INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

Concept of Islam

• Islam is an Arabic word. The literary meaning is ‘submission’ or ‘peace’.
• In religious context, it means ‘willful submission to Allah’.
• So essentially, Islam is the religion which brings peace to mankind when man surrenders himself willingly to Allah according to the holy book revealed to Muhammad (PBUH).
• The basic concept of Islam is Tauheed and the belief that Muhammad (PBUH) is the last prophet sent by God as a Messenger to the people.
• It has been stressed in the Quran, “O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and make not your deeds vain”.

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Islam as a Code of Life

• There have been and are many religions in the world. However, they are either restricted in a certain way and do not cover all aspects of human life:
• Buddhism believes that one must be cut off emotionally from the material world to earn true spirituality.
• Hinduism is restricted to a certain geographical location and believes in a chain of rebirths with progression.
• Islam is the religion which provides guidance to each and every aspect of mankind and the universe.
• For the proper development of human life, we require two things:
• Material needs: resources to maintain life and fulfill the material needs of the individual and the society.
• Code of life: knowledge regarding the principles of individual and social behavior to enable man to maintain justice and reach tranquility.
• Allah has provided us with both of these requirements:
• He has provided nature with resources at the disposal of man.
• To provide for spiritual, social and cultural needs, He has raised his prophets from among men to reveal the code of life to guide human beings to the right path.
• This code of life is known as Islam; it is the religion preached by all the prophets fundamentally. All of them gave the same message; all stand for the same cause – Islam.
• Islam is the most practical religion as it not only covers the beliefs and rituals, but also the worldly matters and how to go about them.

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Importance of Deen in Human Life

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1. Deen explains the purpose and meaning of life:
• Human beings are intellectually limited and can’t piece many puzzles such as the mystery of life, our purpose, birth, death and what happens after that, etc.
• Either we can try to complete the puzzle piece by piece using science with no guarantee that we will complete the puzzle; or we can look towards religion which completes the puzzle for us.
• Deen gives us the purpose of our life – a trial set by Allah. Fundamentally, it tells us to worship Allah and to be good in every aspect of life. By doing so, we will reach our true destination which is paradise.
2. Deen provides power to endure:
• Deen proves as a motivating force to enable man to deal with hardships and suffering.
• Deen helps to overcome disappointment and hopelessness
• The Holy Quran says, “Surely those who are close to Allah, have no fear nor shall they grieve.”
3. Deen gives us principles of morality:
• Moral principles such as honesty, righteousness, brotherhood, equality, tolerance, sacrifice and help of the needy are based on humanity and faith.
• These qualities are beyond the scope of ordinary law yet we feel like we are obliged to be a better person morally. This is due to deen and how it makes us feel.
• The well-known philosopher-cum-historian, Will Durant says in his book, 'Pleasures of Philosophy' that, without the backing of religion, morality is nothing more than arithmomancy, as without it, the sense of obligation disappears.

Importance of Deen in Human Life

4. Deen provides comfort:
• Human beings are naturally scared of the unknown and there are many things still unknown to us e.g. dreams, puzzling phenomena, etc.
• Religion provides explanations and makes morality less unbearable.
• Religion explains the origins of things.
• The Quran explains the origin of man: “Proclaim! (or Read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created―�Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:�Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful―�He Who taught (the use of) the Pen―�Taught man that which he knew not.”
5. Deen is a Cognitive Approach:
• People are superstitious; they will believe anything.
• Refutation is more difficult than belief.
• Islamic concepts are logical and irrefutable.
6. Historical importance of religion:
• Human beings have always believed in a greater power; even before the advent of Islam.
• Religion is one of the basic human instincts; humans want to look towards something greater than themselves who can guide them.
• The Holy Quran describes religion as a natural part of man by saying, “Islam is in harmony with nature which Allah has designed for man.”

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Importance of Deen in Human Life

7. Deen as a source of law:
• There is no agreed upon source of law in our world. A law in one country may or may not exist in another and there are many factors which contribute to law-making.
• Kite-flying is not a crime in USA but it is in Pakistan.
• Islam, being the religion of nature and peace, is the best source of law.
• Laws derived from the Quran and Sunnah will fundamentally be flawless as the sources are fair, just and flawless themselves.
8. Encounter with ideological/spiritual vacuum:
• Human beings are superstitious beings and can’t live in an ideological vacuum.
• Deen saves human beings from superstitions such as idol worshipping, etc.
9. Importance of Deen with respect to Science and Technology:
• Islam and science do not conflict with each other; rather they aid each other.
• According to Islamic teachings, no man can be superior to another man based on color, race, class except piety and knowledge.
• Nothing has been disproven in the Quran by science yet.
• Globalization and sharing responsibility.

