O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, Lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy. For he commands you what is evil and shameful, and that ye should say of Allah that of which ye have no knowledge.
Qur'aan, 2:168&169
One of the biggest obstacles in the way of accepting the Truth is that we tend to follow blindly the footsteps of our ancestors and keep on practicing age-old customs and traditions. For such people, I would like to repeat what I quoted at the start of this booklet from the Qur'aan:
When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah hath revealed:" They say: "Nay! We shall follow the ways of our fathers." What! Even though their fathers were void of wisdom and guidance? The parable of those who reject Faith is as if one were to shout like a goat-herd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom. Qur'aan, 2:170&171
At this juncture, I would like to deviate a bit and draw the attention of the readers towards two things just mentioned in the preceding lines; the life of this world and the world hereafter and what does success mean.
Allah through ages sent His messengers to call people to worship none but Him and to enlighten them about the purpose of their creation and to guide man in all matters of truth. There is nothing unique in Islam when it speaks about heaven and hell. This theme runs through all the major religions of the world. The differences in Islam and other religions are only due to the corruptions which have taken place in the teachings of the prophets (peace be upon them) that came before Muhammad (peace be upon him). Since all the messengers came from one source (i.e., one God) then how it is possible that their messages be different. Rather their message was one and the same, but people with vested interests corrupted their teachings and made changes in the Books revealed on them for petty gains. The Law that Muhammad (peace be upon him) bought too would have got corrupt had not Allah taken the responsibility upon Himself to safeguard it from corruption.
Even if we think with reason and logic there has to be another world where the scales of justice would be established; where the poor and the weak will get their due; where the so called ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’, which man had worshipped would disown him; where the rich would be made accountable for all the riches they were bestowed out of nothing but as a favour from their Lord in their sojourn on this earth; where the tyrants and the mighty who had played havoc with the lives and properties of the innocent souls would be humbled and punished; where the rejecters of the Truth despite clear signs from their Lord would be questioned; and where the rejecters of life after death would be shown what all they had been rejecting throughout their lives. That Day all the slaves of Allah will be marshalled before their Lord and their Lord will treat none with injustice.
Coming to the word ‘success’, every human has a different interpretation to it. To some being a rich person is success; to some having power is success; to some excelling in sports is a success. Thus we see that success means different things to different persons. But in the sight of Allah a successful person is the one who saves himself from Hellfire and qualifies himself to be a dweller of Heaven. This life is an examination and the result is the eternal life in Hell or Heaven. To make this examination easy for His slaves, Allah out of His infinite mercy sent messengers to guide mankind to the truth. When a person surrenders himself before Allah, Allah not only makes him successful in the life to come but also in this transitory life. I cannot help but recall the often repeated verse.
Verily, in the Apostle of God you have a good example for everyone who looks forward [with hope and awe] to God and the Last Day.
Qur’aan, 33:21
“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and
Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,'
One may say that if success lies in following the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) then why are Muslims at the lowest ebb? Why is their condition so miserable? The answer to this is as simple and as straight as it comes. The reason for the downfall of the Muslims is due to the fact that they are not following the Prophet (peace be upon him). As said earlier that a person becomes a Muslim only on submitting his will to God, not just by merely being born and brought up in a Muslim family.
All humans are equal before Allah; the difference is only between people who fear God the most and do good deeds, and those who go astray. To Him, we have to return. Once you are dead, everything will be brought in front of your eyes. Everything would be crystal clear. But if you die as the one who rejected Allah's Commands brought to us by His last messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) it will be too late to make amends. Please don't depart from this world as an unbeliever. Allah may forgive any sin He pleases, but He does not forgive those who ascribe partners unto Him.
Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.
Qur'aan, 4:48
Please be kind to yourselves. Don't you want to save yourself and the ones around you, whom you love, from the Eternal Hellfire that has been prepared for those who reject Allah as one and Muhammad (peace be upon him) as His final messenger?
Those who deny (their Lord),- for them will be cut out a garment of Fire: over their heads will be poured out boiling water, causing all that is within their bodies, as well as the skins, to melt away. And they shall be held [in this state as if] by iron grips; and every time they try in their anguish to come out of it, they shall be returned thereto and [be told]: “Taste suffering through fire [to the full]!'
