Truth Seeker
No
one is compelled to accept the truth, but it is
certainly a shame upon the human intellect when a man is not
even interested in finding out what the truth is!
Islam
teaches that our Creator has given human beings the faculty
of reason. Therefore, it is incumbent upon them to reason
things out objectively and systematically for themselves to
ponder, to question and to reflect.
Nobody
should press you to make a hasty decision to accept any of the
teachings of Islam, for Islam teaches that human beings
should be given the freedom to choose. Even when a person
is faced with the truth, there is no compulsion upon him to
embrace it.
But
before you begin to form an opinion about Islam,
ask yourself whether your existing knowledge about it
is thorough enough. Ask yourself whether that knowledge has
been obtained through third party sources who themselves have
probably been exposed to only random glimpses of Islamic
writings and have yet to reason out on Islam objectively and
systematically themselves.
Is
it fair enough that one should form an opinion about the
taste of a particular dish just by a mere hearsay from others
who may themselves have not necessarily tasted the dish yet?
Similarly
you should find out for yourself about Islam from
reliable sources and not only taste it, but rather digest it
very well before you form an opinion of it. That would
be an intellectual approach to the truth.
In
making your next move to the truth, Islam continually
reassures you that your rights to freedom of choice and freedom
to use that God-given faculty of thought and reason will
be respected, for everyone has that individual will. No one
else can take away that will and force you to submit to the
true way of your Creator, you have to find out and make
that decision yourself!
May
your intellectual journey towards the truth be a pleasant and
fruitful one... Amen