I would like to give the
following short answer to your question why I became a Muslim. I shall not
attempt to give you a long lecture on religion and belief. Religion and belief
make up a virtue that emanates from the human soul and which is unlike anything
else. It is identical with the thirst felt by a person left in a desert. Man
definitely needs a belief to rely on as a dependable guide. First I studied a
history of religions. I read with attention the lives and the teachings of
those personages who had invited people to religion. I relaized that the
religious essentials that Prophets ‘alaihim-us-salâm’ had taught in the
beginning had been changed and turned into entirely different forms in the
course of time. What had survived of them was only a few facts. Various legends
had been mixed into the lives of those great, distinguished people, and their
deeds had been transformed into myths and reached us as a conglomerate of
mysterious stories. In contrast with all these ruins, one true religion, Islam,
has preserved its pristine purity and simplicity from the day it was revealed
to the present time and, without being polluted with any sort of superstitions
or legends, it has survived to our age. The Qur’ân
al-kerîm is the same today as it was in the time of Muhammad
‘alaihis-salâm’. Not a word of it has changed. The blessed utterances of
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ have reached our day in exactly the same literal form
as they were pronounced by him, without undergoing any alterations.
Allâhu ta’âlâ
sent Prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’ to humanity whenever He
deemed it necessary. They are complementary to one another. In consideration of
the fact that the teachings of other Prophets ‘alaihim-us-salawâtu wa-t-taslîmât’
have been interpolated and changed into annoying incongruities, is there
another way which one could find more logical than accepting the Islamic religion,
which has remained the most intact, the purest, and the truest? As a matter of
fact, a simple and useful religion unsullied with illogical superstitions was
what I was questing for. The Islamic religion is that very religion. The
Islamic religion shows one by one all my duties towards Allâhu ta’âlâ, towards my neighbours, and towards all humanity.
Although this was originally the main objective of all religions, their tenor
has been watered down into unintelligible
credal
tenets. In contrast, the Islamic religion embodies easily understandable,
simple, logical, convincing and useful principles of belief. In Islam, alone,
did I find the information concerning the requirements to be fulfilled to
attain peace and salvation in this world and the next. It is for this reason
that I became a Muslim willingly.
I was born in 1931, and began to
go to elementary school when I was six years old. Completing my elementary
education after seven years, I attended a junior high school. My family raised
me in a Catholic system of education. Afterwards, I joined the Anglican church.
Finally, I became an Anglo-Catholic. During all these conversions, I observed
the same thing. Christianity had dissociated itself from man’s normal daily
life long ago, and had become reminiscent of an attirement that was worn only
on Sundays and kept in a wooden case only for this purpose. People could not
find what they were looking for in the Christian religion. The Christian
religion was trying to attach people to the church by means of lights of
various colours, images, smells of incense, pleasant music, and a variety of
glorious ceremonies and litanies performed for saints. Yet all these efforts
fell short of attracting people. For the Christian religion concerned itself
only with legendary subjects and therefore evinced no interest in what was
going on without the church. Consequently, I developed a profound hatred
towards Christianity, and finally decided to give a test to Communism and
Fascism each, which were being propagated with sequinned advertisements.
When I attempted Communism I was happy
because I believed that it rejected class differences. As time went by, I faced
the awful truth: let alone rejecting class differences, Communism was a
totalitarian regime wherein people led a life of slavery, a small minority
inflicted all sorts of cruelty and brutality on the others, no one had the
right to protest, and any sort of objection, rightful as it might be, would
incur a penalty, which meant, more often than not, being sentenced to death.
Stalin is a good example concerning the real face of Communism. Upon this, I
shifted from Communism to Fascism.
My first impression in Fascism
was its discipline and order,
which I liked very much. However, Fascists were self-conceited
people. They despised all people and all races outside of their community.
Here, too, cruelty, suffering, injustice and oppression prevailed. A couple of
months sufficed to make me loathe Fascism intensely. For Mosley[1], in Britain, Hitler[2], in Germany, and
Mussolini[3], in
Italy, were the exemplary models of stark terror and ruthless and despotic
cruelty. Nevertheless, I could not give up Fascism, for there was no other
alternative left.
