Why Stanley Chose Islam
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Channel: The Deen Show
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Bismillah Alhamdulillah Salam Alaikum, peace be unto you. Welcome to another episode of the deen show, where we're about helping you understand Islam. And Muslims. Remember that Islam today is the fastest growing way of life in the world. And you got many people every day embracing it, accepting it. But many people still haven't accepted it because they don't understand it. And hopefully, God willing today, for those of you who are new, just hearing about Islam for the first time. Maybe you embrace it today after you hear the simplicity of Islam, and you realize that this is indeed a way of life, a religion, more so I like to say a way of life, the way of life chosen by the Creator, for
all mankind. Today we have with us in the studio, we're going to bring him out. He is a gentleman, a brother, who's going to talk about his road to Islam, how he came to recognize Islam as a way of life from the Creator of the heavens and earth and why he's a Muslim today. Let's bring him out and hear his story on the show, duck.
Duck,
duck,
Stanley, Jones, Hawaii, everything's good. It's good that you came on the show. And we want to hear your story we've had many people come on, excited about embracing Islam,
which means surrender a submission to God. And you're one of those people today that we want to talk to, we want other people to benefit from your experience. And we want to know a little bit about you. Let's start off with your life before Islam. Tell us a little about how you ended up finding Islam.
Okay.
For me, it started out as really wasn't looking for Islam.
Just a typical guy,
have high school, college, and just hanging out with friends companion.
And but in the back of my mind, I always knew that there was a more
reason for us being here, me in general. So I always kind of thought about that. And as I still live the life just like regular individuals you go on about your life, but you have all these contemplating questions in your mind. And this was one question that I had on
what is the purpose of my life, and all these different descriptions of why we're here, all these different religions. So I've made it a point for myself, to find out more about what's really going on in the world and with this quote, God. So I sit down and I start doing the homework. You know, I grew up in a Christian family, like most Americans, and
everybody in the family, Christian. So already had a background of what the concept of God was in Christianity for me. So but I didn't leave it there. I sort of like, Okay, I know what this is okay. And I see the people that are around me, and how they act as Christians. But I didn't use that as a tool for me to make my finalization of what Christianity is, I didn't look at the people. So I started to study. So I studied the three religions that I felt they believed in the One God that I was raised on the Abraham God. And out of these three religions, I said to myself, I say the Abrahamic faith Abrahamic faith, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
So I say to myself, okay, there's three religions that believe in the Abrahamic faith, Abrahamic God, and that was Judaism, of course, and Christianity and Islam. So when I did the homework, I knew basically about Christianity, and what was the belief and I started studying, studying Judaism, from a distance, just the core creed, belief, and in there too much into the all the different aspect of the religion, but just there, I want to understand what was these religions concept of God. So I studied Judaism, the concept of God, I study Christianity, his concept of God, and I studied Islam, his concept of God, which I wasn't biased, I didn't have Islam already established that this is what
I'm going to choose. Because as I was looking, I didn't, I was a Christian quote, but I didn't really have a religion. So I didn't really lean towards 100
I had an open mind about three. And I sat down and did the homework. And for me, I came up with I studied and I say, Okay, this is for myself, I don't know about other people. But for myself, what I came up with was
in Judaism, they had a concept that God isn't a human being.
Okay, I understood that. Christianity also had that concept that God wasn't a human being. But
as I did my study, God became a human being.
So I went to the next religion, Islam, they had a concept that God wasn't a human being. And as I ration out these three
different religions,
I'm looking for myself, for myself, I already had in my heart in my mind that my god that I'm going to worship, and no way can be a human being, no way fashion form.
If he was a human being, then I wasn't going to worship Him, no matter what, this is me.
So for me, that ruled out
Christianity for me, and I was left with Judaism and Islam, because Christianity obviously, talks about Jesus being the Lord, being God being one in three divine and you weren't having that I wasn't having it correctly. You know, and I talked to Christians, and I talked to priests and reverence. And they, they all had the concept. Christianity had the concept that God was not a human being. But then when I started extra questions, they, like you say that Jesus became, was God manifest in the flesh. And for me, you know, they have a way of explaining their religion. But for me, this is what this visit, this isn't what I was looking for. This isn't the way of life I was living. Because no
matter what, I was not going to accept God as a human, or having any qualities of human. I was looking for this God, there was totally other totally
great, totally just nothing like his creation, nothing like his creation. So we take out Christianity, and what's next? So I did the study of Judaism. And they had the concept that God was
not human. But it was for me, I say, out of the three, okay.
