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The articles are taken from
www.islamtomorrow.com
and www.islamicity.com
We will add more chapters inshallah.
CHAPTERS:
THE WORD ISLAM
Surrender
Submission
Obedience
Sincerity &
Purity of Intention
Peace
SIX
BELIEFS (Muslim must believe)
FIVE ACTIONS (Muslim must practise these five things)
Faith
Prayer
The 'Zakat'
The Fast
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
THE WORD ISLAM
Surrender
This is
understood from a verse in the Holy Quran - Allah says:
"Inna
deena indalahil-Islam." (Certainly, the only
acceptable way which Allah will accept is Islam). [Holy
Quran 3:19]
This submission requires a fully conscious and willing effort to
submit to the one Almighty God.
Submission
"But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they
make you (Muhammad, peace be upon him) as a judge in all disputes
between them, and find no resistance against your decisions, and
accept (the decisions) with full submission." [Holy Quran 4:65]
Total submission is required after the surrender and some terms
have to be set forth by Allah to be understood by the Muslim.
There can be no option in the matter as Allah says in another
verse,
"It is not fitting for the believing man nor for the
believing woman, that whenever Allah and His Messenger have
decided any matter, that they should have any other opinion."
[Holy Quran 33:36]
Whatever Allah and His Messenger have set out as being the
Way of Islam is incumbent on the believer, man or woman to follow
completely. One must consciously and conscientiously give oneself
to the service of Allah.
Obedience
"And obey Allah
and His Messenger."
[Holy Quran 3:132]
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger and those
of you who are in authority. If you differ in anything amongst
yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in
Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for
final determination."
[Holy Quran 4:59]
"He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah, but he
who turns away, then we have not sent you as a watcher over them."
[Holy Quran 4:80]
This
means to act on what Allah enjoins all of us to do (in the Qur'an)
and what His beloved Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us to do
in his Sunnah (his lifestyle and sayings personifying the Qur'an).
After surrendering your free will to Allah and then ratifying the
terms and conditions of the surrender, it is obligatory for the
Muslim to live up to his terms of the bargain. It is his or her
responsibility to do their best to obey the orders of Allah set
forth in the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet,
peace be upon him.
Sincerity
& Purity of Intention
The heart must be clean and honest. Allah is Pure and He
only accepts pure.
"Verily, deeds
are rewarded by intention. And everyone will have the reward for
that which he has intended."
[A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him - Sahih
Al-Bukhari Vol. 1 #1]
Sincere
intention is the key to the success or failure of the Muslim. All
that he or she does must be for the sake of Allah and not for the
chance to show off or call attention to himself or herself. If
there is even a speck of pride or showing off for the people
instead of doing for Allah, then the whole of the matter will be
rejected by Allah on the Day of Judgment. This is due to the fact
that Allah wants purity of intention and purity in deed.
Peace
"Peace"
(Salam) is mentioned many times in the Holy Quran and it is
certainly the most sought after condition for the life of every
human on earth.
"The
Peace"
(As-Salam)
is also one of the attributes which Allah has named Himself by in
the Holy Quran:
"He is Allah beside Whom there is none worthy of worship,
The King, The Holy, The Peace, The Watcher, The All Mighty, The
Compeller, The Supreme. Glory be to Allah! He is above all that
they try to associate with Him as partners."
[Holy
Quran 59:23]
We are all striving to achieve some sort of peace and
tranquility in our lives. And providing that the other four
conditions have been met, then this is the inevitable result of
the one who is truly seeking Allah.
So as soon as he or she has totally surrendered and submitted and
obeyed Allah, in complete sincerity and as a result has achieved
total and complete peace in this life and in the next.
It does not imply that they will not be tested however. And
this must be quickly understood. The one whom Allah loves, He
tests. The person who will be successful in this life and the Next
Life will be tested as Allah has said:
"Do they think that they will be left alone on saying, 'We
believe and that they will not be tested'? For sure we will test
them as we have tested those who came before them, to show (them) the truthful of the honest and the liars in their falsehood."
[Quran
29:2-3]
Once we humble ourselves, rid ourselves of our egoism and
submit totally to Allah, and to Him exclusively, in faith and in
action, we will surely feel peace in our hearts. Establishing
peace in our hearts will bring about peace in our external conduct
as well.
