Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) : Open Proclamation of Islam

For three years Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spread the word of Allah surreptitiously and quietly. The newly converted Muslims also kept low as most of them were hesitant to reveal their new identity as they could have attracted a strong reaction from the non believers of Makkah. 

The population of Muslims increased slowly and by 613, three years since 610 when the first verses of Qur'an were revealed onto Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Allah commanded the prophet to openly spread the word of Allah. That was the day of great joy for the Muslims as they following the prophet came out of their houses loudly speaking the first kalima, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is messenger of Allah."

Naturally this infuriated the non believers as except for a modest community which believed in oneness of God, all believed in countless gods and worshiped their idols placed in and around the Ka'ba, once built by Prophet Ibraheem (Abraham, peace be upon him) with the aid of his son Prophet Ismail (Ishmael, peace be upon him) to be the home of Allah. 

The emergence of a new religion started ringing bells of alarm in he rank and file of big merchants of Makkah as any unrest in Makkah was a direct threat to their trade and relations with other non Muslims tribes near and far.

But the real strong reaction came from the non believers or infidels as they are mostly called when the prophet proclaimed that worshiping of the idols was an unforgivable sin and that polytheism they had been practicing was against the spirit of Islam and oneness of Allah.

Initially, the rich and famous of Makkah politely requested Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not to denounce the religion and faith of his forefathers and even his own tribe Bani Hashim, which was entrusted with the upkeep and maintenance of Ka'aba and looking after the trade caravans coming to Makkah. But Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) flatly refused and continued with his Godly mission. They then try to bribe him with wealth, a place in the elite of Makkah and even asked him to pick up any woman he wanted from the women of Makkah. But these wordily gifts were nothing against the benefits Allah had promised for the Muslims both during this world and hereafter.

The non believers then approached Abu Talib, the ailing and very old uncle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and requested him to persuade his nephew from propagating his new religion. When Abu Talib called his nephew and conveyed him the message of the non believers, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Even if they place sun on my one hand the moon on the other, I would not fall back from what he was commanded to do by Allah.

With this open negation of their request, the non believers joined hands and become extremely hostile to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers. And everyday there would be open scenes of torture of Muslims to scare away other potential followers of Islam. The earliest martyrs of Islam were a very old couple who were slaves of a rich merchant of Makkah, Abu Jahal. The wife Sumayyah bint Khayyat was stretched on burning sand of Makkah with her hands and legs stretched out bound. When she still refused to denounce Islam, Abu Jahal killed her with his spear. Her husband too was tortured and killed, both right in front of their son.

Bilal was a African slave, whose master Umayyah ibn Khalaf when came to know of Bilal's acceptance of Islam, he too was laid down on the burning sands with only a short cloth covering his lower half and a heavy stone placed on his chest. Despite the pain and burning, Bilal continued to call "Ahad (meaning Allah is one)." The ritual continued for many days till his master left him for being no use to him.

Following increased hostility of the people of Makkah, the prophet allowed a group of Muslims to Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum, which was then ruled by a just and kind Christian king Najashi. The non believers sent a contingent to Najashi to persuade hm to return the Muslims but when Najashi asked them to tell him what Muslims thought of Jesus, they narrated the entire episode of how Jesus was born as a miracle of Allah and how he was chosen to be a prophet. Listening to these divine verses, the King found truth in the Quranic verses and allowed them to live peacefully in his country.

Hoping no turning back of Muslims to their original faith, the notables of  Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams tribes boycotted the Banu Hashim tribe, to which the prophet belonged to and were denied of all food and water for almost three years. This was the worst time for the Muslims of Makkah and the cries of women and children due to hunger and thirst could be heard in Makkah but the non believers were unmoved. It was only after three years that the boycott ended and the Muslims were allowed back in Makkah.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was to suffer yet a fatal blow of events in 619 when one after the other his uncle Abu Talib, who even though had not accepted Islam continued to support and protect his nephew against the powerful elite of Makkah, and prophets wife Khadija passed away.  The year is thus known as the "Year of Sorrow" in Muslim history.