Judaism, they sort of, they don't try to
explain God to the masses. For me, so I say, Well, to be a Jew is sort of like you have to be born Jewish. Yes. It was harder to, to go into the Jewish
community, and them willingly tell you about God, and that this is something that you need in your life. So for me, I say Judaism, okay, it seemed like they have, you can't be a Jew unless you really blood Jewish. I've heard of convert Jews and people that have converted to Judaism. But that sort of set me back from looking into Judaism as a way of life for me. So I let those two for me, I said to the side, now, how'd you come across Islam now? Now, Islam was the third religion. I didn't have to worry about for myself, doing a research of all the other world religions, because I was looking specifically for this god that is not manifest as a human being. And the Abrahamic God that talks to
his creation. So the other religions, I didn't study, those are just studies, all three. And then the last one was Islam that I had to do my research on. So I went into a Muslim community. And I watched the people. And before I went into the Jewish community, and I watched the people, and I lived in a Christian community, so I always watched the people. So I was looking for people that had a conscious of God. So when I saw the Jews, I say to myself, these people they look, these people look serious about God.
I look, I'm come from a Christian background, and living in a Christian nation, where it's hard to even mention the word of God. without it being some sort of political
problem. You can't even mention the word of God and your national anthem or anything. So for me, I was like, Okay, now I went to the Muslim community. And I looked at the people and the community and the way they live and I say these people are conscious of God. So I went to an Islamic bookstore and
I talked to a person that was behind the counter and, and I asked him of some questions about Islam, he showed me some books. And
he talked to me for about an hour. So after that, I just walked out because I really wasn't looking to accept the faith. Right then I was I was seeking, I went to work. And I worked for a large beverage company in the city. So soft drinks, and
I was up for a new assignment.
And when I got my new assignment, I'm a truck driver. When I got my new assignment, my assignment was in a Muslim community. I didn't ask for this. That's just the way it was.
I had an assignment in the Muslim community. So this gave me a chance to
by working around the Muslims. And it gave me a chance to be more around and I was always around this bookstore. So they gave me a lot of opportunity. And you just happen to get set up to be in that route. Now, in that in that route, you got set up by by someone, someone, someone that wanted me to be in there looking out for you? I think so. Yeah. So continue on. And once I got into that,
and that route, I started delivering there maybe two times a week. And I started making it a point for myself to stop in the bookstore. And speaking with a Muslim brother, and
still open mind and not ready to, I'm still searching. So the more I talk, and the more I
came to questions about different religions, and he gave me books, and I read these books, and I go back into the community. And I look at the people and I see the way that they revere God.
And, and I did my homework, and I studied and I studied. And one day I went in and I say, if something happened to me, for myself, for my heart, I say this is this is what I was looking for. This is a religion where that I can I really believe that these people strongly believe in this god that I'm looking for. And this God, the concept of this god that they explained it to me is the God that I'm looking for. For the for our audience, please briefly explain what is the the concept that was different now from what you had believed before? And what was the concept of God now that really
had you take into it? Well, the concept that I found, that I was looking for was
a God that doesn't become created.
This is what I was looking for. When I grew up I was I was grew up in the church, and they was always emphasized Jesus Christ. And, and
I kind of like for me, it never struck me that Jesus Christ was God. And no form of fashion, always knew God wasn't human. For myself, no matter what I heard when I went to church, and I sang in the choir, I clap my hands when everybody clap, but I never once never for a second thought that Jesus Christ was God.
So any religion I set out in my life in a religion that says that God becomes a human being, I wasn't going to accept this was something I wasn't going to accept. So what does this new way of life that you've embraced? What did it say about God? Now what is Islam, that Islam have a clear concept of God now, for me, Islam is stated to me by talking to, and reading and talking to some of the people, Muslims that I've met their concept of God, what they explained to me was that God was totally other he was the Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in it. And he doesn't reside in his creation. And he's high above his creation. And the creation wasn't they explained to
me the creation was just wasn't just humans. It was the earth, not just the earth. It was the atmosphere, not just the atmosphere, it was the moon, all the planets that I've read through in science, he was the God of that. All the orbits, all the galaxies, all the new bulus and all the billions of galaxies and light years. He was the God of all of this.
