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A-Z
of Islam
Dr. Bilal Philips
Allah (God) Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The
name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (pbuh), as many Christians
may think; Allah is the personal name of God. What do Muslims believe about Allah? 1. He is the one God, Who has no partner. 2. Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part
of His creation. 3. He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just. 4. There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of
worship besides Him. 5. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was,
and will be when nothing else remains.
6. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful,the Supreme, the
Sovereign. 7. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything. 8. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of
mankind. 9. He sent Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet and Messenger for
all mankind. 10. His book is the
Holy Qur'an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept
without change. 11. Allah knows what is in our hearts. These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their
knowledge of God: 1. Eliminate any
anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His
attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations. 2. Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) described Allah to be, no more, no less. 3. Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the
modality of His names and attributes. 4. Belief totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one
cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others. 5. One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated
attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is without life. 6. Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in
what is being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human arm, so the "hand" of Allah is
nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc. 7. Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and
thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by
Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are acceptable. Cleanliness
Islam places
great emphasis on cleanliness, in both its physical and spiritual aspects. On
the physical side, Islam requires the
Muslim to clean his body, his clothes, his house, and the whole community, and
he is rewarded by God for doing
so. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, for example: "Removing
any harm from the road is charity (that will be rewarded by Allah)."
[Bukhari] While people
generally consider cleanliness a desirable attribute, Islam insists on it ,
making it an indispensable fundamental of
the faith. A muslim is required to to be pure morally and spiritually as well as
physically. Through the Qur'an and
Sunnah Islam requires the sincere believer to sanitize and purify his entire way
of life. In the Qur'an
Allah commends those who are accustomed to cleanliness: "Allah
loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves
pure and clean." [2: 22] In Islam the
Arabic term for purity is Taharah. Books of Islamic jurisprudence often contain
an entire chapter with Taharah as a
heading. Allah orders
the believer to be tidy in appearance: "Keep your
clothes clean." [74:4] The Qur'an
insists that the believer maintain a constant state of purity: "Believers!
When you prepare for prayer wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the
elbows; rub your heads (with
water) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are ritually impure bathe
your whole body." [5: 6] Ritual impurity
refers to that resulting from sexual release, menstruation and the first forty
days after childbirth. Muslims also
use water, not paper or anything else to after eliminating body wastes. Prophet
Muhammad )pbuh) advised the Muslims to appear neat and tidy in private and in
public. Once when returning home
from battle he advised his army: "You are
soon going to meet your brothers, so tidy your saddles and clothes. Be
distinguished in the eyes of the people."
[Abu Dawud] On another
occasion he said: "Don't ever come with your hair and beard
disheveled like a devil." [Al-Tirmidhi]
And on another:
"Had I not
been afraid of overburdening my community, I would have ordered them to brush
their teeth for every prayer."
[Bukhari] Moral hygiene
was not ignored, either, for the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged the muslims to make a
special prayer upon seeing
themselves in the mirror: "Allah,
You have endowed me with a good form; likewise bless me with an immaculate
character and forbid my face from
touching the Hellfire." [Ahmad] And modesty in
dress, for men as well as for women, assists one in maintaining purity of
thought. Being
charitable is a way of purifying one's wealth. A Muslim who does not give
charity (Sadaqah) and pay the required annual
Zakah, the 2.5% alms-tax, has in effect contaminated his wealth by hoarding that
which rightfully belongs to
others: "Of their
wealth take alms so that you may purify and sanctify them." [9: 103] All the laws
and injunctions given by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are pure; on the other
hand, man-made laws suffer from the
impurities of human bias and other imperfections. Thus any formal law can only
be truly just when it is purified
by divine guidance - as elucidated by the Qur'an and the Sunnah - or if it is
divinely ordained to begin with - the
Shari'ah.
Muslims Contribution To Science
Astronomy
Muslims have
always had a special interest in astronomy. The moon and the sun are of vital
importance in the daily life of
every Muslim. By the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and the end of the
months in their lunar calendar. By
the sun the Muslims calculate the times for prayer and fasting. It is also by
means of astronomy that Muslims can
determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face the Ka'bah in Makkah,
during prayer. The most precise solar
calendar, superior to the Julian, is the Jilali, devised under the supervision
of Umar Khayyam. The Qur'an
contains many references to astronomy. "The
heavens and the earth were ordered rightly, and were made subservient to man,
including the sun, the moon, the
stars, and day and night. Every heavenly body moves in an orbit assigned to it
by God and never digresses,
making the universe an orderly cosmos whose life and existence, diminution and
expansion, are totally determined by
the Creator." [Qur'an 30:22] These
references, and the injunctions to learn, inspired the early Muslim scholars to
study the heavens. They integrated the
earlier works of the Indians, Persians and Greeks into a new synthesis.
Ptolemy's Almagest (the title as we
know it is Arabic) was translated, studied and criticized. Many new stars were
discovered, as we see in their Arabic
names - Algol, Deneb, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran. Astronomical tables were
compiled, among them the Toledan
tables, which were used by Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Kepler. Also compiled
were almanacs - another Arabic
term. Other terms from Arabic are zenith, nadir, albedo, azimuth. Muslim
astronomers were the first to establish observatories, like the one built at
Mugharah by Hulagu, the son of Genghis Khan,
in Persia, and they invented instruments such as the quadrant and astrolabe,
which led to advances not
only in astronomy but in oceanic navigation, contributing to the European age of
exploration. Geography
Muslim scholars
paid great attention to geography. In fact, the Muslims' great concern for
geography originated with their
religion. The Qur'an encourages people to travel throughout the earth to see
God's signs and patterns everywhere.
Islam also requires each Muslim to have at least enough knowledge of geography
to know the direction of
the Qiblah (the position of the Ka'bah in Makkah) in order to pray five times a
day. Muslims were also used to taking
long journeys to conduct trade as well as to make the Hajj and spread their
religion. The far-flung Islamic empire
enabled scholar-explorers to compile large amounts of geographical and climatic
information from the Atlantic to
the Pacific. Among the most
famous names in the field of geography, even in the West, are Ibn Khaldun and
Ibn Batuta, renowned for
their written accounts of their extensive explorations. In 1166,
Al-Idrisi, the well-known Muslim scholar who served the Sicilian court, produced
very accurate maps, including a
world map with all the continents and their mountains, rivers and famous cities.
