Mrs. MESUDA STEINMANN (G.B.)
There is not a single other religion to equal Islam in
its simple comprehensibility or in its reassuring smoothness.
Islam is the one and only one religion which infuses a sense of
peace and tranquillity into the human soul, blesses man with a
life of contentment, and guides him to eternal happiness and salvation
after death.
Man is one of the various creatures of Allahu ta'ala. Naturally,
there is some connection between him and the other creatures.
Allahu ta'ala created man in the most perfect form. What gives
him this singular virtue is the soul that he possesses. Man's
soul continuously endeavours to take him up to higher and higher
levels. And the only source to feed the soul is religion.
What kind of a connection is there between man and the Almighty
Being who creates him? No doubt, religion explains this. I studied
the statements made about religion by various scholars. The following
are a few examples:
(Paraphrased) from Carlyle's work 'On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and
the Heroic in History':
"A person's religion is his heart's belief, and it is, therefore,
his most prominent characteristic. Religion is such that it goes
directly into one's heart. It adjusts one's activities in the
world. It shows the way one should follow and determines one's
destination."
(Paraphrased) from Chesterton's book 'If One Should Think':
"Religion expresses the most sublime fact which a person
obtains concerning his and others' existence."
(Paraphrased) from Ambroce Bierce's work 'The Satan's Dictionary':
"Religion is a source that teach people what they do not
know and which infuses both fear and hope into them."
(Paraphrased) from Edmunde Burke's book 'The French Revolution':
"The common commandment of all true religions is to obey
the commandments of Allahu ta'ala, to be respectful of his canon,
and thereby to be closer to His love."
(Paraphrased) from Swedenborg's work 'Doctrine of Life':
"Religion means doing good. The essence of religion is goodness."
(Paraphrased) from James Harrington's book 'The Ocean':
"Everybody has more or less some connection with religion,
whether as a source of fear or as a means of consolation."
Everybody in the world encounters various situations which they
do not know, cannot understand, and cannot explain. It is only
religion that explains to them and which infuses into them a sense
of definite belief and trust.
Why do I believe that Islam is the most perfect of the world's
religions and that it is the true religion? Let me explain:
First of all, the Islamic religion states that there is no god
besides the one Allah, who is great, that He is not begotten and
does not beget, either, and that there is not another creator
like Him. There is not another religion to explain the existence,
the unity, and the grandeur of Allahu ta'ala in the magnificence
worthy of Him. The fourth ayat of Hud sura purports, "[O
my born slaves], your return shall be to Me, alone. Allah is Almighty."
The fifty-fifth ayat of Isra Sura purports, "Allahu ta'ala
has the best knowledge of the celestial and the terrestrial creatures."
Moreover, many chapters of Qur'an al-karim state that "He
is the only creator," that "He is everlasting,"
that "He is eternal," that "He is omniscient,"
that "He is the absolute judge who makes the truest decision,"
that "He is the greatest helper," that "He is the
Creator, who is the most compassionate," and that "He
is the most magnanimous forgiver." I could not explain how
strongly a person is attracted towards Allahu ta'ala, how he melts
before Him, and how he surrenders himself to His Grace, as he
reads these lines. Allahu ta'ala declares, as is purported in
the seventeenth ayat of Hadid Sura, "Know ye (all) that Allahu
ta'ala giveth life to the earth [with rains] after its death [with
drought]. [Likewise, He gives life to dead hearts with Dhikr and
Tilawat]. Already We have shown the signs plainly to you, that
ye may learn wisdom." The Nas Sura purports, "[O Muhammad
s.a.s.!] Say: I seek refuge with my Owner, the Cherisher of mankind,
the King (or Ruler) of mankind, the Judge of mankind, (who sends
them what they need and protects them against horrors), from the
mischief of the whisperer (of evil), who withdraws after his whisper),
-(the same) who whispers into the hearts of mankind,- among Jinns
and among Men."
When a person reads these exalted statements, how could it ever
be possible for him not to believe in that great Creator and not
to seek refuge in Him? Aren't all these enough for a person to
bask in the consciousness of a merciful creator who will protect
him as long as he lives, and thus to abide by the right way?
Islam plainly states that it is the most genuine religion and
that it has accumulated in itself all the correct aspects of those
religions previous to it. It says that all the rules written in
the Qur'an al-karim, Islam's Holy Book, are plain, clear, logical
principles intelligible to everyone. These are extremely true
facts. Indeed, if we really wish to establish a consistent relationship
between Allahu ta'ala and the born slave, to unite the corporeal
and spiritual components in harmony with each other, and to maintain
peace both in this world and in the Hereafter, it is indispensably
incumbent on us to accept the Islamic religion. Our spiritual
and physical progress depends only and only on Islam's support.
Christianity busies itself only with spirituality and conscience
and overloads every individual Christian with spiritual and conscientious
burdens far beyond the human capacity. Christianity prejudges
man as a sinful creature and demands from him preposterous expiations
he could never understand. The Islamic religion, on the other
hand, is based on mere love. A very deep research into Christianity
carried on by a group of highly competent scientists might finally
find a tiny particle of love of Allah among the plethora of heavy
burdens only after an arduous ransack in the people's various
moods. And then the group would sit and lament over the fact that
that tiny particle of love has been lost for good in today's Christianity,
which is awash in superstitions. Coleridge states in one of his
books, "It is a reality that a person who loves Christianity
very much becomes gradually alienated from Christianity and begins
to love the church more, and at the end he loves himself the best."
On the other hand, Islam commands us to respect and love Allahu
ta'ala, to obey His commandments only, and at the same time to
use our own reason and logic. Christianity still contains some
truth. In Islam, on the other hand, everything rests on truth.
In the Qur'an al-karim, Allahu ta'ala addresses to all His born
slaves, regardless of their races and colours, as is purported
in the hundred and eighth ayat of Yunus Sura, "Say, O mankind!
Truth hath come to you from your Rabb (Allah). He who hath taken
the right path hath done so only for his own good, and he who
hath lapsed into aberration hath inflicted a loss only on himself.
I am not your guardian." After reading all these facts and
fully comprehending the tenor of the Qur'an al-karim, I saw that
Islam contained the truest answers to my queries, and I willingly
became a Muslim. Islam showed me the right way and heartened me.
The only way of attaining peace and comfort in the world and salvation
in the Hereafter is to embrace Islam.
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