The great Western powers look down on Muslims and consider us the greatest threat to civilization today. Our brothers and sisters are being oppressed and killed overseas. Our private schools are having difficulties keeping their doors open because they lack the necessary finances. More Muslim children attend secular public schools than those with Islamic environments and teachings. Domestic violence runs rampant in our own homes, where women should be treated with equal rights and respect. Most converts to Islam in America de-convert within the same year. Countries where we are the majority suffer from dwindling resources, civil unrest, occupation, and corruption. We cry for the martyrs as the nightly news portrays more casualties.  We become outraged when we hear that one of our own has been added to the terrorists watch lists or become a victim of the latest hate crime. We murmur about how our children are becoming more secular, losing their religion day by day. We live in the past nostalgia of our spiritual ancestors when we hear their names mentioned during a Khutbah, praying that one day we will live again in the “Golden Age” of Islam.

None of this is shocking, however, because we’ve heard it all before. We hear it echoing through our minds on a daily basis. These are not new statistics or problems, but realities we have known about and are constantly reminded of. We’ve been told time and again at various Halaqas and Jummahs that the solutions rests within our own community; that we cannot continue to point fingers at the West, laying blame on past grievances. The question is then: Why do we still have these problems?

Muslims, especially in America, have sold themselves into servitude to a new master. We have emancipated ourselves from the guidance of Allah (swt) only to believe that we can create our own paradise here on Earth. We have become slaves to the world. It is because of this that our Ummah and the future of our children, are in jeopardy. Only by understanding this enslavement will we be able to reprioritize our lives, our families, our finances, and most importantly, our faith.

Working for Nothing

One of the obligations from a follower of Islam is to offer charity. While some Muslims show exemplary service to this duty, many either give very little or misdirect their earnings towards over worldly affairs or ineffective causes. It seems that cultural heritage and the need to succeed financially has trumped the importance of worshiping Allah (swt) and following the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws). Take for instance the large sums of money that are dedicated each year to the construction of lavish Masjids. While this used to be a sign of a wealthy and sophisticated Islamically governed state, which held beauty and worship as mutual, it is not a necessary or even practical in our time when Muslims across the world are in more need of education and basic necessities, such as food and shelter. The Prophet (saws) remarked that such use of charity was a signal of the time prior to the Day of Judgment: ’The Hour will not come until people show off in building Masjids.” (Ahmad). The repulsion from the Prophet (saws) for this sort of activity is evident, yet Muslims in America invest millions of dollars a year in the construction and aesthetic renovation of extravagant places of prayer. Likewise, we seem to forget that the Prophets (saws) Mosque, at one of the earliest points in Muslim history, was nothing more than open walls of mud bricks and a palm tree canopy situated in the middle. While the Prophet (saws) was not opposed to beauty, he never compromised practicality or the needs of others.

Another point where our cultural and worldly ties overtake our religious obligations is in the Sunnah of marriage, which in our community has lost much of what makes it Sunnah to begin with. While we should always want what is best for our children, the best doesn’t always mean “the most expensive”. Aside from some of the questionable practices that occur at these weddings, parents from certain backgrounds will spend on average of 20-60 thousand dollars on just one ceremony. Calculate that with the hundreds of marriages that take place each year and you will be shocked as to how much money is being spent on mere exuberance. Of course, other factors contribute to these ghastly amounts, such as the need for some families to “outmatch” others in showing how classy or rich they really are. There is an inherent feeling of shame that comes over some Muslims when they learn that their neighbor’s daughter had a dress or centerpiece that costs twice as much as their own. It seems to elude us that the Prophet (saws) did not approve of this behavior when he clearly stated that, “The most blessed marriage (nikah) is the one with the least expenses” (al-Bayhaqi). In addition, some families tend to ask for mahrs that are unquestionably superfluous even though the Qur’an states explicitly that the mahr should be about making provisions for the wife, “…according to his [the rich] means and the poor according to his – this is the duty for those who do good.“ (2:236).  The Prophet (saws) further stated that, “the best woman is the one whose mahr is the easiest to pay” (al-Haythami).  The fact that we are not following these Sunnahs should make it apparent as to why there are such a great number of unhappy marriages, high divorce rates, and a growing number of domestic violence issues within our community.