Al-Muqdishi was the first
geographer to produce accurate maps in color. It was,
moreover, with the help of Muslim navigators and their inventions that Magellan
was able to traverse the Cape of Good
Hope, and Da Gama and Columbus had Muslim navigators on board their ships. Humanity
Seeking
knowledge is obligatory in Islam for every Muslim, man and woman. The main
sources of Islam, the Qur'an and the Sunnah
(Prophet Muhammad's traditions), encourage Muslims to seek knowledge and be
scholars, since this is the
best way for people to know Allah (God), to appreciate His wondrous creations
and be thankful for them. Muslims
were therefore eager to seek knowledge, both religious and secular, and within a
few years of Muhammad's
mission, a great civilization sprang up and flourished. The outcome is shown in
the spread of Islamic universities;
Al-Zaytunah in Tunis, and Al-Azhar in Cairo go back more than 1,000 years and
are the oldest existing
universities in the world. Indeed, they were the models for the first European
universities, such as Bologna,
Heidelberg, and the Sorbonne. Even the familiar academic cap and gown originated
at Al-Azhar University. Muslims made
great advances in many different fields, such as geography, physics, chemistry,
mathematics, medicine,
pharmacology, architecture, linguistics and astronomy. Algebra and the Arabic
numerals were introduced to the world by
Muslim scholars. The astrolabe, the quadrant, and other navigational devices and
maps were developed by
Muslim scholars and played an important role in world progress, most notably in
Europe's age of exploration. Muslim scholars
studied the ancient civilations from Greece and Rome to China and India. The
works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid
and others were translated into Arabic. Muslim scholars and scientists then
added their own creative ideas,
discoveries and inventions, and finally transmitted this new knowledge to
Europe, leading directly to the
Renaissance. Many scientific and medical treatises, having been translated into
Latin, were standard text and reference
books as late as the 17th and 18th centuries. Mathematics It is
interesting to note that Islam so strongly urges mankind to study and explore
the universe. For example, the Holy Qur'an
states: "We
(Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the horizons/universe and
in yourselves until you are convinced that
the revelation is the truth." [Qur'an, 14:53] This invitation
to explore and search made Muslims interested in astronomy, mathematics,
chemistry, and the other sciences,
and they had a very clear and firm understanding of the correspondences among
geometry, mathematics,
and astronomy. The Muslims
invented the symbol for zero (The word "cipher" comes from Arabic
sifr), and they organized the numbers into
the decimal system - base 10. Additionally, they invented the symbol to express
an unknown quantity, i.e.
variables like x. The first great
Muslim mathematician, Al-Khawarizmi, invented the subject of algebra (al-Jabr),
which was further developed by
others, most notably Umar Khayyam. Al-Khawarizmi's work, in Latin translation,
brought the Arabic numerals along
with the mathematics to Europe, through Spain. The word "algorithm" is
derived from his name. Muslim
mathematicians excelled also in geometry, as can be seen in their graphic arts,
and it was the great Al-Biruni (who
excelled also in the fields of natural history, even geology and mineralogy) who
established trigonometry as
a distinct branch of mathematics. Other Muslim mathematicians made significant
progress in number theory. Medicine
In Islam, the
human body is a source of appreciation, as it is created by Almighty Allah
(God). How it functions, how to keep it
clean and safe, how to prevent diseases from attacking it or cure those
diseases, have been important
issues for Muslims. Prophet
Muhammad himself urged people to "take medicines for your diseases",
as people at that time were reluctant to do
so. He also said, "God
created no illness, but established for it a cure, except for old age. When the
antidote is applied, the patient will recover
with the permission of God." This was strong
motivation to encourage Muslim scientists to explore, develop, and apply
empirical laws. Much attention was
given to medicine and public health care. The first hospital was built in
Baghdad in 706 AC. The Muslims also
used camel caravans as mobile hospitals, which moved from place to place. Since the
religion did not forbid it, Muslim scholars used human cadavers to study anatomy
and physiology and to help their
students understand how the body functions. This empirical study enabled surgery
to develop very quickly. Al-Razi, known
in the West as Rhazes, the famous physician and scientist, (d. 932) was one of
the greatest physicians in
the world in the Middle Ages. He stressed empirical observation and clinical
medicine and was unrivaled as a
diagnostician. He also wrote a treatise on hygiene in hospitals. Khalaf
Abul-Qasim Al-Zahrawi was a very famous
surgeon in the eleventh century, known in Europe for his work, Concessio (Kitab
al-Tasrif). Ibn Sina (d.
1037), better known to the West as Avicenna, was perhaps the greatest physician
until the modern era. His famous
book, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb, remained a standard textbook even in Europe, for over
700 years. Ibn Sina's work is
still studied and built upon in the East. Other
significant contributions were made in pharmacology, such as Ibn Sina's Kitab
al-Shifa' (Book of Healing), and in public
health. Every major city in the Islamic world had a number of excellent
hospitals, some of them teaching
hospitals, and many of them were specialized for particular diseases, including
mental and emotional. The Ottomans were
particularly noted for their building of hospitals and for the high level of
hygiene practiced in them. Definition The word ISLAM
has a two-fold meaning: peace, and submission to God. This submission requires a
fully conscious and willing
effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must consciously and
conscientiously give oneself to the service of
Allah. This means to act on what Allah enjoins all of us to do (in the Qur'an)
and what His beloved Prophet,
Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us to do in his Sunnah (his lifestyle and sayings
personifying the Qur'an). Once we humble
ourselves, rid ourselves of our egoism and submit totally to Allah, and to Him
exclusively, in faith and in action,
we will surely feel peace in our hearts. Establishing peace in our hearts will
bring about peace in our external
conduct as well. Islam is
careful to remind us that it not a religion to be paid mere lip service; rather
it is an all-encompassing way of life that
must be practiced continuously for it to be Islam. The Muslim must practice the
five pillars of the religion: the
declaration of faith in the oneness of Allah and the prophet hood of Muhammad
(pbuh), prayer, fasting the
month of Ramadan, alms-tax, and the pilgrimage to Makkah; and believe in the six
articles of faith: belief in God,
the Holy Books, the prophets, the angels, the Day of Judgment and God's decree,
whether for good or ill. There are other
injunctions and commandments which concern virtually all facets of one's
personal, family and civic life.
