Why Did They Become Muslims

conducted in the United States to choose the ‘Greatest Man of all
Times’.
It is not something that an ordinary person, an average leader
or a usual commander could do to elaborate a small crowd of
barbarians into the greatest, the most civilized, the most virtuous,
the highest-charactered, the most valiant, the most knowledgeable
nation of the world. This is a miracle made only by Allâhu ta’âlâ,
who sent the Qur’ân al-kerîm through Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sallam’ to the Arabs and made them accomplish all these
things. This unbelievable great result came about only as a
consequence of following the Qur’ân al-kerîm and obeying the
commandments of the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
Do not all these facts we have stated and the divine orderliness
in the arrangements of its contents show you that the Qur’ân alkerîm
is the greatest miracle of the world? As you see the third
miracle of the Qur’ân al-kerîm is its guiding the world to
civilization in a short time.
Ahmed Cevdet Pâşa ‘rahima hullâhu ta’âlâ’, a great historian,
who passed away in Istanbul in 1312 [1894 C.E.], states as follows
in his book Qisâs-i-Enbiyâ (History of Prophets): “Forty years
after Îsâ’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ ascension [1]
to heaven, the Romans
attacked Jerusalem, killed some of the Jews and captivated
others. They sacked Jerusalem and razed the Bayt-ul-muqaddas,
i.e. the Mesjîd-i-Aqsâ (al-Aqsâ). Jerusalem turned into a
wilderness. Jewry never recovered after that havoc, nor were
they ever again able to re-establish a government. They dispersed
to various places, where they led a despicable life. Îsâ ‘alaihissalâm’
was thirty years old when he was given the message
notifying his prophethood. Twelve people believed in him. These
people are called Hawâriyyûn (Apostles, or disciples). When he
was raised up to heaven alive, the Apostles dispersed, each going
to a different place to spread the new religion. Some time later,
books were written in the name of Bible. They were history
books telling about Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’. The genuine Bible (Injîl)
has never been obtained. Unbelief and polytheism prevailed
[1] We do not mean the ‘ascension’ mentioned in Christian literature.
According to Islam, Îsâ (Jesus) ‘alaihi-salâm’ was not crucified. Judas
Iscariot, his betrayer, was arrested and crucified. Allâhu ta’âlâ raised
Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, alive, up to heaven. This is the ‘ascension’ we
mean.
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