ISLAMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION Spreading the Truth of Islam www.irf.net ANSWER TO NON-MUSLIMS COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM
Authored by: Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik
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ISLAMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION Spreading the Truth of Islam www.irf.net ANSWER TO NON-MUSLIMS COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM
Authored by: Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik
INTRODUCTION Da’wah is a duty Most Muslims know that Islam is a universal religion, meant for all mankind. Allah (swt) is the Lord of the entire Universe, and Muslims have been entrusted with the duty of conveying His message to all mankind. Alas, most Muslims today have become callous towards this duty! While accepting Islam as the best way of life for ourselves, most of us are unwilling to share this knowledge with those to whom the message has not yet been conveyed. The Arabic word Da’wah means a call or an invitation. In Islamic context, it means to strive for the propagation of Islam. The Glorious Qur’an says: “Ah! Who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from Allah? But Allah is not unmindful of what ye do!” [Al-Qur’an 2:140]
Twenty Most Common Questions In order to convey the message of Islam, dialogue and debate become inevitable. The Glorious Qur’an says: “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord, with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious!” [Al-Qur’an 16:125]
In conveying the message of Islam to a non-Muslim, it is usually not sufficient to highlight only the positive nature of Islam. Most non-Muslims are not convinced about the truth of Islam because there are a few questions about Islam at the back of their minds that remain unanswered. They may agree with your contentions about the positive nature of Islam. But, in the same breath, they will say - “Ah! But you are the same Muslims who marry more than one woman. You are the same people who subjugate women by keeping them behind the veil. You are fundamentalists, etc.” I personally prefer asking the non-Muslims upfront, with their limited knowledge, whether right or wrong, from whichever source it may be, what they feel is wrong in Islam. I encourage them to be very frank and open and convince them that I can take criticism about Islam. In the past few years of my Da’wah experience, I have realized that there are barely twenty most common questions that a common non-Muslim has regarding Islam. Whenever you ask a non-Muslim, “what do you feel is wrong in Islam?”, he poses five or six questions, and these questions invariably fall among the twenty most common questions.
Logical replies can convince the majority The twenty most common questions about Islam can be answered with reason and logic. A majority of non-Muslims can be convinced with these answers. If a Muslim memorizes or simply remembers these answers, Inshallah he will be successful, if not in convincing non-Muslims about the complete truth of Islam,
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ISLAMIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION Spreading the Truth of Islam www.irf.net ANSWER TO NON-MUSLIMS COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM
Authored by: Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik
then at least in removing misconceptions about Islam and neutralizing the negative thinking about Islam and Muslims that the non-Muslims have. A very few non-Muslims may have counter arguments to these replies, for which further information may be required.
Misconceptions due to media The common misconceptions about Islam arise in the minds of a majority of non-Muslims, because they are constantly b