Why Are You a Muslim?

[abulihya]

Salams to All,

I am interested to know why you are a Muslim? What makes you believe?

Abu Lihya :)

[Zuh]

I am a muslim because Allah wills that. What makes me believe are the Prophets of God and the special friends of God. For me they are proofs of God's existence.

[abulihya]

I am a muslim because Allah wills that. What makes me believe are the Prophets of God and the special friends of God. For me they are proofs of God's existence.

Thank you Zuh, but what I'm getting at is do you have a rational reason or evidence for believing in Islam? (I don't mean belief in God - that's another question.)

To say you believe because Allah wills seems to imply that your belief has nothing to do with you and therefore not something you can take credit for - or be rewarded for.

As for your saying: "What makes me believe are the Prophets of God and the special friends of God" - I don't quite understand what you are saying? Could you explain how they make you believe?

[EmGee909]

Salams to All,

I am interested to know why you are a Muslim? What makes you believe?

Abu Lihya :)

Salaam akhi

ive grown up in a nice muslim family here in London and as ive got to this age (16) hamdlillah ive got the oppurtunity now to research into islam and the teachings, and whether or not Islam contradicts science.. But with my own research and questioning (which islam actually encourages), ive discovered that islam IS science. and so, hamdlillah that is enough for me, because science is the most important thing in life, and so therefore islam is the best thing because it works hand-in-hand with science. :)

[Aspirer]

Thank you Zuh, but what I'm getting at is do you have a rational reason or evidence for believing in Islam? (I don't mean belief in God - that's another question.)

To say you believe because Allah wills seems to imply that your belief has nothing to do with you and therefore not something you can take credit for - or be rewarded for.

As for your saying: "What makes me believe are the Prophets of God and the special friends of God" - I don't quite understand what you are saying? Could you explain how they make you believe?

Good afternoon,

I believe in the religion of Islam because it is the truth, the light, and the way. The reasons I believe in this are beyond the faculties of human reason or, as it has been dubbed, 'rational evidence.' I put utmost trust in my empirical experience with regards to the realm of the spiritual as the reason I had for entering and remaining in Islam. Whilst within it, I have found many a rational reason to cling tightly to it, but these reasons are and have been secondary to the primary reason.

I am sure it is possible to rationally arrive at the conclusion that Islam is the truth, but this is not, I imagine, how most people go about with it. It is enough for us the feeling before, after and during a prayer, the roar of creation around you reduced to a sweet inaudible whisper, the movement of the air against the clothing and skin, the heightened senses, the bright flares of faith in our hearts, the disappointing mellowness of plain and ordinary existence and the mundanity of this farcical world upon finishing.

[Nomadic]

we Believe not because of our own ability but rather Allah the one who guides bless us to be in his chosen relegion. Guidance does not come from the created being but rather the creator. One can hide but only hides from what is innate - submission to one true Creater who is unique and neither begets nor begotten. In place of disbelief, one may find guidance and certenty of faith. Belief transcends all mateiral border. The fact that some us are born into a muslim family is blessing on the ground we do not have to sacrifice too much. For some belief has to be accompanied with intelectual persuit only to strenghten the conviction. Its evidance is both tangible and untangible - manifest in real world and spiritual world.
For some belief does not require tangible proof but rather clear and unambigous clear teaching.
Allahualam

[farook]

Good afternoon,

I believe in the religion of Islam because it is the truth, the light, and the way. The reasons I believe in this are beyond the faculties of human reason or, as it has been dubbed, 'rational evidence.' I put utmost trust in my empirical experience with regards to the realm of the spiritual as the reason I had for entering and remaining in Islam. Whilst within it, I have found many a rational reason to cling tightly to it, but these reasons are and have been secondary to the primary reason.

I am sure it is possible to rationally arrive at the conclusion that Islam is the truth, but this is not, I imagine, how most people go about with it. It is enough for us the feeling before, after and during a prayer, the roar of creation around you reduced to a sweet inaudible whisper, the movement of the air against the clothing and skin, the heightened senses, the bright flares of faith in our hearts, the disappointing mellowness of plain and ordinary existence and the mundanity of this farcical world upon finishing.

