What follows is a brief explanation of Islam.
The word "Islaam" means peace attained through submission ; to
be at peace with yourself and your surroundings by submitting to
God and obeying his commandments. This is a unique religion with
a name which signifies a moral attitude and a way of life.
Judaism takes its name from the tribe Juda, Christianity from
Jesus Christ, Buddhism from Goutam Buddha and Hinduism from
Indus River. However , those who accept Islaam and submit to God
are not called "Muhammadans" after Muhammad (Peace and blessings
of God be upon him) the last Prophet of God; they are called
Muslims.
Allaah is the Arabic word for "one God", the same as Eloh in
Armaic. Allaah is not God of Muslims only. He is God of all
creations, because He is their Creator and Sustainer.
The word "Muslim" means one who submits to the will of God. This
is done by declaring that "There is no God except one God and
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of God be upon him) is the
messenger of God." In a broader sense, anyone who willingly
submits to the will of God is a Muslim, thus all Prophets
preceding the Prophet Muhammad( Peace and blessings of God be
upon him) were Muslims. The Quraan specifically mentions Abraham
who lived long before Moses and Christ that, "He was not a Jew
or a Christian but a Muslim," because, he had submitted to the
will of God. Thus there are Muslims who are not submitting at
all to the will of God and there are Muslims who are doing their
best to live an Islaamic life. One cannot judge Islaam by
looking at those Muslims who have a Muslim name but in their
actions, they are not living or behaving as Muslims. The state
of being a Muslim depends upon the degree to which one is
submitting to the will of God, in his beliefs and his actions.
In brief, Muhammad ( Peace and blessings of God be upon him) was
born in a noble tribe of Mekkah in Arabia in the year 570 CE.
His ancestry goes back to Prophet Ishmael (Peace be upon him),
son of Prophet Abraham (Peace be upon him). His father died
before his birth and his mother died when he was six years old.
He did not attend any formal school. He was raised first by a
nurse as it was a custom in those days, then by his grandfather
and then by his uncle. As a young man, he was known as a
righteous person who used to meditate in a cave. At age 40, he
was given the Prophethood by God through angel, Gabriel, who
appeared to Him in the cave of Hira, in Mekkah. Subsequently,
revelations were received by Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
blessings of God be upon Him) for a period of 23 years. This
book of revelations is called the Quraan. The Quraan has been
preserved, unchanged, in its original form and confirms the
truth in the Torah, the psalms and the Gospel. Quraan is the
only scripture in existence today in its original Arabic text.
All the earlier Divine Scriptures were entrusted by God to His
messengers, to guard them and after the physical death of the
Messengers, their followers were entrusted to guard them.
However the followers failed in their duties therefore each
subsequent Divine Scripture corrected the previous one. God has
confirmed in the Holy Quraan firstly that this is His last and
final revelation to mankind and secondly that He Himself will
guard it till the Day of Judgment.
Muslims do not worship Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) or any other
Prophets. Muslims believe in all Prophets including Aadam, Noah,
Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims believe that
Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) was the last
of the Prophets. They believe that only God is to be worshipped,
not human beings or anything else.
Muslims think highly of Jesus (Peace be upon him) and his worthy
mother, Mary. The Quraan tells us that Jesus was born of a
miraculous birth without a father. "Lo! The likeliness of Jesus
with Allaah is the likeliness of Aadam. He created him of dust,
and then he said unto him: Be and he is" (Quran 3,59). He was
given many miracles as a Prophet. These include speaking soon
after birth in defense of his mother's piety. God's other gift
to him included healing the blind and the sick, reviving the
dead, making a live bird out of clay and most importantly, the
message he was carrying. These miracles were given to him by God
to establish him as a Prophet. According to the Quraan, he was
not crucified but raised bodily into Heaven. (Quraan, Chapter
Maryam)
The purpose of worship in Islaam is to make the person God
conscious. Thus the worship, whether it is prayer, fasting, or
charity, is a means to an end and the end is to seek the
pleasure of God by becoming God Conscious in thought and in
action. Thus the God conscious is better placed to receive His
bounties both in this world and in the Hereafter.
God is just and therefore, in order to exercise His justice, He
has created a system of accountability. Those who do good are
rewarded in Paradise and those who do wrong are punished in
Hell. Therefore, Muslims believe that the present life is a
temporary one. It is a test and if we pass the test, we will be
given a life of permanent pleasure in the company of good people
in Paradise.
