um the why
I suppose
um it was as I was was mentioning
um I was searching for the truth I was
searching for the meaning of life I was
searching for the the answers to the
question of uh you know what is it all
for what is uh the purpose of our
existence why am I here what is this
life all about
and um having searched through various
different religions and read many books
and having been brought up in a uh
fairly yes definitely a strict Christian
background
um I came across the Quran
a translation of the Quran
and in reading this translation of the
Quran I found within it
something so unique something so special
that I decided by the time I nearly
accomplished reading it that um if I had
ever read a book that was from God
this was the one so that was the thing
that really really changed me around
although I was had an association with
Muslims for a long time I mean I my
father worked in Egypt
and so I used to spend my holidays there
and I knew Muslims and so on and so
forth but it was not until I really read
this translation of the Quran and this
is the thing that really convinced me
that it must be
from God from the Creator if I've I've
never actually heard myself of anyone
becoming a Muslim because of such an
experience I mean maybe there have been
um but yes I think this is something
that
um you will find common uh amongst
people who have chosen Islam and I think
it's worth mentioning I had it in my
mind to mention this as well that
everybody has to choose a slam you chose
Islam at some time as well should be
yeah I mean a lot of people think uh the
new Muslim the white Muslim the uh you
know the black Muslim that you know we
chose this to everyone at some stage in
their life has to make a choice to be a
Muslim you should be although you are
brought up in a Muslim family probably
and and so on and so forth you made a
choice a conscious decision at some
stage in your life to choose Islam
there's lots of people brought up in
Muslim families who don't make that
conscious decision to choose Islam they
make a conscious decision to go in the
opposite direction so I don't really
know why we have thought to be so
special but but alhamdulillah
so this this choosing of Islam
as I said was mentioning this come from
uh came from reading the Quran
contemplating thinking and that is
something that I find generally that is
one of the things that has impressed me
about Islam until today and I used to
say Islam is the religion of reason and
maybe that's not quite an accurate way
or a you know proper thing to say but I
have never found a religion and uh I
don't think anyone and I am sure 100 no
one could ever find a religion that is
reasonable like Islam is reasonable and
I say it in the sense that you will not
find a single belief a single thing that
Islam is teaching you or Islam is
telling you to believe except that it is
compatible with sound reasoning and that
is one of the beautiful things about
Islam and that's why I think you find
that thinking people become Muslims not
people who rely on some sort of mystical
sort of emotional experience
okay because really how can truth be
something
that is Manifest through some emotional
mystical strange experience I mean if
that's the case then you know David
Croatian the Son of Sam and and it's so
many other extraordinary crazy Mass
murderers and people who do all sorts of
extraordinary things if you look in
their psychology and their accounts of
their life a lot of them have this type
of extraordinary experiences like the
son of Summer dog to talk to him and he
thought this dog was a messenger of God
I mean you know so I mean this is sort
of extraordinary things but Islam No
Islam is a is a religion it asks you to
use your mind you find the Quran again
as they say in this assigns for those
who think and and this assigns for those
who have understanding and this is signs
for those who are wise when the Angels
uh greet the people or rather not greet
them but when the Angels who are
guarding the gates of Hellfire they say
to the people who are going to the
Hellfire didn't someone come to you
didn't someone warn you and the people
who are going to the Hellfire say they
said yes if only we had used our alcohol
if we only used our intelligence we
wouldn't now be in the fire it's an
indication that
Islam is something that you're going to
come at and arrive at through using your
intelligence not merely some Act of
Faith accepted Islam and I went to the
mosque for a bit and so on and so forth
but the truth is the moment I
encountered the first bit of difficulty
um you know that was it I sort of I
didn't ever say that I'm not a Muslim I
always used to tell people uh over a
glass of wine and uh you know yes a
Muslim Islam is fantastic I mean I'm I
remember once I was at a at a party and
I was completely
um intoxicated I think would be the
polite way of putting it and I was
sitting there telling a group of people
about how fantastic Islam was and I was
saying well if I wasn't so drunk I could
tell you a bit more and and uh and this
is really the case
um so I didn't actually I mean the thing
was I believed it and and I I never
denied that this is what I held to be
the truth but in reality I was not any
different in reality I was I was still
eating bacon butties bacon batteries are
baking
drinking alcohol and all the rest of it
and everything like that so it took two
years of real mental spiritual
torment I could say because that's what
it was it was the worst two years of my
life
and I always tell people that
the person who is the worst off is the
person who knows the truth and doesn't
act upon the truth the worst one is the
one who knows the truth and doesn't
follow it there's a time when you they
call it blissfully ignorant but when you
know the truth and you don't follow that
truth that is this that is it there's
hell on Earth that's what it is there's
hell on Earth that's what it is and
that's what I went through but
alhamdulillah I mean I look back on it
and I I it was ultimately through
Allah's Mercy only through Allah's Mercy
a strengthening experience and when I
did come to Islam alhamdulillah I think
because of that experience I came to
Islam much stronger and and much more uh
with complete determination not to
repeat that sort of error again but it
is a problem and I'm sure that lots of
brothers and sisters out there in
different ways who become Muslim and who
choose Islam encounter that same type of
problem
to change their life around to and it is
it is a very very very very very major
change it's not like you know you just
change a few things right now I believe
in Jesus and that you know everything
goes on right no I mean your life
changes around almost completely and
that is difficult but it's easy for who
whomsoever Allah makes it easy and I
always think that the best answer to
that is how Allah describes it in the
Quran and it is
exactly the way Allah describes it it is
really the truth and I would say that
Islam
to be a Muslim to be in Islam and out of
Islam the difference between them being
a Muslim and being an unbeliever
is the difference between life and death
is that that's how extreme it is and it
really is that different