Dear Brother, Assalaamoalaikum

Concise and sweet.

Brotherly yours
farook

[ahamed_sharif]

First of all I am lucky to be born in a muslim family.

Secondly I feel I am lucky to be a muslim. I compare myself to other religions, athiests and communists.

[Maripat]

Answering this question involves questioning my own faith. If I was a moderator then you know what action would have been taken.

[Mangetout]

Guidance comes from Allah. We are Muslims because He Wills it and i feel it would be better to thank Allah for the gift of islam instead of questioning why we believe as questioning will allow doubt to creep in.

If you are looking for signs that strengthen a persons emaan, then for me, all of creation from its beauty and magnificence to its functionality and the tiniest details point to the THE CREATOR. None of this can come by chance or coincidence.

[not known]

:salam:

As an engineer, I believe everything on this earth is to be designed and created. Hence there is a creator of all these things available on earth using which the scientists create or invent other things.

[abulihya]

Thank you for the responses. However, may I say again that I am NOT asking why you believe in God. I'm asking why you believe in Islam, specifically.

A friend of mine is having severe doubts. He was born Muslim and is a sincere and honest person. He asked me "Why do you believe? How do you know Islam is true?" tbh I am having trouble answering this question, so wanted to hear what others say.

[Maripat]

A friend of mine is having severe doubts. He was born Muslim and is a sincere and honest person. He asked me "Why do you believe? How do you know Islam is true?" tbh I am having trouble answering this question, so wanted to hear what others say.

This is a different matter altogether. Be around him, he shall navigate on his own, Insha Allah. If there are specific questions by him then you may ask here. Above feeling that he has expressed is just a whispering from Satan. If he is not sharing partners with Allah then Satan is going to have cipher effect on him. Pray for him. If he listens to you then advise if to recite Ya Mumeetu twenty one time after going to bed every night. This should be preceded and followed by Darood seven times and he should have his hand on his heart while reciting. The whisperings of Satan are very weak but they do have very debilitating effect. Above action should be very effective, Insha Allah.

[abulihya]

If there are specific questions by him then you may ask here.

The specific question is "Why do you believe in Islam?" - I need some rational reasons, some solid evidence to prove to him that Islam is the truth.

I have to say that this is now not only an issue for him but for me too.

[Maripat]

The specific question is "Why do you believe in Islam?" - I need some rational reasons, some solid evidence to prove to him that Islam is the truth.

I have to say that this is now not only an issue for him but for me too.

Let us talk a slightly different but related thing. I'll begin with a question. Here it is. Did I bore you with my, say simplistic, answer? I am sorry if I did that. Since you seem to be young so I'll not request experts of Logic, Mathematics or Physics to chip in and provide the evidence. What about heart? What does your heart feel? In your heart who do you think is most reliable?

[iSoK]

The specific question is "Why do you believe in Islam?" - I need some rational reasons, some solid evidence to prove to him that Islam is the truth.

I have to say that this is now not only an issue for him but for me too.

Assalamu Aleikum,

Well, there are many many reasons.
During my teens I was not interested in religion, I did consider myself a Muslim.
But I didn't practise or wasn't aware of God's existence.

A couple of months ago something happened to me, too make a long story short, I had no other choice then to start practising again, Alhamdulillah. First I had faith, to believe in God.
So I visited atheist forums and discussed with them what they think of it.
By doing that, I found out that their point of view was lack of evidence, there were no
arguments against God. For me now, the existence of God is no longer belief, for me personally
it's a fact. In the words of C.G. Jung: I don't believe, I know God exists.

Now, I see the evidence for God and Islam in two ways.
The first types of evidence does not come from religion but from the Cosmos and from Human beings.
But I assume you want to know why Islam would be the Truth?

