In de Naam van Allah de Barmhartige de Genadevolle
>
>The Tears Of Finding The Truth
>
>Through The Internet
>
>INTRODUCTION
>The following story occurred on the Internet through one of the chat
>programs (Freetel) in January 1999. It is a real dialogue between a
>Christian and a Muslim. The story centers on Derek's realization of
>today's Christianity and his subsequent conversion to lslam. This
>Christian-Muslim dialogue has been edited for readability and for
>the clarity of its message.
>
>
>
>ABDULLAH: Hello there! How are you man?
>
>DEREK: Hello! Well, how are you?
>
>ABDULLAH: I'm fine and you?
>
>DEREK: I'm fine thanks.
>
>ABDULLAH: Where are you from?
>
>DEREK: I'm from L.A. (Los Angeles).
>
>ABDULLAH: The land of Hollywood!
>
>DEREK: Well that's right. Have you ever been to L.A.?
>
>ABDULLAH: No, never. Why are you calling yourself the Black Magic?
>
>DEREK: It's just a nickname, man!
>
>ABDULLAH: I see.
>
>DEREK: Where are you from? Are you an Arab?
>
>ABDULLAH: Yes, I am from Saudi Arabia but I'm in Qatar now. What is
>your name?
>
>DEREK: My name is Derek. What's your name?
>
>ABDULLAH: My name is Abdullah.
>
>DEREK: What does Abdullah mean?
>
>ABDULLAH: Abdullah means the servant of Allah and it is the function
>of each individual on the face of the earth to serve llah according
>to what Allah wants from us. By the way, Allah is the proper name of
>God.
>
>DEREK: How do we know what God or Allah wants from us?
>
>ABDULLAH: All of this is outlined in the Qur'an and the Sunnah (Ways
>of Prophet Muhammad; his sayings, actions and aprovals). These are
>the two major sources of guidance in lslam. Could you please tell me
>more about yourself? How ol are you?
>
>DEREK: I am 19 years old, black and very uch interested in
>knowing more about lslam. First of all, what should a person do or
>believe in to become a Muslim?
>
>ABDULLAH: Very easy, you just say that there is no god worthy of
>worshi but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger, and you become
>Muslim,
>
>DEREK: You mean Muhammad is his apostle? But a a Christian or
>non-Muslim, this sentence is not enough to make it clear to me.
>
>ABDULLAH: Ok Allah sent Muhammad a His last Prophet and Messenger
>and revealed the Qur'an to him as the final revelation to mankind.
>Allah said that He perected His religion and called it lslam (see
>Qur'an 5:3). Islam means peaceful submission to the Will of Allah.
>
>DEREK: &n bsp; I see.
>
>ABDULLAH: Yes, and unfortunately most Christians don't know or they
>deny that the coming of Prophet Muhammad is foretold in their
>scriptures (See Deuternomy 18:18; 21: 21; Psalms 1 18:22-23; Isiah
>42:1-13; Habakuk 3:3-4; Matthew 21:42-43; John 14:12-17,15:26,27;
>1:5-16). Muslim theologians have stated that the person who is
>described by Jesus to come after him (in the above verses) is
>Mhammed (peace be upon him).
>
>DEREK: OK Fine, but why was there a need for another prophet after
>Jesus and another revelation after the Bible?
>
>ABDULLAH: All of the Prophets came to teach their peoples the
>Oneness of God. In the case of Jesus, he was only sent as a
>Messenger to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (see Matt.
>15:24). What happened was that all of these prophets were not well
>received by the majority of the people. For instance, they started
>tampering with the teachings of Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them
>(see Qur'an 2:79). That is why Allah sent Muhammad with the last
>Message, (i.e., the Qur'an), to bring all of mankind back to the
>belief in and worship of One God, without partners or
>intermediaries.
>
>DEREK: Is the Qur'an similar to the Bible? I mean, what is it
>composed of?
>
>ABDULLAH: The Qur'an came as the last code emphasizing the same pure
>monotheistic teachings of Jesus peace be upon him, defending all the
>previous pure teachings of monotheistic beliefs and clarifying who
>Jesus was and who his mother was, showing that they were no more
>than great people.
>
>DEREK: OK then, how-can we be sure that the Qur'an has remained the
>same since the time of Prophet Muhammad?
