What is Islam?
Islam is currently the world's second largest religion
after Christianity (Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, combined). The religion
of Islam, as we know it today, began in the early 7th century CE (common
era) during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (570-632
CE). The word "Islam" itself is an Arabic word meaning to submit
or surrender to God's Will, or, in other words, making a conscious decision
to place God's Will above your own . The core belief or teaching
of Islam is the Oneness of God Almighty, who has no partners, associates,
or equals. God is One. God is not a Trinity, has no divine son, and has
never incarnated in the form of a human being. God's true nature cannot
be perceived by humanity, we can only know Him through His attributes,
His Mercy, His Compassion, etc. Furthermore, just as God is One,
so humanity is one. All human beings, black, white, Arab, Asian,
Native American, and so on, are all equal before God Almighty. God
has no ethnic "chosen people." The only difference or superiority of one
group of people over another is through piety. The religion of God's
Oneness is a part of our very nature. It is the religion of all the Prophets,
from Adam, to Noah, to Abaraham, to Moses, to Jesus, to Muhammad, peace
be upon them all. Throughout human history, God has revealed Himself
to us through Prophets and Messengers. His Final Messenger was born in
570 in the deserts of the Arabian penninsula. His name was Muhammad ibn
Abdullah.
What is a Muslim? Are all Muslims Arabs?
A Muslim is an adherent of the religion of Islam. In
the Arabic language, placing the letters "mu" before a word is the same
as placing the letters "er" after an English word. For example, someone
who places a call is a "caller," or someone who sings is a "singer." Someone
who follows Islam is a MUslim. The Arabic word Muslim means "one
who submits." Today there are approximately 1.2 billion Muslims in
the world. The majority of Muslims live in south or southeast Asia.
The largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan,
Bangladesh, and the predominately Hindu nation of India. Muslims
live in virtually every nation in the world. Only 15-20% of the world's
Muslims are Arabs, there are many Arabs who are Christians. There
are approximately 6-8 million Muslims living in the United States of America.
The goal of every Muslim is to acheive "taqwa," which is the consciousness
of one's responsibility toward its Creator. There are two main branches
of Muslims in the world, 85% are Sunni or Orthodox Muslims, and 15% or
so are Shi'ite Muslims. There are also a number of sub-groups, mystic orders,
and various heretical sects which may or may not consider themselves Muslim.
Who was Muhammad (saaws), and who do Muslims believe
he was?
Muhammad ibn Abullah was God's final Messenger to humanity,
the "Seal of the Prophets," completing God's favor to humanity which had
begun with Adam and continued through Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the
other prophets. He was born in the year 570 CE, in the city of Mecca
(Makkah) in modern day Saudi Arabia. He was the descendent of Ishmael (Isma'il),
the first born son of Abraham (Ibrahim) and his second wife Hagar (Hajar).
As a child Muhammad was an orphan, whose father died before his birth and
whose mother died when he was six. He was then raised by a foster mother
and various distant relatives. He came to work as a shepard as a
young man, and later as a caravan leader for his wife Khadijah, before
having an experience which would change the world as we know it. In the
year 610 CE, while meditating alone in a cave outside of the city of Mecca
in the deserts of the Arabian pennisula, Muhammad was startled by a voice
which commanded him to "recite" or "read." The words were quickly
followed by the appearance of the Angel Gabriel who seized the reluctant
and frightened Muhammad. Recite! The angel insisted, but the Prophet insisted
that he could not recite or read! Again the angel insisted, and suddenly
the first revelation of the Qur'an sprang forth from the Prophet's lips,
and his prophethood was born. The people of Mecca had long ago abandoned
the religion of Abraham in favor of the more lucrative paganism which dominated
trade and pilrimmage in the region. Muhammad's message of God's Oneness
and condemnation of idolatry enraged the pagans who sought to kill him
and regularly persecuted and even killed his followers. Ultimately,
however, God's Message would be victorious as Islam swept through the Arabian
penninsula summoning the poor, the rich, men, women, free, and slave alike,
to the new faith and transforming the Arabian penninsula into a new empire
of faith. "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger
of God." Muhammad died quietly in 632 CE in the city of Medina and
remains buried there to this day.