1. Islam perfectly explains the human psychology, for example the state of Al-Fitrah
(Innate belief in a Creator).
2. Antropology research has proven that faith is something natural, in different societies when there were no religious beliefs, individuals came up with the idea of a God. I belief this happened because their Fitray overwhelmed them.
3. Antropology also suggests that monotheism is the default view of this natural state of humans.
Polytheism occurs because of multiple reasons, I shall mention two.
- Lack of understanding of nature (thunder god, rain god...and so on...)
- Someone with superior values must be god. (Christianity or Hinduism)
We cannot know for certain that individuals like Krishna or Brahma were prophets, the same could have happened with them like happened with Jesus (pbuh) in Christianity.

Brahma - Abraham (pbuh)
Saraswati (Brahma's wife) - Sara
Also notice that Saraswati is the goddess of fertility within Hinduism.
Consider the late age Sara gave birth.

So in it's essence, Islam is pure monotheistic.
Judaism on the other hand is also monotheistic, but regards the Jews as the Chosen people.
A born Jew is better than a converted Jew.
Islam views every human being as equal, in fact no religion or human ideology has ever been
so succesful in bringing human beings together and treating them as equal, regardless of their
race or skin colour.
So if we want to fulfill what antropologists call 'the natural state', the only religion in the world that
should be followed is Islam.

Islam is the only religion in the world that has:

1. An unchanged, preserved message.
2. Full path for society. (Sharia)
3. Pure Monotheism
4. Perfect documented biography of the Prophet (pbuh)
5. Sees other religion as once pure but now distorted (gives proof of this).
6. Explains the human psychology.
7. Rational and logical religion (does not decay our understanding but promotes it)

I hope these are enough reasons on why Islam is the truth.
I'll add more in case you don't find this convincing.

Wasalam,

[abulihya]

1. An unchanged, preserved message.
2. Full path for society. (Sharia)
3. Pure Monotheism
4. Perfect documented biography of the Prophet (pbuh)
5. Sees other religion as once pure but now distorted (gives proof of this).
6. Explains the human psychology.
7. Rational and logical religion (does not decay our understanding but promotes it)


I'm afraid these either do not prove it is from God or are clearly open to debate. For example; is eternal Hell rational and logical?

[abulihya]

Had I been born a Christian, Hindu or Buddhist I would probably think these religions were the true religion. The fact is that the main determining factor for what religion you believe in is undoubtedly birth. Of course there are exceptions. Nevertheless the fact is that most Muslims were born to Muslim families, most Christians to Christian families, most Hindus to Hindu families and so on…

It seems to me that our attachment is an emotional one. It is our identity and comfort zone. Of course we apply rational and logical reasons why we 'know' its the true religion, but I can't help coming to the conclusion that these merely mask a deeper emotional and irrational attachment.

We are selective about what evidence we accept and reject.

Think about evangelical Christians. You can talk to these people until you’re blue in the face, but they're totally immune to logic because they believe that they're right. You can say anything, but they duck and dive and dismiss every piece of evidence you present. They just aren’t listening. They just aren’t thinking. It’s like the shutters are down and there’s nobody home. And the weird thing is they don’t know they’re not listening. They aren’t lying to you. They think they’re being perfectly rational, and you’re the one who is ignorant, unreasonable or malicious.

But it's just others who behave like that - right?

Not us.

[Maripat]

Dear Young Abul Ihya,
:salam:
Had I been born a Christian, Hindu or Buddhist I would probably think these religions were the true religion. The fact is that the main determining factor for what religion you believe in is undoubtedly birth. Of course there are exceptions. Nevertheless the fact is that most Muslims were born to Muslim families, most Christians to Christian families, most Hindus to Hindu families and so on…

Perhaps exception is the rule. Before Hazrat Isa (AS) no Christians! Thus people do make in inquiry into their paternal religion. Initially Islam was confined to Makkah and Madinah-the Harmain Sharifain.
What was happening when people were coming to Islam in groups-fi deenilahi afwaja. Right? So people were accepting the truth and leaving falsehood behind.

