The importance of talking about faith using reasonable language based on good conscience and the signs leading to faith

All Muslims have a responsibility to tell people of the existence and oneness of Allah and to call on them to live by the beauties of Islam. In fulfilling that responsibility, however, it is very important to follow the path that Allah reveals in the Qur’an. Anyone adopting any other path, apart from that revealed by Allah and implemented by our Prophet (saas), in the light of his own opinions and logic can never successfully describe the faith, and may well cause many people to turn away from it.

Many verses of the Qur’an reveal the need for people to reflect on Allah’s creations. People are called on to reflect on the creation of the earth and sky, fruits, plants, the seas, animals, their own bodies and, in short, everything they see around them. Verse 191 of Surah Al ‘Imran says:

“those who remember Allah, standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth: ‘Our Lord, You have not created this for nothing. Glory be to You! So safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.”

Science is thus praised in the Qur’an and described as one of the ways of learning of Allah’s artistry. It is most important for Muslims to use this path shown to them by Allah in the most efficient manner as they preach the faith. In this century, when science and technology are so far advanced and when it is so easy to obtain information, backing up the information given to people with scientific findings and results is an important means of establishing true and genuine faith. In this age, when all branches of science clearly reveal the fact of creation, it is the worst possible error not to make use of science and even to seek to spread the faith by making ignorant statements that lack logic and reason.

In this century, in which the verse "We will show them Our Signs on the horizon and within themselves” (Surah Fussilat, 53) is fully manifested, countless branches of science, such as genetics, microbiology, paleontology, geology and astronomy have shown people the proofs of Allah’s creation and matchless artistry, both in their own bodies as well as all around them. Science is a blessing bestowed on Muslims by Allah, an intellectual weapon created for them to use as they preach the word. Good use of this force plays a significant role in the global spread of Islamic moral values. For that reason, by Allah’s leave, using a description of the religion that is based on the signs leading to faith will be highly effective and successful.

Before describing the signs leading to faith, however, it is very important to eliminate superstitious beliefs, in other words idols, that cloud people’s minds, cause them to harbor prejudices and prevent them from listening to what they are told with an open mind. In the Qur’an, Allah relates how the Prophet Abraham (as) smashed all the idols in his day. The Prophet Moses (as) also shattered the idol adopted by some members of his tribe and cast the ashes into the sea. In a figurative sense, these stories allude to the need for Muslims to intellectually smash the idol of the age they are living in. The greatest idol of this age, that which turns people away from Allah and Islam, is Darwinism. The exposure of the invalidity of Darwinism, which hinders a great many people comprehending the existence and oneness of Allah, using scientific evidence, proving it is devoid of any intellectual worth and doing so using rational, logical and scientific language will be instrumental in eliminating a major obstacle that clouds people’s minds. Someone who sees that Darwinism is wrong and realizes that he has been misled by a false ideology for many years will naturally set about seeking the truth. Someone who learns of the flawless equilibrium in the universe during that search, of the perfect systems in living things and that there is a whole glorious world inside a single cell in his own body will easily see that these things are the works of Almighty Creator, in other words, Allah. A person who sees Allah’s artistry and grasps the perfection in His creation will obviously and naturally have faith in Allah and live by the moral values of the religion in the most perfect way, as required by that faith.

But for some people to talk in a nonsensical way, giving incorrect information that lacks reason and logic, despite all these manifest truths, will give people the subconscious impression that religion is a system that it is impossible to believe in and to live by. And this is one of the main reasons why a great many people live their lives far removed from Allah and religion. Therefore, in preaching the word, all Muslims must use a reasonable, polite and respectful language and tell people of religion in a manner based on science and the signs leading to faith. When Islam is preached in that way and when people live by it in the manner Allah reveals in the Qur’an, as our Prophet (saas) did, then there can be no doubt that people will turn to Allah’s religion in droves and that the moral values of Islam will soon rule the whole world.