As a muslim, I plan to raise my children under the religion of Islam.
I think it is every human’s right to at least learn about Islam.
I invite you to the basics: what is Islam, the articles of faith, the pillers of Islam, the Quran, Prophet Muhammad, and how to convert to Islam. This is my Dawah to you. Dawah literally means “making an invitation”.
What is islam?
Literally Islam means submission.
Islam also comes from the word “Salam” which means peace.
It is a monotheistic religion that believes in the 6 articles of faith.
Muslims believe in the first life and the second life after death.
This means our actions have an effect in our life, everything has a purpose.
The people regarding this religion are divided into believers and nonbelievers.
There are 6 articles of faith.
1) Believe in Allah, the creator and sustainer of the world, the only God worthy of worship.
The one with the glorious names and attributes, qualities, characteristics, and without resemblance to creations.
Tawheed is to believe in the oneness of Allah.
Uluhiha is the divinity of Allah.
Nonbelievers do something called shirk, which is giving a creation any aspect of the creator.
They are worshiping and making duaa to other than Allah.
2) Believing in Allah’s Angels.
Angels are created from light. They are not devine or even semi-devine, so we don’t worship or pray to them.
Moreover, they arn’t Allah’s associates running different districts of the universe, Allah is in control of everything.
Angels are creations and they submit to Allah and carry out Allah’s commands, just like humans carry out Allah’s commands.
There are no fallen Angles, they are not divided into good and evil angles.
The devil is a jin made of fire and was never an angel.
Human beings do not become angles after death.
3) Believe in Allah’s books.
The books are the Quran, the Tawrat, the Injeel, the Zaboor, and the scriptures of Ibrahim and Moses.
All of them were revealed from Allah, as they are words spoken by Allah.
Some of them were spoken from behind a veil without any intermediary angel.
Some were conveyed by an angel to the human messenger.
The Quran is the only book that has not been changed with time and maintains true words from Allah.
4) Believe in Allah’s prophets and messengers.
A prophet is a human who Allah has chosen to remind all humans to be believers.
A messenger is a human who Allah has chosen to remind all humans to be believers and has a book from Allah.
For example, Moses is a prophet and a messenger with the book of Tawrat, but his brother Aaron, aka Harun, is only a prophet without a book.
We belive Allah chose morally upright men to bear the message of Tawheed (to worship Allah alone) and spread it to humanity.
We believe in the following names of the prophets and messengers mentioned in the Quran.
Adam, Idris, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, Ibrahim, Ismail, Ishaq, Yaqub, Yusuf, Shuaib, Ayyub, Dhulkifl, Moses, Harun, Dawud, Sulayman, Ilias, Alyasa, Yunus, Zakariya, Yahya, Jesus, Muhammad.
5) Belive in the day of Judgment.
This is the last day when everything will die and everyone will be resurrected back to life again to be judged by Allah.
Israfil, an angel, will blow a trumpet. The first blow will kill all creatures and creations, except those who Allah chooses not to die.
Israfil will blow the trumpet for the second time, then all creatures will be revived and wait for judgment.
We believe that there will be a scale for good and bad deeds.
We believe that judgment is fair and all our deeds are recorded by angels who write down everything.
6) Believe in Qadar.
This means that the divine decree and predestination of Allah, the all knower and creator of everything, wrote down all things within a Preserved tablet.
The tablet in Arabic is called “Al-luwh Al-mahfuz”.
Nothing exists outside of Allah’s will and decree.
This does not mean humans don’t have free will, because humans are free to obey and disobey Allah.
Allah knows best.
The 5 pillers of Islam.
1) Testimony (Shahada).
To say “La ilaha ila Allah and Mohammed Rasolo Allah” and believe it.
This means there is no God worthy of worship exept Allah and that Mohammad is Allah’s final prophet and messenger.
2) Prayer.
Muslims pray five times a day according to their prayer times.
We pray facing the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.
-Fajar (dawn) is performed before sunrise.
-Duhr (noon) is perforemed in the midday after the sun has surpassed the highest point.
-Asr (afternoon) is performed before sunset.
-Maghrib (evening) is performed after sunset.
-Isha (night) is perforemed anytime during the night.
You must be purifide with ablution, aka wudu, in order for your prayer to be valid.
Wudu is done in steps:
1) Make the intention to quiet your thoughts and ready yourself for the act of purification to pray.
2) Wash your right hand with your left hand and your left hand with your right hand three times.
3) Rinse your mouth three times.
4) Sniff water into your nose and blow it out three times.
5) Wash your face from hairline to chin three times
6) Was your arms from wrist to elbow three times.
7) Wipe your head from the forehead to the back of the head once.
8) Wipe your ears once.
9) Wash your feet starting with the right foot from your toes to your ankle three times.
10) optional – you can say the testimony after completing wudu.
3) Alms-giving (Zakat).
It is obligatory to donate 2.5% of your total accumilated wealth each year to charitable causes, to the poor, vulnerable, and deserving people.
This practice teaches us balance, that all things belong to Allah, and encourages new growth eliminating inequality.
4) Fasting.
During the month of Ramadan, from dawn until sunset, it is obligatory for who reached puperty to abstain from food, drink, smoking, and intimate sexual contact.
Traditionally, those celebrating Ramadan break their fast by eating three dates, to copy the way the prophet Mohammed broke his fast, then go for Maghrib prayer.
If you have a medical condition which prevents you from fasting, then you must pay the donation of a Kaffarah or Fidya instead, to feed 60 poor people.
Fasting quiets the soul and is purification to be closer to Allah, as it is the month of reading the quran esspecially in the last 10 days which has Laylat Alqadar.
Fasting teaches us the ability to control desires and control our strong emotions.
5) Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).
This is done during the month of Dhu Alhijjah in the holy city of Mecca.
It is a mandatory religious duty and must be done at least once in the muslim’s lifetime. It is only obligatory for the able-bodied muslim who are physically and financially capable.
When you perform Haj, you must wear unstitched fabric that is not sewn together. Men wear two white cloths, without seams, hems or buttons.
The top half, the rida, covers the left shoulder at all times. The right shoulder should be exposed while performing the tawaf.
The bottom half, the izar, is wrapped around the waist covering the area between the navel and feet.
Women wear a large square of fabric, usually black or white abayas and hijabs where all parts of the body, except for the hands and face, are covered.
Hajj requires the absence of menstruation, thus women during their period should wait until she becomes pure and does ghusl before entering a place of prayer.
Walk counter clockwise around the Kaaba 7 times.
Run or walk back and forth 7 times between the two small hills of Safa and Marwa, approximately 450 meters or 1,480 feet. One lap starts from Safa going to Marwa. The second lap is from Marwa going back to Safa. The third lap is going back to Marwa. The fourth lap is going back to Safa. The fifth lap is going to Marwa. The sixth lap is going to Safa. The final seventh lap is going to Marwa. That makes 7 times in total.
Go to plain of Arafat mountain for 1 whole day on the second day of Hajj.
Then go to Muzdalifah at night to pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers jointly, where the Isha prayer is shortened to 2 rakats.
At Muzdalifah, pilgrims collect between 49 and 70 pebbles for the Stoning of the Devil, throwing them at the three pillars at Mina, which represent the devil.
On each of the following two days, they must hit all three walls with seven pebbles each, going in order from east to west.
Then go to sacrifice a sheep at Mina, men shave all their hair, women cut between 2cm to 5cm of their hair.
You can later repeat walking counter clockwise around the Kaaba 7 times.
Drink from the holy water of Zamzam.
Perform 2 rakah of prayer at the staition of the prophet Ibrahim.
Allah sent down the Quran.
The sacred book itself is called a Mushaf and the words inside are the Quran.
Quran literally mens “the recitation” and it is the very word of one God, Allah.
These words have been dictated to the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) through the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years in Arabic.
The quran has 114 chapters.
A chapter, aka surah, is a group of ayat that has the same general theme.
Aya litterly means “evidence, sign, or miricle” and means a verse.
The first aya that was revealed is the word read, aka “Iqra”, from the chapter Al Alaq.
The scholars differed as to which was the last verse of the Qur’an to be revealed.
It is said to be surah al-Baqarah 2:281 “And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.
Allah knows best.
Quran main themes: Strict monotheism, the hereafter (day of judgment), and stories of the prophets and messengers.
The quran was revealed before and after the migration from Mecca to Madinah of the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) and the muslims.
A Makki aya is revealed before and a Madani aya is revealed after.
Makki ayat are usually short, faith focused, and story filled.
Madani ayat are usually longer and are focused on commands and rules in Islam.
Prophet Muhammad is sent as a mercy to mankind.
Mohammad is a human servant of Allah, just like Jesus is Allah’s human servant, just like all humans who worship Allah.
The last prophet and messenger is Muhammad peace and blessing be upon him.
Serah (the biography of the prophet Muhammad peace and blessing be upon him and the main life events)
Born in the year of the elephant approximately 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca.
A king in Yemen named “Abraha” wanted to destroy the Kaaba in Mecca with his army of elephants, but couldn’t due to Allah’s protection with the miricle of birds carrying stones of Sijjil.
Muhammad is an orphan raised under the care of his uncle Abu Talib.
Muhammad spent time on a mountain in a cave called Hira, where at age 40, the angel Gabriel revealed the first revelation from Allah to Muhammad.
Muslims respect and love and try to copy and learn from prophets, muslims do not worship prophets and messengers.
A Hadith reports what Muhammad peace be upon him said, does, and his approval or criticism of something in his presence.
A Sunnah is specific to his actions and a muslim will be rewarded if they do these actions.
Every authentic Hadith has a clear chain of narrators who are trust worthy, reliable in ability of memorization, are connected in the same time era, and don’t contradict another hadith already established, that ultimately lead to the prophet.
The relationship between the quran and the sunnah is to explain, make generalization specific, repeat, and add on to for clarity.
Convert to Islam.
The faith of 1.7 billion people, if not more.
All that a person has to do is to say a sentence called the Testimony of Faith (Shahada).
You have to believe that there is only one God, Allah, who created the entire universe, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his final prophet and messenger. If you recite this, with total sincerity, in front of two witnesses, you have become a Muslim.
It really is as simple as that.
