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In the name of Allah,
Most Gracious, Most Merciful
What Every Person Should
Know about Isalm
God says, "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion". (Quran 5:3)
| Allah |
| Religion of Islam |
| Prophets |
| Prophet Muhammad |
| Entering Islam |
| Pillars of Islam |
| Ready to Become a Muslim |
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One of the biggest
misconceptions in America about Muslims is the thought that
Muslims worship a differnt god than the God of Abraham. The onenes of God is fundamental in Islam. The word Allah in Arabic is derived from two words; al-Ilah or The God, indicating it is a clear refernce to the one and only God. The word Ilah can be changed to other forms of the word god, ilaha (goddess), aliha (gods). The word Allah has neither a sex or a plural form. There are no other forms of the word Allah.
In the Arabic language there are no upper and lowercase letters in the alphabet. In English we would write, God is the only god, in Arabic it would be written as allah is the only ilah.
The word Allah is the same word used in place of the word God in the Arabic translations of the Holy Bible. Take a look at the following example, this is just one of many verses.
[Qu'ran 1:1 - English translation] "In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the Compassionate"
[Qur'an 1:1 - Arabic transliteration] "Bismi
Allahi ar-Rahmani, ar-Raheem"
[Qur'an 1:1 - Arabic]
[Genesis 1:1 - English Bible - King James
Version] "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth..."
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic transliteration] "Fee
al-badi' khalaqa Allahu as-Samaawaat wa al-Ard
... "
[Genesis 1:1 - Arabic Bible]
Muslims do not worship any of God's Prophets. We recognize all the Prophets that God has sent to the earth to spread His religion, but we do not worship any of them. The only one worthy of worship is Allah, the Supreme Creator of everything.
God does not have the need to rest.
God does not regret decisions He has made.
God is the Supreme Lord of all that you see and all you
don't see; past, present and future.
God is One, without any partners.
There is nothing like Him.
God created the universes and all its inhabitants according to
His will.
God created men and ordered them to obey Him and His messengers.
This obeying is done by following a set of rules given by Him .
These rules are the religion of Islam.
. .
Islam was not
named after a person. It is the prescribed way of life set by God
for the human beings in this universe. The Arabic word "Islam"
means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true
god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does that
is a "Muslim".
Islam was not a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in Arabia in the seventh century. Islam is the true religion of God re-expressed in its final form. In every age and every nation as Allah wished, He sent one or more of His prophets to lead the people to His path. These prophets ALL taught the same message "There is only one God" and they ordered the people to worship Him and no one else. All the prophets including Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, peace be upon them all, preached and taught the same message; There is only One God.
Islam is the complete way of life that one should follow from the day of his birth to the grave. If you don't follow Islam from the day of your birth then it is important to follow it as soon as you learn about Islam. Don't wait until you think you know everything there is to know about Islam. Once you understand and firmly believe that there is only one true God and that Muhammad was His last prophet, it is time to become a Muslim.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the last of all the prophets sent by Allah. His prophethood brings the end of revelation and finalization of Allah's message to mankind. Thus making Islam as we know it, the finalized religion for mankind.
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Allah says,
"For We assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet, (with
the command) worship Me and avoid false gods " (The Quran 16:36)
Prophets (messengers of God) were sent to every nation and tribe to support man's natural belief in God and man's inborn desire to worship Him. The prophets of Allah also reinforced the divine truth and some recieved daily revelations. In most cases, much of the prophets' teachings became distorted. Portions of the original teachings remained which point out right and wrong but many of the teachings were lost totally or changed by man. God didn't change His religion, man changed God's messsage.
"Indeed, We sent Noah to his people and he said: 'O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but him. (La ilaha ill Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but Allah). Certainly, I fear for you the torment of a great Day!'" (Al-A'raf 7:59)
"And to 'Ad (people, We sent) their brother Hud. He said: 'O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilah (God) but Him. Will you not fear (Allah)?'" (Al-A'raf 7:65)
"And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): Worship Allah (Alone) and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities etc. do not worship Taghuts besides Allah)." (An-Nahl 16:36)
Allah, the Most Generous, has sent many messengers to earth to call us back to His way. When the people of Prophet Moses had strayed so far from what Moses had taught, Allah sent more messengers to call the people back to God's true way.
And following in the same manner, when the people had strayed so far from what Prophet Jesus taught, Allah, the All-Knowing, sent the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad. This time God has promised us that the final revelation delivered to Prophet Muhammad would never be changed from it's original meaning. And to this day, more than 1400 years after the final message was revealed, it has not been changed in any way. This final revelation is known as the Qur'an.
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Before his
mission as a prophet, Muhammad was a successful, well respected
and reputable merchant. Muhammad drew a satisfactory and
comfortable income. After his mission as a prophet of
God began and because of it, he became worse off materially
although the Muslim treasury was at his disposal and the greater
part of the Arabian Peninsula was Muslim before he died.
It is NOT possible that Muhammad might have claimed prophethood in order to attain status, greatness, or power.
