Islam: The Light of God

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Entirely too often Muslims are associated with violence, terrorism, and other such stereotypes. And more often than not it is from the evangelical Christian extremists who take no time to study their own religion, let alone Islam. It is common knowledge that the Bible has many times been altered, changed, and had entire sections removed with new sections added.

To start my breakdown of the Bible is the 10 commandments as revealed by Allah swt through prophet Moses PBUH.

1. I am the Lord thy God, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.

From this we can gather that the most important commandment is to worship only God. This seems to be the most commonly broken rule in Christianity due to the incorporation of the trinity. A fundamental belief of the religion is to believe that Jesus PBUH is the son of God (and also God's word incarnated into flesh or God himself as a man depending on denomination), and to believe in the holy spirit, which is the spirit of God (or Jesus PBUH depending on denomination again). The belief in a Trinity is against the foundation of all Abrahamic religions, requiring the worship of only one true, Almighty God.  This idea of a trinity was a foreign concept to Jesus PBUH at the time he was given the gospel. Although it is not entirely certain where the concept came from, there is much evidence that shows these ideas infiltrated Christianity by the Greeks and Romans, who as we all know believed in multiple Gods and came to rule over many of the areas that early Christianity had expanded into. This in itself makes the trinity a pagan ritual, which the Christian leaders of the time felt a need to compromise to in the early days of the religion.

The second commandment is in reference to idol worshipping, which was common among the people of the time. Coincidentally, idol worshipping has become a fundamental part of the Catholic church, as well as widely accepted in Christianity. Catholics go so far as to take the virgin Mary (May Allah be pleased with her) and portray her as the Mother of God and put up pictures of her in the churches, on the rosary, etc. This is a clear violation of the second commandment as well as the first. Churches frequently depict Jesus PBUH In paintings, drawings and the like on crosses. In essence this would only violate the second commandment, however since it is believed that Jesus PBUH is the son of God as well as God incarnate, this is a direct violation of both commandments by portraying graven images of one associated to be with/to be God.

To not take God's name in vain seems to be completely forgotten since common phrases used are exclamations and damnation's in God's name (as well as cursing the name of Jesus PBUH).

The Sabbath is still recognized by Judaism, but rejected by Christians as they hold Sunday as the holy day to worship 3 deities (or more).

Frequently children born into Christian families try their best to dishonour, disrespect, and disgrace their families. I can personally vouch for this since I was born into a Christian/Catholic family.

During the multiple crusades throughout history we have seen the remaining commandments violated in the name of God for the sake of God. The crusaders killed all in their way, raped women, robbed and plundered, lied, and coveted many houses and places of worship, regardless of the opposition's (often times civilians) status, or religion. Many Christians, Jews, Pagans, and Muslims were slaughtered and raped by the crusaders, all for the sake of "God."

The next analysis is of the words of the bible, that Christians regard as the guidebook for life because it is a compilation of the laws of God handed down to prophets and finished with Jesus PBUH.

A passage regarding the consumption of Pork:
And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
Leviticus 11:7 kjv

Backed up by this passage:
Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things--they will meet their end together with the one they follow," declares the LORD.
Isaiah 66:17

Yet Christians still consume pork. As I was told by a family member this is because the New Testament overrules all of the laws of the Old testament, which begs the question as to how a Christian can follow the Bible, but only adhere to one half of the book. This seems like a logical fallacy. Christians often use the argument that Christianity is a religion of peace and Islam is a religion of violence. According to the Bible Jesus PBUH said:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5:44

This validates that claim, but later in the Bible Jesus PBUH said:
But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.
Luke 19:27

This passage is a direct contradiction to the ideology that Christianity is a religion of peace. These are just two small examples of contradictions in the Bible. The list goes on and on. This is the reason why Muhammadﷺ was given the book of Allah swt through the angel Gabriel, for everytime in history when the people strayed from the way of Allah and his messengers, another would cone to bring the people back. Some messengers came for certain groups of people, but Muhammad came for all of humanity, similar to Moses PBUH.  . This is evident from what God has promised even IN the Bible that after prophet Jesus PBUH there would be another to bring God's decree. Many notable Islamic scholars have found these truths in the Bible, yet they are refused by many Christians. However, some Christians have found these truths and in turn reverted to Islam (Yusuf Estes, Khalid Yasin to name just 2). After some of my own research I came across the work of many scholars who have done the same and expanded beyond what I had done myself.

