|
A Quick Introduction to Islam
Islam and Muslims:
The word "Islam" is an Arabic word which means "submission to the will of God".
This word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means
"peace". As such, the religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true
peace of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and live according to
His divinely revealed law.
The most important truth that God revealed to mankind is that there is nothing
divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, thus all human
beings should submit to Him.
The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their
race, nationality or ethnic background. Being a Muslim entails willful
submission and active obedience to God, and living in accordance with His
message.
Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but
nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in
every corner of the world, especially in England and America, but by taking a
look at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Indonesia to Morocco,
one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races, ethnic groups and
nationalities.
It is also interesting to note that in actuality, more than 80% of all Muslims
are not Arabs - there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in the whole Arab
World! So though even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large
majority of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to God
and worships Him alone is a Muslim.
Continuity of the Message:
Islam is not a new religion because "submission to the will of God", i.e. Islam,
has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. For this
reason, Islam is the true "natural religion", and it is the same eternal message
revealed through the ages to all of God's Prophets and Messengers.
Muslims believe that all of God's Prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses,
Jesus and Muhammad, brought the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this
reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion, as many
people mistakenly think, but he was the Final Prophet of Islam. By revealing His
final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of
mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham, who was
one of the earliest and greatest Prophets.
Suffice it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the way of the Prophet
Abraham, because both the Bible and the Qur'an portray Abraham as a towering
example of someone who submitted himself completely to God and worshipped Him
without intermediaries. Once this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has
the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all Prophets
and Messengers were "Muslims", i.e. those who submitted to God's will, and they
preached "Islam", i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God.
The Oneness of God:
The foundation of the Islamic faith is belief in the Oneness of Almighty God -
the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus. Islam teaches that a pure belief in
One God is intuitive in human beings and thus fulfills the natural inclination
of the soul.
As such, Islam's concept of God is straightforward, unambiguous and easy to
understand. Islam teaches that the hearts, minds and souls of human beings are
fitting receptacles for clear divine revelation, and that God's revelations to
man are not clouded by self-contradictory mysteries or irrational ideas.
As such, Islam teaches that even though God cannot be fully comprehended and
grasped by our finite human minds, He also does not expect us to accept absurd
or demonstrably false beliefs about Him. According to the teachings of Islam,
Almighty God is absolutely One and His Oneness should never be compromised by
associating partners with Him - neither in worship nor in belief. Due to this,
Muslims are required to maintain a direct relationship with God, and therefore
all intermediaries are absolutely forbidden.
From the Islamic standpoint, believing in the Oneness of God means to realize
that all prayer and worship should be exclusively for God, and that He alone
deserves such titles as "Lord" and "Savior". Some religions, even though they
believe in "One God", do not make all of their worship and prayers for Him
alone. Also, they give the title of "Lord" to beings that are not All-Knowing,
All-Powerful and Un-Changing - even according to their own scriptures.
Suffice it to say that according to Islam, it is not enough that people believe
that "God is One", but they must actualize this belief by proper conduct. In
short, in the Islamic concept of God, which is completely based on Divine
Revelation, there is no ambiguity in divinity - God is God and man is man.
Since God is the only Creator and continual Sustainer of the Universe, He is
transcendent above His creation - the Creator and the creature never mix. Islam
teaches that God has a unique nature and that He is free from gender, human
weaknesses and beyond anything which human beings can imagine.
The Qur'an teaches that the signs and proofs of God's wisdom, power and
existence are evident in the world around us. As such, God calls on man to
ponder over the creation in order to build a better understanding of his
Creator. Muslims believe that God is Loving, Compassionate and Merciful, and
that He is concerned with the daily affairs of human beings. In this, Islam
strikes a unique balance between false religious and philosophical extremes.
Some religions and philosophies portray God as just an impersonal "Higher Power"
who is uninterested, or unaware, of the life of each individual human. Other
religions tend to give God human qualities and teach that He is present in His
creation, by being incarnate in someone, something - or even everything!
In Islam, however, Almighty God has clarified the truth by letting mankind know
that He is "Compassionate", "Merciful", "Loving" and the "Answerer of Prayers".
