Does the Japanese society..
Which is a perfect model of societies
Of course, according to human standards..
Does it need Islam??
‘Guided through the Qur’an’
‘Living it is the sweetness of life’
‘Longing to the Lord, coming to Him’
‘To Him I submit my soul’
‘It showed me the most beautiful and precious path’
‘And it’s the intercessor, it is the companion’
‘O, heedless, won’t you wake up’
‘And see the way for happiness and salvation’
‘It showed me the most beautiful and precious path’
‘And it’s the intercessor, it is the companion’
‘O, heedless, won’t you wake up’
‘And see the way for happiness and salvation’
My name is Amin Maccoto Mesitani
I was born at 1948
So, now I am 65 years old..
I became officially Muslim at.. 1988
I am a researcher and a translator
I work at this Arabic Islamic institute.. at Tokyo
I am always interested in Islamic issues..
And also the Arabic language..
He was born in a Buddhist family..
He loved researches and books
That has played a role in changing his life..
Dr. Amin..
he was keen to make up for what he missed in his past life..
I was born at Kuto.. which was the capital of japan before Tokyo
At Kuto..there are so many Buddhist temples and Shinto’s..
His father and his grandfather were Buddhist Monks..
His father was knowledgeable about many other religions..
And he had a big library full of numerous books.. Amin benefited from them at his youth.
Even the Islamic books..we had Most of them ..
For example.. a translation of Qur’an
And Books about Islam..
That was my way of knowing about Islam..
As I remember.. I was about 9 or 10 years old..
I used to read some pages from the Noble Qur’an..
So, after about 3 to 4 years.. I was very much impressed by ..
I can say.. the power of the religion of Islam.
At the same time.. I always felt that Buddhism is weak!
in Japan..in general..
especially after the defeat at the second world war.
My soul was always in hesitation..
hesitating and in doubt sometimes..
So, I was looking for something solid..
something eternal.
I found that this religion has deep ideology and it gives value and reason for life..
So, I wanted to know more about it.. and to introduce it to others..
I wanted to discover..
The reason.. the secret behind the power of Islam..
That was an entrance for me towards Islam..
‘Guided through the Qur’an’
‘Living it is the sweetness of life’
‘Longing to the Lord, coming to Him’
Why Islam is strong.. continuous.. and spreading..??
Because Allah, SWT says:
“It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion,”
That’s why Dr. Amin went deep on his research..
even more ..to learn Arabic..
Before entering Islam.
For me to read many things.. about Islam..from original scripts..
I had to spend some time.. it took me 4 to 5 years..
And especially to learn Arabic..
But at the sametime I was studying Islamic basics..
What is the verse..
that when you read it..it affects you most..
Dr. Amine..the one that influenced your heart..
There is one verse..
“And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah”
This verse is about Hajj..
Yes ..at Hajj..
But , generally..
We understand ‘ The best provision’ [Az-Zad]..as something materialistic..
We need a plane ticket.. a visa..etc.
But, Allah says it is [Taqwa]
ie. prepare your heart..your spirit.. this is more important!
O, Allah..make the Great Qur’an the spring of our hearts..
And an illumination for us at Dunya and Akhirah..by the will of Allah.
After the verses of Hajj..Allah said:
“And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah”
He didn’t say supply yourselves with money.. water and food..
Though they are necessary..
But, the main purpos of doing Ibadat.. is foe the sake of hearts!
ie. Salat, fasting, Zakat and Hajj..
They are spiritual training for hearts!
Every day..I used to read one or two pages..
Then I became more convinced..
more ..and more..
At the end..I couldn’t find any way other than accepting Islam..
I entered Islam alone.. and by my own will..
No one forced me or threatened me..
He was completely convinced to enter Islam..
He said Shahada at Egypt..
He was invited by an Imam there.. to say the Shahada..
After I said Shahada..
All the pages were opened.. Welcome!!
I felt relieved.. and in peace..
As a Muslim.. I am different from muslims who are born Muslims..
inherited islam from their parents..
Most of the japanese Muslims have entered Islam by their own will..by their choice..
They are not born Muslims..
Do you see that Islam is spreading..? young people are entering Islam..Do you notice that..?
I think it is more obvious among the university students..
Also..
The topic of Islam..
is now among the programs that are taught regularly.. at universities..
What is releafing is that..the number of youth getting into Islam, is continuously increasing..
In our society, youth are vulnerable.. they suffer and struggle..
Many of them do not find a value for their life..why do they have to work hard..?
In addition to psychological pressures..
The Japanese society have more than 30 thousand suicides..every year..
Although they are known for their values and morals..
And they appreciate modernism and production..
30 thousands..
Every year..
This is among the highest statistics in other places of the world..
This is a clear indicator..
It tells us..what is our problem?
It is the lack of a purpose ..a goal for life..
‘Guided through the Qur’an’
‘Living it is the sweetness of life’
‘Longing to the Lord, coming to Him’
‘My Qur’an’
‘It is my paradise, it is a miracle for the universe’
‘My Qur’an’
‘My Qur’an, It is my evidence when I come to the Merciful’
‘O, my heart, By the speech of my Lord, my soul shines’
‘And my tongue pray to Allah sincerely’
My major interest is to revive the spirit of Iman.. in Islam..
among the Japanese society ..by the will of Allah
Dr. Amin..
is my father and my teacher.. at the institute..
Ma’sha’Allah, he speaks Arabic and English too
He wrote many books about Islam..
Now.. with you.. we see your books..
