Answers to 7 Questions on Islam

Answers to 7 Questions on Islam
Source: Islamic Awareness
Courtesy: ] Salafi Publications

1. What is Islaam?
The word "Islaam" is an Arabic word that means "submitting
and surrendering your will to Almighty God". The word comes
from the same root as the Arabic word "salam", which means
peace. Unlike the names used for other religions, such as
Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the name for the
religion of Islaam was both revealed by God and carries a deep
spritual meaning only
by submitting one's will to Almighty
God can one obtain true peace both in this life and in the life
hereafter. Islaam teaches that all religions originally had the
same essential message which
was to submit wholeheartedly
to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone. For this
reason, Islaam is not a new religion but is the same divinely
revealed Ultimate Truth that God revealed to all prophets,
including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.

2. Who are Muslims?
The Arabic word "Muslim" literally means "someone who
submits to the will of God". The message of Islaam is meant for
the entire world and anyone who accepts this message
becomes a Muslim. Some people mistakenly believe that
Islaam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further
from the truth, since in actuality over 80% of the world's
Muslims are not Arabs! Even though most Arabs are Muslims,
there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. If one
just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim
World from
Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia
it
is easy enough to see that Muslims come from all different
races, ethnic groups and nationalities. From the very
beginning, Islaam had a universal message for all people. This
can be seen in the fact that some of the early companions of
the Prophet Muhammad were not only Arabs, but also
Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans. Being a Muslim
entails complete acceptance and active obedience to the
revealed will of Almighty God. A Muslim is a person who freely
accepts to base his beliefs, values and faith on the will of
Almighty God. In the past, even though you don't see it as
much today, the word "Mohammedans" was often used as a
label for Muslims. This label is a misnomer and is the result of
either wilful distortion or sheer ignorance. One of the reasons
for the misconception is that Europeans were taught for
centuries that Muslims worshipped the Prophet Muhammad in
the same way that Christians worship Jesus. This is absolutely
not true since a Muslim is not permitted to worship anyone or
anything besides Almighty God.

3. Who is Allaah?
Very often one will here the Arabic word "Allaah" being used in
regards to Islaam. The word "Allaah" is simply the Arabic word
for Almighty God, and is the same word used by Arabic
speaking Christians and Jews. If one were to pick up an Arabic
translation of the Bible, one would see the word "Allaah" being
use where the word "God" is used in English. Actually, the
Arabic word for Almighty God, "Allaah", is quite similar to the
word for God in other Semitic languages for
example, the
Hebrew word for God is "Elah". For various reasons, some nonMuslims
mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different
God than the God of Moses and Abraham and Jesus. This is
certainly not the case, since the Pure Monotheism of Islaam
calls all people to the worship of the God of Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus and all of the other prophets.
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4. Who is Muhammad?
The last and final prophet that God sent to humanity was the
Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad explained, interpreted and
lived the teachings of Islaam. The Prophet Muhammad is the
greatest of all prophets for many reasons, but mainly because
the results of his mission have brought more people into the
pure belief in One God than any other prophet. Even though
other religious communities claimed to believe in One God,
over time they had corrupted their beliefs by taking their
prophets and saints as intercessors with Almighty God. Some
religions believe their prophets to be manifestations of God,
"God Incarnate" or the "Son of God". All of these false ideas
lead to the creature being worshipped instead of the Creator,
which contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that
Almighty God can be approached through intermediaries. In
order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet
Muhammad always emphasised that he was only a humanbeing
tasked with the preaching of God's message. He taught
Muslims to refer to him as "the Messenger of God and His
Slave". To Muslims, Muhammad is the supreme example for all
people he
was the exemplary prophet, statesman, military
leader, ruler, teacher, neighbour, husband, father and friend.
Unlike other prophets and messengers, the Prophet
Muhammad lived in the full light of history. Muslims don't
need to have "faith" that he existed and that his teachings are
preserved they
know it to be a fact. Even when his followers
only numbered a few dozen, Almighty God informed
Muhammad that he had be sent as a mercy to all of mankind.
Because people had distorted or forgotten God's messages, God
took it upon Himself to protect the message revealed to
Muhammad. This was because Almighty God promised not to
send another messenger after him. Since all of God's
messengers have preached the message of Islaam i.e.
submission to the will of God and the worship of God alone Muhammad
is actually the last prophet of Islaam, not the first.

