A Quick Introduction to Islam
By Abu Yusuf Daniel Masters, Abu Maryam Isma'il Kaka and Abu Iman Robert
Squires. © Muslim Answers
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 on "One God", do
not make all of their worship and prayers for Him alone. Also, they also 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
because 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 world "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 the 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, 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 short, the
Qur'an is the book of guidance par excellence.
The Prophet Muhammad(S)
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 remotes 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 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.
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 ones 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
thought 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.
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