Allâhu ta’âlâ
created mankind. All people are the born slaves of Allâhu
ta’âlâ. Allâhu ta’âlâ is the creator, the
Rabb, not only of a certain nation or race or only of the world, but also of
the entire humanity as well as of all the worlds of existence. In the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ, all people are the same, and no one is
different from another. In addition to a body, He has given a soul to each one
of them. He has sent them Prophets ‘alaihimus-salawâtu
wattaslîmât’ to lead them to spiritual and physical perfection and to guide
them on the right way. The greatest ones of these Prophets are Âdam, Nűh (Noah),
Ibrâhîm (Abraham), Műsâ (Moses), Îsâ (Jesus), and Muhammad Mustafâ
‘alaihim-us-salâm’. The tenets of belief that they taught are the same. The
final and the most perfect system is Islam, taught by Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’.
No Prophet will come after Muhammad
‘alaihis-salâm’. For the religion he brought is at the uppermost point of
perfection and has no deficiency to be meliorated; and Allâhu
ta’âlâ has declared that mankind will never be able to change or
interpolate this religion. The well-known German Writer Lessing (1729-1781), in
his book Nathan der Veise (Nathan the Wise), likens the three (heavenly)
religions to three identical rings made of sapphire. Yet he feels uncertain as
to “whether one of them is genuine and the other three false?” Yet the fact is
that all three of them are genuine essentially. However, as a result of various
personal interests, advantages, sordid and biased considerations, jealousies,
superstitions, misinformations and misconstructions, men failed to understand
this reality, inserted numerous wrong beliefs and ideas into the Musawî and
Nasrânî religions, and thus changed, defiled these true religions, which were
based on Tawhîd (unity, oneness of Allâhu ta’âlâ).
Only Islam remained in its original purity. Consequently, adherents of these
three religions became hostile to one another. This hostile attitude they have
assumed means to oppose to the Will of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
For, as we have already stated, Allâhu ta’âlâ
invites all people to the true religion. In the view of Allâhu ta’âlâ, all people, regardless of race, are equal. All
people are Ummat-i-da’wat. And the true religion is Islam,
which is the only continuation of the original
forms
of Judaism and Christianity.
The following passage, which we
have paraphrased from Prof. Robinson, reflects the opinions formed in the minds
of today’s people who are stuck fast in materialism:
“I joined a tour of Israel organized for the
teaching staff and students of the University of Orel Roberts. Orel Roberts,
the founder of the university and one of the notables of the Catholic Church,
was with us. During our scheduled visit to Ben Gurion, a former premier of
Israel, Orel Roberts presented a copy of the Holy Bible
to Mr. Gurion. The first portion of the Holy Bible was the Old Testament, that
is, the Torah. Roberts requested Ben Gurion to read the passage he liked best
of that holy book. Ben Gurion met his request with a smile. We sat under a tree
in the small yard in front of his house. We were all quiet and ready to listen
intently. Ben Gurion opened the Holy Bible, turned one or two pages, and read
the following passage: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he him; male and female created he them.” [Gen: 1-27] I thought to
myself, ‘Good Gracious! Is this the statement he has found after all?’ I
frowned because I had been expecting him to read a passage from one of the
Pentateuchal parts with meanings of a higher level, such as a verse telling
about creation or a passage from the Ten Commandments. I beckoned to the
television cameraman shooting the event. This beckoning meant: ‘Don’t bother!
These statements are not worth being televised the world over.’
“Sometime afterwards, however,
Ben Gurion explained with enthusiasm verging on ecstacy why he had picked up
this statement, as follows: ‘Quite a long time before we became Americans,
Russians, Israelis, Egyptians, or Christians, Muslims, Magians, Jews, etc.,
that is, before the formation of differences separating today’s people from one
another, such as nationality, state, religion, belief, and the like, we were
all a man and a woman created by Allâhu ta’âlâ. This is the greatest fact which all religious systems are
primarily trying to teach us. Why don’t we realize this and why are all these
hostilities among us? Let us join hands and supplicate Allâhu ta’âlâ to help us realize this fact.’
“We all hung our heads. Roberts,
being a religious man, said, ‘Amen,’ on behalf of us all. The statement that
Ben Gurion picked up really was the wisest choice.
“Throughout my way back from Israel this
statement
completely
occupied my mind. We human beings are all the same. We are the born slaves of Allâhu ta’âlâ. There is only one way leading to Him.
This way is the way of belief guided byAbraham (Ibrâhîm), by Moses (Műsâ), by
Jesus (Îsâ), and finally by Muhammad ‘alaihim-us-salâm’. People who follow this
way shall attain to salvation. By abandoning the way guided by Prophets,
mankind has made the gravest error. It is for this reason that they have lost
their way and their moral qualities and have even forgotten Allâhu ta’âlâ. The earth’s resuming its peace and
salvation is dependent upon men’s realizing that they have been on the wrong
way and returning to the right way.”
