Page 10 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 12 Page 11 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 12 The word ‘unintelligent’, therefore, referred to those persons who were reluctant to exert any worthwhile and purposeful mental or contemplative effort over Allah’s portents and their meanings. They expressed this reluctance when they said, “Enough for us that wherein we found our fathers.” To which Allah commented, “Even though their fathers were wholly unintelligent?” (Qur’an al-Baqarah 2:171) He describes those insensitive to His revelations as the deaf, dumb and blind. But the idolaters deemed by Allah to have no knowledge are those who refused to think or learn from others and were content with the religion of their forefathers. “...and that ye slay not your children because of penury - We provide for you and for them...” (Qur’an al-An’am 6:151) It is also demonstrated in the following verse from the passage of al- Isra’ which deals with the same issue: “Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty. We provide for them and for you...” (Qur’an al-Isra 17:31) On the surface there seems to be no difference in meaning between the sentences ‘We provide for you and for them’ and ‘We provide for them and for you’. But a close examination of the two verses will soon reveal that the first refers to poverty which already exists, for a poor man’s primary concern is how to provide for himself and his wife. He is in constant fear of the hardship he is bound to face if the size of his family increases. Hence came Allah’s assurance “We provide for you and for them” (i.e. when they are born). He is telling him not to worry in advance about the difficulties of providing for his future children, because He alone determines the sustenance of all His creatures. In the second verse the persons referred to are not poor, but although they are well provided for, they are still apprehensive that the birth of more children may create new difficulties, and eventually poverty. Here again Allah assures them that the birth of children will not take away any part of their parents’ sustenance, and that each child’s sustenance is being determined by Him at birth. Some may ask, why did Allah not say, “We provide for all ‘instead of ‘for you and them’, or ‘for them and you’? The reason is that He wanted to make it clear that every creature on this earth has its own share of His bounty, which is divided among them according to His will and wisdom, and that no one can take even the smallest part of the other’s share, nor does the birth of a new child diminish what had already been decided for his parents. ‘You are the Mighty, the Wise’ The accuracy of meaning is impressively demonstrated in the following verse in which God speaks to Jesus: “... O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? He says: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then You knew it. You know what is in my mind and I know not what in Your mind. Lo! You, only You, are the Knower of Things Hidden.” (Qur’an al-Ma’idah 5:117) Then Jesus continues, “If You punish them, lo! they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, (lo! they are Your slaves). Lo! You, only are the Mighty, the Wise.” (Qur’an 5:118) Jesus’ saying “If You punish them... they are Your slaves” is a settled case, for we all are Allah’s slaves, governed by His will. We must submit to His justice and providence and abide by His commandments and injunctions. But if we consider the situation to be one of forgiveness, why then has Jesus used the word ‘Mighty’ whereas the word ‘Forgiving’ would seem more appropriate? This remarkable and selective use of words and expressions illustrates the fundamentally surpassing power of the language of the Qur’an. This same power is denoted in Jesus’ plea ‘If You forgive them’, because it bears the actual meaning of forgiveness, for if Allah were not forgiving, how then could He forgive? In fact, ending the verse with the adjectives ‘Mighty’ and ‘Wise,’ indicates that in addition to Allah’s freedom and power to bestow forgiveness at will, no one has the right to question His acts. He is the ‘Mighty’ and the ‘Wise’ who gives no account of what He does. The word ‘Wise’ (al- Hakim) has been introduced as a means of pleading for greater forgiveness and mercy for those who are misguided. An Account Of An American Who Accepted Islam - Ismail Goodwin My name is Ismail Goodwin. I am a 47 year old white American. I work for Pacific Bell in San Francisco and I live in South San Francisco. I became a Muslim on May 15, 1991 at the Islamic Center in San Francisco. Before embracing Islam I was not really unhappy, there just seemed to be something missing frommy life. I considered myself to be a typical American bachelor. I had examined other religions and philosophical systems, but for one reason or another found something lacking in them. After embracing Islam, my life has changed in very positive ways. My experience is the same as many others that I have heard of; I feel that I have been a Muslim my entire life and it is difficult for me to