons that there is injustice in this world. It has also shown me that it doesn't have to be this way, and that it won't be this way in heaven. Islam gives me hope, and in my opinion there is no life worth living without hope. I have trust in Allah (swt). I truly believe Islam is the true word of Allah (swt).
I hope this post has given you insight in why I believe and what religion means to me. I am always interested to learn about what religion means to you and why you believe in what you believe.
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