The books that you wrote, ma’sha’Allah..
Tell us abot them..Dr.Amin.
I am more focusing on the spirit of Iman..
This first book . for example..
It is about understanding..knowing Allah..
The belief in Allah, in Islam..
the second book is about the meaning of Jannah in Islam..
For Japanese readers..
Then.. here you can see.. ‘Iman and life’
Then..
I did studies about some interesting topics..
For japanese readers
e.g. the history of the Kabba Musharafa..
And a book about the mosques of the world
The reason that Dr. Amin wrote books..
in history and Islamic architecture..
was to attract Non-Muslims to Islam indirectly..
It is true..Dawah is an art!
Now..
About 40 universities teach The Arabic language ..
as an official subject
And from my observation..the number is increasing..
So, there is always a demand for lecturers at the universities..
It is becoming rare at Japan..
to mention religion..without mentioning Islam..
because..
Of the status of Islam.. at this community.
“Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak
“From the evil of that which He created”
“And from the evil of darkness when it settles”
“And from the evil of the blowers in knots”
“And from the evil of an envier when he envies.””
Dr. Amin is very cooperative.. many of the Japanese students go to him..
also all the workers at the university,,he respond to them and help them..
He is the final translator.. here at the university..
I think that Dr. Amin is playing an important role in Japan,, for Islam and Muslims..
It is difficult that someone else can do what he is doing..
So, we are expecting to have more and more from him.
How can we bring Islam here to Japan..?
In your opinion.. what is the way to do this?
No need for the rush..
Because..
The best merit of Islam is always present..
The important thing is to keep working..
And to try always to show the best aspects..
And the best merits of Islam..
And as I think.. it is the essence of mercy!
‘With the Book of Allah, I was guided to light’
‘I had a past that I regret..I left it behind me’
‘With the Book of Allah, I was guided to light’
We have few Muslims in Japan.. for two reasons..
One of them is recent..
It is because Japan was defeated at the second world war..
Before the war.. Shinto was the main religion.. and the government was adopting it!
when we were defeated at the war.. we lost our trust in religion..
and in the government that was holding that religion at that time.
The second reason that Islam is not spread here.. is historical..
At the beginning of the 17th century..i.e. about 3 centuries ago..
So many missionaries came from Europe with Christianity
Many of them were remarkably active and clever..
From them.. many politicians came..
The government was afraid that Europe may occupy Japan..
So, the government took a decision, they forbid commercial trading with Europe completely for 4 or 5 years..
This means that the country was closed and isolated from the outside world!
At that time..Islam reached The Philippines and east of China…then stopped because of the isolation!!
About 99% of the Japanese are not Muslims..
And they are not having any other religion too
Because of that..
we can say..this land is very good for Dawah
They study.. read and think..there is an ideology here in Islam.. a solution
The Japanese people, as I know them..
had lost the main reason for life.. as I wrote here in my book..The Iman and life
This subject is very important for this community..
Islam is a strong religion..
And , by the will of Allah, it will provide the Japanese people with a strong motive for life..
What is the reason for our existence?
Why Allah, SWT created us??
Are we created so as to eat and drink?
Or there is a great reason for our creation!!
“Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?””
We are created..
to worship Allah SWT alone..
My life has changed very much after I entered Islam..
First of all..
I always felt comfort, tranquility and peace..
in my heart and my thinking..
‘Glory to the one I have returned to’
‘Both His hands are stretched welcoming us ’
‘I dropped all my sins in front of Him’
‘O, Allah, forgive me doing these sins’
Dr. Amin did Hajj twice..
But his experience there was unique!!
I learned that you are one of the first persons who delivered a speech [Khutba] at the Day of Arafah.. in Japanese
This is marvelous..
I felt that I have a responsibility..
It was my duity..
so, I prepared the Khutba in three languages..
in Japanese. Arabic and English..
Because some people from Japan.. they understand English only..
You always feel that you want to come back again to do Hajj
This is one of the miracles of Hajj.
And it also shows the greatness and the meaning of Hajj..
The best thing I would like to say..especially to the Japanese people..
Is to revive their hearts..their souls..with Iman [faith]
‘Oh whiff of the Qur’an, spread your scent’
‘The fragrance over my heart and my soul’
‘you are the cure for what hurts’
‘If not for the guidance, I wouldn’t had enough’
We brought with us some pens..we have written a beautiful message on them..
So that if a person read it.. as a japanese person.. It woud affect his heart..and he would think.. and read about Islam..
The message says: What is after death?
maybe this pen..
which is a simple thing.. with the message on it..
‘What is after death’
Hold this pen Dr.
This simple pen has a simple Dawah message
Maybe a person ..or even more than one..
would enter Islam..
And we all share the [Ajr] reward from Allah
Do you accept.. Yes.. absolutely..
May Allah bless you.. thank you..
‘I was far from it.. But when I came close..’
‘I was guided by it.. right away..’
‘You have known it.. for a long time.. from childhood..’
‘Why some people have dead hearts?’
‘My criticism, ummah of Qur’an.. is full of love’
‘because it is a sin to desert Qur’an’
‘Tomorrow, the prophet will blame us.. is that acceptable?’
‘Tomorrow, what are we going to say? what’s our excuse?’
‘My criticism, ummah of Qur’an.. is full of love’
‘because it is a sin to desert Qur’an’
‘Tomorrow, the prophet will blame us.. is that acceptable?’
‘Tomorrow, what are we going to say? what’s our excuse?’