Islam

M. Laeeq-ur-Rehman Khan


Recited in every prayer, for at least 17 times each day

Surah Al-Fatehah(Chapter 1: The Opening)

• 1. In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

• 2. All Praises be to God, the Lord of all that exists;

• 3. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

• 4. The Only Owner of the Day of Judgment.

• 5. You (Alone) we worship, and To thee we ask for help.

• 6. Guide us to the Straight Way.

• 7. The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not of those who earned your anger.


The Basics of FaithThe Basics of Faith

• Belief in One God (Allah).

• Belief in Prophet hood.

• All the Divine Books as revealed by God to various prophets.

• Angels, Life after Death and the Day of Judgment, Heaven and Hell.


A religion based upon the surrender to the will of God who is One.

A complete way of life.

“Al-Islam” in Arabic, means submission and peace,.

Islam considers itself to be not an innovation but a reassertion of the universal truth of all revelation which is God's Oneness.

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ALLAH (GOD)•Allah the One and the Only God

•Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names or attributes, such as: The Gracious, The Most Merciful, The Most Kind, The Most Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last, The Effacer of Sins, The Most Forgiving and others.

•God is the Creator of everything. He is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, etc. He is the God of all that exists. The Holy Quran says:

•“ There is nothing comparable to Him”•“To Allah belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is in them. He has power over all things. [5.120] •“Your Lord is Allah, who, in six days created the heavens and the earth, and then willed to the Throne. He throws the veil of night over the day. Swiftly they follow one another. The sun, the moon, and the stars are compelled to His order. His is the creation, His is the command. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” [7.54]


Prophet Muhammad

» “And We have not sent you thee (O Muhammad) but as a mercy to the nations” (The Holy Quran )

• Muslims as part of their faith love and revere all Prophets.• Muhammad is a “seal” upon all Prophets.• Descendant of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham.• Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) like all other Prophets (PBUT) was a human

being.• Born in Mecca.• Received first revelation at the age 40 through angel Gabriel. • Died at the age of 63 years. • The personal example and the Sayings of the Prophet (PBUH), after the

Quran, is the second source of guidance.


Quran: The Holy Book

•Original, intact, and one text as revealed by God to the Prophet, in Arabic, ( a Semitic language like Aramaic language in which Bible was revealed or the language of Jesus PBUH). (www.livingtruth.net)

•23 Years of Revelations (610 - 632 C.E.) 114 Chapters;

•Quran- the actual Word of God revealed through the archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

• Source of all Islamic doctrines and ethics. Both the intellectual aspects of Islam and Islamic Law have their source in the Quran & Sunnah.

Quran & the Sunnah place the gaining of knowledge as the highest religious activity, one that is most pleasing to God.


World Religions in 7th Century A.D.


Before the Arrival of Islam

• Before Islam, about 1450 years ago

• Arabia was involved in feuds and wars.

• There were no ethics, laws, manners, and moral values. Justice was unknown. A man could marry as many women as he wanted and even trade them.

• Women were treated as commodities. A girl child when born was buried alive and was thought to be a humiliation.

• Arabs followed a form of idolatry, each tribe keeping its own idols at the Ka'bah, the cubical structure built originally by Abraham to celebrate the glory of One God.

• Persians worshiped fire.

• Europe experiencing its Dark ages.

• Prophet invited them to abandon idolatry and accept the religion of Oneness.

• A few accepted his call but most Maccans, especially those of his own tribe, opposed him violently, seeing in the new religion a grave danger to their economic as well as social domination based upon their control of the Ka'bah.

• As a result, persecution of Muslims increased until the Prophet was forced to send some of his companions to Abyssinia where they were protected by the Christian king.


5 Pillars of Islam

• Iman (Belief in One God).

• Prayers (Salat)

• Charity (Zakat)

• Fasting (Ramadan)

• Pilgrimage (Hajj)


Prayers (Salat)• Five Daily Prayers from Dawn

to Late Evening regulate a Muslim’s day.

