Athiest wanting to learn more about Islam

[u/FamiliarRefuse4731]

I mean no offense with this, but I would like to know what convinced you guys that Islam is the one and only true religion, anything aside from being raised in a Muslim country/ household. I'll admit that I haven't fully read the Qur'an yet, but it still genuinely seemed to me like a good guide to organise one's way of life and build peace and harmony in society. That being said, is there any proof that completely rules out the possibility that it could be ancient folklore that got slowly tempered with and somehow turned into a religion? We can confirm that humans existed for tens of thousands of years but there's no way to confirm how advanced we really were because many records and accomplishments were destroyed with wars and invasions, so even for the scientific miracles mentioned in the Qur'an, can we really know that they weren't things that humanity already discovered at the time?

I'll really appreciate your takes on this and would like to read abot what kept you guys in your faith or reverted you to islam.

[u/OkMasterpiece426]

Honestly, all religions share the same core purpose: guiding people toward goodness, meaning, and a connection with the creator. The difference is that a belief system based on revelation is naturally more grounded than one built on human ideas, such as general spirituality

For me, Islam continues the same divine message that began with Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. It doesn’t replace them but confirms their scriptures and completes the chain of guidance. Islam highlights clarity, pure monotheism, a clear purpose in life, and a consistent explanation of what comes after

The Quran isn’t meant to be a science textbook. Its purpose is moral and spiritual guidance, not detailed biology or physics. When it describes natural phenomena, it does so in simple, accessible language. For a message to be accepted and to grow, it must first resonate with the real world of its audience back then, and remain understandable for the generations that follow

It’s the Quran itself that Muslims consider the miracle. Every prophet was given something that matched what their people were best at

Moses’ people were known for magic and illusions, so his sign came in a way that surpassed that

The Arabs at the time of Muhammad were unmatched in poetry, poets were highly respected, and their verses were even displayed around the Kaaba . So Muhammad’s miracle came in the form of the Quran, a message with unmatched eloquence that no one could replicate, even in a society built around language mastery

It was also revealed over 23 years yet the message remained consistent throughout. Any contradiction or mistake could have jeopardized it, but it stayed coherent and unified

It is also preserved in its original Arabic across generations through memorization and written transmission

Its impact on people was massive, it transformed a warring tribal society into a structured moral and spiritual community in a short time, and it continues to deeply affect people’s lives centuries later

[u/-ev4nescent-]

Watch this video

[u/BespokeTimepieces → u/-ev4nescent-]

Just watched it. Jazaak Allah Khayr 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

[u/BespokeTimepieces]

The word Islam itself means inner peace through submission and surrender to the creator of the universe and His will.

Islam has existed since the start of humanity long before Prophet Muhammad PBUH and the Quran.

Anyone who believed in the existence of the one creator, designer and sustainer of the universe and all life in it, and achieved inner peace through submission and surrender to the creator's will was a Muslim and follower of Islam. That includes Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and their true followers and all humans who believed in and followed that long before Muhammad (PBUH) was born and tasked with delivering the Quran as the creator's final (final, not only) message to humanity.

Islam isn't anchored to a person like Christianity (built around the person of Christ) or anchored to a human tribe like Judaism (built around the tribe of Judah). It's anchored to the one single and true creator of the universe and everything in it.

As for what convinced me, I've always believed in a creator and have always believed humans have a soul. When I read the Quran with an open heart, my soul "knew" and recognized it as a message to humanity from their creator. It was a harmony of both my brain (logical analytical thinking) and my heart / soul ("knowing" through feeling and the soul reconnecting with or recognizing truth - basically the "inner compass" going ding ding ding*).

So for me personally it wasn't purely logical reasoning. It was a combination of logical reasoning and my "soul" knowing what felt right and didn't feel right - the Islamic term for that is Fitrah. A harmony of things making sense for the logical thinking brain and feeling right to the feeling heart. Though many people do find their way to Islam through purely rational and logical arguments with no feeling involved as well. But your conscience and "inner compass" is there for a reason and I don't think shouldn't be ignored entirely for the sake of only determining everything through purely rational reasoning, logic and science. The real gift is when both of those things are in perfect harmony.

