Q86 :I was a person who cared very little about
religion. I almost ridiculed religion and those who were religious. I
have even rejected the existence of God and demonstrated that rejection
in an outrageous manner. Yet, one day in November last year, it all
changed. Waking up one morning, I started crying and kept saying
“please forgive me, my Lord.” Since that day, I have stopped smoking,
drinking and all other sinful habits. How could all this have
happened?
A86 : Everything which is made or manufactured
provides a testimony to its maker and its manufacturer. If it is of
high quality, then we conclude that the one who is responsible for
making it is an excellent professional or a master craftsman, etc. The
universe which is all Allah’s creation, gives a most eloquent testimony
to the great power of its Maker, Allah, glorified be He. There are so
many signs, indicators and pointers throughout the universe, in the
world around us, in our lives and within ourselves which emphasize the
basic truth of Allah’s existence and His supremacy in the universe.
Allah has given all these indicators and asked us to contemplate on
them and to draw out conclusions. He knows that when we think logically
about creation and about the universe, the basic truth will inescapably
sate us in the face. It is up to us to accept it and act upon it or
pretend that we do not see it. When someone aggressively tries to
emphasize his rejection of faith, he is subconsciously trying to
justify his attitude of willfully turning a deaf ear to the call of
faith. He wants to smother the voice within him which tells him that he
is following the wrong way. He continues to do this until such an
attitude of arrogant disbelief benetes a second nature to him. As
human beings, we are all amenable to accepting faith in the same
degree. As you undoubtedly realize, Allah requires everyone of us to
believe in the same set of truths which form the true faith of
submission to Him alone. This applies in the same degree to simple,
uneducated people as well as to the most educated and sophisticated
minds. When we remember that Allah’s justice is absolute, we conclude
that we must have the same amenability or susceptibility to accepting
the faith and conducting our lives on its principles. Hence, there is
no human being who can be described as a natural disbeliever. Indeed,
if people remain true to their nature, they will want to know their
creator and they will continue to pursue a proper satisfaction of their
inherent desire to be believers. The best proof of this susceptibility
is the fact that Allah addressed us all with his message in the same
language and in the same manner. The Qur’an, Allah’s revealed book
which contains the final and netplete version of His message to
mankind, speaks to all people alike. It does not distinguish between
those who are highly educated and those who have never been to school.
There is no doubt that people who are endowed with knowledge can have a
profound understanding of Allah’s message. It is equally true, however,
that Allah’s message touches certain cores within man which make us all
willing to submit ourselves to Him. When we reflect on this fact, we
recognize that Allah’s grace has been bestowed on us in abundance. It
is He who sent us messages to point to us the way which will lead us to
happiness in this life as well as in the life to nete. It is He who has
brought this process of sending messages to its final stage when he
sent Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the netplete and final
form of the divine message. It is He who has guaranteed to preserve
this message intact for the rest of time so that all generations will
have access to it whenever they want. It is He who has made us
responsive to His call and facilitated for us acceptance of it by
making that acceptance the door which leads us to a life of happiness
in this world and one of greater happiness in the hereafter. Had Allah
left things at that and imposed on us the duty to believe in Him and
live up to our faith, His grace would have been most abounding and we
should have no excuse for not responding to His message and following
His messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who conveyed to us
Allah’s last message. But Allah has bestowed on us much more of His
grace. In the life of every single one of us, there are moments when we
find ourselves literally at the cross-roads between faith and unbelief.
These moments represent chances offered to every single one of us to
follow the right direction. We either take the chance so offered or we
allow it to pass as though meant for someone else. What is special
about these moments or these chances is that at these particular points
in time, we see the issues involved most clearly. We are actually
beckoned in a most appealing way to follow the path of Islam. Yet, many
of us deride that chance and choose to go in the opposite direction.
I know someone whose determination to diligently follow the path of
Islam is exemplary. Yet nothing in his upbringing could have helped him
make such a choice. Neither of his parents cared about giving their
child any sort of religious education. They sent him to a school which
regarded religious education a luxury that could not be afforded. He
told me about one moment in his life when he could feel that the choice
was put to him in front of his eyes. The issues were so clear that what
he saw could have very well been in the material world. How do these
moments or chances nete about is something that Allah alone knows. What
we know is that they do not nete to all of us in the same way, nor does
the chance repeat itself in the same manner twice. These are moments
when our spiritual vision, as it were, of the facts of existence is at
its clearest. These moments are part of the guidance with which Allah
has provided us. None of us is forgotten. Each one of us is responsible
and is given his chance. Perhaps what has happened to you was that you
have experienced such a moment. It may be something at which you could
not point finger, but it is nevertheless real. Allah has enabled you to
see things as they truly are and to make the right choice. For that you
must thank Allah for the rest of your life, since you undoubtedly are
enjoying the blessings of being at peace with yourself and with the
universe around you. It is that peace which brings to the faithful a
happiness that is inexhaustible.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )