Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Accepting Islam (My Journey Begins)



Becoming Muslim starts with a very personal decision to choose Islam as your new lifestyle, not just your “religion”. Most newcomers to Islam make this decision only after having read some Islamic literature and portions of the Quran itself.  For me, it was the arguments of the first 8 chapters of the Quran and its explanations of the purpose of life and death that convinced me that accepting Islam was the right thing to do. There was no outside pressure from anyone. 

As I have stated elsewhere, the Quran found me while I was trying to convince myself that there was no God. I was also in mortal dread of Death, with no hope for a Hereafter. I had already conceded that my future was bleak and a waste of time. I also knew that worldly riches did not bring happiness and wouldn’t last anyway because dying was inevitable and so haphazard. It could happen at any time in one’s life.  So, internally, I was at my wit’s end despite my outward façade of controlled chaos. Alcohol and drugs could only provide brief periods of blissful oblivion, but I always had to eventually return to the internal strife that accompanied my ignorant lifestyle.

Making the decision to accept Islam is not fear-free or painless. Despite the bleak outlook with which I had been living, I argued strenuously with the Quran about the lifestyle changes I would have to make if I decided to become Muslim.  The Quran gave me the very first logical understanding of the term “God” that I had ever had. It made it extremely clear to me that “God” is a title that could only be claimed by the Being that created the Earth, all life and all the universes that exist. It challenged me to provide my proof that such a Being did not exist (as I was trying to convince myself). It also provided me with irrefutable arguments that there was no other lifestyle, except Islam, that could simultaneously cater for my physical and spiritual development from day to day. It boldly identified itself as the lifestyle blueprint (guide), from this “God”, showing me how to live and develop my human characteristics. It also gave me the choice to accept or reject its offer of guidance.

I had always been dissatisfied with all the explanations of human life I had encountered until then because they lacked definition of “being human”. None could explain what a “human being” was, or what its purpose was. Ridiculous, dogmatic statements like “God made us to love Him and serve Him” created more questions than answers. The Quran not only gave me clear, logical answers to those questions but offered to show me how to achieve my humanity, if I really wanted to. It offered to help me adjust my lifestyle from one of controlled chaos (based on ignorance) to one of guided purpose (based on knowledge). 

It made it quite clear to me that I would always be responsible for my life and deeds, despite religious myths to the contrary, and that I had to do the necessary acts to make the adjustment. The message was clear and unequivocal.  Accepting Islam meant that I would voluntarily agree to live a guided, purposeful life, as defined by the Only True God in His Message, the Quran. I would voluntarily accept the lifestyle example of His Messenger, Muhammad Mustafa (peace be upon him) who had delivered the Message to the world and change my personal behavior accordingly.
 
The Quran is brutal in its honesty and uncompromising in its terms of assistance.  In no uncertain terms, it explained to me that I needed God but He did not need me. I was but one creature amongst a host of similar creatures He had created. If I allowed Him to teach me, I would benefit. If I didn’t allow Him to teach me, I could return to the ignorant life I had been so joyfully living. It did not promise me worldly wealth or unfettered happiness, but it did promise me a satisfying, fulfilled life of purpose and a reward of exquisite bliss after I leave this earth. It explained to me that this current life is not the totality of existence. It heralds a bigger, better, more permanent and perfected life and my limited existence on Earth is but a preparatory stage for it. It promised to guide me through the uncertainty of current everyday living to a successful exit from this stage and a glorious entrance into the future. In return, I had to give up ignorant, impetuous, purposeless living.

Shamefully, it took me about 1 month to overcome my fears of leaving my familiar beliefs and lifestyle. I had then read and argued with 8 chapters of the Quran and lost each argument.  I had also stopped living as ignorantly as before, but I desperately clung to the remnants of my bad habits as a drowning man would to any flotsam that came his way.  The opening verses of Chapter 9 of the Quran shocked me into making my decision to accept Islam; a decision I have not regretted since. Once the decision was made, I only had to make a simple, verbal declaration of my new beliefs before a group of other Muslims (practitioners of Islam) and my guided journey of purposeful living started. The Quran has been my constant companion on this journey, pointing the way to a clearly-defined destination for those who wish to find it.

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