Who or what is Allah (swt)?
Allah is the Arabic word for "God," or more literally
"the God" (al-ilah). Allah is neither male nor female, however, there
are no neuter terms in the Arabic language, so God is referred to as "He"
rather then "It" or something similar. Allah is the Creator of all
that exists and the God of all the prophets, the God of Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Christ, and Muhammad, among others. The word Allah is used
by Arabic speaking Jews and Christians, in addition to Muslims. In
the Qur'an, God Almighty tells us, that "whether you call me Allah or Ar-Rahman
(the Merciful One), all of My names are beautiful."
Do Muslims believe in Jesus Christ (saaws)?
Yes! Muslims beleive in Jesus Christ (saaws). He is mentioned
in the Holy Qur'an over 90 times. Muslims beleive that Christ was
God's Messenger and Prophet, the son of the Virgin Mary. He delivered a
revelation from God to humanity called the Injeel in Arabic, of which only
small fragments still exist as sayings of Christ contained in the Christian
Gospels. He was NOT the only begotten divine son of God, nor is he a member
of a trinity godhead. He was rescued by God Almighty immediately
before the crucifixion and ascended to Heaven. As the Qur'an relates, "they
killed him (Jesus) not, nneither did they crucify him, but only a likeness
that was shown to them." What exactly this "likeness" was that God placed
on the cross in the Prophet's place is an often debated mystery.
Muslim tradition relates that Christ will return to us prior to the Day
of Judgement. Beleiving in the prophethood of Jesus Christ is a required
article of faith for one who embraces Islam.
What is the Qur'an? (sometimes spelled Koran)
The Qur'an is the revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad
by God Almighty. The word Qur'an means "recitation" in Arabic. It is a
collection of 114 suras, or chapters, revealed overtime during a 22 year
period from 610-632 CE. It was revealed in a classical form of the
Arabic langauge and remains unmatched in Arabic poetic beauty. It
remains today in the original langauge of its revelation, the language
of the Prophet, unchanged, since the time of its revelation. The
first revelation (Sura 92) came to the Prophet while meditating in a cave
outside of the city of Mecca in the year 610 CE. The Prophet was illiterate,
unable to read or write, so each revelation , which came spontaneously
from the Prophet's lips, was memorized and recorded by the Prophets followers
who were able to write. The final revelation came shortly before
the Prophet's death in Medina in 632. The revelations were then collected
and finally canonized under the the Caliph Uthman. As one reads the Qur'an,
one will find that it's literary style is unique from the Jewish and Christian
scriptures. The Qu'ran is written in the first person, the direct Word
of God, transmitted from the mouth of Muhammad through the dictation of
the Angel Gabriel from God Almighty. It is a spiritual message and
a correction of the mistaken beliefs of the followers of previous prophets,
the People of the Book (the Jews and Christians), and thus supersedes previous
revelations which are errored and corrupted in their present form.
Does Islam teach Muslims to commit terrorist attacks?
No, absolutely not. To put it bluntly, terrorists
are faithless cowards. Power hungry militants enjoy using the name
of Islam in order to manipulate ignorant or very desperate and frustrated
men and women who are in search of some sort of direction in their lives.
A true Muslim follows the teachings of the Qur'an and God's Messenger in
all things. "In all cases, the law precludes the murder of women,
children, the elderly, monks, and the defenseless in general. In addition
it forbids the detruction of the property and homes of the enemy" (Younis
Tawfik, Islam, p.119). Here is a selection of verses from the Qur'an
and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Hadith (collections of Muhammad's
sayings and deeds) pertaining to the proper conduct of war:
The Holy Qur'an states:
"..If anyone kills a person for any reason other than for (the killing of) a person or for sowing corruption in the land, it will be as if he had killed the whole of mankind." (5:32)
"Those against whom war is made by unbelievers are granted permission to fight because they are being oppressed (Verily God is most powerful to aid them) and have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right for the sole 'crime of saying 'Our Lord is God'" (22:39-40).
