Concept of Islam

• Concept of Islam ‘Islam’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘slm’ which means ‘to surrender, submit or yield’. It
means to resign one’s self to the will of God. Islam also means ‘peace’ which is mentioned in Sayeed Ameer
Ali’s book ‘The Spirit of Islam’. The main basis upon which Islamic life is founded upon includes:
• 1) A belief in the unity, power and mercy of Allah
• 2) Charity and brotherhood amongst mankind
• 3) Subjugation of passions
• 4) Being grateful to Allah and remembering to thank Him and behind humble
• 5) Accountability for human actions in another existence; being conscious of how we treat others and the
sins we commit
• 6) Finality of the Prophet
• The whole concept of Islam rests on the understanding that Allah is sovereign, all-mighty and powerful, He
created the universe and man, gave him guidance, and gave man the choice between being a Muslim or a
Kaafir, on the basis of which he will be judged in the hereafter. Reciting and believing in the qalmah allows
man to join the fold of Islam; the first part of the kalmah presents the concept of Tawhid (oneness of Allah)
and the second part affirms the Prophethood of Muhammad.
• Ayat of Quran: “Indeed, it is in the remembrance of God alone that the heart of man finds rest”
• Islam is composed of five articles of faith; belief in Tawhid (God), angles, books, prophets, day of
resurrenction/predestination. As well as the five pillars of Islam; kalimah, salat, zakat, saumm, hajj. As well as jihad forming
a central concept of islam.
• The concept of Islam is divided into two main broad categories according to which a person should lead his life;
• 1) theoretical (beliefs and principles of Islam, or ‘aqaid’ and ‘usul’ of Islam) or the iman/faith
• 2) practical (hukums or ‘orders’) deeds or actions
Characteristics of Islam:
• 1) Simplicity (no mythology, understandable, no complex rituals or hierarchy of priests, xsimple sources of guidance being
Quran and sunnah), Rationalism (no superstitious beliefs, invokes intellectual faculties of a person, importance given to
education and knowledge) and practicality (belief and actions have no contradiction, easy to practice)
• 2) Unity of matter and spirit; material and spiritual life both given importance and equilibrium. Not too extreme towards
one side.
• 3) A complete way of life: guidance pertains to both public and private sphere, touches on eco/social/political/legal facets
of life. Islam says no to secularism, which means that religion should not retreat within the private sphere but should be
practiced in public life and collectively too.
• 4) Balance between individual and society: individual has been given liberty, freedom, rights, responsibilities. Whereas
society, on the basis of the notion of collectivism, has been given social responsibilities such as zakat, congressional prayer,
jihad.
• 5) Universality and humanism: Allah is “rehmat ul alameen” which means a mercy on entire humanity, not just muslims.
Message of Islam is for all, not God of Muslims but God of all. Humanism entails dignity, human rights and equality; all of
which are the essence of Islam.
• 6) Permanence and change: An equilibrium is maintained. Permanence entails pillars, articles of faith, basic laws, shariah.
Change entails flexibility/change in law in modern times via ijtihad. It is not extreme in its rigidity which would have made
it redundant.
• 7) Complete record of teachings preserved: Judaism and Christianity have been subject to adulterations. Islam is still pure
and pristine; how it was 1400 years ago
Tawhid (monotheism)
• The basic principle of Islam is tawhid; the belief in the unity of Allah. It is a revolutionary concept,
especially during the time when it was revealed, and the starting point of Islam. Belief in the
oneness and unity of Allah is the essence of Islam and is espoused in the Articles of faith, and the
Pillars of Islam. It means Allah has no partners in His dominion, no similarities with another, no
rivals in His divinity and worship. The concept of Tawhid is composed of the following attributes of
Allah:
• 1) Oneness/Unity
• 2) Sovereignty of Allah (Absolute)
• 3) Omnipotence
• 4) Eternal and Immortal
• 5) All-Knowing
• 6) All mighty
• 7) Perfect
• ·Quran: “There is none like unto Him…”
• 1) Unique in person and worship; Allah has no offspring, no partners, not born from anyone. He
alone deserves to be worshipped. *Quran: “Yet they have taken besides Him, gods that can create
nothing but are themselves created”
• 2) Unique in name and attributes: No one can possess the attributes of Allah to the same level of
perfection. For instance, a man may be forgiving but cannot be as forgiving as Allah. Similarity of
traits exists in name, but not in degree.
