Concepts of Islam:

Literal Meaning of Islam;

The word Islam is derived from the root of Arabic word SLM which means “to surrender, to
submit, to yield, and to give one’s self up. Thus Aslama alone means “he committed himself to
the will of God “or he became Muslim. Salm also means peace.

Syed Ameer Ali Shah in his epic book “The Spirit of Islam” defines Islam as; Salam in its
primary sense, means, to be tranquil, to have paid up, to be at perfect peace; and in its secondary
sense means to surrender oneself to Him with whom peace is made.

Terminological meaning:
Islam is an Arabic word that denotes submission, surrender and obedience. As a religion, it
stands for submission to Allah.

It also signifies that one can achieve real peace of body and mind only through obedience to
Allah.

“Indeed it is in the remembrance of God alone that the heart of man finds rest.

Article of faith (Kalimah):

La ilahailla Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah

There is no God except Allah; Muhammad is his Prophet

Exposition of Religion of Islam:

Ahmed.A.Galwash in his book “The Religion of Islam” has summarized the concept of Islam as

Resignation of God’s will, is a comprehensive name applied to the religion of the followers of
Prophet Muhammad PBUH,includes various sections which God has established for the
guidance of His people

These sections are 5

1) Beliefs:
There are 5 articles of faith

1) God 2) His Angels 3) His books 4) His Prophets 5) The day of Judgment

2) Practical Devotions:
1) Recital of Creed (Kalimah) 2) Salat 3) Zakat 4) Saum 5) Hajj

Devotion also includes jihad

3) Transactions:
Duties which are required between man and man.

4) Moralities
5) Punishments
Importance of Deen in Human Life:
Islam plays a vital role in human life and society. Its message is real and practical for it
comprehends all human actions.

It is complete code of life, which provides guidance in all human situations. A divine religion
such as Islam addresses all people, of all ages irrespective of race and color through Quran.

Guide and Admonition:

We have put forth for men, in this Quran every parable, in order that they may receive
admonition. (Quran)

Religion and Divine Religion:

Religion deals with man’s relations with God whereas Deen deals both with man’s relations with
God and his fellow beings. Religion deals with private affairs of life whereas Deen covers all
aspects of life, individual as well as collective.Deen is all embracing term which includes religio-
socio-politico-economic system. Islam is not only a religion but also a Deen.

What is religion?
Set of dogmas, some rituals for worship and a number of social customs and deals with
individual life. According to E.B Taylor:

Religion means the belief in spiritual beings.

Ibn –Khuldun describe the chief objective of religion as follows;

“Religions are introduced by Allah in order to lead man to eternal blessings. Their objective is to
worship Allah as well as management of worldly affairs. Religions provide guidelines to
establish composite state and government on the fundamentals enjoined by Allah”
Rosemary Goring;

No single definition will suffice to encompass the varied set of traditions, practices and ideas
which constitute different religions.Christianity, Judaism and Islam are theistic religions while
Buddhism does not require belief in Gods.

There are theories of religion which construe it as wholly a human phenomenon without any
supernatural origin while some argue that it is essence of matter.

Whether Confucianism is properly to be considered a religion. But it is social and ethical

philosophy taught by CONFUCIAS.

Necessity of Religion:
Mental satisfaction by giving meaning to life

Moral and ethical development of society

How to seek support of God

Equality and dignity of mankind

Brotherhood of mankind

Purification of soul

Concepts such as tolerance, coexistence and mutual cooperation essential for world peace

Care for needy, crippled, minorities, women

Man requires metaphysical being

Concept of DEEN
Material as well as spiritual dimensions of human existence .Spiritual matters and and secular
affairs of this world. One meaning is government, one is subordination and other one is to give
judgment. Allah says:

“Deen with Allah is al-Islam.”

This day I have perfected your Deen for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for
you Islam as your Deen.

Name of this Deen is Islam:

Recognize Allah alone as the processor of dignity
Regard only Allah as Master, Lord and Sovereign

Allah as giver of reward and punishment

Dr.Michael Hart is compelled to confess: My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of world’s
most influential persons may surprise some readers, but he was the only man in history who was
supremely successful on both religious and secular level.

Dr. Khalifa Abdul Hakim:

The craving for peace is inherent in human nature; hence every being craves naturally for Islam.

Necessity of Divine religion (Deen):

Inability of our intellect to give meaning to life

Civilization

Purpose of mankind on Earth

Provides answers to questions which have not yet answered

Human beings are both having material and the spirit. However to cater the spiritual need divine
religion is necessary.

