Why Islam?
In Islam, the purpose of human creation is to worship and to submit to Allah. Muslims believe that Allah created humans with intelligence, free will, and moral responsibility. The primary objective of our existence is to devote ourselves to the worship of Allah and to live following His guidance.
- The Qur'an states:
- وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ٥٦
- "I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me"
- (Surah Adh Dhariyat:Ayat 56)
- God created humans to test them with responsibilities and to prove themselves worthy of returning to God's presence. Life on Earth is a trial, not intended to be comfortable or satisfying.
- God made humans His agents on Earth, entrusting them with the responsibility to civilize the land.
- Humans were created in nations and tribes so that they may know each other, not despise each other
Every person should revert to Islam because it is the birthright of every person and the original print on every human soul when he or she was born. Every person should revert to Islam because Allah has sealed and superseded all previous messages with Islam. Allah has mentioned to all people in the Qur'an:
وَٱلْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَٱلْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَٱلْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا
مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا۟ بِٱلْأَزْلَـٰمِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ ٱلْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَٱخْشَوْنِ ۚ ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًۭا ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ فِى مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍۢ لِّإِثْمٍۢ ۙ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ٣
{.Forbidden unto you (for food) are carrion and blood and swineflesh, and that which hath been dedicated unto any other than Allah, and the strangled, and the dead through beating, and the dead through falling from a height, and that which hath been killed by (the goring of) horns, and the devoured of wild beasts, saving that which ye make lawful (by the death-stroke), and that which hath been immolated unto idols. And (forbidden is it) that ye swear by the divining arrows. This is an abomination. This day are those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion al-Islam. Whoso is forced by hunger, not by will, to sin: (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.}
— M. Pickthall
(Surah Al Maidah:Ayat 3)
After all, what could be more serious than the rejection of the religion which the Creator and Sustainer of everything has enjoined upon all people? Indeed, this is the greatest injustice committed by human beings. It is sad but true that if a person dies in this state, he or she will be punished and cast into the hellfire to live there for eternity. This concept has been emphasized hundreds of times in the Qur'an and in the statements of the Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him). Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an:
وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمِ دِينًۭا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ مِنَ
ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ ٨٥
{And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender (to Allah) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.)
— M. Pickthall.
(Surah Al Imran: Ayat 85)
"Whoever among the Christians and Jews hears of me and does not follow what I have brought, and dies in this state will be among the inhabitants of hellfire"
(Sahih Muslim)
Note that Allah was reported to have said in the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18, "If anyone does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name, I will call him to account."
(Deuteronomy 18:19)
Having proved that the prophet referred to here is Rasulullahﷺ, this means that whoever believes in the Bible must believe in this prophet and in what this prophet says; else, he or she will be called to account for that. After the realization of who this prophet is, it follows logically that one must adhere to his teachings.
There are those who may not accept Islam because they think that becoming a Muslim means turning one's back on all previous prophets sent by Allah. This is a false concept because of the following:
Firstly, belief in all messengers of Allah is a pillar of the Islamic faith and hence, no Muslim is a believing Muslim if he or she does not believe in Jesus (Isa), Moses(Musa), or any other prophet.
Secondly, belief in the messengers is part of what each messenger taught (that is, every prophet called his people to believe in the next prophet who comes after him and follows him whenever he appears). So, rejecting a prophet amounts to rejecting the predecessor.
Thirdly, rejecting any messenger amounts to the rejection of the One Who sent him: Allah.
Fourthly, Islam promises the followers of previous faiths great rewards if they add belief in Islam to belief in their previous faith.
Rasulullahﷺ said:
"Three people have a double reward: a person from the People of the Scriptures (the Jews and the Christians) who believed in his prophet (Jesus or Moses) and then believes in Prophet Muhammad Rasulullahﷺ (by embracing Islam). .."
(Bukhari)
The first reward is for believing in his or her faith before he or she knew about Islam; the second reward is for recognizing the truth and believing in Islam. Hence, the Islamic perspective on the relationship between the messengers is like the relationship between the links in a chain; rejecting one of them amounts to rejecting all of them.
Therefore, becoming a Muslim means having the honor of believing in all the prophets who came before Rasulullahﷺ and not turning one's back on any previous prophets.
Finally, we have to accept Islam because Islam has revived the eternal divine teachings that had been either forgotten or distorted in the previous messages. Islam retains and maintains the practical teachings mentioned in the previous scriptures that are part of the birthright of all people till the end of this world.
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