Wow, I’m posting a serious topic : about Islam. I
try to make it as light as I could, in fact I’m a lite writer. So what makes me
want to write Islam topic is not just because I’m a Muslimah. There are many
views of Islam out there which actually to me is not Islam. Islam is perfect
but the imperfection of its follower brings misunderstanding about Islam. In
some parts of the world Islam always been connected with jihad which means
terror bombing and also women oppression. Insha Allah I’ll write the topic
Women in Islam saparetely. I’m not an Islam expert/ustadza, the article mostly
shows how my belief in Islam, my personal view based on my Islam knowledge. My knowledge itself always need to be
improved. Allah’s knowledge is like an amount of water in the ocean while
human’s knowledge is just a tiny little drop of water. We may find sources
about Islam everywhere but of course always careful with what we read. Make
sure the accuracy, don’t be fooled by fakes. The true sources are Al Qur’an and
Hadist. Allah promises that the holiness of Qur’an will be preserved until the
End of The World.
When I was in teenages, honestly I’m not a religious person though my
parents kept me going to mosque everyday to learn how to recite Qur’an and
Islam since I was 6. I was using that time to play around with my childhood
friends besides learning. Now, to me
Islam is more than religion to manage relationship between human and God, it
consists how we live in the world in managing all side of human living. Not
just the way we worship Allah, it also manages how to relate with human and
other Allah’s Creation such as animal and nature. So in Islam we are guided to
walk in the right path for law, health, economy/finance, wardrobe, marriage,
food/drink, and more. Prophet Muhammad saw. is the role model. Thanks to
IslamReligion website for becoming the source of paragraps below.
Muslims believe in Almighty God by worshipping Him Alone and obeying His
commandments. The oneness of God, the prophethood of Muhammad, and the concept
of life after death are the basic articles of its faith. They are based
on reason and sound logic. Islam does not refer to any particular person, such
as Christianity, Buddhism or Zoroastrianism; a tribe like Judaism; or a nation
like Hinduism. Some people mistakenly believe that Islam is just a religion for
Arabs, but nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, over
80% of the world's Muslims are not Arabs! Even though most Arabs are Muslims,
there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews and atheists. If one just takes
a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World - from Nigeria to
Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia - it is easy enough to see that Muslims
come from all different races, ethnic groups, cultures and nationalities.
Islam has always been a universal message for all people. This can be
seen in the fact that some of the early companions of the Prophet Muhammad were
not only Arabs, but also Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans.
In Islam, there are 6 Articles of Belief :
Belief in God
The core of the Islamic creed is bearing witness to the
phrase, La illaha illa Allah, “There is no true deity deserving worship
but God.” The testimony to this belief, called tawhid, is the axis
around which all Islam revolves. For many non-Muslims, the term Allah, the Arabic
name of God, refers to some distant and strange deity worshipped by the Arabs.
Some even think it to be some pagan “moon-god”. However, in Arabic, the word Allah
means the One True God. Even, Arabic speaking Jews and Christians refer to
the Supreme Being as Allah. According to Islam, the correct way of finding God is
through the preserved teachings of the prophets. Islam maintains that the
prophets were sent by God Himself throughout the ages to guide human beings to
Him. God says in the Holy Quran that the correct path to belief is to reflect upon
His signs
Belief in Angels/Malaikat
I remember I learnt Names of Angels in one of my Islam lessons. Unlike
humans or jinn,
they have no free will and therefore can do only what God
orders them to do. An example of a task they carry out is that of testing of
individuals by granting them abundant wealth and curing their illness. Just as
humans are made of clay, and jinn are made of smokeless fire, angels are made
of light. As Indonesian muslim I pronounce Gabriel as Jibril, Raphael as
Israfil, Michael as Mikail and Ezrael as Izrail. There are also other Angels
such as Munkar and Nakir who questioning us inside grave, Ridwan and Maalik who
guard Jannah/Paradise and Jahannam/Hell and more Angels.
Belief in the Prophets and Messengers
From Adam to Muhammad. So Noah, David, Solomon, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Abraham,
Ishmael, Jesus/Isa are also Prophet and Messengers of Islam. They brought Allah’s Messeges
from time to time, reminding sins and
telling to worship to the Only Allah. Devils never stop as themselves promised
to Allah will always distracting human, keep us away from Jannah.
Belief in the Sacred Texts
These books include the Books of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of
David, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These books all had the same
source (God), the same message, and all were revealed in truth. This does
not mean that they have been preserved in truth. Muslims (and many other
Jewish and Christian scholars and historians) find that the books in existence
today are not the original scriptures, which in fact have been lost, changed,
and/or translated over and over again, losing the original message.
Belief in Life After Death
After Qiamat/End of the World, all human will be judged and enter Heaven or
Hell.
Belief in the Divine Decree
Try our best effort in every aspects and Allah will do the rest. Accept our destiny
because Allah Knows what’s best. Everything good or bad, all moments of happiness or sorrow, pleasure or
pain, come from God.
And these “Pillars of Islam” represent the core that unites all Muslims :
The ‘Declaration of Faith’
A Muslim is one who testifies that
“none deserves worship but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
This declaration is known as the “shahada” (witness,
testimony). Allah is the Arabic name for God, just as Yahweh is the
Hebrew name for God. By making this simple proclamation one becomes a
Muslim. The
second part of the testimony of faith states that Muhammad, may the mercy and
blessings of God be upon him, is a prophet of God like Abraham, Moses and Jesus
before him. Muhammad brought the last and final revelation. In
accepting Muhammad as the “seal of the prophets,” Muslims believe that his
prophecy confirms and fulfills all of the revealed messages, beginning with
Adam’s.
