'Introduction to Islam'

[benben]

In the Name of God; the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Islam in less than 500 words
Sh. Mansour Leghaei

1. In the ISLAMIC beginning…
· In the Name of God the Most Compassionate the Most Merciful

2. Islamic Greetings
· Salamun Alaykum: Peace be upon you

3. What is Islam and who is a Muslim?
· Islam literally means: Submission or surrendering to God
· Muslim is a person who believes in ‘Islam’.

4. The Emergence of Islam
· Literally Islam began with the first prophet; Adam.
· In its complete sense, Islam began with the first revelation to Prophet Muhammad in
25 June 610 AD at the age of 40 ( Muhammad was born in 28 April 570 AD)

5. The Main Sources of Knowledge in Islam:
· The Holy Quran
· The Hadith (sayings and practical life of the Prophet Muhammad)

6. The bedrock of Islam:
· In Theory: Faith in One God, Hereafter and Prophets.
· In Practice: Righteous Deeds

7. Main Beliefs
· Monotheism: believing in Unique God who does not beget nor is He begotten.
· Justice of God: believing that God is neither cruel nor unfair.
· Prophecy: believing in all God’s Messengers from Adam to Muhammad
· Successors of the Prophet: Imam Ali and his 11 offspring
· Resurrection: believing in the day of Judgment: Eternity in Hell or Heaven

8. Islam in Practice
· Jurisprudence: Worshipping (Daily Prayers, Fasting, Charity (Zakat and Khoms),
Pilgrimage to Hajj, Jihad, enjoining good and forbidding evil, befriending friends of
God and dissociation from the enemies of God), only Halal meat is permissible to eat.
All types of intoxicants are forbidden. Gambling is forbidden. Marriage is very
recommended act and divorce is permissible but detested.
· The noble social rule in Islam: “Repel evil with what is best.” (i.e. don’t repel evil
with evil)

9. Two Main Muslim Denominations:
· Shi’a: Those who believe Prophet Muhammad (P)- by the divine commandappointed
Ali; his son-in-law and cousin, and his 11 offspring ending with Imam
Mahdi, as his caliphs.
· Sunni: Those who the Prophet (P) did not appoint anyone after himself to lead the
Muslim community.

10. Islamic Calendar and Main Festivals:
· Muslim Calendar is lunar
· Holidays in Islam are holy days.
· Eidul-Fitr (celebrating successfully ending the Month of Fasting)
· Eidul-Adha (celebrating successfully ending the Hajj pilgrimage)
· Eidul-Ghadir (celebration of divine appointment of Imam Ali, by the Prophet as the
authority after him: 70 days prior to Prophet’s demise.)
· Ashura ( Commemoration of martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet; Imam
Husain and his loyal companions)

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PDF form: http://www.ihic.org....min500words.pdf

http://www.ihic.org....php?id=66&idt=1


Lesson 1

1.1- What is Islam?
The word ‘islam’ means submission. Submission is when a person allows him or herself
to be controlled by someone or something else. Islam is called this because a Muslim is a
person who allows him or herself to be controlled by Allah s.w.t. Therefore, the religion
of Islam is based on handing over control of one’s life to Allah s.w.t. and not questioning
His Commands. For a person to be a Muslim, they must accept certain things, which are
called the fundamentals of Islam. We will discuss these later.
1.2- How does one become a Muslim?
A person becomes a Muslim by saying the two testimonies:
a-There is no Lord but Allah s.w.t. meaning that there is only One God; Allah is simply
the name for this God in Arabic
b-Mohammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah
The person must be completely convinced about these two things.
If a person is born to Muslim parents, he is automatically considered a Muslim. However,
each and every Muslim should make sure that they do their own research and
investigation until they are completely convinced about all of the Islamic beliefs.
1.3- Islam = Faith + Practice
In the Qur’an, Allah s.w.t. describes the believers as those people who believe and do
good deeds. This means that Islam is based on being convinced about certain beliefs as
well as doing good actions. In Islam, the beliefs make up the trunk of the tree of Islam
and so they are called the fundamentals (usulul deen) while the actions make up the
branches and so they are called the branches of Islam (furuol deen).
1.4- Fundamentals of Islam
Islam is based on five main beliefs. These beliefs are briefly listed below. We will discuss
them in more detail in the future:
a. Unity of God (Tawheed): this means that God cannot be compared or likened to any other
thing or being in our universe. He does not beget nor is he begotten. He has no
limits nor does he have any human image. He is The Creator, The Source of Life
and One is His essence.
b. Justice of God ('Adl): God is just..Muslims believe that He is not unfair to people, and
whatever outcomes people experience are due to their own good and bad actions
and deeds.
c. Prophecy (Nabuwwah): Belief that God due to His absolute mercy has sent Prophets as
messengers from among human kind to guide us on the Right Path
d. Imamate: Muslims believe that some prophets appointed infallible successors to
carry on with their teachings, thus safeguarding the religion. This is known as
Imamate.
e. The Hereafter: including The Day of Great Judgment, Hell, Heaven...Muslims
believe that their existence continues after death. Death is nothing more than a
transition from one type of life, which is lower, to another

1.5- The Branches of Islam
There are 10 branches a Muslim must believe in and practice:
1. Al-Salaat Daily Prayers
2. Al-Saum Fasting in the holy month of Ramadan
3. Az Zakaat Alms or charity giving
4. Al Khums: giving 20% Annual Savings as charity
5. Al Hajj: Compulsory Pilgrimage to Mecca
6. Al Jihad: Holy War-Defence of Islam & Muslims
7. Amr bil Ma'roof: Enjoining what is good
8. Nahy an al Munkar: Forbidding what is evil
9. At-Tawalli: Loving those God loves
10. At-Tabarri: Disliking those God dislikes

1.6- Sources of Islamic Knowledge

1. The Holy Qur’an: which is a book that Allah s.w.t sent down to humans so that they
can recite (or read) it and learn lessons from it. The Qur’an is the actual verbatim
word of God.
2. The sunna: the actions, words and confirmations of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)

1.7- The Importance of Gaining Knowledge in Islam
1.7.1-The following four hadeeths show the importance of gaining knowledge in Islam:
1. “ Striving for knowledge is compulsory for each & every
Muslim.” (no gender limit)
2. “ Strive for knowledge from cradle to the grave .”(no time limit)
3. “Strive for knowledge even in China .” (no space limit)
4. “ Wisdom is the lost property of a Muslim, hence collect it from whoever you find it
with, even a hypocrite.” (no teacher limit )
1.7.2- The Holy Qur’an is full of ayat indicating the importance of gaining knowledge.
Below are four ayat which you should know well and study:
1- Only the learned know the secrets of the Universe: “And one of His signs is the creation
of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your tongues and colors; most surely
there are signs in this for the learned.” 30:22
2- The more you know, the close you are to God: “…Allah will raise the status of those of
you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees; and Allah is
Aware of what you do.” (58:11)
3- Ignorance is blindness: “Is he then who knows that what has been revealed to you from
your Lord is the truth like him who is blind? Only those possessed of understanding will
mind” (13:19)