What is Islam?
God in His mercy had sent messengers to
convey us, to different peoples, in different times. Each prophet came
with guidance and miracles that were relevant for his time and for his
people, but the message was the same: That there is only one God and
worship is for him alone.
This “Islam” is the same as the
religions brought by all the prophets of God. Islam is the same as the
religion of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them
all) but with more details. God has in His Grace, addressed this issue
to man in His final revelation, the Noble Quran.
“Do they seek other than the
religion of Allah (God)? When to him submit all creatures in the heavens
and on the earth; and to him, they shall all be returned (83). Say [O,
messenger]: “we believe in Allah (God) and in what has been sent down to
us, and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the
sons of Jacob and what was given to Moses, Jesus and to [other]
messengers from their creator and nurturer; we consider no
discrimination between one and another among them and to Allah, we are
submitted”. (84)
(Surah Al-e-Imran, verse 83, 84)
Man was to follow each prophet when he
came, till the advent of another prophet Thus the latter prophet was
followed since there was new guidance relevant to that latter time.
Miracles were also for that time and for those people. All this is
evident. For example, when Jesus (PBUH) said to the Children of Israel:
“And I have come to attest what
was before me of the Torah and to make lawful to you certain things that
were forbidden before; I have come to you with a Sign from your creator
And Nurturer, so fear from the disobedience of Allah’s commands and
obey me.” (Surah Al-e-Imran, verse 50)
Consequently, God has sent the prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
as His last messenger to mankind. This implies that he must come with a
complete and clear guidance, and a clear proof, for all humanity and
all times till the Last Day. Otherwise the message is void. Also, the
message must be confirming the previous messengers of before.
The revelation, guidance, and miracle he received is the Quran.
Now, let’s see more about this last religion, Islam.
Islam (/ˈɪslɑːm/; Arabic: اسلام) is a
verbal noun originating from the root “S-L-m” which forms a large class
of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, safeness and peace.
It is an Abrahamic religion articulated by the Quran. It is revealed to
the prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the last prophet of God. The adherent of
Islam is called Muslim. Today, Muslims are known in 2 main groups: Shia and Sunni.
In Islam God is called Allah. Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance “Tanri” in Turkish, “Khodā” in Persian or Ḵẖudā in Urdu.
Allah is described in Surah Al-Ikhlas in the Quran as: “Say
[O, Messenger!]: “Allah is the one and the only creator (1) Allah is
the Absolute independent,[free from all attachment](2) Neither he has a
son nor a daughter, nor he is born of any other being (3) And there is
no equal, no match and no mate for Allah, the Almighty (4).” (Surah
Al-Ikhlaas)
Allah is the term with no plural or
gender used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews to
reference God. In addition, Muslims and Jews repudiate the Christian
doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Prophet Jesus (PBUH), comparing
it to polytheism.
In Islam, Muslims are not expected to
visualize God. God is described and referred to by certain names or
attributes, the most common being “Al-Rahman”, meaning “The
Compassionate” and “Al-Rahim”, meaning “The Merciful”.
In Islam, Allah is viewed as a personal
god who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls him. There
are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God who states, “…And [through the embracing knowledge] we are nearer to him [Human] than his jugular vein.” (Surah Qaf, verse 16)
Also, the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by Allah’s sheer command, “…Be, and it comes to existence,”
General Principles of Islam
In Islam there are 5 main principles are called Osul-e-Din (the principles of the religion):
- Tawhid (Shia and Sunni belief)
- Nabuwwah (Shia and Sunni belief)
- Ma’ad (Shia and Sunni belief)
- Adalah (just Shia Belief)
- Imamate (just Shia Belief)
Tawhid (Oneness)
In Islam, Tawhid means to assert the
unity of God, it is not just unity of Allah Almighty but also
Uniqueness, as defined in Quran Surah 112(Al-Ikhlas), He is not born of
anyone nor gave birth to any one, nor is any one like Him. The opposite
of Tawhid is “Shirk”, which means “Association” or “Partnership” in
Arabic. In Muslims view, polytheism and idolatry is known as “Shirk”.
Tawhid is the most important principle
that each Muslim must believe it. Also, Tawhid is mentioned in the other
Abrahamic religions. (Uniqueness and unity of God is distorted in
Christian religion)
Nabuwwah (Prophet Hood)
“Nabuwwah” means “Prophet Hood”. It
comes from the world “Nabi” that is mentioned in Old Testament too, as
the meaning of God’s messenger. Nabi denotes that God has appointed
Prophets and Messengers to teach mankind the religion. Religion is the
perfect system of how to live in “peace” or “submission to God”.
