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A common misconception regarding Islam is that if someone leaves the religion of Islam, an Islamic State will punish them with death. This is simply not true. People always have the option to cease believing in and worshipping Allah in a Muslim land without being punished. Many people who left the religion of Islam in Muslim-dominated countries did so without being harmed. And many places of worship of other faiths can be found in Islamic countries today and in the past.

"And say, O Prophet, 'This is the truth from your Lord. Whoever wills let them believe, and whoever wills let them disbelieve..." (Quran 18:29)

Islam clearly states that there is no compulsion regarding religion; therefore, an Islamic State cannot force anyone to convert to the Islamic faith or remain Muslim. The Holy Quran states:

"Let there be no compulsion in religion, for the truth stands out clearly from falsehood. So whoever renounces false gods and believes in Allah has certainly grasped the firmest, unfailing hand-hold. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing" (Quran 2:256)

It's essential to stress that the act of leaving the Islamic faith is not the same as committing the act of apostasy in Islam. Whereas Islam does state that the punishment for apostasy is death, this penalty is assigned only to a particular type of apostasy: and one does not suffer this penalty simply because they left the fold of Islam. The act of apostasy, the commission of which can sentence an apostate to death, is given to those living in an Islamic land that publicly announces their apostasy, convincing others to leave Islam, the religion of God. It's for those who call others to a new faith, misguiding people and leading them to hellfire, thus also leading to a great fitnah, trial, and tribulation for others.

The rights of an individual do not trump the rights of society. Islam does not tolerate the commission of any corruption in its society and has rules to protect the community from harm and disunity--and from those that cause doubt and uncertainty in the hearts of believers. Calling people to leave Islam can cause people to commit crimes prohibited in Islam, such as drinking alcohol, drugs, fornication, and other harmful acts to individuals and society. Apostacy, in short, is seen as a form of treason against the state.

The Islamic penal system aims to preserve five essential elements: life, intellect, family, property, and religion. To this end, Islam has implemented strict rules to live by through its religion and the prescription of the punishment for apostasy for the safety of society. Only an Islamic state can implement the punishment of apostasy; citizens cannot be vigilantes and take the law into their own hands. The crime must be done intentionally and implicitly, and not ambiguously.

At the time of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, apostates did exist, but Prophet Muhammad PBUH and the Muslims never executed any of them. Rarely have apostasy laws ever been implemented at all throughout history. The apostasy law is not unique to Islam; it also exists in Christianity and Judaism. A ruler in an Islamic State can elect to give the apostate a different sentence, such as a prison sentence. The apostate has the right to a court hearing and gets a three-day waiting period. He is allowed time to reflect on the situation, clear misconceptions, and repent. Those who assist the enemy of an Islamic State in battle are likewise subject to the death penalty. This is known as treason, and many nations today punish spies and anyone who plots to harm their own nation by way of their treason laws.

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"Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, nor comply with what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth from among those who were given the Scripture, until they pay the tax, willingly submitting, fully humbled" (Quran 9:29)

There is wisdom and logic behind the concept of Jizya. The word Jizya is derived from the word Jaza, which translates to mean compensation. Jizya was a form of compensation or payment to the Islamic State for its public services rendered to non-Muslims living under Islamic rule. All states need funding to run their organized government, which is why all nations today level taxes against their citizens. Funding goes to support public services like police, military protection, welfare services, and more to help protect citizens' lives, families, property, and wealth.

In an Islamic state, Muslim citizens pay Zakat as their tax. Zakat stands as one of the five pillars of Islam, one that goes to help less fortunate citizens and supports the welfare system. Zakah is obligatory for Muslims so that a certain amount of their wealth will be contributed to the welfare of the poor. Zakah is a form of worship. Non-Muslims, on the other hand, cannot be forced to engage in religious obligations such as paying this Zakat—as it is a form of worship, and compulsory payment would infringe on non-muslims' religious rights.

Non-Muslims living under Muslim rule are free to practice their own religion in any Muslim land without being forced into any form of Islamic practice. But since non-Muslims also reap the social benefits of services provided by their Islamic host state, it is only fair that they pay a tax similar to that paid by their Muslim neighbors—identical to those taxes paid in all countries today. It would be an act of injustice towards Muslims to require them to pay a tax and not to require non-Muslims living in the same land to pay a share too.

Honoring and upholding treaties with non-Muslims is a solemn obligation for the Muslim community. The payment of Jizyaensures that the Islamic State protects and guards non-Muslim citizens against harassment from external enemies and funds any ransom imposed on their behalf if they are taken as captives by an external enemy.

Suppose that the Islamic State fails to protect or fears they cannot guarantee security for the non-Muslims living in their land as imposed by an external enemy. In that case, they will return the Jizya paid by the non-Muslims. This happened when Umar the Second Caliph ordered the treasury officer to refund Jizya collected from Syrian Christians because he feared he could not protect them from a military attack by the Byzantines.

Unlike countries today that charge taxes to all citizens, Jizyais not paid by all non-Muslim citizens but only by men of sound mind and of military age who are healthy and capable of earning a living. Women, children, the poor, students, the blind, the disabled, enslaved people, monks, the elderly, and those who chose to fight in the military were exempt from paying this tax. On the other hand, Zakat is paid for by Muslim men and women, but Muslim men cannot be exempt from being drafted into the military. Still, the Jizya payment exempts non-Muslims from joining the military even though the state's military benefits Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The Jizya paid by non-Muslims is generally less than what Muslims pay for Zakat.

The Islamic State is required to provide social security services to non-Muslims with disabilities who cannot work. There have been many instances where Muslims provided social security services to non-Muslim citizens living in their land.

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"So, when the sacred months expire, kill the polytheists wherever you find them, and catch them and besiege them and sit in ambush for them everywhere. Then, if they repent and establish Salāh and pay Zakāh, leave their way. Surely, Allah is most Forgiving, Very-Merciful" (Quran 9:5)

The Holy Quran was revealed to guide humanity through every aspect of life. It is an instructional manual that mandates just how one's life should be lived, with teachings for both individuals and all of society. The Holy Quran provides guidelines and instructions to govern proper human conduct, a fair economic system, ritual worship, ethics and moral behavior, business, government, and more. Among the many teachings include instruction on responding to hostile people during difficult times.

At age forty, Prophet Muhammad PBUH received his first Revelation from God in a cave via the Angel Gabriel. Although he was known in his community as "the truthful, the trustworthy," most people did not believe him or his Message. Even though Prophet Muhammad PBUH was spreading the Message of Islam to his people peacefully and did not force anyone to convert, a massive campaign was instigated by the idol worshippers of Mecca to persecute him and those who believed in the Message.

They harassed the Muslims, ridiculed and insulted them, socially boycotted and isolated them, threatened their lives, and even tortured certain believers to death. After thirteen years of preaching in Mecca while being persecuted, Prophet Muhamad PBUH and his followers secretly migrated to Medina, leaving family members, homes, and businesses behind.

In Medina, Prophet Muhammad PBUH gained new followers and became the city's leader. The idol worshippers of Mecca, who prosecuted Muslims in their homeland, plotted and attempted to reengage their attack. Thus the Muslims prepared for battle to defend themselves and their families from the oppressors that had expelled them from their homes in Mecca. A number of years and several battles later, Prophet Muhammad PBUH led an army of one hundred thousand people back to Mecca and conquered the land in a bloodless victory.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH gathered the chief enemies that had been battling him through the years and told them, "I say to you what my brother Yusuf said to his unkind brothers. Have no fear this day! May Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful."

The Holy Quran was not revealed in a single setting; it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad PBUH passage by passage over 23 years. At this time, a Verse was revealed to Prophet Muhammad PBUH saying to give the criminal polytheists who broke their treaties with the Muslims, fighting them through the years despite signing peace treaties, a safe place where they could be unthreatened and not intimidated by the Muslims. God stated that they get four months to consider the religion of Islam.

"And if anyone from the polytheists asks for your protection (O Prophet), grant it to them so they may hear the Word of Allah, then escort them to a place of safety, for they are a people who have no knowledge" (Quran 9:6)

The desired outcome was for these criminals to become Muslims, but if they chose not to convert, they would be required to leave the area. Upon the completion of the four months, if they didn't depart, the command was to "kill them where you find them." The Muslims were instructed to drive out these criminal idol worshippers from the very land that had forced out the Muslims. This is the precise context of the Verse as delivered.

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"...These are the limits set by Allah, so do not approach them..." (Quran 2:187)

Sharia Law is Divine Legislation consisting of individual laws that deal with the civil aspects of life, including character, dealing with others, prayer, purification, repentance, marriage, divorce, business dealings, etc. Sharia Law also consists of state-based laws regarding the running of a State. Since Sharia protects and preserves the rights and freedom of individuals and societies, its law must contain rules, regulations, and punishments for those that transgress and infringe on people's rights and freedoms.

Listed within state-based laws is a small component known as Hudud-- criminal law and indicates the penal code of Islam. Hudud can be translated as punishment for encroaching upon the limits and boundaries set by Allah. Since certain aspects of Hudud violate human rights, punishments must be enacted to serve justice for those harmed, as is the case in all countries today. Since these crimes severely impact society, they come complete with severe punishments. It's essential to enact harsh penalties for severe crimes, to help deter and discourage such crimes for the community's security.

It's imperative to note that ordinary Muslims cannot enforce the laws we will discuss; these punishments can be carried out only by a Muslim ruler or judge. A person accused of a crime must be tried in an Islamic court and proven guilty before any punishment is implemented. There is no place for vigilantism in the faith of Islam, acts in which Muslims take the law into their own hands.

Instead of throwing someone in a jail cell in a harsh environment alongside other criminals to allow them to network with each other while costing citizen taxpayers a great deal of money, Islam prevents crimes in a different matter by using the Hudud punishments as a form of deterrence and retribution.

It's imperative to note that the chief principle in implementing Hudud punishments is maximizing mercy - seeking to reform the criminal and allowing the doors of repentance to be opened.Hudud punishments are challenging to prove and enforce. A rigorous requirement of solid evidence almost renders these punishments a scare tactic.

A Muslim ruler or jurist can consider many ambiguities to avoid applying a hudud punishment. Prophet Muhammad PBUH stated:Avert the legal penalties from the Muslims as much as possible if he has a way out, then leave him to his way, for if the Imam makes a mistake in forgiving it would be better than making mistake in punishment' As Hudud laws are very difficult to execute, not a single incident of stoning an adulterer occurred in the first 1000 years of the life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. And only three or four incidents are recorded of lashings in this faith.

"As for male and female thieves, cut off their hands for what they have done— a deterrent from Allah. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise" (Quran 5:38)

Islam takes the rights of people's property very seriously, and as a result, the religion enacts laws to protect any act of aggression toward other people's property. The Islamic concept of theft is to "take that which does not belong to you stealthily from a place where similar things are typically kept." Without a severe punishment for theft, this evil would spread throughout society. Harsh punishment is needed as a deterrent to scare people away from such an evil act.

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Muhammad PBUH comes in contemplation of his judgment and ethics in marrying his wife, Aisha R.A, given that she was of a young age. Authentic narrations of Aisha R.A. state that she was six years old when the marriage took place in Mecca and nine years old when she moved into the house of Prophet Muhammad PBUH in Medina and consummated her marriage.

Aisha was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad PBUH's best friend, Abu Bakr R.A, who stood by Prophet Muhammad PBUH when others did not. Abu Bakr R.A. was the first man to accept the message of Islam and stood as a source of continuous support for Prophet Muhmmad PBUH throughout his journey of spreading the message of God to the people.

The attempt to defame the character of Prophet Muhammad PBUH for his marriage of Aisha R.A at a young age fell flat, like other attempts to attack his character. The controversy regarding the age of Aisha is a recent phenomenon—one that people had never had an issue with in the past, and for a good reason. During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his enemies would attack his character by calling him a sorcerer, a madman, a magician, a soothsayer, and much more, but they never mentioned the fact that he married someone of a young age.

Why didn't his enemies lodge a fact that would assist them in defaming and attacking the character of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, you ask? Because the age of Aisha R.A. at that time and place was deemed acceptable and the norm for marriageable women. Muslim historians who reported the story of Prophet Muhammad PBUH's marriage to Aisha R.A. never felt the need to justify her age because, at that time, some young ladies did marry. Aisha R.A. had been engaged to someone else before Prophet Muhammad PBUH, which tells us that she was old enough for marriage at that time and place.

Taking our current-day 21st-century cultural norms and projecting them onto the auspices of 7th-century Arabian society is not fair nor logical; in fact, it is considered a fallacy of presentism. One should not judge a person who lived more than 1400 years ago by today's standards, especially when doing something acceptable and normal at their time. Note each society has its own set of norms.

Throughout history, different cultures and ethnicities set different ages considered appropriate for marriage. The people in Arabia in the 7th century were married off early because, in the hot climate of the Arabia desert, young boys and girls matured at an early age, given that they had to assume family responsibilities. The typical age of marriage today in some countries is 13-15. In 12th-century Europe, some young girls would marry at the age of nine or ten. We shouldn't judge people of the past for marrying spouses of a young age, just like we wouldn't judge famous figures of history for owning slaves because it was accepted at that time as the norm.

Islam does not specify a minimum age for marriage. The requirement to marry someone is that they must be mentally and physically ready for the union. The phrase "mentally ready" means they are prepared to shoulder the responsibility of motherhood and fulfill the duties of raising a family. Being physically prepared implies that one has reached the state of puberty. Islam looks at the local customs and traditions of the land at that time and place. The age of consent for marriage will vary depending on time, place, culture, and society. A particular 12-year-old may be ready for marriage, whereas a person of 24 years may not. Some lifespans ran only 30 to 40 years, so they would marry early to accommodate an abbreviated lifetime. One can argue that the 16-year-old of today is mentally equivalent to the 10-year-old of the past. The age of marriage in many Islamic countries today is 18.

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The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj, which translates to mean "the pilgrimage to the Holy city of Makkah." The Arabic word, Hajj, linguistically, means "heading to a place for the sake of visiting." In Islamic terminology, the term describes the act of heading to Makkah to observe specific actions and rituals. Hajj, or the pilgrimage, is a 5-6-day journey to this sacred place between the 8th and 13th day of the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Dhul-Hijjah. The Hajj journey is obligatory for every Muslim, male or female, to complete at least once in a lifetime, provided they are mentally, physically, and financially capable of making the trip. God states:

"...And due to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way..." (Quran 3:97)

The Hajj includes detailed reenactments of certain symbolic rituals performed by great Prophets and righteous individuals in the past. The Hajj Pilgrimage and its symbolic rituals commemorate the legacy of Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him; this is why one needs to learn about Prophet Abraham to understand the reasoning behind individual acts performed as a part of Hajj.

Integral to Hajj is the Kaaba, a holy shrine - a black silk-clad cube stone structure at the heart of the Grand Mosque in the modern-day city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is at the center of the Earth, built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael, peace be upon them. Upon completion, God the Almighty commanded Prophet Abraham to relay a single Message to the people: that they would be required to make a pilgrimage to this House.

May your journey to the answer and the truth be pleasant and successful.

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The second Pillar of Islam is the mandatory round of ritual prayers that must be performed five times daily. The Islamic method of prayer is a ritualized form of worship, which involves the recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran and supplications to God, all while standing, bowing, and prostrating. This mandatory act of worship is called Salah in Arabic and differs from merely praying or supplicating to God in an impulsive act, i.e., just speaking one's mind. Instead, the Salah prayers demand a formalized structure in which one prays a certain way at specific times, as demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, drawing direct inspiration from Angel Gabriel, who learned from God Himself.

The Arabic word Salah, generally translated to mean prayer in English, is linguistically derived from the Arabic word meaning "connection." This mode of prayer connects the servant with his Creator. Salah is your way of establishing direct contact with God the Almighty. Salah represents the affirmation of servanthood and submission to your Creator's Will. In Salah, you acknowledge your weakness and neediness by seeking and begging for God's guidance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Salah, the Islamic ritualized prayer, is one form of worship amongst many in this beautiful faith. However, Salah holds a special status in Islam because the act of prayer builds a relationship between you as a servant and your Creator. Salah is considered the center pole of the Religion of Islam; whoever demolishes or denies this practice in their life also demolishes their religion. According to Islamic Scholars, this is the only form of worship that—if neglected—would exclude the disobedient from the folds of Islam.

When prayer time arrives, you are expected to discontinue your current activity and pray to connect with God, the Most Merciful, thereby refreshing your faith for your benefit. Prayer helps remind you as to why you are here and for what purpose. Prayers help direct your thoughts and actions away from sin, from that which is not beneficial. Prayers redirect your thoughts to the remembrance of God.

God commands you to establish and perfect your prayer by praying properly with concentration and the utmost humility. You must work and practice to improve your prayer technique, which takes a lifetime commitment. You must engage in a lifelong effort to master this art of communication with your Creator. The ones who fall into a habitual routine of reciting their words without concentration and humility will miss the objective of prayer, thus not benefitting from their prayer as deeply as those who pray earnestly and with full concentration and mindfulness.

Neglecting mandatory prayer is a grave sin in the Islamic faith. Allah, the glorious, shares a dialogue in the Holy Quran in which the residents of Paradise ask the people condemned to hellfire the reason for their condemnation, and the condemned respond:

"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed, nor did we used to feed the poor, and we used to indulge in vain talk with the vain talkers, and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, Until there came to us the certainty'" (Quran 74:43-47)

The state of your Prayer record will be the first thing asked of each of us on the Great Day of Judgement. If your prayers are in order, then everything else will fall into place. If your Prayers are not in order, then you will be doomed. The Messenger of Allah stated: The first of man's deeds for which he will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be Salat. If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful; but if it is incomplete, he will be unfortunate and a loser…. (At-Tirmidhi).

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Fasting during the Month of Ramadan is the 4th pillar of Islam. The Holy Month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and can last 29 or 30 days. Muslims fast by abstaining from eating, drinking, chewing gum, smoking, and partaking in any sexual activity from dawn to sunset. Fasting in Islam does not consist solely of refraining from food and drink; instead, you abstain from evil, selfish desire, and wrongdoing. The purpose of fasting is not merely for the body; instead, it's for the spirit as well.

Fasting during Ramadan is for the benefit of your soul, mind, and body. You are commanded to refrain from gossiping, backbiting, slandering, lying, cheating, looking at material that is prohibited, nursing a grudge, using sinful speech, and any wrongdoing. You must adhere to the morals of Islam strictly during your fast, as failure to do so can violate your fast.

Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for every sane, healthy Muslim who is not ill nor traveling long distances, whether male or female, unless a female is on her menstruation cycle or experiencing post-childbirth bleeding. The primary reason Muslims fast is that God the Almighty has commanded us to do so in His Last and Final Revelation, the Holy Quran.

"O, you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may become righteous and (hopefully learn) self-restraint." (Quran 2:183)

Fasting is an act of worship beloved by God. The Holy Month of Ramadan and the prescribed fasting is a gift and mercy to you sent directly from the Almighty. God prescribes no rulings to his slaves unless they come complete with great wisdom and benefit. God, the Almighty, states the act of fasting and abstaining from what is prohibited will increase your Taqwa (God-fearing piety, righteousness, mindfulness, and consciousness of God, where you are aware God is always watching). Fasting develops spiritual endurance and self-restraint, helping you control your anger, words, and actions. Fasting helps one to resist unlawful desires and wicked habits, which in turn serves to guard against evil. Fasting during Ramadan suppresses worldly desires and strengthens one's spirituality.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is special and blessed because the Holy Quran, God's final Book, was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace be up him, in this special month. Therefore, Muslims recite the Holy Quran frequently in this blessed month. During Ramadan, Muslims try to establish or re-establish a relationship with their Creator and the Holy Quran so they may be guided down the right path. Ramadan is a month for deep inner reflection.

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Throughout history, a single question has plagued humanity; a question often asked about an issue that all Abrahamic religions face. If an All-Powerful God, who is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, Loving, Most-Merciful, and All-Just in control of All things and matters, exists, then why do people experience evil, pain, and suffering in this world? Why must we contend with sickness, natural disasters, starvation, war, calamities, corruption, and killings? If God is Most-Merciful, All-Loving, All-Good, and All-Just, why does He allow such atrocities to happen?

The existence of evil ranks among the top reasons people reject the concept of religion or the belief in a Higher Power. This concept is known as the "problem of evil." Many have concluded that God could not exist because of the presence of evil; if He does exist, He is a cruel, unjust God who enjoys seeing people suffer and in pain. They summarize that such a God is not worth worshipping if He is unaware, uncaring, and incapable of removing and controlling evil elements.

People who reject God because they cannot grapple with the problem of evil do not adequately understand the conditions of darkness and pain. They reject God because of their lack of understanding. The decision to disbelieve the existence of God only adds more confusion, leading to the emergence of questions as to why we were created, where we are destined to go, etc.

An atheist that rejects God removes God from the equation, but suffering still exists. Disbelieving only eliminates the quality and significance of the suffering and no longer gives it purpose or meaning. One could have suffered their whole life, only to end up in their grave eternally with no justice or recompense for what they had endured, and those who committed evil can get away with their misdeeds. However, with God in the equation, suffering has meaning, and the victims and the oppressed eventually receive justice in this world or the next. Without God in the picture, they may not. The fact that evil exists does not negate the existence of God.

The Angels first asked the question of evil upon God, the Almighty's announcement that He was creating a new form of beings called humans.

"And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, Indeed, I will make upon the Earth a successive authority" (Quran 2:30)

The Angels responded with a question:

"…They said, 'Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and You?" (Quran 2:30)

God answered:

"…Indeed, I know that which you do not know" (Quran 2:20)

Although God did not explain nor rationalize the answer to their question, the Angels were satisfied with this response; this is owing to their complete humility before, trust in, and faith in God's Wisdom and Knowledge while recognizing His Wisdom as Perfect and without flaws. The Angels did not assume God's Wisdom was incorrect simply because they could not understand nor comprehend that Wisdom. Humans never will understand the reason behind the world's pain and suffering, as our limited, finite minds cannot comprehend God's logic. However, the fact that our intellectual capacity cannot understand and evaluate the Wisdom behind pain and suffering does not nullify that Wisdom. How can we judge the situation or God without attaining the necessary information to do so? God states in the Quran:

"…And mankind has not been given of knowledge except a little" (Quran 17:85)

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In general, Muslims accept the theory of evolution-- there are many types of evolution Muslims have no issue affirming. Muslims generally have no problems with the concept of microevolution. Muslims have no issues affirming the evolution of animals over time, adapting to their environment, and developing an immunity to negotiate their environment. For example, the beaks of an animal can evolve to assume different shapes and sizes to access food on a particular island better, or an animal can develop thicker skin over the years to survive better in their habitat. This process displays the power and intelligence of the Creator of all, God the Almighty. Muslims also do not have an issue believing that all animals might have come from the same origin animal because this belief doesn't go against the Holy Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. A name of Allah, after all, is Al-Bari, which means the Evolver, the giver of forms.

