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The fundamental message of Islam is simple: To worship Allah (Arabic word for God) alone. The Quran (the\u00a0revealed scripture of Islam) states:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cSay, He is Allah , (who is) One, Allah , the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 112<\/strong>]<\/p>\n \u00a0The first part of the Muslim testament of faith (the shahada) is the basis for the concept of God in\u00a0Islam. Muslims must bear witness that: \u201cThere is no Deity worthy of worship but Allah\u201d. The\u00a0concept of deity is strictly monotheistic and Unitarian. God alone has absolute being, totally\u00a0independent and totally self-sufficient. Whatever exists or ever could exist does so by His will. He has no \u201cpartner\u201d either in creating the universe or in maintaining it in existence. He\u00a0is not only the \u201cFirst Cause\u201d but also ultimately, the only cause and He is Himself uncaused\u00a0(Hassan Gai Eaton \u2013 The concept of God in Islam).<\/p>\n The second part of the testament of faith is: \u201cMuhammad (peace be upon him) is the final\u00a0Messenger.\u201d<\/p>\n Muslims hold in high esteem all the previous Prophets and messengers including Adam,\u00a0Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus and many more (peace\u00a0be upon them all); all of whom submitted and surrendered themselves to the One God who\u00a0created them and chose them to be the bearers of His message. As the Quran states:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cSay, (O believers), \u201cWe have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us\u00a0and what has been revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the\u00a0Descendants (twelve sons of Jacob) and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets\u00a0from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims (in The last and final Prophet in a long chain of prophets and messengers was the Prophet\u00a0Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was sent to the lands of Arabia and thus spoke the\u00a0language of Arabic. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to re-affirm the message that\u00a0all the previous prophets and messengers were sent with\u2014calling to the worship of One God.<\/p>\n Michael Hart, in his book \u201cThe 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History\u201d states: \u201cMy choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world\u2019s most influential persons\u00a0may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in\u00a0history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. Of humble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a prominent figure is universal not only\u00a0because of his message of equality, but because of his selfless character. He constantly\u00a0helped the poor and anyone who needed assistance of any kind. His teachings apply to any time frame, to people from any part of the world, be they rich or poor. Amongst his many wise teachings was: \u201cDo not belittle even the smallest act of kindness, even if it were no more than greeting your brother with a smiling face\u201d.<\/p>\n The following story demonstrates the Prophets altruism. An old woman had a habit of\u00a0throwing rubbish on Prophet Muhammad whenever he passed by her house. When the\u00a0old woman threw trash on him, he would pass silently without showing any anger or\u00a0annoyance and this happened on a regular basis. One day when the Prophet was passing by, the woman was not there to throw the trash.<\/p>\n The Prophet asked permission to visit the woman. He found that she was actually ill. She\u00a0thought that he had come to take revenge when she was unable to defend herself. But the\u00a0Prophet assured her that he had only come to see her and to look after her needs, as it was the command of Allah that if anyone is sick, a Muslim should visit and help them if their help\u00a0is needed. The old woman was greatly moved by this kindness and love of the Prophet. By this\u00a0example, she understood that he was truly the Prophet of God and Islam was the true\u00a0religion. She subsequently embraced Islam.<\/p>\n In this manner, before the Prophet died at the age of 63, most of the people of Arabia had\u00a0embraced the message of Islam, and in less than a century the message had spread to Spain\u00a0in the west and as far east as China.<\/p>\n In the Islamic view, the \u201cmessage\u201d transmitted through Prophet Muhammad (peace be\u00a0upon Him) represented, not a completely new religion, but a corrective to the falsifications\u00a0and distortions which had taken place, and at the same time, an uncompromising re-assertion of the pure doctrine of the One God.<\/p>\n Just as the Prophets Moses, Jesus and David (peace be upon them) were given books of\u00a0revelation (The Old and New Testaments and Psalms respectively; all of which Muslims\u00a0acknowledge) so too was the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The message\u00a0brought by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was consolidated through successive revelations collectively known as the Quran\u2014which means to recite or read in Arabic. The Quran contains guidance for the\u00a0whole of humankind, and it exists today in exactly the same form as it did when it was revealed\u00a0over 1400 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cO mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples\u00a0and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of\u00a0Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 49, Verse 13]<\/strong><\/p>\n The guidance contained in the Quran enables all of us to live a life in a manner that God loves\u00a0and is pleased with. As the Creator, God knows us best and is therefore best placed to\u00a0guide us on how to \u201cfunction optimally\u201d. Suppose you bought your first iPhone, would you read an\u00a0instruction manual produced by Sony Ericsson? Logically, no! The logic is quite simple;\u00a0the company that produces the phone knows its product inside out and so it is best placed to\u00a0write an instruction manual for its users. The same is true of us. God created us, therefore He knows us better than we think we know\u00a0ourselves. The Quran is therefore a handbook, from the Creator to the creation. Allah says:<\/p>\n \u201cThis (Quran) is enlightenment for mankind and guidance and mercy for a people who are certain (in faith).