"Never should a believer kill a believer." (4:92)
"Fight in the cause of God against those who attack you. But be careful to maintain the limit, since God does not love transgressors" (2:190).
"O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not others' hatred of you make you depart from justice and swerve towards wrong. Be just: for justice is next to piety. And fear God; for God knows all you do." (5:9)
Suicide is prohibited by the Qur'an. The punishment for suicide is hell-fire. The Qur'an states: "Do not kill yourselves. God is merciful to you, but he that does that through wickedness and injustice shall be burnt in fire. That is easy enough for God".
The Prophet's sayings on the conduct of war:
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Do not kill any old person,
any child, or any woman" (Abu Dawud).
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Do not kill the monks in
monasteries" and "Do not kill the people who are sitting in places of worship"
(Musnad of Ibn Hanbal)
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Punishment by fire does not
behove anyone except the Master of Fire (God)" (Abu Dawud)
The Prophet also related the following: "Do not attack a wounded person," and "no prisoner should be put to the sword" (Mawlana Maududi's 'Human Rights in Islam').
"The Messenger of God forbade the killing of women and children" (Bukhari 56:147)
The Messenger of God said: "He who kills himself with anything, God will torment him with that in the fire of Hell" (Muslim v.1, p.62 #203)
Once when a man killed himself, the Prophet said: "He is a dweller of the Fire". When the people were surprised at this, the Prophet (saws) said: "A person performs the deeds which to the people appears to be the deeds befitting the dweller of Paradise, but he is in fact one of the dwellers of the Fire" (Muslim v.1, p.63, #206).
Narrated Jundab the Prophet said, "A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allah said: My slave has caused death on himself hurriedly, so I forbid Paradise for him." (Bukhari)
"The Prophet has prohibited the Believers from loot and plunder" (Bukhari, Abu Dawud). He further said, "the loot is no more lawful than the carrion" (Abu Dawud).
Abu Bakr Siddiq, the first Caliph and the Prophet's closest companion, used to tell soldiers on the way to war: "Do not destroy the villages and towns, do not spoil the cultivated fields and gardens, and do not slaughter the cattle." Abu Bakr also used to tell the armies that they should not even use the milk of the milch cattle without the permission of the owners.
"The Prophet has prohibited us from mutilating the corpses of the enemies" (Bukhari, Abu Dawud).
The Prophet said to Ali: "Never be the aggressor who starts a war. First invite your enemy to turn to the true God. If God leads one person through you to enter the life of faith, that will be of greater benefit for you than if you owned all that the sun shines upon."
The Prophet said: "Beware! whosoever injures a non-Muslim,
or steals even a worn-out piece of cloth or takes the smallest thing he
owns without his consent, will find me on the side of the prosecution when
he comes to trial on the Day of Judgment."
As you can see, the actions of these so-called "Muslim
militants" or suicide bombers are in no way in keeping with the teachings
and principles of Islam. Their actions, in fact, equate them to being infidels
according to the Sunnah. Furthermore, let it be said that those who commit
acts of terrorism, acts of cowardice, and anyone who supports them or,
evern worse, rejoices in them, are sick and cowardly infidels who know
nothing of Islam and its teachings.
Recommended Books and Authors to learn more about Islam
"Al-Qur'an: A Contemporary Translation (English w/Arabic)" trans. by Ahmed Ali, Princeton University Press.
"Islam: The Straight Path" by Dr. John Esposito, Oxford University Press
"Ideals & Realities of Islam" by Syed Hussein Nasr, ABC International Group
A History of God" by Karen Armstrong
"Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet" by Karen Armstrong
"Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources" by Martin Lings, Inner Traditions, Int'l.
"The Religion of Islam" by Maulana Muhammad Ali
Do YOU have a question about Islam and Muslims?
Send it to me by e-mail at [email protected]