After Abu Talib, his brother Abu Lahab took over the reins of Banu Hashim. Lahab was a staunch infidel and deadly against his nephew. With him at the head of the tribe, Lahab served all links with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This left him in extreme danger and made him vulnerable to the treacherous attitude of the infidels. He thus tried to seek refuge and protection from other tribes and even traveled to Taif, a hilly and pleasant place of Arabia. But there too the non believers treated him unjustly and stoned him and he was wounded to an extent that Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) came to him and asked his permission to destroy the town and people of Taif. But the prophet exercised extreme restraint and came back to Makkah. 

Since the life in Makkah had become very difficult at the hands of the non believers, the prophet finally decided to migrate to Yathrib (now called Madina), his ancestral town. And in 620, All Muslims of Makkah left for Yathrib in groups though still being chased by the infidels but all made it safely to Yathrib. This left the prophet and a few companions back in Makkah till they also migrated to Yathrib.

During the last days of stay in Makkah, two miracles happened that still mystifies the world: The splitting of the moon and The Miraculous Journey of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to Jerusalem (Israa) and Heavens (Mairaj). Read details about these two and many other important events by clicking on MORE (the last heading on the blue bar) and click on Major Events in History on the drop down menu.

A detailed account of prophet's migration will be posted in our next post.

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Scriptural Contradictions lead a Jew to Embrace Islam

Each personal account of non Muslims embracing Islam is unique and worth listening to and reading. I came across this account of a Jew embracing Islam in the Arab News and this time the scriptural contradictions and the truth made this young man to embrace Islam. And reading his account I wonder why our faith leaders and scholar paint a picture that may ultimately lead to the truth which weightier and logical.

This young man Musa was 15 when he developed interest in other religions than his own that of orthodox Jews. He did not have many friends so he started having chat with different people of different faiths and even Muslims, discussing various queries that he had had about his own faith. 

One day while reading the account of Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and his brother Prophet Haroun (Aaron, peace be upon him) in the Old Testament, he got puzzled as to how Prophet Haroun could have made the calf from the ornaments and gold pieces in the absence of Prophet Musa and lead his people to worship the gold calf. He wondered prophets don't commit sin and that too of idolatry and letting his people worship an idol. 

Read herein under how the incidence is mentioned in the Exodus Chapter 32 attributing the making of the gold calf to Prophet Haroun.

“Moses and the Golden Calf” Exodus Chapter 32

1. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
2. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
4. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
5. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.
6. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

He then searched for the truth in Quran and came read the explanation given in Qur'an which shows the truth - the truth that despite Prophet Haroun's stopping his people from making an idol, how his people defied the orders and commandments of Prophet Musa and got astray to the old practice of symbolizing idol of some animal or object as their gods.

Read herein under how Qur'an mentions the same episode with a difference - a difference that appeals to logic as prophets cannot commit sins and are aways guiding their people to the righteous path rather than walking their way:

The Qur’an “Moses and the Golden Calf” Sura Ta Ha 20

83. And what caused you to hasten from your people, O Musa?
84, He said: They are here on my track and I hastened on to Thee, my Lord, that Thou mightest be pleased.
85. He said: So surely We have tried your people after you, and the Samiri has led them astray.
86. So Musa returned to his people wrathful, sorrowing. Said he: O my people! did not your Lord promise you a goodly promise: did then the time seem long to you, or did you wish that displeasure from your Lord should be due to you, so that you broke (your) promise to me?
87. They said: We did not break (our) promise to you of our own accord, but we were made to bear the burdens of the ornaments of the people, then we made a casting of them, and thus did the Samiri suggest.
88. So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot.
89. What! could they not see that it did not return to them a reply, and (that) it did not control any harm or benefit for them?
90. And certainly Haroun had said to them before: O my people! you are only tried by it, and surely your Lord is the Beneficent God, therefore follow me and obey my order.
91. They said: We will by no means cease to keep to its worship until Musa returns to us.
92. (Musa) said: O Haroun! what prevented you, when you saw them going astray,
93. So that you did not follow me? Did you then disobey my order?
94. He said: O son of my mother! seize me not by my beard nor by my head; surely I was afraid lest you should say: You have caused a division among the children of Israel and not waited for my word.
95. He said: What was then your object, O Samiri?
96. He said: I saw (Jibreel - Gabriel) what they did not see, so I took a handful (of the dust) from the footsteps of the messenger, then I threw it in the casting; thus did my soul commend to me
97. He said: Be gone then, surely for you it will be in this life to say, Touch (me) not; and surely there is a threat for you, which shall not be made to fail to you, and look at your god to whose worship you kept (so long); we will certainly burn it, then we will certainly scatter it a (wide) scattering in the sea.

