1. Introducing Islam

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1. Introducing Islam

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I. ISLAM AND MUSLIMS

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam
which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace.
One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more
than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator,
within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam
is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and
harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere
in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord
of the Universe.

 
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II. MUSLIMS AND ARABS

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused
with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis,
Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other
nationalities.

 An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person
who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language
of the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the
world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an and
understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an, namely
Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.

 While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200
million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims. Thus
Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population
of the world.

 
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III. ALLAH THE ONE AND THE ONLY GOD

Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful
names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator,
The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The
Last, and others.

 He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians,
the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others.
Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Him and
they seek His help and His guidance.

 
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IV. MUHAMMAD

Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam.
He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted
with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation
that he received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam.

 Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final
Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews
and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to inform
them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

 Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all
the prophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the previous
messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity.
He was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living
the teaching of the Qur'an.

 
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V. SOURCE OF ISLAM

The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an
is the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are
intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of
the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah.
The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the
Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides
examples of daily living for Muslims.

 
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VI. SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

  »  Oneness of God: He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or
three in one. This means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such
a unity of God which implies more than one God in one. 

  »  Oneness of mankind: People are created equal in front of the Law of
God. There is no superiority for one race over another. God made us of
different colors, nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who
is going to be better than others. No one can claim that he is better than
others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety and
righteousness. 

  »  Oneness of Messengers and the Message: Muslims believe that God sent
different messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the
same message and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood
and misinterpreted them.
Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David,
Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed
the Prophets of Islam. 

  »  Angels and the Day of Judgment: Muslims believe that there are unseen
creatures such as angels created by God in the universe for special missions.
Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of
the world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on
earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment. 

  »  Innocence of Man at Birth: Muslim believe that people are born free
of sin. It is only after they reach the age of puberty and it is only after
they commit sins that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one
is responsible for or can take the responsibility for the sins of others.
However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is always open.

  »  State and Religion: Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete
way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings
of Islam do not separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state
and religion are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of
Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as educational
and political systems are also part of the teachings of Islam. 

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VII. PRACTICES OF ISLAM

God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam
there are five pillars, namely: 

  »  Creed (Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only
One God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be
the Creed of Islam. 

  »  Prayers (Salat): The performance of the five daily prayers is required
of Muslims. 

  »  Fasting (Saum): Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and
intimate intercourse (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during
the entire month of Ramadan. 

  »  Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain percentage
of a Muslim's property which is distributed among the poor or other rightful
beneficiaries. 

  »  Pilgrimage (Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required
once in a life time if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of
the trials and tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his
eldest son Prophet Ishmael. 

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VIII. OTHER RELATED ASPECTS

  »  Calendar: Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However,
Muslims also use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives.
Hence, the Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration
(Higra) year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year
of 623 C.E. 

  »  Celebrations (Eid): Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid
of Sacrifice and Eid of Fast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance
of the sacrifice to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking
comes at the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. 

  »  Diets: Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the
health. It restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, 
alcohol and any narcotic or addictive drugs. 

  »  Place of Worship: The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid.
There are three holy places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These
are: Mosque of Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah,
and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house,
an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable
that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually
anywhere. 

  »  Holidays: The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to
be sacred and the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join
together shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer 
in a Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the 
congregational prayer. 

  »  Distribution of Muslims in North America: There are approximately five
million Muslims in North America and are distributed in its major cities
such as New York, Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver,
Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others. 

  »  Contributions in North America: Muslims are not established in North
America. Sears Tower and the John Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed
by a Muslim chief architect, originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established
academic institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and
places of worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and
among other groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims
is very minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and they
have added to the success of American scientific and technological fields.
The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in
medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics,
algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance
of Europe and world civilization. 

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IX. NON-MUSLIMS

Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God conscious
people, namely those who received messages. Christians and Jews are called
People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the People of the Book
for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work together for
the solutions of the many problems in the society.

 Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout centuries
in the Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The second Caliph
Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not to give the Muslims
an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims, and as such
the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims.

 Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed
by the Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They
enjoyed positions of power and authority.

 Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools
were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were protected
by Muslims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East.

 
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Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D.

 
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For more information please contact:

 

The Institute of Islamic Information and Education
P.O. Box 41129
Chicago, IL 60641-0129
 U.S.A.

 The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E)
is dedicated to the cause of Islam in North America through striving to
elevate the image of Islam in North America through striving to elevate
the image of Islam and Muslims by providing the correct information about
Islamic beliefs, history and civilization from the authentic sources. Enquiries
are welcome.

 
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