On the other hand, Muslims cannot accept Darwinian evolution or human evolution, where human beings evolved from pre-human ancestors, as it goes against the Holy Quran. We believe everything stated in the Holy Quran because we have good reasons to believe that the entire text came from our Creator. The Holy Quran explicitly states that God fashioned Adam with his own two hands. God created Adam as a fully formed man, not a baby. He created Adam PBUH from a pool of mud with components of clay, soil, Earth, and water. Then God breathed life into him. Then God taught him the name of all things. Then he brought down Prophet Adam PBUH to this Earth. From Adam and Eve came multitudes of men and women. Adam was born miraculously without the intervention or presence of a father or a mother. Human beings were created separately from animals and other creations.

"Recall when your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a human being out of clay from an altered black mud" (Quran 15:28)

"O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate, and through both He spread countless men and women..." (Quran 4:1)

It's imperative to note that the miraculous creation of Adam PBUH cannot be confirmed or rejected by science, nor can science disprove the existence of God. Since science is restricted to providing natural explanations explaining how things work, it cannot explain who created things and why. We need Revelation and religion to provide these explanations. Everything around us is living evidence of an intelligent designer behind it. The origin of our universe has a cause, and we know that chaos cannot create such an intelligently designed system. However, the scientific method cannot indicate the cause of the creation of the universe and why it was created since science looks only at nature—that is, what we can observe, touch, see, and smell--and tries to find natural explanations, excluding anything outside of nature. As for things outside of the natural world, science has no way of dealing with them. Science doesn't take into account the metaphysical realm, the unseen world, so science cannot include explanations not based on nature, like pointing to the Divine as the cause of the universe's inception.

"And Allah has created from water every living creature. Some of them crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some walk on four. Allah creates whatever He wills. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything" (Quran 24:45)

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Believing in God's Prophets and Messengers is fundamental to Islam. God sent Prophets and Messengers to convey his Message to humanity. The Holy Quran states:

"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, saying, 'Worship Allah and avoid Ta'ghut (false deities).' And among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So, proceed through the Earth and observe how was the end of the deniers." (Quran 16:36)

Every people, every nation, was given a Prophet; they were sent with the tongue of the people. God communicates His guidance through human Prophets. These Prophets were sent to guide people, not only by preaching to worship the One God and follow His commandment, but they set an example with their actions. The Islamic Tradition states that about 124,000 Prophets were sent to people and nations and 310 odd Messengers. There are 25 Prophets mentioned by name in the Holy Quran. Muslims believe all Prophets and Messengers were mere human beings, not divine or semi-divine. They do not have the right to be worshipped, adored, revered, venerated, nor did they claim so.

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The second article of faith to embrace is the belief in the Angels. The Angels are part of the unseen world; we cannot comprehend and prove it scientifically. You cannot see the Angels unless God allows you to and enables your vision. Muslims believe in Angels because they are mentioned numerous times throughout the Holy Quran and in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, a body of work that Muslims call Hadith.

"The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers…" (Quran 2:285)

God describes Angels' appearance, attributes, characteristics, and responsibilities in His Holy Book. We do not know precisely when the Angels were created, but they predate the creation of human beings. The Angels were created from pure shining light (Noor in Arabic). They are light-giving entities. Angels are generally more powerful than humans and travel at the speed of light. The Angels have certain specialties and capacities that humans do not possess. God refers to the Angels as honored servants.

"...Rather, they are but honored servants." (Quran 21:26)

In Arabic, Angels are called 'Mala'ika,' which means "to assist and help." Angels are Holy and exist in a constant state of worship and praise to God all day and all night; they do not disobey Him. They worship Allah constantly without growing bored or tired.

"They exalt Him night and day and do not slacken." (Quran 21:20)

The sole purpose of the Angels is to execute the commandments of Allah. An Angel has no needs or desires for material goods. Angels do not eat, drink, sleep, marry, or procreate. The Angels do not die. The same Angels that existed when Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, was created still exist today and will continue to live until the trumpet is blown for the Day of Judgment.

"…And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except Him…" (Quran 74:31)

The Angels have no gender; they are not female nor male. Angels are physically very beautiful, except the Angel guardian of the hellfire, who wears a stern expression and never laughs. The Greatest of these Angels are magnificent in size, far beyond our imagination. The largest and most significant is the Angel Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic), the Angel descended from Heavens to instruct the Prophets on how to teach and preach the religion. All Angels have wings; some possess two, three, or four pairs - or more. Angel Gabriel has 600 wings and is of a size so great that it fills the space between Heaven and Earth, blocking the entire horizon.

You learn about the Angels to ponder, reflect, and reaffirm the Greatness of your Creator. The experience of having knowledge and belief in the Angels adds to the awe you feel toward God, in that He can create this great being and, indeed, can create whatever He Pleases and Wills. The awe and magnificence of the Almighty's creation reveal and indicate the Magnificence, Glory, and Majesty of the Almighty Himself. This should humble you and increase your God-consciousness, love, and fear of the Almighty. Knowing of the Angels also reminds you that your actions are continuously recorded by the Angels, hopefully decreasing your sins and increasing your good deeds.

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If you are still unsure whether to convert to Islam, you can pray to God without explicitly naming him, praying out and saying, Oh you who created me, please guide me to the truth. Then continue to research and look further into the overwhelming evidence and proof that Islam and the Holy Quran offer to affirm its existence and validity. Do not procrastinate, and do not take this matter of faith lightly, as you are not guaranteed a tomorrow! Your life test can end at any moment. Realize, my dear brother or sister, that you did not come to this randomly or by chance. Your Creator has guided you here.

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You convert to Islam, embracing the fold because you chose to submit and surrender to the Will of your Creator voluntarily. You realize that you were created to worship God, and only when you submit to the one true God and live according to His Divinely revealed Laws will you achieve true peace of mind and surety of heart. You understand that no one is worthy of your worship and veneration except the One True Creator, the ultimate Creator, the Creator of this World, and everything in it. You realize that the only true purpose of your life is to find God, build a relationship with Him, and follow His commandments.

You realize that God, the Almighty, would not leave you in darkness without guiding and showing you how He wants you to live. So, your Creator chose Messengers and Prophets throughout history to send to different nations at different times to communicate His Message to humanity and show how you should live and to teach you about Him. These prophets came with glad tidings, stating that whoever Worships the One God with no partners and lives a righteous life while obeying God's commands will enter Paradise eternally, and whoever worships other than Allah and does not follow God's commandments will enter hellfire.

You convert to the faith, realizing that Islam will change your life for the better and that Islam will provide you the light to guide your life and grant you true salvation from eternal hellfire. You have searched for your life's purpose and your Creator, sincere and curious to learn the truth. Now you are being guided to the truth by the Will of God and by His Mercy, Love, and Justice. God decided to guide you. He guides those He Wills and Pleases.

You realize that Islam is the true religion of God, and you are ready to embrace the fold. In Islam, every action begins with an intention, so start by setting an intention in your heart to embrace Islam for the sake of God alone. It's highly recommended that you first take a bath or shower to symbolically purify and cleanse yourself of your past life and past sins. It's also recommended to wear suitable clothes on the day of your conversion.

Unlike other religions, converting to Islam does not involve rituals, ceremonials, or baptisms. All you have to do is declare the testimony of faith, known as the Shahada in Arabic, the first of the five pillars of Islam. These two statements encapsulate all the beliefs of Islam:

أشهدأن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله

'I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and messenger.'

You can state this phrase in privacy by yourself or in public with witnesses, which is recommended. You will have help with the accuracy of the pronunciation of the wording in Arabic. The testimony of faith is recommended and often done publicly, in a Mosque or gathering.

You testify, acknowledge, and avow you are convinced that no deity is worthy of worship and veneration other than Allah. Allah is the unique name of God, the ultimate Creator. You acknowledge that there is only one God, the Sustainer, the Creator, who controls all matters and all things and has no partners, children, or associates. He is the Most-High, Most-Merciful, All-Knowing, All-Wise, All-Seeing, All-Hearing; he is the First; He is the Last.

You also testify and acknowledge that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is God's last and final messenger, sent to relay the same general Message as the prophets before him. He is the best example and role model for humanity, a slave and worshipper of Allah, and should not be wrongly worshipped like past Prophets—who were only human messengers of God and not God himself.

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Now that you have completed your testimony of faith, you are officially Muslim. As a new convert, you do not need to be burdened by past sins committed before your acceptance, as all your past sins would be wiped clean, and you start with a clean slate—as free of sin as a newborn child. Not only that but all your past sins would be converted to good deeds. You should attempt to the best of your ability to keep your slate clean as much as possible and do as many good deeds as you can. As a new convert, you will make a lot of supplications to God, asking him to continue to guide you on the straight path and lead you to Paradise and everything else you desire—in this world and the Hereafter.

You gradually continue to learn more about Islam and practice it by performing your five mandatory ritualized prayers that all Muslims perform daily. You should not try to learn all aspects of the faith at once, as that might overwhelm you. Instead, continue to learn and grow your new faith over an extended period. This is a life journey, so don't try to do everything at once; but at the same time, don't take it lightly. It's highly recommended to find a local mosque or Islamic community, attend their gatherings, seek support, and make new friends. You should also give charity and fast during Ramadan, which is mandatory for every Muslim.

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Now that you have converted to the fold, you must believe in the six Articles of Iman (Faith). These six articles of Faith form the foundation of the Islamic belief system. Linguistically, the Arabic term "Iman," which translates to "Faith," comes from a root word that means "to give safety and security." Iman makes one feel safe and secure. Without Faith, you would fall into a state of despair. The root word of Iman means to believe in the truth of something or someone, imbuing you with a genuine sense of peace. You must accept God's tenets and teachings, verbalize those concepts with your tongue, and manifest God's teachings in your actions. Believing in and relying upon God will lead you to find safety, security, and contentment even in times of hardship. You acknowledge that you are not alone. God is always with you and fully knows of your situation. 

You are asked to believe in what you have never seen with your own eyes, which is the essence of Faith itself. Belief in God is natural for humans. Humans, by nature, are believers in God, as belief in God is inherent in them. 

"Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and a great reward." (Quran 67:12)

The six articles of Faith: 

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The first article of faith in Islam is the belief in the Oneness of God. Faith begins with believing in Allah, the Glorious, from which all other facets of Faith spring. You must adhere to and acknowledge that no deity is worthy of your worship, love, subservience, hope, and fear other than Allah. Nothing in existence is worthy of your ultimate loyalty and sacrifice nor worth lowering your head in prostration or humility, except for Allah, the Creator of All.

Islam is monotheistic, believing that there is only One God and He is the only One worthy of worship. The idea of multiple gods is rejected in Islam, as is highlighted many times throughout the Qur'an.

"They have certainly disbelieved who say, 'Allah is the third of three,' And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment." (Quran 5:73)

The most severe sin in Islam is known as shirk, which translates to the concept of ascribing a partner to Allah. The term also encompasses attributing divine qualities to any other besides Allah. Shirk is the only sin that God does not forgive if a person dies before repenting.

The Christian belief that Jesus is the son of God, or God himself, is an example of shirk. The belief in the concept of the Trinity— the father, son, and holy spirit—is a grave sin in Islam. Allah states in the Holy Quran that on the Day of Judgment, Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, will deny ever asking people to worship him instead of God or along with God:

"And remember when Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: 'O 'Jesus, son of Mary! Did you say unto men: 'Worship me and my mother as two gods besides Allah?' 'He will say: 'Glory be to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. Had I said such a thing, You would surely have known it. You know what is in my inner-self though I do not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All-Knower of all that is hidden and unseen." (Quran 5:116)

God is the One to whom worship is due. He is the Creator, Provider, and Sustainer of everything. He is the Supreme, the Eternal. God has no father nor mother, no son or daughter, no partner nor equal. He is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, All-Powerful, and Most-Merciful. It is He who gives life and causes death. It is He who is Unique in His Names and Attributes.

Everything in this world and everything it contains, the whole universe, including you and me, belong to the One God. We use the phrases "my hand," "my house," and "my money," but it all belongs to God.

"To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the Earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it. Then He will forgive whom He wills and punish whom He wills, and Allah is over all things competent." (Quran 2:284)

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Among the many miracles of the Holy Quran are hundreds of scientific facts listed in the book, later confirmed to be accurate years after the Book was revealed. Whereas the Holy Quran contains accounts of hundreds of scientific miracles, it is not a book of science nor a book of engineering or medicine. The Holy Quran is a Book of Guidance containing spiritual signs that prove its divinity, coming from a higher power.

The Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the 7th century, an illiterate man living in the desert at a time when there were no telescopes, microscopes, or anything resembling the symbols of advanced technology we have today. As the faith in Islam continued to grow century after century, humanity evolved into the age of modern science. In this era, many scientific discoveries confirm references listed in certain verses of the Holy Quran. Of the many scientific miracles in the Quran, here are a few:

The Holy Quran addresses the evolution of the human embryo in the mother's womb in chronological order. Allah, the Glorious, uses a specific Arabic word to describe the embryo in the Holy Quran: Alaqah, which translates to mean Blood Clot, suspended thing—that which hangs, a clinging substance, and a Leech. Allah calls the child in the womb "that which hangs" when even physicians did not know that a growing embryo hangs in the mother's womb.

The word Alaqah that God chose can translate to mean blood clot because the embryo's appearance and accompanying sacs seen during the alaqah stage are like those of a blood clot. The phrase a suspended thing can be used here because the embryo hangs in the mother's womb. Moreover, the word "leech" can be used because many similarities exist between an embryo and a leech. They appear identical and function similarly, as both obtain nourishment from the mother's blood. The three meanings of the word alaqah that God chose to apply here correspond accurately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage.

"And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump of flesh, and We made from the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators." (Quran 23:12-14)

The descriptions of embryology mentioned in the Holy Quran and Hadith agree with those revealed by the latest scientific discoveries in the field. These descriptions could not have been obtained based on the scientific knowledge available in the 7th century, proving that this knowledge could have come only from God. Moreover, God speaks of the embryo's three-stage growth process in the mother's womb. He reveals that He created the womb with three veils, cloaks, shields, or envelopes of darkness around the child. Now we know that three layers of darkness separate the embryo from the outside world.

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Before we speak about the evidence of Islam and the Holy Quran's Divine origin, let me quickly introduce Islam. Islam is defined as the voluntary act of submitting yourself to God. When you become a Muslim, you submit and surrender to the will of God, just as the creation around you, providing you peace and contentment in this life and the hereafter. Only when you submit to God, through a process of believing in Him and obeying His commandments, do you achieve an innate and lasting sense of security, true peace of mind, and surety of heart. As a Muslim, you don't live to fulfill your desires, lusts, and impulses; instead, by definition, a Muslim submits their will to the almighty God. You acknowledge and trust that God knows what's best for you, so you follow His guidance.

You cannot live peacefully or successfully without religion, and this religion cannot be man-made. Religion must be utterly Divine, with no human alteration inherent.The only Revelation in the world today that still rings good and true is the final Book, the last and final Testament of God, the Holy Quran. All other traditional Revelations have been lost in the annals of time or undergone endless human-made modifications that have rendered them impractical for humanity. Unlike other sacred scriptures such as the Bible, the Holy Quran has been perfectly preserved in both its words and meaning—and in a language that still exists today.

Islam is a monotheistic faith that requires followers to admit and recognize the existence of one Supreme God and Being who is Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowledgeable, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, Most-Merciful, and Loving. Islam stresses the existence of only One God. The same God worshipped by Prophet Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Islam demonstrates the fact that, through the centuries, God has continued to bless humanity with holy Prophets bearing the same general message.

The message is simple: you should worship God Alone with no partners, love Him with all of your heart, and follow His Commandments. If you follow this edict, you will live a content life in this world and enter Paradise eternally in the afterlife. If you do not believe in God and follow His commandments, you will live a depressed life and enter hellfire in the afterlife.

Islam is not a religion solely based on creeds, customs, and rituals such as praying and fasting; instead, Islam is a complete way of life that guides followers in every aspect of their lives. Islam teaches the art of living and dictates how you should steer and navigate your life. Islam instructs you about the things in this life that are beneficial to you and those that are ultimately destructive and should be avoided.

Islam states that everyday human acts, such as eating, drinking, greeting others, sitting, learning, dressing, sleeping, and giving charity, are all acts of worship if conducted for God alone and in accordance with His Divine Laws and guidelines.

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sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH also have conveyed many predictions. We can outline a few among the more than 100 prophecies in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad PBUH (sayings of the Prophet).

When Arab pagans were not known for building tall buildings, as the Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians were, the Prophet Muhammad PBUH prophesied a time when you would see the children of barefooted camel and goat herders participating in the construction of high-rise buildings. He pointed out that this would signify the onset of Judgment Day.

This prophecy was made at a time and place when no indications existed that Arabs would construct tall buildings; indeed, this was at a time when Arabs lived as impoverished herders of camels and sheep. The fathers of the current rulers of Dubai and Saudi Arabia once walked barefoot and worked primarily as herders of camels and goats before discovering oil. Today, Dubai and Saudi Arabia host the world's tallest buildings. ...And when you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds constructing tall buildings... - Saheeh Muslim.

The Prophet Muhammad PBUH also predicted that Jerusalem would be conquered after his death, lost, and then conquered once again. He prophesied the conquest of Persia, Rome, and Egypt. Muslims conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) after his death, as predicted. Prophet Muhammad PBUH predicted that Islam would spread to the far Eastern and Western ends of the world. Now we see that Islam has spread worldwide, encompassing 24% of the world's population.

Among the many predictions of Prophet Muhammad PBUH is the claim that a time would come when …women are clothed yet naked, walking with an enticing gait... (narrated by Ahmad & Muslim in Al-Saheeh). Today, women worldwide walk in the streets with many body parts exposed, flaunting their beauty as the Hadith predicted.

Prophet Muhammed PBUH prophesied a time when murders would increase, and the one who kills would not know why they killed, nor would the one killed understand the motive. One can see this phenomenon happening in modern wars and gang-related conflicts.

Prophet Muhammed PBUH prophesied the increase in usury and interest, acts which are unethical and exploitative as they make the rich richer at the expense of the poor. He stated that no one would be able to escape this state, which, unfortunately, defines the world's current economic conditions.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH ordered Mosques (houses of God) to be built with a design of pure simplicity. He prophesied a time when Mosques would be like palaces, and now, we see many huge, beautiful Mosques worldwide just brimming with pillars, chandeliers, domes, beautiful colored carpets, and marbled floors.

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Now let's speak on the irrefutable proofs and evidence on why the Holy Quran is the true Speech of God. The Holy Quran will continue to speak to every generation until the Day of Judgment. Amongst the many miracles of the Holy Quran is the Quality and Eloquence of the Holy Quran when the text is read in Arabic. Arabic speakers can appreciate the linguistic perfection of the Arabic language of the Holy Quran—it stands as a living miracle of the Arabic language. The Arabs who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad PBUH could appreciate the eloquence of the language of the Book as they spoke Arabic.

The Holy Quran contains the highest possible standard of rhetoric in its language, to the extent that it would be impossible for a human or group of humans to produce. The Holy Quran consists of perfect grammar. The Holy Quran explains complicated legal matters like inheritance in simple speech and imagery through the Arabic language. The Holy Quran is inimitable in style, form, and spiritual impact; the book's text has a unique rhythm, tone, rhyme, and genre like no other book. The Holy Quran uses terminology and descriptions that express a sophistication beyond what a 7th-century person living in the desert would know.

The Holy Quran contains many miracles that non-Arabic speakers can appreciate and recognize. The Holy Quran is a miracle because of the power the book wields over humans worldwide. Daily, it changes millions of lives and views. It transforms people into better human beings. The Holy Quran is a miracle because of its incredible spiritual power and positive psychological effects on those who read it. The Book often gives readers an indescribable feeling that moves them to tears, even if they do not speak or comprehend Arabic. The Holy Quran is a miracle, as it has changed and impacted human history in many ways.

The Holy Quran contains references to various branches of knowledge and various sciences that could not have been known firsthand at the time and place of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his companions. We will now dig a little deeper into this subject.

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And before we speak about the evidence of Islam and the Holy Quran's Divine origin, let me quickly introduce your Creator to you. Muslims do not worship a particular God of Muslims; instead, the God that Muslims worship is the universal God who created the heavens and the Earth, which many people believe in from the time of their childhood. The word "Allah" is the unique name of God and translates to mean God. Regardless, some people harbor the mistaken belief that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews do and that "Allah" is the God of the Arabs or the Muslims. This is far from the truth.

Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians use the same name, "Allah," to refer to God. If one were to examine an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word "Allah" being used in place of the term, God. However, Muslims, Christians, and Jews have different concepts of God.

Allah is the one and only absolute and eternal God. He is the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, the Creator of the Universe. He is the Lord of all lords and King of all kings. He is the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful. Allah Neither Begets nor is He Begotten. And He knows no equal.

Say, "He is Allah, who is One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neitherbegets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent." (Quran 112:1-4)

Muslims believe in one unique, incomparable God—one with no son, daughter, father, mother, family, or partner. He is the Knower of the unseen and the Source of All Mercy. He is the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner, the Wise. All that is in the Heavens and on Earth magnifies Him. Muslims believe that none should be worshipped but Him alone. He is the true God, and every other deity is false. None carries the right to be worshipped, revered, adored, invoked, supplicated, or shown any act of worship but Allah alone.

God is unique, indivisible, and similar to nothing. Whenever you try to compare God to anything in this world, the source of comparison cannot be God because God, to put it simply, is incomparable. Your finite human mind cannot comprehend and grasp God as a concept. Muslims avoid conceptualizing His image because imagining or visualizing Him would limit Him. The human imagination is limited, as it is based on what it observes and experiences directly. The human imagination cannot fully grasp God's state, which is timeless and eternal with no beginning or end. God has a unique nature and is free from gender and human weakness. He is beyond anything which human beings can imagine.

"There is no god but He, the Creator of all things; then worship Him, and He has the power to dispose of all affairs. No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision; He is the Sublime, Well-Aware." (Quran 6: 102-103)

God is the King, the Holy, free from all defects, The Protector, the Keeper, the Sustainer of Earth and the Universe and all it contains. He is the Glorious, the Great, the deserver of all Praise. The Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth belong to Him. Nothing is hidden from Him, and nothing is beyond His capabilities. He is the One that merges the night into the day and the day into the night. He is the Master of the Day of Judgment. Allah does not sleep nor slumber, nor does sleep overtake Him.