These include such matters as diet, clothing, personal hygiene, interpersonal
relations, business ethics, responsibilities
towards parents, spouse and children, marriage, divorce and inheritance, civil
and criminal law, fighting in
defense of Islam, relations with non-Muslims, and so much more. Human Rights
Islam has been
from its inception very concerned with issues of human rights. Privacy, freedom,
dignity and equality are
guaranteed in Islam. The holy Qur'an states clearly: "There is
no compulsion in religion." And there are
no reliable reports to confirm the old accusations that when the Muslim armies
were expanding into Asia, Africa
and Europe the people were put to the sword if they failed to convert to Islam.
The best proof is that not only did
the Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Hindus in those areas not perish or
otherwise disappear, they actually
flourished as protected minority communities, and many individuals rose to
prominent positions in the arts, sciences, even
in government. The lives,
property and privacy of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred,
whether or not the person is Muslim.
Non-Muslims have freedom of worship and the practice of their religions,
including their own family law and religious
courts. They are obliged to pay a different tax (Jizyah) instead of the Zakah,
and the state is obligated to
provide both protection and government services. Before the modern era it was
extremely rare to find a state or
government anywhere in the world that was as solicitous of its minorities and
their civil rights as the Islamic states.
In no other
religion did women receive such a degree of legal and moral equality and
personal respect. Moreover, racism and
tribalism are incompatible with Islam, for the Qur'an speaks of human equality
in the following terms: "Mankind!
We created you from a single soul, male and female, and made you into nations
and tribes, 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." Jesus
Islam honors
all the prophets who were sent to mankind. Muslims respect all prophets in
general, but Jesus in particular,
because he was one of the prophets who foretold the coming of Muhammad. Muslims,
too, await the second coming
of Jesus. They consider him one of the greatest of Allah's prophets to mankind.
A Muslim does not refer to him
simply as "Jesus," but normally adds the phrase "peace be upon
him" as a sign of respect. No other
religion in the world respects and dignifies Jesus as Islam does. The Qur'an
confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the
Qur'an is entitled "Mary"), and Mary is considered to have been one of
the purest women in all creation. The
Qur'an describes Jesus' birth as follows: "Behold!'
the Angel said, God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the
women of all nations. 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 in the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to
the people from his cradle and in
maturity, and he shall be of the righteous. She said: "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."
[3:42-47] Muslims believe
that Jesus was born immaculately, and through the same power which had brought
Eve to life and Adam into being
without a father or a mother. "Truly,
the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of
dust, and then said to him, 'Be!' and he
was." [3:59] During his
prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. The Qur'an 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." [3:49]
Muhammad and
Jesus, as well as the other prophets, were sent to confirm the belief in one
God. This is referred to in the
Qur'an where 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." [3:50] Prophet
Muhammad emphasized the importance of Jesus by saying: "Whoever
believes there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His
messenger, that Jesus is a 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. [Bukhari] Knowledge
Islam urges
people to read and learn on every occasion. The verses of the Qur'an command,
advise, warn, and encourage
people to observe the phenomena of nature, the succession of day and night, the
movements of stars, the sun, moon,
and other heavenly bodies. Muslims are urged to look into everything in the
universe, to travel, investigate,
explore and understand them, the better to appreciate and be thankful for all
the wonders and beauty of God's
creations. The first revelation to Muhammad showed how much Islam cares about
knowledge. "Read, in
the name of your Lord, Who created..." [96:1] Learning is
obligatory for both men and women. Moreover, education is not restricted to
religious issues; it includes all
fields of knowledge, including biology, physics, and technology. Scholars have
the highest status in Islam, second
only to that accorded to prophets. Almost from the
very beginnings of the Islamic state Muslims began to study and to master a
number of fields of so-called
secular learning, beginning with linguistics and architecture, but very quickly
extending to mathematics, physics,
astronomy, geography, medicine, chemistry and philosophy. They translated and
synthesized the known works of the
ancient world, from Greece, Persia, India, even China. Before long they were
criticizing, improving and expanding
on that knowledge. Centuries before the European Renaissance there were Muslim
³Rennaissance² men, men who
were simultaneously explorers, scientists, philosophers, physicians and poets,
like Ibn Sina (Avicenna),
Umar Khayyam, and others. Main Pillars
1. Shahadah The first
pillar of Islam is that a Muslim believe and declare his faith by saying the
Shahadah (lit. 'witness'), also known as the
Kalimah: La ilaha ila
Allah; Muhammadur-rasul Allah. 'There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah.' This
declaration contains two parts. The first part refers to God Almighty, the
Creator of everything, the Lord of the Worlds; the
second part refers to the Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh) a prophet and a human
being, who received the
revelation through the Archangel Gabriel, and taught it to mankind. By sincerely
uttering the Shahadah the Muslim acknowledges Allah as the sole Creator of all,
and the Supreme Authority over
everything and everyone in the universe. Consequently the Muslim closes his/her
heart and mind to loyalty,
devotion and obedience to, trust in, reliance on, and worship of anything or
anyone other than Allah. This rejection is
not confined merely to pagan gods and goddesses of wood and stone and created by
human hands and
imaginations; this rejection must extend to all other conceptions,
superstitions, ideologies, ways of life, and authority
figures that claim supreme devotion, loyalty, trust, love, obedience or worship.
This entails, for example, the rejection
of belief in such common things as astrology, palm reading, good luck charms,
fortune-telling and psychic
readings, in addition to praying at shrines or graves of "saints",
asking the dead souls to intercede for them with
Allah. There are no intercessors in Islam, nor any class of clergy as such; a
Muslim prays directly and exclusively to
Allah. Belief in the
prophet hood of Muhammad (pbuh) entails belief in the guidance brought by him
and contained in his Sunnah
(traditions of his sayings and actions), and demands of the Muslim the intention
to follow his guidance faithfully.