It seems to me that our attachment is an emotional one.

Faith, belief, eeman is the better description.

It is our identity and comfort zone.

Take it as a privilege that you were born a Muslim. Thank Allah for that. Just imagine about brothers and sisters who have to make a switch to Islam leaving their comfort zone.

Of course we apply rational and logical reasons why we 'know' its the true religion, but I can't help coming to the conclusion that these merely mask a deeper emotional and irrational attachment.

Somebody asked Imam Ibn-e-Taimiyya (RA) about logic. He said that for a fool it is of no use and an intelligent person does not need it.

We are selective about what evidence we accept and reject.

Think about evangelical Christians. You can talk to these people until you’re blue in the face, but they're totally immune to logic because they believe that they're right. You can say anything, but they duck and dive and dismiss every piece of evidence you present. They just aren’t listening. They just aren’t thinking. It’s like the shutters are down and there’s nobody home. And the weird thing is they don’t know they’re not listening. They aren’t lying to you. They think they’re being perfectly rational, and you’re the one who is ignorant, unreasonable or malicious.

But it's just others who behave like that - right?

Not us.

They are defending what they have. Are you?

My arguments might have left some important things out but for now I must rush out.

Wassalam.

[abulihya]

Let us talk a slightly different but related thing. I'll begin with a question. Here it is. Did I bore you with my, say simplistic, answer? I am sorry if I did that. Since you seem to be young so I'll not request experts of Logic, Mathematics or Physics to chip in and provide the evidence. What about heart? What does your heart feel? In your heart who do you think is most reliable?

No you didn't bore me - I apologise if you got that impression. I just didn't find anything that would constitute undeniable or irrefutable proof that Islam is true.

What do I feel in my heart? My heart tells me eternal Hell is cruel, irrational and not worthy of a Merciful, Loving God. My heart tells me that hitting your wife is not the best way to deal with a marital problem - no matter what circumstances. My heart tells me that God of the whole world would not send books and prophets to only one small patch of land, in a far off time and in a language few seem to understand fully or agree upon.

My heart tells me it's odd that God would perform so many miracles, intervene, talk to, part seas and so on... in a distant time and amongst gullible superstitious people. Then when man has advanced enough to properly verify, record and test such things - God decides not to do all that anymore.

My heart tells me that the fact that billions of intelligent people have complete conviction that their false religion is the truth, should make me wonder if my own convictions are equally flawed.

[abulihya]

It seems to me that our attachment is an emotional one.

Faith, belief, eeman is the better description.


Christians, Hindus, Buddhists etc... also have faith.

Is it only Muslims who should not question their faith?

[iSoK]

No you didn't bore me - I apologise if you got that impression. I just didn't find anything that would constitute undeniable or irrefutable proof that Islam is true.

What do I feel in my heart? My heart tells me eternal Hell is cruel, irrational and not worthy of a Merciful, Loving God. My heart tells me that hitting your wife is not the best way to deal with a marital problem - no matter what circumstances. My heart tells me that God of the whole world would not send books and prophets to only one small patch of land, in a far off time and in a language few seem to understand fully or agree upon.

My heart tells me it's odd that God would perform so many miracles, intervene, talk to, part seas and so on... in a distant time and amongst gullible superstitious people. Then when man has advanced enough to properly verify, record and test such things - God decides not to do all that anymore.

My heart tells me that the fact that billions of intelligent people have complete conviction that their false religion is the truth, should make me wonder if my own convictions are equally flawed.

Assalamu Aleikum,

My dear brother Abulihya, it seems you have a lot of questions in your heart.
It's something we all have, answering them is a part of life I guess.
What would life be and why would Allah give us intellect without us pondering over these questions.
If there were no questions, nor challenges, life would be nothing.
But we should not be so desperate for these answers, that it will lead us astray.
Because many questions already have been answered.