"He is Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." (Quran 42:11)

God is Loving, Compassionate, and Merciful; He is the answerer of prayers. He is indeed involved and concerned with the daily affairs of all human beings. God is the Beneficent, the Merciful. He is the Giver of life and the Causer of death. He is the Master of the Day of Judgment. He is the Most-High, the Most-Supreme.

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God taught the Holy Quran to the Angel Gabriel, who then taught it to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, who then taught it to his companions. It is imperative to know that Muslims recorded the Revelation as it was taught to them by Prophet Muhammad PBUH over 23 years. The Holy Quran was revealed passage by passage orally. It did not come down in written form. After the Book was compiled, it was apparent that the Holy Quran consisted of a deep mathematical structure and design that only God could have achieved. The Holy Quran contains many mathematical miracles or presumed coincidences that cannot be mere coincidences.

Among the many mathematical miracles outlined in the Holy Quran is the mention of the word day 365 times, which is the time it takes the Earth to complete a single orbit around the sun. The plural of the word is used 30 times within the text, representing the number of days in a typical month. The word month is used 12 times in this same text. The words, man and woman are mentioned 24 times each, and sometimes in different contexts. The word Dunya (the world we live in) is mentioned 115 times, and the word that references the Hereafter is mentioned 115 times.

Again, God did not reveal the Holy Quran entirely at once; it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH through Angel Gabriel orally, piece by piece, over 23 years. A human could never compile the Holy Quran, brimming with a bounty of mathematical miracles, in 23 years. These are only a few of the many miracles found in the Holy Quran. These miracles, along with many others found in the text, show a deliberate order in the Holy Quran. All of the presumed mathematical coincidences cannot be, in fact, coincidences.

Unlike the modern-day Bible, which contains thousands of contradictions due to its excessive modifications and insertions from human hands, the Holy Quran boasts perfect consistency and contains zero contradictions, even though this more than 600-page Book speaks of many complex topics such as theology, law, legal problems, peace and war, marriage and divorce, economics, child custody, inheritance, etc. God states that if this Book were written by anyone else, the text undoubtedly would contain many contradictions.

Given the fact that Prophet Muhammad PBUH was an unlettered man who did not know how to read or write and lived in the desert, he could not have authored the Holy Quran as it is written, at a high literacy level of the Arabic language, containing no errors, contradictions, nor inconsistencies.

"Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from any other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction." (Quran 4:82)

The Holy Quran contains perfect consistency and is free of contradictions, even though it was revealed orally over twenty-three years. The Holy Quran challenges anyone who doubts the Book's Divine origins to produce another sacred text equal in merit, one that matches its eloquence, power, style, language, etc. Allah made it clear that no one will be able to produce anything comparable to the Holy Quran—another prophecy of the Holy Quran that is true.

"And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful." (Quran 2:23)

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If you do not have a relationship with your Creator, then your soul eternally will seek something to fill the emptiness of your heart. All of the wealth and material goods of this world never will fill the void, the emptiness, the gap of your vacant soul. Your happiness is not derived from the gathering of possessions. Real wealth is obtained only from the richness and contentment of the heart and soul. And the only true poverty is the poverty of your spirit and heart. Whether you believe it or not, whether you like it or not, this is how God designed you and how He designed the world you live in.

In today's materialistic world, the endless quest for fame and wealth distracts you from reflecting on the beautiful creation of God and the purpose behind it. You live in a world where people are obsessed with materialism; their main aim and focus is to gather all the money and prizes they can possess. You are in a world in which people are obsessed with taking as much as possible from this world. A perpetual state of excessive materialism can affect your inner peace. You cannot achieve satisfaction in life if you do little but pursue material gain to an excessive and extreme extent; instead, you should look at the situation of those less fortunate than you. This way, you will have a greater appreciation of the love, gifts, benefits, and mercy the Almighty has bestowed upon you regarding your wealth, family, friends, housing, etc.

You were created and born with a sense of awe and wonder, but many kill that sense of wonder somewhere along their journey to adulthood. Many no longer feel awe at God's creation around them because of their excessiveness, obsession, and distraction as rooted in the material things of this world. Many are so preoccupied with useless material goods, vain talk, and gossip that they have forgotten and even are immune to the wonder of the miracles happening around them every second of every day. One should think deeply and ask more critical questions about life and its purpose rather than thinking about that which is less significant.

For the few that ponder and think deeply on this creation, which others overlook, they discover within it signs and great lessons all around them that lead them straight back to their Creator. Signs that lead one to an appreciation of the Wisdom and Wonders of the Almighty's creation, bringing them thus closer to their Lord. In the Holy Quran, God invites individuals of true understanding to think about the issues other people overlook.

You surely harbor fundamental questions that malign your conscience. Why was I created? What am I doing here? What is the purpose of my existence? Where am I headed? These are questions that only God can answer. Only He can provide you with a meaningful purpose for your life and the guidance needed to fulfill your life's purpose.

Other religions do not answer the big questions of life. You cannot live peacefully in this world without knowing who you are, who created you, where you are headed, what your role is, and how to fulfill that role. The Almighty implanted the need to answer these questions into your inner nature. However, your human intellect alone cannot answer these questions unaided. You need Divine guidance to discover these all-important spiritual answers.

The answers lie in Islam.

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Not only does the Holy Quran prophesize future events, but the text tells many stories of past events, past nations, and past prophets, such as the stories of Prophet Joseph, Moses, and Jesus PBUT. The Prophet Muhammad PBUH lived in the middle of the desert with no libraries available because the Arabian Peninsula was a backward, antiquated nation at the time. He was unlettered and grew up among illiterate idol worshippers without knowledge of the Scriptures. He had no way of reading or conjuring these stories shared in the Holy Quan.

"That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. You knew it not, neither you nor your people, before this. So be patient; indeed, the [best] outcome is for the righteous." (Quran 11:49)

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Many reasons justify the belief that Islam is the religion of God and that the Holy Quran is the true word of God. If you are still unsure of it, you should investigate the evidence that points to Islam as the true faith and that the Holy Quran is the true Speech of God. Let's quickly go over a few of these:

Many proofs exist to support the fact that Islam is the true religion of God. Among the many proofs of Islam's truthfulness is the fact that it is the only religion whose message and teachings have been preserved and never tampered with nor changed over time. As for Christianity and other religions, their original Revelation and teachings have not been preserved for our perusal. If you look at Christianity, for instance, since Jesus Christ and the disciples spoke Aramaic, Jesus Christ's Message and teachings must have been conveyed in that language. Today, we do not have copies of Jesus Christ's teachings available in the language he taught them.

Amongst the many proofs of Islam's truthfulness is that Islam speaks to the predisposition and innate belief God has placed in the hearts of every human. Take the concept of God, for instance. The idea of God is simple, understandable, and not as complex as it is in other religions. Islam teaches the existence of only One Supreme Being, who is All-Mighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Seeing, and Most-Merciful, and who created the entire universe and everything in it. All other beings are creations of God and not the actual Creator. If more than one God existed, there would befall a chaos of gods fighting each other for control. If the gods did not fight each other for power and control, then they would be considered dependent on and submissive to each other—in other words, not gods at all.

Among the many proofs of Islam's truthfulness stands the idea that salvation makes common sense and applies true justice. Islam states that salvation is based on believing in your Creator, intentions, actions, and repentance. No other religion supports the belief in rational and logical concepts like Islam's concept of God; thus, the ideas of His Prophets, salvation, and the Hereafter appeal to everyone!

Islam says that every man is responsible for his actions, sins, and salvation; no one will bear the effects of anyone else's sins, as Christianity believes, which is unjust! God, who owns everything, does not need to sacrifice his supposed son to forgive humanity's sins! Moreover, salvation is not based on one's native ethnicity and civilization, over which people have no control, as Jews believe. Where is the fairness, logic, and justice in that?

Islam's concept of the Hereafter makes total sense and applies full justice in its scope. Islam states that there is a life after this one, where everyone will be judged based on how they lived. Everyone will get what they deserve on Judgment Day, be it a reward or a punishment. In this world, evil people may live decent lives and go unpunished for their wrongdoing, while sometimes good people who believe in God and do good deeds live difficult lives. On Judgment Day, justice will be applied.

Among the many proofs of Islam's existence is how its teachings guide you to achieving goodness. Other religions teach you to refrain from stealing and cheating, but their teachings are not practical. In contrast, Islam's teachings are very practical and provide solutions for all problems and aspects of life. Islam offers many resolutions, like the solution to poverty. The faith contains a system known as Zakat, which requires everyone with more than a certain amount of money and assets to give the poor 2.5% of their wealth annually. If everyone followed this system worldwide, no one would die from hunger, and poverty would perish!

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To navigate humanity to Him, God the Almighty sent down Books with His Prophets to teach and show humankind how to live their lives pleasingly in His eyes—a way of life that delivers contentment in this world and the next while avoiding punishment in the afterlife and attaining Paradise. God sends these Books to serve as study guides and instructional manuals regarding how one's life should be lived. Through his Revelations to humanity, delivered with Prophets, God reveals His Wisdom, Laws, and Instructions.

The Holy Quran is a guide or instructional manual that teaches one how to live their life. The Book was revealed to guide humanity through every aspect of life. The Holy Quran is a personal guide meant to navigate a person through daily struggles. Just as when you buy a computer or any electronic device, the machine comes with an instructional manual dictating its operation.

The Holy Quran deals with all subjects pertaining to the lives of human beings, such as doctrine, wisdom, worship, law, transactions, and more. Its central theme is the relationship between God and His creation. The Holy Quran also teaches the art of living. The Holy Quran contains guidelines and teachings for both individuals and society as a whole. The Holy Quran's guidelines and instructions for proper human conduct, a fair economic system, ritual worship, ethics and moral behavior, business, government, etc., are presented in this monumental text.

You are advised to read the instructional manual of life, the Holy Quran, and live as our Creator has commanded. How else would you know your role and the purpose of your existence unless you receive clear and practical instructions regarding God's expectations of you? If you follow the guidelines carefully, you shall be rewarded with a better life--now and in the hereafter. If you disobey God and go against His commands, by contrast, you will face the consequences in this world and the Hereafter.

The Holy Quran is the primary source of Islamic teachings for all Muslims. The Book is and always has been written in Arabic. The Holy Quran is so unique in content and style that it cannot be translated; therefore, any translation is only intended to interpret its meaning. Distinctions must be drawn between the Holy Quran and its translations.

Unlike other Scriptures of God, not one letter of the Holy Quran has been changed since its Revelation. Everything found in the Holy Quran is true, with no evidence of contradictions or falsehood found, and the truth of the book will remain valid for eternity.

Now let's review the irrefutable evidence that proves the Holy Quran to be the Word of God:

The Holy Quran is proof of Islam's truthfulness. Anyone who thoroughly examines the Holy Quran will conclude that no one, including the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, could have authored this Book, as no human could produce anything of its scope and magnitude. Thus, this text could come only from God.

The Holy Quran is the eternal miracle of the Prophet Muhamad PBUH, providing the truthfulness of his Prophethood. Past prophets performed miracles to prove their Prophethood, but all of these miracles ended with their deaths since they were Prophets meant to serve their people only. Since Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, is the last Prophet and meant to be followed till the end of time, his miracle needs to last for that duration so that the people who live after him can see his miracle and believe in his Prophethood. The Holy Quran remains preserved and exists today in the same form as it existed more than 1400 years ago.

The Holy Quran is the greatest miracle of God and contains thousands of miracles to prove its Godly origins. For a book to claim to be the word of God is a formidable statement indeed. Without clear evidence or with one contradiction found within the Book, the apparent Word of God would be proven false.

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the Opening Chapter of the Holy Quran and the Verses of your choice after it out loud instead of silently. As for the rest of the units for Majrib (one unit) and Isha Prayer (two units), you read silently to yourself. For Thur and Asr prayers, all four units are read silently.

May Allah accept your Prayers and reward you abundantly & may your prayers be a means that connects you closer to your Creator!

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performed:

Before you connect with Allah, you must start by setting an intention in your heart for the prayer you are about to perform. There is no need to verbalize your intention. 

Now you are ready to start the prayer. You start by raising both your hands to shoulder or ear height– do not place your hands together, instead keep them shoulder apart and your feet shoulder apart, and you say 'Allah Akhbar,' which translates to 'Allah is Greater' – in almost every movement of the prayer, you will say 'Allah Akhbar' which will constantly remind you Allah is Greater than what you were doing, saying, thinking, and is Greater than everything. You keep your eyes looking down at the ground in front of you where your head would be placed when you prostrate. It's essential to stay concentrated on your prayer and not look around, which would disturb you from your prayers. You should not close your eyes during prayers.  

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Tayammum (dry ablution) is a gift Allah has given us to make things earlier for us. If you are sick or wounded and cannot use water or traveling and do not have water, you may perform Tayammum instead of wudu or ghusl. Tayammum is a symbolic ritual, and all you must do is strike both your hands lightly into any clean Earth surface, for instance, sand or stone, blow your hands to blow the dust off, and then wipe your face and hands.

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Prayers can either be performed individually or in a congregation with others. One can pray individually or in congregation at home, work, Mosque, or anywhere indoors or outdoors except in bathrooms and graveyards. You are also allowed to pray outdoors, as the whole Earth has been permissible as a place of worship, including sand, grass, etc. unless there are signs of impurity. Males are highly recommended to pray in congregation with others in one of God's Houses called Mosques. Friday prayers are required to be prayed in the Mosque for all males and not required for females. While not required, many Muslims use a prayer mat to pray on. 

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In Muslim countries, Prayer is publicly announced to the community—not by bells—but by an Islamic chant or call of Prayer known as Adhan in Arabic. Before we start our prayer, we make our Adhan and iqamah, the Islamic chant or call of prayer, which is given to call people if there will be other people joining you. If one is praying alone, there is no need to perform adthan or igama, but it's Sunnah.

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Before the prayer begins, a Muslim is required to perform ablution (wudu in Arabic), which is the act of cleaning and purifying oneself from physical bodily fluids such as blood, urine, or any impurity with water. A Muslim must be clean and free of impurities in his body, clothing, and the area where the Prayer will be performed. One drop of waste matter presents anywhere would void one's Prayer.

Wudu was the first ritual legislated in Islam, legislated right after the second Revelation. Wudu is half of our faith. The passing of urine, stool, windbreaks, eating camel meat, losing consciousness, and falling asleep while lying down on one's Wudu. Ghusl, a full body bath is required after sexual intercourse or when sperm is discharged. If one does not break his wudu and the following prayer comes in, they can pray with the same Wudu Ablution performed prior. Our Prophet Muhammad PBUH stated that were it not difficult for my nation, I would have commanded my nation to perform Wudu Ablution every time they stood up to pray. This is to show us the importance of and encourage us to perform a lot of Wudu in our lives. On Judgement Day, those who performed a perfect wudu will be identifiable by the light shining from the areas they washed in wudu. Every time we make Wudu, sins fall with the drops of water from our skin, so the repetition of Wudu cleanses our sins, and we should get into the habit of performing ablution regularly.

O believers! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads, and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of ˹full˺ impurity, then take a full bath. But if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or have been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean Earth by wiping your faces and hands. It is not Allah's Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favour upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful. (Quran 5:6)

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During Prayer, Muslims are directed to disconnect themselves and clear their minds of worldly matters as they converse with God. They pray to a God who is near, All-Loving, All-Hearing, All-Caring, and All-Powerful. Muslims are to concentrate on their words and humble themselves only to the Almighty. A Muslim affirms that God is the Master and that they are the servant and slave of God who needs the Almighty's direction, help, and guidance to the straight path. The Islamic Prayer is so sacred that it is prohibited to eat, drink, or converse as they pray.

"And establish Prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]" (Quran 2:43) 

While not mandated, it is highly encouraged for one to awaken in the middle of the night to pray to God, as this is a common practice of righteous people.

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Prophet Muhammad PBUH stated, 'Pray as you have seen me praying' So we should pray the way Prophet Muhammad PBUH instructed us to pray through narrations of Hadith that were passed down to us. Hadith about prayer teaches us the pillars of Prayer, the mandatory movements and sayings, the Sunnah acts, and the acts and sayings that nullify the prayer.

It's also important to note while Muslims agree with each other in almost all aspects of religion, there are a few minor disagreements when it comes to the finer, minor details of our faith; there are differences of opinions among scholars based on their interpretations and evidence they extrapolate from the Sunnah. For example, some scholars or schools of thought might place their hands a little lower or higher than other scholars and schools of thought do in prayer. But at the end of the day, as long as you follow reputable scholars or a school of thought, your prayer is valid. 

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What we just performed was a 2-unit prayer. The five daily prayers you are required to pray have different numbers of units needed to pray. Only the Fajr prayer (from dawn to the right before sunrise) is a two-unit prayer. As for Thur, Asr, and Isha, prayers are four-unit prayers, and Majrib is a three-unit prayer. For these four prayers, after completing the second prostration of your second unit of prayer, you place both your hands on your knees with your back and head lined up straight. It's Sunnah to raise your right foot vertically with your toes pointing to the direction of the Qibla (Mecca). Your left leg will be underneath your thigh with the weight of your body on your left thigh and buttock—so you'll be sitting on the left side of your body, and you say the same first half of the Tashahhud we spoke about earlier.

التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat, as-salamu ‘alaika ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmatAllahi wa baraktuhu. As-salamu ‘alaina wa ‘ala ‘ibad illahis-salihin, ashahdu an la illaha ill-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu

All compliments, prayers, and beautiful expressions are for God. Peace be on you, O Prophet, and Allah's mercy and blessings are on you. And peace be on us and on the good (pious) worshipers of Allah. I bear that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Apostle.

Then you would get up while saying 'Allah Akhbar' (God is Greater) and perform your 3rd unit of prayer.

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Some acts and sayings in prayers must be done, or your prayer will be invalid. However, there are also Sunnahs in prayer. A Sunnah is an act that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, performed or encouraged us to perform and is optional, and if enacted, you would get rewarded more by Allah. If not completed, there is no harm, and your prayer will remain valid. 

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The Salah Prayer has six pre-conditions that Muslims must follow for their prayer to be valid unless one has a valid excuse. The first pre-condition is that one must be in a state of spiritual purity by cleansing themself with ghusl (washing the whole body) or wudu (ablution). If water is unavailable, one can perform Tayammum instead (dry ablution using purified sand, stone, or mud).The second pre-condition is the timing of the prayer—one must pray during its set time. The third pre-condition is that a Muslim must cover his awrah where his skin is not shown. One's cloth cannot be transparent or skin-tight. For men, the awrah is their body parts from their navel to their knees. Women's awrah includes their whole body except their face and hands. The fourth pre-condition is to purify oneself from the impurity of one's physical body, clothes, and where one is praying. The fifth condition is that a Muslim must face the direction of Qibla (towards Mecca) when praying. The sixth pre-condition is that one must set an intention in their heart for the prayer they are about to perform—they must know which prayer they are praying.

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The Islamic Prayer is a ritual that has been unchanged for more than 1400 years and is repeated five times a day by hundreds of millions of people all around the globe. Earlier Prophets and Messengers also performed the Salah prayer, in which the act of prostration was involved. According to the Gospel of Mathew, Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, fell with his face to the ground and prayed: 'Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed: 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Not as I will, but as you will" (Mathew 26:39)

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It's important to note that God is transcendent, free of all needs, and independent. He does not need human worship or reverence, as He gains nothing from it. Muslims do not pray or worship God for God's sake; instead, they praise and worship God for their own sake. God made worship and the remembrance of Him beneficial to humanity, both in this world and the next.

"And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds" (Quran 29:6)

The benefits of praying to the Almighty are vast, and the blessings of Prayer are beyond our imagination. Prayer motivates one to do good and strive for the best, so one can live a good life in this world--and in the next world, eternally.

"Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish Prayer for My remembrance" (Quran 20:14)

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Muslims all face the same direction when praying Salah. We pray with our face and body facing the direction of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia, where the Holy House of God—known as the Kaaba—is situated. Muslims from all over the globe face this direction, where the first House was built on Earth to worship the One God. Of course, we do not worship the Kaaba; we only use the Holy House as a direction to face while worshipping the One God as instructed by God Himself. Prayers are only directed to God, our Creator.    

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Much like the pillars of a building, where one cannot move them and need to walk around them physically, a Muslim's life revolves around their five daily prayers; instead of casually trying to fit their prayers into their life. A Muslim's prayers are always their top priority; everything else comes secondary.

Muslims pray to Allah five times a day. These five prayers are obligatory. There are also optional prayers in which Muslims can pray throughout the day to strengthen their connection with Allah. Here are a list of the five mandatory prayers and how many units each consists of. We will talk about what movements and sayings consist in a unit of prayer in the section on how to pray Salat.

• The first is the Fajr Prayer, prayed from dawn to the right before sunrise. The Fajr prayer has two units to be prayed.

• The second is the Zhuhr Prayer, prayed just after noon (mid-day, when the sun passes the median point in the sky). The Zhur prayer has four units to be prayed.

• The third is the Asr Prayer, prayed during the afternoon (halfway between noon and sunset). The Asr prayer has four units to be prayed.

• The fourth is the Maghrib Prayer, prayed directly after sunset. The Maghrib prayer has three units to be prayed.

• The fifth is the Isha Prayer, prayed late evening, during the dark of the night (approximately an hour and a half after sunset).' The Isha prayer has four units to be prayed.

The five daily Prayers set the rhythm of a Muslim's day. Prayers must be performed at their appointed due times unless a reasonable excuse exists to delay them. Prayers are prohibited from being postponed to where they overlap with the following Prayer's timeframe.

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The Islamic ritual prayers come with many benefits—in this world and the next—for the ones that engage in them sincerely and mindfully, with concentration and humility. Amongst the benefits of praying is that the one that prays regularly and prays the way that they are supposed to be prayed has a promise from Allah that Allah will cause them to enter Paradise.

Amongst the benefits of praying is that the act of praying guards and protects a believer from sins and evil doings.

"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish the Prayer. Indeed, the Prayer prevents from the immorality and evil deeds, and surely (the) remembrance (of) Allah (is) greatest. And Allah knows what you do" (Quran 29:45)

When one becomes lackadaisical in their worship or neglects Prayer altogether, they will experience the consequence of feeling distant from God, which may cause increased instances of sinning and evil doing. As they distance themselves from Prayer and the remembrance of God, they become easier targets for Satan to reach out to and tempt them. The one that guards and faithfully practices their prayers would be mindful of everything else that matters. The one that neglects their prayers would be neglectful of what matters in this life.

