TC

ULUDAG UNİVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIONS STUDIES

DEPT: HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

Msc
Seminar

Muhammad munir Kabir

BURSA-2017

What is Islam?

The word "Islam" is an Arabic word that means submitting and surrendering your will to
Almighty God. The religion of Islam is the acceptance of and obedience to the teachings of God,
which He revealed to His last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Belief: There are six articles to belief;
1. Belief in God. 2. Belief in the angels. 3. Belief in God"s revealed books. 4. Belief in the Prophets.
5. Belief in the Day of Judgment. 6. Belief in Al-Qadar (divine predestination). • Belief in God is
to believe that He is One, The Creator, Sustainer, Provider, and the One who disposes of all affairs.
• Belief in the angels is to believe that they exist and that they are honored creatures. Angels are
created from light, who worship God alone, obey Him, and act only on His command. Among the
angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). • Belief in Allah"s
revealed books and Prophets means that Allah sent messengers like Noah, Abraham Moses,
Jesus, Muhammad (pbuh). And the books that came with them like the Torah, Zaboor (Psalms),
Injeel, Quran to call people to worship Allah alone, associating nothing with him. He sent the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as the last messenger, and abrogated all the previous books with the
Quran. • Belief in the Day of Judgment is to belief that the Day of Resurrection, when all people
will be resurrected for Allah’s judgment according to their beliefs and deeds. • Belief in Al-Qadr
is believing in divine predestination. So everything good or bad that happens or takes place
according to what Allah has foreordained. Divine predestination includes belief in four things; 1.
Allah knows everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen. 2. Allah has recorded
all that has happened and all that will happen. 3. Whatever Allah wills to happen, happens. And
whatever He wills not to happen, doesn’t happen. 4. Allah is the creator of everything . In belief
is also your testimony of Faith. In your testimony of faith there are seven conditions; 1. Knowledge
which negates ignorance. 2. Certainty which negates doubt. 3. Sincerity and purity of intent which
negates shirk (The sin of idolatry or associating partners, beings or things with Allah) 4.
Truthfulness which negates hypocrisy. 5. Love and devotion which negates disdain of Allah’s
Deen (religion). 6. Submission which negates disobedience. 7. Acceptance which negates rejection
of denial. Pillars of Islam There are five pillars in Islam; 1. Shahadah - Declaration of Faith. 2.
Salat - The offering of prayers five times a day. 3. Zakat - The welfare due to giving money to
provide for the poor. 4. Saum - Fasting during the month of Ramadan. 5. Hajj - Making a
Pilgrimage to Mecca (At least Once in your life-time). These five pillars are of great importance
in Islam. They are not the whole of Islam but Islam would be incomplete without them. The
Beginning; Islam came to reform human society. It came to encourage the good form from the
other revealed books and to discourage and modify the bad that people were doing. Why we need
Islam; • To secure consistency and rationality in logical thought. • Through worshiping Allah, life
becomes meaningful and most important of all, purposeful. • To equalize all humans and races. •
To further our knowledge and scientific progress. Islam encourages and even urges its followers
to learn, read, write and do research. • To emphasize all aspects of good manners such as honesty,
telling the truth, charity, co-operation and modesty. • To emphasize contentment, i.e. being
satisfied with yourself. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "The real richness is the richness of
the soul". Hard work, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) urges the believer to work and not depend
on others. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, "If you go up the mountain to collect some wood,
this is better than begging" • Security is a basic need of human beings and Islam provides this.
When you know that Allah is merciful and guides and protects those who believe in him, you feel
secure. • Islam gives us a real pieces of mind because it guides us in daily life . In Islam the right
is clear, the wrong is clear and there is no compromises. Islam does not include contradictions.
Each order in Islam serves others orders in superb harmony. • Family protection; Islam gives
priority to the safety of the family because Islam takes the family to be the best social unit that
secures the physical and psychological needs of parents and children. • Prayer and Psychological
health; Prayer in Islam serves as a symbol of submission to Allah and food for our souls. Prayer
kills anxiety, excessive worrying, hypocrisy, reinforces belief, strengthens and waters faith. The
Purpose of Islam; Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life, moral, spiritual,
political, economic, intellectual etc. It establishes peace and order and creates a very strong ethical
and spiritual society on earth. 1

1
Muhdmunir18@yahoo.com, And Facebook- El munir El kabir