In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Introduction

Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and ask Him for forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our selves and from our bad deeds. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whoever He sends astray, none can guide. I testify that there is no god worthy of worship, but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. May Allah’s peace and abundant blessings be upon him, his family, and Companions.

To proceed,

There is pressing need today for an abridged and simplified book that presents Islam in its comprehensive sense, in terms of beliefs, acts of worship, dealings, ethics, and the like. It is to help the reader form a clear and complete idea about Islam, and it also serves as an initial reference for new Muslims to learn the rulings, ethics, commands, and prohibitions of this religion. The book should also be handy for the preachers translated into all languages and give it to all those inquiring about Islam and to the new reverts. This way, those whom Allah wills to guide will find guidance, and the argument will be established against the people of misguidance and deviation.

Before starting to write this book, certain courses and regulations should be laid down for the author to abide by. They are meant to help achieve the main objective of this book. Some of these regulations are:

Islam should be presented through the texts of the Noble Qur’an and the purified Sunnah, not through human approaches and scholastic theological methods of debate and argumentation for a number of reasons:

a. By hearing the words of Allah and understanding the intended meanings, those whom Allah wills to guide will be guided and the argument

will be established against the astray and the obstinate ones as Allah Almighty says: {If any of the polytheists asks you for protection, give it to him, so that he may hear the Word of Allah, then escort him to his place of safety.}[Surat at-Tawbah: 6] Establishment of the argument and conveyance of the message may not be done properly through human approaches and scholastic theological methods, which are not free from defects and shortcomings.

b. Allah Almighty commanded us to convey His religion and revelation just as it was sent down, and He did not order us to invent scholastic theological ways for guiding people which we think can help us win their hearts. So, why should we preoccupy ourselves with what we are not commanded to do and turn away from what we are commanded to do?

c. With regard to other ways of preaching Islam, like the extensive talk about the opponents’ aberrations and refuting their claims, be it in the area of creed, worship, morals, ethics, or economics, or the use of intellectual and mental debates, such as the talk about proving Allah’s existence – exalted be He above what the wrongdoers claim – or the talk about the distortions in the Gospel and the Torah, as well as the books of other religions, and revealing their inconsistencies and falsehood, all these can be a way for pointing out the corruption and falsity of the opponents’ principles and beliefs, and they can also be a cultural information for Muslims – though there is no harm in not knowing such things. However, these cannot always be a basis for calling people to Allah Almighty.

d. Those who enter Islam on the basis of the approaches mentioned above are not necessarily true Muslims, as some of them may embrace this religion on account of admiring a certain aspect that has been presented to them extensively, even though they do not believe in other major aspects. For example, someone who likes the advantages offered by the Islamic economics but does not believe in the Hereafter or the existence of the jinn and devils, and so on.

People of this type harm Islam more than they benefit it.

e. The Qur’an has such an authority over people’s hearts that when we leave it to deal with them uninterrupted, pure souls accept it and get elevated in belief and piety. So, why should any barrier be put between them?

Reactions, the pressure of status quo, and previous backgrounds should not interfere with the presentation of this religion. Rather, it should be presented as it was sent down, while adopting its very approach in addressing people and taking them in a gradual process of uprightness.

Simplicity of style and brevity in writing should be adopted, as much as possible, so that the book can be easily carried and circulate among people.

Let us assume that we finished this work, translated the book, and made ten million copies thereof, which reached the hands of ten million people, and only one percent of them believed in the verses and Hadīths contained therein, coming to us in pursuit of faith, piety, and fear of Allah, whereas 99% disbelieved and turned away. Do you know that this one percent means the entry of a hundred thousand persons into the religion of Islam? This would undoubtedly be a great achievement. If Allah were to guide only one person through you, this would be better for you than possessing the most precious property.

But if none of those invited embraced Islam, and they all rejected it, we have, after all, fulfilled our trust and conveyed the message that our Lord assigned to us.

Indeed, the mission of the Muslim preachers is not to convince people or be keen to guide them, as revealed in the verse that says:{Even though you are keen to guide them, but Allah does not guide those whom He causes to stray.}[Surat an-Nahl: 37]Rather, their primary mission is the same as that of their Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) whom Allah Almighty addressed saying:{O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not do that, then you have not conveyed His message. Allah will protect you from the people.}[Surat al-Mā’idah: 67]

We implore Allah Almighty to make us all cooperative in the conveyance of His religion to all people and make us callers to goodness and a means leading to it and a cause for blocking every way to evil. Allah knows best and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad.

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