>
>ABDULLAH: Allah Himself has guaranteed that He would guard the
>Qur'an from corruption (see Qur'an 15:9). Hence, the real and pure
>words of Allah are found in the Qur'an, which was revealed in
>Arabic, the language of Mohammed's people. Since then, not an iota
>has changed. This is unlike what has happened in the other
>religions. For example, if you look at the Bible, you find a lot of
>versions; the name Bible itself is indicative of those changes
>because Bible means a collection of books from different writers.
>
>DEREK: But didn't God call it the Bible?
>
>ABDULLAH: God calls the Scripture revealed to Jesus "Injeel" in the
>Qur'an for which the closest name in the Bible would be the word
>Gospel. The Bible was written may years after the time of Jesus in a
>language that was alien to Jesus; it was Latin Vulgate, a language
>that he never spoke. Isn't this strange? Interestingly, most of what
>was written in the New Testament was authored by Paul, who,
>according to James, the brother of Jesus in the Bible, had a
>polluted mind because he changed and contradicted most of the
>teachings of Jesus.
>
>DEREK: I think you know more about Christianity than the Pope does.
>
>ABDULLAH: You are wrong by saying that I know more than the Pope. I
>have simply investigated the Bible with an inquiring mind, which is
>something that all Christians should do.
>
>DEREK: Is there any English version of the Holy Qur'an?
>
>ABDULLAH: There are many translations of the meanings of the Qur'an.
>
>The Qur'an was revealed in Arabic which means that the words of
>ALLAH are in Arabic. The translations are the words of human beings
>relating to the meanings of the Qur'an to the non-Arabic speaking
>masses.
>
>DEREK: How does the Qur'an define God to mankind or how does the
>Muslim perceive God?
>
>ABDULLAH: GOD is the One and Only True GOD, and the Creator of all.
>He does not beget nor is He begotten. He is unlike His creation in
>every respect. He is the All-knowing, The Powerful, The Merciful,
>The Irresistible, and The King of kings.
>
>DEREK: But it is somehow difficult for me to perceive God as being
>the same as His creatures.
>
>ABDULLAH: You are absolutely right to have difficulty perceiving
>this because human beings have a limited capacity. This is why ALLAH
>sent revelations to His Prophets and Messengers to tell us who He
>is. So if you want to know who God is, just read the Qur'an.
>
>DEREK: Christians believe that Jesus was sent for the salvation of
>all mankind. If this is not true, then the foundation of
>Christianity is faulty. Right? What do you think?
>
>ABDULLAH: That's correct. The Christians of today are following what
>Paul taught and also tend to follow what the priests tell them to do
>instead of following what Jesus said.
>
>DEREK: Kindly explain the concept of salvation through the
>crucifixion of Jesus.
>
>ABDULLAH: In Christianity, the Doctrine of Original Sin is the
>reason that there is a need for salvation through Jesus'
>crucifixion. However, this doctrine was invented by Paul and it is
>strongly negated in the Old Testament (see Ezekial 18:20, Jeremiah
>31:30, Deut. 24:16). This doctrine is an attempt to escape the
>responsibility of righteousness with the belief that punishment is
>given to someone else to release us from our burden of sins (see
>Ephesians 1:7, Romans 4:25, 10:9, Corinthians 15:21) In the Qur'an,
>every soul is responsible for its own deeds, good or bad (see
>74:38,41:46, 3:25, 6:154).
>
>DEREK: What about the crucifixion itself?
>
>ABDULLAH: The Bible says Jesus cried out in a loud voice beseeching
>God for help on the cross: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
>me?" (Matt. 27:46) Does that sound like Jesus to you?
>
>DEREK: No, then what about Jesus' appearance to his disciples after
>the crucifixion?
>
>ABDULLAH: Jesus didn't die on the cross nor was he resurrected. If
>he were resurrected, then he would have come to his disciples in a
>spiritual body. As shown in Luke 24:36-43, he met them with his
>physical body after the event of his alleged crucifixion. In the
>Qur'an, it says that Jesus was not crucified, but it was someone
>else who was made to look like him (see 4:157,158).
>
>DEREK: How did the story of the crucifixion of Jesus get into the
>Bible then?