The Quraan clearly states that, "Anyone who has an atom's worth
of goodness will also see it." By that it is meant that those
who do not believe but have done good, they will be rewarded in
this world for their good deeds. On the other hand, those who do
good and have correct beliefs like Muslims, will be rewarded not
only in this world but also in the world Hereafter. However, the
final judgment is up to God Himself. (Quraan 2:62)
Islaam emphasizes modesty. No person is allowed to be perceived
as a sex object. Guidelines both for men and women are that
their dress should not either be too thin nor too tight to
reveal body forms. Men, must cover the area from the knee to the
navel and women, should cover all areas except hands and the
face.
Muslims are told in the Quraan not to eat pork or pork products,
dead animals or the meat of the carnivorous animals (as they eat
dead animals), or drink intoxicants such as wine or use any drug
products.
As opposed to Christianity, there is no concept
of "Fundamentalism" in Islaam. The western media has coined this
term to brand those Muslims who wish to return to the basic
fundamental principles if Islaam and mold their lives
accordingly. Islaam is a religion of moderation and a practicing
Muslim can neither be a fanatic nor an extremist.
'Eed-ul-Fitr marks the end of fasting in the month of Ramadaan
and is celebrated with public prayers, feasts and exchange of
gifts. 'Eed-ul- Adhaa marks the end of the Hajj, the annual
pilgrimage to Mekkah. After the public prayer, those who can
afford, sacrifice a lamb, goat, cow or camel to signify Prophet
Abraham's obedience to God, shown by his readiness to sacrifice
his own son Ishmael.
Shari'ah is the comprehensive Muslim law derived from two
sources: (a) the Quraan (2) the Sunnah or practices of Prophet
Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him). It covers
every aspect of daily individual and collective living. The
purpose of Islaamic laws is to protect individual's basic human
rights to include right to life, property, political and
religious freedom and safeguarding the rights of women and
minorities. The low crime rate in Muslim societies is due to the
application of the Islaamic penal laws. These however can only
be applied in a society which has established all other Islaamic
laws to ensure justice and protection of each other's rights.
According to the Quraan, "There is no compulsion in
religion"(2:256), thus, no one can be forced to become a Muslim.
While it is true in many places where Muslim armies went to
liberate people or the land, they did carry the sword as that
was the weapon used at that time. However, Islaam did not spread
by the sword. In many places where there are Muslims now, in the
Far East like Indonesia, in China, and many parts of Africa,
there are no records of any Muslim armies having gone there. To
say that Islaam was spread by the sword would be to say that
Christianity was spread by guns, F-16's and atomic bombs, etc.,
which is not true. Christianity was spread by the missionary
work of Christians. Ten-percent of all Arabs are Christians.
The "Sword of Islaam" could not covert all the non-Muslim
minorities in Muslim countries. In India, where Muslims ruled
for 700 years, they are still a minority. In the USA, Islaam is
the fastest growing religion and has 6 million followers and no
sword is around.
Islaam is a religion of peace and submission and stresses the
sanctity of human life. A verse in the Quran says (Chapter 5,
verse 32), that anyone who saves one life, it is as if he has
saved the whole of mankind and anyone who has killed another
person except (in lieu of murder or mischief on earth), it is as
if he has killed the whole mankind." Islaam condemns all
violence which happened in the Crusades, in Spain, in the 2nd
world war, or by acts of people like the Rev. Jim Jones, David
Koresh, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, or the atrocities committed in
Bosnia by the Christian Serbs. Anyone who resorts to violence is
not practicing his religion at that time. However, sometimes
violence is a human response of oppressed people as in
Palestine. There is a lot of terrorism and violence in areas
where there is no Muslim presence. For example, in Ireland,
South Africa, Latin America, and Sri Lanka. Sometimes violence
is due to a struggle between those who have and those who do not
have, or between those who are oppressed with those who are
oppressors. Unfortunately, the Palestinians who are struggling
against oppression are called terrorists but not the armed
Israeli settlers when they do the same. As it turned out in the
Oklahoma City bombing, sometime Muslims are prematurely blamed
even if the terrorism is committed by non-Muslims. God does
permit defensive wars against organized oppression. Sometimes
some misguided Muslims turn to violence as happens with all
religions and countries of the world. To call all Muslims
terrorists is completely false. Islaam is a religion of peace,
harmony and submission to the laws of God Almighty.
The word "Jihaad " means "Struggle", or to be specific, striving
in the cause of God. Any struggle done in day-to-day life to
please God is considered Jihaad. One of the highest levels of
Jihaad is to stand up to a tyrant and speak a word of truth.
