What is Islam?
Islam is not a new religion, rather it is the continuation of the same Truth that God revealed to all of His prophets starting from Adam and culminating with Muhammad (peace be upon all of them), to the entire mankind.
For over one-fifth of the world’s population, Islam is not merely a religion or a set of devotional practices, instead it is a complete way of life that governs their day to day affairs – everything from social interaction to daily economic transactions.
What does Islam mean?
The ‘Arabic word Islam simply means ‘complete submission (to God)’, and is derived from the ‘Arabic word meaning peace.
In Islamic culture, the word peace plays a central role. Not only is one of the 99 names of God, as-Salam meaing Peace, moreover Muslims greet one another using this same word by saying As-Salam ‘Alaikum or Peace be upon you and the five daily prayers end with the same sentence.
Most other religions or beliefs are named after their founder or Prophet however the religion of Islam is not named after its ‘founder’ since Muhammad, the final Prophet of God was no more than the teacher and propagator of God’s message.
Thus, the term ‘Muhammedanism’ is a misnomer and an insult to Muslims since it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God.
The word ‘Allah’ is the Arabic and proper name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians alike.
Islam is not a new religion, rather it is the continuation of the same Truth that God revealed to all of His prophets starting from Adam and culminating with Muhammad (peace be upon all of them), to the entire mankind.
For over one-fifth of the world’s population, Islam is not merely a religion or a set of devotional practices, instead it is a complete way of life that governs their day to day affairs – everything from social interaction to daily economic transactions.
What does Islam mean?
The ‘Arabic word Islam simply means ‘complete submission (to God)’, and is derived from the ‘Arabic word meaning peace.
In Islamic culture, the word peace plays a central role. Not only is one of the 99 names of God, as-Salam meaing Peace, moreover Muslims greet one another using this same word by saying As-Salam ‘Alaikum or Peace be upon you and the five daily prayers end with the same sentence.
Most other religions or beliefs are named after their founder or Prophet however the religion of Islam is not named after its ‘founder’ since Muhammad, the final Prophet of God was no more than the teacher and propagator of God’s message.
Thus, the term ‘Muhammedanism’ is a misnomer and an insult to Muslims since it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God.
The word ‘Allah’ is the Arabic and proper name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians alike.
Who are the Muslims?
A Muslim is one who submits to the Almighty and is in peace with oneself, others, and the environment as a whole. In the religious context, it means complete submission to the will of God.
Over 1.5 billion people from a vast range of races, cultures, and nationalities - from Australia to Africa - are united by their faith in Islam.
The world’s largest Muslim community is in Indonesia, substantial parts of Asia and most of the people of Africa are Muslims, while significant numbers can be found in the former Soviet Union, China, North and South America, and Europe. Surprisingly, only 18% of all the Muslims live in the Arab world.
The Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and compassion towards all human beings regardless of race, creed or religion and the inhumane acts that have come to be associated with the faith perpetrated by certain segments of the Muslim community have nothing to do with the pure Islamic teachings.
What do Muslims Believe?
One God: Accepting the absolute unity of Allah (God) is the most important article of faith for a Muslim (one who follows Islam). Monotheism is a theme that is frequently emphasized in the Holy Qur’an - the scripture that Muslims believe was revealed by the Lord to Prophet Muhammad - and the famous sentence that states: There is no creature or deity worthy of worship except Allah is the foundation stone of Islam.
Muslims believe in the same God that the previous monotheistic religions believed in: the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Some of the attributes of God that are mentioned in the Qur’an which serve to provide a better understanding of our relationship with the Almighty are: The Merciful, The Generous, The Just, The Forgiving, The Master, The Wise, The All-Knowing, The All-Hearing, The All-Seeing, The All-Powerful, The Peaceful, among many others.
The Qur’an introduces Allah in the following way:
“Say: He, Allah is One, Allah the Eternal. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is nothing that is equal to Him.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 112, Verses 1-4)
In another chapter of the Qur’an, God describes himself as such:
“He is Allah besides Whom there is no god; the Knower of the unseen and the seen; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful. He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god; the King, the Holy, the Giver of Peace, the Granter of Security, Guardian over all, the Mighty, the Supreme, the Possessor of every greatness.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 49, Verse 22-23)
Prophethood: Muslims believe that out of His loving care for humanity, Allah sent Prophets to guide mankind. This golden chain of divinely appointed individuals began with Adam, who was the first Prophet, as well as the first human being; and ended with Muhammad, the last Messenger.
