Introduction to Islam

greetings and thank you for attending this session on introduction to islam my name is nadi elmi and i will be presenting this session i should also congratulate you on your decision to want to find out about islam for yourself and your decision to come to the real source of information rather than relying on the media or the internet did you know that while 45 percent of people in the u.s personally knew a muslim only 25 percent of people knew a great deal or some about islam according to 28 survey from pew research so you are among the 25 percent with inquisitive minds who decided to find out for themselves with that i start by saying peace be upon you muslims all over the world use the same greeting when they want to say hello or goodbye to each other it literally means peace be upon you in arabic the response to this greeting is which means and peace be upon you this universal islamic reading of peace symbolizes the essence of islam what does islam mean does it mean muhammad's faith does it mean peace or peaceful if you guessed peace through submission and surrender to god that would be the correct and complete meaning the term islam is derived from the arabic rule salm which generates interrelated words such as peace security safety and of course submission and surrender islam is commonly defined as peace through submission to god which implies that one attains peace by following god's guidance and commandments a muslim submits to god on daily basis through observing his commands from wearing mother's clothing to diet acts of worship charity and manners notice that the name islam is not tied to a particular person who taught the religion or a place or a nation but rather represents an idea that followers of islam embrace islam is commonly described as a religion but it is more accurately a way of life that addresses all aspects of our life such as clothing diet family life as well as social economic and political aspects by the way the word islamic is an adjective used to describe non-human things such as islamic art or islamic architecture it cannot be used to describe a follower of islam a person who follows islam is called a muslim or one who willingly surrenders and submits to god anyone can be a muslim regardless of race nationality ethnicity or color according to pew research center muslims are projected to be the fastest growing religious group within the next several decades contrary to the perception that most of muslims population is in the middle east majority of muslims reside in asia pacific region there are over 1.8 billion muslims around the world which is about a quarter of the world's population or one out of every four people in the world which makes islam the second largest religion in the world like christianity islam spread all over the world with many ethnically diverse people embracing islam what about islam in america islam is not new in the u.s it is estimated that up to one-third of the africans brought to this country as captives in the 18th and 19th centuries were muslim in the late 19th century muslims from many parts of parts of the world began migrating to the us either for better job opportunities or better education or to get away from war in their home country the children and grandchildren of these immigrants now make up a large percentage of american muslims who were born and raised in this country as you know except for the native americans every ethnicity has come to america as immigrants at some time or another and that is what makes this country great after 9 11 there was a big spike in numbers of new muslims who do muslims worship if you guessed allah you are correct what was muhammad's main message monotheism monotheism means the belief in one god according to islamic teachings islam completes the judeo-christian tradition of monotheism all three faiths trace their history back to the prophet abraham and are therefore commonly referred to as the three abrahamic faiths islam is viewed by its followers as a continuation and confirmation of the original monotheistic message the three world religions share a common belief in successive prophets and reveal scriptures however islam's view and understanding of monetism is perhaps unique due to its emphasis on oneness of god all three faiths worship the same god however they define who god is differently so how does islam define god the most important belief in islam is the belief in one god muslims believe that allah is the proper name for god in islam nothing else can be called allah and the name has no plural or gender allah is only one of the 99 names of god that are mentioned in muslims holy book the quran other names include the compassionate and the merciful as well as the wise the creator the just and the all-knowing because muslims believe that no one knows what god looks like you will never see an image picture or statue of allah but only his name written in arabic calligraphy maybe on a plate or a pennant in islam allah is the creator and sustainer of all the universe has no partners no equals and no rivals has no child or nor is the child of anyone allah alone is worthy of all worship allah is the most merciful compassionate and just allah created all human beings equal and in islam distinguished are those who obtain allah's favor through virtue and piety which prophets muslims believe in if you guessed all prophets that would be the correct answer here's another fact that might surprise you about these names mentioned in the quran moses 136 times abraham 69 times jesus 25 times muhammad four times muhammad peace be upon him as the last prophet was sent to confirm the message of previous prophets and complete the message for later generations we believe prophets were sent periodically by allah as a mercy to mankind for their guidance muslims believe prophets had exceptional and noble noble characteristics hence they were exceptional human beings however they were still humans just like you and i with the difference that they received revelations and performed miracles as such prophets are not divine and must not be worshipped however we believe prophets were the best examples to be followed and obeyed in essence islam was preached by all prophets and is further elaborated by prophet muhammed peace be upon him many of the prophets mentioned in the quran are the same as those mentioned in the old testament the quran mentions 25 of these prophets by name including such well-known prophets such as noah abraham moses isaac ismail david solomon jesus and finally muhammad peace be upon them all judaism recognizes prophets up to moses christians up to jesus