Confirming My Beliefs

Being born into a Muslim family, Alhamdulillah, I have been a Muslim all my life. However, I do not know if that is technically right, because Islam is total submission or surrender to God. For one to surrender, one must have chosen to do so and must have a choice not to do so. If one does not have a choice, it would not be surrender. Thus a surrender has to be a conscious action, or it is not real submission, therefore not real Islam. Merely being born to Muslim parents is not enough.

So I would say I was a cultural Muslim — Islam was there and I just went along with it. That was who I was; a Muslim. Whatever my parents taught or what society around me said, I knew and more or less followed, and what they did not know, I knew nothing of. All this changed when I got older. It’s not that I ever doubted my faith, but I began to think to myself that although different faiths all teach good and I respect them all, there has to be something that constitutes the Truth. Either there is one God or not; either Muhammad (saws) was a prophet or not; either Jesus was the son of God (subhanahu) or not. Not everyone is born into the truth, since there are so many religions. Some are born into falsehood. So how could I just be comfortable in what I was born into without knowing the other faiths? What if I was born into falsehood? So I began the study of other religions. They helped me confirm my own belief. Further, I studied my own faith again and realized that it far surpasses the others. More importantly, it was the truth and could prove itself as the truth. In fact, it challenges humankind and the world to prove it wrong, and no one has been able to do so ever since the Qur’an was revealed over 1400 years ago.

When he had questions about what he was preaching, an internationally known preacher of his faith gave it some thought and said, “I was to be the salesman for the Lord. To be a good salesman I had to believe in my product; and to believe in it I had to stop questioning.” I really felt sorry for the man. It is a real pity that he has to believe and live by something that he has to struggle intellectually with. As a friend and colleague said, he denied God's greatest gift to humankind — the rational faculty.

In Islam, I found belief to be based on rationality. Allah, our creator, has given us human brains. This intellectual capability is what makes us different from the rest of the creation. It is why we are going to be held accountable in the next world for our actions and beliefs. So we have to use our ability to reason. By this understanding, if we look at all religions and ideologies, and, using our mind with no preconceived notions or biases, we come to a wrong conclusion about the Truth, then there would be no blame on us. We would be to blame, however, if we did not use our minds and just accepted what we heard without questioning and finding out for ourselves. Therefore we have to have a reason to not believe in what we do not believe in and, more importantly, a reason to believe in what we do. To say that we like it or that we were born into it is just not enough. We have to seek the Truth and strive toward it.

I was amazed at how, unlike any other book that I had read, the Qur'an prods and challenges us to think, to ponder, to reflect. It even challenges us to prove it false. This was the only book that answered the question that I had had all through my study: “Of all the numbers of religious texts in the world, why should I believe in this one?” Not only that, Islam answered all my questions in a clear and simple way. Anything that is essential and fundamental to the religion is given so clearly that even after fourteen centuries there are no denominations in Islam. Any differences that we come across are either political or, if they are religious, are very minor.

Thus I became a Muslim, or a conscious Muslim. I am not by any means perfect. I just try to stay on the path that is in accordance with the will of God. In Islam we believe God rewards our efforts. Whether or not we achieve the results is in the hands of God. So as long as we are sincerely trying, we are earning for the hereafter. From then on, life started to take on the color of Islam — not just in concepts but in my day-to-day dealings. It was just perfect for my spiritual being, my physical being, for society and for humanity as a whole. It was the solution to everything.

The first concept that affected my day-to-day life was that of total submission to One Creator, Allah — the God that created everything, the One and only, Eternal, Absolute, the One who has none like unto Him. He is All-Powerful, there is nothing that He cannot do, He is All-Wise, All-Knowing and All-Seeing. When we bow our head to this One God, we are slaves to Him alone; we suddenly become the masters of the rest of the world. That is to say that He is all that matters. It is only his opinion that counts, and we seek only His pleasure. But if we don’t bow to Him alone, we become slaves to everyone else and spend our lives worrying and trying to please others. We know that Allah is enough as a witness for us. This frees us of worldly tensions with regards to relationships around us. If life in this world is about happiness, then this attitude is one of the great contributors to it. When it is coupled with the realization that efforts are rewarded and never lost even if the results are not achieved, life becomes full of contentment.