He feels that the 'facts' mentioned in the earlier scriptures may have been polluted or changed but the same facts remain unchanged in the Holy Qur'an.

He is also amazed to find many facts mentioned in the Qur'an which were only lately proved by science, like the development of human embryo:

“And certainly We created man of an extract of clay, Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators.” (Qur’an 23:12-14)

He then continues to talk of factors that finally led him to embrace Islam.  Here read in his own words:

Here is one of the key factors that led me to explore my heart to find the truth of life. In Arabic, the word Islam comes from salama which means "to submit"; "purity" and "peace" come from the same root. The person submits to the One, the Merciful, and the Most Beneficent Allah; whereas other religions are named after people: Judaism comes from the tribe of Judea, Christianity from Jesus Christ, etc. Islam is a word derived from a verb; anyone who submits to Allah and believes in all the prophets is a true Muslim. Many of the great prophets mentioned in the Old Testament lived prior to Judaism and Judea; they submitted to God, and therefore they were all Muslims. And we shall live as the prophets lived, for they were great human beings.

This account was shared when Musa was 15 years in 2015 and was cautiously living with his new faith in order to arrest any backlash that may occur from his parents and friends. I am sure by now he would be 18 and taken an open decision about his newly acquired faith.

I must commend this young teenager who at this early age of life has been able to critically analyze his book of original faith and the Holy Qur'an and then take his ultimate decision to change his faith. His clarity of thought really amazes me as even I who am a born Muslims have not been able to critically analyze even our own holy book and draw lessons for my life. 

He even leaves a beautiful message for all of us and those thinking of converting to Islam:

When studying Qur’an, my advice to you is to read it for yourself. Looking at biased websites, you are not able to see the full content of a verse. Through this whole experience I have discovered that I did not find Islam, I re-embraced Islam; nor did I convert, I reverted; and on my ride from darkness to light, it has only made me a stronger, more spiritual, and a better human being. May Allah guide us all to the truth that I was led to.

May Allah be always his protector and bless him with more knowledge and wisdom to inspire others to embrace Islam.

Photo | Source | Arab News |  Comparison Bible and Quran |

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Spirit of Ramadan inadvertently led me to become Muslim

I have been sharing personal accounts of non-Muslims who have embraced Islam in my previous number of posts. And each personal account has a different motivation that has led a person to embrace Islam. Today I am sharing the personal account of Lauren Booth, who is a broadcaster, a journalist and also sister-in-law of Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair.

In her account which has been published in the Islamic Bulletin, she says that she visited a family in Rafa refugee camp and met a family of sixteen cramped inside a tent. She was greeted by the woman of the house and when she ushered her in, she asked her what it had been to live in a refugee camp during the month of Ramadan with almost little or no food? And the woman replied, "Allhamdulillah!! with such joy I couldn't help but smile. And as I sat there on the floor of this home eating what little leaves that they had; a bit of hummus, a pita bread that was our Iftar. 

She says she felt angry as to why God made hungry people go even more hungrier in the month of fasting. And the answer she received is worth reading:

"So, I turned to this sister and I said: " With all due respect I want to ask you, why does your God starve you in Ramadan? Why do you fast in Ramadan...sister, just explain to me? This lady who never owned a hand bag, whose children didn't have, never had shoes. Whose children I was sitting with didn't have pen or paper to do any drawings, she said to me: "Sister we fast in Ramadan to remember the poor" and a key went to my heart and unlocked it."

Later she visited Iran and visited the Fatima Mosque, named after the beloved daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the prophet of Islam. There she says she made a simple prayer: "Allah don't give me anything. I have everything. Thank you for this journey, but Allah don't forget the people of Palestine."

There she saw families with their children moving about in the courtyard of the mosque who were busy in their religious chores. She slept the night there and woke when the call for the pre dawn prayers was called. She said that just to be with everyone around, she offered prayer like everyone did. But she was still not for Islam in any way so far.

