Curious about Islam: Here are 4 Things to Do

Since 9/11, Islam and Muslims have featured in media  a lot. Some so-called experts on Islam give  a very distorted view of the religion, its commandments and its laws. If you know nothing about Islam or are just curious about it, here are 4 things you can do:

1. Watch The Message, The Movie:

If you wish to know the history and advent of Islam, the movie “The Message” is a must-watch. The movie chronicles important events from the life of Prophet Muhammadﷺ and some of his companions.

The movie is unique in a way that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ himself is never depicted, visually or vocally (Getting an actor to play his role would be wholly unacceptable to Muslims.) Featuring Anthony Quinn as Prophet Muhammad’s uncle, The Message is a brilliant movie with beautiful cinematography, a wonderful script, and terrific acting.

2. Read a biography of Prophet Muhammadﷺ :

One of the best biographies I have read is Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources  by Martin Lings. An authority on the work of William Shakespeare, Lings later converted to Islam and wrote this award-winning biography. It is very easy to read with short chapters and a fluent flow.

However, if you wish to read a more detailed, comprehensive biography, then you should read The Sealed Nectar. an authoritative book on the life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) by an Indian Muslim scholar Sheikh Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarkpuri.

3. Listen to Online Lectures

What does Islam say about rights of parents, about Islamic laws, about prayers and charity, about death and afterlife, about hell and heaven, about marriage and divorce, raising children, monetary affairs? Listen to easily available online lectures by great Muslim scholars on these topics and more.

Two English speakers that I would highly recommend are Noman Ali Khan who runs the Bayyinah Institute in Dallas, Texas. The other speaker is Mufti Ismail ibn Musa Menk. For those who enjoy inter-religious debates, Ahmed Deedat and Zakir Naik are good options.

4. Read The Quran for Yourself:

You can probably get a copy from your local library, bookstore or you can read a translation of the Quran online on a website like The Noble Quran or The Quran Explorer. You can read the Quran from a religious perspective, for comparative studies, for historical knowledge of ancient civilizations or from literary point of view. As a person who likes to read a lot, I find the language of the Quran very mesmerizing:

“Verily in the heavens and the earth are signs for those who believe. And in the creation of yourselves, and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are signs for those of assured faith. And in the alternation of night and day, and that fact that Allah sends down sustenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of the winds, are signs for those who are wise” (45:3-5).

There are roughly 6000 verses or ayats in the Quran. Depending upon your reading speed, you can read an entire translation in a month or two. But irrespective of how long it takes, it will give you a better understanding of the religion and its commandments.