Islamic Knowledge for Beginners

The most important articles of Islam are the following 5 matters:

Professing and believing no one is God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

Prayer

Zakah

Fasting

Hajj.

Professing (with the tongue) and believing (in the heart) that no one is God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; This is a prerequisite to become a Muslim and to have one’s deeds accepted by God. The belief in the truth of Islam is the same regardless of one’s color of the skin, gender, amount of wealth accumulated, place of residence, family, or friends.

Prayer, five times each day, is required by all Muslim mukallaf (Mukallaf in this context means sane and pubescent.).

Zakah is paying a certain portion of one's money (Money in this context includes 

property, possessions, and wealth.) to specific types of people with certain conditions.

 This provides for the poor Muslims and those whose needs are not being met within the Muslim community.

Fasting during the month of Ramadan is an obligation on all Muslims who have reached puberty and who are physically able to fast. This helps the Muslim to feel what the poor feel, and in this way one remembers to care for those less fortunate than oneself. Fasting also disciplines the Muslim and brings Muslims together--uniting them by a common, shared experience.

Hajj, pilgrimage as defined by Islam, is the journey to the Ka^bah to perform, at a specific period of the year, certain actions in Makkah and its vicinity. It is required at least once during the lifetime of each Muslim mukallaf if he is able. During Hajj, all Muslims leave their worldly possessions and perform the same religious obligations in the same way as those Muslims with them and those Muslims who performed Hajj before them.

Collected From:http://www.aicp.org/islamic-information-mainmenu-42/51-basic-islamic-information-for-beginners/525-islamic-knowledge-for-beginners

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Islam for Beginners

Islam originates from the root word 'salama' which means getting free of inward evils. The derivatives are many, such as peace, submission, surrender, survival, health and safe reconciliation. Hence, a Muslim is one, who submits to none except the Will of the Creator, Who fashioned the human beings as the most excellent form of creation, and endowed them with the power called brains.

As our analysis proved in 'Towards Peace', Prophet Moses never described his teachings as Judaism, nor did Prophet Jesus choose the word Christianity for his message, or for that matter Buddha and others, named their mission as Buddhism and etc. Therefore, it is an erroneous notion to think that Islam originated a mere fourteen centuries ago, all of a sudden, in the deserts of Arabia. But as facts testify, Islam, or submission to the Almighty's Will and a healthy way of survival, was the message preached by all prophets. However with the revelation to Prophet Muhammad (saw), the word Islam became a proper name for the true path, and came to acquire added significance.

Thus, it is not without reason, that Islam is often referred to as the 'Natural Religion' because its dynamism has withstood the test of time, and its tenets perfectly blend with, and have scientifically catered to the needs of the human race in every time and era.

Islam for Beginners: ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

The starting point of Islam is the testimony (Shahada): There is no god but Allah (La Ilaha Ill-Allah). This wondrous phrase indicates the pinnacle of human intellect and will power, because Islam is not the paying of mere lip service out of fear of superstition, but a firm conviction in the Omnipotence of the Creator. It means that man is responsible to the Creator alone for his acts and deeds, and how he passes the transitionary lifespan. It means that everything in this universe is subordinate to the power of the Creator, who fashioned the universe out of naught and made the human race as the finest form of life. It also means that the human kind and human mind is far superior to all man-made objects or other creatures, and even the powers of nature, whom retarded minds had worshipped as deities. Lastly it means that one who professes this testimony realizing its deep meanings is in firm control of his own will power, which if not properly harnessed by intellect and ration, destroys the human itself.

Cheating and Deception

Cheating and deception are despicable characteristics that are beneath a decent person. Intentionally distorting the truth in order to mislead others contradicts the values of honesty, which requires an attitude of sincerity, straightforwardness, and fairness that leaves no room for cheating, lying, trickery, or deceit. There are many texts from the Quran and the Sunnah conveying the meaning that cheating, whether the target be Muslims or non-Muslims, is forbidden.

Accepting the guidance of Islam leads a person to truthfulness, which means a person completely avoids cheating, cheating, and back-stabbing. The Prophet of Islam said:

“Whoever bears arms against us is not one of us, and whoever cheats us is not one of us.” (Saheeh Muslim)

According to another report, the Prophet passed by a pile of food in the market. He put his hand inside it and felt dampness, although the surface was dry. He said:

“O owner of the food, what is this?’

