(5) Transition to Understanding

For those who might give further consideration to Islam or are already in the process of evaluating Islam with a keen interest — understandably — from outside of Islam, it can be a very hard thing to do. Perhaps the largest obstacle coming in is that you might simply not like the fate of disbelievers and be misled from that to not believe. Or you might be hesitant based on other misconceptions you’ve had or heard about Islam. Or, you might doubt yourself and yet again ask, would me believing Islam be feasible with my current lifestyle? What would others like my family and friends think? How would I even begin to go about it? Would believing just be for me to try to find something to have comfort in? You can find the answers to pertinent follow up questions in the section Denial, Questions, and Elucidation.

But know that why Muslims believe is because it is the Truth and that Allah (swt) has made peace accompany the Truth .

“Allah is the ally of those who believe. He brings them out from darkness into the light. And those who disbelieve – their allies are Taghut*. They take them out of the light into darknesses. Those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein” [2:257].

*Taghut is Islamic terminology denoting a focus of worship other than God, and he who does not worship Allah worships something other than Allah (false gods, their own desires, etc.)

This is the truth. Having more questions and doubt is understandable, with one’s move to fully accept Islam only becoming harder depending on what you currently believe and how you have been living your life all of this time (see the section the Interaction between Belief and Disbelief). One might also just be in an uncomfortable position admitting that what you might have made fun of before or how you thought of Islam before was not true. You might acknowledge how impressive it is to be Muslim but be hesitant since it might just seem too astonishing to accept Islam, almost as if to keep asking, is this really it? Or you might ask, can there be such a religion that it is now, at this point, not “religion” insofar as a leap of faith is unnecessary, but a clear pathway from reason (see the section True Finality)? And again you might doubt it by thinking of examples to yourself, such as, do Muslims really believe in such a magnificent way?

And to that, the answer is that yes, it is a fundamental aspect of Islam to believe from reason and true reflection. It is our belief itself; Islam is the clear path. The single greatest Surah or chapter in the Quran is Al-Fatihah, in which Muslims defer to reason and ask for guidance to help them understand. Muslims recite this Surah in every single standing for prayer. This Surah is a testament to the striving to understand reality and to understand and gain the mercy of Allah (swt) with the utilization of reason and the rejection of arrogance.

“In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. [All] Praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds – The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path – The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray” [1:1-7].

For those coming outside of Islam, consideration of Islam might simply be a matter of understanding the real might and perfection and admiration that is to be had for God since we are often misled about the perfection and attributes of God — if this is the case, the solution is to learn about the qualities of Allah (swt) and it will be easy to acknowledge him.

Moreover, for some, it is not that they disbelieve actively or with hate but are rather in disbelief due to physical realities that are astonishing for them to accept with how a naturalistic worldview has conditioned us. But we must understand that Allah (swt) is entirely worthy and has power to do anything:

“I swear by the Day of Resurrection And I swear by the reproaching soul [to the certainty of resurrection]. Does man think that We will not assemble his bones? Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips. But man desires to continue in sin. He asks, ‘When is the Day of Resurrection?’ So when vision is dazzled And the moon darkens And the sun and the moon are joined, Man will say on that Day, ‘Where is the [place of] escape?’ No! There is no refuge. To your Lord, that Day, is the [place of] permanence” [75:10].

It is natural to be astonished at the power and capability of the one who can do anything. And before ending this section, one premier example can drive this understanding home.

I have thus far hardly even mentioned the verses or description of Paradise granted to the believers, but have without shyness mentioned the punishment of disbelievers. This is to discount emotional tendencies to the point where one might alternatively even emotionally reject what has been demonstrated out of tangential egoistic contentions. I have rejected emotional appeals thus far to reveal the rigor of belief through pure logic and reasoning, and so it is not hopeful wishes of Paradise and justice with which the truth of Islam has been determined but unfettered reason. However, it is very important to recognize and give weight to the emotional considerations and reality of belief, as this is part of the harmony and what is desired when coming to terms with an altogether whole and complete understanding of reality and everything in it. So even though we illustrated how acceptance of Islam can be attained purely through reason and not hopeful wishes, we must equally recognize emotion and how the Mercy of Allah (swt) is such that Paradise and what is within it is the true and unsurpassable reward for the believer, as He gives emotional recognition for the striving of belief, and Allah (swt) is the Most Appreciative, the Most Merciful.

“And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as a reward for what they used to do. Then is one who was a believer like one who was defiantly disobedient? They are not equal” (32:17-18).

“So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? Is the reward for good [anything] but good?” [55:59-60].