I personally see life as a jigsaw puzzle, many pieces are already on the correct place.
But the puzzle is not complete, it seems that we can't find the right piece for some places.
Should this mean that we have to erase the correct pieces just to fit in everything?
I think life is about an unfinished puzzle and this puzzle should never be finished.
What would we do if the puzzle is complete, can we call that state life?


The Noble Qur'an - [5:48] - And had Allah so willed, He would surely have made you one single community; instead, He gave each of you a Law and a way of life in order to test you by what He gave you. Vie, then, one with another in good works. Unto Allah is the return of all of you; and He will then make you understand the truth concerning the matters on which you disagreed.

About your questions, I'll try to answer them insha Allah.

Hell
I think one thing is clear, that without fear of hell many of us would not abstain from certain wordly
desires. Fear is the most basic instinct of the human mind. Honestly if God wouldn't threat mankind, then God would not know His creation.
How many atheists would call for God in a crashing airplane? I think all of them would do. Even if they don't want to, their natural instinct will make them do it.

The Noble Qur'an - [17:67] - When a calamity befalls you on the sea, all those whom you invoke forsake you except Him. But when He delivers you safely to the shore you turn away from Him, for man is indeed most thankless.

Nonetheless, there have been people who have walked on the face of this planet fully aware of their
actions, yet they still decided to do wrong things.
Foday Sankoh is an example of this in recent times.
I'd suggest you to watch the documentaire called: Blood Diamonds.
Then you should ask yourself again: Does this man deserve eternal hell?

All in all, we don't know how Allah is going to judge us.
But let's make one thing clear, it is perfectly rational to punish non-belief if you have been given sufficient evidence. You might ask: why?
Well, religious people are by far more happy than non-religious people, research has pointed this out.
So if Allah would spread His religion through the choice of people, what happens if someone
decides not too believe even if he has been given proof?
By disbelieving, the network behind that person will never come in touch with the message.
In an indirect way, that one person will block the happiness for dozens of people.

Here in the Netherlands (a secular country), over 1 million take prozac because of depression.
Despite of the comfort living and material lifestyle, something seems to be missing for these people.
Recent research has also pointed out that this number is actually higher, since not everyone visits
the doctor out of taboo and many are not given the medecines while they need it.

Another way is for example that we will send ourselves to hell, a state of misery.
Take as example the development of the Fetus in the womb.
The baby might be comfortable for a few month's, almost all of her/his life resources come from
the placenta.
But should he hypothetically stop the development of the stomach, just because he doesn't need it?
No, the truth is that he or she is preparing for a different life then the life in that womb.
70-80 years is an enternity, compared to 9 months.

Can a child stop eating vegetables and go for the candy even if his parents warned him severely about the consequences? The only reason he might do this is because it tastes better than vegetables, should he not face the consequences then even if his parents love him?
After all, he was warned by his siblings and gave him proof.

So it's our choice what we are going to do with our life, one thing is for sure:
We've been warned and proof is given.

The Noble Qur'an - [44:3] - We revealed it on a Blessed Night, for We were intent on warning;


Hitting your wife

I'd suggest, that you listen to this lecture by Shayk Hamza Yusuf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDEKJDgXO-U

Many religions

We muslims believe that God has given each community a law and a way of life in the past.
This law and a way of life was not forever. With the development of mankind during the centuries, each time man would achieve a new level of development, so there was a need for a new law.
So God did not intervene to preserve the message.

The Qur'an however is preserved, since it's the final message for mankind till the day of Judgement.
So man will not have any excuse. Moreover, what you don't find in other religions, Islam gives certain
types of evidence. We live in an age where everything is questioned.
An aspect of this evidence has a lot to do with our current worldview.
The new religion of today seems to be science, don't get me wrong. I myself attend uni, so I'm not
against science, but people of the modern world seem to have put their faith totally in science.

There are a few verses in the Qur'an who describe the beginning of the universe, I'm sure you are aware of this, there's no need to explain this here. You could see this as a type of evidence.

