Welcome to Islam, - Islam's concept of monotheism

To an English-speaking audience, Islam is often advertised as a
'monotheistic religion in the tradition of Judaism and Christianity,'
and we often, with the best of intentions, add: "The difference is, we
only believe in One God."
I am afraid, however, that this fails to capture the essence of
Tawheed, Islam's concept of monotheism. It is not that there is only
one God and that is that. If this were the case, little is there to
differentiate us from Christians and Jews, who also conceptually
believe in One God )despite different theological formulations(. What
makes us different is that we believe in One God and, furthermore, we
believe that only Allaah is to be worshipped.
The core of Islam is wrapped in the message of 'Laailaahaillallaah':
There is no god worthy of worship except Allaah. This means, in other
words, that we turn away not only from idols of wood and stone, but
also the idols of ideology. Today, humanity, spurred by Western
culture, worships many things, but above all, it worships itself.
Secularism is the ideology of Western countries )and even some Muslim
countries(. The reason it works so well is because it is the best, and
latest, way to deceive people away from Allaah. Rather than urge
people to worship forms and shapes, the new Shirk )polytheism( tells
people to worship themselves. Everyone is a god!
The American dream has become the construction of a society in which
everyone is his or her own god, and does what he or she wants to do
regardless of the consequences. Naturally, it is a very attractive
idea. Do what you want - do what you feel - you are always going to be
right! Each man is his own judge and jury!
What this fails to realise is that humans are, by nature, fragile
beings. Despite being such a self-proclaimed 'free' and
'individualistic' society,Americais more conformist than many other
societies in the world. A young woman without a perfect body is an
outcast. A young man who cannot party or cannot 'get enough girls,' is
not a real man - and this is the most interesting example of all.
In Islam, a man's role is honourable because of his sacrifice and
responsibility. A noble and virtuous man is a pious one, who works
hard, provides for his family, goes out of his way for his wife and is
always faithful to her. Thus, the Muslim character is the responsible
and strong one, because the Muslim accepts the Trust from Allaah -
Islam - and does not shy away from it.
Western society, on the other hand, preaches that everyone is a god,
and thus, you never have to discipline yourself. The result is a
society made of weak, selfish and narrow-minded people )proven by
alarming rates of suicide, violent crime, depression and spiralling
divorce rates(.
Allaah Tells us in the Quran:"And I ]Allaah[ did not create the Jinn
and mankind except to worship Me."]Quran: 51:56[ The drive to worship
is an intrinsic human need. One attempt to crush worship in all forms
was communism, and communism - as history attests - failed and
continues to fail miserably. Due to the evolution of Western thought
and Western society, the drive to worship has been channelled away
from Allaah and towards the individual.
However, it does not take long for human beings to realise that we, as
individuals, make pathetic idols. At a very young age, we realise we
are fallible, and often unsuccessful in many things we wish so
sincerely to do. How many kids want to play professional sports, but
are never able to?
So, instead, people start to worship ideas. They attribute power to
these ideas. They start to believe that governments are all-powerful,
or that flags, ethnicities, tribes or languages hold mystical powers.
InEurope, the popular belief is that every linguistic group deserves a
country, because a linguistic group is an immortal entity that has had
many members come and go but has, at root, stayed the same.
But we, as Muslims reject all of this, because we know that it is
simply no more than Shirk - partnership in the worship of Allaah -
which is the unforgivable sin. Why is it unforgivable? The essence of
Islam, as stated earlier, is not only that we believe in Allaah, but
also that we worship Him and make Him the centre of all our efforts.
Should we put anything between Allaah and ourselves, then we corrupt
the purity of our beautiful faith.
When Prophet Muhammadsallallaahu 'alayhi wasallam)may Allaah exalt his
mention( came to the Arabs of Makkah in 610 CE with a message directly
from Allaah, the Arabs of that time were not atheists. They believed
in Allaah, they believed He was the most powerful deity and, most
interestingly, they believed He could not be represented by a physical
idol. However, they believed that many idols interceded on their
behalf )over three hundred lesser gods, in fact!(. In other words, the
pagans believed that there were channels between the individual and
Allaah, and that these barriers needed to be worshipped.
Modern Western society is no different. At every turn, American
politicians invoke God's Name. How often do we hear President Bush say
'God BlessAmerica'? Take anyUScurrency out of your wallet and
inscribed in prominent letters on it is the American motto: 'In God We
Trust.' Thus, superficially, American society does not reject God.
Rather, it believes in God and claims to acknowledge Him as the
Supreme Being. However, American society makes other people gods and
intermediaries, to such an extent that eventually God Himself is
entirely ignored!
This is alsoAmerica's plan for the Muslim world )throughout the world,
from right here inAmericato all the way over toAfghanistan(. They will
teach us that they have no quarrel with Allaah, but they simply want
to give us democracy to 'modernise' us and give us 'progress'.
Should we choose to go down this ill-fated path, we will find, to our
horror, that Allaah will not be denied. He - and may He be exalted
over such comparisons - will just be dismissed so far that people will
become like atheists in denial of their atheism. May Allah save us
from this fate, and I apologise for the harshness of the prediction,
but we know that once the road is opened to the slightest deviation,
this deviation snowballs. This is how religions before us were
destroyed; how many times has Allaah asked us to reflect on history?
The choice is, as always, our own!

