What is Islam

Islam is not a new religion. It acknowledges the same original message revealed to mankind, calling them to believe in the existence of and peacefully submitting to the One Creator. The Arabic word 'Islam' means 'peace and submission' (to the will of God), and the one who 'submits' is known as a 'Muslim' Any creation that sbmits to the will of the One and Only God and follows the guidance through the Prophets (peace be upon them all -pbut) is also described as a 'Muslim' All of God's Messengers such as Adam, Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus peace be upon them submitted to the will of God, so they too are referred to as Muslims.Islam is a structured way of life, accepted and followed by around a quarter of the worlds population, including people from various nationalities, cultures and races. The name 'Islam' is unique in that it refers to an act whereas names of other religious beliefs are names after a person or nation e.g 'Christianity' is named after Jesus Christ,'Buddhism' after Buddha, 'Zoroastrianism after Zoroaster,'Judaism' after a tribe from Judea and the 'Hinduism' after a nation living across the Indus River. When God disclosed the final Revelation, the Qur'an He made it a comprehensive guidance for all of mankind and He Himself clarified the name. 

''This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed upon you My favour, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion ''(Quran- 5:3)

Belief in the Creator

Things do not appear as a result of random events over a period of millions of years. Every 'created' thing such as the universe, mankind ect. Must have a 'source' of 'creation' many refer to this source of creation as'God' (as used in the English language) The Arabic word used for the One God is 'Allah' Even today, since before the birth of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and Islam, Arabic speaking Jewish and Christians people also called God 'Allah' The name 'Allah' was also used in the previous revelations, in their original revealed languages. A widely held misconception is that Muslims believe in a 'different' God. Islam is based on the belief that there is only One God The same God worshipped by all the monotheistic religions, as well as by all the Prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus peace be upon them all Allah is the one unique, Eternal, Self-Sufficient Creator, unlike His creation. He is the All-Seeing All-Hearing All-Knowing and He as power over all things. He has no partner, no equal, no children and nothing or no-one has the right to be worshipped besides Him alone.

Prophets of Allah

Throughout time, Allah sent Prophets to provide guidance and to be the utmost of examples for mankind, on how to practically live their life in accordance to His will The Prophets brought 'good news' of Parsdise, along with 'reminders' and 'warnings' of the punishments of Hell. Allah bestowed miracles upon the Prophets to prove that they were His true Messengers. For example by the will of Allah, Prophet Moses peace be upon him parted the red sea and turned his staff in to a serpent; Prophet Jesus peace be upon him could cure the lepers and the blind, and bring the dead back to life. When the Prophets passed away or left the community, their teaching were gradually lost, corrupted or changed by man - therefore no longer being the original or complete guidance of Allah. In order to clarify and reiterate the original message Allah sent revelations through other messengers. Allah sent the final revelation with the final messenger, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him The Qur'an confirmed what was sent before it and restored the purity of the original message.

Revelation

As guidance to the creation Allah made everything clear through His Revelations He placed no force upon mankind but gave them free will to accept or reject His guidance.(Holy Books) in their 'original' revealed form The known Revelations of earlier times include the scrolls of Abraham (pbuh), the Tawrat (Torah) of Moses (pbuh) the Zaboor (psalms) of David (pbuh) and the Injeel (Gospel) of Jesus (pbuh). These were specific Revelations that the Messengers taught from during their lifetimes and not writings which came or were written after them. These Revelations were made relevant to the respective periods and nations that they were revealed for. when the Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him Allah stated that it would be the Final Revelation, and it was made relevant to his and all future generations until the end of time ...

The Qur'an

The Qur'an is the final word of Allah revealed over 1400 years ago. Even though it was revealed over a period of 23 years, the message remains and continues to remain consistent and without contradiction. There is only one version of the Qur'an since it as never been changed. Allah took it upon Himself to preserve it.''... and surely we will preserve it.''(Qur'an 15:9) Billions of people around the world recite exactly the same Qur'an word for word even though they speak different languages. Furthermore, millions of people around the world have memorised the entire Qur'an as Allah as made it easy to memorise - '' And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance...''(Qur'an 54:17) Although the Qur'an is not a scientific book in itself, it does however contain knowledge of many historical and scientific facts, all of which are are in agreement with current, established and researched scientific facts.This knowledge could not have been known during the time of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as it has only been discovered recently with the aid of 'modern' technology Hence this is reiterates to anyone who reads it with an open mind that this is in fact a Revelation and not written by man. Some of the topics mentioned include embryology; and the construction and purpose of mountains; the water cycle (formation of clouds); the concept of the 'Big Bang'; expanding universe; pain receptors in the skin; the intricate and unique nature of each human's fingerprint ect; Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught and explained the final Revelation as guided by Allah. The very first word of the revelation were . ''Read! in the Name of your Lord Who as created. He has Created man from a leech-like clot. Read! and your Lord is Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen, He has taoght man that which he knew not. ''(Qur'an 96:1-5) Allah set a challenge to the whole of mankind within the Qur'an itself, for those who deny the authenticity of the Qur'an, to create just one chapter(surah) similar to it in the same beauty, eloquence, meaning, effect,ect; The smallest chapter is only around 3 verses long and is made up of just 10 words. To date this challenge had never been met. ''or do they say 'He(Muhammad peace be upon him) has invented it?' say, 'Bring then a Surah (chapter) like it, and call upon whosoever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful!' ;;(Qur'an 10:38)