But a candle of truth had been alight in her heart and when she returned to London, a few days thereafter, she embrace Islam. Then she says she opened Qur'an for the first time and opened the first surah of Qur'an Surah Al Fatiha and said: "Hello Sarah where have you been, welcome to the religion of peace, joy and tranquility and I couldn't put it down. Someone once told me and I feel much like that before Islam I had given up on God but God never gave up on me. Allhamdulillah."

Her daughters reacted to her new faith and asked three very simple yet very intelligent questions:

1-Mummy when you're a Muslim will you still be mummy?

I said: When I am a Muslim you know what, I will be a better mummy, they said: "Horrayyy!!"

2-Mummy will you drink alcohol? 

When I am a Muslim, I will never drink alcohol again and they said "Horrayyy!!"

3-And this is an interesting and thought-provoking question from girls as small as 8 and 10: When you're a Muslim will you show your chest? 

I said why would you ask such a question? They said when you come to the school and your chest shows we are embarrassed and we hate it and we want you to stop it.  When I am a Muslim, I will cover all this area and to which they said: "we love Islam." 

She says reading Qur'an everyday strengthens one's Imaan (Faith), better than yesterday everyday.She says: "If you live in a non-Muslim country those of us who do it can go very low very quickly, you must read the Quran. Most of all your just not on the path of Islam if you come to Islam like me, if you're a Muslim you are on the path as well so make sure that you don't miss those signs in everyday life. All praise is to Allah (swt)."

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

To know more about fasting and importance of month of Ramadan, please consult our reference page: Ramadan - A month of fasting and Blessings. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān and our special page on Embracing Islam: The Revert Experiences

Source | Do listen to the interview on which this post had been based HERE

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Bravo !! My Ultimate Decision has its own exclusive domain now

When we started the blog, it was hosted on Blogger platform with a blogspot.com extension. However seeing the interest of its world wide readers in such a short time since the hosting of blog in April earlier this year, we have decided to our own exclusive domain name.

Allhamdolillah, today we get our own name as www.myultimatedecision.info. Thus today we heave achieved our first hallmark milestone today with our exclusive domain name.

Please use our new address to continue to read about Islam and personal accounts of those who took their ultimate decision to convert to Islam. May Allah bless you, and everyone of us. Aameen.

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A Young Girl's Steadfastness leads her Entire Family to Embrace Islam

Never have I ever felt so emotional than while reading the personal account of a middle aged woman of embracing Islam and the changes in her life that finally turned the hostility of her entire family for embracing Islam into becoming Muslims themselves. This change of heart of the entire family couldn't have been possible had she not been steadfast in her decision and display of a good Muslim manners that finally moved hearts.

This is the story of a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist whom Allah led to Islam merely by a computer glitch. 

She was a devout Christian and always lived her life like a good Christian do. However, in 1975, while enrolling for a scholarship she pre-register her for degree on Recreation. Having registered herself she got late to begin her classes by two weeks and in those two weeks due to the computer error much had changed. When she joined the college, she was surprised to know that her admission has been mistakenly have been made in Theater class, requiring students to perform in front of others.

Being a rather religious girl, she persuaded the teacher to change her subject, who declined the request as it was already two weeks since the classes began. She then asked the teacher to enroll her in another branch of performing art. And when she got an alternative, she says she was "shocked by what she saw. The class was full of Arabs and "camel jockeys". And decided not to go back to the class anymore.

But back home, her husband reassured her that God had a reason for everything and that she should think before quitting or else lose the scholarship offered to her. Having thought about it, an idea struck her that she would resume her class with a mission: To convert the Arabs to Christianity. She says: "I proceeded to explain to them how they would burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior. They were very polite, but did not convert. Then, I explained how Jesus loved them and had died on the cross to save them from their sins. All they had to do was accept him into their hearts." They still did not convert, and so she decided to do something else: "I decided to read their own book to show to them that Islam was a false religion and Muhammad was a false God".

So she borrowed a copy of Holy Qur'an to find out flaws in there to convince her Arab classmates to change their faith. But more she read the Qur'an and related books on Islam, the more she grew closer to the truth she was reading. This had a telling effect on her personal life as she stopped going to bar with her husband and stopped eating pork. She became more quiet and distant which led her husband into suspecting her of having an affair with someone else. And thus one day they separated.