it's like before I was dead and I'm
alive
is that different it's like before and I
this is how I think of it is before I
was in a room a vast huge room which is
totally pitch dark
and this room is surrounded by obstacles
so you're trying to find your way around
this room
and as you're trying to find your way
you keep hitting these things and
injuring yourself
and you this is how you are stumbling
around in the darkness crawling around
stumbling around injuring yourself
battering yourself Islam is like you
open the door and you stepped out into
the daylight
that's how it is that's how the
difference between being a Muslim and
not being a Muslim it's them
different
I think the first thing is that you have
to be very sincere
you have to be very honest
about yourself that's very difficult to
do that
and that's very important to be sincere
if you're sincere and you're really
sincere I'm sure that Allah will guide
you to the truth but it's not like you
have to find the door really because
it's there you know if anyone's watching
this video well we're telling you about
Islam there's the light for you okay if
you deserve it Allah will guide you to
that light that's the reality if you are
deserving of it Allah will guide you to
that light because we have to understand
that Allah chooses who he wants for his
guidance and he chooses people who are
deserving of it
this is the reality
Okay so
really one needs to seek that guidance
one needs to pray for that guidance and
you need to seek it with your mind with
your heart with your soul this is the
way to go forward but if we're talking
about how does someone who's now found
the truth they've discovered Islam maybe
someone and it happened some people for
years have been reading the Quran and
reading books about Islam and I think
maybe after the you know second month
they'd already knew that Islam was the
truth but somehow they kept telling
themselves I have to read more I have to
read more a lot of people are afraid to
make that you know that step you know
that final step
so I mean you know there's nothing to do
it except you have to do it you know you
have to take that step you know once you
know that Islam is the truth you need to
embrace Islam you need to enter into the
fold of Islam
and for those who have done that how do
you proceed simple things simple thing
very simple if you hold on to it God
willing you will never go astray and you
will be guided on the right path and
that is to God the prince those five
prayers those prayers five times a day
if you got them and it doesn't if you do
anything if you can't do anything except
that if you got those prayers and you
make sure you say those prayers you will
find that this will be one of the surest
ways to change your life around
without a doubt as I was saying Allah
guides who he wants to guide in this
Noble religion we have been ordered to
take into account the process of cause
and effect this is something that God
has put in the creation this is
something that we are ordered to deal
with so
the cause and effect is that if you call
people to Islam the effect is that
normally you will expect people to
embrace Islam the prophet Muhammad
sallallahu did not receive Revelation
and then just sit in his home he went
and told people about it now primarily
and fundamentally we need to do that as
Muslims because that is our absolute
obligation no one should think that this
is something recommended or I can do it
if I want to or you know no everybody is
obliged an obligation upon them to call
others to Islam the prophet Muhammad
he said cool people to my message or
pass on my message even if it is one
verse of the Quran if you know one verse
of the Quran and you understand it it is
your obligation to pass it on and Allah
he took a vote an oath he took an oath
while us in
and those who do righteous actions
and they joined together in the mutual
teaching of Truth and they join together
in the mutual teaching of patience so if
you do not involve yourself
in teaching the truth and being patient
upon teaching that truth because you
will never succeed
including people to Islam except with
patience if you don't do that you are
still amongst those who are lost even if
you believe and even if you do righteous
actions if you don't
participate
in one way or another
in dawah including people to Islam and
calling to the truth and enjoying the
right and forbidding the evil and
patient upon it then you're going to be
of those people who are lost
hmm
can you share with us some methods some
ways in which individuals can
participate in in dawa well there's lots
of ways I mean from
the first way that one can participate
in in giving dawah is that you use you
equip yourself with the knowledge and
the information that you need in order
to be able to convince others that Islam
is the truth and that their religion is
false it's not only by the way of
convincing someone that Islam is true
there's always a uh how can we say a a
double method we we convince people that
Islam is true but we also need to show
them that
they are upon falsehood in fact it
usually comes the other way around you
have to show them that what their upon
is falsehood and then after that you
illustrate to them how Islam is true
this is essential this is implicit even
in the actual shahada
the negation and the affirmation that
there is nothing worthy of worship
except Allah the negation nothing no God
worthy of worship illallah except Allah
so there's the affirmation and sorry the
negation and the affirmation so
you need to get the knowledge you need
to get the information and you can do
that you can participate it either
either on an individual level or on a
wider level like those people who give
lectures and talks and so on and so
forth like yourself and myself this is
one way you can do it uh you should
start generally anyway with your family
this is the first people you should
start with they have the most obligation
upon you and then after that your
friends and then the people nearest you
and so on and so on and so forth so this
is the method insha Allah calling them
first and foremost to the Oneness of
Allah not to what are really side issues
you know like I don't know why do we
chop the hand of a thief or try to
explain to people this and that these
are really side issues the most
important thing is to explain them why
Allah should be worshiped and if you
feel that you can't do that okay you
should still strive to but there's other
ways you can you can distribute
literature you could you can maybe Allah
has gifted you with the ability to make
money
then you can give your money to people
who are giving dawa you can help those
organizations you can help those
institutions that are concerned with
propagating Islam maybe Allah has not
given you the gift of the Gap maybe you
have good organizational talents then
you could get involved in organizing or
helping to organize some activities and
so on and so forth one doesn't have to
think that the only way to give dawah is
by sitting there like you know I do on
the soapbox and Speakers Corner you know
telling people about Islam also there's
lots of different ways that you can get
involved