The Religion Of Truth by Abdur Raheem Green
Christians must recognize that after Jesus (pbuh) gone all Christians were misguided by those who had corrupted the word of God in holy Bible. Christians should join their brothers and sisters in true faith in one God Who has no sons or partners.
For we are indeed brothers and sisters
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Individuals who are honest, sincere, and from whom nothing but good can be expected, have always formed the basis of any healthy human society.
A moral sense is inborn in man and, through the ages, it has served as the common man’s standard of moral behaviour, approving certain qualities and condemning others. While this instinctive faculty may vary from person to person, human conscience has consistently declared certain moral qualities to be good and others to be bad.
Justice, courage and truthfulness have always found praise, and history does not record any period worth the name in which falsehood, injustice, dishonesty and breach of trust have been praised; sympathy, compassion, loyalty and generosity have always been valued, while selfishness, cruelty, meanness and bigotry have never been approved of by society; men have always appreciated perseverance, determination and courage, but never impatience, fickleness, cowardice and stupidity.
Dignity, restraint, politeness and friendliness have throughout the ages been counted virtues, whereas snobbery and rudeness have always been looked down upon. People with a sense of responsibility and devotion to duty have always won the highest regard, those who are incompetent, lazy and lacking in a sense of duty have never been looked upon with approval.
Similarly, in assessing the standards of good and bad in the collective behaviour of society as a whole, only those societies have been considered worthy of honor which have possessed the virtues of organization, discipline, mutual affection and compassion and which have established a social order based on justice, freedom and equality. Disorganization, indiscipline, anarchy, disunity, injustice and social privilege, on the other hand, have always been considered manifestations of decay and disintegration in a society.
Robbery, murder, larceny, adultery and corruption have always been condemned. Slander and blackmail have never been considered healthy social activities, while service and care of the aged, helping one’s relatives, regard for neighbours, loyalty to friends, aiding the weak, the destitute and the orphans, and nursing the sick are qualities which have been highly valued since the dawn of civilization.
Individuals who are honest, sincere and dependable, whose deeds match their words, who are content with their own rightful possessions, who are prompt in the discharge of their obligations to others, who live in peace and let others live in peace, and from whom nothing but good can be expected, have always formed the basis of any healthy human society.
These examples show that human moral standards are universal and have been well-known to mankind throughout the ages. Good and evil are not myths, but realities well understood by all. A sense of good and evil is inherent in the very nature of man.
Hence in the terminology of the Qur’an good is called ma`ruf (a well-known thing) and evil munkar (an unknown thing); that is to say, good is known to be desirable and evil is known not to commend itself in any way, as the Qur’an says:
God has revealed to human nature the consciousness and cognition of good and evil. (Ash-Shams 91:8)
The question that now arises is: if what constitutes good and evil is so clear and universally agreed, why do varying patterns of moral behaviour exist in the world? Why are there so many conflicting moral philosophies? Why do certain moral standards contradict each other?
What lies at the root of their differences? What is the unique position of Islam in the context of other ethical systems? On what grounds can we claim that Islam has a perfect moral systems? And what exactly is the distinctive contribution of Islam in the realm of ethics?
Although these are important questions and must be squarely faced, justice cannot be done to them in the brief span of this talk. So I shall restrict myself to a summary of some of the points crucial to any critical examination of contemporary ethical systems and conflicting patterns of moral behaviour:
1- Through their failure to prescribe specific limits and roles for the various moral virtues and values, present-day moral structures cannot provide a balanced and coherent plan of social conduct.
2-The real cause of the differences in the moral systems seems to lie in their offering different standards for judging what constitutes good and bad actions and in their laying down different ways to distinguish good from evil.
Differences also exist in respect of the sanction behind the moral law and in regard to the motives which impel a person to follow it.
3- On deeper reflection we find that the grounds for these differences emerge from different peoples’ conflicting views and concepts of the universe, the place of man in it, and of man’s purpose on earth.
The various systems of ethics, philosophy and religion are in fact a record of the vast divergence of views on such vital questions as: Is there a God of the universe and, if there is, is He the only one or are there many Gods?
