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Articles of Faith New Muslims

Faith: Does It Increase and Decrease?

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Those who declare Islam without observing the good deeds and refraining from misdeeds are with weak iman.

Iman (faith) has been linguistically defined as believing and confidence. Termly, it is defined as the expression of the tongue, the conviction of the heart and the work of the organs, and it increases and decreases. The expression of the tongue refers to the Shahadah (Declaration of Faith; no one is worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger).

The conviction of the heart is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Prophets, the Last Day and the Divine Decree. The work of the organs means the observance of good deeds and the abstention from misdeeds. This is the position of Ahl As-Sunnah Wal-Jama`ah (the followers of Sunnah and Muslim community) regarding the concept of iman.

Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned in his book Al-Fatwa that Imam Ash-Shafi`i said, “There has been an ijma` (unanimous agreement) among the companions of the Prophet, their followers and our scholars that iman is a declaration, work and conviction and that none of the three suffices for the others.”(Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu` Al-Fatawa)

Ahl As-Sunnah view that iman can be increased or decreased. It increases by doing good deeds, acts of worship and contemplating on the Qur’an, rulings of Islam, hadiths and the creation of Allah, and decreases by misdeeds, following evil desires and Satan and negligence of reciting the Qur’an.

Narrated Abu Hurairah: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Iman consists of more than sixty branches, and modesty is a branch of faith.” (Al-Bukhari)

This meaningful and highly expressive hadith is one of the greatest hadiths of Islam. It deals with the concept of iman and highlights one of its parts, namely modesty.

The Prophet shows us that the term of iman is not restricted to beliefs but it includes actions as well. He informs us that iman consists of more than sixty parts and it includes sayings and deeds, as mentioned in other narrations of the hadith.

Yet, someone may say, “The Prophet was asked ‘what is iman?’ in the well-known hadith of Jibreel (Angel Gabriel) and he restricted the meaning of iman to belief.” Sheikh Ibn `Uthaimin clarifies this by saying, “Iman in the sense of belief is based on six principles, which are mentioned in the hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him), when he questioned the Prophet, who said: “iman means to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree, both good and bad.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Yet, the broad meaning of iman includes good deeds of various kinds and it has seventy-odd branches. In this context, Allah called prayer iman in His saying:

And never would Allah have caused you to lose your iman. Indeed Allah is, to the people, Kind and Merciful. (Al-Baqarah 2:143)

The scholars of Tafsir (Qur’an Exegesis) said: “iman” here means prayer, because the companions used to pray towards Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa before they were commanded to face the Ka`bah in their prayers.” (3)

The hadith at hand proves the stance of Ahl Al-Sunnah, that is iman is not only restricted to beliefs but it includes deeds. In the hadith, the Prophet mentions that modesty, which is the work of organs, is a branch or part of faith.

Also, there is another narration of the hadith that the Prophet said, “Iman has sixty odd or seventy odd branches. The uppermost of all these is the Testimony of Faith “La ilaha illallah” (there is no true god except Allah) while the least of them is the removal of the harmful objects from the road. And modesty is a branch of Iman.” (Muslim)

Thus, it considered the Declaration of Faith and the work of organs, represented in the removal of harmful objects from the road and modesty, as branches and parts of iman.

Actually, this is an extremely important principle that should be understood and taken into consideration. There are those who claim that pronouncing the Testimony of Faith is enough to be a believer deserving the Mercy of Allah and His Paradise. This hadith refutes these false claims, because a Muslim has to work hard to get closer to Allah by means of acts of worship.

A Muslim with perfect faith is the one who declares Islam by the tongue, believes in Allah, His Messenger and what they told and commanded, and performs the good deeds and refrains from misdeeds. Those who declare Islam without observing the good deeds and refraining from misdeeds are with weak iman and are treading the ways of Satan and hell-fire.

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

What Makes Me a Muslim?

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Accepting Islam means that Muslims should consciously and deliberately accept what has been taught by the Prophet Muhammad and act accordingly.

 

Brothers in Islam! We all as Muslims sincerely believe that Islam is the greatest blessing that Allah has given us in this world. We find our hearts filled with gratitude to Him for including us in the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be on him) and bestowing upon us this unique blessing. Allah Himself describes Islam as His most invaluable gift to His servants:

Today I have perfected your Deen (way of life) for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have willed that Islam be the way for you. (Al-Ma’idah 5:3)

To be truly grateful for this greatest favour, you must therefore render to Allah His due. If you do not do so, you are undoubtedly an ungrateful person. And what ingratitude can be worse than to forget what you owe to your God.

