1.Initiation -
We usually have some sort of hardback A5 piece of card with a snappy catch lines such as "is Life Just A Game?", "What am I doing here?" which either have an ayah of the Qur'aan on the back, or summary of the message; that we haven't been created to follow the masses, but have a Purpose in Life which revolves around recognising & acknowledging our Creator, and building a relationship with him by fulfilling the Purpose He created us for. These have been provided to us by iERA which we hand out to passers by, asking the very question "Do you think that Life is just a Game? or is it something else?" "Ever wondered if there is more to life?" etc. Many of the passers by stop to take the card, but don't have the time or not interested for a conversation, but around about 15-20% stop and decide to hear out what you have to say. "My name is __, what are you called? Nice to meet you Mark/Claire, thank you for taking the time to talk."
The Creator -"So what do you think? Is Life just a game or do we have some sort of purpose?" Here, we hear out what the person has to say, whether they believe in some sort of organised religion, an afterlife, or if they have no idea whatsoever and just go with the flow. We usually make the claim here that "In order to know whether you have a purpose, you have to know where you came from."
We usually ask at this point, "Do you believe in some sort of Creator?" At this point, we usually agree to have a discussion that will focus itself around using common sense. We usually follow the questions that Allaah Himself puts forward in the Qur'aan. Along the lines of:
1- Did you come from nothing?
2- Did you create yourselves?
3- Or were you created?
"So Mark/Claire (name), before we can understand the purpose of life or whether we have one in the first place, we need to know where we came from? If we think about it, there are only really 3 options.
1-That we came from nothing? But if you think about this Mark/Claire, this really doesn't make sense because we wouldn't accept this in our daily lives for the most mundane of objects. Think about it, what if I told you that I stumbled across your funky adidas trainer on the middle of the High Street, and the stitching, the shoelaces, the toe cap, the sole, the tongue etc came together all by itself, manifesting as a trainer? It just came together by mere chance over a process of millions if not a billions of years? You would think I'm mad, that it wasn't possible. Things just do not come from nothing. Or if I told you that over the space of millions of years, the leaf changed form, became carbon, which became oil, which became plastic and then eventually shaped itself into the form of a trainer? You would just think, naah, not possible. The trainer is too intricately designed and fit for the purpose to fit the shape of my feet too perfectly. There has to be a Creator, a Designer, who willed for it to be put together for a purpose. It is just too much of a coincidence. If we can accept this for a mere trainer, then what about the Solar System and all that exists within it? Do you know that if the Sun was even a millimeter further away from our planet, life would not exist as it would be too cold? Likewise if it was millimeter nearer, our planet would be too hot, therefore life wouldn't be able to exist. Did you know that the other planets and the moon, their gravitational pull act like magnets deflecting dangerous meteors away from our planet? Is this all a coincidence? Or did a Creator Design t to be this way?
2- That we created ourselves? This is an impossibility as it means that we would have had to be in existence & non existence at the same time. Let me give you an example; it is as ludicrous as me suggesting that in order for your adidas trainer to have been in existence, the adidas trainer made itself. Yeah right!!
3- That we were created. It only leaves us with this possibility. Does this make sense?"
At this point the person would agree if he or she is thinking rationally. If however after agreeing to common sense, he or she decides to reject this position, there are two options. You can remind them that they agreed to use common sense or you can go down the lines of,
"Ok, you disagree, but let me progress with my viewpoint. Whether you agree or disagree, that is entirely up to you"
Remember, we are here to convey the message & to invite, so try and get through the whole conversation even if he or she agrees or disagrees. Deep down, they will know it makes sense if you present it to them in a friendly, non compulsive and logical manner.
2.Purpose -
"So, you would agree Mark/Claire, that it makes sense to believe in a Creator, but were we really created without a purpose, some sort reason. Think about it, even your adidas trainer has a purpose. To keep your feet protected from the rough and tough of hard ground, to keep it warm & insulated and of course, to look good ;) The Sun has a purpose to keep our planet warm and an energy source for life to progress. As discussed earlier, it seems that even the planets and the moon surrounding our planet have a purpose, to protect it. Even a croaky old chair has a purpose. So what is our purpose? Wouldn't you agree that as humans we have needs, such as food, water, shelter, love etc? But what about the need to know the ultimate purpose of life? To fill that void we often ask ourselves? How will we ever know what our purpose is. You could say we work it out for ourselves and but I will explain why there are problems with this."