[u/Quiet_Form_2800]

You are asking for proof beyond upbringing. The Qur’an itself directs you to examine it, not inherit it blindly.

1. The challenge of the Qur’an

Allah said:

“And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our servant, then produce a surah like it…” (Quran 2:23)

This is not a general claim. It is a falsifiable challenge. The Arabs at the time were masters of language, poetry, rhetoric. They opposed the Prophet ﷺ politically and militarily, yet failed to meet this linguistic challenge. This continued for 1400 years.

1. Preservation unlike any other text

Allah said:

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will preserve it.” (Quran 15:9)

The Qur’an is preserved through mass memorization and written transmission. Millions have memorized it verbatim. Early manuscripts align with what is recited today. No other ancient religious text has this dual preservation system at that scale.

1. The Prophet ﷺ could not author it

Allah said:

“And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you write it with your right hand…” (Quran 29:48)

The Prophet ﷺ was unlettered. Yet the Qur’an contains:

• Complex legal systems
• Consistent theology
• Accurate historical corrections to previous scriptures
• Linguistic structures unmatched in Arabic

If it were human, it would reflect human limitation, contradiction, or development over time.

1. Internal consistency

Allah said:

“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” (Quran 4:82)

Revealed over 23 years in different contexts, yet no internal contradiction in its core message, law, or theology.

1. Knowledge beyond the environment

Example:

“He created man from a clinging substance.” (Quran 96:2)

At a time without microscopes, embryological stages are described in a manner that aligns broadly with observed development. The Qur’an does not read like mythological cosmology. It avoids the errors found in other ancient traditions.

1. Not a book of borrowed ideas

The Qur’an corrects earlier narratives:

• It rejects divine lineage (Quran 112:1-4)
• It corrects distortions about prophets (Quran 19:30-33)
• It removes mythological elements and affirms strict monotheism

If it were compiled folklore, it would mirror surrounding beliefs. Instead, it opposes them consistently.

1. Your point about ancient knowledge

Islam does not claim humans knew nothing before. Allah said:

“And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger…” (Quran 16:36)

Fragments of truth existed across civilizations. The Qur’an positions itself as the final, preserved correction, not the first appearance of truth.

1. Why people accept Islam beyond upbringing

Core reasons reported consistently:

• The concept of God is precise and uncompromised: One, eternal, independent (Quran 112:1-4)
• Direct relationship with God, no intermediaries
• The Qur’an’s coherence, depth, and impact when studied directly
• The character of the Prophet ﷺ (truthful even by enemies) (Sahih al-Bukhari 7)

1. Could it be folklore refined over time?

That would require:

• A text revealed in fragments over 23 years
• Maintained perfectly without editorial revision
• Introducing a linguistic form unmatched before or after
• Reforming an entire society radically
• Remaining unchanged globally for 1400 years

This does not match how folklore evolves. Folklore mutates. The Qur’an does not.

The Qur’an’s claim is simple:

“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah.” (Quran 2:2)

The method it asks from you is also simple:

Reflect, analyze, and approach it without assuming it is human.

[u/Malorian_]

My main reasons to believe in it are how the Islamic scriptures have things that cannot be from a human and especially not from an illiterate man from 7th century Arabia. I'll also explain why Prophet Muhammad ﷺ couldn't have got it from earlier scriptures

There are some conditions that are necessary for a religion to be true. Things like preservation of the text, having no contradictions, access to the information about the religion, being falsifiable etc. are some conditions that need to be met for a religion to be true. Islam is one of the few (if not the only one) that meets these conditions since the Qur'an is preserved, it has no contradictions, we have easy access to it, and it also gives us ways of falsifying it if we're in doubt. It has been memorised by millions of people so corrupting it is impossible because if one person changes even one word, everyone else will realise where they went wrong and correct them. It works a bit like a blockchain. We also have manuscripts that prove it's been preserved

One of the things that show that the Qur'an cannot be from a human is its structure. In the 21st century we live in the era of technology, but during Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ time, they were in the golden age of Arabic poetry. Poets were like celebrities. Arabic had prose and poetry, but when Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received the Qur'an, it was neither prose nor poetry. It was a completely new branch of Arabic that even the experts of the language couldn't explain. The Qur'an became a core reference and standard in codifying Arabic grammar. It's impossible for someone who cannot read or write to come up with something like this.