But He as also emphasized strongly that "there is nothing like unto Him", and
that He is high above time, space and His creation.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the God that Muslims worship is the same
God that Jews and Christians worship - because there is only one God. It is
unfortunate that some people mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different
God than Jews and Christians, and that "Allah" is just the "god of the Arabs".
This myth, which has been propagated by the enemies of Islam, is completely
false since the word "Allah" is simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. It is
the same word for God which is used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians.
However, it should be clarified that even though Muslims worship the same God as
Jews and Christian, their concept of Him differs somewhat from the beliefs of
other religions - mainly because it is based completely on Divine Revelation
from God. For example, Muslims reject the Christian belief that God is a
Trinity, not only becaue the Qur'an rejects it, but also because if this was
God's true nature, He would have clearly revealed it to Abraham, Noah, Jesus and
all of the other Prophets.
The Qur'an:
The Arabic word "Al-Qur'an" literally means "the recitation". When used in
regards to Islam, the word Qur'an means God's final message to mankind that was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu'ran, sometimes spelled Koran, is the
literal word of God - as it clearly says time and time again. Unlike other
sacred scriptures, the Qur'an has been perfectly preserved in both its words and
meaning in a living language.
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 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
short, the Qur'an is the book of guidance par excellence.
The Prophet Muhammad:
Unlike the founders of many religious, the final Prophet of Islam is a real
documented and historical figure. He lived in the full light of history, and the
most minute details of his life are known. Not only do Muslims have the complete
text of God's words that were revealed to Muhammad, but they have also preserved
his saying and teachings in what is called "hadith" literature.
This having been said, it should be understood that Muslims believe that the
Prophet Muhammad was only a man chosen by God, and that he is not divine in any
way. In order to avoid the misguided wish to deify him, the Prophet Muhammad
taught Muslims to refer to him as "God's Messenger and His Slave".
The mission of the last and final Prophet of God was to simply teach that "there
is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God", as
well as being a living example of God's revelation. In simple terms, God sent
the revelation to Muhammad, who in turn taught it , preached it, lived it and
put it into practice. In this way, Muhammad was more that just a "prophet" in
the sense of many of the Biblical Prophets, since he was also a statesman and
ruler. He was a man who lived a humble life in the service of God, and
established an all-encompassing religion and way of life by showing what it
means to be an ideal friend, husband, teacher, ruler, warrior and judge. For
this reason, Muslims follow him not for his own sake, but in obedience to God,
because Muhammad not only showed us how to deal with our fellow human beings,
but more importantly, he showed us how to relate to and worship God, worship Him
in the only way pleasing to Him.
Like other Prophets, Muhammad faced a great deal of opposition and persecution
during his mission. However, he was always patient and just, and he treated his
enemies well. The results of his mission were very successful, and even though
his mission started in one of the most backward and the remotest places on
earth, within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad, Islam had spread from
Spain to China. The Prophet Muhammad was the greatest of all of God's Prophets,
not because he had new doctrines or greater miracles, but because the results of
his mission have brought more human beings into the pure and proper belief in
the One True God than any other Prophet.
The Islamic Way of Life:
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 is 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.
Islam for a Better Life:
Islam teaches that true happiness can only being obtained by living a life full
of God-consciousness and being satisfied with what God has given us.
Additionally, true "freedom" is freedom from being controlled by our base human
desires and being ruled by man-made ideologies. This stands in stark contrast to
the view of many people in the modern world, who consider "freedom" to be the
ability to satisfy all of their desires without inhibition!
The clear and comprehensive guidance of Islam gives human-beings a well-defined
purpose and direction in life. In addition to being members of the
human-brotherhood of Islam, its well-balanced and practical teachings are a
source of spiritual comfort, guidance and morality. A direct and clear
relationship with Almighty God, as well as the sense of purpose and belonging
that one feels as a Muslim, frees a person from the many worries of everyday
life.
In short, the Islamic way of life is pure and wholesome. It builds
self-discipline and self-control through regular prayer and fasting, and frees
human-beings from superstition and all sorts of racial, ethnic and national
prejudices. By accepting to live a God-conscious life, and realizing that the
only thing that distinguishes people in the sight of God is their consciousness
of Him, a person's true human dignity is realized.
Back
|