How can we, you may ask, render these dues?

Since Allah has been gracious enough to include you in the Ummah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) the best way of showing gratitude – and there is no other way – is to become totally committed followers of the Prophet. And, since He has made you a part of the Muslim Ummah, to become true Muslims. If you do not, the punishment for your ingratitude will be as great as the original gift was. May Allah save us all from this great punishment! Ameen.

You will now ask: How can we become Muslims in the true sense of the word?

To answer this question I want to look at a point of fundamental importance, without which we cannot hope to discover true faith. This, you must understand, is the first essential step on your road to becoming a true Muslim.

Is Islam a Birthright?

But, first, think for a while: What does the word ‘Muslim’, which we all use so often, really mean? Can a person be a Muslim by virtue of his birth? Is a person a Muslim simply because he is the son or grandson of a Muslim? Is a Muslim born a Muslim just as a Hindu Brahman’s son is born a Brahman, or an Englishman’s son is born an Englishman, or a white man’s son is born a white man, or a negro’s son is born a negro? Are ‘Muslims’ a race, a nationality or a caste?

Do Muslims belong to the Muslim Ummah like Aryans belong to the Aryan race? And, just as a Japanese is a Japanese because he is born in Japan, is a Muslim similarly a Muslim by being born in a Muslim country?

Your answer to these questions will surely be: No. A Muslim does not become truly a Muslim simply because he is born a Muslim. A Muslim is not a Muslim because he belongs to any particular race; he is a Muslim because he follows Islam. If he renounces Islam, he ceases to be a Muslim.

Any person, whether a Brahman or a Rajput, an Englishman or a Japanese, a white or a black, will, on accepting Islam, become a full member of the Muslim community; while a person born in a Muslim home may be expelled from the Muslim community if he gives up following Islam, even though he may be a descendant of the Prophet, an Arab or a Pathan.

Such will surely be your answer to my question. This establishes that the greatest gift of Allah which you enjoy – that of being a Muslim – is not something automatically inherited from your parents, which remains yours for life by right irrespective of your attitudes and behaviour. It is a gift which you must continually strive to deserve if you want to retain it; if you are indifferent to it, it may be taken away from you, God forbid.

No Mere Verbal Profession

You agree that we become Muslims only by accepting Islam. But what does acceptance of Islam mean? Does it mean that whoever makes a verbal profession ‘I am a Muslim’ or ‘I have accepted Islam’ becomes a true Muslim?

Or does it mean that, just as a Brahman worshipper may recite a few words of Sanskrit without understanding them, a man who utters some Arabic phrases without knowing their meaning becomes a Muslim? What reply will you give to this question?

You cannot but answer that accepting Islam means that Muslims should consciously and deliberately accept what has been taught by the Prophet Muhammad and act accordingly. People who do not so behave are not Muslims in the true sense.

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The article is an excerpt from Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi’s book “Let Us Be Muslims”. 

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

Who Is the Muslim and How to Be One?

muslim prayer

Only someone who is a slave of none but God and a follower of none but His Messengers can be truly called a Muslim.

BY Abul A`la Mawdudi

According to the Qur’an, men go astray in three ways. The first is to ignore the guidance of God and become slaves of desire. The second is to give precedence to family, culture, society, customs and the ways of forefathers over the law of God. The third is to ignore the way enunciated by God and His Messenger (peace be upon him) and follow the ways either of so-called important people or of other civilizations and cultures.

A True Muslim

A true Muslim should be free from these three ailments. Only someone who is a slave of

none but God and a follower of none but His Messengers can be truly called a Muslim.

A Muslim sincerely believes that the teaching of God and His Messenger is absolute truth, that whatever runs counter to it is false, and that it contains all that is good for man in this world and in the Hereafter. A Muslim who has complete faith in these truths will, at every step in his life, look only to God and the Messenger to guide him and submit to whatever they require.

Such a person will never feel troubled in his heart about obeying God’s commandments, or be concerned if members of his family or his society upbraid him, or if the entire world opposes him. In each case his response will be unequivocal: I am God’s slave, not yours; I have faith in His Messenger, not in you.

