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Reflections on La ilaha lila Allah

"That is Allah, your Lord! There is no god but He, the creator of all things: Then worship you Him : and He has power to dispose of all affairs." (Qur'an 6:102)

Although all practising Muslims repeat the shahadah many times every day, only few understand its profound meaning, and appreciate its implications. For example, how many Muslims understand why the shahadah uses the negative form - La Ilaha ha Ila Allah (There is no Ilah except Allah), instead of the affirmative form - Allah is one; and why did the Qur'anic revelations stress this concept for the thirteen years which the Prophet (saas) spent in Mecca before migrating to Medina? To help us in understanding the answer to these questions, and in better appreciating the implications of La Ilaha Illa Allah, the Qur'an provides us with the following two facts:

Main Features of an Islamic Society

1. Faith in the Oneness of Allah, that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He gave mankind a code of life that guarantees their well-being in this world and in hte life hereafter (ma`aash wa ma`aad).

2. Co-operation. Human beings cannot live independent of each other. They have to live together and co-operate for the maximization of welfare and warding off evils.

Misunderstanding About Islam

James A. Bill (professor of government and director of the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia) writes - 'By the turn of the century, for the first time in history, the number of Muslims (those who practice Islam) will have surpassed the number of Christians in the world.

Islam is a monotheistic religion, civilization and way of life now practiced by 1.1 billion (i.e. 1,100,000,000.00) people. Easily the world's fastest growing religion, Islam is not confined to the Middle East. It is a truly universal force. More Muslims live in America today than all the Presbyterians and Episcopalians put together.

Evidences of Equality in Islamic History

First Evidence:
Abu Zarr of the Ghifar tribe somehow got angry with the freed slave of Abu Bakr, Bilal of Abyssinia. Both of them were the companions of the Prophet. The altercation became prolonged and Abu Zarr in his fury called Bilal the son of a black skinned mother. Bilal complained to the Prophet, who addressed Abu Zarr saying, "Did you call him a name reviling his mother? It appears you still retain vestiges of Jahiliyah (ignorance period before Islam)" Abu Zarr failed to understand the word Jahiliyah and took it to signify some sort of sexual immorality, and meekly questioned in surprise, "At this ripe age, O Prophet of God?" The Prophet said in reply, "Yes, you are his brother (and should be considerate and kind to him)". Abu Zarr who had by now understood the significance of the Prophet's remark, was ashamed and repentant and out of extreme repentance and humility requested Bilal to trample his face with his feet.

What does Islam say about terrorism

Islam, a religion of mercy, does not permit terrorism. In the Quran, God has said: { God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers } (Quran, 60:8)

The Prophet Muhammad used to prohibit soldiers from killing women and children, and he would advise them: "...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child" And he also said: "Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise.."

The Sword Of Islam

The first few who embraced the "new" religion in Makkah in the Arabian Peninsula at the hands of the Prophet, were his wife Khadijah, his servant Zaid and his eleven year old cousin Ali. Among the ones who later joined this faith were the honest merchant, Abu Bakr; the iron man of Arabia, Umar the Great; the shy businessman, Uthman; the Prophet's brave uncle Hamza and a slave of a pagan, Bilal. They simply couldn't resist the MAGIC SWORD of a humble and lonely Prophet? The negligible minority of the believers in this new Faith was soon exiled from Makkah and they arrived in the city called Yathreb which later became known as MADINAH. The Muslim emigrants to Madinah brought their SWORD with them. The SWORD continued to work and its magnetic force continued to "pull" people towards it until the whole of Arabia joined the Faith. Compared to the population of the rest of the world at that time, the Arabs constituted a tiny minority.

Introducing Islam

by Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D.

Islam and Muslims

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe.

Islam – A Religion of Terror ?

A bomb goes off in a marketplace in Jerusalem. A suicide bomber launches himself into a bus full of women and children in Tel Aviv. Foreign tourists get massacred at a holiday resort in Luxor, Egypt. Villages upon villages get annihilated in Algeria. The list of events worldwide which have come to symbolise the 'Islamic terror' are endless. From the times in the 70's and 80's when Pan Am and TWA aeroplanes would be highjacked, to the mid 80's in war torn Lebanon where Americans and Europeans would be held as hostages for years; all such incidents have come to be identified with the religion of Islam. Such incidents from past and present have undoubtedly affected Muslims worldwide and more so in the West. Any Muslim, who wants to practice his/her religion and expresses the pious desire to live under the banner of Islam, is labelled a fundamentalist or extremist.

Footnotes

1 By using the many cases of child abuse and homosexuality by priests, Such a generalisation about Christianity could be made
2 By using the incident of the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodya, India in December 1992 by Hindu zealots, such generalisations could be made about Hinduism
3 Authentic - Reported by At-Tabaranee

Islamic Values vs. Muslim Values

An Article written by : Atiq Ebady

The misconceptions that surround Islam in this day and age are too great to number.

A repeated scene is that of a Muslim having a discussion with a non-Muslim and trying to explain that Muslims are not terrorists, Muslims are not wife-beaters, that these actions are the deeds of a few which are then unjustly imposed on the whole Muslim population. But if the whole Muslim population had presented themselves in an Islamic manner in the first place, the reputation of a Muslim would be far too virtuous to allow the misdeeds of a few to tarnish the image of the whole Muslim world. But Muslims generally do not present Islamic values, they present Muslim values; and the difference between these two can sometimes be as vivid as night and day.