How right Prof. Robinson is in
his statements paraphrased above! Today most people have left the way
prescribed by the religions, and material values have become their only
concern. These poor people do not know that material values are a mere nothing.
They are doomed to destruction and extinction. What is immortal in man is his
soul. And the soul, in its turn, will not feed on material nutritives. The
soul’s primary diet is a correct belief in Allâhu ta’âlâ, who created all from nothing; next comes worshipping Him,
observing the duties required from His born slaves. Today, all scholars,
scientists and state presidents believe in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Yet in matters pertaining to
belief and worship they mostly get stuck in wrong and misguided thoughts and
ideas and thus deviate from the right way. A beautiful description of this case
is given by Prof. White, a brain surgeon who has won many scientific awards and
has attained international fame for the various operational methods he has
found, and who is presently a professor at the University of Cleveland and at
the same time the director of the Clinic of Brain Surgery founded in the same
city. See what he says, (as paraphrased):
“The child that was brought in for a
surgical operation was a six-year-old lovely girl. She was very graceful, lively,
intelligent, and cheerful. Yet after examination we spotted a big tumor in her
brain. We took her in for operation. A cyst attached to the tumor had made it
grow very big. I began to operate on the sac containing liquid. But, alas, the
global cystic tumor suddenly contracted and the wide veins on its surface tore.
Blood was gushing out unto the operation bench. My friends and I were doing our
utmost to stop the blood flowing as if from a water pump. It was of no avail.
We saw in despair that we were losing the battle. The child was dying in our
hands. We were under the
hopeless
oppression of profound sadness. I was trying to stop the bleeding by putting
pieces of cotton on the torn veins. The bleeding seemed to come to an end. Yet
I could not lift my hand off. For I knew that if I did so the bleeding would
begin again and in that case nothing could be done any more. My assistants
began to inject blood into the child’s body. My fingers were still on the
pieces of cotton. How incapable and powerless I felt! Poor me, how did I dare
to cut off a tumor formed in a small girl’s brain? How on earth could I assume
the responsibility of so tremendous a job? How could a pitiable human being
even touch that stupendous work of art, which we call ‘brain’, which manages
all the so many various functions, provides humankind with their personality
and equips them with a variety of faculties such as intellect, memory,
emotions, feelings, tastes, pains, thoughts and fancies, and which Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, could create? We term this tiny
object ‘brain’. Yet, in actual fact, it was this very child that lay helpless
before us.
“Half an hour later. Utter
silence reigned in the operation room. We were all extremely tense with
anxiety. Everybody, and I myself, knew that were I to lift my hand the flood of
blood would begin again, which meant the death of the child. At that moment I
began to supplicate to Allâhu ta’âlâ and trusted myself to His help. I begged, ‘O my Allah, do give my
fingers the strength I need so that I can prevent the bleeding!’ Presently a
strong feeling of relief suffused me. For I had now committed my trust to Allâhu ta’âlâ. I had the belief that I could
now lift my fingers off and there would be no bleeding any longer. I felt the
existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ with all my soul. Slowly, I lifted my fingers. The bleeding had
stopped.
“It was now easy to perform the
operation. The operation lasted for exactly four and a half hours. I did not
leave the child for a whole week. I felt so happy as I observed that the child
was gradually recovering. As of today, the child is ten years old, a perfectly
healthful, cheerful and happy little dear.
“In 1974 I examined a child who
had had a brain hemorrhage and I saw that there was a small tumor in the middle
of its brain. Yet the tumor had begun to bleed and suppurate. The situation was
dangerous and hopeless. We opened the skull, placed tubes on both sides of the
brain, and began to wash the brain with antibiotics. This was quite a new
method and I was the first to use it. Because the child was burning with fever,
we placed it in a
respirator and covered it with cold blankets. In the meantime we
continued to wash the brain. This hopeless situation lasted for weeks. I kept
praying and supplicating Allâhu ta’âlâ to help me. In my supplications, I was begging Allâhu ta’âlâ not only to have mercy on the
child and its parents, but also to give energy and strength to those people who
had undertaken this heavy responsibility and who had been working with me
continuously for weeks.
“Eventually, the divine help
reached us. This event, which had seemed to be a total hopelessness, ended in
success. The child recovered. My friends were happy and they were saying that
the new method we had used had ‘yielded a very good result.’ They thought that
I did it and they prided on it. Yet I did not think so. I was of opinion that,
no matter how hard we worked, no matter how new methods we found, no matter how
new techniques we applied, success in operations of that sort depended only on
the help of Allâhu ta’âlâ. I have always felt this in my heart in the numerous operations I
have performed up to now. However improved our technology may be, the result of
a brain operation, like all other things, is within the power of Allâhu ta’âlâ, and success is possible only
with His help.