What are the Divine attributes? What is the nature of the relationship between God and human beings? Has He made any arrangements for guiding humanity through the vicissitudes of life or not? Is man answerable to Him or not?
And if so, in what spheres of his life? Is there an ultimate aim of man’s creation which he should keep in view throughout his life? Answers to these questions will determine the way of life, the ethical philosophy and the pattern of moral behaviour of the individual and society.
It is difficult for me, in this brief talk, to take stock of the various ethical systems in the world and indicate what solutions each one of them has proposed to these questions and what has been the impact of these answers on the moral evolution of the society believing in these concepts. Here I have to confine myself to the Islamic concept only.
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The article is excerpted from the author’s book “The Islamic Way of Life”.
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The love and fear of God become the real motives which impel man to obey the moral law without external pressures.
The fact that a man voluntarily and willingly accepts God as his Creator and obedience to God as the aim of his life and strives to seek His pleasure in his every action provides sufficient incentive to obey the commandments which he believes to be from God.
Belief that whoever obeys the divine commands is sure to be rewarded in the Hereafter, whatever difficulties he may have to face in his life on earth, is another strong incentive for leading a virtuous life.
And the belief that breaking the commandments of God will mean eternal punishment is an effective deterrent against violation of the moral law, however tempted a man may be by the superficial attractiveness of a certain course of action.
If this hope and fear are firmly ingrained in one’s heart, they will inspire virtuous deeds even on occasions when the immediate consequences may appear to be very damaging, and they will keep one away from evil when it looks extremely attractive and profitable.
This clearly indicates that Islam possesses a distinctive criterion of good and evil, its own source of moral laws, and its own sanctions and motivating force; through them it shapes the generally recognized more virtues in all spheres of life into a balanced and comprehensive scheme and ensures that they are followed.
It can therefore be justifiably claimed that Islam possesses a perfect moral system of its own. This system has many distinguishing features and I will refer to three of the most significant ones which, in my opinion, form its special contribution to ethics.
1- By setting divine pleasure as the objective of man’s life, Islam has set the highest possible standard of morality, providing boundless possibilities for the moral evolution of humanity.
By making divine revelation the primary source of knowledge, it gives permanence and stability to moral standards, while at the same time allowing scope for reasonable flexibility and adjustment, though not for perversions or moral laxity. The love and fear of God become the real motives, which impel man to obey the moral law without external pressures.
And through belief in God and the Day of Judgment, we are motivated to behave morally with earnestness and sincerity.
2- The Islamic moral order does not, through a mistaken love of originally and innovation, seek to lay down any new moral standards; nor does it seek to minimize the importance of the well-known moral standards, or give exaggerated importance to some and neglect others without cause.
Rather, it takes all the recognized morals and assigns a suitable role to each within the total scheme of life. It widens the scope of their application to cover every aspect of man’s private and social life – his domestic associations, his civic conduct, and his activities in the political, economic, legal and educational fields.
It covers his life at home and in society, literally from the cradle to the grave. No sphere of life is exempt from the universal and comprehensive application of the moral principles of Islam. These ensure that the affairs of life, instead of being dominated by selfish desires and petty interest, are regulated by the dictates of morality.
3- The Islamic moral order guarantees for man a system of life which is free from all evil. It calls on the people not only to practise virtue, but also to eradicate vice. Those who respond to this call are gathered together into an Ummah (a community) and given the name ‘Muslims’.
The main purpose underlying the formation of this community is that it should make an organized effort to establish and enforce goodness and suppress and eradicate evil. It would be a day of mourning for this community and a bad day for the entire world if its efforts were at any time directed towards establishing evil and suppressing good.
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The article is excerpted from the author’s The Islamic Way of Life.
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In the years after the September 11th attacks in America, Muslims have been the subjects of frequent discussions but seldom among the participants. The lack of American Muslim voices in the national discourse makes much of the discussion of the community speculative or worse.
Muslims have a strong American identity. They are also as likely as other Americans to identify strongly with their faith.
