How do you know that Islam is the truth?

[Ali Mujahidin]

In the spirit of searching for the greatest meaning of One God.

I will remember you in my dua. May Allah bless you with the nur of hidayah. Ameen.

 

[Ramadhan]

There are many Muslim sects; but only one Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

Actually, this is misleading. The vast majority of muslims are sunnis (85-90%) while majority of the rest is Shia. And the differences between sunni and shia stemmed from political, not spiritual. and there's very small percentage of ahmadiyya, which both sunnis and shias consider as being outside of Islam.

There are many religions, but the same God created each and every one of us.

Why does the same God allow so many seemingly conflicting religions to exist? Our religion gives us so much meaning in life, but God is greater than the sum of all the religions of the world put together.

Allah SWT sent messengers to every nation. However, due to the nature of humans which are forgetful and weak to the whispers of shaytan, men started to change the messages brought by their messengers. Some of them did not even wait for their messenger's death, witnessed the rebellion by the nation of Musa (pbuh) who started to build a cow and worship when Musa left temporarily. But with prophet Muhammad SAW, Allah intends that the message of Islam is for mankind till the end of the day:

And for every Ummah (a community or a nation), there is a Messenger; when their Messenger comes, the matter will be judged between them with justice, and they will not be wronged. (Qur'ân 10:47)

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e., do not worship Taghut besides Allah)." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified. So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied (the truth). (Qur'ân 16:36)

And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you (O Muhammad(P)); of some of them We have related to you their story and of some We have not related to you their story, and it was not given to any Messenger that he should bring a sign except by the Leave of Allah. So, when comes the Commandment of Allah, the matter will be decided with truth, and the followers of falsehood will then be lost. (Qur'ân 40:78)

There is also a very good story on how a remote tribe in Papua had the concept of Tawheed and the tribe couldn't accept trinity when missionaries came to the island because they thought trinity concept is so contrived and sound very much man-made, compared to their simple religion of God outside the creation. http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/prophet.html

While there were messengers sent to every nation before Muhammad SAW, prophet Muhammad SAW was the last sent (seal) because the message that he brought (Islam) is for mankind:

"We have not sent you (O Muhammad) but as a universal (Messenger) to men giving them glad tidings and warning them (against sin) but most men understand not." (Qurân 34: 28)

"O mankind! Verily, there has come to you the Messenger (Muhammad) with the truth from your Rabb (Sustainer). So believe in him, it is better for you. But if you disbelieve, then certainly to Allâh belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. And Allâh is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise." (Qurân 4: 170)

"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): “If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur’ªn and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Say (O Muhammad): “Obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad).” But if they turn away, then Allâh does not like the disbelievers." (Qur’an 3: 31)

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things." (QS. 33:40)

 

[MustafaMc]

Greetings and peace be with you all,

Allah (swt) chooses whom he wills, and I perceive the sincere faith of many of you on this forum, which means to me that your path was chosen for you by Allah (swt)

The Same Allah (swt) who gave you your faith; has also given me a deep and profound faith through Christianity. If both of our faiths have come from the same God, and he has chosen different paths for each of us, we seem to have a dilemma.

Somehow we are brothers and sisters together, created by the same God.

In the spirit of searching for a greater interfaith friendship and understanding

Eric

... and the same to you.

I agree with you that guidance or leaving one to stray is something that Allah (swt) wills for each of us. I did not choose to have my eyes opened to the Truth of Islam, but rather Allah (swt) had mercy on me according to His will. I believe that I am fundamentally the same person now as when I was a Christian in that I was as sincere in my faith then as I am now albeit my beliefs are quite different. I also agree that we believe in the same God because there is only One God; however, our concepts and perceptions of the Divine Being, God, are quite different. I believe that Jesus (as) prayed to Allah (swt) and he taught his disciples to in the "Lord's Prayer". I also believe that Christians worship Jesus (as) as Allah (swt) alone should be worshiped. Another Christian here has said that we Muslims have an incomplete concept of God because we exclude Jesus (as) being God in human flesh who walked among us. One sees the other as ascribing partners to God and the other sees the first as denying the fullness of God.

The dilemma is how people of different faiths can be sincere and feel that his own way is the Straight Way while the other is astray. It is as Allah (swt) has willed according to the Quran 5:48 "... Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you (He has made you as you are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ."

Even though I believe that ascribing partners to Allah (swt) is the greatest sin of all, I leave it to Allah (swt) to judge between us as Jesus (as) is quoted as saying on Judgment Day in the Quran 5:117-118 "I spake unto them only that which You commanded me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when You took me You were the Watcher over them. You are Witness over all things. If You punish them, lo! they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them (lo! they are Your slaves). Lo! You, only You, are the Mighty, the Wise."