“During the brain operations I
have performed for years, I have felt great excitement before the human brain.
As I have dealt with the brain, and each time I have seen the brain, I have
felt in my heart that it is impossible to solve the mystery of this tremendous
work of art, that the power which created it is very great, and that it is
necessary to believe in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Even the most perfect computers made by people today can be only
toys when compared to the tiniest brains.
“Now I believe that the brain is
a case in which the human soul is preserved. As we perform an operation around
this case we perform a religious rite. A brain operation, in my personal credo,
is a religious rite, identical with performing an act of worship. The
operator’s technical knowledge and skill are not the only requirements. He
should, at the same time, believe in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and beg Him for help and mercy
for a successful operation.
“What happens to the soul kept
in the case of the brain when a person dies? The soul is not in the body now,
but definitely it is not dead. Where does it go, then? It is not for me as a
doctor to speculate on where the soul goes or where it stays. For physical
areas of knowledge cannot answer this question. The only guide
that will help us in this respect is a religious book. I believe that inasmuch
as their brains and souls possess the faculty for reasoning, the humankind
should leave aside the material values, attach themselves to the religion with
all their hearts and believe in the teachings written in religious books.”
This comes to mean that even the
world’s famous and greatest surgeon sincerely expresses that he believes in the
existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and
that without His help nothing can be done.
Now let us lend an ear to a
scientist:
You all know Edison,[1] the well-known American
scientist. About this renowned inventor who, in addition to various
discoveries, made the first electric bulb and thus illuminated the world, his
closest colleague relates the following memory in a book published several
years ago:
“One day, as I entered the room,
I found Edison deeply plunged in thought, motionless, looking at some container
which he was holding in his hand. An expression of utter astonishment tinted
with deep signs of respect, admiration and adoration had suffused his face. He
did not even notice me till I was quite near him. When he saw me he showed me
the container in his hand. It was full of quicksilver. ‘Look at that,’ he said.
‘What a tremendous work of art! Do you believe that quicksilver is
extraordinary?’ I replied, ‘Quicksilver is really wonderful substance.’
Edison’s voice quivered as he spoke. He murmured to me, ‘As I look at
quicksilver, I admire the greatness of its Creator. So many varying properties
He has given to it! As I think of these I almost lose my mind.’ Then he turned
to me again, and said, ‘People worldover admire me. They presume that all these
various inventions and discoveries I have managed are wonders and great
accomplishments. They want to look on me as a superhuman. What a great error it
is! I am a person who is not even worth a penny. My discoveries consist in
uncovering only an infinitesimal part of the great wonders that actually exist
in the universe but which people have not noticed so far. A person who says, “I
made this,” is the most abject liar, the most driveling idiot. Man is an
incapable creature who can do nothing by himself. Man is a creature who can
talk a little and who can think a little. If he
---------------------------------
[1] Edison (Thomas Alva) died in 1350 [C.E. 1931].
thinks well, he will, let alone being proud, see how void he is.
So, as I think of these facts, I realise what a powerless, incompetent and weak
creature I am. Me, an inventor? [He raised his hand and pointed to the sky.]
The real inventor, the real genius, the real creator is He, Allah!’ ”
As is seen, scientists believe
in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and hold fast to His religion with both hands. Materialists
mostly cannot find solutions to their problems and give up hope. This is
because their souls are empty. The human soul, like the body, needs food. And
this, in its turn, is possible only when one has îmân, and the only way leading
to Allâhu ta’âlâ is the
religion. Even those who deny Allâhu ta’âlâ will some day feel this need.
The famous Russian writer
(Alexander) Solzhenitsyn (1918 -—), when he settled his home in the U.S.,
thought he would now be free from great troubles, mental depressions, and from
the state of being only a mechanical tool. One day he summoned a group of
American youth around himself in a university and said to them, “When I came
here, I thought I would be very happy. Unfortunately, here, too, I feel myself
in a vacuum. For we have become the slaves of material values. Yes, there is freedom
here, and one can do whatever one wishes. But material values are the only
important things. The souls are empty. However, what makes a human being a real
human is its matured, refined soul. My piece of advice to you is this: Try to
improve and beautify your soul! In that case only will those monstrosities that
have infested your country and which have been worrying you begin to disappear.
Pay the religion its due importance! The human soul is fed on religion. People
adherent to their religion will be your greatest helpers in whatever you do.
For the fear of Allah will keep them on the right way. On the other hand, your
police forces, no matter how powerful, cannot establish a twenty-four-hour
control over everybody. What deters people from iniquities is not the concept
of police, but the fear that they feel in the permanent presence of Allah.”