• 3) Unique in action and lordship: Created the universe and everything in it, He alone creates,
maintains and sustains, His actions are unique.
• * Quran: “Allah is the creator of all things and He is the Guardian and Disposer of all affairs”
• Proof of the Unity of Allah:
• 1) Vast, complicated universe beyond human comprehension and understanding but everything in
it is well coordinated and working smoothly. Seasons come and go, sun rises and sets, earth
revolving and rotating, day and night etc. All this implies that there must be one “supreme”
authority in control, because had there been more than one, there would have been chaos and
conflict.
Impact of Tawhid Upon the Life of a
Muslim/Individual:
•
• 1) Inculcates self-respect and self-esteem: Since Allah is the only one who provides and maintains life, a
person becomes fearless of other human beings. People bow in front of Allah only, and do not beg anyone
else as only Allah can solve their problems.
• 2) Freedom from slavery and dominion of other human beings and non-living deities: This leads to the
moral and spiritual development of Muslims
• 3) Modesty: Man realizes how powerless he is. He does not boast and is not arrogant, because Allah has
given and Allah can take back
• 4) Makes him dutiful, virtuous and upright: Knows that in order to succeed, he has to follow the path of
Allah
• 5) Allows him to make a distinction between good and bad/halal and haram
• 6) Brave, strong and courageous: Only Allah can solve problems and remove hardships. No need to bow
down or ask humans for help or depend on their assistance too much.
• 7) Satisfaction and peace of mind and body: No more fear of death, prepared for afterlife
• 8) Believers never become hopeless
• 9) Become obedient and determined
Impact of Tawhid Upon Society (Collective):
• 1) Equality amongst humans: All created by one God, all son of Adam
and Eve. All created from same material, eradicates all distinctions
with respect to race, caste, sex, class etc.
• 2) Unity and brotherhood: Tawhid instills the concept of all Muslims
belonging to one ummah irrespective of geographical distance. All
believers are one body and when one part gets hurt, the entire body
suffers.
• 3) Concept of human dignity: Allah created man as His vicegerent on
earth, hence all men enjoy dignity and respect Belief in Akhrat (life
after death)
ISLAM ITS CONCEPTS AND MEANINGS:
• Islam is the embodiment of the code of life which God,the Creator and Lord of the universe has revealed for the guidence of
mankind.All of its teachings are harmoniously conceived and to compliment each other,nothing is superflous and nothing is
lacking. With the result of solid composure and absolute balance its teachings and postulates both create a strong and long lasting
impression on both beleivers and non believers.it is a religion which purely provides guidence for each and every aspect of
mankind and the universe.
Man requires two significant things for the proper development of his existence.He requires resources to maintain life and fulifill
the needs of both the individual and the society.Secondly he must attain the knowledge regarding the principles of individual and
social behaviour which enables him maintain justice and tranquility in human life.The Lord of the universe had provided for both of
these in full measure.In order to cater for the individual needs of man God has provided nature with all kinds of resources which
lie at the disposal of man.To provide for his spiritual,social and cultural needs He has raised His prophets from among men and
revealed to them the code of life which can guide man's steps to teh right path.This code of life is known as Islam,the religion
preached by all the prophets of God.According to the Holy quran,
"He has ordained for you (O Muhammad) that faith which He commended to Noah and that which he commended to Abraham
,Moses and Jesus saying,"Establish the Faith and be not divided therein".
Thus all of the Prophets were the messengers from God who have been revealed the real truth regarding the existence of this
universe and who were assigned the task to guide men to the right path.All of them gave the same message and all of them stood
for the same cause,Islam.
As it has been stressed in Quran,
" O you who beleive! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and make not your deeds vain".
THE MEANING OF ISLAM:
• Islam,an arabic word which denotes submission.surrender, and pure obedience of Allah.The literal meaning
of the word is 'peace' which signifies the most vital aspect of the islamic religion that a person can acheive
the true tranquility of both heart and mind only through his obedience of one God who is
Omnipotent,Omnipresent and the Sustainer of the universe.Such a life with obedience can also help in the
establishment of peace and harmony among the memebers of teh society.As Quran says,
"Mankind is a single nation. So Allah raised Prophets as bearers of good news and as warners, and He
revealed with them the book with truth, that it might judge between people concerning that in which they
differed . And none but the very people who were given it, differed about it after clear arguments had come
to them, envying one another. So Allah has guided by His will those who believe to the truth about which
they differed. And Allah guides whom he pleases to the right path " [2:213]
According to the Quran ,
"Those who believe and whose heart find rest in the remembrance of Allah -indeed it is in the thought of
Allah alone that the heart of man really finds rest-those who believe and act righteously ,joy is for them and
a blissful home to return to."
This message was preache by all the prophets of God,who showed men the right way of life.But man veered
away from this path again and again and also distorted the code of guidence which prophets had
bequeathed.That is why other prophets were sent to restate the original message and guide man to the right
path.The last of these prophets was Muhammad (PBUH) who presented God's guidence in its final form.and
arranged to preserve it for all the time.It is this guidence which is known as "Al Islam" and is enshrined in the
quran and is the lif example of the Prophet (PBUH
BASIC CONCEPT OF ISLAM:
• The basic Islamic concept is based on Tauheed and the belief that Muhammad (PBUH) is the last prophet sent by God as a
messenger to guide and teach the mankind to the right path.
The beleif of Tauheed is a revolutionary concept and constitutes the essence of teh teachings of islam.It means that there is only
One Supreme Lord of the universe who is the sustainer of mankind.His presence and governess can be felt if we observe the
scattered stars in the infinite space, the harmony of seasons,the vast panorama of nature with its charm and beauty all point
towards one fact that this system of universe is being governed by only one God who has created all of the things around us.Truly
Allah said,
"O,Mankind worship your Lord,who created you and those before you,so that you may ward off evil.Who has appointed the earth
a resting place for you,the sky a canopy?and who causes water to pour down from the heavens ,thereby producing fruits as food
for you?So do not setup rivals to Allah ,when you know better".
The second part of the islamic belief signifies that God has not left any man without any guidence for the conduct of his life.He has
made revelations to his prophets who further became apostels of God and guided men towards the teachings of Allah.The Quran
said,
"Every Messenger who was sent by Us was sent for the purpose that he should be obeyed under the sanction of Allah."
The third and very significant postulate of the Islamic concept is the belief in the life hereafter.
The world according to Islam is a place of trial and man is accountable for whtever deeds he performs in this world.It will be in life
after death that man will be rewarded or punished for his deeds and misdeeds.Those who live in the present world a life in
complete obedience to God will enjoy eternal bliss and those who disobey his commands will ahve to suffer for his misdeeds in
the life of eternity.
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ISLAMIC
IDEOLOGY:
• SIMPLICITY:
Islam's as a religion is simple as it is free from superstitions and irrational beliefs.The unity of God,the Prohethood of Muhammad (PBUH) and the
concept of life after death are the beasic articles of this faith.All the teachings of Islam follow from these three articles and are based on sound logic
and reason.In Islam there is no heirarchy of priests,no far fetched abstarctions,no complicated rites and rituals and everybody can translate the book
of God and dictates it into practice.
RATIONALISM:
Islam enjoins man to see things in the light of reality.It teaches man to use his intellect and observe as well understand the real meanings of the
presence of the things around him .The Prophet of Islam said,
"He who leaves his home in the search of some knowledge walks in the pathof God."
