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The Search for the Truth

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The Search for the Truth The Search for the Truth by a Man Known as Salman the Persian compiled by: Dr. Saleh as-Saleh [email protected] 2 www.calgaryislam.com Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................4 The Beginning ........................................................................................7 A Different Religion0 ............................................................................1 The Interest Arises ................................................................................1 The Opposition ......................................................................................3 The Way Out ........................................................................................11 This is it, .ut5 ........................................................................................12 The Urge is Strong ..............................................................................14 Another 7ove ......................................................................................15 2ne More Move ..................................................................................16 The .ig 7ove .......................................................................................17 The Slavery to Allah Alone ................................................................24 .ut They will Come5 ............................................................................26 References .............................................................................................27 [email protected] 3 www.calgaryislam.com In The Name of Allah, the 7ost Merciful, the 7ost Compassionate. ntroduction All Praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, see His Help, and see His forgiveness. 4e see refuge in Allah, the 7ost High, from the evils of our own selves and from our wic ed deeds. 4hom- soever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whomsoever Allah leads astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no true deity worthy of being worshipped except Allah, Alone, without any partner or associate. I further bear witness that 7u- hammad is His true slave and 7essenger. 7ay Allah, the Exalted, bestow His Peace and .lessings upon the final prophet, Muhammad, his good and pure family, and upon all of his noble companions. Today, many people are curious about Islam, but their nowledge about this faith may vary. Their nowledge may have been gained from an article, a book, or part of a religious text book at high school they may have read. They may have nown some 7usl- ims, passed by a 7osque, watched a documentary or the evening news, or they might have traveled to a 7uslim country. To some, Islam is ?just another religion’, but for many others, it has become something ?interestingA to ?lookA at. I have written this book for those who are searching within themselves for answers to the many questions they have. B4ho am I0 4ho is the True Cod0 4hat is the true road to salvation? Is it Islam0 If I become a Mus- lim, what does it mean to me, my family, and the society at large0D [email protected] 4 www.calgaryislam.com Today, many people realiEe that all of the materialistic and secular progress which has ta en place in society has produced a spiritual vacuum, which in turn has led to social, economic, political and psychological problems. For this reason, those who previously said, BLet us live this life and enjoy it,D or BHey5 4e don’t want to now about Cod,D are now again searching for the truth. They are raising questions similar to those raised above. This is because the innate nature of man recogniEes what is good and bad, and what is true and false. It not feel at ease when Allah’s attributes are degraded, and also when humanli e qualities are associated with Him. It recogniEes that there can be no more than 2ne and 2nly True Cod, and thus 2ne and 2nly true religion accepted by Him. Allah does not re-uest some of the creation to worship Him alone, while ordering to worship Gesus ,1 .uddha, fire, light, Krishna, Goseph Smith, the Sun, the 7oon, Khomeini, Rama, temples, Prophets, Eliajah, Fara han, a cross, a tree, a tri- angle, saints, priests, mon s, or anything else. Everything besides Allah is a creation! They are imperfect. They are in need of others, but Allah is Self-Sufficient. He is The First, having nothing before Him, and The Last, having nothing after Him. To Him is the Final Return. He does not beget nor is He begotten. No human gave Him the name Allah; rather, He named Himself with this name. It means ?the True and 2nly Deity 4ho Deserves to .e 4orshipped’. He is not a nationalistic or a tribal god. He is the Creator of everything. He, therefore, deserves that we submit to Him Alone, and He called this type of submission ?IslamA. Confusion, though, came on the part of man when people started to worship creation, whether animate or inanimate, besides Allah! In the final Revealed 7essage to mankind, the IurJaan, Allah 1 This symbol represents the phrase ? Jalayh-is-Salam’ which means: peace be upon him. 2ut of respect, 7uslims are commanded to state this phrase after mentioning the name of any prophet or messenger. [email protected] , www.calgaryislam.com clearly explains the purpose for man’s presence in this world. 