Muslim by Choice or Chance

All Praise is for Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and ask for his
forgiveness. We have Faith and Trust in Him. We seek Allah’s protection
from the evil of our souls and from our impious deeds. Indeed, whoever
Allah guides none can misguide him. And he whom Allah lets go astray
there is none to guide him. I bear witness and testify that there is no
deity worthy of worship. All glory be to him. and I bear witness and
testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His final Messenger and
His perfect worshipper. Whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will
be successful. And whosoever disobeys either of them has gone astray.
The best Word is Al Quraan, the Book of Allah. And the best Guidance is
that given by Muhammad (peace be upon him). And every Bid’ah is a
deviation and every deviation is bound to Hell Fire.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem! Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha,

haqqa tuqaatihee wala tamu tun-na, il-la wa antum Muslimoon.”

O You who believe, - Fear Allah, as He should be feared, and die not
except as Muslims.

  Ya Ay-yuhal-latheena ‘aamanut taqul-laaha, wa qooloo qawlan sadeedaa.

Yuslih-lakum a’maalakum wa yaghfir lakum thunoobakum, wamay yu-til-
laaha warasoolah, faqad faaza fawzan atheemaa.”

O You who believe, - Be aware of Allah, and speak a straightforward word.

He will forgive your sins and repair your deeds. And whoever take Allah
and His prophet as a guide, has already achieved a mighty victory…

My respected Brothers and Sisters,

Al hamdulillah, most of us at some stage have witnessed the very joyous

moment when a new person Reverts to the Islam. Nothing is more sweet
than the words of the Shahada being uttered from the lips of our new
brothers and Sisters. I too have heard that there have been a number of
new reverts to Islam at Dar Us salaam. What a great blessing!

Therefore I have titled my Khutba Muslim by Choice or Chance. Today, I

want to draw attention to our newest brothers and sisters in Bedford and
around the World, who have risked so much, and who have endured and
are still enduring so much in order to be part of our global Muslim family.
Something very peculiar is happening these days. In the wake of 9/ll and
7/7, a growing number of people are entering Islam as their religion of
choice. Some are from the most educated and privileged classes, and
some are US soldiers on active duty abroad. In spite of all the
difficulties and risks, all the negative media coverage and Islamophobia,
more and more people are choosing Islam as their spiritual home. These
people have carefully considered the pros and cons, and they are aware
that their choice involves possible hardship, but still they find the
courage and strength of conviction to follow their hearts. Each of these
individuals has a unique and compelling story to tell. I believe that we who
were born into Muslim families can learn a great deal about the power and
beauty of Islam, when we listen to our newest brothers and sisters telling
us about their journey of faith.

By the way, new Muslims prefer to be called reverts rather than

converts, because, they are simply returning to their natural state in
which they were born. According to the well-known Hadith, narrated by
Sahih Muslim, the Prophet Muhammad sws said: “Every child is born in a
state of Fitra, i.e. Every child is born a Muslim. Only its parents will raise
it as a Jew, a Christian or a Polytheist.”

I will give just a few quick examples of what some new Muslims had to say
about their spiritual journey to Islam. Perhaps we can learn something to
help strengthen our own Faith....

Lucy-Bushill-Mathews, a Cambridge graduate, joined all three political

parties [Labour, Conservative and Lib-Dem] and the Christian and
Islamic societies so that she could study them all and dismiss them
altogether. But the more she studied Islam, the more it made sense to
her. “It was so simple and logical, she said, I could not push it away.
Then, Allah came knocking at my heart…. That’s really how it felt. In
many ways it is beyond articulation, rather like falling in love.”
Joe Ahmed-Dobson, son of Frank Dobson, ex-Minister of Health and
London Mayor candidate, says that he came to Islam because “it has
the constant impetus to do the right thing. I only got my first-class
degree because Islam brought structure and discipline to my life.”
Yahya Birt, son of John Birt, ex-Governor of the BBC, studied
Comparative Religion and says that he chose Islam because: “It’s pure
monotheism. It has a clear moral system … no scripture expresses the
oneness of God as clearly as the Holy Qur'an…”
One of the most moving stories I ever heard was the story of a legal
Secretary in London. It is about this young Italian lady whose father
 disowned her after she came to Islam. Years later, she had news that
her father was very ill with cancer, close to death, in fact. She
contacted the family and asked permission to visit him in hospital. Her
father agreed and she went to see him. After gazing at his daughter
for a while, he asked her, in a weak voice, “Why did you leave your
religion?” She replied, “Father, I didn’t leave my religion. I only
completed it. Prophet Muhammad sws did not bring a new religion. He
only completed God’s message. Christians believe in the Old Testament
and the New Testament. Prophet Muhammad sws brought us the Last
Testament. That’s all.” When she finished explaining, she asked,
“Father, do you understand? Her father stared at her for a while. He
was very weak. Then he nodded, he smiled, he lifted his right index
finger, closed his eyes, and died,smiling, with his tahiyyat finger
extended.

