Islam Beliefs - Understand Islam

First of all remember "that Islam is not the name of a caste or community so that anyone who is born in it automatically becomes a Muslim without having to do anything," Islam do not want its followers to live a blind life rather it motivates every person , even every human being, to live an active and thoughtful life. The Prophet Muhammad(May peace be upon Him) said:

“To acquire knowledge of the faith is the duty of all Muslims.”

Also He said:

“He who goes forth in search of religious knowledge engages himself in the cause of God until he returns.”

“For him who goes out in search of religious knowledge God shall make easy the way to Heaven.”

“Thirst for religious knowledge and the pursuit of it atones for one’s previous sins.”

So unlike most of the religions, Islam is not a myth, it is logical and easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow religion with no ambiguity.

The Concept of God:

The fist pillar of Islam is "Kalma" , the most basic and core faith to be acted upon by all Muslims i.e.

THERE IS NO GOD (NO ONE IS WORTHY OF WORSHIP AND OBEDIENCE) SAVE ONE GOD, AND MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) IS HIS APOSTLE.

All the later principles are based on this core value. Muslims in One God, and the most basicdefinition of God is :

Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.

(chapter) 112 of the Quran

Muslims call God by the name "Allah" , The details are more elaborated in the rest of Holy Quran.

Holy Quran:

Quran is Holy Book of Muslims, conveyed to them by God( Allah) through Prophet Muhammad.(PEACE BE UPON HIM)

The concept of Prophet hood in Islam:

This is a vital concept to be understood in Islam, Muslims are told to believe in each and every Prophet sent by God, like Jesus, Mosses and many other named in Holy Quran. But the important fact is that among all prophets sent by God, Prophet Muhammad is the last one, so Muslim follow only Him , however they are ordered to respect each and every other prophet.

Hadith, sayings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PEACE BE UPON HIM)

After Quran, the most basic and essential source of knowledge are the "sayings of Holy Prophet (PEACE BE UPON HIM)" known as "Hadith" (Arabic word)

Both Quran and Hadith are the root of all religious knowledge of Muslims and each and every faith comes from these sources. Both of these sources are preserved by Muslim Scholars, by hard work and a very scientific knowledge management system, that they invented by themselves. Both of these sources are almost 1400 years old. And it is a proven fact that not a single fact that not a single word has been altered ever since the beginning. Why I am so much assured of that? Well , while reading this hub, just take it for granted. However, when you are done with the basics, you can continue your quest on this topic "How Islam is preserved?" I will try to make a hub later on.

If you have read all the above content, and understood it easily, them believe me You Have Mastered the Basics of Islam. Yes, I am saying it, "If you have understood the paragraphs above then You Have Mastered the Basics of Islam." Islam is that simple, there is no secret left. What lies rest is just the orders and principles, everything rest is part of System of Islam i.e. How Islam Want Muslims to Live? the "What is" part is almost finished. Below I will summarize the System of Life presented by Islam, it is very comprehensive topic indeed but I will keep things concise and straight.

The beauty of Islam lies in the fact that it guides its followers to each and every aspect of life, each every minute aspect of individual life and social life is covered in detail by teachings of Islam.

Prayers:

Islam has a set of Prayers, like many religions, but unlike most of religions these Prayers are not just rituals they contain very thought ful meaning and benefits, which is a topic of much greater detail.

Namaz: The first and most important duty in Islam after one has brought faith in God and in Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and borne witness to Divine Oneness and the Apostleship of the holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) is Namaz. It is a most special act of Divine worship, which a Muslim is called upon to perform five times a day.It has been described as the pillar and the foundation of the faith.

Zakat: Among the fundamental tenets of Islam Zakat occupies a place next in importance only to belief and Namaz. As one would say, it is the third pillar of Islam. Zakat means that a Muslim who is in possession of a certain amount of wealth, or more, is required by his religion to spend one fortieth of it at the end of every twelve months on the poor, the needy and the wayfarer, and on such other items of charity and good-doing as are prescribed for it by God and the Prophet (Peace be upon him).

Hajj, the Pilgrimage: The last of the fundamental duties in Islam is the Hajj,those who can afford the journey to Makkah, a city of Saudi Arabia

I have kept things short, as the purpose of this page to introduce the things.

