Why am I a Muslim?

My Dear Readers,

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

As-salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. (May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah be upon you)
  

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ نَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

(See end note in the first post)

To write this blog, believing that the words of Allah are true, and that Islam is a source of good, I have to start with the first and foremost question.

Why am I a Muslim?

Given my background, I should probably write that I am born into a Muslim family, and decided to run with it.  Others fellow Muslims might offer different reasons, for example, "I chose to be a Muslim because of my loved ones". Still others might put forth a gamut of reasons. There are those who argue as to how good Islam is compared to other religions, and offer a host of logical, scientific and highly erudite arguments. All that is good in its own time and place.  My concern in this blog starts from a still much more basic level.

 Is it necessary to believe in God? 

or perhaps in other words:

Can I live my life just fine without having to believe in God?

As to the question of whether it is necessary to follow a formal religion, for those believing in God, and whether Islam is the religion of choice, is the scope of a separate, and I must say much later discussion.

If we were to ask about importance of God in our life, we must go back further and ask ourselves:

What is the purpose of our life, existence etc? Or, is there a purpose to our existence?

Perhaps one of the ways I can provide some perspective to myself, is by jotting down a couple of basic questions, and then writing a blog post about each one of them and see if it leads me to where I am right now. So here goes:

 

1. Is there a purpose to my existence, if so how can I know what it is? If not, how can I be sure?
2. Will there be life after death? If so, how can I know more about it, and how can I know that what I know is right? If not, again, how can I be sure?

والله أعلم   
 Wa Allahu 'Alam (And Allah is the All-Knowing)