 

[Woodrow]

Something I see as verification of the truth of Islam is in the manner it grows. Very many reverts never had any intention of ever accepting Islam. Yet, some spark is lit within them and that spark grows and at that moment they know they are Muslim and always have been. We do not convert to Islam, we return home, the moment we discover Allaah(swt) has left the door open for us.

Perhaps this is something only a revert can fully understand. But to myself and perhaps others this awakening is one verification of the Truth of Islam.

 

[Eric H]

Blessings and peace be with you MustafaMc;

Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you (He has made you as you are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ."

We seem divided by our beliefs but Allah has given us the solution..vie one with another in good works.

In the spirit of searching for a greater interfaith understanding and friendship

Eric

 

[Tyrion]

Blessings and peace be with you MustafaMc;

Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He has given you (He has made you as you are). So vie one with another in good works. Unto Allah you will all return, and He will then inform you of that wherein you differ."

We seem divided by our beliefs but Allah has given us the solution..vie one with another in good works.

In the spirit of searching for a greater interfaith understanding and friendship

Eric

First of all, don't try to give us tafsir of a verse... Second, you really need to understand that no matter how much you try to trick yourself, you're just wrong... There really can't be any situation where your view is correct. If for even a second you entertain the thought that Muhammad (pbuh) recieved revelation from the SAME God as Jesus, your faith in Christianity is no longer valid... This God that spoke to Muhammad, who you claim was the same that spoke to Jesus, told us to leave the false ways that were present at the time, one of which was Christianity... He even explains why there were previous messages, something you don't seem to understand... The fact that previous messages came (which were identical to the message of Islam) and were later corrupted. No matter how you spin it, you can't be right here... Why can't you see that?

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you Tyrion;

First of all, don't try to give us tafsir of a verse...

This was part of post 103 by MustafaMc, I forgot to wrap quote tags round it to say I had used his quote. Sorry if I upset you, I would prefer not to respond to your other comments though,

peace.

In the spirit of searching for some kind of interfaith understanding

Eric

 

[Tyrion]

Sorry if I upset you, I would prefer not to respond to your other comments though,

I'm not upset... o.o But the whole point was for you to address my other comments... They're the ones that address the problem you seem to have.

Or is this your way of acknowledging that your view just doesn't work?

 

[Flame of Hope]

The Same Allah (swt) who gave you your faith; has also given me a deep and profound faith through Christianity. If both of our faiths have come from the same God, and he has chosen different paths for each of us, we seem to have a dilemma.

Somehow we are brothers and sisters together, created by the same God.

In the spirit of searching for a greater interfaith friendship and understanding

Greetings to you, Eric H.

I started this thread for a very important reason. My desire has been to make clear to Muslims that Islam is not a religion that calls to blind faith, where one just believes in whatever the Prophet (saws) told us without using our minds, hearts and reason to know that he indeed spoke the truth.

In Christianity and other religions, it's alright to abandon your reason and not use one's intelligence....and that was the reason why I had started another thread challenging non-Muslims to explain to us how they know that their religion is the truth. So far, nobody has come forward with a good reason why they chose their faith. They just believe in it and they have no evidence or proof to back their beliefs. They indulge in conjecture and guesswork and merely HOPE that it's the truth.

In Islam however, indulging in conjecture and guesswork is strictly forbidden. The Qur'an actually forbids man to speak without knowledge and specifically, saying things about God that are untrue.

Since you have a profound faith in Christianity, perhaps you could give your reasons how you KNOW that Christianity is the truth and what exactly is the teaching in Christianity that you follow. There are so many denominations in Christianity, so you would have to be a little specific as to what exactly you believe and state the reasons for those beliefs.

Yes, we are brothers and sisters created by the same God, we belong to the same human family, we are all the children of Adam and Eve. But what separates us into differing faiths is one thing alone. And that is our intelligence and God-given gift of reason. Those who differ in matters of religion fail to use their reason, whereas those who use their reason KNOW what the truth is. And when knowledge of the truth is acquired, that's when conviction is born in the heart. And that's what we Muslims call Iman.....or faith.

Iman - the only thing that can save man from the Fire of Hell. Iman - which cannot be acquired unless man uses his power of thought and reason.

 

[Flame of Hope]

some spark is lit within them and that spark grows and at that moment they know they are Muslim and always have been.

You're gonna make me cry, brother Woodrow. What a beautiful observation! What you say is indeed the truth. My family sees me as a convert to Islam. But I feel as though I never converted. I feel as though I have always been a Muslim, even during the days of my ignorance, right from birth.

 

[MustafaMc]

Peace be upon you, Eric. On that we agree, we should compete in doing good deeds and I think we basically agree on what falls under good deeds.