In general, however, the focus on personal wealth is perhaps the greatest contributing factor to the lack of support for some of the most basic necessities of the Muslim community. While many first generation Muslim Americans valued strong work ethics and education, their children inherited a much different interpretation of these virtues. Though parents have a right to be concerned for their children’s wellbeing and future success, the reluctance of allowing them to step outside only a few careers may be proving a detriment to the Muslim community at large.  Parents often think that the only careers that guarantee stability (even in an economy facing recession) are medical doctors, engineers, and lawyers. For those students who have ever dreamed to become teachers, journalists, or scientists, it is seen as almost universally unacceptable within the American Ummah. This sort of mentality carries with it heavy burdens, however. One of the greatest of these burdens is that it robs our youth of their capacity to assist our community. While doctors, engineers, and lawyers are certainly needed, we require more successful teachers to teach our youth, instructing them with the principles of Islam, so that they do not have to fall under the negative influence of secular institutions. We need influential journalists who are willing to change the negative perception of Muslims in the media. We need people trained in the sciences of biology and physics so that we can excel in these fields and bring more contributions to science and recognition to the Muslim world. Certainly, these fields may not pay as much as the three previously mentioned, but they are still necessary. One day we are going to be wondering why we have so many doctors to heal the sick, but not enough teachers to heal the ignorant.

Another burden comes with the growing amount of Riba within our society. While we are training these higher professions we are also accumulating mass debt with interest as we send them to professional schools. Medical school alone, after completion, can costs up to half a million dollars. This is an extraordinary amount that can and has afflicted our youth in a monumental way. Besides the fact that they are incurring sin from holding this debt, it also limits them in that they are more focused on having to pay if off than giving their money in Zakat or Sadaqa.

Finally, we cannot forget how this mentality can actualize the potential for inordinate greed. With money comes responsibility that most of our youth are unable to bear, often times exceeding their necessities and overspending. We must remember that this sort of behavior will never satisfy a person: “I asked the Prophet (for some money) and he gave me, and then again I asked him and he gave me, and then again I asked him and he gave me and he then said, “This wealth is (like) green and sweet (fruit), and whoever takes it without greed, Allah will bless it for him, but whoever takes it with greed, Allah will not bless it for him, and he will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied. And the upper (giving) hand is better than the lower (taking) hand” (Bukhari). It is because we focus more on the rewards of the Dunya that we are not educating our children in the Deen and allowing them to succumb to such diseases as greed.

Misdirected Fundraising

We were all horrified by the recent events in Haiti, Chile, and Turkey, where massive earthquakes toppled the foundations of over populated metropolises, killing thousands. We are still overcome with shock at the conflict that transpired for three months during the winter of 2008 to 2009 in Gaza Strip, when nearly 1500 innocent Palestinians were massacred by the uncompromising lawlessness of the Israel government. And we are still struggling with the daily hate crimes and bigotry of Islamophobia in the western world.

By necessity of moral conscious for our fellow man and our Islamic duty, we send aid overseas, either in the form of money or supplies. These are admirable solutions and great examples of what our faith teaches and encourages. The problem, however, is that for many of the issues that we face in this world today as Muslims, we are approaching them in the wrong manner. While it is perfectly fine and justified to send aid overseas, it is only a temporary remedy to the many ailments in the world. The victims of earthquakes do need money, but what they need most is manpower to assist them in clearing rubble, rebuilding homes, acquiring medical attention, and much more. The victims of Israel’s oppression do need money and supplies, but sending these essentials over to them are but in vain, as the Israelis blockade our efforts, not allowing for anything to cross over Palestinian borders. What the Palestinians really need is a combined effort of those citizens under the collective states of the United Nations to change policies so as to prevent Israel from committing any more injustices and violations against human rights. And what the Muslims living in the West need most importantly, is not money to fund lawyers to defend the rights of those being oppressed, but more people to ally with so that these injustices are recognized and prevented at the highest level of government, ensuring that equal rights and protection are guaranteed for all persons living therein. How is it possible to accomplish these goals when we as Muslims are so dispersed throughout the globe, being one of the smallest minorities living in the major world powers? We are outnumbered and do not have enough allies to rally to our cause. Even though we boast about Islam being the fastest growing religion in the world, this is simply not the case. For the most part, our numbers are growing because of our high birth rates. One must not mistake the quantity of believers with their quality, however, as many of these children are being raised in homes that see culture as superior to religion. Further, while it appears that there are a growing number of converts in the West, the reality is that many of them leave Islam within the first year of their taking of the Shahada. Of all the converts to Islam in America alone, 60% leave, never to return. This is not a sign of progress nor is it something to proud of, but a significant blow that brings to light a great deficiency in our community. Why are these converts leaving? Why is that we cannot gain the support necessary to relieve our fellow brothers and sisters from the bigotry of others? Why is it that we cannot function as a unified group, enough to show that we are doing our part to help rid the world of its many evils? The answer to all these dilemmas should be apparent by now. The reason Muslims in America are struggling is because we have our priorities mixed up; we value temporary pleasures and temporary remedies. Our priorities should be focused more on educating our children and informing the non-Muslim world of our beliefs and who we are. Only with these two things will we have a strong enough foundation to begin changing things for the better.

