Al-Huda           the Message Continues 1/38

       Foundation, NJ USA                                               Newsletter for September 2004 

 

 

 

 

Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6  

Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 -Article 11 - Article 12

Islam at a Glance

Islam And Muslim:
Islam is an Arabic Word which means peace, purity, acceptance and  commitment. The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the  teachings and guidance of God ( Allah being his proper name ). i.e.  surrender to the Will of God.

A Muslim is one who accepts freely and willingly the supreme power of  God and strives for total recognition of his life according to the  revealed teachings of God. He also works towards the establishment of  a just and equitable social order which would totally reflect the  guidance of God.

Continuity of Message:
Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and  guidance which God revealed to all His Prophets ( May his peace be  upon them all ).

"Say. We believe in God and that which was revealed to us and that  which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the  tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to the  Prophets from their Lord: we make no distinction between any of them,  and to Him we submit. (The Holy Quran).

The message which was revealed to Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), the Last  Prophet, is Islam in its comprehensive, complete and final form.

The 5 Pillars of Islam:
Every action which is done with the awareness that fulfils the will  of God is considered an act of worship in Islam. Nevertheless, the  specific acts of Worship, termed the pillars of Islam, provide the  framework of spiritual life.

They are the Following:

1. Shahadah (The declaration of Faith)
"I bear witness that there is none worthy of Worship except God, and  that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."

The Prophethood Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) obliges the Muslims to follow his  exemplary life in every way.

2. Salah (Prayers)
Prayers are prescribed five times a day as a duty towards God. They  strengthen and enliven the belief in God and inspire man to a higher  morality. They purify the heart and control temptation towards wrong  doing and evil. It should be stressed that while Allah does not need  our prayers we cannot survive without His blessings and guidance.
"O you who believe ! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer,  for Allah is with those who patiently persevere". (The Holy Quran)

3. Sawm (Fasting)
Fasting is observed once each year during the month of Ramadan. This  means abstention from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to  sunset, and also from all evil intentions and desires. It teaches  love, sincerity and devotion. It develops a sound social conscience,  patience, unselfishness and willpower. When we fast by choice, God  remembers our sufferings. He appreciates it all.

4. Zakat (Charity)
Zakat payment annually of 2.5% of one's net savings as a purifying  sum to be spent on the poor and needy. Zakat implies that everything  man possesses belong to God and; therefore, anyone in need has a  share in it.

5. Pilgrimage ( Hajj ) to the Holy City of Makkah
Once in a lifetime provided one has the means to do so. Hajj implies  man's temporary suspension of all worldly activities and his  realization of himself as a naked soul in front of God alone.

Oneness of God:
Islam enjoins faith in the oneness and sovereignty of God, which  makes man aware of the meaningfulness of the Universe and of his  place in it. This belief frees him from all fears and superstitions  by making him conscious of the presence of Almighty God and of man's  obligations towards Him. Belief in One God requires that we look upon 
all humanity as one family irrespective of color, class, race, or  territory, under the Omnipotence of God the Creator and Nourisher of  all.

Islam rejects the idea of a chosen people, making faith in God and  good action the only way to HEAVEN. Thus a direct relationship is  established with God. Open to all alike, without any intercessor.

Man, The Free Agent:
Man is the highest creation of God and chooses his own way. Created  with the highest potentialities, man is left relatively free in his  will, action and choice. God has shown him the right path and the  life of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) provides a perfect example. Man's  success and salvation lie in following them. Islam teaches the 
sanctity of the human personality and confers equal rights upon all  without any distinction of race or sex.

The Law of Allah, enunciated in the Holy Quran and exemplified in the  life of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.), is supreme in all cases. It is  applied equally to the highest and the lowest, the prince and the  peasant, the ruler and the ruled.

Life After Death:
The world according to Islam, is a place of trial and man is being  judged in it. Man is accountable to Allah for all that he does  herein. Life on earthy will, one day, come to an end; and after that  a new world will be resurrected. It will be in this life after death 
that man will be rewarded or punished for his deeds and misdeeds. God  will judge man on the day of Judgment and send him either to Heaven,  a stage of existence which leads to further blessings, or to Hell, a  stage of suffering and punishment.

Quran And Hadith:
The Holy Quran is the last revealed Word of God and as such affirms  and completes the total process of revelation which has come from the  Divine, for the Guidance of the Human race. The Holy Quran is the  basic source of Islamic teachings and laws and deals with the bases  of creeds, morality, history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom,  God-man relationship ( He is our Master, Creator, and Lord, we are  his servants ), and human relationships in all aspects.
Comprehensive teachings on which sound systems of social justice,  economics, politics, legislation, jurisprudence, law and  international relations can be built, are important contents of the  Holy Quran.

Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) himself was an unlettered man who could not read  or write. The Holy Quran was revealed to him over a period of 23  years and committed to memory and writing by his followers under his  supervision during his lifetime. The original and complete text of  Quran is available to everybody in Arabic, the language in which it  was revealed. Translations of the meaning into many languages are 
widely used.
Hadith, the teachings, sayings, and actions of the Holy Prophet  Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), meticulously reported and collected by his  devoted companions, explain and elaborate Quranic verses.

