What Is Islam?

The great glory of creation and the magnificent creatures from the cosmic universe, down to the atom and beyond, including the great diversity of species in existents, indicates the Almighty Creator. The celebrated Isaac Newton has said:
This most beautiful system of the sun, planet, and comets could proceed only from a counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord overall, and on account of His dominion, He wants to be called Lord God, Universal Ruler. . . . Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system. I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance.

The word Islam in Arabic means to submit. To submit to the One, the Originator, the Pre-Eternal (in Arabic Allah.). Islam is the ecstasy of the submission to the Almighty, to feel that you are overwhelmed with God's love. To know that there is nothing worth being attached to except the Almighty God. There is no god, no world, no material, nothing in the heart except for Him. He cared for us since the time we were in the belly of our mother. He showers us with His graces like the rains on the dry plains. The Creator is not comprehendible to our limited perception. He is unlimited and absolute in perfection. While other religions have twisted God into forms such as a human, animal, carved stone or the like, Islam holds that the Almighty is formless and beyond limited mental imaginations. Thus Muslims dont worship forms or man. Islam is not a religion in the sense of irrational rituals. Islam the way of life arranges the human spirit, body and mind under the divine guidance. The teachings of this path holds in high regard the safety of the society and human rights (even animal rights). In short, benefits humanity, Islam encourages and helps to protect all aspects of life from the harmful.

Islam and Modern Science

Balancing the worldly life with the inward aspects of the human spirit is an obtainable goal. Besides improving many aspects of the worldly life, Islam offers developing of the spirit. It encourages both. Thus you find that Islam combines science and faith. So you use your mind as well as your heart. It agrees with Einsteins popular saying: "Religion without science is blind and science without religion is lame." When God Almighty sent the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the first revealed word was READ! Men and women are encouraged to educate themselves. The Holy Quran (which is Gods revelation to the Prophet Muhammad and is the holy scripture of the Muslims) includes many scientific facts that modern scientists have only discovered recently. For example the Holy Quran mentions the stages of the developing fetus with in the mother. It is astonishing though the Prophet 1

Muhammad lived in the 7th century C.E., the Holy Quran describes the early embryological stages which was not known by science until the microscope was invented. Dr. Keith Moore (Professor of Embryology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Toronto, in Canada) said in 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference:
It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Quran about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God or Allah, because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of God or Allah.

Dr. Keith Moore is the author of the book, The Developing Human which is used as a textbook of embryology in the first year in medical studies. The book was the recipient of an award for the best medical book written by a single author. Another western modern scientist who admitted the scientific facts of the Holy Quran was the French Chief of the Surgical Clinic at the University of Paris, Dr. Maurice Bucaille. Dr. Bucaille won a History Prize from the Acadmie Franaise and a prize from the French National Academy of Medicine for his work, "Mummies of the Pharaohs: Modern Medical Investigations". He studied extensively the holy scriptures of the Jews, Christians and Muslims and compared it with modern science. He made from his results a book called, The Bible, the Quran and Science. In the same book, Dr. Bucaille says:
Our knowledge of these disciplines is such, that it is impossible to explain how a text produced at the time of the Qur'n could have contained ideas that have only been discovered in modern times. ... The relationship between the Qur'an and science is a priori a surprise, especially when it turns out to be one of harmony and not of discord.

If Islam appreciates science and common sense then why do we finds Muslims today so behind in modern sciences and technology? We should differentiate between Muslims and Islam. If a Muslim is not following the teachings of Islam, then it is not a problem with Islam but a problem with that follower. Secondly, the lack of modern sciences and technology within the Islamic world is a new phenomenon brought about mainly through western colonization. The lack and almost absence of science and modern technology has not always been the case with Muslims. In fact, Muslims were at the forefront in science, technology and education. It was Baghdad and Cordoba in Andalusia (Spain) that were the centers of learning for many centuries. A western historian Bertrand Russel, in his History of Western Philosophy, said:
Our use of (the) phrase 'The Dark ages' to cover the period from 699 to 1,000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe ... From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam flourished. What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to

civilization, but quite the contrary ... To us it seems that Western European civilization is civilization, but this is a narrow view.

Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist, and physiologist who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book: Guns, Germs, and Steel. said:
Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation . . . In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse.

