As a Doctor of Medicine, and a descendant of a French Catholic family, the very choice of my profession has given me a solid scientific culture that had prepared me very little for a mystic life. Not that I did not believe in God, but that the dogmas and rites of Christianity in general and of Catholicism in particular never permitted me to feel His presence. Thus my unitary sentiment for God forbade my accepting the dogma of the Trinity, and consequently of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Without yet knowing Islam, I was already believing in the first part of the Kalima, La ilah illa ‘Allah (There is no deity but Allah), and in these verses of the Quran:
“Say, ‘He is Allah, the One. Allah is the All-embracing. He neither begat, nor was begotten, nor has He any equal.’” (Quran 112:1-4)
So, it was first of all for metaphysical reasons that I adhered to Islam. Other reasons, too, prompted me to do that. For instance, my refusal to accept Catholic priests, who, more or less, claim to possess on behalf of God the power of forgiving the sins of men. Further, I could never admit the Catholic rite of Communion, by means of the host (or holy bread), representing the body of Jesus Christ, a rite which seems to me to belong to [totemic] practices of primitive peoples, where the body of the ancestral totem, the taboo of the living ones, had to be consumed after his death, in order better to assimilate his personality. Another point which moved me away from Christianity was the absolute silence which it maintains regarding bodily cleanliness, particularly before prayers, which has always seemed to me to be an outrage against God. For if He has given us a soul, He has also given us a body, which we have no right to neglect. The same silence could be observed, and this time mixed with hostility with regard to the physiological life of the human being, whereas on this point Islam seemed to me to be the only religion in accord with human nature.
The essential and definite element of my conversion to Islam was the Quran. I began to study it, before my conversion, with the critical spirit of a Western intellectual […]. There are certain verses of this book, the Quran, revealed more than thirteen centuries ago, which teach exactly the same notions as the most modern scientific researchers do. This definitely convinced me and converted me to the second part of the Kalima, ‘Muhammad Rasul ‘Allah’ (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).
[…]
I am very happy in my new faith, and proclaim once again:
“I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s servant and Messenger.”
By: Dr. Ali Selman Benoist
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I was raised as a Christian and went to a fundamentalist Bible believing church. I made a profession of faith to Jesus in 1969. In all of my years as a growing up Christian, I read and studied the Bible regularly. Later on, I enlisted in the US Marines and led Bible studies with my troops. In 1988, I started my own church reaching out with a special Spanish ministry to the Hispanics. In 1990, I got out of the Marines and joined the US Navy reserves.
In 1991, I was ordered to active duty for Operation Desert Storm. I remember being impressed with the Arabs worshipping 5 times a day and I never forgot about hearing the Adhan (call to prayer) 5 times a day over the many loudspeakers in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. […]
As I continued in my Christian faith, when I got home, I started to become unsettled regarding it. I went to several different churches and faiths over the years and studied their doctrines. I studied and read the book of Mormon quite a bit and became fascinated with the Mormons. However, I eventually found many conflicts between the Bible and the book of Mormon.
I later joined a 7th Adventist Church and thought this was the true path. I studied and read several of Ellen G. White’s books concerning the 4th commandment of keeping the Saturday Sabbath. However, I eventually saw some conflicts between the Bible and one of Ellen G. White’s visions of heaven.
I stayed home from all churches after that and got a job working for the Kansas City Star newspaper. I came across a couple of Muslims at work and observed them daily, becoming impressed with their humble and pious character. One day, I went to my favorite used book store and saw an English translation of the Noble Quran in Jan of 2008. I took it home and began reading it. I started to feel a drawing to the Islamic faith after about 4 weeks of reading it daily.
One January early morning, I was looking up on the internet on how to convert to Islam. I found and repeated the Shahada very prayerfully and did this 2 or 3 times while meditating on it and with a prayerful attitude. I suddenly felt a great weight lifted from my shoulders as I discovered that God had forgiven me of all my past sins. […] Since saying the Shahada, I immediately began performing Wudu (ablution) and Salat (prayer) 5 times daily. It has now been 9 weeks since I converted to Islam and I am reading the Quran and studying the Islamic books daily.
On a side note, my wife has become upset with me over my conversion and has been trying to get me to renounce Islam. I tell her I can never turn my back on God and continue to lead a humble Muslim life before her and being patient with her in the hopes of her one day embracing Islam. I am now mentally, spiritually and physically feeling my best since converting to Islam.
