Have you ever been asked whether you are a Muslim, or more specifically, “Why are you Muslim”?
The latter would definitely get us thinking.
For most of us, the answer might be “because I was born a Muslim.
Is this the correct answer? What if you were not born a Muslim; would you still be a Muslim? For those of us who have reverted, why did we choose Islam?
From a logical perspective, ‘Islam’ means ‘submission,’ ‘obedience’ or ‘surrender’ to the will of God Almighty. Islam comes from ‘Salam,’ meaning ‘Peace.’
People who follow the religion of Islam are called ‘Mu-Islam’ or ‘Muslims’ in short.
Some facts
Here are some facts about Islam:
You have a choice to follow any religion but you will be ultimately held accountable for your decisions.
Islam came from the first man on earth (Adam) and spread through a series of prophets, including Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and our final messenger Mohammed (Peace be Upon Him).
We believe that all prophets conveyed the same message, namely, there is no Deity worthy of worship other than Allah.
Islam preaches that body and soul are related.
The physical body has a defined period of life on this earth while the soul never dies.
It continues its journey even after our physical death on earth.
Our purpose of life in this world is to worship Allah and obtain His pleasure.
More Questions
Going back to our original question, “Why Islam?” the answer is “It gives us a purpose in life.” Therefore, logically the next questions are “What is the purpose of life?” “Why are we in this world?” “What happens when we die?”
Let’s look at the first question, “What is the purpose in life?” There are many facets to this question. One might be “to become wealthy”. But is that really a purpose in life? What if you achieve this goal? What then becomes your purpose? That means you have no purpose in life after that.
Wealth weakens
Let us look at some scenarios with regard to wealth.
A child of six years would prefer a new toy to a cheque of a million dollars. A teenager would choose to have party with friends, food, or movies over having a million dollars. An adult in his 80s would prefer good health to having a million dollars in the bank.
In summary, for the disbeliever, the purpose of life is to amass wealth, money, power, fame and position, with excessive drinking, eating, drugs and gambling.
Islam answers important questions in life. The purpose of life can be summarised in just two words: Obey God. May Allah guide us to the straight path.
Source: ‘Rocket Science,’ Monthly Newsletter of Mt Albert Islamic Centre, Auckland