Freedom From Our Oppression

Avveroes Academy, an Islamic private school in Northbrook, IL, closed its doors in 2008, leaving nearly 70 students without a proper education all of which are now either not attending school, are commuting much longer distances for their education, or have been assimilated into a public secular institution. Avveroes is hoping to reopen by 2011. Another school, Furqaan Academy of Bolingbrook, IL, is situated in a small Mosque, which can barely contain its 60 plus students. The academy has, for a year now, desperately tried to purchase a new facility for its growing student body to no avail.

Avveroes Academy and Furqaan Academy both lack the needed funds to function optimally. They are not there as showpieces or for mere convenience, but for the sake of our children and their futures. Illinois is home to perhaps one of the largest Muslim populated communities in America, where some near 1,000,000 live. Why then are we allowing these schools to struggle? If we truly wish to succeed in the West, we need adequate educational facilities, teachers, and good environments, yet it seems our money is being channeled towards lesser priorities. We should be reminded that Allah (swt) makes it clear the status of education over everything else: “And say: Can you put on equal footing those who are learned with those who are not learned?” (39:9).

Likewise, Dawah organizations such as GainPeace and Al-Furqaan Foundation suffer from lack of volunteers and sufficient funds. GainPeace functions as a large Dawah networking service, providing information on Islam through several different mediums, including but not limited to call centers and one on one interaction via presentation tables and personal exchanges on the streets of Chicago. Al-Furqaan Foundation attempts to distribute Qur’ans to individual homes, hospitals, hotels, and retirement homes across America. Both also offer their own classes on Islam and Arabic for non-Muslims, new Muslims, and born Muslims alike. Their goals are admirable and are the precise direction that the Ummah should be moving towards for the sake of the Deen and our futures, yet these organizations are fighting to gain a foothold in the American culture. Are the 6-7 million hardworking Muslims nationwide really unable to assist in these noble endeavors?  How many more converts do we have to lose or how many more of our children have to abandon their religion before we realize something has to be done?

No longer can we avoid our primary responsibilities towards our families and our community. No longer can we push in directions that yield little to no positive results, but merely waste our limited and precious resources. While temporary bandages seem to have an immediate affect, true change takes time and lasts longer. We must save our schools from becoming extinct, we must save our children from the negative influences of western society, and we must educate the non-Muslim world with the truth of Islam. We can only do this once we realize and accept our flaws, working together to no longer recollect the Golden Age of Islam, but to relive it.

Sheikh Kalid Yasin is one of the most influential Muslims in dawah today. He has assisted nearly 27,000 non-Muslims in taking Shahada through means of awareness and research in the diverse belief systems of the world. After several years of applying his techniques and knowledge he has developed a systemized dawah program with the intention of it being implemented by all Muslims across the world as a universal way to spread the message of Islam. The program is manifested in a three-part workshop, each being eight hours in duration, including lecture, interactive models, and role-play. The Muslim community of Chicago, IL has finally given the privilege to attend the introductory portion of this workshop.

