Q: I am a new convert and am reading the Koran right now. I know there is a lot of corruption regarding Islam (different sects and such). Is it ok to let only Allah guide me instead of trying to find an Imam that may or may not be "wrong?" It is soooo easy to get confused when first starting out.
A: Yes, its amazingly difficult to sort out anything when all the authorities are in constant disagreement. You have the right of it, stay with the Qur'an! I started coming to the masjid eight years ago, and on the strength of the Qur'an I believed what the people there would teach me. But the more I learned, and they were impressed with how much I was learning and how quickly, it was always wrong, because some text disagreed with some other text. Some imam had issued a ruling against some other imam. And NONE of them had answers for what I was asking. There is no end to the rules the people will lock up their lives with as soon as they start adding to the Qur'an and they will, all the while, say how easy it is. There are plenty people making Islam impossible and unreachable. It was not the case with the Prophet's followers. No one can live up to that. Do not tax yourself! It'll cost you later. The Qur'an is easy. Its clear and pure and sensible. Beyond, that, judge everything strictly. And use the Qur'an as your criterion for what you will accept. Hadith does NOT equal Sunnah. Muhammad's sunnah did not include torture and marrying babies. The Qur'an commands to follow the Messenger. He followed Qur'an. Edit: Someone in here called SJS left this answer for another question, I liked it a lot. Hit the nail on the head...Don't take this one personally, it was for someone else's question. "You need to quit believing others when they tell you the only choice you have is to believe in invisible men, and instead come to terms with who you are and what your place in the universe is yourself. If that manifests with a need to believe in an organized religion, go for it, but first evaluate the holy writings of that religion for yourself. It may turn out that you will be perfectly content being Christian at home, by yourself, reading the Bible and living by it (or being Muslim at home, by yourself, reading the Koran and living by it), rather than subjecting yourself to some preacher's interpretation of the writings every week, and pressure you to bow to their bidding instead of following your heart and your own reasoned choices. So, set aside the saved thing; do some soul searching, find out what you want and what you need; read holy texts and such extensively, from any religion you come across, and evaluate them and how well their teachings resonate with you carefully. Do not listen to those who would quote one line out of a thousand-page volume to try to tell you anything; all things have context, so go to the context, and read it for yourself. Just like reporters like to take bits out of context to make it sound like the person they interviewed said something completely different, so too do religious zealots like to pick and choose which blurbs to share with you to make their point, whilst ignoring the blurbs that go against their point. Read the whole thing and make your own conclusions, rather than relying on excerpts."