Basim Amin Bazaz in response to the article Conversion Comedy by Ajaz-ul-Haque.

Last week Michael Jackson officially embraced Islam. He will be known as Mikaeel now. Purportedly Michael changed to Mikaeel to avoid an impending bankruptcy.  This along with some other conversions including that of former Pakistan batsman Muhammad Yousuf, who many think embraced Islam to help his cricketing career, has raised an important question; does the reason behind conversion to Islam carry any significance?
Usamah bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) once reported: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent us to Huraqat, a tribe of Juhainah. We attacked the tribe early in the morning and defeated them. A man from the Ansar and I, caught a man (of the defeated tribe). When we overcame him, he said, 'La Ilaha Illalah (There is no true god except Allah.)' At that moment, the Ansari spared him, but I still attacked him with my spear and killed him. By the time we went back to Al-Madinah, news had already reached the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). He asked me, 'O Usamah, did you kill him in spite of his professing La Ilaha Illalah?' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! He professed it out of the fear of our arms.'  The Messenger of Allah replied, 'Why did you not cut open his heart, to find out if he had done so sincerely or not?' He continued repeating it until I wished I had embraced Islam only that day (so that I would not have committed the sin)."  [Al-Bukhari, Muslim]

When someone embraces Islam, it is entirely between him and his Creator why he did it. Besides there is no way anybody can know what prompted him to do it. There may be scores of people, who embrace Islam with a false goal, come to know about its essence, and subsequently join the ranks of the most pious and righteous. Does it make any sense then to criticize them from the outset? Criticize for not having the right reason to convert? I mean does a Non-Muslim not deserve his chance? How on earth will he come to know about Islam if we don't let him embrace it? We as born Muslims, thankfully, had our chance when we were born into a Muslim family.  Would we have been any different from a Yuhanna or a Micheal, had we not? How well we have capitalized on this golden chance is a different discussion altogether.
Muhammad Yousuf may have embraced Islam for a host of reasons. It may have been to help his career grow. It may have been a true change of heart. Whatever the reason, the point still remains that he did embrace Islam and the 'indicators' suggest that he has done it pretty successfully. Since his conversion to Islam, Muhammad Yousuf has proven to be an excellent ambassador of his religion which most of us born Muslims, fail to be.  For the sake of argument let us say he converted because he wanted to become the captain of his national cricket team, which happens to be Muslim dominated. Today he sports a beard, which most of us don`t. He invariably wears a cap when he is off the field. He is regularly spotted in the mosque offering his prayers. He gives up lucrative cricket contracts, to concentrate on his religion in the month of Ramadan. And not to forget, he no longer remains a member of the national cricket team, let alone being its captain. Ironic! All this points to only one writing on the wall; he is carrying the mantle of Islam remarkably well and his conversion to Islam is commendable. As it is, the reason of his conversion hardly carries any significance and even if he did it for his career he has been benefited in an entirely different, better respect. If nothing else, his conversion would definitely have made a soul or two think why he did it. On the day of judgment this alone can be a reason enough to relieve his neck from the fire of hell.. The same holds true for Mikaeel as well.
 At the same time, the fact that Muhammad Yousuf came to limelight and his career peaked right after his conversion calls for some interesting observations. He scored as many as 1700 runs in one calendar year - a world record. By doing it, he proved beyond a smidgen of doubt that religion did not obstruct his progress. At the same time he kept preaching his religion pretty well. This meant his career did not affect his religion either. If anything, he justified by example that religion and career can go hand in hand. If you are good enough, you can still excel in both!
And why should we be excited if a Mikaeel embraces Islam?  Let`s first talk about a Peshawar mosque, couple of years ago. A Friday prayer hardly witnesses two rows of people. After the prayers the Imaam stands up and informs, "Saeed Anwar will deliver a sermon after the ASAR prayer."  Bang. Come ASAR and people flock like mad to the mosque. The roads adjacent to the mosque are swarmed and the traffic is choked. Not to speak about the inside of the mosque and its lawns. This is essentially what a celebrity has a potential of achieving. When a celebrity like Mikaeel embraces Islam, it tells on hundreds and thousands of this followers and fans. Agreed, they may be hooligans and perverts who don`t understand the first thing about conversion. They may not know why Mikaeel did it at all or why they should do the same.  Agreed, Mikaeel may change back to being a Christian who has twice embraced Islam after having changed from a male to female and back. But then again, as of today he remains a part of this noble religion. How his future will pan out, only Allah knows. Whether the change in his religion is just another publicity gimmick, a way to lure his fans or a change of heart only time will tell. But one thing is crystal clear. He does deserve his chances, as the door to repentance remains open right until you breathe your last. And while he is a Muslim he is better than all those who are not. Imagine Mikaeel understanding the essence of Islam, becoming a pious Muslim, asking Allah for repentance and starting to preach Islam. The possibility can never be ruled out. Stranger things have happened when Allah has wished so. Imagine the kind of effect it will have on the masses and the kind of ambassador Mikaeel could prove for Islam. Would his past deeds and the reason of his conversion hold any significance then? Indeed no. Would his conversion be termed a comedy then? Indeed no. And what if Allah Almighty deliberately engineered the whole situation to push him into embracing Islam?

(Feedback: basim.amin@yahoo.com)

Lastupdate on : Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:30:00 Mecca time
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