3.Revelation & Prophethood -
At this point, you dismiss internal sources for guidance from the offset, because many people will think that external Revelation is not required until you point out to them the flaws of internal sources.
"Would you agree Mark/Claire that our brain is developing throughout the early stages in life and deteriorating during latter stages? Therefore our relative intelligence is at different stages throughout life? At 5 years of age it would be different to when we are 10, 18, 25, 80 years of age? This would mean that our perceived realities also change. Likewise if we based our purpose of life according to our life experiences. These change according to age, place and opportunity. We can't rely on our dreams as we dream differently everyday, and much of our dreams are either the things that we desire, or a random hash up of the thoughts we have accumulated throughout the day or week, or in many cases, just plain random dreams.
Mark/Claire, this is just an example of one individual person. What about extrapolate this onto a mass scale where there are differences between one person and another; where the level of ability, experience differ between one person and another. Each person would have their own conjured up perspective on reality, their purpose in life, thus how they should live their lives. Inevitably, the risk of this clashing with one and another is quite high. It would create more problems than solutions. Therefore, it makes complete sense that the One who created us in the first place should Reveal some sort of Guidance which informs us of our Purpose in life, and how to live towards it. And this makes sense because the One who created us is best suited to propagate Purpose & Guidance, just like you would accept the manufacturer of a Samsung TV to provide you with manual, guiding you on the correct use and purpose of the television"
Now we often hear of such Divine Revelation, where 'God has spoken to man'. We have probably heard of the different names throughout time such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus & Muhammad, and some of the guidance they received from God such as those that can be found in the Torah, the Gospels and the Qur'aan. But the question is, how can we ever know that these people were telling the truth, and if what they brought down was the truth, does it remain in it's preserved true form till this day. It's simple:
1- We test the message they bring with them, In other words, could it have ever come from a man. Does it have the mark of an External Creator? There must be something special about it that makes it stand out from the work of a normal man.
2- Does it remain in the exact form that it was revealed?
3- What was in it for the person who brought this message to us. Did he have ulterior motives. Could it have come from him?
Now I believe the Qur'aan fulfills the 3 criterion we have mentioned, and I will explain to you why:
The Qur'aan is the miraculous Divine Revelation that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace). It was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) over a period of twenty-three years. It is the Final Testament in a long line of divine scripture that were revealed to different Prophets in different times. It is the Final Revelation given to the final Prophet, Muhammad (upon whom be peace) that is to be used and relied upon till the end of time. Unlike the previous scriptures, The Creator, who calls Himself Allaah has promised mankind that He will protect and preserve the Qur'aan, thus there has been no alteration to His Divine words from the time of inception till this present day. All the Prophets of Allaah were given miracles along with their Prophethood. The greatest miracle that was given to the Prophet Muhammad is the Qur'aan. We will cover some of its miraculous nature.
A) Linguistic Masterpiece
The use of the Arabic language by Allaah in the Qur'aan itself is proof of Divine origin. None of the linguist past or present have been able to create something on its level. Considering at the time of revelation, those that were looked upon as the pinnacle of society, were those who had studied and practised the mastery of the Arabic language. it was a miracle for the people 1400 years ago who excelled in poetry and linguistics. It was revealed in a Language and the style in which they would boast about.
These people were perplexed at the amazing use of the pure Arabic language. They marveled at it. The amazing use of the Arabic language has been commented upon by many reputable western personalities:
Forster Fitzgerald Arbuthnot, a notable British Orientalist and translator states:"...and though several attempts have been made to produce a work equal to it as far as elegant writing is concerned, none has yet succeeded."
It is no wonder that Professor Bruce Lawrence says in his book 'The Quran: A Biography':"As tangible signs Quranic verses are expressive of inexhaustible truth, they signify meaning layered within meaning, light upon light, miracle after miracle."
B) Historical
The Qur'aan recalls many historical events with such accuracy and consistency that give us reason to believe that it must be a Divine Revelation. The Qur'aan is the only religious text to use different titles for the ruler of Egypt at different historical periods.For instance while addressing the Egyptian ruler at the time of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) ('alayhis salaam) the Arabic word Al-Malik in used which refers to a ruler, a king or a sultan.
"The King said, 'Bring to me straight away!'..." [Qur'aan 12:50]
When in contrast we look at the the ruler of Egypt at the time of Prophet Musa (Moses), the ruler is referred to as Firaown (Pharaoh). This particular title began to be employed in the 14th century B.C, during the reign of Amenhotep IV. This is confirmed by the Encyclopedia Britannica which says that the word Pharaoh was the title of respect used from the New Kingdom (beginning with the 18th dynasty; B.C 1539-1292) until the 22nd dynasty (B.C 945-730), after which this term of address became the title of the King.
The Qur'aan is historically accurate as the Prophet Joseph (Yusuf 'upon whom be peace) lived at least 200 years before that time, and the word al-Malik was used and not the word Firaown. It is very unlikely that the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) knew such a minute historical difference from his own research, since the people at the time of the revelation did not know this information. No other religious text mentions such a difference. At that time it would have been impossible to know this because the hieroglyphs was a dead language so no one knew the language. So how does the Qur'aan know this information? The hieroglyphs were only deciphered in the late 19th century. We can't say that it was copied from the Bible because what was revealed in the Qur'aan actually corrects the Bible. For many, this would have been a trivial matter.
The Prophesising of the Victory of the Byzantines (Easter Roman Empire) over the Persians soon after the Byzantines had been defeated.
"The Byzantines have been defeated, In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. Within three to nine years..." [Qur'aan 30:2-4].
Another prophecy is contained within Chapter Masad [Qur'aan 111] where Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad [upon whom be peace]) is condemned to hell fire 10 years before his death, i.e. that He would not accept Islaam. For 10 years the challenge was open but he did not accept Islaam, so he died as a non believer.
C) Scientific
In the Qur'aan, Allaah mentions nature as signs for His existence, Power and Majesty. Every time these signs are mentioned, they are expressed with great accuracy, giving us information that could have never been known at the time of Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam).The Qur'aan mentioned the following over 1400 years ago
Origin of Life-
"And We made from water every living thing". Something we have only discovered fairly recently, hence the search for water on the Planet Mars, thus potential life form.
The Big Bang - The Beginning of the Universe - "Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We clove them asunder?" [Qur'aan 21:30] Again, we have only come to know of this during the last century.
Mountains as pegs- "Have We not made the earth as a bed and the mountains its pegs?" [Qur'aan: 78:6-7]
"We placed firm embedded mountains on the earth, so it would not move under them..." [Qur'aan: 21:31]
In the book Earth, by Dr. Frank Press, former president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, states that mountains are like stakes, and are buried deep under the surface of the Earth.
M.J Selby says in his book 'Earths Changing Surface';
"With regard to the vital role of mountains to prevent excessive shocks in the earth I formerly understood that mountains were merely protrusions rising above the surface of the Earth. However, scientists realised that this was not actually the case, and that those parts known as the mountain root extended down as far as 10-15 times their own height. With these features, mountains play a similar role to a nail or a peg firmly holding down a tent, which has been discovered by modern geological and seismic research."
Expansion of the universe- "And it is We who have built the universe with (our creative) power and keep expanding it". [Quran 51:47]. This was only discovered after Edward Hubble put together his now famous Hubble Telescope and observed of the Universe's expansion.
Another scientific miracle found in the Qur'aan is in reference to the fly.
"O people, an example is presented, so listen to it. Indeed, those you invoke besides Allaah will never create (as much as) a fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the fly should steal away from them a (tiny) thing, they could not recover it from him. Weak are pursuer and the pursued." [Qur'aan 22:73]
In this verse, Allaah uses the example of the fly and the impossibility of us retrieving the food particle after the fly snatches it away. Although many animals digest their food via a two stage process, most of the digestive process takes place in the stomach. This is not the case with the fly. The fly digests its entire food externally, before it has even been consumed. The fly literally vomits a digestive dissolving substance onto the food particle, which then dissolves into a liquid and is then sucked up using the fly's straw like tongue. Thus, it is absolutely true as in the verse above that once the fly successfully takes away the food particle, there is absolutely no way that we can retrieve it, even if we catch the fly a second after it has landed on the food, unlike with other animals where it is still possible to retrieve what was originally taken.