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Despite the considerable amount of anti-Islamic movements and propaganda in the world, the number of those who convert to Islam and accept it as a way of life is increasing. The question is, therefore, why would people want to become Muslims, while they know that they might go through some difficulties and challenges? In what follows, we will try to mention some of the main reasons that make people accept Islam as the best available lifestyle.
In a world that media and politics are standing against a specific religion, many people may blindly accept what the media says. But seeing the amount of budget, human and natural resources that are being spent to conceal a specific religion from the world will give thoughtful people more reason to study and learn about this religion. As soon as they read the Quran in full, not only some chosen parts of it, they will understand the divine spirit of the Quran and its efficacy for human beings.
Muslims are living all around the world, and a Hijabi girl can be “the girl next door” to any non-Muslim. Seeing the routine life of Muslim families proves that what the media says about Islam and Muslims is far from the truth. When the true reality of Islam is uncovered to a person, a religion that leads its followers toward a better and more prosperous life, one surely finds enough reason to convert to Islam and follow its path.
Many people who were looking for the most applicable methods in handling social, cultural, or economic issues, found out that the strategies Islam provides for every aspect of human life are so complete that it leaves no room for further questions and ambiguities.
For example, the rulings of Islam regarding business, economy, management, charity, national or international communication, etc. can answer all the needs of anyone who expects growth and perfection.
Another essential aspect of Islam that can attract people and lead them to convert to Islam is the ethical orders that Islam provides in the individual, social, environmental, and cultural life of human beings. No one can morally or ethically deny these recommendations and descriptions of the righteous servants of Allah Almighty. Every sane person understands the beauty of a good character defined by Allah (SWT) and realizes how practical is this description for the One who is willing to take it as a model:
“The servants of the All-beneficent are those who walk humbly on the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say, ‘Peace!’ Those who spend the night for their Lord, prostrating and standing [in worship]... Those who are neither wasteful nor tightfisted when spending, but balanced between these [two extremes]. Those who do not invoke another deity besides Allah, and do not kill a soul [whose life] Allah has made inviolable, except with due cause, and do not commit fornication. (Whoever does that shall encounter its retribution … Those who do not give false testimony, and when they come upon frivolity, pass by with dignity.” (25: 63 -72)
Another significant aspect that motivates many people to convert to Islam is the miracle of the Quran. The Quran, as a book revealed about 1400 years ago, presents many incredible scientific facts. These include facts about human beings, the universe, galaxies, and black holes, animals, psychology, and all the other aspects of knowledge and wisdom, some of which have not yet been discovered, that makes its readers prostrate for the One who revealed this miraculous book. [1]
According to many of its rules and regulations, Islam has proven to be a dynamic religion. Although the pillars of Islam are not to be changed, rulings of Islam are designed in a way to help humanity reach perfection by dominating and controlling all the newly invented technologies and sciences.
Islam does not allow a person to become the slave of changes and improvements in the society but provides him/her with guidelines to help the perfection of humanity using both faith and tools.
Clear examples of the dynamic jurisprudence in Islam can be seen in the way Muslims avoid corrupt music, games, movies, etc. While at the same time, they use these tools in the right way to help human growth and perfection.
In the age of technology, life is so fast, and human beings are busy with making money, surviving, and getting by their life that they hardly find some time for self-development. However, Islam puts the individual experience of human and his/her peace of mind in priority. The relationship that Islam describes between the servant and Allah Almighty is the One that influences all the dimensions of human life.
Allah Almighty teaches man to rely on Him in every single step that we take. He wants His servants to stay by His side as “Whoever takes for his guardians Allah, His Apostle and the faithful [should know that] the confederates of Allah are indeed the victorious.” (5:56)
The fact that staying on Allah Almighty’s side can bring absolute success and victory for the human being is so empowering that will make them not to accept any oppression. Staying by His side and relying on Him can enrich human beings and making them a self-built, confident, humble, and powerful individual.
“… Whoever is wary of Allah, He shall make for him a way out [of the adversities of the world and the Hereafter] and provide for him from whence he does not count upon. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Indeed Allah carries through His commands. Certainly, Allah has ordained a measure [and extent] for everything.” (65: 2-3)
In sum, the lifestyle provided by Allah Almighty is multi-dimensional and, therefore, can answer all the needs of human beings. The ways of Allah in ruling the world are very different from those of Imperialist and capitalist powers. That is why people who start to learn about Islam and study various aspects of the Islamic lifestyle become motivated to convert to Islam and choose it as their lifestyle.
A real believer can find ways that are unknown to others only by obeying Allah (SWT); ways that no other “ism” can provide its followers: “As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways, and Allah is indeed with the virtuous.” (29: 69)
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