Qur'aan, 22:19&22
As for the Judgment Day, it is said in the Qur'aan:
Qur'aan, 18:47&49
Trust me! I don't have any reasons to lie with you. In fact, lying is prohibited for a Muslim/believer, as is eating flesh of swine, consuming alcohol, etc. If I lie, it means that I am displeasing Allah by disobeying His Command and trying to please you, which I, being a Muslim, can never do.
running in our veins, our Lord is One, our Destination is one (to return to our Lord), our Purpose of life is one (to be successful in the life Hereafter), our Book (Qur'aan) is one, our Prophet is one, so how can our paths be different? When all the messengers came from the One True God, then how can their messages be different? How can we adopt different ways of life when everything else is one and the same for us? Rather, our Path of Bliss is also one and Straight and that is the path of Islam.
Mankind was one single nation, and Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed.
Qur'aan, 2:213
I am only fulfilling the duty of a human being. Who could be a better human than the one who cares for his fellow beings and saves them from the Eternal Hellfire?
Who is better in speech than the one who calls men to God, works righteousness, and says, I am among those who bow down in Islam!
Qur'aan, 41:33
Please reconsider the message of the Qur’aan and enter into the fold of Islam:
And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out, - (Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and who had been unable even to hear. Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors besides Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for (their) entertainment.
Say: Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works? They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight. That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest. As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, they have, for their entertainment, the Gardens of Paradise, Wherein they shall dwell (for aye): no change will they wish for from them.
Say: If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out) the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid.
Say: I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your Allah is one Allah: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner.
Qur'aan, 18:100-110
I testify that there is no one worthy of worship besides Allah and I testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the slave and Messenger of Allah.
(English)
If you don’t find this humble effort, enough to reconcile your heart towards Islam, it is due to my shortcomings. I wish I had a heart like the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). But my failure to convey the message of Islam convincingly should not stop you from accepting it.
With lots of love, best wishes and prayer for guidance. May Allah accept this and make it a source of guidance for all.
Our concluding supplication is that all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Glossary
Allah: The personal name of God, derived from Al-Ilaah, meaning the one that is worthy of worship. It can neither be (mis)used in gender (male and female) nor number (like gods and goddesses). He is the Lord, Creator and Originator of everything. He has power over all things. The true definition of Allah can be found in chapter 112 of the Qur’aan, which reads thus:
Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.
Qur'aan, Chapter 112
Allah has ninety nine other names which denote His Attributes. Allah could best be known through His Attributes, which are absolutely unique to Him. They could only be attributed to Him alone. For example, Eternal and Absolute are two of His Attributes.
The most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by Them; but shun such men as use profanity in His names: for what they do, they will soon be requited.
Qur’aan, 7:180
Aayat: (pl. Aayaat) An Arabic word meaning verse. It also means ‘sign’. Hence, the verses in the Qur’aan are not only verses per se, but they are also ‘signs’ from our Creator to reflect and turn towards Him.
Hadith: (pl. ahadith). The second most important source of information in Islam after the Qur’aan. It is a record of what Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did, said or approved. The Hadith were meticulously recorded by the pious companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and carefully preserved for the later generations. In fact, its a fuller explanation of the Qur’aan. For example, the Qur’aan mentions that it is mandatory for a Muslim to pray five times a day, but does not go into detail as to how to pray. How a prayer is offered could be found in the hadith.
It may surprise the readers to know that recording of Hadith is the first science (as we know science today) developed with stringent rules for inference, classification and cross-examination. The learned scholars after the Prophet’s time, for example, Imams Bukhari and Muslim, had elaborate rules on whether a person attributing a report to the Prophet was reliable or not, how sound was the chain of narrators that have passed on the report, whether the text of the Hadith is compatible with the Qur’aan and established Islamic practices, etc. In this manner, they classified each Hadith according to its degree of accuracy and genuineness. Imam Bukhari used to travel miles to verify the antecedents of a particular Hadith, thus leaving no doubt for any falsehood creeping in. The pious predecessors in fact were so cautious, that they have retained not more than 10% of the original Hadith, for fear that maybe a punctuation mark or word was not accurately representing what the Prophet said. It may also be added here that Islamic law (Fiqh) is derived from the Qur’aan and Hadith.
Ibrahim: Abraham in Christianity. One of the prophets of Allah. Like all other prophets he too invited people to worship none but Allah as mentioned in the story narrated at the beginning of this booklet. Besides the Qur’aan, he has also been mentioned in the Christian and Jewish scriptures.
Insha’Allah: If Allah Wills (lit.). This is the way Allah taught man through Muhammad (peace be upon him) that whenever you make any intention to do something, say ‘Insha’Allah’. It means that no matter how big or small a matter may be, we are totally dependent on Allah and without His leave, even a leaf doesn’t fall.
Jibreel: Gabriel in Christianity. The angel responsible for bringing revelations to the Prophets of Allah.
Ka’ba: A cube-shaped structure in
There are quite a few misconceptions with regard to the Ka’ba among non-Muslims. Many think that Muslims worship the Ka’ba. Muslims face towards the Ka’ba because Allah has commanded them to turn towards it when in prayer to give uniformity of direction and purpose. We all know that in the congregational prayers of Muslims, there is an Imam, who leads the prayer. If there was no unity of direction, people would have turned their faces in different directions and it would have become very confusing and chaotic. It also signifies unity of purpose, i.e., we believe in One Allah and worship none but Him. The Ka’ba is geographically situated right at the centre of the earth, which could be interpreted as a light emanating place in all directions.
If Muslims had been worshipping the Ka’ba, they would be carrying its replica with them. So that whenever the time of prayer arrives, they can put it in front of themselves and bow down before it, as idol worshippers do. This misconception could further be clarified with the help of the following verse of the Qur’aan.
Let them, therefore, worship the Sustainer of this House;
Qur’aan, 106:3
It is true that during the pre-Islamic era of ignorance, the Ka’ba was much venerated as being the house of idols, but when the Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived, he asked his black companion, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a freed slave, to stand atop the Ka’ba and give the Adhan (Muslim prayer-call). By placing a person of low social status (i.e., Bilal) on top of the Ka’ba, the Prophet killed two birds with one stone- from now forth, the sanctity of the Ka’ba was only due to its being a House of Allah, and it was made crystal-clear to everyone that Muslims do not worship the Ka’ba.
Secondly, the concept of equality of man was also established for the first time in human history, as a black slave was standing on top of the most-respected symbol of the Arabs.
Muslim: Arabic word for the one who is obedient to Allah and while believing in all the messengers, follows His final messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah has categorised mankind into three categories:
1. Muslim: One who is obedient to God by following His last messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).
2. Munafiq: Arabic word for hypocrite. In other words, one who pretends to be Muslim, but is not from the heart.
3. Kafir/Mushrik: One who rejects Allah as One and rejects Muhammad (peace be upon him) being His Final Messenger. In other words, one who denies Allah as one and associates partners with Him falls in this category. Idol worshippers, nature worshippers, fire worshippers and saint worshippers are a few such examples.
Qur’aan: Name of the last revelation of Allah. It literally means ‘a Book often read’. It is also called Furqaan, which means a Book that differentiates between right and wrong; between what is permissible and what is not. It is a Book of true guidance from our Lord.
Shaitan: Satan in English. Allah has power over all things; therefore, He can create what He wills. He created the expanding universe and the celestial bodies therein and created the best of His creation –man from nothing. He created man out of clay, He created angels out of light and so He created Jinns out of smokeless fire. When Allah made the first man Adam, He asked all the angels to bow down before Adam. All but one bowed before Adam. His name was Iblis (one of the Jinns). His arrogance stood in the way of his obeying the command of God and he was thrown out of the Heavens and became eternally cursed. But he took respite from God and pledged to deviate Adam and his progeny from the true path and misguide them to hell. Allah granted him respite till the end of this world and said that all those who believe in the guidance send by Me will prosper and those who reject it will abide in Hell forever
We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
Qur’aan, 18:50
Therefore this life is just a transitory phase and a test for the progeny of Adam. The true and eternal life is the life of the Hereafter. Thus we see that Satan is our biggest enemy and he makes every effort to deviate man from the true and straight path by making him disobey God. He is most happy when he misguides someone in associating partners unto Allah because this sin is unforgivable due to which a person will dwell in Hell forever, which is the main aim of Satan (i.e., to take man along with himself into Hellfire).
Did I not enjoin on you, O ye Children of Adam, that ye should not worship Satan; for that he was to you an enemy avowed? And that ye should worship Me, (for that) this was the
Qur’aan, 36:60-64
The best way to keep one safe from the satanic traps is to hold tight to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. This is what our beloved prophet (peace be upon him) exhorted mankind to do to be safe from Satan and his evil ways.
“I leave behind me two things, the Qur’aan and my Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.”