These combined factors work to create a climate in which the majority of Muslims report some level of discrimination—the highest of any major faith group. This survey examines the attitudes of American faith groups on various topics from politics and religion, to violence and identity.
What emerges is the profile of an American Muslim community that is both pious and patriotic, optimistic and weary of discrimination, similar to Jews in its politics, and much like Protestants in its religious practice.
In early 2016, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding conducted a survey of American Muslims, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics to examine their attitudes on various issues from politics and religion, to violence and identity.
What emerged from the results is a profile of a American Muslim community that is both pious and patriotic, optimistic and weary of discrimination, similar to Jews in its politics, and much like Protestants in its religious practice.
Muslims are the youngest and most racially diverse major religious community in America—the only community without a majority race. Within the Muslim population is a nearly equal percentage of four different racial/ethnic subgroups: white, black, Asian, and Arab.
Muslims are also by far the youngest faith community, with 36 percent of the population younger than 35 compared with roughly one-quarter of Protestants, for example.
Muslims, like other American faith groups, see the economy as a top priority for the next president. The most striking difference in priorities is, however, that Muslims are the only faith group to identify bigotry and civil rights as a priority (9 percent).
More than half of Muslims reported facing some level of discrimination in the past year because of their religion, with 18 percent reporting regular discrimination, the highest of any group.
Those who report regular discrimination were less likely to be optimistic about the country, but more likely to engage in community activities. This suggests that the American Muslim responds to discrimination by becoming more proactive and involved rather than more isolated.
Muslims are least likely to be politically engaged. Whereas 85 percent of Muslims who can legally vote say they plan on casting their ballot for the next president, only 60 percent are actually registered compared with at least 86 percent of Jews, Catholics, and Protestants.
This means that a full one-fourth of Muslims who can legally vote and say they plan to vote still have not registered, resulting in the largest gap between the intention to participate and the readiness to do so. Roughly 15 percent of Muslims who are able to vote for the next president say they do not plan to—the largest of any faith group.
Muslims who regularly attend mosques are more likely to work with their neighbors to solve community problems, be registered to vote, plan to vote.
Muslims are as likely (statistically) as other religious groups, however, to cooperate with people in their neighborhoods to solve problems. This suggests that those who aim to increase Muslim political engagement would do well to start at the local level.
American mosques made headlines when front-runner Republican candidate Donald Trump suggested that they be closed because they allegedly cause radicalization.
We found that frequent mosque attendance has no correlation with attitudes toward violence against civilians, but it is linked with higher levels of civic engagement.
Muslims who regularly attend mosques are more likely to work with their neighbors to solve community problems, be registered to vote, and are more likely to plan to vote.
Despite lower political engagement, Muslims have a strong American identity. They are also as likely as other Americans to identify strongly with their faith.
Although a recent poll shows that a slight majority of Americans say they do not believe Islam is compatible with American values, the data paint a different picture.
Muslims who say their faith is important to their identity are more likely to say being American is important to how they think of themselves.
Muslims oppose military targeting and killing of civilians more than any other faith group, and are as likely as other faith groups to also oppose the same act of violence carried out by individuals or a small group.
Muslims who attend religious services more frequently or have a stronger religious identity do not differ in their views of civilian casualties by either a military or an individual from those who do not hold strong religious views.
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Source: www.ispu.org
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Marriage is half of every person’s Deen (religion). Our Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged everyone to get married when he/she is able to. Nowadays, there some sister who find it difficult to find a Muslim man to marry. Yet, there are several non-Muslim men who are ready to marry these sisters.
Why is it not permissible to marry a non-Muslim man? Why is the reason behind this?
Sister Yasmin Mogahed answers this question in the video below…
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Source: Faith IQ
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By Dr. Marwan Ibrahim Al-Kaysi
The masjid is where Muslims should pray five times every day, where they seek refuge from the troubles of this world, from its everlasting daily demands, its complications and its vanities.
1- A mosque should be built in every residential district.
2- The design of the masjid should be characterized by simplicity, as must be its furnishings.
3- The masjid should be devoid of any lavish kind of ornamentation, representation of anything, pictures or images.