Prophets are Messengers which are appointed by God to bring the message
of God to people and spread that message while the Imam (leader) is appointed by God to protect that message since ordinary people will fail to do so.
If people were left with the message
alone, the true message could not survive long and would have undergone
changes. Imams were therefore appointed to take care of the message and
prevent people from going astray after the last prophet.
Nabi receives inspiration in three ways.
Sometimes, God reveals directly to his heart. Sometimes, God reveals
facts on something such as mountain or tree (like Moses who Allah spoke
to him by a tree). The third way of revelation is sending messages to
the Nabi (prophet) by an angle.
Ma’ad (The Day of Resurrection and judgment)
Yaum al-Qiyamah or “Day of the
Resurrection“, also known as “Day of the Account”, “Day of the
Gathering”, and the “Great Announcement”.
Ma’ad is a fundamental tenet of faith in
Islam. After the annihilation of this world, Allah will raise mankind
for Judgment. The trials and tribulations of Resurrection Day are
detailed in the Quran.
In Surah al-Zalzalah describes this as, “then
he who has done a particle-weight of good shall see it, [and shall
receive the reward for it] (7). And he who has done a particle-weight of
evil shall see it [and shall receive the recompense for it] (8).”
(Surah Al-Zilzal, verse 7, 8)
Also, The Quran lists several sins that
can condemn a person to hell, such as disbelief in God, and dishonesty;
however, the Quran makes it clear God will forgive the sins of those who
repent. Deeds, such as charity, prayer and compassion towards animals,
will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as an eternal
place of joy and bliss, with Quranic references describing its features
and the physical pleasures to come.
They believe the time of “Resurrection
Day” is preordained by Allah but unknown to man. Every human, Muslim and
non-Muslim alike, is held accountable for his or her deeds and are
judged by Allah accordingly.
In fact, Allah revive human to reward
benefactors and punish wicked as he has promised in all Abrahamic
religions especially in the Quran.
Adalah (justice)
Adalah is described in Shia theology as
one of the principles of Islam. It comes from the root “A-D-l” as the
meaning of justice. Adalah is a quality of Allah that includes following
meanings:
- It means everything Allah does is based on benefit and wisdom
- It means all human are the same before Allah and they are equal, no one is superior than the others unless by virtue
- It means Justice, i.e. Allah never ignores even the smallest positive or negative deeds of mankind
- It means Allah has created every creature in right position, by
materials that exactly is needed for that creature and finally, there
are an equality and appropriateness through all creatures and phenomena
in the whole universe
- It means the creation of the whole universe is based on a purpose and nothing is aimless or vain
Imamate (Leadership)
As it is mentioned before, Imam should
continue the revolution of the prophet and be leader after the prophet.
Islam prescribes very high qualification for a divine leader. He should
be the most knowledgeable, the wisest, and the most gallant of all
people. He should also be immune from every kind of sin, mistake and
error. So, Imams are determined by God, before and their names and their
signs is revealed to the prophet. This is just described in Shia
theology as another principles of Islam.
Other important issues in Islam
Testimony (Shahadah)
The Shahadah (شهاده), which is the basic creed of Islam that must be recited with the specific statement:
اَشهدُ انْ لا اِلٰهَ الا الله و اَشهدُ انَّ محمّداً رسولُ الله
“‘ash’hadu ‘an-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa ‘ash’hadu ‘anna muhammadan rasūlu-llāh“, “I testify that there are no deities other than Allah alone and I testify that Muhammad is his Messenger.”
This testament is a foundation for all
other beliefs and practices in Islam. Muslims must repeat the shahadah
in prayer, and non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to
recite the creed.
Prayer (Salah/صلاه)
Daily prayers, called Ṣalah or Ṣalat in
Arabic, Namaz (نماز) in Persian, must be performed five times a day.
Salat is intended to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal
communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship. Salat is
compulsory but flexibility in the specifics is allowed depending on
circumstances. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language, and
consist of verses from the Quran. The prayers are done with the chest in
direction of the Qibla (Kaba, Mecca) though in the early days of Islam.
