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Islam
Islam has always appealed to a certain kind of person irrespective of his religious or cultural background the sincere and open-minded human being who has not lost hope of eventually knowing the truth, which will satisfy his soul. Islam refuses to accept any form of creation whatsoever as a deity worthy of worship. Nothing is worthy of worship except Allah who created the heavens and the earth and all that is contained in it not stone idols or fire, not heavenly bodies such as the sun and moon, not animals, not angels, and not other men, including prophets.
Islam is not a new religion but the continuation and culmination of preceding monotheistic religion the same truth revealed by God to every prophet. Islam means submission to the will of God. Islam is not as it is represented in the popular media, nor is it Arab culture, nor is it a religion in the sense of mere private conviction or speculation concerning the state of existence. Islam is the religion of peace: its meaning is peace; one of God's names is peace; the daily greetings of Muslims and angels are peace; paradise is the house of peace, the adjective 'Muslim' means Peaceful. Peace is the nature, the meaning, the erablem and the objective of Islam. Every being is entitled to enjoy the peace of Islam and the kindness of the peaceful Muslims, regardless of religious or geographical or racial considerations.
God is completely just and merciful, and His laws are just for all people regardless of nationality, color or social status. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred, whether or not a person is Muslim.
The word militant means “aggressively active.” In my opinion both have had there moments of hostility. The Christians had the Crusades and the Muslims have had all the problems in Middle East area, one group disliking the other or fighting over land. In that aspect the Islamic culture is ahead. In the ways of trying to put the views of their culture onto others, Christians have to take the cake, with all the flyers and such. Trying to force their beliefs onto you. Islam is never really pushed down on you. I think they both have there moments, it is just how you look at it.
The Five Pillars of Islam
Shahadah
The concept of "no deity except God" is always alive in the Muslim's heart. They recognize that God alone is the Creator, that they alone is the Provider and Sustainer, that they are the true Reality, the source of all things - of all benefit and harm. This requires that He be worshiped and obeyed.
Prophet Muhammad is the spokesman for God by his authority. Muhammad's duty was not only to deliver the message, which God revealed, but also to explain it and put it into practice as an example to be followed by mankind. Thus, the Qur'an and the sunnah (the Prophet's sayings and examples) are the two main sources of Islamic law.
In the Qur'an, God has made obedience to the Prophet incurabent upon the believers. The teachings of Prophet Muhammad are available today in the form of hadith. Scholars have carefully scrutinized the reliability of the transmitters of these traditions, accepting only those hadiths whose chain of narrators is known to be completely reliable and sound.
Salah
No other form of worship can be compared to prayer (salah), for it is the basis of religion, without which there is no religion. The earlier prophets and their followers practiced prayer in some form as an essential part of the religion of God. Islam, which is the final stage, the completion and confirmation of monotheistic religion considers prayer essential, and its denial removes one from the ranks of Islam.
Obligatory prayers are performed five times a day and are a direct link between the worshiper and God. There is no hierarchical authority or priesthood in Islam, so a person learned in the Qur’an leaRAB group prayers. These prayers, whether performed in congregation or individually, contain verses from the Qur'an and are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation itself. Personal supplication can be offered in one's own language.
Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. Although it is preferable for men to pray together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in the field, office, factory or university. In fact, visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.
Zakah
One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God and that human beings in trust therefore hold wealth. The word zakah means both purification and growth. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakah individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of the capital in excess of one's basic neeRAB. One may also give as much as he or she pleases in voluntary charity (sadaqah), seeking additional reward. This is preferably done in secret. Although the word "sadaqah" can be translated as charity, it has a wider meaning.
Siyam
Fasting, which involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and marital intercourse, is observed throughout the daylight hours of the 29 or 30 days of the lunar month of Ramadhan in obedience to God's command. This teaches the believers patience and self-control, as well as reminding them of their responsibility for the millions of human beings in the world who lack provisions or are victims of their unjust distribution.
The month of fasting is accompanied by increased efforts toward good manners and righteous deeRAB, along with additional worship at night. It is not a retreat from life, but rather, a supplement to one's ordinary activities.
Hajj
Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. Nevertheless, about two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe, providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, their nuraber increases in the twelfth month of the Islamic year, when hajj takes place. (Because the Islamic calendar is based upon lunar months, hajj and Ramadhan fall sometimes in summer and sometimes in winter.) Pilgrims wear special clothing - simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture - so that all stand equal before God.
The Islam culture is that is rich with discipline and belief. For those that believe it is not just something you do every Sunday, it is lived.