understand thoughts and actions prior to my conversion. Q: Would you kindly tell us how your interest in Islam began? A: Although I had an interest in philosophy and religion, I had always avoided material about Islam for some reason. It took a war to arouse my curiosity about Islam and Muslims. On the night that the United States started bombing Baghdad, I left for a two week vacation in Mexico. I encountered no support for this action in Mexico and I wonderedwhy. I made an agreement withmyself that when I returned to California; I would read 10 books about the Middle East to try to understand what led to this action by my government. These 10 books referred to Islam often enough that my curiosity was aroused. So I became interested in the religion of Islam because of the situation in the Gulf Region. I read a couple of books on Islam. There were a few times in which I was alone in my apartment in which I kept repeating the 5 pillars of Islam. I knew that in my heart I did believe in these 5 pillars of Islam, which are the basic principles of Islam. I also remember reading a Hadith or saying of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) which had a huge impact on me. The Hadith goes as follows, “If you take one step towards Allah, He will take two towards you. If you walk towards Allah, He will run towards you.” I was a person without much faith. After reading this Hadith, I made a decision that I would pray to God to give me guidance. I truly believed that I should have faith and therefore I wanted to be given some guidance. A short time later, I wrote the Islamic Center of San Francisco and asked for some literature on Islam. After receiving this literature, I read it and it was like a door had been opened for me. These were the first literature that I read by Muslim writers so therefore, they were written from a totally different perspective. Although the prior books I had read were not anti-Islamic, they just didn’t have the same effect on me. Perhaps the wording that was used was somewhat different. It was then that I realized that Islam was my chosen path. I sincerely hope that all people who are interested in Islam read books written by Muslim writers. Q: Did you feel anything holding you back from Islam? A: No, I do not think so. I had reached the point in my life in that I felt there was something missing. I just couldn’t deny it. Islam was a very seductive thing for me. I was ready for Islam and therefore very receptive to it. I felt in my heart that I was a Muslim. I could, therefore, either followmy true feelings or be untrue to myself and pretend that I wasn’t. Q: Were you afraid that you might not be accepted by the Muslims? A: The idea in Islam of the unity and oneness of God and the brotherhood of mankind was a very strong attraction for me. I cannot Why I Embraced Islam remember having any doubts or uneasiness about being accepted by other Muslims. Embracing Islam seemed so natural and right that I guess I just assumed I would be accepted. It just never was an issue. Q: Were you surprised to find a deep message in Islam? A: I was very much surprised. The biggest surprise for me was that I couldn’t believe that Muslims believed in what they did. Further, I couldn’t understand why Muslims were portrayed the way they are in themedia and yet those are not the things they believe in or talk about. I had been an average American person who bought into the media presentations and stereotypes of Muslims. Shockingly enough, I really believed that Muslims were “Madmen”. But after reading the literature on Islam, in particularly the ones from Muslims point of view, I was ready to become aMuslim. I didn’t knowwhat that involved. I was even a little naive about it. I just remember sitting one night and saying to myself that I really believe in themessage of Islam. I remember thinking that it would probably be very difficult in this society to go ahead and embrace Islam. But then I remembered a quotewhichmight have been said by AbrahamMaslow, but I amnot really sure, which goes like this: “You should never for the sake of comfort deny your own experience.” So then I said to myself that I now have to make a choice. I can either take the easy, comfortable way out or go ahead and follow the path of Islam, which I believe to be the right path. Q: Did you speak to any friends or family members and ask their opinions before accepting Islam? A: Not so much. I told my family and friends of my interest in Islam and my wanting to embrace the faith. Q: Did your family object to your studying Islam? A: I informed my family of my intentions before embracing Islam. I think whatever problems they have regarding Islam are a result of the media presentation of the religion and political events in the world. Recently my mother attended a lecture by Ahmad Deedat, a Muslim scholar of comparative religion, in San Jose with me. It means a great deal to me for my mother to accept my way of life. Little by little, my family seems to be more understanding. I believe this has to do with my behavior now as compared to my previous behavior. Q: How did your mother react to you accepting Islam? A: At the beginning my mother was very supportive of me and happy that I had found a religion I was happy with and believed in. However, she became very upset with Muslims in general after the World Trade bombing. The media’s portrayal of Muslims during the World Trade bombing was not very good. My mother and I had a few ups and downs since then, but all in all, she has been fairly supportive of me. Since then, I have taken her to hear Ahmed Deedat speak in San Jose last month. She has also watched several Ahmed Deedat videos with me. My mother accepts many of the principles of Islam and is very adamant about the fact that she doesn’t accept the trinity. Nor does she believe that Jesus is God. I really wouldn’t be surprised if she accepts Islam one day, Inshallah. I think that she is a Muslim at heart, but just not yet ready to admit it. Q: Were you concerned how your friends would react to your accepting Islam? A: No, not at first. At the beginning, I guess I was naive to assume that I could be a Muslim and people would just accept it. But I found that was not always the case. Let me just say that, there are friends that I had before becoming a Muslim that I no longer see. There were no arguments or hostility; it just seems that we are going in different directions now. Many of the things that we had in common are no longer important to me. So I guess we drifted apart. I believe that when people look at me and the way that I live my life and compare that with my previous lifestyle, they are able to see positive change. I believe the negativity regarding Islam stems from the media presentation and not from interaction with Muslims. Q: Did any of the beliefs and practices of Islam intimidate or frighten you? A: No, that wasn’t a problem. It wasn’t really that hard for me to change because I really didn’t hang around in all these social circles. As for the drinking of alcohol and eating of pork, this was surprisingly easy for me to give up. And although they had played a huge part of my life prior to my accepting Islam, once I became a Muslim, they were very easy to give up. Q: How difficult was it to suddenly stop and give up many things that you had been doing? A: I think one of my difficulties had been that I never knew how to behave. I had beliefs of right and wrong but it was too easy to rationalize and justify my errant behavior. Islam provides you with an entire framework for life and a code of conduct. This makes it easier to let inappropriate behavior drop away. I know what I should do! I know what is most pleasing to God! So this makes the process of reforming my behavior easier. Now let me also say that I still struggle with many aspects of my life. I am certainly not perfect, but I now know where to look for guidance. I humbly request that anyone reading this will pray for me. Q: How did you feel the first time you went to the Masjid? A: I wasn’t afraid to go to the mosque the first time. I just didn’t know how to act. Everybody really made me feel welcomed and was very nice to me. I remember the first night I attended the masjid, I heard the men referring to each other (one another) as “Brother”. This really gave the atmosphere one of unity. That made a special impact on me because it showed the acceptance of all the men as being equal--all the men were brothers. This really impressed me because it seemed so sincere. Q: Did anyone notice a difference or change in you after you accepted Islam? A: The change was gradual. I am still changing today. However, I have noticed a change in the way I see things and also I am a much more tolerant person today. I seldom cuss these days nor do I use the same kind of language that I use to. I am still learning many things and therefore still changing and improving my behavior. Q: Was it difficult for you to give up the belief in the trinity when accepting Islam? A: No, I never really believed in the trinity. I haven’t attended a church in over 20 years. When I was in high school, I used to attend church more for the social activities than for any religious conviction. Intellectually I could never go along with the trinity. I used to see everybody believing in it so I assumed that I was the only one with the problem. So I use to go along with it to participate in the church. Q: What impressed you most when you read the Holy Quran? A: The single most impressive aspect for me, is the purity of the text. Whether or not you believe the Quran to be the word of God, if you are honest, you must admit that these are the words that Muhammad (SAW) recited to the people in the Arabian Peninsula 1400 years ago. Maurice Bucaille, a French surgeon, wrote a book in which he examines scientific information contained in the Quran. Dr. Bucaille’s conclusion is that a man living in 7th century Arabia could not have had some of the information contained in the Quran. I have been studying Arabic for two years and feel that my efforts are finally paying off. The most impressive thing to me is that I can
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