In the Name of Allah, most Compassionate, most Merciful
The word "Islam" is an Arabic
word that means "submitting and surrendering your will to Almighty God".
The word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means
peace. Unlike the names used for other religions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and
Christianity, the name for the religion of Islam was both revealed by God and carries a
deep spritual meaning — only by submitting one’s will to Almighty God can one
obtain true peace both in this life and in thelife hereafter. Islam teaches that all
religions originally had the same essential message — which was to submit
whole-heartedly to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone. For this reason,
Islam is not a new religion but is the same divinely revealed Ultimate Truth that God
revealed to all prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
The Arabic word "Muslim"
literally means "someone who submits to the will of God". The message of
Islam is meant for the entire world and anyone who accepts this message becomes a Muslim.
Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could
be further from the truth, since in actuality over 80% of the world's Muslims are not
Arabs! Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and
atheists. If one just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World
— from Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia — it is easy enough to
see that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups and nationalities. From the
very beginning, Islam had a universal message for all people. This can be seen in the fact
that some of the early companions of the Prophet Muhammad were not only Arabs, but also
Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans. Being a Muslim entails complete acceptance and
active obedience to the revealed will of Almighty God. A Muslim is a person who freely
accepts to base his beliefs, values and faith on the will of Almighty God. In the past,
even though you don't see it as much today, the word "Mohammedans" was
often used as a label for Muslims. This label is a misnomer and is the result of either
willful distortion or sheer ignorance. One of the reasons for the misconception is that
Europeans were taught for centuries that Muslims worshipped the Prophet Muhammad in the
same way that Christians worship Jesus. This is absolutely not true since a Muslim is not
permitted to worship anyone or anything besides Almighty God.
Very often one will here the Arabic word "Allah"
being used in regards to Islam. The word "Allah" is simply the Arabic
word for Almighty God, and is the same word used by Arabic speaking Christians and Jews.
If one were to pick up an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word "Allah"
being use where the word "God" is used in English. Actually, the Arabic
word for Almighty God, “Allah”, is quite similiar to the word for God in
other Semitic languages — for example, the Hebrew word for God is “Elah”.
For various reasons, some non-Muslims mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different
God than Jews and Christians. This is certainly not the case, since the Pure Monotheism of
Islam calls all people to the worship of the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all of
the other prophets. However, even though Jews, Christians and Muslims worship the same God
— since there is only one God — their concepts concerning Him differ in some
significant ways.
The last and final prophet that God sent to
humanity was the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad explained, interpreted and lived the teachings
of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad is the greatest of all prophets for many reasons, but
mainly because the results of his mission have brought more people into the pure belief in
One God than any other prophet. Even though other religious communities claimed to believe
in One God, over time they had corrupted their beliefs by taking their prophets and saints
as intercessors with Almighty God. Some religions believe their prophets to be
manifestions of God, “God Incarnate” or the “Son of God”.
All of these false ideas lead to the creature being worshipped instead of the Creator,
which contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that Almighty God can be
approached through intermediaries. In order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet
Muhammad always emphasized that he was only a human-being tasked with the preaching of
God’s message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as “the Messenger of God and
His Slave”. To Muslims, Muhammad is the supreme example for all people — he
was the exemplary prophet, statesman, military leader, ruler, teacher, neighbor husband,
father and friend. Unlike other prophets and messengers, the Prophet Muhammad lived in the
full light of history. Muslims don't need to have "faith" that he existed
and that his teachings are preserved — they know it to be a fact. Even when his
followers only numbered a few dozen, Almighty God informed Muhammad that he had be sent as
a mercy to all of mankind. Because people had distorted or forgotten God’s messages,
God took it upon Himself to protect the message revealed to Muhammad. This was because
Almighty God promised not to send another messenger after him. Since all of God’s
messengers have preached the message of Islam — i.e. submission to the will of God
and the worship of God alone — Muhammad is actually the last prophet of Islam, not
the first.
The foundation of the Islamic faith is belief in
the Unity of God. This means to believe that there is only one Creator and Sustainer of
everything in the Universe, and that nothing is divine or worthy of being worshipped
except for Him. Truly believing in the Unity of God means much more than simply believing
that there is "One God" — as opposed to two, three or four. There
are a number of religions that claim belief in “One God” and believe that
ultimately there is only one Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. Islam, however, not
only insists on this, but also rejects using such words as "Lord" and "Savior"
for anyone besides Almighty God. Islam also rejects the use of all intermediaries between
God and Man, and insists that people approach God directly and reserve all worship for Him
alone. Muslims believe that Almighty God is Compassionate, Loving and Merciful. The
essence of falsehood is the claim that God cannot deal with and forgive His creatures
directly. By over-emphasizing the burden of sin, as well as claiming that God cannot
forgive you directly, false religions seek to get people to despair of the Mercy of God.
