An Insight to Islam
Home » Articles » Current Topics » An Insight to IslamIt is by Allah's grace that we have been guided to Islam, i.e. to submit your will to the will of your creator, the religion that we are proud of. It is the religion of all prophets from Adam to Muhammad, peace be upon them all.
It is the religion that Allah has chosen for us. Allah said: "This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favour on you and have chosen for Islam as your religion". The revelation given to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), deemed to be the final divine expression which completed the previous revelations, has come to remove hardships that overburdened people. Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him- was sent as a mercy to all creatures.
The Qur'an states clearly: "We have sent you naught but as a mercy to all that exists." This mercy is not limited to Muslims or human beings but rather it includes all that God has created. This is, from a Muslim point of view, an unquestionable fact. In the Muslim literature it is reported that a woman who committed one of the major sins was admitted to paradise as while she was in the desert, she became extremely thirsty. She spent a slot of time searching for water. When she found a well of water, she did not find a bucket. So she jumped into the well and drank. As she was coming out of the well she saw a dog dying for water. She took off her leather socks and filled them with water and gave them to the dog. As a result she was admitted into paradise. In spite of that every now and then a voice is raised from the south or the north endeavouring to distort the Islamic image. Let this disturb no Muslim. The history teaches us. A huge fortune has been spent and great efforts have been exerted to deform Islam. Nevertheless, Islam remained bright and attracts a great number of the educated people daily basis to the extent that it is considered the fastest growing religion.
The fact that a number of people on a daily basis embrace Islam is due to the fact that Islam is harmonious to our innate inclinations and characteristics. In spite of the fact that Islam is the perfection of the previously revealed messages, it states clearly: "Let there be no Compulsion in the religion." Undoubtedly the reason for that is that the idea of imposing one's belief on others contradicts the Islamic call unto applying our mental faculties. In many a place in the Qur'an there is a manifest call for reasoning. The divine revelation coming to Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - has a significant start. Idolatry was widely spread in the environment in which Prophet Muhammad- peace be upon him - first preached Islam. However, the first verses of the Qur'anic revelation represented an open call to seeking knowledge. Allah said: "Read in the name of your Lord, who created. Who created man from a leech-like clot." The very first Islamic revelation calls unto people to tread the main gate of knowledge, namely Reading. The Qur'an was not commenced by commands of rituals but rather of seeking knowledge, since Allah can be pleased only with belief and practices founded on free will and free will can only be implemented when one applies his / her mental faculties. It has never been recorded in history that Islam contradicted science. To the contrary, seeking knowledge is an Islamic obligation.
The Muslim Imams were scholars in many secular subjects e.g. medicine, chemistry, etc. The Pope quoted what the Byzantine emperor said: Show me what the new that Muhammad brought. In fact he has brought a lot and a lot. I can quote from the Islamic literature a lot, but just to put it on the ground I ask: Who were the torch bearers of knowledge during the medieval ages? Prophet Muhammad- peace be upon him - has brought the Islam that respects man. Islam that perceives man as Allah's product that He looks after. He Created mind for him, so He gave a job to this mind. He created for him a soul so He provided him with spirituality. He created his material aspects and facilitated a system that allows the expression of these aspects in an organized way.
Prophet Muhammad- peace be upon him - received the message that organizes the affairs of this life and the life to come. Islam has laid the foundations for the systems of the Muslim state e.g. justice, equality and has prohibited oppression and racism. However, it is left for people to find out how to implement justice. Islam has come to establish the constitution that organizes the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims on a friendly basis. Allah said: "Allah forbids you not with regard to those who fight you not in the cause of your religion nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them." Islam has come to say transgress not as Allah loves not the transgressors. Islam has come to organize the affairs of this life and the life to come. Rab'I Ibn Amer said: "Allah sent us to guide whom He wills out of darkness to the light, out of worshipping people to the worship of Allah and out of the hardship of this world to the happiness of the hearafter." Currently we hear some people call for clash of civilization. Some people are calling for genocide. But this serves none but the merchants of weapons and those who wage wars. Islam calls unto mutual coexistence. People misinterpret the word Jihad into holy war when in fact that term "holy war" does not exist in Islam. There is nothing called the Quranic or Mohammadic war either. It is a major mistake to limit the term Jihad to fighting. It means to strive against yourself e.g. teach, learn and defend. But it can never mean transgression.
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