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What is Islam?
Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world’s population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Actually, the majority of Muslim people have nothing to do with the extremely grave terrorist events which have come to be associated with their faith.
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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Alâmîn (mankind, Jinn and all that exsits);
Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Thee alone do we worship, And Thine aid alone we seek.
Show us the straight way,
The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, Those whose (portion) Is not wrath, And who go not astray.
This opening chapter of the Qur’an, Al Fâtihah, is essential in Islamic prayer. It contains the essence of The Qur’an and is recited at the start of every prayer.
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Who are the Muslim people?
One billion people from a vast range of races, nationalities and cultures across the globe; from the southern Philippines to Nigeria; are united by their common Islamic faith. About 18% live in the Arab world. The world’s largest Muslim community is in Indonesia; substantial parts of Asia and most of Africa is Muslims, while significant minorities are to be found in the Soviet Union, China, North and South America, and Europe.
What are the fundamentals of Muslim’s belief?
Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him; in the Prophets through whom His revelation was brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability for actions; in God’s complete authority over human destiny and in life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of Prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them all. But God’s final Message to man, which is regarded as a reconfirmation of the eternal Message and a summing-up of all that has gone before, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through Angel Gabriel.
How does someone become a Muslim?
Simply by testifying that “there is no god worthy of worship besides Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”. By this declaration, the Muslim announces his or her faith in all God’s Messengers, and the scriptures they brought.
What does `Islam’ mean?
The Arabic word ‘Islam’ simply means ‘submission’; it is derived from a word meaning ‘peace’. In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God. ‘Mohammedanism’ is thus a misnomer because it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad (peace be upon him) rather than God. ‘Allah’ is the Arabic name for God, which is used by both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians alike. |
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Why does Islam often seem strange?
Islam may seem exotic or even extreme in the modern world. Islam seems exotic & extreme in the west because of many things: -the distorted image of Islam & Muslims in the West; – some Muslims' ignorance of the teachings of their religion, the thing which may result in: either extremely lenient Muslims or extremely radical Muslims; –the backwardness, illiteracy, poverty, social & political conflicts which have become the broad characteristics of the majority of Muslim countries. Thus, it seems that the exotic image of Islam in the West does not correlate with the Muslims' adherence to their religion. By contrast, if Muslims stick to their religion & apply its teachings to all their life aspects, all the previously mentioned factors of the Muslims' exotic image would disappear. The idea of Muslims having their religion at the top of their life is great; it is rather related to the comprehensiveness of Islam & how it applies to all aspects of one's life, this idea of comprehensiveness of religion is truly lacked in the Westerners' life. Hence, Islam makes Muslims' life special, but not exotic. Perhaps this is because religion does not dominate everyday life in the West, where as Muslims have religion always uppermost in their minds, and make no division between secular and sacred. They believe that Sharee‘ah, [i.e. the Divine Law] should be taken very serious, which is why issues related to religion are still so important.
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