I was desperately writhing in a
state of distress, when I came across a periodical captioned The Islamic Review
in a bookstore. I scanned the book. I still cannot understand why I bought that
book, which cost me two shillings[4] and six pennies and was too expensive for me. I thought, “I have
wasted my money. Perhaps the contents of this book are mere twaddles that would
not be worth a penny, like those Communist and Fascist follies.” Yet, as I read
on, it began to capture my attention, which soon developed into utter
amazement. I read the magazine once again, and again. So Islam was a perfect
religion which accummulated in itself all the best aspects of Christianity and
of the other ideologies ending in ‘ism’. Despite my poverty, I subscribed to
the periodical. A couple of months later I decided to embrace Islam. Since that
day I have held fast to my new religion with my both hands.
I hope to begin studying Arabic
as soon as I enter university. For the time being I am studying Latin, French
and Spanish, and reading ‘The Islamic Review’.
(Dr. Mellema is the director of the section concernedwith Islamic
Works of Art of the Tropical Museum inAmsterdam. He
---------------------------------
[1] Sir Oswald Mosley (1896-1980),
British right-wing politician, an MP from 1918 to 1931, and the founder of the
British Union of Fascists.
[2] Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the leader of German Nazi Party. He was born in Austria. His ideal was to develop a pure German race.
[3] Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), (known
as II Duce),
Italian Fascist Dictator. After the Second World War, he was killed by the
Italians.
[4] Until 1971, British coin, worth
one-twentieth a pound, or twelve old pennies; five pennies as of today.
is known for his works
‘Babies of Wyang’, ‘Information About Pakistan’ and ‘Introducing Islam’.)
In 1919,
I began to study oriental languages in the University of Leiden. My teacher was
the universally known professor Hurgronje, who had perfect command of the
Arabic language. As he taught me how to read, write and translate in Arabic, he
gave me the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the works of
al-Ghazâlî as textbooks. The subject I was majoring in was the ‘Islamic law’. I
read a number of books about Islam, Islam’s history, and Islamic sciences so
far published in the European languages. In 1921 I went to Egypt and visited
the Al-Az-har Madrasa. I stayed there for about one month. Later, in addition
to Arabic, I learned Sanscrit and Malay. In 1927 I went to Indonesia, which was
a British dependency at that time. I began to learn Javanese in a high school
in Jakarta. For fifteen years I educated myself not only in the language of
Java, but also in the cultural history of old and new Java. Throughout that
period of time, I on the one hand contacted the Muslims and on the other hand
read the Arabic books available to me. The Japanese invaded the Indonesian
islands during the Second World War. I was one of the prisoners that they
captured. After an extremely severe life in captivity which lasted until the
end of the war, I returned to Holland and found a job in the Tropical Museum in
Amsterdam. There I resumed my Islamic research. They asked me to write a
booklet telling about the Muslims in Java. This, also, I accepted, and
completed, too. Between 1954 and 1955 I was sent to Pakistan to conduct a study
about the Muslims there. As I have already stated, the only books that I had
read about Islam until that time had been written in the European languages.
After I went to Pakistan and established direct contact with Muslims, my views
of Islam took a sharp turn for the favourable. I requested my Muslim brothers
in Lahore to take me to their mosque. They were pleased at my request and took
me there for a Friday prayer. I watched the worship and listened to the prayers
with great attention. It had so strong an impact on me that I almost lost consciousness
in rapture. I now felt myself a Muslim and a Muslim brother when I shook hands
with Muslims. I expressed my feelings as follows in the fourth issue of
‘Pakistan Quarterly’:
“Next we went to a smaller
mosque. A preaching lecture was scheduled to be delivered by a scholar who was
a professor from
Punjab University and who knew English well. As he began his
preaching, he said to the audience, ‘We have a guest, a Muslim brother, who has
come here from a distant country, Holland. I shall mostly add English words
into the Urdu language so that he will understand me better,’ and then he
performed an exquisite preaching. I listened with attention. After the
preaching was over, I meant to leave the mosque, when Allâma Sâhib, who had
brought me to the mosque, said that the Muslim brothers who had been watching
me with attention would be pleased if I should be kind enough to give them a
speech, a brief one in the least, and that he would translate my speech into
the Urdu language. Upon this I made the following short speech: ‘I am here from
Holland, which is quite a long way from here. There are very few Muslims in my
homeland. Those few Muslims requested me to extend their salâm[1] to you. I am very happy
to know that you have achieved your independence and to see that the world has
been enriched with one more Muslim state. Established seven years ago, Pakistan
has already secured its position. After all those difficulties you experienced
in the beginning, your country has in the long last attained salvation and is
now improving with speed. There is a bright future ahead of Pakistan. When I go
back home, I will have so much to tell my compatriots about your kind and
polite behaviour, about your magnanimous generosity, and about your warm
hospitality, of which I shall spare no minute details. I shall never forget the
warm affection you have displayed towards me.’ No sooner had Allâma Sâhib
finished translating my statements into Urdu than all
the Muslims in the mosque rushed towards me and began to shake hands with me,
and the whole place resounded with a mellow roar of congratulatory
exclamations, which has preserved its unique moment of happiness in my
memories. The heartfelt manifestation of brotherhood moved me so profoundly
that I began to enjoy the happiness of entirely having joined the community of
Muslim brothers.”
