Archive-name: islam-faq/part3
Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 1995/3/27 Version: 3.3 Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Copyright 1993,1994,1995 Asim Mughal (mughal@caltech.edu) Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format prohibited without explicit written permission of the author. Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and attribution. Frequently Asked Questions: Part 3 __________________________________ This message is automatically posted to 'soc.religion.islam' every month and when updated. This lists answers to most commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes are requested and should be directed to: mughal@caltech.edu OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index. Part 1 - Welcome & Index Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups Part 3 - Introduction to Islam Part 4 - God & Worship Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH) Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam Part 7 - Women In Islam Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in Islam Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on Internet Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994 Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods ________________________________________________________ PART 3: Introduction to Islam III&E Brochure Series; No. 1 (published by The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) and reproduced with permission) Contents --Articles-- 1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ from III&E 2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ from III&E 3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... from III&E 4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ from III&E 5. Source of Islam ................................................ from III&E 6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ from III&E 7. Practices of Islam ............................................. from III&E 8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... from III&E 9. Non-Muslims .................................................... from III&E --Announcements-- 10. Archive Info .............................................................. 11. Credits ................................................................... Articles ..................................................................... 1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ from III&E The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe. 2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ from III&E The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities. An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an, namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language. While there are one 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 twenty percent of the Muslim population of the world. 3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... from III&E Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last, and others. He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Him and they seek His help and His guidance. 4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ from III&E Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam. Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to inform them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity. He was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an. 5. Source of Islam ................................................ from III&E The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims. 6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ from III&E A. Oneness of God: He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which implies more than one God in one. B. Oneness of mankind: People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no superiority for one race over another. God made us of different colors, nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others. No one can claim that he is better than others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety and righteousness. C. Oneness of Messengers and the Message: Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them. Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam. D. Angels and the Day of Judgment: Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels created by God in the universe for special missions. Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment. E. Innocence of Man at Birth: Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after they reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can take the responsibility for the sins of others. However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is always open. F. State and Religion: Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as educational and political systems are also part of the teachings of Islam. 7. Practices of Islam ............................................. from III&E God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars, namely: A. Creed (Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only One God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of Islam. B. Prayers (Salat): The performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims. C. Fasting (Saum): Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan. D. Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property which is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries. E. Pilgrimage (Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the trials and tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son Prophet Ishmael. 8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... from III&E A. Calendar: Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration (Higra) year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623 C.E. B. Celebrations (Eid): Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of =46ast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. C. Diets: Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the health. It restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narcotic or addictive drugs. D. Place of Worship: The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house, an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray individually anywhere. E. Holidays: The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the congregational prayer. F. Distribution of Muslims in North America: There are approximately five million Muslims in North America and are distributed in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others. G. Contributions in North America: Muslims are not established in North America. Sears Tower and the John Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief architect, originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established academic institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and places of worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and among other groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims is very minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and they have added to the success of American scientific and technological fields. The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics, algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance of Europe and world civilization. 9. Non-Muslims .................................................... from III&E Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God conscious people, namely those who received messages. Christians and Jews are called People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the People of the Book for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work together for the solutions of the many problems in the society. Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout centuries in the Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The second Caliph Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not to give the Muslims an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims, and as such the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims. Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed positions of power and authority. Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were protected by Muslims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East. Announcements ................................................................ 10. Archive Info .............................................................. This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web. -- Anonymous FTP -- Login: anonymous Password: Your e-mail address Site: rtfm.mit.edu Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/ Site: ftp.uu.net Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/ Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/ -- E-MAIL -- Send E-mail to: mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu Text of E-mail Message: send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/part3 quit -- GOPHER -- Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70 Path: Computing Information/ CCO anonymous ftp archive/ pub/ calmsa/ islam-faq/ Site: latif.com 70 Path: Resources relating to Islam/ Soc.Religion.Islam -- World-Wide-Web (WWW) -- One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.' URL at USENET Archive site: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html URL at Caltech MSA site: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html 11. Credits ................................................................... The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any capacity for the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ. -- SOURCES -- The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ is from brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic form by Ms.M.Ahmed. The information on soc.religion.islam forum (in Part 2) has been compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel. What is III&E? III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & Education which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The III&E is registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization. More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O. Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-7199; or Tel: (312) 777-7443. -- FORMAT -- The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing resources of Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, Nebula, written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been used. What is IINN? Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to educate the network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an academic & non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on internet by subscribing to MUSLIMS@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) and on USENET: bit.listserv.muslims. -- Permissions -- Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained by the following: o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E) o Islamic Information & News Network (Muslims@PSUVM.bitnet) o Moderator(s) of Soc.Religion.Islam (Br.Nauman Mysorewala) o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang) o Moderator(s) of Soc.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang) # End of Islam FAQ Part 3 # User Contributions: 1 Star Wars Home Theatre ![]() Oct 3, 2019 @ 3:15 pm pypb km Starwars Wars youtube.com/watch?v=KgUoGsWrFEs Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Part9 - Part10 - Part11 - Part12 - Part13 - Part14 - Part15 [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: mughal@alumni.caltech.edu (Asim Mughal)
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