FREE ESSAY ON ISLAMIC RELIGION

ISLAMIC RELIGION

The word Islam is an Arabic word which means submission to the will of God. This word
comes from the same root as the Arabic word salam, which means peace. As such, the
religion of Islam teaches that in order to achieve true peace of mind and surety of
heart, one must submit to God and live according to His Divinely revealed Law. The most
important truth that God revealed to mankind is that there is nothing divine or worthy of
being worshipped except for Almighty God, thus all human beings should submit to Him. 
The word Muslim means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of their race,
nationality or ethnic background. Being a Muslim entails willful submission and active
obedience to God, and living in accordance with His message. Some people mistakenly
believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further from the
truth. Not only are there converts to Islam in every corner of the world, especially in
England and America, but by taking a look at the Muslim World from Bosnia to Nigeria, and
from Indonesia to Morocco, one can clearly see that Muslims come from many various races,
ethnic groups and nationalities. It is also interesting to note that in actuality, more
than 80% of all Muslims are not Arabs - there are more Muslims in Indonesia than in the
whole Arab World. So even though it is true that most Arabs are Muslims, the large
majority of Muslims are not Arabs. However, anyone who submits completely to God and
worships Him alone is a Muslim. 
Continuity of the Islam message is not a new religion because submission to the will of
God, i.e. Islam, has always been the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. For
this reason, Islam is the true natural religion, and it is the same eternal message
revealed through the ages to all of God's prophets and messengers. Muslims believe that
all of God's prophets, which include Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, brought
the same message of Pure Monotheism. For this reason, the Prophet Muhammad was not the
founder of a new religion, as many people mistakenly think, but he was the final prophet
of Islam. By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal
message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham,
who was one of the earliest and greatest prophets. Suffice it to say that the way of
Islam is the same as the way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Quran
portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself completely to God
and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Once this is realized, it should be clear that
Islam has the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all prophets
and messengers were Muslims, i.e. those who submitted to God's will, and they preached
Islam, i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God. The Oneness of God The foundation of
the Islamic faith is belief in the Oneness of Almighty God - the God of Abraham, Noah,
Moses and Jesus. Islam teaches that a pure belief in One God is intuitive in human beings
and thus fulfills the natural inclination of the soul. As such, Islam's concept of God is
straightforward, unambiguous and easy to understand. Islam teaches that the hearts, minds
and souls of human beings are fitting receptacles for clear divine revelation, and that
God's revelations to man are not clouded by self-contradictory mysteries or irrational
ideas. As such, Islam teaches that even though God cannot be fully comprehended and
grasped by our finite human minds, He also does not expect us to accept absurd or
demonstrably false beliefs about Him. According to the teachings of Islam, Almighty God
is absolutely One and His Oneness should never be compromised by associating partners
with Him - neither in worship nor in belief. Due to this, Muslims are required to
maintain a direct relationship with God, and therefore all intermediaries are absolutely
forbidden. From the Islamic standpoint, believing in the Oneness of God means to realize
that all prayer and worship should be exclusively for God, and that He alone deserves
such titles as Lord and Savior. Some religions, even though they believe on One God, do
not make all of their worship and prayers for Him alone. Also, they also give the title
of Lord to beings that are not All-Knowing, All-Powerful and Un-Changing - even according
to their own scriptures. Suffice it to say that according to Islam, it is not enough that
people believe that God is One, but they must actualize this belief by proper conduct. In
short, in the Islamic concept of God, which is completely based on Divine Revelation,
there is no ambiguity in divinity - God is God and man is man. Since God is the only
Creator and continual Sustainer of the Universe, He is transcendent above His creation -
the Creator and the creature never mix. Islam teaches that God has a unique nature and
that He is free from gender, human weaknesses and beyond anything which human beings can
imagine. The Qur'an teaches that the signs and proofs of God's wisdom, power and
existence are evident in the world around us. As such, God calls on man to ponder over
the creation in order to build a better understanding of his Creator. Muslims believe
that God is Loving, Compassionate and Merciful, and that He is concerned with the daily
affairs of human beings. In this, Islam strikes a unique balance between false religious
and philosophical extremes. Some religions and philosophies portray God as just an
impersonal Higher Power who is uninterested, or unaware, of the life of each individual
