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About Islam

INTRODUCTION

The pluralistic American society is changing from being a “melting pot” to a “salad bowl” in which all ingredients are encouraged to preserve and display their distinct individual taste and flavor.

Islam is one of the world major religions with over 1 billion followers worldwide and over 6 million in the U.S.A. It has a common heritage with Judaism and Christianity. However many Americans still do not know about Islam and have many misconceptions.

The ongoing crisis in the Muslim world and the misrepresentation of Islam sometimes by the media challenges the interfaith community to answer questions about Islam in a simple and concise language. This Q&A on Islam was compiled by Dr. Thomas Driscoll of St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry and was reviewed by Dr. Mohammed Shafiq of the Islamic Center of Rochester.

1. What is Islam?

The word “Islam” means peace and submission. Peace means to be at peace with yourself and your surroundings and submission means submission to the will of God. A broader meaning of the word “Islam” is to achieve peace by submitting to the will of God.

This is a unique religion with a name that signifies a moral attitude and a way of life. Judaism takes its name from the tribe of Judah, Christianity from Jesus Christ, Buddhism from Goutam Buddha and Hinduism from Indus River. However, Muslims derive their identity from the message of Islam, rather than the person of Muhammad, thus should not be called “Muhammadans.”

2. Who is Allah?

Allah is the Arabic word for “one God”. Allah is not God of Muslims only. He is God of all creations, because He is their Creator and Sustainer. The Qur’an (the holy Book of Islam) says that Allah is One, the only One, Eternal, Indivisible, has no beginning and no end, did not beget and not begotten, and no one is like Him.

3. Who is a Muslim?

The word “Muslim” means one who submits to the will of God. This is done by declaring that “there is no god except one God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” In a broader sense, anyone who willingly submits to the will of God is a Muslim. Thus, all the prophets preceding the prophet Muhammad are considered Muslims. The Qur’an specifically mentions Abraham who lived long before Moses and Christ that, “he was not a Jew or a Christian but a Muslim,” because he had submitted to the will of God. Thus there are Muslims who are not submitting at all to the will of God and there are Muslims who are doing their best to live an Islamic life. One cannot judge Islam by looking at those individuals who have a Muslim name but in their actions are not living or behaving as Muslims. The extent of being a Muslim can be according to the degree to which one is submitting to the will of God, in his beliefs and his actions.

4. Who was Muhammad?

In brief, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born in a noble tribe of Mecca in Arabia in the year 570 AD. His ancestry goes back to Prophet Ishmael, son of Prophet Abraham. His father died before his birth and his mother died when he was six. As a young man, he was known as Amin (honest) and Sadiq (truthful). He was righteous person and used to meditate in a cave. At age 40, he was given the prophethood when the angel, Gabriel, appeared in the cave. Subsequently, the revelations came over 23 years. As he was illiterate, he dictated the revelation to a group of scribers. They memorized the revelation and compiled it in the form of a book called the Qur’an that Muslims consider as the final and the last word of God. The Qur’an has been preserved, unchanged, in its original form and confirms the truth in the Torah, the psalms and the Gospel.

5. Do Muslims worship Muhammad?

No. Muslims do not worship Muhammad or any other prophets. Muslims believe in all prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses and Jesus. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last of the prophets. They believe that God alone is to be worshiped.

6. What do Muslims think of Jesus?

Muslims think highly of Jesus and his worthy mother, Mary. The Qur’an tells us that Jesus was born of a miraculous birth without a father. “Lo! The likeness of Jesus with Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then He said unto him: Be and he is.” (Qur’an 3.59). He was given many miracles as a prophet. These include speaking soon after his birth in defense of his mother's piety. God's other gifts to him included healing the blind and the sick, reviving the dead, making a bird out of clay and most importantly, the message he was carrying. These miracles were given to him by God to establish him as a prophet. According to the Qur’an, he was not crucified but was raised to Heaven. (Qur’an, Chapter Maryam)

7. Do Muslims have many sects?

Muslims have no sects. In Islam, there are two major schools of thought, the Shia and the Sunni. Both have many things in common. They follow the same book—Qur’an. They follow the same prophet, Muhammad. Both offer their prayers five time a day. Both fast in the month of Ramadan. They both go for hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. Those who follow Prophet Muhammad, in accordance with his sayings and actions, are called Sunni and those who in addition follow the sayings and views of Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law), as the rightful successor to Prophet Muhammad, are called Shia. Shia means a partisan (party of Ali), and it started more as a political party to help Ali in his conflict with his political adversaries. Most Shias live in Iran and Iraq while the rest of the Muslim world is mostly Sunni. Shias comprise about 16-percent of the Muslim population.

