INTRODUCING ISLAM
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I. ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam whi=
ch means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of=
the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than tha=
t: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within=
one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a t=
otal system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony wi=
th all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world =
whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Univer=
se.
II. MUSLIMS AND ARABS
The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused w=
ith Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Mala=
ysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nati=
onalities.
An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who=
adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language of the=
Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try =
to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an and understand =
its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an, namely Arabic. Suppli=
cations to God could be in any language.
While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200 millio=
n Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims. Thus Arab M=
uslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the=
world.
III. ALLAH THE ONE AND THE ONLY GOD
Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful =
names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, Th=
e All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last,=
and others.
He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians, th=
e Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. M=
uslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Him and the=
y seek His help and His guidance.
IV. MUHAMMAD
Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. H=
e was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted wit=
h the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelatio=
n that he received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam.
Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final Messen=
ger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews and th=
e rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to inform them abo=
ut the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.
Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all the p=
rophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the previous messa=
ges from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity. He=
was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the te=
aching of the Qur'an.
V. SOURCE OF ISLAM
The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the=
exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are intact. =
The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet=
Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The Seerah is=
the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence=
, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of=
daily living for Muslims.
VI. SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES
A. Oneness of God:
He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This mean=
s that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which impli=
es more than one God in one.=20
B. Oneness of mankind:
People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no superiorit=
y for one race over another. God made us of different colors, nationalities=
, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others=
. No one can claim that he is better than others. It is only God Who knows =
who is better. It depends on piety and righteousness.
C. Oneness of Messengers and the Message:
Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the history o=
f mankind. All came with the same message and the same teachings. It was th=
e people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them.
Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus=
, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Pro=
phets of Islam.
D. Angels and the Day of Judgment:
Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels created by G=
od in the universe for special missions.
Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the worl=
d throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on earth, are=
to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.
E. Innocence of Man at Birth:
Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after they reac=
h the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they are to=
be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can take the r=
esponsibility for the sins of others. However, the door of forgiveness thro=
ugh true repentance is always open.=20
F. State and Religion:
Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It encomp=
asses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate =
religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion are under t=
he obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and s=
ocial transactions, as well as educational and political systems are also p=
art of the teachings of Islam.
VII. PRACTICES OF ISLAM
God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam there=
are five pillars, namely:=20
1. Creed (Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only=
One God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the=
Creed of Islam.
2. Prayers (Salat): The performance of the five daily prayers is requir=
ed of Muslims.
3. Fasting (Saum): Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and i=
ntimate intercourse (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during th=
e entire month of Ramadan.
4. Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain percen=
tage of a Muslim's property which is distributed among the poor or other ri=
ghtful beneficiaries.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is requir=
ed once in a life time if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of=
the trials and tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eld=
est son Prophet Ishmael.
VIII. OTHER RELATED ASPECTS
A. Calendar:
Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also us=
e the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic=
calendar includes both the common era and the migration (Higra) year of th=
e Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623 C.E.
B. Celebrations (Eid):
Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of Fa=
st-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice to be =
by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at the end of=
the month of fasting, Ramadan.
C. Diets:
Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the health. It res=
tricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narc=
otic or addictive drugs.
D. Place of Worship:
The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy place=
s of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in Ma=
kkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent =
to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house, an o=
ffice, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable =
that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually =
anywhere.
E. Holidays:
The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and th=
e Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly =
after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a Mosque. A le=
ader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the congregational prayer.
F. Distribution of Muslims in North America:
There are approximately five million Muslims in North America and are distr=
ibuted in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chica=
go, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Mont=
real, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others.
G. Contributions in North America:
Muslims are established in North America. The Sears Tower and the John Hanc=
ock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief architect, origina=
lly from Bangladesh. Muslims have established academic institutions, commun=
ity centers and organizations, schools and places of worship. They live in =
peace and harmony among themselves and among other groups of people in the =
society. The rate of crime among Muslims is very minimal. Muslims in North =
America are highly educated and they have added to the success of American =
scientific and technological fields.
The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in medicin=
e, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics, al=
gebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance of Eu=
rope and world civilization.
IX. NON-MUSLIMS
Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God consciou=
s people, namely those who received messages. Christians and Jews are calle=
d People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the People of the Book=
for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work together for the=
solutions of the many problems in the society.
Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout centuries in t=
he Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The second Caliph Uma=
r, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not to give the Muslims an=
excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims, and as such the =
key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims.
Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the =
Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed p=
ositions of power and authority.
Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools we=
re built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were protected by Mu=
slims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East.
--- Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D.
For more information please contact:
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education P.O. Box 41129
Chicago, IL 60641-0129 U.S.A.
INTRODUCTION OF III&E
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) is dedicated to =
the cause of Islam in North America through striving to elevate the image o=
f Islam in North America through striving to elevate the image of Islam and=
Muslims by providing the correct information about Islamic beliefs, histor=
y and civilization from the authentic sources. Enquiries are welcome.
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