Another type of evidence is an historical aspect. The Qur'an calls for example the Egyptian ruler during the times of Moses (pbuh) a Pharao. The Egyptian ruler during the times of Yusuf (pbuh), is called a King. In historical aspect this is true, the Pharao dynasty came later on in history.
And so there are more evidences. Some take the uniqueness of the Qur'an as a true miracle, even western scholars agree upon this.
If we combine all of this, it couldn't have come from a human being.

There are multiple reasons why Islam is the truth. Islam seems to have it 'all'.
Judaism might have the Oneness of God, but treats converted jews as less.
Hinduism is a polytheistic system, with different chastes.
Christianity doesn't seem to agree on the Oneness of God.
Christianity and Hinduism have something in common, they seem to have taken messengers as gods.
The Vedas however explicitly says that God is One.

You are right in the essence that society plays a major role in who you are. The context where you
are born has a lot to say about you. But other religions follow blindly, without any proof.
If a Christian asks questions like these, he would not get any answers.

But you should also ponder about the question, why Islam is so fast growing now?
Despise of all the bad media coverage here in the west, people seem still to choose for this
'desert religion'. It's because it makes sense. It's the only religion with a pure monotheistic form.

There's even an hadith about this. Every human being is born with a sound nature, it's that society makes him a Jew, a Christian or a Hindu. This sound nature has been verified by Antropology.
Take the father of the Egyptian ruler Toetanchamon as example.
In a severe polytheistic society, he somehow came up with the idea that God should be One.
So he decided that there should be One God. Despite of his indoctrination by society, he somehow came up with this belief in a later age.

So I think, that there are religions in the world that are man-made, other's are revealed by God.
The man-made religion, that were created by man came from the severe expression of their sound nature. The need for God, stimulated by the most inner parts of their soul. Other's I think are revealed, but we never can be for certain.
The Hoppi indians and other tribes in North-America worshipped 'The Great Spirit' for example, they knew the aspect of Tawheed. One of their chief elders commented:

"To the Hopi, the Great Spirit is all powerful. He taught us how to live, to worship, where to go and what food to carry, gave us seeds to plant and harvest. He gave us a set of sacred stone tablets into which he breathed all teachings in order to safeguard his land and life. In these stone tablets were inscribed instructions, prophecies and warnings."

It's interesting that someone gave these people also instructions and warnings, while they lived
in isolation for so long from the rest of the world. As the Qur'an says:

The Noble Qur'an - [15:10] - O Muhammad, certainly We did send Messengers before you among the nations which have gone by.

As for the location of the Qur'an. It's quite perfect. Probably the most central part of the world.
The Middle-East is connected to Europe, Africa and Asia.
I think that our intellect is the most important aspect that God has given us.
A religion from God should be worthy of a life-time of study by humans, something which Islam is.
It's a complete lifestyle.

Just like you brother Abulihya, I'm also a born Muslim. But I think that sometimes we don't
realise how lucky we are that we are born into this religion, without having to go through the struggle
that some Non-Muslims face when they come to Islam.
I am sure that a revert will make that very clear to both of us.

I hope I did not hurt your feelings or offended you. Please forgive me if I did so.
May Allah guide us.

Waleikum Salam,

[Anybody]

Bismillah Al-Rehman Al-Raheem

Assalam-Alaikum Brother:

Maybe this thread (http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?65004-Atheist-Agnostic-to-Islam/) will help you. I recommend that you go through ALL of the thread, as I believe the responses I had written, by grace of Allah if Allah wills (especially on page 3 of the thread), might open you to a better grasp of what areas you should focus on with regards to attaining an understanding of your big question: “Why Islam?”

However, please note: Trying to learn Islam on your own will be more fruitful for you than simply asking your question of “Why Are You a Muslim?” of people. And the reason I say this is because each individual can only answer your question from circumstances unique to them, which though might provide you an insight into individual motives, does not help you gain the insight you need into your own personality, mindset, and Islam to be able to understand what makes even rationalists believe in Islam.