The Pakistani Muslim brothers
showed me that Islam is not merely a collection of theories and proved that
Islam means beautiful moral quality first of all and therefore being a good Muslim
requires possessing a pure moral character.
Now let me answer the second
question, i.e. your question,
---------------------------------
[1] Islamic word for greeting,
well-wishing and offering best wishes.
“What was the strongest attraction that pulled you towards Islam?”
The reasons that attracted me
towards embracing Islam and attached my entire heart to the Islamic religion
are as follows:
1) A unitarian belief in Allâhu ta’âlâ. Islam recognizes one great
creator. This great creator is not begotten, nor does he beget. What could be
as logical and as rational as believing in one creator? Even the
simplest-minded person would find it right and will believe in it. This single
great creator, whose name is Allah, is in possession of the greatest knowledge,
the greatest hikma, the greatest power, and the greatest beauty. He has
infinite mercy and compassion.
2) Rejecting any intermediary
between Allâhu ta’âlâ and the
born slave. In Islam the born slave comes into direct contact with his Creator
and worships Him directly. No one is necessary between Allâhu ta’âlâ and the born slave. People
learn their duties pertaining to this world and the next from the Book of Allâhu ta’âlâ, the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from hadîth-i-sherîfs, and from books
written by the scholars of Ahl as-sunna. Only to Allâhu
ta’âlâ are they responsible for their actions. Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, has the authority to
reward or punish a person. Allâhu ta’âlâ will not hold any of His born slaves responsible for what he has
not done, nor will He enjoin on him something beyond his capacity.
3) The infinite mercy innate in Islam. Its
most explicit indication is an âyat in the Qur’ân
al-kerîm, which purports, “No one shall be compelled to become a Muslim.”
Our Prophet, Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, commands
that a Muslim should acquire knowledge, by going to the farthest places if
necessary. One other precept that Muslims are commanded to observe is to be
respectful of the religions previous to Islam, especially as regards their
essentials that have remained unchanged.
4) A fraternal unification of
Muslims, whereby discriminations due to race, nationality and colour are
crossed out from the outset. This ultimate goal has been realized only by Islam
in the entire world. During the periods of Hajj (Muslims’ pilgrimage to Mekka),
hundreds of thousands of Muslims from all corners of the world come together,
wrap themselves in the uniform (clothing called) Ihram, and prostrate
themselves, a colossal expression of all Muslims’ fraternity.
5) The equilibrium that Islam
maintains between corporeal and spiritual realities. The other religions
emphasize only spirituality and a number of absurd, grotesque tenets. On the
other hand, Islam gives equal considerations to the soul and the body and
dictates to man how he should maintain cleanliness, not only spiritually, but
also bodily. It integrates man’s spiritual improvement with his corporeal needs
and describes in an extremely illustrative language how he should live in full
control of his physical activities.
6) Islam’s prohibition of
alcohol, drugs, and pork. In my opinion, the gravest calamities that have
befallen mankind has been on account of alcohol and drugs. Prohibition of such
indulgences would suffice as an illustration of Islam’s enormous prescience and
the gigantic distance whereby it is ahead of its time.