Importance of Deen in human life:

Deen provides guidance to mankind:
“And we have sent down to you the Book explaining all things as a Guide, a Mercy and Glad
Tidings to Muslims.”

“Surely this Quran guides to that which is most right.”

Deen provides a clear path:

Believe thereof in Allah and in His Messenger; and in the light which we have sent down.

Leads mankind from darkness into light:

A book which we have revealed unto you, in order that you might lead mankind out of the depths
of darkness into light.

Source of wisdom and knowledge:

‘Yasin, by the Quran, full of wisdom.’
Sets the criterion for right and wrong:
The Quran provides guidance on justice and judgment. Ramadan is the month in which we sent
down Quran as a guide to mankind and criterion of judgment between right and wrong. (Quran)

Spiritual cure of Modern Man:

“We sent down the Quran that which is a healing and a Mercy to those who believe.”

Guard against evil:

It is a Quran in Arabic without any crookedness therein, in order that they may guard against
evil.

Allah makes his signs clear to men that they learn self- restraint.

Provides a clear message to mankind:

And we sent down to you the book explaining all things.

Induces piety and remembrance of god:

Thus does God make clear His message to men, that they may fear Him?

Principles for establishment of justice:

“It is God who has sent down the book which is truth, and the balance to judge between the right
and wrong.”

Critical assessment by H.A.R. Gibb:

Within western world, Islam is balance between anarchy of European Nationalism and
regimentation of Russian communism.

Will Durant in his book ‘the history of Civilization’

Will Durant considered the rise and fall of the Islamic civilization a great event in history. Islam
was world power, precursor, and expansion of its realm, improvement of standard of living, air
human laws, religious leniency, literature and scientific research in medicine, philosophy etc

Characteristics of ISLAM; KHURSID BOOK

ISLAMIC BELIEF SYSTEM

Tawhid:
Belief in unity and oneness of Allah-tauhid is first and main principle of the Islamic faith. It
means that Allah is the Supreme Lord, the Creator, Sustainer and Master of the Universe, the
highest authority and exclusively worthy of worship. The first Surah of Holy Quran begins with
words

Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainers of the worlds.

He has no body form, no physical attributes.

The confession of faith in in the pronouncement of Kalimah, which is first Article of faith;

There is no God except Allah; Muhammad is his Prophet.

Tauhid is the basic tenet to which holy prophet S.A.W asked humanity. It is an important
metaphysical concept which presents unified view of the world. It is a dynamic belief which
states that Humanity is one single family under God. It defines true position of man in this
universe.

The stars, the vast panorama nature, sun rise and sunset, harmony of seasons all points towards
the creator of universe:

Indeed there are signs for people that are wise.

Kinds of Tawhid:
(i) Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah (maintaining the unity of Lordship)

Neither plurality of God nor plurality of God in persons. Allah is lord of universe, Supreme
planner, the Law Giver, Giver of security.

‫َلۡو َك اَن ِفيِهَم ٓا َء اِلَهٌة ِإاَّل ٱُهَّلل َلَفَس َد َتا‬

“If there were in the heaven and the Earth other gods besides Allah, there would have been
confusion.

He is neither the father nor the son of anyone

‫ُقْل ُهَو ٱُهَّلل َأَح ٌد ٱُهَّلل ٱلَّص ُد َلْم َيِلْد َو َلْم ُيوَلْد َو َلْم َيُك ن َّل ۥُه ُك ُفًو ا َأَح ٌۢد‬
‫َم‬
Say He is Allah the one and only, Allah the Eternal

He begets not, nor is He begotten.

And your Allah is one; there is no god but Him, the most gracious and the Most Merciful.

(ii) Tawheed al-Asmaa-was-sifaat (maintaining the unity of Allah's name and

attributes).

His oneness in attributes implies that no other being possess one or more divine attributes in
perfection. None can be names and qualified with the names and qualifications of Allah

‫ۚ ُهَّللا اَل ِإَٰل َه ِإاَّل ُهَو اْلَح ُّي اْلَقُّيوُم‬

Allah| There is no god but Him the living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal.

And there is none like unto Him.

(iii) Tawheed al-Ibaadah (maintaining the unity of worship)

No one has the right to worship or ask for help except Allah

I have created jinn and men so that they may serve Me.

‫ِإَّياَك َنْعُبُد َو ِإَّياَك َنْسَتِع يُن‬

You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help.

