What is Islaam ?? many answers for none Muslim ...

[مشعل الإسلام]

[align=left]asslam alykoum,

in this subject we will take the famus qustions that none Muslim always Ask about if they want to know about islam .


What is Islaam?

Answer: Islaam is an Arabic word that linguistically means submission, surrender, and acceptance. In the religious sense, it means complete and willful submission to God Alone, directing all worship to only Him. Islaam is not a new religion. Rather, it is the same religion that all of the Prophets and Messengers came with, even though they came at different times and places and to different nations. The Most Glorious and Sublime said:

“And verily, We have sent among every nation a Messenger (proclaiming): ‘Worship God Alone and avoid all false deities.'”

So the Muslim prays only to the Creator, and gives charity and fasts only for the pleasure of the Creator, and seeks forgiveness and aid only from the Creator. He doesn't put between himself and God any intermediaries, not a religious person or scholar, nor a prophet. If a Muslim were to call upon Prophet Muhammad in a time of need or seek forgiveness from him, then this contradicts the foundational belief of Islaam and is the worst sin the human being can commit.



Is the God that Muslims worship different from the God of the Christians?

Answer: No. Muslims do not worship a different God. Allaah is the simply proper name of God, meaning “The One True God” in the Arabic language, having neither plural nor gender. Muslims believe in One, Unique, Perfect, Incomparable God, who has no son or partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him Alone. So in essence, Allaah is the same God worshipped by Muslims, Christians and Jews, the Lord of Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and all of the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon all of them).



What is the difference between Islaam and Christianity?

Answer: God sent all of His Prophets and Messengers with the same message; "Worship God Alone and avoid all false deities” . He is one and incomparable, without son or parents. Adam was sent with this message, and as time went on, the message was changed and distorted by man. Then came Noah with the same message, and later on people changed it. Similarly with every Prophet and Messenger, they came with this pristine message, which as we mentioned before is in essence Islaam, and after that Prophet would pass on, the people who came after him would stray away from the guidance that he left behind and take others as partners with God in their worship.

Jesus, the son of Mary (peace be upon him), came to the Children of Israel with the exact same message that those before him did. As time went on though, people fell into various beliefs regarding Jesus, some claiming that he is the son of God, others claiming that he is part of a trinity, and still others saying that Jesus is himself God in the flesh. Muslims totally reject these ideas, affirming that the Creator is perfect in every way, totally incomparable to His creation. He has no parents and no offspring, He alone is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between them, and when He wants to create something, He need only say "Be", and it will be, as he said in the Qur'aan:

“Verily the likeness of Jesus before God is like the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust and then said to him “Be!” and he was. (This is) the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.”

And God says about Himself:

"Say (to them O Muhammad): He is Allaah, the One, Allaah the Self-Sufficient Master whom all creatures are in need of. He begets not nor is he begotten, and there is none comparable to Him."


So do Muslims believe in Jesus?

Answer: Yes! One cannot be a Muslim without recognizing that Jesus, the son of Mary, is from among the greatest Messengers of God and that He sent him with the same message and invitation as the likes of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and His final messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon them all). And this pristine message which all of them called to, to worship God alone without any partner, is the foundation upon which Islaam is built. Therefore, as Muslims, we hold that all of the Prophets and Messengers were themselves “Muslims”, as Islaam means submission and surrender to the Creator, singling Him out in worship, being free from the worship of other than Him. And a "Muslim" is one who submits and surrenders himself to God and worships and obeys Him and no-one else. The respective names of the messages that these noble Messengers came with may have differed, but the message itself was one and the same. We find Jesus himself commanding his people, the Children of Israel, to single out All-Mighty God in worship:

“Truly, Allaah (God) is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him (Alone). This is the Straight Path.”



Why did God create us?

Answer: He created man for His worship and obedience. God the Most High said:

“And I did not create Jinn and Mankind except for my worship.”


Who is Muhammad and do Muslims worship him?

Answer: As has proceeded, Muslims single out God alone in worship, not directing any of their acts of worship, whether it is prayer, fasting, charity and so on, to anyone other than Him. This includes His Final Prophet and Messenger Muhammad.

Prophet Muhammad was born into the tribe of Quraysh in the year 570 AD. His ancestry goes back to the Prophet Ishmael, the son of Prophet Abraham. His father died before his birth and his mother died before he was six, and eventually fell into the care of his uncle. As a young man he was known as Al-Ameen (the trustworthy and truthful). He would retreat to a cave outside of Makkah where, he would ponder and reflect about the idolatry and immoral practices of the Pagan Arabs around him. He received revelation from the Creator at the age of 40 through the Angel Gabriel. Subsequently, the Revelations came over the period of 23 years and collectively make up the Qur’aan.


What is the Qur'aan?