Members of the Islamic Society of Northwest Suburbs (ISNS), led by Tunveer Syed, took the privilege to coordinate the event in their Masjid located in Rolling Meadows, IL. Several big name figures from diverse organizations attended, such as Eddie from the highly acclaimed Deen Show, Brother Wajahat Sayeed, president of Al-Furqaan Foundation, a non-profit dawah institution, and Sheikh Muhammad Zamli, president of Riyadhus Saliheen Islamic Institute. At the event, Sheikh Yasin illustrated the fundamentals of his Dawah Training Program. Held over a period of two days, many brothers and sisters came to learn about their obligation as Muslims to educate themselves in spreading the message of Islam. Topics such as how to prepare for a dialogue with non-believers to what arguments to expect from opposition were expounded upon in detail. A comprehensive and practical classification system was introduced for the sake of registering the psychological and educational level of each person that one comes in contact with when performing dawah. This unique frame of reference benefits the da’ee by creating measures and strategies helpful to persuading different levels of individuals. As the students absorbed the general information and different methodologies, they were supplemented with touching stories and personal experiences of the lecturer himself. Sheikh Yasin’s blunt, yet commanding demeanor, which he liked to call “getting real” pulled no punches as he laid out his exact views on not only the deviant beliefs that saturate the world, but Muslims as well. It was a breath of fresh air for the participants and a chance for them to laugh at their own discomfort with issues that were otherwise usually left unspoken.

Near the end of the lecture series, the participants were given constructive guidelines on how to achieve a more progressive mentality towards dawah, education, and the strengthening of the Muslim community. When all was said and done, the overarching theme became apparent: if we Muslims wish to become a greater influence in this world and protect our youth from negative influences, we must assume the responsibility that Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saws) laid on our shoulders. We must direct our funds towards the education of our community and the proliferation of the message of Islam to all persons in the world today. Only by doing this will we make stronger Muslims, more allies, and more opportunities to bring people to Allah (swt).

A copy of an English translation of the Qur’an hanging from the front door of a west Dearborn home in November. PHOTO: TAAN

The group distributing free copies of an English translation of the Muslim holy book hopes to create better perceptions of Islam by simply making the scripture available.

About 18,000 to 20,000 copies have been distributed in and around Dearborn over the past year, according to Wajahat Sayeed, founder and president of Al-Furqaan Foundation, also known as the Book of Signs Foundation, an Illinois-based nonprofit Muslim organization dedicated to distributing modern English translations of the Qur’an throughout the U.S.

“It’s meant to build relationships outside the Muslim community,” Sayeed said.

While the intent is to reach non-Muslim households to dispel misconceptions and foster a better understanding of Muslims and Islam, the effort in Michigan started in Dearborn, where many Muslims live, because the group has connected with local mosques and recruited distribution teams in the city.

Including distribution in the Chicago and Houston areas, Sayeed said about 200,000 copies of the Qur’an have been hung on residential front doors in plastic bags since the effort began in 2007.

“The objective is to make a modern English translation of the Qur’an available as widely as possible in this country,” he said, “as a way to build a bridge between the communities and so that people understand the religion, not from the actions of people, but rather from what the book says itself.”

The version being distributed by the group is a translation by an American Muslim who had a Western audience in mind.

“Other translations were done — I don’t believe they have any particular focus,” Sayeed said. “This particular one is geared more toward a Western audience, beacuse the terminology, the experience base is very different… There is an aya [verse] in the Qur’an that talks about ‘slay them wherever you find them.’ This is very commonly quoted in the media, but the often neglected fact is that it is refering to a particular situation… Of course the media wants to talk about it as though it means ‘slay any non-Muslim wherever you find them,’ but that aya is referring to a particular situation, which was in a combat situation… I think most people in the Middle East, for instance, would know that it can’t possibly be referring to ‘slay them wherever you find them’ to indicate that you’re going to go around killing… That level of clarity — in some places [in this translation] you’ll find that it has been clarified that ‘wait a second, this is in a combat situation.’”

But he said the translation is direct and does not distort any meanings.

“It’s not like we have tried to modify the translation. It’s just a simple modern English translation. It doesn’t promote any agendas,” Sayeed said. “…The intent here is hopefully so that for the Western people, it’s clearer… We’re hoping to be honest brokers of information.”

The ultimate, long-term goal of the project is to get a Qur’an delivered to every home in America, though the level of fundraising necessary would likely take decades.

Sayeed said Al-Furqaan Foundation is funded entirely through donations from American communities, with no funding from any foreign country.

