Laying Down the Foundation

Why am I a Muslim? What is the guarantee that Islam is the religion of truth? Is Muhammad indeed the Messenger of Allah? Is the Quran indeed the word of Allah? More importantly does Allah really exist? Why are non-Muslims required to know about Islam and believe in it while I do not have to learn their religions? Why are there Islamic punishments? Why is there slavery in Islam? Why the Islamic expansions? Why does evil exist? Why are there wars? Why is there injustice? Why did the Prophet's companions disagree? Is the Prophetic Sunnah truly authentic? Am I obligated to follow the Sunnah? If Islam contradicts reason what should I do? Dear viewers, today we are starting a new series titled: "The Journey of Certainty" Will we have convincing answers to these questions? Yes, Allah willing But first, it is necessary to organize our ideas and build the foundations If our faith shakes every time we encounter a new shubha (doubt) then our faith is like a table with fragile legs Such a table will easily shake under any weight, even a light one He whose faith is like this table will barely recover from one shubha before falling into another and he may never enjoy the soothing bliss of certainty Rather, the shubhas may accumulate until they destroy his faith Therefore, the first goal of this series is: To identify the correct pillars of our faith Its firm, strong, and convincing pillars We might still have questions, but our faith can withstand them Then, we would like to know the answers to these questions "...only that my heart may be reassured" (Quran Translated Meaning 2:260) If we find answers, great! If we do not, we will bring these issues under the umbrella of submission A submission that stems from reason-based faith This is a correct rational stance With submission comes learning Whenever one of us seeks knowledge from its appropriate sources he will get convincing answers to such questions and his questioning turns into a new pillar that solidifies his conviction about the validity of Islam As Dr. Muhammad Ad-Daraz said, "Let them know that for every shubha thrown at the clear Truth, the Truth will turn it into an argument for itself, to be added to its list of arguments and proofs." After building these pillars we will move, Allah willing to the correct methodology of dealing with shubhas How to calmly deal with our questions in a correct and scholarly way Moreover, we will turn what we can into new pillars which will further cement our faith We will even go back to questioning ourselves: Why did these questions arise in the first place? Is it normal for them to arise with all human beings? Or are some of them symptoms of the psychological defeat that we suffer from? Isn't it possible that the reason for our preoccupation with such questions is a result of viewing ourselves and our religion through the eyes of Islam-haters who have been able through their domination of the media and other influence platforms to reprogram our thinking, our feelings, our tastes, and our standards to the extent that we see good as bad and bad as good Is it befitting of our dignity and human independence to allow Islam-haters to raise questions and doubts about our religion while we confine ourselves to the position of defenders at times or even skeptics at other times? Our series aims to build conviction and revive Islamic pride We will go back to the roots; to the foundation We will start by proving the existence of Allah Almighty Exalted be He then proving that Muhammad, Peace be upon him, is the Messenger of Allah and that the Quran is the Word of Allah Then, we will build —on these foundations— what comes next in an easy yet convincing and enjoyable way, Allah willing Who is addressed in these first episodes? Everybody: the atheist, the agnostic, the one with doubts; even the believer Even the believer with deep faith in Allah and His Messenger; a faith that is free from doubt? Yes! Why? What's the goal? What's the benefit? What's in it for me? What benefit will I gain as a believer from all this? You will gain six great benefits We will identify and talk about them in the next episode, Allah willing Dear viewers! This series will establish certainty, soothe our hearts, calibrate our compass, empower our argument, fuel our determination and help us become beacons of guidance, Allah willing So stay tuned... Peace be upon you all!