what is ISLAM ?

What is Islam?



Politicians, clerics, academics and media in the West have recently taken turns to hit hard at the religion of Islam and made swipes at the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam – peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Many of these people, either out of ignorance or due to outright malice, say about Islam what Islam is not and attempt to scare away people from Islam and derogate the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
In a bid to give a true picture of Islam and what Islam is all about Qatar News Agency has compiled the following article on general information about Islam.


What is Islam?
The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of Allah (God) which he revealed to his last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Some basic Islamic beliefs
There are six pillars of faith (Iman) in Islam:
1 Belief in God: Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God, Who has no son nor partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone. He is the True God, and every other deity is false. He has the most magnificent Names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, nor His attributes.
In the Qur’an, God describes Himself: “Say: ‘He is God, the One. God, to whom the creatures turn for their needs. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him.’” (Qur’an, 112:1-4)
No one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to, or shown any act of worship, but God alone.
God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer of everything in the whole universe. He manages all affairs. He stands in need of none of His creatures, and all His creatures depend on Him for all that they need. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing and the All-Knowing. In perfect manner His knowledge encompasses all things, the open and the secret and the public and the private. He knows what has happened, what will happen, and how it will happen. No affair occurs in the whole world except by His Will. Whatever He wills is above the will of all the creatures. He has power over all things, and He is able to do everything. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and the Most Beneficent.
In one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) we are told that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother to her child. God is far removed from injustice and tyranny. He is All-Wise in all of His actions and decrees. If someone wants something from God, he or she can ask God directly without asking anyone else to intercede with God for him or her.
God is not JesusGod is not Jesus, and Jesus is not God. Even Jesus himself rejected this. God has said in the Qur’an:
“Indeed, they have disbelieved who have said: ‘God is the Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary.’ The Messiah said: ‘Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever associates partners in worship with God, then God has forbidden paradise for him, and his home is the fire (hell). For wrongdoers, there will be helpers”. (Qur’an, 5:72)
God is not a trinity
God has said in the Qur’an:
“Indeed, they disbelieve who say: ‘God is the third of three in a trinity)’ when there is no god but one God. If they desist not from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His forgiveness for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger ...” (Qur’an, 5:73-75)
Islam rejects that God rested on the seventh day of the creation, that He wrestled with one His angels, that He is an envious plotter against mankind, or that He is incarnate in any human being. Islam also rejects the attribution of any human form to God. All of these are considered blasphemous. God is the Exalted. He is far removed from every imperfection. He never becomes weary. He does not become drowsy nor does He sleep.
The Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only True God Who created the whole universe). Allah is a name for God, which is used by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This word cannot be used to designate anything other than the one True God. The word Allah occurs in the Qur’an more than 2,150 times. In Aramaic, a language related closely to Arabic and the language that Jesus habitually spoke, God is also referred to as Allah.
2. Belief in the angels: Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honoured creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him and act only by His command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Qur’an to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
3. Belief in God’s revealed books: Muslims believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for mankind and as guidance for them. Among these books is the Qur’an, which God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). God has guaranteed the Qur’an’s protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said:
“Indeed, We have sent down the Qur’an, and surely We will guard it (from corruption)” (Qur’an, 15:9)
4. Belief in the prophets and messengers of God: Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Jesus (peace upon them). But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Muslims believe that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is the last Prophet sent by God as God has said:
“Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the messenger of God and the last of the prophets...” (Qur’an, 33:40)
Muslims believe that all the prophets and messengers were created human beings who had none of the divine qualities of God.
5. Belief in the Day of Judgment: Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) when all people will be resurrected for God’s judgment according to their beliefs and deeds.
6. Belief in al-Qadar: Muslims believe in al-Qadar, which is divine predestination, but this belief in divine predestination does not mean that human beings do not have free will. Rather, Muslims believe that God has given human beings free will. This means that they can choose right or wrong and that they are responsible for their choices.
The belief in divine predestination includes belief in four things: 1) God knows everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen. 2) God has recorded all that has happened and all that will happen. 3) whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever He wills not to happen does not happen. 4) God is the creator of everything.


Is there any sacred source other than the Qur’an?
Yes. The Sunnah (what the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, did, or approved of is the second source in Islam. The Sunnah is comprised of hadiths, which are reliably transmitted reports by the Prophet Muhammad’s companions of what he said, did, or approved of. Belief in the Sunnah is a basic Islamic belief. Examples of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sayings:


n The believers, in their love, mercy, and kindness to one another are like a body: if any part of it is ill, the whole body shares its sleeplessness and fever.
n The most perfect of the believers in faith are the best of them in morals. And the best among them are those who are best to their wives.
n None of you believes (completely) until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
n The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth, and God will show mercy to you.
n Smiling at your brother is charity.
n A good word is charity.
n Whoever believes in God and the last day (the Day of Judgment) should do good to his neighbour.
n God does not judge you according to your appearance and your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and looks into your deeds.
n Pay the worker his wage before his sweat dries.
n A man walking along a path felt very thirsty. Reaching a well, he descended into it, drank his fill, and came up. Then he saw a dog with its tongue hanging out, trying to lick up mud to quench its thirst. The man said: ‘This dog is feeling the same thirst that I felt.’ So he went down into the well again, filled his shoe with water, and gave the dog a drink. So, God thanked him and forgave his sins. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked: ‘Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?’ He said: ‘There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.’






- in the service of Islam -
ALI-ZIAD N. ALAM SALI

A concise video on what islam is all about...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75BasrjBoLc&NR=1