Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Author’s Foreword

All the praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his Holy Progeny.

This book is a collection of discussions and dialogues held with Christians who had come to see me to enquire about Islam and, as a result of the guidance that emerged from the discussions, they embraced Islam.

In these discussions our chief aim has been to guide them to the right path, whether through intuitive or philosophical debates, or through preaching or calling them to Islam, or thorough dialectic arguments. However, every effort was made to avoid any controversy during these discussions, which might hurt the other party.

Throughout the discourse, I found an interesting thing, that not even one of them was an obstinate Christian to deny the truth after knowing it. This remained a redeeming factor throughout our discussions.

During a period of 15 years,specially after the coupe de tat of July 14 (1958 in Iraq), until I was exiled from Karbala (Iraq) to Kuwait in 1971, I held discussions and debates with hundreds of followers of different religions and ideologies such asZaidites , Christianity,Sabe'ans ,Yazidites ,Ba’thists , Existentialists, and Communists, but did not come across any hot-headed or obstinate person except one who was a secretary-general of theBa’thist Party in one of the provinces of Iraq, with whom discussions were held and he showed much obstinacy and stubbornness.

I had discussions concerning Islamic beliefs and laws with a large number of individuals and groups mostly of young people many of whom had, to varying degrees, some inclination towards Eastern or Western ideologies. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I had discussions with approximately ten thousand.

Sometimes I did come across stubborn individuals but their ratio may probably be four or five percent. However, in these encounters, I never came across prejudiced person who could present firm knowledge with convincing arguments. In fact, such persons normally used to stick to their beliefs, and arguments, and kept on insisting on them even though the bases of their religion and thought were uprooted.

It is much regrettable that I could not note down the details of these discussions, which would have made it a useful detailed book. All these discussions, conversations and meetings were held with different persons, and followers of various religions and creeds who either happened to see me by chance or were invited for discussions.

After the demise of grand AyatollahSayyid Abul-Hasan Isfahani (1356H, 1937 CE), and grand AyatollahSayyid Husayn Qumi (1366H, 1947 CE), the religious headship passed on to my father, grand AyatollahSayyid Mirza Mahdi Shirazi . Since then I continued to receive ambassadors, state representatives, ministers and political personalities who visited us in Karbala regularly. My late father used to discuss with them different religious topics, and throughout that long period and frequent meetings, I never felt helpless and unable to reply to any question. Most often we were successful in convincing others that the Islamic teachings are correct, that it is essential to implement Islamic laws in one’s life, and that Islam possesses the best solutions, teachings, and laws for the salvation of humanity.

I have presented in this book the debates that led to the conversion to Islam of ten Christians in seven narrations. I have described all events as they occurred without adding anything more except that I have deleted those parts, which have been repeatedly talked about on the Prophet of Islam and on the proofs of hisprophethood .

The reader will observe the simplicity and introductory style of these dialogues that were actually conducted in this manner for the benefit of the addressees.

Let it not remain unsaid that most of the time I used to suggest to those who embraced Islam to adopt Islamic names, and also I used to arrange for them to remarry - as a precautionary measure - according to Islamic criteria for marriage.

I used to present them copies of the Holy Qur’an and other Islamic books. Our aim in this introduction is to point out that Islam has not been and will never be defeated in any field. Islam has no weakness or defect in its principles in any sense of word. There is no possibility that any religion may afford to lead mankind towards salvation better than Islam or even equal to it. If the people of the world knew Islam as it was revealed to and taught by the prophet Muhammad, they would race one another to embrace it wholeheartedly, save the stubborn and the narrow minded who are very few. This is a matter the importance of which I have personally experienced throughout my research work and discussions.

MuhammadShirazi

Islam - Christianity debates

Knowledge In Islam

Some of my friends who were the students in Baghdad University always used to take part in the discussions and debates concerning Islam. One day, a group of them from the medical college came to me and said that they had an American professor who had been appointed to teach in their college. Seemingly, he was a judicious man who seeks to find the truth. He was inquiring much about Islam and was impressed by the Islamic way of life.

When they requested me to meet and discuss (Islam) with him, they were not sure that he would be convinced about Islam after the discussion. I booked a date in my diary for them and said that by the grace of Allah he would be inspired by Him to embrace Islam. The college students smiled and wondered as to how would an American professor embrace Islam easily. I asked them whether they thought that Islam was an acceptable religion, or that they were not sure of my competence to interpret Islam, or that the professor was too obstinate to accept the truth even after understanding it. The students remained silent. They could not say that their professor was an obstinate person as they had already praised him for his fairness.

