The clear, sincere and concordant statements made by people belonging to various races, countries and professions on why they had accepted Islam reflect their personal convictions concerning Islam's difference from and superiority to the other religions. They can be summed up as follows:

- The Islamic religion recognizes one creator, one being worthy of being worshiped. The name of this mabud (being worthy of being worshiped) is Allahu ta'ala. Men's common sense inspires into them that there is one Allah. A reasonable person cannot accept the concept of polytheism, which is a common basis for many other religions.

- The Islamic religion not only equips them with spiritual knowledge, but also teaches them what they should do for their lives in this world and in the Hereafter, and guides them.

- Whereas Christians propound that man is born sinful and that his stay in the world is intended to expiate and to suffer, the Islamic religion states that human beings are innocent creatures when they are born, that they are beloved born slaves of Allahu ta'ala, that they are responsible for their behavior by the time they reach the age of puberty and discretion, and that they shall enjoy the infinite blessings of the Hereafter if they manage to abide by the right way.

- Islam does not allow a third person between the born slave and Allahu ta'ala in matters pertaining to worship, praying and penance. These practices do not require a priestly intermediation.

- Islam states that all Muslims are brothers, wherein differences of race, color, language or country have no place. The Islamic religion holds everybody equal in the view of Allahu ta'ala. During the performance of namaz, a person of the highest rank stands beside another, who may be of the lowest rank, a richest one beside another who, perhaps, is the poorest member of the society, and a white Muslim next to a black one, and with one accord they prostrate themselves before Allahu ta'ala.

- According to Islam, Prophets 'alaihim-us-salam' are human beings like us. They are the most superior human beings in all respects. Their duty is to convey to us the commandments of Allahu ta'ala. On account of their noble moral qualities and high natures, Allahu ta'ala has chosen them and given them this duty. The Islamic religion acknowledges all the past Prophets 'alaihim-us-salawatu wattaslimat' and pays them due respect.

- Islam is a perfectly logical religion. The Qur'an al-karim does not contain a single principle that cannot be understood or which is contradictory to living conditions or scientific knowledge. All the commandments it dictates are extremely useful. The Islamic religion does not embody any superstitions. Preposterous tenets like worshiping idols, images, icons, which can be accepted only by primitive tribes and idolaters and which still exist in Christianity, cannot have access into Islam.

- Christianity represents Allahu ta'ala only as a source of fear. Islam, in contrast, makes one love Allahu ta'ala. What a Muslim fears for is lest he should incur the hatred of Allahu ta'ala.

- No one can force another person to become a Muslim. The two hundred and fifty-sixth ayat of Baqara Sura of the Qur'an al-karim purports the injunction, "Conversion to Islam should not be done through compulsion." On the other hand, Christian missionaries are trying to Christianize people by coercion or by promising advantages.

- The Islamic acts of worship are intended only to express gratitude to Allahu ta'ala and to attain His love. The prescribed prayer times drill people in orderliness and punctuality, and the yearly one-month fasting trains them to have command of their corporeal tendencies.

-Islam puts a special emphasis on cleanliness. Islam is the only religion which commands to do a certain type of physical cleaning before an act of worship. This strictness is totally missing from the other religions. The brevity of daily prayers rules out the possibility of their being a handicap to the daily chores.

- Formation of good habits such as tenderness, charity, and compassion, which are the dominant topics of the sermons given by Christian clergymen, but which are never put into practice by their preachers, let alone by the preached, are peculiar to Muslims.

- On the economic platform, Islam jettisons both the capitalistic materialism and the communistic utopia. It protects the poor, without censuring the rich. It commands the rich to pay zakat to the poor. Furthermore, bringing together Muslims belonging to the sundry nations and races of the world, it establishes the most perfect social system of the world [Hajj].

- Islam prohibits consumption of alcohol, gambling, and drugs. The most disastrous vices of the world originate from these three pestilences.

- No Christian clergyman can explain what will become of people after death, or life and situations in the Hereafter. Islam provides the best and most detailed explanation on this subject.

