"Why Are You Muslim?" – Part II

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, sayyidinā Muḥammadini bni ‘Abdi llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh. Ammā ba‘d:

This part deals with proving the Qur’ān to be the Word of God and thus the truthfulness of Prophet Muḥammad's (ﷺ) claim to prophethood. (Note that some of the below is copy-paste; I've placed a reference list at the bottom of sources from where I've done this. I may try properly tracing back each quote to its source another time in shā’ Allāh.)

Going Back a Bit

Previously, we proved God's existence: that He definitely exists, He is One and Only, and that He is beyond all need and limitation. But since He created us, does He demand anything from us? Or did He create us purposelessly? To answer this, one would analyse the claims of all religions that call to belief in one god and see if they hold merit. If none of them do, then it could be that God doesn't demand anything from us. Or is it?

With most religions that call to one god, their claims to one god are flawed. They are all unable come up with sufficient proof to back up their claims as being the "true religion". From Christianity (with its unsound approach to "one" god) to Sikhism (which has no idea how to prove that its teachings indeed came from God – pretty much like every other religion), none are able to rationally prove the correctness of their religions.

Except Islam that is.

"Why Are You Muslim?" – Part I

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, sayyidinā Muḥammadini bni ‘Abdi llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh. Ammā ba‘d:

"Why are you Muslim?"

It is very important, especially in our day and age, that we be able to confidently answer this question. Answers such as "I was just born into a Muslim family", "It makes me feel good", "Well, that's what I grew up with", and the like don't quite cut it. Faith based on blind-following, emotions and feelings can very shaky. We're not saying that feeling good about the religion is blameworthy, or that following what your parents taught you about Islam is all bad. The problem arises when these become the main/only reasons as to why you are a Muslim, i.e. if you're Muslim just because of these reasons.

What is needed is an intellectually satisfying answer to this question. The answer has to make sense to the mind. It's got to be rational and logical, not merely emotional. Emotions fickle and fluctuate – one day, you might be feeling all happy and gleeful about God and religion; next day, you could be in a crisis of faith, doubting God and having hostile feelings about religion. Hence, emotions cannot serve as a solid foundation for faith – that would be like constructing a building on the edge of the sea, with all those tidal waves constantly hitting at its foundations. Rather, the foundation for faith must be intellectual and rational, because once you're rationally convinced of an idea – once you're sure that an idea just makes so much sense that following any other alternative would be an insult to your intelligence – no one can shake you away from it.

Now, the question of "Why are you Muslim?" can be split into two main parts:

1) Proof that God exists.
2) Proof of the messengership of Muḥammad (ﷺ) and how the Qur’ān is the Word of God.

In shā’ Allāh, this post will address the first part. The second part will be addressed in an upcoming post, in shā’ Allāh.