Monday, March 31, 2008

The Prophet of Islam

Peace of God and His mercy to you.

I am preparing for an English translation of Prophet's Muhammad biography. I want to make sure that I cover the most important events in his life. Expect it before the end of this week :)

But now, I would like to write a brief about Muhammad. About his great character and personality.

The Tremendous Nature of Muhammad
Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him, was a great man, a great dad, a great friend, a great relative and a great husband. God praised him as he praised the other Prophets, Peace Be Upon Them, and He said in the Holy Quran:
And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. The Pen 68:4

Muhammad was a man of great wisdom. He said once to the believers who wanted to spread God's word:
You will not reach the people by your money, you will reach them by your good behavior.

Ali Bin Abi Taleb says about Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him:
He was the most giving, the most daring, the righteous, the fulfiller of promises, the kindest, the best companion, who saw him revered him, who got to know him loved him, and I have not seen nor I will see someone like him.

And it was said that a Jewish man came to the Caliphet Omar Bin Al Khattab and asked him:
"Tell me about your Prophet's virtues". And Omar told him that Bilal knew better than he did. When he went to Bilal, Bilal told him the Prophet's daughter, Fatima, knew better. And Fatima told him to see Ali that he knew better. And when the man asked Ali, Ali said: "Describe to me the best things in this life so I can describe him to you". The man said: "I am not able to do that". And Ali said: "You could not describe the best things in this life and God said it that the best things in life are few. So, how can you ask me to describe Muhammad's virtues and God said: "And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature."?"
God blessings to you and I hope I live to write my next post :)

Arabic Source: tibneen.com

Sunday, March 30, 2008

What is Islam?

Introduction
Islam is the last of the three religions of God which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. God created us to worship Him. And He sent Prophets to guide us. He sent Prophets who were people to guide people and to explain to them what God expects from them and to help them live life in the correct way.

Muslims believe that Islam continues what Judaism and Christianity called for and taught. So, they believe that Islam is a complete and a complement religion. It explained a lot of things related to life and how to worship God. It explained these in the Quran and in the sayings and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Islam Pillars
To be a true Muslim, we are asked to:
  1. believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God used by Arab Muslims and Christians) is the only God and that He has no sun nor a wife,
  2. believe that Muhammad is His Prophet,
  3. to worship God five times a day,
  4. to pay the Zakat (a calculated percentage of a Muslim's money paid in a year and is collected for the poor),
  5. to pilgrim to Mecca when able (once in a lifetime), and
  6. to fast in the month of Ramadan.
Not only Muslims do the above. We are asked to be great as Prophet Muhammad was in his behavior.
And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature. The Pen 68:4

We are asked to be kind as he was, to be merciful to animals, plants, humans and to even water not to waste it when doing Wudu (washing before prayers). Let me tell you stories you have never heard about him that talks about how he treated non-Muslims:
  • When he was calling his people to convert to Islam, they threw stones at him and called him names, still he was patient and did not do to them the same,
  • he visited a Jewish man when his son fall ill and asked about him, and talked to them about Islam and the son became a Muslim, and
  • there was a Jewish man who was not treating him well, and when this man died and the Prophet heard about it and followed his funeral and said to the people who asked why he did this: "Is not he a man?".

In his will, known as the Farewell Sermon, in his last pilgrimage, he said:
O People, listen well to my words, for I do not know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, and this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (riba), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabi`ah ibn al Harith ibn `Abd al Muttalib.

O Men, the Unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which God forbade, and to forbid that which God has made permissible. With God the months are twelve in number. Four of them are sacred, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Sha`ban. Beware of Shaitan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, perform your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your financial obligation. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or messenger will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things: the Qur’an and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people. Source: Wikipedia

A note worth mentioning
Like in other religions, you will find Muslims who do not follow Islam the right way. You may have seen a Muslim throwing garbage on the street, or heard a man treating his wife badly, or you read that a Muslim woman committed adultery, or that a Muslim hurt a man of another religion or ethnicity. Life has become full of stress and desires. And the Satan made many things look sweet, such as alcohol, smoking and gambling, and he drives people into losing their minds at times of anger and difficulty. The true Muslim is the one who is able to fight Satan and tries to not do what he wants him/her to fall into:
The devil promiseth you destitution and enjoineth on you lewdness. But Allah promiseth you forgiveness from Himself with bounty. Allah is All-Embracing, All-knowing. The Cow 2:268

Belief Pillars
To be a believer, a Muslim must:
  1. believe in God,
  2. believe in the Angels,
  3. believe in the Holy Books,
  4. believe in the Prophets,
  5. believe in the Day of Judgment, and
  6. believe in Fate whether good or bad.
What Muslims are expected to do in a day
Muslims should try to be the best in every aspect of their life. In other words, they should be people of good behavior who do good and refrain from doing harm:
But (as for) those who believe and do good works - We tax not any soul beyond its scope - Such are rightful owners of the Garden. They abide therein. Al-Araf 7:42
Thus, those who seek God's forgiveness must do good all the time, and must remember that God sees them. Those who did good and did very less bad things sure will go to Paradise:
Every soul will taste of death. And ye will be paid on the Day of Resurrection only that which ye have fairly earned. Whoso is removed from the Fire and is made to enter paradise, he indeed is triumphant. The life of this world is but comfort of illusion. Al Emran 3:185

In the end...
I hope I have been successful in offering you a good introduction into Islam. And I hope that I have helped you understand what Islam is.

Take care, and I hope that I be alive to write my next post :)

Who is the author of this blog? And why this blog?

My name is Khawla. I am from the United Arab Emirates and I am 23 years old. I am a devout Muslim who believes in God, in all the Prophets, in the Holy Books, in Angels, in Fate, and in the Day of Judgment.

The purpose of opening this blog is to clarify Islam to the blog readers. There are many misconceptions about Islam. I will try to clarify the many I know. And if you have any thing you want to know more about it in Islam you can contact me through my displayed e-mail address and I will post my response in here.

I am writing this blog fearing God, and doing my job as a Muslim to defend Islam. If any Muslim reader wants to help me in my job, please contact me.

And, please forgive me if you see something wrong in my grammar since English is my second language :)