Shirk:
Associating partners with Allah is called Shirk. Thus the belief that Allah is not sovereign and
Sole Dispenser of Affairs of the world and other deities can intercede with Him. The Quran
considers Shirk to be unpardonable sin. It says

"Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything else, to
whom He pleases, to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed"

The Quran also does not recognize the attribute of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself; it
respects Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God sent to children of Israel.

Man has been created as lord of creation and everything in nature has been placed under his
control. By worshipping other beings besides Allah man debases himself.

Holy Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said:

Shirk is the greatest of all sins.

Impact on individual life
1. Creates sense of accountability:
Al Safi notes that:

Every person is responsible for his own deeds and everyone has a ‘book’, a register of acts in
which all deeds –small or great – are written down. God Almighty will bring all people to life
after death and bring them from their graves so that each one of them will meet the result of his
deeds, with reward or punishment

It is responsibility of every Muslim to carry out their duties as described in the Holy Qur’an.

“The word ‘account’ in Islam conceptually relates to humans’ obligations as Allah’s

representatives on earth (Khalifah – vicegerent)

2. Width of Vision:
He looks on everything in the universe as belonging to the same Lord he himself belongs to. His
vision is enlarged, his intellectual horizon widens, and his outlook becomes as liberal.

The Qur'an says: "The seven heavens and the earth and all being therein declare His glory: There
is not thing but celebrates His praise and you do not understand how do they declare His glory."

3. Self Respect:
This conviction makes him indifferent to, and independent and fearless of, all powers other than those
of God. He never bows his head in homage to any of God’s creatures.

‫ِإَّياَك َنْعُبُد َو ِإَّياَك َنْسَتِع يُن‬

You alone we worship and you alone we ask for help.

4. Modesty and Humility:

The boisterous pride of power, wealth and worth can have no room in his heart, because he
knows that whatever he possesses has been given to him by God. In the same way pride and self-
conceit are a necessary outcome and concomitant of shirk (association of others with God in His
divinity), because a mushrik believes that he has a particular relation with the deities which does
not exist between them and other people.
 And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the
ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, and those who spend [part of] the
night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer]
5. Virtuous and Upright:
Al-Ghazzali said: "Good actions, which are praised by reason and the divine knowledge
(Shari'ah) proceed from it, it is called good morality. If actions proceeded from the state of evil,
is bad morality."

He has the conviction that there is no other means of success and salvation for him except purity
of soul and righteousness of behavior. As to atheists, they do not believe that there is any Being
having power over them, to whom they should be responsible for their good or bad actions;
therefore they consider themselves independent to act in whatever way they like. Their own
fancies become their gods and they live like slaves of their wishes and desires.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Piety is good manners, and sin is that which creates doubt

6. Regulates entire course of life:

A believer in Tawhid is sure that Allah knows and sees everything, so he is restrained from
committing a sin even secretly in the darkness of the night, because of this firm conviction.

There is nothing like him and He is the one that hears and sees all things.

Satisfaction of heart
Prof. Joad writes about the West: “For the first time in history there is coming to maturity a
generation of men and women who have no religion and feel no need for one. They are content
to ignore it. Also they are very unhappy, and the suicide rate is abnormally high.”

‫َأَال ِبِذ ْك ِر ِهَّللا َتْطَم ِئُّن اْلُقُلو‬

Determination
“O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you
may be successful.” (Quran)

7. Bravery:
There are two things which make a man cowardly: (i) fear of death and love of safety, and (ii)
the idea that there is someone else besides God who can take away life and that man, by adopting
certain devices, can ward off death. Mushriks and kafirs hold life the dearest thing in the world.
A simple example of this was when 313 Muslims with the ultimate faith defeated the
disbelievers at the Battle of Badr. They had no fear of their opponents, and they entirely relied on
Allah. They have no fear of death and welcomed martyrdom.

Peace and Contentment:

“But perhaps you hate a thing, and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing, and it is bad
for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Quran) Hence, we should always be content
with Allah’s decree and know there is some betterment in store for us.

Words of another non Muslim historian are as “In this uncompromising monotheism, with its
simple, enthusiastic faith in the supreme rule of a transcendent being, lies the chief strength of
Islam. Its adherents enjoy a consciousness of contentment and resignation unknown among
follower of most creeds”.

Obedience:
One who has belief in it is sure that God knows everything hidden or open and is nearer to him than his
own jugular vein.