The desire to enjoy status and power is usually associated with having good food, fancy clothing, and many other material things. Yet while he was a Prophet, Muhammad did not see bread made from fine flour from the time God sent him (as a prophet) until he died. The mattress which Muhammad slept on was made of leather stuffed with the fiber of the date-palm tree. Months would pass before a meal was cooked in Muhammad's home, he and his family would live on dates and water and some camel's milk that his neighbors gave to him on occasion. When the Prophet died, he didn't have money or anything else except his white riding mule, his arms, and a piece of land.
Despite his responsibilities associated with being a prophet, Muhammad used to mend his clothes, repair his shoes, help with the household work, and visit people when they were sick. His life was an amazing model of simplicity and humbleness.
Muhammad’s followers loved him, respected him, and trusted him to an amazing extent. Yet he continued to emphasize that worship should be directed to God only. He would not allow his companions to stand up for him when he came to them because this is something other people do with their great people.
At the beginning of a long and painful era of torture, suffering, and persecution of Muhammad and his followers, he received an interesting offer. A delegation of the non-Muslim leaders came to him saying, “...If you want money, we will collect enough money for you so that you will be the richest one of us. If you want leadership, we will take you as our leader and never decide on any matter without your approval. If you want a kingdom, we will crown you king over us...” Only one thing was required from Muhammad in return for that, to give up calling people to Islam and worshipping God alone without any partner. Wouldn’t this offer be tempting to one pursuing worldly benefit? The following was his answer: (In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) And he recited the verses of the Quran 41:1-38.
A revelation from (God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; a Book whereof the verses are explained in detail; a Quran in Arabic, for people who know, giving good news and warning, yet most of them turn away, so they do not listen. (Quran, 41:2-4)
On another occasion Muhammad's uncle peaded with him to stop calling people to Islam, Muhammad’s answer was decisive and sincere: "I swear by the name of God, O Uncle!, that if they place the sun in my right-hand and the moon in my left-hand in return for giving up this matter (calling people to Islam), I will never desist until either God makes it triumph or I perish defending it."
Muhammad and his few followers did not only suffer from persecution for thirteen years but the unbelievers tried to kill Muhammad several times. It would have been much easier for Muhammad to accept the offers of wealth and power that we offered to him, but he didn't. Muhammad knew that he was chosen to call the people back to worshiping the one and only true God.
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To enter Islam
(become a Muslim) is to believe in Allah, that He has no
partners or equals, He is the only one who we worship and to
believe that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is Allah's final
messenger to mankind, to accept the rules and regulations laid
down by Allah and His final messenger.
A formal testimony is customary. It is to say in Arabic and believe that, 'I testify that there is no god ONLY Allah and that Muhammad(sws) is his slave and apostle.'
In brief, faith must include five things: Declaring that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establishing prayer, paying the poor due (charity), making a pilgrimage to the House (Hajj) and fasting the month of Ramadan.
Muslims accept to obey the rules and regulations that have been sent down to mankind through His last prophet.
By becoming a Muslim, it doesn't make any difference where you live, what color your skin, your parents place of birth, rich or poor, king or slave, the laws of Islam apply to everyone without any bias, without any exception what so ever.
. There are five practices of Islam
which are grouped together and known as the Pillars of Islam.
1. Shahadah-The Declaration of Faith. Say, "Ash hadu an la ilaha illa Lahu wa ash hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah." (I declare there is no god but Allah and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.) This is what you say to become a Muslim. Allah has no partners, Muslims do not worship anyone or anything except Allah.
2. Salat-Prayer. This is the prayer that Muslims perform at five set times each day. The names and approximate times of each prayer are as follows:
Fajr Prayer - Before sunrise.Sometimes called the dawn prayer.
Zuhr Prayer- About a half an hour after noon.
'Asr Prayer - About two to three hours before sunset.
Maghrib Prayer - Immediately after sunset.
'Isha Prayer - After the last light of the departing sun is gone from the sky.These prayers only take about 5 to 10 minutes each to perform after you learn them. This is not an inconvenience and the rewards of doing all the prayers are well worth the little amount of time.
3. Zakah-Purifying Charity. It is the annual payment of 2.5% of our yearly economic accumulations, after expenses, for the benefit of the poor, orphans, the needy, etc.
4. Sawm-Fasting . During the month of Ramadan Muslims abstain from all food, drink, anger, sex, smoking and bad deeds from just before first light until sunset. This is a training time for us to learn to control our gluttony, anger and bodily needs. We learn our mind is stronger than our urges, weaknesses and desires. Of course Islam is an easy religion, those who cannot fast due to illness or other needs may feed a needy person for each day that they cannot fast.
5. Hajj-Pilgrimage to the Holy Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. A once in a life-time trip to Mecca to purify your soul and reconnect with our ultimate purpose in life. Hajj is when millions of Muslims all over the world arrive to serve Allah wearing only simple, white clothes and no status or titles, everyone is dressed alike, kings and rulers alongside the comnon people, all are equal. We remember the real poverty of this world and the severity of the Day of Judgment. Those that are not able to go for certain reasons are excused.
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If you're ready to
become a Muslim and you're not quite sure how to do it, or are
nervous or just want someone to talk to about it, please contact
me. I know what it's like to be a woman in search of the truth
without any Muslims around to ask questions or to help. You may
send me an email to tmuslims@yahoo.com
I would love to hear from you!
