Islam is not a new
religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His
prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population,
Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims
follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the
majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events
which have come to be associated with their faith.
One billion people from a vast
range of races, nationalities and cultures across the globe -
from the southern Philippines to Nigeria - are united by their
common Islamic faith. About 18% live in the Arab world; the
world's largest Muslim community is in Indonesia; substantial
parts of Asia and most of Africa are Muslim, while significant
minorities are to be found in the Soviet Union, China, North and
South America, and Europe.
Muslims believe in
One, Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him; in
the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to
mankind; in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability
for actions; in God's complete authority over human destiny and
in life after death. Muslims believe in a chain of prophets
starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah,
John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them. But God's final
message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a
summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the
Prophet Muhammad through Gabriel.
Simply by saying
'there is no god apart from God, and Muhammad is the Messenger
of God.' By this declaration the believer announces his or her
faith in all God's messengers, and the scriptures they brought.
The
Arabic word 'Islam' simply means 'submission', and derives from
a word meaning 'peace'. In a religious
context it means complete submission to the will of God.
'Mohammedanism' is thus a misnomer because it suggests that
Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. 'Allah' is the Arabic
name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians
alike.
Islam may seem exotic or even
extreme in the modern world. Perhaps this is because religion
does not dominate everyday life in the West today, whereas
Muslims have religion always uppermost in their minds, and make
no division between secular and sacred. They believe that the
Divine Law, the Shari'a, should be taken very seriously, which
is why issues related to religion are still so important.
No. Together with Judaism, they go
back to the prophet and patriarch Abraham, and their three
prophets are directly descended from his sons, Muhammad from the
elder son Ishmael, and Moses and Jesus from the younger son
Isaac. Abraham established the settlement which today is the
city of Makkah, and built the Ka'ba towards which all Muslims
turn when they pray.
The Ka`ba is the
place of worship which God commanded Abraham and Ishmael to
build over four thousand years ago. The building was constructed
of stone on what many believe was the original site of a
sanctuary established by Adam. God commanded Abraham to summon
all mankind to visit this place, and when pilgrims go there
today they say 'At Thy service, O Lord', in response to
Abraham's summons.
Muhammad, was born in Makkah in the
year 570, at a time when Christianity was not yet fully
established in Europe. Since his father died before his birth,
and his mother shortly afterwards, he was raised by his uncle
from the respected tribe of Quraysh. As he grew up, he became
known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that he
was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. The
historians describe him as calm and meditative.
Muhammad was of a deeply religious
nature, and had long detested the decadence of his society. It
became his habit to meditate from time to time in the Cave of
Hira near the summit of Jabal al-Nur, the 'Mountain of Light'
near Makkah.
At the age of 40,
while engaged in a meditative retreat, Muhammad received his
first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. This
revelation, which continued for twenty-three years, is known as
the Quran.
The Mountain of Light where
Gabriel came to Prophet Muhammad.
As
soon as he began to recite the words he heard from Gabriel, and
to preach the truth which God had revealed to him, he and his
small group of followers suffered bitter persecution, which grew
so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the command to
emigrate. This event, the Hijra, 'migration', in which they left
Makkah for the city of Madinah some 260 miles to the north,
marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
After
several years, the Prophet and his followers were able to return
to Makkah, where they forgave their enemies and established
Islam definitively. Before the Prophet died at the age of 63,
the greater part of Arabia was Muslim, and within a century of
his death Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East
as China.
Among the reasons
for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the simplicity of
its doctrine - Islam calls for faith in only One God worthy of
worship. It also repeatedly instructs man to use his powers of
intelligence and observation.
Taj Mahal, India. Hui Shen
Mosque, China, Built in the 7th Century.
Within a few
years, great civilizations and universities were flourishing,
for according to the Prophet, 'seeking knowledge is an
obligation for every Muslim man and woman'. The synthesis of
Eastern and Western ideas and of new thought with old, brought
about great advances in medicine, mathematics, physics,
astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature, and
history. Many crucial systems such as algebra, the Arabic
numerals, and also the concept of the zero (vital to the
advancement of mathematics), were transmitted to medieval Europe
from Islam. Sophisticated instruments which were to make
possible the European voyages of discovery were developed,
including the astrolabe, the quadrant and good navigational
maps.
The Quran is a
record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel
Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad.
It was memorized by Muhammad and then dictated to
his Companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked
it during his lifetime.
Not one word of its 114 chapters, Suras, has been changed over
the centuries, so that the Quran is in every detail the unique
and miraculous text which was revealed to Muhammad fourteen
centuries ago.
This opening
chapter of The Quran, the Fatiah,
is central in
Islamic prayer. It contains the essence of
The Quran
The Quran, the last revealed Word
of God, is the prime source of every Muslim's faith and
practice. It deals with all the subjects which concern us as
human beings: wisdom, doctrine, worship, and law, but its basic
theme is the relationship between God and His creatures. At the
same time it provides guidelines for a just society, proper
human conduct and an equitable economic system.