4- Extravagance in spending large sums of money to build luxurious mosques should be avoided.
5- Members of the Muslim society should neither vie with one another about the virtues or beauties of any particular mosque nor compete in building ostentatious mosques.
6- Attaching pieces of gold or silver to any part of the masjid or its furnishings is forbidden.
7- The carpets and walls of the mosque should be devoid of a multiplicity of colors for that distracts the concentration of the worshippers.
8- Writing on the walls of the mosque, inside or outside, including Qur’anic verses or God’s attributes, should be avoided. The names of the Prophet and the first four
rightly-guided caliphs likewise should not be written.
9- The minbar should not be placed in the middle of the mosque. Its height should not exceed three steps.
10- Every mosque should have two entrances, one for men and one for women.
11- Lavatories should be sited as far from the masjid as practicable, and from the fountains or basins for ritual ablution.
12- Raising flags inside the masjid is an innovation.
The masjid deserves to be the cleanest place on earth. Therefore:
1- Muslims must be sure before entering the masjid that their body and clothes are clean and do not smell bad.
2- Filth must be removed from shoes and the shoes removed before entering the masjid.
3- Although it is not forbidden to eat anything in the masjid, it is not a place for taking meals and drinks.
4 Whoever brings in or causes dirt in the masjid has a duty to clean it up and remove it. It is not the duty solely of the mosque caretaker to keep the mosque clean and tidy; it is also the responsibility of every Muslim entering the masjid and seeing any uncleanliness, to remove this from the mosque.
5- The masjid should be sprayed or sprinkled with perfume to give a pleasant odour.
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The article is excerpted from the author’s book Morals and Manners in Islam (A Guide to Islamic Adab) published by The Islamic Foundation- 1986.
Dr. Marwan Al-Kaysi is Lecturer of Islamic Culture at Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
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Dr. Naji Ibrahim Arfaj
Practically speaking, a person who is a Muslim or would like to be a Muslim must believe in six articles of faith. What are they?
The Six Articles of Faith a Muslim Must Believe in.
1- Belief in Allah (the one true God) – in His existence, His Oneness (Tawheed), His Lordship, and His unique names and attributes; and that He is the only one deserving to be worshiped.
2- Belief in Allah’s angels, who were created by Allah to praise Him, obey His commandments, and carry out His orders.
3- Belief in Allah’s revelations including the original Word of Allah revealed to Moses and Jesus (not the human writings and stories narrated according to various authors as found in the Bible). The Qur’an is the final, pure, and authentic Word of God, sent to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
4- Belief in Allah’s messengers and prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Muhammad. So, a Muslim is not a true believer if he or she does not believe in Moses and Jesus as prophets sent from the one true God (Allah), the Creator.
5- Belief in the Last Day, the Day of Judgment and accountability. All mankind will be judged by Allah according to their faith and their deeds and actions. At the end of judgment, who will be admitted to a happy, eternal life (Paradise) and who will be thrown into Hell Fire?
6- Belief in the destiny decreed by Allah and His ultimate knowledge of all things. This makes believers trust in Allah. They are satisfied, content, and confident in whatever Allah decrees for them whether good or bad.
They try not to despair, not to get depressed, hopeless, or despondent when crises or difficulties strike. They turn to Allah for help, support, and reward.
This beautiful faith in Allah and His decree makes Muslims feel peace of mind and contentment in spite of all the aggression, invasion, occupation, and exploitation of their land, oil, and wealth, in spite of the injustice, bias, discrimination, and defamation they suffer from.
These are briefly the articles of faith in Islam that a true believer must believe in.
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The article is excerpted from the author’s “Have You Discovered It’s Real Beauty?”
Dr. Naji Al-Arfaj He is the Director of the Inter-Cultural Communication and Dialogue Center in Saudi Arabia. He attended Michigan State University, USA and completed his M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics in 1995. He spent more than 20 years researching comparative religion. He is the author of several books, and presents radio and TV programs.
