[Faith-talk] How to get the correct information about Islam?

[Mostafa]

    Dear all, peace be with you.

I hope everyone is doing great.

Our friends in the west began to prepare for Christmas celebrations.

We wish them all a Mary Christmas, and we wish each other a Happy new year, God willing.

Today, I thought of writing about a very important subject.

It is not just important for Muslims, but even for those who want to study Islam, either critically, or just out of curiosity.

How to obtain the correct information about Islam?

It is a simple question, yet, its answer is filled with numerous challenges and barriers.

Because it is not just about looking for a book, or asking a Muslim about something related to Islam.

If it is just that, that would be so convenient, and we have not needed to write this article today.

  But actually, the subject is much deeper than such simplicity.

In order to tackle the subject properly, we first need to ask; who do you ask, or where do you look for information when you need to know about Islam?

There are three major sources to know about Islam, or about any other subject, including other religions.

The first source is the internet.

Some people may prefer to go look for information online, which is for sure, a very good source, not just to know about Islam, but to educate yourself about anything you want.

The second alternative is to go to libraries, and to read some books about Islam.

The third and final alternative, is to go ask someone who  you believe, that he has the sufficient knowledge to tell you about Islam.

These are the three major sources, which most of us have access to, to go look for information about Islam.

But, we have to be very careful because each one of these sources, has its advantages, as well as its disadvantages.

It does not really matter which of these sources you select to acquire information about Islam.


But, what really matters,  is the methodology you depend on when retaining information.


You should not just rely on any information were given, unless you take three mandatory steps, to verify the accuracy and the genuineness of these information.

So what steps I need to take to verify that?

1'; Checking reliability.

2; Citing authenticity.

3; Conforming adequacy.

1; Checking reliability.

The basic tennet of this principle is to check the reliability of the source you review.

So for instance, if you are visiting a website that contains information about Islam, you have to significantly affirm its reliability.

How reliable these information are?

Do they contradict with any fundamentals about Islam that you know for certain?

Some websites, particularly those possessed by Apologists and Pastors are giving enormously incorrect information about Islam.

They even dive in further by giving grave misquotes, as well as misinterpretations to Islamic texts.

Thus, you ought to constantly check the source reliability.

2; Citing authenticity.

This is a sequential pace to checking reliability appendage.

The chief aim of this principle, is to significantly authenticate the source that was quoted.

  Some people may misquote a source unintentionally, or even inattentively.

But it looks plain that something is missing.

Something is imperfect or it sounds self-contradictory.

You constantly ought to authenticate any information you hear.

Do not run for the quickest excuse.

You have to constantly verify and authenticate these information.

There are numerous clerics and scholars to consult.

3; Conforming adequacy.

It is absolutely necessary to verify whether someone is eligible to tell you about Islam when information are conveyed.

Do not hesitate to ask him, would you mind unveiling your source please?

Ask him to authenticate the sources he gets his information from, and preferably to ask him, why he thinks it is sufficiently reliable.

And if you do not know him enough to trust him, it is always a good idea to double check after him, that would not hurt.


He has to be officially certified by a broadly recognized  academic institution, which is globally illustrious on teaching instructive curriculums on Islam.

Well obviously, a Pastor or an Apologist is disapproved on that regard.

The subject of how to get correct and reliable information on Islam is quite vast, and it is definitely important.

It demands dozens and dozens of such articles.

I just meant to be concise and thorough.

  I hope I have done a satisfactory job on that regard so far.

I enjoy writing English, and similarly, I seriously benefit from your feedbacks.

If someone needs further clarification on the subject, please, do not hesitate to ask me for that.

It is nearly the time for dusk prayer here in Jeddah.

Thank you for reading, and have a pleasant time.

Peace be with you.