The Religion of Islam
A path towards spiritual awakening.
Islam literally means submission. It is derived from the root-word salam, meaning peace. The main basis of Islam is the total submission of humankind to the Will of Allah, The Creator and The Sustainer of this world and all that exists.
Allah is the Arabic word for God, which defines His Oneness and His Uniqueness. He is the same God that created Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and the same God whom Prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) called their people to worship. Islam is the completion of the Message brought forth by all these Prophets (pbut). Islam was revealed to Muhammad (pbuh) by God through the Angel Gabriel.
Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last and final Messenger of Allah sent to this world. He brought forth the Message that dictates every aspect of human life. It is this Message that 1.6 billion Muslims around the globe follow which consists of the Qur'an, the Spoken Word of Allah, and the Sunnah (actions) and Hadith (sayings) of the Prophet.
The Five Pillars of Islam
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Shahada [Declaration of Faith]: The declaration that "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (PBUH) is His slave and final Messenger."
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Salat [Prayer]: Muslims perform obligatory prayers five times a day.
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Saum [Fasting]: Fasting during the month of Ramadan - Muslims fast during the daylight hours of the holy month of Ramadan. This refrainment is not only from food but also all kinds of sins like lying, cheating, swearing etc. The first verses of the Qur'aan were revealed during this month.
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Zakat [Charity]: Muslims must give a small percentage of their savings to the needy in the Muslim community on an annual basis.
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Hajj [Pilgrimage]: Muslims must make pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) once in their lifetime, if they can afford it and their health permits it.The Six Pillars of Faith
Faith
Allah: Allah is One, The Omniscient, and The Eternal. Allah cannot be associated with any partners. He neither begets nor was He begotten. He is Unique and none of His creations resemble Him. In the Qur'an, Allah says (what can be translated as): Say (O Muhammad (PBUH)): "He is Allah, (the) One. Allah, The Self-Sufficient. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none equal or comparable to Him." (Chapter 112)
The Angels: The Angels are beings of light, having no physical body which can be discerned by the human senses. They are unlike man in that they don't eat, drink, sleep, or procreate; they are pure, devoid of animal desires, sins, and misdeeds; nor do they have any of the tangible physical attributes of man.
The Prophets: After the creation of Adam and Eve, God sent many Prophets to the people to teach them about God and to instruct them to worship the Only True God (Allah). The Prophets brought with them guidance to worship Allah, glad tidings of Paradise and the warning of punishment in Hell. There have been 25 Prophets mentioned in the Quran. These include Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Them). All of these Prophets (PBUT), brought with them the same message. The message of One God, The Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. Jesus (PBUH) was also a Prophet of Allah like Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad (PBUT). He was granted many miracles by Allah, such as the raising of the dead, the curing of the lepers, the talking in his cradle and being born to a virgin mother. However, he was not God, or the Son of God.
The Books: All Muslims believe that Allah sent down scriptures to his messengers and that these books were the word of God. These scriptures include the Torrah, the Injeel (bible), and the Quran. Both the Torrah and the Injeel were given to a specific nation at a specific time. The Quran, being the final message of God, is sent to all of humanity until the day of judgement. Just as the word of the Injeel over-ruled the Torrah, the word of the Quran over-rules the Injeel and the Torrah. Being the final message of God, Allah promised to preserve the Quran until the last day. So far this has been true with thousands of scholars alive today who have memorized the entire Quran word for word and relate the chain of instructors all the way until the prophet Muhammed (PBUH).
The Day of Judgement: The Day of Judgement is the promised last day when all of mankind will be resurrected from the dead and brought towards Allah to be punished for their sins and rewarded for noble deeds. On this day, those who believed in God and lead a pious life will be granted, by the mercy of Allah, the greatest of rewards, paradise.
Fate: All Muslims believe that Allah, The All Knowing and All Seeing, is aware of everything that has ever happened and is aware of everything that will happen. Nothing happens without the knowledge and will of Allah. When God created the universe, he also created a pen and a book and wrote down every event that will ever happen.
