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WHAT IS ISLAM
Islam literally means Peace,
Surrender of ones will; and to be in amity and concord. The significance of the
name Islam is the attainment of a life of perfect peace and eternal happiness
through complete surrender to the Will of God. The Quran the Holy Book of the
Muslims interprets it to be the religion whose teachings are in consonance
with human nature. Islam, as the Quran has stated (5:4), is the completion of
the religion inaugurated by God in the beginning of the world, on His sending
the Quran through the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace & Blessings of God be
upon him). As a child is taught his alphabet, so God taught religion to the
world gradually and little by little, by sending His prophets at different times
and to different peoples.
When the world reached the stage of understanding that it was ready for the final lesson, He sent the last and complete Book through the Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace & Blessings of God be upon him). This Book not only corrects the errors which had found their way into various religions, but preaches the truths which have not been preached before, on account of special circumstances of the society or the early stage of its development. At the same time it gathers together in itself the truths which were contained in any Divine Revelation granted to any people for the guidance of men (the Quran: 98:4). Lastly, it meets all the Spiritual and Moral requirements of an ever advancing humanity. This is Islam which is wrongly called Mohammedanism. According to Islam, the object of mans life is its complete enfoldment. Islam does not support the idea that man is born in sin. It teaches that everyone has within himself the seed of perfect development and it rests solely with a person himself to make or mar his fortune. We created man in the best make, says the Holy Quran (95:5) The cardinal doctrine of Islam is the Unity of Godhead. There is none worthy of worship but the One and Only God, Allah, and Mohammad is His Prophet. God is free from all defects, Holy and Transcendent. He is All Good, All Mercy and All Power. He has no partner. He neither begets nor is He begotten, because these are the traits of frail and weak humanity. Furthermore, Islam helps us to establish a permanent relationship with God and to realise Him during our earthly life as our Helper in all our affairs and undertakings. This Unity of God is the first and foremost pillar of Islam and every belief hangs upon it. Islam requires belief in all the Prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius and Zoroaster. We regard them all (and many more not mentioned here) as heavenly teachers born to reform and regenerate man and lead him to God. Adherents of some other religions may consider it an act of piety to use disrespectful words and leap abuse on the prophets of other religions, but if a Muslim were to show the slightest disrespect towards the Founder of any other faith, he does so at the cost of his own faith. He has to utter the respectful benediction Alaihis-salaam (peace be on him) after mentioning the name of every prophets. Thus, Islam establishes peace between all religions. ISLAM ETHICS AND
OBSERVANCES
The essential sources are:
1. Primary, the Holy Quran the Word of God 2. Secondary, the teachings and practical examples of the Holy Prophet (Peace & Blessings of God be upon him), called Sunnah. The Holy Quran is composed of 114 chapters called Surahs. Out of these, 86 were revealed at Mecca and 28 were revealed at Medina; it has a total of 6, 350 verses. The chapters were laid in sequence by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). This is the only Book which itself claims to be the Word of God and the only Book stating that its text will be protected by God Himself. It is universally agreed that each and every word of the Quran is the same today as it was revealed to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w). It is the uniqueness of the Quran alone that from the earliest times to the present; thousands of people are available in every generation who memorize the whole Book by heart. Its Arabic is perfect and even the best translations cannot match the beauty, rhythm, and forcefulness of the original text. The second source of Islam is Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Peace & Blessings of God be upon him). Islam is unique among religions by having a Kalima which signifies professing the faith, which is: « La Ilaaha Illallaho, Mohammad-ur-Rassool-Ullah » « There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is His Messenger » The main articles of faith are: 1. Belief in God (Allah), the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. He is One, Eternal, Infinite, All-Knowing, Merciful, Almighty and Supreme; Indivisible in nature or person, having no partners, no associates and no sons. He is given in the Holy Quran over 103 names corresponding to His attributes and he governs human affairs according to the parallel laws of Taqdir (predetermination) and Tadbir (freedom), the spheres of which lie apart. Shirk or polytheism is the gravest sin a man can commit and the dogma of the Unity of God is the cornerstone of Islam. 