Belief in God means to accept that He is the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of the worlds. When you believe in this, instantly the question arises where is God's guidance. Separating belief in God from His guidance is just poetry, which is nothing. When you accept that you need God's guidance, you will begin to search for it. Where will you find it?
This is no simple matter. Those who say we believe in God, but not in Muhammad are not sincere. They only pay lip service. The moment you believe that God exists, the question that follows is where is His guidance? Belief in God is no simple matter. Belief in God isn't same as believing that there is Shalimar Garden in Kashmir. Belief in God means to accept that He is the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of the worlds. When you believe in this, instantly the question arises where is God's guidance. Separating belief in God from His guidance is just poetry, which is nothing. When you accept that you need God's guidance, you will begin to search for it. Where will you find it?
I have written a book Islam Rediscovered. In this I wrote about Dr Nishikant Chattopadhyay. He was a sincere seeker and a very learned man. He read philosophy, spiritualism, science and religion. He didn’t find an answer anywhere. Then he read about the Prophet Muhammad. He believed in God, but didn’t know whom to take guidance from. He realized that no past figure had historical credibility. Bertrand Russel wrote that from a strictly historical point of view, it is quite doubtful that Jesus Christ ever existed at all. (Why I am Not a Christian, p. 11)
When he read about the Prophet Muhammad, he realized that he has been recorded in history. An Orientalist has written: Muhammad was born in the full light of history. Dr Nishikant Chattopadhyay wrote: O, what a relief to find after all a truly historical prophet to believe in! One who doesn’t accept the Prophet Muhammad, but says he believes in God, is only doing poetry. The moment you believe in God, the question that follows is what does God want from me, what is my relationship with God, what are my duties toward God, what is God's guidance. When you face these questions, you will definitely accept the Prophet Muhammad as the historically credible source. What will you do without historical credibility? It is no simple matter. No sincere person can say I believe in God, but not in the Prophet Muhammad.
