and
“He (God) has named you as Muslims.” (22:78)
4. What is the basic teaching of Islam?
It is to make peace with God, which means to submit to and obey God completely. And also to make peace with man, which means to do good to people around us. This basic teaching is summed up in the Holy Quran as follows:
“Whoever submits himself completely to Allah, and does good to others, he shall have his reward from his Lord.” (2:112)
(Note that the word “he” in such places in the Quran does not mean a man only, but any human being, male or female).
5. How did Islam come into the world?
The religion of Islam in its present form came to us through the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, who lived and preached in Arabia some 1400 years ago (born 571 C.E., died 632 C.E.). However, the Holy Prophet taught that he was not bringing a completely new religion into the world, because the basic principles of Islam had also been preached by all the great founders of the various religions before him. Islam, therefore, did not begin with the Holy Prophet Muhammad, but was also the religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, and every other prophet of God.
6. Why is this religion not named after Muhammad, the Holy Prophet?
Because, properly speaking, the Holy Prophet Muhammad was not the Founder of Islam, but was himself a Muslim — a follower of Islam. Prophets before him too are called Muslims in the Holy Quran. Our religion was not named after the Holy Prophet Muhammad in order to stress that it teaches the same basic principles that were originally taught by all the prophets who appeared before him in various parts of the world.
7. Are there any special reasons why our religion is called Islam?
Yes. Because it teaches that, just as the universe around us obeys the laws God has established for it, man too should submit to the guidance the Almighty has revealed through His Prophet. It teaches that Islam or ‘submission to God’ is a hallmark of the physical world and of human nature. Every human child at birth is a ‘Muslim’ in the sense that he (or she) behaves according to true human nature.
8. If previous prophets had also taught the same basic ‘Islam’, what was new about the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad?
The original teachings given to the different nations of the world by the prophets who appeared in them, had gradually become lost, altered and obscured. God then sent the Holy Prophet Muhammad to:
i. — re-establish those original principles,
ii. — preach other truths which had not been preached before, but were necessary now because mankind had advanced,
iii. — to collect together the best of every religion into one faith.
So the Holy Prophet Muhammad appeared as the Last Prophet to give to the whole world one, perfect and ever-lasting, religion — Islam.
9. What does one have to do in order to become a Muslim?
A person becomes a Muslim by declaring in public an oath known as the Kalima Shahada. This runs:
Ash-hadu an la ilaha ill-Allah
(I bear witness that there is no god except Allah)
Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammad-an rasul-Ullah
(and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).
The Kalima contains the two basic points a Muslim has to believe: that there is only one God — Allah, and that the Holy Prophet Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger to mankind.
2. Basic beliefs and practices
“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteous is the one who believes in Allah, and the Last Day, and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and gives away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask and to set slaves free, and keeps up prayer and pays the Zakaat; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in the time of conflict. These are they who are truthful, and these are they who keep their duty.” (2:177)
10. Is there a list of basic Muslim beliefs?
Yes. The Kalima itself is known as the ‘brief expression of faith’. It summarizes the basic Muslim beliefs, which are five in number. These are belief in:
1. God, Who possess the most perfect and excellent qualities.
2. Angels, who act upon the heart of each person, inspiring him to do good.
3. Prophets and Messengers of God, sent to all the nations of the world, who taught virtue by their own high moral example.
4. Books of God, which were revealed to all the nations through their respective prophets, containing guidance on how man should live and conduct himself.
5. Life after death, when each person shall become conscious of all the deeds, good or bad, he/she did in this life, and shall face the consequences.
11. What is the most important point Islam teaches about belief?
It is this, that belief does not just mean believing something in one’s heart, but also acting on the belief. Mere faith counts for nothing if not carried into practice. The purpose of belief is to show us what to do in practice. No ‘belief’ by itself can bring salvation.
12. How does this apply to the five beliefs of Islam?
It applies as follows:
Belief in: — Means we should:
God. — Try to perfect ourselves and acquire the best qualities.
Angels. — Follow our good thoughts and impulses.
Prophets. — Try to model our lives on the examples of the righteous ones in all the nations on earth.
Books of God. — Follow all the truths, in whatever scripture or religion they may be found.
Life after death. — Remember that all our actions, good and bad, open and secret, will be judged.
13. What are the basic practices a Muslim has to perform?
In order to submit to God, and to be at peace with fellow beings, a Muslim has to perform certain duties to God and to fellow-beings. The duties to God are:
Prayer (salaat)
Fasting (saum)
and
Pilgrimage to Makka (hajj).
The duty to fellow beings is to spend one’s resources, time, energy, money, etc. for the welfare of others; in particular, to give a part of one’s wealth to help those in need (known as giving zakaat, a charity-tax).
14. What is the main point to remember about these practical duties?
It is that the purpose of performing these duties is to draw us closer to God, and to lead us to do good to others and refrain from wrong-doing in our daily lives. Therefore, we should carry out these duties, not as rituals, but remembering God from the bottom of our hearts. Performing these acts of worship can only benefit us if we use them