Definition Of Islam
منذ 3 سنوات
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Chirri: The original meaning of "Islam" is the acceptance of a view or a condition which previously was not accepted. In the language of the Holy Qur'an, Islam means the readiness of a person to take orders from God and to follow them. "Muslim" is a word taken from the word Islam. It applies to the person who is ready to take orders from God and follow them.
The two words, however, acquired specific meanings after the introduction of the message which was conveyed by the Prophet Mohammad. The message which was revealed to Mohammad is called Islam, and to profess the belief in his message is also Islam. Muslim, also, has come to mean the person who follows the message of Mohammad and believes in its truthfulness.
Wilson: What is the relation between the original meaning of Islam and the specific meaning which the word acquired after the advent of Mohammad?
Chirri: The new meaning of the word is closely related to the original one because Mohammad stated that his teachings contain the teachings of all the previous prophets and all the Divine commandments. When a person professes the belief in the truthfulness of Mohammad and pledges to follow his message, he, in fact, will be stating his readiness to obey the orders of God unconditionally.Wilson: There are certain procedures prescribed, for example, by Christianity for a person who likes to join the Christian faith. Baptism is one of the sacraments which, according to most of the Christian denominations, a new convert has to have in order to become a Christian. Are there any prescribed procedures to be followed by a person who likes to join the faith of Islam?
Chirri: No sacraments or procedures are prescribed for a person who likes to join the faith of Islam. One needs only to pronounce or to believe in the contents of the Declaration of the Faith:Wilson: Why is such a pronouncement sufficient for the admission of a person into the faith of Islam?
Chirri: When a person states that he believes in the truthfulness of Mohammad, he actually states that he believes in all what Mohammad introduced and in all his teachings. This includes all the Qur'anic teachings, all the deeds and all the sayings of Mohammad, whether in the matter of belief or in the area of practice.When a person believes in the contents of the Declaration of the Faith, he automatically becomes a Muslim. His pronouncement of the Declaration is a proof to the other Muslims that he is a believer in Islam. Because of this, no Muslim can deny him the admission into the faith because he is a believer in Islam and needs nothing more beyond it.
Wilson: Is a new convert considered equal to a person who was born a Muslim?
Chirri: A Muslim convert is equal to any other Muslim in the eyes of the Holy Qur'an. Furthermore, a convert has more advantages than a born Muslim for two reasons: 1. A convert deserves a bigger reward from God than a born Muslim. A convert becomes a Muslim usually after a great deal of research and some psychological crisis, because changing religion is not an easy task. It takes a great deal of courage and effort on the part of the convert, while a born Muslim receives his religion by inheritance.2. A convert is considered, by his conversion to Islam,
Wilson: Sometimes I find that Islam is called "DeenAl-Touhid" and sometimes "Deen-Al-Fitrah." Since the two names are Arabic, they should be defined for the benefit of the non-Arabs. The reasons for which Islam has these names should also be made clear .
Chirri: "Deen-Al-Touhid" means the religion of the belief in the Oneness of God, and "Deen-Al-Fitrah" , means the religion of the nature or the religion which is in accordance with human nature.
Islam is called the religion of One God because its main theme is the unity of God. The doctrine of One God is the most emphasized and repeated principle in the Holy Qur'an. When Islam was introduced to the world, people were mostly idol-worshippers. Some religions preached the Oneness of God but in an unclear form. Some of them ascribed to God an anthropomorphic image. The most important point of the contents of the new heavenly message was to correct the idol-worshippers and to remove whatever clouded the concept of One God.
When a person is freed from illogical thinking, he can easily, just by looking at the order of the universe. conclude that the universe has only One Creator. It is easy to accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the over-fourbillion-year-old universe had been created by an Infinitely Old Creator. But it is neither simple nor easy to identify that Creator with a mortal whose birth took place four billion years after the creation of the universe .
It is natural to accept a teaching that calls upon us to believe that the Creator of the universe is Absolutely Fair , Just, and Merciful, and that such a Just and Merciful Creator does not burden any soul with the sin of another; and that He does not require any person to pay for the sins of others.
