The Message Of Islam

Since the total submission of one's will to Allah represents the essence of worship, the basic message of Allah's divine religion, Islam is the worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship directed to any person, place or thing other than Allah.Since everything other than Allah, the Creator of all things, is Allah's creation; it may be said that Islam, in essence calls man away from the worship of creation and invites him to worship only its Creator. He is the only one deserving man's worship as it is only by His will that prayers are answered.

 If man prays to a tree and his prayers are answered, it was not the tree which answered his prayers but Allah who allowed the circumstances prayed for to take place. One might say, "That is obvious," however, to tree-worshippers it might not be. Similarly, prayers to Jesus, Buddha, or Krishna, to Saint Christopher, or Saint Jude or even to Muhammad, are not answered by them but are answered by Allah. Jesus did nottell his followers to worship him but to worship Allah. As the Qur'aan states:

"And behold Allah will say: "O Jesus the son of Mary Did you say to men, Worship me and my mother as gods besides Allah He will say-"Glory to you I could never say what I had no right (to say')" (Soorah Al-Maa'idah- 5:116)

Nor did he worship himself when he worshipped but rather he worshipped Allah. This basic principle is enshrined in the opening chapter of the Qur'aan, known asSoorah Al-Faatihah, verse 4:

"You alone do we worship and from you alone do we seek help".

Elsewhere, in the final book of revelation, the Qur'aan, Allah also said:

"And your Lord says:"Call on Me and I will answer your(prayer)."(Soorsh Mu'min 40:60)

it is worth noting that the basic message of Islam is that Allah and His creation are distinctly different entities. Neither is Allah His creation or a part of it, nor is His creation Him or a part of Him.

This might seem obvious, but, man's worship of creation instead of the Creator is to a large degree based on ignorance of this concept. It is the belief that the essence of Allah is everywhere in His creation or that His divine being is or was present in some aspects of His creation, which has provided justification for the worship of creation though such worship maybecalled the worship of Allah through his creation. How ever, the message of Islam as brought by the prophets of Allah is to worship only Allah and to avoid the worship of his creation either directly or indirectly. In the Our'aan Allah clearlystates:

"For We assuredly sent amongst every people a prophet,(with the command) worship meand avoid false gods " (Soorsh Al-Nahl 16:36)

When the idol worshipper is questioned as to why he or she bows down to idols created by men, the invariable reply is that they are not actually worshipping the stone image, but Allah who is present within it. They claim that the stone idol is only a focal point for Allah's essence and is not in itself Allah! One who has accepted the concept of the presence of God's being within His creation in any way will be obliged to accept this argument of idolatry. 

Whereas, one who understands the basic message of Islam and its implications would never concede to idolatry no matter how it is rationalized. Those who have claimed divinity for themselves down through the ages have often based their claims on the mistaken belief that Allah is present in man. They merely had to assert that although Allah according to their false beliefs, is in all of us, He is more present in them than in the rest of us. Hence, they claim, we should submit our will to them and worship them as they are either God in person or God concentrated within the person.

Similarly, those who have asserted the godhood of others after their passing have found fertile ground among those who accept the false belief of God's presence in man. One who has grasped the basic message of Islam and its implications could never agree to worship another human being under any circumstances. God's religion in essence is a clear call to the worship of the Creator and the rejection of creation-worship in any form. This is the meaning of the motto of Islam:

"Laa Elaaha lllallaah" (There is no god but Allah)

Its repetition automatically brings one within the fold of Islam and sincere belief in it guarantees one Paradise.

Thus, the final Prophet of Islam is reported to have said, "Any one who says: There is no god but Allah and dies holding that (belief) will enter paradise".(Reported by Abu Dharr and collected by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim).

It consists in the submission to Allah as one God, yielding to Him by obeying His commandments, and the denial of polytheism and polytheists.

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On the Tip of a Muslim Tongue

1. assalaamu alaykum (Peace be upon you) - by way of greetings

2. wa alaykumus salaam (peace be upon you) - in reply to the greetings

3. bismillah (in the name of Allah) - before making a beginning

4. jazakAllah (may Allah reward you) - for expression of thanks

5. fi amanullah (may Allah protect you) - by way of saying good-bye

6. subhanAllah (glory be to Allah) - for praising something

7. insha’Allah (if Allah wishes) - for expressing a desire to do something

8. astaghfirullah (I beg Allah for forgiveness) - repenting for sins before Allah

9. ma sha’Allah (as Allah has willed) - for expressing appreciation of something good

10. alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah) - for showing gratitude to Allah after success or even after completing anything

11. ya Allah (Oh Allah) - when in pain or distress, calling upon Allah and none else

12. ameen (may it be so) - the end of a Dua or prayer

13. inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon (to Allah we belong and to Him is our return) - this is uttered as an expression of sympathy of the news of some loss or some one's death.

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Ten Things We Waste

1. Our Knowledge

Wasted by not taking action with it.