Muhammad (pbuh) was also a human being, a man with feelings and emotions, who
ate, drank and slept, and was born
and died, like other men. He had a pure and upright nature, extraordinary
righteousness, and an unwavering
faith in Allah and commitment to Islam, but he was not divine. Muslims do not
pray to him, not even as an
intercessor, and Muslims abhor the terms "Mohamedan" and
"Mohamedanism". 2. Salah (Prayer) Prayer (Salah),
in the sense of worship, is the second pillar of Islam. Prayer is obligatory and
must be performed five times a
day. These five times are dawn (Fajr), immediately after noon (Dhuhr),
mid-afternoon ('Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and
early night (Isha'). Ritual cleanliness and ablution are required before prayer,
as are clean clothes and location,
and the removal of shoes. One may pray individually or communally, at home,
outside, virtually any clean place, as
well as in a mosque, though the latter is preferred. Special is the Friday noon
prayer, called Jum'ah. It,
too, is obligatory and is to be done in a mosque, in congregation. It is
accompanied by a sermon (Khutbah), and
it replaces the normal Dhuhr prayer. There is no
hierarchical clerical authority in Islam, no priests or ministers. Prayers are
led by any learned person who knows the
Qur'an and is chosen by the congregation. He (or she, if the congregation is all
women) is called the imam. There
is also no minimum number of congregates required to hold communal prayers.
Prayer consists of verses from the
Qur'an and other prayers, accompanied by various bodily postures - standing,
bowing, prostrating and sitting.
They are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation, though personal
supplications (Du'ah) can be offered in
one's own language. Worshippers face the Qiblah, the direction of the Ka'bah in
the city of Makkah. The
significance of prayer lies in one's maintaining a continuous link to God five
times a day, which helps the worshipper
avoid misdeeds if he/she performs the prayers sincerely. In addition it promotes
discipline, God-consciousness
and placing one's trust in Allah alone, and the importance of striving for the
Hereafter. When performed in
congregation it also provides a strong sense of community, equality and
brotherhood/sisterhood. 3. Sawm (Fasting) The fourth
pillar of Islam is fasting. Allah prescribes daily fasting for all able, adult
Muslims during the whole of the month of
Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar calendar, beginning with the sighting of
the new moon. Exempted from the fast
are the very old and the insane. On the physical side, fasting is from first
light of dawn until sundown,
abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. On the moral, behavioral
side, one must abstain from lying,
malicious gossip, quarreling and trivial nonsense. Those who are
sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are menstruating, pregnant, or
nursing are permitted to break the
fast, but must make up an equal number of days later in the year. If physically
unable to do so, they must feed a
needy person for each day missed. Children begin to fast (and to observe the
prayers) from puberty, although many
start earlier. Although
fasting is beneficial to the health, it is regarded principally as a method of
self-purification. By cutting oneself off
from worldly pleasures and comforts, even for a short time, the fasting person
gains true sympathy for those who go
hungry regularly, and achieves growth in his spiritual life, learning
discipline, self-restraint, patience and
flexibility. In addition to
the fast proper, one is encouraged to read the entire Qur'an. In addition,
special prayers, called Tarawih, are
held in the mosque every night of the month, during which a whole section of the
Qur'an (Juz') is recited, so
that by the end of the month the entire Qur'an has been completed. These are
done in remembrance of the fact
that the revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was begun during
Ramadan. During the last
ten days - though the exact day is never known and may not even be the same
every year - occurs the
Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr). To spend that night in worship is equivalent to
a thousand months of worship, i.e.
Allah's reward for it is very great. On the first
day of the following month, after another new moon has been sighted, a special
celebration is made, called 'Id
al-Fitr. A quantity of staple food is donated to the poor (Zakat al-Fitr),
everyone has bathed and put on their best,
preferably new, clothes, and communal prayers are held in the early morning,
followed by feasting and visiting
relatives and friends. There are other
fast days throughout the year. Muslims are encouraged to fast six days in
Shawwal, the month following
Ramadan, Mondays and Thursdays, and the ninth and tenth, or tenth and eleventh
of Muharram, the first month of
the year. The tenth day, called Ashurah, is also a fast day for the Jews (Yom
Kippur), and Allah commanded the
Muslims to fast two days to distinguish themselves from the People of the Book. While fasting
per se is encouraged, constant fasting, as well as monasticism, celibacy, and
otherwise retreating from the real
world, are condemned in Islam. Fasting on the two festival days, 'Id al-Fitr and
'Id al-Adha, the feast of the Hajj, is
strictly forbidden. 4. Zakah The third
pillar of Islam is the alms-tax (Zakah). It is a tax on wealth, payable on
various categories of property, notably savings
and investments, produce, inventory of goods, salable crops and cattle, and
precious metals, and is to be used
for the various categories of distribution specified by Islamic law. It is also
an act of purification through sharing
what one has with others. The rationale
behind this is that Muslims believe that everything belongs to God, and wealth
is held by man as a trust. This
trust must be discharged, moreover, as instructed by God, as that portion of our
wealth legally belongs to other people
and must be given to them. If we refuse and hoard this wealth, it is considered
impure and unclean. If,
for example one were to use that wealth for charity or to finance one's
pilgrimage to Makkah, those acts would also
be impure, invalid, and of course unrewarded. Allah says: "Of their
wealth, take alms so you may purify and sanctify them." [9:103] The word Zakah
means purification and growth. Our possessions are purified by setting aside
that portion of it for those in need.
Each Muslim calculates his or her own Zakah individually. For most
purposes this involves the payment each year of 2.5% of one's capital, provided
that this capital reaches a
certain minimum amount that which is not consumed by its owner. A generous
person can pay more than this
amount, though it is treated and rewarded as voluntary charity (Sadaqah). This
amount of money is provided to
bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, and can be used in many useful
projects for the welfare of the
community. Historically
the pillar of Zakah became mandatory on Muslims form the second year after the
Hijrah, 622 C.E. It is mentioned more
than thirty times in the Qur'an, usually in the same breath as Salah. So
important is this pillar that one is not
considered a part of the Islamic brotherhood if one ignores this obligation. 5. Hajj The fifth
pillar of Islam is to make a pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah, in Saudi Arabia, at
least once in one's lifetime. This pillar is
obligatory for every Muslim, male or female, provided that he/she is physically
and financially able to do so.
