WHAT IS ISLAM

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WHAT IS ISLAM?

• Mankind was one nation having one religion.
  Later, when people invented other religions,
  Allah appointed Prophets as bearers of good news
  and warnings and revealed to them the Book with
  the True Guidance to settle the matters of
  dispute between people
• The noble Qur'an, (2)21.

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What Does "Islam" Mean?

• The word "Islam" itself means "Submission to
  Allah." The religion of Islam is not named after
  a person as in the case of "Christianity" which
  was named after Jesus Christ, "Buddhism" after
  Gutama Buddha , "Marxism" after Karl Marx, and
  "Confucianism" after Confucius. 
• Similarly, Islam is not named after a tribe like
  "Judaism" after the tribe of Judah and "Hinduism"
  after the Hindus. The Arabic word "Islam" means
  the submission or surrender of one's will to the
  will of the only true god worthy of worship,
  "Allah" (known as God "the Father" in
  Christianity). 
• Anyone who does indeed submit to the will of
  Allah as required by Islam is termed a "Muslim,"
  which means one who has submitted to the will of
  Allah. Many people in the West have developed the
  sad misinformed trend of calling Islam
  "Muhammadanism" and it's followers "Muhammadans."
  This is a totally foreign word to Muslims and
  unrecognized by them. No Muslim has ever called
  his religion "Muhammadanism" or called himself a
  "Muhammadan."

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What Is The Basic Concept of Islam?

• Islam teaches us that this life is a life of
  worship. We are placed on this earth in order to
  worship Allah and obey His command. During this
  earthly life we are subjected to a series of
  trials. We have the option of enduring these
  trials and conforming to certain laws, and our
  reward will be great in the next life, or we may
  decline to endure these trials and choose to not
  conform to the law, then we will be made to
  regret it in the next life.

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• Each person will be solely and completely
  responsible for their own final reward. We are
  also told that God has designed these laws to
  make this life a better, safer, and more
  tolerable one for us. If we elect to conform to
  them then we will see the result in this life
  even before moving on to the next.

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• We are told that the earthly life is a life of
  faith and work, and the next life is one of
  reward and no work. We have been placed on this
  earth to worship God, fast, pray, be industrious,
  good, kind, respectful, and a source of
  uprightness and morality. We are told that God
  has no need of our worship. Our worship can not
  increase the kingdom of God nor add to His power,
  however, it is in our best interests both in this
  life and the next that we do.

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• Unlike some other religions which claim that God
  entered in a covenant with a certain group of
  people and that this group is genetically better
  than all other human beings, or closer to God,
  Islam on the other hand teaches that no color,
  race, tribe, or lineage is better than any other.
  Islam teaches that all humans are equal in the
  sight of Allah and that the only thing that can
  distinguish them in His sight is their piety and
  worship.

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• "O humankind! Verily! We have created you from a
  male and female, and have made you nations and
  tribes that you may know one another. Verily! the
  noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the
  most God-fearing. Verily! Allah is The Knower,
  The Aware." The noble Qur'an, Al-Hujrat(49)13.

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• THE 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM

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• Testify that there is no god but Allah and that
  Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
• Establish the daily prayers
• Pay Zakat (Obligatory charity due the poor)
• Observe the fast of Ramadan
• Perform pilgrimage to the Ka'aba (in Makkah )
  once in your life if you are able

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Some Facts About Islam

• "Islam" means "peace through the submission to
  God".
• "Muslim" means "anyone or anything that submits
  itself to the will of God".
• Islam is not a cult. Its followers number over
  1.5 billion worldwide. Along with Judaism and
  Christianity, it is considered to be one of the
  three Abrahamic traditions.

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• Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in
  the world. To become Muslim, a person of any race
  or culture must say a simple statement, the
  shahadah, that bears witness to the belief in the
  One God and that Prophet Muhammad was the last
  prophet of God.
• Muslims neither worship Muhammad (pbuh) nor pray
  through him. Muslims solely worship the unseen
  and Omniscient Creator, Allah.

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• The Holy Qur'an has no flaws or contradictions.
  The original Arabic scriptures have never been
  changed or tampered with.
• The Holy Qur'an was not authored by Muhammad. It
  was authored by God, revealed to Muhammad, and
  written into physical form by his companions.
• Muslims accept the original unaltered Torah (the
  Gospel of Moses) and the original Bible (the
  Gospel of Jesus) since they were revealed by God.
  However, none of those original scriptures are in
  existence today, in their entirety. Therefore,
  Muslims follow the subsequent, final, and
  preserved revelation of God, the Holy Qur'an.

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• All Muslims are not Arab. Islam is a universal
  religion and way of life which includes followers
  from all races of people. There are Muslims in
  and from virtually every country in the world.
  Arabs only constitute about 20 of Muslims
  worldwide. Indonesia has the largest
  concentration of Muslims with over 120 million.

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To Learn more

• www.Al-islam.org
• www.islamia.com
• www.soundvision.com
• www.sultan.org