An
Introduction to ISLAM
Sayyid
Muhammad Rizvi
In
the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
WHAT
IS ISLAM?
Islam is a religion which guides its followers in every aspect of their
lives. It is a way of life. Islam is the modern or latest
version of the message sent by God through Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses
and Jesus, Islam was sent to mankind through Prophet Muhammad. Islam is
"modern" in the sense that it has come to complement the teachings which
were introduced through Moses and Jesus.
Islam
is a religion which seeks to give a meaningful purpose to our life on
this earth. It seeks to guide us in fulfilling that purpose by creating
harmony between ourselves, our Creator and fellow human beings.
What
you will read below are some of the basic features of Islam.
THE
ONE & ONLY GOD
Islam is a monotheistic religion. It teaches that there is only one God
who is the origin and creator of the universe. This is the foundation
stone of Islam, and is reflected in the famous sentence which says that,
"There is no god but Allah." (Allah is the Arabic name of God.)
The
belief in God relates to us our origin and guides us throughout our
life. The belief in one God shows that man should not worship any
material thing or person in this universe.
By
teaching that there is only One God for all humans, Islam promotes the
sense of brotherhood and equality in human society - all are equally
related to God in the same way. The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam
says:-
He
(God) is One, God is Eternal;
He
has neither begotten,
nor
has He been begotten;
and
there is no one equal to Him.
(chapter
112)
THE
PURPOSE OF LIFE
Our life on this earth has a specific purpose; it is not the result of
nature's accident, nor is it a punishment for eating the fruit of the
forbidden tree. We are here according to God's plan: the worldly life
is a test; it is a chance to prove ourselves as deserving of the
eternal blissful life in the hereafter. God did not create us
just for few years of this life. To be created just for this world's
life would amount to a joke played by the Creator with the human
species. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, said, "You have not been
created for eternal life." According to Islam, the final destination of
mankind is the life hereafter.
At the
end of time, all human beings will be resurrected and will be held
accountable for their worldly life. The life in hereafter will be an
eternal life. However, whether it will be blissful or full of sorrow
depends on how we spend our present life.
It was
help to mankind in achieving this objective that God sent various
prophets and messengers to guide them. Muhammad is the last prophet,
and Islam is the final and complete version of God's message.
STATUS
OF HUMAN BEINGS IN ISLAM
PRIME CREATION: Human being is the prime creation of God. He
says, "We have indeed honored the children of Adam; spread them in the
land and the sea, provided them with good things; and preferred them in
esteem over many things that We have created." (Qur'an: chp. 17, verse
70)
BORN
SINLESS: Islam teaches that every human being is born sinless; no
child carries the burden of his or her ancestor's sins. God says, "No
carrier shall carry the burden of others." (Qur'an; chp. 35, verse 18)
Each human being is born with a pure conscience which can absorb and
accept the true message of God. It is only the social and familial
influences which take a person away from God's message.
ACCOUNTABILITY: Islam also emphasizes on the issue of
responsibility and accountability of human beings - each person is
responsible for his or her own actions. Although Islam teaches that God
has predetermined that span of our life and time of our death, but this
does not mean that even our actions are predetermined by Him. We surely
are free in our actions and are, therefore, accountable for them.
God
only provides guidance for us to know what is good and what is bad. He
says, "We created man of a water-drop...Surely We guided him to the
right way-now whether he (follows it and) be grateful or (goes astray
and) be ungrateful is up to him." (Qur'an: chp. 76, verse 3)
RACE: Islam very categorically rejects racial discrimination. It
promotes the feeling of brotherhood and equality among its followers.
God clearly says, "O Mankind! We have created you from one male and one
female, and then We made you into different races and tribes so that you
may know (and easily recognize) each other." Therefore, no one can
claim any superiority over others based on racial or tribal
differences. A person is to be judged by his character, not by his
color or race. God continues, "Surely the most honorable of you in
God's sight is the person who is most upright in character among you".
(Qur'an, chp. 49, verse 13)
GENDER: Even gender does not count as a criterion of superiority.
In Islam, women is as a human as men. They are not evaluated on basis
of their gender, but on basis of their faith and character. Fourteen
hundred years ago, the Qur'an recorded God's clear statements on this
issue. Out of the four verses, I will just quote one: "Whoever, be it
male or a female, does good deeds and he or she is a believer, then they
will enter the Paradise." (Qur'an: chp. 4, verse 124) So there is no
difference in the degree or level of woman's humanity or honor in
Islam.
The
only difference there exists in concerning the role which Islam has
envisioned for man and woman. This has nothing to do with superiority
or inferiority. In Islam, man and woman are equal in rights; but
equality is not synonymous to similarity. Islam believes that man and
woman are equal but dissimilar. Islam looks at their different roles in
society not as superior or inferior but as complementary to each other.
ISLAM
THE RELIGION OF PEACE
Islam is a religion of peace. This is evident even from the name
"Islam" itself. ("Islam" is an Arabic word.) The word "Islam" and the
Arabic word for peace, "salam" both come from the same root, "salima".
Muslims
are taught to greet each other by saying "salamun alaykum - peace be
upon you." The daily prayers also end with the same sentence. In
Islam, one of the names by which God is known is "Salam" which means
peace.
However, one must realize that peace can never be achieved in vacuum.
It is inter-twined with justice. One can have peace only on basis of
justice. "Justice" means putting everything in its rightful place. If
one starts putting things in the wrong places, then he disrupts the
social harmony and disturbs peace. Islam seeks to promote peace on two
levels:-
1.
Peace Within One's Self:
A person can achieve inner space by creating harmony and
balance between his main emotions (desire and anger) and his spiritual
self. In other words, between his emotions and his conscience.
Human's
spiritual power or conscience is not a static phenomenon: it has the
ability of growth as well as decadence. God swears by the soul of human
being and says, "He inspired to it to understand what is good and what
is evil. Prosperous is the person who purifies it, and failed is he who
seduces it." (Qur'an chp. 91, verse 10)
2.
Peace With Others:
Islam very strongly emphasizes on the rights which people have over each
other. It seeks to preserve peace in society by training and urging its
followers to fulfill the rights of each other. In Islam, salvation is
not possible by just fulfilling the rights of God; one has to fulfill
the rights of other human beings also.
Unfortunately, because of the Middle Eastern events of last three
decades, Islam has been branded by the media as a religion of violence.
In recent years, the word "Islamic" has become one of the adjectives of
"terrorism." In this back-drop, firstly, one must realize that the
events in the Middle East can be fairly and fully understood only in the
light of the post-WW1 history of that region, in particular the promises
given by the British to the Arabs. Secondly, no fair-minded person
would allow himself to blame the religion of Islam for the wrong-doings
of those who call themselves as Muslims. It is just like saying that
the Catholic Church promotes violence and terrorism because of the Irish
Republican Army's activities!
DO YOU
KNOW THAT:
-
EVERY
FIFTH PERSON IN THE WORLD IS A MUSLIM?
-
MAJORITY OF THE MUSLIMS ARE OF NON-ARAB RACE AND NATIONALITIES?
-
THERE
ARE 8 MILLION MUSLIMS IN THE U.S.A.?
-
ISLAM
IS THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN THE U.S.A.?
Isn't it time to
familiarize yourself with Islam? |