They went on to work out how to persuade him in his capacity as their professor to come to Karbala (which is 100 km) from Baghdad despite the fact that the professor did not believe in visiting of holy places. I suggested to them to bring him to Karbala just for recreation. Incidentally, the date of our appointed fell on anEid holiday.

At the time of arrival of the professor, a group of people were already at my reception for theEid greeting. I welcomed him, and after formal courtesy talk, I asked him how he found Baghdad and its Muslim people.

Having expressed his impression about Baghdad and Muslim people, I said to him that he had not seen anything of Islam and Muslims yet; otherwise he would have been surprised much more. When he asked how, I told him “Islam, for example insists for its followers to acquire knowledge to the extent that Islam makes it compulsory for all men and all women to acquire knowledge.” I went on to explain to him some of the excellence of knowledge and wisdom as seen through the Islam and the reward prescribed for seeking knowledge. I added, “Islam does not persuade its followers to learn religious science only, as some claim, but Islam encourages (its followers) to gain every type of knowledge so much so that the religious authorities issued religious decrees that acquiring knowledge of all essential sciences and technologies is obligatory upon everyone in the community unless or until experts in the fields concerned are available in the community, to the extent of self-sufficiency.” I quoted the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Progeny), who said: “It is obligatory for every Muslim, man or woman, to acquire knowledge.”17 In thishadith the Holy Prophet did not limit the learning to any particular field, such as, religion, Qur’an or engineering.

Along the same line, Imam Ali (upon whom be peace) is quoted as saying: “a person is valued for his skills and qualities.”18 The Holy Qur’an precedes both of them and asks: {Can the learned be equal to the ignorant?}19 In other words, those who know the contents of the Holy Qur’an are not equal to those who are ignorant of it. Similarly, he who possesses the knowledge of medicine cannot be equal to one who is ignorant of medical science, and he who is the master of mathematics is not equal to one who knows nothing of it. Similarly the comparison may go on in respect of the atomic science, history, politics, economy, etc.

The doctor, listening to these facts attentively, was impressively surprised. Then I said to him, “more than that, the Holy Prophet had urged his companions to go about in search of knowledge and wisdom even to the most remote corners of the world, into the depths of seas, and the expanse of the outer space. The Holy Prophet said: “Seek knowledge, even (if it is) in China.”20 “You could imagine,” I told the professor, “how difficult and tiresome it was in those days, to travel from Medina (in today’s Saudi Arabia) to China, and the time it took to go there? Probably the journey took one year. Besides, there was no trace of religious knowledge and Islamic studies in China. Only the past ancient religious and worldly knowledge were taught over there.”

“Is this not,” I asked, “one of the best proofs that Islam was the religion of knowledge and wisdom which encouraged acquiring every knowledge and, as such, was it not a religion of truth? Had Islam been a false religion, it would have avoided knowledge and intellect because every falsehood avoids the truth so that the secrets of its deception would not come to light.”

Then I told him that the chapter of the Holy Qur’an that was first revealed to the Holy Prophet, according to some Islamic scholars, was the chapter of the “Clot”. This chapter begins with the command of the Almighty, {Read in the Name of your Lord, Who created man from a clot . (and) Who taught (to write) with pen . .}21

Allah the Almighty has mentioned “reading and writing” in this chapter as these two skills make the bases for learning and the key to knowledge. There is another more importanthadith from the Holy Prophet, which says that, “If knowledge were to be in the Pleiades22 , the inhabitants of Farris (Persia) would fetch it from there.”23 If we take Farris to mean lands other than Arabia, just as they call the non-Arab world asAjam , we can say that thehadith refers to the recent expedition to the moon. Here is some good news for man to reach any planet in the Pleiades cluster of stars, which is at a far greater distance than the planets (of the solar system).

In other words, we can say that thishadith of the Holy Prophet is an order in disguise, meaning, “O people of the world, fly into the depths of space until you reach distant stars such as those of the Pleiades.” Consequently, we are waiting for that day when mankind will reach the Pleiades. “As you know” I said to the Professor, “when Russian space scientists launched the first artificial satellite, some of the Christian scholars/clergymen protested that the Russian act was in defiance of Heavenly powers, while the scholars of Islam congratulated humanity on that remarkable success of science in that direction. They took that success as a manifestation and a proof of the correctness of the predictions and saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.”