What is Hypocrisy?

Serving the Self

On the other hand, a person may say, ‘This may be the directive of God and the Messenger, but it is difficult for me to accept it because it seems to be harmful. So I shall act according to my own opinion as against the guidance of God and the Messenger.’

Obviously, no faith can be alive in the heart of such a person. He is not a true believer (mu’min) but a hypocrite (munafiq). While he verbally claims to be a servant of God and a follower of the Messenger, in reality he is a slave of his own self and a follower of his own opinions.

Adherence to Society and Culture

Similarly, a person may say that whatever the injunctions of God and the Messenger may be, a certain practice cannot be given up because it has been followed since the times of his forefathers. He, too, must then be reckoned among the hypocrites, however prominent the mark on his forehead traced by prostration in endless prayers and however pious his face.

The spirit of Islam has not entered his heart. Islam does not consist merely in bowing (ruku`, prostration (sujud) , Fasting (sawm) and Pilgrimage (Hajj); nor is it found in the face and dress of a man.

Islam means submission to God and the Messenger. Anyone who refuses to obey them in the conduct of his life-affairs has a heart devoid of the real Islam – ‘faith has not yet entered their hearts’. His Prayers, his Fasting and his pious appearance are nothing but deception.

Imitating Other People

Again, someone may, in defiance of the Book of God and the Messenger’s directions, urge thus: Such and such ideas and practices should be adopted because they are prevalent in the West; this particular behavior must be accepted because other nations are making progress because of it; this point should be conceded because an important person is advocating it. Such a person is in grave danger of losing his faith. This attitude is irreconcilable to iman (faith).

If you are Muslims and want to remain Muslims, then cast overboard every suggestion which is contrary to the injunctions of God and His Messenger. If you cannot, it ill behoves you to claim to be following Islam. To assert that you believe in God and the Messenger but to ignore their injunctions in the conduct of your lives in favor of other people’s thoughts and practices is neither iman nor Islam. It is sheer hypocrisy.

Allah leaves no doubt about the ridiculous nature of such conduct:

Indeed We have sent down revelations clearly showing the truth, but God guides whomsoever He will to a straight path. They say, ‘We believe in God and the Messenger, and we obey’. Then, after that, a party of them turn away; they are not (true) believers. And when they are called unto God and His Messenger that he may decide between them, behold, a party of them turn away; but if they are in the right, they will come unto him submitting willingly. What! Is there in their hearts sickness? Or are they in doubt? Or, do they fear that God and His Messenger may be unjust towards them?

Nay, it is they who are doing wrong. All that the believers say, whenever they are called unto God and His Messenger that he may judge between them, is that they say, ‘We hear, and we obey.’ It is they who are the successful.

Whoso obeys God and His Messenger, and fears God, and has awe of Him, it is they who shall triumph. (An-Nur 24:46-52)

Reflect on the definition of iman set out here. What is iman? It consists in submitting yourselves, willingly and totally, to the Book of God and the guidance given by His Messenger.

Whatever guidance and commandments are received from these sources you must implicitly obey and no arguments against them should be listened to, whether they come from your own minds, or from members of your families, or from outsiders. You can only be a Muslim if you develop this attitude. If you do not, you are no more than a hypocrite.

Compare, now, yourselves with those who had real and true iman in their hearts and see how they obeyed Allah and the Messenger.

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The article is an excerpt from Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi’s book “Let Us Be Muslims”.

 

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

How to Live & Develop as Muslim

By: Abul A`La Al-Mawdudi

Our Behavior

Brothers! Imagine the extraordinary kindness shown you by your Master! He asks you for things which really belong to Him and yet promises that it is a purchase He will pay you for. What unbounded generosity this is!

God has bought from the believers their lives and their possessions in return for Paradise. (At-Tawbah 9:111)

Such is the kindness of your Master. Now look at your conduct. You re-sell things to others which were given to you by your Master and which He had bought back from you.

And what a paltry price you accept for your precious things!

The ‘buyers’ make you work against the wishes of the Master. You serve them as if they are your sustainers. You sell them your brains and your bodies – indeed, everything that these rebels of God want to buy.