Amongst the many benefits of Prayer is the transformative power that Prayer has on a person. Prayer transforms a person's attitude, behavior, mentality, thoughts, and priorities, redirecting these elements to what matters in life. Prayer softens one's heart toward Allah and his Creation. Muslims steadfast in their Prayer are continually looking to help others and have a genuine concern for them—not just themselves.

If one does not see their prayers' benefits and positive effects, one should question their sincerity, humility, and concentration in praying. God references the fate of past generations who did not take advantage of their prayers—wasting them.

"But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so, they are going to face Destruction" (Quran 19:59)

Salah (Prayer) is also connected to the state of our Ummah (Muslim community). Prayer solves the many problems our nation is facing. If our Prayer is strong, everything else in our community will be healthy.

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Before we go over how to pray, we must go over the Salah Prayer and why we perform it. The second Pillar of Islam is the mandatory round of ritual prayers that every Muslim must perform five times daily. The Islamic method of Prayer is a ritualized form of worship, which involves the recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran and supplications to God, all while standing, bowing, and prostrating. This mandatory act of worship is called Salah in Arabic and differs from merely praying or supplicating to God in an impulsive act, just speaking one's mind. Instead, the Salah prayers demand a formalized structure in which one prays a certain way at specific times, as demonstrated to us by Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, drawing direct inspiration from Angel Gabriel, who learned from God Himself.

The Arabic word 'Salah,' generally translated as Prayer in English, is linguistically derived from the Arabic word meaning 'connection'; this mode of Prayer connects the servant with his Creator. Salah is a Muslim's way of establishing direct contact with God the Almighty. Salah represents a Muslim's affirmation of servanthood and submission to his Creator's Will. In Salah, a Muslim acknowledges his weakness and neediness by seeking and begging for God's guidance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Salah, or this Islamic ritualized Prayer, is one form of worship amongst many in this beautiful faith. However, Salah holds a special status in Islam because Prayer builds a relationship between a servant and his Creator. Salah is considered the center pole of the Religion of Islam; whoever demolishes or denies this practice in their life demolishes their religion. According to Islamic Scholars, this is the only form of worship that—if neglected—would exclude the disobedient from the folds of Islam.

When prayer time arrives, one is expected to discontinue their current activity and pray to connect with God, the All-Merciful, refreshing their faith for their benefit. Prayer helps remind one why they are here and for what purpose. Prayers help direct a person's thoughts and actions away from sin, from that which is not beneficial. Prayers redirect a believer's thoughts to the remembrance of God.

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The Salah prayer is specifically a human form of worship. All other creatures of God, including animals and plants, submit without question to the Almighty in their unique way. Everything in the Sky and Earth declares Allah's perfection and worships Him in their way, a pattern we humans may not understand. All other creations of God are in continuous glorification, praise, and remembrance of God and worship in their own way. Just like the other members of creation-worship Allah, man is expected to worship God.

"Do not you see that Allah - glorify Him whoever (is) in the Heavens and the Earth and the birds (with) wings outspread? Each one certainly knows its Prayer and its glorification. And Allah (is) All-Knower of what they do" (Quran 24:41)

Humanity was created for Prayer and Divine worship. God states in the Quran:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quran 51:56)

God commands humanity to establish and perfect their Prayer by praying properly with concentration and the utmost humility. Every Muslim must work and practice to improve their prayer technique, which is a lifetime commitment. Muslims must engage in a lifelong effort to master this art of communication with their Creator. The ones that fall into a habitual routine of reciting their words without concentration and humility would miss the point of Prayer, not benefitting from their Prayer nearly as much as those who pray earnestly and with full concentration and mindfulness.

Neglecting mandatory Prayer is a grave sin in the Islamic faith. Allah, the glorious, shares a dialogue in the Holy Koran in which the residents of Paradise ask the people of the hellfire as to the reason for their condemnation, and the condemned respond:

"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed, nor did we used to feed the poor, and we used to indulge in vain talk with the vain talkers, and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, Until there came to us the certainty'" (Quran 74:43-47)

The state of one's Prayer will be the first thing to be asked of each on the Great Day of Judgement. If one's Prayers were in order, everything else would fall into place. If one's Prayer were not in order, they would be doomed. The Messenger of Allah stated: 'The first of man's deeds for which he will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be Salat. If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful; but if it is incomplete, he will be unfortunate and a loser…." (At-Tirmidhi).

Prayer should be directed only to God the Almighty, as he is the Only One in complete control of everything—including man's destiny. He is All-Powerful, All-Wise, All-Knowing, and All-Hearing, and can fill anyone's needs and remove all of man's pain and miseries.

The Islamic prayer ritual expresses submission to God, showing humility, devotion toward, and love of God. Praying to the Creator daily is the best way to build a personal connection with Him while seeking His guidance, Blessings, and Forgiveness. Muslims pray to God to gain spiritual strength and peace of mind and strengthen their faith's foundation. Muslims temporarily step out of their daily activities five times a day to connect to God; to stay mindful of Him in this world of stress, struggle, and distractions. Prayers remind Muslims that Allah controls all things so they can put their worldly concerns into perspective.

The Islamic prayer method and mode act as a spiritual diet. Such as the body requires food and water throughout the day, our spirit needs to partake in the remembrance and worship of God to stay spiritually healthy; is not the soul more valuable than the body?

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The five prayers are obligatory for anyone who is Muslim, reached puberty, and is in his senses. The Salah prayer is not required for those mentally challenged, not in their sense. A woman that is menstruating or experiencing postnatal bleeding should not pray. 

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Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus Christ will return toward the end of times before the Day of Judgment. While the beliefs of Muslims and Christians regarding the return of Jesus Chris share some similarities, the details and definitions are very different. The arrival of Jesus Christ is one of the signs indicating the arrival of the Day of Judgment. Muslims believe Jesus Christ was neither crucified nor killed; instead, he was raised by God in the Heavens and is still alive today.

Muslims believe Jesus Christ will return at the end of time when the world is in dire need. It will be a time of many difficulties, trials, tribulations, corruption, evil, immorality, nudity, fornication, killing, violence, and earthquakes when good deeds acts will decrease. Jesus Christ will fight the False Messiah — the Antichrist, a powerful figure of falsehood and temptation that will deceive many and gain a large following. Jesus Christ will defeat the False Messiah in the battle of the Great Armageddon, a battle which Christians also believe.

Jesus Christ will return to complete his mission, which was left incomplete. The purpose of the return of Christ is to complete his mission and demonstrate that he, just like all Prophets, preached and taught the worship of One God to reunite the world under the Rule of God. Jesus Christ will preach the true Oneness of God, as he has always done. He will not preach the Trinity nor initiate a new religion; instead, he will break the cross figuratively or literally to demonstrate to Christians that they were wrong to describe him as divine and the Son of God. He will further demonstrate to the Jews that he never was crucified. He will kill a pig to demonstrate that he never commanded his people to abandon God’s law. He will follow the teachings of the Holy Quran and the final Prophet that came after him, Muhammad PBUH. He will call all humanity to Islam.

Jesus Christ will fight and kill the Antichrist, whom Muslims refer to as the Dajjal. He will lead the Muslims to victory against the oppressors, establishing peace and justice. Every person from the Book (Christians and Jews) living at the time will eventually recognize and believe in Jesus Christ and embrace the faith of Islam in which Jesus Christ will peach. Jesus Christ will eventually die a natural death, as do all humans. Today, there is an empty grave reserved for Jesus Christ in a special spot reserved by the Muslim community. He will be buried in the city of Medina, next to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, just as Prophet Muhammad PBUH commanded it. Prophet Muhammad PBUH loved Jesus Christ and called him his brother; he stated he was the one closest to him since Jesus Christ was the Prophet right before him.

According to the Holy Quran, God will ask Prophet Jesus PBUH on the Day of Judgment:

“…O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, ‘Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?’… “(Quran 5:116–118)

Prophet Jesus PBUH will respond:

“…He will say, ‘Exalted, are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me — to worship Allah, my Lord, and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. If You should punish them — indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them — indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise” (Quran 5:116–118)

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Prophet Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and all the previous prophets of God PBUT preached, taught, and stressed the teachings of Tawheed, defined as the Oneness of God. They taught that God alone is the Creator of all, and only He is worthy of worship and veneration. No other deity should be worshiped, not the Sun, Moon, or idols.

The New Testament quotes Jesus Christ, stating: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (Mark12:28-29). Never did Prophet Jesus PBUH, nor any other Prophet, preach that God is part of a Trinity. The Holy Quran teaches us:

"Say: He is Allah, the One! God the eternal; needing none. He neither begot anyone, nor was he begotten. And there is none comparable unto Him" (Quran 112:1-4)

Islam stresses the Oneness of God. However, Christians insist on upholding the concept of the Trinity, believing they are worshipping one God while, in actuality, they are worshipping three gods. They ascribe partners to God, which they have no right to do. Islam forbids the association of partners with Almighty God, whether in belief or worship. Islam teaches that Allah, the Arabic name for God, is the One and Unique Eternal God, the One who neither begets nor is born. There is, very simply, nothing like Him. Muslims love Allah, depend only on Him, fear him, and place their trust and hope in Him.

The ease of believing and understanding one Creator comes naturally to human beings as they are born with an innate eagerness and ability to seek God, recognize Him, and understand His existence. On the other hand, the concept of multiple gods or a deity being worshipped other than our God above becomes unnatural for humans.

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All three major world religions–Islam, Christianity, and Judaism–portray the Prophet Abraham PBUH as an inspiring example of someone who submitted himself entirely to God and worshipped Him. Prophet Abraham, PBUH, plays a prominent role in history and religion.

The Holy Quran shares stories of Prophet Abraham's firm and steadfast belief in God, as one who called and preached the Oneness of God and rejected the belief of idolatry. He later faced various difficult tests and hardships God placed before him, testing his belief and loyalty.

The Holy Quran states that Prophet Abraham PBUH was neither a Jew nor a Christian. Prophet Abraham PBUH could not have been a Jew. The term Judaism originates from the name Judah, who resided in the land of Judea and was the grandson of Prophet Abraham PBUH. How could Prophet Abraham PBUH be a Jew if he was born before his grandson, which Judaism is named? Prophet Abraham PBUH could not have been Christian since Christianity follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, and Prophet Abraham was born before Jesus Christ.

Well, the question arises: what was the religion of Prophet Abraham PBUH and the religion of all the previous Messengers and Prophets of God up until Prophet Adam PBUT, if it could not have been Judaism or Christianity? It was Islam! Islam, by definition, means the act of submitting fully to God.This act was the way of life God, the Almighty, prescribed to all the previous Messengers, Prophets, and humanity. Islam is the voluntary "submission" or "surrender" to the Will of God, and in exchange, one would acquire peace and contentment in this life and the Hereafter. The Holy Quran states that Prophet Abraham PBUH was a Muslim. By definition, a Muslim is someone who submits wholly to God, and Prophet Abraham PBUH indeed submitted himself to God.

"People of the Book! Why do you dispute with us about Abraham even though the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after the time of Abraham? Do you not understand? Behold, you are those who have disputed greatly concerning matters which you knew; why are you now disputing about matters that you know nothing about? Allah knows it whereas you do not know. Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; he was a Muslim, wholly devoted to God. And he certainly was not amongst those who associate others with Allah in His divinity. Surely the people who have the best claim to a relationship with Abraham are those who followed him in the past, and presently this Prophet and those who believe in him; Allah is the guardian of the men of faith" (Quran 3:65:68)

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Modern Christianity and Christians today do not follow the actual teachings of Jesus Christ, despite their assumption that they do. They are following the teachings of Paul and the early church fathers who came with many innovative ideas that Jesus Christ never taught and was fighting during his lifetime to stop. Modern Christianity teaches the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ was preaching and teaching, such as the belief in the Trinity, which is the worship of more than one God (even though they think they worship one God) - Jesus Christ's divinity, and the belief that it is acceptable to disobey the law of God as long as one believes that Jesus Christ died for their sins. Jesus Christ taught and preached the Oneness of God referenced throughout the Old Testament. Never once does the Old Testament talk about the Trinity because it is an innovative concept that came much later after the departure of Jesus Christ. 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, is this, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. (Mark 12:29). Muslims believe in and worship One Creator.

If modern Christianity is the religion taught by Jesus Christ, why aren't Christians following the laws of the Old Testament? Jesus Christ stated he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill them. Jesus Christ followed the law of the previous Prophet, Moses, PBUH, and commanded others to follow this law, as referenced in the Bible. Today, the Church has abolished all laws and passes out free tickets to Paradise as long as recipients believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins with no action required to get to Heaven! These were the strange teachings of Paul and the early Church fathers, not Jesus Christ himself.

Why aren't Christians observing Kosher laws when Jesus Christ observed a Kosher lifestyle? Jesus Christ was circumcised. Why are few Christians today circumcised? Why aren't Christians following the second commandment, which forbids statues? Instead, you see statues in churches even though Leviticus 26:1 clearly states: ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.’One sees so many statues of saints and Jesus Christ throughout most churches! Jesus Christ did not eat pork, while many Christians do!

On the other hand, Muslims are faithful followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ. When Muslims pray, they prostrate themselves to God by placing their foreheads on the ground in total submission, in the same fashion that Jesus Christ did: Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.' (Matthew 26:39).

Muslims pray in the same fashion that the Bible demonstrated for Prophet Abraham PBUH: Then Abram fell on his face [in worship], and God spoke with him, saying. (Genesis 17:3)Muslims pray in the same fashion that the Bible demonstrated for Prophet Moses and Prophet Aaron PBUT: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.' But Moses and Aaron fell face down and cried out, 'O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?' (Numbers 16:20-22) Prophets Moses, Aron, and Jesus Christ, used to wash and purify themselves before prayer just as Muslims do. (Exodus 40:31-32)

Muslims do not eat pork, just like Jesus Christ did not. Muslims fast for a month, and Jesus Christ fasted for over a month (Matthew 4:2). Muslims are circumcised just as Jesus Christ was. Jesus Christ had a beard, as many Muslims wear today. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, covered her hair as Muslim women do. The Bible states that women w

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God appoints a Messenger to carry His Message to the people. The message that the Messenger brings is known as Revelation, the Divinely-inspired words of God. God's Revelation consists of information about God and his Attributes, including His guidelines, teachings, miracles, stores of past prophets, nations, lessons, and more. God's Revelation also includes prophecies of future events that will happen before Judgment Day, occurring as signs for us to know that Judgment Day is near and that the Revelation came from God. Some Revelation includes prophecies of new Prophets yet to come. Prophet Muhammad PBUH is prophesied in the Scriptures of most if not all major world religions, including the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Before the arrival of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, the Jews and Christians of Arabia were awaiting an unlettered Prophet to revive Prophet Abraham PBUH's religion. Early records of Jews and Christians, from rabbis to monks, witnessed and recognized that Prophet Muhammad PBUH represented the fulfillment of a prophecy stated in their Book.

"And when there came to them a Book from Allah, which confirms what was with them- while earlier, they used to seek help against those who disbelieved - yet when there came to them that which they did recognize, they denied it. So the curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers" (Quran 2:89)

The coming of Prophet Muhammad PBUH is prophesied in the Old Testament in several passages. God, the Almighty, speaks to Prophet Moses PBUH: I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. (Deuteronomy 18:18) This verse states that God will send down another Prophet similar to Prophet Moses PBUH. Who is this Prophet to which this verse is referencing? Christians mistakenly believe that this prophecy refers to Jesus Christ because of his similarity to the Prophet Moses PBUH. They were both Jews and Prophets. However, if one looks at only these two criteria, then all of the Prophets of the Bible who came after the Prophet Moses PBUH, such as Prophet Isiah, Daniel, Joel, etc., would fulfill this prophecy since they reigned as both Jews and Prophets.

In actuality, this verse references Prophet Muhammad PBUH, who came after Prophet Moses and Prophet Jesus PBUT. As the verse states, Prophet Muhammad PBUH is like Prophet Moses PBUH because both had fathers and mothers. Of course, Prophet Jesus PBUH had no father. According to the Bible, both Prophets were married and had children, whereas Prophet Jesus PBUH did not marry nor have offspring. Both Prophet Mahammad and Moses PBUT died natural deaths, whereas Prophet Jesus PBUH was raised to the Heavens by God.

Both Prophet Muhammad and Moses PBUT were accepted as Prophets by their people in their lifetimes, while Prophet Jesus PBUH was rejected and not accepted by his people. Both Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses PBUT were statesmen who governed their people, wielding power to inflict capital punishment. They were political and military leaders, whereas Prophet Jesus PBUH was not. Both Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses PBUT came with new laws and regulations for their people, while Prophet Jesus PBUH did not come with a new law. He came only to confirm and renew the law of the previous Prophet, Moses PBUH, according to Mathew 5:17. Both Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses PBUT began their prophethood at the age of forty, while Jesus Christ initiated his at thirty. These are only a few similarities between Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses PBUT. They have a lot more in common than Prophet Jesus and Prophet Moses PBUH.

The same verse also states that the Prophet shall be among their brethren to come. Deuteronomy 34:10 says the awaited Prophet will not be a Jew of ethnic origin and will come fr

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God taught the Holy Quran to the Angel Gabriel, who then taught it to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, who then taught it to his companions. It is imperative to know that the early Muslims compiled the Holy Quran and recorded the Revelation as it was taught to them by Prophet Muhammad PBUH over the span of 23 years. The Holy Quran was revealed bit by bit orally. It did not come down in a written form. The early Muslims tried their best to compile the Holy Quran, and it was eventually produced into the Book we have today. After the Book was compiled, it was apparent that the Holy Quran contained a deep mathematical structure and design that only God could have done. The Holy Quran contains many mathematical miracles or presumed coincidences that cannot be mere coincidences. Among the many mathematical miracles outlined in the Holy Quran is the mention of the word day 365 times, which is the time it takes the Earth to complete one orbit around the sun. The plural of the word is used 30 times within the text, representing the number of days in a typical month. The word month is used 12 times in this same text. The words man and woman are mentioned 24 times each and not always in the same context. The word Dunya (the world we live in) is mentioned 115 times, and the word that references the Hereafter is mentioned 115 times.

Again, God did not reveal the Holy Quran entirely at once; it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH through Angel Gabriel orally, piece by piece, in 23 years. A human could never compile the Holy Quran with tons of mathematical miracles in 23 years. These are only a few of the many found in the Holy Quran. These miracles, along with many others found in the text, show a deliberate order in the text of the Holy Quran. All the presumed mathematical coincidences cannot be, in fact, coincidences.

Unlike the modern-day Bible, which contains thousands of contradictions due to its excessive modifications and insertions by human hands, the Holy Quran boasts perfect consistency and contains zero contradictions, even though this more than 600-page Book speaks of many complex topics such as theology, law, legal problems, peace and war, marriage and divorce, economics, child custody, inheritance, etc. God states that if this Book were written or tampered with by anyone, the text undoubtedly would contain many contradictions.

Given the fact that Prophet Muhammad PBUH was an unlettered man who did not know how to read or write and lived in the desert, He could not have authored the Holy Quran as it is written, in a very high literacy level of the Arabic language, containing no errors, contradictions, nor inconsistencies.

"Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction" (Quran 4:82)

The Holy Quran contains perfect consistency and is free of contradictions, even though it was revealed orally over twenty-three years. The Holy Quran challenges anyone who doubts the Book's Divine origins to produce another sacred text equal in merit that matches its eloquence, power, style, language, etc. Allah made it clear that no one will ever be able to produce anything comparable to the Holy Quran—another prophecy of the Holy Quran that is true.

"And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down upon Our Servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah the like thereof and call upon your witnesses other than Allah, if you should be truthful" (Quran 2:23)

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Just like the Prophet Jesus PBUH was sent in the wake of Prophet Moses PBUH to reform Judaism, reinstate the rule of the Divine, and sweep away all innovations introduced after the Prophet Moses PBUH had passed, Prophet Muhammad PBUH was sent after Prophet Jesus PBUH because people again distorted the message and Scripture of God after the departure of Jesus Christ.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam is not a new religion that came into existence a mere 1,400 years ago, back in the 7th century. Islam has existed since man set foot on Earth. The final Prophet of humanity, Prophet Muhammad PBUH, was not the founder of Islam, nor was he the first to present Islam, as many people mistakenly believe. Instead, he was sent as the last and final Prophet of God, delivered by God, the Almighty, to convey God's universal and eternal message to our nation - the final nation. When the Prophet Muhamad PBUH appeared, he did not bring with him a new religion; instead, he brought forth a faith that already existed.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH renewed the ancient tradition of the preceding monotheistic religion preached and taught by every previous Messenger and Prophet of God. Prophet Muhammad PBUH was only the last and final Prophet, the very seal of the Prophets. Islam is the continuation, the culmination, and the completion of God's universal and eternal message to humanity, as revealed to all of God's previous Messengers and Prophets.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH was born about 570 years after the birth of the Prophet Jesus PBUH. He was born in Mecca, in the Arabian Peninsula. Prophet Muhammad PBUH was an Arab, but many of the past Prophets of God were not Arab. The people of Mecca were devoted idol-worshippers, and the area during that period was full of ignorance, foolishness, and misguidance. At forty, Prophet Muhammad PBUH received his first Revelation in a cave from God via the Angel Gabriel. He then spent the remaining portion of his life explaining the Holy Quran and the Islamic teachings that God had revealed to him.

Although he was known among his community as the truthful, the trustworthy due to his early reputation for having these qualities, most people did not believe him or his message. Soon after, a massive campaign started to persecute those who believed in his message. After thirteen years of preaching in the city of Mecca, Prophet Muhammad PBUH and his small number of followers migrated to the city of Medina, where he gained more devotees. His followers made him the leader of the city.

The idol-worshippers living in Mecca, who disbelieved the Message of God, plotted and attempted to attack the religion. During years of struggle, what was originally a small group of Muslims grew in number. Soon afterward, the Muslims coul

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Not only does the Holy Quran prophesize future events, but it tells many stories of past events, past nations, and past prophets, such as the stories of Prophet Joseph, Moses, and Jesus PBUT. The Prophet Muhammad PBUH lived in the middle of the desert with no libraries because the Arabic Peninsula was a backward, antiquated nation at the time. He was unlettered and grew up among illiterate idol worshippers devoid of knowledge of the Scriptures. He had no way of reading or conjuring these stories shared in the Holy Quan.

"That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. You knew it not, neither you nor your people, before this. So be patient; indeed, the [best] outcome is for the righteous" (Quran 11:49)

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Linguistic and scientific miracles are not the only miracles present in the Holy Quran, as it also contains prophecies that have since come true. The Holy Quran provides many predictions related to future events. All these Quranic predictions manifested as predicated.