2. Our Actions

Wasted by committing them without sincerity.

3. Our Wealth

Wasted by using on things that will not bring us ajr (reward from Allah). We waste our money, our status, our authority, on things which have no benefit in this life or in the akhirah (hereafter).

4. Our Hearts

Wasted because they are empty from the love of Allah (swt) and his Messenger (sallallahu 'alahi wasallam), and a feeling of peace and contentment. In it's place, our hearts are filled with something or someone else.

5. Our Bodies

Wasted because we don't use them in ibadah (worship) and service of Allah.

6. Our Love

Our emotional love is misdirected, not towards Allah, but towards something/someone else.

7. Our Time

Wasted, not used properly, to compensate for that which has passed, by doing what is righteous to make up for past deeds.

8. Our Intellect

Wasted on things that are not beneficial, that are detremental to society and the individual, not in contemplation or reflection.

9. Our Service

Wasted in service of someone who will not bring us closer to Allah, moreover something that will benefit us in dunya.

10. Our Dhikr (Remembrence of Allah)

Wasted, because it does not effect us or our hearts.

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Remembering Allah is Success

Our Creator, Allah has given us the precious gift of life and with it comes the freedom to live it as we desire. We are able to make our own decisions and choices in life and this freedom in itself is a gift from Allah. Our Creator knows us very well and is aware of our weaknesses and so has given us guidance on how to spend our lives so that we can be successful.

We accept that Allah is the Greatest and we hear these words every so often. However, our hearts and minds do not truly appreciate the significance of this statement. Surely, if we believe that Allah is the Greatest, we must regard the path that he has prescribed for us as the Greatest path. Therefore, the way we choose to live our lives should be based around the guidance that Allah Has given us because He is the Greatest and those who follow His divine guidance will be truly successful.

Despite knowledge and awareness of the above, we are drawn into alternative ways of life which conflict with that which Islam has recommended for us. A lifestyle which distances us from the beauty of Islam and the guidance of Allah, unfortunately becomes attractive and desirable. 

Benefits of Reciting Ayat Al-Kursi

Islam and Music

When it comes to Islam, music is a very interesting and heavily debated topic. Before I continue any further, I’d like to make it clear that my intention is not to take any side of the argument but instead to present both opinions in a short article. My aim is not to tell you what is haram (forbidden) or what is halal (permissible) but instead to explore some of the points we often debate. I’d like to add that I myself do listen to music, but I assure you that this won’t affect the neutrality of the article.

We all listen to music, so what can be wrong with it? For me, that argument is about as weak as they get, just because something is common or popular, it doesn’t become acceptable, I’ll leave the additional examples to your very own imagination. What is it about music that could potentially make it prohibited in Islam? It relaxes the mind and helps you to be calm and focused in life. No, that doesn’t seem like a major risk of listening to music. Music is difficult to define especially because it means so many different things to so many different people. There are many different types of music in the world, and if I chose to evaluate each and every type, you’d be moving to another webpage at the speed of light! So let me have a go at only one or two types of music.

Music enters the ears and moves down to the heart and eventually influences the soul. Some argue that it can control your lifestyle, your actions and your thoughts, put simply it can control you. One would ask, how might that be possible? You listen to a song written by a murderer, who kills for enjoyment, and then you go out and do exactly the same as him. Not quite, it is a little more sophisticated than that. 

A youngster spends five hours daily (remember you can do other stuff whilst listening to your tracks) listening to rap music which, just like a jam-sandwich is packed with jam, is packed with abusive language. The rap artist is a drug addict, living in a land where money grows on trees. 

Music is his voice, his frustration, anger, whatever you call it, his way of expressing himself and his heart presented in an audio format. The heart of a man (or a woman) is influenced by what he/she sees and hears, so if the youngster in our example, is constantly exposed to ‘filth’, what are the chances his mind will become corrupted? There is no rocket science in this example; it is plainly obvious that music can influence people. 

Headache After Fasting

It seems that people sometimes get headaches whilst fasting or after fasting (during the evening).

Headaches may be caused from two things.

If the body becomes too Acidic, this may cause a Headache.

If the blood sugar drops to much too rapidly, this may cause the other type of headache.

If your headache starts in the back of your neck, this type of headache is generally because the body has become too Acidic.

Now as to the other kind of headache, it is one which generally starts in behind the eyes, and this kind of headache is caused by Low blood sugars.

This kind may be solved by drinking a Lemon juice.

And some times one may have both kinds of headache as the body floats from one problem to the other.

You must identify which area the headache starts from and then apply the proper solution.

Now as to why one may get a headache whilst fasting.

When one is fasting, this causes the body to draw on it's reserves of the body, which means the body fats.

The body fats contain stored Toxins and excess body Acids, so when you release these into the Lymph system through fasting, this may cause the body to become to Acidic, thus causing your problems.