Can anything be more immoral than this? To sell a thing already sold is a legal and moral crime, even in this world. Those guilty of such crimes are tried in courts for cheating and fraud. Do you think you will escape trial in the court of God?

Who Is the True Muslim?

Brothers in Islam! Let us consider further the meaning and essential implications of the Kalimah (word); for it is the very foundation of Islam. Believe it and you enter Islam on its strength; understand it fully and mould your lives in accordance with it and you become true Muslims. Without it you can neither enter nor remain in Islam.

Read More: Who Is the Muslim and How to Be One?

The Parable

Allah calls it Kalimah Tayyibah, a good, pure and wholesome “word”, and thus defines it:

Are you not aware how God sets forth the parable of kalimah tayyibah? It is like a good tree – firmly rooted, its branches reaching into heaven. It gives its fruits every moment by the permission of its Lord. So God sets forth parables unto men that they may bethink themselves.

And the parable of kalimah khabithah (evil word) is like a corrupt tree – uprooted from the earth, having no permanence. God grants firmness unto those who have believed in the firm word, in the present life and in the world to come, and the wrongdoers He lets go astray, for God does whatever He wills. (Ibrahim 14: 24-27)

Kalimah Tayyibah is here likened to a noble tree, whose roots are firmly fixed in the earth and whose branches reach to the sky; and all the while it continues to yield abundant fruit, as commanded by its Lord.

Set against it is the kalimah khabithah, that is, an evil or corrupt word, a false belief and a baseless saying, which may be likened to a self-seeded plant ,growing in poor, shallow earth and easily plucked out with a single pull because its foots have no firm base.

So striking and beautiful is the parable that the more you reflect on it the more you will come to absorb the lessons that can be learnt from it.

Two Kinds of Trees

Consider examples of the two kinds of trees. Look at an oak tree. How firmly it is rooted, to what great height it reaches, how extensively its branches spread, what fine foliage it bears! How did this tree acquire such strength and magnificence? From the nature of its fruit, the acorn. Its seed has an inherent right to become a great tree.

And this right was so self-evident that when it made its claim, the earth, the water, the air, the warm day and the cool night, in fact, all the elements concerned, acknowledged it, and whatever it demanded from them was given to it.

Thus by merit it developed into a great tree; by yielding beneficial fruit and by the nobility of its dimensions it continued to demonstrate that it deserved to become a tree of mighty stature and that the help given it by the combined forces of earth and heaven was totally justified.

More! It was the duty of the elements to give such help because the power that is possessed by the earth, water and air and other elements to nourish, develop and mature trees is precisely meant for the purpose of helping trees of noble species.

But what about wild, self-seeded plants? Where are their strengths and virtues? Their roots are so shallow they can be pulled up by a child. They are so weak they wither away in the wind. If you touch them you may well be pricked by thorns.

If you taste them they may well be bitter and harmful. God, only, knows how many of these sprout every day, and wither away. Why are they as they are? The reason is that they do not possess the intrinsic right to grow that the acorn does and which allows the growth of the mighty oak.

When there are no trees of noble species to grow, the earth, which by its nature cannot remain fallow, tolerates the growth of shrubs and weeds. Water does give nourishment, and some energy is supplied by the air, but none of the elements accepts the right of existence of these plants as they do of the oak.

That is why neither the earth allows their roots to spread themselves within itself, nor is water willing wholeheartedly to give nourishment, nor is the air inclined to help them flourish.

So when, with this poor subsistence, these plants grow unhealthy, tasting bad, often bearing thorns and poisonous fruits, it is conclusively demonstrated that earth and heaven are not created to help the growth of such plants.

Keep these two examples before you and then think over the difference between the Kalimah Tayyibah and the kalimah khabithah.

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The article is an excerpt from Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi’s book “Let Us Be Muslims”.

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Articles of Faith New Muslims

Islam: The Way to Find True Freedom

Islam is liberation; freedom.

Every person has the ability to be free through Islam if they choose, even if they are poor, even if they are oppressed, even if they are physically in chains – in the bowels of a torturous prison.

How Islam Works?

freedom

Knowledge from the One Who gave life to us liberates you from the shackles of ignorance and the burdens of incorrect advice.

Because Islam straddles every rift. It’s able to encompass every one and every thing.

It’s kind of like this:

Think of a type of success; say, via business.

