WHY ISLAM AND WHY ARE YOU A MUSLIM?
إن الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهده الله فلا مضل له ومن يضلل فلا هاديَ ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون ¤ يا أيها الناس اتقوا ربكم الذي خلقكم من نفس واحدة وخلق منها زوجها وبث منهما رجالا كثيرا ونساء واتقوا الله الذي تساءلون به والأرحام إن الله كان عليكم رقيبا ¤ يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم ومن يطع الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما ¤
فإن أصدق الحديث كتاب الله تعالى، وخير الهدي هديُ محمد - صلى الله عليه وسلم - وشر الأمور محدثاتها وكل محدثة بدعة وكل بدعة ضلالة وكل ضلالة في النار
All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad, SAW, is His servant, and His messenger.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem!
O You who believe, Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not except as Muslims.
Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa. Yuslih-lakum amaalakum wayaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.
O You who believe, Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word. He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever takes Allah and His Prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Most of you probably have been asked by someone on this question, Are you a Muslim??. And I believe 100%, all of you must be answer it steadily? Yes, I am?.
But, have you ever been asked by someone else about the following question,
Why are you a Muslim? Or probably you may ever asked this question to yourself, ?Why am I a Muslim??.
In more general question ?Why Islam??.
Of course, this will make you stop answering that question immediately and start to think about it.
For most of us, the answer might be ?Oh, it’s easy. It’s because I was born and raised in a Muslim family?. But, is this the correct answer? Is this the answer that we really want? So, what happened if we weren’t born in a Muslim family? Are We still be a Muslim or not? Indeed, all of these questions are the questions that I asked myself almost a decade ago. I could say with dignity that ?I am a Muslim and I am proud of it?.
Before I proceed, it is better for us to really understand what Islam is about.
The word Islam means voluntary Submission, Surrender, or obedience to the Will of Allaah (عزوجل) . It derives from the root word Salam (سلام) , meaning peace. Those who try to perform these actions are called”MU-islams” shortly Muslims and equivalently, here we can say it [Islam-ERs]
Islam recognizes that human kind has free choice in whether to obey or disobey Allah (عزوجل) , but ultimately we will be held accountable to Allah (عزوجل) in the next life for the choices that we make in this life.
Allah sent Prophets to teach mankind how to worship Him; starting with Adam a.s., including Noah, Ibraaheem, Moses, Jesus or Isa (may the peace and mercy of Allaah be upon them all) and the last of the messengers, Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم ). The Islamic position is that all of these prophets came with the same message, that there is no deity worthy of worship except the One True God, Allah.
Islam recognizes the close relationship between the body and soul. Whereas the body originates from the earth and has a defined period of life on this earth, the soul originates from Allah and does not die.
Islam encourages the individual to focus on keeping the soul healthy, through the remembrance,obedience and worship of The creator (اللَّهَ) . Islam teaches that it is through the doing of good deeds and seeking the pleasure of Allah that souls find true happiness and peace. It is in this context that the word Islam derives from the root word "salam" , or peace.
Now, after knowing what Islam is, we can start to answer the question why Islam?. And the simple answer that came to me is ?Islam gives me the purpose of life. People everywhere are asking the questions; “What is the purpose of life?”, “Why are we here in this world?” and ?Where are we going to go after we die??. You might be amazed to learn, that Islam is providing clear and concise answers for these questions.
Most of those who reflect or think about life in any detail will consider and ponder these questions.There are as many different answers to these questions. Some would hold that the purpose of life was to acquire wealth. But think carefully, suppose the purpose of life is to become wealthy, this means that there would be no purpose after becoming wealthy.
A child of 5 years would obviously prefer a new toy to a deposit slip for a million dollars. A teenager does not consider millions of dollars in the bank as substitute for movies, videos, pizza and hanging out with his friends. A person in their 80s or 90s would never consider holding on to their wealth in place of spending it to hold on to or regain their health. This proves that money is not the main purpose at all for the stages of one’s life.
Meanwhile Islam can provide you the answer. In the Quran Surah Al Qasas 56, Allah defines that the only purpose for which He created mankind is to Worship Him.
To a Muslim the whole purpose of life is “ibadah” or worship to the One True Almighty Allaah on Terms and under His Conditions. The term “worship” to a Muslim includes any and all acts of obedience to Almighty Allah.Islam teaches us that this life is only a test or trial for the individual to show him his true nature. It is only natural that he would accept death as not so much an ending to everything but more as a beginning of the final and lasting life in the Hereafter.
Before entering into either of the final lodging places i.e.; Heaven or Hell, there must be a Day of Judgment or showing of one’s true self to make them aware of their own nature and thereby understand what they have sent on ahead during the life here on the earth.
Every person will be rewarded [or punished] according to their attitude, appreciation, and efforts during this stay on earth. None will be asked about the actions and beliefs of others, nor will anyone be asked regarding that which he was unaware of or incapable of doing.
As the life here is considered as an examination for the individual, the death stage is considered as a resting period after the test. It could be easy for those who were faithful and dedicated or it could be grueling and horrible for the wicked.
Reward and punishment will be in direct proportion to each person and it is only Allah alone who will be the Final Judge over us all.
So, in the teachings of Islam, the line of life and its purpose is logical, clear and simple:
The first life is a test
The life in the grave is a resting or waiting place before the Day of Judgment
The Day of Judgment brings about the clear understanding of what will happen to the individual based on his own desires and actions
The Permanent or Afterlife will either be spend in luxurious splendor or miserable punishment.
Following this clear understanding of life, the Muslim’s purpose is clear. First of all, he has no doubt in his mind that:
he is only created by Allah
he is going to spend a period of time in this material world [called “Ad Dunyah”]
he knows he will die
he knows he will spend time in the grave, either pleasant or difficult depending on his own choice of attitude and actions
he knows he will be resurrected for the Day of Judgment
he knows he will be judged according to the most fair of standards by Allah the Almighty, the All
For a disbeliever, the purpose of this life is to collect and amass great wealth, money, power and position. Over indulging in eating, drinking, drugs, sex and gambling are a high priority to them. But all of this will not avail them anything good in the grave, on the Day of Judgment or in the Next Life.
Eventually he will be faced with the question:
Now what?
What’s Next?
Where am I going.
What will happen to me?
Eventually, he will come to know. For sure, he will come to know. But then what will the knowledge avail him?
Look how Islam solves the mystery of the puzzle of life. It provides the answers to the questions and concerns of the human beings on all levels and in every aspect. It is really quite simple. The purpose of life as understood by the Believing Muslim can be simply stated in only two (2) words: Obey Allah . Our only purpose and salvation lie in these two words..
We will continue in second part of this article In Sha Allah.
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