Once they are convinced that they cannot approach God directly, people can be mislead into
turning to false gods for help. These “false gods” can take various
forms, such as saints, angels, or someone who is believed to be the “Son of
God” or “God Incarnate”. In almost all cases, people who
worship, pray to or seek help from a false god don’t consider it to be, or call it, a
“god”. They claim belief in One Supreme God, but claim that they pray to
and worship others beside God only to get closer to Him. In Islam, there is a clear
distinction between the Creator and the created. There is no ambiguity in divinity —
anything that is created is not deserving of worship and only the Creator is worthy of
being worshipped. Some religions falsely believe that God has become part of His creation,
and this has led people to believe that they can worship something created in order to
reach their Creator. Muslims believe that even though God is Unique and beyond
comprehension — He has no "Son", partners or associates. According
to Muslim belief, Almighty God "does not beget nor was He begotten"
— neither literally, allegorically, metaphorically, physically or metaphysically
— He is Absolutely Unique and Eternal. He is in control of everything and is
perfectly capable of bestowing His infinite Mercy and Forgiveness to whomever He chooses.
That is why is called the All-Powerful and Most-Merciful. Almighty God has created the
Universe for man, and as such wants the best for all human beings. Muslims see everything
in the Universe as a sign of the Creatorship and Benevolence of Almighty God. Also, the
belief in the Unity of God is not merely a metaphysical concept. It is a dynamic belief
that effects ones view of humanity, society and all aspects of life. As a logical
corollary to the Islamic belief in the Oneness of God, is its belief in the oneness of
mankind and humanity.
It is the final revelation of the will of
Almighty God's to all of mankind, which was conveyed through the Angel Gabriel, in Arabic,
to the Prophet Muhammad in its sounds, words and meanings. The Qur’an, sometimes
spelled Koran, was relayed to the Prophet's companions, which they memorized
verbatim, and which has been publicly and continually recited by them and their successors
until the present day. In short, the Qur'an is the book of guidance from God par
excellence. The Qur'an is still memorized and taught by millions of people. The
language of the Qur'an, Arabic, is still a living language to millions of people, so
unlike the scriptures of other religions, the Qur'an is still read in its original
language by countless millions of people. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic
language; and is know to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact. God's
final revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a
period of 23 years. The Qur'an, in contrast to many other religious books, was always
thought to be the Word of God by those who believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something
decreed by a religious council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran was
recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities during the life of
the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'an was also completely written down in lifetime of
the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet memorized the entire Qur'an
word-for-word as it was revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'an was always in the
hands of the common believers, it was always thought to be God's word and, due to
wide-spread memorization, it was perfectly preserved. In regards to the teachings of the
Qur'an - it is a universal scripture, and it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a
particular tribe or "chosen people". The message that it brings is
nothing new, but the same message of all of the prophets - submit to Almighty God
and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'an focuses on teaching
human beings the importance of believing in the Unity of God and framing their lives
around the guidance which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'an contains the stories of
the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands
and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many people are caught up in doubt,
spiritual despair and "political correctness", the Qur'anic teachings
offer solutions to the emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the world
today.
In the Holy Qur'an, God teaches human beings
that they were created in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true worship is
God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islamic encompass all aspects of life and
ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islam makes it clear that
all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone and in accordance to His
Divine Law. As such, worship in Islam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings
of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such qualities as humility,
sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islam condemns
pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness.
The Islamic view of the nature of man is also realistic and well-balanced. Human beings
are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally capable of both good and
evil. Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand. God has given people
free-will, and the measure of one's faith is one's deeds and actions. However, human
beings have also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the
human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently "corrupt"
or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of repentance of always open to all human
beings, and Almighty God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not sin at all.
The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having a healthy fear of God as well
as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and
disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much that God will not possibly
forgive us only leads to despair. In light of this, Islam teaches that: only the
misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the Holy Qur'an, which was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal of teachings about the life
hereafter and the Day of Judgment. Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will
ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in their earthly lives. In
judging human beings, Almighty God will be both Merciful and Just, and people will only be
judged for what they were capable of. Suffice it to say that Islam teaches that life is a
test, and that all human beings will be accountable before God. A sincere belief in the
life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed
as an end in itself, which causes human beings to become more selfish, materialistic and
immoral.