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Importance of Deen in Human Life

10. Deen gives us the idea of accountability:
• Basic difference between right and wrong.
• Islam even provides the dos and don’ts.
• Deen tells us about the reward for doing good deeds and the punishment from doing bad deeds.
11. Deen provides structures of society:
• Economic structure and rules.
• Societal structure.
• Political structure.

Difference between Deen and Religion

• Religion is also known as Mazhab which means belief, faith or manner. Religion is a relationship between the religious devotee and his God. The concept of religion includes faith and rituals.
• Deen refers to the divine and dynamic collection of institutions, practices and beliefs. The concept of deen includes faith, rituals and society.
• The main differences are:
1. Nature of mazhab is to deal with the rights of Allah whereas deen also deals with the rights of humanity.
2. Mazhab talks about everything in a narrow sense whereas deen accounts for everything whether it is religion, beliefs, conduct of life, etc.
3. Deen has been given more importance over Mazhab in religious connotation.
4. The deen in the sight of Allah (SWT) is only Islam as it is said in the Quran, “The deen before Allah (accepted by Allah) is Islam.”
5. Deen is pure and complete in every sense.
6. Deen, which is Islam, is the only acceptable religion as the Quran says, “And whoever desires other than Islam as religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.”

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Distinctive Aspects of Islam

1. Unity and Oneness of Allah
• The concept of Touheed; there is only One Supreme Lord of the universe. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent.
2. Prophet-hood
• The second basic condition is to believe in the prophet-hood of Muhammad (PBUH) as the last messenger of Allah.
• God has not left man without guidance in Islam; God has actually defined every single aspect of human life through the comprehensive words of the Quran.
3. Life After Death
• The world is a place of trial and every human being will be judged based on the deeds that he or she has performed here. Everyone will be accountable for their own deeds.
• Those who were on the right path shall be awarded with paradise and those who were astray shall be punished accordingly.

Distinctive Aspects of Islam

4. A Complete Way of Life
• The scope of Islam is not limited to just the private life of human beings; it is a complete way of life catering to all aspects of human life.
• This includes individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, national and international.
5. Balance between the Individual and Society
• Unique feature of Islam that it balances individualism and collectivism.
• It believes in individual personality of man and holds everyone accountable for their own deeds.
• However, it also talks about the rights of the society or fellow man – haqooq ul ebad.
6. Universality
• God-gifted code of life; it is not man-made.
• The message of Islam is for the entire human race.
• In Islam, everyone is equal – whatever their color, language or nationality may be.
• Religion of today and for tomorrow.

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Distinctive Aspects of Islam

7. Simplicity, Practicality and Rationalism
• Islam is a religion without any mythology. Its teachings are simple and understandable.
• The beliefs and rituals of Islam are based on reason and sound logic.
• There is no hierarchy of priests, any far-fetched abstractions, any complicated rituals, etc.
• Even a common man can approach the Quran and learn about it.
8. Unity of Matter and Spirit
• A unique feature of Islam is that it does not divide life into different apartments separate from each other.
• To achieve spirituality, Islam does not ask to abandon the practical life of the world. Rather, it suggests creating a balance between the worldly affairs and spiritual matters.
• Even praying in Islam, requires spiritual concentration of the mind and also the bodily movements that one is required to do.
1. Permanence and Change
2. Records of teaching preserved

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ISLAMIC BELIEFS & ITS IMPACTS ON INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

1. Belief in the Oneness of Allah

• The first and foremost belief of Islam is to believe in the Oneness of Allah – the concept of Touheed.
• The universe is masterfully created and it can’t be an accident.
• He is the Creator, Sustainer and the Master of the universe.
• The first part of the kalima states, “There is no God except Allah...”
• The issue is how to prove God exists to non-believers and people who doubt:
• Who is the Creator of the Earth and Heavens? The stance of Hazrat Imam Abu Hanifa where he gives the example of the boat to atheists.
• Signs for the wise in the alternation of day and night. The Quran says, “Surely in the creation of heavens and earth and in the difference of the nights and the days are signs for the men of understanding.”
• There is no flaw in the creation of the universe and it is not an accidental phenomenon.
• There are other religions that are misguided but some of the still preserve the fundamental believe in One Higher Power e.g. semantic religions like Christianity, etc.