The teaching of Islam seems to be acceptable to the human mind, unless the human mind has been exposed to illogical teaching. This is the reason why Islam is called the religion of nature.
Chirri: There are many factors which contributed, and are still contributing, to the spread of Islam. Among them are the following factors:
Mohammad was born under the shining light of history. No cloud has shrouded his birth, existence or his life among his people. If any other propjet is considered a part of the religious history, Mohammad is a part of both the religious and the world history.
Mohammad was born in Mecca from a well-known father and mother and lived with his people forty years before he was commissioned as a prophet of God. He was observed by the people during his childhood and manhood. He was noticed by all his associates as an example of honesty and integrity. People never found in him a fault. They called him the Truthful, the Trustworthy.
Mohammad did not live as an isolated person. On the ntrary, he associated with the people constantly. As a sinessman, Mohammad travelled and associated with ople from all walks of life, but he was never affected by eir low desires or worldly ambitions. He lived in a pagan ciety, dominated by idol-worshippers, but he never subcribed to their ideas, nor did he join them in their faith. He lived in that world as a world to himself. He was
Due to the complete honesty and the influence of the appealing personality of Mohammad, the faith of his companions in him was unusually strong. It was based on their first-hand acquaintance with his exemplary life.
We are told that the followers of Moses refused to enter Jerusalem when commanded to do so and told him that he and his Lord should go to fight the enemies. We are told that the multitudes who had gathered around Jesus deserted him when the crisis came. Even his disciples deserted him. His chief disciple denied him three times before dawn on that fateful night. Similar situations happened to most of the prophets. None of them enjoyed a true support from their followers when they encountered a Crisis.
The companions of Mohammad, however, were different. When Mohammad was in Mecca, he and the hundreds of his followers were powerless and without any legal protection. All of them stood the test of the crisis, and none of them abandoned the faith or the Prophet. The actions of those Muslims proved their faith in Islam and the Prophet. All of them preached Islam and practiced what they preached, and every genuine Muslim gave his faith a genuine support in word and in deed.
Upon serious thought, one can easily accept a religious teaching which declares the following: There is no God but the Almighty Who created the whole universe; none is worthy of worship but He; He is the Lord alone, without partner, associate, or son; He did not beget nor was He begotten, and nothing is like Him; He is the Just, the Merciful, and the Powerful, neither anthropomorphic nor physical; and His power encompasses the whole universe.
Such a simple and uncompromising monotheism is readily acceptable to the human mind which seeks an explanation to the existence of the world. It does not confuse the human mind by stating that God is One and that He, at the same time, is more than one. Nor does it represent God as a human being born out of another human being.
They do not contradict each other, nor do they contradict any other established truth. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all advocate the justice of God and His fairness. Islam, however, takes this fundamental concept and, follows it thoroughly. It builds on it many other religious concepts which follow the concept of justice inseparably. When God is just and fair, He does not impose on any soul to do what is beyond its ability. Islam tells us also that the Most Just does not hold an individual responsible except for what he does by his own choice. He does not hold a person respon
Islam tells us also that because God does not hold a person responsible for what his father did, He does not condemn the whole human race for a sin that was committed before the existence of any human generation. Such a condemnation is contradictory to the concept of the justice of God. Instead of burdening mankind with the original sin, Islam tells us that every human being is born pure and free of any sin, and will stay so, until he commits a sin as an adult.
Islam, unlike many other religions, stresses the importance of both the spiritual and material aspects of the human life. God, according to Islam, does not want man to neglect his biological needs, nor is there an intrinsical conflict between our response to these needs and out spiritual development. On the contrary, the two sides are interdependent. They merge in each other and can be united in most of the human activities. A man who lacks the necessary food, warmth, and shelter, can hardly meditate, perform a devotional duty, or do good for other human beings. But when such necessities are satisfied, man can easily direct himself to his Lord.
Therefore, the well-intended work for meeting the bodily needs ought to be a portion of our religious duty. Religion, according to the Islamic teaching, does not aim at suppression of the biological desires; it aims at cultivating them
