Exploring the Truth: Why Islam?

In a world with 2.3 billion Christians, 2 billion Muslims, 1.1 billion Hindus, 500 million Buddhists, and 15 million Jews, and a total of 4,300 religions, it is natural for someone to ask: "Why should I follow Islam?" or "How can we be sure that Islam is the true religion?" This question is profound, but it can be approached logically. To address this, let's use a technique known as Cartesian skepticism, developed by the philosopher René Descartes.

Islam

A Method for Evaluating Religions

Imagine a basket full of apples. When you reach into it, you may find a mix of good and bad apples. Instead of checking each apple individually, Descartes suggests a more efficient approach: empty the basket entirely and then refill it with only the good apples. We can use this metaphor to explore religions. Evaluating each religion individually would be time-consuming and difficult, but by applying logical filters, we can narrow down our search for truth.

The First Filter: Does God Exist?

The first and most foundational question we must ask is whether there is a God. Without the existence of a Creator, any discussion of religion becomes pointless. Let's use reason and evidence from the universe around us to answer this question. According to physics, every action requires a force behind it. If we see something being done, we instinctively know that there is power behind it. For example, if we saw a child pulling an airplane, we would immediately search for another explanation because we know the child alone could not have the strength to pull the airplane. Similarly, when we observe the universe, we see countless examples of work being done that suggests a higher power. Consider a cow that produces milk. The cow has no knowledge of the amino acids or nutrients in the milk that are perfectly suited for the drinker's needs. It eats grass, a substance with no direct relation to milk, yet it produces exactly what humans require for sustenance. Likewise, a bee, with no awareness of human nutrition, creates honey packed with healing properties. Dry, tasteless soil produces colorful, sweet fruits that satisfy our senses and nourish our bodies. How can these creatures and objects, which lack the ability to comprehend the needs of humans, create such precise, beneficial products?  

The answer is clear: there must be an intelligent force behind them. Just like If a person covers his hand with a cloth in such a way that his hand is not visible to anyone, and then he pick up a pen and start writing poetry, an observer wouldn't think that the poetry is the work of the pen alone. Instead, he would seek the true power behind it.so as a pen cannot write a poem without someone guiding it, these natural phenomena cannot occur without the intervention of a Creator. This leads us to the conclusion that the universe is controlled by a higher power a Creator who acts behind the scenes, fulfilling the needs of all creatures. 

With this understanding, we can exclude philosophical beliefs like atheism, agnosticism, and naturalism from our basket of religions. These systems of thought do not acknowledge the existence of a Creator, and therefore, cannot provide answers to the question of why Islam.

 The Second Filter: Is There a Need for Divine Guidance?

Once we acknowledge the existence of a Creator, another question arises: does this Creator provide us with guidance? If we examine everyday life, we see that every product comes with instructions. For instance, when we buy a phone, we receive a guidebook from the manufacturer explaining how to use it. The manufacturer knows the product best because they created it. In the same way, the Creator of the universe would logically provide humanity with guidance on how to live.

Throughout history, humans have asked profound questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Would a Creator who gave us the ability to question not provide us answers? It is only logical that a divine guidebook would be given to humanity to answer these essential questions.

At this point, we can exclude religious systems that do not offer a divine book of guidance. Systems like Shintoism, atheism, pantheism, and nihilism do not claim to have such a guidebook. Therefore, they do not meet this essential criterion for being a true religion.

The Third Filter: Is a Prophet Necessary?

Is having a guidebook alone sufficient? In schools, books are distributed, but teachers are still necessary to explain and apply the knowledge in those books. Similarly, religion needs more than just a guidebook—it needs a prophet to explain its teachings, act as a role model, and guide people in applying religious principles in their daily lives.

Think about it this way: theoretical knowledge from a book is valuable, but practical application is equally important. We need a teacher to demonstrate how to live according to the book's teachings. The same logic applies to religion. A prophet serves as both a teacher and a role model, showing humanity how to follow divine teachings. Just as animals like bees and ants have leaders to guide their colonies, humans too require a divinely appointed guide.

This third filter excludes religions that do not recognize the necessity of a prophet, such as Hinduism, some sects of Judaism, and others. These belief systems fail to meet the requirement of having a divinely appointed leader to teach and guide.

The Narrowing Down: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism

At this stage, after applying these three filters, we are left with three major religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All three acknowledge the existence of a Creator, a divine guidebook, and the necessity of prophets. However, while Christianity and Judaism hold Moses and Jesus in high regard, they do not recognize Prophet Muhammad as a true prophet. Islam, on the other hand, declares that Prophet Muhammad is the final messenger of Allah and affirms the truth of both Moses and Jesus.This leaves us with one important question: if Prophet Muhammad can be proven to be a true prophet, then Islam becomes the only religion that preserves the original message of God.

 The Life of Prophet Muhammad

One of the most important proofs is the life of Prophet Muhammad. Imagine that before his prophet hood, he lived among his people for 40 years. In the 23 years of his prophet hood, he faced the same people again.

And now we see every action of Prophet Muhammad. We will see whether such a person can be a liar or not. Next, we know that those people who are close to each other in rank and position, they can disguise as each other. But for a person whose position is less than the other, it will be difficult to disguise as him. For example, take Ibn Sina, who is also known as Avicenna in Europe. He was a medical genius whose books have been studied in universities all over the world for centuries.  In your opinion, can an ignorant person disguise as him and reveal himself as ibn-e-sina ? If he goes to a city and says, I am ibn e sina , how many people will believe him? After some time, people who spend time with him will understand from his actions that he is a liar, right? A deceiver and a poor man cannot disguise as a Sultan. In a short time, everything about him will be revealed. Can we apply the same logic on Prophet Muhammad? The religion of Prophet Muhammad says about him that he is the person whom Allah has chosen from countless people and made a Prophet.  Mohammad  is the last Prophet who has been sent for all of humanity. There can be two possibilities for the people who are the best and the most moral. Either it is true or they are liars.

But you should remember that a person who declares him as a liar cannot be considered as an ordinary liar. He will have to be considered as the biggest liar of history because his lie was revealed on such a big position.  For example, if he did this, would he be able to keep this lie for 23 years? There may be some people who think that Prophet Muhammad was in contact with a few people but this was not the case. In his life, thousands of people saw every aspect of him. We also know which hand he used to eat, which foot he used to keep in which order he used to shave his nails.  These people analyzed him in such detail that no other person in history has been analyzed in such detail. Do you think if they saw any flaw in him, would they stand by him and bear all the difficulties? Of course not. In fact, there were not only believers among  those who denied his prophet hood also saw him closely. Not only after he became a prophet, but he lived among them. He was born and raised among them. He was not a stranger to them. They knew everything about Prophet Muhammad. They trusted him so much that before he became a prophet, they called him Al-Ameen, which means honest. They all agreed that he never lied and he was aware of the high morals. They trusted Prophet Muhammad so much that after his prophet hood, despite being enemies, they kept their valuables with Prophet Muhammad. They could not find any flaw in him before or after his prophet hood.

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