I cannot
figure out precisely the time of my first contact with the oriental
civilization. This contact owes primarily to language. To be more clear, my
aspirations to learn the oriental languages ended in my beginning to study
Arabic when I was only in my early teens. Naturally, with no one to help me, it
was rather an onerous work for me to get over. Primarily with a view to
learning Arabic, I bought some books written by Europeans about the Arabs and
about Islam. I think most of the information they gave about Islam were far
from being correct or unbiased. Nevertheless, the passages about Muhammad
‘alaihis-salâm’ caused me to develop a strong admiration for his personality.
Yet the information I collected about Islam was both incorrect and insufficient.
Nor was there anyone to guide me.
In the long last, I came across
a perfect work, namely a book entitled, ‘History of Persian Literature in
Modern Times’, written by T.G. Browne. I found two elegant poems in the book.
One of them was the Terjî’i bend of Hâtif Isfahânî, and the other one was the
Heftbend of Mohtashim Kâshânî.
I cannot describe to you the
greatness of the excitement that I felt when I read Hâtif’s poem. How
delicately the poem depicted
a soul that was desperately struggling in a deep gloom of
indecision and depression and seeking for a murshid to guide him to salvation!
As I read it, I felt as if the great poet had written it about me and as if the
poem were describing my struggles to find the truth.
He, alone, exists; there’s no others in existence;
He, alone, is worthy of worship by all
existence.
To fulfil my mother’s wishes and
to satisfy my curiousity, I registered in a high school with a religious
curriculum. Despite its religious system of education, the school did not follow
a fanatical policy. The students could discuss their ideas freely, and their
ideas were held in high regard. The religious lessons consisted of religious
essentials that a person needed to know. However, the answer, “I feel deep
respect for the Islamic religion,” which I gave to a final exam question
querying our opinions about other religions must have consternated the school
director. In those days, the strong feelings of sympathy I had had for the
Islamic religion had not developed into a definite belief yet. I was still in a
state of indecision. Nor had I completely recovered from the morbid hostility
against Islam that the church had engraved into the depths of my soul.
Firmly resolved to disentangle myself from
the influence of those books with European authors, I embarked on an entirely
personal study of Islam; this time the only criterion would be my personal
evaluation. How thoroughbred the facts that the study yielded were! It began to
dawn on me why so many people abandoned the religions inculcated into them
during their childhood and embraced Islam. For the first feature of Islam
reflected man’s own essence, his personal world, his true belief and trust in Allâhu ta’âlâ, and its second feature involved his
unconditional submission to Allâhu ta’âlâ, his
Owner, and obedience to His commandments. In the following paragraphs I shall
attempt some quotations from the Qur’ân al-kerîm,
which I consider relevant to the subject. Stripped as they may be of the
magnificent harmony inherent in their Arabic originals, translations of these
divine statements still have very strong attraction.
The twenty-seventh and later
âyats of Fajr Sűra purport, “O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction!” “Come
back thou to thy Allah, well-pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!”
“Enter thou, then, among My devotees!” “Yea, enter thou
My Heaven!” (89-27, 28, 29, 30)
This statement alone would be
enough to prove the fact that the Islamic religion, quite unlike the
superstitious Christianity, or the other religions, which are even worse, is an
extremely pure, true, and genuine religion.
In contrast with the Christian
credo which imposes a tenet wherein mankind is sinful from birth and even a
newly born baby has a share from sins of earlier generations, the hundred and
sixty-fourth âyat of An’âm Sűra in the Qur’ân
al-kerîm purports, “... Every soul draws the meed of its acts on
nonebut himself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. ...” (6-164) In fact, the forty-second âyat of A’râf Sűra purports, “... No burden do We
place on any soul, but thatwhich it can bear,- ...” (7-42) As you read these statements, you feel deep in your heart
that they are divine statements of Allah, and you willingly have belief in
Islam. I did so, too; I chose Islam, the truest religion of Allâhu ta’âlâ, and I became a Muslim
willingly.
(Prof. Dr. Germanus is a professor of ‘Oriental Languages’ in the
University of Budapest and has a worldwide reputation. During the First and
Second World Wars, he travelled in India and in the meantime worked as a
teacher in the University of ‘Shanti Naketen,’ which was under the directorship
of Tagore.[1] Later he moved to Delhi, and became a Muslim
in the ‘Jâmi’a-i-Milliyya’. Prof. Germanus has been looked on as a great
authority in literary areas, especially in the Turkish language and Turkish
literature.)
