Convert Me

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. -- To begin with... -- I thank Cerebral_Narcissist for starting this debate, and I hope that something positive comes out of it. I am a Muslim and will therefore introduce Islam to him, and explain why this is the true religion. While atheism is not a religion per se, I will not start combating it and bring direct evidence for the existence of God, but I will rather show why Islam, out of all other religions, is the true one. That can be done by explaining which holy book is most probably a revelation from God, and so forth. If I mention any holy book besides the Qur'an in a way that the followers of it feel being insulted, such as that I explain why it cannot be from God, then it is important to know that my intention is in no way to insult or attack anyone, but to make a case for my religion in a manner that is respectful. Even if I offend you, my apology is ready to serve you well. I look forward to a positive debate. -- Content -- • 1. Introduction o Islam o Holy Book, the Qur'an • 2. Claim to be the True Religion • 3. Challenge of the Qur'an • 4. A Perfect Book o Free from contradictions, compatible with science o Archaeological evidence of historical claims • 5. Perfect Preservation -- Arguments -- • 1. Introduction "Islam" is an Arabic word that means "Submission to God." It derives from the word "salaam" which means "peace." The followers of Islam are called "Muslims." Currently, there are approximately 1.57 billion Muslims around the world[1], although not all are practising Muslims. The Qur'an[2] is a book that was revealed throughout 23 years, step by step, starting in the year 610 AD. This way, it was easier for people to memorize the Qur'an, accept it, and so forth. The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters, and is written in Arabic. It is today as it was when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was alive. There is archaeological and logical evidence for this, and I will elaborate this point later. Every Qur'an today is in one original version, whether you find a copy in the furthest regions in the west or the east; you will find the same one. The Qur'an is an inimitable book, because it is written in an unmatchable style in Arabic, making it impossible for anyone to make a similar piece of text. It is a pure book, preserved since it was revealed, it is compatible with established scientific facts, and it is consisting of perfect words, none that contradict one another. It should be noted that Islamic teachings are also based on "Sahih Hadith." Those are authentic narrations of the beloved Prophet, and they comment on some Qur'anic verse, and so forth. • 2. Claim to be the True Religion A very important question is with regard to the truth of (a) religion(s). Which one is true? It is very easy to make a claim for Islam as a response to this question. First, I would like to give an example: Assume that there are three cars in front of you. You are asked to enter one of them. The first car symbolizes that if you enter it, you will have access to a beautiful park, as long as you wish. It also symbolizes that it is the only car that will do such a good thing, and the others will simply lead you to something bad. The second car symbolizes that if you enter it, you will be led to the same place, but does not say that anything bad will happen if you enter the other cars. So, if you enter the first car, it is not a harmful thing. The third car symbolizes almost nothing, except that if you enter it, you will be led to a place for a while, and returned to the starting place. I want to ask that if you are in this situation, which car would you pick? The safest one is the first. If you enter it, nothing can go wrong, since the two others say nothing negative about entering the first car. However, by entering the second and third car, you risk of being led to a bad place, so why take the risk instead of being safe? The first car is therefore the best option. Similarly, when it comes to religion, you need to ask which one claims to be the true, and which one does not. I ask my opponent to show me a verse of the Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, the Vedas, the Tipitaka, or any other scripture, which says that if you accept other religions besides this one, you will be punished. There are some criteria. One religion can say that you will be punished for being a murderer, but not for being a follower of another religion, and not being a murderer at the same time. Hinduism, for instance, calls for belief in one God. Being a Muslim is believing in one God. However, the word "Hindu" is not found in the Vedas. Does a Muslim risk being punished? No. It is the same with all scriptures, except for one: the Qur'an. [Qur'an 3:19] "The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will)." [Qur'an 3:85] "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good)." There are similar verses. The religion of Islam claims to be the true one, and excludes all others. If this is the true religion, Muslims will be rewarded, and non-Muslims will be punished for their disbelief and other evil deeds. Which religion, then, is safest? If you are a Hindu, you can check the Vedas and find similar verses. If you are a Christian, you can check the Bible. Only Islam makes it cut and clear; Islam is the true religion, and no other religion is true. If you are a Muslim, you are not to be punished for being that even if Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'ism, Christianity etc. are true. If Islam is true, you will be punished, except if you are a Muslim. Also note that Christianity is deriving from Christ, Judaism from the tribe of Judah, and so forth. Islam is not a name of men, but one referring to God, hence the meaning "Submission to [the will of] God." • 3. Challenge of the Qur'an On several occasions, the Qur'an challenges people to produce any text similar to it. People have tried, but were never successful.[3] The Qur'an claims that had it been written by men, it would be imperfect. It would be filled with contradictions etc. [Qur'an 4:82] "Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much discrepancy." In all holy books, except one, you will surely find contradictions, and similar discrepancy. Those books claim to have been inspired by God, so how can God make such imperfect things? However, the Qur'an, also claiming to be from God, stands out as the only one without any form of discrepancy. No holy book or person can pass this challenge of the Qur'an. Any attempt to make a book similar to the Qur'an has and will fail. The style is unmatchable. • 4. A Perfect Book As I already indicated above, the Qur'an is a book of perfect words. o Free from contradictions, compatible with science When verses are read with understanding, no contradiction is to be found. There are rebuttals to all so-called "contradictions." Furthermore, it is not in conflict with established scientific facts. None of this applies to other holy books. o Archaeological evidence of historical claims I will elaborate this point in the next rounds. • 5. Perfect Preservation [Qur'an 15:9] "We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." The Qur'an is perfectly preserved since it was revealed. It was memorized by people, written down, and there are old Qur'an collection, matching today's ones. Elaboration in Round 2. -- References -- [1]http://pewforum.org... [2]http://www.usc.edu... [3]http://www.islamic-awareness.org...