Then one day a Muslim religious scholar met her and invited her to Islam. Though she outrightly rejected his offer, she asked him to clear her queries about Islam. "He was very patient and discussed every question with me. He never made me feel silly or that a question was stupid", says she. And instead of being offended to her questions, he welcomed her to ask more as "He explained that Allah had told us to seek knowledge and questions were one of the ways to accomplish that."

And then it dawned on her the truth Islam carries and became a Muslim on 21 May 1977, when she was only 24 years. But with her conversion came seclusion and a wrath from her family. She lost her friends and had no fun anymore. While her sister attempted to put her in a mental health institution, his father drew out a gun to kill her for he said she'd better be dead rather than suffering in the deepest of Hell. But she stood on to her belief. Later even her hijab cost her job with one final blow yet to come.

His husband filed for a divorce, which meant the future of the custody of her two minor children she loved most dearly. Rather the judge giving her the custody of her children, he gave her two choices: Either renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave the children. She was given 20 minutes to make a decision. It were the most difficult 20 minutes of her life as on one side there were two loving children whom she adored very much and on the other hand stood her decision to leave Islam or continue to be a Muslim. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to bear any child in future as doctors had told her earlier. She says: "I prayed like I had never done before … I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah."

And then she decided to continue to be a Muslim at the cost of sacrificing her children. But then she took solace from the following verses of Qur'an:

Allah! there is no god But He – the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede. In His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to his creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Quran 2: 255)

Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of Bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of Allah?" Ah! Verily the help of Allah is (always) near! (Quran 2: 214)

Thereafter she continued to live alone but never left her family and continued to post cards on their special days with a verse from Qur'an or Hadith (Hadith is the way Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, explained Qur'an to this followers or the way he lived his life in total submission to the commandments of Allah), but not mentioning the source lest it offended them.

The change in her was soon visible in her manners, politeness and behaviour, which started to be noticed and appreciated by her family. And then things started to change for good. It was her grandmother, then 100, who converted to Islam, but died just days after. She believes: The day she pronounced Shahada, all her misdeeds had been erased, while her good deeds were preserved. She died so soon after accepting Islam that I knew her "book" was bound to be heavy on the good side. It fills me with such a joy!"

Her father who was well read otherwise was to take the next step. He read a book on Umar ibn Khattab, a companion of the Prophet who persecuted the early Muslims before he converted to Islam. One day he was going to kill the Holy Prophet when someone told him to first take care of your sister who had already converted to Islam. With the same drawn sword, he stormed into her sister's house to kill her. But upon hearing some of the verses from the Qur'an that his sister was reciting, he recognized the truth and went straight to the Prophet and accepted Islam. So her father also became Muslim and so did her mother and sister who once thought she had become delirious by changing her birth religion.

Still more was to become. His son who had become adult also embraced Islam and when he was 21 he called his mother to let her know his ultimate decision. And then some sixteen years since their divorce, her ex husband also embraced Islam too. He apologized to her for the divorce and wanted their daughter too should come under the fold of Islam.  And she forgave for she was now more forgiving.

Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. She who had married another person, in the meantime and despite the doctors' verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allah (swt) makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allah (swt), and so she named him "Barakah". She says: "True, Allah has tested me as was promised, and rewarded me far beyond what I could ever hoped for".

This is the most inspiring personal account of Aminah Assilmi, who is now the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. It was her organization that successfully lobbied for the "Eid Stamp" and had it approved by the United States Postal Service. She is now working on making the Eid Day as a national holiday in USA.

I hope her inspiring personal account of how she embrace Islam, her difficulties as Muslim and the rewards by Allah for steadfastness will inspire many non Muslims to find the true truth in Islam and help them taking their Ultimate Decision to embrace Islam.

Read her complete account at: The Islamic Bulletin

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity who have reverted to Islam, please visit our page: Embracing Islam: Revert Experiences.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Jewish perception of Islam as Idolatrous

I have written a few posts as to how Islam and other faiths differ. Today I just thought to find out how other faiths view Islam. And I was appalled to come across some Jewish sites which gave out a view point of the Jews about Islam and labeling it as Idolatrous.

This was something that came as a total surprise as we as Muslim while believing in the total absoluteness of Allah, God as understood by Jews and to an extent by Christians in their overall concept of Trinity, also dispel any notion of bowing in front of idols of any kind. In fact, upon conquest of Makkah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cleansed the Ka'aba of all idols placed in there by the infidels.