Source: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=2706

I received a Quran from your organization in the mail today. I just had to email the organization and say what an awesome idea this is. I am a devout Roman Catholic in college, but I have respect for all religions and I feel like the Muslim community particularly in the United State has not been portrayed fairly especially in the media. I plan on reading the Quran which you have sent becuase I am very much interested in what Islam teaches and I feel like being able to read this sacred text will allow people to overcome any lingering stereotypes, to bridge the gap of understanding, and most importantly  to realize that we as Americans are wrongfully judging those of the Islamic faith based upon the actions of a few radicals and not on the wonderful, peaceful ideals the Quran and the faith teaches. May God bless you and find favor in your work as you try to enlighten those to the true meaning of the Islamic faith.

Throughout the ages, the personality of Christ (Peace Be Upon Him) has been the center of much controversy. Some have called him a false prophet and a liar while some others worship him as God or son of God who came to earth in human form. Similar controversies linger around his mother, the Virgin Mary. Islam on the other hand, considers Christ as a mighty prophet of God, from among His near ones and his mother as an embodiment of piety, chastity and righteousness. Unfortunately, this high reverence of Islam to Christ and the Virgin Mary is often ignored by the mainstream western intelligentsia and largely unknown to the common western populace. This well researched book describes the status of Jesus in divine Islamic texts and will enrich the knowledge of its readers and enlighten them about the true Islamic position on Christ Jesus – The Son of Mary.

Author: Adil Nizamuddin Imran
Publisher: Book of Signs Foundation

Click here to read more or purchase

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi

What is the Risale-i Nur?

The Risale-i Nur collection is a six-thousand-page commentary on the Quran written by Bediuzzaman Said Nursi in accordance with the mentality of the age. Since in our age faith and Islam have been the objects of the attacks launched in the name of so called science and logic, Bediuzaman Said Nursi therefore concentrated in the Risale-i Nur on proving the truths of faith in conformity with modern science through rational proofs and evidence, and by decribing the miraculous aspects of the Quran that relate primarily to our century. This collection now has millions of readers both in and outside of Turkey. Thanks to the Risale-i Nur, the Turks managed to maintain their religion despite the most despotic regimes of the past decades. Although its author faced unbearable persecution, imprisonment, and exile, while no effort was spared to put an end to his service to faith, he was able to complete his writings compromising the Risale-i Nur and raise a vast group of believers who courageously opposed the oppression and preserved the dominance of Islam in the country.

Bediuzzaman understood an essential cause of the decline of the Islamic world to be weakening of the very foundations of belief. This weakening, together with the unprecedented attacks on those foundations in the 19th and 20th centuries carried out by materialists, atheists and others in the name of science and progress, led him to realize that the urgent and over-riding need was to strengthen, and even to save, belief. What was needed was to expend all efforts to reconstruct the edifice of Islam from its foundations, belief, and to answer at that level those attacks with a ‘manevi jihad’ or ‘jihad of the of the word.’

Thus, in exile, Bediuzzaman wrote a body of work, the Risale-i Nur, that would explain and expound the basic tenets of belief, the truths of the Quran, to modern man. His method was to analyse both belief and unbelief and to demonstrate through clearly reasoned arguments that not only is it possible, by following the method of the Quran, to prove rationally all the truths are the only rational explanation of existance, man and the universe.

Bediuzzaman thus demonstrated in the form of easily understood stories, comparisons, explanations, and reasoned proofs that, rather than the truth of religion being incompatible with the findings of modern science, the materialist interpretation of those findings is irrational and absurd. Indeed, Bediuzzaman proved in the Risale-i Nur that science’s breathtaking discoveries of the universe’s functioning corroborate and reinforce the truths of religion.

The imortance of the Risale-i Nur cannot be overestimated, for through it Bediuzzaman Said Nursi played a major role in preserving and revitalizing the Islamic faith in Turkey in the very darkest days of her history. And indeed its role has continued to increase in importance to the present day. But further to this, the Risale-i Nur is uniquely fitted to address not only all Muslims but indeed all mankind for several reasons. First it is written in accordance with modern man’s mentality, a mentality that, whether Muslim or not, has been deeply inbued by materialist philosophy: it specifically answers all the questions, doubts and confusions that this causes. It answers too all the ‘why’s’ that mark the questioning mind of modern man.