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Dua for Lailat Ul Qadr

Some Common Mistakes in Ramadhan

1 : Taking Ramadaan as a ritual

For many of us Ramadaan has lost its spirituality and has become more of a ritual than a form of Ibaadah. We fast from morning to night like a zombie just because everyone around us is fasting too. We forget that its a time to purify our hearts and our souls from all evil....we forget to make dua, forget to beseech Allaah to forgive us and ask Him to save us from the Fire. Sure we stay away from food and drink but that's about all.

Although the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

“Jibreel said to me, May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person to who Ramadaan comes and his sins are not forgiven, and I said, Ameen.

Then he said, May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person who lives to see his parents grow old, one or both of them, but he does not enter Paradise (by not serving them) and I said, Ameen.

Then he said, May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send blessings upon you, and I said, Ameen.’”

(Tirmidhi, Ahmad, others. Saheeh by al-Albaani)

2 : Too much stress on food and drink

For some people, the entire month of Ramadaan revolves around food. They spend the ENTIRE day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking about only food, instead of concentrating on Salaah, Quraan and other acts of worship. All they can think of is FOOD. So much so that they turn the month of fasting into the month of feasting. Come Iftaar time, their table is a sight to see, with the multitudes and varieties of food, sweets and drinks. They are missing the very purpose of fasting, and thus, increase in their greed and desires instead of learning to control them. It is also a kind of waste & extravagance.

".....and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance) " [al-Araaf :31]

3 : Spending all day cooking

Some of the sisters (either by their own choice or forced by their husbands) are cooking ALL day and ALL night, so that by the end of the day, they are too tired to even pray Ishaa, let alone pray Taraweeh or Tahajjud or even read Quraan. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So turn off that stove and turn on your Imaan!

Forgiveness in Islam

Islamic Alphabet A-Z

A is for ALLAH

B is for Bismillah

C for Concentrate only on the right path, and staying away from following the Satanic footsteps.

D for Dua'a for everyone to do better in this life, and a peaceful ending and Hereafter. Ameen.

E for Eternal blessed life may we all get Jannah when we die. Ameen.

F for Faith in ONE ALLAH and His Final Messenger Muhammad (pbuh).

G for Grave may ALLAH protect us from its darkness and open its window to Jannah.

H for Honour everyone with love and respect so you be honoured by ALLAH.

I for ISLAM the only true and best religion.

J for Jihad, struggling for the Sake of Allah.

K for Kill all the evil desires raised in our hearts by Satan and be strong in faith.

L for "La ilaha illa Allahu,Muhammad ur-rasul ALLAH" heartbeat of every Muslim.

M for Muhammad (pbuh) the best human, for whom ALLAH made this entire universe.

N for Nourish your soul with loads of Ibadah and extra supplications.

O for ONE Life and ONE Death so make this life so pure, our next life be full of peace.

P for Peace, Peace and only Peace and we should be proud to be Muslims.

Q for Qur'an which we must recite daily and understand and implement in daily life.

R for Riba means INTEREST which is illegal in Islam.

S for Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)which we will follow In shaa'Allah.

T for Truth which leads to a peaceful life.

U for Un-blessed people who disgrace and don't respect their parents.

V for Victory of ISLAM Insha'Allah.

W for Watch which way you're going in this world, are you sure it will lead to Jannah?

X for Xerox means copy The Qur'an in your and heart and follow the Sunnah.

Y for YA-ALLAH our ONLY Saviour in this world and in the Hereafter.

Z for Zealous towards Islam and bring new hope for a blessed life in both worlds.

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12 Foods of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon him)

Barley: Good in fever, while use in a soup form.

Dates: The Prophet (SAW) said that a house without dates has no food. It should also be eaten at the time of childbirth.

Figs: It is a fruit from paradise and a cure for piles.

Grapes: The Prophet (SAW) was very fond of grapes – it purifies the blood, provides vigour and health, strengthens the kidneys and clears the bowels.

Honey: Considered the best remedy for diarrhea when mixed in hot water. It is the food of foods, drink of drinks and drug of drugs. It is used for creating appetite, strengthening the stomach, eliminating phlegm; as a meat preservative, hair conditioner, eye soother and mouthwash. It is extremely beneficial in the morning in warm water.

Melon: The Prophet (SAW) said: “None of your women who are pregnant and eat of water melon will fail to produce off spring that is good in countenance and good in character.”

Milk: The Prophet (SAW) said that milk wipes away heat from the heart just as the finger wipes away sweat from the brow. It strengthens the back, improved the brain, renews vision and drives away forgetfulness.

Mushroom: The Prophet (SAW) said that mushroom is a good cure for the eyes; it also serves as a form of birth control and arrests paralysis.

Olive Oil: Excellent treatment for skin and hair, delays old age, and treats inflammation of the stomach.

Pomegranate: The Prophet (SAW) said it cleanses you of Satan and evil aspirations for 40 days.

Vinegar: A food Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used to eat with olive oil. [That's now a fashion in elite Italian Restaurants]

Water: The Prophet (SAW) said the best drink in this world is water, when you are thirsty drink it by sips and not gulps, gulping produces sickness of the liver.

