What is Islam? (part 2 of 4) : The Origins of Islam

But where does the message of Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, fit in with the previous messages revealed by God?  A brief history of the prophets might clear this point.

The first human, Adam, followed Islam, in that he directed worship to God alone and none else and abided by His commandments.  But through the passage of time and the dispersal of humanity throughout the earth, people strayed from this message and began directing worship to others instead of or along with God.  Some took to worshipping the pious who passed away amongst them, while others took to worshipping spirits and forces of nature.  It was then that God started to send messengers to humanity steering them back to the worship of God Alone, which accorded to their true nature, and warning them of the grave consequences of directing any type of worship to others besides Him.

The first of these messengers was Noah, who was sent to preach this message of Islam to his people, after they had started to direct worship to their pious forefathers along with God.  Noah called his people to leave the worship of their idols, and ordered them to return to the worship of God Alone.  Some of them followed the teachings of Noah, while the majority disbelieved in him.  Those who followed Noah were followers of Islam, or Muslims, while those that did not, remained in their disbelief and were seized with a punishment for doing so.

After Noah, God sent messengers to every nation who had strayed from the Truth, to steer them back to it.  This Truth was the same throughout time: to reject all objects of worship and to direct all worship without exception to God and none else, the Creator and Lord of all, and to abide by His commandments.  But as we mentioned before, because each nation differed in regards to their way of life, language, and culture, specific messengers were sent to specific nations for a specific time period.

God sent messengers to all nations, and to the Kingdom of Babylon He sent Abraham –  one of the earliest and greatest prophets –  who called his people to reject the worship of the idols to which they were devoted.  He called them to Islam, but they rejected him and even tried to kill him.  God put Abraham through many tests, and he proved true to all of them.  For his many sacrifices, God proclaimed that he would raise from amongst his progeny a great nation and choose prophets from amongst them.  Whenever people from his progeny started to stray away from the Truth, which was to worship none but God alone and to obey His commandments, God sent them another messenger steering them back to it.

Consequently, we see that many prophets were sent amongst the progeny of Abraham, such as his two sons Isaac and Ishmael, along with Jacob (Israel), Joseph, David, Solomon, Moses, and of course, Jesus, to mention a few, may the peace and blessings of God be upon them all.  Each prophet was sent to the Children of Israel (the Jews) when they went astray from the true religion of God, and it became obligatory upon them to follow the messenger which was sent to them and obey their commandments.  All of the messengers came with the same message, to reject worship of all other beings except God Alone and to obey His commandments.  Some disbelieved in the prophets, while others believed.  Those that believed were followers of Islam, or Muslims.

From amongst the messengers was Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, from the progeny of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, who was sent as a messenger in succession to Jesus.  Muhammad preached the same message of Islam as the previous prophets and messengers – to direct all worship to God Alone and none else and to obey His commandments – in which the followers of the previous prophets went astray.

So as we see, the Prophet Muhammad was not the founder of a new religion, as many people mistakenly think, but he was sent as the Final Prophet of Islam.  By revealing His final message to Muhammad, which is an eternal and universal message for all of mankind, God finally fulfilled the covenant that He made with Abraham.

Just as it was incumbent upon the those who were alive to follow the message of the last of the succession of prophets which was sent to them, it becomes incumbent upon all of humanity to follow the message of Muhammad.  God promised that this message would remain unchanged and fit for all times and places.  Suffice is it to say that the way of Islam is the same as the way of the prophet Abraham, because both the Bible and the Quran portray Abraham as a towering example of someone who submitted himself completely to God and directed worship to Him alone and none else, and without any intermediaries.  Once this is realized, it should be clear that Islam has the most continuous and universal message of any religion, because all prophets and messengers were “Muslims”, i.e. those who submitted to God’s will, and they preached “Islam”, i.e. submission to the will of Almighty God by worshipping Him Alone and obeying His commandments.

So we see that those who call themselves Muslims today do not follow a new religion; rather they follow the religion and message of all prophets and messengers which were sent to humanity by God’s command, also known as Islam.  The word “Islam” is an Arabic word which literally means “submission to God”, and Muslims are those who willfully submit to and actively obey God, living in accordance with His message.