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1. Belief in the Oneness of Allah

• Impacts:
1. Love for Allah.
2. Broad vision
• Man may not have eyes that can see more than three dimensions but he has been given an intellect far superior than other beings which he can use to deduce how the universe works.
3. Faith in Allah brings happiness
• Happiness comes from social joys and being part of regular services.
• Getting together with others at mosques/churches allow people to build social networks and be happy.
4. Soothes anxiety and protects against depression
• Believers can fall back on their religion if they come across hardship or make a mistake.
• Depression recovery is more productive with the help of religion. Journey of Clinical Psychology 2010 states that believing in a caring God improves response to psychiatric treatment in depressed patients.�
5. Helps in socialization
• Feel like you belong in a group of like-minded people.
6. Bravery and courage
• The belief in a Higher Power that supports you sucks the fear out from a true believer.

2. Belief in the Hereafter

• The hereafter means the resurrection of all human beings to be judged based on their deeds in this lifetime.
• The day will be known as the Day of Judgment.
• The Quran says, “Everyone on it (Earth) is to perish.”
• Impacts of believing in the Hereafter:
1. The concept of punishment and reward.
2. Sense of responsibility.
3. The spirit of bravery and sacrifice.
4. Patience and forgiveness.
5. Sympathy to all creatures.
6. Sense of brotherhood and fraternity.
7. Helping others.
8. Balanced society.
9. Equality.
10. Good morality.
11. Mutual harmony.

ISLAMIC WORSHIPS; SPIRITUAL, MORAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

Introduction

• It is the nature of human beings to worship a Supreme Being. Even if a person leads a life of agnosticism or atheism, even then they would worship something – it may be their own self and lust.
• According to Islam, worship is a means for the purification of a human beings soul and their practical life.
• Thus human’s turning towards God, in intimate communion, reverence, and in the spirit of devotion and humble submission.
• As a submission to God in Islam, one should celebrate the services of worship, observe annual fasting, perform the Hajj and pay the zakat.
• In Islam, ‘ibadah’ is the ultimate obedience and the ultimate submission to Allah.�

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Introduction

• There are many types of worship in Islam:
• Physical
• Financial
• Spiritual
• Thoughtful
• Social
• Secondary (nawafil, etc.)
• However, the obligatory are:
• Prayer
• Fasting
• Zakat
• Hajj
• Jihad

1. Prayer

• Offering prayers five times a day is obligatory on Muslims.
• It has been a center point of teaching of all the prophets because it removes evil from our hearts and establishes a spiritual connection with God.
• Aqamat-e-Salat (Steadfastness in prayer)
• The true meaning of Salat is that the prayer should be offered with fulfilling all its preconditions, requirements, and decorum while keeping in mind that no wordly plans and thoughts could distract our attention.
• This is the core and essence of the prayer.
• The Holy Quran says, “Those who are humble in their Salat.”
• Importance of Prayer
• The Holy Quran says, “And establish Salat (Muslim prayer) and do not be among ‘Mushrik’ associates.”
• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “There is no goodness in religion in which there is no prayer.
• Benefits of Prayer
• Faith in Allah
• Fulfillment of basic purpose of life
• Hatred for evil
• Sense of responsibility
• Time management
• Physical activity

2. Fasting

• The second religious duty of a believer is fasting during the month of Ramadan every year.
• One must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking from dawn till sunset.
• Likewise, one must also abstain from immoral thinking and behaviors that are not in line with Islam.
• It is quite a rigorous discipline and appears very difficult to the adherents of other religions. However, Allah helps the believer in maintaining the fast.
• One needs to practice hard exercises such as fasting in order to keep in check the sins.
• Objectives of Fasting
• Purgation of one’s self
• A believer who fights hunger and thirst from dawn till dusk can’t cast an evil eye on anyone.
• Self-purification.
• Obedience to Allah
• Following Allah’s will and His commandments.
• Tolerance and patience
• One purpose of fasting is that it makes the observer tolerant and patient.
• Fast forces a man to think about the people who can’t eat or drink and do not get the same privileges as others.
• Character building
• If a man is addicted to smoking, abusing, backbiting, adultery and other vices, fasting helps him refrain from such activities.
• Thankfulness

2. Fasting

• Benefits of Fasting
• Attainment of self-purification
• Character building
• Development of self-accountability
• Fostering justice at large
• Realization of other’s pain
• Spirit of mutual help