8. What are the pillars of Islam?

There are five major pillars of Islam. These pillars are 1) the Shahada (to witness): to witness that God is One and Muhammad is His messenger, 2) Worship (Salat) is prescribed five times a day, 3) fasting (Siyam) obligatory in the month of Ramadan, 4) charity (Zakat) is the poor-due on the wealth of the rich and 5) hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, once in a lifetime if one can afford it physically and financially. All the pillars should be of equal height and strength in a building in order to give the building its due shape and proportions. It is not possible that one would do hajj without observing fasting or without practicing regular prayers. Now think of a building that has pillars only. It would not be called a building. In order to make it a building, it has to have a roof, it has to have walls, it has to have doors and windows. These things in Islam are the moral codes of Islam such as honesty, truthfulness, steadfastness and many other human moral qualities. Thus in order to be a Muslim, one should not only be practicing the pillars of Islam but should also have the highest possible attribute for being a good human being. Only then the building is completed and looks beautiful.

9. What is the purpose of worship in Islam?

The purpose of worship in Islam is to be God conscious. Thus the worship, whether it is prayer, fasting, or charity, is a means to achieve God consciousness so that when one becomes conscious of God, in thought and in action, he is in a better position to receive His bounties both in this world and the hereafter.

10. Do Muslims believe in the hereafter?

Accountability is the corner stone of a Muslim belief. Every one is responsible for his/her actions and will be accountable for it in the hereafter. This is why the Muslims do not accept the concept of “Original Sin” and there is no “Savior” in Islam. Those who do good will be rewarded and those who do wrong will be punished accordingly. He created Heaven and Hell and there are admission criteria for both. Muslims believe that the present life is a temporary one. It is a test. Though God is merciful, forgiving, loving and caring, we must strive to do well in the test to be entitled to receive His mercy. Heaven in Islam is a life of permanent pleasure in the company of good people. Hell is a place of fire and suffering.

11. What is the dress code for Muslims?

Islam emphasizes modesty. No person should be perceived as a sex object. There are certain guidelines both for men and women that their dress should neither be too thin nor too tight to reveal body forms. Men must cover the area from the knee to navel and Women should cover all body except the hands and face. The veil is not required.

12. What are the dietary prohibitions in Islam?

Muslims are told in the Qur’an not to eat pork or pork products, meat of the animals who died before being slaughtered or the carnivorous animals (as they eat dead animals), nor drink blood or intoxicants such as wine or use any illicit drugs.

13. What is Jihad?

The word “Jihad” means to struggle, or to be specific, striving in the cause of God. Any struggle done in day-to-day life to please God can be considered Jihad. One of the highest levels of Jihad is to stand up to a tyrant and speak a word of truth. Control of the self from wrongdoings is a great Jihad. One of the forms of Jihad is to take up arms in self-defense when attacked, or when driven away from one’s home or land.

14. What is the Islamic Year?

The Islamic year started from the migration (Hijra) of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD. It is a lunar year of 354 days. The first month is called Muharram.

15. What are the major Islamic festivals?

Eid al Fitr, marks the end of fasting in the month of Ramadan and is celebrated with public prayers, feasts and exchange of gifts. Eid al Adha is the Feast of Sacrifice. It marks the end of the Hajj or the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. After the public prayers, those who can afford, sacrifice a lamb or a goat to signify Prophet Abraham's obedience to God, shown by his readiness to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

16. What is Shari`a?

Shari`a is the comprehensive Muslim law derived from two sources, a) the Qur’an b) the Sunnah or traditions of Prophet Muhammad. It covers every aspect of daily individual and collective living. The purpose of Islamic laws is protection of individuals' basic human rights, to include right to life, property, political and religious freedom and safeguarding the rights of women and minorities. The low crime rate in Muslim societies is due to the application of the Islamic laws.

17. Was Islam spread by the sword?

According to the Qur’an, “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256), thus, no one can be forced to become a Muslim. While it is true that in many places where Muslim armies went to liberate people or the land, they did carry the sword, as that was the weapon used at that time. However, Islam did not spread by the sword because in many places where there are Muslims now, in the Far East like Indonesia, in China, and many parts of Africa, there are no records of any Muslim armies ever going there. To say that Islam was spread by the sword would be to say that Christianity was spread by guns, F-16's and atomic bombs, etc., which is not true. Christianity spread by the missionary works of Christians while Islam spread through the teaching of Qur’an. Muslims did not force others to convert to Islam. India was ruled by Muslims for 700 years, but Muslims are still a minority. The same is true about other countries. For more details see: Thomas Arnold, The Preaching of Islam.

