WHAT IS ISLAM ?
RELIGION OF UNITY
(1) Unity of God
Islam teaches the purest form of Monotheism and regards polytheism as the deadliest sin. A Muslim addresses GOD by His Personal Name: ALLAH --- the word "god" and its equivalents in other languages being unstable in the matter of connotation. Allah, according to Islam, is the One God, who is Indivisible in Person and Who has no partner: wife, son or daughter. He is the Matchless and "naught is as His likeness". "He begetteth not, nor was He begotten". He is the First, the Last, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Omnipresent. He is the Creator, the Nourisher, the Cherisher of all things. He is the All-just, the Avenger of the wrongs done to the weak and the oppressed, the Compassionate, the Merciful and Loving, the Guide, the Friend, the Magnificent, the Glorious, the Beautiful and the True. In short, He is the Possessor of all Excellence.
Speaking of the conception of God in Islam, Gibbon, the famous western historian, says: "The Creed of Hazrat Muhammad is free from the suspicion of Ambiguity and the Qur’an is a glorious testimony to the unity of God. The Prophet of Mecca rejected the worship of idols and men, of stars and planets, on the rational principle that whatever is corruptible must decay and perish, that whatever is born must die, that whatever rises must set. In the Author of the universe his rational enthusiasm confessed and adored an infinite and Eternal Being, without form or place, without issue or similitude, present to our secret thoughts, existing by the necessity of His own nature, and deriving from Himself all moral and intellectual perfections. These sublime truths …are defined with metaphysical precision by the interpreters of the Qur’an. A philosophic theist might subscribe to the popular creed of the Muhammadans."
(2) Unity of the Universe
From the Unity of the Creator, according to Islam, proceeds the Unity of the Universe, i.e., Unity of Creation and Unity of Purpose. In other words, the Cosmos is a Moral Order.
(3) Unity of Mankind
Islam regards the whole of mankind as an "organic unity" --- a single family, and emphatically says that the distinctions on the mundane plane, the distinctions, namely, of race, colour, language or territory, cannot form the ground for claims of superiority of one group over the other. The only distinction that has "value" is that which arises at the moral and spiritual planes – namely, the distinction of "taqwa", or, "piety and righteousness".Prof. H.A.R. Gibb, the famous English critic of Islam says, "…..Islam…..possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and co-operation. No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and of endeavour so many and so various races of mankind… If ever the opposition of the great societies of East is to be replaced by co-operation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition." (Whither Islam? p.379).
(4) Unity of Religion
According to Islam, the human intellect, though a great and powerful asset, has its natural limits, and, therefore, neither the normative nor the empirical sciences are capable of leading humanity to a sure knowledge of ultimate truths and the code of life based upon them. The only source of sure knowledge open to humanity is, consequently, Divine Guidance, and that course has been actually open ever since the beginnings of human life on earth. Allah raised His "Prophets" and "Messengers" and revealed His Guidance to them for transmission to humanity. Coming from the same Source, all revealed religions have, therefore, been one, i.e., ISLAM.
Allah's Prophets and Messengers continued to come to every country and community to work in their respective limited fields. Time after time, the revealed Guidance was either lost or corrupted through human interpolation, and new Prophets with fresh Dispensations were sent, and humanity continued to advance from infancy to maturity. At last, when the stage of maturity was reached – when humanity was practically to become one family --- instead of sectional Guidance, a perfect, final and abiding Revelation, addressed to entire mankind and for all time, was granted in the seventh century of the Christian era. That Revelation, which recapitulates all former Revelations and thus sets a seal on the Unity of Religion, is ISLAM; the Scripture which enshrines it is the HOLY QUR’AN; and the Prophet who brought it is the Leader of Humanity, Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!).Thus all the Prophets of God, from Adam down to Hazrat Noah, Hazrat Abraham, Hazrat Moses and Hazrat Jesus (peace be upon them all), are the Prophets of a Muslim the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him!) being the Last and Final one, and all the Divine Scriptures are the Scriptures of a Muslim, though he follows only the Holy Qur’an because it alone exists in its original purity and it alone contains the religion of Islam which has been followed by all rightly-guided people since the day the first human being came into existence.
(5) Unity of Sexes
Differentiation of functions have misled certain cultures of the world to regard woman as a being who belongs, so to say, to a different and inferior species: and to meet out to her inhuman treatment accordingly. Islam emphatically repudiates that notion and teaches that both man and woman have sprung from the same essence and the same source and consequently possess the same human status. Their functions and interests, instead of being antagonistic, are meant to be mplementary. The natural relation between the sexes, in all its aspects, is therefore, that of love and harmony, without which no true human progress can be possible.