Below are a few excerpts from Zakir Naik's own theological studies:


"The Qur’an mentions in Surah Al-Araf chapter 7 verse 157:
"Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures) in the law and the Gospel"

.1.  MUHAMMAD (PBUH) PROPHESIED IN THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY: Almighty God speaks to Moses in Book of Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18:"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and     he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

The Christians say that this prophecy refers to Jesus (pbuh) because Jesus (pbuh) was like Moses (pbuh). However, it is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who is like Moses (pbuh):i)  Both had a father and a mother, while Jesus (pbuh) was born miraculously without any male intervention.[Mathew 1:18 and Luke 1:35 and also Al-Qur'an 3:42-47]ii)  Both were married and had children. Jesus (pbuh) according to the Bible did not marry nor had children.iii)  Both died natural deaths. Jesus (pbuh) has been raised up alive. (4:157-158) Muhammad (pbuh) is from among the brethren of Moses (pbuh). Arabs are brethren of Jews. Abraham (pbuh) had two sons: Ishmail and Isaac (pbut). The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmail (pbuh) and the Jews are the descendants of Isaac (pbuh).Words in the mouth:Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unlettered and whatever revelations he received from Almighty God he repeated them verbatim.

Both besides being Prophets were also kings i.e. they could inflict capital punishment. Jesus (pbuh) said,     "My kingdom is not of this world"

Muhammad (pbuh) is prophesied in the book of Isaiah: It is mentioned in the book of Isaiah chapter 29 verse 12:"And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."When Archangel Gabrail commanded Muhammad (pbuh) by saying Iqra - "Read", he replied, "I am not learned".  4.  prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mentioned by name in the old testament: Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16:"Hikko Mamittakim we kullo Muhammadim Zehdoodeh wa Zehraee Bayna Jerusalem.""His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughtersof Jerusalem."In the Hebrew language im is added for respect. Similarely im is added after the name of Prophet Muhammad      (pbuh) to make it Muhammadim. In English translation they have even translated the name of Prophet Muhammad     (pbuh) as "altogether lovely", but in the Old Testament in Hebrew, the name of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is yet      present.

NOTE: All quotations of the Bible are taken from the King James Version."

Islam is a religion where only one god is worshipped, with no partners, spirits, parents nor children exist. Islam is a religion of complete devotion to God and belief in all of the holy prophets, the angels, the seen and the unseen. Islam is a religion of peace, love, and brother/sisterhood. Jihad often comes in to arguments to contest this basis, and jihad can be discussed in depth at a later time. Jihad means to strive. This could mean to strive in your religion, to strive within your family or your community, or to strive in defending yourself and loved ones, which is the only case where violence is condoned in Islam. Period.

It appears very evident that Islam is, and always has been the religion of God. From the prophecy of Muhammadﷺ in the Bible to the fact that all of the rules of the religion have contradictions within the religion, there are many evidences to prove this. Islam is a religion of clarity. Islam is a religion of purity. Islam is a way of life designed by Allah swt for the people to live humbly, graciously, righteously, and honesty. Islam is the perfected religion of Adam, with the pieces of the puzzle being handed down to over 124,000 prophets over time including Abraham PBUH, Noah PBUH, Moses PBUH, Isaac and Ishmael PBUT, Lot PBUH, Jonah PBUH, and Jesus PBUH to name a few. May Allah guide everybody to the light of Islam, a religion that truly abides by the law of God decreed so many times throughout history. In sha Allah