• Prayers involve ablution, standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting postures.

• Facing Mecca, prayers in Arabic as taught by the Prophet (PBUH).

• Additional Prayers optional.


ZAKAT (Alms Giving) ‘Purification' and ‘Growth'.

• All things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust.

• “So establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity; and obey the Apostle; that ye may receive mercy.” (24:56 The Holy Quran)

• The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: 'Charity is a necessity for every Muslim. ' He was asked: 'What if a person has nothing?' The Prophet replied: 'He should work with his own hands for his benefit and then give something out of such earnings in charity.' The Companions asked: 'What if he is not able to work?' The Prophet said: 'He should help poor and needy persons.' The Companions further asked 'What if he cannot do even that?' The Prophet said 'He should urge others to do good.' The Companions said 'What if he lacks that also?' The Prophet said 'He should check himself from doing evil. That is also charity.‘

• Required 2.5% charity on yearly savings.


Fasting (in Ramadan)

• O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint. (The Holy Quran 2:183)

• Ramadan is 9th month in Islamic Lunar calendar.

• Daily dawn to sunset fast for 29/30 days (no food or drink).

• Eidul-Fitr Holiday at the end.


Hajj (Pilgrimage)• Abrahamic tradition of Hajj.

• Pilgrimage to Mecca once in life time for able Muslims.

• About 2-3 million Muslims perform Hajj each year from all over the world.

• A sign of Muslim brotherhood and equality of mankind.

• Eid-ul-Adha: the biggest Muslim Holiday


• It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity, to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in suffering and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing. (The Holy Quran 2:177)


Prophets and Scriptures

• Same prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isacc, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, John, Jesus, Muhammad. (peace be on them). Belief in ALL Prophets of God.

• As an article of faith Muslims have belief on all the revealed Books: Psalms, Torah, Bible, Quran.


Food• “O ye who believe! Eat of the good

things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to God, if it is Him ye worship.” (The Holy Quran 2.172)

• Forbidden: – Meat of animals found dead– blood– the flesh of swine (pork)– Alcoholic beverages (such as beer and wine) and intoxicants– Meat on which name of God is not invoked at time of

slaughtering or meat on which some one else’s name is invoked.


Women’s Rights• "Heaven is at your mother's feet." (Prophet Muhammad)

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, Lower to them the wing Of humility, and say: 'My Lord! Bestow on them The Mercy even as they Cherished me in childhood. (The Holy Quran 17: 23-24)

• “The best amongst you is the one who is the best towards his wife” (Prophet Muhammad PBUH)

• Men and women created equal.

• “Say to the believing men and women that when they see each other to lower their gaze” (The Holy Quran)

• This cuts the roots of sexual harassment.


Purpose of our life

“And I (Allah) not created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.” (The Holy Quran 51:56)

• Purpose of our life is submission to our Lord, for it is in submitting to God's Will that human beings gain peace in their lives in this world and in the Hereafter.

• To rid ourselves from the slavery/servitude of the creation and obey only the Creator.

• To broaden our vision from the narrowness of this life into the vastness of the Life after death.


Human Rights in Islam• Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in his last sermon:

• "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Nor does a white man have any superiority over a black man, or the black man any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from clay“ (Prophet Muhammad PBUH)

• "Seeking knowledge is a duty imposed on all Muslims - male and female". (Prophet Muhammad PBUH)


Status of Human Beings in Islam

• Prime Creation

• Born Sinless No person carries the burden of his or her ancestors' sins.

• Accountability: -each person is responsible for his or her own actions.

• Race, Culture, Nationalty, Status (Financial, Social, Pedigree)• God clearly says, "O Mankind! We have created you from one male

and one female, and then We made you into different races and tribes so that you may know (and easily recognize) each other." "Surely the most honorable of you in God's sight is the person who is most upright in character among you." (The Holy Quran; chp. 49, verse 13).