Control of the self from wrong doings is the greatest Jihaad.
One of the forms of Jihaad is to take arms in defense of Islaam
or a Muslim country when Islaam is attacked. This kind of Jihaad
has to be declared by the religious leadership or by a Muslim
head of state who is following the Quraan and Sunnah.
For Muslim men to have more than one wife is a permission which
is given to them in the Quraan provided it is not done to
satisfy lust but to meet social solutions and needs. This
permission is given provided the person is capable of treating
the wives equally. It is not an injunction. In the pre-Islaamic
period, men used to have many wives. One person had 11 wives and
when he became Muslim, he asked the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
blessings of God be upon him) "What should I do with so many
wives?" and he said, "Divorce all except four." The Quraan
says, "you can only marry 2 or 3 and up to 4 women if you can be
equally just with each of them." Since it is very difficult to
be equally just with all wives, in practice, most of the Muslim
men do not have more than one wife. Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
blessings of God be upon him) himself from age 24 to 50 was
married to only one woman, Khadeejah (May Allaah be pleased with
her). In the western society, some men who have one wife have
many extra marital affairs. A survey was published in "U.S.A.
Today" (April 4, 1988, Section D) which asked 4700 mistresses
what they would like their status to be. They said that "they
preferred being the second wife rather than the "other woman"
because they do not have the legal rights, nor did they have the
financial equality of the legally married wives, and it appeared
that they were being used by these men." Historically, all the
prophets except Jesus, who was not married, had more than one
wife. So this is not something which Islaam has started; in
fact, Islaam regulated it.
Islaam elevated the status of women 1,400 years ago by giving
them the right to divorce, the right to have financial
independence and support and the right to be identified as
dignified women (Hijab) when in the rest of the world, including
Europe, women had no such rights. Women are equal to men in all
acts of piety (Quraan 33:32). Islaam allows women to keep their
maiden name even after marriage, their earned money and spend it
as they wish, and instructs men to be their protectors as women
on the street can be molested. Prophet Muhammad (Peace and
blessings of God be upon him) told Muslim men, "The best among
you is the one who is best to his family". Some Muslim men, do
oppress women today. This is because of their cultural habits or
their ignorance about their religion. Female Genital Mutilations
has nothing to do with Islaam. It is pre Islamic African Custom,
practiced by non Muslims including Coptic Christians as well.
Islaam recognizes the rights of the minority. They are not
required to do army service. To ensure their welfare and safety,
Muslim rulers initiated a tax (JAZIA) on them. Prophet Muhammad
(Peace and blessings of God be upon him) forbade Muslim armies
to destroy churches and synagogues. Caliph' Umar did not even
allow them to pray inside a church. Jews were welcomed and
flourished in Muslim Spain when they were persecuted in the rest
of Europe. They consider that part of their history as the
golden era. In Muslim countries, Christians live in prosperity,
hold government positions and attend their church. Christian
missionaries are allowed to establish and operate their schools
and hospitals. However, the same religious tolerance is not
always available to Muslim minorities as seen in the past during
the Spanish inquisition and the Crusades, or as seen now by the
events in the former Yugoslavia, Israel and India. Muslims do
recognize that sometimes the actions of a ruler does not reflect
the teachings of his religion.
Islaam does not approve of intimate mixing or informality
between the sexes, and forbids premarital or extramarital sex.
Islaam encourages marriage as a shield to such temptations and
as a means of having mutual love, mercy and peace.
Islaam considers abortion as murder and does not permit it
except to save the mother's life.
Islaam categorically opposes homosexuality and considers it a
sin. However, Muslim physicians are advised to care for AIDS
patients with compassion just as they would for other patients.
Islaam is opposed to both suicide and euthanasia. Muslims do not
believe in heroic measures to artificially prolong the life of a
terminally ill patient.
Islaam stresses upon saving lives (Quran 5:32), thus,
transplantation in general would be considered permissible
provided a donor consent is available. The sale of the organ is
not allowed.
The Quraan calls the Jews and the Christians the "People of the
Book ",i.e., those who received Divine scriptures before the
advent of Muhammad (Peace and blessings of God be upon him)
Muslims are told to treat them with respect and justice and not
fight with them unless they initiate hostilities or ridicule
their faith. Muslim's ultimate hope is that they all will join
them in worshipping One God and submit to His will. "Say (O
Muhammad ) (Peace and blessings of God be upon him) O people of
the Book (Jews and Christians) come to an agreement between us
and you that we shall worship none but Allaah, and that we shall
take no partners unto Him, and none of us shall take others for
Lords beside Allaah, and if they turn away, then say: Bear
witness that we are those who have surrendered (unto Him)."