I was only a fresh adolescent
that could just as soon be called a child. On a rainy day, I incidentally found
an old illustrated magazine. It contained pictures of apparently overseas
countries. I was leisurely turning the pages, when, all of a sudden, one of the
pictures caught my attention. It illustrated some one-storied small houses
surrounded with rose-gardens. On the roofs of the houses sat people in elegant
attirements listening with rapt attention to someone who must be conducting a
conversation under the dusky
---------------------------------
[1] Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Bengali-Indian writer.
firmament that was hardly
illuminated by the half moon. The people, the dresses, the houses, the
houseyards were entirely different from those in Europe. As far as I could
figure out from the writings under the picture, the picture was an illustration
of some Arabs listening to a public story-teller in a small Arabian town. I was
sixteen years old then. As an hungarian student seated comfortably in an
armchair in Hungary, I looked at the picture and imagined myself being there,
among the Arabs, listening to the mellow and at the same time strong voice of
the public story-teller, which gave me unusual pleasure. This picture gave a
direction to my life. Immediately, I began to study Turkish. For the orient had
already entered my periphery of concern. As I improved my Turkish, I observed
that the Turkish language contained very few Turkish words and that the Turkish
poetry had been enriched with Persian and its prose had been reinforced with
Arabic. Then, learning both these languages was prerequisite for a wholesome
understanding of the orient. As soon as I took my first vacation I decided to
go to Bosnia, which was closest to Hungary. I set out immediately. When I
arrived in Bosnia, I checked in to a hotel, where the first question I asked
was: “Could you tell me where to find the local Muslims?” They directed me to a
place. I went there. I had picked up only a smattering of Turkish. Would that
be enough for me to communicate with them? The Muslims had come together in a
coffee-house in their quarter, basking in the relaxation of a peaceful
environment. They were grave-featured, big-bodied people wearing baggy trousers
belted with sashes and carrying bright-sheathed daggers tucked into their
sashes. The turbans on their heads, their ample baggy trousers and daggers gave
them a somewhat weird appearance. Bashful and timorous, I stole into the room
and skulked into a corner. Sometime later, I noticed that they were talking
secretly and softly among themselves and casting quick glances at me. I was
sure they were talking about me. I recalled the stories we used to hear in
Hungary about those Christians killed by Muslims. Frozen with fright, I
helplessly awaited the time when they would “slowly stand up, stride towards
me, unsheathe their daggers, and slaughter me.” I began to make plans of
escape, yet I was too frightened to move. Minutes passed, I do not know how
many. At last, the waiter sauntered towards me with an odorously steaming cup
of coffee. As he gently placed the coffee on the table before me, he politely
gestured with his head towards the source of the offer: the very Muslims who
were
only a moment before the source of my thrilling dread. When I
looked at them with trepidation, one of them looked back with a cordial and
amiable smile and nodded a hello to me. Trying to curve my lips quivering with
terror into a smile, I nodded back. There! My imaginary enemies rose to their
feet and made for me.
My violently palpitating heart
on the verge of cessation, I waited, saying to myself, “They are going to
attack me now.” Yet, to my amazement, they sat around me in a friendly manner.
They greeted me once again. One of them held out a cigarette. As I lit the
cigarette, in the dim light of the match, I perceived in amazement that these
men, whom we had been prejudging as barbarians in the distance, had a very
deeply venerable expression of blessedness on their faces. My awe-stricken
stiffness began to thaw. With my extremely poor Turkish, I attempted to talk
with them. By the time the first Turkish word left my mouth, their features had
already been suffused with all the graces of a blissful expression. We were
friends now. The very men whom I had been expecting to attack with daggers
invited me to their homes. They showed me warm hospitality. They treated me
with tender kindness. All they wanted was to provide me comfort and to do me
good.