Prerequisites for performing the Hajj are to be a Muslim, to be free, to be an
adult or mature enough, to be of sound mind,
and to have the ability to afford the journey and maintain one's dependents back
home for the duration. The
reward for the Hajj is nothing less than Paradise. The Hajj is the
ultimate form of worship, as it involves the spirit of all the other rituals and
demands of the believer great
sacrifice. On this unique occasion, nearly two million Muslims from all over the
globe meet one another in a
given year. Regardless of the season, pilgrims wear special clothes (Ihram) -
two, very simple, unsewn white
garments - which strips away all distinctions of wealth, status, class and
culture; all stand together and equal
before Allah (God). The rites of
Hajj, which go back to the time of Prophet Abraham who built the Ka'bah, are
observed over five or six days,
beginning on the eighth day of the last month of the year, named Dhul-Hijjah
(pilgrimage). These rites include
circumambulating the Ka'bah (Tawwaf), and going between the mountains of Safa
and Marwah, as Hajjar (Abraham's
wife) did during her search for water for her son Isma'il. Then the pilgrims
stand together on the wide plain of Arafah
and join in prayers for God's forgiveness, in what is often thought of as a
preview of the Last Judgment. The
pilgrims also cast stones at a stone pillar which represents Satan. The
pilgrimage ends with a festival,
called 'Id al-Adha, which is celebrated with prayers, the sacrifice of an
animal, and the exchange of greetings and
gifts in Muslim communities everywhere. Muhammad
Muhammad (pbuh)
was an illiterate but wise and well-respected man who was born in Makkah in the
year 570 C.E., at a time
when Christianity was not yet fully established in Europe. His first years were
marked by the deaths of his
parents. Since his father died before his birth, his uncle, Abu Talib, from the
respected tribe of Quraysh, raised
him. As Muhammad (pbuh) grew up, he became known for his truthfulness,
generosity and sincerity, so
that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. His
reputation and personal qualities also led to his
marriage, at the age of twenty-five, to Khadijah, a widow whom he had assisted
in business. Thenceforth, he
became an important and trusted citizen of Makkah. Historians describe him as
calm and meditative. Muhammad (pbuh)
never felt fully content to be part of a society whose values he considered to
be devoid of true religious
significance. It became his habit to retreat from time to time to the cave of
Hira', to meditate near the summit of
Jabal al-Nur, the "Mountain of Light", near Makkah. At the age of
40, while engaged in one such meditative retreat, Muhammad (pbuh) received his
first revelation from God
through the Angel Gabriel. This revelation, which continued for twenty-three
years, is known as the Qur'an, the
faithful recording of the entire revelation of God. The first revelation read: "Recite:
In the name of your Lord Who created man from a clot (of blood). Recite: Your
Lord is Most Noble, Who taught by the
pen, taught man what he did not know." [96:1-5] It was this
reality that he gradually and steadily came to learn and believe, until he fully
realized that it is the truth. His first
convert was Khadijah, whose support and companionship provided necessary
reassurance and strength. He also won the
support of some of his relatives and friends. Three basic themes of the early
message were the majesty of the
one, unique God, the futility of idol worship, the threat of judgment, and the
necessity of faith, compassion and
morality in human affairs. All these themes represented an attack on the crass
materialism and idolatry
prevalent in Makkah at the time. So when he began to proclaim the message to
others the Makkans rejected him.
He and his small group of followers suffered bitter persecution, which grew so
fierce that in the year 622 C.E., God
gave them the command to emigrate. This event, the Hijrah (migration), in which
they left Makkah for the city of
Madinah, some 260 miles to the north, marked the beginning of a new era and thus
the beginning of the Muslim
calendar. During his suffering, Muhammad (pbuh) drew comfort from the knowledge
revealed to him about other
prophets, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, each of whom had also been
persecuted and tested. After several
years and some significant battles, the Prophet and his followers were able to
return to Makkah, where they
forgave their enemies and established Islam definitively. By the time the
Prophet died, at the age of 63, the greater
part of Arabia had accepted Islam, and within a century of his death, Islam had
spread as far west as Spain
and as far east as China. It was clear that the message was not limited to
Arabs; it was for the whole of
humanity. The Prophet's sayings (Hadith), are also believed to be
revelation. The number of sayings collected by his followers and scholars is about 10,000. Some typical examples of
his sayings are as follows: "To pursue knowledge is obligatory on every
believing (man and woman)." [Ibn Majah]
"Removing a harmful thing from the road is charity."
[Bukhari, Muslim] "Those who do not show tenderness and love cannot expect to
have tenderness shown to them." [Bukhari] "Adore Allah (God) as though you see Him; even if you do not
see Him, He nonetheless sees you." {Bukhari, Muslim] Although Muhammad is deeply loved, revered and emulated by Muslims
as God's final messenger, he is not an object of worship. Women
At a time when
the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China, considered women
as no better than children
or even slaves, with no rights whatsoever, Islam acknowledged women's equality
with men in a great many respects.
