NAIK’S EFFECT
In these past several days,
Indonesia had been visited by one of the influential preacher -Islamic
Missionary- in the world and Alhamdulillah Makassar became the last city he
visited exactly on this day. The news about his visit was reported massively in
social media but it looked like nothing in big media and National TV. There were
many reactions of his visit, some people rejected him by accusing he would bring
the hatred in every lecture. But in fact, people greeting happily him were so
many. Every visit in every city must be attended by a thousand people. It
showed that the difference appeared between people’s enthusiasm and what media
shared.
You may have known him. His name
is Dr. Zakir Naik who is from Mumbai, India. He started doing his first lecture
about Islam in 1991 with basic knowledge based on Salafi and comparative
religion. As we know, his influences spreading the message of peacefulness of Islam
have been accepted by many people rapidly and strongly in a whole world.
People can attend his lecture
directly to ask and to argue what they think about Islam in particularly or
about the God and religion in generally. For your information, he really loves
non-Moslems to come to his lecture and he always gives the privilege for them who
want to get more explanation about Islam. But if you can’t be there, you can
watch his video on internet. It’s available so many.
So, why does he get so famous and
so influential? In my opinion, one of the reasons is that he is the most
logical preacher in this era who can explain Islam message clearly and
logically to the people who want to know more about Islam with his analogies
and examples. As we understood as a Moslem in the same way that to be a true
and good believer, we just need to believe in Allah (God) and do what He
ordered to us without doubt and giving many questions logically and asking the
answers logically.
We just need to have a strong
faith and gain much knowledge to improve and strengthen our faith and not to
weaken it. He copied Einstein’s quote which said “Science without religion is
lame. And religion without science is blind”. So, if you want to find it both,
find it in Quran. Like the first guidance given by Quran is “Iqra” which means
“Read it!”. That’s it.
But, some people who have a
different religion with Moslems or are an atheist even a Moslem itself usually
asking their hesitation also the logical question and statement to figure out
the truth of the meaning of the creations, God, and this universe. It’s normal
for people that still look for their guidance (Hidayah) and want to acquire
their faith unanimously.
We have to respect them and help
them to gain the knowledge and their faith on Islam sooner. Because maybe they
will be a better person than us in the future. So that’s why Naik, who has a
title in Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, is there. The capacity and knowledge Naik has is so appropriate
and good to answer the questions those people gave and even effecting the
questioner to turn becoming a Moslem.
Several questions people asked to
him the most were such as who creates Allah (God)? and why did Allah create
us?. Actually, Those questions had ever appeared on my mind also, and I just
got the “logical” explanation from him that made me more doubtless to live in
this beautiful life and found out what all the meaning of life.
His answer for the first question
is that Allah (God) was never created by anything, because He is the greatest
one that exists before anything else. He is the Dzat creating everything and
not a creation. According to the Quran that He (Allah) was never born and never
delivery anything. And the next answer is that Allah wanted to give “the Test”
to us in this life (universe) that makes us becoming His greater creation than
the angles if we can pass it well or becoming His worse creation than the
animals if we forget about what we must do in this life. So, the decisions are
in our hand and our heart.
Naik said that before we came into
this life, we had already chosen and promised to Allah to become a human and to
obey His commands. So that, it is all of our mistakes if in this life we don’t still
follow His rules, deny His orders, and forget our promises with Him while His
signs about the truth which is brought by Islam have been announced everywhere.
It’s all perfectly clear.
Because of that, it’s not a
weirdness if Naik with his study and lecture is loved by million people, His
videos have been watched for a million times and people, many people get more
interested to conceive about Islam, and there were many people who already revealed
Syahadat consciously as the requirement to enter a whole Islam which gives a
witness of believing that there is no God but Allah and believing Prophet
Muhammad is the final messenger and servant of Allah by his guidance. Just
imagine how influential he is!
Starting his lecture by 1991 and
still spreading the message of Islam, with his good ability in several
languages especially in English to dialogue, it’s not impossible that his
effect can affect and reach more and more people out to get the explicit truth.
Without disrespecting the other preachers in a whole world particularly in my
country Indonesia which has many good Ahlus Sunnah preachers such as Ust. Dr.
Khalid Basalamah, Ust. Yazid bin Abdul Qadir Jawwas, and Ust. Dr. Syafiq
Basalamah and many more, I think Naik is also the good one.
The last point I want to tell is
that I am really happy also because of him who is also as a founder of Islamic
Research Foundation and Peace TV Network, Islam has been spread more massive
and his effect has made a big and good change to this world. Hope we can follow
his way to learn and to spread Islam to the others.
Jazaakallahu Khoiron Ustadz Dr.
Zakir Naik!