• Gender• Women are as human as men. They are not evaluated on basis of their

gender, but on basis of their faith and character. • "Whoever, be it a male or a female, does good deeds and he or

she is a believer, then they will enter the Paradise." (The Holy Quran: chp. 4, verse 124).





Muslims are also commanded to exhort others to perform good acts and to abstain from evil.

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

"None of you is a believer until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.”

Islam shares with the other Abrahamic religions their sacred history, the basic ethical teachings contained in the Ten Commandments and above all, belief in the One God. And it renews and repeats the true beliefs of Jews and Christians whose scriptures are mentioned as divinely revealed books in Islam's own sacred book, the Quran.


• Islam annual growth rate (1994-1995) from U.N.6.40%.

Within 50 years of the Prophet's death, Islam had spread to 3 continents.

1.2 billion Muslims represent between 19.2% and 22% of the world's population.

One of every five humans in the world is a Muslim.

Second largest religion in the world.

Fastest growing including Europe and America.

World Muslims


World Distribution of MuslimsAfrica 308,660,000 27.4%

Asia 778,362,000 69.1%

Europe 32,032,000 2.8%

Latin America 1,356,000 0.1%

North America 5,530,000 0.5%

World 1,126,325,000 100%

Source: Britannica Yearbook, 1997



It was faith in One God, emphasis upon His Mercy and the new set of laws that Islam introduced that brought vast numbers of people into the fold of Islam.

The new religion did not coerce people to convert. Many continued to remain Jews and Christians and to this day important communities of the followers of these faiths are found in Muslim lands.


Muslims and Arabs

• The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs only. Muslims may be Arabs, Hispanics, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities.

• Muslims all over the world pray in the language of the Qur'an, namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.

• While there are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world there are about 200 million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims.

• Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about 20% of the Muslim population of the world.


American Muslims

• 6 million (The New York Times, Feb. 21, 1989)

• About 40% Afro-American

• Playing positive roles in the American society as proud Americans.

• Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..."

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, p.3

Tempe, Arizona


Jihad Misunderstood• WHAT DOES ISLAM SAY ABOUT WAR? • The Holy Qur'an says: Fight in the cause of God against those who

fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors. (2:190) If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that hears and knows all things. (Quran8:61)

• War, therefore, is the last resort, and is subject to the rigorous conditions laid down by the sacred law. The term Jihad literally means 'struggle', and the greatest Jihad is the inner struggle which everyone wages against evil desires, for the sake of attaining inner peace.


Justice in Islam• The Holy Quran says:

• "Do not let your hatred of a people incite you to aggression" (The Holy Quran 5:2).

• "And do not let ill-will towards any folk incite you so that you swerve from dealing justly. Be just; that is nearest to heedfulness" (The Holy Quran 5:8).

• Suicide is a Grave SinO ye who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves in vanities: But let there be amongst you Traffic and trade by mutual good-will: Nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for verily God hath been to you Most Merciful! (The Holy Quran, 4:29)


What Muslims believe about Christ (PBUH)

• A true messenger of God;

• Prophet of God;

• Miracle birth without human intervention;

• He was the 'Christ' or Messiah as in the Bible;

• Was taken to the heavens instead of being crucified, and most importantly,

• He will be coming back in the Last Days to lead the believers against the 'Antichrist.'

• When Allah said: '( Prophet) Jesus, son of Mary, remember the favor upon you and on your mother; how I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit (Gabriel), to speak to people in your cradle and of age (when he descends and dies); how I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel; and how, by My permission, you fashioned from clay the likeness of a bird, and breathed into it so that, by My permission, it became a living bird. How, by My permission, you healed the blind man and the leper, and by My permission you brought the dead forth; and how I protected you from the Children of Israel when you brought them clear signs; whereupon the unbelievers among them said: "This is nothing but plain magic". [The Holy Quran 5.110]


Questions & Answers

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