Among the many accurate futuristic predictions made is the bold claim of the victory of the Byzantine Empire over the Persian Empire. In the early 7th century, the two great empires ruling and competing at the time were the Byzantine and Persian empires. The Byzantines suffered a severe defeat in their fight against the Persians during their wars at the time, which seemed to doom the Empire. The Holy Quran stated that while the Byzantines did experience an initial loss, they would soon be victorious within three to nine years, and they were indeed victorious, something that no one could have anticipated. God the Almighty states:

The Byzantines have been defeated. In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice. In the victory of Allah. He gives victory to whom He wills, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.

(Quran 30-2-5)

Not only did this prediction come to fruition, but this verse referenced that in geographic terms, the Romans were defeated in the lowest land in the Arabic language.We later came to find via satellite images that the location of their defeat is the lowest point on the face of the Earth. This vicinity boasted the lowest altitude on Earth or 400 meters below sea level.

The Pharaoh who lived in the time of Prophet Moses PBUH had power and wealth; he even arrogantly proclaimed himself to be God. He eventually drowned; his fate was a direct punishment for his arrogance. In a verse of the Holy Quran, God stated that He would preserve the Pharaoh's body as a sign for those who came after him. His body was later discovered in 1898. In the early '70s, his corpse was examined, and it was discovered through investigation of his mummy that he had died from the infiltration of water into his lung, providing conclusive proof of a drowning death. It also was proven that he lived at the time of the Prophet Moses PBUH. God preserved his body forever as a sign and lesson for humanity as He had promised in His Final Revelation. This body is in a museum and often tours the world for everyone to see.

"So today We will save you in body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign. And indeed, many among the people, of Our signs, are heedless" (Quran 10:92)

After the idol-worshippers forced Prophet Muhammad PBUH and the Muslims to flee the Holy land of Mecca, they settled in the city of Medina. These idol-worshippers continued to prosecute the Muslims and tried to end the Message of Islam. The Holy Quran predicted and promised that Muslims would re-enter the Sacred House of Allah, Mecca, victoriously in a state of security. This later came true in the eighth year of the Hijrah, with many of their hairs shaved and cut short. As the verse states, they performed a pilgrimage and fulfilled the rituals without fear.

"Indeed, Allah has made true to His Messenger the dream (shown) with truth: You will definitely enter the Sacred Mosque inshā’allāh (if Allah wills,) peacefully, with your heads shaved, and your hairs cut short, having no fear. So He knew what you did not know, and He assigned before that a victory, near at hand" (Quran 48:27)

Many other prophecies fill the Holy Quran; for instance, God's claim that He would safeguard and protect his final Book to humanity, the Holy Quran, from human-made alterations or any form of corruption. As stated in a previ

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Among the many miracles of the Holy Quran are hundreds of scientific facts later confirmed to be accurate, years after the Book was revealed. Whereas the Holy Quran contains accounts of hundreds of scientific miracles, the Holy Quran is not a book of science, nor is it a book of engineering or medicine. The Holy Quran is a Book of Guidance and signs that prove its divinity, coming from a higher power.

The Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH in the 7th century, an illiterate man living in the desert when at a time when there were no telescopes, microscopes, or anything resembling the symbols of advanced technology we have today. As the faith of Islam continued to grow century after century, humanity evolved into the age of modern science. In this era, many scientific discoveries confirm certain verses of the Holy Quran. Of the many scientific miracles in the Quran, here are a few:

The Holy Quran addresses the evolution of the human embryo in the mother's womb in chronological order. Allah, the Glorious, uses a specific Arabic word to describe the embryo in the Holy Quran, ' Alaqah,' which translates to mean Blood Clot, suspended thing-- that which hangs, a clinging substance, and a Leech. Allah calls the child in the womb "that which hangs" when even physicians did not know that a growing embryo hangs in the mother's womb. The word 'Alaqah' that God chose to use can mean 'blood clot' because the embryo's appearance and sacs during the alaqah stage are like that of a blood clot. 'A suspended thing' can be used because the embryo hangs in the mother's womb. Moreover, the word 'Leech' can be used because there are many similarities between an embryo and a leech as they look identical and function similarly as both obtain nourishment from the mother's blood. The three meanings of the word alaqah that God chose to use correspond accurately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage.

"And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators" (Quran 23:12-14)

The descriptions of Embryology mentioned in the Holy Quran and Hadith agree with the latest discoveries in Embryology, and these descriptions could not have been obtained based on the scientific knowledge of the 7th century, which proves that this knowledge could have only come from God. Moreover, God speaks of the embryo's three-stage growth process in the mother's womb. He reveals that He created the womb with three veils, cloaks, shields, or envelopes of darkness around the child, and now we know that three layers of darkness separate the embryo from the outside world.

Among the many miracles of the Holy Quran is God's statement that He created everything from water. It was not until later, after the invention of the microscope, that it was confirmed that every living thing consists primarily of water. We now know that all living things are made of cells, and these cells are made mostly of water.

"…and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?" (Quran 21:30)

When God speaks of His creations in the Holy Quran, He uses the terms "He Created" or "We Created." For instance, God would state in the Holy Quran, We created the Skies, the Earth, the Heavens, the Mountains, etc. The "We" used here is the royal we; of course, this does not imply another Creator with God, as there is only One Creator. When God references the element of iron in the Holy Quran, He states that He sent down instead of

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The Holy Quran is proof of Islam's truthfulness. Anyone who examines the Holy Quran with sincerity will conclude that no one, including the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, could have authored this Book, as no human could produce anything like it. Thus, it could come only from God.

The Holy Quran is the eternal miracle of the Prophet Muhamad PBUH, providing the truthfulness of his Prophethood. Past prophets performed miracles to prove their Prophethood, but all these miracles ended with their death since they were Prophets for their people only. Since Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, is the last Prophet and meant to be followed till the end of time, his miracle needs to last until this time, so the people who live after him can see his miracle and believe in his Prophethood. The Holy Quran is still preserved and exists today the same way it existed 1400+ years ago.

The Holy Quran is the greatest miracle of God and contains thousands of miracles to prove its Godly origins. For a book to claim to be the word of God is a heavy statement. Without clear evidence or with one contradiction found within the Book, the apparent Word of God would be proven false. The Holy Quran does not contain any contradictions, nor does it contain any information confirmed as incorrect.

The Holy Quran speaks to every generation until the Day of Judgment. Amongst the many miracles of the Holy Quran is the Quality and Eloquence of the Holy Quran read in Arabic. Arabic speakers can appreciate the linguistic perfection of the Arabic language of the Holy Quran—it is a living miracle of the Arabic language. As for the Arabs of the time of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, they could appreciate the eloquence of the language of the Book since they spoke Arabic.

The Holy Quran contains the highest possible standard of rhetoric in its speech to an extent where it would be impossible for a human or group of humans to produce. The Holy Quran contains perfect grammar. The Holy Quran explains complicated legal matters like inheritance in simple speech and imagery in the Arabic language. The Holy Quran is inimitable in style, form, and spiritual impact; it has a unique rhythm, tone, rhyme, and genre like no other book. The Holy Quran uses terminology and descriptions beyond what a 7th-century person living in the desert would know now.

The Holy Quran contains many miracles that non-Arabic speakers can appreciate and recognize. The Holy is a miracle because of the power it wields for humans worldwide. Daily, it changes millions of lives and views. It transforms people into better human beings. The Holy Quran is a miracle because of its incredible spiritual power and positive psychological effects on those who read it. The Book gives readers an indescribable feeling that moves them to tears, even if they do not speak nor comprehend Arabic. The Holy Qur

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To help humanity navigate to Him, God the Almighty sent down Books with His Prophets to teach and show humankind how to live their lives pleasingly in His eyes - a way of life that comes with contentment in this world and the next while avoiding punishment in the afterlife and attaining Paradise. These Books sent by God are study guides and instructional manuals on how one's life should be lived. Through his Revelations to humanity delivered with Prophets, God reveals His Wisdom, Laws, and Instructions. The Holy Quran says that in every age, a Book is revealed. God has sent forth a number of them in the past, but with the last and final Revelation arrives the Glorious Quran, as revealed to the latest and final Prophet, Muhammad PBUH. The Holy Quran is meant to be the Book of Guidance for people living today until the end of time, whereas past Scriptures were meant only for past nations; therefore, they no longer need to be preserved. Muslims believe that the Holy Quran has abrogated all previous Scriptures before it, meaning the book cancels the rulings of the earlier Scriptures and renders them inapplicable going forward-- since these preceding Scriptures were meant for earlier nations, not for us. In His infinite Wisdom, God did not feel fit to send down the Holy Quran at the time of previous nations. Although different Revelations came to various Prophets and nations with slight differences in law (what is allowed and prohibited), the general message and theology remained the same: worship God alone and follow His Commandments.

The Holy Quran is a guide or instructional manual teaching how to live one's life. It was revealed to guide humanity through every aspect of life. The Holy Quran is a personal guide to navigating a person through daily struggles. Just as when you buy a computer or any electronic device, the machine comes with an instructional manual dictating how it should operate. One is advised to read the instructional manual of life, the Holy Quran, and live as our Creator has commanded. How else would man know his role and the purpose of his existence unless he receives clear and practical instructions regarding what God wants from him? If one follows the guidelines carefully, he shall be rewarded with a better life here in this world and the Hereafter. If you disobey God and go against His commands, you will face the consequences in this world and the Hereafter.

The Holy Quran is the primary source of Islam for all Muslims. The Book is and always has been written in Arabic. The Holy Quran is so unique in content and style that it cannot be translated; therefore, any translation is to be taken only to interpret its meanings. Distinctions must be drawn between the Holy Quran and its translations. Any translations of the Holy Quran are not the Holy Quran in its true and pure form; they are merely explanations of the Original Masterwork authored by the Almighty. A translation of the Holy Quran is not the Word of God. Different translations are intended to help non-Arabic-speaking audiences comprehend its meaning. Since each translation is not the original work and is only human-made in content, it is an imperfect translation bound to contain errors. Some translations may be superior to others in their linguistic style or interpretations. Still and all, there is only one version of this timeless Book, and it contains the exact Arabic words spoken by God, as revealed to Prophet Muhammad PBUH by the Angel Gabriel.

Unlike other Scriptures of God, not one letter of the Holy Quran has been changed since its Revelation. Everything found in the Holy Quran is true, with no evidence of contradictions or falsehood, and the truth of the book will remain so for eternity.

If a Muslim in Asia reads a verse of the Holy Quran, one can be sure that another Muslim is reciting the exact words in faraway Africa. No differences will exist between the two reciting. God has promised to preserve the Holy Q

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Many proofs exist that Islam is the true religion of God. Among the many proofs of Islam’s truthfulness is that it is the only religion whose message and teachings have been preserved and never tampered with or changed over time. As for Christianity and other religions, we do not have their original Revelation and teachings preserved for our perusal. If you look at Christianity, for instance, since Jesus Christ and the disciples spoke Aramaic, Jesus Christ’s Message and teachings were in this language. Today, we do not have copies of Jesus Christ’s teachings in the language he taught them.

We have manuscripts in Koine Greek, which was not Jesus Christ’s language. It was not until 300 years later, in the 4th century, that manuscripts were cherry-picked and compiled into books from various unknown sources and authors. Then these manuscripts were translated again years later into English and other languages spoken today. The same can be said with the Revelation and teachings sent with Prophet Moses and Prophet David PBUT. Their Revelations were never preserved. God did not preserve their Revelations because they were meant for previous nations and not for us today.

Islam, on the other hand — its Scripture, the Holy Quran — stands the same today as when it was first revealed 1400 plus years ago, word for word, letter by letter. God taught it to Angel Gabriel, who taught it to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, who taught it to his companions, who wrote it down in the role of scribes and memorized it letter for letter. Millions of people of every generation have memorized the Holy Quran. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have this 600+ page Holy Book memorized by heart.

Amongst the many proofs of Islam’s truthfulness is that Islam speaks to the predisposition and innate belief that God has put in the hearts of every human. Take the concept of God, for instance. The idea of God is simple, understandable, and not complex as in other religions. Islam teaches the existence of only One Supreme Being, who is All-Mighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Loving, who created the whole universe and everything in it. All other beings are creations of God and not the actual Creator. All the great religious disputes of the past pointed to One God, including Judaism. If there were more than one God, there would be chaos of gods fighting each other for control. If the gods did not fight each other for power and control, that would mean that these gods were dependent on and submissive to each other — in other words, not gods.

All past prophets of God mentioned in the Old Testament stressed the teachings of One Creator. Islam acknowledges the historical progression of these great prophets sent by God to humanity, starting with Prophet Adam, Abraham, Noah, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad PBUT. Islam acknowledges the continuation of these great Prophets of God, all who came with the same general message. Prophet Muhammad, PBUH, is part of this family of prophets, like Jesus Christ and the rest.

While all Prophets came down with the same general message and theology, the laws they came with were fine-tuned based on the time, place, and circumstances of their existence. Muslims believe in all the past Prophets and Messengers that God continually sent, and Prophet Muhammad’s Message was no different! The Prophets of God that Islam teaches were all holy, righteous men. None ever did anything immoral or questionable, as other religions such as Christianity wrongfully claimed.

For those who think that the Prophet Muhammad PBUH might have fabricated his Prophethood for worldly gain, it is imperative to realize that the Prophet, believers from his family, and his companions went through many years of persecution, hardship, and lost kinship because they believed in and spread

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Jesus Christ came to affirm, teach, and preach the previous law of the Prophet Moses PBUH. Jesus Christ, like the Prophet Moses PBUH, prayed, fasted, and observed the Sabbath as all Jews did. He never ate pork and was circumcised as Jews should be. The word Christianity was not invented until long after the departure of Christ. Neither Jesus Christ nor the Prophet Moses PBUH ever used or heard of the word Christianity, nor is it mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Because Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, it could not have been the religion that God prescribed to past Prophets and humanity, as Jesus Christ was born and came after the previous Prophets of God. He was the second-to-last Prophet of God! How can one think that Christianity is the religion that God prescribed for all humanity from the start?

If Christianity was not the religion that God prescribed to all previous Prophets, then what was it? Was the religion that God prescribed to humanity Judaism? While the Prophet Moses and the Prophet Jesus PBUT were Jews, both Prophets never called their religion Judaism, nor is the word Judaism found anywhere in the Old or New Testaments. Nor had both Prophets of God heard of the term Judaism. This term comes from Judah, who resided in the land of Judea. He was the Son of the Prophet Jacob PBUH (also called Israel) and the grandson of the Prophet Abraham PBUH. Before Judah, the previous Prophets of God, including the Prophet Abraham PBUH, could not have been Jews, as Judah had not been born at that point.

Then the question arises: What was the religion of Prophet Abraham and all the previous Messengers and Prophets of God until the Prophet Adam PBUT if it could not have been Christianity or Judaism? It was Islam! Islam, by definition, means the act of submitting fully to God. Islam is the voluntary "submission" or "surrender" to the Will of God. Islam, or submitting fully to God, was the way of life that God prescribed to all previous Messengers, Prophets, and humanity.

All the previous Messengers and Prophets of God were Muslim. A Muslim, by definition, is someone who submits to God. Islam truly is the oldest and only religion and way of life God commanded humankind to follow. Islam, therefore, is the only religion acceptable to and ordained by God. Islam and God's final Book to humanity, the Holy Quran, abrogates all previous scriptures and becomes the Book of guidance for all humankind until the end.

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When the Children of Israel went astray from the path of God, Allah, the Glorious, sent them their final Prophet, Jesus PBUH, as a wake-up call and the last warning to fulfill God's commandments. When Jesus Christ continued to preach God's Message, commanding them to do certain things and avoid unlawful acts, they felt frustrated, rejected, and plotted against him instead of believing and following him. According to the New Testament, a group of hypocritical and self-serving men of the Children of Israelites plotted to destroy the Prophet Jesus PBUH. People from the Children of Israel complained to the Roman authorities, who were pagan idol worshipers and had political power at the time because the Children of Israel were only a minority. The Children of Israel complained that the Prophet Jesus PBUH was preaching something new. They provoked the Romans to rise against him, leading the Roman governor to believe that the call of Jesus Christ conveyed direct threats against Roman power. Jesus Christ was not going to benefit the Children of Israel in the political scheme of things, nor would he have brought them any material benefit, the only thing that concerned them. Jesus Christ called them to the purity of theology and encouraged them to uphold the Law.

The Children of Israel have killed Messengers of God in the past, but if they had killed Jesus Christ themselves, they would have gotten rid of the Messenger--not the message. The Children of Israel wanted to get rid of this Messenger, Jesus Christ, and the message. The Children of Israel wanted Jesus Christ crucified to discredit him; because according to the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 21:23, if you crucify someone, they would be cursed by God, indicating to the people that Jesus Christ was not a Messenger of God-- as to how can His Messenger be cursed? Modern Jews do not believe Jesus Christ was a Messenger of God, and one of their pieces of evidence is his crucifixion. The Children of Israel claimed that Jesus Christ was an agitator speaking against the Emperor, which was not true. The Roman governor ordered that the Prophet Jesus PBUH be arrested, then crucified by hanging on a cross and starving, a common form of shame killing.

According to the Christian narrative, which Muslims do not believe, the Roman authorities found Jesus Christ, arrested him, then put him on the Roman cross—where he died. They eventually buried him, only to see him resurrected and returned from the dead. He announced to everyone that he was the Son of God. However, according to the Holy Quran, God states:

"And [for] their saying (in boast), 'Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.' And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise" (Quran 4:157-158)

God placed a likeness of the Prophet Jesus PBUH on another person to make it appear as if that person was Jesus PBUH. So, according to the Holy Quran, the Children of Israel boasted that they had killed Jesus, the son of Mary; however, they neither killed nor crucified him. It only was made to appear that Jesus Christ had been crucified. In the Holy Quran, God says that those who disagree about what happened are full of doubt, have no certainty, and only assume that they know the truth. For certain, says Allah, they did not kill Jesus, the son of Mary! Even the eyewitnesses to the crucifixion did not know what had happened. The only one that knew the Truth was God the Almighty.

The claim that Jesus Christ was crucified is strictly hearsay, and none of the disciples ever claim that they witnessed the act. According t

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Overwhelming evidence exists that modern-day Christian beliefs, practices, and concepts such as the Atonement, Salvation, the idea of God incarnate in man, the blood sacrifice, the concept of a triune God, and other Christian concepts did not originate from God nor Jesus Christ; instead, they came from men influenced by pagan rituals and beliefs. These Christian rituals came from the same pagan beliefs and ideals that Jesus Christ fought against and did all he could to destroy. These Christian ideas came from Pagan Roman and Greek concepts and Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Pegan ideologies.

The pagan worship environment that Paul was immersed in heavily influenced him. The idea of a man-god, similar to the Christian belief in Jesus Christ's divinity, is not a new concept. The ancient Egyptian Pharos were supposedly man-gods who had to be sacrificed for society's greater good and were worshiped by believers. Other past nations falsely worshipped man-gods. The Christian symbol was first a fish, a symbol of the last supper; then it morphed into a cross. The ancient Egyptians also used the cross as their religious symbol of their sun god - the cross of light.

The Trinity is also not new, as Christians took that concept from pagan ideologies. Many ancient religions held the idea of a threefold division in the entities they worshiped, such as in ancient Egypt, Greek, and India. Trinities were worshipped in various places during the time of Jesus Christ.

Some of the pagan gods wrongfully worshipped supposedly died violently and were resurrected to save their people—such as Christians believe. The ancient Egyptians worshipped a trinity, and their trinity symbols were a wing, glove, and a serpent--which they felt represented three attributes of their God. Egyptians worshipped the Trinity of gods Horus, Isis, and Osiris long before the time of modern Christianity. The gods of the Greco-Roman Palmyra were the Lord in the Heavens, the sun god, and the moon god. The Babylonians and Zoroastrians also worshipped a trinity of gods, as did many other past societies. Hindu worship revolves around a trinity consisting ofBrahma, Siva, and Vishnu. Their followers believed that their gods died for the sins of their believers. Do these concepts sound familiar? Do a quick internet search and read if you do not believe these words!

In Mithraism, Persians believed Mithra to be a great mediator between God and man. He was borne on December 25th by a virgin who died for humanity and was resurrected after being buried. He was called their savior. Mithra's festivals were the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox (Christmas and Easter). Again, these modern-day Christian concepts were taken from past pagan religions.

December 25th is not found in the original teaching of Jesus Christ, nor is it the date that Jesus Christ was born, as many Christian scholars acknowledge. December 25th fell around the time of the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice, which fell in midwinter during the shortest day of the year—when the "sun is born." December 25th was known as the birthday of the Roman Sun-god, Sol-Invictus, and the Persian sun-god, Mithra. Many of the gods worshiped in the past were sun-gods, and nearly all were born on or around what is now Christmas Day. Christians borrowed the concept of Christmas Day from the ancient pagan festival of the sun. The actual birth date of Jesus Christ is unknown. Some indicate that Jesus' birthdate is early spring because of the biblical reference to his birth that referenced the shepherds watching their flocks by night, as stated in Luke 2:8. The shepherds would not have worked in the fields with their livestock during the long cold winter, but no solid evidence of the actual date of Jesus Christ's birth exists, as it is not mentioned anywhere in the Scriptures.

The concepts of the Christmas tree, its ornaments, and Santa Claus also come from pagan ideologies.

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Christians believe that every child is born with the taint of the original sin committed by our parents, Prophet Adam and Eve PBUT. The sin was committed when they disobeyed our Creator by eating from the forbidden tree. Christians believe that since all men are born in a sinful state, it is necessary to believe in the atonement or the idea that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Christian believe one can attain salvation by believing that Jesus Christ died for their sins - without the need for worshipping God, doing good deeds, or adhering to the Holy Law - because Jesus Christ fulfilled it for them.

However, nowhere in the Bible did Jesus Christ explicitly state that he would die to save humanity from sin. If Jesus Christ did die for our sins, he would have emphasized this crucial detail and taught this information in detail. According to the Holy Quran and the Bible itself, one can receive forgiveness for sins solely through sincere repentance, with forgiveness sought directly from God. If God, the Almighty, wished and willed to forgive humanity, then he certainly could have done so without the need to sacrifice Jesus Christ, his supposed "begotten son."

Christians state that God sacrificed his only begotten son to save humanity, but if God owns the entire universe, why did God need to sacrifice Jesus Christ? Why does God need to sacrifice his only son when he owns everything? Why couldn't God save his only son as opposed to sacrificing him? Is it even really "sacrificing" when God could restore Jesus Christ's life since He can do anything?

