Professor Arthur Alison is the Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the University of London. For several year he had been the President of the British Society for Psychological and Spiritual Studies. In the course of his study of religions, he got acquaninted with Islam.
When he compared Islam with the religions and creeds he had studied, he found it suited his inborn nature and satisfied his requirements.

He was invited to the First Islamic International Conference on the Medical Inimitability in the Quran held in Cairo form 29th September to 6th October 1985, under the auspices of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate. In the conference he presented a paper on th psychological and spiritual methods of therapy in the light of the Holy Quran, in addition, to another paper on sleep and death in the light of Verse 42 of Surah Zumar (39) in the Quran which he presented in collaboration with Dr. Mohammed Yahya Sharafi. The facts presented in the conference were eyeopener to him.

At the concluding session of the Conference attended by Shaikhul Azhar Jad Al-Haq, the Egyptian Minister of Awqqf, Dr. Mohammed Ahmady and Dr. Mohammed Yahya Sharafi and in the presence of Press Reporters and T.V. Correspondents, Professor Arthur Alison stood to declare that Islam is the religion of truth and inborn nature with which God has created man. Then he uttered the two testimonies (Shahadatain): saying that he bears witness that there is no god, but Allah and that Mohammed is the Prophet of God.

In an interview given to the Arabic weekly, Al Muslimoon of London, he narrated the story of his conversion to Islam saying:

"In th ecourse of my study of psychology and related subjects as the President of the British Society for Psychological and Spiritual Studies, I got acquainted with religions. I studied the religion of Hinduism, Buddhism and some other religions and creeds. When I studied Islam, I compared it to other religions.

"During the Conference on 'Medical Inimitability in the Quran', I could realise that the difference was great. Then I was convinced that Islam is the most proper religion that befits my inborn nature and conduct. In the heart of my hearts I had felt that there is a God controlling the Universe. He is the Creator.

"Therefore when I studied about Islam, I found that it did not conflict with reason and science. So I believed that it was the revealed religion from One and Only God. As I witnessed the truth, I uttered the two testimonies. The moment I uttered it, I was overwhelmed by a strange and ineffable feeling mingled with ease, comfort and satisfaction."

He went on to say the material world is now in critical stage, what they say and see does not explain the facts exactly, Here lies the responsibility of Muslims who could meet the wandering and perplexed humanity. They the humanity will find themselves hand in hand with religion, science, this world, the Hereafter, and achieve an integration in the shade of which man can be happy.

Prof. Abdullah Alison added that he along with Dr. Mohmmed Yahya had presented in the conference on the 'Medical Inimitability in the Quran a paper focussion on the meaning of the Quranic verse.

"It is Allah who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply." (Surah Zumar 39:42)

Through this verse, he said, they could prove that death and sleep are similar phenomena in which souls depart from the body. In the case of sleep, the soul returns to the body and in death, it does not. This verse reminds us that taking souls means both sleep and death. This fact has been proved through para-psychologic studies which are related to three main domains as given below.

Out of Body Experience(OBE):

Some persons are reported to have this experience in which they found their bodies in some other place of lying in a bed. This is called the Out of Body Experience. Studies have revealed that about 10% to 20% of the cases subjected to study had, had this experience.

Coma resembling death

suffering from serious ailments, some persons enter a state of coma. The attending physicians declare them to have been clinically dead. But due to some medical aids they may regain consciousness. These persons narrate strange events they saw during such a state. Such experiences are worthy of study scientifically and in the light of the Quran.


Dreams

When some persons dream, they know that they are dreaming. Experiments in these domains have proved that sleep is the departure of certain object from body which God has called as "soul".

Prof. Abdullah Alison added that when he attended the conference on the 'Medical Inimitability in the Quran and learned various facts in the Quran and Sunnah related to the creations which have been confirmed by science, he realised that Quran could in no way be a human creation. What was revealed to the Holy Prophet 1400 years ago proves that he is the Prophet of God. Therefore, he said, he uttered the two testimonies and became a Muslim with the name Abdullah Alison.

He spoke on the necessity of using the scientific facts in Islam as a means of Islamic Dawah in the West, adding that it was the most appropriate way. The Western way of pursuing knowledge he says, creates an impression that that man is a limited quantity of cells and the universe a bunch of visible and double objects. Whenever man discovers something, he realises he is more and more ignorant. When we learn more and more in the field of psychology and related subjects, this fact becomes more clear.

The learned Professor disclosed that he could set up an Islamic Psychological Studies Institute in London in the light of Quran and Sunnah and the sutdies related to Medical Inimitability in the Quran, with a view to showing the scientific facts, contained in the Quran, to the Western world. This Institute will include an Islamic library with English and Arabic books, in addittion, to another Institute for conducting scientific research in the light of Quran

K. Mohammed
Doha, Qatar