Brief introduction to Islam
The word Islam has four meanings, submission, obedience, peace and purity. Islam in religious expression means submission and obedience to the all mighty Allah; no where does Islam teach terrorism, as lately due to the manner in which the mass media portray Islam, Islam itself means peace. Allah is an Arabic word; the translation of Allah into English is simply god. A Muslim is a person “one who submits (to god)”, To be a Muslim, he should testify لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله (there is no god but Allah and prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his messenger). We believe that from the starting of mankind from Adam, there were thousands of prophets sent by Allah, “A "prophet" is any human person, male or female, ordained or lay, who has received the gift of prophecy from God.”, For example Adam, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad etc, were all sent for the same purpose, to preach that there is only one God.
Islam rests on five pillars.
- Shahadah-declaration of faith
- Salah-praying five times a day
- Sawm-fasting
- Zakat-giving to the poor
- Hajj-pilgrimage
Shahadah
Is the declaration of faith i.e. testifying that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad (pbuh) is his messenger. In the holy Quran Allah says in
Chapter 112 Al-Ikhlas;
"Say, he is Allah the one and only.
Allah is eternal.
He neither gives birth nor is he born.
And there is none like him."
The above verses are taken from the holy Quran and this is a four line definition of Allah, a touch stone of theology.
Shahadah plays a big role in a Muslim’s belief. It played a big part when Muhammad (pbuh) started preaching the truth. The companions stayed firm in their belief, even though they were tortured, killed and received threats from the non-believers in Makkah.
Salah
Salah is praying five times a day at prescribed times.
These are:
1. Fajr(dawn)
2. Zuhr(<timehour12minute0>midday)
3. Asr(between mid afternoon to sunset )
4. Maghrib(after sunset)
5. Isha(nightfall)
Sawm
Sawm is fasting in the month of Ramadan. This means not eating or drinking from early dawn to sunset, which makes muslims more God attentive, gives them a slight experience of what the poor go through and makes them remember the poor. Muslims reflect on how fortunate they are. Also science has proven that fasting is beneficial because it cleanses the body.
Zakat
Zakat is giving charity to the poor. Zakat depends on the rate of gold. It’s approximately 2.5% of your savings which have been possessed for 1 year. Zakat has to be given once every year. If everyone were to give Zakat, then most probably there would be no one suffering in the poor countries from diseases and lack of food.
Hajj
Hajj is a pilgrimage to the sacred masjid In Makkah. Rituals are performed, in a certain way. For example, during the ritual for men, two pieces of cloth are worn, one for the bottom half of the body and the other for the top half. Everyone rich or poor, white or black all have the same clothing to represent unity and that everyone in front of Allah is the same .
All the above are the five pillars of Islam and if any Muslim does not act upon these commandments, Allah has severe punishment in store.
Misconceptions about Islam
Correcting some misconceptions about Islam;
Some critics like to quote verses of the Quran out of context; if this is so then the wrong meaning might get taken on board. One of the most famous verses of the Quran people like to bring into the spotlight, intentionally out of context are the verses from chapter 9 verse 5. at the start of this chapter Allah speaks about the peace treaty which the non-believers broke and says that 4 months will be given to put everything back on track but they did not listen. In Verse 5 Allah says that wherever you see a kafir (non-believer) kill him. Allah is saying this during the battle in the battle field to boost the spirits, not in everyday life to kill the non-believers whenever you see one. this verse relates to the battle only
After this verse critics jump from verse number 5 to verse number 7. Why? Because verse number 6 has the reply that this is during a battle. In Verse 6 Allah says if the enemy wants to change their mind then escort him to a place of security. This is how merciful Allah is. Also remember jihad does not mean holy war jihad means to ‘strive and struggle’, nowhere in the Quran mentions anything about holy war. Muslims are being attacked over the world e.g.Afghanistan,Iraq, Palestine and is Iran next in line.
Now when a Muslim does something wrong, in the papers they write Islamist or Muslim kills lady, but when it’s not a Muslim and it’s someone from a different faith then they just write man kills lady. Why this injustice?
After reading this hopefully, you will briefly know Islam at a glance and understand the true colours of this religion.
For more information about Islam you can visit the following websites
www.peacetv.in
www.inter-islam.org
www.irf.net
www.watchislam.com
www.youtubeislam.com
