In
the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
If we
have a form to fill in, in which personal particulars are required to be given,
we generally mention our religion to be the same as that to which our parents
are supposed to belong. We do not give much thought to the question whether we
really believe in that religion or not. It is as if we automatically inherit
our religion from our parents as we inherit some of our physical features and
mannerisms from them.
But
religion, as a matter of fact, is not a thing to be inherited. It should
strictly be a matter of our own individual consciences irrespective of the
religious beliefs of our parents. Freedom is our birthright and freedom
includes religious freedom. We cannot be the captives of the religious beliefs
of our parents or guardians.
It was
with these sentiments that I started my journey into my soul to probe whether
it really believed in the declared religion of the family in which I was born
and, if so, why. It was a long journey and not an easy one at that. On several occasions
along the way I was beset with doubts and pitfalls. And it is only in these
evening years of my life that I have been able to gather my thoughts on the
subject and put them in this booklet.
Through
this booklet I wish to share my thoughts with all those who would like to have
such sentimental journeys into their own respective souls. They may not all
agree with my beliefs. That is not my intention. My intention is to induce my
readers to discover their own honestly felt faiths and beliefs and then to have
the courage of conviction to act accordingly. One essential word of warning
though. Freedom is of course our birthright, but it has its limits. We cannot
have freedom to spread chaos, anarchy and corruption in this world.
One other motivating force inducing me to write this
booklet came from my friends, non-Muslim ones particularly. Their impressions
about Muslims and Islam were not good. Muslims were not fit to live or make
friendship with, some of them had thought. “But you are different”, they used
to tell me. I tried to explain to them the real position, but it was of no use.
Occasionally given oral and impromptu explanations can hardly erase any
deep-rooted misunderstandings. This booklet is my humble attempt to give a more
detailed written explanation about the reality of Islam.
Above
is the first Preface – written way back in 1999 – to the booklet Why Do I Believe In Islam. PDF version
of the booklet is freely available at this
link. I shall feel richly rewarded even if only a few among this vast human
populace in this world are inclined to turn to genuine Islam by reading it.
Friday,
the 28th of December 2018.