The Qur'an states: "And among
His signs is this: that He created mates for you form yourselves that you may
find rest, peace of mind in them, and He
ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are signs for people who
reflect." [30:21] Prophet
Muhammad said: "The most
perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manners and kindest to
his wife." [Abu Dawud] Muslims believe
that Adam and Eve were created from the same soul. Both were equally guilty of
their sin and fall from grace, and
both were forgiven by Allah. Many women in Islam have had high status; consider
the fact that the first
person to convert to Islam was Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, whom he both
loved and respected. His favorite wife
after Khadijah's death, Aeisha, became renowned as a scholar and one of the
greatest sources of Hadith
literature. Many of the female Companions accomplished great deeds and achieved
fame, and throughout Islamic history
there have been famous and influential scholars, jurists and mystics. With regard to
education, both women and men have the same rights and obligations. This is
clear in Prophet Muhammad's
saying: "Seeking
knowledge is mandatory for every believer." [Ibn Majah] This implies
men and women. A woman is to
be treated as God has endowed her, with rights, such as to be treated as an
individual, with the right to own
and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after
marriage. She has the right to be
educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to
inherit from her father, mother, and
husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other
religion, a woman can be an imam, a
leader of communal prayer, for a group of women. A Muslim woman
also has obligations. All the laws and regulations pertaining to prayer,
fasting, charity, pilgrimage, doing good
deeds, etc., apply to women, albeit with minor differences having mainly to do
with female physiology. Before
marriage, a woman has the right to choose her husband. Islamic law is very
strict regarding the necessity of having the
woman's consent for marriage. A marriage dowry (money)
is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal
use. She keeps her own family name, rather than taking her husband's. As a wife,
a woman has the right to be
supported by her husband even if she is already rich. She also has the right to
seek divorce and custody of
young children. She does not return the dowry, except in a few unusual
situations. Despite the
fact that in many places and times Muslim communities have not always adhered to
all or even many of the
foregoing in practice, the ideal has been there for 1400 years, while virtually
all other major civilizations did not begin to
address these issues or change their negative attitudes until the 19th and 20th
centuries, and there are still many
contemporary civilizations which have yet to do so. Other Religions
Islam is the
religion of all prophets. Muslims believe that all the prophets were sent to
their respective peoples from God
(Allah). They all had the same mission and message - guiding people to the right
path. The three
revealed, monotheistic religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, go back to
Abraham. The prophets of these religions
were directly descended from him - Moses, Jesus and others from Isaac, but
Muhammad from IsmaŒil. It
was Prophet Abraham who had established the settlement which today is the city
of Makkah, and with his son IsmaŒil
built the KaŒbah, which Muslims all over the world face when they pray. Christians and
Jews hold a special place in Islam. They are called the People of the Book (Ahl
al-Kitab), since the original Torah
and Gospel were also divinely revealed and they shared in the prophetic
tradition. Islamic states have nearly
always shown their religious minorities tolerance and respect and those
communities flourished under Islamic rule.
God says: "...[T]hose
who believe (in the message of Islam), and the Jews, the Sabaeans, and the
Christians - all those who believe in
Allah and the Last Day, and act righteously - no fear shall come upon
them..." [5:69] Setting up the
Islamic state in Madinah, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) further warned: "Whoever
oppresses any Dhimmi (non-Muslim citizen of the Islamic state), I shall be his
prosecutor on the Day of Judgment."
In setting up
the Islamic state, Prophet Muhammad made it inclusive of the Arabian Jews and
Christians. Their persons,
properties, churches and synagogues were protected, freedom of worship was
guaranteed, and they controlled
their own community affairs with their own civil and religious laws and courts.
For most of the first century of the
Islamic state, in fact, the majority of the citizens were Christians, enjoying
peace and liberty such as they had not
had even under Christian Rome or Byzantium. The Jews, from
the very beginning in Madinah, and later everywhere else, were lifted from the
burden of being clients of
individual Arab tribes to being citizens of the state, thus freeing them to
focus on their Jewishness. When the
Islamic state expanded outside Arabia the Jews of other lands were treated for
the first time as liberated
citizens. Judaism flourished as never before, with Jews even serving in Muslim
armies and administrations while their
culture bloomed in the arts, sciences, medicine and philosophy. This knowledge
they transmitted to their brethren
in the hostile climate of Christian Europe. Even Jewish mysticism originated
under the influence of sufism and
spread to northern Europe. When Islam
reached Persia the concept of People of the Book was extended to the
Zoroastrians as well. Later, when the
Muslims conquered parts of India and encountered Buddhists and Hindus, who
appeared to worship idols, the question
was referred to the ulema (council of scholars), who judged that even they could
have the same protected
status as the Jews and Christians, so long as they did not fight Islam and they
paid the Jizyah tax. Peace
"Peace"
is the most common word on a Muslim's tongue. Whenever two people meet, they
exchange greetings, wishing each
other peace: "Peace be upon you." But peace cannot prevail except
through justice. Since the concept of
justice may differ from one man to another, or from one society to another,
Muslims believe that real justice is that
which is specified by Allah (God). Islam permits
fighting in self-defense, in defense of the religion, or by those who have been
expelled forcibly from their homes. At
the same time, Islam requires one to treat one's enemy mercifully. It lays down
strict rules of combat which
include prohibitions against harming civilians and against destroying crops,
trees, and livestock. Islam also
requires that if an enemy declares his desire to end hostilities and seek peace,
the Muslims must do the same. The concept of
Jihad (struggling in the cause of Allah) is stated in the Qur'an. Allah said:
"Fight in the cause of God those who
fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors."
[2:19] Jihad is never to be waged to
force anybody to choose a particular religion. On the contrary, it is to waged
to protect his right to choose freely.
Therefore, if there is a force in the world that tries to prevent a person from
practicing this right, Jihad may lead
to fighting the force that is trying to prevent him from exercising free will.
Relevance
Since Islam is
the last religion revealed by Allah, it possesses some elements that make it
unique. One of these is its relevance
for human beings regardless of place and time. This means that
Islam - submission to God - is a comprehensive institution which includes all
the guidelines necessary for
all aspects of life. Therefore, the best way to understand Islam is to look at
it as more than a religion - as a
complete way of life. In other words, it is a system which regulates every
aspect of life, dealing with all issues
- social, economic, educational, judicial, health, and even military. Thus, it
is suitable for all human beings and for
all times, since it is the final religion. Islamic law aims to achieve five
goals for human beings in life: protecting the
religion, protecting one's self, protecting one's possessions, protecting one's
mind, and protecting one's
offspring. Therefore, God
(Allah) decided on two main domains of law: 1. If the
domain always requires change and progress, Allah legislated comprehensive yet
flexible rules and gave people the
chance to create and develop the necessary laws to satisfy the specific needs of
a certain period of time. For
example, in the rule of consultation (Shura), Allah decided that it should be
the general rule for any government;
however, its form and style are left open for people to choose and decide
according to their needs. 2. If the
domain does not require or lend itself to change or progress, Allah legislated
fixed and detailed laws that govern all
issues related to a specific area. Thus, there is no way for man to change or
develop those laws, which were made for
the welfare of all mankind. For example, the area of worshipping God contains
fixed details which cannot be
changed at all. These regard prayer, fasting, making pilgrimage, etc. Another
example is in family matters, such
as the laws of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. To show how
Islam cares for the environment, one can cite the many laws that protect the
environment. About fourteen
hundred years ago. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "The world
is green and beautiful, and Allah has appointed you as His stewards over it. He
sees how you acquit yourselves."
