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IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY GOD THE MERCIFUL,
THE COMPASSIONATE
ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
The Arabic word Islam means peace, submission and obedience. The
religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and
guidance of God as revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him). A Muslim is one who believes in God and strives for total
reorganization of his life according to His revealed guidance and the
sayings of the Prophet. He also works for building human society on the
same basis. "Muhammadanism" is a misnomer for Islam and offends its
very spirit. The word 'Allah' is the proper name of God in Arabic. It
is a unique term because it has no plural or feminine gender.
CONTINUITY OF MESSAGE
Islam is not a new religion. It is in essence, the same message and
guidance which Allah revealed to all Prophets:
Say,
we believe in Allah and that which has been revealed to us, and that
which was revealed to Abraham and Ismail and Isaac and Jacob and the
tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other
Prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them,
and to Him we submit. (Quran 3:83).
The message which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is Islam in
its comprehensive, complete and final form.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF
ISLAM
The Declaration of
faith : To bear witness that there is none worthy of worship
except Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger to all human beings
till the Day of Judgement. The Prophethood of Muhammad obliges the
Muslims to follow his exemplary life as a model.
Prayer :
Daily prayers are offered five times a day as a duty towards Allah.
They strengthen and enliven the belief in Allah and inspire man to a
higher morality. They purify the heart and prevent temptation towards
wrong-doings and evils.
Fasting the month of
Ramadhan : The Muslims during the month of Ramadhan not only
abstain from food drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, but
also from evil intentions and desires. It teaches love, sincerity and
devotion. It develops a sound social conscience, patience,
unselfishness and will-power.
Zakat : To
pay annually 2.5 % of one's net saving on which a year had passed as a
religious duty and purifying sum to be spent on poorer sections of the
community.
Pilgrimage to Makkah
: It is to be performed once in a lifetime, if one can afford it
financially and physically.
Besides these pillars every action which is done with the awareness
that it fulfills the will of Allah is also considered an act of worship.
Islam enjoins faith in the Oneness and Sovereignty of Allah, which
makes man aware of the meaningfulness of the Universe and of his place
in it. This belief frees him from all fears and superstitions by making
him conscious of the presence of the Almighty Allah and of man's
obligations towards Him. This faith must be expressed and tested in
action. Faith alone is not enough. Belief in one God requires that we
look upon all humanity as one family under the universal Omnipotence of
God - the Creator and Nourisher of all. Islam rejects the idea of a
chosen people, making faith in God and good action the only way to
heaven. Thus, a direct relationship is established with God, without
any intercessor.
MAN : THE FREE AGENT
Man is the highest creation of God. He is equipped with the highest of
potentialities. He is left relatively free in his will, action and
choice. God has shown him the right path, and the life of Prophet
Muhammad provides a perfect example. Man's success and salvation Iies
in following both. Islam teaches the sanctity of the human personality
and confers equal rights upon all without any distinction of race, sex
or color.
The law of God, enunciated in the Quran and exemplified in the life of
the prophet, is supreme in all cases. It applies equally to the highest
and the lowest, the prince and the peasant, the ruler and the ruled.
QURAN AND HADITH
The Quran is the last revealed word of God and the basic source of
Islamic teachings and laws. The Quran deals with the bases of creeds,
morality, history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, God-man
relationship, and human relationship in all-aspect comprehensive
teachings on which, can be built sound systems of social justice,
economics, politics, legislation, jurisprudence, law and international
relations, are important contents of the Holy Quran.
Muhammad (PBUH) himself was an unlettered man who could not read or
write. Yet, the holy Quran was committed to memory and writing by his
followers under his supervision, during his lifetime. The original and
complete text of the Quran is available to everybody in Arabic, the
language in which it was revealed. Translations of the meaning into
many languages are widely used. HADITH, the teachings, sayings and
actions of Prophet Muhammad, meticulously reported and collected by his
devoted companions, explain and elaborate the Quranic verses.
CONCEPT OF WORSHIP
Islam does not teach or accept mere ritualism. It emphasizes intention
and action. To worship God is to know Him and love Him, to act upon His
law in every aspect of life, to enjoin goodness and forbid wrong-doing
and oppression, to practice charity and justice and to serve Him by
serving mankind. The Quran presents this concept in the following
sublime manner:
It
is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West,
but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last Day and the Angels
and the Book and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for love of Him to
kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who
ask, and to set slaves free; and observes proper worship and pays the
Zakah. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the
patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress; such are those
who are sincere. Such are the Godfearing. (Quran 2:177)
ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE
Islam provides definite guidelines for all peoples to follow in all
walks of life. The guidance it gives is comprehensive and includes the
social, economic, political, moral and spiritual aspects of life. The
Quran reminds man of the purpose of his life on earth, of his duties
and obligations towards himself, his kith and kin, his community, his
fellow human beings and his Creator. Man is given fundamental guideline
about a purposeful life and then he is left with the challenge of human
existence before him so that he might put these high ideals into
practice. In Islam, man's life is a wholesome, integrated unit and not
a collection of fragmented, competitive parts. The scared and secular
are not separate parts of man they are united in the nature of being
human.
HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE
Muhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was born in the year 570 A.C.
in the city of Makkah in Arabia. He received the first revelation at
the age of forty. As soon as he started preaching Islam, he and his
followers were persecuted and had to face severe hardships. He was,
therefore, commanded by God to migrate to Madinah, another city in
Arabia. During a short span of 23 years, he completed his mission of
prophethood and died at the age of 63. He led a perfect life and set an
example for all human-beings as his life was the embodiment of the
Quranic teachings.
ISLAM'S RATIONAL
APPEAL
Islam in its clear and direct way of expressing truth has a tremendous
amount of appeal for any seeker of knowledge. It is a solution for all
problems of life. It is a guide towards a better and complete life
glorifying, in all its phases, God, the Almighty Creator and the
Merciful Nourisher.
MUSLIM POPULATION AT A GLANCE (1975 Estimates)
|
Million |
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| Africa |
224.20 |
|
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| Asia |
575.30 |
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| Europe |
20.00 |
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| Norht and
South America
& Australia |
4.00 |
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|
| Total
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823.50 |
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Number of countries with over 50 % Muslim population is 58.
Now in view of the growth in population during 21 years after 1975 and
world-wide trend of conversions to Islam, the Muslim Population is
believed to have risen above one billion.
ISLAM - THE SOLUTION
OF MODERN PROBLEMS
The Brotherhood of Man: A major problem which modern man faces is that
of racism. The materially advanced nations can send man to the moon but
they cannot stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man. Islam,
over the last 1400 years, has shown in practice how racism can be
ended. Every years, during Hajj, the Islamic miracle of real
brotherhood of all races and nations can be seen in action.
The Family: The family which is the basic unit of civilization is
disintegrating in all western countries. Islam's family system brings
into a fine equilibrium the rights of man, wife, children and
relatives. Islam nourishes human unselfishness, generosity and love is
a well-organized family system.
UNFRAGMENTED VIEW OF
LIFE
Human beings live according to their view of life. The tragedy of
secular societies is that they fail to connect the different aspects of
life. The secular and the religious, the scientific and the spiritual
seem to be in conflict. Islam puts an end to this conflict and brings
harmony to man's vision of life.
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