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Dear
reader, |
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I am
kindly requesting you to spend a few moments of your time reading this letter
because it just might be possible that this letter will open before you a new
dimension of your role as a human being in this universe. I hope that you are a
free thinking, broadminded, and prejudice-free human being whose goal is to find
the truth. Before I continue, let me state to you the purpose of this letter-
that this is an introduction and invitation to the way of life known as Islam.
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SOME
FACTS
Islam has approximately 1 billion followers known as
Muslims who follow the final revelation to mankind, known as the "Qur'an",
revealed to Prophet Muhammad about 1400 years ago. Contrary to the common
misconception, only about 20% of all Muslims are Arabs, the rest are Indians,
Indonesians, Bosnians and so on. |
WHAT IS
ISLAM
Islam, unlike most other religions, is not named
after any man. Instead Islam means the submission of one's will to the only true
god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim". The
word also implies "peace" which is the natural consequence of total submission
to the will of Allah. Islam is the religion that was given to Adam, the first
man and the first prophet of Allah, and it was the religion of all the prophets
sent by Allah to mankind like Jesus and Moses.
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THE MESSAGE OF
ISLAM
The most important message of Islam is the absolute
Unity of God-that there is only One Supreme Being who has no partners and is not
dependent on anyone or anything. He is the creator of everything and the whole
universe is under His control. Since the total submission of one's will to Allah
represents the essence of worship, Islam is the worship of Allah alone and the
avoidance of worship directed to any person, place or thing other than Allah. In
essence, Islam calls man away from the worship of creation and invites him to
worship only its Creator. Allah is the only one deserving man's worship as it is
only by His will that prayers are answered. Hence prayers to the non-living such
as the sun, fire, and to humans whether they be Jesus, Moses or even Muhammad
are rejected, as Allah informs us in the opening chapter of the Qur'an, known as
Soorah Al-Faatihah, verse 4:
"You alone do we
worship and from you alone do we seek
help."
A Muslim believes that Allah and His creation are
distinctly different entities. Neither is Allah His creation or a part of it,
nor is His creation Him or a part of Him. Ultimately, it is the belief that the
essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or that His divine being is or
was present in some aspects of His creation, which has provided justification
for the worship of creation. Islam, hence, is a clear call to the worship of the
Creator and the rejection of creation-worship in any form.
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THE MIRACLE OF
QUR'AN
"And if you
are in doubt as to what We [Allah] have revealed…then produce a Soorah (chapter)
like thereunto"(Soorah Baqarah 2:23)
This was the challenge put forth
by Allah in the Qur'an 1400 years ago. As of yet, none has or will ever come
close to meeting this challenge. Hence, as a result, multitudes throughout the
centuries have believed and continue to believe in the Qur'an as a revelation
beyond any human capacity. Modern scientists, for instance, have been amazed by
the accuracy of scientific information presented in the Qur'an. Here are just a
few examples:
In his book of
embryology-'The Developing Human' [W.B. Saunders Publishing, 1982], Dr. Keith
Moore added a whole chapter to discuss the scientific accuracy of the Quranic
discussion of this science. Another eminent scientist, Dr. Maurice Bucaille
wrote in his book-'The Bible, the Qur'an and Science':
"I could not
find a single error in the Qur'an…if a man was the author of the Qur'an how
could he have written facts in the 7th century A.D. that today are
shown to be in keeping with modern scientific
knowledge"
Facts about astronomy, the animal world and other
natural phenomenon, that were alien to modern science not long ago, are
scattered among the messages of Allah's Unity and His Attributes throughout the
miracle that is known as al-Qur'an.
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WHAT ABOUT ALL THE
OTHER RELIGIONS There are so many sects, cults, religions,
philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right way
or the only true path to Allah. How can one determine which one is correct or
if, in fact, all are correct? The method by which the answer can be found is to
clear away the superficial differences in the teachings of the various
religions, and identify the central object of worship to which they call,
directly or indirectly. False religions all have in common one basic concept
concerning Allah: they either claim that all human beings are gods or that
specific individuals were Allah or that nature is Allah or that Allah is a
figment of man's imagination. For example, Prophet Jesus invited his followers
to worship Allah but those who claim to be his followers today call people to
worship Jesus, claiming that he was Allah while Jesus himself would deny this as
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"And behold
Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary Did you say to men, Worship me and my
mother as gods besides Allah; He [Jesus] will say-"Glory to You I could never
say what I had no right (to say')" (Soorah
Al-Maa'idah- 5:116)
Even though false religions might
teach some good things, they all, however, teach the greatest evil- the worship
of creation. Creation-worship is the greatest sin that man can commit because it
contradicts the very purpose of his creation, which is the worship of Allah as
explained in the following verses:
"Verily
Allah will not forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive
(sins) less than that for whom so ever He wishes" (Soorah An- Nisaa
4:48 and 116)
"I have only
created Jinns and men, that they may worship me" (Soorah Zaareeyaat
51:56)
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WHY SHOULD I BE A
MUSLIM
Since the consequences of false religion are so
grave, the true religion of Allah must be universally understandable and
attainable, not confined to any people, place or time. Within the central
principle of Islam and in its definition, lies the roots of lslam's
universality. Whenever man comes to the realization that Allah is one and
distinct from His creation, and submits himself to Allah, he becomes a Muslim
and is eligible for paradise. This is the essence and the corner-stone of
Islam:
"Laa Elaaha lllallaah"
(There is no god worthy of worship except Allah)
Its repetition and the
sincere belief in it automatically brings one within the fold of Islam and
guarantees one Paradise. Thus, the final prophet of Islam is reported to have
said, "Any one who says: there is no god but Allah and dies holding that
(belief) will enter paradise." (Reported by Abu Dharr and collected by
Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
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THE
BOTTOM-LINE
Islam is the universal message of Allah to mankind,
and Muhammad is the final and last messenger of Allah. Allah will not accept any
other way of life as He Himself asserts:
"If anyone
desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah (God) never will It be
accepted of Him" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85)
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Please consider
Islam as the only savior from all of society's evils and most importantly the
savior from hell-fire and make the most important choice of your life. Please
submit yourself to the Will of Allah before it is too late. I thank you for your
time. May Allah guide all of us to the truth. Please call, E-mail or write to
the following for further
information: |
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Niche Of Truth,Kalabhavan
Road, Cochin - 18,Kerala, INDIA Tel : 0484-2367810
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Islamic Research
Foundation,Regd.
Public Trust No. B-1409 (Bombay),INDIA ;Tel: 23736875 (8 lines)
- Muslim
Students' Association
[Tel :713-7438632 ; Email: MSA@.uh.edu ;
Homepage:
www.egr.uh.edu/~ahs21457]C/A 320,
University Center, University of Houston, TX 77204
[or]
- Islamic
Society of Greater Houston [Tel # 713-524-6615] ; 3110 Eastside, Houston TX
77098
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