islam in brief

Islam In Brief A simplified Introduction to Islam    Prepared by:   Yasser Gabr & Houda Karkour. PREFACE This little book is a guiding book to Islam , where we are trying to vanish away the chaos that is hiding the reality of Islam. Therefore, we hope that you receive this book with open arms without a jot of prejudice to understand Islam as it is not as it has been depicted in the media. Then, let's pray God-Allah Almighty that this book would be a good introduction for the correct knowledge of Islam, the religion of all the messenger of Allah Almighty from Adam to Mohammad peace be upon them. yassergabr@gmail.com

Chapter One The Creator. The name Allah (God) in Islam is the personal name of God. The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in four verses of Surah Al- Ikhlaas in the Holy Qur'an : {{1. Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allâh , (the) One. 2. " Allâh-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). 3. "He begetteth not not , nor is He begotten; 4 . " And there is none Like unto Him.}} (Holy Qur'an 112: 1-4). To Muslims, this four-line definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test' and since the attributes of The Creator given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.  i ) The first criterion is «"Say, He is Allah, one and only". » Can there be more than one god? This verse tells us that The Creator is the ...

Unity of God : Some people pretend that the existence of more than one God is not illogical. Let us point out to them that if there were more than one God, they would dispute with one another for each god tries to fulfill his will against the will of the other gods. This can be seen in the mythology of the polytheistic and pantheistic religions.  If a ‘God’ is defeated or unable to defeat the others, he is surely not the one true God. It is also popular among polytheistic religions the idea of many Gods for each one is having different responsibilities. Each one would be responsible for a part of man’s existence e.g. a Sun-God, a Rain-God, etc. This indicates that one ‘God’ is incompetent of certain acts, and moreover, he is also ignorant of the other Gods’ powers, duties, functions and responsibilities. It cannot be an ignorant and incapable God. If there were more than one God, it would surely lead to confusion, disorder, chaos and destruction in the universe. Bu...

What are the proofs that betokens Allah Almighty's existence? Allah, to Whom be ascribed all perfection and majesty, has made demonstrations in this universe to enunciate His existence and His singleness. He has made the signs in the universe as his elementary device to let the human being grasp by his/her brain. The reason can perceive the existence of Allah Almighty by the use of the rational evidence which is put in the world by the Creator. These demonstrations are as follows: 1- The evidence of creation:  It is known that the human being does neither create her/himself nor does she/he the animals, the plants, and the earth she/he lives on. The Holy Qur'an has stated this fact in the following verse: { { Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, they have no firm belief.}}, (Holy Qur'an 52: 35-36 ( 2- The evidence of charge:  The vestiges of Allah's attrib utes and...

Why Does Allah create the human being ? Does Allah create us in vain? The brain is aware of the existence of Allah Almighty by the use of the signs in the universe. The human brain recognizes that the Creator of the universe is Knowledgeable and Wise. Thus, it is quite impossible that He creates us in vain and without a special target. Otherwise, this fact would not be in tandem with His wisdom, Glory be to Him. { { " Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us?" . So Exalted be Allâh , the True King, Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!!}}, (Holy Qur'an 23: 115-116). Though, we cannot know what does the Creator want from us, How to worship Him as He really wants us to do? How to thank Him? This is why He has sent to us messengers to tell us about Himself (Allah Almighty) and the reason He has created...

Attributes of God ( Allah ): To Allah belong the most beautiful names. The Holy Qur'an says: {{" Say (O Muhammad): "Invoke Allâh or invoke the Most Beneficent ( Allâh ), by whatever name you invoke Him (it is the same), for to Him belong the Best Names. And offer your Salât (prayer) neither aloud nor in a low voice, but follow a way between. }} , ) Holy Qur'an 17:110 ( . Sources of Islam give no less than ninety-nine different attributes to Allah Almighty. The Holy Qur'an refers to Allah as Ar-Rahman (Most Gracious), Ar-Raheem (Most Merciful) and Hakeem (All Wise) among many other names. 1- God does not take human form : Many religions at some point believe, directly or indirectly, in the philosophy of anthropomorphism i.e. God is palatable to become a human. Their contention is that  God Almighty is so pure and holy to the extent that He is unaware ( It is true that Allah is not like us, but this does not mean that He is unaw...