Answer: It is the Speech of God and His final revelation to all of mankind, conveyed through the Angel Gabriel, in Arabic, to the Prophet Muhammad, revealed over a period of 23 years. The Qur'aan was relayed by the Prophet to his companions, which they recorded and memorized verbatim. It has been preserved without change and has been continually memorized in the language it was revealed in and recited word for word, letter for letter, up until the present day. The Qur'aan is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is known for its inimitable style, form and powerful spiritual impact. It is interesting to note that the Arabs at the time of Prophet Muhammad were the best in the Arabic language and poetry, and they could not produce a single verse like that of the Qur'aan!
There is only one Qur'aan. The translations that one may find in various languages are mere translations of the meanings of the Qur'aan, but it's original text remains unchanged and unaltered, in the Arabic language.

Do the Muslims have any other sources of guidance other than the Qur'aan?

Answer: Yes, Muslims also adhere to the guidance of His final messenger Muhammad which is known as the Sunnah, which is the collected sayings, approvals, and practices of the Prophet. It is also revelation from God and explains the meanings of the Qur'aan. Muslims also look towards the Prophet's Companions as they were those who best understood and implemented the Qur'aan and Sunnah. God said:

" And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows a way other than the way of the believers [the Companions of the Prophet], we shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – and what an evil destination. "



What are the fundamental beliefs that the Muslim must believe in?

Answer: First and foremost, belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of the Creator and His exclusive right to be worshipped, and that after Noah, Moses, Abraham, and Jesus, Muhammad is His final Messenger to humanity until the Last Day. Muslims believe in the Angels, all of the Prophets and Messengers, and the Divinely-Revealed Books such as the Torah, Psalms of David, the Gospel, and the Qur'aan. And they believe in the Day of Resurrection, including belief in Heaven and Hell, and belief in God's Pre-Decree, it's good and bad. Muslims also believe that Jesus will return before the end of time to the Earth.


I have heard that Islaam has five pillars. What are they?

Answer: Prophet Muhammad said, "Islaam is built upon five: the testification that nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allaah Alone, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, to establish the prayer, to pay the poor-due (Zakaah), to make the pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House (of Allaah- in Makkah), and to fast the month of Ramadaan." [Collected by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]




How does Islaam regard treatment of ones parents?

Answer: Islaam regards good treatment of one's parents as one of the uppermost acts of obedience and worship. In fact, Allaah has mentioned it along with singling Him out in worship, which is the greatest act of worship. God said:

"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your lifetime, don't say to them a word of disrespect nor shout at them, but address them in terms of honor."

And the Prophet mentioned that the greatest of sins are: "To join partners in worship with Allaah; to kill a soul which Allaah has forbidden to kill; and to be undutiful or unkind to one's parents." [al-Bukhaaree]
And this whether ones parents are Muslim or non-Muslims!

Muslims recognize that no matter what they do, they could never repay their parents for all that they have given and sacrificed for them.




Does Islaam promote or encourage acts of Terrorism?

Answer: Absolutely not! Unfortunately, the image of Islaam has been tarnished and distorted due to the acts of some who do not practice Islaam in the correct way. The killing of innocent people, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, is prohibited in Islaam. For example, Prophet Muhammad said: "Whoever kills one who is under a treaty or agreement of protection [with the Muslims] will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even though it's fragrance can be smelled from the distance of forty years." [Collected by Ahmad, al-Bukhaaree, and others]

So these acts of terror and mayhem are clearly forbidden and not from Islaam. Rather, these acts are perpetrated by those who are ignorant of Islaam and do not follow the correct practice and understanding of the religion, the way of Prophet Muhammad and his Companions. This destructive ideology of terror, followed by the likes of Usaamah bin Laadin and his supporters, is similar to the ideology of the Khawaarij, a deviant sect which has continued to shed the blood of innocent Muslims for centuries. Just as Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) warned against the Khawaarij, it is upon the Muslims today to warn against those who follow their way.


What should I do if I want to become a Muslim?

Answer: if you believe in the Oneness of God, that He is alone without any partner, far and removed from having a son or being part of a trinity, totally incomparable to His creation and He alone is deserving of all worship; and you believe that Muhammad is His final Messenger, and you believe in all of those great Prophets and Messengers before him, then you simply repeat the following:

Ash-hadu an laa ilaa-ha il-la llaah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoo-lu-llaah

(I bear witness that there is nothing deserving of worship except God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God).
That's it!


After I become a Muslim, do I have to choose a particular group or party to follow or affiliate myself with?

Answer: Absolutely not! God has commanded the Muslim to adhere to that which His final Messenger Muhammad – peace be upon him- and his Companions were upon. Nothing more, nothing less. God said:

" And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows a way other than the way of the believers [the Companions], we shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – and what an evil destination."

So the Muslim adheres to the guidance of God's final Messenger and his noble Companions, taking their understanding and practice of the religion as the way that he follows, as this is what the texts of Islaam direct us to do.


Can you recommend some websites that I can visit if I want more information about Islaam??

Answer: You can visit the following sites for authentic information on Islaam:

www.bakkah.net

www.spubs.com

www.troid.org

www.therighteouspath.com. [/align]