Such was my first contact with Muslims. It
was followed by a number of events in succession. Every new event raised
another curtain from before my eyes. I visited Muslim countries one by one. For
some time, I received education in the University of Istanbul. I visited lovely
places in Anatolia and in Syria. During this time, I learned Arabic and Persian
as well as Turkish, on account of which I was later appointed by the University
of Budapest as a professor in the Institute of Islamic Works of Art Research. I
found many old works of art that had been collected in the university for
centuries. I began to study them. I learned many beautiful facts. In the
meantime, I gathered information about the Islamic religion. The more I studied
those works, the deeper into my heart did Islam penetrate, and the more highly
was I impressed by the books that I read, [especially by the Qur’ân al-kerîm and by the books of Hadîth-i-sherîf]. At last, I decided to go to the
orient and to examine the Islamic religion more closely. This time my journey
took me all the way down to India. My soul was empty, and therefore it was
thirsty. The first day I arrived there I dreamt of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâtu
wassalâm’. He was wearing plain but extremely valuable garments. A very
fragrant scent emanated from the garments and reached me. His polite, extremely
beautiful, lovable and bright
face
and his light-radiating and sweet eyes benumbed me. With a very sweet but
imperative voice, he spoke to me in the Arabic language, and said: “Why are you
sad? You already know the path ahead of you. You have attained the level to
choose the right path. Do not wait any longer, and immediately join that path!”
My body was shaking all over. I said to him, in Arabic, “Yâ Rasűlallah (O the
Messenger of Allah) ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’! You are the Prophet of Allah. I believe in this now. But will I
attain peace if I become a Muslim? You are a very great being! You always
overcame your enemies and always showed the right way. But will I, a poor,
helpless born slave, be able to keep in the path that you will show?” Muhammad
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ looked at me gravely and recited the seventh,
the eighth, the ninth and the tenth âyats of the Naba’ Sűra in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, which purported, “Have We not created
the earth as a dwellingplace for you and the mountains as a support? We have
brought you in pairs to the world, and We have given youthe blessing of sleep
so that you may rest.” As he recited them, the words that
he uttered rang sweetly like the tuneful sound of silver bells. I was all of a
sweat when I woke up. I began to wail, “O my Allah, I cannot sleep any longer.
I cannot solve the mysteries around me and hidden under thick covers. O
Rasűlallah! O Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâtu wassalâm’! Help me! Illuminate me!” I
was, on the other hand, afraid to hurt that great Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’. Sounds
that I could not understand came out of my throat, and I was in convulsions all
over. Finally, I felt as if I were rolling down into an abyss, and woke up,
soaked in sweat. My heart was palpitating vehemently, and bells were ringing in
my ears.
On a Friday, the following incident took
place in the Shâh Jihân Mosque in Delhi: A fair-haired, dull-and-white-complexioned
young stranger was entering the mosque among some old Muslims. It was me. I was
clad in Indian garments. Yet a gold medal that I had been awarded in Istanbul
shone on my chest. The Muslims in the mosque were eyeing me with amazement. I
and my friends reached a spot close to the Minbar. A while later the voice
calling (the invitation to prayer termed) the adhân was heard. I watched the
approximately four thousand people stand up with a quick motion softened with
reverent solemnity and make lines, with the same orderliness and speed as you could
see in a military drill. So they began to perform the (prayer called) namâz,
and I joined them. It was an unforgettable
moment
for me. When the performance of the namâz and the khutba was over, Abd-ul-Hayy
held me by the hand and took me to the Minbar. As we were edging our way
towards the Minbar, I was extremely careful lest I should disturb the
worshippers squatting on the floor. At last, I reached the Minbar and began to
climb the stairs. No sooner had I taken the first step than I saw myriad faces
under white turbans like in a field of daisies turn towards me. The scholars
surrounding the Minbar were encouraging me with heartening looks. This look of
theirs gave me the strength that I needed. I looked around. A tremendous sea of
people lay before me. With their heads raised, they awaited my speech. I began
to talk slowly in Arabic, “O you the highly respectable people who have
assembled here! I have come here from a very distant country in order to learn
what I could not learn there. I have attained my goal here, and my soul enjoys
full peace now.” Then I went on, explaining the high position Islam occupied in
history and the various miracles which Allâhu ta’âlâ
had created through the hands of His great Prophet
Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, and adding that the recent decline of power observed
in Muslim states was consequent upon the general laxity that Muslims had been
showing in their religious obligations. I continued my speech by stating that
some Muslims had been putting forth the pretext that an individual’s efforts
would have no effect on events because everything depended on the Will of Allâhu ta’âlâ and therefore it would be futile to
work, and that, on the contrary, Allâhu ta’âlâ
declared in the Qur’ân al-kerîm, “Nothing shall
be corrected unless men correct themselves, and nothing shall be accomplished
unless they exert themselves,” and that He had promised to help anyone who
worked. I quoted âyat-i kerîmas from the Qur’ân
al-kerîm commanding that people should avoid helpless situations by working
hard, and I explained them one by one. Finally, conducting a general prayer, I
dismounted from the Minbar.
