Why Do I Believe In Islam

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.

Mohammad Shafi

Friday, the 28^th of December 2018.