>
>ABDULLAH: Once again, Paul was responsible (see Timothy 2:8 and
>Romans 5:10).
>
>DEREK: Well, I, very deep in my heart, believe that God can never
>look like his creation nor does he do what they do. What I believe
>is that God is the perfect one who is very much different from
>everything we see or touch. In other words, I think the writer can
>never look like his book.
>
>ABDULLAH: You are right. There is nothing comparable to Allah (see
>Qur'an 112:4). The prophets came with a very clear message to
>worship God alone, without any partners or intercessors.
>
> However, Paul took pagan beliefs and practices from the
>Romans and mixed them with the teachings of Jesus. Consequently,
>Paul was mostly responsible for elevating Jesus to the status of Son
>of God (see Acts 9:20) and God.
>
>DEREK: Yes. Now I remember. The first Commandment is, " Hear, O
>Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord."
>
>ABDULLAH: You're right. That's in Mark 12:29. Moreover, the Qur'an
>confirms that God is One: "Say He is Allah, the One and Only (God)."
>(Qur'an 112:1)
>
>DEREK: What you are saying makes perfect sense. This is just
>incredible! You mean that for almost 2000 years what the Christians
>have been following is wrong?
>
>ABDULLAH: Yes, especially their misunderstanding of who Jesus was.
>
>DEREK: Oh my God! I've been deceived! Really, I feel religiously
>raped. I have been fooled simply because I followed blindly the
>religion that I was born with and didn't take care to investigate it
>thoroughly. But still inside me there is something holding me back
>from accepting lslam, even though lslam is clearly the True
>Religion.
>
>ABDULLAH: Your last comment shows that you are a Muslim not a
>Christian and if you really love God and His Messenger Jesus, you
>will follow lslam and Prophet Muhammad. Break this barrier inside
>you and come back to the way of your ancestors. You are now free
>because you are looking for the Truth and our great prophet Jesus
>told us that we should look for the Truth and the Truth will set us
>free. So, you will be a free man as soon as you accept It. Be strong
>enough to accept lslam as the Truth, without any hesitation on your
>part and you will taste real freedom and real happiness that you
>have never tasted before.
>
>DEREK: Frankly, I am concerned about the negative way lslam and
>Muslims are shown in the media. In the West, there is a stigma
>attached to being a Muslim and I'm not sure I'm ready to live with
>that stigma.
>
>ABDULLAH: This is why I have chosen to tell people about the right
>picture of lslam.
>
>DEREK: Then, what is the right picture of lslam?
>
>ABDULLAH: The right picture of lslam is conveyed in the Qur�an,
>which is exemplified by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The
>reality is that it is not fair to judge a religion by the actions of
>its followers alone because there are good and bad followers in
>every religion. The correct thing to do is to judge a religion by
>its documented revelation from God and the prophet who brought that
>revelation.
>
>DEREK: I see. I agree with you, but I'm still concerned about the
>reaction of my family and friends if they know that I am a Muslim.
>
>ABDULLAH: On Judgement Day, no one will be able to help you, not
>even your father, mother or any of your friends (see Qur'an 31:33).
>So, if you believe that lslam is the True religion, you should
>embrace it and live your life to please the One Who created you. Be
>an illuminating torch for them. Do not delay your coming to lslam.
>If you die before becoming a Muslim, then it's too late (see Qur'an
>2:132, 3:102, 3:85). So grab this opportunity now. You can only
>remedy this pain inside you by becoming a Muslim and being able in
>the future, God willing, to come and perform pilgrimage (Hajj).
>
>DEREK: You are very wise man, I want to say that when I sometimes
>see on the satellite, especially in the season of Hajj, people of
>different colors and different races sitting side by side and
>praying to God, I feel pain deep inside my heart and I feel
>something urging me to talk with someone to know more about that
>great religion that can gather all the races in the same place.
>Thanks to you, I have found that person. So please help me become a
>Muslim!
>
> ABDULLAH: Brother let us take it step by step. First, enter lslam
>by saying: I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD WORTHY OF WORSHIP
>EXCEPT ALLAH. AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS SERVANT AND
>MESSENGER. I BEAR WITNESS THAT JESUS IS HIS PROPHET AND MESSENGER.