But then another revelation still amazed me that speaks of the total ignorance of the Jew scholars about who we bow in front of when praying. Read the following excerpts, with special reference to the lines highlighted in bold italics:

I mentioned earlier that almost all authorities accepted Maimonides’ view of Islam. There is, however, one authority, who, while most cryptic, appears to be leaning in the opposite direction. In a medieval commentary erroneously attributed to the famous sage, Rabbi Nissim Gerondi (c.1310‑1375), but actually written by an unknown later scholar, one finds a shocking opinion, in the course of “R. Nissim’s” discussion, of Christians bowing to holy objects and Muslims bowing to Muhammad[!] Although the comment is not entirely clear, it appears to be saying that even though the Muslims do not turn Muhammad into a God, one must regard their (supposed) action of bowing down to him as idolatry, thus putting them in the category of idolaters.

Now here comes the ignorance of the Jew scholars. We Muslims while regard Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in extremely high, revered and exalted position as the last of all the prophets chosen by Allah and blessed him with the last of the holy scriptures The Holy Qur'an, we never pretend or mean to be bowing in front of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) while prostate in our prayers for he was just a human being chosen by Allah to be His last prophet. 

Say (O Muhammad), "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So, whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (Qur'an Surah Al Kahf 18:110)

Equating someone to Allah is the biggest sin in Islam:

In Islam, shirk (Arabic: شرك‎ šhirk) is the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism, i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides the singular God, i.e. Allah. Literally, it means ascribing or the establishment of "partners" placed beside God.

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah the Almighty at many places warn the people against equating anyone with Him, for He alone is worthy of worship, is the master of the universe and master of the Day of Judgment:

Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides Allah, as equal (with Allah.: They love them as they should love Allah. But those of Faith are overflowing in their love for Allah. If only the unrighteous could see, behold, they would see the penalty: that to Allah belongs all power, and Allah will strongly enforce the penalty. (Surah Al-Baqara, 165)

Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah. That we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will). (Surah Al-Imran, 64)

“Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with him, and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases, and whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin.” (Surah an-Nisā’ 4:48) 

In the light of above commandments of Allah in the Holy Quran, we as Muslims cannot think of bowing or prostrating in front of anyone except Allah alone. We revere Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the same way Jews revere Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him) and Christians who revere Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him). No one bows in front of prophets, so do we Muslims too. It is only Christians who consider Jesus as one of the Gods when they talk of Trinity. In that sense Christianity could be labelled as Idolatrous, not Islam.

Thus, calling us idolatrous is extremely absurd, highly preposterous, objectionable and detesting. I wonder how come the so called learned Jewish scholars could ever label us idolatrous, thinking we bow and prostrate in front of a human being and not in front of the Almighty Allah, the creator of this universe who has no parallel. In fact, equating someone with Allah is considered as the most unforgivable sin.

I wonder how come Jews could think or interpret Islam Idolatrous by saying that Muslims prostrate in front of a prophet who was human like all of us. In this age of technology and availability of instant and detailed knowledge about religions and faiths, one can easily find the truth. Gone are the days when religious preachers, in this case rabbis, could mislead their people through their sermons.

However, there are some Jewish scholars who view the above mindset as incorrect. Read the following views:

This is a dramatic deviation from Maimonides’ view, and it is shocking that “R. Nissim” does not even refer to his predecessor. In any event, the authentic R. Nissim did not hold to this view, and we are in possession of a *responsum of his in which he declares unambiguously that Islam is not a form of idolatry.

* a written reply by a rabbi or Talmudic scholar to an inquiry on some matter of Jewish law 

In fact, some scholars believe that:

Hardly any attempt is made in the classical Jewish sources to distinguish between different kinds of pagan or primitive worship such as animism, fetishism, and polytheism. All forms of worship that are not purely monotheistic are treated together as idolatry and severely condemned. 

I hope I have tried to put across the view point of us Muslims and that of those who think that Islam has been misunderstood and being followers of a monotheist Allah, we cannot be labeled as Idolatrous.   

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

For more Q&A about Understanding Islam, please refer to our reference page: Understanding Islam - Frequently asked Q&A

Reference Sources: | 1 | 2 | Read more verses of Qur'an condemning those who equate someone with Him HERE

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