1 18. Does Islam promote violence and terrorism?

No. Islam is religion of peace and submission and stresses the sanctity of human life. A verse in the Qur’an says [Chapter 5, verse 32], that “anyone who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind and anyone who has killed another person (except in lieu of murder or mischief on earth) it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind.” Islam condemns violence and terrorism. Violence or terrorism as a phenomenon is a product of social, political and economic conditions. Violent and terrorist people are in all human societies irrespective of their religions. It is there in some countries where Muslims are in majority and is there in countries where there is a non-Muslim majority. In Ireland, South Africa, Latin America, Sri Lanka, other parts of the world, one may find violent people threatening the peace.

19. What is “Islamic Fundamentalism”?

There is no concept of “Fundamentalism” in Islam. The western media has coined this term to brand those Muslims who wish to return to the basic fundamental principles of Islam and mould their lives accordingly. Islam is a religion of moderation. A practicing Muslim can neither be a fanatic nor an extremist.

20. Does Islam promote polygamy?

No, polygamy in Islam is a permission not an injunction. Historically, all the prophets except Jesus, who was not married, had more than one wife. For Muslim men to have more than one wife is a permission not a rule.” The Qur’an says, “You can marry 2 or 3 and up to 4 women if you can be equally just with each of them.” (4:3) Since it is very difficult to be equally just with all wives, in practice, most of the Muslim men do not have more than one wife. Prophet Muhammad himself from age 24 to 50 was married to only one woman, Khadija. In the western society, some men who have one wife have many extramarital affairs. Thus, a survey was published in U.S.A. Today (April 4, 1988, Section D) which asked 4,700 mistresses what they would like their status to be. They said that “they preferred being a second wife rather than the 'other woman' because they did not have the legal rights, nor did they have the financial equality of the legally married wives, and it appeared that they were being used by these men.”

21. Does Islam oppress women?

No. On the contrary, Islam elevated the status of women 1,400 years ago by giving them the right to divorce, the right to have financial independence, support the right to own property, and the right to be identified with her own name. When in the rest of the world, including Europe, women had no such rights, women in Islam were recognized as equal to men in all acts of piety (Qur’an 33:32). Islam allows women to keep their maiden name after marriage, their earned money and spend it as they wish. Prophet Muhammad told Muslim men, “the best among you is the one who is best to his family.” Not Islam, but some Muslim men, do oppress women today as others do. This is because of their cultural habits or their ignorance about their religion. Female Genital Mutilation has nothing to do with Islam. It is a pre-Islamic African custom, practiced by non-Muslims including Coptic Christians, as well.

22. Is Islam intolerant of other religious minorities?

Islam recognizes the rights of the minority. Islam asks Muslims to respect and protect places of worship of all religions. Jews were welcomed and flourished in Muslim Spain even when they were persecuted in the rest of Europe. The Jews consider that part of their history as the Golden Era. In Muslim countries, Christians live in prosperity, hold government positions and are free to attend their church. Christian missionaries are allowed to establish and operate their schools and hospitals.

23. What is the Islamic view on:

a. Dating and Premarital sex:

Islam does not approve of intimate mixing of the sexes, and forbids premarital or extramarital sex. Islam encourages marriage as a shield to such temptations and as a means of having mutual love, mercy and peace.

b. Abortion:

Abortion is prohibited in Islam. It is a sin, and in some cases, it is a murder. It is allowed only under certain conditions. One is to save the mother's life or it may be another just reason. (Qur’an 17:23-31, 6:15 1).

c. Homosexuality and AIDS:

Islam categorically opposes homosexuality and considers it a sin. However, Muslim physicians are advised to care for AIDS patients with compassion just as they would for other patients.

d. Euthanasia and Suicide:

Islam is opposed to both suicide and euthanasia. Muslims do not believe in heroic measures to prolong the misery in a terminally ill patient.

e. Organ transplantation:

Islam stresses upon saving lives (Qur’an 5:32); thus, transplantation in general would be considered permissible provided a donor consent is available. The sale of the organ is not allowed.

24. How should Muslims treat Jews and Christians?

The Qur’an calls them “People of the Book,” i.e., those who received divine scriptures before Muhammad. Muslims are told to treat them with respect and justice. What about Hindus, Buddhists and members of other religions? They should also be treated with respect and kindness.

 Source: www.islam-usa.com. Material written 
by Shadid Athar, MD. Dr. Athar is a physician, an 
Islamic writer and speaker. He is author of over 
60 articles and 5 books on Islam.