Welcome to Islam, - The articles of faith

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There are six articles of Faith in Islam:
1. Belief in Allaah )God(,
2. Belief in His Angels,
3. Belief in His Books,
4. Belief in His Messengers,
5. Belief in the Last Day, and:
6. Belief in the Divine Preordainment and Divine Decree )Qadhaa' and Qadr(.
1- Belief in Allaah:
This article means to believe that Allaah is the One God, to whom worship is due; that He is the Creator and the Sustainer of everything; that it is He who gives life and causes death, and that He is Unique in His Names and Attributes.
2 - Belief in His Angels:
Allaah has created the angels from light. They are honourable slaves of Allaah, who obey Him and execute His Commands; Allaah describes them by saying:"…They do not disobey Allaah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded."]Quran: 66:6[
Allaah created them to worship Him, and only Allaah knows how many they are in number. Among them are:
- Jibreel )Gabriel( who is charged with delivering Divine revelations to the Prophets and Messengers of Allaah,
- Meekaa'eel )Michael( who is charged with sending the rain,
- The Angel of Death who is charged with collecting human souls,
- The bearers of the Throne of Allaah and
- The guards of Paradise and Hell.
Besides these, there are angels who guard humans, others who record people's deeds and utterances, and still others who are charged with various other duties and tasks.
3 - Belief in His Books:
Belief in His Books is believing that Allaah the Exalted did in reality reveal Books to His Messengers to convey them to their people. Those Books comprise the Speech of Allaah. These were doubtlessly chaste at the point of revelation, and whenever a Book or Scripture was revealed, it abrogated the preceding one. The known Divine Scriptures are:
1. The Torah, the Book Allaah revealed to Moosaa )Moses(, may Allaah exalt his mention
2. The Psalms, the Book revealed to Daawood )David(, may Allaah exalt his mention
3. The Gospel, revealed to 'Eesaa )Jesus(, may Allaah exalt his mention
The Books in the hands of the Christians and Jews today, that is the Torah and the Bible with the Old and the New Testaments, are not authentic because they have been distorted, altered and tampered with. Moreover, they have been abrogated by the last of Allaah's Books, the Quran.
4 - Belief in His Messengers:
Muslims attest that Allaah did send Messengers to every nation inviting them to worship Him alone. This belief also entails denouncing all gods that are worshipped besides Allaah or instead of Him, and that all Messengers were truthful and discharged their duty in the best manner. Allaah sent many messengers, and only Allaah knows how many. It is incumbent upon all Muslims to believe in all the Prophets and Messengers. He who denies one of them denies all. The first messenger Allaah sent to mankind was Nooh )Noah(, may Allaah exalt his mention, and the last was Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Allaah says:"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, ]saying[: 'Worship Allaah and avoid Taaghoot )i.e., false deities(..."]Quran: 16:36[
All Prophets and Messengers were human beings. Allaah distinguished them by commissioning them as Prophets and Messengers and supported them with miracles. They had no Divine qualities, and had no access to the Unseen world. However, Allaah sent Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam to all mankind saying:"Say ]O Muhammad[: 'O mankind! I am the Messenger of Allaah to you all....'"]Quran: 7:158[
Of all the Messengers, there are five who were the most persevering and determined to do what Allaah had enjoined upon them. They were Nooh, Ibraaheem )Abraham(, Moosaa, 'Eesaa and Muhammad, may Allaah exalt their mention. Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was the last and the best of them all, and remains the best of all human beings.
5 - Belief in the Last Day:
Muslims attest to the truth of everything Allaah or His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said about death. Allaah has not created His creation in vain. He created men and jinn to worship Him and promised paradise as a reward to those who obey Him and His Messengers, and hellfire to those who disobey Him or His Messengers. He has set a certain period for the whole universe, whose end will be the Final Hour. During the Final Hour, humans will be questioned about their deeds in this world. Those deeds will be weighed for them. One whose good deeds overweigh his evil deeds will prosper, while him whose bad deeds outweigh his good ones will be condemned to hellfire - unless he died in the state of Islam. Then, Allaah would either forgive him, or He would punish him then eventually he would enter paradise. Islam is the precondition for the acceptance of any good deed.
The Description of Paradise:
Paradise, or Jannah in Arabic, is the abode that Allaah has prepared for believers. It holds means of everlasting bliss no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no human has imagined. In it are pure female mates, rivers of milk, rivers of wine, rivers of pure honey and every kind of delicious fruit and meat. Its residents will not experience exhaustion, boredom or death.
The Description of Hell:
Hellfire is the abode Allaah has prepared for infidels who deny Him and His Messengers. Its food is intolerantly bitter, and its drink is the pus exuding from the skins of its inmates. Its depth is unfathomable. The infidels and the hypocrites will live in it forever.
6 - Belief in the Divine Preordainment and Divine Decrees )Qadhaa' and Qadr(:
Doom )Qadhaa'( is the general Decree of Allaah that every human shall die, whereas a Divine Decree )Qadr( is a particular Decree of Allaah or the execution of Qadhaa', that a certain person is to die at a particular time and place. Hence, believing in this article entails believing that Allaah has created everything and has foreordained its proper measure.
The Facets of Qadr:
1. Allaah is well acquainted with everything taking place, and His Knowledge encompasses everything.
2. Allaah has pre-assigned portions of everything in the Preserved Tablet.
3. Nothing takes place in the heavens or on the earth without the Will of Allaah and His Wish. Whatever Allaah wills, takes place and whatever He does not will, does not take place.
4. Allaah is the Creator of all things. There is no other creator beside Him.