\u201d [Quran: Chapter 45, Verse 20]<\/strong><\/p>\n And in another verse:<\/p>\n \u201cO mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the\u00a0(diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy.\u201d [Quran chapter 10 verse 57]<\/strong><\/p>\n A Muslim enjoys two very specific relationships<\/p>\n 1. A relationship with his\/her Creator. This essentially strengthens one\u2019s faith and\u00a0enables one to draw closer to Allah through engaging in acts of worship.<\/p>\n 2. A relationship with the society within which he\/she resides. Muslims have a\u00a0responsibility to uphold basic moral values like enjoining good, forbidding evil,\u00a0standing up for justice, fulfilling trusts, being kind to their neighbors, and helping the less fortunate etc.<\/p>\n There are numerous verses in the Quran that illustrate this, for example:<\/p>\n \u201cRighteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but (true)\u00a0righteousness is (in) one who believes in Allah , the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and\u00a0the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the\u00a0traveler, those who ask (for help), and for freeing slaves; (and who) establishes prayer and gives zakah (charity); (those who) fulfill their promise when they promise; and (those who)\u00a0are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been\u00a0true, and it is those who are the righteous.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 2, Verse 177]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cIndeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due and when you judge\u00a0between people to judge with justice. Excellent is that which Allah instructs you. Indeed,\u00a0Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 4, Verse 58]<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids\u00a0immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be\u00a0reminded.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 16, Verse 90]<\/strong>?<\/span><\/p>\n What makes someone a Muslim?<\/p>\n For a person to claim he is a Muslim, they must adhere to five fundamental duties that a Muslim willingly practices which are known as the 5 pillars of Islam. Allah says in the Quran:<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allah,\u00a0Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided\u00a0for them, And who believe in what has been revealed to you, (O Muhammad), and what\u00a0was revealed before you, and of the Hereafter they are certain (in faith). Those are upon (right) guidance from their Lord, and it is those who are the successful.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 2, Verses 2-5]<\/strong><\/p>\n Practicing Muslims follow the commandments of Allah in order to seek His pleasure. But in\u00a0addition to this, the commandments themselves contain certain inherent wisdoms. The five\u00a0pillars of Islam thus form the basis of Muslim life.<\/p>\n The first pillar was mentioned previously and it is to testify that there is no God worthy of worship\u00a0except Allah, and that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final messenger.\u00a0This is in fact is the essence of Islam.<\/p>\n The second pillar is to establish the five daily prayers. Allah says:<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for\u00a0My remembrance.\u201d [Quran: Chapter 20, Verse 14]<\/strong><\/p>\n And in another verse:<\/p>\n \u201cRecite (O Prophet) what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer.\u00a0Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is\u00a0greater. And Allah knows that which you do. [Quran: Chapter 29, Verse 45]<\/strong><\/p>\n Prayer is a time to stand before Allah and express faith, give thanks for the blessings He\u00a0has bestowed upon us, as well as to seek guidance and forgiveness. Through bowing and\u00a0prostrating to the ground, Muslims express their utmost humility before the Almighty.<\/p>\n If we look at the concept of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) we see that there is a\u00a0two-directional relationship between our thought processes (Neuro), our communication\u00a0(Linguistic) and our behavior (Programming). If you change one, it has a knock on effect\u00a0on the other two variables. So if you change your behavior to perform prayer (which is\u00a0a physical action as well as verbal communication with Allah) it will naturally affect your\u00a0thought processes- increasing your faith as well as inspiring you to want to draw closer to\u00a0Allah by performing righteous deeds.<\/p>\n The third pillar is to fast during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic\u00a0calendar) from dawn till dusk for nearly 30 consecutive days. Allah says:<\/p>\n
\nsubmission) to Him.\u201d\u00a0 [Quran: Chapter 2, Verse 136]<\/strong><\/p>\nMuhammad, the last messenger<\/h3>\n
\norigins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world\u2019s great religions, and\u00a0became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his\u00a0influence is still powerful and pervasive.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Quran<\/h3>\n
The Muslim<\/h3>\n