Download Basics of Islam - North East Islamic Community Center

Basics of Islam
1:1 In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
1:2 Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the world;
1:3 Most Gracious, Most Merciful;
1:4 Master of the Day of Judgment.
1:5 Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
1:6 Show us the straight way,
1:7 The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace,
those whose (portion) is not wrath, and who go not astray.
Outline

ISLAM – An Overview

ESSENTIALS OF THE ISLAMIC FAITH

PILLARS OF ISLAM

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

WOMEN IN ISLAM
What is Islam and Muslim?

Islam (silm) = "peace" and "submission.“

"Salaam alaykum,“= ("Peace be with you"), the
universal Muslim greeting.

Islam is submission or surrender of one's will to
the God, Allah, and anyone who does so is
termed a "Muslim" .
Historical Background

Dates back to 7th century

First Came in Arab Peninsula

Holy Book – Qur’an was revealed to
Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) in 23 years
Cont’

It was not a new religion.

The name of lslam was not decided upon by later
generations of man.

In the final book of divine revelation, the Qur'an, the
God states the following:
"This day I have perfected your religion for you,
completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for
you Islam as your religion". (Qur’an 5:3)
Jahiliyye (Time of Ignorance)

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, appeared
at a time when people had no knowledge of the true religion and
therefore worshipped a great number of idols. As stated in the
Qur’an:
They were serving, apart from God, what hurts them not, neither
profits them, and they say: These are our intercessors with God. (Qur’an
10:18)
Cont’

They shaped idols of stones, earth, bread, even cheese, and then
said: ‘These are our intercessors with God.’ They were so
degraded in thoughts and morals that, they would sit at mealtime, cut their idols into pieces and eat them. The only excuse
offered was that they were following in the steps of their
forefathers.
When it is said to them, ‘Follow what God has sent down’, they say,
‘No; but we follow that wherein we found our fathers.’ (al-Baqara, 2.170)
Cont’

They buried their daughters alive. In the words of the holy
Qur’an:
When any of them is given the good tidings of a girl, his face is darkened
and he chokes inwardly, as he hides himself from the people because of the
evil of the good tidings that have been given to him, whether he shall preserve
her in humiliation, or trample her into the dust. (16, 58-59)
Cont’

One day, after Muhammad(pbuh)’s declaration of his
Prophethood, one of his Companions came to him and said:
O Messenger of God, I had a daughter. One day I told her
mother to dress her as I was taking her to her uncle - the poor
mother knew what this meant, but she could do nothing but
obey and weep. My wife dressed the infant, who was rejoicing at
the news of going to the uncle. I took her near a well, and told
her to look down into the well. While she was looking into the
well, I kicked her into it. While she was rolling down, she was
shouting ‘Dad, Dad!’
As he was recounting this, the Prophet, upon him be
peace and blessings, sobbed as if he had lost one of his nearest
kinsfolk.
Then Prophet Muhammed came…




Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the last messenger of the God.
He was born to a noble family of Makkah in Saudi Arabia in 571
CE.
First verses of the Qur'an revealed when he was 40:
"Read: In the name of your Lord, Who created (this universe).
Who created man from a clot (of blood). Read: Your Lord is
Most Noble. Who taught (man) by the pen. Taught man, what
he did not know." (96:1-5)
He received further revelations from the God.
From Others

“ It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character
of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and
how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty
Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. (Annie
Besant, The Life and The Teachings of Muhammad, Madras
1932)

At Muhammad’s own death an attempt was made to deify him,
but the man who was to become his administrative successor
killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious
history: ‘ If there are any among you who worshipped
Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you worshipped, He
lives forever.” (James A. Michener, ‘Islam The Misunderstood
Religion’, 1955)
Principles of Faith
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Allah
His Angels
His Books
His Prophets
The Hereafter
The Divine Decree and Destiny
Faith in Allah

“La ilaha illallah” – Word of Tavhid
There is no deity but Allah
Allah is the only creator of everything.
He is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to
Him.
We praise Allah with his names:

e.g., er-Rahim(The Merciful), el-Qadir(The Able), el-Hakim(The Wise),
er-Rahman(The Compassionate)
“The highest aim of creation and its most important result is



belief in God. The most radiant happiness and sweetest bounty
for human beings is the love of God” – Said Nursi
From The Noble Qur’an

"...He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth
out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to
it. And He is with you wheresoever you may be. And Allah
sees well all that you do" (Qur'an 57:4).