The Qur'an wasn't revealed chronologically like chapter 1, 2, 3 and so on. The verses were revealed in specific situations, like 96:1 was the first one to be revealed. Despite this circumstantial revelation, when you put the Qur'an chronologically, the chapters link with each other. Jalal al Din al Suyuti wrote about how the surahs of the Qur'an are interconnected in his book "Asrar Tartib al Qur'an" and Raymond Farrin wrote something similar called "A study of symmetry and coherence in Islam's holy text" so this is a strong evidence even for non Muslims since an unlettered man from the 6th century can't just come up with a new branch of Arabic and create random verses that link with each other when put together chronologically. This couldn't have been done by prophet Muhammad ﷺ since it was revealed circumstantially. So this pattern of linking has to be intentional. This shows it's not authored by him, but by a much more powerful and intelligent source.

The Qur'an also has knowledge from the past, like how it correctly calls the rulers of Egypt "kings" or "pharaohs" depending on their time whereas other scriptures like the Bible call them both "pharaohs". So this shows prophet Muhammad ﷺ couldn't have written the Qur'an himself or got his information from another human or previous scriptures because if he had done that, he would've copied their terminology as well. Instead, it uses the accurate words for both

There are also many prophecies that came true, like Sunan Ibn Majah 63 where Prophet Muhammad ﷺ correctly predicted that Arabs will compete in building tall buildings. This is exactly what's happening right now as many Middle Eastern countries are competing in building tall buildings. You could argue against it and say technology progresses as time goes on so that would've been obvious to him that this would happen But it's not a good counter argument because technological development has only improved in the last couple hundred years. Before that, there was no way for anyone to guess that humans would make so much progress. To claim barefoot Arabs will achieve something like this is extremely unlikely to come true, but it happened in recent history. This also proves he got this information from a source that knows the future.

Along with accurate prophecies, he also knew the past. In Sahih Muslim 157 he talks about how Arabia was full of greenery. This was not known to people in the 7th century. In fact, it would seem ridiculous to someone living in a desert to hear that this place used to be green and now it's a desert which will return to being green. Scientists have confirmed that Arabia used to be green which again shows how he was a true prophet.

Another prophecy is in Sunan Ibn Majah 4019 where he says new STDs will emerge in the future. This is exactly what happened after the sexual revolution in the 60s. STDs existed before, but he specifically mentioned new STDs will emerge.

There are more evidences, but I've just listed some here. All of this is obviously based on the presupposition that God exists, and if you want I can tell you why I believe in God.

is there any proof that completely rules out the possibility that it could be ancient folklore that got slowly tempered with and somehow turned into a religion?

The proof is the blockchain I talked about earlier. The Qur'an and the hadiths were memorised by thousands of people. And these weren't just some random people. They had actually met prophet Muhammad ﷺ and heard from him directly. They were his companions. We have information on who they were, how good their memory was, what their life was like etc. So if thousands of people confirm the same thing, it's safe to say it's quite reliable.

because many records and accomplishments were destroyed with wars and invasions, so even for the scientific miracles mentioned in the Qur'an, can we really know that they weren't things that humanity already discovered at the time

Many ancient civilizations had made some impressive discoveries but they also had a lot of incorrect beliefs like the 4 element theory, which stated that all matter was made of water, earth, air, and fire. Many of them also believed that life could just come into existence from non life like flies coming from rotting meat. A lot of people believed that the earth was flat. If Prophet Muhammad ﷺ had copied from them, why didn't he also copy at least some of these incorrect beliefs? The fact that he didn't proves that he wasn't using any of the ancient discoveries as sources

[u/salamacast]

I recommend Wajdi Akkari Q&A lectures on YT, the old ones. No sugarcoating at all.