Assalamu alaykum wrwb!
I am a Hindu by religion and I was introduced to Islam a few years ago by someone very close to me as a person. I have learnt a lot from the person as well as through self-exploration. Islam teaches us not to believe in things blindly. To question the things that creates doubt in our minds. That is why Allah made us Humans and gave us an intelligent, palpable brain, we can ask questions and increase our knowledge as well as imaan. My question pertains to a very simple yet perplexing query. It is said in Quran that Allah swt only guides those who He wills to and He leads astray those who He wants to. Since I have been trying to learn about Islam and increase my knowledge and Imaan through my own efforts (reading Quran, doing dhikr, following Islamic rules, fasting on Ramadan, learning arabic, being grateful to Allah etc) is it true that it is Allah swt who is guiding me towards such things? Is It indeed Him who wanted me to get introduced to this beautiful religion or was it just a matter of coincidence that I came across it? I hope these questions are answered so that my imaan increases twofold.
Jazakallah khair.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we welcome you in our site and thank you for contacting us.

As regards your question, you should know that Allah created the creation, and He Knows best about who is disposed to accept the guidance and is fit for it, and who is stubborn and arrogant, and this prevents him from being guided and abiding by the religion.

Indeed, Allah has informed us in His Book about a type of people that if the verses of Allah came to them one after the other, they would not believe unless Allah wants to guide them, otherwise by themselves, they would refrain from guidance, despite the fact that the verses that the Messengers brought to them were very clear; evidence is not useful for them because of their stubbornness and arrogance, and they do not want to seek the truth.

Allah Says (what means):

·   {And even if We had sent down to them the angels [with the message] and the dead spoke to them [of it] and We gathered together every [created] thing in front of them, they would not believe unless Allah should will. But most of them, [of that], are ignorant.} [Quran 6:111]

·   {And [even] if We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they continued therein to ascend. They would say, "Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic."} [Quran 15:14-15]

·   {Indeed, those upon whom the word of your Lord has come into effect will not believed. Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful punishment.} [Quran 10:96-97]

As Allah has informed us in His Book, when He knows that a person has the ability to accept guidance, Allah facilitates the reasons for guidance for him and he enables him to be guided.

Allah Says (what means): {Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them hear.} [Quran 8:23] The meaning is that if Allah had known of any goodness, i.e. Islam, in them, and that they would reform and listen in a way to benefit from it, then Allah would have blessed them with the understanding. However, this did not happen because Allah knows that there is no goodness in such people. The above verse continues as follows: {And if He had made them hear, they would [still] have turned away, while they were refusing.} [Quran 8:23]; meaning they would have turned away from what they had understood out of their stubbornness.

We hope that you will be among those whom Allah had known goodness in them and who abides by the truth, and who does not turn away when the truth appears to her. Perhaps it is for this reason that Allah has given you the reasons for guidance, so He made you know some Muslims who invited you to Islam and enabled you to search and ask for the truth.

Just think about the Hindu religion that you are following, which is based on the worship of many gods, and which takes natural forces that Allah has created, such as the rain, the sun, storms, thunder, fire, and water as gods which they worship beside Allah, the Creator and the Provider; so they had taken many gods.

Sound mind and sound Fitrah (natural predisposition upon which Allah created mankind), confesses that there is only One God. This is because if there were many gods, then this would lead to the destabilization of the system of the universe.

While clarifying that polytheism is impossible reasonably, Allah Says (what means):

·   {Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.} [Quran 21:22]

·   {Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him]. [He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, so high is He above what they associate [with Him].} [23:91-92]

·   {Say, [O Muhammad], "If there had been with Him [other] gods, as they say, then they [each] would have sought to the Owner of the Throne a way."} [Quran 17:42]

Finally, we recommend you, dear questioner, that you read the translation of the meanings of the Quran while pondering over it, and seeking the truth, and you will see that Allah will enable you to do so.

For more benefit that Islam is the true religion, please refer to Fataawa 173389, 86091, 102075, 16595, 88906, 88051, 85234, 81979 and 9263.

Also, for more benefit on a Hindu converting to Islam to marry, please refer to Fatwa 88106.

Allah knows best.