A Mosque is a place of worship for
Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name, “Masjid”. The word
“Mosque” in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated to
Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the
smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, “collective mosque”
(Masjid jāmi). Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as
a place of prayer, it is also important to the Muslim community as a
place to meet and study. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi
the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina was also a place of refuge for the poor.
Modern mosques have evolved greatly from the early designs of the 7th
century, and contain a variety of architectural elements such as Minarets.
Fasting
Fasting, (Arabic: صوم ṣawm),
Rouzeh/روزه in Persian, avoiding from food and drink (among other
things) must be performed from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan
(Lunar month). The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to Allah,
and during it Muslims should express their gratitude for and dependence
on him, atone for their past sins, and think of the needy. Sawm is not
obligatory for several groups for whom it would constitute an undue
burden. For others, flexibility is allowed depending on circumstances,
but missed fasts usually must be made up quickly.
Alms-giving
“Zakat” (Arabic: زکاة ) is giving a
fixed portion of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help
the poor or needy and for those employed to collect Zakat; also, for
bringing hearts together, freeing captives, for those in debt (or bonded
labor) and for the (stranded) traveler. It is considered a religious
obligation that the well-off owe to the needy because their wealth is
seen as a “trust from God’s bounty”. The Quran and the Hadith(the quotes
of Prophets and Imams) also urge a Muslim to give even more as an act
of voluntary alms-giving called Sadaqah (صدقه).
Hajj Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage, called the Hajj (Arabic:
حج) has to be done during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the
city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make the
pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime. Rituals of the
Hajj include: spending a day and a night in the tents in the desert
plain of Mena, then a day in the desert plain of Arafat praying and
worshiping Allah, following the footsteps of Prophet Abraham (PBUH).
Then spending a night out in the open, sleeping on the desert sand in
the desert plain of Muzdalifah, then moving to Jamarat, symbolically
stoning the Devil ( the symbol of Devil is Obelisk)
recounting Prophet Abraham’s actions. Then going to Mecca and walking
seven times around Kaba which was built as a place of worship by Prophet
Abraham (PBUH), Then walking seven times between Mount Safa and Mount
Marwah recounting the steps of Prophet Abraham’s wife, while she was
looking for water for her son Ismael in the desert, before Mecca
developed into a settlement. The purpose of all is first to be far from
all material relations and just think about God, and second to remind
Abraham’s sufferings about establishing the religion of God and be
thankful that we are not from idolatries.
Jihad
Jihad means
“to strive or struggle in the way of Allah”. Depending on the object
being a visible enemy, the devil, and aspects of one’s own self (such as
sinful desires), different categories of jihad are defined. Jihad, when
used without any qualifier, is understood in its military aspect. Jihad
also refers to one’s striving to attain religious and moral perfection.
Some Muslim, especially Shia, distinguish between the “greater jihad”,
which pertains to spiritual self-perfection, and the “lesser jihad”,
defined as warfare.
Jihad is the only form of warfare
permissible in Islamic law and declared against illegal works,
terrorists, criminal groups, rebels, apostates, and leaders or states
that oppress innocent people.
Etiquette and diet
Many practices fall in the category of
Adaab (behavior) and Islamic dietary laws, or Islamic etiquette. This
includes greeting others with “Salam” or “as-salamu `alaykum” (“peace be
on to you”), saying Bismillah (“in the name of Allah”) before meals,
and preferring to use the right hand for eating and drinking. Islamic
hygienic practices mainly fall into the category of personal cleanliness
and health. Circumcision of male offspring is also practiced in Islam.
Islamic burial rituals include “funeral prayer” over the bathed and
enshrouded dead body, and burying it in a grave.
In Islam, guests are known as the
friends of Allah and Muslims are wanted to respect their guests and
welcoming them as best as possible. Islam wants human to be like
brothers and sisters so that help each other, be well-behaved, respect
to each other especially to the elders, women and children.
There are some restrictions for Muslims
foods include not having pork products, blood, carrion, and alcohol. All
meat must come from an herbivorous animal slaughtered in the name of
Allah. Permissible Food for Muslims is known as “Halal” food.
Family life
The basic unit of Islamic society is the
family, and Islam defines the obligations and legal rights of family
members. The father is seen as financially responsible for his family,
and is obliged to cater for their well-being. The division of
inheritance is specified in the Quran, which states that most of it is
to pass to the immediate family, while a portion is set aside for the
payment of debts and the making of bequests. Marriage in Islam is a
civil contract which consists of an offer and acceptance between two
qualified parties in the presence of two witnesses. The groom is
required to pay a bridal gift (Mahr) to the bride, as stipulated in the
contract.