If all a Christian needs to do to obtain Paradise is believe that Jesus Christ died for his sins, why does one even bother to learn the Bible or the teachings of Christ? According to the Christian belief, one can live a sinful life if they believe in atonement for sins. They can live however they wish, as Paul taught (not Jesus Christ). Apparently, to Christians, the commandments of God are worthless and do not need to be followed, as they can earn a free trip to Paradise by believing that Jesus Christ died for their sins.

Not only is the concept of the atonement not mentioned in the Bible and not taught by Jesus Christ, but there are Biblical verses that contradict the concept of the atonement and prove the idea to be a fabrication. These verses state that no person is held responsible for another's sin; no parent is responsible for a sin committed by their child and vice versa. That means we are not held responsible for the sin committed by our parents Adam and Eve PBUH.

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16) Moreover, In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. (Jeremiah 31:29-30).

Take this passage: The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. (Ezekiel 18:20) It is clearly stated in the Bible that the child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the responsibility of the child! The concept of atonement was started by Paul long after this verse was written. Paul proved himself an enemy of Jesus Christ throughout his ministry. He claimed that Jesus Christ came to him in a dream and afterward became a believer. He then made some radical changes to the religion, changes that neither Jesus Christ nor the Bible describes! Why are Christians following the teaching of Paul and not Jesus Christ?

How can all the previous righteous Messengers and Prophets of God, such as Prophet Abraham, Moses, Noah, etc., go to Paradise if they did not accept Jesus Christ as their savior--who would not die for their sins si

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When Jesus Christ began his mission to call the Israelites back to God, many of the Israelites and Roman authorities were far astray from the truth. While many Israelites and Roman authorities rejected the Message and teachings of Jesus Christ, a group of humble, sincere people of the Israelites believed and accepted his message and teachings. They accepted that God had sent Jesus Christ to guide them to their Creator. Jesus Christ asked the Israelites to be his helpers in God's cause, to call them back to the worship of One God. Some of them responded.

"O you who believe, be supporters of (the religion of) Allah, just as Jesus, son of Maryam, said to the Disciples, "Who are my supporters towards Allah?" The Disciples said, "We are the supporters of (the religion of) Allah." So a group from the children of Isrā’īl believed, and another group disbelieved. Then We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they became victors" (Quran 61:14)

This group of devoted followers held in high esteem by Islam submitted to God and pledged their allegiance to the Almighty and His Messenger, Jesus Christ. These companions, helpers, supporters, and friends of Christ were known as the twelve disciples or apostles. The name disciples or apostles is used to differentiate Jesus' close companions from the remainder of his followers, whose numbers later grew.

When God elevated Jesus Christ to the Heavens, the Jewish people remained persecuted and did not have much power. No uniform authority stood to establish and maintain the actual message and teachings of Jesus Christ. The followers of Jesus Christ dissipated after his departure, and little support remained to carry on his message--except for those who witnessed Jesus Christ and relayed his message and story to those who were not there, presenting it from their perspective. Later, strange new theories spread that were never preached by Jesus Christ, from him being an imposter to being the divine Son of God.

Around 35 CE, a man named Saul of Tarsus came; he later changed his name to Paul. Paul was a Roman citizen, a Jew, and the enemy of Jesus Christ. He was a zealous persecutor and killer of Jesus Christ's faithful followers. En route from Jerusalem to Damascus, Paul claimed that he saw "the light" when he saw Jesus Christ appearing to him, filled with the Holy Spirit. He was chosen and commanded to teach and preach acts that Jesus Christ never did to the masses. Paul taught concepts contradictory to what Jesus Christ and faithful followers of Jesus Christ were teaching. Paul provided no proof as to what he claimed to receive. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught

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In John 14:6, the verse states,I am the way and the truth and the lifeand in John 14:9, it says:…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father? These count as additional verses in the Bible that Christians have misunderstood by pulling verses out of context without reading the verses that come before and after them. Christians think these verses prove that Jesus Christ is the Father or part of the Father in the Trinity. To understand the meaning of this verse, one should understand its proper context by reading the verses before and after it, as opposed simply to reading one line. It starts in John 14:1, Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.You know the way to the place where I am going.

Jesus tells his disciples that they know where he is going and how to get there. However, the disciples misunderstood his reference and stated they did not see how they could know the way. They thought he was referring to a physical geographical destination in this world, but Jesus Christ was referring to embarking on a spiritual journey to God, so his people can earn God's Kingdom; Paradise.

Then Jesus Christ responded: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) Jesus Christ tells his disciples that since he is their God-appointed messenger, they need to follow him as he is the way, the truth, and the life as every Prophet was for their people. However, the disciples did not understand what Jesus Christ meant. Philip said, 'Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.' (John 14:8) Philip wanted to see God with his own eyes, but seeing God in this world is impossible, as stated in John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12: No one has ever seen God.

Then Jesus responded: Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?Jesus told them, you have been with me for a while now and should know better than to ask God to see God the Almighty in this world as seeing God is rationally impossible. This is a strange request! If you cannot even stare at the sun in this world, how do you expect to see God, the Almighty?

Jesus Christ said if you have seen me, you have seen the Father, meaning if you understand me and my mission, you will realize who God (the Father) is. Jesus tells them that if they follow his commandments, they will follow God, the Father's commandments! In other words, Jesus Christ is telling his disciples that by following him, they are following God in the heavens by extension. As is the case with past nations, if the people followed their Prophet's commandments, they would have followed God's commandments by extension because God appointed a messenger for each nation to learn and follow. Jesus Christ was telling them that the actions and miracles that God willed him to do are sufficient proof of the existence of God and that he is their Messenger without a need for God to come down every time someone is doubtful of His existence.

Christians wrongfully believe that when Philip and the disciples saw Jesus Christ, they had seen God, the Father. Christians believe Jesus Christ is the Father or part of the Father as both are 'one' in the Trinity, and Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God, according to Christians. However, this concept would contradict John 1:18 &1 John 4:12 as it states, 'No one has ever seen God.

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Christians say that God, the Almighty, has a son, and His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was conceived by Mary PBHF through the Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ was born in the form of a human child. Here is the verse that Christians often quote as proof that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) The word begotten is found in the King James Version, but this same word begotten is not found anywhere in the Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, nor in the World English Bible.

Here is another word deleted from the Bible by Christian scholars and Bible revisers as they discovered that this is another fabrication presented in the Bible! What book of God has words added to the text and subtracted from it? The Holy Quran certainly does not, as it contains the actual verbatim words of God! The fact that words have been added, which Christian scholars admit to, should be very concerning to Christians!

Christians use the word begotten to prove Jesus Christ's divinity; however, the same word is used in the case of Prophet David PBUH in the Old Testament! I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. (Psalm 2:7) One verse in the Bible states that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, but in another verse of the Bible, Prophet David PBUH is also the begotten Son of God. It is a contradiction of the Bible, the so-called word of God. Human hands have modified the Gospel as it is impossible for God the Almighty, the Perfect Being, to contradict Himself! The concept of Jesus Christ as the 'begotten son of god' can be proven false by the Bible itself.

If a Christian says that God, the Almighty, had begotten Jesus Christ, is he saying that God was only a duality and not part of a Trinity before Jesus Christ was born? Was God not complete then? Moreover, if God begot Jesus Christ, that would imply a point where Jesus Christ was not in existence, so he could not be God or a part of God as a God has no beginning nor an end! A God does not come into existence at a certain point as a God is not created, He is uncreated. Only created beings come into existence at a point in time. Moreover, Jesus Christ could not be co-eternal with God since God was in existence when Jesus was not! Furthermore, if Jesus Christ were the begotten Son, that would make God the begetter. If God is the begetter, how could Jesus then be the begotten? How could the begetter be 'begotten' if both are one and part of the Trinity?

The Holy Quran condemns these atrocious words of blasphemy, as begetting is an animal act that signifies the lower animal functions of sex. We are not to attribute such a quality to God, the All-High. Metaphorically speaking, we are all the children of God, and Jesus Christ can be viewed as being closer to God than the rest of us since he is a more faithful and righteous man than the rest of us, but it does not mean he is literally the Son of God!

Humanity did not have to wait long to discover that these words were a fabrication inserted later, as God the Almighty told us in his final Book, the Holy Quran, about this blasphemy; doing so as He expresses His wrath in the strongest terms for those that attribute a son to Him--calling it highly inappropriate and atrocious for one to commit this sin:

“And they say (Christians), 'The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] a son'. You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom, and the earth splits open, and the mountains collapse in devastation. That they attribute to the Most Merciful a son. And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son” (Quran 19:

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Many Christians use this verse to prove the existence of the Trinity. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. (1 John 5:7) The issue with this verse is that it is universally recognized by Biblical scholars and historians, including thirty-two Christian scholars of the highest eminence backed by fifty cooperating Christian denominations, as being inserted by the Church later. Since it was proven that this verse is a fabrication, it has been deleted from some of the later Bibles, such as the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version. 

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Another verse Christians used to prove Jesus Christ's divinity is:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)The Bible goes on to say that the Word became flesh. First, it is imperative to know that these words are not the words of Jesus Christ rather the words of a Greek-speaking Jewish Philosopher named Philo Alexandra in Egypt, who never claimed he was divinely inspired and had written before the birth of Jesus Christ and John-- as recognized by Christian scholars. If you peruse a red-letter Bible that contains all of Jesus' words in red, you will notice that this quote is not in red because Jesus Christ did not say it.

Secondly, it is essential to note that the English Bible wrongfully translated both the Greek words, Hotheos and Tontheos, in this verse to mean God, which changes their meaning entirely. Capital letters are used to start a proper noun in English, and lowercase letters start a common noun, but this system does not exist in Greek or Hebrew. In this verse, the first occurrence of the word God is the Greek word Hotheos, which means The God; used with a capital 'G,' it denotes a proper noun, meaning God, the Almighty above, the Father. The second occurrence of the word, God, in this verse is the Greek word, Tontheos, which means a god', with a lowercase 'g,' which translates to mean godly, a godly person, a messenger, etc., and is not referring to God, the Almighty above, the Father. This critical difference between the capital 'G' and the lowercase 'g' should be translated correctly in the English Bible as it changes the meaning entirely. However, the English Bible does relay this.

A consistent Christian system of translation would have spelled the second 'god' 'Tontheos' with a lowercase 'g,' rendering 'Tontheos' to mean 'a god.' This verse should read, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (Hotheos meaning God the Almighty above, the Father), and the Word was God (Tontheos meaning a prophet, Jesus Christ was a Prophet). If you do not read it correctly, taking both words to mean God with a capital G, you would be reading, "In the Beginning was God, God was with God, and God was God," which makes no sense.

As mentioned above, the second word in this verse, Tontheos, does not necessarily mean God the Father. The same term, Tontheos, is also used in other verses to mean a god but not refer to God in the Heavens. For example, 2 Corinthians 4:4 states: Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. This verse says that Satan is ruling over them and is not saying that Satan is 'The God' because a small 'g' was used; the word Tontheos was used, which again means a god as some take Satan as their God. The same word Tontheos and a lowercase 'g' is used in Exodus 7:1 because Prophet Moses PBUH is not 'The God' but rather is a godly person and a Prophet, as it states: Then the LORD said to Moses, 'See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.'

John 1:14 states, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us because Jesus Christ wasa human messenger of flesh and blood. If Jesus Christ were a God born in the form of a human baby, that would imply that a God who is supposed to be perfect, with unlimited power and Godly attributes, would lose all that divinity when being born into a human body because humans are imperfect with limited attributes that require them to eat, drink, and sleep. This would be a huge contradiction as God does not need any

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Another verse that Christians often use to prove Jesus Christ's membership in Trinity with God in the Heavens is: The Father and I are one. (John 10:30). A similar verse states:Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? (John 14:10) Yet another similar verse states:On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:20)Christians constantly mistake the verse I and the Father are one to mean God and Jesus Christ are one being, even though this verse does not mean it in this context.

To understand the correct context, one needs to read the verse before it. The passage starts from John 10:23 and reads: And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 'I already told you,' Jesus replied, 'but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father's name testify on My behalf. But you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.'

These verses state that the Jews surrounded Jesus Christ and claimed he lacked clarity and spoke ambiguously, despite the clarity of his message. They did not like him nor his message and tried to foment issues for him. The Jews picked up stones to aim at him because they claimed he was preaching that he was God. Jesus Christ explained to the Jews that they were wrong to accuse him of this claim, as he never said he was God.

Jesus replied, I told you and you did not believe, the works I do in my Father's name, my faithful followers bear witness of me as my true followers follow me, and I give them eternal life... and so on goes the rest of the passage quoted above. Christians must read the verses before and after a verse to fully understand its proper context. When reading the verses that came before - I and the Father are one, one realizes that Jesus Christ means they are one in purpose and not one being.

John 17:21-22 quotes Jesus Christ praying that his disciples should be one with God as Jesus Christ was: That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.The same one is used here in this context as well. If Christians were consistent in their way of thinking, they would include the disciples as part of the Trinity, infused into one body. Does this verse mean that Jesus Christ was praying that the disciples formed part of God as well? No, of course not! He meant one in agreement and that they shared a common purpose!

If one believes God and Jesus Christ are one and part of a Triune God because of this verse, it will contradict other verses in the Bible that state God and Jesus Christ are not one in the same person. If Jesus Christ stated, 'the Father is greater than I,' that would imply that they are not equal. How can they be one if one is greater than the other?

My father is greater than I. (John, 14:28)

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[a] but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36)

The concept of the Trinity in which God the Almighty is a union of three divine persons in one - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - is impossible as Jesus Christ is a man with a body and a soul; the unity between an imperfect physical body that require

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If Jesus Christ were God, the Son of God, or part of God in the Trinity, God would not call Jesus Christ his servant in the Bible because a servant is held in lower esteem than one's children. However, God called Jesus Christ His servant because all humanity is servants of God, including Jesus Christ. Behold, my servant whom I have chosen... (Matthew 12:18). 

He is our Master, and we are His slaves and servants. One also should know that the New Testament's Greek word for Son is pias and piada, which translates to servant, son, and manservant. Some translations of the Bible chose to translate this word to mean sonwhen attributing it to Jesus Christ and translate the same word as servant to refer to almost everyone else. However, the Revised Standard Version has corrected this and returned the translation to mean 'servant.' 

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Jesus Christ as Lord. This label, too, is not to be taken literally in the language of the Gospel. The term Lord was used to apply to someone held in high esteem as a form of respect, not because of their divinity. If this were not true, you would not find the same label of Lord used on other individuals in the Bible! The Bible quotes Prophet Joseph's brothers calling him Lord:So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 'We beg your pardon, our lord,' they said, 'We came down here the first time to buy food.' (Genesis 43:19-20)

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The original manuscripts that form the Bible were not in English; they were mainly in Koine Greek. When translating from one language to another, conveying the whole or exact meaning is not easy without adding or subtracting something. The term, Son of God, had a different connotation when translated from Aramaic to Greek to English. The term, Son of God, did not mean it literally. In ancient Hebrew, the term was used to refer to a Godly person, a righteous person. It was customary to call any Prophet of God, or a righteous man, a son of God. The term,Son of God, was not meant to be taken literally as Christians have. Never did Jesus Christ claim in the Gospels to be the Son of God in the physical sense.

Other Prophets of God and individuals in the Bible are referred to assons of God, such as orphans, judges, jurists, the Israelites, the Prophet Adam, David, Solomon, and Jacob. It was a common saying amongst the Children of Israel to refer to a righteous person as the Son of God! Prophet David PBUH is referred to as the Son of God in I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, 'You are my son; today I have become your father.' (Psalm 2:7)The Children of Israel are referenced as the sons of God in Hosea, 1:10: Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Prophet Adam PBUH was labeled as a son of God in Luke 3:38: Which was the Son of Enos, which was the Son of Seth, which was the Son of Adam, which was the Son of God. Exodus 4:22 quotes God calling Israel his Son, Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.' (Exodus 4:22)

Jesus Christ calls the peacemakers children of God,'Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.' (Matthew 5:9) Why don't Christians apply the same concept to those individuals in the Bible who were referred to as sons of God?

If Christians are going to use the Bible's labeling of Jesus Christ as the Son of Godas proof that He is the Son of God, it would mean that the Prophet Israel is of higher status than Jesus Christ because he was the firstborn, which generally would be respected more than a younger brother!

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The Bible quotes Jesus Christ calling himself Son of manmany times throughout the Bible. The reference to theSon of man is used 80 times in the Gospels, and 30 of them are in the Gospel of Mathew alone. Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' (Matthew 8:20) For Christians to say that Jesus Christ labeled as the Son of God in the Bible is proof of his divinity, they would be ignoring the apparent contraindication that arises when Jesus Christ is referred to as the Son of man throughout the Bible! How can one be the Son of God and the Son of man simultaneously? To dispel all doubts and confusion, Jesus Christ frequently called himself the Son of man.

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Some Christians associate Jesus Christ with divinity because He performed miracles. He was able to heal individuals with leprosy, cure the blind, fashion birds of clay, then blow into them to turn them into real birds, and resurrect the dead. It is true that Jesus Christ was able to perform such miracles and was born miraculously of a virgin, as the Holy Quran confirms. God's Prophets’ came with miracles (signs of God's existence) to prove that God sent them and that they were, in fact, true Prophet of God and not imposters! None of the Prophets of God, including Jesus Christ, would have been able to perform such miracles by themselves! All the miracles performed by Jesus Christ and these Prophets of God were performed only by the permission and Will of God the Almighty, in the Heavens!

Islam defines a miracle as an extraordinary act or event that goes against nature's laws and can only come about through God's direct intervention and Will. Miracles are not magic, which only consists of tricks or illusions performed with the help of devils. Only Prophets can achieve miracles. Past Prophets were provided with miracles as irrefutable evidence, proving that their Prophethood was, in fact, a matter of truth. The Prophets were supported by miracles that their nations excelled in so the acts would be convincing, understood, appreciated, and identified by their people and not thought of as mere magic.

For instance, the people of Egypt excelled in magic and sorcery; they had reached the pinnacle of these evil acts as they often were in contact and teamed with Jinn (spirits) to work illusions on people. Thus, God provided the Prophet Moses PBUH with miracles related to illusions, such as the power to transform his staff into a snake right before his people. He was also able to strike the Nile with his rod to transform the river into blood and part the Red Sea. All this was meant to humble his people and remind them that God's Power, Control, and Might are true and not just an illusion of the eyes.

Likewise, during the time of Prophet Jesus PBUH, the Romans prided themselves on their medicine, healing arts, cures, and the possession of the best doctors in the land as medical science was at its height. Thus, God sent down the Prophet Jesus PBUH with several miracles of this nature that medical science could not justify. These miracles include the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ of a virgin and the ability to heal individuals with leprosy, cure the blind, fashion birds of clay, then blow into them to turn them into real birds, and resurrect the dead with the permission and Will of God.Acts 2:22 states: Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

Never did the Prophet Jesus PBUH take credit for performing any of his miracles. He credited God, the Almighty, in the Heavens because he could have only done it through the Will and Power of God. Jesus Christ acknowledged that the powers given to him were from God. Matthew 28:18 states: Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'Matthew 9:8 states: 'When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.' They did not praise Jesus Christ; they praised God the Almighty in the Heavens, understanding that He is the one that provided Jesus Christ with the ability to perform these miracles! Nowhere does it state in the Bible that Jesus Christ performed the miracles on his own—because he did not. The fact that Jesus Christ could not perform miracles on his own is proof that he cannot be God, as God is All-Powerful, All-Mighty, and can do anything.

…All power is given unto me in heaven a

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Some Christians accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God because He was born miraculously of a virgin without a human father. God responds to this claim in His final Scripture, the Holy Quran, which states He also created the Prophet Adam PBUH with no father. Prophet Adam PBUH was born without a father or mother. Our mother, Eve (Hawa), was created from a male without a female. Does that make Prophet Adam PBUH a God?

If we follow Christian logic, doesn't this make Prophet Adam PBUH a greater God than Jesus Christ since he was born without a father and a mother? Of course not! Prophet Adam PBUH is not God, nor does the logic followed by some Christians make any sense! Even the Angels were created from light without fathers or mothers, and the Devil was created from fire without a father or mother.

“Verily, the likeness of Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him 'Be!' – and he was" (Quran 3:59)

Declining to call Jesus Christ the Son of God is not to belittle or insult Jesus Christ; instead, it is done to Glorify and Magnify God. Allah is the One and Only and far above having a child or a partner in His Divinity. God, the Almighty, can create whatever He Wills. When He intends to create something, He declares to it, Be, it instantly comes into existence. If He Wills that Jesus Christ or the Prophet Adam PBUH be made without a father, he can easily make this possible. The act of Jesus Christ being created without a human father indicates God's ability to create whatever He Wills.

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It is indisputable that what God inspires cannot be wrong, as He is Perfect. Since God is Perfect and therefore does not make mistakes, any apparent word of God with even one error or contradiction would be proven false--and not the Word of God. The Holy Quran is devoid of mistakes and contradictions and does not contain any information confirmed to be inaccurate.

On the other hand, because human hands have altered the original Revelation sent from God through the Prophet Jesus PBUH, many errors, contractions, absurdities, and immoralities have found their way into the Bible even though the Bible prohibits anyone from adding to it. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2). Anyone honest with themselves would identify and understand them unless they chose to follow their Church blindly, without applying the God-given gift of intellect, logic, and reason.

Many Christian scholars have acknowledged the thousands of contradictions and errors found in the Bible. Many believe there to be as many as 50,000 errors within the text. To combat the errors and contradictions found in the Bible, Biblical scholars either find a bizarre explanation to justify the verse or state that one verse is the correct one while the verse that contradicts it is false and not the Word of God, although it is found in the Bible. The masses seem unaware of this. The average Christian is ignorant that the book he takes as the Word of God contains many errors and contradictions.

How can a reasonable, sincere Christian call the Bible "the inspired Word of God" when the Bible contains errors and contradictions? If one error exists in the Bible (let alone thousands), it is enough to determine that this is not the Word of God but instead the word of man. The Word of God should be perfect, free from errors on any subject, something no man or a number of men could produce!

For the sake of time and the length of this point, I will point out only a few errors in the Bible. One can research the remainder of them online. Here are some undisputable contradictions in the Bible:

How old was Ahaziah when he ruled over Jerusalem; was he twenty-two or forty-two? According to 2 Kings 8:26: Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year, and acco

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The Bible contains pornographic imagery, rape, bestiality, and immorality unsuitable for children. The so-called "inspired Word of God" contains filthy incest stories depicted within close kinship relationships. Just look at these verses in the Bible:

Ezekiel 23:20 states: There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses' Song of Solomon 5:4 states: My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him' 2 Kings 18:27 states: But Rabshakeh said unto them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men which sit on the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? How can God, who is All-Pure, write such things?