Quran advised man to pray ,"O ,my Lord! Advance me in Knowledge"
Muhammad (PBUH) also stressed regarding the attainment of knowledge in the following words,
"To seek knowledge is obligatory for mankind."
Islam appreciates the intellectual activites of man to such a degree as to place him above the angels.No other religion went ever so far in asserting the
dominance of reason and ,of learning above all other manifestations of life.As Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also asserted in the following words,
"If anybody goes on his way in search of knowledge,God will make easy for him the way to Paradise."
And also,
"The superiority of a learned man over a mere worshipper is like the supeiority of the moon on a night when it is full over all other stars."
Thus from the above mentioned hadith's it can be vividly understood that Islam as a religion teaches rational approach towards life.
• PRACTICAL:
Islam, as a religion is not based on empty or futile theories .Infact it intensely educates in attaining a practical approach towards one's existence both
as an individual and as a social being.It says that Islam is not a mere profession of beleifs ,it is the essence of life.It is a religion which is something to
be lived and not an object of mere lip service.The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said in this regard,
"God does not accept belief,if it is not expressed in deeds,and does not accept deeds,if they do not conform to beleif".
Material prosperity in islam is desireable,though not the goal in itself.The goal of all our practical activities always should be the creation and
maintenece of both personal and social conditions which can be helpful in the development of a moral stamina in man.In other words,Islam leads
man towards a conciousness of moral responsibility by his adoption of practicality in his life.
UNITY BETWEEN MATTER AND SPIRIT:
One of the unique characterisitics of Islam is that it does not divide life in water tight compartments of matter and spirit.It is against ascetisim and
believs in the achievemnet of spiritual elevation by living piously in this world with a complete sense of virtue and morality instead of renouncing the
world.Every individual Muslim has to regard himself as personally responsible for all the happenings around him and to strive for the establishment of
Right and abolition of Wrong at every time and every direction.A sanction for this attitude can be found in the verses of Quran,
"You are the best community that has been sent forth unto mankind :You enjoin the Right and forbid the Wrong and you have faith in God."
Islam stresses again and again in the attainment of moderation and decency in all walks of life.It's injunction is,
"Eat and drink but do not exceed".
The Holy Prophet said that,
"A Muslim who lives in the midst of the society and bears with patience and afflictions that come to him is better than the one who shuns society and
cannot bear any wrong done to him."
Islam enjoins man to devote all his energies to the reconstruction of life on healthy and moral foundations.It teaches that both moral and material
powers can be welded together and spiritual salvation can be acheived by using teh material resources for the betterment of man in the service of
just ends instead of runing away from the challenges of life.An establishemnt of of a equilibrium is strongly desired by the religion of Islam between
both the material and spiritual aspects of life.
• COMPLETE WAY OF LIFE:
Islam as a religion has a wide horizon and a scope.It is not only restricted to the private matters and affairs concerning an individual rather it deals
with all the fields of human existence.It carries withing its teachings a complete guidence concerning the individual and social,material and
moral,economic and political,legal and cultural,national and international.It also clearly states that its objectives are the purification of teh soul and
the reformation of the society.As Quran says,
"We verily sent Our messengers with clear proofs and revealed with them the Scripture and the Balance,that mankind may observe justice and the
right measure."
Islam is a complete way of life as it integrates man with God, awakens in him a new moral conciousness and invites him to deal with all problems of
life in complete accordance with his commitment to God.
UNIVERSALITY AND HUMANISM:
God in Islam is the God of all the world.In Islam there is no distinction on the basis of colour,creed ,language or nationality.All men are equal in the
eyes of Islam and it insits in the removal of all the impediments on the basis of status,wealth and social status.
"O Lord! Lord of my life and of everything in the universe! I affirm that all human beings are brothers to one another."
Islam wants to unite all the human race under one code of life and presents
a message of hope and a glorious future for its followers.According to Holy Prophet (PBUH),
"Respect God and be affectionate to the family of God."