and muslims believe in all the prophets through muhammad this is why it is common for muslims to name their children after the prophets since all are equally respected and revered what does islam say about jesus peace be upon him his message was to believe in one true god allah and worship him only he submitted and surrendered to god and his commands as such he was a muslim he was a humble servant and honorable messenger of god he was a human being son of mary born miraculously christianity and islam differ in the way which in which they view jesus peace be upon him islam views him as a special prophet born to the virgin mary noble mother of jesus peace be upon him without the father just as adam was born without the father and the mother there is an entire chapter in the quran called mary or maryam in arabic her name is mentioned over 30 times and there are verses which describe jesus miraculous birth and how he spoke from the cradle the quran mentions five revealed holy books or scriptures by name namely the scrolls as revealed to abraham the torah as revealed to moses the poems as revealed to david the bible has revealed to jesus and the quran as revealed to muhammad peace be upon them all muslims believe that these earlier scriptures were the divine revelations from god in their original form but throughout time and events parts have been either changed or lost the whole and literally means the recital or recitation and is considered by muslims to be the last testament or final revelation from god the quran was sent down by god to the prophet muhammad peace be upon him over a period of 23 years between 610 and 632 ce in arabic which is vastly spoken today muslims view the quran unique in that it is true word of god and has been preserved in its original form since it was first revealed over 1400 years ago hence there is only one version of it the quran contains stories about the prophets with examples and moral lessons as well as laws commandments and facts about the creation the quran consists of more than 6 000 verses which are divided into 114 chapters of varying links some are long some are very short since the quran is considered by muslims to be the word of god muslims try to read it in its original form which is arabic although it's been translated into every language including many translations in english since its first revelation millions of muslims throughout the world have memorized the entire quran even though arabic may not be their native language as such it is the most read and memorized book in human history quran contains no errors or contradictions rather contains pure and universal message with rational explanations it is unique in elegance wisdom and prophecies also should mention its scientific miracles pointing to facts in recent discoveries what does it mean to be a muslim islam like most faiths is composed of beliefs and practices both are considered important one depends on the other muslims believe that there are six main beliefs for them which are believing allah or one god prophets holy books angels the day of judgment and the divine decree or destiny we talked about god prophets and the holy books we now continue with the rest muslims believe angels are among other forms of god's creations whom the human eye cannot see muslims believe that unlike humans angels do not possess free will but rather devote their lives to serving god by performing various tasks one of the most prominent angels is the angel gabriel who is said to have brought divine revelation to many of the prophets including the last messenger prophet muhammad peace be upon him muslims believe that every person has an angel on each shoulder entrusted with recording that person's good and bad deeds the day of judgment muslims believe that eventually this world will come to an end all of humankind will die and then will be brought back to life to stand before god on the day of judgment or resurrection day when the ultimate justice will be served according to the islamic belief each one of us will be held accountable for our individual actions in this life muslims believe that those who lead a good life and follow god's guidance will be rewarded by heaven paradise while those who reject his guidance and lead a bad life will be punished by hell we talked about articles of faith in islam we now talk about the five pillars of islam worship in islam can include any acts a muslim does with the purpose of pleasing and serving god whether it be helping an old person across the street greeting a friend or even hugging one's child just like physical pillars that support a building structure there are five pillars of islam that provide this spiritual support for a muslim the five pillars of islam include the shahada or declaration of faith salat or five daily prayers zakat or charity siam or fasting in the month of ramadan and hajj or pilgrimage to mecca the shahada or declaration of faith is the first pillar of islam upon which everything else is based on it is a two-part statement which in arabic reads is no god but god or allah and muhammad is the messenger of god these two short sentences summarize the entirety of islam the first part affirms the monotheistic message the second part of the shahada affirms the prophethood of the last messenger as well as previous prophets and tells one how to put the first statement into practice namely by following the guidance sent to the prophet muhammad peace be upon him through the holy quran anyone who professes and believes this declaration is considered a muslim after the first pillar the most important thing in a muslim's daily life is the daily prayers muslims perform prayers five times throughout the day at dawn at noon in the afternoon after sunset and lastly at night the five prayers are both physical and mental made up of specific movement the quran recitation and glorifying god the prayers include standing bowing and prostrating one's forehead on the ground as a sign of submission with with one's body and mind do muslims have to use a prayer rock when they pray no the idea is to pray on any clean surface it can be a sheet a towel or even the grass if it is clean while it's highly recommended to pray the five daily prayers in congregation in a mosque or masjid as we call it a muslim can pray at his home his work or elsewhere if he can't attend the congregation before the prayer muslims are also supposed to clean themselves by mainly washing their hands face arms and feet prayer reminds muslims about their relationship with god who gave them everything as well as the fact that god sees everything they do prayer is also a reminder to muslims