After you read through the thread, please make sure to have watched ALL the videos as listed as that will enable you to center yourself and Insha-Allah give you the tentative building ground on which can you further your knowledge of Islam.

One of the videos that I had recommended in the original thread is unavailable on YouTube, for which I apologize, but you may follow the same lecture “Surah Fatiha - Points to Ponder” from end to finish by clicking on the following link and on its related parts in the “Suggestions” border listed to the right of the YouTube page:
Surah Fatiha - Points to Ponder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8QjS1R_lBY)

And I do recommend and emphasize that you should follow ALL of the video lectures listed in the original thread.

Also, I strongly suggest that you refrain from debating your doubting friend until you yourself have gained a firm ground on which to base your own convictions. Otherwise, you are likely to confuse not only your friend but yourself and in the process not only adopt your friend’s doubts but regurgitate his doubts rather than intelligently, coherently, and logically search the answers of “Why Islam?”

I wish you the best for your search.

[Maripat]

Dear Abul Ihya,
:salam:
I wrote a long answer to your queries and I did not post it.:D

I had picked up the problem of eternal Hell and then I realized that it would be better to talk about eternal Heaven, that is what illustrates the property of Rahman and Rahim. Eternal Hell illustrates other attributes of Allah. You might not be satisfied with my answer but I am drained-just for your information and not as a complain. Rest later, Insha Allah.

Wassalam.

[abulihya]

Assalamu Aleikum,

Wa alaykum asalam

>Foday Sankoh… Does this man deserve eternal hell?

Thank you, I looked him up and he is one nasty piece of work. But my answer is still definitely no! No-one but a madman would want to see another creature - no matter how evil - kept alive for all eternity just so he can continually be roasted alive, over and over again. Even his human victims will tire of such a thing. Do you think they want to spend their time continually stuck in anger and revenge and pleasure at seeing his eternal pain? God can simply kill him - make him no longer exist. Or if he has to torture him - then torture him for the time and degree that he tortured others.

But worse than this is that the Qur'an is not simply talking about such people - it is talking about unbelievers receiving this treatment. Yet belief or disbelief is not a crime. People can't help what they believe. They either find it convincing or not. It doesn't mean they are bad - let alone deserving eternal torture.


>it is perfectly rational to punish non-belief if you have been given sufficient evidence.

If a person disbelieves it is because he does not find the evidence convincing - not because he is bad. At worst he is guilty of nothing more than ignorance or faulty reasoning.

>So God did not intervene to preserve the message.

> The Qur'an however is preserved, since it's the final message for mankind till the day of Judgement.
>So man will not have any excuse.

If God didn't want man to have any excuse he could have easily preserved the other books so there would be clearly no contradiction with Islam. Even more than that God could have revealed the Qur'an in every language to every nation. In fact there are any number of things God could have done to make things absolutely clear.

That's if he really did want it to be crystal clear and undeniable - so man will not have any excuse!

The fact that he didn't leaves room for reasonable doubt - and it is unjust to punish those who don't believe - let alone torture them for ever!

>There are a few verses in the Qur'an who describe the beginning of the universe, I'm sure you are aware of this, there's no need to explain this here. You could see this as a type of evidence.

Yes I am aware of these verses and other scientific miracle claims but I have never found these convincing at all. Furthermore if God really did want to prove the Qur'an was true by revealing unknown scientific facts he could have done a much better job and revealed things that were never conceived of rather than these vague and easily debatable examples.

>Some take the uniqueness of the Qur'an as a true miracle, even western scholars agree upon this.

I speak Arabic and if I'm totally honest I have to say I can't see anything miraculous about the Qur'an. Human Beings have produced masterpieces and matchless works of literature and art throughout the ages. Does this mean they are from God?