Muhammad showed
how important plants and trees are by saying: "Whoever plants a tree and
looks after it with care until it
matures and becomes productive will be rewarded in the Hereafter." Even in
the territory of an enemy, Islam's care
for plants, animals, and trees is profound. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, or
successor, to Muhammad (pbuh),
instructed his troops that he was sending into battle not to cut down any trees
or kill any animals except for food. These are but a
few examples of how Islam remains relevant in the modern world. Sources
The ultimate
manifestation of God's grace for man, the ultimate wisdom, and the ultimate
beauty of expression: in short, the
word of God.² This is how the German scholar, Muhammad Asad, once described the
Qur'an. If one were to ask any
Muslim to depict it, most likely they would offer similar words. The Qur'an, to
the Muslim, is the irrefutable,
inimitable Word of God. It was revealed by God Almighty, through the instrument
of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh). The Prophet (pbuh) himself had no role in authoring the Qur'an, he was
merely a human secretary,
repeating the dictates of the Divine Creator: "He
(Muhammad) does not speak of his own desire. It is no less than an Inspiration
sent down to him." [53:3-4] The Qur'an was
revealed in Arabic, to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), over a period of twenty-three
years. It is composed in a
style so unique, that it cannot be deemed either poetry or prose, but somehow a
mixture of both. The Qur'an is
imimitable; it cannot be simulated or copied, and God Almighty challenges
mankind to pursue such an endeavor if he
thinks he can: "Or do
they say he forged it? Say: Bring then a chapter like unto it, and call (to your
aid) anyone you can, beside God, if it be
you speak the truth." [10:38]. The Qur'an's
language is indeed sublime, its recitation moving, as one non-Muslim scholar
noted, it was like ³the cadence of my
heartbeat². Due to its unique style of language, the Qur'an is not only highly
readable, but also relatively easy
to remember. This latter aspect has played an important role not only in the
Qur'an's preservation, but in the
spiritual life of Muslims as well. God Himself declares, "And We
have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember; then is there
anyone that will receive admonition?"
[54:17] One of the most
important characteristics of the Qur'an is that it remains today, the only holy
book which has never changed;
it has remained free from any and all adulterations. Sir William Muir noted,
"There is probably in the world no
other book which has remained (fourteen) centuries with so pure a text."
The Qur'an was written down during the
lifetime and under the supervision of the Prophet, who himself was illiterate,
and it was canonized shortly after
his death by a rigorous method which scrutinized both written and oral
traditions. Thus its authenticity is
unblemished, and is its preservation is seen as the fulfillment of God's
promise: "We have,
without doubt, sent down the Message, and We will assuredly guard it from
corruption." [15:9] The Qur'an is a
book which provides the human being the spiritual and intellectual nourishment
he/she craves. Its major themes
include the oneness of God, the purpose of human existence, faith and
God-consciousness, the Hereafter and
its significance. The Qur'an also lays a heavy emphasis upon reason and
understanding. In these spheres of
human understanding, the Qur'an goes beyond just satisfying the human intellect;
it causes one to reflect on
implications. There are Qur'anic challenges and prophecies. One of the most
exciting fields in recent years has been
the discovery that, of the significant amount of scientific information in the
Qur'an, including the event of the
Big Bang, embryological data, and other information concerning astronomy
biology, etc., there is not a single
statement that has not been borne out by modern discoveries In short, the Qur'an
fulfills the heart, the soul, and the
mind. Perhaps the
best description of the Qur'an was given by Ali, the cousin of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) when he expounded upon
it as, "The Book
of God. In it is the record of what was before you, the judgment of what is
among you, and the prophecies of
what will come after you. It is decisive, not a case for levity. Whoever is a
tryant and ignores the Qur'an will be
destroyed by God. Whoever seeks guidance from other than it will be misguided.
The Qur'an is the unbreakable
bond of connection with God; it is the remembrance full of wisdom and the
straight path. The Qur'an does not become
distorted by tongues. nor can it be deviated by caprices; it never dulls from
repeated study; scholars will
always want more of it. The wonders of the Qur'an are never ending. Whoever
speaks from it will speak the
truth, whoever rules with it will be just, and whoever holds fast to it will be
guided to the straight path."
[Al-Tirmidhi] Sunnah
The term Sunnah
comes from the root word sanna, which means to pave the way or make a path
easily passable, such that it
becomes a commonly followed way by everyone afterwards. Thus sunnah can be used
to describe a street or road
or path on which people, animals, and cars travel. Additionally, it can apply to
a prophetic way, i.e. the law that
they brought and taught as an explanation or further clarification of a divinely
revealed book. Normally, the
prophetic way includes references to his sayings, actions, physical features and
character traits. From the
Islamic standpoint, Sunnah refers to anything narrated or related about the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), authentically
traced to him regarding his speech, actions, traits, and silent approvals,
before and after the revelation. Each narration
is composed of two parts: the isnad and the matn. The isnad refers to a chain of
people who narrated a
paricular narration. The matn is the actual text of the narration. The isnad
must comprise upright and sincere
individuals whose integrity is unquestionable. The Speech of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) The speech of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) refers to his sayings. For example, he said: "Actions
are judged by their intentions; everyone will be rewarded according to his/her
intention. So whoever migrates for
the sake of Allah and His Prophet then his migration will be noted as a
migration for the sake of Allah and His
Prophet. Conversely, one who migrates only to obtain something worldly or to
marry a woman, then his migration will
be worth what he had inteded.² [Bukhari]. The Prophet (pbuh) also said: ³Whoever
believes in Allah and the Last
Day, should say something good or keep quiet. The above two
accounts clearly show that the Prophet (pbuh) spoke these words. Consequently,
these are known as his
speech. The Actions of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) His actions
pertain to anything he did, as authentically reported by the Sahabah
(Companions). For instance, Hudhayfah
reported that whenever the Prophet (pbuh) got up at night, he would clean his
teeth with a tooth-stick.