And I read the Quran that gave me the Quran, I read the Quran, and I read a verse and it was stated that, that us as human being wasn't his greatest creation. And when I read this, and I see how big creation is, and I see how small we are, how small the earth is, this God created all this and the earth is not even a speck. There's a planet out there that earth I think is Neptune, the earth bits in this planet.
Maybe over I know over 20 times, but this is the guy that created that planet. So his God wasn't created that he have a son. This God I was looking for is totally other free from all these human qualities, no human qualities, children, having children eating, sleeping and getting tired. None of these qualities, this wasn't going to be a God that I worship. So the God now that you're you're worshiping is the one who's created the heavens, created the earth doesn't have a father doesn't have a mother. He's the one running the universe. And he's created everything in it. And he's outside of his creation. And he's not in exactly Okay, high above his creation, as you said, high
above. Okay? And how do you get to know this God? Now? How does the average person now if he's not in his creation? How does he? How does? How do we get to know this creator that you have embraced? Now? How does a Muslim? For those of you that don't know? How did you get to know him? How did you establish more of a personal relationship with your God now? Now, for me, the way I came to understand the because as humans, we never can totally understand God, except what he wants you to know about himself. Yes. And
by being around the Muslim community and reading books, the book that they gave me to read, like all religions, they have scriptures. And they gave me to read they gave me to read the Quran. Yes. So I took the Quran, and I made it a point for myself to read this book. And when I read the book, right then, for me,
I read the entire Quran translation.
And when I read the book, before I even get nearly not even halfway in my mind, and in my heart, it said to me, this is God. Because this book spoke and said, this is God, I am your God. He identified himself he, this is my book, and only I am I'm the only one is revealing. I'm talking in this book, this is what I got out of it. Okay, and you got to know him through His revelation through that book, not just making up as many people today are making up concepts of God and they're getting into know God through their own mind. Correct making up things as they go along. But actuality he's revealed a revelation to mankind which is a verbatim WORD OF GOD Quran and so this Quran, this is
how you got to know this is how I got to know Okay, so that's a good point there. If anybody wants to get to know their Creator, should read his book is The verbatim Word of God is the Quran revealed 1400 years ago to the last and final messenger to mankind. Prophet Mohammed, who is in a line of messengers, Jesus Christ being one of them one of the mightiest messengers and we're gonna take a break and we'll be right back astounded don't Jones on Deen show
Bismillah
Allahu Allah, Allah
lady
in the
ad him wanna
be Masha.
Salam Alaikum. Welcome back to the deen show. We're on a D show. This Week in the studio. We have Stanley Jones telling us his story on how he has embraced Islam.
Brother.
Thank you for being on the show. So we briefly talked about how you went from being a Christian. And then you went on your journey investigating some of the other faiths. And to coming to where you are today. A Muslim was embraced Islam, which is submission to one guy. Okay, let's, uh, let's go in reverse real quick. What were what was some of your, your daily routines, some of the things that you were just accustomed to doing before you were Muslim? What were your interests? Some of my interest was
earning a living a job, friends.
pastime.
companion.
