Proud2BeHumble
Seek Truth, Be Happy
Yusuff Abdullah, previously known as Kieren Ashworth, was born in Liverpool, England, and brought up as a Roman Catholic. He has degrees in economics and theology. He is married and has been blessed with three children. Previously, he worked for the Islamia Schools Trust in London and is currently teaching economics at Manarat School in Riyadh. For a number of years he assisted with the Islamic Circle based in the Regents Park Mosque, London. He has also been deeply associated with Al-Muntada centre in Parsons green, and Jamiat Ihyaa Minhaah Al-Sunnah.
Narrating his journey from Trinity to Monotheism (Oneness of Allah), Yusuf thoughtfully explains; "Long ago, as a teenager, I thought quietly that if God was the loving and merciful God in whom I had been taught to believe, then surely He must have provided men with some absolute guidance as to how to conduct their lives and affairs here on earth.
This thought then disappeared into my subconscious. When later I came into contact with the Holy Qur'an, however, I was astonished to find that in the second chapter, its Author, whom the Muslims know to be Allah (God), made just such a claim; "This is the book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for mankind."
Imagine my amazement and excitement. Is there any other book which claims to contain guidance without doubt? Since we must judge books by the claims of the their authors - that is how we must judge the Qur'an.
Very often in my journey to Islam, I was faced with intellectual and moral dilemmas. Was Islam not supposed to be cruel to women, roughly half of the world's population? One day, I was reading a translation of the Qur'an and came across a passage in which it described "a wife as garment for her husband, and a husband as a garment for his wife."
What beauty and what a sublime description! Delivered at a time to a race who used to bury their daughters alive, how could the author have possibly been a man? I was beginning to doubt this typical Western opinion regarding the false origins of Islam. The holy Qur'an was far superior to other 'worldly' books.
Likewise, when I examined the life of the man whom non-Muslims accused of falsely writing the Qur'an I was extremely puzzled. Why did this man (Pbuh) lead such a simple life, sleeping on the floor, giving away so much of his food and worldly possessions? Why did he (Pbuh) give rights to all the disadvantaged groups in society such as women, slaves, animals and even trees? Most importantly, why did he risk his life and instruct people to worship the one true God instead of their tribal idols and charms? Why did he himself (Pbuh) spend night after night beseeching God, pleading for forgiveness, when it is the habit of false prophets to live it up in here and now?
One by one, the doubts that I had entertained in my life, (and which most people entertain nowadays), ebbed away. At the last moment, I felt as though I was standing on a bridge, apprehensive about moving forward into Islam, but knowing that to return to my former way of life would have meant rejecting the message which I knew to be true.
Put into context, there was only one place to go, one God to worship, one religion to follow- Islam. Praise be to Allah.
Narrating his journey from Trinity to Monotheism (Oneness of Allah), Yusuf thoughtfully explains; "Long ago, as a teenager, I thought quietly that if God was the loving and merciful God in whom I had been taught to believe, then surely He must have provided men with some absolute guidance as to how to conduct their lives and affairs here on earth.
This thought then disappeared into my subconscious. When later I came into contact with the Holy Qur'an, however, I was astonished to find that in the second chapter, its Author, whom the Muslims know to be Allah (God), made just such a claim; "This is the book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for mankind."
Imagine my amazement and excitement. Is there any other book which claims to contain guidance without doubt? Since we must judge books by the claims of the their authors - that is how we must judge the Qur'an.
Very often in my journey to Islam, I was faced with intellectual and moral dilemmas. Was Islam not supposed to be cruel to women, roughly half of the world's population? One day, I was reading a translation of the Qur'an and came across a passage in which it described "a wife as garment for her husband, and a husband as a garment for his wife."
What beauty and what a sublime description! Delivered at a time to a race who used to bury their daughters alive, how could the author have possibly been a man? I was beginning to doubt this typical Western opinion regarding the false origins of Islam. The holy Qur'an was far superior to other 'worldly' books.
Likewise, when I examined the life of the man whom non-Muslims accused of falsely writing the Qur'an I was extremely puzzled. Why did this man (Pbuh) lead such a simple life, sleeping on the floor, giving away so much of his food and worldly possessions? Why did he (Pbuh) give rights to all the disadvantaged groups in society such as women, slaves, animals and even trees? Most importantly, why did he risk his life and instruct people to worship the one true God instead of their tribal idols and charms? Why did he himself (Pbuh) spend night after night beseeching God, pleading for forgiveness, when it is the habit of false prophets to live it up in here and now?
One by one, the doubts that I had entertained in my life, (and which most people entertain nowadays), ebbed away. At the last moment, I felt as though I was standing on a bridge, apprehensive about moving forward into Islam, but knowing that to return to my former way of life would have meant rejecting the message which I knew to be true.
Put into context, there was only one place to go, one God to worship, one religion to follow- Islam. Praise be to Allah.
