WHAT IS ISLAM?
(Part 1 of a series of articles on The Wise, Beautiful and Loving Teachings of Islam)
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST COMPASSIONATE, THE MOST MERCIFUL.
MAY THE PEACE, COMPASSION & GRACE OF GOD BE UPON YOU!
This is a small effort to try to present the wise, beautiful and loving teachings of Islam to counter the negative perceptions of Islam brought about by the behaviour of certain Muslims who portray Islam as being intolerant, full of hatred, unjust, backward and oppressive (especially to women and to non-Muslims).
Islam as practised by the Taliban and ISIS, and even by majority populations of some Muslim countries does not seem to be the religion coming from The Most Compassionate God. These "Muslims" insult, harm and even kill anyone who disagrees with them, including other Muslims. They are intolerant of non-Muslims and always find fault with them. They limit or ban women from getting education, and impose their strict and narrow interpretations of Islam upon others. When they are in power, they are unfair and unjust towards the non-Muslims, deny their rights to practise their religions in peace, often forcing them to convert to Islam, and deny their equitable rights to the assistance and privileges accorded to Muslim citizens.
All these give the wrong picture about what Islam is. Many non-Muslims thus have a perverted view of Islam. I hope this article can help rectify this, and the non-Muslims can have a better idea of what Islam really is.
Note that Muslims believe the Qur'an to be entirely the verbatim Word of God. The sayings (and records of his deeds pertinent to the religious practices) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)* are recorded separately in the Hadiths. The religious examples he practised in his exemplary life is called the Sunnah.
*PBUH = Peace be upon him.
WHAT IS ISLAM?
To the Muslims, Islam is the true religion (ad-Deen/Way of Life) of the true God (Allah). Of course we respect the right of others to reject this and believe that their respective religions and god(s) are the true ones. This article is about what the Muslims believe.
The name ISLAM was chosen by Allah (Qur'an 5:3), not by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) or any other human being. The root word for Islam is S-L-M which means peace, purity, submission, surrender and obedience.
Islam is the only religion prescribed and approved by God (Qur'an 3:19). We make no apologies for this statement. For if there is a God, then He must give us a complete guidance on how to lead our lives, which must be distinguished from other guidance (religions) which also claim to be from Him (Qur'an 2:79), or from the thoughts of human beings who are just His mere creations. (Again, this is the Muslim belief, and we respect the right of others to reject this).
While Allah had prescribed the religion to all the previous Messengers and Prophets prior to Muhammad (peace be upon them), it is finalized in the Qur'an and through the explanations and teachings given by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The name Islam was only given to this final and completed version. There were differences in the rules, laws and guidance (sharia) given to the previous Messengers (Rasul) but the theology on the Absolute Oneness of God (tawhid) never changed. They were all told this: The Lord, our God, the Lord is One (Qur'an 112:1); Worship Him only, and shun false gods (Qur'an 16:36). These same commandments can be found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, addressing the followers of Moses and Jesus, peace be upon them.
The above Qur'anic verses (that Islam is the only religion approved by God; Islam is to prevail over other religions; that other religions will not be accepted by God, and those who chose these other religions will be losers in the Hereafter) sound arrogant and condescending to non-Muslims.
These verses are by Almighty God - who is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He is our Creator and Master. He does not need to be humble and "politically correct" to address, guide and warn us who are His mere creations and servants. He gives these pronouncements clearly and concisely.
As the Creator and Master of our souls, minds and bodies, He is telling us how best to live our lives so that we may achieve peace, prosperity and success in this life and in the Hereafter.
Islam is guidance for humanity. The guidance addresses the individuals who make up the family; the families which form the community; the communities which form the nation; and the nations that encompass the entire humanity.
While much of the guidance, rules and regulations are for the individual, there are also guidance for the conduct of communities and nation-states. These are formulated into the sharia regulations and laws of some Muslim communities and nations.
Islam gives priority to the rights of the community over the individual. And every act that promotes community-living is more meritorious than if done for the benefit of the individual alone.
Islam respects the rights of everyone, not just Muslims. Allah commands Muslims to be respectful and just to everyone.
ISLAM IS THE BEST RELIGION, AND MUSLIMS ARE THE WORST FOLLOWERS
- George Bernard Shaw
IS ISLAM A MAN-MADE RELIGION?
From the above we can summarize that (according to Muslim belief):
1. Islam is a religion (Way of Life) formulated, revealed, proclaimed and named by God (Allah) in the Qur'an. It is not a man-made religion, but made by God.
2. It is the only religion chosen and approved by God.
3. It was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was the chosen Messenger to convey, teach and exemplify this Way of Life. His explanations and actions illustrating these teachings are recorded in the Hadiths, and his exemplary life is called the Sunnah (for the Muslims to emulate as much as is possible and practical).
WHAT ABOUT THE MANY VERSIONS OF ISLAM, MANY SECTS AND MANY VERSIONS OF THE SHARIA?
Over time, differences in interpretation of the religious principles and practices caused different "versions" of Islam to appear. So the many versions of Islam that are being practised indeed appear to be man-made!
The core principles, beliefs (eg. the pillars of faith) and instructions (for religious practice, eg. shahada, daily prayers, zakat/tithe, fasting in Ramadan and pilgrimage to Makkah) are uniform, but all these are subject to interpretation. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), any ambiguity was explained by him, and it was final. But differences of opinions over religious matters after his death were not final because those making the decisions were not prophets, though they were respected scholars and jurists. If these scholars and jurists agreed unanimously over a matter, it would be good. But often they differed in their sincere opinions, so we ended up with many schools or sects of jurisprudence (the 4 main Sunni schools or Madzhab are - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali - named after the jurists who interpreted the religious rules and laws. There are many minor ones, and also many Shia sects). The split between the Sunni and the Shia began as a political dispute over who should succeed the Prophet (PBUH) as the first Caliph of the Muslims. Over time, differences in beliefs and practices crept in.
The Prophet (PBUH) himself had warned that his followers will eventually be split into many sects (fikrah), but only one of these are his true followers. Of course, every sect claims that they are the true followers!
In my opinion, the true followers (Muslims) are the ones who follow the teachings of the Qur'an and Hadiths the most, emphasizing the most important principles of Islam, which include -
1. Faith in the Absolute Oneness of God The Most Compassionate & The Most Merciful.
2. Knowing God deeply, and loving and serving Him to the utmost.
3. Abiding by the 6 Pillars of Faith and the 5 Pillars of Islamic Practice.
4. Living a life full of compassion, mercy, trustworthiness, truthfulness, justice, kindness, charity and helping others.
5. Continuously seeking knowledge, understanding and wisdom.
6. Honouring and serving our parents and elders.
7. Respecting the special rights of women, and honouring them.
8. Respecting, loving and serving all of humanity and all of creation.
9. Justice for all (including and especially to non-Muslims).
10. Equality of mankind.
11. Establishing a harmonious, faithful and successful family.
12. Promoting peaceful, harmonious and prosperous living in our communities.
[NEXT, SEE - THE WISE, BEAUTIFUL & LOVING TEACHINGS OF ISLAM part 2]
https://dramirfaridisahak.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-wise-beautiful-loving-teachings-of.html
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