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The history of Islam


Islam is derived from the Arabic word "salaama" and has a two-fold meaning:
peace, and submission to God. This submission requires a fully conscious and
keen effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must intentionally and
conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah. It is a universal religion
and its objective is to create and cultivate in man the quality and approach of
Islam. The faith of this religion is the oneness and sovereignty of God, which
has shaped and looked upon all human races as one family. Islam is against the
idea that there are privileged people. Islam stands for the equality of all
humanity without any discrimination on the basis of race, caste, sex, place of
birth etc. Unlike other living things human beings have thinking potential and
so they are invited to summit to the goodwill of God and obey His law i.e.
become a Muslim. Anyone who follows Islam is known as Muslim. The word "Muslim"
is originated from the Arabic word signifying a person totally devoted to the
will of
the God. And the word "Allah" meaning "the one True God" is also of Arabic
origin. The history of Islam centers around Muhammad (messenger of god). He was
born around 570 A.D. and was brought up by his extended family after the death
of his parents. As he grew, he became discontented with polytheism and came to
believe in one God, Allah. He began to have religious visions around age 40.
During these visions, Muhammad would receive "messages" or "revelations" from
God. He would memorize them and teach them to his followers. These visions are
now recorded in the holy Qur'an (or Koran). Muhammad continued to receive these
visions until his death in 632 A.D. The Quran has 114 suras. The Quran is
believed to be the last revealed word of Allah and the basic source of Islamic
teachings and laws. The Quran covers a variety of issues such as creeds,
morality, history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, good-man
relationship, and human relationship in all aspects. Comprehensive teaching on
which can be built
sound systems of social justice, economics, politics, legislation,
jurisprudence, law and international relations, are important contents of the
Quran. The complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of 'Allah' as
recorded in the Quran is the religion of Islam. Islam preaches faith in the
oneness and sovereignty of Allah, which makes man aware of the meaningfulness of
the Universe and of his place in it. This belief frees him from all fears and
superstitions by making him conscious of the presence of the Almighty Allah and
of man's obligations towards Him. This faith must be expressed and tested in
action. Faith alone is not enough. Islam religion has five pillars, essentially
to be followed by every good Muslim, and they are: (1) confession of faith in
God and in Muhammad as God's messenger (2) daily prayer at the five appointed
times (3) fasting during the month of Ramadan (4) paying an alms-tax and giving
charity to the poor and (5) pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and its sacred
shrine, the
Kaaba. Islam protects all the human rights: rights to life, liberty, freedom,
equality, and justice and above this one of the basic concern is the security of
the person. Islam teaches that the closest to Allah and the most beloved of
Allah are those who are the best in piety. Thus all people, male and female, and
regardless of race, color, nationality or ethnicity, are considered and treated
as equal before Allah and before the law. Today Islamic religion has become the
second largest religion in the world. Muslim occupies 20% of all the people of
the world. In today's world racism, prejudice and discrimination have become a
widespread problem of the entire mankind. Islam, for the last 1400 years has
tried to end this discrimination and a unique example of oneness and brotherhood
of all mankind can be seen clearly during the Hajj. Islam has established a
universal brotherhood. It has stressed that a true brotherhood can be
established only by virtue of mankind's strong relationship with one another
through
Allah


For more information about Islam:

http://www.freewebtown.com/saael/1.html
http://www.aboutme.com/users/abobakr/11.html


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