Out of the 124,000 Prophets send to mankind, the names of twenty-five have been mentioned in the Qur’an. Amongst these major Prophets that the Qur’an mentions are: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Jonah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (peace be upon all of them) along with many others.
Islam instructs its’ adherents to respect all Prophets in the light of the Qur’anic verse:
“Surely We have revealed to you (Muhammad), as We revealed to Noah, and the Prophets after him. And We revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, and to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon, and We gave the Psalms to David.” (al-Qur’an Chapter 4, Verse 163)
As a part and parcel of the beliefs of the Muslims, they must believe and accept the Prophethood of all of the Messengers that God had sent to mankind and must not make distinction between any of them. This is best summed up in the below two verses of the Qur’an which state:
“Say (O’ Muslims): ‘We believe in Allah and what He has revealed to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and their descendants, and what was revealed to Moses, Jesus, and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among them and to Allah we have submitted ourselves.” (al-Qur’an Chapter 2, Verse 136)
Also, we are commanded in the Qur’an as follows:
“The Messengers and the believers have faith in what was revealed to them from their Lord. Every one of them believes in God, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers, saying, “We find no difference among the Messengers of God.” They say: “We hear Allah’s commands and obey them. Lord, we need Your forgiveness and to You we shall return.” (al-Qur’an Chapter 2, Verse 285)
Muslims believe in and accept the previous scriptures that God revealed such as the Psalms, Torah and Bible; however, with the coming of the Qur’an, all previous scriptures were abrogated.
Day of Judgement: According to the teachings of Islam, every single human being will be resurrected on a day that is only known to Allah.
On that day, everyone will be called to account for his or her actions in this world. For the good deeds that one performed, he/she will be rewarded and for the evil committed, one will be punished.
The belief in the Day of Judgement forces a Muslim to constantly act in a manner that would be pleasing to his Creator and beneficial to fellow human beings.
Referring to the Day of Judgement, the Holy Qur’an states:
“On that day, mankind shall come forth so that they may be shown their actions. So whoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it, and whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 99, Verse 6-8)
Justice: A Muslim also believes in the comprehensive justice of Allah. The Creator and Maintainer of the entire universe does not oppress His creations in the least bit.
A Muslim believes that whatever troubles or pains inflict him are due to his own actions and in no way can the blame be placed on God.
It is mentioned in the Qur’an that:
“Surely Allah does not do any injustice to mankind, but mankind are unjust to themselves.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 10, Verse 44)
Allah also mentions:
“Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed, then He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 4, Verse 40)
Leadership: The fifth and probably most important and eternal principle of Islam is the doctrine of Leadership (Imamah), which is also called Guardianship. In Islam, the leadership of the society is a divine responsibility that is not left to just anyone, rather Allah makes known to the people those righteous and worthy people that He has chosen to perform this important task.
During the time of Prophet Muhammad, the leader and guardian of the Islamic society was of course the Prophet himself. He received the laws and commands from Allah and communicated them to the people. However, with the passing away of Prophet Muhammad, this authority could not come to a standstill.
People in all times are in need of a divine vicegerent, thus the Almighty Allah had commanded Prophet Muhammad to appoint an infallible successor or Imam to lead and guide the Muslim community. This chain of temporal and spiritual guides started upon the death of the Prophet in the year 633 A.D. with the appointment of Imam ‘Ali, and continues to the present time with al-Mahdi.
The twelfth of these guides, al-Mahdi, although in occultation, continues to serve as the leader of the Muslim community and will one day return along with Prophet Jesus to establish the rule and government of Allah over the entire Earth.
How does One become a Muslim?
Simply by saying the phrase, “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, one becomes a Muslim.
By this declaration, the believer announces his or her faith in all of Allah’s Messengers, and their respective scriptures. There are no other ceremonies or rituals involved in becoming a Muslim.