 

[T4WHEED]

brilliant question. Few reasons why.

1. Islam is the only religion on the face of the earth that unites all of humanity as one through the common belief of oneness of Allah.
2. It is not just a religion but rather a way of life, practical, nothing has been left out for a human being to live his life the way God wanted him to live it.
3. True monotheism and best understanding of God.
4. Quran is a miracle. Not been changed for 1400 years memorised by thousands of muslims. No other religion has as many people that have memorised their sacred scriptures to the letter than islam.
5. Scientific facts in the quran could only mean one thing that it is a book from the creator. Not one scientific point in the quran has been disproven. Also if it was from anyone else there would be lots of mistakes and contradictions.
6. Just listening to the quran being recited you know that no way a man could make such a book.
7. Quran is the only book that has a falsification test in it. No other book makes such challenges. The test is still available today!
8. The religion of islam is logical and rational unlike many that adopt illogical beliefs and practices.
9. Prophet muhammed (peace be upon him) had sublime characteristics and just by reading his biography you know he was a man of God.

That's all i can think of right now

 

[Flame of Hope]

1. Islam is the only religion on the face of the earth that unites all of humanity as one through the common belief of oneness of Allah.
2. It is not just a religion but rather a way of life, practical, nothing has been left out for a human being to live his life the way God wanted him to live it.
3. True monotheism and best understanding of God.
4. Quran is a miracle. Not been changed for 1400 years memorised by thousands of muslims. No other religion has as many people that have memorised their sacred scriptures to the letter than islam.
5. Scientific facts in the quran could only mean one thing that it is a book from the creator. Not one scientific point in the quran has been disproven. Also if it was from anyone else there would be lots of mistakes and contradictions.
6. Just listening to the quran being recited you know that no way a man could make such a book.
7. Quran is the only book that has a falsification test in it. No other book makes such challenges. The test is still available today!
8. The religion of islam is logical and rational unlike many that adopt illogical beliefs and practices.
9. Prophet muhammed (peace be upon him) had sublime characteristics and just by reading his biography you know he was a man of God.

All beautiful reasons, brother T4WHEED. Jazakallah khair for this very convincing list. :thumbs_up

That's all i can think of right now

Do post more if you can think of more later!!! Jazakallah khair!! :statisfie

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

As salaam mualaikum.

I would like to share something that I heard during a bayan (Islamic general topic talk).

There was a holy man who spent 500 years performing salah, dhikr, fasting and all the others activities that constitute amal ibadat. When Allah asked him why he did that, he said he did all that so that he could enter jana. Finally, his time on earth was over and he faced Allah on Judgment Day. Fully expecting to be admitted to jana, he was totally shocked to be told by Allah,

"Your place is in nar. You did what you did because you believed that your amal ibadat has power to get you into jana. Verily Allah and only Allah has the power to say who will enter jana and who will not."

That really made me scrutinize my own amal ibadat.

For me, this is also another aspect of Islam that convinces me that it must be the truth. No Muslim will enter jana just because a holy man prayed on his behalf or a conference of holy men decided that he is a saint. Verily Allah and only Allah has the power to say who will enter jana and who will not.

btw hidayah and iman are different things and should not be lumped together nor should they be confused with each other, but that can only be properly elaborated on in its own thread. Insha Allah.

 

[Ramadhan]

To add on my previous post, where I mentioned that Allah is the only ONE who have directly claimed as the creator of everything - jesus, buddha, brahma, syiwa, wishnu, ahura mazda, horus, isis, thor, zeus, ufo, etc never made that claim (and I can assure you that no one else will ever be able to make the claim until the end of this universe), I also want to point out to the other fact:
Allah is the only ONE worshiped by men without representation (no images, no statues, nothing) and no intermediaries either.

 

[Flame of Hope]

There was a holy man who spent 500 years performing salah, dhikr, fasting and all the others activities that constitute amal ibadat. When Allah asked him why he did that, he said he did all that so that he could enter jana. Finally, his time on earth was over and he faced Allah on Judgment Day. Fully expecting to be admitted to jana, he was totally shocked to be told by Allah,

"Your place is in nar. You did what you did because you believed that your amal ibadat has power to get you into jana. Verily Allah and only Allah has the power to say who will enter jana and who will not."

That really made me scrutinize my own amal ibadat.

For me, this is also another aspect of Islam that convinces me that it must be the truth. No Muslim will enter jana just because a holy man prayed on his behalf or a conference of holy men decided that he is a saint. Verily Allah and only Allah has the power to say who will enter jana and who will not.

Brother ThisOldMan, I'm wondering how does this story convince you that Islam must be the truth?