The Bible shares a false story of the Prophet Lot PBUH and his two daughters in a mountain cave. According to the Bible, the older daughter told the younger one that their father was aging; therefore, they should get him drunk and sleep with him to preserve their family line. So, they slept with him and had his babies! That is right; the Bible also contains incest! Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day, the older daughter said to the younger, 'Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the Earth. Let us get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father' (Genesis 19:30 and onwards).

In another verse, Judah, the father of the Jewish state and namesake to the Jews, slept with his daughter-in-law and begot a daughter with her: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, 'Come now, let me sleep with you' And what will you give me to sleep with you,' she asked. (Genesis 38:15 and onwards).

Another Bible verse references Ruben, the firstborn of the Prophet Jacob PBUH, who supposedly had sexual intercourse with Bilhah, his father's concubine: While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it (Genesis 35:22).

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Muslims are obligated to believe in all Inspired Books that God has sent to serve humanity, as delivered through His Prophets. Some of the Revelations include the Torah; the Revelation sent with the Prophet Moses PBUH to the Children of Israel, the Psalms (Zabur in Arabic), which was sent with the Prophet David PBUH to the Children of Israel, and the Gospel (Injeel in Arabic) which was sent with the Prophet Jesus PBUH to the Children of Israel, all in which are no longer in existence today as they were never preserved. God’s final Book, which exists today, is the Holy Quran sent with Prophet Muhammad PBUH sent to our nation.

Inspiration or Revelation comes to God’s Human Prophets either directly or through an intermediary of the Angel Gabriel, who brings the Revelation to them. Every religion that believes in God also believes in Revelation. God’s Books to humanity are a collective reference point to the way of life God has prescribed. They teach humanity about God and His Attributes, the purpose of life, the obligations and Commandments of God, prohibitions, exhortations, stories, parables, reminders, descriptions of the afterlife, Paradise and Hell, the creation of the Universe, the importance of being kind to one’s parents, and much more. These Books seek to guide man through every aspect of life. God’s Books act as a guide and instructional manual regarding how one should live their life.

While Muslims must believe in the Revelation that came with these mighty Prophets of God, we must distinguish between the original Revelations which these Prophets came down with and the present-day Bible. The present-day Gospels, known as the Evangels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — are not the same Revelations God sent down with the Prophet Jesus PBUH, nor is the Old Testament today the Revelation sent with Prophet Moses PBUH, in which God commands us to believe.

The Holy Quran renders it an obligation to believe in the Revelation that came down with Jesus Christ, but it has been lost and is no longer in existence today. The original Revelation, known in Arabic as the Injil, meaning “Glad Tidings” or Evangelion in Greek, was God’s Revelation, whereas what we now have is a Bible that contains a mixture of words from Prophets, historians, scholars, many unknown and random men, including malicious inserts and deletions made throughout time for people’s agenda and political and financial gain. Whereas these Books may still contain traces of truth, the Gospel does not stand in its original revealed form. No divine Revelation exists today in its original form as revealed when the Prophet lived, except for the Holy Quran. God warns in his final testament, the Holy Quran:

“So, woe to those who write the ‘scripture’ with their own hands, then say, ‘this is from Allah,’ to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn” (Quran 2:79)

The Bible contains commandments, prohibitions, stories, prophecies, words of prophets, rulings, and more. The books of the Bible are divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is said by Christians to have been received through the Prophets before Jesus Christ and starts with the creation of the Heavens and Earth, our Father Adam and Mother Eve, and ends just before the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe the New Testament to have been written by inspiration after the time of Jesus. It contains references to the birth of Christ, his disciples, prophecies of the last days, the second coming, and information regarding the hereafter. Christian denominations do not agree on what is conside

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Now that you have a basic introduction to Allah, our Creator, you need to learn the true identities of Jesus Christ and Mary PBUT and the messages conveyed about them through God and Islam. Jesus Christ is a central and revered figure in the Islamic faith. A fundamental pillar of Islam involves the core belief in all of God's Messengers and Prophets, sent down to relay His message to humanity. Anyone who does not believe in God's Prophets is considered a disbeliever in Islam. Muslims hold all Prophets of God in high esteem, including Jesus PBUH. Muslims love and admire Jesus PBUH and will not speak the name of Jesus (Isa in Arabic) or any other Prophet without respectfully adding the words peace be upon him, following the reference(I will use PBUH for short or PBUT for peace be upon them - throughout this book).

Aside from Christianity, Islam is the only other religion that requires followers to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is mentioned more than 25 times in the Holy Quran. God's last and final Prophet, Muhammad PBUH, narrated, He who bears witness that there is no true god except Allah, alone having no partner with Him, that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, that Isa (Jesus) is His slave and Messenger, and he (Jesus) is His Word which He communicated to Maryam (Mary) and His Spirit which He sent to her, that Jannah (Paradise) is true and Hell is true; Allah will make him enter Jannah accepting whatever deeds he accomplished.

The mother of Jesus Christ is Mary (Mariam in Arabic). She was a very pious and righteous woman. According to the Holy Quran, she is the holiest and greatest of all women. Mary PBUH has the great honor to be the only female mentioned by name in the Holy Quran and even has a whole Chapter named in her honor.

“And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds” (Quran 3:42)

The mother of Mary, Hannah, was a barren woman who longed for a child. She made a vow to God that if He gifted her with a child, she would consecrate Him to His service in the Holiest of all Temples, the Temple of Solomon PBUH, to be a scholar or priest. God answered her prayers and gifted her with a girl child. Hannah PBUH was saddened at the child's gender, as usually only male children were given in service.

Following her promise to God, she instructed that Mary PBUH be raised at the Temple. Mary PBUH was blessed by miracles sent from God, even before the birth of Jesus Christ. Her Uncle Zechariah PBUH, a Prophet of God, raised her. As Mary grew older, Prophet Zechariah PBUH would visit her in her chamber at the Temple, where only he had access. He would observe that she feasted on the best of foods and cold drinks. He asked who had delivered these feasts when no one except him had keys to the chamber. She then would respond, "Allah!"

According to the Holy Quran, the Angel Gabriel walked into Mary's chamber. Terrified that someone had come to harm her, she cried out, I seek refuge from Allah!Angel Gabriel responded, I am not an enemy, I am Allah's servant and a messenger who came to deliver glad tidings to you, that Allah would bestow upon you a child. She replied,How can I have a child if I do not have a husband, and no man has touched me?' Angel Gabriel then responded:

“Allah creates what He wills. If He decrees a thing, He says unto it only be! and it is” (Quran 3:47)

The Quran confirms that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin woman. Mary gave birth to Jesus PBUH in the valley of Bethlehem, away from people, after which she returned. When they saw her with her

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Now that you have a basic understanding of Jesus Christ's identity, it is time to dig deeper to understand whom God, the Almighty, sent Jesus Christ to address and for what purpose. I have spoken about this already, but it is imperative to cite evidence taken straight from the Bible that Christians follow. God has sent thousands of Prophets to humanity. They all preached the same general message: there stands only One Deity worthy of worship. He is the One and Only God, without a partner, son, daughter, or equal. All other gods are false and only creations of God - not the actual Creator Himself. These Prophets and Messengers came to lead humanity to God with the same purpose.

God communicates His Guidance through human Prophets. Every time human hands altered the Revelation of God, He, out of the His Infinite Mercy and Love, continued to send other Prophets and Books to guide humanity back to Him. More than one hundred thousand Prophets and Messengers were sent to all humanity, nations, and races in all corners of the world. Each Prophet and Book was sent to different nations and people. Some Prophets were superior to others; the best among them were Prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the Prophet Muhammad PBUT. However, when these Prophets or Messengers would pass, their message would slowly be altered, distorted, and changed by their people. The Revelations sent soon were modified by human hands to contain the words of men and not the Divine Being. God, the Almighty, warns those who changed His Scripture in his final Book, the Holy Quran:

“So woe to those who write the 'scripture' with their own hands, then say, 'this is from Allah,' to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn” (Quran 2:79)

The Prophet Jesus PBUH was one of God's mightiest messengers, sent down with the same general Message of all previous Prophets but only to address the Children of Israel—those we know as Jews—since they descended from their forefather, Judah.

God, the Almighty, chose these Jews, the Children of Israel, from all of humanity for a particular purpose. God chose them not because of their race, color, or status in this world; instead, He chose the Children of Israel for a particular purpose, as stated in the Old Testament and the Holy Quran. The favor was a covenant between the Children of Israel and God that the Children of Israel was to be a Kingdom of Priests, guiding others to discover the knowledge of God. The favor to the Israelites came with the condition that they keep their side of the covenant. To do this, they were required to follow the commandments of God and preach them to others. God blessed the Jews with blessed land and an abundance of goodness.

“O children of Israel, Remember My favors upon you. Fulfil your covenant and I will fulfill Mine, and stand in awe of Me alone” (Quran 2:40)

The Prophet Moses PBUH is told to say, Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession out of all nations. Although the whole Earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. (Exodus 19:5-6). God is speaking through Prophet Moses PBUH, stating to the Children of Israel if they follow the commandants of God and keep their covenant and not break it, then "...you will be my treasured possession" (Exodus 19:5-6). God also states in the Book of the Old Testament that if the Children of Israel did not keep their covenant and carry out their duties and responsibilities, God would punish them seven times more than the rest of humanity. If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. (Leviticus 26:18)

The Children of

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Before moving forward, it is imperative to know the basic similarities and differences between each of the three Abrahamic religions—the world's three biggest religions. They are Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. All three religions consider themselves monotheistic faiths, as they all claim to worship one God. While Muslims and Jews are indeed strict monotheists worshipping one God as a single, indivisible entity, Christians, on the other hand, while thinking they are monotheists worshipping one God, are not, as they believe in the Trinity. Christians claim they believe in one God represented by or manifests himself in three persons. They claim they do not believe in three individual Gods; instead, they think they believe in one God who manifests himself through different identities, roles, and images: the Father in the Heavens, the Son, Jesus Christ, who came down in human form as the savior, and the Holy Spirit, the Counselor.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and God Himself. They believe that Jesus Christ has a divine and created nature. They also believe that each of these personas in the Trinity equally co-exists as God and that each of these entities is eternal and all-powerful. They do not think that each is a separate entity; instead, they believe that God the Father is the God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This, of course, is a contradiction; common logic dictates that there cannot be three Gods at the same time as there is one God. It is either one or three, as one and three are not the same.

Prophets are to be loved and respected, but no form of worship is directed toward them, nor are they treated as demi-gods or intermediaries between humanity and God. Christians appointed Jesus Christ to divine heights he was not entitled to, which eventually became the dominant Christian belief. Jesus Christ was a mighty messenger sent from God, but he was only a mortal human. He was born to a mother; he ate and drank, slept, and used the bathroom; he suffered pain and emotions. This differentiates him from God the Almighty, as God does not need to eat, sleep, or drink. The Prophet Jesus' mission was to confirm the Torah previously sent, make certain things lawful to ease the lives of the Children of Israel, and proclaim and re-affirm the belief in One God. He was only the servant and slave of God. The Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and the concept that Jesus died for our sins are firmly rejected in Islam.

Just like Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was only a created human Prophet sent by God, Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad PBUH was also a mortal human prophet sent by God after Jesus Christ. Prophet Muhammad PBUH is separate and distinct from Allah (God). God is eternal and immortal; He never had a beginning and was never created. All the powers that Jesus Christ is said to have had were given to him by God. On the other hand, God's Attributes and Powers were not given to Him; they were within Him all along. God's Attributes and powers never knew a beginning, nor will they ever have an ending. He has always been, and will always be, All-Knowing, All-Mighty, All-Powerful. God hears everything from the buzz of a mosquito's wing to the eruption of volcanoes. All His Attributes are infinite.

The three religions worship the same God. The God in the Heavens that Christians worship and refer to as the Father is the same God worshipped by Muslims and Jews. Muslims use Allah to refer to God: Allah translates to God. Allah is not a foreign God, nor does He bear a foreign name. Allah, instead, is the semantic term for God. Regardless of this, some people harbor the mistaken belief that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews and that Allah is the God of the Arabs or the Muslims. This is far from the truth. The word Allah is an Arabic name connoting the Almighty God. Arabic-speaki

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Before we talk about Jesus Christ and his actual teachings in detail, you will need an introduction to Allah. Allah is not a foreign God and does not bear a foreign name. Allah, instead, is the semantic term for God. Regardless, some people harbor the mistaken belief that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews and that Allah is the God of the Arabs or the Muslims. This is far from the truth. The word Allah is the unique name of God. It is the Arabic name connoting Almighty God. Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians use this same wordto refer to God. If one were to peruse an Arabic translation of the Bible, one would see the word Allah used in place of the term God. However, Muslims, Christians, and Jews all have different concepts of God. Muslims and Jews reject the Christian belief in the Trinity and the Divine incarnation. Yet, this does not mean that these three religions worship a different God: There is only One true God.

The name of God in Hebrew is Eloah (pronounced eeLo), and the name of God in Aramaic is Elahh (pronounced as El-aw), and Assyrian Aramaic is Alaha (pronounced the way it is read ʼAlâhâ), and in Arabic, it is Allah (pronounced as AaLaH / Allawh). All the names of God in these languages are pronounced about the same as there is only One True God. If one were to pursue an Arabic bible, it reads: 'In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth' (Genesis 1:1) & 'For Allah so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16)

Muslims prefer to use the name 'Allah' instead of "God" because the word "God" can be made plural and rendered masculine or feminine. In contrast, the Arabic word "Allah" that God chose for Himself cannot be made plural and is genderless. For instance, if you add the letter "s" to the word God, it becomes gods—the plural of God. In the case of the Arabic word Allah, one cannot make the word plural by adding "s" or in any other way morphing the word's structure. Likewise, if one adds "ess" to the end of the word "God," it becomes "goddess," which connotes a female god. God is neither female nor male. He is genderless. The Arabic term Allah does not have a gender. It cannot be made feminine.

Muslims prefer to use Allah instead of God because using the word God has different connotations for different people. God indicates an entity worthy of worship. Regretfully, people assign a godlike status to many other beings, divine or otherwise. However, while speaking to non-Muslims, one may use God instead of Allah to help the intended audience understand the word's context.

Allah originates from the wordAl-ilah,which enjoins the two terms "The" and "God," as in The God. The Arabic word illah, the closest synonym to God, is rich and has several meanings. Illah refers to an entity worthy of worship and service, an object of devotion and love, someone you turn to in desperate times, someone you adore and think about. Illahalso is one you turn to for protection, help, or aid. One can find sanctuary and rest in their Illah, who is always present to comfort and guide His creation.

The relationship with God is expressed in the Arabic word Al-Rabb, which is used frequently in the Holy Quran. Linguistically, it is defined as sticking close to something. It also means joining something with another.In the Holy Quran, the word Al-Rabb implies that the owner (God) has full authority over His property (his servants) and is the Master who ultimately sustains His creation by regulating affairs, providing provisions, and granti

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How would one know their role and life purpose unless one received clear and practical instructions as to what God wants and expects of them? Thus comes the need for Prophethood. God has sent thousands of Messengers and Prophets to humanity to convey His Message and communicate to us. Every nation on Earth has received a Prophet. They all preached the same general message that there is only one deity worthy of worship, and we should follow His commandments. He is the One and Only God, without a partner, son, daughter, or equal. God sent Messengers and Prophets to guide humanity away from worshipping created beings and toward worshipping Him, the Creator of all things. Prophets came to teach their people who their Creator is, how to build a relationship with Him, and how to love Him. These Prophets taught their people that life is only a test; the successful will enter Paradise eternally, while the unsuccessful will undergo the ultimate punishment in the Hereafter.

God sent Messengers with Revelation to humanity to guide them, starting with the Prophet Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad PBUT. Due to God's Love and Mercy, He began to guide humanity as soon as He created Adam and Eve PBUH. He instructed them to worship Him alone, the one and only God, and not worship His creation. He ordered them to submit fully to Him. Later, this message was given to the rest of the Messengers and Prophets of God to deliver to their people. The practice of fully submitting to God, which the Prophets taught, is Islam. Islam,by definition, means the act of submitting to God. A Muslim, by definition, is "someone who submits himself to God." Anyone who submits to God is called a Muslim.

"He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein..." (Quran 42:13)

Many of the Prophets are found in the Jewish and Christian traditions. Whenever God sent Messengers with Revelation, people distorted and changed the Revelation of God after they passed. What was once pure Revelation from God was polluted with the words of historians, scholars, random people, superstitions, irrational philosophical ideologies, and idol worship and included many malicious inserts and deletions throughout time, done for the person's own agenda and political and financial gain.

Whenever people distorted the Message of God and His Revelation, God sent another Messenger or Prophet to reform or renew His Message out of His infinite Mercy. Jesus Christ was sent to reform the previous message sent by the Prophet before him, Prophet Moses PBUH, as Prophet Moses' Message was distorted after his departure. Jesus Christ is quoted in the Bible as saying, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17).

Just like how Jesus Christ was sent to reform the message of the Prophet before him, Prophet Muhammad PBUH came to reform Prophet Jesus' Message because it had been too distorted by people after his departure and did not survive in its original form. Because God will not be sending any more Revelations and Messengers to humanity, Prophet Muhammad PBUH and God's final Revelation, the Holy Quran, is meant for all humanity until the last day.

All previous Messengers and Books other than the Holy Quran and the Prophet Muhammad PBUH were sent to only a specific group of people and were meant to be followed for a particular period; they had expiration dates. For example, Prophet Jesus PBUH was one of God's mightiest Messengers, sent down with the same general Message of all previous Prophets but only to the Children of Israel—the nati

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While Muslims disagree with Christian theology, including their beliefs about the Trinity, the concept of redemption, and other Christian concepts, Allah, in the Holy Quran, still praises sincere Christians and states that they are nearest to Muslims in the way of love, affection, support, respect, and humility because they have righteousness and are not arrogant. "…You will certainly find that the closest of them in friendship with the believers are those who say, 'We are Christians' That is because among them there are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant' When they hear what has been sent down to the Messenger, you will see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognized. They say, 'Our Lord, we have come to believe. So, record us along with those who bear witness" (Quran 5:82-83-84)

Unfortunately, many well-intentioned Christians follow modern Christianity, which is a corrupted version of the teachings of Jesus Christ, a version that He never preached or taught. This book encourages Christians and non-Muslims to cross-examine what the Bible states about God, Jesus Christ, and related concepts. If this is done sincerely, one will conclude that neither Jesus Christ nor the Bible teaches what the Church teaches today. One will conclude that Jesus Christ and the Bible never taught the Trinity, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God or divine or the concept of redemption. Nor did Jesus Christ permit his followers to abandon the law of Prophet Moses PBUH.

Muslims do not believe that the Bible in existence today is the true word of God, as the Revelation that Jesus Christ came down with was never preserved. Today's Bible consists of words of men who are unknown and not the actual words of God or Jesus Christ. While the Bible may consist of translated fragments of the original Scripture revealed by God, it is mixed with words of prophets, historians, scholars, and many unknown random men and contain malicious inserts and deletions made throughout time to promote people's agendas and political and financial gain. The Bible is what Christians claim they use to extract their strange beliefs. This book will prove that modern Christian beliefs are not stated or taught in the Bible and go against Jesus Christ's actual teachings. If one were to read the Bible carefully, one would find the teachings of Islam to be the true religion and way of life of God—and not what the Church teaches.

The Holy Quran states that Christians and Jews say that no one shall enter Paradise except Jews or Christians; then, the Holy Quran challenges them to bring forth proof that what they say is indeed correct.

"They say that no one shall ever enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian. These are their fancies. Say, 'Bring your proof, if you are truthful" (Quran 2:111)

This book will prove the truthfulness of Islam by referencing the Bible and the Holy Quran and using common logic. The Holy Quran directs Muslims to call people to the actual teachings of God with a common starting point that there is only One True God, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, without associating any partners with Him.

"Say: 'O People of the Book! Come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Allah)" (Quran 3:64)

The goal of this book is to provide indisputable evidence that if anyone worships anyone or anything other than the One Supreme God and Being in the Heavens, whom Christians refer to as the Father—who is All-Powerful, All-Mighty, All-Knowledgeable, All-Knowing, All-See

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You must strive to seek the truth, God, and His guidance. You were created with a purpose, and you must strive to find that purpose and live as your Creator expects. Finding God and obeying Him leads to honor and significant reward, while rejecting God leads to severe punishment. When seeking the truth, you must search with absolute sincerity to find what you are looking for, as intentions are the roots of every action. If you investigate Islam and the Holy Quran intending to seek God, the truth, and guidance while putting in the effort, you will find God and His Path. However, if you open the Holy Quran and investigate Islam only to try to find errors, contradictions, and falsehoods, without sincerely trying to find the truth and receive guidance from your Creator, you will find what appear to be errors, contradictions, and falsehoods, but are not, due to your ill intentions. Two people can look at the same religion or read the same verses of God's Scriptures and achieve two different outcomes due to their intentions.

True faith is beneficial only to sincere people seeking guidance; misguiding those who are not sincere, genuine, and honest in their spiritual quests—those who reject divine guidance and spiritual truth when shown to them and who are too stubborn arrogant to accept it.

Faith and guidance are the most valuable possessions one can acquire. If you choose to seek God, He will assist you in this beautiful journey of finding His Path. Guidance can come only from Him and is available to anyone who seeks it. So, ask Him to guide you on the straight path—the path to Him. You do not have to name Him; only say, "You who created me and this whole universe, please guide me and bring me closer to you!" One guided by God can never go astray, and whomever God allows to go astray, no one else can guide.

God guides those who struggle to find the path to Him and strive to do good. When a person chooses guidance, God will increase them in guidance. May God make us among them! If one chooses misguidance and rejects God and His Message when they see signs of His existence, God will increase them in misguidance. May God not make us among them! One must put in the effort and take the first steps to find God, and God will guide them.

To my dear Christian, you must research and learn the authentic message of Jesus Christ. God, the Almighty, has distinguished man above His other creations by providing humankind with the gift of reason. One would not be considered a rational being if they had faith without using their intellect to investigate, rationalize, analyze, and reflect on their beliefs, blindly following their Church and pastor. To my dear Christian, take the time to research and think for yourself. Do not procrastinate and do not take the matter of faith lightly, as you are not guaranteed a tomorrow! The test of life can end at any moment. Realize that you did not come to this book by random chance. Your Creator has guided you here.

