n the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful
Why Islam?
Let’s
talk frankly. Almost never do non-Muslims study Islam until they have
first exhausted the religions of their exposure. Only after they have
grown dissatisfied with the religions familiar to them, meaning
Judaism, Christianity and all the fashionable “-isms”—Buddhism, Taoism,
Hinduism (and, as my young daughter once added, “tourism”)—do they
consider Islam.
Perhaps other religions do not answer the big questions
of life, such as “Who made us?” and “Why are we here?” Perhaps other
religions do not reconcile the injustices of life with a fair and just
Creator. Perhaps we find hypocrisy in the clergy, untenable tenets of
faith in the canon, or corruption in the scripture. Whatever the
reason, we perceive shortcomings in the religions of our exposure, and
look elsewhere. And the ultimate “elsewhere” is Islam.
Now, Muslims would not like to hear me say that Islam is
the “ultimate elsewhere.” But it is. Despite the fact that Muslims
comprise one-fourth to one-fifth of the world’s population, non-Muslim
media smears Islam with such horrible slanders that few non-Muslims
view the religion in a positive light. Hence, it is normally the last
religion seekers investigate.
Another problem is that by the time non-Muslims examine
Islam, other religions have typically heightened their skepticism: If
every “God-given” scripture we have ever seen is corrupt, how can the
Islamic scripture be different? If charlatans have manipulated
religions to suit their desires, how can we imagine the same not to
have happened with Islam?
The answer can be given in a few lines, but takes books
to explain. The short answer is this: There is a God. He is fair and
just, and He wants us to achieve the reward of paradise. However, God
has placed us in this worldly life as a test, to weed out the worthy
from the unworthy. And we will be lost if left to our own devices. Why?
Because we don’t know what He wants from us. We can’t navigate the
twists and turns of this life without His guidance, and hence, He has
given us guidance in the form of revelation.
Sure, previous religions have been corrupted, and that isone of the reasons why
we have a chain of revelation. Ask yourself: wouldn’t God send another
revelation if the preceding scriptures were impure? If preceding
scriptures were corrupted, humans would need another revelation, to
keep upon the straight path of His design.
So we should expect preceding scriptures to be
corrupted, and we should expect the final revelation to be pure and
unadulterated,for we cannot imagine a loving God leaving us astray.
What we can imagine is God giving us a scripture, and men
corrupting it; God giving us another scripture, and men corrupting it
again … and again, and again. Until God sends a final revelation He
promises to preserve until the end of time.
Muslims consider this final revelation to be the Holy
Quran. You consider it … worth looking into. So let us return to the
title of this article: Why Islam? Why should we believe that Islam is
the religion of truth, the religion that possesses the pure and final
revelation?
“Oh, just trust me.”
Now, how many times have you heard that line? A
famous comedian used to joke that people of different cities cuss one
another out in different ways. In Chicago, they cuss a person out this way, in Los Angeles they cuss a person out that way, but in New York they just say, “Trust me.”
So don’t trust me—trust our Creator. Read the Quran,
read books and study good websites. But whatever you do, get started,
take it seriously, and pray for our Creator to guide you.
Your life may not depend on it, but your soul most definitely does.
is a breath-holding, white-knuckled, can't-put-down thriller that
challenges Western views of humanity, history and religion. Bar none,
the best book in its class!" Dr. Brown is also the author of three
scholastic books of comparative religion, MisGod'ed, God'ed, and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). His books and articles can be found on his websites, www.EighthScroll.com and www.LevelTruth.com, and are available for purchase through amazon.com
Why Islam?
Let’stalk frankly. Almost never do non-Muslims study Islam until they have
first exhausted the religions of their exposure. Only after they have
grown dissatisfied with the religions familiar to them, meaning
Judaism, Christianity and all the fashionable “-isms”—Buddhism, Taoism,
Hinduism (and, as my young daughter once added, “tourism”)—do they
consider Islam.
Perhaps other religions do not answer the big questions
of life, such as “Who made us?” and “Why are we here?” Perhaps other
religions do not reconcile the injustices of life with a fair and just
Creator. Perhaps we find hypocrisy in the clergy, untenable tenets of
faith in the canon, or corruption in the scripture. Whatever the
reason, we perceive shortcomings in the religions of our exposure, and
look elsewhere. And the ultimate “elsewhere” is Islam.
Now, Muslims would not like to hear me say that Islam is
the “ultimate elsewhere.” But it is. Despite the fact that Muslims
comprise one-fourth to one-fifth of the world’s population, non-Muslim
media smears Islam with such horrible slanders that few non-Muslims
view the religion in a positive light. Hence, it is normally the last
religion seekers investigate.
Another problem is that by the time non-Muslims examine
Islam, other religions have typically heightened their skepticism: If
every “God-given” scripture we have ever seen is corrupt, how can the
Islamic scripture be different? If charlatans have manipulated
religions to suit their desires, how can we imagine the same not to
have happened with Islam?
The answer can be given in a few lines, but takes books
to explain. The short answer is this: There is a God. He is fair and
just, and He wants us to achieve the reward of paradise. However, God
has placed us in this worldly life as a test, to weed out the worthy
from the unworthy. And we will be lost if left to our own devices. Why?
Because we don’t know what He wants from us. We can’t navigate the
twists and turns of this life without His guidance, and hence, He has
given us guidance in the form of revelation.
Sure, previous religions have been corrupted, and that isone of the reasons why
we have a chain of revelation. Ask yourself: wouldn’t God send another
revelation if the preceding scriptures were impure? If preceding
scriptures were corrupted, humans would need another revelation, to
keep upon the straight path of His design.
So we should expect preceding scriptures to be
corrupted, and we should expect the final revelation to be pure and
unadulterated,for we cannot imagine a loving God leaving us astray.
What we can imagine is God giving us a scripture, and men
corrupting it; God giving us another scripture, and men corrupting it
again … and again, and again. Until God sends a final revelation He
promises to preserve until the end of time.
Muslims consider this final revelation to be the Holy
Quran. You consider it … worth looking into. So let us return to the
title of this article: Why Islam? Why should we believe that Islam is
the religion of truth, the religion that possesses the pure and final
revelation?
“Oh, just trust me.”
Now, how many times have you heard that line? A
famous comedian used to joke that people of different cities cuss one
another out in different ways. In Chicago, they cuss a person out this way, in Los Angeles they cuss a person out that way, but in New York they just say, “Trust me.”
So don’t trust me—trust our Creator. Read the Quran,
read books and study good websites. But whatever you do, get started,
take it seriously, and pray for our Creator to guide you.
Your life may not depend on it, but your soul most definitely does.
Copyright © 2007 Dr. Laurence B. Brown; used by permission.
Dr. Brown is the author of The Eighth Scroll, described by North Carolina State SenatorLarry Shaw as, "Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code. The Eighth Scrollis a breath-holding, white-knuckled, can't-put-down thriller that
challenges Western views of humanity, history and religion. Bar none,
the best book in its class!" Dr. Brown is also the author of three
scholastic books of comparative religion, MisGod'ed, God'ed, and Bearing True Witness (Dar-us-Salam). His books and articles can be found on his websites, www.EighthScroll.com and www.LevelTruth.com, and are available for purchase through amazon.com
