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Islam
and Muslims
The word "Islam" is an Arabic word which means "submission
to the will of God". This word comes from the same root as the
Arabic word "salam", which means "peace". As such,
the religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace
of mind and surety of heart, one must submit to God and liveaccording
to His Divinely revealed Law. The most important truth that God revealed
to mankind is that there is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped
except for Almighty God, thus all human beings should submit to Him.
The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God,
regardless of their race, nationality or ethnic background. Being
a Muslim entails willful submission and active obedience to God, and
living in accordance with His message. Some people mistakenly believe
that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further
from the truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in every corner
of the world, especially in England and America, but by taking a look
at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and from Indonesia to
Morocco, one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races,
ethnic groups and nationalities. It is also interesting to note that
in actuality, more than 80% of all Muslims are not Arabs - there are
more Muslims in Indonesia than in the whole Arab World! So though
even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large majority
of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to
God and worships Him alone is a Muslim.
Continuity of the Message
Islam is not a new religion because "submission to the will of
God", i.e. Islam, has always been the only acceptable religion
in the sight of God. For this reason, Islam is the true "natural
religion", and it is the same eternal message revealed through
the ages to all of God's prophets and messengers. Muslims believe
that all of God's prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus
and Muhammad, brought the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this
reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion,
as many people mistakenly think, but he was the Final Prophet of Islam.
By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and
universal message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant
that He made with Abraham, who was one of the earliest and greatest
prophets. Suffice it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the
way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Qur'an
portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself
completely to God and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Once
this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has the most continuous
and universal message of any religion, because all prophets and messengers
were "Muslims", i.e. those who submitted to God's will,
and they preached "Islam", i.e. submission to the will of
Almighty God.
The Oneness of God
The foundation of the Islamic faith is belief in the Oneness of Almighty
God - the God of Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus. Islam teaches that
a pure belief in One God is intuitive in human beings and thus fulfills
the natural inclination of the soul. As such, Islam's concept of God
is straightforward, unambiguous and easy to understand. Islam teaches
that the hearts, minds and souls of human beings are fitting receptacles
for clear divine revelation, and that God's revelations to man are
not clouded by self-contradictory mysteries or irrational ideas. As
such, Islam teaches that even though God cannot be fully comprehended
and grasped by our finite human minds, He also does not expect us
to accept absurd or demonstrably false beliefs about Him. According
to the teachings of Islam, Almighty God is absolutely One and His
Oneness should never be compromised by associating partners with Him
- neither in worship nor in belief. Due to this, Muslims are required
to maintain a direct relationship with God, and therefore all intermediaries
are absolutely forbidden. From the Islamic standpoint, believing in
the Oneness of God means to realize that all prayer and worship should
be exclusively for God, and that He alone deserves such titles as
"Lord" and "Savior". Some religions, even though
they believe on "One God", do not make all of their worship
and prayers for Him alone. Also, they also give the title of "Lord"
to beings that are not All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Un-Changing -
even according to their own scriptures. Suffice it to say that according
to Islam, it is not enough that people believe that "God is One",
but they must actualize this belief by proper conduct. In short, in
the Islamic concept of God, which is completely based on Divine Revelation,
there is no ambiguity in divinity - God is God and man is man. Since
God is the only Creator and continual Sustainer of the Universe, He
is transcendent above His creation - the Creator and the creature
never mix. Islam teaches that God has a unique nature and that He
is free from gender, human weaknesses and beyond anything which human
beings can imagine. The Qur'an teaches that the signs and proofs of
God's wisdom, power and existence are evident in the world around
us. As such, God calls on man to ponder over the creation in order
to build a better understanding of his Creator. Muslims believe that
God is Loving, Compassionate and Merciful, and that He is concerned
with the daily affairs of human beings. In this, Islam strikes a unique
balance between false religious and philosophical extremes. Some religions
and philosophies portray God as just an impersonal "Higher Power"
who is uninterested, or unaware, of the life of each individual human.
Other religions tend to give God human qualities and teach that He
is present in His creation, by being incarnate in someone, something
- or even everything. In Islam, however, Almighty God has clarified
the truth by letting mankind know that He is "Compassionate",
"Merciful", "Loving" and the "Answerer of
Prayers". But He as also emphasized strongly that "there
is nothing like unto Him", and that He is high above time, space
and His creation. Finally, it should be mentioned that the God that
Muslims worship is the same God that Jews and Christians worship -
because there is only one God. It is unfortunate that some people
mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than Jews
and Christians, and that "Allah" is just the "god of
the Arabs". This myth, which has been propagated by the enemies
of Islam, is completely false since the word "Allah" is
simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. It is the same word for God
which is used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians. However, it
should be clarified that even though Muslims worship the same God
as Jews and Christian, their concept of Him differs somewhat from
the beliefs of other religions - mainly because it is based completely
on Divine Revelation from God. For example, Muslims reject the Christian
belief that God is a Trinity, not only becaue the Qur'an rejects it,
but also because if this was God's true nature, He would have clearly
revealed it to Abraham, Noah, Jesus and all of the other prophets.
The Qur'an
The Arabic world "Al-Qur'an" literally means "the recitation".
When used in regards to Islam, the word Qur'an means God's final message
to mankind that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu'ran,
sometimes spelled Koran, is the literal the word of God - as it clearly
says time and time again. Unlike other sacred scriptures, the Qur'an
has been perfectly preserved in both its words and meaning in a living
language. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and
is know to be inimitable in its style, form and spiritual impact.
