1. What is Islam?
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.
2. Who are Muslims?
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.
3. Who is Allah?
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 similar 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.
4. Who is Muhammad?
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
manifestations 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.
5. What are the Teachings of Islam?
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.
6. What is the Qur'an?
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.
7. How Do Muslims View the Nature of Man,
the Purpose of Life and the Life Hereafter?
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.