سلام عليكم
عبدالرحيم

My Journey to Islam Part 3

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

My journey to Islam continues as I set out to Minneapolis to try and enroll in the Islamic University of Minnesota (http://www.iumn.net/) in order to further my education in Islamic Studies. Unfortunately I did not have nearly enough money to enroll, my federal aid was rejected because they felt my family made too much money, and scholarships were next to impossible to obtain. So my cousin and a friend of mine decided we would just work and try out life living independently. My first destination was to some of the area masjids, so i could become friends with some new Muslim people. After Ramadan ended, I found myself increasingly hanging out with Muslims who were very far astray from the right path to Allah swt. Before long, I started reversing back to some of my former ways. I began smoking weed again, and became more engrossed with living the life that I was rapping about (all things from the past I gave up this I became a Muslim). I went  from praying 5 times a day to only praying Jummah at the Masjid.

It didn't take long for me to lose almost all sense of Imaan. I was engaging in casual and frequent sex, smoking, and began drinking alcohol, something I did not even do before I was a Muslim. The more time passed the more my actions became that of a non believer. In some aspects, I had become worse than I was before finding and accepting Islam. I started to notice a ripple effect in my actions, and my old friends and my roommates were being effected by my actions. Due to the fact I was bringing bad people around, bad things were happening to us. While on a trip to see family out of state, our apartment was broken into. Almost all of our important things were stolen. It seemed like everything was going backwards in my life. I gave up doing bad things to pursue my education and connection with Allah, and after moving to Minneapolis for the sole purpose of learning more of the religion of Islam and striving for the sake of Allah.

While on this self-destructive path, I started to feel the consequence of my actions. First was the home invasion, next came the close encounters with death, a few times getting my car impounded and going to jail, and 2 seperate pregnancy scares. I had fallen so far off of the righteous path to Allah swt that I was oblivious to all of these signs all around me. It wasn't until I had let some so called friends move in with me that I realized how much of an out of control spiral my life was becoming (all over again). With a few more items being stolen from our apartment, we decided we were going to leave it all, go back home and try again. At the time I took no responsibility for my actions, and made excuses. Even after losing my job and almost being evicted from the apartment. We packed up what we could in a few seperate trips to Minneapolis and then let everything go. I had absorbed into myself all 4 pillars of kufr without even realizing it, and I was so blinded by  the drugs and alcohol I didn't bother to take the time to look in the mirror and see what I was doing to myself or those around me.

I found little solace being back at home and continued doing the same things, only with a free roof over my head. This led to me being even more irresponsible than before and getting even more carried away. My initial goal was to get back on track financially. I had put myself into $2000 debt and was virtually broke. This plan was short lived, and I spent most of my money on drugs and alcohol. It just so happens that while I was unpacking a bag I found my old prayer hat, prayer mat, and a khamiis. I instantly had a flashback to when my life was on a positive slope and things still made since and seemed so easy. I put on the prayer clothes and looked in the mirror. For the first time in almost a year I saw the Abdul Raheem I knew. I had a moment of clarity and realized that Allah was the greatest of planners, and while I was devoted to him, my life was great; when I was submissive to the dunya, my life collapsed. Now all I had to do was develop the strength to put down the bottle, the blunt, and the sex, and start living a life for the sake of Allah swt once again.

سلام عليكم
عبدالرحيم

Islam: The Fastest Growing Religion in the World

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Many people do not understand Islam, Muslims, or why Islam is the fastest growing religion on Earth. It's no secret that Islam is one of the most misunderstood and controversial topics in the current day and age. Yet every year in America alone between 30,000-100,000 people convert (such a wide range is used because conservative to liberal polls are both only so accurate). The more the media portrays Islam, both good and bad, the more it has peaked people's interests. Below are a couple of quotes from the website http://www.geocities.com/ on some surprising facts on Islam in America and why it's attracting so many women. It's estimated that for every man that converts in America, 4 women will do so.

