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In the name of Allah most Gracious most Merciful.
The Meaning of Islam
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The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root "SLM" which means, among other
things, peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense the
word Islam means submission to the Will of God and obedience to His Law. The
connection between the original and the religious meanings of the word is
strong and obvious. Only through submission to the Will of God and by
obedience to His Law can one achieve true peace and enjoy lasting purity.
Every religion of the world has been named either after its founder or
after the community or nation in which it was born. For instance, Christianity
takes its name from its prophet Jesus Christ; Buddhism from its founder, and
Judaism, the religion of the Jews, from the name of the tribe Judah (of the
country of Judae) where it originated. The same is true of all other
religions except Islam, which enjoys the unique distinction of having no
such association with any particular person or people or country. Nor is
it the product of any human mind. It is a universal religion and its
objective is to create and cultivate in man the quality and attitude of
Islam.
Islam, in fact, is an attributive title. Anyone who possess this attribute,
whatever race, community, country or group he belongs to, is a Muslim.
According to the Qur'an, among every people and in all ages there have been
good and righteous people who possessed this attribute - and all of them
were and are Muslims.
The Misconception about Islam
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Some outsiders call our religion "Mohammedanism" and address the believers
in Islam as "Mohammedans". Muslims both protest and reject the use of
these words. If our faith is classified as Mohammedanism and if we are
called Mohammedans, there will be seriously wrong implications. This
misnomer implies that the religion takes its name after a mortal being,
namely, Muhammad and that Islam is no more than another 'ism" just like
Judaism, Hinduism. Marxism, etc. Another misconception that may arise
from outsiders is that they might think of the Muslims, whom they call
Mohammedans, as worshippers of Muhammad or as believers in him in the
same way as Christians, for example, believe in Jesus. A further
misconception is that the word Mohammedanism may mislead the outsider
and make him think that the religion was founded by Muhammad and
therefore takes its name after the founder. All these implications are
seriously wrong or at best misleading. Islam is not just another 'ism'
nor do Muslims worship Muhammad or look upon him the same way as Christians,
Jews, Hindus, Marxists, etc., look upon their respective leaders. The
Muslims worship God alone. Muhammad was only a mortal being commissioned
by God to teach the word of God and lead an exemplary life. He stands in
history as the best model for man in piety and perfection. He is a living
proof of what man can be and of what he can accomplish in the realm of
excellence and virtue. Moreover, the Muslims do not believe that Islam
was founded by Muhammad, although it was restored by him in the last stage
of religious evolution. The original founder of Islam is no other than
God Himself, and the date of the founding of Islam goes back to the age
of Adam. Islam has existed in one form or another all along from the
beginning and will continue to exist till the end of time.
A Muslim
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All those who follow Islam are Muslims. Contrary to popular misconceptions,
Islam or submission to the Will of God, together with obedience to His Law,
does not mean in any way loss of individual freedom or surrender to
fatalism. Anyone who thinks or believes so has certainly failed to
understand the true meaning of Islam and the concept of God in Islam. The
concept of God in Islam describes Him as the Most Merciful and Gracious,
and the Most Loving and most concerned with the well-being of man, and as
Full of Wisdom and care for His Creatures. His Will, accordingly, is a Will
of Benevolence and Goodness, and whatever Law He prescribes must be in the
best interest of mankind.
The Blessings of being a Muslim
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When the Civilized people abide by the laws of their countries, they are
considered sound citizens and honest members of their respective societies.
No responsible person would say that such people lose their freedom by their
obedience to the Law. No rational being would think or believe for a moment
that such law-abiding people are fatalists and helpless. Similarly, the
person who submits to the Will of God, which is a good Will, and obeys the
Law of God, which is the best Law, is a sound and honest person.. He is
gaining protection of his own right& showing genuine respect for the rights
of others, and enjoying a high degree of responsible, creative freedom.
Submission to the good Will of God, therefore, does not take away or
curtail individual freedom. On the contrary, it gives freedom of a high
degree in abundant measures. It frees the mind from superstitions and fills
it with truth. It frees the soul from sin and wrong and quickens it with
goodness and purity. It frees the self from vanity and greed, from envy
and tension, from fear and insecurity. It frees man from subjugation to
false deities and low desires, and unfolds before him the beautiful
horizons of goodness and excellence.
The Nature of Disbelief
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A man who, although a born Muslim and unconsciously remaining one throughout
his life, does not exercise his faculties of reason, intellect and intuition
to recognize his Lord and Creator and misuses his freedom of choice by
choosing to deny Him. Such a man becomes an unbeliever-in the language of
Islam a Kafir. Kufr literally means 'to cover' or 'to conceal'. Kufr is
ignorance. Not only that; kufr is a tyranny, the worst of all tyrannies.
Tyranny is an unjust use of force or power. Kufr leads to the blind alleys
of utter failure, both here and hereafter.
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