From Doubt to Faith: Discovering Islam (Part 1)
I begin in the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Although I believed in the existence of one God, I was once largely sceptical about religion, the Scriptures, and Islam as a whole. This is the first part of a multi-part series, where I’ll share some of my previous viewpoints and reflect on how reading the Quran and practicing Islam have changed my perspective.
Religion
I used to think that religion was created by people in power, to manipulate the beliefs and behaviours of the masses for their own agendas. In my eyes, a religious individual was a person with rigid personal convictions, reliant on external directives and guidelines to navigate life. I used to believe that religion limits life and human perspectives, while life experiences are so diverse, and thus, viewpoints and concepts of right and wrong can be very individual.
As a believer now, I observe that expressing religious devotion is not trendy or even awkward in today’s modern world. Interestingly, in my home country, as in many other post-Soviet states where the political regime denied the existence of God for over 70 years, people still managed to maintain their belief in Him. Although this belief was often blurred by historically inherited polytheistic or cultural traditions, or weakened by minimal to no engagement with the Holy Scriptures — resulting in a distant relationship with God — the basic belief in His existence nonetheless endured among the majority of the population. In contrast, in economically well-off Western European countries, where people often enjoy a greater sense of control over their lives, there are many individuals who identify as atheists and reject the existence of a higher intelligence behind our existence altogether.
Embracing God’s presence and sovereignty has shifted my entire perspective, often making me think, ‘How in the world did I live without Him and how lost we are without our Creator?’ The thought of navigating life without His guiding and grounding presence feels disorienting and, actually, very saddening.
We all have an innate godly instinct to distinguish right from wrong, but do we always manage to follow this pure instinct? Don’t we, at times, place our egos and desires above it? If our internal compass relies solely on our own understanding, without any reference to the Supreme Authority, aren’t we essentially making ourselves our own ‘gods’? If so, can we be sure that everything we think is good aligns with God’s perfect wisdom? Is it possible that God projects our subjective realities?
Here are a couple of Quranic verses where our Creator reveals our inherent human nature and offers His guidance:
‘As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have certainly made their evil deeds appealing to them, so they wander blindly.’ (27:4)
‘He wishes to turn towards you, but those who follow their lusts want you to go far astray. God wishes to lighten your burden; man was created weak.‘ (4:27-28).
These verses remind us of our vulnerability and the need for divine guidance to navigate the complexities of life. In the next part, I will talk about Revelations and Prophets, God willing.
Until then, peace be upon you.
