Islam and Muslims

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salaam which means 'peace.' Salaam 
may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is 
the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the 
Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total 
system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; 
hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are 
to God, the Lord of the Universe. 

Muslims and Arabs

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may 
be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, 
Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities. 

An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who adopts the Arabic 
language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is 
Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an 
and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an, namely Arabic. 
Supplications to God could be in any language. 

While there are [more than] one billion Muslims in the world there [may be nearly] 200 million Arabs. 
Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslim. Thus Arab Muslims constitute about 20
percent of the Muslim population of the world.

Allah, the One and Only God

Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names, such as: The 
Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the 
Universe, The First, The Last, and others. 

He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the 
Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They 
put their trust in Him and they seek His help and His guidance. 

Muhammad

Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 
570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam when he 
was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, while the 
message is called Islam. 

Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final Messenger of God. His 
message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to 
those religious people to inform them about the true missions of Jesus, [David, Moses], Jacob, Isaac, 
and Abraham. [as prophets who had books revealed to them].Muhammad is considered to be 
the summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers that came before him. 
He purified the previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all 
humanity. He was entrusted with the power [and the duty of] of explaining, 
interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an. 

Source of Islam

The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the exact word of God; its 
authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and 
[tacit] approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The 
Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence, it is the life 
history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims. 

Some Islamic Principles

1. Oneness of God: He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This 
   means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which implies more than 
   one God in one. 

2.  Oneness of mankind: People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no 
   superiority for one race over another. God made us of different colours, nationalities, 
   languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others. No one can claim 
   that he is better than others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety 
   and righteousness. 

3. Oneness of Messengers and the Message: Muslims believe that God sent different 
   messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and the 
   same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them. Muslims 
   believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, [David] Jesus, and Muhammad. The 
   Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam.

4. Angels and the Day of Judgement: Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as 
   angels created by God in the universe for special missions. Muslims believe that there is a 

5. Day of Judgement when all people of the world throughout the history of mankind till the last 
   day of life on earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment. 

6. Innocence of Man at Birth: Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after 
   they reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they are to be 
   charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can take the responsibility for the 
   sins of others. However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is always open. 

7. State and Religion: Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It 
   encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate religion from 
   politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion are under the obedience of Allah through the 
   teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as educational and 
   political systems are also part of the teachings of Islam. 

Practices of Islam

God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars, namely: 

1. Creed (Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only One God and that 
   Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of Islam. 

2. Prayers (Salat): The performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims. 

3. Fasting (Sawm): Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse 
   (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan. 

4. Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's 
   property which is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries. 

5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time if 
   means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the trials and tribulations of Prophet 
   Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son Prophet Ishmael. 

Other Related Aspects

Calendar: Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also use the 
   Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic calendar includes both the 
   common era and the migration (Hijra) year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah 
   in the year of 623 C.E. 

Celebrations (Eid): Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of 
   Fast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice to be by Prophet 
   Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at the end of the month of fasting, 
   Ramadan. 

Diets: Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for their health. It restricts certain 
   items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narcotic or addictive drugs. 

Place of Worship: The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy 
   places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in Makkah, 
   Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of 
   the Rock in Jerusalem. A Muslim may pray anywhere in the world whether in a Mosque, a 
   house, an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable that 
   Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually anywhere. 

Holidays: The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and the Day of 
   Judgement will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly after noon on Friday for the 
   Friday congregational prayer in a Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and 
   leads the congregational prayer. 
 
Non-Muslims

Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God conscious people, namely those 
who received messages. Christians and Jews are called People of the Book. Muslims are asked to 
call upon the People of the Book for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work 
together for the solutions of the many problems in the society. 

Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout [the] centuries in the Middle East and 
other Asian and African countries. The second Caliph Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem 
so as not to give the Muslims an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims, and as 
such the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims. 

Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the Muslims. They settled 
in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed positions of power and authority. 

Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools were built within 
Muslim neighbourhoods. These places were protected by Muslims even during the contemporary 
crises in the Middle East.