Basically, those things that every human looking for in their daily life, you know, just regular things, just
living your life, so to speak. Uh huh. So, we Money, money, making a living women, women
Women good times past time good times already. Do you have any guidelines that you were living by? Whatever I wanted to do your so your desires were dictating your life. My desires as long as I didn't get
let's say how we put it in situations where we lead to jail. Yeah. Or I wasn't really a bad, like, just criminal type. Yeah, but I just lived my life the way I wanted whatever I wanted to do, like everybody would like the majority of people today. That's it. Just get all you can just do what you want. I just don't get it on. Let's do it. Yeah. So many, many of us have lived that light bulb, when
those days of ignorance hamdulillah. They've
changed now. And now you
live in a different life. We want to know from that life now, from the darknesses the depths of darkness into the light. Tell us what is your daily routine now consist of now life has changed for me since I accepted Islam, because before, like I said, I live, I have my own rules. And the other rule that I will abide by was the rule of the land. Let's say the law I wasn't a real I wasn't a law breaker. But then now that I accept Islam, I learned that there's another law. And that law is even bigger than the law of the land. And it's God's law. So by my study, I learned God's law, and he has decreed things that I should do things that I shouldn't do. Things that I did that will cause me to
be in trouble, things that I did do that will cause me to be in trouble and things that I did, that will give me reward, and give me good standings with God. So I innovated this into my life, that there is a law higher than the law that I thought was the highest law, there was the law of the land. So when I learned God's law, I start to implement it in the way that I live my life. So before it was your law, it was what you thought was right and wrong, permissible and not permissible. As long as I'm not breaking the law of the land. It's all good. It's all good. So those are the days of the darkness. That's the days of the dark nowadays, as coming from the darkness into the light. Now
you abide by another set of laws, correct? One who has created us, he's got laws. And these are laws that you live by today. Those are the laws so give us just a daily routine on a Muslims like your life What? What is so that people can see that? Is this something strange that you live? From what you were living before? We're going to do a comparison from your daily routine before, which was what the normal person does is
chase a job position. And, you know, good times, friends, how is that change? Now? What is your daily routine, like now today, as a Muslim, from waking up making the prayer and just give us a glimpse of your day? My daily routine now starts with, it's not about me. It's about God first. And what he expects of me, and then if I have time, it's about me. So I wake up, my daily thing that I didn't do before, is pray to this God had a root Hey, I was looking for God. But it wasn't such thing as prayed when something happened bad. Yeah. If I wanted something, yeah, but I got a new concept that prayer is essential to knowing or
conversing, so to speak with your God. So prayer, Islam has taught me this prayer is the most important thing. For a person that believes in God is the only way that I could relate to my God. So my daily things now go where I live life, I don't live life sheltered as this totally religious person, religious, religious, where I don't come outside or things like that. You're not like a hermit, I'm not I live life because he's created us for life. But I live life according to the rules that I've got from the Quran and follows the ways of the Prophet that the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and I innovate my life around my religion, my way of life. So what I do if it if
it conflicts with what my belief, then I stay away from it. And the main thing that I established now that I did have before is prayer, I pray five times a day, and I make it a point. God willing to not to miss the prayers. And Islam has taught me that the prayers are set up at certain times. So I don't live my life and try to do my prayers. When I get time. My prayers I set and anything that comes to my life now, I have to it has to curtail to my prayers. So this is something that I got from Islam. And by doing this, I found out that a lot of things that I was drawn into before
Those things, when they come, they have no place because I have no time. Especially if they only the important things I've learned now are things that I fit in
that I have time to fit in my life right now, they got to be important because prayer in the morning,
and the afternoon, the late afternoon, in the evening at night, and this is set in my life. So you don't have time to let all kinds of things nonsense, so to speak for me come into your life because these things interfere with who you are and your prayer. What if you make a mistake? Sometimes? Who, who who do you turn to? If I make a mistake? I turned to the person that that I turned to God, okay. And when you are feeling down, who do you turn to? alternative God, when you need help? Who do you turn to? I turn to God, do you turn to any? Do you confess your sins to anybody? Do you believe any superstitions or any of these things? Only God only God. Okay, so Islam has erased all of these,
when you're distressed, going to confession box, going through any intermediaries, so you have a direct connection with your Creator, direct you that's what I was looking for. That's, that's a very, very logical thing. And I don't think anybody with the natural
thing that God has given us Can, can can can turn this away to have a direct connection with their Creator. And this is what Islam has given you the ability to do correct. And who can bring who can bring your system more better than a direct connection? Yeah. I say to people, when I talk to them all the time, bring me something better than a direct connection, and I accept it. It's nothing like that. It's nothing better. No, and no one has brought me something better. I see. And if you make a sin, if you make a mistake, like we do as human beings, this God that you worship, he's the most merciful does He forgive your sins? And this is not just me thinking he will. He says this over and
over again. And the Quran that I read that he's the most forgiving, the Most Merciful, the most loving?
The greatest, the greatest. Yes. And he say he created us to sin because if you didn't, you wouldn't be human.
But the key to that is to ask forgiveness, then I can show you how forgiven I am to acknowledge that you have a creator. Okay, acknowledge the sin that you've made that you should stay away from it and direct your worship towards him. That's it. Yeah. Okay. For those just joining us, we're here with Stanley Jones on the deen show the all new show on Islam and Muslims. We're getting to hear Stanley's story on how he embraced Islam, how we came to Islam. Islam is new way of life, Islam, which means surrender and submission to one God, worshipping Him alone with no partners, worship the Creator, not his creation. And
Stanley, tell us has Islam answered all your questions in life? Have? Do you know what the purpose of life is? Now? Do you know why you've been created? Do you know where you're going? When you die? have all these things been made clear to you?
100% 100% as some people say, 110%. Okay, so you know, your create, you know your purpose in life now, very much you know why you've been created, you know where you're going from here? If you fulfill your duties towards your Creator, Islam has answered all this. I have no no questions about if I have a question.
I'm sure I can find it in the Quran. And if I can't find it, in insurance in the Quran, but it's also in the sands of the Prophet because his whole life is detailed. And this is how I try to live my life as best as possible. And for me the way that I try to follow the messenger of God, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. And I've learned and I've learned for myself, and I see that it makes me a better human being.
All right, so you have found your new way of life, you're happy, you're content, you have evidence, you're not blindly following anything. And you're a rich man, as many people that you come across, who have got all the money, but they're pouring the heart. They haven't found their purpose in life. And they go through life in the dark, but you're in the light and you're a rich man. Is there anything you'd like to tell anybody who is out there? And who is seeking the truth? And you know what they tuned into the deen show, and you got their attention. Any suggestions for such a person? I will say
when you're looking for the truth,
you grew up in a land and you're born into a land and you would think that this is how you're supposed to be. This is whatever religion is in this land. This is your religion. But I've learned for myself to not accept this. My parents grew grew up believing in this. That's why
My parents believe as a child, I had no choice. But as an adult, as a as a grown person. When you reach a certain age, your parents tell you, you reach a certain age, it's time to get on your own. That's not just in life that's in afterlife. Also, you have to think for yourself, because you're going to be held responsible for what your decisions you make once you get a certain age. So I would say just don't accept the place that you live as this is the way
No, do the research. Because you never know that could be another way. But you never gave any options of when is this true? Or is it not true? So the best thing for me was to weigh my options. I didn't just accept this. And these two, for me, Judaism and Islam was another faith of this Abrahamic faith. A person you deny yourself if you don't look into, because it might be something in there that you're looking for. So have an open mind. have an open mind and question ask questions, ask questions. Don't just accept things, study use the mind that God has given you. That's what it's for, like, thank you for being with us on the deen show. Thanks for having me. JazakAllah, Hydra.
May God Almighty rewards you for being with us today. And He grants you success in this life in the hereafter. And I like to thank all of our guests who are tuning in for the first time and those supporters of the de show I'm getting all your emails, keep them coming in your comments, suggestions, I'd like to thank you all hamdulillah
that we're here, being able to bring people along to share their stories with the world. And I hope you've learned something today. For those of you that tuned in for the first time. You've been set up now to hear about Islam. And you're hearing that this is the way of life chosen for you to live. Now you have a free choice. So free country free world, you can do as you wish but you will be accountable for your actions, you will be accountable on the Day of Judgment. So it's up to you to make a rational decision. You're going to go on worship in your mind worshiping your desires, consuming living in a materialistic society. Do you find peace and contentment in this way? Do you
really? I don't think so. So be sincere with yourself and start to ask questions. Start to ask God Almighty alone for the guidance. Put your forehead on the ground and seek his assistance, seek His help and start to do the research. Use this mind that God has given you he didn't give it to you for nothing. He gave it to you for a reason. Put this all these other things on hold for a while. Okay, and do the most important thing. establish a connection with your Creator. So you've been set up here to hear this message that there's only one God that you worship Him alone and did you don't set up partners with him? is very simple. And for more information on Islam, log on to the deen show.
com we're here to help you. I'm your host Eddie. and tune in every week as we bring you a new show inshallah God willing, and we'll see you again on the deen show as salaam alaikum, peace be unto you.
What do you need most at this very moment.
A good education.
A good job.
A career
money.
Every individual sets out goals that are important to him or her.
Some are short term
and others long.
Yet not one of these needs is as important as one blessing you possess at every moment.
breathing.
It has been 39 seconds since this film began.
If you had been unable to breathe for 39 seconds, you would have given up all you owned in order to be able to breathe again.
In another minute or so you would have lost consciousness.
brain death would fall within another two or three minutes and your life would be at an end
and then I know my
and then
it's time to leave
Uno
de addressed
the sound which now
Hey, guys
I cannot see
me Mina
G'day