Another concept that has influenced my life says each one of us is individually and directly responsible and accountable to God. Further, we are not to judge anyone else. Not only do we have no right to judge anyone, we cannot possibly do so because Allah says that the best amongst you is the one who is most God-conscious. Taqwa or God-consciousness cannot be seen on the outside: rather it is something that only Allah can see and measure. Consequently, we do not judge anyone, and if anyone does anything wrong, we are to excuse him or her. So we never feel bad about what someone did or said. We do not worry about others but ourselves because on the last day, we will have to justify our own behavior. We cannot blame our actions on others, just as we cannot tell an officer that we were speeding because everyone else was.

Islam basically helps free me from everything, even my own body and its desires. I realized that we are the masters of our own thoughts, actions and therefore destiny. It is true freedom; as Rousseau says, true freedom is when we are even free of our own desires. The mind rules the body, and we try to do what is right to please God alone. The five prayers in the day serve to maintain this. They serve as deterrents, reminders and chances to ask for forgiveness. It is hard to do something bad when you know that in a few hours you are going to stand in front of your Lord and say, “You alone do we worship and You alone do we ask for help.”

The concept of the hereafter helps me cope with any calamity or injustice that we face or see around us. We know that the judgment in this world is not final. Islam is beautiful because it has prescribed a complete and just social system. However, since Allah knew that this just system would be abused, He reserved the final judgment for the hereafter. It has been repeated in the Qur'an many times that no injustice will be done on that day to anyone. On that day God will reign supreme, and no one will be able to even open their mouths except with his permission. With such ultimate power in this world and the next, we are put in awe, but at the same time we have been assured of Allah's mercy innumerable times in the Qur'an. It is a very comforting feeling to know that the One who has this absolute and complete power over us is the absolutely merciful, the Most Compassionate, and also the most wise and the most loving.

Just like the above concepts, any concept of Islam that I have learned about has always made me more satisfied with my course of life and in the meantime happier in this life as well. I have never had a question for which I have not found a more than satisfactory answer. What I love most is that I know where to go for an answer. The sources are comprehensive and very clearly defined. Muslims take the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet as the main sources of knowledge, and no one else after that. This has saved Islam from getting corrupted by scholars or priests, whether intentionally or in good faith. The interpretations of the scholars are valued and followed but not obligatory. This makes every Muslim responsible for his or her own actions.

The greatness in Islam also lies in the fact that the book of God, the Qur'an, has been preserved in its original form until today with not even a dot or a dash changed. The life and sayings of the Prophet have also been preserved with extreme caution and accuracy, such as no other human's has until this day. This gives me the assurance that I am reading the original and not some version that was created later and may have suffered distortions over time due to human interference or interpretations. I feel a direct connection with my Creator especially through this book — since it is His very word spoken to me directly. Overall I would say I feel that I know who I am. I have not just the confidence but the comfort of knowing that I am in the Truth and therefore being myself. Being answerable to God alone, doing the right thing becomes easier.

This was what Islam brought to me at a personal level. At the societal level as well, I felt it was a complete system that was just and fair. Moreover, the beauty of Islam is that it not just advises but enforces certain basic fundamentals. This has been a uniquely attractive thing for me. For example, Islam enjoins the five daily prayers, called the salah. Although we can pray to Allah at any time we want, the salah is an obligatory ritual form of prayer. Five times in a day Muslims have to stand foot to foot, shoulder to shoulder in front of their Lord and Creator as one. It enforces the equality of man. No one ever gets a special reserved seat in the mosque. Even the leader of the prayer or the imam can be anybody. Islam never requires a special religious head like a priest to lead the funeral prayer or the Friday sermon or conduct a marriage. And then once a year, when over two million pilgrims converge at Makkah for the pilgrimage, they are even required to dress the same, and one really witnesses the equality of man. No one there can tell a beggar from a millionaire. Everyone is one in front of the Creator.

Many other such social principles are enforced. Although charity is greatly encouraged, zakat (2.5% of the annual savings to be given as charity) has been made obligatory. A person who goes to sleep with a full stomach while his neighbor is hungry is not considered a believer. As far as the development of our spirituality is concerned, a minimum amount of that too has been made obligatory. In addition to the five prayers, a whole month has been dedicated to spiritual exercise and training through fasting — the month of Ramadan.