Thereafter, I told him that Imam Ali who was the pupil and successor of the Holy Prophet, and all Muslims accepted him as a great leader and all held him in high esteem, had proclaimed saying, “Ask me about the ways of the skies as I know them better than the ways of the earth.”24 I asked him whether this proclamation did not prove that he had detailed knowledge of astronomy, and what modern man has discovered today was already known to him fourteen centuries ago, whereas for five thousand years philosophers were of the opinion that flight of man to the skies was impossible.

Every sentence of mine appeared to have deeply moved the doctor and struck like a lightning. These words prevailed over his mind completely and the signs of awe and amazement were clearly seen in his face and his motions. Then I told him about a verse in the Holy Qur’an which referred to the conquest of the outer space and the oceans. This verse says, {O company of Jinn and Man! If you have power to penetrate all regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate (them). You will never penetrate them except with power.}25 Religious scholars interpreted this power as scientific power.

The meeting lasted for over an hour. In the end I enquired him whether he was satisfied that Islam was a universal religion and Muhammadibn Abdullah (may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Progeny) was the Prophet from Allah, the Almighty.

The doctor bowed his head, thinking about what I had said. As he remained silent I said, “I hope you will embrace Islam and augment your distinction of knowledge by that of faith, as Allah the Almighty says in His Holy Book, {Allah will exalt those who believe among you, and those who have knowledge to high rank}26 By the grace of Allah, you are already in possession of the characteristics of vision and wisdom. The only thing which is left is to add to yourself the virtues of belief and faith in Islam.” Then I explained to him that by embracing the religion of Islam he would lose nothing. After a noticeable silence and deep thought, the doctor said, “How should I embrace Islam?”

I said you declare your belief by stating the three declarations of faith, saying, “I bear witness that there is no good except Allah; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and prophet.” In addition to these two declarations, I asked him to declare his acceptance of the authority of Imam Ali and the other (eleven) Imams. He then repeated them accordingly.

Thereafter, he requested one of our friends who was his pupil and was acting as interpreter to arrange one hour every week to teach him the tenets and rituals of the divine religion of Islam. The people who had assembled there congratulated him, and some refreshment was provided. The gathering dispersed, while all were saying, “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.”

Is Jesus The Son of God?

One of my friends, a grocer, came to me one day and said that his brother was an Italian-educated engineer. He and two other individuals from Karbala had each married a Christian Italian woman. The brother had discussed Islam and Christianity with his wife, but in turn she questioned the truth of Islam. That woman, like her husband, was also a learned person. Besides, she was also enriched in Christian religious knowledge, as her father was a Christian scholar.

My grocer friend sought my permission to bring them before me with an intention that perhaps Allah might bless them and they could embrace Islam. I booked a time for them to come and see me. The grocer added that according to his brother, his wife was well educated and well versed in current affairs as well as in the religious knowledge. She was said to be very much argumentative in discussion. I replied, “I hope Allah the Almighty, would help me to speak the words of truth.” I also advised my grocer friend that he should bring the three young men along with their wives so that the discussion could be made with all of them. The grocer promised to try to bring them together but he expressed his doubt about their coming together because only one of them, his brother, being pious and faithful, was keen for his wife to see the truth of and embrace Islam, whereas the other two were devoid of such characteristics. I reminded him of the saying “you won’t know until you try.”

After a few days he came back to me and asked if I could see them that evening and I said, “You are most welcome.” After the evening prayers, I went to my house. The three young engineers along with their wives as well as the grocer friend came over to my house. During the course of our discussion, the husbands of the Christian women acted as their interpreters.

I asked those women what was their religion, and they told me that they followed the Christian religion. I questioned them why they had become Christians. One of them eye winked to the other and said they believed in Christianity because they had accepted Jesus Christ was the son of God. I asked, “Who told you that Jesus Christ was the son of God?” They replied that all people believe so. I refuted their claim, saying, “This is not true.

Do you not know that the present population of the world is more three billion out of which only eight hundred million are Christians? Therefore, the remaining people of the world do not believe that Jesus is the son of God.” At this stage the women were silent because they had no counterargument to present. Then I added, “Moreover, all Christians do not believe that Jesus is the son of God, but most of them believe that he was a human being.”