Social Responsibilities of a Muslim :

After prayers, there are many moral and social responsibilites for a Muslims, without going in detail , I will only list major areas of these responsibilites:

• Piety
• Honesty in monetary dealings
• Clean Earning and Honest Trade
• Kindness and Compassion in Monetary Dealings
• Social conduct and mutual relations
• Rights of Parents
• Rights of Children
• Mutual Rights Between Husband and Wife
• Rights of Relatives
• Rights of Neighbours
• Rights of the Weak and Poor
• Rights of Muslims on Each-Other
• Truthfulness
• Trustworthiness
• Justice
• Self- restraint
• Gentleness of speech
• Humility
• Courage and fortitude
• Sincerity

The details of these things can be found in this short and conciese book, that can be download free from link below. Kindly note that this book was written for Muslim audience, but I think that Non-Muslims can too find it useful and easy to undertand, if they want to know about the basic teachings of Islam.

Downlad Free Book about Basics of Islam

I think that most readers will be interested in this topic, although it will increase the lenght of this hub.

This much is known to everyone that whoever is born into the world has got to die one day or the other. But nobody knows on his own that happens or will happen after death. This is known only to God. God vouchsafes the knowledge of it to His Prophets and through the Prophets men like you and me also come to know about it. Every prophet of God, in his time, had revealed clearly to his people through what stages they would have to pass after death and how at each stage they would be recompensed for their good deeds as well as bad-during their earthly sojourn. Since Prophet Mohammad (Peace and Blessings of God be upon whom) is the last of the Divine Apostles and Messengers and no Prophet is going to be raised up after him, the different stages through which a man has to pass after death have been explained by him in greatest detail and with utmost clarity. If all that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) has revealed in this connection is brought together it would make a volume by itself. We will, therefore, give a very brief summary of it over here.

There are to follow three stages after death.

1. Whether a person is buried when he dies or he is cremated or cast into the river his soul does not perish with him. It is immortal; it lives. It only migrates from this material world or ours to another world. In this other world the angels question him about his spiritual state. If he is true believer, he gives the correct answers; whereupon the angels impart to him the glad tidings that he is going to live in peace and happiness till the Last Day. And if it is otherwise, that is, he is an unbeliever, an infidel or a sham or hypocritical Muslim, he is, at once, placed under dreadful punishment which is not to cease before the Day of Reckoning.
2. The next stage comprises of the Last Day and the Resurrection. The Last Day means that there will come a time when the entire material world will be destroyed by the command of God. Annihilation will descend suddenly on everything that exists around us. The whole world will be thrown topsy-turvy. Then, after a long time, when God will wish, all men will be raised up again. Every person born into the world will be re-created and called upon to render a full account of his doings on the earth. In the Great Reckoning those who will be found worthy of deliverance will be awarded a place in the Paradise and those who will turn out to be guilty and deserving of Divine chastisement will be consigned to Hell.

The dwellers of the Paradise will live in a state of eternal bliss, supremely immune from every kind of pain, anxiety or suffering and exulting in the bounties of their Lord the like of which they would not have dreamt of in the world, while those that will be condemned to Hell will have to live permanently in a condition of unmitigated misery and distress. There will be for them nothing but horrible agony and castigation. This will be the ultimate stage after death. The above was the sum and substance of what the Prophets, specially the last of them, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), have taught mankind about the Hereafter and what is indicated about it in the Quran and the Traditions.

Kindly note that I have shortened the details very much at this point. All these facts are explained by many examples and illustrations in detail in Holy Quran and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him). Serious researchers should consult these sources and the book that linked above also.

This concludes my work here, however, I will like to suggest few things:

1. Never be biased when you are searching after religion and truth about life.
2. Never feel hatred or insult anything that you do not believe
3. Islam, has faced many criticism from scholars of other religions, Muslim Scholars have answered them all to their best, at least I am satisfied with their explanation. If you have read any criticism about Islam, take time to research it wisely and ask authentic Muslim Scholars. They will clarify any doubts anyone can have, I had many doubts in the start but after thoughtful and patient research I have come to peace of mind.
4. I will repeat oncee more, patient and unbiased reasearch is the key to true knowledge.