Dr. Laurence B. Brown - Bearing True Witness

One of the first lessons I learned as a new author was to narrow the subject of my books, and define the audience for which they were written. Hence, the dream of one book grew into the reality of two, with a third planned to complete the trilogy.

This present book is the second in the series.

The first book in this series was written to guide those seeking the religion of truth. This first book, entitled The First and Final Commandment (Amana publications), argues the continuity of revelation from Judaism to Christianity, and then to Islam.

This present book - the second in the trilogy - provides guidance in the practical aspects of the Islamic religion, and is intended for converts and for those Muslims who seek to clarify their religion.

The third book in the series is in the planning stage, as of the date of this writing, but is intended to address the many disingenuous criticisms and blatant slanders leveled against Muslims and the Islamic religion. Topics such as polygamy, slavery, racism, the female headscarf, oppression of women, terrorism, "fundamentalism," idolatry and others are to be discussed with similar methodology to that employed in The First and Final Commandment.

The order of this series of books, then, is to present the Islamic religion as the final revelation and fulfillment of predictions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures in the first book, to suggest the manner in which the Islamic religion should be practically applied in the second, and to provide the confirmed Muslim with defense against the most common slanders against Islam in the third.

Regarding the present work, Muslims frequently observe that converts to the Islamic religion progress through several stages of ideological, spiritual, and psychological growth before achieving a semblance of religious maturity. The period of maturation varies from one individual to another, as does the end result. Some Muslims have shown remarkable religious maturity as children. Others experience dramatic reversal of ideology late in life. The renunciation of extreme Sufism by the famous eleventh century (CE) Imam Al-Ghazali (full name: Abu Haamid Muhammad Al-Ghazali) in later life, and the refutation of his errors in aqeeda by the tenth century (CE) Al-Ash'aree (full name: Abu Al-Hasan 'Ali ibn Ismaa'eel al- Ash'aree, to whom the Ash'aree aqeeda is attributed), also late in his days, serve as prominent examples. In more recent history, Malcolm X's transition from the racist and ideologically condemned political cult known as the Nation of Islam to orthodox (Sunni) Islam is perhaps the best known example.

In the beginning, Muslim converts frequently embark upon widely divergent ideological paths on the grayscale that spans the gap between the clear purity of correctness and the murky darkness of deviation. Although many eventually settle upon the path of Islamic correctness, a large number also become confirmed upon degrees of deviancy, sometimes of such a mild degree as to warrant naught but advice, occasionally of such magnitude as to warrant punishment according to the Shari'a (Islamic law), and all too often of such severity as to invalidate a person's shahada (testimony of faith) entirely, meaning that the person in question, whether knowingly or not, invalidates their claim to being Muslim and leaves the religion of Islam.

For the individual, the importance of correctness of religious path relates to salvation. For the community, the importance relates to the errors of the deviants misrepresenting Islam.

The author, being a Western convert to the Islamic religion, has lived the heedless hedonism that accompanies absence of religion, the awakening of spiritual awareness in the heart of the seeker, the soulful search for truth, the cautious sifting of religions for ingredients of value and consistency, the serenity of embrace of truth when found, and times both pleasant and unpleasant following and at all points in the process. Having lived and worked as a Muslim in the Western countries of America and England, and subsequently in the Holy City of Medina Al-Munawara has conferred a depth of experience that may be of interest to those who seek a similar path.

Nonetheless, what follows is not a book of memoirs, but rather of analysis. The fact is that the presented issues have been analyzed by Islamic scholars since the time of revelation, and the correct path for each issue has been defined since the time of the last messenger, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ibn Abdullah The paucity of information available in the English language, however, results in many Western converts being ill- informed and, as consequence, easily mislead.

The information that follows is the author's best attempt at rectifying that unfortunate situation.