Moslima's Hijab Quotes

 Hijab is a symbol of modesty it includes the way a person walk, talks, looks and thinks, All of it should be done modestly and applies to both Men and Women. and its to protect yourself from evil eye.
 Islam is not only a religion but it is also a way of life and Hijab is a part of it. 
 Hijab really increase the beauty of a women. wearing hijab is covering your body from devil eyes but this act has became the fashion nowadays and this fashion trend is followed by millions of Muslims throughout the world.
 I believe if a women is showing her body means she wants someone to be inspired by her figure not by her character and any of you guys can think yourself what will last forever? character or figure ? This time i din’t mention any religious reference or anything else but its a simple fact.
Well today i am sharing some Beautiful Muslim Hijab Quotes and Sayings for men and women. Read This inspiration quotes and do share your favorite quote with me.

* It is not the cloth that oppresses the women, it is the illiterate mind.

* Hijab isn’t hiding your beauty with tight cloths, Its how you handle your beauty for the sake of God.

* Judge me by whats in my head not whats on my head

* Hijab isn’t just what you’re wearing but it’s also what you do and say.

* Sisters, The sun doesn’t lose its beauty when it’s covered by the clouds. The same way your beauty doesn’t fade when you’re wearing hijab.

* Be like a diamond precious & Rare. not like a stone found everywhere.

* Everything precious is covered!!! A woman modestly dressed is like a pearl in it’s shell.

* If a Woman has the right to show of what she has, then she also has the right to cover it up too.

* Modestly is the way you deal with beauty. Not how you avoid it.

*My Hijab is my dignity, my respect, and my honour, and i will never ever trade it for this temporary world.

* If Modernism is being naked then animals are more modern than humans.

* Hijab forces a man to look at a woman with respect rather than as an object.

* Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience

* All Praises be to ALLAH who guided me to wear Hijab.

* I am satisfied that my religion commands me to cover my body why is my hijab you problem ?

Stories of New Muslims : Sally, Ex-Catholic, Philippines

I was brought up in a devout Catholic family and raised with Catholic values and traditions.  At fifteen, I entered the monastery.  While inside the monastery, I was happy because I could perform my duties as a nun and the people around me including my family were also pleased with me.

 Until such time when I began to ask myself every night, “What am I doing here inside the monastery?“ I stayed in our small and humble chapel and started to ask God if he is really listening to me, because I had learned in our catechism that god is present in the blessed sacrament.

 Many question were lingering my mid.  Doubts were cropping up particularly concerning the reality of Jesus Christ.  However, I did not have the courage to ask the priest nor my co-nuns who were with me that time.  I was so afraid that they might take it against me.

 So I let all doubts linger.  I even allowed myself to profess my first temporary vows.  I kept renewing it every year for TEN YEARS! Until such time I could not take it anymore; my perpetual vows of chastity and poverty; professing the Jesus Christ as my God; and that he is Lord and son of God.

I started to pray harder, asking God for guidance and to show me the right path.

If I were to leave the monastery, it would bring great pain to my mother! My father actually didn’t mind if I leave the church and have my own family.

 But I did not want to hurt my family, particularly my mother, my two brothers who are both priests, and my four sisters who happen to be all nuns!

 Above all, I do not want to be a hypocrite and pretend that I am happy practicing something which is against my underlying principle.

 So I did not submit my application letter of perpetual profession.  I talked to my superior general, informing her that I am leaving the monastery.

 Without informing my family, I left to find a work to survive.  After awhile I met a close friend of mine who is a priest and offered me to work with him in his church in Marawi City, as a parish coordinator.

 Incidentally, my family heard the news that I left the church, and it was very hard for them to accept the fact.  But they were hoping that one day I might come bask to serve the church.

 While working as parish coordinator, the priest who hired me was not treating me so well.

He did not even pay me salary and he tried to sexually abuse me.  But, thank God, he was not successful with his evil intentions.

 Again I started to pray asking God to be with me and to make me happy, because I have never been at peace with my life.  My heart and mind were miserable.

 A New Day

 On June 17, 2001, early morning, I heard a beautiful sound but I did not understand what it was.  I thought it was coming from the mosque nearby.  As soon as I heard the sound, I felt like I was dipped in refreshing water.  I cannot explain the feeling.

 That day I felt happiness entering my heart, even though I did not understand what I heard.  After hearing this amazing sound, I said to myself these few words, “There is a new day, there is new beginning.”

 I woke up that morning asking what the sound was and they told me it was call for prayers of the Muslims.  Strange! I came to this city (Marawi) on the first week of May 2001, but I could hardly hear the sound until one morning of June 2001.

 That day I decided to find out about Islam and the Muslims.  I started to research through reading books until I finally left my work.  I went back to my family in Pampanga and found out that my father had already passed away.

 I was depressed for a while, but I did not stop researching Islam.  So I went back to Manila hoping to find someone to explain to me about Islam.  In my heart, I was ready to embrace Islam but I did not know how!

