Basics of faith
Islam began with the first man, who
was also the first prophet, namely Adam (peace be
upon him). The meaning of Islam is submission and
obedience to Allah, the Creator of all. From Adam
(peace be upon him) through to Muhammad (peace be
upon him) was delivered the message of Allah to
mankind; calling them to the worship of the One
true God and establishing piety on earth.
Each prophet was
sent to a particular group of people, like
Abraham, Noah, Joseph, Ishmael, Isaac, Elias,
Zakariah, Jonah, Moses, and Jesus (peace be
upon them all) (as well as many others). The
difference with the final prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) was that he was sent to the whole of
mankind and his message would continue until the
Day of Resurrection.
The essence of Islam is the acknowledgement of the
Lordship of Allah; that He alone is to be
worshipped and obeyed. The whole of creation
is His handiwork and thus should be respected and
cared for. That is why even when killing
animals for food, the Muslim mentions the name of
Allah, and so acknowledges the fact that this
animal is owned by Him and has been provided for
mankind out of His bounty. The Muslim
recognizes that nothing happens within creation
except by the knowledge and permission of Allah
and that there exists wisdom and knowledge far
beyond the reach of human beings. Indeed of
knowledge, we have only been given a little.
Hence there is no pride or arrogance as Allah
alone is the Sovereign Lord and one of the things,
which He dislikes is oppression. The Muslims
have been called upon to spread good relations,
honor the ties of the womb, help the poor and
oppressed and alleviate suffering. To help
the Muslims do this, Allah prescribed a way of
life for the human beings so that all their duties
and responsibilities in life could be fulfilled,
as well as their spiritual potential and the
development of their character.
Everything done in the life of a Muslim can be
regarded as an act of worship if it is done with
the intention of gaining the pleasure of Allah.
So learning, working, taking care of the family
and even the so-called mundane duties of life can
be turned into means of closeness to Allah, as
they are performed according to Islam and with the
intention of gaining closeness to Allah.
In His Infinite Mercy, Allah turned to mankind and
provided them with the necessary guidelines to
live by, in order to attain success in this life
and the next. Prohibitions from evil
and all that leads to it, and encouragement to do
good and establish piety have been prescribed and
clearly set out.
The Muslim must worship Allah alone, pray five
times a day, fast from dawn to sunset in the month
of Ramadan, pay Zakat (a percentage of ones'
wealth given to the poor), and perform Hajj
(pilgrimage to Makkah, if one is able to do so,
once in their life time). Along with these
basic pillars of Islam, the Muslim must follow the
laws of Allah which outline the duties and
responsibilities of family members, behavior in
society, business, etc including all aspects of
life. Every person has a trust, a role to
perform which binds society into a harmonious
unit. There are strict punishments for
murder, theft, adultery, oppression and vices,
which destroy the body and soul of man. How
many families have been destroyed because of
adultery? How many children suffer because
of that? How many people today live in
constant fear of being killed or robbed?
These laws were instituted to protect human beings
from evil.
The human being is regarded as a wondrous creation
of Allah and within each person resides an innate
nature that urges him/her to search for Allah
(God) , truth, peace, justice and all that is
good. Each child is born pure and no
one bears the sins o r burdens of another.
However, as the child grows, often this innate
nature becomes distorted according to environment
and education, but it remains deep within the
psyche of man, emerging from time to time
throughout life; responding to the individual's
desire to attain their spiritual potential and
closeness to Allah.
The relation between the body, mind and soul of
man is paid a lot of attention in Islam. Man
was created, prone to weakness and desires and so
a lot of spiritual strength is required to
overcome the evil in and around us. The struggle
between good and evil is ongoing. It
began in the beginning of time when satan refused
to bow down to Adam and acknowledge his
superiority and then again when satan tempted both
Adam and Eve until they were cast out of the
Gardens of Paradise. Allah forgave Adam and
Eve but the consequences of their actions was that
they were to live on the earth. Hence, the
beginning of mankind. Satan remains as the
enemy of mankind, having vowed to entrap as many
as possible in his evil designs but Allah promised
His help and protection to those who follow His
ways and trust in Him.
Islam prescribes many
forms of worship which help to develop spiritual
strength in man. For example, prayer five times a
day becomes a life line for the Muslim; a time to
stop the activities of life and remember the
bounties of Allah, His Mercy, Kindness and the
reality of the Day of Judgment. It requires
commitment and discipline and a high level of
personal cleanliness of both body and soul.
Also, fasting in Ramadan from dawn until sunset is
a rigorous feat that can only be performed by
those who are patient. It is not just
keeping away from food and drink, but controlling
the tongue, the desires and the urge to become
angry, gossip and all other kinds of evil.
There is also the pilgrimage to Makkah, which was
the first mosque erected in the history of
mankind, for the worship of Allah. It was
built by prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael and
continues to be visited by Muslims from all over
the world. People until today, travel to
Makkah in many ways. Some by plane, ship, motor
vehicle and still some walk and ride animals.
The atmosphere there is one of peace, love and
fear of Allah, seeking forgiveness of sins and
renewal. It is an event of great
spiritual and practical significance, as people
return from Hajj, refreshed and ready to face life
and its hardships, while striving to obey Allah
and establish piety of earth..
Contributed by : Velma
Cook, Australia
