Qur'an Wins Heart of US Professor
Dr. Jeffrey Lang is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at the University of
Kansas, one of the biggest universities in the United States. He started his
religious journey on Jan 30, 1954, when he was born in a Roman Catholic family
in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The first 18 years of his life were spent in Catholic schools, which left him
with many unanswered questions about God and the Christian religion, Lang said,
as he narrated his story of Islam.
"Like most kids back in the late 60s and early 70s, I started questioning all
the values that we had at those times, political, social and religious," Lang
said. "I rebelled against all the institutions that society held sacred
including the Catholic Church," he said.
By the time he reached the age of 18, Lang had become a full-fledged atheist.
"If there is a God, and he is all merciful and all loving, then why is there
suffering on this earth? Why does not He just take us to heaven? Why create all
these people to suffer?" Such were the questions that came up in his mind in
those days.
As a young lecturer in mathematics at San Francisco University, Lang found his
religion where God is finally a reality. That was shown to him by a few of the
Muslim friends he had met at the university. "We talked about religion. I asked
them my questions, and I was really surprised by how carefully they had thought
out their answers," Lang said.
Dr. Lang met Mahmoud Qandeel, a regal looking Saudi student who attracted the
attention of the entire class the moment he walked in. When Lang asked a
question about medical research, Qandeel answered the question in perfect
English and with great self assurance.
Everyone knew Qandeel-the mayor, the police chief and the common people.
Together the professor and the student went to all the glittering places where
"there was no joy or happiness, only laughter."
Yet at the end Qandeel surprisingly gave him a copy of the Qur'an and some
books on Islam. Lang read the Qur'an on his own, found his way to the
student-run prayer hall at the university, and basically surrendered without
much struggle.
He was conquered by the Qur'an. The first two chapters are an account of that
encounter and it is a fascinating one.
"Painters can make the eyes of a portrait appear to be following you from one
place to another, but which author can write a scripture that anticipates your
daily vicissitudes?... Each night I would formulate questions and objections
and somehow discover the answer the next day. It seemed that the author was
reading my ideas and writing in the appropriate lines in time for my next
reading. I have met myself in its pages..."
Lang performs the daily five-time prayers regularly and finds much spiritual
satisfaction. He finds the Fajr (pre-dawn) prayer as one of the most beautiful
and moving rituals in Islam. "It is as if you temporarily leave this world and
communicate with the angels in singing God's praises before dawn."
To the question how he finds it so captivating when the recitation of the
Qur'an is in Arabic, which is totally foreign to him, he responds; "Why is a
baby comforted by his mother's voice?" He said reading the Qur'an gave him a
great deal of comfort and strength in difficult times. From there on, faith was
a matter of practice for Lang's spiritual growth.
On the other hand, Lang pursued a career in mathematics. He received his
master's and doctoral degrees from Purdue University. Lang said that he had
always been fascinated by mathematics. "Maths is logical. It consists of using
facts and figures to find concrete answers," Lang said. "That is the way my
mind works, and it is frustrating when I deal with things that do not have
concrete answerers."
Having a mind that accepts ideas on their factual merit makes believing in a
religion difficult because most religions require acceptance by faith, he said.
Islam appeals to man's reasoning, he said.
As faculty advisor for the Muslim Student Association, Lang said he viewed
himself as the liaison between the student and their universities. He gets
approval from university authorities to hold Islamic lectures. "The object of
being their faculty advisor is to help them get their needs met as far as
adjusting to the American culture and to procedures of the university. They
appreciate the opportunity to have misconceptions corrected," he said.
Lang married a Saudi Muslim woman, Raika, 12 years ago. Lang has written
several Islamic books which are best sellers among the Muslim community in the
US. One of his important books is "Even Angels ask; A journey to Islam in
America". In this book, Dr. Lang shares with his readers the many insights that
have unfolded for him through his self discovery and progress within the
religion of Islam.
Wednesday : 30/07/2008
PoEtEsS
"Prayer, wisdom, knowledge and faith are the best gifts that I have……"Zohra
Moosa (Deaf Poet)
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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