So “darood” and praise be upon our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) who related us with marvelous knowledge, which dazzles the wisest minds. May this information be beneficial to all of us.Insha’Allah.

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A Brief Biography of the Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.)

The State of the World before Islam

When Almighty Allah sent His last and greatest Prophet, Muhammad [s], mankind was immersed in a state of degeneration. The messages of the past prophets had been distorted and ignored, civilisation was on the decline and humanity had slumped into an age of darkness, with disbelief, oppression and corruption rife everywhere. The whole world presented the gloomiest picture ever of human history. Hence, the Qur'an's terming of this chaotic state of affairs as 'Ignorance', or to put it exactly in the words the Holy Book has used 'Jahiliyah'.

Consequently it is incorrect to view 'Jahiliyah' as something of the remote past, for it is quite clear from the Qur'an's terminology that any people rejecting Divine Messengers, turning a deaf ear to the Almighty's revelations and overcome with carnal desires, can aptly be termed an ignorant lot. Therefore broadly speaking, the term 'Jahiliyah' is not limited to any particular era cut can also be applied to all similar societies irrespective of whether they existed in the past or are still found in our contemporary era, the so-called, Space Age.

Accordingly, it is easy to recognise the symptoms of 'Jahiliyah', there is oppression and corruption, because the salient features of such a society are disbelief, deviation, breach of divine commandments, spread of injustice and vices such as usury, drinking alcohol, adultery, gambling, bloodshed, moral decadence, etc. Thus any society in which such perversions prevail is without doubt 'Jahiliyah'.

Such was the sad state of affairs in which mankind lived, before Allah sent them a Prophet, describing him as a 'Mercy for the creation'. The Arabs among whom Muhammad [s] was born were fragmented into a number of heterogeneous tribes constantly engaged in internecine bloodshed. They had replaced Abraham's monotheism with the worship of idols, stars, angels and demons, turning the Ka'aba built for the One and Only Creator, into a pantheon of idols. Tribal rivalries and blood feuds, fuelled among them like the burning desert sands of Arabia.

Ignorance was not confined to the Arabs alone, for on the fringes of Arabia where the desert gives way to hospitable lands, met the ever changing borders of 'World Arrogance', the two superpowers of the age; the Persian and the Byzantine Empires. Both bidding for hegemony over the known world had bled white with wars, and despite their massive territories, it was obvious they were in their death throes.

The fire-worshipping Persians with their strange concept of dualism were further plagued by the still weirder Mazdakite doctrine which advocated communal ownership and went to such an extent as to rule women to be the common property of all men. Like Mani a few centuries earlier, who had claimed a new religion by combining the teachings of Jesus and Zoroaster, Mazdak's movement was also a reaction to the corruption of the traditional priestly class. 

Both creeds had flattered to deceive and died away after the execution of their proponents, who more or less depended on royal patronage. On the other hand the Sassanian aristocracy aligned with the Zoroastrian clergy was steeped in pleasures burdening the downtrodden masses with heavy taxes and oppression.

At the other end was the Byzantine World, which though claiming to profess a divinely revealed religion had in fact polluted the monotheist message of Prophet Jesus [a] with the sediments of ancient Greek and Roman pagan thoughts, resulting in the birth of a strange creed called Christianity. 

Way back in 381 A.D., the Greco-Roman Church council had declared as heresy, the doctrine of Arius of Alexandria, to which most of the eastern provinces of the empire adhered, and in its place the council had coined the absurd belief that God and Jesus are of one substance and therefore co-existent. Arius and his followers had held the belief in the uniqueness and majesty of God, Who alone, they said has existed since eternity, while Jesus was created in time.

Throughout the 5th and 6th centuries the church continued to be racked by a myriad of controversies over its illogical attempts to define the alleged dual (divine and human) nature of Jesus in the light of Greek mythology and Persian Mithraism, the influence of both of which was quite visible on the Christian church. In addition, weirder beliefs like Holy Ghost, Mother of God (Mary) and Trinity cropped up which caused trouble in Syria, Egypt and North Africa, where the Monophysite Christians held 'god the father' to be infinitely superior to 'god the son'. In short, terror, oppression and sectarian persecution were the order of the day in Christendom.

17th Rabi Awwal, a Historic Day

At the dawn of Friday, 17th Rabi Awwal, in 530 A.D.) a child born whose birth was announced in the divine Books (Old and New testaments). Muhammad ibn Abdullah is the last great prophet (who has divine book), and the mercy for the inhabitants of the world, whom the exalted God granted to mankind, and forever his light brightened the world.

Eighty-three years after Hijrat, on 17th Rabi Awal, a child from holy prophet's progeny born, who was entitled as Sadiq- Ale- Muhammad. His knowledge and information, in all sciences, was so extensive that in all debates, with other scholars, his presentation was brilliant. Historians have narrated that Imam Sadiq (A.S.) had 4000 students. In his time, Fiqh (religious jurisprudence) and Islamic teachings flourished. It was also the age of progress of tradition manifestation and appearance of the important Islamic philosophies.

The Holy Prophet of Islam(S.A.W.) says, "The ways which guide my followers toward paradise are virtues, and good behavior." (Kafi, Vol 2, P.100)

Imam Sadiq (A.S.) says, "To the exalted God, the best acts of the good servant are to make pious man happy, to feed him, to remove his grief, and to pay for his debt." (Kafi, Vol 2, P.199)

The Holy Prophet of Islam (S.A.W.) and his infallible and innocent family are the best symbols for mankind. We conclude from two above traditions that virtues and good behavior are two characters that attract God and servant's satisfactions, and finally will lead to paradise.

It is a duty for every Muslim, to take care of not only his faithful brothers and sisters, but also all the fellow- creatures in different respects, and to solve their problems as mush as possible.

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Virtues of the Prophet between glorifying and example setting مناقب النبي (ص) بين التعظيم والتعليم

It would be wrong to look on to the rank of the Prophet through his ideal virtues seeking merely to glorify him in pursuit of his intercession-as it is known among the common people- thus forgetting the purpose for which the Prophet was sent, which is the purification of mankind from the blemishes of infidelity, the inward and the outward. This is not accomplished except by assuming the prophet as an example, not in the sense of attaining the same rank of perfection as the prophet, but by acting like him as far as possible.

إن من الخطأ بمكان ، أن ننظر الى منزلة النبي الاعظم من خلال مناقبه المثلى ، لاجل التعظيم المجرد طلبا : للشفاعة ، او قضاء الحاجة - كما هو متعارف بين العامة - ناسين الهدف الذي من اجله بعث النبي الاكرم (ص) ، الا وهو تخليص البشرية من كل شوائب الشرك : جليّها وخفيّها .. ولا يتحقق ذلك الا من خلال اتخاذ النبي (ص) اسوة وقدوة ، لا بمعنى الوصول الى نفس مدارج النبي من الكمال ، وانما التشبه به قدر الامكان.

What substantiates the possibility of following the prophet’s example to a certain degree are the interesting expressions in Allah’s saying: {You have had a good example in Allah’s Messenger for whomsoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah oft}, because the verse has the expression “Have had” which implies stability and continuity, and the address is for all, as in the word “you”. The verse stipulated, for the ability to follow the example, the belief in Allah without which man could not move, and without motion he would not feel the necessity to follow the example of the symbols of that motion. The verse also stipulates the necessity of the belief in the Last Day without which man will lose the motives for motion, desiring the reward and fearing the punishment.

إن ما يؤكد قابلية النبي (ص) للتأسي به بدرجة من الدرجات ، هي التعابير الملفتة في قوله تعالى : { لقد كان لكم في رسول الله اسوة حسنة لمن كان يرجو الله واليوم الآخر وذكر الله كثير } ، ففيها التعبير بـ ( كان) الدال على الثبات والاستمرار ، والخطاب للجميع بعبارة ( لكم ) .. واشترطت القدرة على التأسي ، بضرورة الايمان بالله تعالى الذي لولاه ، لما تحرك العبد ، ولولا الحركة لما رأى ضرورة للتأسي برموز تلك الحركة .. وكذلك بضرورة الايمان باليوم الاخر الذي لولاه ، لفقد العبد مشوقات الحركة : طمعا في الأجر ، وخوفا من العقاب.

Striking natural changes coincided with the birth of the Prophet, like the cracking of Khisrau’s arch, the nullifying of the sorcerer’s work and the drying of Lake Sawa. All to announce the realization of a new era in the history of mankind, for it is the second striking stage after the creation of Adam. It was also marked by the movement of Satan’s men to change the path. For it was related that Satan’s men had asked him: “ What is it that frightened you o our master?” He said: “ woe unto you, the skies and the earth have changed as of tonight. Then he dipped into the earth roaming it until he reached the Kabba and addressed archangel Gabriel saying: “do I have a share in him?” Gabriel replied: “No”. Then Satan said: “In his followers, then?” Gabriel said: “Yes”. Then Satan said: “ I am satisfied”. The practical lesson from this is that; The more intense the motivation of guidance gets, the more fierce the enemies of the guided men get.

زامنت ولادة النبي (ص) تغييرات طبيعية ملفتة من : انفصام طاق كسرى ، وابطال سحر السحرة ، وجفاف بحيرة ساوة ، لتبشر بتحقق عصر جديد في تاريخ البشرية .. فهي المرحلة الثانية الملفتة بعد خلقة آدم (ع) كما زامنها ايضا تحرك الابالسة لتغيير المسيرة .. فقد ورد أن الابالسة قالوا للشيطان : ما الذي افزعك يا سيدنا؟.. فقال لهم : ويلكم !.. لقد انكرت السماء والارض منذ الليلة ، ثم انغمس في الدنيا فجالها حتى انتهى الى الحرم ، وخاطب جبرائيل قائلا : هل لي فيه نصيب؟.. قال: لا .. قال ففي امته؟.. قال: نعم ، فقال رضيت .. والدرس العملي من ذلك : انه كلما اشتدت موجبات الهداية ، كلما ازداد تكالب الاعداء على السائر في طريق الهدى.