2utwardly and inwardly, man is called to live in accordance with Allah’s way. This is the meaning of worship in Islam, and it is the purpose for which we all have been created. There are those, though, who accept Allah as the 2nly True Cod who deserves to be worshipped, but do not live in accordance with Allah’s com- mandments. Their practices are deviated from Islam. They are not the criteria upon which Islam should be judged. Islam is per- fect but people are not. 4e are called to search into Islam. The objective of this boo is to call people to search for their sal- vation by examining the story of a long search by a man called Salman ?Al-FariseeA, or ?the Persian’. 4hy not0 Do we now eve- rything0 4hen we now that we do not even posses the air we breath, and that we were not created by nothing, nor did we cre- ate ourselves, it becomes natural that one desires to learn more about Cod (Allah), 4ho created us, gave us life, and 4ho, one Day, will call us bac to Him. 2n that Day, there will either be endless bliss or endless torment. [email protected] 8 www.calgaryislam.com Salman and His Story The Beginning No one can tell the story of Salman better than he himself. Sal- man narrated his story to one of the companions and a close relative of the Prophet 7uhammad by the name of Abdullah bin JAbbaas, who in turn narrated it to others.2 Ibn 'Abbaas said, Salman said, % was a Persian man from the people of s- fahaan3 from a town known as Jayi. My father was the town chief. To him, was the most beloved creature of Allah. His love for me reached the point to which he trusted me to supervise the fire4 he lit. He would not let it die down.” This is an indication of good behavior of a son towards his fa- ther. Here Salman used the correct name of the true Cod, Allah. The name Allah is the same name used by all of the Prophets and 7essengers . Allah is the same name of Cod in the Aramaic language of our beloved Prophet Jesus . A Different Religion, “My father owned a large area of fertile land. One day, while busy with his construction, he told me to go and to his land and fulfill some chores he desired. On my way to 2 This hadeeth was related in the ?7usnadA of Imaam Ahmed. 3 Isfahaan: A Region in northwest Iran. 4 His father was a 7agean who worshipped fire. [email protected] 7 www.calgaryislam.com his land, came across a Christian church. heard the sound of people praying inside. did not know how peo- ple lived outside, for my father kept me confined to his house! So when came across those people /of the church0 and heard their voices, went inside to watch what they were doing.* nterest Arises %1hen saw them, liked their prayers and became in- terested in their matter /i.e., religion0. said /to myself0, 2#y Allah, this religion is better than that of ours.’ * Salman kept an open mind, free from blind imitation. “By Allah, did not leave them until sunset. did not go to my father’s Land.” Salman gave himself the time to contemplate this religion which he, at that point, thought was the correct belief. A perceptive and ind heart charged with patience are virtues which are necessary to free oneself from being confined to a thought such as, B2 well5 I will try to find out, but IAm too busy now,D etc. Death may noc at the door sooner than one may hope. % asked /i.e., the people of the church0. 25rom where did this religion originate,3 * See ing the ?origin’ is a guide for those in search of the true relig- ion. The ?origin’ and ?essenceA are essential terms that help in the search process. 4hat is the ?originA of Islam and what is its es- sence0 Islam came from Allah, the Creator, the True Cod, and its essence is submission to Him ., , This symbol represents the phrase ?Subhaanahu wa TaJaalaaA which means: 7ay Allah be exalted from what the disbelievers associate with Him. 2ut of respect, 7uslims state this phrase after mentioning the Name of Allah. [email protected] 1 www.calgaryislam.com “They said, 2 n ash-Shaam.’6 returned to my father who had become worried and sent /someone0 after me. Upon my arrival, he said, 2- son! 1here have you been, Didn’t entrust you with an assignment,’ said, 2O my father, came across some people praying in their church and liked their religion. By Allah stayed with them until sunset.’ * This is amaEing honesty shown by a person who nows well his fatherAs commitment to his religion. This is the ind of openness which one who is in search for the truth must have. The Opposition “My father said, 2- Son! There is no good in that relig- ion, the religion of you and your forefathers’ is better.’ * This is the theme of all those who blindly follow others in mat- ters of faith.
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