Islam

In the name of Allah, the most graceous, the most compassionate

The single most important belief in Islam, and arguably the central theme of
Islam, is that there is only one God.
"And proclaim: Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who has
no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He (need for) any protecting friend through
dependence. (17:111)"
Muslims talk about ninety-nine attributes of Allah; a few are given in the
following verses of the Quran.
"And He is the Mighty, the Wise. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; He
gives life and He gives death; and He is able to do all things. He is the First and the Last,
and the Outward and the Inward; and He is the Knower of all things." (57:1-3)
"Allah is He, other than Whom there is no deity. He knows (all things) both secret and
open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Allah is He, other than Whom there is no deity;
the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace (and Perfection), the Guardian of
Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme: Glory
to Allah! (High is He) above the partners they attribute to Him. He is Allah the Creator,
the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (and Colors). To Him belong the Most Beautiful
Names: Whatever is the heavens and on earth, do declare His Praise and Glory; and He
is exalted in Might, the Wise." (59:22-24)
The only God to whom Islam invites everyone is inaccessible to the senses. He is
beyond the reach of eyesight nor is He open to touch.
Koran says in this respect:
"No vision can grasp Him but His grasp is over all vision.
He is above all comprehension yet Omniscient." (6:103)
Vision does not penetrate beyond colour and figure but God has neither one nor the
other . His glory is beyond the reach of vision and other senses in general.
Everything that man faces is either a phenomenon created by Allah or possesses a
characteristic endowed by Allah or is a system that runs and governs everything by
Allah's command.
Muslims believe in their prophet and his teachings; an example of these are:
"None of you is a perfect Muslim until he desires for his brother Muslim that which he
desires for himself." Reported by Anas Bin Malik and recorded by Imam Bukhari and
Muslim. (#183)
"God the Dignified has no mercy for one who has no mercy for others." Reported by

Jarir Ibn Abdullah and recorded by Imam Bukhari and Muslim. (#227)

That Infinite Existence, which is the support of the world of creation and the
Preserver of people, is Allah.

Man cannot attribute his existence and the system of his existence to the
environment in which he came into being. This is because the existence of the
above-mentioned environment and the system that governs it are not made by that
environment and have not evolved by chance and accident. When man sees that
the creation of objects is related and a unified system exists in the world, he is
forced to accept that the source of creation and manager of its system is no one
except Allah.

We see that all components of the world have complete relation and harmony with
one another and comprise a system. Thus, it must be said that there is no partner
for the Providence and Creator of the world.

The Almighty Allah Possesses All Attributes of Perfection.

The Almighty Allah is Just and Righteous, for justice is one of the attributes of
perfection.

Allah declares some of man's voluntary deeds religiously bad and evil and orders
man to refrain from doing them.

Sins include: polytheism, disobedience of parents, killing the innocent, drinking

alcoholic beverages, gambling, and any other acts which are against religious
obligations.

Sins are evil acts and are not attributed to Allah because they bear the title of
opposition to and rejection of obligation. If these acts are willingly performed by
religiously obligated people, then they will be attributed to these people, thus
making them responsible and subject to punishment.

The true Arabic meaning of the word jihad is struggle. However in Islam it is
often used to describe the striving in the way of god. There are many forms of
jihad but the most important ones are Jihad al-nafs (jihad against ones self), jihad
bil-lisan (jihad by being vocal), jihad bil yad (jihad by using action), and Jihad bis
saif (jihad by using the sword). Each jihad is ranked differently and it was
reported that Muhammad returned from a battle and said We have returned from
the lesser jihad (going into battle) to the greater jihad (the struggle of the soul).
This means that a Muslim struggling against himself and his soul is more
important than the jihad of going into war. Another misconception is that only
when a person dies in war does that person becomes a martyr. This is, however,
false and it is believed that anyone doing anything for the sake of god and is killed
becomes a martyr. A person who dies while performing pilgrimage in Mecca, a

woman who dies while giving birth, or even someone who dies in a car crash
while he was on his way to the mosque are all considered martyrs.

althought the religion teaches of many things, there remains an important rule that
there is no compulsion in the religion

Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error.
Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that never breaks. And Allah hears and knows all things. [Srah al-Baqarah:
256]

The 5 pillars of faith

The confession of faith (Shahda), i.e. the recitation of the 'Kalima' (=

word). "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger (apostle) of
Allah".