Also, it explains the most profound matters of belief, which formerly only advanced scholars studied in detail, in such a way that everyone, even those to whom the subject is new, may understand and gain something without it causing any difficulties or harm.

A further reason is that in explaning the true nature and purposes of man and the universe, the Risale-i Nur shows that true happiness is only to be found in belief and knowledge of God, both in this world and the Hereafter. And it also points out the grevious pain and unhappiness that unbelief causes man’s spirit and conscience, which generally the misguided attempt to block out through heedlessness and escapism, so that anyone with any sense may take refuge in belief.

To conclude

The Holy Quran addresses the intellect as well as man’s other inner faculties. It directs man to consider the universe and functioning in order to learn its true nature and purposes as the creation and thus to learn the attributes of its Single Creator and his own duties as a creature. This, then, is the method that Bediuzzaman employed in the Risale-i Nur. He explained the true nature of the universe as signs of its Creator and demonstrated through clear arguments that when it is read as such all the fundamentals of beliefs may be proved rationally.

When this method is followed, a person attains a true belief that will be sound and firm enough to be withstand any doubts that may arise in the face of the subtle attacks of Materialism, Naturalism and atheism, or the materialist approach to scientific advances. For all scientific and technological advances are merely the uncovering of the workings of the cosmos. When the cosmos is seen to be a vast and infinately complex and meaningful unified book describing its Single Author, rather that causing doubt and bewilderment, all these discoveries and advances reinforce belief, they deepen and expand it.

Man’s most fundamental need is the need for religion, the need to recognize and worship Almighty God with all His Most Beautiful Names and attributes, and to obey His laws; those manifest in the universe and those revealed through his prophets. In explaining the message of the Quran, Almighty God’s final Revealed Book, brought and perfectly expounded by His final Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH), and Islam, the complete and perfected religion for mankind, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi demonstrated in the Risale-i Nur that there is no contradiction or dichotomy between science and religion; rather, true progress and happiness for mankind can, and will, only be achieved in this way, the way of the Quran.

“You can not simply read the Koran. Not if you take it seriously. You have to surrender to it already or you fight it. It attacks tenaciously, directly, and personally: it debases, criticizes, shames, and challenges. From the onset it draws a line of battle and I was on the other side.”

Why did he become a Muslim? His daughters would one day ask. He did not consider the choice that he made would affect generations to come. He is not a scholar of Islam. He writes about how it is to be Muslim from a Christian background, and being a minority in the Muslim community. He hesitated writing this book, because he felt it was too personal. He grew up catholic. He grew up with a mathematical and scientific mind. He gave up on being Catholic, long before he became Muslim. He became agnostic. He felt that being Catholic that it was not a logical religion. He felt that he alone created his existence. He began to feel mentally very lonely. He studied and received his doctorate in Mathematics, and yet he felt this was not enough.

He met a woman student who came to him for help. She was a Muslim woman, and she was covered head to toe. He felt that Muslim women were oppressed. His perception of Muslim women completely changed. She was a graduate student and teaching assistant and very capable of handling her students. He felt that there was a beauty and calmness about her.

He became very interested in religion and started going back to the Catholic church, but it did not satisfy his soul. Another Muslim student came into his life, His friend gave him a Quran.

He states:

“You can not simply read the Koran. Not if you take it seriously. You have to surrender to it already or you fight it. It attacks tenaciously, directly, and personally: it debases, criticizes, shames, and challenges. From the onset it draws a line of battle and I was on the other side.”

He was greatly affected by the Koran, and decided that he needed to talk to someone. He went to a mosque that was in the basement of a church. He had a great deal of emotional difficulty because the experience was too much for him to handle. He thought maybe he could walk and turn away. There were other men inside the mosque that persuaded him to stay and to embrace Islam. After a very touching moment with the Imam, he decided to convert to Islam. Emotionally, anyone who reads this first chapter, which I can inadequately convey, would very deeply be moved to tears.

His book is very dense reading. Every line is filled with conviction and knowledge which he wishes to convey. One can tell that he is extremely well read and full of self searching. He tells us that he understands what other new converts are struggling through.