 I did not give up, I search on internet.  I went to the extent of joining chatting rooms, hoping to find a Muslim who can enlighten me about Islam.

 On June 16, 2004, I met the brother in Manila.  He started to explain about Islam.  On the day, I declared;

 La ilaha illalah muhammadur rasulullah wa ‘isa ibnu maryam abdullahi wa rasuli (There is no god worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger and that Jesus son of Mary, is a slave and messenger of Allah.)

That fateful day, I finally found a new home, the home of Islam: a home where you can find love, happiness and joy.  Now I can smile, a smile that comes from my heart.  On that day, I slept very well.

 Every time I pray, I cry, not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy.  A joy which money cannot buy.  It is indescribable.

 Now I remember when I had a conversation with my grandfather who is aCatholic priest ( my mother’s uncle) He said; “If you want to change your religion, go back to Islam!” God is Great!

May Allah open the hearts of my family to the light of Islam, and may he protect us from Satan.  Amen.

O brother and sister Muslims! Include me in your prayers!

What is Islam ? (part 1 of 4) : The Core of Islam

Among the blessings and favors that God has bestowed upon humanity is that He endowed them with an innate ability to recognize and acknowledge His existence.  He placed this awareness deep in their hearts as a natural disposition that has not changed since human beings were first created.  Furthermore, He reinforced this natural disposition with the signs that he placed in creation that testify to His existence.  However, since it is not possible for human beings to have a detailed knowledge of God except through revelation from Himself, God sent His Messengers to teach the people about their Creator Who they must worship.  These Messengers also brought with them the details of how to worship God, because such details cannot be known except by way of revelation.  These two fundamentals were the most important things that the Messengers of all the divine revelations brought with them from God.  On this basis, all the divine revelations have had the same lofty objectives, which are:

1.    To affirm the Oneness of God - the praised and glorified Creator – in His essence and His attributes.

2.    To affirm that God alone should be worshipped and that no other being should be worshipped along with Him or instead of Him.

3.    To safeguard human welfare and oppose corruption and evil.  Thus, everything that safeguards faith, life, reason, wealth and lineage are part of this human welfare that religion protects.  On the other hand, anything that endangers these five universal needs is a form of corruption that religion opposes and prohibits.

4.    To invite the people to the highest level of virtue, moral values, and noble customs.

The ultimate goal of every Divine Message has always been the same: to guide the people to God, to make them aware of Him, and to have them worship Him alone.  Each Divine Message came to strengthen this meaning, and the following words were repeated on the tongues of all the Messengers: “Worship God, you have no god other than Him.” This message was conveyed to humanity by prophets and messengers which God sent to every nation.  All of these messengers came with this same message, the message of Islam.

All the Divine Messages came to bring the life of the people into willing submission to God.  For this reason, they all share the name of “Islam”, or “submission” derived from the same word as “Salam”, or “peace”, in Arabic.  Islam, in this sense, was the religion of all the prophets, but why does one see different variations of the religion of God if they all emanated from the same source?  The answer is twofold.   

The first reason is that as a result of the passage of time, and due to the fact that previous religions were not under the Divine protection of God, they underwent much change and variation.  As a result, we see that the fundamental truths which were brought by all messengers now differ from one religion to another, the most apparent being the strict tenet of the belief and worship of God and God alone.

The second reason for this variation is that God, in His infinite Wisdom and eternal Will, decreed that all the divine missions prior to the final message of Islam brought by Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, be limited to a specific time frame.  As a result, their laws and methodologies dealt with the specific conditions of the people whom they had been sent to address.

Humanity has passed through numerous periods of guidance, misguidance, integrity, and deviation, from the most primitive age to the heights of civilization.  Divine guidance accompanied humanity through all of this, always providing the appropriate solutions and remedies.

This was the essence of the disparity that existed between the different religions.  This disagreement never went beyond the particulars of the Divine Law.  Each manifestation of the Law addressed the particular problems of the people it was meant for.  However, the areas of agreement were significant and many, such as fundamentals of faith; the basic principles and objectives of the Divine Law, such as protecting faith, life, reason, wealth, and lineage and establishing justice in the land; and certain fundamental prohibitions, some of the most important of these being idolatry, fornication, murder, theft, and giving false witness.  Moreover, they also agreed upon moral virtues like honesty, justice, charity, kindness, chastity, righteousness, and mercy.  These principles as well as others are permanent and lasting; they are the essence of all the Divine Messages and bind them all together.