human. Other religions tend to give God human qualities and teach that He is present in
His creation, by being incarnate in someone, something - or even everything. In Islam,
however, Almighty God has clarified the truth by letting mankind know that He is
Compassionate, Merciful, Loving and the Answerer of Prayers. But He as also emphasized
strongly that there is nothing like unto Him, and that He is high above time, space and
His creation. Finally, it should be mentioned that the God that Muslims worship is the
same God that Jews and Christians worship - because there is only one God. It is
unfortunate that some people mistakenly believe that Muslims worship a different God than
Jews and Christians, and that Allah is just the god of the Arabs. This myth, which has
been propagated by the enemies of Islam, is completely false since the word Allah is
simply the Arabic name for Almighty God. It is the same word for God which is used by
Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians. However, it should be clarified that even though
Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christian, their concept of Him differs somewhat
from the beliefs of other religions - mainly because it is based completely on Divine
Revelation from God. For example, Muslims reject the Christian belief that God is a
Trinity, not only becaue the Qur'an rejects it, but also because if this was God's true
nature, He would have clearly revealed it to Abraham, Noah, Jesus and all of the other
prophets. The Qur'an The Arabic world Al-Qur'an literally means the recitation. When used
in regards to Islam, the word Qur'an means God's final message to mankind that was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Qu'ran, sometimes spelled Koran, is the literal the
word of God - as it clearly says time and time again. Unlike other sacred scriptures, the
Qur'an has been perfectly preserved in both its words and meaning in a living language.
The Qu'ran is a living miracle in the Arabic language; and is know to be inimitable in
its style, form and spiritual impact. God's final revelation to mankind, the Qur'an, was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Qur'an, in contrast to
many other religious books, was always thought to be the Word of God by those who
believed in it, i.e. it wasn't something decreed by a religious council many years after
being written. Also, the Qu'ran was recited publicly in front of both the Muslim and
non-Muslim communities during the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The entire Qur'an was
also completely written down in lifetime of the Prophet, and numerous companions of the
Prophet memorized the entire Qur'an word-for-word as it was revealed. So unlike other
scriptures, the Qur'an was always in the hands of the common believers, it was always
thought to be God's word and, due to wide-spread memorization, it was perfectly
preserved. In regards to the teachings of the Qur'an - it is a universal scripture, and
it is addressed to all of mankind, and not to a particular tribe or chosen people. The
message that it brings is nothing new, but the same message of all of the prophets -
submit to Almighty God and worship Him alone. As such, God's revelation in the Qur'an
focuses on teaching human beings the importance of believing in the Unity of God and
framing their lives around the guidance which He has sent. Additionally, the Qur'an
contains the stories of the previous prophets, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus; as
well as many commands and prohibitions from God. In modern times in which so many people
are caught up in doubt, spiritual despair and political correctness, the Qur'anic
teachings offer solutions to the emptiness of our lives and the turmoil that is gripping
the world today. In short, the Qur'an is the book of guidance par excellence. The Prophet
Muhammad Unlike the founders of many religious, the final prophet of Islam is a real
documented and historical figure. He lived in the full light of history, and the most
minute details of his life are known. Not only do Muslims have the complete text of God's
words that were revealed to Muhammad, but they have also preserved his saying and
teachings in what is called hadith literature. This having been said, it should be
understood that Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was only a man chosen by God,
and that he is not divine in any way. In order to avoid the misguided wish to deify him,
the Prophet Muhammad taught Muslims to refer to him as God's Messenger and His Slave. The
mission of the last and final prophet of God was to simply teach that there is nothing
divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Almighty God, as well as being a living
example of God's revelation. In simple terms, God sent the revelation to Muhammad, who in
turn taught it , preached it, lived it and put it into practice. In this way, Muhammad
was more that just a prophet in the sense of many of the Biblical prophets, since he was
also a statesman and ruler. He was a man who lived a humble life in the service of God,
and established an all-encompassing religion and way of life by showing what it means to
be an ideal friend, husband, teacher, ruler, warrior and judge. For this reason, Muslims
follow him not for his own sake, but in obedience to God, because Muhammad not only
showed us how to deal with our fellow human beings, but more importantly, he showed us
how to relate to and worship God, worship Him in the only way pleasing to Him. Like other
prophets, Muhammad faced a great deal of opposition and persecution during his mission.
However, he was always patient and just, and he treated his enemies well. The results of
his mission were very successful, and even though his mission started in one of the most
backward and remotes places on earth, within a hundred years of the death of Muhammad,
Islam had spread from Spain to China. The Prophet Muhammad was the greatest of all of
God's prophets, not because he had new doctrines or greater miracles, but because the
results of his mission have broght more human beings into the pure and proper belief in
the One True God than any other prophet. The Islamic Way of Life In the Holy Qur'an, God
teaches human beings that they were created in order to worship Him, and that the basis
of all true worship is God-consciousness. Since the teachings of Islamic encompass all
aspects of life and ethics, God-consciousness is encouraged in all human affairs. Islam
makes it clear that all human acts are acts of worship if they are done for God alone and
in accordance to His Divine Law. As such, worship in Islam is not limited to religious
rituals. The teachings of Islam act as a mercy and a healing for the human soul, and such
qualities as humility, sincerity, patience and charity are strongly encouraged.
Additionally, Islam condemns pride and self-righteousness, since Almighty God is the only
judge of human righteousness. The Islamic view of the nature of man is also realistic and
well-balanced. Human beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as
equally capable of both good and evil. Islam also teaches that faith and action go
hand-in-hand. God has given people free-will, and the measure of one's faith is one's
deeds and actions. However, human beings have also been created weak and regularly fall
into sin. This is the nature of the human being as created by God in His Wisdom, and it
is not inherently corrupt or in need of repair. This is because the avenue of repentance
of always open to all human beings, and Almighty God loves the repentant sinner more than
one who does not sin at all. The true balance of an Islamic life is established by having
a healthy fear of God as well as a sincere belief in His infinite Mercy. A life without
fear of God leads to sin and disobedience, while believing that we have sinned so much
that God will not possibly forgive us only leads to despair. In light of this, Islam
teaches that: only the misguided despair of the Mercy of their Lord. Additionally, the
Holy Qur'an, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, contains a great deal of
teachings about the life hereafter and the Day of Judgment. Due to this, Muslims believe
that all human beings will ultimately be judged by God for their beliefs and actions in
their earthly lives. In judging human beings, Almighty God will be both Merciful and
Just, and people will only be judged for what they were capable of. Suffice it to say
that Islam teaches that life is a test, and that all human beings will be accountable
before God. A sincere belief in the life hereafter is key to leading a well-balanced life
and moral. Otherwise, life is viewed as an end in itself, which causes human beings to
become more selfish, materialistic and immoral. Islam for a Better Life Islam teaches
that true happiness can only being obtained by living a life full of God-consciousness
and being satisfied with what God has given us. Additionally, true freedom is freedom
from being controlled by our base human desires and being ruled by man-made ideologies.
This stands in stark contrast to the view of many people in the modern world, who
consider freedom to be the ability to satisfy all of their desires without inhibition.
The clear and comprehensive guidance of Islam gives human-beings a well-defined purpose
and direction in life. In addition to being members of the human-brotherhood of Islam,
its well-balanced and practical teachings are a source of spiritual comfort, guidance and
morality. A direct and clear relationship with Almighty God, as well as the sense of
purpose and belonging that ones feels as a Muslim, frees a person from the many worries
of everyday life. In short, the Islamic way of life is pure and wholesome. It builds
self-discipline and self-control thought regular prayer and fasting, and frees
human-beings from superstition and all sorts of racial, ethnic and national prejudices.
By accepting to live a God-conscious life, and realizing that the only thing that
distinguishes people in the sight of God is their consciousness of Him, a person's true
human dignity is realized.