Yes, the sunna, the practice and
example of the Prophet, is the second authority for Muslims. A
hadith is a reliably transmitted report of what the Prophet
said, did, or approved. Belief in the sunna is part of the
Islamic faith.
'God
has no mercy on one who has no mercy for others.'
'None of you truly believes until
he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.'
'He who
eats his fill while his neighbor goes without food is not a
believer. '
'The truthful and trusty
businessman is associated with the prophets the saints, and the
martyrs.'
'Powerful is not he who knocks the other down, indeed powerful
is he who controls himself in a fit of anger. '
'God does not judge according to
your bodies and appearances but He scans your hearts and looks
into your deeds.'
'A man walking along a path felt
very thirsty. Reaching a well he descended into it, drank his
fill and came up. Then he saw a dog with its tongue hanging out,
trying to lick up mud to quench its thirst. The man saw that the
dog was feeling the same thirst as he had felt so he went down
into the well again and filled his shoe with water and gave the
dog a drink. God forgave his sins for this action.' The Prophet
was asked: 'Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness
towards animals?' He said, 'There is a reward for kindness to
every living thing.'
From the hadith collections of
Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi
God forbids you not, with
regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive
you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them;
for God loveth those who are just.
(Quran,
)
It is
one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of
minorities, and this is why non-Muslim places of worship have
flourished all over the Islamic world. History provides many
examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths: when the
caliph Omar entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam granted
freedom of worship to all religious communities in the city.
Islamic law also permits non-Muslim minorities to set up their
own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the
minorities themselves.
The
Patriarch invited him to pray in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, but he preferred to pray outside its gates, saying
that if he accepted, later generations of Muslims might use his
action as an excuse to turn it into a mosque. Above is the
mosque built on the spot where Omar did pray.
Muslims respect and revere Jesus,
and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the
greatest of God's messengers to mankind.
A Muslim never refers to him simply as 'Jesus',
but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace'.
The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is
entitled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all
creation. The Quran describes the Annunciation as follows:
'Behold!' the Angel said, 'God has
chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of
all nations. O Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him,
whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in
this world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to
God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in
maturity, and shall be of the righteous.'
She said: 'O my Lord! How shall I
have a son when no man has touched me?' He said: 'Even so; God
creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it,
"Be!" and it is.' (Quran, 3:42-7)
Jesus was born miraculously through
the same power which had brought Adam into being without a
father:
Verily, in the sight of God,
the nature of Jesus is as the nature of Adam, whom He created
out of dust and then said unto him, "Be" - and he is.(Quran, 3:59)
During his prophetic mission Jesus
performed many miracles. The Quran tells us that he said:
I have come to you with a sign from
your Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of
a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God's
leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers and I raise the dead
by God's leave. (Quran, 3:49)
Neither Muhammad nor Jesus came to
change the basic doctrine of the belief in One God, brought by
earlier prophets, but to confirm and renew it. In the Quran
Jesus is reported as saying that he came:
To attest the law which was before
me. And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I
have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and
obey Me. (Quran, 3:5O)
The Prophet Muhammad said:
Whoever
believes there is no god but God, alone without partner, that
Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is the servant and
messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit
emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall
be received by God into Heaven. (Hadith from
Bukhari)
The family is the foundation of
Islamic society. The peace and security offered by a stable
family unit is greatly valued, and seen as essential for the
spiritual growth of its members. A harmonious social order is
created by the existence of extended families; children are
treasured, and rarely leave home until the time they marry.
Islam sees a woman, whether single
or married, as an individual in her own right, with the right to
own and dispose of her property and earnings. A marriage dowry
is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use, and
she keeps her own family name rather than taking her husband's.
Both
men and women are expected to dress in a way which is modest and
dignified; the traditions of female dress found in some Muslim
countries are often the expression of local customs.
The Messenger of God said:
'The
most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in
manner and kindest to his wife.'
The religion of Islam was revealed
for all societies and all times and so accommodates widely
differing social requirements. Circumstances may warrant the
taking of another wife but the right is granted, according to
the Quran, only on condition that the husband is scrupulously
fair.
A Muslim marriage is not a
'sacrament', but a simple, legal agreement in which either
partner is free to include conditions. Marriage customs thus
vary widely from country to country. As a result, divorce is not
common, although it is not forbidden as a last resort. According
to Islam, no Muslim girl can be forced to marry against her
will: her parents will simply suggest young men they think may
be suitable.