SIX
BELIEFS (Muslim must believe):
Allah
-
Believe God Almighty is One, Unique, Unlike His Creation, Perfect
in every way; Not like or in His Creation
Angels
-
Made from light, follow Allah's orders perfectly, never make
mistakes and are never disobedient (devil is not a fallen angel in
Islam).
Books
- Torah (Old Testament), Suhoof (Scriptures of
prophets), Zabur (Psalms), Enjil (Evangel or New Testament), Quran
(Recitation to Muhammad)
Prophets
- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David,
Solomon, Jesus, Muhammad, and others mentioned in Books, peace be
upon them all.
Resurrection
-
All people, believers and disbelievers will be resurrected for
Judgment Day in real flesh and blood bodies to be judged.
Divine Destiny
- Allah has complete control of all that happens,
both good and evil and He has full knowledge of it all.
FIVE ACTIONS (Muslim must practise these five things):
They are the framework of the Muslim life: faith, prayer,
concern for the needy, self-purification, and the pilgrimage to
Makkah for those who are able.
Faith
There
is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His
messenger. This declaration of faith is called the Shahada, a
simple formula which all the faithful pronounce. In Arabic, the
first part is
la ilaha
illa Llah - 'there is no god except God'; ilaha (god) can refer to anything which we may be tempted
to put in place of God - wealth, power, and the like. Then comes
illa Llah: 'except God', the source of all Creation. The second
part of the Shahada is
Muhammadun
rasulu'Llah: 'Muhammad is the messenger of God.'
A message of guidance has come through a man like ourselves.
Prayer
Salat
is the name for the obligatory prayers which are performed five
times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God.
There is no hierarchical authority in Islam, and no priests,
so the prayers are led by a learned person who knows the Quran,
chosen by the congregation. These five prayers contain verses from
the Quran, and are said in Arabic, the language of the Revelation,
but personal supplication can be offered in one's own language.
Prayers are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and
nightfall, and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day.
Although it is preferable to worship together in a mosque, a
Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in fields, offices,
factories and universities. Visitors to the Muslim world are
struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.
One
of the most important principles of Islam is that all things
belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings
in trust. The word zakat means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our
possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those
in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back
balances and encourages new growth.
Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually.
For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a
half percent of one's capital.
A pious person may also give as much as he or she pleases
as sadaqa, and does so preferably in secret. Although this word
can be translated as 'voluntary charity' it has a wider meaning.
The Prophet said 'even meeting your brother with a cheerful face
is charity.'
The Prophet said: 'Charity is a necessity for every Muslim.
' He was asked: 'What if a person has nothing?' The Prophet
replied: 'He should work with his own hands for his benefit and
then give something out of such earnings in charity.' The
Companions asked: 'What if he is not able to work?' The Prophet
said: 'He should help poor and needy persons.' The Companions
further asked 'What if he cannot do even that?' The Prophet said 'He
should urge others to do good.' The Companions said 'What if he
lacks that also?' The Prophet said 'He should check himself from
doing evil. That is also charity.'
Every
year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from first light
until sundown, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. Those who are sick, elderly, or on a journey, and women who are
pregnant or nursing are permitted to break the fast and make up an
equal number of days later in the year. If they are physically
unable to do this, they must feed a needy person for every day
missed. Children begin to fast (and to observe the prayer) from
puberty, although many start earlier.
Although the fast is most beneficial to the health, it is
regarded principally as a method of self purification. By cutting
oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a
fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry as
well as growth in one's spiritual life.
The
annual pilgrimage to Makkah - the Hajj - is an obligation only for
those who are physically and financially able to perform it.
Nevertheless, about two million people go to Makkah each year from
every corner of the globe providing a unique opportunity for those
of different nations to meet one another. Although Makkah is
always filled with visitors, the annual Hajj begins in the twelfth
month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so that Hajj
and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter).
Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away
distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before
God.
The rites of the Hajj, which are of Abrahamic origin,
include circling the Ka'ba seven times, and going seven times
between the mountains of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar during her
search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together on the wide
plain of Arafa and join in prayers for God's forgiveness, in what
is often thought of as a preview of the Last Judgment.
In previous centuries the Hajj was an arduous undertaking.
Today, however, Saudi Arabia provides millions of people with
water, modern transport, and the most up-to-date health facilities.
The close of the Hajj is marked by a festival, the Eid al-Adha,
which is celebrated with prayers and the exchange of gifts in
Muslim communities everywhere. This, and the Eid al-Fitr, a feast-day
commemorating the end of Ramadan, are the main festivals of the
Muslim calendar.
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