Then why do you hesitate to accept that God is One and is the Only and is your Lord and Creator? If you were asked to give testimony that you are who you are, that your father is who he is, that your mother is your mother, that your wife is your wife, would you not do it? Why do you hesitate to accept God? Are you arrogant? Are you vain? Have you something more than He? Or are you confused? That is a question you have to ask yourself. If you thought that you would die tonight, and in front of you was paradise and in the back of you was hell fire, and you had a chance to put things straight with your conscience and to put things straight with God, and to ask God to accept the best of your deeds; if you thought you would die and had this chance, you would not hesitate there is only one God. You would not hesitate to bear witness that Muhammad is the prophet of God. You would not hesitate.
But you think that you will live a little while, so you want to enjoy some things. You want to wear some more fancy suits, you want to dance a little more, sing a little more, drink some Scotch, hang out some more; and, of course, you are not ready to pray everyday. That is because you think you are going to live a while. But how much is a while? How long ago was it when all our hair was black? How long ago was it, you were a child? It was yesterday. And we are going to die tomorrow. So how long do you want to wait?
Islam is acknowledging that God is the only one deserving of worship, that there will be a Day of Judgment. Islam is to acknowledge the existence of the angels with the duty of revealing the divine messages to the prophets—controlling the winds, the oceans and to take the life of those God ordered to die. Acknowledging that all the Prophets of God were righteous men and were all sent by God, and acknowledging that there will definitely be a day of resurrection after death, and that all good and evil has been proportioned by God.
In Islam is to uphold strict monotheism- Not to worship any partners besides God, not to say anything about God that you have no right to say—this means: not to say that He has a father, a mother, a son, an aunt or even a board of trustees—not to say anything about God that you have no right to say. To bear witness, this means that you sentence yourself either to peace and Paradise or, in declining, to a state of confusion, frustration and ultimately hellfire and punishment. You sentence yourself—you ask yourself, “Do I bear witness that there is only one God?” And if you do, say, “Yes I bear witness.”
“Do I witness that if Muhammad is who he has been explained to be, that he is a prophet of Almighty God?” “Yes, I do bear witness.”
If you bear witness to this, then all of you and all of us—are Muslims…. and you don’t have to change what you were, you just have to make alterations to your thinking and practice.
May Allah bless us. May Allah help us. May Allah guide us. And I would say to all of you, you are very honest and very patient. But don’t leave this like a plate of food—no, take this and digest it. Sit down with a Muslim and let him/ her explain the prescription of Islam. Take the next step. That is, wash your hands before you eat. Wash yourself before formally becoming a Muslim. Accept Islam. Know about Islam. Practice Islam. And enjoy the bounties that Allah has bestowed upon you because faith is not something you can take for granted. If you don’t put it into practice, you lose it like a fragrance.
May Allah help us. May Allah guide us. And I appreciate the honor of explaining Islam to you.