God as the Creator of all things, argued from the order and design of the universe and supported with verses from the Quran. Letters from incarcerated readers request Qurans and literature, and one describes a prison community's court struggle to establish Islam. A closing essay distinguishes knowing from believing and calls the struggle to make belief real in one's heart the true jihad.
As we look around in our environments, we
see that every family has a head; every school has a principal; every
city or town has a mayor; every province/state has a premier or governor;
and every nation has a head of state. Moreover, we know beyond doubt that
every product is the work of a certain producer, and that every beautiful
art is the creation of some great artist. All this is obvious, yet it
does not satisfy the hunger for knowledge and the curiosity of man about
the great things in the world. One often wonders at the beauties of nature
with its scenic charms and marvels; the almost endless horizons in the
sky and their far reaching expansions; the ceaseless succession of day
and night in the most orderly manner; the course of the sun, the moon,
and the great stars; the world of animate and inanimate objects, the continuous
process and evolution of man generation after
generation. One often wonders because one would like to know the maker
and maintainer of all these things with which we live and immensely enjoy.
Can we find an explanation of the great universe? Is there any convincing
interpretation of the secret of existence? We realize that no family can
function properly without a responsible head, that no city can prosperously
exist without sound administration, and that no state can survive without
a chief of some kind. We also realize that nothing comes into being on
its own. Moreover, we observe that the universe exists and functions in
the most orderly manner, and that it has survived for hundreds of thousands
of years. Can we, then, say that it has survived all this accidentally
and haphazardly? Or can
we attribute the existence of man and the
whole world to mere chance?
If man were to come into being by accident or by sheer chance, his entire
life would be based on chance, and his whole existence would be meaningless.
But no sensible man can conceive of his life as meaningless, and no rational
being would leave his existence at the mercy of fluctuating chance. Every
reasonable human being tries to make his life as meaningful as possible
and sets for himself a model of conduct according to some design. Individuals,
groups and nations do plan their course of action, and every careful plan
produces some desired effects. The fact of the matter is that man does
engage in planning of one sort or another, and can appreciate the merits
of good planning.
Continued on page 2
God is the Creator
Page 2
Continued from page 1
Yet, man represents only a very small portion of the great universe.
And if he can make plans and appreciate the merits of planning,
then his own existence and the survival of the universe must also
be based on a planned policy. This means that there is a Designing
Will behind our material existence, and that there is a Unique Mind
in the world to bring things into being and keep them moving in
order. The marvelous wonders of our world and the secrets of life
are too great to be the product of random accident or mere chance.
In the world, then, there must be a Great Force in action to keep
everything in order. In the beautiful nature there must be a Great
Artist who creates the most charming pieces of art and produces
everything for a special purpose in life. This Force is the strongest
of all the forces, and this Artist is the greatest of all artists.
The true believers and deeply enlightened people recognize this
Artist and call Him Allah or God. They call Him God because He is
the Creator and the Chief Architect of the world, the Originator
of life and the Provider of all things in existence. He is not a
man because no man can create or make another man. He is not an
animal, nor is He a plant. He is neither an idol nor is He a statue
of any kind because none of these
things can make themselves or create
anything else. He is not a machine. He is neither the sun nor is
He the moon or any other star, because these are controlled by a
great system, and are themselves made by someone else. He is different
from all these things, because He is the Maker and Keeper of them
all. The maker of anything must be different from and greater than
the thing which he makes. We also know that nothing can come to
life on its own, and that the marvelous world did not create itself
or come into existence by accident. The continuous changes in the
world prove that it is made, and everything which is made must have
a maker of some sort.
The Maker and Sustainer of the world, the Creator of and Provider
for man, the Active Force and Effective Power in nature are all
one and the same, and that is known to be Allah or God. This is
the Secret of all secrets and the Most Supreme of all beings....
God is the One who designed the night so you can
rest in it, and the day lighted. God bestows many blessings upon
the people, but most people are not thankful. Such is God your Lord,
the Creator of all things. There is no god except He. How could
you deviate? Deviating are those who disregard God's revelations.
God is the One who rendered the earth habitable for you, and the
sky a formidable structure, and He designed you, and designed
you well. He is the One
who provides you with good provisions. Such is God your Lord; Most
Exalted is God, Lord of the universe. He is the Living; there is
no god except He. You shall worship Him alone, devoting your religion
absolutely to Him alone. Praise be to God, Lord of the universe.
