Praise be to Allah Whom we glorify, Whose help and forgiveness we seek. We seek refuge in Allah from our own evil deeds and bad behavior. He who is guided by Allah will never go astray; he who is misguided by Him will have none to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of being worshipped except Allah alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a state of Islam” (III:102).

“O mankind! Reverence your guardian Lord, Who created you from a single person, (Adam), and from him created his wife, and from them both scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence Allah, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you); for Allah ever watches over you” (IV: 1)

“O you who believe! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the Right; that He may make your conduct whole and sound and forgive you your sins: He that obeys Allah and His Messenger, has already attained the highest achievements (He will be admitted to Paradise)” (XXXIII:70-71).

Indeed, Allah’s book is the most truthful and Muhammad’s guidance is the best. The worst deeds are those innovated in religion, for they are deviations from the Right Path.

Allah and His Messenger show that Faith (Iman) is the best of deeds. Allah (SWT) says: “Do you make the giving of drink to pilgrims or the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque, equal to (the pious service of) those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, strive with might and main in the Cause of Allah? They are not comparable in the sight of Allah: and Allah does not guide those who do wrong.” (IX: 9).

Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) was asked: “What deed is the best?” He replied: “Belief in Allah and His Messenger.” “And what next?” it was said. He said: “Fighting (jihad) in His Cause.”

Faith (Iman) is the basic way to relate the servant to his Lord, bring forth love and fear of Him, and stimulate the servant to perform acts of obedience and avoid those of disobedience. Faith will cause believers to enjoy happiness in both this life and the Hereafter.

Allah and His Messengers tell us that faith involves deep conviction based on clear evidence, the verbal declaration of that conviction which is deeply inculcated in one’s heart, and submission and complete surrender to Allah and His Messenger.

The subjects of this book, Allah willing, will cover all that, according to the Qur’anic and Prophetic approach that presents the issue only with its relevant convincing proofs, influences the audience with its effective sermons and turns absent scenes into actual observable ones.

The Holy Qur’an makes us know our Lord through appealing to our reason and looking into Allah’s Signs: “Verily in the heavens and the earth are Signs for those who believe. And in creating you and the fact that animals are scattered (through the earth), are Signs for those of assured faith. And in the alteration of Night and Day, and the fact that Allah sends down substenance from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the change of winds – are Signs for those that are wise. Such are the Signs of Allah, which We rehearse to you in truth; then in what exposition will they believe after (rejecting) Allah and His Signs?” (XLV: 3-6)

The Holy Qur’an illustrates the significance of belief in Allah in a practice known to the believers: that is the response of Allah to the prayers of those who appeal to Him in time of distress. Allah (SWT) says: “Or, who listens to the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and makes you (mankind) inheritors of the earth? (Can there be another) god besides Allah? Little it is that you heed!” (XXVI: 62)

The Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Traditions show the proofs and miracles of the Messengers to assure the truthfulness of the Divine Message beyond doubt, as Allah (SWT) says while describing the believers: “ Only those are Believers who have believed in Allah and his Messenger, and have never since doubted, but have striven with their belongings and their persons in the Cause of Allah. Such are the sincere ones.” (XLIX:15)

Such was the approach of all Messengers, as Allah (SWT) says: “So also did we show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding ) have certitude.” ( VI : 15)

Knowing the proofs presented by the Messengers is the way to know their truthfulness, as Allah (SWT) tells us about Moses while disputing with Pharaoh about the Signs with which Allah provided him to prove the truthfulness of his Message.

“Moses said, ‘You know well these things have been sent down by none but the Lord of the heaves and the earth as eye-opening evidence : and I consider you indeed, O Pharaoh , to be one doomed to destruction.’” (XVII : 102)

With these proofs Allah (SWT) silences those who no longer have any ground of dispute. Allah (SWT) says: “We sent aforetime Our own Messengers with clear Signs and sent down with them the Book and the Balance (of Right and Wrong) that men may stand forth in justice. And We sent down iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind, that Allah may test who it is that will help, unseen, Him and His Messengers; for Allah is full of Strength, Exalted in Might ( and able to enforce His will).” (LVII: 25)

A unique faithful generation of the Companions (Sahabah) and those righteous people who succeeded them directly (Tabi’in), or throughout history were the fruit of the Qur’an with its distinguished style in addressing reason, stimulating innate straightforward behavior, bringing out a multitude of proofs and signs, challenging the unbelievers and treating obsession.

As a result of the expansion of the Islamic conquests, Muslims mixed with other peoples and cultures, and some Muslims wanted to prove the truth of Faith (Iman) by adopting their approaches. Consequently, there appeared scholastic theology and philosophy, and simple clear things became complicated; bright, luminous things became faint, and soft hearts filled with divine thoughts got hard and dull. Pious critical scholars came forward to oppose those approaches and refute the doubts produced by philosophy and scholastic theology. Then came the role of imitation which worsened the situation, for Muslims began to imitate other nations in matters of Iman acquisition and imitated them in what brings forth doubt and misconceptions. Upright scholars of the Muslim nation undertook the task of distinguishing right from wrong, thus refuting those falsities and disproved those doubts and misconceptions.

Then Imperialists attacked while Muslims were psychologically ready to imitate the strong conquerors even though the latter were infidels.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) foretold this: (You will imitate those who came before you hand-span by hand-span and cubit by cubit (i.e. very closely), so that were they to enter a den of a lizard you would do the same…).

Imperialists mistreated the signs of Faith manifest in the Universe, smeared them with atheism, deviated from the truth, ignored the clear signs and proofs, raised suspicions about the Messengers’ miracles and proofs, and forged false statements and propagated doubts.

