From: bv8bv8bv8@gmail.com   
      
   SEVEN COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM (PART 1 OF 2)   
      
      
   Description: Some of the most common questions asked about Islam. Part 1: What   
   is Islam?  What are Muslims?  Who is Allah?  Who is Muhammad?   
      
   1. WHAT IS ISLAM?   
      
   Islam is the name of the religion, or more properly the 'way of life', which   
   God (Allah) has revealed and which was practiced by all of the Prophets and   
   Messengers of God that He sent to mankind.  Even the name stands out unique   
   among other religions in    
   that it means a state of being; it does not refer to any particular person,   
   such as Christianity, Buddhism or Zoroastrianism; a tribe like Judaism; or a   
   nation like Hinduism.  The root Arabic word from which Islam is derived   
   implies peace, safety,    
   salutation, protection, blamelessness, wholesomeness, submission, acceptance,   
   surrender, and salvation.  Islam specifically means being in the state of   
   submission to God, worshipping Him Alone, and reverently accepting and obeying   
   His Law.  Through this    
   submission, the peace, security, and wholesome well-being implied in its   
   literal meaning is achieved.  Hence, a Muslim or Muslimah is a person (male or   
   female) in that state of submission.  A person's Islam weakens through sins,   
   ignorance, and wrong-   
   doing, and becomes nullified in totality by associating partners with God or   
   disbelieving in Him.   
      
   2. WHAT ARE MUSLIMS?   
      
   The Arabic word "Muslim" literally means "someone who is in a state of Islam   
   (submission to the will and law of God)".  The message of Islam is meant for   
   the entire world, and anyone who accepts this message becomes a Muslim.  Some   
   people mistakenly    
   believe that Islam is just a religion for Arabs, but nothing could be further   
   from the truth.  In actuality, over 80% of the world's Muslims are not Arabs!   
   Even though most Arabs are Muslims, there are Arabs who are Christians, Jews   
   and atheists.  If one    
   just takes a look at the various peoples who live in the Muslim World - from   
   Nigeria to Bosnia and from Morocco to Indonesia - it is easy enough to see   
   that Muslims come from all different races, ethnic groups, cultures and   
   nationalities.  Islam has    
   always been a universal message for all people.  This can be seen in the fact   
   that some of the early companions of the Prophet Muhammad were not only Arabs,   
   but also Persians, Africans and Byzantine Romans.  Being a Muslim entails   
   complete acceptance and    
   active obedience to the revealed teachings and laws of God the Exalted.  A   
   Muslim is a person who freely accepts basing his beliefs, values and faith on   
   the will of Almighty God.  In the past, even though you do not see it as much   
   today, the word "   
   Mohammedans" was often used as a label for Muslims.  This label is a misnomer,   
   and is the result of either willful distortion or sheer ignorance.  One of the   
   reasons for the misconception is that Europeans were taught for centuries that   
   Muslims    
   worshipped the Prophet Muhammad in the same way that Christians worship   
   Jesus.  This is absolutely not true, since one is not considered a Muslim if   
   he worships anyone or anything besides God the Exalted.   
      
   3. WHO IS ALLAH?   
      
   Often one hears the Arabic word "Allah" being used in discussions regarding   
   Islam.  The word "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for Almighty God, and is   
   the same word used by Arabic speaking Christians and Jews.  As a matter of   
   fact, the word Allah was in    
   use far before the word God ever came into existence, since English is a   
   relatively new language.  If one were to pick up an Arabic translation of the   
   Bible, one would see the word "Allah" being use where the word "God" is used   
   in English.  For instance,    
   Arabic speaking Christians say that Jesus is, according to their canon belief,   
   the Son of Allah.  In addition, the Arabic word for Almighty God, "Allah", is   
   quite similar to the word for God in other Semitic languages.  For example,   
   the Hebrew word for    
   God is "Elah".  For various reasons, some non-Muslims mistakenly believe that   
   Muslims worship a different God than the God of Moses and Abraham and Jesus.    
   This is certainly not the case, since the Pure Monotheism of Islam calls all   
   people to the worship    
   of the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and all the other prophets, peace be   
   upon them.   
      
   4. WHO IS MUHAMMAD?   
      
   The last and final prophet whom God sent to humanity was the Prophet Muhammad,   
   may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him.  At the age of forty, he   
   received the revelation from God.  He then spent the remaining portion of his   
   life explaining, and    
   living the teachings of Islam, the religion that God revealed to him.  The   
   Prophet Muhammad is the greatest of all prophets for many reasons, but   
   primarily because he was chosen by God to be the last prophet - whose mission   
   to guide humanity would    
   continue until the Last Day - and because he has been sent as a mercy to all   
   of mankind.  The result of his mission has brought more people into the pure   
   belief in One God than any other prophet.  Since the beginning of time, God   
   sent prophets to the    
   earth, each one to his own specific nation.  The Prophet Muhammad, however,   
   was sent as the final Messenger to all of humanity.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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