5. What are the Teachings of Islaam?
The foundation of the Islaamic faith is belief in the Unity of
God. This means to believe that there is only one Creator and
Sustainer of everything in the Universe, and that nothing is
divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Him. Truly
believing in the Unity of God means much more than simply
believing that there is "One God" as
opposed to two, three or
four. There are a number of religions that claim belief in "One
God" and believe that ultimately there is only one Creator and
Sustainer of the Universe. Islaam, however, not only insists on
this, but also rejects using such words as "Lord" and "Saviour"
for anyone besides Almighty God. Islaam also rejects the use of
all intermediaries between God and Man, and insists that
people approach God directly and reserve all worship for Him
alone. Muslims believe that Almighty God is Compassionate,
Loving and Merciful.
The essence of falsehood is the claim that God cannot deal
with and forgive His creatures directly. By overemphasising
the burden of sin, as well as claiming that God cannot forgive
you directly, false religions seek to get people to despair of the
Mercy of God. Once they are convinced that they cannot
approach God directly, people can be mislead into turning to
false gods for help. These "false gods" can take various forms,
such as saints, angels, or someone who is believed to be the
"Son of God" or "God Incarnate". In almost all cases, people
who worship, pray to or seek help from a false god don't
consider it to be, or call it, a "god". They claim belief in One
Supreme God, but claim that they pray to and worship others
beside God only to get closer to Him. In Islaam, there is a clear
distinction between the Creator and the created. There is no
ambiguity in divinity anything
that is created is not deserving
of worship and only the Creator is worthy of being worshipped.
Some religions falsely believe that God has become part of His
creation, and this has led people to believe that they can
worship something created in order to reach their Creator.
Muslims believe that even though God is Unique and beyond
comprehension He
has no "Son", partners or associates.
According to Muslim belief, Almighty God "does not beget nor
was He begotten" neither
literally, allegorically,
metaphorically, physically or metaphysically He
is Absolutely
Unique and Eternal. He is in control of everything and is
perfectly capable of bestowing His infinite Mercy and
Forgiveness to whomever He chooses. That is why is called the
AllPowerful
and MostMerciful.
Almighty God has created the
Universe for man, and as such wants the best for all human
beings. Muslims see everything in the Universe as a sign of the
Creatorship and Benevolence of Almighty God. Also, the belief
in the Unity of God is not merely a metaphysical concept. It is
a dynamic belief that effects ones view of humanity, society
and all aspects of life. As a logical corollary to the Islaamic
belief in the Oneness of God, is its belief in the oneness of
mankind and humanity.

6. What is the Qur'aan?
It is the final revelation of the will of Almighty God's to all of
mankind, which was conveyed through the Angel Gabriel, in
Arabic, to the Prophet Muhammad in its sounds, words and
meanings. The Qur'aan, sometimes spelled Koran, was relayed
to the Prophet's companions, which they memorised verbatim,
and which has been publicly and continually recited by them
and their successors until the present day. In short, the
Qur'aan is the book of guidance from God par excellence. The
Qur'aan is still memorised and taught by millions of people.
The language of the Qur'aan, Arabic, is still a living language
to millions of people, so unlike the scriptures of other religions,
the Qur'aan is still read in its original language by countless
millions of people. The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic
language; and is know to be inimitable in its style, form and
spiritual impact. God's final revelation to mankind, the
Qur'aan, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period
of 23 years. The Qur'aan, in contrast to many other religious
books, was always thought to be the Word of God by those who
believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed by a religious
council many years after being written. Also, the Qu'ran was
recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and nonMuslim
communities during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The
entire Qur'aan was also completely written down in lifetime of
the Prophet, and numerous companions of the Prophet
memorised the entire Qur'aan wordforword
as it was
revealed. So unlike other scriptures, the Qur'aan was always in
the hands of the common believers, it was always thought to
be God's word and, due to widespread
memorisation, it was
perfectly preserved. In regards to the teachings of the Qur'aan it
is a universal scripture, and it is addressed to all of
mankind, and not to a particular tribe or "chosen people". The
message that it brings is nothing new, but the same message
of all of the prophets submit
to Almighty God and worship
Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'aan focuses on
teaching human beings the importance of believing in the
Unity of God and framing their lives around the guidance
which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'aan contains the
stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah,
Moses and Jesus; as well as many commands and prohibitions
from God. In modern times in which so many people are
caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and "political
correctness", the Qur'aanic teachings offer solutions to the
emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping the
world today.

7. How Do Muslims View the Nature of Man, the Purpose of
Life and the Life Hereafter?
In the Holy Qur'aan, God teaches human beings that they were
created in order to worship Him, and that the basis of all true
worship is Godconsciousness.
Since the teachings of Islaamic
encompass all aspects of life and ethics, Godconsciousness
is
encouraged in all human affairs. Islaam makes it clear that all
human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone
and in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in
Islaam is not limited to religious rituals. The teachings of
Islaam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and
such qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are
strongly encouraged. Additionally, Islaam condemns pride and
selfrighteousness,
since Almighty God is the only judge of
human righteousness. The Islaamic view of the nature of man
is also realistic and wellbalanced.
Human beings are not
believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally
capable of both good and evil. Islaam also teaches that faith
and action go handinhand.
God has given people freewill,
and the measure of one's faith is one's deeds and actions.
However, human beings have also been created weak and
regularly fall into sin. This is the nature of the human being as
created by God in His Wisdom, and it is not inherently
"corrupt" or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of
repentance of always open to all human beings, and Almighty
God loves the repentant sinner more than one who does not
sin at all. The true balance of an Islaamic life is established by
having a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His
infinite Mercy. A life without fear of God leads to sin and
disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much
that God will not possibly forgive us only leads to despair. In
light of this, Islaam teaches that: only the misguided despair of
the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the Holy Qur'aan, which
was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal
of teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of Judgement.
Due to this, Muslims believe that all human beings will
ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in
their earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will
be both Merciful and Just, and people will only be judged for
what they were capable of. Suffice it to say that Islaam teaches
that life is a test, and that all human beings will be
accountable before God. A sincere belief in the life hereafter is
key to leading a wellbalanced
life and moral. Otherwise, life is
viewed as an end in itself, which causes human beings to
become more selfish, materialistic and immoral..