The first part is recited to confess that there is no God worthy of worship
and obedience than the one and only living God.

The second part affirms that Muhammad is the final and last prophet and
messenger of Allah.

The declaration of the Crees is the entrance to Islam. By virtue of

reciting it in Arabic a person becomes a Muslim.

Muslims believe that, although the prophets preached about the

same, only Muhammads words and actions are preserved correctly
up to today.

Prayer (Salat) [in arab. the 't' at the end is not pronounced].
This is the duty of every Muslim (able to do so). The prescribed ritual prayers five
times daily, at prescribed times, with the prescribed posture, have to be observed.
During these five prayers a fixed prayer-text must be recited seventeen times
altogether (twice in the morning; four times at noon; four times in the afternoon;
three times in the evening and four times at night). This is called by many Persian
and Indian Muslims 'namaz'.

The call to prayer signals that the time for prayer has arrived. The caller
faces the Qiblah (direction to Meccah) and raises both hands to his ears,
shouting: "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest). The second call announces
that the prayer is about to start.

The recitation of the five daily prayers is accompanied by precisely

regulated units of ritual. These units are called Rakah. (A Rakah is a
devotional act consisting of standing, bowing down, standing up, then

going down in prostration to the ground, sitting and prostrating again.)

Types of prayer:
Salat (the five daily prayer times)
Dua: private prayers when calling God personally either in Arabic or the
native language. Muslims raise their hands heavenwards in a sitting
position.

The giving of alms (Zakat) [again the 't' is not pronounced] is a religious duty and
should amount to not less than 2.5% of the income above ones needs.

Keeping the Fast during the month of Ramadaan (Sawm) is a duty for all,
except the sick, travellers, pregnant women, nursing mothers and children. The
fast is to last from the rising of the sun until sunset.

A good Muslim will fast during the month of Ramadan (9th month
of Islamic lunar calendar). During these 30 days a Muslim will
restrain from eating, drinking, sexual and other practices during
daylight.

People who are obliged to keep the fast during Ramadan:

All mentally and physically fit people, both men and women, once
they reach the age of adoloescence/puberty are obliged to keep the fast
during Ramadan.

People exempted from fasting:

sick people

those on a long journey

pregnant or menstruating women

breast-feeding women

Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

(Here I am at your service, oh Lord, here I am - here I am. No partner do you have. Here
I am. Truly, the praise and the favor are yours, and the dominion. No partner do you
have.) These are the words chanted by some two million people from across Saudi
Arabia and throughout the world heading, as if pulled by a magnet, to one single spot on
Earth. As has happened every year for 14 centuries, Muslim pilgrims gather in Makkah to
perform rituals based on those conducted by the Prophet Muhammad during his last visit
to the city.
Performing these rituals, known as the Hajj, is the fifth pillar of Islam and the most

significant manifestation of Islamic faith and unity. Undertaking the Hajj at least once is a
duty for Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey to Makkah.
The emphasis on financial ability is meant to ensure that a Muslim takes care of his
family first. The requirement that a Muslim be healthy and physically capable of
undertaking the pilgrimage is intended to exempt those who cannot endure the rigors of
extended travel.

Reference:
http://www.iiie.net/index.php?q=node/42
http://www.al-islam.org/islamic-teachings-in-brief-allamah-tabatabai/qurans-teachingsabout-creator-world#power-and-knowledge-allah
http://listverse.com/2009/07/10/top-10-misconceptions-about-islam/
http://www.saudiembassy.net/issues/hajj/
http://answering-islam.org/Nehls/tt1/tt6.html