Brother and sisters, a deeply moving story. Who knows whether this dying
Italian father may have taken shahadah in the last few seconds of his
life? Allah alone knows. And truly, Allah works in wonderful and
mysterious ways. In another example, a South Korean Platoon Commander
took shahadah before leaving for Iraq. Then his whole platoon of 37
soldiers did the same!.... so many fascinating stories of how people came
to Islam.

If you listen carefully to our newest brothers and sisters, you will find
that all their unique and diverse threads of experience have a special
quality that connects them. Using different words and describing
different starting points and circumstances, they all tell us about
something of a homecoming. It is really about returning to a natural
state.

Brothers and sisters, there is a perfectly good reason why intelligent and
enquiring minds should be attracted to Islam. The reason is quite clear.
Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, Who created the heavens and the earth,
has from the very beginning, prepared the soul of every human being, to
recognise its Creator. When our souls were created, we were all
programmed to recognise Allah as our Lord. It’s right there, etched onto
our circuit boards, hardwired to the silicon chips of our soul. Let us
consider what the Holy Qur'an tells us about the nature of the Ruh, the
human soul, and its relationship to its Creator. We read in Sura Al-Ar’af
verse 172:
"And remember when your Lord brought forth from the Children of
Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to
themselves saying : 'Am I not your Lord?' They say : 'Yes! Indeed, You
are!.' Lest they say on the Day of Judgement : 'Truly, we have been
unaware of this."

Brothers and sisters, this is a tremendously important verse. It tells us

that worshipping our Lord is a natural inclination of the human soul. It is
unnatural to be in a state of disbelief. The distraction of the material
world is what corrupts the human soul and leads to disbelief. Therefore,
when people say that they find Islam so easy, so familiar, so natural, it is
because they have ‘reverted’ from distraction and confusion, to their
primeval state, their original state, which is to recognise and worship
their Creator.

“Al-latheena aamanu, watat-ma-innu quloobuhum, be thikrullah. Alaa

bithikrillaahi tat-ma-innul quloob.”

“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the

Remembrance of Alláh; for without doubt, in the Remembrance of Alláh
do hearts find satisfaction.” Sura Al Ra’d;13:28

Secondly, we learn from this verse, that on the Day of Judgement, every
human soul will have to answer the question: Who is your Lord? It will not
be a trick question, but a perfectly logical one. It will simply refer us
back to a covenant, a binding contract, a promise, which our ruh, our soul
has made at the very beginning, at a time before Time and at a place
beyond eternity. Your soul and my soul, and the soul of every human being
that ever was and ever will be, from the time of Prophet Adam right up to
the last human being before Yawm-al-Qiyaamah, the Day of Reckoning,
will have to answer that question. Who is your Lord? Now we can
understand why people find the message of Islam so familiar. Even if they
were raised as Christians or Jews, it does not matter. When someone
discovers Islam, something stirs within the innermost depths of the soul.
It is a kind of recognition, a flickering memory from the dim and distant
past. The more they learn about Islam, the more their awakened soul is
aroused and compelled to find its Maker. The human soul will never rest
until it finds Alláh. Therefore, when someone takes Shahadah, and says,
La ilaha il-lal-laah! There is no god but Allah! Then that person’s soul
finds peace and serenity. It has reconnected and re-confirmed its
primeval Covenant that it made at the very beginning of the human story.
Our newest Brothers and sisters are really blessed by Allah. All their
past sins are forgiven and they are again as innocent as newborn babies

‫أقول قولي ه ذا وأس تغفر هللا العلي العظيم لي ولكم فاس تغفروه من ك ل ذنب‬
‫ وال حول وال قوة إال باهلل العلي العظيم‬،‫إنه هو الغفور الرحيم‬

. “Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen. Was-salaatu was-salaamu alaa Khairil

mursaleen. Muhammadin-nabeey-yil Ummiy-yee, wa-‘alaa aalihee, wasah-
bihee, aj-ma’een. 

Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu

sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli
Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik
ala Muhammad, wa alaa áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala
ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I ask those of us who were born into Muslim families: Are we Muslims by
choice, or by chance? Do we follow Islam out of a deep personal
conviction, or simply by habits, copied from our parents? Is Islam an
inheritance we never question, and we never examine closely? Have we
made clear and considered decisions about our future, or are we happy
just to let things drift along? We must answer these questions truthfully
so that we can enjoy the full richness of a life based on iman and taqwa,
faith and Allah-awareness.

We must understand that Islam is not simply one of a range of lifestyle

options we can choose from a catalogue or supermarket. Out there in the
wider world already we are being classified as moderates and militants,
jihadis, ‘progressive Muslims’ and suchlike. Others are trying to
reformulate Islam into something that fits their own agenda. Soon we
might hear about semi-skimmed Islam, diet Islam and fat-free Islam.
Personally, I prefer the original flavour, the whole-hearted version.
Remember, what the Qur'an says:

“O You who Believe, enter into Islam whole-heartedly, and follow not the
steps of Shaytaan, for he is to you an avowed enemy….” [athuw-wum
mubeen]
Islam does not require new ways of inventing itself in order to gain more
followers. This is not a numbers game. It is about the quality of individual
Believers. It is about transforming human beings from what we are to
what Alláh wants us to be. “Fee ahsani taqweem,’’ the Holy Qur'an
describes the pinnacle human perfection. There’s no need for diet Islam
or semi-skimmed Islam, and we must beware of any newly-invented forms
of our noble Faith. “Wa kullun bid’atin dalaalah, wa kullun dalaala fin naar.”
And every newly-invented matter [in the faith] is an innovation, and every
innovation leads to the Fire.” He Who has the Power and Wisdom to
create the heavens and the earth, has perfected Islam for us and chosen
it as our way of living. How can anyone possibly improve on that?

We Muslims ought to show by example that Islam is not be feared, but

welcomed. Our trustworthy and generous nature should illuminate our
homes and be like a beacon of light to our neighbours in the wider
community. It is said that Faith, Iman, does not enter a heart without
beautifying it. As our faith increases, so our character should improve,
and so our neighbourhoods should benefit. Real Believers add value to
their environment.

We, who were born into Muslim families, need to search our hearts and
souls so that we too can be Muslims by choice and not merely by chance.
Like our new Brothers and sisters, we, too, must feel the deep joy and
serenity of fulfilling the Covenant when our Ruh, our soul recognises its
Creator.

Some practical points. Our new brothers and sisters need help and
guidance. There is such a bewildering confusion of groups and subgroups
out there, each trying to elbow its way above the rest. We have Salafis,
Sufis, Wahabis, Deobandis, Brehelwis, Ahle this and Ahle that. Let’s keep
Islam simple. At least 17 times every day, we ask Allah, “Ihdi nas siraatal
Mustaqeem,” “Show us the straight way.” Don’t let us confuse ourselves
and our new brothers and sisters. Let us remember just two important
qualities of our Holy Prophet Muhammad sws. He was trustworthy; Al-
Ameen, and he had a most generous heart. Let us, then, be truthful,
trustworthy and generous towards one another…

We also need to help new Muslim find jobs, homes, and suitable husbands
and wives. This is the practical side of following Prophet Muhammad sws.

Muslims deserve generosity from each other not only in material things,
but more especially in accepting diversity of opinions. Let’s be more
forgiving of each other’s faults. Let’s not criticise, condemn and complain.
Be and let be. Live and let live. Let Allah be the judge in matters we
dispute.

I ask Allah to forgive me for any shortcomings/errors in my

Khutba…….And bless us all the abilty to understand and benefit from this
khutaba.