Source: Pamphlet by Muslim Service Association, Australia
There are many unfounded beliefs held by non – Muslims about Islam. It is hoped that this article dispels these mistaken assumptions.
This is a popular myth created by Medieval European clerics as a justification for that series of atrocious campaigns called the Crusades. Islam, being as equally concerned about the quality of this life and that of the Hereafter, has regulated war and fighting. The Quran says:
“Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits, for Allah does not love the transgressors” (2:190).
War is permissible only in self – defence, and under well defined limits. Its main aim is to restore peace and freedom for the worship of Allah(SWT). Women, children, the elderly and the infirm should not be molested, nor trees and crops cut down, nor peace withheld when the enemy comes to terms. The Prophets Hadith expresses this simply “Do not Oppress, and do not be Oppressed” Practically speaking then, how does one explain the rapid expansion of Islam from Spain to China within a century of the Prophets death? How could ten or twenty thousand men conquer the entire known world given the Quran’s strict injunction that
“There is no compulsion in Religion”.
The Roman and Persian empires collapsed so dramatically not just because they were already in decline but because the Muslims offered a brilliant alternative to the gross materialism and injustice which characterized those civilizations. ISLAM, Conquered hearts not walls. Those early Muslims set a splendid example by their behaviour and people were naturally inclined towards a belief which produced such remarkable men and women.
Two prominent examples which attest to Islam’s non-violent expansion are the conversion of Indonesia and the Mongols. No Muslim army ever set foot in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation. Islam was established there by traders, merchants, teachers and mystics. The Mongol hordes ravaged half the Muslim world before they settled down as its undisputed conquerors. Yet within a century or two they too embraced Islam. The conquerors were conquered by this resilient religion.
May Allah forgive all those who believe this. It should be evident that Mulims that Muslims worship the ONE GOD, ALLAH , Who is the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer of all things. The credo or Testimony of Islam is :
" I bear Witness there is no god except Allah and I bear Witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"
The word "Muslim" comes from the root word "Salam" (meaning peace), from which the word "Islam" is also derived. Islam means peace the conscious and willing surrender or submission to Allah's will, and thereby the means to achieve peace. Muslim means one who submits, or surrenders himslf/herself to Allah (SWT).
Therefore, an expression such as "MUHAMMADAN" or "MUHAMMADANISM" is totally misleading and downright blasphemous. Muslims love Muhammad (SAW) as the final Prophet of Allah, because revealed to him was the Quran, the Book which changed the world.
Neither do Muslims worship the sun or the Black Stone in Mecca. Prayer times are dictated by the sun's position and our attention is focused on one place, Mecca, to signify the unity of the Muslim world and to remind us that the real object of our worship is one (Allah).
Allah in His Wisdom chose the Arabs to bear and spread his final revelation to mankind. No one can doubt that they did that job admirably. Yet, unlike all previous revelations, the Quran was not meant to be confined to one race or a particular nation. In the Quran’s own words:
“Truly, this is no less than a Message to (all) the worlds, to whoever among you will go straight” (Chap81:27-28).
Islam is the logical conclusion to the evolution of religion, It is a non – sectarian, non – racial, non
– dogmatic, universal religion. It is the “Gospel of Unity” designed for all mankind. No other event, perhaps shows the brotherhood of man as much as the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It is there that millions of Muslims from every corner of the globe bow down together to worship their Creator.
The ‘modern’ view of Islam by the Westerners is generally, quite a medieval one, couched in terms created in the main by Western scholars determined to convince themselves and everybody else that Islam is of no real importance, or, at best, a poor copy of Christianity.
The truth is that it is Islam which, having raised the Arabs out of their ignorant and superstitious ways, provided guidance and wisdom for the Muslims to establish a civilization based on reason, faith, tolerance, and justice. While Christendom wallowed in the depravities of the Dark Ages, the Islamic World shed light and understanding by encouraging education and laying the foundations for the eventual European Renaissance.
Besides their contributions to literature, art and architecture, the Muslims created or developed whole new areas of endeavour, including ; optics, geography, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, an agriculture. The list of their accomplishments is staggering and these form the framework for our current scientific approach to the world.
Another aspect of Islam which generates a lot of careless thinking amongst non-Muslims is the question of punishment. The concept of punishment in Islam is based on the idea of deterrence rather than on the physical or psychological infliction of pain. Criminals think very seriously about committing offences when the consequence may be the loss of a hand or public caning. Judicial parts of Islamic law are concerned with maintaining the rights of the innocent, and not with protecting the guilty. It is no wonder that in societies where crime is rampant, jurists are re-thinking their attitude to Islamic law and some are quite vocal in suggesting that it would be a good idea to adopt parts of it.