He states that the Koran is the integral to the life of a Muslim. To the first Muslims, the language was spellbinding. The Koran sought to reform not to destroy the culture. It brought religion in a novel way. Religion must be more than an exercise in logic. Being a Muslim, there is no division between secular and spiritual, all of life is a sacred experience. The Koran is the revealed word of God.

God is addressing humanity. The Koran represents the mission of Muhammed pbuh as the restoration and the culmination of the Prophets.

The proof of Allah existence in within His signs:

“Do they not travel the land, so their hearts learn wisdom? (26:7)

Do they not examine the earth?(26:7) Do they nor look at the sky above them?”(50:6)

The implication within these questions that the evidence of this the truth of this message is to be found in the study of history, cultures and the nature among them.

“Read in the name of your Lord who created man from a tiny thing that clings….(96:1-5)”

Revealed the Prophet…Gabriel squeezed him and told him to read.

Reading and the ability to do so was considered to be a very divine gift. In reading the Quran, one finds beauty, coherence, transcendence and wisdom.

The Koran cannot be translated. It is only an interpretation when it is translated to another language and has no chronology in it like Bible. Islam also does not divide sacred and secular. Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is a human instrument of who Allah speaks through.

The Koran is very scientific, for it describes many situations in nature from the fine particles that may be atom, to the development of child in the womb, the discovery how the earth rotates on its axis, to many other natural phenomenon, to the lives of bees and insects, to the expanding of the universe. What is amazing about the Koran that it explains these things in details.

The Koran states:

“He who created the Heavens one above the other. No fault you will see in the creation of the most Merciful. So turn your vision again. Do you see any flaw? Turn your vision and again your vision will turn back to you dazzled and defeated. (67:3-4)

God is more merciful than vindictive. He is more intent on saving more merciful than throwing into Hell fire.

What I feel that Lang writes in his book, is his experience and his profound amazement of what is in the Koran, from his personal view, with his scientific and mathematical background, that he found a great deal of logic in what impressed him in the Koran, what he could not find in the Catholicism that he grew up with.

Lang writes a great deal about Hadith in his book. Some of the Hadith he feels are more controversial than others. Some are more authentic than others. For new Muslims, this can be very confusing. The Koran does not delve into Prophet Muhammed inner personality. But when Prophet Muhammed feels concern over the Ummah, Allah tells the Prophet, that he is only the messenger. Throughout the Koran and the Hadith, Prophet Muhammed shines through. Lang states that to have had been the elect of God, to have won the love of his disciples so effortlessly, to have changed society and history to the extent that he did, he was surely much greater than merely the Arab ideal. Lang states that he must have possessed the kind of concern, compassion and spirituality that we can poorly approximate in ourselves. He was swift to dispense God’s will impartially, Prophet Muhammed was very concerned about justice. Even if his daughter Fatima were to steal, the same type of justice that was given to others, she would have to face it. The book describes how his early followers greatly loved the Prophet. Lang is very sincere in belief in the Prophet (pbuh). Critics have said of him that he is searching in the dark, about Islam, but I feel that he comes to the conclusion that he greatly believes in Prophet Muhammed’s mission and believes that Prophet Muhammed is a great mercy to mankind. I personally feel that those who become Muslim go through a questioning period and not blind faith. Many with great love and devotion accept Allah and his messenger with strong conviction. It takes time to get rid of all the baggage from the other faith that one has been brought up with.

There is so much inside this book, that it is so densely filled with information, that it is difficult to condense his ideas and thoughts into a short overview as this. In another chapter, he writes about the Ummah, and how Islam is a religion of equality, in everything you do within Hajj, within the prayer, in fasting, and other acts of worship, you do as a group effort. There is a great deal of unity in Islam. There is a great deal of responsibility to one’s parents and toward family. There are roles between husband and wife, although each of them have a different role to play, each are equal in the eyes of God. Each have the same amount of duty and worship towards God. There is a small segment on the relationship between husband and wife, our duties towards each other. Also one can divorce if one is not satisfied in the marriage, but it is something that Allah truly dislikes. He covers many different topics, that he struggles with, and what he has learned upon his journey.

He also talks about how the greater Jihad is not just going to war to fight for human rights but the struggle of righteousness within ourselves, which is the greater Jihad.

By Sr. Stephenie Bushra Khan – MuslimBridges Team

Source: http://www.muslimbridges.org/content/view/860/35/

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