God's final revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, was revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Qur'an, in contrast
to many other religious books, was always thought to be the Word of
God by those who believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed
by a religious council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran
was recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities
during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'an was also
completely written down in lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions
of the Prophet memorized the entire Qur'an word-for-word as it was
revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'an was always in the
hands of the common believers, it was always thought to be God's word
and, due to wide-spread memorization, it was perfectly preserved.
In regards to the teachings of the Qur'an - it is a universal scripture,
and it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a particular tribe
or "chosen people". The message that it brings is nothing
new, but the same message of all of the prophets - submit to Almighty
God and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'an
focuses on teaching human beings the importance of believing in the
Unity of God and framing their lives around the guidance which He
has sent. Additionally, the Qur'an contains the stories of the previous
prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as well as many
commands and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many
people are caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and "political
correctness", the Qur'anic teachings offer solutions to the emptiness
of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the world today. In
short, the Qur'an is the book of guidance par excellence.
The Prophet Muhammad
Unlike the founders of many religious, the final prophet of Islam
is a real documented and historical figure. He lived in the full light
of history, and the most minute details of his life are known. Not
only do Muslims have the complete text of God's words that were revealed
to Muhammad, but they have also preserved his saying and teachings
in what is called "hadith" literature. This having been
said, it should be understood that Muslims believe that the Prophet
Muhammad was only a man chosen by God, and that he is not divine in
any way. In order to avoid the misguided wish to deify him, the Prophet
Muhammad taught Muslims to refer to him as "God's Messenger and
His Slave". The mission of the last and final prophet of God
was to simply teach that "there is nothing divine or worthy of
being worshipped except for Almighty God", as well as being a
living example of God's revelation. In simple terms, God sent the
revelation to Muhammad, who in turn taught it , preached it, lived
it and put it into practice. In this way, Muhammad was more that just
a "prophet" in the sense of many of the Biblical prophets,
since he was also a statesman and ruler. He was a man who lived a
humble life in the service of God, and established an all-encompassing
religion and way of life by showing what it means to be an ideal friend,
husband, teacher, ruler, warrior and judge. For this reason, Muslims
follow him not for his own sake, but in obedience to God, because
Muhammad not only showed us how to deal with our fellow human beings,
but more importantly, he showed us how to relate to and worship God,
worship Him in the only way pleasing to Him. Like other prophets,
Muhammad faced a great deal of opposition and persecution during his
mission. However, he was always patient and just, and he treated his
enemies well. The results of his mission were very successful, and
even though his mission started in one of the most backward and remotes
places on earth, within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad,
Islam had spread from Spain to China. The Prophet Muhammad was the
greatest of all of God's prophets, not because he had new doctrines
or greater miracles, but because the results of his mission have broght
more human beings into the pure and proper belief in the One True
God than any other prophet.
The Islamic Way of Life
In the Holy Qur'an, God teaches human beings that they were created
in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true worship is
God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islamic encompass all aspects
of life and ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs.
Islam makes it clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they
are done for God alone and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such,
worship in Islam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings
of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such
qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly
encouraged. Additionally, Islam condemns pride and self-righteousness,
since Almighty God is the only judge of human righteousness. The Islamic
view of the nature of man is also realistic and well-balanced. Human
beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally
capable of both good and evil. Islam also teaches that faith and action
go hand-in-hand. God has given people free-will, and the measure of
one's faith is one's deeds and actions. However, human beings have
also been created weak and regularly fall into sin. This is the nature
of the human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not
inherently "corrupt" or in need of repair. This is because
the avenue of repentance of always open to all human beings, and Almighty
God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not sin at all.
The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having a healthy
fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life
without fear of God leads to sin and disobedience, while believing
that we have sinned so much that God will not possibly forgive us
only leads to despair. In light of this, Islam teaches that: only
the misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the
Holy Qur'an, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains
a great deal of teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of
Judgment. Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will
ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in their
earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will be both
Merciful and Just, and people will only be judged for what they were
capable of. Suffice it to say that Islam teaches that life is a test,
and that all human beings will be accountable before God. A sincere
belief in the life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life
and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed as an end in itself, which causes
human beings to become more selfish, materialistic and immoral.
Islam for a Better Life
Islam teaches that true happiness can only being obtained by living
a life full of God-consciousness and being satisfied with what God
has given us. Additionally, true "freedom" is freedom from
being controlled by our base human desires and being ruled by man-made
ideologies. This stands in stark contrast to the view of many people
in the modern world, who consider "freedom" to be the ability
to satisfy all of their desires without inhibition. The clear and
comprehensive guidance of Islam gives human-beings a well-defined
purpose and direction in life. In addition to being members of the
human-brotherhood of Islam, its well-balanced and practical teachings
are a source of spiritual comfort, guidance and morality. A direct
and clear relationship with Almighty God, as well as the sense of
purpose and belonging that ones feels as a Muslim, frees a person
from the many worries of everyday life. In short, the Islamic way
of life is pure and wholesome. It builds self-discipline and self-control
thought regular prayer and fasting, and frees human-beings from superstition
and all sorts of racial, ethnic and national prejudices. By accepting
to live a God-conscious life, and realizing that the only thing that
distinguishes people in the sight of God is their consciousness of
Him, a person's true human dignity is realized.
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