In The Bible, Widows and Sisters do Not Inherit Any Property or Wealth, Only men do{Numbers 27:1-11}The Qur'an Abolished this male greediness { Qur'an 4:22} and God Protects All.

The Bible says "The Birth of a Daughter is a loss" {Ecclesiasticus 22:3}. The Qur'an says both are an Equal Blessing { Qur'an 42:49}

The Bible also asks Women to wear veils as in Islam {I Corinthians 11:3-10}, this lowers the chance of rape.

For many people these facts (and many more that can be found on that website and the links included) are unknown. And many people utterly refuse to believe these proofs provided. However, the facts speak for themselves. Throughout the world more and more people are embracing Islam, because when people learn the truth of the religion, the logic as well spirituality cannot be disproved nor argued with. Many famous people have converted to Islam from all walks of life from rappers to singers to politicians and their families.

Seek knowledge. Seek the truth. There is a reason that Islam is the fastest growing religion on Earth. God willing. In Sha Allah may Allah swt guide our blessed Ummah and guide those who seek the truth.

Pictures courtesy of Google

سلام عليكم
عبدالرحيم

My Journey to Islam Part 2

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Some would think that taking the shahada would be the end of the road on the journey to Islam. However, the shahda is only the beginning. After officially professing my faith in Islam came another obstacle; I had to tell me parents, who seperated and divorced when I was 4. My mother knew of my interest in Islam, and although she did not understand why I wanted to be a Muslim, she accepted it. Telling my father was an entirely different story.

My father came from a somewhat conservative, all-American background. He was raised in the Roman Catholic church and had very strict views on what was acceptable. We already had a difficult relationship, and I knew that telling him might break what we had. So I waited to tell him. I waited until I had garnered enough knowledge and courage to tell him. The response was worse than I had imagined. I became painted as this horrible family and religion traitor. What came next shocked me even more. Ridiculous insults to Islam,  as well as outrageous (but unfortunately common among western non-muslims) slurs and slanders to the Prophet Mohamedﷺ. I was in utter disbelief listening to my father condemn me and virtually kick me out of his life, refusing to speak to me for months. Unfortunately this also strained my relationship with my stepmother, brother, and my sister. I felt alienated from the world because I had already given up what I was comfortable doing (obviously for good reasons), been disconnected from the majority of my friends who were non Muslims, developed a strain in half my family and had been virtually disowned by the other half.

But Alhamdulillah, Allah guided me through these first hardships. I made new friends at the masjid, and started learning new things to occupy my time with. Instead of trying to go to the mall to steal clothes or pick up girls, I went to the masjid to pray and picked up the Qur'an.  Some of my friends still remained close, and my cousin began studying Islam as well. Another good friend of mine, named Tyler, had increasing curiosity into Islam. Frequently he would call me and ask me for advice and guidance spiritually. He told me how he didn't believe in Christianity but did believe in God.  So I started giving him da'wah. I gave him my old English copy of the Qur'an. Since I was new to Islam I didn't want to give him misinformation, so I taught him what I knew and I took him with me to the masjid. After a short amount of time studying together, and many countless hours he spent alone studying, he felt he was ready for his shahda. So we went to the masjid, only 8 months after I had reverted, and he took his shahada.

With an old friend now becoming a Muslim, it really helped to keep me on top of my deen. I was also making many new friends at school and at the masjid. Some of my old friends who tried to teach me Islam in the past suddenly became my new best friends. They started teaching me more than the basics. I started learning about the traditions, sayings, and lifestyle of RasulAllahﷺ. From there I started studying the hadiths on my own. Islam seemed more and more perfect the more I was learning about it. Although I had yet to give up all of my past ways, I was taking bounds and leaps towards living a life for Allah swt...

