Conversion: An Intellectual Transformation

CONVERSION: AN INTELLECTUAL TRANSFORMATION ‘We bear witness that you are God’s apostle.’ God knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are lying. (63:1) What is meant by true religious conversion is illustrated by an incident in which some verses from the Quran were read to a gathering of Christians. About seventy of them were so deeply moved that they abandoned their ancestral religion and converted to Islam. As the Quran puts it: When they listen to that which was revealed to the Messenger, you will see their eyes filled with tears as they recognize its truth. They say: ‘Lord, we believe. Count us among Your witnesses. Why should we not believe in God and in the truth that has come down to us? Why should we not hope for admission among the righteous?’ (5:83-84) Similarly, the Quran speaks of true believers “as those whose hearts are filled with awe at the mention of God, and whose faith grows stronger as they listen to His revelations. They are those who put their trust in their Lord, pray steadfastly, and spend of that which We have given them. Such are the true believers. They shall have degrees with their Lord and shall be forgiven by Him, and a generous provision shall be made for them.” (6:2-4) This shows that religious conversion in actual fact is the result of a realization. When the individual’s search for truth finds a convincing answer, it is such a profound experience that his heart is intensely moved. His eyes are filled with tears. His whole existence is moulded in the cast of truth. It is then that he emerges a new and altogether different person, having undergone a transformation. That is why the Quran uses no synonym for conversion.