to stay away from things they are not supposed to be doing such as lying cheating or backbiting salat or prayer is a chance to take time out from a busy hectic lifestyle and think about what's important in life the third pillar of islam is zakat or giving alms or charity zakat literally means to purify a muslim is asked to purify his money or wealth sharing part of it with the less fortunate members of the society zakat helps a muslim remember what one owns is not really his but belongs to god zakat also keeps people from becoming selfish and greedy while helping the poor in fact one could say that zakat is a 1400 years old social benefit system that aims at preventing the great disparity in wealth that plagues the world today zakat is calculated annually at two and a half percent of one's accumulated wealth which is kept for one year beyond one's needs and is required to be paid once a year to the poor and needy since there is no centralized authority to administer the collection of zakat funds in the west a charitable organization or mosques usually collect and distribute the money to needy people the fourth pillar in islam is siam or fasting in the month of ramadan ramadan is the ninth month in the islamic calendar because islamic calendar is lunar it rotates around the seasons moving back 11 days each year during the month of ramadan muslims all over the world abstain from food drink and intimate relation from dawn until sunset for a period of 29 or 30 days muslims begin their daily fast before dawn when families wake up for a small pre-dawn meal and morning prayer and then they break their fast at sunset followed by dinner fasting is part of many religions as well as islam and for muslims it is meant to be a way of learning self-control god-consciousness and sympathy for those less fortunate by controlling one's physical desires and avoiding negative behaviors such as lying cheating backbiting fighting etc fasting trains a person in self-control ramadan is also a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation during which muslims spend extra time reading the quran performing special prayers and doing good deeds muslims are supposed to be especially charitable and generous in ramadan sharing food and money with those in need and inviting others to share in the breaking of the fast it is common to go to the local mosque after dinner for special night prayers during which the entire quran is completed by the end of the month since fasting requires good health those who are physically unable to fast such as the elderly sick travelers and of course children are exempt from fasting the sick may defer fasting to later time when they recover and can make up the mistakes ramadan is a very special time of the year which muslims look forward to and enjoy as a chance to renew their faith give up bad habits cleanse themselves spiritually and do extra worship and good deeds hatch or making pilgrimage to mecca is the fifth and last pillar of islam once in a lifetime every adult muslim who has the physical and financial ability should make the pilgrimage to mecca the hajj is a commemoration of the life and trials of the prophet abraham his wife hadir and their son ismar the hajj takes place during the 12th lunar month in the islamic calendar over a period of several days in and near the city of mecca hajj is an extremely communal event as over 2 million muslims of many races and ethnicities come together and perform the same ritual during which men and women dress in simple white clothing symbolizing the equality of all people the kaaba is an empty cube-shaped building covered with a black cloth on each side muslims believe that it was built long before prophet muhammed peace be upon him by prophet abraham and his son ismail peace be upon them as the first house of worship for god over time as politicism overwhelmed the monotheistic message the kaaba was filled with hundreds of idols today the kaaba is empty people rarely go inside the kaaba however muslims all over the world face toward the direction of kaaba when they pray as a way of unifying them one of the most common causes of misunderstanding islam is the confusion between cultural practices of muslims and the teachings of islam as you know each one of us is impacted by many factors in our life such as ethnicity race nationality country of origin our upbringing or where we live as well as religious beliefs and practices at different levels not every everything that a person does in his or her life is motivated by religion a person's nationality ethnicity upbringing or even special circumstances such as politics or economics shape that person's activities all muslims are not the same nor do they have one monolithic culture just as christianity and christians around the world have many different cultures and for muslims sometimes aspects of these cultures may even contradict islamic teaching also just like not every christian goes to church or reads the bible not every muslim is religious all in all then islam has three dimensions beliefs practices and exemplifying good character this is what i usually open up for questions in a live presentation however since this is a recording if i may ask you to please kindly send your questions to the email address listed here and i'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible you can also visit our website and click on islam to review the information on various islamic topics as well as the details on what i presented today as we close this intro session i hope you have some key takeaways from this presentation which i would like for you to think about and then i would like for you to focus on the following three fundamental questions they may sound philosophical but i assure you they are very practical thought-provoking and relevant to our well-being question number one ask yourself what was i created for why am i here on earth was i created to just exist by eating sleeping procreating or for something above and beyond question number two is this life all there is what about those who do good in this life but never quite get rewarded for and those who do bad and never get quite punished for where is the ultimate justice question number three ask yourself now that i'm here on earth what's next where am i going after this life if i believe there is a life after death how do i prepare for it with that i will say thank you god bless you and assalamu alaikum peace be upon you we'll look forward to hearing from you

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Id: HxGpYtKABDk

Length: 30min 10sec (1810 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 05 2021