- Islam is the only religion that commands to help the poor, the destitute and the forlorn travelers, no matter what their religion is.

- Islam does not force any person to believe in something he cannot understand. Unlike other religions, it does not comprehend any mysterious abstractions in the name of credo.

- In Islam, the procedure to be followed for the solution of a canonical problem is first to consult the Qur'an al-karim, then, if a clear answer cannot be found there, to look the matter up in the Sunnat of the Messenger of Allah 'alaihis-salam', and finally, concerning matters of which clear solutions cannot be found in the Sunnat, for the common-sensed experts of the matter to employ ijtihad, [to explain the matter after painstaking lucubrations.][1]

- Islam is the newest religion. From its first day up to our time, the Qur'an al-karim has preserved its pristine purity without undergoing an infinitesimal diacritical interpolation. Its regulation system is comprehensive enough to meet all sorts of needs. This fact is palpable enough to reveal that no other religion will come, that all sorts of religious matters have been solved, and that Islam is the true religion of Allah.

- The Islamic acts of worship can be performed anywhere. It is not compulsory to go to a mosque for worship. A Muslim does not intrude into others' temples, and it is permissible to perform namaz in a church when it is inevitable.

- Islam cherishes women highly and gives them the greatest rights. The Islamic religion does not enjoin to marry more than one women. Islam's polygamy is a permission which is limited with a certain number and regulated with certain stipulations. By the time Islam appeared, it had been an Arabic custom that a man could cohabit with as many women as he liked and with no degree of responsibility as to their rights. Islam rescued womankind from this horrible situation and protected their rights. By stating, "Paradise is beneath the mother's feet," Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' granted a distinguished status to women. This privilege does not exist in any other religion.

- Islam invites people to work, to study and learn useful knowledge, and to ask for help from Allahu ta'ala after putting his mental and physical capacity to work. No other religion has the maxim, "One hour spent meditating or doing something useful is equal to one year spent doing supererogatory worship."

- Islam is spiritual and physical cleanliness. It holds these two kinds of cleanliness equal. Islam comprises only love, sweet smiles, soft words, integrity, and charity.

- Islam expresses Allahu ta'ala as the Rabb-ul-'alamin, i.e. Allah of all classes of beings. Unlike in other religions, He is not considered as Allah for the votaries of the religion concerned.

- The Qur'an al-karim is the only source where a wretched person can find consolation. The Qur'an al-karim contains numerous pieces of consolatory, soothing, and instructive advice, depending on the kind of the need.

Islam does not allow any evil thoughts or bad behaviors. There are hypocrites and heretics who try to exploit Islam for their personal advantages, subversive policies, and blunting ideologies. A true Muslim belonging to the group called Ahl-as-sunnat, which is the only group with the correct belief, will never serve as their tool. Nor will he fall for their deceits and let his belief be corrupted. A Muslim will not infringe on someone else's rights, whatsoever the latter's religious belief. A person belonging to one of the seventy-two groups, which our Prophet 'alaihis-salam' stated to be wrong, is a heretic. A true Muslim holding the belief of Ahl-as-sunnat is an extremely pure person who does his five daily prayers of namaz regularly. Islam has prohibited to point a gun toward your Muslim brother, even for a jocular purpose.