(6) Unity of Classes
Islam aims at the creation of a classless society by eliminating all possible social conflicts (through revolving the different interests).
In the sphere of economics, Islam lays down the principle that wealth should not be allowed to circulate among the wealthy only, and envisages, through its laws and institutions, a "Cooperative Common-wealth of Talents".
In the political sphere, Islam stands for the "Cooperative Commonwealth of the Pursuers of Righteousness".
Taken as a whole, the Islamic state is a "welfare state" where sovereignty belongs to Allah alone and no human being has a right to govern other human beings except in the name of Allah and according to His Will, and where nobody, not even the Head of the State, is above the law. Absolute Justice is the watchword and the Establishment of Righteousness is the goal.
The merits of Islam’s social ethics have elicited praise even from the otherwise hostile critics. For instance:H.G. Wells says: "Islam created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society that had ever been in the world before" (Outline of History, p.325).
H.A.R. Gibb says: "Within the Western world Islam still maintains the balance between exaggerated opposities. Opposed equally to the anarchy of European nationalism and the regimentation of Russian communism, it has not yet succumbed to that obsession with the economic side of life which is characteristic of present-day Russia alike." (Whither Islam? p.378).
Prof. Louis Massignon says: "Islam has the merit of standing for a very equalitarian conception… It occupies an intermediate position between the doctrines of bourgeois capitalism and Bolshevist communism." (Whither Islam? p.378).
(7) Unity of Human Activity
Islam conceives of the human personality as a "unity" and consequently regards the distinction of "secular" and "religious" as unscientific, irrational and absurd. The life of a Muslim, both in its individual and social manifestation, is a life lived for God and God alone.
"Islam," says Dudley Wright, scholar of Comparative Religion, "is no mere creed; it is a life to be lived. In the Qur’an may be found directions for what are sometimes termed the minor details of daily life, but which are not minor when it is considered that life has to be lived for God. The Muslim lives for God alone. The aim of the Muslim is to become God-bound, and to endeavour to advance the knowledge of God in all his undertakings. From the cradle to the grave the true Muslim lives for God and God alone."
Hazrat Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) THE PINNACLE OF HUMAN PERFECTION
A code alone cannot, by its existence as such, inspire mankind to action. Hence to love the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Allah bless him!) above all human being and things of the world, to believe in him as the Most Perfect Embodiment of Human Perfection and as the Absolute Leader and the Last and the Final Prophet (after whom no new prophet of any category, zilli, buruzi, tashri’ee, ghairtashri’ee --- shadowy or real --- is to come), and to follow him as the "Best Example", form the prerequisite of Islamic Belief.This is the theological status of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace be with him) in Islam. As regards his refulgent personality, that would require volumes even to do bare justice to it.
It is said that the best testimony is that which comes from the enemy’s camp. Here, therefore, we might quote a few statements of the Western scholars of Islam.Hazrat Muhammad’s (peace be with him) figure was highly majestic, his complexion and features were extremely handsome, and "he was gifted", says the renowned Orientalist Lane Poole, "with mighty powers of imagination, elevation of mind, delicacy and refinement of feeling. ‘He is more modest than a virgin behind her curtain", it was said of him. He was most indulgent to his inferiors, and would never allow his awkward little page to be scolded whatever he did. ‘Ten years,’ said Anas, his servant, ‘was I about the Prophet and he never said as much as Uff to me.’ He was very affectionate towards his family. One of his boys died on his breast in the smoky house of the nurse, a blacksmith’s wife. He was very fond of children; he would stop them in the streets and pat their little heads. He never struck anyone in his life. The worst expression he ever made use of in conversation was, ‘what has come to him? May his forehead be darkened with mud!’ When asked to curse someone, he replied, ‘I have not been sent to curse but to be a mercy to mankind.’ He visited the sick, followed any bier he met, accepted the invitation of a slave to dinner, mended his own clothes, milked the goats, and waited upon himself, relates summarily another tradition. He never first withdrew his hand out of another man’s palm, and turned not before the other had turned.‘He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, ‘the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, ‘I have never seen his like either before or after.’ ‘He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation and no one could forget what he said."He lived with his views in a row of humble cottages separated from one another by palm branches cemented together with mud. He would kindle the fire, sweep the floor, and milk the goats himself. The little food he had was always shared with those who dropped in to partake of it. Indeed, outside the Prophet’s house was a bench or a gallery on which were always found a number of poor who lived entirely upon his generosity, and were hence called ‘people of the bench’. His ordinary food was dates and water, or barley bread; milk and honey were luxuries of which he was fond but which he rarely allowed himself. The fare of the desert seemed most congenial to him even when he was the sovereign of Arabia…"There is something so tender and womanly, and withal so heroic, about the man that one is in peril of finding the judgement unconsciously blinded by the feeling of reverence and well-nigh love that such a nature inspires. He who, standing alone, braved for years the hatred of his people, is the same who was never the first to withdraw his hand from another’s clasp; the beloved of children who never passed a group of little ones without a smile from his wonderful eyes and a kind word for them, sounding all the kinder in that sweet-toned voice. The frank friendship, the noble generosity, the dauntless courage and hope of the man, all tend to melt criticism into admiration."He was an enthusiast in that noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live. Enthusiasm is often used despitefully, because it is jointed to an unworthy cause or falls upon barren ground and bears no fruit. So was it not with Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him). He was an enthusiast when enthusiasm was the one thing needed to set the world aflame, and his enthusiasm was noble for a noble cause. He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very lifespring. He was the Messenger of the one God, and never to his life’s end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings with a dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office together with a most sweet humility." (Speeches and Table-talk of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad, Introduction’ XXVIII – XXX)."The essential sincerity of Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) nature," says Professor Nathaniel Schmidt, "cannot be questioned; and historical criticism that blinks no fact, yields nothing to credulity, weighs every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the trust, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of Prophets who, whatever the nature of their psychical experience may have been, in diverse manners, have admonished, taught, uttered austere and sublime thoughts, laid down principles of nobler than they found, and devoted themselves fearlessly to their high calling, being irresistibly impelled to their ministry be a power within." (The New International Encyclopaedia. Vol. XVI, p. 72).Speaking of the glorious success which attended the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad’s (Peace be with him) mission, Caryle observes: "To the Arab nation Islam was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first became alive by means of it. A poor, shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world; a Hero-Prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown worldgreat. Within one century afterward Arabia is at Granada on this hand, at Delhi on that, glancing in valuour and splendour and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a great section of the world. These Arabs, the man Hazrat Muhammad, (Peace be with him) and that one century --- is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark on what seemed black, unnoticeable sand? But lo ! the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Granada!" (Heroes and Hero-Worship: Chappter on "Hero as Prophet").O. Houdas, the French scholar, said half a century ago about the inner vitality of the Holy Prophet’s Message: "Never has a religion developed with parallel rapidity. In less than half a century Islam spread from the banks of the Indus to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and, if this movement slowed down, it still persists after fourteen centuries of existence. After having penetrated in India, in China and Malaysia, Islam continues its invading march in the African Continent which will before long become entirely Muslim. Without special missionaries and without resort to the force of arms, the religion of Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be with him) has converted the Black Continent, and it is not without some astonishment to point out the existence in England and America of small white communities which….. have adopted the Islamic doctrines and made efforts to propagate them. This invasion of Europe, hardly visible today, will surely grow." (La Grande Encyclopaedie, Tome 20, article: Islamisme).
RELIGION WITH THE SIMPLEST CREED
The Islamic creed is as simple as the Islamic ideology is profound. Its first fundaments are:
(1) SEVEN ARTICLES OF FAITH
They are: Belief in:
Allah;
Angles;
Divine Scriptures;
Messengers of Allah;
the Hereafter;
the pre-measurement of Good and Evil;
Resurrection after death.
(2) THE "FIVE PILLARS"
They are:
Declaration of faith in the One-ness of God and in the Divine Messengership of Hazrat Muhammad: (Peace be upon him) La ilaha Illallah Muhammadur-Rasulullah;
Obligatory Prayers;
Obligatory Fasts;
Zakat or Poor-tax;
Pilgrimage to Ka’aba at Meccaa by those who possess the means.A Christian critic of Islam makes the following confession: "Islam had the power of peacefully conquering the souls by the simplicity of its theology, the clearness of its dogma and principles, and the definite number of practices which it demands. In contrast to Christianity which has been undergoing continuous transformation since its origin, Islam has remained identical with itself" (Jean Lheureux: Etude sur L’Islamisme, p. 35).For an appreciation of the Seven Articles and the Five Pillars, the reader is referred to "The Principles of Islam" written by His Eminence Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi and published in the present series. Here it may be noted, however, that these Seven Articles and Five Pillars constitute only the "first fundaments", while the complete ideology of Islam, which shoots off from these fundaments and which is enshrined in the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Traditions, is so comprehensive as to cover the entire sweep of necessary guidance on physical, moral, social and spiritual aspects of human life.