Then one of those women asked whether I could say that millions of Christians including the great scholars, hermits, nuns and monks were telling a lie that Jesus was the son of God. I put the same question to them as to whether they could similarly say that more than two billion of non- Christian people including great scholars, pious and learned people were telling a lie that Jesus was not the son of God.

The women were silent for a while. Then they asked me to prove theprophethood of Muhammad, and on what grounds I am guiding them to the religion of Islam. I said, “Prophet Muhammad brought miracles with him, claimed to be a prophet, and his claim was not contrary to reason, and therefore we believe in him.” She asked me to elaborate my three points, and I explained it to her thus:

1. “the fact that Muhammad claimed to be a prophet is quite clear and needs no elaboration, as you too admit that he claimed so.” She confirmed my first point, 2. “the Prophet of Islam showed miracles to prove hisprophethood out of which the Holy Qur’an alone is sufficient, since it challenges the people of the world to bring even one chapter like any chapter of the Qur’an, but no one could do so.”

She asked as to why the people of the world could not bring an example against the Qur’an. I replied, “It was similar to Jesus who used to give life to the dead but none of the Jews had such power.” She observed, “The Qur’an is the word.” I replied, “Yes, of course, but this word is not like that of the people, it is something supernatural; and that is why the people of the world could not write a single chapter parallel to it. If Muhammad was not a prophet, he could not bring a book like the Qur’an which is beyond the human word.

3. Then I explained my third point to her saying, “His claim was not contrary to reason. Sometimes it is possible that someone may claim something and carry out some extraordinary tasks, but his claim is contrary to reason. The very reason that his claim was contrary to reason is the proof of his deed’s being not a testimonial from God. For example, if someone claims that the sun can produce coldness, and in support of his claim he carries out some extraordinary deed as to cause the sun eclipse, here we can say that this action of his and the eclipse of the sun is not a miracle from God, but an act done through sorcery, juggling or an unnatural act.

Whereas, it is quite obvious that the claim of Prophet Muhammad was never contrary to reason.”

Then the Italian woman repeated her first argument, saying, “If Jesus Christ was not the son of God, then whose son was he?” I asked her whether she had heard the names of Adam and Eve. She replied, “Yes, Adam and Eve were the first and foremost human beings on earth as stated in the Bible” Then I said, “Who was the father of Adam and Eve?” She replied, “Adam and Eve had no father.” I asked. “How did they come to this world?” She replied, “By the order of God Almighty.” Then I explained it to her that Jesus came to the world similarly by the order of God the Almighty, and without any father. She remained silent.

As my argument had inculcated in them a deep impression, I continued by pointing out to the Christian women that Islam holds Jesus Christ and his mother Mary in high esteem. I started to praise and glorify Virgin Mary (upon whom be peace) and then asked them, “What hinders you to enter this religion which respects and holds in high esteem your Prophet (Jesus) and his mother?”

The women were very much surprised on my talk that I was saying that Islam held Jesus and his mother in high esteem. Then I said to them, “Just now I will bring our holy book, the Glorious Qur’an, for you so that you may yourself see with your own eyes how much our Holy Qur’an has praised and held in high esteem Prophet Jesus and his mother Mary. Nevertheless, there is an entire chapter in the Qur’an entitled Mary.” Then I fetched the Qur’an, I opened the chapter ofMaryam and showed it to them. I turned its pages one by one before them and showed them each and every verse concerning Mary in that chapter.

After such arguments and conversations, Islam made a way in their hearts and I thus taught them to repeat this declaration of accepting the Islamic faith:

“I bear witness that there is no god but Allah Who is One having no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. And I bear witness that Ali and his infallible descendants are the successors of the Messenger of Allah.”

They recited sincerely all three declarations of the faiths in Arabic and in their own tongues as well. At the end some refreshment were served. Their husbands were advised to teach their wives Islamic injunctions. A set of books on the principles of Islam and its practices was presented to them as a gift.

Position of Jesus and Christians in Islam

One day, a colleague of mine came to see me and said that, through his friend, he acquainted with a Christian engineer who served in Iraq and he wanted to discuss Islam with him but he, my colleague, could not do so because he was not well informed of Christianity and was afraid of assuming this responsibility as he had not studied relevant books and references sufficiently to be able to discharge his responsibility.

A few days later, he brought his friend after the evening prayers, and after a little courtesy talk he asked me whether I believed Islam to be a religion, to which I replied in affirmative. He also asked me whether I also believed that Muhammad was a prophet of God, and whether the religion of Muhammad was better than that of Christianity. I replied in affirmative.

