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Islam
teaches that the objective of the Commandments of God
is that peace should be established in the human
societies of this world, in preparation for a further
dimension of human existence in the world to come, the
Afterlife. Islam's vision of peace is therefore truly
universal; it transcends time and belongs to the order
of God's eternity.
Islam does not regard itself to be a new teaching,
different or separate from that of other world
religions. It is the re-affirmation of the ancient yet
living truth of all religions which can be expressed
in the following beliefs:
-
the
Uniqueness of the one and only God who is
Sovereign of the universe;
-
the
Revelation of the teaching and commandments of God
through Angels in heaven to Prophets on earth, and
written in sacred writings which all have the same
transcendent source; these contain the will of God
which marks the way of peace for the whole
universe and all of humankind;
-
the
Day of Judgment which inaugurates the Afterlife in
which God rewards and punishes with respect to
human obedience to His will.
Islam affirms these simple beliefs as the basis of the
decent, civilized society for which it strives. Its
vision of society is, in essence, no different from
that upheld by all monotheistic religions. This is
particularly true of Judaism and Christianity which
share with Islam the direct spiritual lineage of the
Prophet Abraham. Islam affirms the divinely-ordained
missions of the Prophet Moses, through whom God
revealed the sacred scripture called the Torah, and of
the Prophet Jesus, through whom God revealed the
scripture known as the Gospel. The message of Islam is
in essence the same as that which God revealed to all
his prophets and messengers. The Prophet Muhammad (the
peace and blessing of God be upon him) was commanded
to recite in the Holy Qur'an:
"Say:
we believe in God, and that which was revealed unto
us, and that which was revealed unto Abraham and
Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes, and
that which was vouchsafed unto Moses and Jesus and
the prophets from their Lord; We make no distinction
between any of them, and unto Him we have
surrendered. "
(The Holy Qur'an 3:84)
The success of civilizations and cultures is directly
related to the extent of their practice of the
righteous way of life revealed in the teaching and
commandments of God, and set forth in the monotheistic
religions which are confirmed by Islam God's
revelation enshrines the highest values of humankind,
and the divine commandments are essentially no
different from the values which human beings have
cherished and striven to maintain throughout history,
irrespective of cultural, racial, linguistic and
socio-economic differences. Success in this life is
directly related to the practice of these values.
Islam teaches that human diversity is a sign of the
richness of God's mercy, and that God wills human
bangs to compete with each other in goodness in order
to test who is the finest in action: this is,
according to Islam, the reason for the creation of the
universe. To strive for peace in the societies of this
world is to compete in the fulfillment of human
destiny in preparation for the ultimate Abode of Peace
in a further, renewed dimension of human existence in
the Afterlife. The irreducible minimum of faith is to
believe in God as the sole sovereign Lord of this
world and of the next, and to believe in the reality
of the Afterlife for which human beings are to prepare
by living righteously in this world. God alone is the
Judge of human righteousness, and it is God alone who
rewards and punishes in this life and in the life
hereafter.
Righteousness
does not mean for you to turn your faces towards the
East and West, but righteousness means one should
believe in God (Alone), the Last Day, angels, the
Book and prophets; and no matter how he loves it, to
give his wealth away to near relatives, orphans, the
needy, the wayfarer and beggars, and towards freeing
captives; and to keep up prayer and pay the welfare
tax; and those who keep their word whenever they
promise anything; and are patient under suffering
and hardship and in time of peril (stress). Those
are the ones who act loyal and perform their duty.
(The Holy Qur'an 2:177)
A Muslim is one who is committed to peace by
continuously striving to follow the way of
righteousness and justice revealed by God; the Arabic
word Muslim refers to a man, Muslima to a woman. In
either case the literal meaning is "one who
submits to God's teachings and commandments which
leads to peace".
Muslims have three distinct advantages to help them in
the practice of Islam as their way of life:
1)
The Sacred Scripture, called the Qur'an, which was
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
in the 7th. century of the common era, and which,
after 1,400 years, remains authentic in its original
Arabic text, in the language which is still used and
understood by millions of people in the world today;
it contains God's guidance in teachings and
commandments which are valid for all times and
places, and which encompass all spheres of human
life;
2)
The Prophet Muhammad, whom the Qur'an names as
"the Seal (last) of the Prophets", and of
whose life and mission there is a complete and
authentic record in the Sira and the Hadith (Sunna);
these show how he exemplified the teachings and
commandments of God in practice, and elaborated the
principles laid down in the Qur'an in order to
provide a sure guidance for their interpretation and
application for all later times and societies;
3)
The Sacred Law, called the Shari'ah, which sets out
the way of worship prescribed in the Qur'an and the
Prophet's practice; it goes beyond the common
understanding of worship as the performance of
religious rituals, and encompasses the whole of
human life, individual and social; thus all
so-called secular activities become acts of worship,
provided they are performed with pure and righteous
intention, seeking God's pleasure.
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