The man said, ‘It was damaged by rain, O Messenger of God.’

He said, ‘Why did you not put the rain-damaged food on top so that people could see it! Whoever cheats us is not one of us.” (Saheeh Muslim)

Muslim society is based on purity of feeling, love, sincerity towards every Muslim, and fulfillment of promises to every member of society. Its members are endowed with piety, truthfulness, and faithfulness. Cheating and deception are alien characters in contrast to the noble character of a true Muslim. There is no room in it for swindlers, double crossers, tricksters, or traitors.

Islam views cheating and deception as heinous sins, a source of shame to the one guilty of committing them, both in this world and the next. The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, did not merely denounce them by excluding them from the Muslim community in this world, he also announced that on the Day of Judgment every traitor would be raised carrying the flag of his betrayal. A caller will cry out from the vast arena of judgment, pointing to him, drawing attention to him:

Islam Religion Encourages Learning, Observation and Science

The glory of Muslim civilization among the other communities was only because of the Islam’s focus on learning and education. This thing becomes clearer when you study the Quran and life of the Prophet Mohammad, where you can find numerous references to education, need for learning and use of logic.

For more than a thousand years Islamic empire was honored as the most developed and advanced civilization across the world. This is again because of the fact that Islam never halted anyone from learning and even Islam shows great importance to it. This desire of knowledge inculcated in Muslims tolerance, discipline and respect for authority. The Islamic beliefs and teachings persuade many Muslims to achieve their destination in the fields of science, astronomy and medicine.

It was their passion and enthusiasm for learning which resulted in the conversion of all Greek material available on Medicine, Astronomy and Science to the Arabic language. Baghdad was the hub for all this written material. Damascus, Cairo shared the same status. It was Muslims who first invented the present day cheque system. Soon, Arabic became the international language for trade and transfer of thoughts. The center of activity and knowledge shifted to east and Baghdad became the light house for the dark and ignorant Europe. The Muslim community emerged as the inventors of many scientific notions, with novelty and efficiency being their core values.

Particularly in the field of medicine Muslims accomplished many milestone and invented cure for several diseases and increase the common life expectancy. Hence, Muslims became the one and only great torchbearers of research in the fields of medicine and science. Some of the early master pieces in these fields came from the pens’ of Muslim scientists who always loved their work. It was their great motivation that ultimately led to the foundation of first university Al-Azhar(800AD) in the world. Today the western medical system is not only originated from Arab wisdom but also is based on same theories. The Muslims Arabs were the forefathers of current day medicine and scientific fields.

The Goals of Islamic Education

Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who seduces it. (91:7-10)

The mission of the Holy Prophet (S) marks the beginning of a historical movement for fashioning godly human beings and for founding great human societies on the basis of the sublime criteria of Islam. Though it marks the beginning of this historical movement, it was also a point of climactic end in the history of prophetic missions.

During those days human history had reached a point that it could learn its ultimate lesson from its final teacher, a lesson always as much productive and dynamic, and every day turning a fresh leaf to humanity. This is itself a miraculous quality of Islam and the Quran that in spite of being the ultimate religion it is also ever alive and fresh, capable of not only moving in step with the movement and growth of human societies and the development of culture and civilization, but also infused with the capacity to induce dynamism and movement. It is so resourceful that it can always cater to the needs of changing times and newly arising problems.

The verses of the Quran have been revealed in such a fashion as if there are layers upon layers of meaning: every layer when removed reveals new depths and. profundities of content. This is a miracle of the Quran. The Quran and Islam can best be compared to Nature itself; like nature, the more it is studied, newer dimensions are revealed, and fresher secrets are discovered with new research. Neither this inquiry and investigation come to an end, nor the discoveries and findings are ever exhausted. No matter how much progress and advancement man may make in the field of science he is still confronted with new enigmas posed by nature, which he has to understand and solve.

Knowledge has no limits. The profound book of nature is so rich in content and meaning that if the history of human thought continues for ever, this book is not likely to be read to its end. 

The Quran, too, is like the rich and profound book of nature, with the difference that the Quran is articulate and eloquent while nature is silent. But its content and resources are equally inexhaustible, and will ever remain as fresh and novel. Every day it conveys a new message to the humanity.