Then he asked, “Do you believe that whosoever does not believe in Islam will be thrown into Hell?” I replied, “Those who do not believe in Islam are of two groups. The first group are those who do not believe in Islam since they have no information about the truth of Islam. This group of people would be tested on the Day ofJudgement . If they ‘pass’ the test they would enter Paradise and if not they would go to Hell.

“The second group are those who, having studied and understood the truth of Islam, still do not believe in Islam out of stubbornness and such like. They know that the religion of Islam is a right one, but in spite of this they deny it. Such group of people are obstinate and if they do not feel contrite and repent to Allah the Almighty, then they will be thrown into Hell.”

He said, “If it is so, do you think that millions of Christians will fall into Hell?” I replied, “I did not say that. What I said was that only the obstinate ones will enter hell but those who were ignorant, having no Islamic knowledge would be tested on the Day of Judgment.” He said, “So far I have never heard such a thing from anyone except from you. Contrary to it I have heard from many Muslims that all Christians would fall into fierce Hell. “I said, “Whatever I said is the opinion of all Muslim scholars and is also recorded in our books of philosophy and theology.” He said, “So a group of Christians shall enter Paradise!” To clarify my point, I said, “All those Christians who believed in Jesus Christ and accepted his religion as true before the advent of Islam shall certainly enter Paradise. But after the advent of Islam, only those Christians who ‘pass’ in the test on the Day ofJudgement shall enter Paradise.”

The Christian engineer asked whether I knew about Christianity. I replied, “Yes”. He questioned me as to how and from where I have learnt about Christianity. I said that I have learnt about Christianity by studying their books and by holding debates and discussions with various scholars. He wondered and asked why I did not embrace Christianity in spite of the fact that I admitted the greatness of Jesus. I replied that I was well aware of the greatness of Jesus but I also knew of the greater status of Prophet Muhammad. Thus I believed in Jesus and after him I also believe in Muhammad (peace be upon them). He remarked, “Therefore, as for Christ we feel the same.” I said, “Yes.”

He then asked me, “How can you prove that Muhammad was a prophet?” I said, “The same proof which establishes theprophethood of Jesus, also proves theprophethood of Muhammad.” He negated my argument by saying that Jesus was the son of God whereas Muhammad was the son of Abdullah - the Servant of God.” I asked him, “What do you mean by Jesus is the son of God?” and I added, “Do you mean to say that God made Mary to give birth to Jesus in the same way as a man makes his wife to give birth to his son? Or do you mean something else? What do you really mean?”

At this juncture the face of the Christian engineer appeared to changecolour and he paused to reflect. After a few minutes he raised his head and said, “This incident, being a supernatural one, is beyond one’s reason and imagination.” I asked him, “How do you believe in a religion which is beyond reason?” Then I gave him an example, saying, “If a person comes here and says to you, I am a prophet of God, and it is compulsory upon you to obey me”, and as soon as you ask for a reasonable proof from him he says to you, “It is beyond your reason to understand me”, would you not laugh at that person?” Then I explained to him that it was the nature of human being that he should not accept anything if he does not understand it.

He asked, “So how do you believe in God despite the fact that your reason cannot comprehend Him?” I said, “I know that this world has been brought about by an able creator, but I do not know what is His nature or reality. This is similar to the fact that one believes in the existence of electricity, but despite that, does not know its nature.”

He then turned to the same subject of thesonship of Jesus Christ, saying, “All Christians all over the world claim that Jesus is the son of God.” I refuted him saying, “Firstly, not all Christians believe in this creed. Secondly, their statement is not a proof; otherwise, if you treat it so, then all Muslims too claim that Jesus is not the son of God. You should then accept this majority’s opinion too!”

He said, “How do you prove that Jesus is the prophet of God?” I replied, “As the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam confirm theprophethood of Jesus Christ (upon whom be peace); I also believe in him.” He said, “Suppose that the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad did not stand witness to theprophethood of Jesus, in that case would you have faith in Jesus?” I said, “In this case, I would not believe in him.” He asked for the reason.

I explained to him that in the absence of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet of Islam, theprophethood of Jesus would only be proved either by the statements of Christians or by the Bible, neither of which is reliable. He asked for the reason.