Islam leads man to a unification of all aspects of life.Its a universal religion which stresses on the equality of all human beings with basic equal rights
for all.It is a dynamic belief and a revolutionary doctrine.It means that all men are the creatures of one God .Discrimination based on colour,class,race
or territory is unfounded and illusionary.It is remnant of the days of ignorance which chained men down to servitude.Humanity is one single family of
God and there can be no sanction for those barriers.Men are one and gives a revolutionary concept of the unity of mankind.
DEEN AND MAZHAB
(differnence and concept that islam is not a religion or mazhub but a deen a complete code of life.)

• Meaning of Deen
Allah says
"Certainly, the religion (deen) with Allah is the submission (Islam) (to His Will and guidance). Those who had been given the book (of laws) differed
only after knowledge had come to them, through transgression among themselves. Whoever rejects Allah (His revealed verses), will certainly find
Allah swift at reck**ing (will be punished).
This shows that the beliefs and the practices in life should be based on obedience of God's guidance through revelations. The word deen is generally
translated as religion, but actually it means the beliefs of one about conducting affairs in life and the practices in accordance with those beliefs in the
society as a community and not only personally. Religion gives the impression of belief in God and following Him without any concern with the society,
but for one's good in the life after death.
Whereas, in deen, we follow God's guidance in this life as a whole nation and expect the rewards in this life as well as in the hereafter. Deen means
obedience to God's laws, the true faith, the religion (J. Penrice), moral laws (M. Asad). Hence, deen means a code of life given by God, and religion
means faith in God and His worship ritually, which has nothing to do with man's actions in the society as a whole. Religion is defined as belief in God
or gods, divine powers to be obeyed and worshipped as a ruler or rulers, and the expression of such a belief in conduct and ritual. It is also defined as
a system of specific belief and worship often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy such as humanism as a religion. For religion the Arabic word
is Mazhab (a way of living according to one's beliefs). But Deen implies a code of life given by God, instead of human beings. In Mazhab human beings
set the laws according to their understanding of the Hadith or Fiqh. These laws may not be in accordance with the Quran. They may be additional or
different.

The concept of Deen covers the whole life and not just ritual worship or belief in God; whereas, the concept of religion covers only belief in God and
His worship ritually. It is considered a personal matter between a person and his or her God. But in Deen a nation has to follow the code of life
collectively as well as personally. Thus the range of Deen is much wider and covers all actions, public and private. Hence the right word for Deen in
English is God's code of life given by His revealed word.
Different Concepts of Deen
• The Quran clearly explains that the true concept of Deen is to follow God's guidance only; whereas, the concept misconceived by human beings is belief in God and worshipping
Him ritually. Man's concept of Deen has nothing much to do with following His commands about leading one’s life. God gave the Deen to the prophets, but the human beings
distorted the revealed message and replaced it with their own laws by changing God's laws. About the Jews doing so, the Quran says in ,
Have you any hope (O Mohammed) that they (the Jews) will be true to you when a part of them used to change the word of God (His revealed message), after they had
understood it, knowingly.
About additions and alterations in the word of God, the Quran says in,
Therefore, woe be to those who write the Book (of Law) with their own hands, and then say, This is from Allah that they may purchase a small gain therewith. Woe unto them for
that their hands have written, and woe unto them for that they earn thereby.
Thus, we find that God gave His true Deen to the human beings through the Prophets, but they changed it by their own beliefs saying that they were from God thereby creating
their own concept of Deen. The pagan Arabs also believed in Abraham’s Deen, which had been distorted by their elders and they believed in it as a true religion. But God
clearly tells them that the true Deen is one that is given by Mohammed, the true Prophet of God. These two different concepts have been explained in Sura 109. It says ,
"Say, O disbeliever ,I worship not that which you worship Nor will you worship that which I worship And I will not worship that which you worship. Nor will you worship that which
I worship, unto you is your religion (deen) and unto me is my religion (deen)"
We find here that the Prophet’s religion was the revealed word of God and the pagan Arabs rejected it. Their religion was the belief in whatever their religious leaders told
them about their gods and the practices to worship them. They had no place for good conduct. Only rituals were important things in their religion. But in the true religion of God
serving Him by obeying His commands was important. The difference pointed out here is worship of God and the worship of gods considered as the daughters of God.