The Prayer (Salah)
Muslims worship five times a day: at
daybreak, noon, mid afternoon, sunset, and evening. It helps keep believers
mindful of God in the stress of work and family.
The Compulsory Charity (Zakah)
In Islam, the true owner of
everything is God, not man. People are given wealth as a trust from
God. Zakah is worship and thanksgiving to God by supporting the
poor, and through it one’s wealth is purified.. It requires an annual
contribution of 2.5 percent of an individual’s wealth and assets.
The Fast of Ramadan (Shaum)
Ramadan is the ninth month of the
Islamic lunar calendar which is spent in fasting. Healthy Muslims abstain
from dawn to sunset from food, drink, and sexual activity. Fasting
develops spirituality, dependence upon God, and brings identification with the
less fortunate. A special evening prayer is also held mosques in which
recitations of the Quran are heard.
Pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca
At least once in a lifetime, every
adult Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to sacrifice
time, wealth, status, and ordinary comforts of life to make the Hajj
pilgrimage, putting himself totally at God’s service. Every year over two
million believers from a diversity of cultures and languages travel from all
over the world to the sacred city of Mecca to respond to God’s call.
Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit
terrorism. In the Quran, God has said:
“God does not forbid you from showing
kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion
and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers.” (Quran
60:8)
The Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and
blessings of God be upon him, used to prohibit soldiers from killing women and
children, and he
would advise them: “...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a
newborn child.” And
he also said: “Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims
shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found for a
span of forty years.”
He once listed murder as the second of the major
sins,
and he even warned that on the Day of Judgment, “The first cases to be
adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed.
Muslims are even encouraged to be kind to
animals and are forbidden to hurt them. Once the Prophet Muhammad said: “A
woman was punished because she imprisoned a cat until it died. On account of
this, she was doomed to Hell. While she imprisoned it, she did not give the cat
food or drink, nor did she free it to eat the insects of the earth.”
He also said that a man gave a very thirsty dog
a drink, so God forgave his sins for this action. The Prophet, may the mercy
and blessings of God be upon him, was asked, “Messenger of God, are we rewarded
for kindness towards animals?” He said: “There is a reward for kindness to
every living animal or human."
Additionally, while taking the life of an animal
for food, Muslims are commanded to do so in a manner that causes the least
amount of fright and suffering possible. The Prophet Muhammad said: “When you
slaughter an animal, do so in the best way. One should sharpen his knife to
reduce the suffering of the animal.”
In light of these and other Islamic texts, the
act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale
destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent
men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to
Islam and the Muslims. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness,
and the vast majority have nothing to do with the violent events some have
associated with Muslims. If an individual Muslim were to commit an act of
terrorism, this person would be guilty of violating the laws of Islam.
It is a common misconception with some non-Muslims that Islam would
not have millions of adherents all over the world, if it had not been spread by
the use of force.
The famous historian, Thomas Carlyle, in his book Heroes
and Hero worship, refers to this misconception about the spread of Islam: “The
sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its
starting is precisely in a minority of one; in one man’s head alone. There it
dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it, there is one man
against all men. That he takes a sword and tries to propagate with that will
do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will
propagate itself as it can.” If Islam was spread by the sword, it was the sword of
intellect and convincing arguments. It is this sword that conquers the hearts
and minds of people. The Quran says in this connection:
“Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good
instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best.” (Quran 16:125)
Indonesia
is the country that has the largest
number of Muslims in the world, and the majority of people in Malaysia
are Muslims. But, no Muslim army ever went to Indonesia or Malaysia.
It is an established
historical fact that Indonesia entered Islam not due to war, but because
of its
moral message. Despite the disappearance of Islamic government from
many
regions once ruled by it, their original inhabitants have remained
Muslims. Moreover,
they carried the message of truth, inviting others to it as well, and in
so doing
endured harm, affliction and oppression. The same can be said for those
in the
regions of Syria and Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, North Africa, Asia, the
Balkans and
in Spain. This shows that the effect of Islam on the population was one
of
moral conviction, in contrast to occupation by western colonialists,
finally compelled
to leave lands whose peoples held only memories of affliction, sorrow,
subjugation and oppression.
Muslims ruled Spain (Andalusia) for about 800 years.
During this period the Christians and Jews enjoyed freedom to practice their
respective religions, and this is a documented historical fact. Christian and Jewish minorities have
survived in
the Muslim lands of the Middle East for centuries. Countries such as
Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan all have
significant Christian and Jewish
populations. Muslims ruled India for about a thousand
years, and
therefore had the power to force each and every non-Muslim of India to
convert to Islam, but they did not, and thus more than 80% of the Indian
population remains non-Muslim. Similarly, Islam spread rapidly on the East Coast
of Africa. And likewise no Muslim army was ever dispatched to the East Coast
of Africans. An article in Reader’s Digest ‘Almanac’,
yearbook 1986, gives the statistics of the increase of the percentage of the
major religions of the world in half a century from 1934 to 1984. This article
also appeared in The Plain Truth magazine. At the top was Islam, which
increased by 235%, while Christianity had increased by 47%. During this
fifty-year period, there was no “Islamic conquest” yet Islam spread at an
extraordinary rate. Today the fastest growing religion in
America and Europe is Islam. The Muslims in these lands are a
minority. The only sword they have
in their possession is the sword of truth. It is this sword that is
converting
thousands to Islam. Islamic law protects the privileged status of
minorities, and that is why non-Muslim places of worship have flourished all
over the Islamic world. Islamic law also allows non-Muslim minorities to set
up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities
themselves. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are
considered sacred whether they are Muslims or not.
________
Alhamdulillah I could post something more about Islam. I hope my post could reveal what’s Islam
about, still the core is inside you in your FAITH. I pray Allah bless and grant us
Jannah. Aamiin…
Note : pict taken from here
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