Do Islam, Christianity and Judaism have Different Origins?
All three of these monotheistic faiths trace their roots back to the Patriarch and Prophet Abraham.
The successive chain of Prophets, starting from Abraham, continuing on to Moses, Jesus and culminating with Muhammad form a part of the blessed tree of Prophethood.
Islam teaches us that out of the 124,000 Prophets that were sent, only 313 of these brought new scriptures to humanity.
As each successive Messenger was sent, the previous Messenger’s scripture was negated. For example, that which Moses brought to humanity was superceded by the teachings of Jesus. Similarly, with the coming of Muhammad, the teachings of Jesus and all those Messengers that came before him were made ineffective and since he is the seal of the Prophets - no other Prophet will come after him - his book, the Qur’an, is the final word of Allah until the end of time.
Day of Judgement: According to the teachings of Islam, every single human being will be resurrected on a day that is only known to Allah.
On that day, everyone will be called to account for his or her actions in this world. For the good deeds that one performed, he/she will be rewarded and for the evil committed, one will be punished.
The belief in the Day of Judgement forces a Muslim to constantly act in a manner that would be pleasing to his Creator and beneficial to fellow human beings.
Referring to the Day of Judgement, the Holy Qur’an states:
“On that day, mankind shall come forth so that they may be shown their actions. So whoever has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it, and whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 99, Verse 6-8)
Justice: A Muslim also believes in the comprehensive justice of Allah. The Creator and Maintainer of the entire universe does not oppress His creations in the least bit.
A Muslim believes that whatever troubles or pains inflict him are due to his own actions and in no way can the blame be placed on God.
It is mentioned in the Qur’an that:
“Surely Allah does not do any injustice to mankind, but mankind are unjust to themselves.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 10, Verse 44)
Allah also mentions:
“Surely Allah does not do injustice to the weight of an atom, and if it is a good deed, then He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward.” (al-Qur’an, Chapter 4, Verse 40)
Leadership: The fifth and probably most important and eternal principle of Islam is the doctrine of Leadership (Imamah), which is also called Guardianship. In Islam, the leadership of the society is a divine responsibility that is not left to just anyone, rather Allah makes known to the people those righteous and worthy people that He has chosen to perform this important task.
During the time of Prophet Muhammad, the leader and guardian of the Islamic society was of course the Prophet himself. He received the laws and commands from Allah and communicated them to the people. However, with the passing away of Prophet Muhammad, this authority could not come to a standstill.
People in all times are in need of a divine vicegerent, thus the Almighty Allah had commanded Prophet Muhammad to appoint an infallible successor or Imam to lead and guide the Muslim community. This chain of temporal and spiritual guides started upon the death of the Prophet in the year 633 A.D. with the appointment of Imam ‘Ali, and continues to the present time with al-Mahdi.
The twelfth of these guides, al-Mahdi, although in occultation, continues to serve as the leader of the Muslim community and will one day return along with Prophet Jesus to establish the rule and government of Allah over the entire Earth.
How does One become a Muslim?
Simply by saying the phrase, “I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, one becomes a Muslim.
By this declaration, the believer announces his or her faith in all of Allah’s Messengers, and their respective scriptures. There are no other ceremonies or rituals involved in becoming a Muslim.
Do Islam, Christianity and Judaism have Different Origins?
All three of these monotheistic faiths trace their roots back to the Patriarch and Prophet Abraham.
The successive chain of Prophets, starting from Abraham, continuing on to Moses, Jesus and culminating with Muhammad form a part of the blessed tree of Prophethood.
Islam teaches us that out of the 124,000 Prophets that were sent, only 313 of these brought new scriptures to humanity.
As each successive Messenger was sent, the previous Messenger’s scripture was negated. For example, that which Moses brought to humanity was superceded by the teachings of Jesus. Similarly, with the coming of Muhammad, the teachings of Jesus and all those Messengers that came before him were made ineffective and since he is the seal of the Prophets - no other Prophet will come after him - his book, the Qur’an, is the final word of Allah until the end of time.
Source: http://www.al-haqq.com/
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