2. Belief in Gods Angels created to serve God and operate the forces of nature. Some act as the agents of Divine Revelation. 3. Belief in Revelation, which is Divine Guidance, brought to man. The former dispensations, such as the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus, were not of universal purport and have suffered interpolations. The Holy Quran is law binding on mankind and will not be abrogated or altered till the end of the world. 4. Belief in the Prophets who are men receiving direct inspiration from God and entrusted with a heavenly message. There have been thousands of them, of every period, race and tongue and they must all be equally recognized. Mohammad (Peace & Blessings of God be upon him), is called the Seal of the Prophets because he brought and ratified the Final Law, but other apostles can still come under his aegis as warners and reformers. 5. Belief in the Hereafter comprising Barzakh, the last Day, Resurrection, Judgment, Paradise and Hell. The human soul does not lead an existence separate from its body, but immediately after death enters a new spiritual body and in the state of suspension called Barzakh, becomes aware whether it will deserve Paradise or hell on the Day of Judgment. That is why Islam teaches that a form of reward or punishment follows straight after death. A Muslim has five main religious duties: 1. Observance of PRAYER (Salaat), Islams sole act of public worship. It takes place five times a day and may be recited either alone or in congregation behind a leader. The midday and afternoon prayers and the dusk and night prayers may be joined in certain cases. Prayer must be said facing the direction of Mecca (Qibla) and be preceded by ablutions. It is remarkable fact that the body positions taught to the Holy Prophet by the Angel Gabriel combine the poses of worship traditional to every single nation on earth: standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting. Prayers in congregation are announced by a call (Adhan). Every Friday, a Sermon (khutba) is delivered before the midday Prayer and though attendance is enjoined on all who are able to be present, the day itself is not one of compulsory rest. 2. Payment of legal ALMS (Zakaat) which is a capital contribution donated to a central fund for the welfare of the community. On money, the levy is 2½ per cent per annum of the total saving or capital, which have lain dormant over a period of not less than twelve months. A different scale applies to certain other non-fixed assets. Fulfillment of this duty does not, of course, absolve one from practicing ordinary private charity. 3. Keeping the FAST during the Month of Ramadhan from dawn to sunset. Certain exemptions are provided for the sick, aged, travelers, etc. Fasting brings in its wake many spiritual blessings and physical benefits. 4. Performance of the PILGRIMAGE (Hajj) to Mecca which should be undertaken if possible at least once in a life time. The religious rites at the Kaaba are a replica of those performed by Abraham 4,000 years ago and the gathering is a major stimulus to Islamic brotherhood, for men and women of all nationalities, races and social classes meet yearly in big numbers. 5. Participation in JIHAD (literally effort), that is striving for the cause of the faith. His entails working for the propagation of Islam or, if religion is attacked by force, the taking up of arms is a concerted defense by the whole community under the orders of its head. The Holy Quran forbids compulsion in matters of religion and tales that Islam is spread by the sword are a malicious lie. As regards Ethics, Islam believes every man to be born pure, not in sin. Each of us are responsible before God for our actions and we cannot be saved by any sort of atonement by a third part. It is up to us to choose good rather than evil and to work out our salvation through faith, prayer and charity. Piety and virtue do not mean forsaking the lawful pleasures of this earth and falling into monastic asceticism. We ought to lead active, healthy and useful lives in which qualities such as kindness, chastity, honesty, meekness, mercy, courage, truthfulness, patience, politeness and cleanliness will be uppermost and faults like cruelty, immorality, deceit, pride, cowardice, avarice, slander and hardness of heart will be avoided. Islam forbids luxury. Eating pork or blood is forbidden unless life threatening, likewise, Muslims may not consume alcohol and other intoxicants or practice gambling, betting and usury. Yet how many men know to this day that swine flesh is a source of trichinosis and induces shamelessness! Or that alcohol, apart from its physical dangers, leads to loss of religious faith? Hanisha
(publication desk: JAAM International - Mauritius)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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