Why Islam is my choice — Page 43
43 Farooq was now living with us in the same building. He used to pray five times a day and recite the Holy Qur’ ā n in the morning and evening. Besides, he had a very polite mannerism and a charming personality. I found out that Mr. Farooq possessed a lot of religious knowledge. Sometimes we used to engage in healthy discussions. I used to be the one mostly asking questions and listening attentively to him. It was during one of these discussions that he mentioned that the Holy Qur’ ā n provided ample evidence of the continuity of prophethood. This angered me somewhat as according to my limited knowledge and hearsay, my belief was that it was an act of apostasy to believe that prophets could appear after the Holy Prophet Mu ḥ ammad, peace and blessings be upon him. I was sure that Mr. Farooq would never be able to prove what he had just said. So, I promised him that if he could show at least one verse of the Holy Qur’ ā n that would without qualiftcation or interpretation prove that prophets could continue to appear then I would without further ado, accept A ḥ madiyyat and make initiation the same very day. Mr. Farooq first thought that I was saying that only because I was angry. He therefore tried to avoid any further confrontation but on my insistence, he asked me to bring the Holy Qur’ ā n which I immediately did. Mr. Farooq opened the Holy Qur’ ā n at S ū rah Al-A‘r ā f and giving it back to me asked me to read verse 36. I started reading the verse which goes like this: O children of Adam! if Messengers come to you from among yourselves, rehearsing My Signs unto you, then whoso shall fear God and do good deeds, on them shall come no grievance nor shall they fear. (7[Al-A‘r ā f]:36) I read the verse once but could not believe my eyes. I found myself reading the verse over and over again. Even