As I left the Minbar, an
extremely loud expression, “ALLÂHU EKBER”,[1] articulated in chorus,
thundered in the mosque. My intense excitement had built to such a climax that
I could not see my whereabouts. All I could sense was that my friend, Aslan,
was holding my arm and trying to pull me out of the mosque as soon as possible.
“Why are we in such a hurry,” I wanted to know. “Look round,” was the warning
reply. I turned
---------------------------------
[1] Allah is the greatest.
-100-
my head. O my Allah! Right behind me was the entire congregation,
running hard, trying to catch me. And catch they did. Some of them were holding
me, hugging me, some were trying to kiss my hand, and others were begging me to
invoke a blessing on them. And I was begging, “O my Allah, do not let an
incapable born slave like me to appear as an exalted personage in their eyes!”
I was so embarrassed that I felt as if I had stolen something from these pure
Muslims, or as if I had betrayed them. That same day I realized that being a
popular politician meant possessing immense power. Misusing such power given by
the people of a country would lead the country to total destruction.
That day, I told my brothers
that I was an incapable born slave, and went back home. But their friendliness
and love and the respect they showed to me lasted for weeks. They showed so
much love to me that its effects will be adequate for me till the end of my
life.
Although I was Irish and most of
the Irish people were adherent to the Catholic church, I was raised with a
Protestant education. However, I was only a child when I took a hearty dislike
to the Christian tenets I was being taught and began to maintain a healthy skepticism
about them. By the time I reached the university level of education, which
subsequently added quite a few novelties to my knowledge, my skepticism had
already developed into judgement. The Christian religion would give me nothing.
Then, I began to feel deep repugnance towards it, which, by and by, unfolded
itself in a form of categorical denial. So urgently did I feel the need to find
“a guide to lead me to the right way” that I had to improvise a credo whereby
to satisfy myself pro tem. For a considerable period of time I had to do with
this complicated mood. One day I came across a book entitled ‘Islam and
Civilization’. As soon as I read it, I saw in great amazement and joy that all
the hopes I had been cherishing, all the questions that had been gnawing at my
mind, and their answers as well, were contained in the book. In contrast with
the reciprocal acts of cruelty and oppression among the Christian sects,
Islam’s peaceful and lively principles had been guiding humanity on the
lightsome
-101-
way of truth. The sources of knowledge and civilization had risen
in the Muslim countries and sprinkled their lights on the darkened life of
Europe which had been moaning under multifarious forms of savagery. In comparison with
Christianity, Islam was by far a more logical and more useful religion.
What made me fall for Islam at first sight
was its rejection of the Christian dogma that “Men are sinful from birth and
therefore they have to expiate their sins in the world.” In the process of
time, I learned the other Islamic principles pertaining to the humanities and
civilization and admired the greatness of that religion. Islam did not
differentiate between the rich and the poor. In Islam, people of all races,
colours and languages were brothers, not only in theory, but also in practice.
At one stroke, it levelled down the differences of wealth, position, race,
country and colour among people. It was for this reason that I embraced Islam.
Why did I become a Muslim? Well,
the Islamic religion states the unity of Allâhu ta’âlâ, that an eternal life awaits us after death, and that on the
Rising Day human beings shall be interrogated about their activities in the
world. It enjoins honesty, integrity, and an ideal moral conduct. All these
things are the most basic essentials whereby a person can lead a true-guided,
comfortable and peaceful life. No other religion has put them so plainly and so
concisely. Truthfulness [integrity] is highly valuable in Islam. Honesty
towards Allâhu ta’âlâ and towards
the born slaves forms the basis for Islam. During my quest for truth, I found
it in Islam, and consequently I became a Muslim.
I examined all religions. My
conclusions are as follows:
Today’s Christianity could never
be the same pure religionpreached by Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. The commandments
which Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ received from Allâhu ta’âlâ and communicated to people have been changed completely. The
present copies of the Bible contain others’ statements in lieu of his
statements. Islam is the only religion that has remained pure and intact since
the first day it appeared. The Qur’ân al-kerîm has survived to our day without undergoing even a diacritic
alteration.