You want to be successful. Rather, you need a successful form of sustenance. So you decide to start a business.

But you don’t know what kind of business will be successful; how to start one, how to run it.

You know nothing about being an entrepreneur.

If you have to go through the process all alone and figure out every detail from knowing absolutely nothing, it will surely be a struggle.

If your success and wellbeing depend entirely on running that business flawlessly, the process will no doubt be stressful.

Your lack of knowledge is a burden.

Let’s say you are receiving conflicting information about the correct way to run a business. It will be hard to decide which advice will be more beneficial. You may fail many times over.

You struggle every day.

And then suddenly an experienced and highly successful business person comes along. They provide everything you need to make your business more than you even imagined it could be.

They give you the money, the knowhow, the contacts. They educate you on what to do every step of the way. They are entirely at your disposal.

Can you imagine the burden lifted? The relief?

That’s how Islam works.

The tools to surmount every obstacle are provided for you. Handed to you.

For Free

So naturally: implementing it is freeing. The burden of not knowing is lifted.

Guidance is provided at every step. You see and feel the results. And it all has to do with the self, or the soul.

So, that self can adapt to be in the best state relative to its particular situation.

Contrary to what you might think, even wealth and comfort are tests in this life. So someone seemingly living an easy life is also in need of guidance on how to reach true success. That is freedom!

Pitfalls exist in every situation. We need knowledge to avoid them. Opportunities for benefit exist in every situation. We need knowledge to recognize them.

To be successful in the life we all have been given, we need knowledge from the One Who gave life to us.

Naturally

When you have that knowledge, it liberates you from the shackles of ignorance and the burdens of incorrect advice.

It’s like driving on a smoothly paved, straight road as opposed to an uneven ground covered in stones and obstacles.

Wouldn’t you feel free once you get off the rocky terrain onto that smooth road?

Wow! That’s the free life. That’s true freedom.

And I think whatever way someone might follow, the satisfaction can never compare to the complete satisfaction of living the way you are intended to live: Driving on that straight, clean road., and according to the guidance given by the Manufacturer- your Manufacturer.

Freedom & Success

So one might ask how do we know which is the right set of instructions?

If you really want to know, it just takes a little dedication. Truth stands out amongst falsehood.

If you want it, really want it, it will be shown to you. Given to you; handed to you with utmost mercy.

That is the smooth road you were hoping for: comfort, peace. Then if you choose it and put effort into following it, this is the outcome: success, freedom.

Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful. (Al-A`raf 7:157)

Falsehood shall not come to it from before it nor from behind it; it is a revelation from the Most Wise, the Worthy of Praise. (Fussilat 41:42)

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Source: youramericanmuslimneighbor.com

 

Danielle LoDuca is a third generation American, raised in a homogeneous, white, suburban community. Although raised as a Catholic, she considered herself agnostic and was disdainful of religion in general until she chose Islam in 2002. She is an artist with a BFA from Pratt Institute, as well as a wife and mother of five. She now blogs about Islam and how it relates to American culture and values, using her own experience as well as authentic sources.

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Ethics & Values New Muslims

15 Daily Supplications and Their Etiquette (Part 1)

By Abdul-Rahman Al Sheha

The following are some selected supplications, words of remembrance, and Islamic etiquettes a Muslim should learn and use in daily life….

1- Mention the name of Allah (by saying ‘Bismillaah’) before you start eating or drinking, and thank Allah (by saying ‘Alhamdulillah (Allah praise and thanks be to Allah)’) upon finishing.

You should eat from what is in front of you (and not from in front of someone else), and eat with your right hand, for the left hand is mainly used to clean what is held detestable (like cleaning oneself after relieving himself).

`Umar ibn Abi Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “When I was a young boy, I was in the room of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and my hand (was taking food from) all sides of the plate (while eating). So the Messenger of Allah said to me:

“Young boy, mention the name of Allah (before you start to eat), eat with your right hand, and eat from in front of you.’ ” (Al-Bukhari)

2- Never find fault in food, however unpleasant it may be. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) never found any fault in food. If he liked it he ate it, and if he did not he left it.” (Al-Bukhari)

3- Do not enter houses except after seeking permission (by knocking or the like). Allah says:

O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them. (An-Nur 24:27)