>Let us say this again, I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD WORTHY OF
>WORSHIP EXCEPT ALLAH AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS SERVANT
>AND MESSENGER. I BEAR WITNESS THAT JESUS IS HIS PROPHET AND
>MESSENGERS. I BEAR WITNESS THAT JESUS IS HIS PROPHET AND MESSENGER.
>
>DEREK: I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD WORTHY OF WORSHIP EXCEPT
>ALLAH. I BEAR WITNESS THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS SERVANT AND LAST
>MESSENGER. I BEAR WITNESS THAT EISA IS HIS SERVANT AND MESSENGER.
>
>ABDULLAH: By the way, Jesus' name is not Jesus. It is a latinized
>name. His real name is Eisa. Now you will say the same thing in
>Arabic, the language of the Qur'an. I will transliterate for you.
>ASH'HADU AN LA'ILAHA ILLA ALLAH WAASH'HADU ANNA MUHAMMMADAN
>RASOOLULLAH WA ASH'HADU ANNA EISA ABDULLAHI WA RASOOLUHU.
>
>DEREK: ASHADU AN LA ILAHA ILLALLAH WA ASHADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN
>RASULULLAH WA ASHADU ANNA EISA ABDULLAH1 WA RASOOLUHU.
>
>ABDULLAH: Brother, say ALLAH is the greatest because you are a
>Muslim now. You are not a Christian anymore. Your are in the House
>of lslam. If I were with you, I would hug you as my brother in
>lslam. How do you feel now? A burden has been removed from you and
>you feel like you are so light, isn't this right?
>
>DEREK: If you were with me now, you would have seen my tears
>reaching my neck. You are a great brother. I feel that I have just
>come to life, This is exactly how I feel from now. I don't have to
>listen the silly words of the priests in the church, who knowingly
>or unknowingly lead people astray. I hope to be a good servant of
>ALLAH.
>
>ABDULLAH: You know what came out of you was disbelief and it was
>replaced by belief. You are so clean now, because when someone
>embraces Islam sincerely, Allah forgives all of his past sins. So,
>go to the Islamic center that has Muslims from all over the world
>and announce your lslam there, and continue to learn more about
>lslam from them. In addition, find a book on prayer in lslam and
>practice it. This is essential. Now after you are through with me,
>you must take a shower to purify yourself from previous wrong
>beliefs. Remember to stay away from bad company and be with
>righteous Muslim people. Also, beware of those so-called Muslims who
>call to nationalistic ideas or racial thoughts, which are rejected
>in lslam. I love you as a brother in lslam and I hope one day I will
>see you and hear your voice.
>
>DEREK: I will for sure do what you have asked. And tomorrow I will
>go to the Islamic center. Thank you for showing me the Truth. I will
>do my best to meet people who know about lslam for sure. May God
>help you guide more and more people to the true word of God. There
>is no God but ALLAH and Muhammad is his Apostle... Well it is as
>difficult for me as it is for you to leave you.
>
>ABDULLAH: Well brother, you will not leave me for a long time. I
>will soon be with you through my supplications. God willing. Pray
>for me, brother.
>
>DEREK: Well, I thank you, I love you although I do not know you yet.
>But it is enough for me to remember that one day, a very dear man
>has picked me up from the mud of life. Please teach me another
>Islamic word in Arabic so as to make use of it in the Islamic
>center.
>
>ABDULLAH: Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu and
>Astaghfirullah.
>
>DEREK: What do they mean?
>
>ABDULLAH: May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you.
>This is used as a greeting to all Muslims. The last word means,
>Allah forgive me. Well, I have to leave you now but be sure it will
>not be for long.
>
>DEREK: Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu and Astaghfirullah
>for being astray from the Truth all those years. May God bless you.
>You have occupied a great place in my heart and I will never forget
>you. Bye and talk to you later. Your brother in lslam, Derek, but I
>will call myself Eisa from now on.
>
>ABDULLAH: OK Eisa. I will leave you some final words of inspiration.
>Certainly, the ultimate goal of every individual is to be in
>Paradise forever. This reward of Paradise is too great to not have a
>price. That price is true faith, which is proven obedience to Allah
>and following the Sunnah of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). THIS IS THE
>ROAD TO PARADISE. Let's stay in touch! Assalamu Alaikum!
>
>DEREK: O.K. Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu.
>