AbdulQuddus: I would recommend taking Sh. Yasir’s class on Names and Attributes of Allah (swt) too. I took it and it was very informative. You can find more information on http://www.almaghrib.org or try getting sh. Yasir’s advice on muslimmatters.org

Also, I would sincerely suggest that you pray to AlQuddus to guide you to the truth, to His Path and to His Pleasure.

The original recipe came from browsing the Arab News in Najran. It got lost in the migration from country to country. Yours truly looked for it on internet. And all the internet recipes I accessed required use of sugar! Why on earth would you need extra sugar when consuming dates – a rich source of natural sugar and fiber, not to mention vitamins and above all – a sunnah

Women are always conducting scientific experiments in the kitchen, the end results of which are expected to be relished with gusto by their unsuspecting spouses (with a rolling pin hanging over their heads!)

The following measurements are approximate -

Load a 2 quart pan with seeded, chopped dates upto 2/3 the capacity of the pan
Throw in a stick of butter/margarine chopped into smaller pieces
Pour in water to cover the dates (if you accidently add a tad more water, you can always boil it away scientifically)
Simmer on low heat until the contents of the pan are mushy (like baby’s food)
Shovel in 2 and 1/2 cups of wholewheat flour/atta
Augment with a handful of chopped/crushed almonds/walnuts/pecans
Blend thoroughly
Transfer mixture to a baking pan – round, square, rectangular – whatever (if you want thicker pieces use a smaller pan)
Swelter at 350F for at least 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (toothpick goes in the experiment, not your teeth!)

From what I understand , no Muslim in history has ever “worshipped the sign instead of what it is pointing to”.
This includes the non-sunni sects . Could you point to any ?

Islam does not have an anthropomorphic creed, If u are going to say that Allah has a hand is anthropomorphic then by the same principle the statement that Allah is Merciful is also anthropomorphism because Mercy too is a human attribute, so does many other attributes of Allah which you don’t seem to have problems with.

Anthropomorphism is to believe that Allah’s Mercy is like the Mercy of the King, His Hand is like is like the hand of a man , so on and so forth.

We believe in all the attributes of Allah with out comparison to anything that is in the creation , His attributes are supreme and there is None like Him.

If u really want to go in depth, you could contact Yasir Qadhi of almaghrib who gives classes on aqeedah and one his classes is exclusively on the names of attributes of Allah or you could even take the class

PS:No I am in no way affiliated to almaghrib , I dont even live in the US/Canada where these classes are offered.

Symbolism is like a sign, pointing to the literal. Prior to written language, humankind had spoken language. Written language itself is derived from symbols. The earliest systems of writing were pictograms of zoomorphic representations. Unfortunately, symbolism must obfuscate reality with abstract concepts. Many people misunderstand all this and end up worshipping the sign instead of what it’s pointing to.

Theologically, Muhammad succumbed when he conceptualized Allaah. In the beinning, the Islaamic religion was absolutely innocent of this. In fact, Soorah Al-Ikhlaas (chapter 112) is a Makkan revelation. However, this approach was sacrificed and later the deity was anthropomorphically rendered and depicted in the literary imagination.

Perhaps I’m just guilty of having higher expections of Allaah.

The attributes of Allah only share the same name , their reality is unknown to us , We describe as Allah described himself , these are matters of the unseen and we do not have any knowledge of it except that has been revealed to us and we submit to what Allah has said.

You may want to read the following link especially the initial posts http://lotaenterprises.wordpress.com/aqeedah-2-light-upon-light/

There are many religions that believe in transcendence without using metaphoric language.
Buddhism mentions it by using only negatives such as the Unborn, the Unmade, and the Unconditioned. That makes it more iconoclastic than Islaam. Even Hinduism, specifically Advaita Vedanta, has Brahman as “the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this universe.” (source: Wikipedia)

The Qur’aan is problematic for true monotheists, in my opinion. It claims to be the infallible speech of God. This text, or recitation to be technical, is statically frozen in a particular theological viewpoint held by the seventh-century Arabians. Therefore, if you reject The Shin of Allaah, you’re not a Muslim. An adherent to the institution of Islaam cannot progress from its mere convention. Instead of reality, his faith is destined to be crippled because of metaphors, allegory, and parables in accordance with traditional belief.

Your last statment
“I cannot be Muslim because my expectations of Allaah are too high and great.”
would seem contradictory to rest of the Muslims, becuase Allah Himself has said in Qur’an that ‘there is nothing like Him…”
We make a clear distinction between the Creator and Creation.