4- Do not persist in seeking permission (more than thrice). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“One should seek permission thrice. If you are granted permission, (then enter,) and if not, go back.” (Muslim)

5- Greet all Muslims, whether you know or do not (by saying ‘As-Salaamu ‘alaykum), due to the love and friendship which it brings about. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“You will never enter Jannah until you believe, and you will never believe fully until you love each other. Shall I not lead you to something that if you do it, you will love each other? Spread the greetings of ‘Salam’ amongst yourselves.” (Muslim)

6- If someone greets you with Salam, return him with the same greetings or one better. Allah says:

When you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally. (An-Nisaa´4:86)

7- When you feel like yawning, you should try to stop it as much as possible. When someone says “As-Salamu `alaykum,” one should respond with, “wa `alaykum As-Salam,” at the very least. It is better that one add, “wa Rahmatullaah,” and even further, “wa Barakaatuh.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Yawning is from the Shaytan (Satan). When one of you feels like yawning, let him stop it as much as he can. And if one of you sighs, “Aahh!” (while doing so), the Satan laughs.” (Al-Bukhari)

If he is unable to stop it, he should cover his mouth with his hand. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“If one of you yawns, then let him hold his mouth with his hand, for indeed the Satan enters (it).” (Muslim)

8- When you sneeze, say, “Alhamdulillah.” If another Muslim sneezes and says, “Alhamdulillah,” you should reply by saying, “Yarhamuk-Allah (may Allah have mercy on you).” If someone replies to you by saying, “Yarhamuk-Allah,” reply to him by saying, “Yahdeekum Allah wa yuslih balakum (may Allah guide you and make improve your heart, your living, and your affairs).”

“When one of you sneezes, let him say, ‘Alhamdulillaah,’ and then let his brother or companion say to him, ‘Yarhamuk-Allah,’ and then let him (the one who sneezed) say, ‘Yahdeekum Allah wa yuslih balakum.’ ” (Al-Bukhari)

If a disbeliever says, “Alhamdulillah,” you should reply by saying, “Yahdeekumullaah wa yusli baalakum,” only. A person should refrain from saying, “God bless you,” or any other supplication other than what the Prophet (peace be upon him) made.

Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“The Jews would try to make themselves sneeze while in the company of the Prophet (peace be upon him) hoping that he would say, ‘Yarhamukumullaah’. Instead, he would say, ‘Yahdeekum Allah wa yuslihu baalakum’.” (At-Tirmidhi)

From its manners is what Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) related, that when the Messenger of Allah sneezed, he would put his hand or his clothes in front of his mouth and lower his voice [in doing so).

9- Do not belch in public. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said:

“A man belched while in the company of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and so he said to him: ‘Save us from your burping, for the most satiated in this life will be hungry for the longest time on the Day of Resurrection.’ ” (Tirmidhi)

10- If you joke, do not say anything to harm or maltreat others. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Let not anyone take his brother’s things (to anger him) seriously or jokingly.” (Abu Dawud)

Do not let your joking be untrue, leading you to lie to make others laugh. The Prophet (peace be u) said:

“Woe to the one who lies in his speech to make people laugh, woe be to him! Woe be to him!” (Abu Dawud)

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The article is an excerpt from the author’s “How to Become a Muslim”.

 

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Divine Unity New Muslims

Between God & Allah: What Do Muslims Believe?

*Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him (Allah); in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgment and individual accountability for actions; in God’s complete authority over human destiny and in life after death.

Allah God

In Arabic, Allah means literally the One God.

Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them. But God’s final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through Gabriel.

Who Is Allah?

In Arabic, Allah means literally the One God. It is pretty easy to understand how different languages give the same thing different names. Is it that unusual to hear Muslims call God another name, like “Allah”, while you call him God or Lord?

Some people have no minds; in the last decade, a growing phenomenon was seen on the internet and in published literature. Allah is said to be the “moon god” that Arabs worshiped, and Ka`bah (the Muslims holiest place on Earth) is His temple. The evidence for this theory is the crescent that appears on the top of many mosques all over the world plus a fabricated picture of the “moon god”.

This idea is very dangerous. If you believe that Muslims are worshiping an idol, then there is no basis even to talk to them. They are pagan idolaters like Hindus and Buddhists. It is alleged that although Islam is a monotheistic religion, the Muslims’ only God is simply another idol that Muhammad (peace be upon him) chose (or in some versions of the story, he made it up).