1. I replied, “Because the contents of the Bible are contrary to reason, and it is not possible for such a book to be termed as the Word of God!” He surprisingly asked, “Is the Bible contrary to reason?” I replied in affirmative, and when he asked for an example, I said to him I do not wish to hurt your feelings but you may refer to my book “Attributes of God and His Prophets according to the Bible”27 which shows how the Bible accuses Jesus Christ to have been born of adultery (may God forbid!)

Here the Christian man bit his finger and said, “No! There is no possibility of such a thing to be in the Bible!” I then, opened the Bible for him and showed him what I had said. He was shocked to see that. Then I explained to him that such irrational topics were in abundance in that book which he would see later on, by the will of God.

Then I said “I hope you forgive me if my words have hurt you, but I was compelled by you to do so. Otherwise, Jesus (upon whom be peace) is one of theOl -el-‘Azm Prophets (i.e. who had universal mission for his time) who is holy and righteous in our view. It is compulsory to believe in him in the same way as we must believe in Prophet Muhammad.”

2. Regarding the reason that I could not accept the statements of Christians to serve as the purpose of proof, I explained to him that, offsetting the Christian views and statements, there are so many persons in the world whose number, in total, is many times greater than that of Christians, for example, the Jews, Buddhists, Zoroastrians and Confucians, and so many other people of different religions in the world, who contrary to Christians, do not recognize Jesus as a prophet. That is why I believe in Jesus on the basis of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad.

He said, “So what is the way out now in your opinion?” I said, “In my opinion, let us suppose that we have just now entered this world and want to adopt a religion for ourselves. Then first of all we must remove from ourselves all sorts of past imitations and thoughts so that we may be able to find out with a free mind as to which religion is worthy of following and then opt for that religion sincerely.” He said, “Very well, so how can we find the fact?” I said, “Here we have two books, the Bible and the Qur’an. Given the tampering and distortion that have taken place in the former, such as the many irrational things that are stated, the Bible can no longer merit to be an authentic book for a religion. Therefore, either the original of this book was not correct or its original copy was correct but it was later distorted and corrupted. Consequently, in both cases, the Bible is not an authentic book to be relied on. So the Holy Qur’an is left for us to choose.”

He said, “There could be a possibility that there might be some other religion other than that of the Holy Qur’an, so how can I gather that Islam is better than the other religion? Similarly, how can I take for granted that the Qur’an is authentic so that I may accept it and follow its Prophet?” I said, “Good question! Let me prove the authenticity and the truthfulness of the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an says in one of its verses, {If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our Servant (Muhammad), then produce one chapter like that of it (Qur’an) and call your witnesses other than Allah, if you are truthful.}28 Then I added, “The Arabs were masters of eloquence, literature, and clarity and Muhammad was one of them, and he was not known to be able to read and write nor was he known to have learnt reading or writing from anyone else. However he brought a literary work that still remains an absolutely unique masterpiece. Otherwise the Arabs could have easily competed with him in the Qur’an, but their inability to compete with him in producing such work proves that no human being is competent to challenge the Holy Prophet in bringing the likeness of the Holy Qur’an.

This incident provides sufficient proof that there is no doubt in the revelation of the Holy Qur’an from God the Almighty.” He asked, “There is a possibility that some of the Arabs might have been successful in bringing another book similar to the Qur’an but that has not reached us.” I replied, “Had they been successful in doing so, the Christians and the Jews would certainly have used that book in order to refute the claim of the prophet Muhammad, as they were very eager to do so. Since there is no trace of such a thing in history in this respect, it proves sufficiently that all the opponents of the Holy Prophet failed completely to bring another book similar to the Holy Qur’an.”

Then I gave him a philosophical example saying, “The non-existence of a proof for the existence of something is itself a proof of its non-existence” i.e. if you do not find a person in this room, it means that there is no person in this room.

At this point, the Christian engineer seemed to have been convinced by my argument, and when he asked me for my suggestion, I said to him, “In my opinion, you should believe in theprophethood of Muhammad.” He asked, “Does one have to disbelieve in Jesus Christ by believing in Muhammad?” “Not at all!” I answered him, and added, “But in fact, Islam clearly commands its followers to believe in theprophethood of Jesus Christ as well. Moreover, Jesus is recognized by Islam as one of the Five Great Prophets sent by Allah the Almighty to the east and west of the world as His Messenger, and they are calledOl-ul-Azm .” He asked, “Who are the Five Great Prophets?” I replied, “They are Prophets Noah (Nuh ), Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), Jesus (Isa) and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).”