سلام عليكم
عبدالرحيم

My Journey to Islam part 1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

For many years I always wondered what the purpose of life was. I was born a Catholic and raised as a Christian. I went to Bible class and Sunday school then shortly after went to the Sunday sermon. When I would listen to the sermon I tried to take myself to the story he was telling. Sometimes that was easy. When the focus was the old testament it seemed almost natural. Listening to the stories of Adam a.s. and Eve or the stories of Abraham a.s. and Isaac a.s. and Ishmael a.s. was easy and understandable. My confusion came in at the time of Jesus a.s. The Christians would portray Jesus a.s. as this humble healer and messenger of God. And then the next line would contradict this by stating that he is the son of God. Then there was talk of a holy spirit and the mother of God and on and on went these hypocrisies. I became frustrated by the lack of explanation of this. Was I to believe this with no evidence and it directly went against the laws Moses a.s. was given. My frustration turned to anger and from anger to total disbelief. I abandoned church and all forms of God worshipping. For many years I even abandoned God. My purpose of life was fulfillment of my wants and desires. Which was a downward spiral that left me spiritually broken and physically battered.

My craving for desires led me to do harm to others, to go and "hit licks", and many other devilish deeds. Eventually my acts landed me in juvenile detention. But the charges brought against me left everybody in the courtroom awe stricken. Charges of attempted terrorism and terroristic threats. I was then told by my attorney that my case might be thrown out of juvenile and integrated into the adult legal system. My life was crumbling in front of me. I felt trapped in a movie. There was no way that this was really happening. I hadn't even committed the original crime I was charged with, let alone terrorism. It was shortly after that I had a dream while still in the juvenile detention center. The dream seemed like a message. A simple, blatant, blaring message. I saw nothing but darkness. Then a small speck of light appeared. So I walked towards the light until I was overcome with light. Then I woke up. And all I wanted to do was find God and get my life back together. Since my dream Epiphany so to speak, I started making prayers to God. Just God. No Jesus or spirits or saints or priests. In a total 180 my charges became nothing more than threats of arson. I was given immediate release to be on probation for 6 months and monitored. Was this the power of prayer? After years of praying to others one prayer to the most high could result in this? I felt millions of tiny weights being lifted off my chest at the same time.

Since I was on house arrest I spent a lot of my free time studying different religions. I loved the peace and tranquility of Buddhism, but their theology seemed wrong. I liked the approach of Judaism in the aspect of God's oneness, but the sense of entitlement seems wrong for people who are suppose to love God. Then I came across Islam. I had some good high school friends who came from Somalia and had tried to teach me Islam in the past. Maybe that is something I should look into. So I did. I studied Islam for hours and hours. The history, the practices, the beliefs etc etc. The more I learned the more I loved the religion. The image I had seen portrayed by the media was totally wrong about this religion. I got an English copy of the Quran and I went to work. I finished the book from front to back in about a week. I became so engrossed in the religion I began neglecting my schoolwork (after I was released from house arrest).

After months of preparing I got the courage to ask some people to take me to the local mosque. I was quite schocked to learn there were many local mosques as well as a large number of Muslims all around me. Many kids I went to school with or rode the bus with, yet never once did I notice or bother to ask why they spoke Arabic or had names like Mohamed. I went to the mosque and immediately was surrounding by people of many different backgrounds, races, and cultures. But they all treated one another as though they were brothers and sisters. I also started to notice a small group of Americans standing there speaking in English. They saw me and one man said "Asalaamu alaikum" my response was "Hi. How are you?" Then I felt embarrassed. Months of studying and I let it slip to respond with Walaikum salaam. They laughed and asked me if I was new. I said yes. So they took me upstairs to talk to the Imam. He welcomed me and asked me why I want to be a Muslim. My answer was short and sweet (it took less time for me to summarize why then it will take to read this post). He understood and said " come back tomorrow with 3 other muslims" I was confused as to why he said that. But I listened. I came back the next day right after school with my friends and said the most important words of my life. The shahada. The testimony of all Muslims. The belief and acceptance that there is only one who is worthy of worship. Allah. And that his final messenger to us was Mohamed ﷺ

سلام عليكم

عبدالرحيم