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Islam
is the religion which has been offered to humanity since
Adam. Islam looks at mankind as created from a
single soul, male and female, black and white, rich and
poor. Muhammad, unlike other prophets, was sent to
all people and nations. He was not sent for a certain tribe
or a particular country but for the whole human race
regardless of race or class. In the Qur'an,
Allah said:
- "We have sent you
(Muhammad)
as a mercy for all nations."
- Qur'an
(21º107)
Therefore, Islam is not
restricted to a specific race or nation, but is universal.
This makes Islam unique. In all other religions,
prophets were sent to a particular nation. Muhammad
is exceptional simply because he is the last
prophet.
Among
the beauties of Islam is that in this religion there
are no intermediaries in the relationship between a person
and his Lord.
Entering this religion does not
involve any special ceremonies or procedures that need to be
done in front of any other person, nor does it require the
approval of any specific people.
Becoming Muslim is very easy and
anyone can do it even if he is all alone in the desert or in
a locked room. All it takes is to say two sentences which
sum up the meaning of Islam and which include:
1- the statement
that a person is the slave of his Lord and that he
submits himself to Him and recognizes that He is his
God and Helper and Protector.
2- that Muhammad
is the slave and Messenger of Allah whom he must
follow with regard to what was revealed to him from
Allah, for obeying the Messenger is part of
obeying Allah.
So he/she becomes a Muslim, sharing
all the rights and duties that other Muslims have. so he can
start to do the things that Allah has made
obligatory, such as the five daily prayers, fasting during
the month of Ramadan, and so on.
From this it should be clear that
anyone can become a Muslim straight away.
Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan aduhu wa rasooluhu
.
(I bear witness that there is
no god except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His
slave and Messenger).
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