The Qur'aan is not a book of science, but a book of guidance, yet it contains many other verses similar to the ones above that could not have been known to the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) or his people at the time.
D) Numerical
The Qur'aan was reveal over a period of 23 years, and the first chapter in the Qur'aan (Al-Baqarah) was revealed over a period of 9 years. Its structure is evidence that it's not from a human being. It was revealed in specific times and place but was brought together to have this amazing coherent connection. It has 286 verses, that halved 143 verses and in that verse we find the word 'middle' (Wasata).
Allaah says that Men & Women are created equally, and it is no coincidence that the word Woman is mentioned the same amount of times in the Qur'aan as the word Man 25 times.
The word Dunya which means the temporal life is mentioned 115 times, the same number of times as Akhira which means the afterlife.
The word Mowt which means death is mentioned 145 times, the same amount of times as the word Hayaa which means life.
In the 3rd chapter of the Qur'aan, Allaah says: "Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was." [Qur'aan 3:59],It is no coincidence that both Adam & Jesus (upon whom be peace) are mentioned in equal numbers, 25 times.
How many days are there in a year? 365? Allaah mentions the word Day (Yawm) 365 times in the Qur'aan.
Allaah mentions in the Qur'aan the word Water in the context of the Sea (Bahar) 32 times, and he mentions Land 13 times. When you work this out as a percentage, it gives us a figure of 71% Water & 29% land and it is this exact percentage of sea to land that exists in this world
E) Challenge of the Qur'aanIn the Qur'aan,
Allaah directly challenges mankind to produce a single verse that is similar to the Qur'aan. This is to prove its authenticity, that there can be no doubt that Allaah is the One who sent down this book, not a human."And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a chapter the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful. But if you do not - and you will never be able to - then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers." [Qur'aan: 2:23-24]
Till this present day, no one, no group nor any nation has been able to create a single verse that measures up to the Qur'aan; in both its style and content. This is a miracle in on its own, considering that the Qur'aan was revealed over fourteen-hundred years ago, and that the Qur'anic style has been studied by many. When you consider the great English poet William Shakespeare, there is no doubt that he was blessed with a talented writing style. A style that has been praised and celebrated, but this style upon studying it has been replicated by many.
F) Preservation of the Qur'aan
-The Qur'aan and its oral preservation
The Qur'aan was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) through the angel Gabriel (Jibreel) over a period of twenty three years, sometimes in brief verses and other times in longer chapters.Upon receiving revelation, the Prophet (upon whom be peace) engaged himself in the duty of conveying the message to his companions through reciting the exact words he heard in the exact order.
The Qur'aan's rhythmic style and eloquent expression made it and continues to make it easy to memorise, particularly more so in the Arab society at the time which prided itself on its eloquence of language and poetry. In previous times, oral preservation was seen as the strongest form of preservation. It was a time when writing was scarcely used. Memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown.
Large portions of the revelation were thus easily memorised by a large number of people in the community of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam).Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) encouraged his companions to learn each verse that was revealed and to transmit it to others. The Qur'aan was also required to be recited regularly as an act of worship, especially during the Salaah.
Through these means, many repeatedly heard passages from the Qur'aan recited to them, and thus it re-enforced their memory and they used them frequently in their own prayers. The entire Qur'aan was memorised word for word by some of the Prophets companions.
Not only were the words of the Qur'aan memorised, but also their pronunciation, later which formed into a science itself called Tajweed. This science meticulously elucidates how each letter is to be pronounced, as well as a whole, both in context of other letters and words. This is precisely why you will find people of all different languages being able to recite the Qur'aan as if they are Arabs themselves, living in the time of the Prophet(sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam).