(40:61-65)
God is the One who committed the sea in your service,
so that the ships can roam it in accordance with His laws. You thus
seek His provisions, that you may be appreciative He committed in
your service everything in the heavens and the earth; all from Him.
These are proofs for people who reflect. (45:12-13)
The Supreme Maker of the whole universe, the Creator of everything
is Allah (God). Because He is so great and different from the other
beings, man can know Him only by reflection and through meditation.
He exists at all times, and His great power is in action everywhere
in the world. Man has to believe in His existence because everything
in the world proves that He exists. Belief in God and His infinite
power alone can provide mankind with the best possible explanation
of the many mysterious things in life. This is the safest way to
true knowledge and spiritual insight, the right path to good behavior
and sound morals, the surest guide to happiness and prosperity.
Note: This article was prepared by using excerpts
from Islam in Focus.
Letters From the Incarcerated
Page 3
To whom it may concern,
I’ve been receiving your monthly newsletter (Submitters Perspective)
and I would like to congratulate you on such fine work, not to mention
the best translation of the Quran I’ve ever read. My address
has been changed and I would like to continue receiving my newsletters,
so please acknowledge this change of address so I won’t lose
out on anything. A month without your newsletter is a loss to me.
Keep up your fine work, and thank you for everything you’ve
sent me. Insha-Allah, upon my release from this institution, I shall
be able to return a favor to you.
Shannan J. Roy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As-salamu Alaikum!
I’m writing this letter in earnest prayer and hope that the
brothers and sisters at ICS can help a brother who has been misguided
in his faith. Recently (about a year ago), I converted over to Islam
because of my beliefs. Since then, I have discovered that I have
been misled by my so-called teachers. I have been misled to believe
that Allah is a different God than Jesus and Abraham prayed to.
My reason for writing is because I need the following things; 1)
a spiritual advisor, 2) a Quran, and any and all true teachings
of Islam. I don’t have the funds to pay for the Quran by Rashad
Khalifa, prayer rugs and any other material.
Could you send me anything to help me learn about true Islam!
Thanks!
Lester Taylor
P.S. I’m requesting a Quran like yours because I get a better
understanding from the scriptures printed in the Submitters Perspective!
So please, send one, if it’s not asking too much!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As-salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah
Greetings to you all my brothers and sisters at Masjid Tucson and
ICS. I come to you in a humble state of peace and love. I write
this letter for many reasons. But
first let me say thanks to you all for
the Submitters Perspective monthly newsletters that you have sent
to me. They are a big help to me and all of the brothers here at
Parchman prison. Also thank you for the Quran you sent to me. I
use them in my class here every week. I am now the assistant secretary
of education. Allah has blessed me to become a part of the Ummah
council here for our community at Masjid Al-Shakoor. We also now
have a part time free world imam, bro. James S. Muhammad from Masjid
Al-Bayyinah in Clarkdale, Miss. The ummah here is growing each week
with new brothers coming over to Islam as their way of life (Al-hamdulillah).
La-ilahe-illa-Allah (there is truly no deity worthy of worship but
Allah). But there is still much work to be done here in the name
of Allah.
There is still a battle to win between prison administrators and
the establishment of Islam here. With several court battles behind
us, we are at the juncture of maintaining an Islamic class action
complaint in federal court. The court appointed a counsel to represent
us in this case; however, this counsel does not have Islam’s
best interest in his deliberations. We tried to dismiss him from
the case but the court refuses all of our requests. We are now at
the point of where the establishment of Islam may be deterred because
of the efforts of the courts and our counsel. We are at an impasse.
We have mailed literally hundreds of letters to national and local
Islamic organizations seeking assistance in securing Islamic legal
representation and barring that, religious material for dawah study
and spiritual advancement. Out of these hundreds of requests, we
may have received three replies and no concrete assistance. I must
applaud the sincerity and integrity of those striving to please
Allah (swt) in fulfilling their obligation of brotherhood.
The rest did not bother to even acknowledge receipt of our requests....
Perhaps it is the case, as in general society, of negative attitude
of people toward those incarcerated....
Some may think that people behind prison bars are not real Muslims.