The Ka`bah

To invalidate this foolish theory, one has to take the story from different angles.

The crescent is not a symbol of Islam, but of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans are those tribes that moved to Turkey from east and middle Asia. They converted to Islam and built a huge Muslim Empire that ruled the whole Muslim world for centuries. When they took Islam as a religion they started using the lunar calendar, the calendar that was used by Muslims, Jews and early Christians. Even today, the flag of Turkey has a crescent on it. There was no crescent on any mosque built before the Ottomans era.

Prophet Abraham built the Ka`bah for people to worship God. While pagan Arabs admitted this fact and even kept the stone where he used to stand to build the Ka`bah (Abraham’s station), they brought idols to the Ka`bah and worshiped them to get closer to Abraham’s Lord, Allah, God of gods.

Prophet Muhammad came with the monotheistic message of Islam. Arabs defended these idols and refused to give up the religion of their fathers and grandfathers. They offered to Muhammad a deal, that is to worship their gods for one year, and they worship Allah alone for one year. A chapter of the Qur’an came with the response from God to this evil invitation:

Say : O you that reject Faith! I worship not that which you worship, Nor will you worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which you have been wont to worship, Nor will you worship that which I worship. To you be your Way, and to me mine. (Al-Kafirun 109:1-6)

Later on, the Qur’an started calling Allah by other names. One of those holy names was Ar-Rahman (the Gracious). Arabs wondered: “is this a new God?” The Qur’an responded again:

Say: “Call upon Allah, or call upon Ar-Rahman: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. (Al-Israa’ 17:110)

The Same One God

It is not a new god; it is a new name for the same God. Allah has ninety nine names in Islam; all of them are holy and speak about different attributes of the same creator, almighty Allah. As an example, read these verses of the Qur’an:

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him.

He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colours). To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His Praises and Glory; and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. (Al-Hashr 59:22-24)

When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came back to Mecca, he entered the city peacefully on the top of an army of 10,000 men, exactly as the Bible described him “pre-eminent above ten thousand” (Solomon 5:10).

He did not burn a single home; he did not harm a single person; he just went to the Kaaba and destroyed all the gods Arabs had there. He kept nothing in the Ka`bah. Where is this picture of the moon god coming from? I don’t know. Did anyone of the pagan Arabs have a digital camera by then?

“Allah” in Different Scriptures

There is evidence that the word Allah existed before the birth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) for thousands of years. It is probably the oldest name man used to call God. Most likely, Adam used the word Allah to call the Lord.

On the other hand, the word “God” was born with the English language, less than ten centuries ago. Can we say that all English speaking nations are pagans because they use the word “God”? What about Chinese monotheists? How should they call God?

Prophet Muhammad’s father’s name was `Abdullah (The slave of Allah). This name was common among Arab pagans and Jews. Abdullah bin Salam was one of the first Jews to convert to Islam in Medina. When Arabs call Allah in prayer they say: “Ya Allah” or “Allahoma”.

Aren’t these words familiar to you?  “Alleluia” and “Elohim” are the words used to call Allah in the Bible. In Hebrew, the suffix im means many. So Elohim literally means many Allah(s).  This is a known way to express dignity and respect to almighty Allah by calling Him pleural. This phenomenon is known in Hebrew, Arabic, English and other languages. In Qur’an, the same pattern is seen many times. For example, God says in the holy Quran:

We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). (Al-Hijr 15:9)

In the English translation of the Bible, you read, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26-KJV).

The word Allah is used in all Arabic translations of the Bible. It was used in some English translations of the Bible like the original “Scofield Reference Bible”-reference: what is his name? by Deedat. In the New Testament, Jesus is believed to cry before his death “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” Eloi is the exact Arabic word “Elahi” which comes from the same root as Allah.

I have no doubt that the word “Allah” is the oldest known name man called God with. For those who choose to ignore this fact and transgress, Muslims have nothing to offer.  Allah says in the Qur’an:

If any, after this, invent a lie and attribute it to Allah, they are indeed unjust wrong-doers. (Aal `Imran 3:94)

For Muslims, Allah is perfect. He has no partners. We worship Him and Him alone. Our faith is summarized in the Qur’an:

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. (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

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 *By Dr. Iyad Sultan

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