‘Alee (P.B.U.H), the spiritual brother of the prophet (who also brought him up) described the prophet by saying: “Allah has associated with him since he was weaned, His greatest angel who was entering him upon the course of noble characteristics”. Thus, if Allah wanted to do good to a servant of His, He would rectify him by inspiration or association of an angel with him. What then keeps a man from asking his God to direct him by the directing angels, to protect him in his boisterous course of life from deviation and taking the sides of Satans?

يصف علي (ع) أخاه وهو ربيب المصطفى ، قائلا : ( ولقد قرن الله به من لدن أن كان فطيما ، اعظم ملك من ملائكته ، يسلك به طريق المكارم ) .. وهكذا فإن الله تعالى اذا اراد بعبد خيرا ، سدده الهاما، أو إقرانا بملك.. فما المانع من أن يطلب العبد من ربه ، أن يسدده بملائكة التسديد ، ليحفظونه في دورة حياته الصاخبة ، من موجبات الانحرافات ، والارتماء في احضان الشياطين؟

The Qur’an has ascribed to the prophet qualities not ascribed to anyone of the great prophets, by saying that he is: {Upon a mighty morality}. It is not important that a man keeps these qualities when he is alone with himself, rather what is important is that he practices them when he is confronted with contradicting social elements. It was related that a youth came to the prophet and said: “ Do you permit me to fornicate?” The prophet’s companions chided him and spoke rudely with him, but the Prophet wanted to uproot the corruption from the depth of his being when he returned him to his original nature by saying: “Do you like to see your mother or sister fornicated with?” He replied: “No”. Then the Prophet said: “All people are like that!” Then he placed his blessed hand on the youth’s chest and said: “ O Allah, forgive his misdeed, purify his heart and guard his private parts (against committing fornication). Which one of us then has such forbearance to contain perverted behaviour?

إن القرآن الكريم وصف النبي (ص) بما لم يصف به احدا من الانبياء العظام ، وهو انه على خلق عظيم .. وليس المهم أن يمتلك الانسان هذه الصفة في خلوته مع نفسه ، وانما المهم أن يكون كذلك في خضم المواجهة مع العناصر الاجتماعية المنافرة .. فقد ورد انه جاء شاب الى النبي (ص) فقال : أتأذن لي بالزنا ؟.. فنهره الاصحاب واغلظوا عليه ، ولكن نبي الرحمة (ص) اراد أن يجتث جذور الفساد من اعماق وجوده ، عندما ارجعه الى فطرته قائلا له: اتحب أن يزنى بأمك او اختك.... فقال لا .. فقال (ص) : كل الناس كذلك!.. ثم وضع يده المباركة على صدره قائلا: اللهم اغفر ذنبه ، وطهر قلبه ، وحصن فرجه!.. فأي منا له مثل سعة الصدر هذه ، في استيعاب الحركات المنحرفة؟!..

The Prophet’s miracle was not restricted to the splitting of the moon and the movement of the inanimate body but it extended beyond that to splitting the hearts and moving the thoughts. When a nation unique amongst nations in practicing the most despicable act of burying female infants (the most beloved of our blood), turns to be: {The best nation ever brought forth to men}, the likes of the angel-bathed Handhala and Qutada the son of Nu’man who witnessed the battle of Badr and one of his eyes was gouged out in the battle of Uhud when he came to the prophet and said: “I was recently married to a good looking woman and we love each other and I hate her to see me in this form”. Then the Prophet put it back into its place saying: “O Allah, cover him with your grace.”

لم تنحصر معجزة النبي الاكرم (ص) في فلق القمر وحركة الجماد ، وانما تعدت الى فلق القلوب ، وحركة الافكار.. واذا بأمة تنفرد بين الامم بأرذل خصلة ( الا وهي وأد البنت وهي من احب فلذات اكبادنا) لتتحول الى خير امة اخرجت للناس ، امثال : حنظلة غسيل الملائكة ، وقتادة بن النعمان الذي شهد بدرا ، وفقئت عينه يوم احد فجاء الى رسول الله (ص) فقال: ان لي امرأة جميلة ، احبها وتحبني ، واني جديد عرس ، فاكره أن تراني بهذه الهيئة .. فأخذها النبي (ص) ووضعها في مكانها قائلا: اللهم اكسه الجمال !..

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Allah - No Trinity

It is unthinkable and impossible for a Muslim to believe in the existence of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the New Testament sense. Whoever says that God has a partner, companion or an equal God beside him will, from an Islamic point of view, fall into an unforgivable sin (like the sin against the Holy Spirit in Christianity). Consequently, the Islamic confession of faith declares not just the uniqueness of Allah but at the same time firmly rejects the deity of Christ and the deity of the Holy Spirit.