>There are multiple reasons why Islam is the truth. Islam seems to have it 'all'.
Judaism might have the Oneness of God, but treats converted jews as less.
Hinduism is a polytheistic system, with different chastes.
Christianity doesn't seem to agree on the Oneness of God.
Christianity and Hinduism have something in common, they seem to have taken messengers as gods.

I love the way you so easily dismiss these religions despite the fact they too have a profound and diverse theology . Do you know they do the same with Islam, making similar glib and simplistic statements?

>If a Christian asks questions like these, he would not get any answers.

Many Christians would disagree with you.

>But you should also ponder about the question, why Islam is so fast growing now?

And Christianity is the largest religion in the world - what does all that prove?

>So I think, that there are religions in the world that are man-made

But not Islam, of course.

>As for the location of the Qur'an. It's quite perfect. Probably the most central part of the world. The Middle-East is connected to Europe, Africa and Asia.

There is no central part of the world and everywhere is connected to everywhere.

>I think that our intellect is the most important aspect that God has given us.

Ameeeen to that!

>I hope I did not hurt your feelings or offended you. Please forgive me if I did so.
May Allah guide us.

Not at all - and likewise.

[abulihya]

Bismillah Al-Rehman Al-Raheem

Assalam-Alaikum Brother:

Maybe this thread (http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?65004-Atheist-Agnostic-to-Islam/) will help you. I recommend that you go through ALL of the thread, as I believe the responses I had written, by grace of Allah if Allah wills (especially on page 3 of the thread), might open you to a better grasp of what areas you should focus on with regards to attaining an understanding of your big question: “Why Islam?”

However, please note: Trying to learn Islam on your own will be more fruitful for you than simply asking your question of “Why Are You a Muslim?” of people. And the reason I say this is because each individual can only answer your question from circumstances unique to them, which though might provide you an insight into individual motives, does not help you gain the insight you need into your own personality, mindset, and Islam to be able to understand what makes even rationalists believe in Islam.

After you read through the thread, please make sure to have watched ALL the videos as listed as that will enable you to center yourself and Insha-Allah give you the tentative building ground on which can you further your knowledge of Islam.

One of the videos that I had recommended in the original thread is unavailable on YouTube, for which I apologize, but you may follow the same lecture “Surah Fatiha - Points to Ponder” from end to finish by clicking on the following link and on its related parts in the “Suggestions” border listed to the right of the YouTube page:
Surah Fatiha - Points to Ponder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8QjS1R_lBY)

And I do recommend and emphasize that you should follow ALL of the video lectures listed in the original thread.

Also, I strongly suggest that you refrain from debating your doubting friend until you yourself have gained a firm ground on which to base your own convictions. Otherwise, you are likely to confuse not only your friend but yourself and in the process not only adopt your friend’s doubts but regurgitate his doubts rather than intelligently, coherently, and logically search the answers of “Why Islam?”

I wish you the best for your search.

Thanks I will check out the thread later.

[abulihya]

Dear Abul Ihya,
:salam:
I wrote a long answer to your queries and I did not post it.:D

I had picked up the problem of eternal Hell and then I realized that it would be better to talk about eternal Heaven, that is what illustrates the property of Rahman and Rahim. Eternal Hell illustrates other attributes of Allah. You might not be satisfied with my answer but I am drained-just for your information and not as a complain. Rest later, Insha Allah.

Wassalam.

No problem. Thanks.

[iSoK]

Assalamu Aleikum,

Did brother Abulihya ever return to this forum?
I'm curious if he still has questions and where he is in his proces.

Waleikum Salam,

[Maripat]

Assalamu Aleikum,

Did brother Abulihya ever return to this forum?
I'm curious if he still has questions and where he is in his proces.

Waleikum Salam,

:salam:
Dear Abulihya,
Would you like to take this thread to its logical conclusion?
Wassalam

[Bodla]

Salams to All,

I am interested to know why you are a Muslim? What makes you believe?

Abu Lihya :)

All the children are born on the nature of Islam, but it is their parents which convert them to christian or jew. I was born in a muslim family, so firstly, it was by parents, but now it is by logic