It should not go without mention that like man, Jinns too have been given the freedom of conscience and that was the reason why Iblees refused to bow down before Adam. The angles have not been given freedom of conscience and they do their duty as per the Commands of Allah.
There should not be any doubt about the existence of Satan because Allah the Creator of everything is informing us so in the Qur’aan. It is natural for man to firmly believe in something what he sees with his very own eyes and not in something which he cannot see. Though we have not seen God, but we believe in Him because it is inherent in our nature to believe in God. In fact Faith demands to believe in the unseen. If someone shows faith in something which he can see with his own eyes, then its merely a sensation or observation.
For example, if I tell my friend that your father has bought a beautiful gift for you, he will believe me if I am honest. But if I am a liar, he may doubt and not believe me. In the same way, Allah, who is Absolute and Perfect is telling us to believe in Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Book revealed on him (Qur’aan), so that we may prosper. To make things easy for man and to assist him in believing in Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Qur’aan, He has given innumerable signs for man to witness. Allah informs man, for instance, in the Qur’aan that if this Book had been from anyone other Allah, you would have found many errors. Few years back I read an interesting quote by someone about Satan in The Times of India. It read something like this:
It is stupid of the modern civilisation to have given up believing in the devil, when he is the only explanation of it.
Sunnah: It literally means ‘way’. In Islamic terminology it refers to the ‘way’ of the last Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). There are innumerable things that we do in our daily lives, irrespective of any religion, which are Sunnah. For example, being dutiful towards parents; taking care of the neighbours; being hospitable to guests; taking care of the poor and the downtrodden and so on and so further.
Zakah is both a material and spiritual obligation on every Muslim. A person is liable to pay Zakah only when he/she reaches a minimum amount of specified wealth called Nisab in Islamic terminology after meeting his expenses with one year having passed over it. A person has to pay 2.5% of his wealth as Zakah if he/she falls in the Nisab category.
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3 comments:
I enjoyed reading your article. I would like to ask a question if that is okay.
Do you have any thoughts about the People of the Book and whether those who have remained monotheist can continue in the Deen they have received or do you think that the People of the Book have to become formal Muslims in order to be of the righteous?
To clarify, I have noticed that Qur'an al-Kareem uses two definitions for Muslim--it is both a general term meaning one who is submitted to Allah (swt) i.e. the disciples of Isa al-Masih (as) were called Muslims.
But there is a more formal, legal definition as well--one who says the shahada and means it with his heart is also legally a Muslim.
I guess my question put another way is, can People of the Book who are faithful monotheists be considered the general term Muslim because they are faithfully following the Deen Allah (swt) gave them?
Thank you,
Salaammaker
Replying salaammaker,
Thanks so much for your kind comments.
After coming of the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), one should follow his way. Besides believing that there is only one Allah and only He is worthy of worship, one also has to believe and follow the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Secondly, the teachings of all the prophets (including the one immediately preceding Muhammad i.e., Jesus), have gone corrupt. We don’t have the same Injeel/Gospel that was revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him). So even if one wants to follow Jesus, one doesn’t find his teachings as they were. What we have are so many versions of the Bible. We also see that the so called ‘Bible’, is being revised every now and then. If Christians claim that it’s the same Bible, then what is the need to revise it? Do they consider themselves superior to Jesus or are they Wiser than the Most Wise (Allah)?
The following point could further reinforce the argument that it’s just not enough to believe in God as one but also necessary to follow the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). I recently heard a lecture, in which it was said that a Pandit (a Hindu scholar) wrote a magnificent book on Tauheed (oneness of God, but in the end he said that all the fight is because of the prophets (may God forbid). So just believing in God as one is just not enough, one also has to follow the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The word Muslim means the one who submits his/her will to the will of Allah. In other words, those w ho are obedient to God are called Muslims. A person is Muslim not by birth but by deeds. Therefore, all men and women from Adam to Muhammad (peace be upon him), who followed their respective prophets were Muslims (so to say in Arabic).
The deen which Jesus (peace be upon him) brought was valid before the advent of the last prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). After his coming every human has to follow the way of the last prophet (peace be upon him). Therefore, the present day people of the Book (Jews and Christians) should follow the last prophet to be believers as commanded by Jesus himself. Since, Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the last in the line of the prophets, therefore, Jesus (peace be upon him) in his second coming will follow the Law brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him). In his second coming he will not come as a prophet, but as an Ummati of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Thank you.
Hasan
thank you my brother hasan
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