The sequence of the Qur'aan was arranged by Allaah and revealed to the Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself and was well known to his Companions. Every Ramadaan, the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) would recite after the angel Jibreel the entire Qur'aan in the exact order that Allaah commanded it to be in, as far as it had been revealed. In the year of Prophet's (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) death, it had been revised twice.This memorisation of the Qur'aan has passed from on generation to the other and last till this day, where there are millions of men and women who have memorised the whole Qur'aan with its Pronunciation (Tajweed), forming an unbroken chain going back to the Prophet (upon whom be peace).
-The Qur'aan and its written preservation
The entire Qur'aan was also recorded in writing at the time of revelation from the Prophet's (upon whom be peace)) dictation, by his Companions.The first compilation of the Qur'aan, in the form of a book in which we recognise it today called the mushaf, took place shortly after the death of the Prophet (upon whom be peace) during the time of the second Caliphate of Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him). It occurred at the suggestion of Umar bin Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him), the third Caliph after many of those who memorised the Qur'aan passed away during a battle.
To safeguard the compilation from errors, only material which had been written down in the presence of the Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself, and which could be verified by at least two reliable witnesses who had actually heard the Prophet (upon whom be peace) recite the verses in question.Once completed and unanimously approved of by Companions, this mushaf was kept with Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) during his Caliphate, and then passed to Umar bin Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) during his Caliphate, and then passed to Umar bin Khattaab's daughter and the widow of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), Hafsah bint Umar bin Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with her).
During the time of the third Caliphate, Uthmaan ibn Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with him), the third Caliph requested Hafsah (radiAllaahu anha) to send him the mushaf that was kept in her safekeeping, and ordered the production of several bounded copies of it. Upon completion, Uthmaan ibn Affaan returned the original mushaf to Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) and sent the copies to the major Islamic provinces at the time.
-The Historical Credibility of the Qur'aan
The historical credibility of the Qur'aan can be established by many means, one of them being the strong oral tradition that remains to this day. The Qur'aan has been memorised from generation to generation all over the world. Its credibility can be further established by the fact that one of the copies sent out by Uthmaan ibn Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with him) still exists today in the Museum of the city of Tashkent in Uzbekistan, central Asia. This copy is proof that the text of the Qur'aan we have in circulation today is identical with that of the time of the Prophet (upon whom be peace). A copy of the mushaf sent to Syria which was duplicated before a fire in 1892 in Jaami' Masjid where it was housed, also exists in Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.The institute for Koranforschung in the University of Munich, Germany, collected over 42,000 complete or incomplete ancient copies of the Qur'aan. After around fifty years of research, they reported that there was no variance between the copies, except the occasional mistakes of the copyist which could easily be ascertained. This institute was unfortunately destroyed by bombs during World War Two.Due to the efforts of the Companions with the assistance of Allaah, the Qur'aan as we have it today is recited in the same manner as it was revealed to the Prophet (upon whom be peace). This makes it the only religious scripture that is still completely retained and understood in its original language.All this evidence confirms Allaah's promise in the Qur'aan:"Verily, it is We who have sent down the Reminder (the Qur'aan) and surely We will guard it (from corruption, i.e. preserve it)." (Qur'aan 15:9)
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It is very difficult to deny one stand alone miracle, but to deny a host of them together would be absurdNow, it would be foolhardy to make the suggestion after discussing all of these miracles that a man was capable of this producing this Book. I mean, to suggest that would mean giving super human powers to Muhammad. Does this mean he was a special man? If we were to sum up the possible sources of the Qur'aan, then they can be reduced to 3.
1)- The Qur'aan could have come from an Arab, a non-Arab, Muhammad (upon whom be peace) or Allaah
2)- It couldn't have been from an Arab, a non Arab or Muhammad ((upon whom be peace)
3)- Therefore it must have been from Allaah
The logical conclusions to be drawn are:
1- The Quran could not have come from an Arab;
The Arabs during the time of revelation were linguists par excellence and they failed to challenge the Qur'aan. They had even admitted that the Qur'aan could not have come from a human being.
2- The Qur'aan could not have come from a non- Arab;
The language in the Qur'aan is Arabic, thus, knowledge of the Arabic language is a pre-requisite to successfully produce the Qur'aan.
