5 / 32
Page 5
The Islamic Bulletin
Volume XXV No. 29
Allah says in the Quran:
o, KDYH QRW FUHDWHG WKH MLQQ WKH VSLULWV QRU WKH KXPDQ EH
-
LQJV IRU DQ\ RWKHU SXUSRVH H[FHSW WR ZRUVKLS 0H p 4XUDQ
This is what God Almighty said. So our purpose in
this life is to worship the Creator. To surrender ourselves to
the Creator, and to obey the laws that He has determined for
us. In a nutshell, it means worship. This is our purpose in life.
We have been created for worship.
Now, on to the second half of our topic. What do
you know about Islam? Not what have you heard about
Islam Not what you have seen in the actions of Muslims. And
remember there’s a difference between Islam and Muslims.
Islam is a rule and an order. If a Muslim does not fulfill these
rules and orders, he is not a good Muslim. So you cannot
equate Islam and Muslims. Just like there’s a difference
between a man and a father. A man has children but a father
is responsible. If a man does not fulfill his responsibilities as a
father, he is not a good father.
We hear the terms Islam and Muslims quite often.
We hear and see a lot of inaccurate, misleading, and pur-
poseful misinformation in the media. And I have to admit that
some of this misinformation and misrepresentation had been
perpetuated by Muslims themselves. Yet one of every five
persons in this world of some five billion people is a Muslim!
One out of five people in this world is a Muslim! How is it
that we don’t know something about Islam?
What is it that joins so many different nations and this
universal configuration into a common fraternity? What makes
a brother or sister in Yemen my brother or sister when I’m
from America. And what makes this brother from Eritrea my
brother or sister? And what makes another brother from In-
donesia my brother? And from Africa? And another one from
Thailand? And from Italy, Greece, Poland, Austria, Colombia,
Bolivia, China, Spain, Russia, and so forth? What makes them
my brothers or sisters? We have different cultural and psycho-
logical backgrounds! What is it about Islam that automatically
embraces us and joins us as a brotherhood? What are the
accurate characteristics of this misunderstood way of life?
Although I will now provide you with some facts, it is
necessary to be open-minded and open-hearted. Facts alone
do not lead to understanding, but rather a combination of
tolerance, ambition, and the willingness to accept the truth
when you hear it.
The word ‘Islam’ means surrender, submission, and
obedience to the law of Almighty God. Muslims use the Ar-
abic term, Allah, because in Arabic there is no other expres-
sion. The word Allah cannot be applied to any created thing.
The word “Allah” can only be applied to the One who is the
Creator. So I’m going to use the word “Allah,” and you know
whom I’m speaking about.
The word ‘Islam’ is derived from the root ‘Salama.’ It
means to be at peace or to have security. Therefore, a Muslim
is a person who surrenders, submits, and obeys the law of
Almighty God and through this submission, obtains peace and
serenity. By such a definition, ‘Islam’ describes the manner
and behavior of all the well-known and respected prophets
and messengers of Almighty God, including Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Isaac, Ishmael, John the
Baptist, Suleiman, Jesus the son of Mary, and Muhammad
(May Allah’s peace be upon them all.) All of these prophets
and messengers came from the same Almighty God with the
same message. That is, to worship Almighty God and do good
actions and you will fulfill the purpose of life. You will then be
rewarded with an eternal life in the hereafter.
If you read the scriptures carefully you will find this
same, simple message from all the prophets. Not one of those
prophets ever said, “I am God - worship me.” You will not find
it in any of the holy books that you have - not the Bible, not the
Torah, not the New Testament, not the Psalms of David. You
will not find it in the speech of any prophet.
We can see that by such a definition, the Arabic word
describes what all the prophets did. They all came and submit-
ted themselves to God; they all insisted that people do deeds
of righteousness. Nothing more than surrender and obedience!
The Ten Commandments of Moses--what was that? The speech
of Abraham--what was that? The Psalms of David--what was
that? The Proverbs of Solomon--what did he say? The Gospel
of Jesus Christ--what did he say? What did John the Baptist say?
What did Isaac and Ishmael say? What did Muhammad say?
Nothing more than that!
o$QG WKH\ KDYH EHHQ FRPPDQGHG QR PRUH WKDQ WKLV 7R
ZRUVKLS $OODK RIIHULQJ +LP VLQFHUH GHYRWLRQ EHLQJ WUXH LQ
IDLWK WR HVWDEOLVK UHJXODU SUD\HU DQG WR SUDFWLFH UHJXODU
FKDULW\ DQG WKDW LV WKH 5HOLJLRQ 5LJKW DQG 6WUDLJKW p
[Quran
98:5]
This is what Allah said.
And they were ordered
only to worship Allah. By
the same token, it would
also be appropriate here
to consider both prophets
and messengers as
Muslims, because a
‘Muslim’ is what? The
word ‘Muslim’ means,
“He who surrenders
himself to Almighty God,
and obeys the laws of the
Almighty God.” Every-
thing that surrenders to
the law of Almighty God
is a Muslim!
So, when a child comes
out of the womb of its
mother at the time that God has ordered - what is it? It’s a Mus-
lim. Therefore, when we willfully obey Almighty God we are
Muslims! Jesus Christ was a Muslim. Abraham was a Muslim.
Moses was a Muslim. All the prophets were Muslims! But they
came to their people and they spoke different languages. Every
prophet and messenger of Almighty God brought the very same
and fundamental message -- “Worship Almighty God and be
sincere towards Him.”
Where there is a conflict, it is a result of false asser-
tions, fabrications, exaggerations, and personalized interpreta-
tions of alleged writers, historians, scholars, and individuals. As
a Christian--before I became a Muslim--I didn’t understand how
come throughout the Old Testament God is always referred to
as One--the Master and Lord and King of the Universe. And in
the first commandment given to Moses, He did not allow any-
body to worship graven images. Throughout the Old Testament
this is repeated. And then, suddenly we get four testimonies
from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Matthew who? Mark
Who? Luke who? John who? Four different Gospels that were
written forty-eight years apart. And none of these men, who did
not collaborate with each other, none of them wrote their last
name. Where in the history of men is one name accepted as
documentation? Nowhere! Except in the New Testament.
Then, after those four Gospels, there are fifteen more