Chapter Two What is Islam? Islam means ‎ submission, obedience, surrender and compliance with the command and ‎ prohibition of the commander without objections. Allah has named the true ‎ religion, ‘Islam’ for it is an obedience to him, submission to His Commands ‎ without any resistance, purifying acts of worship for Him, believing in His ‎ words and having faith in Him. Islam then became a proper name for the ‎ religion brought by Muhammad. ‎

Why was this religion named Islam? Adherents of various religions all over the ‎ world have named their religions, either with the name of a man or a particular ‎ race like Christianity, which was named after Jesus Christ; and Buddhism was ‎ named after its founder Buddha; and Zoroastrianism was named after its founder ‎ and flag banner, Zoroaster. Judaism had also emerged among the tribe of Judah ‎ and so on. The All-Mighty Allah Himself called it Islam when He said,   {{Truly, the religion with Allâh is Islâm . ( submission to His Will)}},(Holy Qur'an 3:1) It is only Islam that is not attributed to any particular man or ‎ nation. Its name indicates a special characteristic that the meaning of Islam ‎ denotes. It is evident in this name that no man has any role in bringing this ‎ religion into existence and that it is not peculiar with any nation to the ‎ exclusion of others. Its only goal is to make all people of the earth have ‎ characteristics of Islam...

The Message of Islam: The most important message of Islam is the absolute Unity of God-that there is only One Supreme Being who has no partners and is not dependent on anyone or anything. He is the creator of everything and the whole universe is under His control. Since the total submission of one's will to Allah represents the essence of worship, Islam is the worship of Allah alone and the avoidance of worship directed to any person, place or thing other than Allah. In essence, Islam calls man away from the worship of creation and invites him to worship only its Creator. Allah is the only one deserving man's worship as it is only by His will that prayers are answered. Hence prayers to the non-living such as the sun, fire, and to humans whether they are Jesus, Moses or even Muhammad are rejected, as Allah informs us in the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an ,: {{You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).}} ( Holy Q...

The Six Pillars of Faith in Islam : 1. Belief in Allah : You must believe in His Lordship; that He is the Lord, the Creator, the ‎ Possessor and the Controller of all matters. You must also believe in His right ‎ to be worshipped, that He is the only True Deity, that all deities besides Him ‎ are false. You must believe in His Names and Attributes, that He has Beautiful ‎ Names and perfect Sublime Attributes. ‎ You must also believe in His Oneness in all that, that He has no partner in His ‎ Lordship, nor in His right to be worshipped or in His Names and Attributes. You must also believe that neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him; that He ‎ knows all that is hidden and evident; and that to him belongs the sovereignty ‎ of the heavens and the earth. You must also believe that He rose high over His Throne ‎ above His creation, and that He is with them by His knowledge and He knows ‎ their conditions, hears their utterances, sees their places and controls their ‎...

Some Beauties of Islam: 1-It is the religion of Allah which He has chosen for Himself, sent ‎ with His Messengers and through which He allowed His slaves to worship Him. ‎ 2-Comprehensiveness: One of the most prominent beauties of this religion is ‎ its comprehensiveness for everything. This religion encompasses all that one has to do with the Creator like His Names, ‎ Attributes and rights; and all that one has to do with the creatures like laws, ‎ obligations, manners and relationship. ‎ 3- Islam is linking man to his ‎ Creator directly; without a priest, reverend, or holy secret. This direct ‎ connection between the Creator and the created is a connection that links the ‎ heart with its Lord and it thereby gets light, guidance and loftiness; the heart will seek ‎ perfection; and deems itself high above insignificant and debased things. ‎ 4- ‎ It caters for benefits of this world and the Hereafter. The Islamic Law is ‎ based on protection of the benefits of this ...

How Does Someone Become a Muslim? Simply by saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah ,Muhammadun rasoolu Allah,”. This is how one converts to Islam and becomes a Muslim. This saying means, “There is no true god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (God).” The first part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah Almighty –God- alone, and that Allah-God- has neither partner nor son. To be a Muslim, one should also: [1] Believe that the Holy Qur’an is the literal word of God revealed by Him. [2] Believe that the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) is true and will come, as God has promised in the Qur'an [3] Accept Islam as his or her religion. [4] Not worship anything or anyone except Allah Almighty.

