Muhammad tells of those aspects of
Islam which attracted him, those he did not find in
other religions.
By Muhammad Nazeeh Khalid
I was born in
the city of Mansoorah in the Arab Republic of Egypt in
an ordinary Christian family in which religion had not
much significance. We did not go to Church except on
festive and ceremonial occasions. As far as we were
concerned, religion did not mean anything more than
rites which we observed, when necessary, even though
we did not understand the language in which these
rites were conducted. Despite our not grasping what
they meant, the rest of my family was deep in the
blind fanaticism of the ignorant, who fear the loss of
a thing even though they do not know its value. As
for myself, I never had such feelings even for a
single moment. I found the services so tedious that I
never sat through them to their conclusion. I was
plagued by boredom and unease. I felt sure that I was
not meant to be one of them. I felt a total stranger
in this place full of pictures, icons and statues,
like the temples of the idolaters of yore. Then I
turned to reading with inexhaustible greed and
enthusiasm, which stimulated my faculties and
sharpened my feelings.
Questions began
to strike my mind like a spade striking virgin land to
prepare it for the sowing of good seeds to bring forth
delicious fruits. It was at this time that doubt
arose within me about the religion to which I was
born, violently and extensively shattering my frame of
mind. My heart rejected emotionally and my mind
denied logically the idea that Almighty God could
appear in the tangible form of a man and come down to
the earth and permit sinners to beat him, to spit on
his face, and ultimately to torture and crucify him
(according to the Christian claim), even if it was to
exonerate them from the fault of their father Adam, as
Christians argue. As for the belief that God has
three entities, this too I refused to admit as true,
because God is one and only one and none can compare
to Him. As for the doctrine of the trinity, it must
ultimately lead to a division of the entity of God
Himself, whose glory is far above such a
misconception. Such beliefs are the fundamentals of
Christianity, viz., the divinity of Jesus Christ - his
crucifixion as an atonement for humanity, and the
Trinity—the Father, the Son and The Holy Ghost. I
banished these beliefs totally from the domain of my
thinking; expelled them from my mind; and struck them
off the register of my beliefs and conviction. I thus
discarded all false and misleading beliefs.
They say that it
is not possible to acquire sound belief through
wisdom, because it is too sublime to be within the
reach of the human mind. I, on my part, am fully
convinced that if we use our intellect rightly,
refined of the turbidity of passion and pre-conceived,
ready-made ideologies, we can surely find a wealth of
firm and unshakable Faith in Allah and in His supreme
might and ability, before Whose dazzling signs one has
no alternative but to surrender in humility and
helplessness. Thus did I cross over the mountains of
doubt of firm belief: the true religion of Allah which
is Islam.
Revealed
Religions
I studied the
Judaism and Christianity as well other, such as
Buddhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, etc. In some I
found traces of high morals and philosophy of the sort
to guide man to ideal conduct. But when it comes to
formulating a definition of Allah, they go too far,
either by supposing many gods, each of them entrusted
with the management of one specific department of the
affairs of the world, or by presenting Allah in
tangible form, resembling very closely the forms and
shapes of earthly creatures. These gods indulge both
in serious activities and in vengeful pranks, express
anger, eat and drink, and generally behave as mortals
do.
As for Islam, it
is the religion of nature. Almighty Allah has
purified it of all material and tangible forms, and
raised it to the highest degree of spiritualism and
purity. Islam confirms that Allah possesses, will,
wisdom, discretion, knowledge and authority.
According to Islam, Allah beautiful names are
attributes which cannot be separated from His Being
under any circumstances. It also emphasizes His
oneness, which is not shared by anyone, and His
existence for all eternity, as mentioned in Surah 112.
"Say He is Allah
the One and Only. Allah, the Absolute, the Eternal. He
begot none, nor was He begotten. And no one is
comparable to Him."
Thus did Islam
attract me to its sublime and sacred fold—Islam the
purest and most sublime of the revealed religions,
unsullied by apostasy or the doctrine of incarnation.
Acceptance
of Islam
On the 8th of
Ramadan I entered the mosque for the first time with
two companions. My soul and conscience became
purified in the melting pot of magnificent faith. I
underwent that sweet, pleasant experience which opened
to me the door of salvation. Every bit of my body
pulsated with a pious soaring, high in the high
heavens. Neither did I feel disgusted nor
perplexed—No, never. It was the radiation of
brilliant light which shone outside and inside of me
which acquainted me with who I really was. Soft,
soothing, melodious inner voices whispered to me that
from now onwards, till the end of my life, my path was
Islam. In this moment which rose high above the
summits of time, I stood before Allah, the One and
Only, the Almighty, the Forgiving. His most High
Spirit embraced me and asked me to resign myself to
His care after the period of my prolonged loss and
misfortune. Immediately after concluding the prayer,
I took the Holy Book at the gate of the Al-Husain
mosque, and came back home imbibing enlightenment from
the seas of its sacred verses and its eternal, clear
wisdom by which I was thoroughly overwhelmed. This is
the Book of God "about which there is no doubt.""Falsehood cannot come at it from before it or
behind it." (Quran 41:32)
It shall remain
preserved till the end of the world without distortion
or change.
"We have without
doubt, sent down the Reminder; and We will assuredly
guard it (from corruption)." (Quran 15:9)
In plunging into
this Divine, copious and flowing bounty, I uttered the
two Shahadah (testimonies) and announced my Islam to
Allah. So that the firmness of my faith might
flourish and its impact on me might grow strong, I
began to read books and works of contemporary Muslim
thinkers who command influence in the Arab and other
Muslim countries.
I hope in all
humbleness that Allah may accept my Islam which I have
embraced heart and soul as my last refuge. I have
entered the fold of Islam in love of God, and His
Prophet whose status is sublime and exalted and whose
personality is unique and exceptional. I have always
appreciated and honored him in the past and have an
unflinching belief that he is the greatest of all
personalities to love an indelible mark on the annals
of world history.
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