What Is Islam

Introduction

Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that Allah (God) revealed through all his Prophets to every people. Islam is a universal Religion with a Universal Message. In other words, The Message is relevant to you as well. There is something in this Message which you can find of relevance to your own life. For a quarter of the world’s population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness.

What is Islam?

Islam is a natural and complete way of life. It encourages and creates a true relationship between creation (mankind) and creator (God). It teaches mankind to connect with their creator to attain everlasting peace, tranquillity, and true happiness. It guides mankind to the best ways of getting nearness to the creator, such as by way of performing good deeds.

What do Muslims Believe in?

Muslims believe in one unique, incomparable God (Allah); in the Angels created by Him; in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of judgement and individual accountability for actions; in God’s complete authority of human destiny and in life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting from Adam and including, Noah, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist and Jesus (Peace be upon them all).

What Does Islam mean?

The Arabic word Islam refers to Submission to the One True God (Allah) alone. One who voluntarily surrenders his will to Allah (God) is called a Muslim, who can be from any racial or ethnic background.

…Whoever submits his face (i.e. himself) to Allah [in Islam] while being a doer of goodwill have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve. -Qur’an 2:112

What is the essence of Islam

It is the concept that only Allah (God) alone is deserving of all worship. This is the essence of the message which all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah (God) were sent with throughout the ages, and it is the core belief of Islam. Allah (God) tells us that the sole purpose of the creation of mankind is that he be worshipped alone without any partners or rivals.

And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone).

-Qur’an 51:56

Who is Allah?

Allah is the name of the One True God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural nor gender form. This shows its uniqueness when compared to the word ‘god’ which can be made plural (gods) or feminine (goddess). The One True God is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam associates with Allah (God). Muslims understand that Allah is the Almighty, Creator, Sustainer and Sole Facilitator of All the affairs of the entire universe, who is similar to nothing, and nothing is comparable to Him.

Who is Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the final Prophet and Messenger of Allah (God) sent for all mankind. He was sent with the revival of the concept of worshipping Allah (God) alone and the destruction of all forms of polytheism (i.e. worship of false deities Instead of the Creator of all). He was the one to whom the final Message and guidance for all mankind was revealed, by way of it being brought down to him by the Archangel Gabriel (peace be upon him). The revelation is known as the Qur’an. He is the one who Allah (God) sent as a mercy for all mankind and as the best exemplar for those who submit themselves to Allah (God), for them to take lesson in his way and pattern on how to be proper Muslims and in implementing the injunctions of the Qur’an.

What are the five pillars of Islam?

Islam has Five (5) Pillars which are:

• Imaan\Shahaadah-Testimony of Faith. To testify with the tongue believing in the heart that none has the right to be worshipped beside Allah (God) alone and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final Prophet and Messenger of Allah.
• Salaah- Establishing the daily prescribed prayers.
• Saum- Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
• Zakaat- Issuing a percentage of one’s wealth to the needy on a financial year basis, by those whose wealth meets a certain criteria.
• Hajj- Pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are physically and financially able.

What are the foundations of Islam?

Faith in Islam is built upon six (6) Beliefs:

1. Belief in Allah (God)-To have firm belief that he is the lord and owner of everything that exists, and that he is described with qualities of perfection, and that he is free from any imperfections or defects. To also believe that he alone is entitled to worship, without having any partners in any of the forms of worship.
2. Belief in the Angels– To believe in their existence. To believe in in their qualities as they have been described by Allah in the Quran and by the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in his traditions (Ahaadith). To believe in the names of those who were specified by name such as Gabriel (Peace be upon him), as well as their duties e.g the one in charge of blowing the trumpet and that they are completely obedient to Allah (God), without fail.
3. Belief in the Revealed Books-This entails the belief in all of the revealed books, in a general sense; that is to believe that all the revealed books are from Allah (God), and that they were full of truth, light and guidance. To also believe in them in specific terms; such as believing in the names given to some of them by Allah (God), e.g Torah, Zaboor, Injeel and Quraan.
4. Belief in the Messengers-To believe in all of them completely acknowledging their truthfulness in all that they conveyed of the message they were sent with, that the fulfilled their duty faithfully and completely. To believe in every single one of them without any exceptions. The one who is known by name is believed in as well as the one whose name maybe unknown, while also recognising their varying statuses according to the way Allah (God) favoured them.
5. Belief in the Last Day– To believe in the coming of the Last Day with all that is mentioned by Allah (God) in the Qur’an and by the Prophet (peace be upon him)concerning its events, such as the blowing of the trumpet the death of those alive at the time, and then the resurrection of all the dead, the trials, the judgement of people’s deeds and any other matter stated in the Quran or from the statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
6. Belief in Divine Destiny– To believe that Allah knew beforehand the decrees of all things, their times and the manner of their occurrence, then recorded all of that in the Preserved Tablet (Lawh al Mahfoodh) which He then enables their existence and occurrence with his Power and Will in their respective patterns. Thus; every single incident takes place according to His Knowledge, Decree and Will. Whatever He wills, happens. Whatever He does not that It happens never does.