In Islam, Mother has the main role of
children breeding and training, that is why Allah gave a mother mercy
and patience (two of his qualities). A Muslim woman should be able to
bring honest and nice children up who have advantages for their society,
those children can make a family in the future and as a result, we will
have an excellent society.
Women in Islam
Status of woman in Islam is incomparable
to the other religions or ideologies: In Arabia or some other
countries, before Islam, men had been buried alive girls. Women had no
rights whatsoever and were treated no better than a commodity. Not only
were they enslaved, but they couldn’t also be inherited as a possession.
They were subordinate to their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
In Hindu scriptures, the description of a
good wife is as follows: “a woman, whose mind, speech and body are kept
in subjection, acquires high renown in this world, and, in the next,
the same abode with her husband”. It was believed that a woman should
cremate when her husband was dead as she was alive.
In Egypt, people were putting a bowl of
honey just near the corps of dead men body, not women dead body because
they believed just the soul of men would return. Women were not allowed
to touch holy books or texts but they were used for scarifying.
In Athens, women were not better off
than either the Hindu or the Roman women. Athenian women were always
minors, subject to some male – to their father, to their brother, or to
some of their male kin. In Roman law a woman was even in historic times
completely dependent. If married she and her property passed into the
power of her husband. The wife was the purchased property of her
husband, and like a slave acquired only for his benefit. A woman could
not exercise any civil or public office or could not be a witness,
surety, tutor, or curator; she could not adopt or be adopted, or make
will or contract.
The woman in Judaism was in the rank of a
servant. The father had the right to sell his underage daughter. She
had no right to inherit if her father had no male offspring. It is
stated in the Old Testament (the distorted Torah) that the woman should
not inherit as long as there are males in the family; rather, she is
part of the inheritance if her husband dies, and the nearest male
relative to the husband would inherit her.
Woman was believed to be the source of
evil and sin. They considered her impure especially on the days she was
menstruating and whoever touched her during this time became impure for
seven days. They blamed her for the expulsion of Adam from paradise, but
in Quran, Allah says, Satan fooled both Adam and Eve together and never
knows Eve as the reason of expulsion of Adam.
There was widespread Christian belief
that the woman had no soul. In 586 A.D, the Council of Macon was held to
decide whether the woman was a body that had a base soul or that she
did not have a “saved” soul. They made an exception to Mary (PBUH), may
God exalt her mention, because she is the mother of Prophet Jesus
(PBUH).
Paul declared that the woman is the
source of sin, the basis of every evil and the fountainhead of every
abominable act. St. Bonaventure said to his disciples, “When you see a
woman, you should not think that you saw a human being or even a beastly
being. Rather, you saw the devil in person.”
Jews and Christians believe Eva fooled
Adam and she was the reason of quieting from heaven, but in Quran it is
mentioned that Devil (Satan) fooled both of them and Eva never was the
cause of fall from heaven.
In the pre-Islamic period, the Arabs
regarded the woman as a piece of property or as rubbish. When the
husband died, his guardian would cover the wife of the deceased with his
garment and she could not remarry. They used to prevent her from
remarrying until the young matrimonial guardian would grow up and then
decide whether he wished to marry her or give her in marriage to anyone
else and take the dowry as long as she was not his mother. If she was
his mother, he would not marry her. The woman had no rights and she did
not inherit anything. She was considered a source of humiliation and
shame.
Islam prohibited all this and allocated for her a specific share in inheritance. Allah the Almighty Says: “there
is a share for men and a share for women from what is left by parents
and their relatives as heritage whether the property be small or large,
it is a decreed share” (Surah Al-Nissaa, verse 7)
Moreover, the Arabs in the pre-Islamic
era did not only deprive the woman of inheritance but also deprived her
of life itself. When some of them begot a female child, they would dig a
hole and throw her into it and heap dust over her. What is worse and
more disgusting is that once, a father was away travelling when his wife
gave birth. When he came back, he took his grown up daughter from her
mother, dug a hole while she removed the dust from his clothes, and
then, took her by surprise, pushed her into the hole, afterward, heaped
dust over her while she was screaming for pity. But his heart did not
soften for her. This situation is described in the Quran when Allah the
Almighty says: “and when the female infant, buried alive, shall
be questioned (7). For what sin was she put to death? (8)” (Surah
Al-Takwir, verse 8, 9)
Some mothers used to fear this painful
destiny. So, the mother would dig a hole by herself during her
pregnancy. If she delivered a girl, she would throw her into the hole in
order to save her from the tragedy that would take place when the
father would have returned from traveling. Some mothers would strangle
their baby daughters after delivering them.
