When Islam was first founded in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, there were only a few followers. Today there are roughly 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Islam has spread to almost every corner of the world. There are now 50 Muslim countries on our planet. Islam is a very popular religion for it teaches peace and harmony between man, to be good with neighbours, relatives, friends and parents. There are many Muslims in Canada who are loved and very much respected. Yet it is true that Islam is also very hated throughout the world, some countries have even made Muslim bans for the acts of some so-called Muslims.
What is Islam?
Islam is the belief that there is only one god, Allah. Islam preaches worshipping only one god. Allah subhana watallah made Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) his final messenger for the whole world. The previous messengers were sent to their tribes only. Much like the previous prophets our prophet was sent with the same message “one god”. He was one of the four prophets who were given a divine book, The Quran. Allah subhana watallah mentions this in the quran:
Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him."[Quran, 2:136]
Islam teaches us that this life is very short and is only a test, Allah subhana watallah created us to be tested to see who would obey him and who would not. The hereafter is the final judgement when Allah will ask us about what we did in our lifetime, then the real eternal life will begin heaven or hell. We believe that the sky and the earth were made for our sustenance but only for a fixed time. Islam consists of five main acts (pillars), the five pillars of islam are:
Shahadah (the declaration of faith)
Salat ( 5 daily prayers)
Zakat (Almsgiving)
Saum (fasting in the month of Ramadan)
Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah)
Islam teaches tells us that everything we do should be to please only Allah. Islam teaches peace, to talk politely, to respect each other, give charity, to not waste food, love each other for the sake of Allah, etc.
Who are Muslims and what do they believe?
Muslims are the followers of the religion Islam. The muslim faith is based on the unseen. We cannot see god or when our book of guidance was revealed but we believe in it with all our heart. There are six main unseen thing we believe in, the pillars of faith:
Belief in god, Allah.
Belief in the angels.
Belief in the divine books,(Tawrat revealed to Musa, the Zabur revealed to Dawud, the Injil revealed to Jesus, and the Quran revealed to Muhammad)
Belief in all the messengers.
Belief in the day of judgement.
Belief in divine will.
What is the Quran?
The Quran is the divine book that was revealed to our prophet, Muhammad (P.B.U.H). The muslims believe that this book was never altered or changed unlike the other divine books. We known this because the quran was not written at first it was revealed to the prophet and he memorized, then he would recite it to his companion and they would memorize it as is. The quran was revealed over 23 years. Many people had memorized the quran, when anyone tried to change it the hafiz,the people who had memorized the quran, would realize. The quran was later compiled into book form by the third caliph, Uthman (r.a), at this time all previous copies of the Quran were burned. This is why we known the quran was never altered, and we believe in it with all our heart.
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian.” [Quran,15:9]
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