It has been said that true bankruptcy is a full belly and an empty soul. Religion must be a matter of conscious choice. Not a matter of accidental birth. Because on it depends our peace of mind, how we view the world, our relationships with others, what choices we make and the results of those choices in this life and the Hereafter.
What we choose to believe or reject must be done thoughtfully after due reflection and investigation because our present and our everlasting future both depend on it. It can‘t be left to incidental following of traditions and customs we don‘t even know the origin or meanings of just because our parents or elders used to do them. One‘s spiritual journey is as important if not more, as one‘s journey in this life in terms of one‘s career or other criteria and so deserves an equal mindshare and effort.
It has long been on my mind to write a small, easy to understand book about Islam for the average non-Muslim who has questions about Islam and Muslims, many of which may be as a result of the prejudiced representation which has become the fashion in the media and elsewhere today. I believe it is therefore necessary to state the facts as they stand and leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.
It is not my purpose in this book to convince you one way or the other. Simply to present facts about Islam so that the reality of what Islam is and stands for is before you. The rest is up to you.
I believe that the single biggest source of conflict is bad information. Wrong information about someone or their culture, beliefs and ways which leads to others making assumptions about them that develop into stereotypes. The difficult part is that for most people it is not easy to get good information, firstly because they don‘t know who to ask and secondly because in the case of some technical or legal matters it is necessary to have some basic knowledge and understanding of sources, derivative principles and interpretations to understand a particular ruling.
On the other hand the media in its single minded pursuit of profit irrespective of means or methods uses Islam in particular as a means of attracting attention by sensationalizing everything possible instead of taking a reasoned and rational approach. The result is that the average viewer/reader is left at best bewildered and at worst, forms negative opinions based purely on propaganda masquerading as fact. ‗News‘ today is
closer to advertising copy than to the accurate reporting of events.
It is in this context that I decided to write this book. Over the years many people, friends, strangers, Muslim and non-Muslim, have asked me questions about Islam.
In answering them I tried to do two things:
1. Give evidence for my answers and explanations from the two foundational sources of Islam, the Qur‘an and the Sunnah (Hadith)
2. Try to explain in the common person‘s language giving examples which are modern and easy to understand.
This seems to have worked well and on the suggestion of some of the questioners who found the answers they were looking for, I have tried to put together as many answers as I can in this book. The arrangement of the questions and answers is not sequential and so you can open the book at any point and read.
It is not necessary to read it from beginning to end. READ MORE AT HERE
What we choose to believe or reject must be done thoughtfully after due reflection and investigation because our present and our everlasting future both depend on it. It can‘t be left to incidental following of traditions and customs we don‘t even know the origin or meanings of just because our parents or elders used to do them. One‘s spiritual journey is as important if not more, as one‘s journey in this life in terms of one‘s career or other criteria and so deserves an equal mindshare and effort.
It has long been on my mind to write a small, easy to understand book about Islam for the average non-Muslim who has questions about Islam and Muslims, many of which may be as a result of the prejudiced representation which has become the fashion in the media and elsewhere today. I believe it is therefore necessary to state the facts as they stand and leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.
It is not my purpose in this book to convince you one way or the other. Simply to present facts about Islam so that the reality of what Islam is and stands for is before you. The rest is up to you.
I believe that the single biggest source of conflict is bad information. Wrong information about someone or their culture, beliefs and ways which leads to others making assumptions about them that develop into stereotypes. The difficult part is that for most people it is not easy to get good information, firstly because they don‘t know who to ask and secondly because in the case of some technical or legal matters it is necessary to have some basic knowledge and understanding of sources, derivative principles and interpretations to understand a particular ruling.
On the other hand the media in its single minded pursuit of profit irrespective of means or methods uses Islam in particular as a means of attracting attention by sensationalizing everything possible instead of taking a reasoned and rational approach. The result is that the average viewer/reader is left at best bewildered and at worst, forms negative opinions based purely on propaganda masquerading as fact. ‗News‘ today is
closer to advertising copy than to the accurate reporting of events.
It is in this context that I decided to write this book. Over the years many people, friends, strangers, Muslim and non-Muslim, have asked me questions about Islam.
In answering them I tried to do two things:
1. Give evidence for my answers and explanations from the two foundational sources of Islam, the Qur‘an and the Sunnah (Hadith)
2. Try to explain in the common person‘s language giving examples which are modern and easy to understand.
This seems to have worked well and on the suggestion of some of the questioners who found the answers they were looking for, I have tried to put together as many answers as I can in this book. The arrangement of the questions and answers is not sequential and so you can open the book at any point and read.
It is not necessary to read it from beginning to end. READ MORE AT HERE
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