Civilization is not based on technology. Though Muslims lost the leading role in technology, they did not lose the values Islam safeguards. Islam protects from the diseases of alcoholism, murder, theft, adultery and children growing up unbalanced due to being born out of wedlock. Muslims have the lowest suicide rate, strong families and moral lives. Muslims are naturally hospitable, generous and loving to others. September 11th was the action of a gang and does not represent Muslims or Islam. Islam teaches tolerance and love for all of humanity. The Almighty says: Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity. (The Holy Qur`an, 60:8)

Jesus in Islam
The Creator, the Absolute of Reality, in order to contact his creation does not need to limit Himself by incarnating into a human form. Instead, He sends apostles (ambassadors). Unlike the Jews who claim that apostles were confined to their specific nation, the Qur`an teaches that apostles were sent to all nations. The line of apostles start with Adam and include Noah, Abraham, Lut, Moses, Jesus and ends with Muhammad. Muhammad is regarded as the last of Gods apostles. Thus Islam is not a new religion founded by Muhammad. Instead, Islam is the original faith of humanity, which is to submit to the Creator and worship Him alone. This is the meaning of the word Islam. Although Islam is a non-Christian faith, one of its conditions is to believe in Jesus. Jesus is mentioned by name in the Holy Quran 25 times while Muhammad is mentioned 5 times. There is a chapter in the Holy Quran called The Chapter of Mary (the mother of Jesus). If a Muslim did not believe in Jesus, this would take him out of Islam. Although Muslims and Christians share many beliefs, Muslims do not consider Jesus to be God himself. God Almighty is not a man nor any type of creation. Man is consisting of bone, flesh and blood, limited in a form while the Almighty God is not. Man needs to eat, drink, sleep and to go to the toilet. How ludicrous an idea to think of God in this way! Islam is very rational in belief. But this difference should not make Muslims and Christians to be enemies! Do we not find in every family disagreements amongst brothers and children with parents, but still they are one family loving each other. However, Muslims do not believe that Jesus was a Christian. Christianity is a name given to followers of the following generation. As Buddhism with Buddha. Buddha never called his teachings Buddhism, but it was given in later generations. Muslims believe that Jesus was in the same faith as Moses who was not a Jew. A Jew is

someone who belongs to the tribe of Judah son of Jacob. So Jews are one of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was originally a tribal title and not a religious title. Moreover, Moses was not a Jew but a Levite (belonging to the tribe of Levi). Jesus and Moses were in the same faith as Abraham who was following the same faith as Noah. This universal faith is to worship the Creator alone and to submit to His will. Jesus spoke the Aramaic language. According to Bishop David Binjamin, this faith in Aramaic was called Shlama which is the same term of the Arabic Islam (i.e. to submit). As well as the Arabic Allah, Aramaic uses the same word to describe God.

Who was the Prophet Muhammad?

A Christian historian, astronomer and mathematician Michael Heart studied the greatest men in history from Adam to present day. Then he wrote a book called The 100 Ranking Most Influential Persons in History. Mr. Heart ranked the Prophet Muhammad number one. Another western scholar is the American psychoanalyst, Jules Masserman said in Time Magazine, July 15, 1974, in an article titled Who Were History's Great Leaders?:
Leaders must fulfill three functions: 1) Provide for the well being of the led, 2) Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and 3) Provide them with a set of beliefs.
People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander and Caesar on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all time was Muhammad, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.

The French historian Alphonse de LaMartaine; he said in his Turquie,' Paris, 1854:

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If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? . . . Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs . . . The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?

Although Muhammad was the greatest man in history, he was very humble and loveable. Edward Gibbon said in his book 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', which is the father-book of all western historical books:
The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of

a hermit, he observed without effort of vanity the .abstemious diet of an Arab

The British historian Stanley Lane-Poole said in his book Speeches and Table Talk :of the Prophet Muhammad
,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

) ( , ) ( ... " " ) ( ) ( . !! ) ) " " " " " " . ..... . .. :The well known writer Sir George Bernard Shaw said
I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti.Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity

. ) ) The famous French historian Annie Besant described her enjoyment and feeling of admiration to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) whenever she reads his life. She said in her 'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' 1932:
It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel, whenever I reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.