Studies conducted in the West show that the sheer number of new Muslims is changing the demographic profile of countries all over the world, and not all of them are born into Muslim families. With some 6 million adherents in the United States, Islam is said to be the nation’s fastest-growing religion. One expert estimates that 25,000 people a year become Muslims in this country; some clerics say they have seen conversion rates quadruple since Sept 11.
Ironically for a religion that is routinely bashed for “subjugating” and “oppressing” its female followers, the number of female reverts to Islam.outnumber the males 4:1!
The fact that more and more people are finding their way to Islam., notwithstanding the relentless propaganda, deliberate misinformation and outright prejudice against it, never ceases to amaze me.
How do these people navigate in the darkness to find the light of Islam. in spite of all the obstacles in the way?
The answer is that our Creator has granted each one of us a guiding light – a pure, undefiled innate nature called the fitrah. Unlike Christians who believe in the doctrine of Original Sin and assert that each baby is born tainted with the sin of Adam’s disobedience to God, Muslims believe that every child is born into a state of purity where it recognizes its Creator and is naturally subservient to His laws.
In his book The Fundamentals of Islamic Monotheism, Abu Ameenah Bilaal Philips writes: Just as a child’s body submits to the physical laws which Allah has put in nature, its soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is its Lord and Creator. But its parents try to make it follow their own way and the child is not strong enough in the early stages of its life to resist or oppose its parents. The religion which the child follows at this stage is one of custom and upbringing and Allah does not hold it to account for this religion.
When the child matures in youth and clear proofs of the falsehood of its religion are brought to it, the adult must now follow the religion of knowledge and reason. At this point the devils try their best to encourage him to stay as he is or to go further astray. Evils are made pleasing to him and he must now live in the midst of a struggle between his innate pure nature and his desires in order to find the right road.
If he chooses to follow his innate nature, his fitrah, Allah will help him overcome his desires even though it may take most of his life to escape, for many people enter Islam. in their old age.
The Qur'an also points to this phenomenon, where every soul that has been created is asked Who their Lord is, and they testify that it is none other than Allah before they are born into the world.
When your Lord drew forth from the loins of the children of Aadam their descendants and made them testify concerning themselves. Saying: Am I not your Lord? They said: “Yes, we testify to it.” (This) in case you say on the Day of Judgement, “We were unaware of this.” Or in case you say: It was our ancestors who made partners (with Allah) and we are only their descendants…[Surah Al-A’raaf 7:172-173]
Explaining this verse, the Prophet [SAW] said: When Allah created Aadam [AS] , He took a covenant from him …then He extracted from him all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation after generation and spread them out in front of Him in order to take a covenant from them.
He spoke to them face to face saying: Am I not your Lord? And they all replied: Yes, we testify to it.
Allah then explained why He had all of mankind bear witness that He was their Creator and the only true God worthy of worship. He said: That was in case you (mankind) should say on the Day of Resurrection, “Surely we were unaware of all this. We had no idea that You were our God.” [Silsilah al ahadeeth as Saheehah, Narrated by ibn Abbaas, collected by Imaam Ahmad]
This is the reason why people who adopt Islaam are said to revert instead of convert, because they are going back to their original nature – the one they were naturally created with – which is automatically aligned with the Universe, its Creator and His Laws; as opposed to simply exchanging one set of beliefs for another.
Reverts to Islaam testify that this inner inclination to search for the Truth, to know and follow it is a major factor in their adopting the faith. It is interesting to see some of the reasons cited by reverts for adopting Islaam:
Direct relationship with one’s Creator:
Now I realize I can get in direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion.
Universality:
Islam is a religion that belongs not only to the Arabs but to the entire humanity. This universal quality presents a sharp contrast with the Judaic religion, whose holy book always refers to the God of Israel.
Islam recognizes all the prophets, makes no distinction between them and treats the believers of other religions with compassion.
Absolute equality before God, extended brotherhood:
Purity of prayer:
Prayers in Christianity are used wholly in begging God (through Jesus Christ Peace be upon him) to grant worldly favors, whereas in Islam they are used to give praise and thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings since He knows what is necessary for our welfare and grants us what we need without our asking it.
Women’s rights and status:
How are women treated in Islam? Don’t believe the corrupt western press. Believe the number of female reverts to Islam. Which outnumber the males 4:1!
Belief in the Qur’aan as Divine Revelation:
I read as much of the Qur’aan as I could. I was immersed in it. As I read the verses in English, I repeated to myself over and over again, this is what I have always thought and believed. What kind of book was this? Before long I was reading the book and crying, and reading and crying… it was as if something had overtaken me… I forgot what I was looking for in particular, however when I came upon the verses in Surah Baqarah 122-141 regarding Prophet Ibrahim (AS) I had found my answer.
I had been searching for Isma'il (as), son of Prophet Ibrahim and his wife Hajarah, who had been missing from the Hebrew brothers story. In those verses I found the truth of religion… They say: Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (to salvation). Say thou: Nay! (I would rather) the religion of Abraham the True, and he joined not gods with Allah. Say ye: We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) the Prophets from their Lord; We make no difference between one another of them: and we submit to Allah.“ (2:135-136) As I continued to read and cry, I became intent upon finding someone who could connect me with others who believed in this book!
The personal example of the Prophet Muhammad [SAW]:
Islaam withstands scrutiny and encourages reasoning:
Instead of asking a follower to believe in its precepts just ”because” or someone asks them to, Islaam encourages people to think for themselves, reflect on the signs of God in Creation and within their own selves. Little wonder then that a sizable number of reverts are thinking people: scientists, astronomers, philosophers, doctors.
As created beings who can neither grant life nor ward off death, we owe it to ourselves and The One Who Created Us to discover the Truth, to follow it and to facilitate others to do the same.
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