SOME
FACTS
Islam
has approximately 1 billion followers known as Muslims who follow
the final revelation to mankind, known as the "Qur'an", revealed
to Prophet Muhammad about 1400 years ago.
Contrary to the common misconception, only about 20% of all Muslims are Arabs,
the rest are Indians, Indonesians, Bosnians and so on.
WHAT
IS ISLAM
Islam,
unlike most other religions, is not named after any man. Instead
Islam means the submission of one's will to the only true god
worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim".
The word also implies "peace" which is the natural consequence
of total submission to the will of Allah. Islam is the religion
that was given to Adam, the first man and the first prophet of
Allah, and it was the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah
to mankind like Jesus and Moses.
THE
MESSAGE OF ISLAM
The
most important message of Islam is the absolute Unity of God-that
there is only One Supreme Being who has no partners and is not
dependent on anyone or anything. He is the creator of everything
and the whole universe is under His control. Since the total
submission of one's will to Allah represents the essence of worship,
Islam is the worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship
directed to any person, place or thing other than Allah. In essence,
Islam calls man away from the worship of creation and invites
him to worship only its Creator.
Allah
is the only one deserving man's worship as it is only by His
will that prayers are answered. Hence prayers to the non-living
such as the sun, fire, and to humans whether they be Jesus, Moses
or even Muhammad are rejected, as Allah informs us in the opening
chapter of the Qur'an, known as Soorah Al-Faatihah, verse 4: "You
alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek help."
A
Muslim believes that Allah and His creation are distinctly different
entities. Neither is Allah His creation or a part of it, nor
is His creation Him or a part of Him. Ultimately, it is the belief
that the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or that
His divine being is or was present in some aspects of His creation,
which has provided justification for the worship of creation.
Islam, hence, is a clear call to the worship of the Creator and
the rejection of creation-worship in any form.
THE
MIRACLE OF QUR'AN
"And
if you are in doubt as to what We [Allah] have revealed.then
produce a Soorah (chapter) like thereunto"(Soorah Baqarah 2:23)
This
was the challenge put forth by Allah in the Qur'an 1400 years
ago. As of yet, none has or will ever come close to meeting this
challenge. Hence, as a result, multitudes throughout the centuries
have believed and continue to believe in the Qur'an as a revelation
beyond any human capacity.
Modern
scientists, for instance, have been amazed by the accuracy of
scientific information presented in the Qur'an. Here are just
a few examples: In his book of embryology-'The Developing Human'
[W.B. Saunders Publishing, 1982], Dr. Keith Moore added a whole
chapter to discuss the scientific accuracy of the Quranic discussion
of this science. Another eminent scientist, Dr. Maurice Bucaille
wrote in his book-'The Bible, the Qur'an and Science': "I could
not find a single error in the Qur'an.if a man was the author
of the Qur'an how could he have written facts in the 7th century
A.D. that today are shown to be in keeping with modern scientific
knowledge" Facts about astronomy, the animal world and other
natural phenomenon, that were alien to modern science not long
ago, are scattered among the messages of Allah's Unity and His
Attributes throughout the miracle that is known as al-Qur'an.
WHAT
ABOUT ALL THE OTHER RELIGIONS
There
are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements
in the world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only
true path to Allah. How can one determine which one is correct
or if, in fact, all are correct? The method by which the answer
can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in
the teachings of the various religions, and identify the central
object of worship to which they call, directly or indirectly.
False
religions all have in common one basic concept concerning Allah:
they either claim that all human beings are gods or that specific
individuals were Allah or that nature is Allah or that Allah
is a figment of man's imagination. For example, Prophet Jesus
invited his followers to worship Allah but those who claim to
be his followers today call people to worship Jesus, claiming
that he was Allah while Jesus himself would deny this as Allah
says in the Qur'an: "And behold Allah will say: "O Jesus the
son of Mary Did you say to men, Worship me and my mother as gods
besides Allah; He [Jesus] will say-"Glory to You I could never
say what I had no right (to say')" (Soorah Al-Maa'idah- 5:116)
Even
though false religions might teach some good things, they all,
however, teach the greatest evil- the worship of creation. Creation-worship
is the greatest sin that man can commit because it contradicts
the very purpose of his creation, which is the worship of Allah
as explained in the following verses: "Verily Allah will not
forgive the joining of partners with Him, but He may forgive
(sins) less than that for whom so ever He wishes" (Soorah An-
Nisaa 4:48 and 116) "I have only created Jinns and men, that
they may worship me" (Soorah Zaareeyaat 51:56)
WHY
SHOULD I BE A MUSLIM
Since
the consequences of false religion are so grave, the true religion
of Allah must be universally understandable and attainable, not
confined to any people, place or time. Within the central principle
of Islam and in its definition, lies the roots of lslam's universality.
Whenever man comes to the realization that Allah is one and distinct
from His creation, and submits himself to Allah, he becomes a
Muslim and is eligible for paradise. This is the essence and
the corner-stone of Islam: "Laa Elaaha lllallaah" (There is no
god worthy of worship except Allah)
Its
repetition and the sincere belief in it automatically brings
one within the fold of Islam and guarantees one Paradise. Thus,
the final prophet of Islam is reported to have said, "Any one
who says: there is no god but Allah and dies holding that (belief)
will enter paradise." (Reported by Abu Dharr and collected by
Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).
THE
BOTTOM-LINE
Islam
is the universal message of Allah to mankind, and Muhammad is
the final and last messenger of Allah. Allah will not accept
any other way of life as He Himself asserts: "If anyone desires
a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah (God) never
will It be accepted of Him" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85) Please consider
Islam as the only savior from all of society's evils and most
importantly the savior from hell-fire and make the most important
choice of your life. Please submit yourself to the Will of Allah
before it is too late. I thank you for your time. May Allah guide
all of us to the truth.
| Authors
Details: Gary Miller |
|