Then I started to encourage him to accept Islam; and by the grace and blessings of Allah, he embraced Islam and recited the three declarations of faith for accepting Islam and he also accepted the authority of Imam Ali and his eleven son-Imams (upon whom be peace).

Excellences of Islam over other Religions

During the holy month ofRamadahn , one day I arrived at my house after the midday congregational prayers. I was very tired as I had stayed behind for more than an hour to explain various religious issues being asked by many Muslims in the courtyard of the holy shrine of ImamHusayn (upon whom be peace) in Karbala. On my arrival at home as I was about to take a rest, the doorbell rang. There was nobody else in the house to attend to that, and I thought to ignore it but struck me that someone might be in need and if fulfilled by me, would accrue a great heavenly reward to me.

Then I remembered that I had made an appointment to receive an official from Baghdad. We were to discuss my request to import equipment for establishing a local radio station at Karbala, and establishing a college, namely al-Qur’an al-Hakim College and several other items. I did not want to hold the scheduled meeting before I could take a bit of a rest. On the other hand, none of my colleagues who were due to be present in the meeting had arrived yet. I do not like to hold such meetings without the presence of my companions especially when the meeting was with government officials.

Reluctantly, I got up and went to open the door. A man in his sixties was outside. He greeted me and said, “My family members and I have come fromKadhimayn to see you. Is it possible for you to see us?” I said, “You are most welcome.” He said, “My son has received his education in Germany and has returned from there recently with a German Christian wife. In our discussion with her about Islam she asked us to convince her about the genuineness of Islam. We tried, but did not succeed. We decided to seek your guidance in this matter. That is why we have come here fromKadhimayn taking the advantage of today - Friday - which is our holiday

.” I said to him, “I am very happy to receive all of you.” Then I offered the German woman to say what she wanted. Her husband himself became her interpreter. She said, “My husband and his parents claim that Islam supersedes Christianity, and therefore I should accept Islam, although I have not seen any bad thing in Christianity so as to change my religion. I am a religious woman and have studied the Bible and also used to attend church. All members of my family are also religious people. Keeping these conditions in view, is there any reason in your opinion that I should quit Christianity and enter Islam? and why?” She tried to explain her contention by quoting an example, saying, “If you have a beautiful house, will you wish to change it, if there is nothing wrong with it?” Along the same line I said, “I do not want you to abandon your religion. I want you to augment the beauty of your religion with another beauty, the beauty of Islam. I do not want you to change your house but to add another storey over your house so that you may have more facilities like brighter space for enjoying better life.”

With much surprise, she said, “But aren’t Islam and Christianity each other’s enemies and would never come together?” I said, “No. The example of the religions of Christianity and Islam is like the stages of education, i.e. high school stage and university stage. So the example of my inviting you to Islam is like inviting you to university education after you have cleared successfully the stages of high school, so that you may complete your education.” She said, “How can I agree with you when I have learnt from the very beginning in my home, in my school and in my environment that Islam has always been against Christianity, and that Muhammad was the sworn enemy of Christ, and Muslims have been the enemies of Christians?”

I said, “Whatever you have learnt from the very beginning is quite the reverse because Islam is a well-wisher of Christianity, and the proof for this is in our Holy Qur’an, {Say (O Muslims!) “We believe in Allah, and in which is revealed to us . and that which Moses and Jesus received.”}29 Muhammad also is a well-wisher and a brethren of Christ as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, {The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had been sent before him.}30 Muslims too are well-wishers of Christians as can be seen from the following verse: {You will find the nearest of them in affection to those who believe (to be) those who say, “Lo! We are Nazarenes.”}31 Then I asked her, “Having seen these clear-cut verses of the Holy Qur’an, do you still think that that which you have heard before is right or this which you hear and see now?” The Christian lady was very much impressed with my reasoning. Her family members also expressed their surprise; I said, “This was due to our inadequate publicity at home and abroad. May Allah help us.”

Then she said, “Now I agree with you as you have proved it from the Qur’an. If you had not proved it from the Qur’an, I would have said that you were saying this so just to convince me to accept Islam and is not based on reality. Now please elaborate as to how the religion of Islam after Christianity is a ‘university stage' after a high school stage'?” I said, “You yourself are a Christian and know well that Christianity is a religion of morality.” She replied in affirmative. Then I said, “But Islam has augmented the excellences of morals with other issues just as university education provides new branches of learning to those of the high school stage.” She said, “Give an example.” I said, “For example, Islam has established the systems of politics and economics, and laid down theprogrammes for the armed forces, health, wealth and others.”

