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[ INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
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"This day have I perfected your
religion for you and completed My favor unto you, and
have chosen for you as your religion Islam."
(Qur'an: Translation of the meaning, 5:4)
Islam is a religion based on the surrender to God
who is One. The very name of the religion, AL ISLAM in
Arabic, means at once submission and peace, for it is in
submitting to God's Will that human beings gain peace in
their lives in this world and in the hereafter.
'Mohammedanism' is thus a misnomer because it suggests
that Muslims worship Muhammad (pbuh) rather than God.
'Allah' is the Arabic name for God, which is used by
Arab Muslims and Christians alike.
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[ Monotheism in Islam
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| The message of Islam addresses
itself to humanity's most profound nature. It concerns
men and women as they were created by God--not as fallen
beings. Islam therefore considers itself to be not an
innovation but a reassertion of the universal truth of
all revelation which is God's Oneness. This truth was
asserted by the prophets of old and especially by
Abraham (peace be upon him), the father of monotheism.
Islam reveres all of these prophets including not only
Abraham, who is the father of the Arabs as well as of
the Jews, but also Moses and Christ (peace be upon
them). |
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| The Prophet and Messenger of
God, Muhammad (pbuh) was the last of this long line of
prophets and Islam is the last religion until the Day of
Judgment. It is the final expression of the Abrahamic
tradition. |
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| One should in fact properly
speak of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, for
Islam shares with the other Abrahamic religions their
sacred history, the basic ethical teachings contained in
the Ten Commandments and above all, belief in the One
God. And it renews and repeats the true beliefs of Jews
and Christians whose scriptures are mentioned as
divinely revealed books in Islam's own sacred book, the
Qur'an. |
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[ History & Current Events
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Imagine yourself in a large
theatre. In it you are seated alone in the first row. No
one is near you and no one else is there in the theatre
with you. As you look up upon the grand stage you see
many interesting things. In one corner of the stage at
the back you see a simple man meditating in a cave.
While in the opposite area you see a group of men with
crescents on their shields fighting with men with
crosses on their breast plates. Looking further towards
the middle a group of men are seated in a circle
debating and arguing under a domed roof. The noises of
crying and weeping turn your head towards the front of
the stage where a group of women and children are
lamenting over the fallen body of a saintly man. You
begin to stand up and look further onto the stage where
many more specific scenes unravel before your eyes. Not
being able to retain everything that is unfolding you
earnestly try to uncover the connection between the
events while understanding its significance and meaning
personally.
The history of Islam and the events that
have come to pass are similar to the analogy above. Many
different events, be it from the intellectual, to the
social, to the political and the moral all have been a
part of our history. Some of us tend to acquaint
ourselves with one specific aspect while some associate
with other aspects. However, history and specifically
within the Islamic realm, two things must be noted.
First, the events that occur are all interdependent.
One event does not occur in a vacuum. Rather one event
helps to bring about another or indirectly affects
another. In this respect, history is unravelling, a
causal pattern, that began when our Lord said `Be' and
ends when the trumpet is sounded. Yet, history is not
only a process of unfolding events it is also a field of
knowledge. For example, our Lord states in verse 10 of
Surah Muhammad, "Have they not travelled in the land to
see what happened to those before them ? ... ". In other
words, historical events occur in order to teach. It is
from past events that we must learn, what to or not to
repeat. The vices and virtues that lead to salvation or
to eternal damnation taught explicitly through history.
Thus, the history of Islam is about uncovering the
connections between events within the Islamic world and
outside it and how those events have shaped the present
and the future. But it is these historical events that
also teach us what to repeat and what to avoid. We may
choose to fall within this causal pattern or learn from
them and alter our future. The choice is ultimately ours
to make. |
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