(Quraan 3:64)
In the Old Testament, Genesis, 21:21 it is said: 'He (Prophet
Ismaaeel) dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his Mother took
a wife for him from the land of Egypt.' Psalm 83: 4-6 talks
about the enemies of among others Ishmaelites, and Hagrites
(Hagar being the mother of Prophet Ismaaeel). Psalm 84: 4-6 "4-
Blessed are those who dwell in your House; They will still be
praising You. 5- Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
whose heart is set on the pilgrimage. 6- As they pass through
the valley of Baca. They make it a spring; The rain also covers
it with pools."
There are several interesting points in the above verses. The
name Baca could be Hebrew whereas the word Mecca is Arabic.
Added to this the fact that there is a designated House of God
built by Abraham peace be upon him in Mecca where yearly
pilgrimage was performed from the time of Abraham and Ismaaeel
peace be upon them both, even to this day. The valley of Baca
could indeed be the same as the valley of Mecca. The above
verses seem to place Hagar, Ismaaeel and their children in the
valley of Mecca where Prophet Muhammad, (Peace and Blessing of
God be upon him), was born.
Isaiah, 21:12-17 mentions 12 . . . In the forest in Arabia you
will lodge . . . 15 For they fled from the swords , from the
drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the distress of war.
(Probable connection with the enemies mentioned in Psalm 83: 4-6
quoted above; also settlement in Arabia is confirmed; the verse
16 which follows, also confirms these verses are about
Ismaeelites, Kedar being the 2nd son of Prophet Ismaaeel). 16
For thus the Lord . . . all the glory of Kedar will fall; 17 and
the remainder . . . people of Kedar will be diminished . . .
Isaiah 42:1-13 These are very moving verses about 'God's elect
servant' who will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. A point
worth noting is that Gentiles are the non Jews and it was
confirmed by Jesus peace be upon him that he was sent to the
Jews. Moreover Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him
is consistently named by God as Mustafaa which means 'elected'
and 'Abd' which means 'servant'. Prophet Muhammad always
referred to himself consistently as the 'servant of God'. The
above verses cannot be about Jesus peace be upon him as many
Christians believe, for at least two reasons. Firstly, the
Christians and the Catholics describe him as the son of God and
not the servant of God; whereas Prophet Muhammad is known
exclusively as the Servant and the Messenger of God. Secondly,
Jesus was sent exclusively to the Jews whereas Prophet Muhammad
was sent among the Gentiles.
There are several citations in the Bible prophesying the coming
of prophet Muhammad, (Peace and Blessing of God Be Upon Him).
Isaiah 42: 4 says ' He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he
has established justice in the earth; . . . The Ministry of
Jesus peace be upon him lasted only three years and at the time
of his departure from this world it could not be truthfully said
that 'he established justice in the earth'. However, Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, preached for
23 years and most certainly 'established justice in the earth'
before he departed from the earth. It is therefore reasonable to
conclude that verses 1-13 refer to the coming of Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him.
Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise for them a Prophet like you
(Moses) from among their brethren and will put My words in his
mouth, and he shall speak unto them, all that I command him".
Let me make some comments about the above: Christians believe
that this is a reference to Jesus peace be upon him. One
important word here is "Prophet". Christians believe Jesus is
the son of God not a prophet of God. Another important word
is "brethren". If it were Jesus the word would have
been "children" because Jesus peace be upon him came from the
children of Isaac. Since Ismaaeel peace be upon him was the
brother of Isaac peace be upon him, the reference is therefore
to the children of Prophet Ismaaeel peace be upon him who will
be brethren to the children of Isaac peace be upon him. Again
the only Prophet from the brethren of the Jews and the
Christians was Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of God be
upon him.
The next important phrase is "Like you ( Moses)". Even a cursory
comparison will show us that Jesus peace be upon him was very
unlike Prophet Moses peace be upon him. Prophet Moses' birth was
natural whereas the birth of Jesus was miraculous without a
father, to a virgin, peace be upon her. Prophet Moses married
and had children, Jesus did not marry and of course did not have
any children. The ministry of Jesus peace be upon him lasted
three years and did not see the laws of God establish in his
time. Prophet Moses peace be upon him, preached the law of God
for many decades and saw in his time, the law of God
established. Comparing Prophet Moses peace be upon him, with
Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him, brings
out an amazing similarity. Muhammad's birth was natural, he was
married and had children; preached the law of God for 23 years
and saw in his own time God's Law established in his land.