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By Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi
The `ibadah (worship) for which God has created you and which He has enjoined upon you is this: you must follow at every step in your lives the law of God and refuse to obey all laws which conflict with His law. Everything you do must accord with the guidance given by God. Only then will your entire lives turn into lives of worship.
In such a life, everything is `ibadah: whether you sleep or are awake, whether you eat or drink, whether you work or rest, whether you are silent or talk, are all acts of worship. So much so that in going to your wives and kissing your children, too, you serve God.
All these actions which are usually considered secular and worldly become religious, provided that during their performance you observe the limits laid down by God and remain conscious every moment and at every step of what is approved by God (halal) and what is forbidden by Him (haram), what is a duty and what must be avoided, which actions please God and which displease Him.
For instance, easy opportunities to earn money in a forbidden way may occur during your life. If you resist this temptation and, in obedience to God, confine yourselves to earning money in approved ways only, then your work is itself worship.
And you deserve rewards. And the earnings you bring home for yourselves, your wives, your children and other have-nots will be blessed by Allah.
Indeed whatever you do and whatever time you spend in doing His will and in pleasing Him, you worship Him: when you remove from the road a stone or other obstacle which might hurt people; when you nurse an ill person or guide a blind man or help a person in distress; when you avoid lying, gossiping about people behind their backs, making sarcastic remarks and slandering; when you refrain from hurting people; when you talk truthfully and justly.
Real worship of God, therefore, is to follow the way laid down by God and lead lives according to His commandments from childhood to death. There can be no fixed time for this worship; it must be performed all the time. Nor does it have one particular form; in everything you say and do, you must serve God.
Since you cannot say: ‘I am a servant of God at such a time and 1 am not a servant of God at such a time’, you cannot say that such and such a time is earmarked for God’s service and the remaining time is not. If you truly honour and adore, love and fear God, all your actions will be motivated by these feelings and they will all constitute worship.
Brothers! You may now ask: What then is the position of prescribed worship rituals like the prayer (salah), alms-giving (zakah), Fasting (sawm), pilgrimage (hajj) and so on?
These acts of worship, which Allah has enjoined upon us, in reality prepare us for that greater overall `ibadah that we have to perform throughout our lives. They are the means which turn our lives into lives of worship. Prayer reminds you five times a day that you are slaves of Allah and that Him alone you must serve.
Fasting prepares you, for an entire month once every year, for this very service. Alms-giving repeatedly brings home to you the truth that the money you have earned is a gift of God. Do not just spend it on physical pleasures or even solely on material needs; you must render what is due to your Master.
Pilgrimage engraves on your hearts such a love and awareness of the majesty of God that once they take root, they remain with you all your lives. If, by performing all these acts of worship, you grasp their true inner significance and your entire lives are transformed into an unceasing act of worship, then undoubtedly your Prayer is real prayer, your Fast is real fast, your Alms-giving is real charity and your Pilgrimage is real pilgrimage.
But if you do not, no purpose is possibly served by merely bowing, kneeling and prostrating yourselves (ruku` and sujud), by spending days in hunger and thirst, by going through the formalities of the Pilgrimage and by setting aside money for the Alms-giving. These worship rituals are like a human body: it is a living human being so long as it has a soul and moves about and does work; but if it is soulless, it is no more than a corpse.
A corpse has hands and feet, eyes and nose, but you bury it under the earth because it is devoid of soul. So are worship rites if they are devoid of meaning, if they do not generate love and fear of God, loyalty and obedience to Him.
We should try to find out how each act of ritual worship prepares us for a life spent totally in worship; what a great and wonderful difference each can make to our lives if we perform them in full understanding of their meaning and purpose.
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The article is an excerpt from Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi’s Let Us Be Muslims.
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What Are the First Steps a New Muslim Should Take?
Embracing Islam and coming back to the true religion of Allah (Exalted be He) is truly a blessing. Becoming a Muslim is not just an ideological change but a lifetime change. One who accepts Islam is said to have all their past sins erased.
What should a new Muslim’s first steps be right after accepting Islam? How should he deal with their new life as Muslim?
Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick, History Specialist, answers in the video below…
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Source: Faith IQ
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By Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi
The word ‘deen’ is used in several meanings. The first is sovereignty, power, lordship, kingship, or rulership. The second is the opposite of this, i.e. submission, obedience, service or slavery. The third is to bring to account, to judge, or to dispense reward and punishment for actions. All those three uses are found in the Qur’an.
Allah says:
The only (true) Deen in the sight of God is (man’s) self-surrender (to Him). (Aal `Imran 3:19)
Here, deen is that way of life in which we recognize Allah alone as the possessor of all power and majesty and surrender ourselves to Him. We must not abase or humble ourselves before anybody save Him. We must regard only Allah as Master, Lord, and Sovereign, and must not be slaves or servants to anybody but Him. We must accept only Allah as the Lord of reward and punishment. We should covet no reward, fear no punishment, except His. Islam is the name of this deen.
Deen is that way of life in which we recognize Allah alone as the possessor of all power and majesty and surrender ourselves to Him.
False deen arises when you ascribe real powers to anyone besides Allah, when you take anyone as a real ruler and master, as a dispenser of real reward and punishment, when you bow your heads before him in humility, when you serve him and obey his orders, when you covet his reward and fear his punishment more than Allah’s. This kind of deen Allah never accepts because it is totally contrary to reality.
No other being in the whole universe except God possesses any power and might, nor does anybody else’s sovereignty and kingship exist. We have not been created to be servants and slaves of anyone or anything but God, nor is there anyone else except that real Master who can judge us and award reward and punishment.
In many places in the Qur’an these facts have been explained.
And whoso seeks a Deen other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him. (Aal `Imran 3:85)
Thus, anyone who disregards the sovereignty and kingship of God, acknowledges someone else as his master and ruler, becomes his servant and slave, and considers anyone as a dispenser of reward and punishment in his own right, will never have his Deen or conduct accepted by God because:
They were not enjoined anything but that they should serve God, making submission exclusively His, turning away (from all false gods). (Al-Bayyinah 98:5)
God has not created human beings to serve anyone except Himself. It is, therefore, incumbent on them to turn away from all false gods and reserve their submission, or their true deen, for Allah alone. They should single-mindedly devote themselves to His service and consider themselves as being accountable only to Him:
What! Do they seek a deen other than God’s, whereas unto Him surrenders whatever is in the heavens and on earth, willingly or unwillingly, and unto Him all must return? (Aal `Imran 3:83)
How can we human beings incline to be servants and to submit to someone other than God, when all other things on earth and in the heavens are slaves and obedient servants of God alone, accounting for their deeds to no other authority than God? Does man want to adopt a deviant way for himself, some kind of independent and autonomous existence, in defiance of the entire universe?
He it is Who has sent forth His Messenger with the Guidance and the way of Truth, so that he makes it prevail over all ways (religions), however much mushriks (who take gods besides God) may dislike it. (At-Tawbah 9:33)
Allah has sent His Messenger with the true deen for the purpose of ending the sovereignty of all false gods and granting us immense freedom so that we live as servants of none but the Lord of the universe, no matter how much the idolaters and polytheists may dislike or oppose such a course.
And fight them, until there is no rebellion (against God) and all submission is to God alone. (Al-Anfal 8:39)
The lesson is clear: we must fight until the sovereignty of all beings other than Allah is brought to an end, until only the law of God rules in the world, until the sovereignty of God alone is acknowledged, until we serve only Him.
Thus these three meanings of deen stand out:
Deen also includes obedience to God’s Messengers. For the commandments of God have been given to human beings through His Books and His Messengers.
Children of Adam! If there should come to you Messengers from among you, who convey My revelations unto you, then whosoever refrains from evil and lives rightly no fear shall be on them, and neither shall they sorrow. (Al-A`raf 7:35)
No individual receives Allah’s commandments directly.
Hence, whoever acknowledges Allah as Ruler can be accepted as obedient to Him only when he becomes obedient to His Messengers and lives by the guidance received through them.
Deen consists of these fundamental principles.
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The article is an excerpt from Abul A`la Al-Mawdudi’s Let Us Be Muslims.
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