What is Islam?
The One and Only God
The Purpose of Life
Status of Human Beings in Islam
Islam, the Religion of Peace
In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful
An Introduction to Islam
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What is Islam?
Islam is a religion which guides its followers in every aspect of their lives. It is a way of life.
Islam is the modern or latest version of the message sent by God through Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
Islam was sent to mankind through Prophet Muhammad. Islam is "modern"
in the sense that it has come to complement the teachings which were
introduced through Moses and Jesus.
Islam is a religion which seeks to give a meaningful purpose to our life
on this earth. It seeks to guide us in fulfilling that purpose by
creating harmony between ourselves, our Creator and fellow human beings.
What you will read below are some of the basic features of Islam.
The One & Only God
Islam is a monotheistic religion. It teaches that there is only one God
who is the origin and creator of the universe. This is the foundation of
Islam, and is reflected in the famous sentence which says that, "There
is no god but Allah." (Allah is the Arabic name of God.)
The belief in God relates us to our origin and guides us throughout our
life. The belief in one God shows that man should not worship any
material thing or person in this universe.
By teaching that there is only One God for all humans, Islam promotes
the sense of brotherhood and equality in human society--all are equally
related to God in the same way. The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam,
says:
He (God) is One, God is Eternal;
He has neither begotten,
nor has He been begotten;
and there is no one equal to Him.
(chapter 112)
The Purpose of Life
Our life on this earth has a specific purpose; it is not the result of
nature's accident, nor is it a punishment for eating the fruit of the
forbidden tree. We are here according to God's plan: the wordly life is a
test; it is a chance to prove ourselves as deserving of the eternal
blissful life in the hereafter. God did not create us just for few years
of this life. To be created just for this world's life would amount to a
joke played by the Creator with the human species. Muhammad, the
Prophet of Islam, said," You have not been created to perish; on the
contrary, you have been created for eternal life."
According to Islam, the final destination of mankind is the life
hereafter. At the end of time, all human beings will be resurrected and
will be held accountable for their worldly life. The life in hereafter
will be an eternal life. However, whether it will be blissful or full of
sorrow depends on how we spend our present life.
It was to help mankind in achieving this objective that God sent various
prophets and messengers to guide them. Muhammad is the last prophet,
and Islam is the final and complete version of God's message.
Status of Human Beings in Islam
Prime Creation: Human being is the prime creation of God. He says, "We
have indeed honored the children of Adam; spread them in the land and
the sea, provided them with good things; and preferred them in esteem
over many things that We have created." (Qur'an: chp. 17, verse 70)
Born Sinless: Islam teaches that every human being is born sinless; no
child carries the burden of his or her ancestors' sins. God says, "No
carrier shall carry the burden of others." (Qur'an; chp. 35, verse 18).
Each human being is born with a pure conscience which can absorb and
accept the true message of God. It is only the social and familial
influences which take a person away from God's message.
Accountability: Islam also emphasizes on the issue of responsibility and
accountability of human beings--each person is responsible for his or
her own actions. Although Islam teaches that God has predetermined the
span of our life and the time of our death, it does not mean that even
our actions are predetermined by Him. We surely are free in our actions
and are, therefore, accountable for them. God only provides guidance for
us to know what is good and what is bad. He says, "We created man of a
water-drop...Surely We guided him to the right way--now whether he
(follows it and) be grateful or (goes astray and) be ungrateful is up to
him." (Qur'an: chp. 76, verse 3).
Race: Islam very categorically rejects racial
discrimination. It promotes the feeling of brotherhood and equality
among its followers. God clearly says, "O Mankind! We have created you
from one male and one female, and then We made you into different races
and tribes so that you may know (and easily recognize) each other."
Therefore, no one can claim any superiority over others based on racial
or tribal differences. A person is to be judged by his character, not by
his color or race. God continues, "Surely the most honorable of you in
God's sight is the person who is most upright in character among you."
(Qur'an; chp. 49, verse 13).
Gender: Even gender does not count as a
criterion of superiority. In Islam, women are as human as men. They are
not evaluated on basis of their gender, but on basis of their faith and
character. Fourteen hundred years ago, the Qur'an recorded God's clear
statements on this issue. Out of the four verses, I will just quote one:
"Whoever, be it a male or a female, does good deeds and he or she is a
believer, then they will enter the Paradise." (Qur'an: chp. 4, verse
124). So there is no difference in the degree or level of woman's
humanity or honor in Islam.
The only difference there exists is concerning the role which Islam has
envisioned for man and woman. This has nothing to do with superiority or
inferiority. In Islam, man and woman are equalm in rights; but equality
is not synonymous to similarity. Islam believes that man and woman are
equal but dissimilar. Islam looks at their different roles in society
not as superior or inferior but as complementary to each other.
Islam
The Religion of Peace
Islam is a religion of peace. This is evident even from the name "Islam"
itself. ("Islam" is an Arabic word.) The word "Islam" and the Arabic
word for peace, "salam" both come from the same root, "salima".
Muslims are taught to greet each other by saying "salamun alaykum--peace
be upon you." The daily prayers also end with the same sentence. In
Islam, one of the names by which God is known is "Salam" which means
peace.
However, one must realize that peace can never be achieved in vacuum. It
is intertwined with justice. One can have peace only on basis of
justice. "Justice" means putting everything in its rightful place. If
one starts putting things in the wrong places, then he disrupts the
social harmony and disturbs peace.
Islam seeks to promote peace on two levels:
1. Peace within One's Self:
A person can achieve inner peace by creating harmony and balance between
his main emotions (desire and anger) and his spiritual self. In other
words, between his emotions and his conscience.
Human's spiritual power or conscience is not a static phenomenon: it has
the ability of growth as well as decadence. God swears by the soul of
human being and says, "He inspired to it to understand what is good and
what is evil. Prosperous in the person who purifies it, and failed is he
who seduces it." (Qur'an; chp. 91, verse 10).
2. Peace With Others:
Islam very strongly emphasizes on the rights which people have over each
other. It seeks to perserve peace in society by training and urging its
followers to fulfill the rights of each other. In Islam, salvation is
not possible by just fulfilling the rights of God; one has to fulfill
the rights of other human beings also.
Unfortnately, because of the Middle Eastern events of the last three
decades, Islam has been branded by the media as a religion of violence.
In recent years, the word "Islamic" has become one of the adjectives of
"terrorism." In this backdrop, firstly, one must realize that the events
in the Middle East can be fairly and fully understood only in the light
of the post-WWI history of that region, in particular the promises
given by the British to the Arabs. Secondly, no fair-minded person would
allow himself to blame the religion of Islam for the wrong-doings of
those who call themselves as Muslims. It is just like saying that the
Catholic Church promotes violence and terrorism because of the Irish
Republican Army's activities!
Taken from An Introduction to Islam, Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, Muhammadi Islamic Center, Canada, 1992/1412
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