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ISLAMIC STUDIES
RAMEEZA ASLAM
RELIGION
o It is the belief in the existence of a being that is
supreme and sometimes unseen, that has
perception and volition, and that manages and
controls matters which concern humankind.
o It is belief in a Divine Being worthy of obedience
and worship.
TYPES
o Revealed
o Pagan
The Human Need for Religion
o The mind craves knowledge of the essential
facts of existence
o An inborn human need
Plutarch wrote:”In history I have seen cities without forts,
cities without palaces, cities without schools, but never
have I found cities without places of worship.”
o Man’s need for psychological peace and
spiritual strength
o The social need for moral motives and controls
o The social need for cooperation and solidarity
o William James:
“The greatest cure of anxiety is undoubtedly, faith.”
o Dr.Carl Bang:
“All the patients who have sought my help during the last
30 years, from every part of the world suffered illness
because of their lack of religious faith. They recovered
only when they recovered that faith.”
o Dr. Brial:
“A man who is truly religious will never suffer from
psychological disorder.”
MEANING OF ISLAM
o Islam is an Arabic word, derived from “SLM”
meaning Peace/Purity/Submission/Obedience.
o In the religious sense means submission to the
Will of God and obedience to His Law.
o Islam brings peace to mankind
o According to Muhammad(peace be upon him),this
is the only true religion professed by all
prophets from Adam to Muhammad(p.b.u.h)
FAITH (Iman)
o Islam and Muslims: the terms
o Some Fundamental concepts of faith
o Concept of God
o Creation and purpose of man on earth
o Guidance from God - prophets and books
o Concept of accountability on the Day of
Judgement
o The mercy of God
Articles of Faith
o The fundamental belief that serve as a foundation of
religion are called its doctrines or articles of faith.
“I believe in Allah ,in HIS angels ,in HIS books ,in HIS
messengers ,and in the last day that everything good or
bad is decided by Allah, the Almighty, and in life after
death”.
The true Muslim believes in the following principal articles of
faith:
o Unity or oneness of Allah
o All Messengers of God
o All the scriptures and revelations of God
o Angels
o Last Day of Judgment
o Timeless knowledge of God and His power to plan and
execute
o God’s creation is meaningful and that life has a sublime
purpose
o Man enjoys an especially high-ranking status in the
hierarchy of all the known creatures.
o Every person is born “Muslim”.
o The Qur’an is the work of God revealed to Muhammad
through the agency of the Angel Gabriel.
o The true Muslim believes in a clear distinction between
the Qur’an and the Traditions of Muhammad.
Concept of God
o
o
o
o
o
o
Allah : the name
Creator and creation
Al-Fatihah and Al-Ikhlas
99 names
Closest to us- no intermediaries
Tawhid and Shirk
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o Once man believes that God exists he must
know His attributes.
-He is the Merciful and Compassionate
-He is the Rich and the Independent
-He is the Unique and the Protector
-He is the High and Supreme
“God forgives not that partners should be
set up with Him; but He forgives anything
else, to whom He pleases; to set up
partners with God is to devise a sin most
heinous indeed.’ (4:48)
Faith Conti…
Muhammad (saws)
o Muhammad (pbuh) as the messenger
of Allah;last and greatest.
o Muhammad (pbuh) as perfect ideal for
Mankind
o Hadith or Sunnah
Faith Conti…
The Qur’an
The living world of Allah
o The very word of God
o Revealed to Muhammad (saws)
through Gabriel over a period of 23
years
o Written down immediately as revealed
o Preserved as it is in original language
o The miracle of the last Prophet
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ACTION (Amal)
o Prayer ( Salat)
o Fasting (Sawm)
o Charity (Zakat)
o Pilgrimage (Hajj)
FAITH AND ACTION
Implication of faith as guiding light and action
as the system and structure in striving Allah's
will.
o Man is accountable to Allah.
o Man ‘s life does not end with his death.
o Human actions in life pay back in life after
death.
o Shariah provides the guidelines ,the rules of
external conduct.
o Man is free in his will, choice and action.
REALIZATION (Ihsan)
o Realization of man’s relation to Allah is a spiritual
aspect known in Arabic as ihsan which
Muhammad(P.B.U.H) explained in the following way::
“You should worship Allah as if you are seeing Him ,for He
sees you through you do not see Him ”.
o It means that all action should be performed with Allah
in your vision.
o A Muslim should always realize that Allah is seeing you.
o This realization is the basis of Piety , and this piety is the
source of righteousness which is regarded by Islam as
the core of Just action.
RULE OF THREE
o IMAN
o AMAL
o IHSAN
(FAITH)
(ACTION)
(REALIZATION)
FALLAH
(ULTIMATE WELFARE)
Man as the representative of
God on earth
o According to Islam, when faith ,action and realization
are in perfect harmony, man manifests the fact that
he is the vicegerent of God on earth
God, Prophet Hood, The Quran and Sunnah:
1)Believe that God is one and only
2)Believe that man is the vicegerent of God on earth
and has freedom of Speech.
o MUHAMAD(P.B.U.H)
Believe that He has freedom of choice, he may
go astray and therefore needs guidance from
time to time so that he may know how to
realize his own true greatness and that is why
God sent His messengers and completed this
process during the Life of Muhammad
o Act on this message which is preserved in
purity without any adulteration in Quran which
asks man to follow the Prophet (P.b.u.h) and
His supreme ideal
o Know and act upon that ideal preserved in
collection of sayings of the Prophet and the
reports of his actionsThe Sunnah or the traditions of the Prophet.
ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS
o A religion of Peace and Humanity
o Islam does not deny any other religion.
o Adulteration in the earlier religions according to needs,
time period, age, race etc.
o Muhammad (P.B.U.H) purified God`s religion.
o No single human habitation where God has not sent His
messengers
“Let there be no Compulsion in religion”
(Ch # 2: Verse # 256)