A Christian man could come up and say that he heard a story where on the Day of Judgment, those who believed in Christ would be saved and those who didn't would be sent to Hell.
If that Christian man were to say that he believed that Christianity was the truth because of this story he heard, what would you think?

Another question if you don't mind. Do you know or understand the reason why Allah rejected the amal ibadat of that man who spent 500 years performing salah, dhikr, fasting and all other religious activities? It's true that we do not go to Jannah because of our deeds or anything we do. But do you know the reason why this is so?

 

[Ali Mujahidin]

As salaam mualaikum.

My dear sister Flame, if I were to meet you in real life, I am going to give you a bop on the head. Just joking. JazakuLLah for making me think so hard. Now let's see if I can answer with some sense.

1. If a Christian wants to believe that he will be saved because he believed Jesus is a god, there is nothing much I can do about it. I can only share with him what I know about Islam. It is totally and absolutely up to Allah whether he will receive the hidayah to see the truth of Islam.

2. A person who thinks that his actions, pious or otherwise, has the power to determine whether he goes to jana or not, is guilty of shirik. Allah strictly forbids any partners in our worship of Allah. This is the most fundamental concept of ad dinul Islam, the Kallimah Tayyibah. "La ila haila LLah" translates, approximately, as "There is none worthy of worship other than Allah". To have any doubt about this, even an infinitesimally small grain of doubt as tiny as a zarah, is to be guilty of shirik.

3. Let me share what I was told by a Muslim scholar.

Once Nabi Musa (as) had a very bad stomachache. So he prayed to Allah. Allah told him to get the leaves from a certain plant, boil the leaves and drink the brew. He did as he was told. His stomachache was healed. Some time later, he had the same ailment. Again he prayed to Allah for succor. Again he was told to do the same thing which he did with the same good result. The third time he had the same stomachache, without praying to Allah, he went ahead to get the leaves, boiled them and drank the brew. To no avail. Then he begged Allah to tell him why it didn't work as before. Allah told him that the failure resulted from his belief that it was the leaves, and not Allah, that healed his stomachache. Allah and only Allah alone has the power to make things happen.

Hope this is useful. Insha Allah.

 

[Eric H]

Greetings and peace be with you ThisOldMan;

1. If a Christian wants to believe that he will be saved because he believed Jesus is a god, there is nothing much I can do about it. I can only share with him what I know about Islam. It is totally and absolutely up to Allah whether he will receive the hidayah to see the truth of Islam.

I agree

3. Let me share what I was told by a Muslim scholar.

Once Nabi Musa (as) had a very bad stomachache. So he prayed to Allah. Allah told him to get the leaves from a certain plant, boil the leaves and drink the brew. He did as he was told. His stomachache was healed. Some time later, he had the same ailment. Again he prayed to Allah for succor. Again he was told to do the same thing which he did with the same good result. The third time he had the same stomachache, without praying to Allah, he went ahead to get the leaves, boiled them and drank the brew. To no avail. Then he begged Allah to tell him why it didn't work as before. Allah told him that the failure resulted from his belief that it was the leaves, and not Allah, that healed his stomachache. Allah and only Allah alone has the power to make things happen.Hope this is useful. Insha Allah.

Wonderful explanation, thanks for sharing.

In the spirit of strving to trust that we are where God wants us to be

Eric

 

[Flame of Hope]

My dear sister Flame, if I were to meet you in real life, I am going to give you a bop on the head. Just joking. JazakuLLah for making me think so hard.

lol. Sorry about that, brother. I confess I have a bad habit of making people think...and think hard. ;D

2. A person who thinks that his actions, pious or otherwise, has the power to determine whether he goes to jana or not, is guilty of shirik. Allah strictly forbids any partners in our worship of Allah. This is the most fundamental concept of ad dinul Islam, the Kallimah Tayyibah. "La ila haila LLah" translates, approximately, as "There is none worthy of worship other than Allah". To have any doubt about this, even an infinitesimally small grain of doubt as tiny as a zarah, is to be guilty of shirik.

That's a brilliant perspective, brother. It's true! Jazakallah khair for shedding light on this very wonderful matter. :statisfie

 

[Flame of Hope]

btw hidayah and iman are different things and should not be lumped together nor should they be confused with each other, but that can only be properly elaborated on in its own thread. Insha Allah.

Assalaamu alaykum, brother. lol. I couldn't resist asking you another question. It's regarding what you've stated above. Hidayah (guidance) and iman (faith) are different things but why do you say that they should not be lumped together?

I see a big connection between the two because iman in the heart has a lot to do with hidayah. How much faith do you think a man will have if he has no guidance from Allah? Also how much guidance will a man receive from Allah if he has no faith? ^o)