Our country, Turkey, which enjoys all the blessings of Allahu ta'ala and which is peerless in the world owing to its good climate, abundant water and rich metal resources, needs true Muslims holding the belief of Ahl-as-sunnat. Only these true Muslims can improve this sacred country to the level worthy of it, by cooperating with one another, by respecting, loving and protecting one another, by rejecting the asinine and aberrant publications of the people of bidat carrying Muslim names and of the enemies of Islam, by working incessantly, by catching up with, and even excelling, the science and technology of the twentieth century. This country, (or any other Muslim country on the earth), will reap no benefit from people who do not know Allahu ta'ala as He is described by the scholars of Ahl-as-sunnat, who flout Islam's commandments and prohibitions, and who feel enmity towards their Muslim brothers with the effect of foreign ideas they have been indoctrinated with. Their souls are unhealthy. Like machines or beasts, they give service to anyone who gets possession of them. They are the most harmful viruses of society. May Allahu ta'ala protect us against the vices of these pestilential people! Scientists and politicians who have chosen Islam, state that "If a man's soul is vacant, it is good for nothing. This vacuum can be filled only with a true religion." A person who has purified his soul with Islam and who avoids Islam's prohibitions, will not fall for any subversive propaganda; but he will follow the right path written in the books of Ahl-as-sunnat, establish a hand-in-hand cooperation with his Muslim brothers, and thus serve his religion and country. Thereby, he will attain the blessing and grace of Allahu ta'ala in both worlds.

Of old, the unilaterally opinionated people would take any occasion to vituperate Islam, and to attempt to defile the essentials of this true religion; in short, doing injustice was their favorite occupation. Most of the books written by such miscreants were published by Christians and by heretical groups lurking behind Muslim names. In Europe there are subversive books that were written without any actual study of Islam. These books represent cruel and lying heathens who worship the devil, who legitimize all sorts of iniquity, and who consider women as mere possessions. Books of the same sort were published with mischievous motives in the orient as well. Today, as people understand one another better and read one another's books, correct books spread widely, and thus the old hatred gradually leaves its place to admiration. The divisive and subversive ideas that at one time instigated wars between Christians and Muslims, and between the aberrant groups of Muslims and true Muslims holding the belief of Ahl-as-sunnat, are on the decrease.

Today Christians realize the shortcomings of their religion and try to ameliorate them. As we were preparing this book we received a letter from India. Enclosed was a message headlined 'Explanation' and distributed by the Christians living there. It said: "Because Allah created us, we are all Allah's sons and daughters. You, too, are a son or daughter of Allah. The expression 'the son of God', which you read in the Bible, means, 'the born slave (creature) of God'. In other words, to say that Isa (Jesus) 'alaihis-salam' is the son of Allah means to say that Allah created him, as He created you and me. He does not have any other relation to Allah. As for the Holy Spirit; it means the great power endowed on Isa 'alaihis-salam'. It would be a mistake to take it as another godhead. The Bible does not contain something in the name of Trinity. Allah is one. It is wrong to believe in three gods. The dogma that men are born sinful, which you have been taught until now, is wrong, too. Everybody is responsible before Allahu ta'ala only for his or her own actions."

As is seen, even Christian priests realize that trinity is something quite wrong, and they attempt to correct it. And this, in its turn, shows that people are gathering around the belief in one mabud (Allah). This reversal means a closer proximity to Islam. We hope that one day Islam will cover the entire world. Otherwise, humanity will become altogether irreligious, which in turn means doom for humanity.

We terminate this part of our book with a quotation of the Nasr Sura of Qur'an al-karim, which purports: "When comes the Help of Allahu ta'ala, and victory, and thou dost see the people enter Allahu ta'ala's religion in crowds, celebrate the praises of thy Lord, and pray for His forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy).

Come, O man, who is captivated in forlorn lands,
Come, O man, who is snoozing in earthly ruins!

Open your eyes'n look around, so many lords passed by,
So mad it is to give your heart to this fleeting lie!

Cage is not for the philomel, be it fed with candy,
Alas! Why should one prefer this dungeon so gloomy?

How disconsolate it would be from sleep so sound,
To wake up, when death came to end your earthly round!

So darkened is your heart that advice would do you no good;
To a heart as hard as rocks counsels would be dry food!

Come to your senses, before it is too late;
Eternal torment awaits those who flout this fate!

O my ego, it is you who needs this advice most;
That day, obedience, alone, shall bear a cost!

FOOTNOTES

1. Please see The Sunni Path; Endless Bliss, first fascicle, 5th,6th,26th and 27th chapters; and Endless Bliss, second fascicle, 33rd chapter.