So it has become a must for anyone who wants to know Faith and its facts to turn to its pure sources, i.e. Allah’s Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Peace be upon him) to free the truth from the tremendous pile of heretical theories, philosophical mazes, the uncertainties of scholastic theologians, the arguments of copyists and faults of extremists and extravagant people.

Therefore, seeking Allah’s help, we have decided to write this book for the students of Al-Eman University to achieve the following objectives:

Some of Allah’s Signs related to air, water, clouds, rain and the sun have been illustrated. Some light has been shed on some of Allah’s Signs in bones which he brings together and clothe with flesh to construct our bodies.

We have shown the correct scientific approach of looking at the signs and proofs that make the issue of belief a visible matter and tangible evidence, as Allah (SWT) says: “ So also did we show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding ) have certitude.”(VI: 15)

An example has been given to show how one should look into the universal scientific facts and direct them in the correct path and use them as proofs of faith and an indication of the truthfulness of Allah’s Messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Thus, we have removed the false covering atheists have unjustly wrapped those facts with.

The chapter also explains the meaning of the testimony (shahadah) “La ilaha illa allah” (There is no deity worthy of being worshipped except Allah), its virtue and its impact on a Muslim’s life. We have also shown such things as convictions, sayings or actions that contradict it.

In this chapter, we refute the most prominent wrong, unreasonable ideas of the Jews who asked Moses to show them Allah (SWT) manifestly, and also the most conspicuous fooleries of the ignorant (Pre-Islamic) Arabs who stipulated for their belief in Allah that He carry out their foolish suggestions, and also the most notorious specious argument of our contemporaries who ask: Who created Allah?

The Third Chapter covers belief in the Messenger (Peace be upon him) and shows the glad tidings foretelling his advent in the Old and New Testaments and the Hindu and Parsi scriptures. We have quoted from the sources acceptable to the followers of those religions. We have shown such glad tidings as related to the Prophet’s advent, his name, ancestry and homeland and the description of his religion. We have reverted to some of the glad tidings which Muslim scholars used in their arguments and which they found in the scriptures of Jews and Christians before change, corruption and concealment had befallen them. Allah (SWT) says: “The Unbelievers say: ‘You are not a Messenger’ Say: ‘Enough for a witness between me and you is Allah, and such as have knowledge of the Book’” (XIII: 43)

Those who knew of the former Books and the glad tidings about Muhammad (Peace be upon him) mentioned tens of centuries before he was born, were aware of and believed in the truthfulness of the Messenger and the Message.

The Chapter concentrates on the Qur’anic Miracle which is still intact and which all nations and human generations see to know the truthfulness of the Message of Muhammad (Peace be upon him). We have shown examples of the miracles included in the Qur’an concerning the revelation of unknown secrets and past facts whether related to the origin of the Universe or the details of the history of religion and nations and the Messengers sent to them. We have pointed out the secrets which Allah (SWT) revealed to his Messenger about what some people had been thinking and planning. We have given an example of future events revealed by the Qur’an. All that is a proof that the Qur’an has come down from Allah.

We have given four examples illustrating Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an in the field of scientific discoveries in the Universe. We have shown that the Holy Qur’an revealed their minute secrets which were unknown to all mankind at the time of the Revelation. We have also shown that the discovery of such secrets in the fields of oceanography , human anatomy, geology and botany required the efforts of numerous teams of researchers who used the most precise and complicated scientific equipment and instruments to discover those facts and secrets . We have shown that the Qur’an promised to uncover those scientific miracles which are known nowadays to prove that the Qur’an is the Truth from Allah (SWT), Who says: “Soon will we show our Signs in the Universe and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not sufficient that your Lord does witness all things?” (XLI:53)

The Fourth Chapter deals with the reality of this life and death. It shows actual evidence that man was not created in vain, but was created for a purpose, i.e. to act in this life according to his Creator’s wish: that man is to spend his term of life on earth as an examinee in the subject of worshipping his Lord to receive his due reward or punishment in the Hereafter as a result of success or failure in the exam. We have also shown the loss incurred by those who misunderstand the purpose of their creation.

The chapter discusses death, its reality, its due moment, the morale derived from it, the purpose underlying it, and the state of the believer and that of the disbeliever at the moment of death.

The Fifth Chapter presents the reported evidence and intellectual evidence proving the Truth of the Hereafter and the significance of behaving well in this life. Allah (SWT) made available for me a team of respectful researchers (the members of the Iman team working in Al-Eman University), who did their best in collecting and checking some points, translating certain texts and arranging the bibliography.

They checked the manuscript thoroughly and participated in the final revision, preparation of pictures and figures and adding them in the book in their appropriate positions, and adding the biographies and documenting the Prophet’s traditions and supervising the printing of the book. May Allah give them the best reward on my behalf and that of the University, its students, Islam and Muslims. I appeal to Allah (SWT) to make their contributions in the other parts of the series greater.

We offer this effort to those who seek knowledge and to students, scholars and all educated people among Muslims.

If we have done well, it is because of Allah’s Grace; otherwise, it is because of ourselves. May Allah reward whoever compensates for our shortcomings or draw our attention to our mistakes to avoid them.

We are pleased to introduce this work as a present to every Muslim, ceding the rights of publishing and translating, provided that the publisher or translator abide by scientific accuracy and charge a moderate price for the book. We request every Muslim who is able to disseminate the book to contribute as much as possible to publishing or teaching it. We are also in need of a sincere invocation from the reader of this book so that it may be kept for us with our Merciful Lord.

Finally, we say: “Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his Family and his Companions.”

Sana’a

8^th Dhul Hijja, 1420

The Team of Iman at the University