INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

WHAT IS ISLAM?

THE Arabic Word ISLAM means peace,submission and obedience.The religion of islam is the complete acceptance of theb teachings and guidance of ALLAH as revealed to his Prophit Muhammad(PBUH).

A Muslium is one who believes in god and strives for total recognization of his life according to his revealed guidence and saying of his prophi.he also works for buildind human society on the same basis.ISLAM is not a new religion.As it comes in Holy Quran:“We believe in ALLAH,and in what has been revealed to us and what qwas revealed to Abraham, Ismael,isaac,jacob, and the Tribes, and in the books given to Moses,Jesus, and the prophits from there LORD.We made no distinction between one and another among them,and to ALLAH do we bow our will(in islam)”

The message which was revealed to prophit Muhammad (S.A.W) is Islam in its complete and final form.islam provides definite guidence for all people to follow in all walks of life.theguidence it gives is comprehensive and includes the social,enonomic,political,moral, and spirtual aspects of life.theQURAN reminds man the purpus of his life on Earth.The main purpus of man on this earth is to obey all the

teachings of ALLAH(SWT).Islam teaches the equality in all humans and confers equal rights upon all without any distinction of race,sex or color.

The One & Only GodIslam is a monotheistic religion. It teaches that there is only one God who is the origin and creator of the universe. This is the foundation of Islam, and is reflected in the famous sentence which says that, “There is no god but Allah.” (Allah is the Arabic name of God.)

The belief in God relates us to our origin and guides us throughout our life. The belief in one God shows that man should not worship any material thing or person in this universe.

By teaching that there is only One God for all humans, Islam promotes the sense of brotherhood and equality in human society--all are equally related to God in the same way. The Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, says:

“He (God) is One, God is Eternal;He has neither begotten,nor has He been begotten;and there is no one equal to Him”

Having achieved this knowledge of the one true God, man should constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce him to deny truth.A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He bestowed upon him, but being aware of the fact that his good deeds, whether mental or physical, are far from being commensurate with

Divine favors, he is always anxious lest God should punish him, here or in the Hereafter. He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself to Him and serves Him with great humility. 

Prophethood in Islam

Man has been placed on this earth by God in order that his obedience to his Maker may be put to the test. For this purpose he has been given complete freedom to tread the paths of both good and evil. He has his choice. But to follow the path desired for him by God, man is in need of guiding principles. The true source of guidance, according to Islam, is to be found in prophethood. Throughout human history, God in His infinite Mercy, has selected certain individuals to communicate His message to mankind,so that all human beings might be enabled to follow the right path.

These chosen people were called prophets or messengers. They received God’s message through His angel and then conveyed it to their people.All the prophets, according to Islam, brought the same basic truth: that there is only one God and that all human beings are accountable to God for their actions: when Doomsday finally comes, they will be judged by Him according to their good and bad deeds.

Those who believe in God and His Prophet shall be rewarded by God in the next world. While those who disbelieve shall be punished by God in the next world according to the deeds they have performed on earth.

In QURAN E PAK ALLAH says about prophithood that:

“God chooses to Himself whom He will, and guides to Himself those that repent.”

THE LAST PROPHIT MUHAMMAD(PBUH)

According to a hadith, starting with Adam and ending with the Prophet Muahmmad.1,24,000 messengers were sent to guide the people to the right path .God’s messengers came in every age and to every region. The Prophet(SAW) unequivocally declared that he was the final Prophet. There are a large number of Ahadith to sustain this article of Islamic faith. Not only that but the Prophet(SAW) was also pleased to bring forth such expositions of this word (Khatam-un-Nabieen) that all doubts relating to his finality in prophethood stand void and misinterpretations exposed. Many people having theological distinctions to their credit have stressed upon the unbroken and consecutive nature of those Ahadith which concern finality of prophethood.HE (PBUH) SAID THAT:"My position in relation to the prophets who came before me can be explained by the following example: A man erected a building and adorned this edifice with great beauty, but he left an empty niche, in the corner where just one brick was missing. People looked around the building and marveled at its beauty, but wondered why a brick was missing from that niche? I am like unto that one missing brick and I am the last in the line of the Prophets." 

(Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Manaqib).

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Pillars of Islam (5)The five pillars of Islam refer to the five duties that every Muslim must perform. The first of these five pillars is the declaration of faith and the other four are religious acts that are performed either daily, once a year or at least once in a lifetime. These acts are woven into the lives of Muslims and take precedence over all worldly matters.

The five pillars of Islam are

1. Declaration of Faith (Shahadah)2. Prayer (Salah)3. Charity (Zakah)4. Fasting (Sawm)5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)

1. Declaration of Faith (Shahadah)The most basic requirement of being a Muslim is to publicly state the words “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger”, in arabic, with sincerity and without any reservations. This testament is the foundation for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. To become a Muslim, a non-Muslim must repeat the Shahadah three times in the presence of witnesses.

The statement of Shahada in arabic is

“Ash-hadu al laailaahaillallahwa ash-haduanna Muhammad urrasulullah”

The statement of faith must be a genuine belief that includes the following articles of faith.

2.Prayer (Salah)Every Muslim is required to pray five times a day. The five prayers are

1.Salat al-Fajr

2.Salat al-Zuhr3.Salat al-Asr4.Salat al-Maghrib 5.Salat al-IshaThese five prayers are said at dawn, mid day, late afternoon, sunset and nightfall. The Prophet Muhammad (Sal AllahuAlayhiWaSallam) said, “The first act that the slave (of Allah) will be accountable for on the day of judgement will be the prayer. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.”

3.Charity (Zakah)

Every Muslim is obligated to pay a portion of his or her wealth for the benefit of the poor and needy. Zakat means purification and growth. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a portion for those in need. This also increases social welfare and encourages economic growth.A Muslim may also donate more as an act of Sadaqah (voluntary charity), in order to achieve additional reward from Allah.

4.Fasting (Sawm)

Every year in the month of Ramadan Muslims are required to abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to dusk. In addition, Muslims are expected to refrain from anger, envy, greed, lust, gossip, violence, bad language and other inappropriate thoughts and actions. Fasting is meant to encourage Muslims to seek nearness to Allah, be patient, and learn the hardships faced by the less fortunate.

5.Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Makkah (Mecca). Hajj occurs every year during the month of Dhu’l-Hijjah. Every Muslim who is physically and financially able, is obligated to perform Hajj at least once in his or her lifetime.

conclusionThere is only one God who is the origin and creator of the universe. This is the foundation of Islam, and is reflected in the famous sentence which says that, “There is no god but Allah.” (Allah is the Arabic name of God.)And HAZRAT MUHAMMAD (PBUH) is the last prophit of ALLAH(SWT).And there is no prophit after him.ALLAH compleats his message for all mankind through HAZRAT MUHAMMAD(PBUH). ISLAM is for every person in this world.every one can get success in this world and also on the day of judgement by follwing the teachings of islam.every one is equal in islam.womes and mans have equal rights in islam.In QURAN E PAK ALLAH said

“And according to usage, women too have rights over men similar to the rights of men over women.”

so islam is complete code of conduct for every one in this world.only one perfect religion for mankind forsuccess.we should spend our life according to islam.

we should follow all the guidence of ALLAH and his PROPHIT MUHAMMAD(PBUH).

MAY ALLAH BLESS ALL MUSLIMS

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