In the Arabic language, the name Allah is a study in itself. The word can be understood as a sentence: al-el-hu. "El" is an old Semitic name for God meaning "the strong and mighty". The Islamic name, Allah, corresponds to the Hebrew name Elohim, which can also be understood as a statement: Al-el-hum. Although the Hebrew name Elohim contains the possibility of a plural (hum), the name of Allah (hu) can only be singular. Thus, Allah in Islam is always only one and never a unity of three, even if such a unity was complete in itself. When Christians claim that their Trinity does not mean three different, separated persons, but a unity in a Trinity, Muslims must repudiate this concept. For them Allah is never a triune God, but one person alone

ALLAH IN THE THOUGHTS AND LIVES OF MUSLIMS

The World-wide Worship of Islam

A Muslim's relationship to Allah can clearly be seen in the five daily prayers, which belong to the indispensable pillars of Islam. In the course of this liturgy, a Muslim will prostrate himself before Allah up to 34 times a day. Anyone who has seen a Muslim prostrating is impressed. The curve of his bent back during prayer is the best commentary on the word "ISLAM" which translated means surrender, submission or subjugation. These words sound very pious and describe the total submission of a Muslim to Allah.

Any observer who considers this will realise that anyone who prostrates himself before Allah 34 times a day in worship is not a free or person. He is no longer himself because his entire way of living and thinking is fully guided and influenced by Allah. In fact, the Arabic words for a religious service, place of worship and worshipper are derived from the word for slaves. According to Islam, everyone is a slave to Allah. No one is free. No one lives for himself. Everyone belongs to his Creator and was created to worship and to serve perpetually and unconditionally.

If it were possible to take a spaceship and fly high above the earth and observe mankind with a powerful telescope, we could see the prayer ritual of Islam sweeping across our globe like a mighty wave five times a day as millions of Muslims bow to the ground in worship.

At dawn, as soon as one can distinguish between a white and a black thread, the prayer of the Muslim begins in the Philippines. The first wave of worship surges over Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, then Iran and Turkey. Finally it reaches Europe, at which time the second wave of worship begins at noon for the Muslims in China. This new wave will have reached India and the 45 million Muslims in Central Asia just as a third wave will have started at 3 p.m. for afternoon prayers in the Far East. These three waves of worship follow each other successively, moulding and determining life under the Islamic culture. At this time, as dawn is breaking on the east coast of America with its morning prayer, Muslims in the Nile Valley are bowing down in the heat of their noon prayer and in Pakistan men are gathering in their mosques for afternoon prayer. When the final wave of the Muslim night prayer begins in the Far East two hours after sunset, simultaneously the rays of the setting sun touch the worshippers in the Ganges Delta, while pilgrims in Mecca bow down for afternoon prayer before the black stone in the Ka'ba. At that moment the second prayer wave has already reached faithful Muslims in the high Atlas Mountains in Morocco, while the first waves breaks with the early morning dawn in the Rocky Mountains of America.

These five prayer waves unite millions of Muslims in worship of their God. Islam is a religion of adoration and worship. Many Muslims pray earnestly and with great reverence, disciplining themselves by repeating their liturgical prayers 17 times a day.

Very early in the morning, the muezzins call from the minarets of the mosques, often through loudspeakers, over the roofs of the houses to all the people: "Arise to prayer! Arise to success! Prayer is better then sleep!"

Unless Christians rethink their prayer practices and discipline themselves into regular and intensive prayer for Muslims, they should not be astonished that Islam defies the attempts of mission societies and rises to challenge a tired Christianity.

The call from the minaret includes a significant sentence: "Arise to success!" Everyone who serves Allah hopes to receive a reward from him. Those who perform the prayers expect to receive earthly and heavenly blessings. Devotion to Allah and obedience to his commands deserve many gifts including salvation. Muslims do not thank Allah because he has already saved them through grace. On the contrary, they feel they must pray and keep the law in order to have the goodwill of Allah bestowed upon them. So Islam is a religion based on self-righteousness in which everyone tries to accumulate good deeds and so establish his own salvation by good works.

Prayer in Islam is not a voluntary service, but rather a compulsion, an obligation and a law. In Saudi Arabia once can sometimes observe policemen during the prayer times forcing passers-by into the mosques, so that the wrath of Allah may not descend on the country because of neglected prayer. Islam is a religion under the law of Allah. All facets of life are specifically controlled by a multitude of regulations. Allah is the centre of everything.

There is a deep longing for purity in Islam. Before each prayer time, every Muslim must follow a compulsory ablution - the washing of hands, arms, feet, mouth, face and even hair. Everyone must be clean before entering Allah's presence to pray. Anyone who does not follow the exact cleansing procedure is considered to have nullified his prayers. Christians know that such outward rituals do not cleanse the heart or the mind. But the five-times-daily ablutions in Islam testify to a deep longing for purity on the part of those who pray.

