ISLAM & FACTS OF ISLAM

THE RELIGION OF ISLAM

Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God". The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim", The word also implies "peace" which is the natural consequence of total submission to the will of Allah.

Discover ISLAM

This is a section for people who are interested in learning about the religion Islam. It is a compilation of information on the tenets of the Islamic faith, its principles and practices. Exploring Islam explains the basic fundamental beliefs of the Islamic way of life and how Islam is associated with the world's other leading religions. This section also explains the duties of abiding Muslims and what the institution of Islam has to offer for each of them.

Muslims believe that mankind's salvation will result from the worship of God as "One" without equals or partners. Islam teaches us that we can pray directly to God without an intermediary and that no soul can bear the burden of another. The Qur'an teaches us that only God can forgive sins, punish or reward. The Qur'an also teaches us that the nature of humanity is good, and we did not inherit sin from Adam. Each soul comes into being free of sin and inclined toward goodness and is capable of doing good and unless taught against its nature, will incline toward good deeds. The teachings of Islam guide mankind back to our pure nature through knowledge of God. Mankind was obviously no accident and only could have been created by a Supreme Being, something which this section intends to prove.

Islam: A Message to Mankind

The Islamic message to mankind is a very simple message. Through this message God calls mankind to His worship as our sole Creator. He cautions mankind against becoming worshippers of false gods, and the pleasures of life. As our Creator, God knows each of us as though we are the only one that He Created, He knows each of us intimately. Although humans are interdependent, and we care for each other and love each another, we can only do this within a human and limited capacity. Even our parents and friends do not and cannot know us as God knows us. No one can love us more than God when we are obedient to Him. God is the Creator of such things as love, need, care, etc. and His capacity or ability for such things is infinite and perfect, while ours is limited and imperfect.

The Islamic message is a message that was sent down to mankind from God as a demonstration of God's mercy, something which He extends to all of His creation. God says in the Qur;'an that His rain is a mercy, and it falls on the crops of the righteous and the wicked. God teach us that He never sleeps, that He never rebukes or reproaches us. He hears all things, sees all things, and knows all things. He teach us that His mercy is greater than His wrath, and that He is always listening to hear our confessions, our questions, our problems and our praise.. God says to us in the Qur'an, " Tell my servants, the Believers, to call me and I will answer their supplications."

The prophet Muhammad also teaches us about God. He taught us that God is so merciful that He (God) said, "Tell my servants to never lose hope of God's mercy. That so anxious is He for their salvation that if one takes one step toward God, seeking His comfort and forgiveness, God will take ten times that number of steps toward His servant, and if one of His servants comes walking toward God seeking God's mercy and forgiveness, God will run to meet Him." The verses of the Qur'an and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad called the "Sunnah" or way of the prophet teaches us about God, His Attributes and the purpose for which He created the universe and mankind. Sunnah teaches us the way to live our lives in a manner which leads to inner peace and happiness, and gives us strength through faith in God to face our many hardships.

These blessings all stem from belief in One True and Living God, who taught us His name, " Allah (SWT)."

The Holy Qur'an Chapter 3, verses 31-34 says:
Say, (O' prophet Muhammad) if you love God, Follow me: Allah (SWT) will love you and forgive you your sins; for Allah (SWT) is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. Say (O' prophet Muhammad) "Obey Allah (SWT), and His messenger, but if they turn back, Allah (SWT) loves not those who reject faith. Allah (SWT) did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Imran above all people, offspring, one of the other: And God hears and knows all things.

ISLAM AT A GLANCE

ISLAM AND MUSLIMS

The Arabic word Islam means peace, submission and obedience. The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of Allah as revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

A Muslim is one who believes in Allah and strives for total reorganisation of his life according to His revealed guidance and the sayings of the Prophet (SAW). He also works for building human society on the same basis. "Muhammadanism" is a misnomer for Islam and offends its very spirit.

The word 'Allah' is the proper name of God in Arabic. It is a unique term because it has no plural or feminine gender.

CONTINUITY OF MESSAGE
Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which Allah revealed to all Prophets:
Say, we believe in Allah and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit. (Qur'an 3:83).
The Message which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is Islam in its comprehensive, complete and final form.

