Malcolm X's (Malik al-Shabazz) Letter from Mecca

April 1964

Key Extracts
Never have I witnessed such sincere hospitality and overwhelming spirit of true brotherhood as is practiced by people of all colors and races here in this ancient holy land, the home of Abraham, Muhammad and all the other Prophets of the holy scriptures.

Islam is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white - but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam.
I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man - and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their "differences" in color.

Source: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, co-authored Alex Haley.
Editor's Note: The compassion, selflessness, brotherhood, and generosity that Malcolm encountered in Makkah during his Hajj opened his heart to the true spirit of Sunni Islam. He writes in his autobiography,

"Because of the spiritual enlightenment which I was blessed to receive as the result of my recent pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah, I no longer subscribe to sweeping indictments of any one race. I am now striving to live the life of a true Sunni Muslim. I must repeat that I am not a racist nor do I subscribe to the tenets of racism. I can state in all sincerity that I wish nothing but freedom, justice and equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all people."

Islam - The Religion of Peace
In the Name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful

It was the inherent force of truth, reason and logic that was responsible for the rapid spread of Islam.

Islam means peace
Islam comes from the root word `salaam', which means peace.
It also means submitting one's will to Allah (swt).

No compulsion in Islam
Islam is acquired by submitting one's will to the will of the Supreme Creator, Allah (swt). The Qur'an says in the following verse:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error" [Al-Qur'an 2:256]

Increase in the world religions (1934 - 1984)An article in Reader's Digest 'Almanac', year book 1986, gave the statistics of the increase of percentage of the major religions of the world from 1934 to 1984. This article also appeared in 'The Plain Truth' magazine. Islam increased by 235% while Christianity increased by 47%.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, Europe & East Coast of AfricaWhy has the West accepted Islam in such large numbers?


Sword of the Intellect
It is the sword of intellect that conquers the hearts and minds of people. The Qur'an says in Surah Nahl, chapter 16 verse 125:

"Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious." [Al-Qur'an 16:125]

Opinion of historian De Lacy O'Leary
A reply to the misconception about Islam is given by De Lacy O'Leary in the book, "Islam at the cross road":

"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myth that historians have ever repeated." (Page 8)

Opinion of Thomas Carlyle
Another reply to the misconception about the spread of Islam is given by Thomas Carlyle in his book "Heroes and Hero worship":

"The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is precisely in a minority of one. In one man's head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can."

Opinion of Dr. Joseph Adam Pearson
He rightly says, "People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day MUHAMMED (pbuh) was born".

Did you know...
There was no Islamic Army invasion to Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Spain:

• Yet Malaysia and Indonesia remained countries with a majority Muslim population.
• In India, although Islam spread its wings there, tody 80% of India's population remained non-Muslim. This meant that no force was imposed on them to convert to Islam as Islam believes that there is no compulsion in religion.
• Islam ruled Spain for 800 years. After the invasion of the Christians, not a single Muslim is allowed to recite the 'Adhaan' (call to the obligatory prayer) in public.

Source: Credit to "Naima Naveed" (Text sent by W_Oransa)

Quran - The Eternal Miracle

In the Name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful.

What is the Quran ?
It is the last Book of Allah sent for the guidance of humanity through the last Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH).
Why is the Quran important? Allah [SWT] exhorted the followers of truth to make Al-Quran as their only guide. It is the complete and best guide for living one's life and seeking Allah's pleasure.

Is it applicable to Arabs only?
The teachings of the Quran are universal, addressed to all people throughout the world regardless of their creed and color. They enlighten man's soul, purify his morals, condemn all wrongs, order good deeds and call for the establishment of justice and fraternity through obeying Allah as the supreme authority.

What does the Quran teach us?
The Quran provides the regulations that create the proper relations between man and Allah and man and man. It leads man to understand his role in this world, encourages him to think and ponder, and guides him in the usage of natural resources. In short, the Quran provides all the guidance that humanity needs. Without the guidance of the Quran, humanity would still be groping in the darkness of ignorance.

How is it revealed to humanity?
The Quran was revealed piecemeal throughout a period of about 23 years.
The Prophet (PBUH) received the first revelation in 610CE, in the Hira cave in the "Mountain of Light", Jabale-Noor, 2 1/2 miles from the "House of Allah" in Makkah, Arabia.

What is the first revelation?
It was the first 5 verses of Surah Al-Alaq:

Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know." (96: 1-5)

What then is the last revelation?
It was the 3rd verse of Surah Al-Maidah:

Today I perfected your religion for you and completed my favor to you and have chosen for you Al-Islam as your religion." (5 3)

What is contained in the Quran?
Al-Quran is divided into 30 equal divisions, which has 114 chapters with 6666 verses containing 336 233 letters.

What is the longest chapter?
It is Surah Al-Baqarah with 286 verses.

What then is the shortest chapter?
It is Surah Al-Kawthar with only three verses.

What is Makkan?
It is the chapters revealed before the migration of the Prophet to Madina. The topics stress the Unity and Majesty of Allah, the Most Exalted, Most High (SWT), denounce idle worship, promise paradise for the righteous and warn wrongdoers of their punishment in Hellfire, confirm the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), and remind humanity of the past prophets and events of their time.

What is Madinan?
It is the chapters revealed after the migration to Madina. The topics outline ritualistic aspects of Islam such as Zakah, Fasting, and Hajj, lay down moral and ethical codes, criminal laws, social, economic, and state policies, give guidelines for foreign relations, rules and regulations for battle and the captives of war. They also contain descriptions of some of the early battles of Islam, condemnation of hypocrites, emphasis on the unified basic message of all the past prophets, and confirmation that the process of prophethood and revelation is complete, so that no Prophet will come after Muhammad [PBUH], no new book will be revealed, and Allah's religion is complete through Al-Quran.

How was the Quran compiled?
The Quran was revealed piecemeal, according to the needs of the time. Angel Jibrail [PBUH] brought it to the Prophet [PBUH] who would memorize it. Afterwards, it was preserved in two ways:-

Memorization: A number of early Muslims would memorize each revelation as soon as it was revealed and thus had the whole Quran memorized at the time of the final revelation. The tradition of memorizing the entire Quran still continues, and a person who does so is called a 'Hafize Quran'.

Writing: Whenever any revelation took place, it was written at once on tablets, palm branches, shorn of leaves, or animal skin. This was done primarily by Zaid bin Thabit, who was the main scribe out of the 42 scribes of the revelation. The Prophet [PBUH] set the order of the chapters under the guidance of Angel Jibrail [PBUH] and ordered his companions to maintain that order.

Who compiled the Quran?
Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam, compiled the Quran, and Uthman, the third caliph, made numerous copies and sent one copy to each state capital.

Did you know...

• Al-Quran is the only ever living miracle.
• Today no other miracle of any prophet exists.
• A survey noted that there is more than 10 million Huffaz (persons who have memorized the whole Quran) today.
• Millions of editions/copies were printed/handwritten in almost every part of the world.
• They were also translated into most of the languages of mankind.
• During the period of over 1400 years since the Quran was revealed, not a single letter was changed, Subhan Allah! (as Allah has promised that he will protect the Quran)

Source: Islamzine.com