The phrase: "I will put My words in his mouth", takes on great
significance because Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of God
be upon him, was unlettered; he did not know how to read or
write. Normally God would put the message in the Prophet's mind.
In this case attention is drawn towards "words" being put into
the "mouth". Prophet Muhammad's sayings as well as eye witness
accounts describe his receiving the verses of the Holy Quraan,
and his tongue moving with the words being put in his mouth.
Turning to the New Testament, let us look at John 14: 15-16. It
says: "14- If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16- And I will
pray the Father, and He will give you another "comforter"
(Helper in other versions), that he may abide with you forever".
Also John 15: 26-27, John 16: 5-8 and John 16 12-14.
Jesus peace be upon him, spoke the Gospel in his native language
which is Aramaic. The earliest translations were in Greek. It is
very very interesting that the Greek word which was eventually
translated into English as "Comforter" (Helper) is "Parqaleeta"
and the meaning of this word is "one whom people praise
exceedingly". It does not mean "the Holy Ghost" which is what we
are told the so called "Comforter" means. I do not have the
slightest clue as to how this meaning was given to the word
Parqaleeta. What is even more fascinating is the fact that the
name Muhammad has exactly the same meaning as Parqaleeta "one
whom people praise exceedingly"! One of my friends wrote very
beautifully in his book about the meaning of the word
Muhammad: 'The most praised one. He is praised upon earth and in
the heavens, from the beginning to the end, by men jinn and
angels, rocks and trees and animals, by prophets before him
since Adam, by saints until Doomsday. As all of this cannot give
him due praise, we beg God to praise him. He is the only One who
truly knows the value and the mystery of His Muhammad and He is
the only One who can truly praise him'. The celestial name of
Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings of God be upon him is
Ahmad. I will quote from the Holy Quraan about the connection of
Prophet Muhammad with the Bible as follows:
Chapter 61
5 "And remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! why do
ye vex and insult me though ye know that I am the apostle of
Allaah (sent) to you?" Then when they went wrong Allaah let
their hearts go wrong: for Allaah guides not those who are
rebellious transgressors.
6 And remember Jesus the son of Mary said: "O Children of
Israel! I am the Prophet of Allaah (sent) to you confirming the
Law (which came) before me and giving glad Tidings of a Prophet
to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad." But when he came
to them with Clear Signs they said "This is evident sorcery!"
Allaah is one of the 100 names of the One and only God. Allaah
is the name of His Essence while the other 99 are the names of
His Attributes.
As for "abide with you forever" since Prophet Muhammad is the
final Prophet and the Holy Quraan the final Testament and
Revelation from God, his teachings which are more or less the
same as of all the other Prophets and Messengers of God, Divine
teachings of God, he will abide in his teachings forever.
The Holy Quraan which muslims believe is the Last Revelation
from the One and only God, sent to humanity for its guidance,
through the last Prophet and Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace
and blessings of God be upon him, does state that there is an
eternal hell. Those who were the True believers of each prophet
and messenger and followed the book that he brought before it
was corrupted and changed, will be awarded Paradise and those
who disbelieved in each prophet and messenger of God and
rejected his book, will be consigned by God to the hell where
they will remain eternally. Those who believed in the book and
the messenger / prophet before it was corrupted and changed, but
did not fully obey its commands, will spend an appropriate time
of punishment in the hell, after which they will be sent to
paradise. The last Revelation from God, the Holy Quraan and the
last Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him,
were sent because the Gospel sent through Jesus, peace of God be
upon him, was changed and corrupted and Oneness of God Almighty
and His Divinity which He does not share with His creation was
changed into the concept of trinity and divinity of Jesus.
Moreover God does create but is far above the blasphemous belief
that He has a begotten son or begets children. The Holy Quraan
was therefore sent to humanity to correct these changes and to
bring us all back to His Oneness and His correct Guidance. Those
who believe in the corrupted Bible and its in changes and reject
the Holy Quraan and the last Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace
and blessings of God be upon him, will be sent to the hell where
they will remain eternally just as the Jews who rejected Prophet
and Messenger Jesus, who was sent at that time with the Gospel
to correct the changes and corruptions in the Torah of Moses,
peace of God be upon him.
-James
(A 30 y/o Caucasion Husband and Father of 2 From Oklahoma.