Astonished by my statements the German lady, asked, “Does Islam deal with these subjects too?” I said, “Oh, yes, and why not?” She said, “I was made to understand before that Islam was a set of ridiculous stories and distortions of Judaism and Christianity.” I said, “but the opposite is true. Islam has distanced true Judaism and Christianity from the ridiculous stories and distortions that have developed in the course of time, and that is why the Holy Qur’an says, {And We have revealed to you the Book (Qur’an) with truth, confirming whatever Book was before it, dominant/prevailing over it (previous book(s)) [by pointing out the distortions and corruptions that have taken place in the previous revealed scriptures]}.”32

She pointed out, “Now, two questions arise for me. Firstly, what are the ridiculous stories in the Judaism and Christianity? Is it possible that such things may have crept into Christianity?” I said, “I do not want to touch this aspect of the matter because I dislike to hurt your feelings and deprive ourselves from the positive results of the discussion. Anyhow, I will point out one issue to you. The Christians believe in the trinity and say that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are three persons yet they are one.

Is it possible?” She answered, “What is the objection?” I said to her while holding three books in my hand, “Are these books three or one?” She said, “Three.” I said, “If a person comes and says to you that these books are three as well as one, what will you say to him? Will you not say to him, It is not possible that three entities to be called as one entity?”

The Christian lady was astonished so much as if she had heard that argument for the first time in her life. She said, “How is it that Christians believe in trinity?” I said, “I do not know, you ask them. I only know this much that this notion is false.”

She said, “my second question is: You have said that Islam addresses all aspects of life. Is Islam a religion? What relation does exist between religion and politics or economics?” I said, “A religion is everything. But since Christianity has undergone many distortions, there remained nothing in it except some ethical teachings.” She said, can you explain, for example, the economics of Islam?” I said, “Well, let me quote for you relevant verses from the Holy Qur’an:

{And know that whatever you earn of your profits, one-fifth (Khums ) of it is the share of Allah.}33 {The alms are only for the poor and the needy.}34 {Allah permitted trading and forbidden usury.}35

{O you who believe, abide by your (commercial) contracts.}36 Then, I started to interpret theseQur’anic verses dealing with Islamic economy in some detail relevant to our discussion. She declared, “I now accept Islam, but only one thing is left, which if you could explain to my entire satisfaction, I shall embrace Islam, otherwise not. I have repeatedly inquired about it from my husband and others but none could give me a satisfactory answer.” I asked her what her question was. “Since the first days I came to Iraq,” she said while pointing at her husband and others, “this family has been asking me to wearHijaab . So, if wearingHijaab in Islam is compulsory, then I cannot embrace it at any rate.

I said, “Have you seen thejewellers how they protect their precious jewels in safe boxes?” She said, “Yes, I have seen so.” I asked, “Why do they do so?” She replied, “Just to protect them from the thieves. I said, “Islamic philosophy of wearingHijaab is the same. For example, you are a young lady and know very well that in every society there are thieves ofhonour and chastity. Just As the jewels are safeguarded from the thieves, Islam has similarly made it compulsory on its followers to safeguard the chastity, dignity and nobleness of the female members of society, and as such this order is only in your own interest.” She said, “This is a plausible explanation. Now, if wearingHijaab is obligatory in Islam, why women are seen in Iraqi television not wearingHijaab ? Is Iraq not an Islamic country?”

I said, “Is your country, Germany, independent or under the yoke of colonialism?” She said, “After the World War II, we fell under the yoke of colonialism.” I said, “Do you believe that colonialism allows you to plan the developments of your country according to your own wishes, to implement the laws out of your own choice, and to let you live as you like?” She said with a gloomy heart, “No, not at all!” I said, “We Muslims too have fallen into the hands of the (politico/economic) colonialism since early twentieth century and all of our national, cultural, political and economicprogrammes are drawn up by them. Consequently, we Muslims are deprived of implementing any suchprogrammes according to Islamic in our own countries.” She said, “Indeed, this is true.”

Here the Christian lady embraced Islam herself and announced the three declarations of faith; “I bear witness there is not god but Allah, the One having no partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Servant and Messenger of Allah.” She also accepted the immediatesuccessorship of Imam Ali.

All members of her family, especially her husband, knew no bound of happiness on her embracing Islam.