Chapter One: The Muslim & his Lord

The believer is alert

"Islam requires of the Muslim, first and foremost, that he be a true and sincere believer in Allah, closely connected to Him, constantly remembering Him and putting trust in Him, while making the effort to help himself"

This is the first sentence of chapter one in Dr Muhammad Ali's book and it triggered a thousand questions in my mind.
How can we be a true and sincere believer in Allah? What makes someone a true believer? Do we have a choice in being a true or untrue believer in Allah?
Fortunately, the same day I first read this chapter, the "kuliyyah" after Fajr touched on this topic. How do we become a true servant of Allah?
   A servant must obey his master without question. For example, Allah commands us to pray, to cover our aurat, to abstain from pre-marital sex, gambling, alcohol, and more. Thus, a true servant would duly comply without question. He should not even doubt or hesitate for a second whether to comply or not, that is a true servant of God. The issue of aurat, especially in women and men alike is simple actually. One does not need to wait for hidayah or after marriage to cover their aurat since our deeds and sins are counted since puberty, and most importantly, it is Allah's command. We as His servants should not give any excuses, or worse still, complain about it!
   We also often ask, does Allah love me? What has Allah gave me all my life?
We as His servants should have asked instead; do I love Allah? How strong is my love towards Allah? What have I done for Allah? What have I contributed to Islam?
My eyes pooled with tears when I asked myself these questions. For the past 22 years, I have been immersed with worldly affairs, forgetting about my Creator, my purpose of being created, not knowing my origins, and ignorant of where I will be returning. By remembering my origin, I realised how small and powerless I am.
I am created from a sperm and an ovum. That itself is an understatement from Allah.
If we think deeper, what is the origin of the sperm and ovum? As advances in science prove it, a sperm/ovum, or any other cell is made up of a cell membrane, cytoplasm and the organelles contained in it. These components are further made up of trillions of atoms! An atom is further divided into electrons and the nucleus. The nucleus is further divided into neutrons, protons, muons and other subatomic particles that we do not even know of. Scientists also are trying to find the so called "God" particle, the Higgs Boson, which they claim to give a particle it's mass.
SubhanAllah, it is mind boggling to think about Allah organising these subatomic particles into stable atoms, molecules, and finally becomes a cell which brought us into this world. Allah also created the universe from these trillions and trillions of subatomic particles, organising them from the smallest system(the atom) into a large one, like the galaxy.
And man dares to be arrogant, to not believe in Allah. Man can claim that they created the car, fighter jets, space shuttles, rockets, huge and tall buildings, but can they create an atom from scratch? The wonders of science and technology should bring us closer to the Creator, not the opposite!

Dr Ali continues in the chapter;
"The true and sincere Muslim is alert and open-minded to the magnificence of Allah's creation"

he also quoted the Qur'an,
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of Night and Day- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding- men who celebrate the praise of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (with the thought): "Our Lord! Not for naught have You created (all) this! Glory to You! Give us salvation from the Penalty of the Fire."
(Surah Ali-Imran: 190-191)   

There are indeed Signs for men of understanding. Thus, we must strive to gain knowledge and pray that the knowledge we obtain will bring us closer to Allah and motivates us to be a true servant.