The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was born in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in the year 570/571 CE He was brought up as an orphan by his granfather and then his uncle (his father passed away before he was born and his mother when he was only 6 years old) He grew up amongst his people and was known to be honest, just, kind, humble, honourable, and became popularly known as 'the truthful' and 'the trustworthy one'. At the age of 40, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him received his first revelation from Allah through Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was not educated in reading and writing and since the message he taught was so profound, it became evident that it could not have come from him, but rather was a Revelation from Allah.As Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him began teaching, the pagan Arabs leaders of the time feared losing their power and control, so they persecuted him and his followers severely for their beliefs by beating, torturing and even killing the. The situation of the earlier Muslims became so unbearable that they were forced to leave Makkah amd migrate to Madinah. After many years of hardship and struggle, the message being conveyed by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him eventually prevailed and the whole of the Arabian Peninsula embraced the teachings of Islam Today, Islam continues to be the fasting growing way of life (religion) in the world.

Rights in Islam

1400 years ago Islam gave full human and welfare rights to the poor, orphans, women, children, widows ect, Rights were also given to include the care of animals and the environment. Many misconceptions exist with regards to the rights and status f women in Islam. In Islam there are absolutely no difference between men and women in the sight of Allah, as both are promised the same rewards for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct . Before the teachings of Islam, women were considered to be inferior and a burden upon society, to the extent that a new born females were killed in favour of males Even today amongst some societies, this perception still exist.Islam elevated the rights of women to unprecedented levels, in terms of their position in society, physical honour, spiritual significance and in some aspects well beyond the status of men, For example women were given the right to be educated, to work own property, vote, inherit,, choose thier own partners and many other rights which are still being fought for today. Women are no longer to be considered the property of men or as an evil element of society. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught that thos who raise daughters correctly will be among those honoured with the greatest position in Parsdise and that '' The best of men are those who are best to their wives.'' also ''Paradise lies under the feet of mothers.''

Articles of Faith

The main beliefs of a Muslim are known as the 'Articles of Faith' which are to; Believe in Allah alone (without ascribing any partners to him); Believe in His Angels, (who carry out the commands of Allah in the heavens and the earth, and that each indvidal is appointed Angels of protection, guidance,and those who note down all the good deeds and the wrong actions of the individual throughout their lives);Believe in the Books (as'originally' revealed ); Accept all His Prophets; Believe in the Day of Judgement ( when each individual will be called to account for his/her own deeds and be recompensed accordingly); Believe in Destiny and Resurrection after Death. The belief in these articles lead on to putting into practice the 'Five Pillars of Islam'.

Pillars of Islam

1 Declaration of Faith (Shahaadah), to declare ''I testify that there in no God except Allah and I testify that Muhammad peace be upon him is the Messenger of Allah
2 Prayer (Salah) five times a day
3 Give charity (Zakaah) annually to support the needy and less fortunate
4 Fasting (Sawm) during the month of Ramadahan from dawn till sunset
5 Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah, at least once in a life time if one is physically and financially able to do so .

How To become a Muslim

One who wishes to accept the Final Revelation as their guidance and submit to the will of Allah i.e becomes a 'Muslim' must accept the articles of faith and verbally declare with firm belief in the heart the shahaadah
''I TESTIFY THAT THERE IS NO GOD EXCEPT ALLAH AND I TESTIFY THAT MUHAMMAD PEACE BE UPON HIM IS THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH''
Thereafter they must practically apply the pillars of Islam in their lives. When a person becomes a Muslim, Allah has promised that his/her previous sins are forgiven and as a New Muslim they start with a clean slate

Ameen ♥♥♥