Mufti Faijullah Aman
Fourteen hundred years ago, a light shone in a cave near Makkah. Today it has spread to every corner of the earth. From the deserts of the Sahara to the snowfields of Siberia, from the islands of Indonesia to the cities of America, the call to prayer is heard everywhere. Today more than one in every four people in the world is a Muslim. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world today.
From a handful to two billion
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, first called people to Islam in Makkah, only a handful stood beside him: Khadijah, Abu Bakr, Ali and Zayd, may Allah be pleased with them. The Quraysh mocked them, tortured them and boycotted them. No one could have imagined that this small caravan would one day become one of the largest communities on earth.
Yet in those very hardest days, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, gave glad tidings:
لَيَبْلُغَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ مَا بَلَغَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ، وَلَا يَتْرُكُ اللَّهُ بَيْتَ مَدَرٍ وَلَا وَبَرٍ إِلَّا أَدْخَلَهُ اللَّهُ هَذَا الدِّينَ
"This matter will certainly reach wherever night and day reach. Allah will not leave a single house, whether of clay or of hair, without bringing this religion into it." (Musnad Ahmad)
Today we are witnessing the fulfilment of that prophecy before our eyes.
Not the sword, but character
Critics of Islam often claim that it spread by the sword. Yet history tells a different story. Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world today, was never reached by a Muslim army. It was reached by Arab and Indian traders. Seeing their honesty, their fair weights, their faithfulness to promises and their devotion to prayer, the local people embraced Islam in great numbers.
In our own Bengal, too, Islam arrived through Sufi saints and scholars. Great figures such as Shah Jalal, Khan Jahan Ali and Shah Makhdum, may Allah have mercy on them, won people's hearts through love and service to humanity. People crushed under the divisions of caste found dignity in Islam, where king and subject stand shoulder to shoulder in the same row of prayer.
Allah the Exalted Himself declares:
لَا إِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّينِ ۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ
"There is no compulsion in religion. The right path has become clearly distinct from error." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:256)
Why people are turning to Islam
The modern world has given people technology and comfort, but it has not been able to give them peace. Amid abundance, people are lonely, despairing and restless. Into this emptiness, Islam brings meaning to life: simple and rational answers to the eternal questions of where we came from, why we are here and where we are going.
The beauty of Islam lies in its simplicity. One God, one Messenger, one Book. There is no intermediary and no priesthood. The servant speaks directly to his Lord, five times a day. Allah says:
أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
"Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (Surah Ar-Ra'd, 13:28)
The Quran captivates people with its miraculous language, and with the fact that in fourteen hundred years not a single letter of it has changed. It is preserved in the hearts of millions, a blessing no other book in the world has received.
Islam gives people brotherhood. On the plains of Hajj, black and white, rich and poor, Arab and non-Arab all stand in the same simple garments, in the same rows. Far from home, a Muslim brother we have never met before becomes family the moment we meet him in the mosque.
The call to prayer on Korean soil
We ourselves are witnesses to this spread. Only a few decades ago, mosques in South Korea could be counted on one hand. Today mosques and prayer spaces are found across the country. In the city of Ansan alone, around 30,000 Muslims live. Every week, Korean visitors come to our mosque wanting to learn about Islam. Many leave with a translation of the Quran in their hands, and some recite the shahadah and become our brothers and sisters. Every new Muslim reminds us that the light of Allah knows no borders.
Allah the Exalted says:
يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
"They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, even though the disbelievers dislike it." (Surah As-Saff, 61:8)
Not numbers, but quality
Yet there is no room for complacency about this growth. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, warned that a time would come when Muslims would be many in number, but like the foam on a flood, light and powerless. (Sunan Abu Dawud)
So the question is not only how many we are. The question is what kind of Muslims we are. Is our character like that of those traders, whose example led an entire nation to Islam? At our workplaces, with our neighbours, on the street and in the office, are we a living invitation to Islam?
Living abroad, each of us is an ambassador. A Korean colleague may never read the Quran, but every day he sees our honesty, our smiles and our devotion to prayer. Our conduct may be the first and only book about Islam he ever reads.
Allah the Exalted says:
وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
"And who is better in speech than one who calls to Allah, does righteous deeds and says, 'I am indeed one of the Muslims.'" (Surah Fussilat, 41:33)
The light of Islam is spreading by the will of Allah. Our task is simply to be bearers of that light. May Allah accept all of us as worthy callers to His religion. Ameen.
