HONORIFIC PHRASES IN THIS BOOK

(the Exalted): used after the mention of God/Allah to express:

Glorified and Exalted is He

(bpuh): Blessings and peace be upon him; used after mention of the

Prophet Muhammad

(pbuh): Peace be upon him; used after mention of any prophet or after

mention of Angel Gabriel

(May Allah be pleased with him): used after mention of a male

Companion of the Prophet

(May Allah be pleased with her): used after mention of a

female Companion of the Prophet

(May Allah be pleased with all of them): used after mention of three

or more Companions of the Prophet

ABOUT THE WORD 'ALLAH'

lthough the English word 'God' has often been used

interchangeably in this book with the word Allah, there is a

difference. 'Allah' is the word in Arabic that is translated as 'God'.

However, 'Allah' has a much more precise meaning than 'God'.

'Allah' is not merely an Arabic term for the word 'god'. Instead, the

root word of the word 'Allah' is ilah, which means 'a god'. There are

countless numbers of made-up 'gods', but only One True God,

Whose name is Allah. The word 'Allah' literally means 'the

worshipped', or 'the God'. Allah is, thus, the proper name for the

only Being that is worthy of worship, the True Creator of the

universe. By saying 'Allah', Muslims are, in essence, negating every

other entity which people wrongfully worship. The name 'Allah' is

how God Almighty has referred to Himself in the Quran, and how

Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) also referred

to Him. Therefore, in this work, the term 'Allah' will often be used in

reference to this One and Only God Who is worthy of worship

ssarily in accordance with his or her choice; children are

raised to follow the religion or ideology of their family, society or

culture. Even as newborns, they are assigned either the religion of

their family or the ideology of the state; in some countries, the child's

assigned religion is even recorded on the birth certificate. By the time

individuals reach their teens, they have usually accepted the beliefs of

their parents or their particular society, feeling that they have little

choice in the matter.

However, individuals often encounter, or are exposed to, various

beliefs and ideologies throughout the course of their lives, leading

many to question long-held beliefs, traditions or philosophical ideas.

They begin to question the validity of their own beliefs. Seekers of

truth often reach a point of confusion, especially upon realizing that

the believers of every religion, sect, ideology and philosophy claim to

profess the one and only truth.

There are only three possibilities: that everyone is correct,

everyone is incorrect, or only one is correct and the rest are incorrect.

It is impossible for all of them to be upon the true religion since the

fundamentals of all religions are different. On the other hand, to claim

that they are all incorrect is to deny that Allah (Glorified and Exalted

is He) revealed His will to humankind. This proposition will seem

absurd to those who believe in a wise Creator. After all, why would

Allah create human beings and not reveal a way to the truth? So

which religion is the right one, and how can the seeker of truth

come to know it? This is the main subject of this work.

When beginning the search for the true religion, one should keep

the following four things in mind: