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ISLAM
The term "Islam" means "submission" to the will of God,
and the person who submits is called a "Muslim."The
founder of Islam is Muhammad, who was born in 570 A.D. At
age 40 he claimed to begin receiving revelations from a
spirit being he believed was the angel Gabriel. These
later were recorded and became the Qur'an, Islam's
holy book.
There are two main divisions within Islam. The Sunnis are
followers of the political successors of Mohammed. The Shiites are
followers of Mohammed's family successors, all martyred at an early
age.
Islam teaches absolute monotheism and Mohammed's primacy
as God's last Prophet on Earth. Stress is on the brotherhood
of believers, non-difference of religious and secular life,
obedience to God's Law, abstinence from alcohol, good
conduct and the limitation of all except Allah. Today Islam
is the world's fastest-growing religion.
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Sometimes you will hear people say that Allah is another name for
the God of the Bible. Is it the same? "Allah" is the Arabic name for
God, and Arab Christians use the name Allah to describe the God of
the Bible. Mohammed taught that there is one true God who is the
same God that Jews and Christians ("the People of the Book")
worship. He began Islam on the foundation of the God of the Bible.
Islam began
on the foundation of belief in the one true God to combat the pagan
polytheism of the area. However, Mohammed departed from this
foundation, and Islam differ in their understanding of how God has fully
revealed Himself. In the Qur'an, Allah is a distant spiritual being,
but Yahweh is a Father to His children. Allah does not love
wrongdoers, but God demonstrates His love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. Allah has predetermined
everything about life; the God of the Bible invites us to share our
hearts with Him.
The primary goal of Islam is to enjoy eternal life, both physical
and spiritual, in heaven with Allah. Heaven is a paradise in which
all the joys and pleasures abound, in which one lives amid beautiful
gardens and fountains, enjoying the choicest foods served by sweet
maidens. Man is the noblest creation of God, ranking above the
angels. It is the sacred duty of Muslims to convert others to the
Islamic faith. Islam has an ardent conviction that it is the only
true religion, the only path to salvation. From this belief arises
an extraordinary zeal, to share the faith and to convert others. The
ideal human society is an Islamic theocracy.
Total submission to Allah is the single path to salvation, and
even that is no guarantee, for Allah may desire even a faithful soul
to experience misery. The good Muslim surrenders all pride, the
chief among sins, and follows explicitly the will of Allah as
revealed in the Koran by His last and greatest prophet, Mohammed.
This and this alone brings a full and meaningful life and avoids the
terrors of Hell which befall sinners and infidels.
Pilgrim, pilgrimage and road -- it
was but myself toward my Self,
and your arrival was but myself at my own door.
Attar
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