-102-
Today’s Gospels contain not the
commandments of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, but the so-called statements of Îsâ
‘alaihis-salâm’, which have gone through quite a number of interpolations, and
the episodes telling about his deeds. In Islam, on the other hand, the
commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the utterances of His Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ have been classified in
different categories. The commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ are written in the Qur’ân
al-kerîm, while the statements of hadrat Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa
sallam’ appear in a different series called ‘Hadîth’.
In Islam Allâhu ta’âlâ addresses His born slaves
directly. Christianity lacks this genuineness.
The most critical Christian
tenet repugnant to people with common sense is its dogma of ‘Trinity’.
Christians believe not in one Allah, but in three gods. No Christian man of
knowledge has so far been able to explain this belief in a logical way. Nor
would it be possible for anyone. For this credal tenet is thoroughly ungrounded
and abnormal. Only one great Creator could create the world. Belief in a tripartite
deity is no different from idolatry. A person of wisdom will believe in one
Creator only.
Moreover, Christians impose the
belief that men are born sinful, that they have to expiate their sins, and that
a denial of the basic Christian belief ‘Trinity’ will lead a person to eternal
perdition wherefrom there is no rising again. Then, what other alternative
could be so natural for people who are originally sinful from birth and who are
deprived of rising after death as grabbing their sojourn in this life as a
fleeting opportunity to taste all sorts of enjoyment and pleasure at all costs
including cheating one another and perpetrating all kinds of atrocity instead
of wasting their time worshipping in vain? It is for this reason that today’s
Christians lead a life quite independent of religious morals and principles,
which in turn gradually drags them down to a totally irreligious way of life.
Entirely emptied of their souls, they are all but machines.
Let us take a look at Japanese
religions now: Essentially, there are two major religions in Japan. One of them
is the Mahayana Buddhism,[1] which is a mixture of original Buddhism and pure
---------------------------------
[1] Mahayana Buddhism is practised mostly
in China and Tibet today. The second form of Buddhism, Theravada, is based on
the teachings of Buddha recorded in the Pali Canon. It is practised in
Kampuchea, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
-103-
Buddhism. It is somewhat similar to Brahminism. A closer
examination of their creed will show that Buddha was an atheist. For Buddha
makes no mention of Allâhu ta’âlâ and does not profess a belief in the fact that the soul will not
die when the body dies. The Brahmins’ views about the soul are not so
materialistic. Yet they are expressed in such a complicated language that it is
difficult to understand what they mean. In fact, the Brahmins’ views of Brahma,
i.e. whether they look on him as God, as a born slave or as a prophet, are not clearly explained. The
Brahmins busy themselves with religious philosophy rather than the religion
itself. In order to always imagine seeing Brahma before them, they consecrate
things that they liken to him or which they think would go with him, [e.g.
flowers], whereby they begin to worship things and animals created by Allâhu ta’âlâ instead of worshipping Allâhu ta’âlâ Himself.
Among all these utterly
complicated credal systems, Islam is the only religion which provides us the
truest definition of Allâhu ta’âlâ. (Allâhu ta’âlâ is one. He is azîm (great, glorious). He is the Rabb (Creator) of
all classes of beings. He is not begotten, nor does he beget. All the things in
the world and in the Hereafter are His creatures. No one except Him is to be
worshipped. No one except Him can enjoin commandments on His born slaves.) The
second religion in Japan is Shintoism[1], which is even worse than Buddhism. This religion has nothing to
do with morals. In addition, they believe in many gods and, like primitive
tribes, they worship them separately. [In other words, they are idolators.]
So, I have given you very
sincere and concise information about the world’s existing religions. Which one
of you, after seeing and learning them as such, would choose one of them,
leaving Islam aside? Is it possible? You, too, see that amidst the so many
extremely muddled and inane credal systems Islam shines brightly. It is seen at
first sight that due to its perfectly logical and humanitarian principles it is
the only true religion.
And I, in hot pursuit of the
path guiding to truth in order to quench my tearful soul with the peace and
happiness it needed, came upon Islam, which was the very religion I was looking
for, and embraced it willingly, holding fast to it with both hands.
---------------------------------
[1] Shintoism is an ancient religion of
Japan. It includes the worship of gods that represent various parts of nature,
and of the souls of people who died in the past.
-104-