The Christian world has generated a lot of heat (but little light) in its appraisal of this controversial issue. Medieval Christendom branded Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the anti-Christ. This erroneous belief became enshrined in European literature in epics such as “The song of Roland” and more emphatically in Dante’s “Inferno” and Milton’s “collective unconscious” of Christianity, and contributes in part to the reflexive Western view that Islam is Medieval, backward, and so on.
A Muslim cannot be a Muslim without believing in Jesus (as) , in his immaculate conception within the womb of his mother, Mary (as); in his miracles, in the Gospel which he tried so hard to impress upon the Jews; and in his complete submission to Allah’s will.
Islam’s point of departure from Christianity is that Muslims believe Jesus is a Prophet of Allah, and not his son in a literal sense.
“O followers of the Book ! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Isa son of Mary is only an apostle of Allah and His Word which He communicated to Mariam and spirit from Him; believe therefore in Allah and His apostles, and say not, THREE. Desist, it is better for you; Allah is only One God, far be it from his glory that he should have a son, whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is in the Earth is His; and Allah is sufficient for a Protector. (Chap 4:171)
“Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah, He is the Messiah, son of Mary; and the Messiah said: O Children of Israel ! Serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord ; Certainly they disbelieve who say : Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three, and there is no god but the One God” (Chap 5:72-73)
“The Messiah, son of Mary is but an apostle, apostles before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman; they both used to eat food. See how We make the communication clear to them, then behold, how they are turned away” (Chap5:75).
There are many references to Jesus and to other Prophets in the Quran and one Chapter is known by the name of ‘MARY’.
The conception of god in Islam is purely monotheistic, confirming the first commandment in the Old Testament: “I am the Lord, your God. You shall have no other gods before me” ( Exodus20). In fact, the trinity as a theological idea is an ancient pagan belief, based on worship of the sun. As evidence of this, consider the festivals of Christmas and Easter: They correspond to the (Northern) winter solstice and the vernal equinox ; The first being the day of the “birth” of the sun –god, and the second the day of his “triumph” over the ‘Prince of Darkness’.
The topic of ‘Woman’ is one currently undergoing a lot of discussion. Critics of Islam have been quick to remark that this religion is unfair in its treatment of women with statements such as : “Muslim women have no souls, Muslim men have four wives, Women can be divorced simply by reciting ‘I divorce you’, three times”, and so on.
What, then, is the Islamic view of women? The fourth Chapter in the Quran is named ‘Women’. It deals with women, orphans, family rights, inheritance, marriage and social problems. Its first verse says:
“O Mankind! Be careful of (your duty to) your lord, who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, by whom you demand one of another (your rights), and to the ties of relationship, surely Allah ever watches over you”
While it is not possible to deal with half the world in a few words, the following are important. “ Women are twin-halves of men”, the Holy Prophet(SAW) was fond of saying. They deserve respect and care because they bear children, put up with physical discomfort in the birth process, (a woman who dies in childbirth is considered a Martyr), nurse babies, (The Quran encourages breast feeding) and generally administer to the daily welfare and education of the Infant. It was for reasons such as these that the Holy Prophet (SAW) stated:
“The mother is the school” and “Paradise lies beneath the mother’s feet”.
Women are mens’ companions. Men and women are meant to reciprocate (exchange) peace, security and comfort. Marriage is to be based on this idea. Men have a duty to maintain their wives but not vice – versa.
Of all things permitted by Allah, says the Quran, divorce is the most disliked. When a couple declare their intention to divorce, ‘preventive’ measures are set in action. Firstly, there is the waiting period: it must be confirmed that the woman is not pregnant, by waiting for the appearance of the next menstrual cycle. (If she is, then the husband is bound to maintain her and the infant until weaning has been completed). This gives both parties time to reconsider while reconciliation moves are made by arbitrators from each side. Only two such declarations of intended divorce are permitted. After that (ie, after the third declaration) divorce is irrevocable (fixed). The general aim, however, is to prevent divorce at all costs.
Muslim men are permitted more than one wife (to a maximum of four) if circumstances warrant this. For example, war may have decimated (killed) the male population, leaving numerous widows and children without financial means. It is permissible to take such a woman as a wife to safeguard her and maintain her welfare and that of her family. Naturally, the man must be in a position to be able to support more than one wife, because according to Islam, each wife is entitled to have whatever the other(s) have. (House, car, clothes, jewelry, etc). And the abiding injunction from the Quran is to deal with them JUSTLY and EQUITABLY:
“….marry such women as seem good to you, two, and three and four, but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one…” (Chap4:3)
Most Muslims interpret this to mean, marry only one wife, for you will never be able to be completely fair to all.