Islam has always appealed to a certain kind of person irrespective of his religious or cultural background the sincere and open-minded human being who has not lost hope of eventually knowing the truth, which will satisfy his soul. Islam refuses to accept any form of creation whatsoever as a deity worthy of worship. Nothing is worthy of worship except Allah who created the heavens and the earth and all that is contained in it not stone idols or fire, not heavenly bodies such as the sun and moon, not animals, not angels, and not other men, including prophets.
Islam is not a new religion but the continuation and culmination of preceding monotheistic religion the same truth revealed by God to every prophet. Islam means submission to the will of God. Islam is not as it is represented in the popular media, nor is it Arab culture, nor is it a religion in the sense of mere private conviction or speculation concerning the state of existence. Islam is the religion of peace: its meaning is peace; one of God's names is peace; the daily greetings of Muslims and angels are peace; paradise is the house of peace, the adjective 'Muslim' means Peaceful. Peace is the nature, the meaning, the erablem and the objective of Islam. Every being is entitled to enjoy the peace of Islam and the kindness of the peaceful Muslims, regardless of religious or geographical or racial considerations.
God is completely just and merciful, and His laws are just for all people regardless of nationality, color or social status. The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred, whether or not a person is Muslim.
The word militant means “aggressively active.” In my opinion both have had there moments of hostility. The Christians had the Crusades and the Muslims have had all the problems in Middle East area, one group disliking the other or fighting over land. In that aspect the Islamic culture is ahead. In the ways of trying to put the views of their culture onto others, Christians have to take the cake, with all the flyers and such. Trying to force their beliefs onto you. Islam is never really pushed down on you. I think they both have there moments, it is just how you look at it.
The Five Pillars of Islam
Shahadah
The concept of "no deity except God" is always alive in the Muslim's heart. They recognize that God alone is the Creator, that they alone is the Provider and Sustainer, that they are the true Reality, the source of all things - of all benefit and harm. This requires that He be worshiped and obeyed.
Prophet Muhammad is the spokesman for God by his authority. Muhammad's duty was not only to deliver the message, which God revealed, but also to explain it and put it into practice as an example to be followed by mankind. Thus, the Qur'an and the sunnah (the Prophet's sayings and examples) are the two main sources of Islamic law.
In the Qur'an, God has made obedience to the Prophet incurabent upon the believers. The teachings of Prophet Muhammad are available today in the form of hadith. Scholars have carefully scrutinized the reliability of the transmitters of these traditions, accepting only those hadiths whose chain of narrators is known to be completely reliable and sound.
Salah
No other form of worship can be compared to prayer (salah), for it is the basis of religion, without which there is no religion. The earlier prophets and their followers practiced prayer in some form as an essential part of the religion of God. Islam, which is the final stage, the completion and confirmation of monotheistic religion considers prayer essential, and its denial removes one from the ranks of Islam.
Obligatory prayers are performed five times a day and are a direct link between the worshiper and God. There is no hierarchical authority or priesthood in Islam, so a person learned in the Qur’an leaRAB group prayers. These prayers, whether performed in congregation or individually, contain verses from the Qur'an and are said in Arabic, the language of the revelation itself. Personal supplication can be offered in one's own language.
Prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall and thus determine the rhythm of the entire day. Although it is preferable for men to pray together in a mosque, a Muslim may pray almost anywhere, such as in the field, office, factory or university. In fact, visitors to the Muslim world are struck by the centrality of prayers in daily life.
Zakah
One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God and that human beings in trust therefore hold wealth. The word zakah means both purification and growth. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.
Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakah individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of the capital in excess of one's basic neeRAB. One may also give as much as he or she pleases in voluntary charity (sadaqah), seeking additional reward. This is preferably done in secret. Although the word "sadaqah" can be translated as charity, it has a wider meaning.
Siyam
Fasting, which involves abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and marital intercourse, is observed throughout the daylight hours of the 29 or 30 days of the lunar month of Ramadhan in obedience to God's command. This teaches the believers patience and self-control, as well as reminding them of their responsibility for the millions of human beings in the world who lack provisions or are victims of their unjust distribution.
The month of fasting is accompanied by increased efforts toward good manners and righteous deeRAB, along with additional worship at night. It is not a retreat from life, but rather, a supplement to one's ordinary activities.
Hajj
Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah is an obligation only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. Nevertheless, about two million people go to Makkah each year from every corner of the globe, providing a unique opportunity for those of different nations to meet one another. Although Makkah is always filled with visitors, their nuraber increases in the twelfth month of the Islamic year, when hajj takes place. (Because the Islamic calendar is based upon lunar months, hajj and Ramadhan fall sometimes in summer and sometimes in winter.) Pilgrims wear special clothing - simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture - so that all stand equal before God.
The Islam culture is that is rich with discipline and belief. For those that believe it is not just something you do every Sunday, it is lived.