In the Islamic world there are no
old people's homes. The strain of caring for one's parents in
this most difficult time of their lives is considered an honor
and blessing, and an opportunity for great spiritual growth. God
asks that we not only pray for our parents, but act with
limitless compassion, remembering that when we were helpless
children they preferred us to themselves. Mothers are
particularly honored: the Prophet taught that 'Paradise lies at
the feet of mothers'. When they reach old age, Muslim parents
are treated mercifully, with the same kindness and selflessness.
In Islam, serving one's parents is
a duty second only to prayer, and it is their right to expect
it. It is considered despicable to express any irritation when,
through no fault of their own, the old become difficult.
The
Quran says: Your Lord has commanded that you worship none but
Him, and be kind to parents. If either or
both of them reach old age with you, do not say 'uff to them or
chide them, but speak to them in terms of honor and kindness.
Treat them with humility, and say, 'My Lord! Have mercy on them,
for they did care for me when I was little'. (17:23-4)
Like Jews and Christians, Muslims
believe that the present life is only a trial preparation for
the next realm of existence. Basic articles of faith include:
the Day of Judgment, resurrection, Heaven and Hell. When a
Muslim dies, he or she is washed, usually by a family member,
wrapped in a clean white cloth, and buried with a simple prayer
preferably the same day. Muslims consider this one of the final
services they can do for their relatives, and an opportunity to
remember their own brief existence here on earth. The Prophet
taught that three things can continue to help a person even
after death; charity which he had given, knowledge which he had
taught and prayers on their behalf by a righteous child.
Like Christianity, Islam permits
fighting in self-defense, in defense of religion, or on the part
of those who have been expelled forcibly from their homes. It
lays down strict rules of combat which include prohibitions
against harming civilians and against destroying crops, trees
and livestock. As Muslims see it, injustice would be triumphant
in the world if good men were not prepared to risk their lives
in a righteous cause. The Quran says:
Fight in the cause of God against
those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not
love transgressors. (2:190)
If they
seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the
One that heareth and knoweth all things.
(8:61)
War, therefore, is the last resort,
and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the
sacred law. The term jihad literally means 'struggle', and
Muslims believe that there are two kinds of jihad. The other
'jihad' is the inner struggle which everyone wages against
egotistic desires, for the sake of attaining inner peace.
Although much simpler than the
dietary law followed by Jews and the early Christians, the code
which Muslims observe forbids the consumption of pig meat or any
kind of intoxicating drink. The Prophet taught that 'your body
has rights over you', and the consumption of wholesome food and
the leading of a healthy lifestyle are seen as religious
obligations.
The Prophet said: 'Ask God for
certainty [of faith] and well-being; for after certainty, no one
is given any gift better than health!'
Freedom of conscience is laid down
by the Quran itself: 'There is no compulsion in religion'.
(2:256)
The life and property of all
citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred whether a
person is Muslim or not.
Racism is incomprehensible to
Muslims, for the Quran speaks of human equality in the following
terms:
O
mankind! We created you from a single soul, male and female, and
made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know
one another. Truly, the most honored of you in God's sight is
the greatest of you in piety. God is All-Knowing, All Aware
(
It is
almost impossible to generalize about American Muslims:
converts, immigrants, factory workers, doctors; all are making
their own contribution to America's future. This complex
community is unified by a common faith, underpinned by a
countrywide network of a thousand mosques.
Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth
century there were many thousands of them, working as slaves on
plantations. These early communities, cut off from their
heritage and families, inevitably lost their Islamic identity as
time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an important
role in the Islamic community.
Mosque in New Mexico, U.S.A.
The
nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of
Arab Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial
centers where they worshipped in hired rooms. The early
twentieth century witnessed the arrival of several hundred
thousand Muslims from Eastern Europe: the first Albanian mosque
was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group
of Polish Muslims opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928.
In
1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term
of President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were
set up in the fifties. The same period saw the establishment of
other communities whose lives were in many ways modeled after
Islam. More recently, numerous members of these groups have
entered the fold of Muslim orthodoxy. Today there are about five
million Muslims in America.
The
Muslim population of the world is around one billion.
30% of Muslims live in the Indian subcontinent, 20% in
Sub-Saharan Africa, 17% in Southeast Asia, 18% in the Arab
World, 10% in the Soviet Union and China. Turkey, Iran and
Afghanistan comprise 10% of the non-Arab Middle East. Although
there are Muslim minorities in almost every area, including
Latin America and Australia, they are most numerous in the
Soviet Union, India, and central Africa. There are 5 million
Muslims in the United States.
O mankind! We created you from a
single soul, male and female, and made you into nations and
tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Truly, the
most honored of you in God's sight is the greatest of you in
piety. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Quran, 49:13)
This page was
incorporated from the book, Understanding Islam and the Muslims,
prepared by The Islamic Affairs Department, The Embassy of Saudi
Arabia, Washington DC., Consultants The Islamic Texts Society,
Cambridge, UK, 1989.