3- The Quran could not have come from the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace).;
Due to the following reasons:
The Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was an Arab himself and all the Arabs failed to challenge the Qur'aan.
The Arab linguists at the time of revelation never accused the Prophet (upon whom be peace) of being the author of the Qur'aan. One of the best Arab linguist of the time Walid Ibn al-Mughira said "By God; None of you is more conversant than I with poetry, melodious hymns and songs, and by God never did I hear anything similar to what he says. It is so sweet, and so graceful that it remains at the summit with nothing to surpass it".
The Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) experienced many trials and tribulations during the course of his Prophetic mission. Yet the Quran's literary character remains that of the divine voice and character. Nothing in the Quran expresses the turmoil and emotions of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace). It is almost a psychological impossibility to go through what the Prophet (upon whom be peace) went through ad yet none of the emotions are expressed in the literary character of the Qur'aan.
The Hadith or narrations of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) are in a totally different style than that of the Qur'aan. How can any human being express themselves orally over a twenty-three year period in two distinct styles? This is a psychological and physiological impossibility according to modern research.
All types of human expression can be imitated if the blueprint of that expression exists. For example artwork can be imitated even though some art is thought to be extraordinary or amazingly unique. But in the case of the Qur'aan we have the blueprint- The Qur'aan itself- yet no one has been able to imitate its unique literary form.
4- The Quran can only have come from the Divine;
It is the only logical explanation as all the other explanations have been discarded because they do not explain the inimitability of the Qur'aan in a comprehensive and coherent manner.
4. Oneness of Allaah -
"So once we have agreed that the Qur'aan is from Allaah, and it has been preserved, then we must accept it as the truth. Who better than the One who created us to tell us who He is, who He isn't, the reason why He created us and our Purpose in Life?Allaah says He is One. He is not like His creation. He has no offspring and He is not an offspring. He is different from His creation. He is outside of His creation. He is the Majestic, The Lord, The Sustainer, The All-Able, All-Powerful, The All-Seeing, The All-Hearing, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The All-Loving, The All-Merciful, The Forgiving, The Ever-Living, The Self Subsisting, The Self-Sufficient and much more. He created us for one reason; to Worship Him alone in a holistic way be Submitting to Him. To worship Him by following the True Guidance that He has sent to His final Messenger Muhammad (upon whom be peace); which are split into the rights of the Creator and the rights of the people.
He tells us that this life is a temporal life, a test that we will be judged upon after we die and are resurrected before Him. He tells us that we will be accountable for all our actions; both the good and the sins. That the biggest is sin is associating partners with Him, and this includes rejecting Him as the Lord, The Creator, The Only One worthy of Worship. That He has prepared for us an Eternal Life, that of either Eternal Torment for those who disbelieved, disobeyed and transgressed, or an Eternal Bliss for those who believed, submitted and attained righteous deeds.Does this make sense?"
5) Would you like to accept Islaam? -
At this point, you have gone through everything you have wanted to go through in a Dawah conversation. You have successfully managed to articulate using common sense & rationality the need for a Creator, the need for a Purpose, the need for external Divine Revelation that can be tested for authenticity and preservation, the need for an accompanying Messenger who has the honest attributes befitting to carry this message and thus the core content of the Message which is Allaah is One & Not like His Creation that His Messenger is Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), that we have been created to worship Allaah alone, and that this life is a temporal life in preparation for the next."So Mark/Claire, would you like to become a Muslim? Allaah says that those who accept Islaam, accept it as if they are born a new baby, i.e. free of any sin. I only want what is best for you and I only wish to convey and invite you to this belief. It is truly up to you if you want to accept. There is no compulsion in this Religion."
Remember, our job is to convey. Only Allaah can convert. You may want to assess the situation. Sometimes, even though we ALWAYS invite, the nature of your ivitation may differ according to what level the brother or sister may be at, it may be best to say something along the lines of:
"I realise it is a lot to take in. You wish to reflect on what we have spoken about. If you require some further information to digest then please feel free to take any of these books/pamphlets. It's all free of charge. Also, here are some good websites you can visit along with our contact details. Feel free to contact us whenever you want. Alternatively, we are here every Saturday. God Bless, have a great weekend"
Just Dawah
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