All these discussions...

All these discussions, conversations and meetings were held with different persons, and followers of various religions and creeds who either happened to see me by chance or were invited for discussions. After the demise of grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul-Hasan Isfahani (1356H, 1937 CE), and grand Ayatollah Sayyid Husayn Qumi (1366H, 1947 CE), the religious headship passed on to my father, grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mirza Mahdi Shirazi.

Since then I continued to receive ambassadors, state representatives, ministers and political personalities who visited us in Karbala regularly. My late father used to discuss with them different religious topics, and throughout that long period and frequent meetings, I never felt helpless and unable to reply to any question.

Most often we were successful in convincing others that the Islamic teachings are correct, that it is essential to implement Islamic laws in one’s life, and that Islam possesses the best solutions, teachings, and laws for the salvation of humanity. I have presented in this book the debates that led to the conversion to Islam of ten Christians in seven narrations.

I have described all events as they occurred without adding anything more except that I have deleted those parts, which have been repeatedly talked about on the Prophet of Islam and on the proofs of his prophethood. The reader will observe the simplicity and introductory style of these dialogues that were actually conducted in this manner for the benefit of the addressees.

Let it not remain unsaid that most of the time I used to suggest to those who embraced Islam to adopt Islamic names, and also I used to arrange for them to remarry – as a precautionary measure – according to Islamic criteria for marriage. I used to present them copies of the Holy Qur’an and other Islamic books. Our aim in this introduction is to point out that Islam has not been and will never be defeated in any field. Islam has no weakness or defect in its principles in any sense of word.

There is no possibility that any religion may afford to lead mankind towards salvation better than Islam or even equal to it. If the people of the world knew Islam as it was revealed to and taught by the prophet Muhammad, they would race one another to embrace it wholeheartedly, save the stubborn and the narrow minded who are very few. This is a matter the importance of which I have personally experienced throughout my research work and discussions.