Some fathers’ faces used to turn dark
when they received the news that their wives had given birth to a girl
because of their intense hatred for girls, and they would be hesitant
whether to bury her alive or bear the humiliation and let her live.
Allah the Almighty Says: “and when the news of the birth of a
female child is broken to one of them, his face darkens and he hides his
inward grief and anger (58). He hides himself from his folk shamefully
[regarding the news] and he wonders whether he should keep her with
contempt, or bury her beneath the dust? Verily, evil is their judgment
[regarding such discrimination] (59) (Surah Al-Nahl, verse 58, 59)
Their hatred for girls was based on two
reasons: First, girls do not take part in wars. Second, they feared that
the girl may later become a source of shame. Despite their fear of
shame, strangely enough, we find that many Arab tribes were quite
lenient in the face of prostitution and that they used to force their
slave girls into prostitution until Allah the Almighty revealed the
verse forbidding this act: “do not force your maids to
prostitution when they are chaste just in order to benefit from the
perishable goods of this worldly life; and if the slave-girls do such
filthy act under compulsion, Allah is the merciful forgiving (33).
(Surah Al-Nur, verse 33)
Women in the pre-Islamic era used to
expose their adornments and entice men. Noble verses of the Quran were
revealed to prohibit Muslim women from imitating the disbelieving women
just as Muslim men were prohibited before them from imitating the
disbelieving men. Allah the Almighty Says: “And stay very often
in your houses; do not exhibit your beauty and ornaments as the manner
of the women of the time of ignorance; establish prayer, and pay alms
and obey Allah and his messenger. Verily, Allah’s will is to remove away
impurity from you, the people of the messenger’s household and to
purify you thoroughly (33).” (Al-Ahzab, verse 33)
The Quran dedicates numerous verses to
Muslim women, their role, duties and rights. In Quran, woman is named as
the relaxation for man, as Allah says: “and of Allah’s signs of
power is that he created mates for you from your own kind, [i.e., human
being] to seek peace and happiness from one another and he caused love
and kindness between you; and in all these there are signs of Allah’s
power and divine wisdom for men of thought” (Surah Al-Rum, verse 21).
Allah wants men to care about women,
love them, speak them softly, not to strict or hurt them because woman
is divine trust. If a man slap or hurt a woman, he should pay atonement
to her.
Right to vote, have been given to the
women In the United State, by 1920, but the right of voting was given to
the women in Islam more around 550 A.D. Islam knows the woman as the
base of family and because of that the great responsibility of
upbringing is taken on woman shoulders, i.e. motherhood.
Allah gave to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), a daughter as the only child, Lady Fatima (PBUH),
when woman was known as nothing among Arabian people. Islam encourages
women to educate and take part in social activities. In addition Allah
put 12 Imams in his daughter generation and it also proves the
importance of woman in Islam.
In Islam, a Muslim woman can only have
sex after her “Nikah” (lawful marriage contract), with one Muslim man;
sex is permitted to her only with her husband. There are a lot of rules
about sex in Islam; also importance of woman’s satisfaction is
mentioned. Islam admonishes Muslim women to dress modestly in garments
that do not reveal the extremities to any man other than their husband,
father, certain male family members, small children and male slaves free
of sexual needs. The Quran specify limitations of covering by clothes,
however, do not specify particulars, style or design of the clothing and
other dress forms; clothing has varied widely across Islamic regions.
Styles have changed over the centuries.
In Islam, there is no difference between
men and women’s relationship to God; they receive identical rewards and
punishments for their conduct. Many classical Islamic scholars,
supported female leadership. In early Islamic history, some women took
part in political activities.
Women have played an integral part in
the development and spiritual life of Islam since the inception of
Islamic civilization in the seventh century A.D. Lady Khadijah (PBUH),
a businesswoman who became the Prophet Muhammad’s wife, was also the
first Muslim woman. There have been a large number of female saints
throughout the Islamic world.