Concept of Worship:
Islam does not teach or accept mere ritualism. It emphasizes  intention and action. To worship God is to know Him and love Him, to  act upon His laws in every aspect of life, to enjoin goodness and  forbid evil and oppression, to practice charity and justice and to  serve Him by serving mankind. Islam seeks to implant in man's heart  the strongest conviction that his every thought and action are with  God, Who sees him at all times and in all places.

Quran presents this concept in the following sublime manner:
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the  West, but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last Day and 
the Angels and the Book and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for 
the love of Him to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the 
wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observes 
proper worship and pays the Zakat. And those who keep their treaty 
when they make one, and are patient in tribulation and adversity and 
time of stress. Such are those who are sincere. Such are the God 
fearing". (The Holy Quran)

Islamic Way of Life:
Islam provides definite guidelines for all people to follow in all  walks of life. The guidance it gives is comprehensive and includes  the social, economic, political, moral and spiritual aspects of life.  Quran reminds man of the purpose of life on earth, and his duties and  obligations towards himself, his kith and kin, his community, his  fellow human beings and his Creator. Man is given fundamental  guidelines about a purposeful life and then he is left with the  challenge of human existence before him so that he might put these  high ideals into practice. In Islam man is a wholesome, integrated  unit and not a collection of fragmented, competitive parts. The  sacred and secular are not separate parts of man; they are united in  the nature of human being. 

Historic Perspective:
Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) was born in the year 570 A.C. in Makkah in Saudi  Arabia. He came of a noble Arab family. As soon as he started  preaching Islam, he and his followers were persecuted and had to face  severe hardships. He was therefore commanded to migrate to Madinah,  another city in Saudi Arabia. During a short span of 23 years he was put to rest in the city of  Madinah. He left no wealth or property. He had lead a perfect life  and set an example for all human beings. His biography illustrates in  real life, the meaning and implications of Quranic teachings.

Islam's Rational Appeal:
Islam is a simple, rational and practical religion. The unity of God,  the Prophet hood of Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and the concept of life after  death are the basic articles of its faith. There is no hierarchy of  priests, no complicated rites, and rituals. Everybody may approach  Quran directly and translate its dictates into practice. 
Islam stands for the middle path and the goal of producing a moral  man in the service of a Just Society.
"Our Lord ! give us good in this world and good in the hereafter".  (The Holy Quran)

Islam is a guide towards a better and complete life and Glorifying in  all its phases, God the Almighty Creator.

Status of Women:
No discrimination is made on the basis of sex. But Islam makes one  realize that the spheres of potential capabilities and hence  responsibilities of men and women are equally important in themselves  but not exactly the same. The roles of men and women are  complementary to each other.

Marriage and Divorce:
Marriage is a very important and sacred bond of relationship between  man and woman and a step towards a better purer and happier life. 
Islam gives both man and woman full right to divorce. Nevertheless  divorce is discouraged and is allowed as the last resort. Islam  allows limited polygamy only as a remedy subject to certain  conditions.

Jihad:
Jihad ( meaning struggle ) consists in exerting oneself to the utmost  in order to personally follow the teachings of Islam. A Muslim;  therefore, expends all the powers of body and soul, his wealth,  possessions, and even life in the fight against the evil forces of  the world, in order that injustice, oppression, and contumacy are  annihilated and God's just order is established. Therefore, to  struggle in the path of Allah with the pen; speech; and his sword is  Jihad. 

"What has happened to you ? why don't you fight in the way of God in  support of men, women, and children, whom finding helpless, they have  repressed; and who pray, "Oh God! liberate us from this habitation  which is ruled by Tyrants". (The Holy Quran)  Islam has come to liberate man from the worship of man and establish  the worship of God. 

Islam - The Solution For Modern Problems 

The Brotherhood of Man:
A major problem which modern man faces is that of racism. The  materially advanced nations can send man to the moon but they cannot  stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man. Islam, over the  last 1400 years, has shown in practice how racism can be ended. Every  year during the Hajj, the Islamic miracle of real brotherhood of all  races and nations can be seen in action.

The Family:
The family which is the basic unit of civilization is disintegrating  in all western countries. Islam's family system brings into a fine  equilibrium the rights of man, wife, children and relatives. Islam  nourishes human unselfishness, generosity and love in a well  organized family system.
Human beings live according to their view of life. The tragedy of  secular societies is that they fail to connect the different aspects  of life. The secular and the religious, the scientific and the  spiritual seem to be in conflict. Islam puts an end to this conflict  and brings harmony to man's vision of life.

Conclusion:
What is the state of the world today? Has man freed himself from all  superstitions, imbecilities and absurd beliefs? Has he discovered the  man from within himself? Has he liberated himself from the yoke of  worldly tyrants indulging in the exploitation of man by man?
If such a millennium has not been achieved despite all developments  in science and technology, then Islam still has a great and glorious  part to play.

 

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