"That is Allah, your Lord! There is no god but He, the Creator
of all things; then worship Him, and He has power to dispose of
all affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all
vision; He is the Sublime, Well-Aware" (Qur'an 6:102-103)
Faith in His Angels

God Employs Angels

Angels have no freewill, they do not eat and
drink

Four Archangels: Gabriel, Mikhael, Israfel, Isra’il
(Death Angel)
Faith in His Books


God revealed to prophets
Four major books:





Torah (Moses)
Zaboor (David)
Gospel (Jesus)
Qur’an (Muhammed)
Qur’an


revealed in 23 years
114 chapters, 6666 verses
Faith in His Prophets



A Muslim should believe all prophets
Adam (pbuh) – the first prophet
Muhammed (pbuh) – the last prophet
Revealed prophets:
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Solomon,
David, John the Baptist, Jesus, Zachariah, Elias,
Muhammed (pbut)
Faith in the Hereafter


Accountability of how you lived your life –
Judgement Day
Paradise and Hell
Faith in the Divine Decree and
Destiny


Destiny - predetermine
Decree - implement
Destiny - everything that exists is known by the God.
Decree - carrying out Destiny's decisions or judgments.

We will and the God creates.

The God creates our actions as a result of
our decisions
Pillars of Islam

There are 5 Pillars of Islam.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Declaration of Faith (Shahada)
Prayer (Salah)
Purification of Wealth (Zakah)
Fasting (Sawm)
Pilgrimage (Hajj)
Declaration of Faith

The first pillar of Islam is that a Muslim believe and declare his
faith by saying the Shahada (lit. 'witness'), also known as the
Kalimah:
La ilaha ila Allah; Muhammadur-rasul Allah.
“I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness
that Muhammed is his Messenger.”

Every Muslim should say this from heart.
Cont’

By sincerely uttering the Shahada the Muslim
acknowledges Allah as the sole Creator of all, and the
Supreme Authority over everything and everyone in the
universe.

Belief in the prophethood of Muhammad entails belief
in the guidance brought by him and contained in his
Sunnah (traditions of his sayings and actions).
Prayer (Salah)


The Prayer (Salah), in the sense of worship, is the second pillar of
Islam.
Performed 5 times a day:





pre-dawn
noon
mid-afternoon
after sunset
Night

Prayer consists of verses from the Qur'an and other prayers,
accompanied by various bodily postures - standing, bowing,
prostrating and sitting.

Ritual cleanliness and ablution are required before prayer, as are
clean clothes and location, and the removal of shoes.
Cont’

One may pray individually or communally, at home, outside, virtually
any clean place, as well as in a mosque, though the latter is preferred.

A continuous link to the God five times a day.

Helps to avoid misdeeds if performed sincerely.

It promotes discipline, God-consciousness and placing one's trust in
the God alone, and the importance of striving for the Hereafter.

When performed in congregation it also provides a strong sense of
community, equality and brotherhood/sisterhood.
The Zakah






The third pillar of Islam is the zakah (alms-tax).
Eligible Muslims pay alms on an annual basis that helps to
“purify” their wealth.
It is also an act of purification through sharing what one has
with others.
Funds collected are distributed to the poor, orphans, and needy
in society.
Zakah consists of giving 2.5% of one’s accumulated wealth
A generous person can pay more than this amount, though it is
treated and rewarded as voluntary charity (Sadaqah).
Fasting

The fourth pillar of Islam is fasting.

Allah prescribes daily fasting for all able, adult Muslims
during the whole month of Ramadan.

On the physical side, fasting is from first light of dawn
until sunset, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual
relations.

On the moral side, one must abstain from lying,
malicious gossip, quarreling and trivial nonsense.
Cont’
Fasting helps Muslims:





strengthen will-power
feel compassion
purify body
strengthen their community relations
thankfulness
Fasting can be done any other time of the year
Pilgrimage

The fifth pillar of Islam is to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, in
Saudi Arabia, at least once in one's lifetime.
Cont’



once in a lifetime if physically and financially able
commemorates the trials of Abraham and his
family
the thoughts are concentrated on worshipping
God with intense devotion
Cont’

pilgrims wear special clothes (Ihram) - two, very
simple, unsown white garments - which strips
away all distinctions of wealth, status, class and
culture; all stand together and equal before the
God

about 2-3 million people gather regardless of
color, race, region or culture, as one
international family
UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

Islam is a religion of peace, love, compassion, and
tolerance.

“Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do
good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors
who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the companion by
your side, the way farer (you meet), and what your right
hands possess: For Allah loves not the arrogant, the
vainglorious.” (Verse 4:36)
WOMEN IN ISLAM
Man and woman are equal servants of God.
 “If any do deeds of righteousness be they male or female
and have faith, they will enter paradise and not the least
injustice will be done to them”
(Quran, 4:124).
 Man and woman are created to complement each other.
 “And among His signs is this, that He created for you
mates among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquility
with them and he has put love and mercy between you”
(Quran, 30:21).

1400 years ago…

Some of the women’s rights protected by Islam:











The right and duty to obtain education
The right to own independent property
The right to work and earn money, if they need it or want it
Equality of reward for equal deeds
The right to express their opinions and be heard
The right to provisions from the husband for all her needs
The right to negotiate marriage terms
The right to obtain a divorce
The right to keep all her own money (she is not responsible to
maintain any relations)
The right to refuse any marriage proposal
The right to vote