by Dr. Imad Benjelloun
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. May God grant peace and blessings upon His Prophet, Muhammad, and all His prophets and messengers.
The United States of America is a great country in science, technology, democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, opportunity for education and job, all of which are necessary to fulfill the rights of the American people. As an American, I greatly cherish these rights. But is the United States of America able to fulfill the #1 right of man and woman, which is to know and live by the true meaning and purpose of life? Imam Abdessalam Yassine says: “The first human right is to know the meaning of one’s life and the existence of the Creator. All the other rights gravitate around this pole.”
Let us listen to the challenges some Americans faced despite growing up in the #1 superpower on planet earth.
Tom: "Assalem alekum. My name is Tom Heckler, and I am an American who was always in search for better meaning and purpose to my life. With everything my country has to offer to me, I was never able to find the answers I was looking for" .
Dan: "Assalamu alaikum my name is Daniel Engler and I am an American. Before my conversion I lived a life with the stereotypical American liberties. Consumerism, consumption and intoxication were a large part of my life" .
Sonny: "Assalamu alaikum my name is Sonny Ammons. I am an American who for most of my life lived without balance or happiness & feeling a deep void in my heart. A man without God, yet always searching for the happiness I was lacking, living my life lost both within myself & the world around me, confused & hungry for spiritual fulfillment" .
Ken: "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmathullahi wa barakatuh, my name is Kenneth Arrington and I am an American. I remember looking around my first year of college surrounded by selfishness and self-destructive behavior and thinking "there has to be more to life than this". And this is where my journey began" .
In July 04, 1776, in Philadelphia, less than 25 miles from my residence in the US, the US Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence which reads in part: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In essence, Imam Yassine’s Prophetic Method supports these truths and rights but what change can it bring about to advance them for the best of not only the rich and powerful but for all American people and humanity?
Let us listen to the second part of the true stories of our American guests in order to learn about such change.
Tom: "After learning and accepting Islam, my life has completely changed, and now it has a genuine meaning and purpose. The prophetic method has defined the meaning of life as a test, and its purpose is to achieve closeness to God" .
Dan: "Being a Muslim is helping me live a life of spiritual liberty and freedom from desires which I find to be the highest level of liberty that America is lacking" .
Sonny: "After becoming a Muslim my life has changed into a life with the balance and happiness that I lacked in earlier years. For example the constant repetition of la illaha illallah which is the core of the purification of the heart and the prophetic method, is helping me in my journey to God and achievement of true happiness" .
Ken: "Through my development in Islam, my life has been changed by Imam Abdus Salaam Yassine's Prophetic method or minhaaj an Nabawee by providing (1) focus which allows us to constantly maintain our connection with Allah; (2) balance which allows us to handle both our worldly and spiritual affairs. And (3) tranquility and happiness in knowing that we are serving both the Creator and His creation" .
These are real stories by real Americans who were born in the US and grew up in the US as non-Muslims searching for real change in their lives, a change that the US could not provide them despite all the power, wealth, and military might it possesses.
Imam Yassine’s Prophetic Method provides the American people and all people with a method of change that we believe would give their lives (like Tom) a better meaning and purpose, offer them (like Dan) a higher form of liberty, and open their hearts (like Sonny) to a truer level of happiness. It can advance the understanding and practice of the US Declaration of Independence self-evident truths and rights to a higher level that extends beyond this life to the next, with the ultimate goal being the satisfaction of God, nearness to God, love of God, and love by God.
Thank you and all praise is due to the Lord of the worlds!