MAN: THE FREE AGENT
Man is the highest creation of God. He is equipped with the highest of potentialities. He is left relatively free in his will, action and choice. God has shown him the right path, and the life of Prophet Muhammad provides a perfect example. Man's success and salvation lies in following both. Islam teaches the sanctity of the human personality and confers equal rights upon all without any distinction of race, sex or colour.

The law of God, enunciated in the Qur'an and exemplified in the life of the Prophet, is supreme in all cases. It applies equally to the highest and the lowest, the prince and the peasant, the ruler and the ruled.

QURAN AND HADITH
The Qur'an is the last revealed word of God and the basic source of Islamic teachings and laws. The Qur'an deals with the bases of creeds, morality, history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, God-man relationship, and human relationship in all aspects. Comprehensive teachings on which, can be built sound systems of social justice, economics, politics, legislation, jurisprudence, law and international relations, are important contents of the Holy Qur'an.

Muhammad (PBUH) himself was an unlettered man who could not read or write. Yet, the Holy Qur'an was committed to memory and writing by his followers, under his supervision, during his lifetime. The original and complete text of the Qur'an is available to everybody in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed. Translations of the meaning into many languages are widely used. HADITH, the teachings, sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad, meticulously reported and collected by his devoted companions, explain and elaborate the Qur'anic verses.

CONCEPT OF WORSHIP
Islam does not teach nor accept mere ritualism. It emphasises intention and action. To worship God is to know Him and love Him, to act upon His law in every aspect of life, to enjoin goodness and forbid wrongdoing and oppression, to practise charity and justice and to serve Him by serving mankind. The Qur'an presents this concept in the following sublime manner:
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for love of Him to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observe proper worship and pays the Zakah. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress; such are those who are sincere. Such are the God-fearing." (Qur'an 2: 177).

ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE
Islam provides definite guidelines for all people to follow in all walks of life. The guidance it gives is comprehensive and includes the social, economic, political, moral and spiritual aspects of life. The Qur'an reminds man of the purpose of his life on earth, of his duties and obligations towards himself, his kith and kin, his community, his fellow human beings and his Creator. Man is given fundamental guidelines about a purposeful life and then he is left with the challenge of human existence before him so that he might put these high ideals into practice. In Islam, man's life is a wholesome, integrated unit and not a collection of fragmented, competitive parts. The sacred and secular are not separate parts of man: they are united in the nature of being human.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Muhammad (S. A.W) was born in the year 570 A.C. in the city of Makkah in Arabia in a noble family. He received the first revelation at the age of forty. As soon as he started preaching Islam, he and his followers were persecuted and had to face severe hardships. He was, therefore, commanded by God to migrate to Madinah, another city in Arabia. During a short span of 23 years, he completed his mission of prophethood and died at the age of 63. He led a perfect life and set an example for all human-beings as his life was the embodiment of the Qur'anic teachings.

ISLAM'S RATIONAL APPEAL
Islam in its clear and direct way of expressing truth has a tremendous amount of appeal for any seeker of knowledge. It is a solution for all the problems of life. It is a guide towards a better and complete life glorifying, in all its phases, God, the Almighty Creator and the Merciful Nourisher.

ISLAM - THE SOLUTION OF MODERN PROBLEMS
The Brotherhood of Man: A major problem which modern man faces is that of racism. The materially advanced nations can send man to the moon but they cannot stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man. Islam, over the last 1400 years, has shown in practice how racism can be ended. Every year, during Hajj, the Islamic miracle of real brotherhood of all races and nations can be seen in action.

The Family: The family which is the basic unit of civilisation is disintegrating in all western countries. Islam's family system brings into a fine equilibrium the rights of man, wife, children and relatives. Islam nourishes human unselfishness, generosity and love in a well-organised family system.

UNFRAGMENTED VIEW OF LIFE
Human beings live according to their view of life. The tragedy of secular societies is that they fail to connect the different aspects of life. The secular and the religious, the scientific and the spiritual seem to be in conflict. Islam puts an end to this conflict and brings harmony to man's vision of life.