As we have stated above,
religion is the only source of nutriment for the human soul. Of all the
existent religions, Islam is the truest, the newest, and the most comprehensive
so that it provides its adherents with an everduring adaptability to the
world’s changing conditions. In this booklet you will read selections from the
autobiographical documents in which some cultured people, who, while formerly
belonging to some other
religion during their childhood, studied various religions and
their books and finally embraced Islam on their own volition and without even
any marginal outside influence, give their personal accounts on why they
decided to change their religion and become a Muslim.
In addition to these highly cultured people,
there are quite a number of celebrities who believe in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and who admire Islam for its greatness.
There is mention of these people in the next chapter. In the so-called chapter,
we shall paraphrase paragraphs from the reflections on the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the superiority of Islam selected
from the statements of Emperor Napoléon (Bonaparte, 1769-1821), (Thomas)
Carlyle (1796-1881), Prof. (Ernest) Renan (1823-1892), and the Indian hero
(Mahatma) Ghandi (1869-1948), and the statements made by (Alphonso Marie de)
Lamartine (1790-1869) about our darling Prophet
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’.
As all these indicate, the
religion is the most vital necessity for mankind. Those unfortunate people who
do not believe in their own religion, and who have not had the chance to study
Islam, either, will remain hollow-souled and will get hold of false credos
fabricated by liars. For a person definitely needs to believe in the existence
of a being superior to him and to attach himself to that being. Even those
people living in the most improved and developed countries have seeked ways to
satisfy this need and finally attached themselves to aberrant ideas and fabricated
beliefs. On November 17, 1978, nine hundred votaries of a heretical sect were
taken to Guyana in North Africa by a miscreant priest named Jim Jones, the
founder of the sect, which he called People’s Religion, and thence to a camp
which this eccentric priest, again, called Jonestown,[1] where he induced them
to poison themselves (by drinking poison together). In Italy, a pair of parents
who believed another similar priest killed their own child with their own hands
because the heretic priest had told them to kill their child and the child
would come back to life and would become even healthier than before upon his
sending his prayers; it goes without saying how ruined the parents felt when
they saw that the child would never return to this life. If these people, who
had left their religion, had studied the Islamic religion like those people who
embraced Islam, and whom you
---------------------------------
[1] This event is widely known as the Jonestown Massacre.
will get to know more closely further ahead, they would have found
in it what they had been looking for, and the Islamic religion, whose lexical
meaning also is ‘peace and tranquility, salvation, trusting oneself to Allah’,
would have given them the spiritual serenity they had been yearning for.
Very sad to say, we Muslims cannot propagate
our brilliant religion to the world as efficiently as we wish to do. One of the
deciding factors contributing to this failure is our own slackness in paying
our religion due attachment and our contagious remission in carrying out its
commandments. The Islamic religion enjoins, first of all, physical and
spiritual cleanliness. Spiritual cleanliness is obtainable by believing first
in the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ and then in
the totality of His commandments and prohibitions which He sent to humankind
through Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, His final Messenger. That the soul has been
likewise cleansed is identifiable from the presence of certain characteristic
signs, such as never lying, never deceiving anybody, habitual rectitude, not
holding heretical dogmas, readiness to help others without discriminating among
them, and full submission to the commandments of Allâhu
ta’âlâ. This is the sole behavior expected from a Muslim. Then, if a
person means to propagate the Islamic religion, first of all he himself has to
be a model Muslim. If we exhibit this model and modest behavior, people
belonging to other religions will observe us with admiration, which in turn
automatically prompt them to study the Islamic religion. Our newly converted
Muslim brothers explained in their answers to the question, “Why did you become
a Muslim?” that they decided to become a Muslim upon seeing true Muslims and
their life-styles. These Muslims request us to try to spread and publicise the
Islamic religion and to set an example, a model Muslim for others by holding
fast with both hands to the commandments of our religion. For all our faults
and our insufficient capacity of propaganda, the Islamic religion is growing
piecemeal and spreading over the world. In 1954 the population of the world was
2.4 billion. By 1978 it reached 3.8 billion. Between 1954 and 1978 the number
of Christians reached 150 million, while that of Muslims became 220 million.
According to the statistics of the year 1978 written in the World Almanac,
published by an international statistics center, there are 1.7 billion
buddhists and magians, 950 million Christians (Catholics, Protestants and
Orthodox Christians), 10 million Jews, 538 million Muslims on the earth. On the
other hand, Time, (an
American
magazine), allotted its April 1979 issue to Islam. It was recorded in this
issue that the real number of Muslims was 750 million and the existing
statistics were incorrect. Christian statisticians make every endeavour to
represent a lower number of Muslims on the earth.
If we behave in a manner
befitting a true Muslim, the number of Muslims will increase even more rapidly,
which in its turn means that, as will be stated in the following explanations
made by people who converted to Islam from other religions, wrong beliefs will
gradually disappear from the earth and the human race will attain their
long-awaited peace and happiness.