Education has also been given utmost importance in Islam. The first verse of Qur'an that was revealed was Iqra': “Read.” And the second was “Nun and the pen and that what it wrote.” The Prophet said that seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim man and woman. The obligatory Friday prayer imparts knowledge to the community: people are exposed to some learning at least once a week. The fact that sciences developed faster in Islamic civilization than any other has been attributed, among other factors, to the system of prayers. Every Friday Muslims from a larger community meet, then on the two Id's (Muslim holidays), they try to gather in even larger communities, and once a year Muslims from all over the world gather at Makkah to make Hajj. So any discovery that took place in the east of the Muslim world (which spanned from Spain in the West to China in the East) would be known in the west within the timespan of a year at most. Further, Islam encouraged sciences through its practices. For example, to determine the beginning of the fasting month or Id, astronomy had to be studied since it follows the lunar calendar; the salah is offered facing the mosque in Makkah — so geography had to be studied to determine the direction. Muslims were the first to have highway rest stops and maps showing the routes with the stops to facilitate the pilgrimage of Hajj from various parts of the world. Above all, sciences are encouraged by the numerous verses in the Qur'an asking man to understand and study God's creation and the people of the past as a means of recognizing Him.

What gives me satisfaction is that Islam is a complete and well-defined way of life, not just for the individual but society and humanity as a whole. I am the kind of person who can't stay quiet when I see something wrong. Thus, an important aspect of Islam for me was that the legal system and the social law are very well defined. Rights and duties of various elements of society and the roles of different people have been elucidated. It is a complete way of life. There is never a situation or a question that we cannot find an answer to from the two main sources, the Qur'an — the very word of God and the Sunnah — the life and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (saws). Though it is a comprehensive way of life, it is miraculously applicable to all places and times. The reason for that is that Islam lays down the framework or the skeleton of human life, which then has to be clothed according to time or culture. Anything that does not go against this basic framework is permissible.

Further, Islam is a dinof the fitrah, i.e., a religion of human nature. The nature of the human being is completely compatible with the way of life prescribed. There is nothing that is in our nature and is not allowed; rather it is rewarded as long as it is done in accordance to the guidelines that have been set by Allah. Unlike many other religions, we do not have to shun worldly pleasures to get closer to God. We have to live our life to the fullest and enjoy it in a wholesome manner, keeping in mind the manner and limits set by our Creator and with the intention of pleasing him, whether it is eating, sexual desires or any other aspect of our nature.

All these factors have served to give a direction and purpose to my life. The purpose is such that no one can take it away. Nothing in this world is permanent and lasting except our deeds and the pleasure of our Creator. The One who created us and sent us to this beautiful earth did not leave us without guidance. Rather, He showed us the way to live in this world, just as the maker of the car knows when and how to use it and gives the user a manual with it. We could ignore the 1000-mile oil change or the 10,000-mile service, and the car would still run, but it would decrease its efficiency and not give maximum performance. It may even break down if abused. It is thus a very secure feeling to know that the One who created us and who therefore knows us and how we run better than we know ourselves, has guided us to the path where we can live our lives in this world in a wholesome way and, by doing that, earn an eternal life of happiness and bliss with the Creator Himself. Sometimes, especially during times of hardship, I feel cradled by my Lord, who knows why things happen and loves me and has promised me that there will be no injustice in the end. He says in the Qur'an, "And await in patience for the command of thy Lord, for verily thou art in our eyes . . ."

This gives meaning to my life and helps me understand things and events that others may despair over. It can be compared to an ant that is walking through a carpet. Everything is bright and happy until she gets to a dark spot and suddenly there is darkness all around. She may ask why that happened, why is there this darkness when it was all nice and bright. She questions because she cannot get out of the carpet and see it from above. If she could, she would know why the dark color exists in that particular place and would even understand the importance of that patch in the rest of the design. Allah designs our life, and we are walking through it. The consolation and contentment lies in the fact that the designer is the All-Loving, All-Merciful (He says that His mercy is more expansive than anything else), All-Wise (because sometimes mercy without wisdom may not be the best thing), and All-Powerful God who created us in the first place.

In conclusion, I would say I knew that I could not go on without finding out the Truth and now that I have, I know that I could never live without it. Living by the Truth is something that no one can take away from anyone.

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