What is Islam?
There is no ideology or doctrine in history more misunderstood and manipulated than Islam. It is not necessary to study various ideologies or to live under different systems of life to discover what is really Islam? And why it is not just a religion, but also the most complete way of life.
It is wise to recognize that there is a higher power than ourselves, then it is easier to deduce that the message of God has been the same during all mankind history. Islam is not a new religion. It is basically the same message which God revealed to all Prophets.
God provided guidance to humanity over the ages through prophets and messengers with successive appearances, in different times and places, forming an unbroken chain, to preach his message.
All prophets, due to their submission to God, had a fundamental mission to give warnings and impart glad tidings to people: warnings of punishment in this life and the afterlife for unjust, immoral people who have turned away from God and His natural order, and glad tidings of rewards in this life and the afterlife for those who are conscious of God and live righteously, in accordance with His commandments as revealed to the prophets.
Only twenty five named prophets are mentioned in the Koran but there are much more who are not mentioned. The series of prophets starts with Adam and includes Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and culminates in Muhammad.
And when Muhammad has been called by God and given a task of prophecy, to be the last prophet, he proclaimed that the message he received from God was the same message that was preached previously by Abraham, Moises, Jesus and other messengers.
The message which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad is Islam in its far-reaching, complete and final form, and all verities leading to God are contained in this teaching message.
The only sure sources of God’s guidance are the scriptures given to some of the prophets. One of such scriptures is the Koran, the final word of God to Mankind, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Koran which is a collection of all the messages sent by God during twenty three years to Muhammad, is the only scripture that exists today in the same language and form in which it was originally revealed by God. That is to say, when Muslims around the world recite the Koran, they are reciting the exact words as revealed by God.
The Koran claims to confirm, on one hand, the scriptures they came before very emphatically, and on the other hand it claims that the original previous revelations were corrupted by time, and alterations were introduced into these scriptures.
The theoretical religious reference source of Islam, is principally the Koran. So any one who wants to know Islam has to read and understand the Koran. It is written in Arabic, but any translation to other languages is a bit of help to better understand, but never conveys the powerful message which is reflected in every original word.
The Basic Practices or formal acts of worship in Islam are summarized in what are usually called the "Five Pillars of Islam."
- Shahadah (confession of faith ,to say ash-hadu an la.ilaha illa lah wa ash-hadu anna muhammadan rasulu lah),
- Fasting during the month of Ramadan
- Salat (ritual prayer,five times a day),
- Zakat (obligatory religious almsgiving),
- The Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca,if possible).
And this is only one part of the meaning of worship in Islam. The Muslim concept of worship is very broad.
Worship is understood as any act that includes almost everything in any individual's activities whether manifest or hidden, that Allah loves and is pleased with. In other words, worship is everything Muslim says or does, including all behaviour if they are accompanied by the proper intention. So the understanding of worship allows the whole of Muslim’s life to be an act of worship, as long as the objective of that life is the pleasure of Allah.
Seeking knowledge is one of the highest forms of worship, Other natural acts such as greeting a person, helping someone, even removing an obstacle from the road can become acts of worchip.
Thus Islam is a practical code which governs life in all its spheres, it is both a religion and a complete way of life and the most attractive part is its strict monotheistic orientation and structured belief system.It emphasizes the equality of all human beings, male and female, rich and poor, of any race, class, or caste and the only distinguishing criterion is the performance of good works and the degree of piety, no other criterion is valid
However, if one reads the press or listens to commentators on Islamic affairs,
it is often said, Islam is one of the most difficult phenomena in world history to explain, others say – and even more often implied but not said – that Islam is not compatible with aspects of civilization, or is incompatible with the modern world.
All these ignorant statements are made by people who think they know Islam, when no doubt they’d flunk the most basic test about its history and beliefs. And chances are, no one read the Koran. which is the first clue to the difficulties of the topic.
How can they argue about Islam, if even Muslims don’t agree among themselves about the understanding of the nature of “true”Islam.
To design or to define any political, cultural, social or any economic program or policy is not a responsibility of the Koran. The Koran only provides some parameters, and let the intelligence and judgment that extract the details and how to proceed. Everyone is free and responsible , so if Muslims fail to build appropriate development projects, it is their fault, not that of Islam.
Islam is a way of life that is simple and easy to understand and practice.
However, there is a misunderstanding amongst some people that Islam is difficult, burdensome and Muslim must endure difficulty in implementing these practices.
However, this is a false notion because they are the ones who often make it difficult. Firstly because they believe they cannot cope before they even try, and secondly they are not "motivated" from inside. Thus they would be unable to cope with even the simplest of tasks such as reading a newspaper or cooking a simple meal. Lack of motivation and lack of enthusiasm are two of the main reasons for failure and of living a mediocre life.
The basic obligations ordained upon Muslims are easy to assimilate and to undertake, it is like taking an exam knowing how to answer all the exam questions.
Therefore no extra efforts are required. Furthermore the Koran states that no one is obliged to push himself beyond his capabilities. Ultimately, Islam seeks to create a system where justice and moderation, with a clear set of rules. These rules are imposed by God and therefore not considered as mere do´s and don’ts behind every rule, there is wisdom and utility, and this provides an intrinsic and deep-seated motivation for every Muslim, who looks for peace and harmony, which are much needed in today's difficult world.
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