Ibaadah actually means service or working for the fulfillment of one's duties, which is real worship. In Arabic abdun means a servant or slave. At that time the Prophet only
followed commands such as avoiding shirk, not taking others as gods; whereas the pagan Arabs were engaged in ritual worship only, which is just lip service. The Jews were also
following their religious leaders who had a distorted view of the revealed religion of God with changes made by them. In the true Islam the ritual worship started after thirteen
years in Madina. The point here is that God’s revealed message in the form of the Quran is the only true Islam and the true Deen. The religious leaders’ concept of the
Deen is their own opinions about God. They ask their followers to believe in those opinions and act accordingly in life. For example, the pagan Arabs asked them to consider the
idols as the daughters of God who will intercede for them before Him.

Deen means the beliefs and practices as told by God through the Holy Prophet. This is that they should submit themselves to God's guidance and obey His commands given
through the Prophet. It is not the religion of ritual worship only. The actual worship is the obedience to His commands. His command is to develop taqwaa, doing their duty to
God by following all His instructions given in the Quran, the revealed word of God.
Islam and Guidance:
• Another aspect of Islam is God's guidance that is to be followed by all Muslims. This guidance is mainly about how one should lead
his or her life in this world. God has asked all to submit to whatever He says and not to follow the religious leaders who distort His
message. As He says:
So if they dispute with you (O Muhammed) say, “ I have submitted my face (whole attention) to Allah. And so have those who
follow me. And say to those who have God's Book to read and to those who have no Book to read, Do you submit to God If they
do, they are in the right guidance, but if they turn back, your duty is only to convey the message.
Here every one is told that the right way to believe and to act accordingly is to follow God's commands and not those of the
religious leaders or their forefathers. They must all follow God's commands. This is the true religion, the beliefs and the practices
enjoined upon by God. In 3:85, He says:
If anyone desires a religion (deen) other than submission to Allah (Islam), never will it be accepted of him; and in the hereafter, he
will be among those who have lost.
Thus we find that Islam is the only true religion acceptable to God, because man's concept of religion is a distorted and changed
version of the true religion. The right way to believe and to adopt any faith and practice is to take the guidance from God. Hada in
Arabic means to lead in the right way, to follow a right course of action. Hence God says that Islam, obedience to Him, is the only
right way to lead one's life. God says:
So for those whom Allah wills to guide (to the right path), He opens their breast to Islam; and for those whom He wills to leave
them in their wrong path, He makes their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies. Thus does Allah lay
abomination on those who refuse to believe.
• Here Islam is described as guidance from God. Everyone should obey God. This is the right thing to do. Man's
religion is not God's religion. Man has made up his own faith and practices for his own interest or that of his
own community; but God's religion is for the good of all human beings. It is the light from God, which makes
all the beliefs, and practices clear for him. As God says:
Is one whose heart Allah has opened to submission to Him (Islam), so that he has received the light
(guidance)) from Allah, (not better than one hard-hearted)? Woe to those whose hearts are hardened
against the remembrances of God (His message). They are manifestly wandering in error.
Therefore one must obey God’s commands and always remember them so that he may follow
them.According to God,
:
Allah has revealed the best statements (ahsanal hadith) in the form of a book, consistent with itself, and
repeating (its teachings); whereat does creep the flesh of those who fear their Lord (and they dont disobey)
so that their flesh and their hearts soften at Allah's remembrance (of His message). Such is Allah's guidance
(huda Allah) wherewith He guides whom He wills. And him whom Allah sends astray (on the wrong path), for
him there is no (one to) guide.
Here God clarifies that man's religion is wrong and His religion, the code of life (deen) is the right thing to
follow.Islam is a complete code of life,a complete guide and a true embodiment of the principles God has
given for the benefit for the whole humanity.