However, if a person in prison hears the words of Islam, accepts
it, and
makes the declaration, then at that
time he is considered a Muslim, and should be regarded and treated
as such by Muslims all over the world....
I would like to thank you for any and all help you may give me
on any of the issues I have written to you about in this letter.
I leave as I have come.
As-salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah
Abdul Al-Aziz Muhammad
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Mumeens,
As-salamu Alaikum! I hope that each and every one of you are in
the best of spirits. May Allah, the Most High, the Most Gracious,
continue to shower His blessings on you all and make the wonderful
work you are doing fruitful.
First I really and truly want to thank you for the package you
sent me, with the beautiful Quran that was enclosed in it. I have
been reading it ever since I got the package, and haven’t
been able to put it down as yet. The truth stands out from falsehood.
Because Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, has put
it in each and every human being to recognize the truth. Reading
the Quran you’ve sent me has lit my whole inside up,. because
I recognize the truth. In here we say it blows my wig back. Meaning
it hits home, there is no more doubt.
... I’m asking again humbly if you all have any kind of literature
that will help me with the concept of the Almighty, please send
it to me. I hope that I didn’t ask too much, but I’m
eager to learn the truth, and Allah guides whom He pleases to a
way that is straight. All praise is only for Allah, the Owner of
everything, but He grants honor to His true servants. So praise
be to Allah for you Muslims who are trying to propagate Islam the
way it should be presented. I ask Allah for His forgiveness if I
have written anything flagrant.
Allahu Akbar
As-salamu Alaikum
Yours truly
York Hay
The Struggle Within
Page 4
Imagine that one of the worst feelings in
life has to be uncertainty. It is very frightening to think that one may
truly believe he or she is a good person but still be totally astray.
God tells us in the Quran that those who fall into this category are the
worst losers:
Say, “Shall I tell you who the worst losers are?
They are the ones whose works in this life are totally astray, but they
think that they are doing good.” (18:103-104)
Obviously, we pray that this is not the case for each of us. The idea
of being unsure of what is inside of our own hearts, knowing neither whether
it is good nor bad, is very scary.
The criteria for reaching heaven is basic. God teaches us in the Quran
that we are required to believe in Him, the Hereafter, and lead a righteous
life. The people who meet these criteria have nothing to fear nor will
they grieve (2:62, 5:69).
The question then becomes what does it take to meet the criteria? How
does an individual come to believe in God and the Hereafter? We learn
from the Quran that all of us are born with an instinctive knowledge about
God.
Recall that your Lord summoned
all the descendants of Adam, and had them bear witness for themselves:
“Am I not your Lord?” They all said, “Yes. We bear witness.”
Thus, you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, “We were not aware
of this.” (7:172)
Therefore, with this understanding it is possible to reason that belief
naturally would follow. However, here is where I would like to make the
distinction between knowledge and belief. It is possible to know something
but not fully believe it. The quickest example that comes to my mind is
that of a young individual who knows something is bad for him, such as
drugs, but still does not really believe that they can harm him. In this
case, the person may know that drugs are harmful but not truly believe
that they can harm him.
This type of scenario can also be related to belief in God, the Hereafter,
the Quran, or religion in general. An individual may know that God exists,
read the Quran, or other scripture, accept the Hereafter, yet still not
truly believe these things in his heart. This situation could be labeled
the “true” jihad or struggle. It is a struggle between what
an individual accepts and knows to be true, yet he falls short of making
this knowledge 100 percent reality in his life.
We learn from the Quran that Abraham attributes
his righteousness to God, and in the same fashion, God is the Granter
and provider of all things, including true belief. If God wills, He will
assure our hearts and minds at a time that is best for each of us. We
are responsible for obeying the system of worship and upholding our covenant
with God that is set out in the Quran, and then God willing, unyielding
belief and faith will follow by the grace of God.
Praise be to God.
We will certainly put you to the test, in order to distinguish
those among you who strive, and steadfastly persevere. We must expose
your true qualities. (47:31)
Those who believe and lead a righteous life, we will surely
settle them in Paradise, with mansions and flowing streams. Eternally
they abide therein. What a beautiful reward for the workers. They are
the ones who steadfastly persevere, and trust in their Lord. (29:58-59)
Robert Bujarski
About this work
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Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson