Yusuf Estes Explains 'Beauty of Islam'
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
Texas-based Islamic preacher Yusuf Estes delivers a lecture at the Saudi German
Hospital Auditorium in Jeddah. (AN photo) JEDDAH, 13 April 2008
The strident smear campaign against Islam and Muslims following 9/11 in the US
encouraged many American men and women to study and embrace Islam, Yusuf Estes,
a leading Islamic scholar and preacher from Texas, said on Friday night.
They are doing the job for us, Estes, himself a convert, said while
delivering a lecture on The Beauty of Islam at the Saudi German Hospital
Auditorium in Jeddah. However, he reminded Muslims of their big responsibility
in spreading the message of Islam among others.
Hamoud Al-Shimimry of the Islamic Education Foundation also highlighted the
importance of dawa work. If a person embraces Islam as a result of your work,
it is better than any other achievement in this world, he told the
participants, quoting Quranic verses and Sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon
him). He said a Filipino had helped 25 fellow nationals to learn and embrace
Islam.
Estes said having peace of mind is the ultimate beauty of Islam. Wealth and
luxuries cannot provide the ultimate happiness to human beings. But the peace
of mind we obtain through the faith in God and engaging in righteous deeds
makes us happy, he said.
Total submission to God and His will is also the beauty of Islam, he
explained. Amazing is the case of a believer. If anything good happens, he
thanks God; while if anything bad befalls him, he remains patient, he said
quoting a Saying of the Prophet. If any calamity, such as the death of a
beloved person, occurs a Muslim says, We are from God and to Whom we all
return. This is the beauty of Islam.
Estes described the Holy Quran as an amazing book, adding that millions of
Muslims around the world have memorized it. No other book, including the
Bible, has been memorized by so many people, he added.
Estes ridiculed those who make false propaganda that Muslim children are
learning how to make bombs at Islamic schools. Muslims are the first enemies
of terrorists, he said.
He said many people were not embracing Islam not because of the lack of
knowledge but because they dont care. Asked whether he would invite US
President George W. Bush to Islam, he said: We pray to God that He may guide
him to Islam. Islam gives us the right direction and it removes our blindness
about the mystery of this universe. I am very happy to be a Muslim and part of
the 1.5 billion-strong world of Islam, he said.
Estes advised Muslims to be patient in testing times. Allah does not
guarantee the believers a smooth and comfortable life in this world. Hardships
in this world will bring them more reward in the hereafter, he said.
Estes, a former priest and missionary who embraced Islam in 1991, gave
another lecture on Muslim Youth in Todays Society at the same venue on
Thursday. He advised parents to spent quality time with their children. This
will not only help educate them in all aspects of life but reduce their
tendency to indulge in bad habits when left alone, he added. He answered
questions from boys and girls from different schools in Jeddah.
A Filipino declared his intention to embrace Islam during the event and Estes
helped him to pronounce the Shahada (There is no god but God and Muhammad is
His messenger).
Sheikh Mohamed Subhi and Wajdi Akkari from Jeddah Dawa Center also addressed
the audience. In his welcome speech, professor Mohamed Abubaker of King Abdul
Aziz University introduced Estes while Mohamed Ali Chundakkadan gave a vote of
thanks. The event was jointly organized by the Indian Islahi Center and Jeddah
Dawa Center.
----------------------------
"The future religion of the educated, cultured and enlightened people
will be Islam."
- - George Bernard Shaw