Impact on Society:
Equality and Dignity:
He is nearer to God who is more pious (the one who fears Allah)

Holy Prophet (PBUH) said on the day of Hajjat-ul-Wada:

Oh people your lord is one, certainly your father is one. There is no preference to an Arab over
non-Arab and non-Arab over Arab, white over black and black over white but only due to
Taqwa.

Unity and Brotherhood:

Certainly all Muslims are brothers.

The Holy Prophet says that all believers are like a body: When one part of body is ill, all other
parts of body share this illness. Thus the belief of Tawhid creates unity among all believers.

Different viewpoints regarding afterlife:

The last proposition of this belief is the existence of Paradise and Hell, which is also not
impossible. If God can make the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth, why should He not be
able to make Paradise and Hell? When He holds His Court, and pronounces just judgments,
rewarding the meritorious and punishing the guilty, there must be a place where the meritorious
may enjoy their reward - honor, happiness and gratification of all kinds - and another place
where the condemned may feel debasement, pain and misery.

After considering all these questions, no reasonable person can escape the conclusion that belief
in life after death is highly acceptable to reason and commonsense, and that there is nothing in it
which can be said to be unreasonable or impossible. Moreover, a true Prophet like Muhammad
(blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) has stated this to be a fact.

Impact on individual life:

1) Creates sense of accountability:
Islam has developed its own concept of accountability which means that all Muslims are
accountable for their actions or inactions on the Day of Judgment. Al Safi notes that: Every
person is responsible for his own deeds and everyone has a ‘book’, a register of acts in which all
deeds –small or great – are written down. God Almighty will bring all people to life after death
and bring them from their graves so that each one of them will meet the result of his deeds, with
reward or punishment

According to Askary and Clarke in the Holy Qur’an, as explained by Lewis (2006, p.2), “Allah
repeats the word Hisab or ‘account’ as the root of accountability, more than eight times in
different verses.” It is responsibility of every Muslim to carry out their duties as described in the
Holy Qur’an.

“The word ‘account’ in Islam conceptually relates to humans’ obligations as Allah’s

representatives on earth (Khalifah – vicegerent)

Impacts of Zakat:
Spiritual Impacts:
1) Zakat removes greed
2) Zakat removes love of materialism
3) Zakat brings man closer to God
4) Self purification

Moral impacts:
1) Generosity:

“And whoso is saved from his own avarice such are they who are successful”

The holy Prophet (SAW) has said: “Avoid from avarice as people before you were annihilated due to
avarice
 2) Purifies heart and property

Take alms of your wealth and make it clean and pure.

3) Shield against crime

4) Special financial aid
5) Internal security, humanitarian spirit
6) Sincerity of faith

Because in the words of Holy Quran, it is the characteristic of the hypocrites that “they come not to
worship save reluctantly”.

Narrates Abu Zar (RA) that the Holy Prophet (SAW) said: “They are the losers on the day of
Resurrection, by the lord of The Ka’bah” I asked “Who are they? May my Parents ransomed to you!” He
said, “They are the wealthy except those who spend here and there.

Social impacts

1) Individual welfare lies in collective welfare

2) Cooperation
3) Social harmony and justice
In capitalistic economies, we see that the wealth accumulates into a few hands and the condition
of the poor further deteriorates. One of the purposes of Zakat is to avoid such social disparity.

The Holy Quran Says: “This (Wealth) may not circulate solely among the rich from among you.

4) Defense of religion:
Spend your wealth in the cause of Allah.

5) Distribution of wealth:
6) Social security
Those who have enough money today pay for what they have.

If they need money tomorrow, they will get what is necessary to help them live decently”

7) Help of poor
And in whose there is a right acknowledge for the beggar and the destitute.

Thus Zakat helps a lot in decreasing poverty. If proper Zakat system is established, the poverty
will vanish away from the earth.

8) Best check against hoarding

Zakat is not levied on the income rather on the savings and hoarded items. So the person, who
pays Zakat every year, prefers to invest his wealth and get it increased. The Holy Quran says”

“That, which you give in Zakat, seeking Allah’s countenance, has increase manifold”

9) Human brotherhood
The Quran says:- “But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due (Zakat), then
they are your brethren in religion”

10) Promoting self respect:

O you who believe! Render not vain your almsgiving by reproach and injury

11) Peace and prosperity:

Zakat ensures social justice by bringing financial balance among various strata of society. It
decreases the crime rate and terrorist inclinations among the society. Thus the whole society
strives together and achieves development and prosperity. Equal distribution of wealth curtails
the rate of unemployment and reduces chances of economic recession

12) Balanced ideology:

Middle way between communism and capitalism