It is also important to note how if one reaches the truth of belief through emotional means within it and aligns his reality through subsequent reasoning, that is also valid since our emotional faculties are intrinsically linked to the whole truth of metaphysical and logical considerations of the true reality. There is only deficiency in one or the other faculty when the sound needs of both are unmet.

In other words, one who has belief but believes other than Islam will never meet the requirements of sound reasoning and considerations of the metaphysical. On the other hand, one who only reasons and ponders the metaphysical without belief will never have truly rooted emotional justifications of life and morality or satisfaction within his own model of disbelief without making epistemological errors along the way.

A key example is in evaluating morality as being only determined by the self, individualized brain functions, self contained interactions, society, culture — all are attempted displacements of the fact that in disbelief, no true justice in the form of God’s judgement and no true morality in the form of God’s will is equivalent to absoluteness, meaning that disbelief advocates for an immoral world while disbelievers contradictorily search to fit moral function into different metaphysical sources. The disbeliever can be content with being heedless of the epistemological failures of such displacement of morality (eg. into the functioning or roots of society in another extended circular reasoning) and thus have a deficiency in reasoning to actually validate emotional fullness, with no Hereafter with which to have hope in for justice. On the other hand, the disbeliever can be content in his lack of emotional fullness in saying that there is no justice from God or Hereafter if he fails to reason that true moral and emotional considerations must have a metaphysical source, and rejection of this is rejection of consciousness. Disbelievers are only trapped within circular reasoning. And reason and emotion are intrinsically linked, with both requiring completeness. Either the disbelievers’ reasoning or emotional considerations are invalid, or both are illogically adopted with a deficiency in completeness.

“And who is more unjust than one who is reminded of the verses of his Lord; then he turns away from them? Indeed We, from the criminals, will take retribution” (32:22).

In this document, we have taken the approach purely from reason and metaphysical alignment, and have only thereafter acknowledged the emotional necessities of ourselves as humans to illustrate the robustness of belief as separate from subjective whims, as that is how the disbeliever operates entirely. In actuality, emotion and all that our feelings entail are also requirements for belief, with the disbeliever being one who’s emotional foundation is rooted within themselves separately from belief or metaphysical reality, and so, not in sound reason. And reason alone cannot uproot an idea that is lodged in other than reason. So they must learn and be willing to wholly accept metaphysically, logically, and emotionally, the truth of Islam entirely if they are to remove themselves from the error of epistemological failures, and to recognize how their reality is rooted in an incorrectly reasoned displacement of truth fueled by ego at the center. All parts need at once be addressed. All three understandings together, consideration of the metaphysical, the utilization of reason, and the guidance that is emotion, should all be used at once to guide one’s heart, and that is how one might understand the Muslim.

It is quite a lot to digest, but in summary, incorporation of the emotional into belief does not invalidate the sound reasoning we have demonstrated. Rather, it now completes it and both prove the other in being the way they are in our reality.

So now at the end of this journey of contemplating, let us acknowledge it, the reward of one who accepts truth. And Paradise is a great thing to strive for, so when Truth is accepted and recognized, one should indeed harmonize with it and make his motivation his avoidance of hellfire and entering into paradise, and receiving Mercy and recognition from Allah (swt).

Description of paradise.

“Indeed, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk. And they had been guided [in worldly life] to good speech, and they were guided to the path of the Praiseworthy (22:23-24).

And know that if you deny and you find that it is real, you would deny yourself this and exchange for it hell, with no one to blame but yourself when you find it real. And know that if you say “La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah” and work to believe and strive, it is yours.

https://talkislam.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/description-of-paradise/

https://sunnahonline.com/library/paradise-hell-and-the-hereafter/145-some-of-the-bounties-allaah-has-prepared-for-the-believers-in-paradise

Isra and al maraj

Part of the example of the disbeliever who will not believe is one who dislikes Islam from other than reason. A girl reading this may hate the idea of hijab, so she denies before having an understanding of it. Another person reading this may not want to give up drinking alcohol or having unlawful sexual intercourse, so he denies without having considered the guidance and determinations of that which is greater than himself. These are the clear examples of those who have failed to reason and have placed their ego and themselves at the center of the universe, and those are the delusional who will not be able to reason. Similarly, those who believe stoutly in other religions will argue, and will say nothing has been proven that their religion does not encompass or surpass, but they have failed to reason.

“They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him. They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it. It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion, although they who associate others with Allah dislike it” (9:31-33).

And we have already discussed how moral objections again only stem from an unsubstantiated misunderstanding and lack of knowledge on the true nature of the world, and can only persist blindly against God’s perfection in justice, mercy, and wisdom. But those who object are the ones who are immoral and in error, and they only object due to lack of knowledge or understanding, while one who seeks to learn will find that it is the truth. In all considerations, Islam is the admirable Truth.

[Work in Progress]

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