A sentence in the main prayer for all Muslims - from the al-Fatiha - reads, "Guide us in the straight path, the path of those whom thou hast blessed, not of those against whom thou art wrathful, nor of those who are astray" (Sura al-Fatiha 1:2,3). This cry expresses the desire for guidance and a total dependence on Allah. It would be wrong, ignorant and arrogant for Christians to deny the faithful intent of Muslims to serve God. On the contrary, their discipline, sincerity and consistency in praying can be an example to many of us. Without a doubt, every true Muslim desires to serve God with all his heart. He calls on him in his prayers. He wants to honour him; he fights for him and submits his entire being to him. In the Old Testament we read that God hears every honest prayer - even from a Muslim! (Genesis 21:17; 16:7-14).

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Islam is your Birthright

Mankind and the universe were not created by accident or chance, but according to the plan of the Creator, who is known as Allah (lit.: the one God) in Islam. The Qur'an states that it is the duty of all individuals to learn about Allah and to live according to His will. As we cannot accomplish this be ourselves, Allah has sent messengers and prophets to guide humanity All of these chosen individuals have brought the same message and have served as examples to their people of how Allah desires all human beings to live. 

Through these selected people, we have been told why mankind was created, what will happen to us after death, and what Allah expects of us. But most importantly, we have been told that Allah is unique-He has no partners, no sons or daughters, and no competitors, as so many other man-made religious systems have postulated. This message always remains the same, whereas the laws laid down for a particular might show some slight differences.

Muhammad, the last of Allah's prophets, was sent to present Allah's revelation in its final form and for the last time. This was necessary because the message delivered by the previous prophets and messengers had been corrupted or distorted by their followers. They had been mixed with philosophical speculations, superstitions, myths, and neglect. Therefore, Islam is not a new religion-it is a restatement of the original religion of Allah in its purest form and is designed to provide humanity with the uncorrupted message of Allah.

Islam is an Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience to Allah. It also means "peace," for it brings peace of mind as well as peace on the individual and the social levels.

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGION

There are so many sects, cults, religions, philosophies, and movements in the world, all of which claim to be the right way or the only true path to Allah. How can one determine which one is correct or if, in fact, all are correct? The method by which the answer can be found is to clear away the superficial differences in the teachings of the various claimants to the ultimate truth, and identify the central object of worship to which they call, directly or indirectly. False religions all have in common one basic concept with regards to Allah. They either claim that all men are gods or that specific men were Allah or that nature is Allah or that Allah is a figment of man's imagination.

Thus, it may be stated that the basic message of false religion is that Allah may be worshipped in the form of His creation. False religion invites man to the worship of creation by calling the creation or some aspect of it God. For example, prophet Jesus invited his followers to worship Allah but those who claim to be his followers today call people to worship Jesus, claiming that he was Allah!

Buddha was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic principles to the religion of India. He did not claim to be God nor did he suggest to his followers that he be an object of worship. Yet, today most Buddhists who are to be found outside of India have taken him to be God and prostrate to idols made in their perception of his likeness.

By using the principle of identifying the object of worship, false religion becomes very obvious and the contrived nature of their origin clear. As God said in the Our'aan:

That which you worship besides Him are only names you and your forefathers have invented for which Allah has sent down no authority: The command belongs only to Allah:

He has commanded that you only worship Him; that is the right religion, but most men do not understand ". (Soorah Yoosuf 12:40)

THE UNIVERSALITY OF ISLAM

Since the consequences of false religion are so grave, the true religion of Allah must be universally understandable and attainable, not confined to any people, place or time. 

There can not be conditions like baptism, belief in a man, as a saviour etc., for a believer to enter paradise. Within the central principle of Islam and in its definition, (the surrender of one's will to God) lies the roots of lslam's universality. Whenever man comes to the realization that Allah is one and distinct from His creation, and submits himself to Allah, he becomes a Muslim in body and spirit and is eligible for paradise.

 Thus, anyone at anytime in the most remote region of the world can become a Muslim, a follower of God's religion, Islam, by merely rejecting the worship of creation and by turning to Allah (God) alone-It should be noted however, that the recognition of and submission to Allah requires that one chooses between right and wrong and such a choice implies accountability. 

Man will be held responsible for his choices, and, as such, he should try his utmost to do good and avoid evil. The ultimate good being the worship of Allah alone and the ultimate evil being the worship of His creation along with or instead of Allah. This fact is expressed in the final revelation as follows:

"Verily those who believe, those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), the Christians and the Sabians any who believe In Allah and the last day, and work righteousness *hall have their reward with their Lord;They will not be overcome by fear nor grief (Soorah Al-Baqarah 2:62).

If only they had stood by the law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There Is from among them a party on the right course; but many of them follow a course that Is evil.". (Soorah Al-.Maa'idah 5:66)

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