There's a lot of nonsense on the web about a lot of things. One of the subjects that there's a lot of misinformation about is religion. Well, this is my attempt to show the faith that my family shares. If you disagree about anything that's here, please accept it as my opinion. On the other hand, if you're looking for information, you can contact me at abd_al_alim@yahoo.co.uk.

This page should provide answers to the following questions (click to go there). We hope this site may be useful in your quest to discover Islam. May Allah be with you.

Basically, the Arabic calligraphy written above is what you have to say to become Muslim, to remain one and to consider yourself to be one. No one who says it can be regarded as a disbeliever, and it is the phrase that unites all the believers together. It means:

Of course this statement has implications. It demands that you turn away from all who demand your allegiance besides God, and recognize that it is He who is your Lord, your Sustainer, and your Creator. To accept this statement you must accept and believe in the Oneness, the transcendence and the complete power of God. It is He who really gives you life, and He who will take it away. Most importantly, you must recognize that all matters will go back to God, and you will be answerable to One who sees everything, who hears everything, who knows with certainty the dark suggestions of your soul.

The other implication of this statement is that you accept what Muhammad has brought from God, i.e. the Generous Quran.

Islam means submission to Allah, the path to true peace for all human beings. A Muslim is a sister or brother who sincerely attempts to do so. It is not a demeaning submission, but one that liberates us from the tyranny of human beings through the acknowledgement of humankind's equality under our shared creator. No one becomes Muslim by virtue of birthplace or culture; all children are Muslims until they reach the age of discernment between right and wrong. Once this age is reached, submitting to Allah becomes a matter of personal choice and sincere intention.

Allah is the Arabic name for God, and incidently, is very similar to the word Jesus (may peace be upon him) would have used for his Creator (Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is a derivative of Arabic). To this day, most Arab Christians use this word for their God. Allah is known by many names, and has sent guidance to all peoples in the millennia gone by. However, the final message to Muhammad (may peace be upon him) was revealed for all peoples, to unite them in an increasingly smaller world. Many Muslims prefer the universal term Allah, to emphasize the reality that the Creator of humankind is One.

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Praise be to God, Lord of the universe
The Gracious, the Merciful,
Master of the Day of Judgement.
You alone we worship;
You alone we implore for help.

Guide us unto the straight path-
The path of those whom You have blessed,
Those who have not incurred your displeasure,
Those who have not gone astray,

Amen.

Click here to listen.

The manuscript on the left is the first chapter of the Generous Quran, Sura al Fatiha. The text on the right is a translation. This chapter is an invocation made by every Muslim, at least 17 times a day during his or her 5 daily prayers (salah).

The following sites provide links to the primary sources of Islamic thought, the Generous Quran and the Hadith. The Quran is the criterion for deciding between truth and falsehood, a source of guidance for all who believe in that which is beyond the reach of human perception. In its original form it is the literal Word of God, and as such is the ultimate source of Islamic civilisation. The hadith are traditions about the Prophet Muhammad, who God described as the exemplar of Islamic behaviour, a mercy for the universe. The hadith are second only in authority to the Quran.

It should be mentioned that the understanding of these primary sources must be informed by the greatest quality of human beings, the intelligent mind. In the noblest of the believers, all three of these sources will be in complete agreement. There is no place for dogma in Islam. As the Almighty has said in the Quran:

The Generous Quran. The universal message from the Creator to our species. Read it with an open heart, and it will reach out and convince you. Remember though, a translation involves interpretation. Therefore, if you're confused about something make sure you read several translations before jumping to conclusions. By the way, I haven't read the whole of any of the translations on this site so please don't blame me if there are any errors there.

Sahih al Bukhari. The most highly regarded collection of traditions narrated about the Messenger of God, Muhammad (may peace be upon him). A word of caution: hadith are a scholarly resource in Islam. The compilators of the books of hadith used various ingenious methods to determine the authenticity of hadith. They did not, however, tell us how to apply the hadith to practical matters of modern life (neither did they claim to). You need extensive knowledge to do this. It is not appropriate therefore to quote hadith read in English (or even Arabic) from a book or internet site, and then give your own fatawa (legal opinions). By the way, although this book is regarded as the most accurate collection of hadith, and an amazing piece of scholarship, even its incredible author did not claim it was perfect. There are some hadith in it which many notable scholars have disputed. Also, remember that if the meaning you derive from a hadith contradicts the clear meaning of the Quran, either your understanding or the hadith must be wrong. 9 times out of ten, it'll probably be your understanding. In short, use these for your own benefit, but don't forget Islam is an intelligent religion and you need to use the brain that Allah gave you to understand it!

Back Home