What Are the Five Pillars of Islam? The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework of a Muslim’s life. They are: 1) The Testimony of Faith: The testimony of faith is saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun rasoolu Allah.” This saying means, “There is no true god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God.” The first part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son. This testimony of faith is called the ' Shahada ', a simple formula which should be said with conviction in order to convert to Islam. The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam. 2) Prayer: Muslims perform five prayers a day. Each prayer does not take more than a few minutes to perform. Prayer in Islam is a direct link between the worshipper and God. There are no intermediaries between God and the worshipper. In prayer, a person feels...

SOURCES OF ISLAM: A. The Glorious Qur'an : The Qur'an was not the first Book to be revealed, nor was ‎ Muhammad the first Messenger to be sent. Allah has revealed the Scriptures ‎ to Abraham; Torah to Moses and the Gospel to Jesus. All these Books were ‎ revelations from Allah to His Prophets and Messengers. As for the Qur'an , Allah Himself guarantees its protection, so it is today the verbatim of what was revealed to the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, over fourteen centuries ago: {{Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'ân ) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption ) .   }} ,( }},( Holy Qur'an 15:9) The Qur'an , the last revealed word of God, is the primary source of every Muslim’s faith and practice. It deals with all the subjects, which concern human beings: Wisdom, doctrine, worship, transactions, law, etc., but its basic theme is the relationship between God and His creatures. At the sa...

Chapter Three The Prophet of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him- was born in Mecca , a city that is located in modern-day Saudi Arabia , in 570 AD (53 BH ). His father, Abd Allah bin Abd Al- Muttalib , died before his birth. His mother, Aminah bint Wahb , died of illness when he was six years old. As an orphan, Muhammad was sent to be raised by his grandfather, who died two years later. Finally, the young boy passed to the care of Abu Talib who is known as his paternal uncle. Some Muslim scholars underscore that these early tough events, which have befallen in the life of the messenger, enable him to stand up against the hard confrontation of the polytheists and the unbelievers.

Personal Character:             As a young man, Muhammad worked as a shepherd, and later as an apprentice trader for his uncle. As he grew, Muhammad gained a reputation for thoughtfulness and integrity. People nicknamed him Al- Sadiq (The Truthful), because he never told a lie; and Al- Amin (The Trustworthy), because he never cheated. He was called upon frequently to mediate disputes between the noble people of Mecca . Muhammad was also known for his disdain of the pagan culture that predominated among the people of Mecca . He never worshipped the idols of Quraysh , the tribe to which he belonged. Instead, he made long retreats to a mountain cave called Hira ’, outside of Mecca , where he meditated. When he was 25 years old, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid , a 40-year-old Meccan widow known for her strong character, successful trading business, and nobility, proposed to him. They married in the year 595 AD (28 ...

The First Revelation: At the age of 40, while he was in solitude at Hira ’, Muhammad experienced the first incident of revelation. He said the Angel Gabriel came to him and instructed him in the following words, which later became known as the first revealed verses of the Quran : { { Read ! In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists), Has created man from a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous, Who has taught (the writing) by the pen [the first person to write was Prophet Idrees (Enoch)], Has taught man that which he knew not. }}, (Holy Qur'an 96:1- 5 ) . Muhammad’s response to this initial experience was plenty of fear and shock. He returned home and was comforted by his tender wife Khadijah , who later became the first believer in his message. In the following years, the Angel Gabriel instructed Muhammad to take the words of the Qur'an to the public. Mecca , at that time, was...

His Teachings:             Muhammad led a humble life: he had never distinguished himself from the others--he had no body guards, and moved without an entourage. He told people that his job as a messenger of God was simply to reaffirm what God had already revealed to humanity through previous prophets, including Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. In the monotheistic worldview, God created humankind as dignified creatures endowed with free will. Men and women are entrusted with leading a life of goodness, in the hope of reaping the ultimate benefits in the daily life and in the next life. Although no single verse summarizes all the teachings of Islam, the following excerpts from the Holy Qur'an represent the Straight Path God has chosen for His believers: {{ Say (O Muhammad): "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from: Join not anything in worship with Him; be good and dutiful to your pare...