Also A'ishah reported that the Prophet (pbuh) loved to do everything starting
with the right side - putting on
shoes, walking, cleaning himself, and in all his affairs generally. The Silent
Approvals of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) His silent
approvals on different issues meant his not opposing or minding what he saw,
heard or knew of the actions or
sayings of his Companions. On one occasion, for example, the Prophet (pbuh)
learned of actions of some of his
Companions from other Companions. Soon after the battle of Khandaq, Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) gave the order
to the Companions to move quickly to surround the tribe of Banu Quraydah,
encouraging them to hurry so that
perhaps they would pray 'Asr (the late afternoon prayer) there. Some of the
Companions of the Prophet (pbuh)
responded immediately and left without praying 'Asr. They arrived after sunset,
pitched camp and prayed 'Asr-
after sunset. At the same time another group of Companions formulated their
judgment differently. They thought
that the Prophet (pbuh) was merely encouraging them to hasten to their
destination, rather than to delay 'Asr
until after sunset. Consequently, they decided to stay in Madinah until they had
prayed 'Asr. Immediately
thereafter, they hastened towards the tribe of Banu Quraydhah. When the Prophet
(pbuh) was told of how each
group responded differently to his announcement, he (pbuh) affirmed both
judgments. Physical and
Moral Traits of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) Everything
authentically narrated concerning the Prophet's complexion and the rest of his
physical features is also included in the
definition of sunnah. Umm Ma'bad described what she saw of the great Prophet
(pbuh). She said: "I saw a
man, his face radiant with a bright glow, not too thin or too fat, elegant and
handsome. His eyes had a deep black hue
with long eyelashes. His voice was pleasant and his neck long. He had a thick
beard. His long black eyebrows were
beautifully arched and connected to each other. In silence, he remained
dignified, commanding utmost awe and
respect. When he spoke, his speech was brilliant. Of all people he was the most
handsome and the most
pleasant, even when approaching from a distance. In person, he was unique and
most admirable. Graced with eloquent
logic, his speech was moderate. His logical arguments were well organized as
though they were a string of gems.
He was not too tall or too short, but exactly in between. Among three, he
appeared the most radiant and
most vibrant. He had companions who affectionately honored him. When he spoke,
they listened to him
attentively. When he gave orders, they were quick to execute them. They rallied
around him guarding him. He never frowned
or spoke frivolously." [Hakim] Along with his
physical features, his Companions also described his habits and behavior with
people. Once Anas reported: "I served
the Prophet of Allah (pbuh) for ten years. Never once did he so much as express
any bit of displeasure nor did he ever
ask 'Why did you do it?' for something I did or 'Why didn't you do it?' for
something I didn't do." From the above
we can clearly see that when the term sunnah appears in a general context
refering to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
it comprises anything narrated about the Prophet (pbuh) and authentically traced
to him. Once a Muslim learns
of the authenticity of any narration, he/she is obliged to follow and obey it
accordingly. Such obedience is
mandated by Allah as He declares "...and
obey Allah and His Prophet and do not turn away when you hear (him speak)."
[8:20] At times, some
Muslims are perplexed when people say that sunnah is something only recommended
and is not mandatory. Thus
they conclude that we are only required to follow the Qur'an and not the Sunnah.
Such an argument
results from a gross misunderstanding. Scholars of Islamic jurisprudence use the
term sunnah to denote what is
authentically established of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in deeds which were not
subsequently made mandatory by
Allah. They further
hold that this includes any saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) where he
encourages Muslims to do a particular
task and compliments those who imbibe such attributes. Thus to them, the term
sunnah denotes what is
authentically established of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in deeds which he did
voluntarily and which were not subsequently
made mandatory by Allah. They further hold that this includes any saying of
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) where he
encourages Muslims to do a particular task and compliments those who imbibe such
attributes. Thus to them,
the term sunnah refers to what is "recommended" and is not mandatory
(fard or wajib). From the above,
we can clearly see that the term sunnah takes on different meanings when used by
different Islamic
disciplines.
Tolerance
Freedom of
belief is guaranteed in Islam. It should be very clear that Islam tolerates not
only other faiths but even its
enemies. This is stated clearly in the Qur'an: "God
forbids you not with regard 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 loves those who are just." [60:8] 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. Islamic law also permits non-Muslim
minorities to set up their own courts to
implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves and to govern their
own affairs. History
provides many examples of Muslim tolerance towards other faiths. When the great
leader and second Caliph, Umar,
entered Jerusalem in the year 634, Islam guaranteed freedom of worship to all
religious communities in the city. In
fact, so careful was Umar in setting an example for his people that he not only
went to a church to pray, he prayed
outside in the courtyard, lest his followers after his death be tempted to
convert the church into a mosque. Islam teaches
that the closest to Allah and the most beloved of Allah are those who are the
best in piety. Thus all people, male
and female, and regardless of race, color, nationality or ethnicity, are
considered and treated as equal before
Allah and before the law. This concept of tolerance did not reach the West even
in theory until the 18th century,
and in practice not until the 20th century. Universality
In the Qur'an,
Allah says: "We have
sent you (Muhammad) as a mercy for all nations." [21:107] Thus Islam is
not restricted to any particular race or nation, as many other religions are,
but is universal, meaning that its
message applies to all humanity, at all times, in all places. Since Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was the last prophet and messenger, his message applies to all
future generations.
All previous prophets, from Adam, Noah and Abraham to Moses and Jesus, were also
Muslims: "Not a
single messenger did We send before you without this inspiration sent by Us to
him that there is no god but I,
therefore worship and serve Me." [21:25] Since the
Qur'an is the final testament, with every word and every letter unadulterated
and unchanged, and protected by
Allah from any change or tampering, it is the final revelation, and no other law
will ever supersede it. It applies,
moreover, to every aspect of one's daily life, including personal, social,
legal, economic, political, even military.
Furthermore, Islam affects every part of the individual - physical, mental,
emotional, and spiritual. |
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