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Welcome to Islam, - The Islamic concept of faith

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The basis of any religion is faith. Faith is not merely conviction of the truth of a given principle, but it is essentially the acceptance of a principle as a basis for action. Without faith, a man is like a car without a steering wheel, drifting aimlessly upon a sea of doubt and confusion.
What is faith in Islam? It is belief in the Unity of God or Tawheed. This is expressed in the primary Kalimah )Word( of Islam as: “Laa ilaaha illallaah", meaning: “There is no one worthy of worship but Allaah.”
This beautiful phrase is the bedrock of Islam, its foundation and its essence. It is the expression of this belief, which differentiates a true Muslim from an unbeliever, or one who associates others with God in His Divinity.
The acceptance or denial of this phrase produces a world of difference among human beings. The believer finds out the right path, knows the truth and chalks out the course of life in the light of reality; the unbeliever chases one illusion after the other and gropes into the dark. For the believers, there is the promise of unhampered progress and resounding success in this world and in the Hereafter; whereas failure and ignominy are ultimately the lot of those who refuse to believe in it.
In fact, Tawheed is a revolutionary concept, a tremendously forceful doctrine and is the very starting-point of Islam.
However, the difference between believers and unbelievers is not the result of merely uttering a few words. The real force lies in the conscious acceptance of this doctrine and its stipulations and complete adherence to it in practical life.
The meaning of:“There is no one worthy of worship but Allaah”:
In Arabic, the word ‘Ilaah’ means 'one who is worshipped', i.e., a Being which on account of its Greatness and Power is considered worthy to be worshipped, to be bowed to in love, humility and submission. Anything or any being possessing powers too great to be comprehended by man is also called Ilaah. The concept of Ilaah also includes the possession of infinite powers that may astonish others. It also conveys the sense that others are dependent upon Ilaah and He is not dependent upon any one else.
It appears from humankind’s ancient history and the oldest relics of antiquity that we have been able to obtain, that in every age, man had recognized some deity or deities and worshipped them. Even in the present age, every nation on the face of the earth -- from the most primitive to the most civilized -- believes in and worships some deity. It shows that the idea of having a deity and of worshipping is ingrained in human nature. There is something within man's soul, which forces him to do so.
Acceptance of the doctrine of Unity of God is what is termed faith in Islam. However, faith in the Islamic sense is not merely intellectual assent to a certain dogma or a subjective emotional response to a great personality, but a volitional and dynamic reaction to belief in one God, Who stands for the highest perfection and belief in the Hereafter -- a belief that fully assimilates both intellectual and emotional responses. It is at once an affirmation of a truth and a surrender to the truth affirmed.
Intellectual apprehension plays an important part in Islamic faith. The Quran, in several places, appeals to human reason in arriving at true belief. It says )what means(:
"And thus do We explain the Signs in various ways that the truth may become established and that they may say: "Thou hast read out what thou hast learnt' and that We may explain it to a people who have knowledge."]Quran 6: 106[
Addressing the unbelievers, the Quran asks )what means(:"Those who associate gods with Allaah say: 'If Allaah had pleased, we would not have associated gods with Him, nor would our fathers, nor would we have made anything unlawful.' In like manner did those who were before them accuse God's Messenger of falsehood, until they tasted of Our wrath. Say: "Have you any knowledge? Then produce it for us. You only follow mere conjecture. And you only tell lies."]Quran 6: 149[
"Surely, the worst of beasts in the sight of Allaah are the deaf and the dumb, who have no sense."]Quran 8: 32[
The faith in which knowledge, emotion and will are all involved, is manifested not in the form of a doctrine or dogma, but in the form of an ideal value.
Faith in Islam is the moral ground and basis for action and not a dogmatic assertion of salvation-justification like Christianity. The well-being of man, therefore, depends upon faith that is accompanied by good actions.
Thus, faith is firm belief arising out of knowledge and unshakable conviction in the Unity of Allaah, in His Attributes and revealed guidance. One who believes as such is called Mu'min )faithful(.
This faith invariably leads man to a life of obedience and submission to the Will of Allaah, and a person who lives this life of submission is known as a Muslim. Thus, we find that faith is the starting point that leads man to a life of submission to Allaah, and that a man cannot become a Muslim without faith.
The Unity of God is the most fundamental concept in Islam.
The first step in discussing the concept of faith in Islam is to establish the existence of God, because if He does not exist there is no question of believing in Him. Therefore, the proof of existence of Allaah is the basis of the whole concept of Islamic faith.







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