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The idea of the existence of multiple gods is illogical at its core. There can be only One God. According to the Holy Quran, if other deities or gods existed other than Allah the Glorious, the gods would compete to establish superior strength, leaving the Heavens and the Earth in ruins. If one of two gods willed an act to occur, then the other god would either be forced to submit to that will or oppose it. If the second god submits to the first god’s will, then that would render the second god less than All-Powerful and not at all omnipotent—in other words, not a god. God is All-Powerful and can do anything He Wills. If he opposes the will of the first god, then a conflict would arise between the two gods, creating chaos in the Heavens and the Earth. The Universe would fall into a state of disorder, chaos, and disarray. There can only be One Omnipotent Creator.

"Say, [O Muhammad], "If there had been with Him [other] gods, as they say, then they [each] would have sought to the Owner of the Throne a way" (Quran 17:42)

Islam is a monotheistic religion; a faith in which followers admit and recognize the existence of one Supreme God and Being, who is Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowledgeable, All-Loving. Islam stresses the existence of only One God. The same God of Prophet Adam, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon them all. Islam demonstrates the fact that, through the centuries, God has continued to bless humanity with holy Prophets who come bearing the same general Message. God is the only One to whom worship is due; He is the Creator of all, the Provider, the Sustainer of everything. He is the Supreme, the Eternal. God has no father nor mother, nor son nor daughter, nor a partner nor an equal. It is He who gives life and causes death; it is He who is Unique in His Names and Attributes.

Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent" (Quran 112:1-4)

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MIRACLES of the QURAN┇Miracles of ISLAM┇Linguistic Miracles, Prophecies & Scientific Miracles in the Holy Koran

The Holy Quran states that in every age, a faith-based Book is revealed. God has sent forth a number of Scriptures in the past; but the ultimate and final Revelation is the Holy Quran, which was revealed to the latest and final Prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him. God revealed His Wisdom, Laws, and Instructions to mankind through this Final Book, as guidance for all people living in the present day and going forward.

The Holy Quran was taught by God to Angel Gabriel, who taught it to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, who then taught it to us verbatim, word for word. The Holy Quran’s central theme is the relationship between God and His creation. The Holy Quran teaches the art of living. The Holy Quran contains guidelines and teachings, for both individuals and society as a whole. The Holy Quran deals with all subjects which concern human beings, such as doctrine, wisdom, worship, law, transactions, proper human conduct, instructions to regulate a fair economic system, ethics and moral behavior, business, government, and more.

The Holy Quran is a Book of Guidance and Signs that prove God’s authorship and overall existence. The Holy Quran is proof of the truthfulness of Islam. The Holy Quran is the greatest miracle of God that exists today and will exist until the end of time. The Holy Quran is such a great miracle that it makes all past miracles seem trivial in comparison.

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Why Do We Worship GOD? Importance of Worship and Praise GOD? | Benefits of Worshipping Allah ┇Why do we WORSHIP ALLAH?

The primary reason as to why Muslims worship God is—to put it simply--because of who God is. Beyond the fact that God created us and bequeathed us with all we have, God is worthy of veneration and worship solely by virtue of who He is as a being. Even if God had given us far less, He still would deserve worship and veneration exclusively. To Him belongs the Perfect Names and Attributes. God is the Almighty, the Majestic, the All-Knowing, the All-Seeing, All-Hearing, He is the only Being that is All-Perfect.

We worship Allah, the Glorious, because He is Our Lord, Our Master, Our Creator. And we are His slaves, His servants. God is the One that ultimately sustains, cares for, maintains, and nourishes His Creation through the grace of His bounty. God deserves endless praise by virtue of his Perfect Names and Attributes. We praise athletes and celebrities who have limited and flawed attributes, so we should heap endless praise upon God, the One that has no deficiency nor flaw. Our existence is solely dependent on God as we are not self-sufficient, contrary to the belief of some people. God makes it very clear in His Holy Book, the Quran, that the sole purpose of our lives is to worship Him. God sent Messengers and Prophets to relay His Message to mankind. "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quran 51:56)

Islamic worship is not limited to religious rituals such as praying and fasting. Instead, the faith clarifies that everyday human acts such as eating, drinking, greeting others, sitting, learning, dressing, sleeping, giving charity, etc., are all acts of worship if done for God alone, and in accordance with His Divine Laws and guidelines. Of course, we have another, secondary reason as to why we worship God. We thank Him for creating us and for what He has given us--despite the fact that we did not earn nor deserve any of it. God has given us so much, his favors are innumerable. God gives, without measure, to His servants. He gave the gift of life and the ability to hear, feel, taste, and see. God gifted humans their hearts, minds, souls, strengths, skills, and countless other things.

"And He gave you of all what you asked of Him. And if you count the Favor of Allah, you will you be able to count them. Indeed, mankind is surely unjust and ungrateful" (Quran 14:34)

We worship God because He is The-Loving, and His love exists in the purest form. We worship God to gain Taqwa; God-fearing piety, righteousness, mindfulness, and consciousness of God. Life becomes meaningful as we fulfill our life’s purpose, resulting in a better and peaceful life here in this world and the hereafter. As another secondary motivation, we worship God so that we can earn the reward of Paradise and avoid certain condemnation to the flames of hellfire.

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Who Created GOD? ┇If God Created EVERYTHING, Who Created GOD? ┇Who Created ALLAH? ┇Who made GOD? The question, ‘Who created God?’ is both nonsensical and self-contradictory. The inquiry, for all intents and purposes, is illogical and meaningless. The question can be translated to mean, ‘Who created ‘the uncreated’?’ How can something be created if it claims its origins as an uncreated being? The question assumes the existence of an entity that is at once created and uncreated. By definition, God is uncreated. If a god was created, then he would not be a god because another creator or god would stand over him. The question is assuming the existence of a limited god. The idea of a ‘god being created’ produces in its essence a circular fallacy. Whereas creations claim definite beginnings and ends, God does not. He is not confined to time and space, as we are. He is the One that created time and space, just as He created everything else. When it is stated that everything has a Creator, the statement refers to everything that is created. God, however, is uncreated. Our God, our Master, our Creator by definition cannot be created. He is the One performing the Creation, He is the Supreme Being. God exists in an uncreated form. He has no beginning nor an end. He is the First, the Last, the Eternal. He is Self-Existent, Self-Sufficient. God is independent. If he was dependent on something or someone, he could not be God. "That is Allah, your Lord, Creator of all things; there is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?" (Quran 40:62) He is the creator of the Heavens and Earth, the creator of the Universe. He is the Lord of all lords, King of all kings. He is the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful. Allah neither Begets, nor is He Begotten. He cannot be compared to anything, as nothing is comparable to Him. He knows no equal. God offers a description of Himself in His Book, the Holy Quran, stating...

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Sometimes the media portrays Islam as an oppressive religion, one which oppresses women especially. While sadly it is true that some Muslim women are oppressed in some areas in Muslim countries around the world, any form of emotional, physical, or psychological abuse or oppression towards women is prohibited in our faith and goes strongly against the teachings and laws of Islam. The overall suppression of women occurs in many parts of the world regardless of the oppressor’s religion or culture, even if the oppressor is atheist in faith. However, no Islamic laws stand in place to oppress women; moreover, Islam specifically states that women have every right to a decent life without facing aggression or abuse of any sort--just as a man does. The Holy Quran states that God the Almighty created all species in pairs, thus indicating that both men and women were created of the same species. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him stated in a narration that ‘Women are the twin halves of men.’ God states in the Holy Quran that: “The men believers and women believers are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another” (Quran 9:71) Islam states that both men and women were created in a pure state and that both are equal in the eyes of God. The only real criterion that judges the superiority of one person over another is that of piety, God-consciousness, and righteousness. "...Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you..." (Quran 49:13) Both men and women in the Islamic faith are expected to fulfill the same obligations of faith, worship, prayer, charity, etc., and—as stressed in the Holy Quran--women are no different than men in the spiritual sense. Both men and women are subject to the reward or punishment of God. "And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even as much as] the speck on a date seed" (Quran 4:124) While both men and women are spiritually equal in the eyes of God, the two genders are not identical and claim many biological, psychological, and physical differences—therefore, it would not be logical to compare the roles of men and women. The rights, responsibilities, and roles of each gender are balanced, yet are not necessarily the same. Each gender claims different roles in life, and each is suited for that role by their functions, as designed by nature. Generally speaking, men in general, possess more physical strength than women, which is why men and women compete in separate athletic competitions in rigorous sports such as boxing or basketball. "...And the male is not like the female..." (Quran 3:36) For example, women are equipped for childbearing, while men are incapable of performing this function. On the other hand, a man is suited for military field battles during times of war; the appointment of a woman to fight in the field in place of a man would disadvantage an army. One should not misinterpret these differences to mean that men are superior or inferior to women; rather, these roles are attributed to the natural capacity and proper functioning between genders. Men and women complement each other, with each existing as a means of mutual fulfillment to the other.

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Difference between Sunni & Shia (Shiites) 90% of the Muslim world is Sunni and 8% is Shia in faith. Shia followers, also spelled Shiite, are commonly found in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and a few other places. The difference between Sunni and Shia arose as a result of a political division, as a result of Shia followers went their separate way. Yet while the split started as a difference of opinion in politics, some major theology differences occurred later; with Shia incorporating many unconventional, foreign concepts into their theology and faith. The Sunni and Shia division found its origins as a disagreement about the leadership of the Muslim community after the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. After his death, his companions were forced to choose the next leader, the ruler, the successor of the Muslim community, commonly known as the Caliphate. Sunnis believed that Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him did not explicitly designate his replacement, and that they needed to appoint this leader by mutual consultation. The Shia, by contrast, believed that the Prophet designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali, peace be upon him to resume the role of Caliph. Sunni Muslims deemed Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest companion, the most fit to lead the Muslim community. Abu Bakr hence became the first Caliph and Ali eventually became the fourth, serving in the wake of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman peace be upon them. Ali himself was well satisfied with the decision to appoint Abu Bakr as the ruler, but others were less pleased with the decision. Sunni Muslims consider themselves followers of Islam’s orthodox tradition; following the pure, uninfluenced faith taught by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The word ‘Sunni’ comes from the term ‘Sunnah,’ which refers to the teachings and practice of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him--who in turn was taught by Angel Gabriel, who learned the faith from God himself. The term ‘Shia’ linguistically translates to mean party, sect, supporters, a group of similar minded people. The term ‘Shia’ is an abbreviation for ‘Shiatu Ali,’ which signifies ‘Group or ‘supporters of Ali.’ Shia was a political faction who claimed that the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad should have led the Islamic community as the Caliphate, in place of Abu Bakr. Originally, this group of Ali’s supporters known as Shia stood against the Umayyads political party but remained purely Sunni in their theology and faith--unlike modern-day Shia. Yet with passing years arose major doctrine/theological differences. The famous 12 Imams who Shia hold in the highest regard were Sunni in Creed--not Shia. If Ali indeed was explicitly appointed by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, as the Shia claim, then that would mean that Abu Bakr was appointed unjustly in the role of a caliph—also meaning that he disobeyed and went against the wishes of the Prophet, despite his role as his closest associate and dearest friend. Additionally, this move would imply that the companions who accepted Abu Bakr as the Caliphate went against the Prophet, peace be upon him, despite earning a high rank and God’s praise in the Holy Quran. Many of the beliefs of Shiism claim no basis in the religion of Islam. Shi’ism evolved from its role as a political sect supporting and favoring the leadership of Ali and his descendants--whom they label as Imams--over more qualified companions, to a holder of strange ideas foreign to Islam.

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History of Islam ┇How Did Islam Begin? ┇How Did Islam Spread? Contrary to popular belief, Islam is not a new religion; one that came into existence a mere 1400 years ago, back in the 7th century. Islam in truth has existed since the first moment that man set foot on Earth. The final Prophet of mankind, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, was not the founder of Islam, as many people mistakenly believe. Instead, he was sent as the last and final Prophet of God; one delivered by God the Almighty to convey His Universal and Eternal Message to our nation, the final nation. When Prophet Muhamad peace be upon him appeared, he did not bring with him a new religion; rather he brought forth a faith which already existed. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him renewed an ancient tradition of the preceding monotheistic religion. That which has been preached and taught by every previous Messenger and Prophet of God. Prophet Muhammad was only the last and final Prophet, the very seal of the Prophets. Islam is the continuation, the culmination, the final completion of God’s universal and eternal Message to mankind, as revealed to all of God’s previous Messengers and Prophets. Like all previous Prophets and Messengers of God, Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him preached and taught Tawheed—the Oneness of God. He taught that God Alone is worthy of worship and veneration; and that God Alone is the Creator of all. No other being is worthy of worship; not the Sun, the Moon, nor an idol. Throughout history, anyone who practiced monotheism through their submission to the will of God and the following of his prophet, was considered a Muslim. Human beings have been practicing Islam since the creation of Prophet Adam peace be upon him. Throughout the ages, God the Almighty sent Prophets and Messengers to guide and teach their nations in the way of Islam. All Prophets preached the same general Message to their nations. All of God’s Messengers and Prophets were Muslims by definition, because the term Muslim translates to mean those who submit their will to God the Almighty. "He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein. Difficult for those who associate others with Allah is that to which you invite them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back [to Him]" (Quran 42:13) Allah the Glorious states that Prophet Abraham peace be upon him was indeed a Muslim. All three major religions--Islam, Christianity, and Judaism--portray Prophet Abraham peace be upon him as a towering, inspiring example of someone who submitted himself fully to God and worshipped Him without intermediaries. Prophet Abraham peace be upon him played a prominent role in history as an example of pure and true faith. The Holy Quran shares stories of Prophet Abraham’s firm and steadfast belief in God, calling and preaching the Oneness of God and rejecting the belief of idolatry. He later persevered in the face of various difficult tests and hardships that God placed before him, testing his belief and his loyalty. With that said, Islam always has stood as the one and only universal Message of God, as all Messengers and Prophets--including Prophet Abraham peace be upon them—were considered ‘Muslims’; i.e., those who submitted their will to God the Almighty. They all followed Islam, which translates to the act of submitting one’s will to God the Almighty. One that engages in the act of submitting their will to God is, by definition, is a Muslim. 

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Sharia Law - What is Sharia Law in Islam? Please follow us on Social Media to stay up to date: Subscribe to our Channel ► https://goo.gl/ckDmLs Our Website ► https://www.thesincereseeker.com/ Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/thesincereseeker/ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/ThSincereSeeker Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/TheSincereSeekerChannel/ Steemit ► https://steemit.com/@thesincereseeker D-Tube ► https://d.tube/#!/c/thesincereseeker Hijab Store Online | Designer Hijabs | The Jab Store | 2019 https://thejabstore.com/ The Jab Store offers 2019 Hijab Scarves for Women who want to be confident and comfortable. The Jab Store sells the top designer Hijabs from all over the world online. Free Shipping World-Wide w/ $50 Purchase Muslim Fashion Accessories + Hijab Shop | MuslimaQueen | 2019 https://muslimaqueen.com/ MuslimaQueen is a fashion accessory shop for Muslim Women. MuslimaQueen provides styles of all varieties while maintaining a modest look at affordable prices. Extra 25% off + Free Shipping World-Wide on Entire Store w/code: Queen25 -- Amongst the most misunderstood and abused terms and concepts of Islam, by both non-Muslims and Muslims alike, is the Sharia Law. The term ‘Sharia’ linguistically originates from an Arabic word which means ‘a path that leads to a watering-place.’ Figuratively, the term refers to a clear, straight path. In the context of Islam, Sharia Law translates to mean Divine legislation; a legal system; the law of Islam. Sharia is a set of Divine given laws and ethics that Muslims follow and live by, to draw closer to God and live in justice and kindness in honor of His Creation. “And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ” (Quran 5:48) The Shariah provides the legal framework for a healthy foundation and functioning society. The religion of Islam incorporates a set of rules and regulations that will protect and preserve the rights and freedoms of individuals and society. It is a doctrine concerned with justice, equality, and respect to all. Shariah is more than just Islamic law because it is not limited to legal issues; rather this form of law details ethical, moral, political, and social codes of conduct for Muslims at both an individual and communal levels. The Sharia deals with every aspect of life, such as economics, politics, crime, diet, spirituality, hygiene, sexual intercourse, and more. These laws tell Muslims what God expects from them and how they can please Him. Man was created solely for the purpose of worshipping and serving Him; and without Guidance and God showing one the path, no cannot achieve and realize this purpose. These laws tell Muslims that which is permissible for them to do, eat, drink, how to dress, how to sleep, and even how to relieve themselves. These laws also outline that which Muslims are not permitted to do. Sharia law addresses personal religious observances such as prayer, charity, fasting, and God-consciousness. The Sharia is also concerned with worldly matters, such as paying alms to the poor and needy, being good to one’s parents, business affairs, inheritance, and marriage. These laws and ethics encourage Muslims to be God-conscious, kind, respectful, merciful, generous, and compassionate in all ways. A Muslim is one that submits, acknowledges, and understands that Allah the Glorious knows what’s best for him so he follows His Laws. No society can function without some form of rule and regulation; without these legal boundaries, society will dissolve in anarchy and chaos. Most religions feature Sacred Divine laws and ethics equivalent to those of Islam’s Sharia. For instance, Judaism has the Halakhah, which is like the Sharia in method and content. Rest of Article can be read on: https://www.thesincereseeker.com/sharia-law/

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Salat al-Istikhara Amongst the many gifts our Creator has bestowed upon us, the Salatul-Istikhara (The Istikhara Prayer) stands among them. The word Istikhara originates from the Arabic root word of Khair, which is an umbrella word connotating all that is good. Istikhara stems from a verb pattern that means ‘to seek that which is good’ The term Istikhara means ‘to look for Allah’s Guidance, Wisdom, Support, Supervision, Consultation, Goodness, and Blessings.’ When a Muslim is confused about how to resolve a matter, he can ask for Allah, the Glorious, to Aid him by reciting the Istikhara prayer. Salat al-Istikhara is a powerful tool that God the Most-Merciful, the Compassionate, has given his slaves so that they can seek His Guidance and Wisdom in all matters of life--whether big or small. For instance, one can pray the Istikhara prayer to seek God’s advice about whether they should relocate for school or work, if they should accept a marriage proposal, or if they should buy a particular car or house. The Istikhara Prayer is a Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that he recommended and performed. Several myths and misconceptions surround the Istikhara Prayer (Salatul-Istikhara in Arabic) and many do not have a full understanding of the prayer. The prayer is performed simply. Whenever one faces a decision, he or she first would need to do their part by researching possible solutions to their quandary. They should put their intellect and rationale to work, assessing the circumstances to their best of ability. One then should seek sound counsel from others that are knowledgeable, wise, trustworthy, and genuine, and who are worthy of consultation on the very issue. One should use his or her God-given intellect to weigh all available options, reflecting and pondering all gathered research and advice to determine the best possible outcome. Once one determines how to move forward on the issue, he would then pray 2-units (Rakat) of voluntary prayer, which should not be counted as part of the five obligatory prayers of the day. It’s important to note, one should not pray Istikhara until he has chosen the course of action he plans to take regarding the matter. The prayer he performs would be similar to any other traditional prayer. One must make wudu (ablution) in a clean, pure state, dressed appropriately and facing the Qibla (in the direction of Kabah, God’s House here on Earth, in modern-day Saudi Arabia). It is always recommended to seek God’s Forgiveness and Mercy at the beginning of the prayer, especially if you consistently commit sins.

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God created both the seen world and the unseen world. Among God’s creations in the unseen world are the Angels and the Jinn. The ‘Jinn’ are supernatural creatures that exist in a world parallel to our own. Almost every culture boasts stories and legends of unseen creatures. We know of Jinn and the unseen world because of their numerous mentions throughout the Holy Quran, and narrations of our last and final Prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him. The Holy Quran features a full chapter named ‘The Jinn’. It is an obligatory part of our Islamic creed to believe in the unseen world and Jinn.

Contrary to popular belief, Jinn are not ghosts in the sense that they are souls or spirits of dead people, nor can dead people return to this world in any form after they pass away. These beliefs come from ancient folk tales and fantasy. Like many other things, Islam explains the realm of the unseen and the world of the Jinn which help us come to understand many modern-day mysteries.

The word ‘Jinn’ comes from an Arabic root word which translates to mean hidden from sight, concealed, invisibility, seclusion, and remoteness. Jinn were created by God the Almighty before the existence of man. Jinn are created from smokeless fire; from the edge of the fire, in fact, the hottest and purest form of the flame.

“And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud. And the jinn We created before from scorching fire” (Quran 15:26-27)

Jinn do not have a physical body and are unseen spirits invisible to the human eye. Whereas Jinn can see mankind and have access to our world and our dimension, they are not allowed to cross the barrier into our domain. Mankind, in turn, cannot enter their world/dimension.

“...Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them...” (Quran 7:27)

Like man, Jinn possesses free-will, knowledge, perception, the ability to understand and reason, and the ability to distinguish and choose between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Jinn also were created to worship God the Almighty and follow Islam. This world is a test for both mankind and Jinn. God, the Almighty, states:

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (Quran 51:56)

There are both believing, Muslim Jinn and non-believing, non-Muslim Jinn.

“And [mention, O Muhammad], when We directed to you a few of the jinn, listening to the Qur’an. And when they attended it, they said, “Listen quietly.” And when it was concluded, they went back to their people as warners. They said, “O our people, indeed we have heard a [recited] Book revealed after Moses confirming what was before it which guides to the truth and to a straight path. O our people, respond to the Messenger of Allah and believe in him; Allah will forgive for you your sins and protect you from a painful punishment. But he who does not respond to the Caller of Allah will not cause failure [to Him] upon Earth, and he will not have besides Him any protectors. Those are in manifest error” (Quran 46:29-32) The Holy Quran references Iblis, the first unbelieving Jinn who tempted Prophet Adam and his wife, Eve, may peace and blessing be upon them. Iblis’ decedents and helpers, that exist until this day, are referred to as shaitan or shayateen (in the plural form) and are unbelieving, evil and rebellious Jinn.

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On the worldwide web today, statistics show that 4.2 million or 12% of Internet websites are pornographic in nature. Every second of every day, more than 28,000 internet users are viewing pornography—and in total, $3k is spent to purchase pornography in that same second. A total 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. Statistics show that 70% of men aged 18-24 visit pornographic sites throughout the course of a typical month; furthermore, 1 in every 3 porn site visitors are women. And overall, over 200,000 Americans are classified as porn addicts.

The term Zina in Arabic linguistically translates to mean adultery, fornication or illicit sexual intercourse. Zina in Islam refers to the act of illegal sexual intercourse (any activity which takes place outside of marriage). Different forms of zina also include that which can lead one to commit fornication or that which is associated with illicit sexual practices. Zina violates the dignity of other human beings, as well as oneself, and is considered a grave sin in the Islamic faith.

The Holy Quran contains the word Fa’he’sha, which translates to mean vulgarity, shamelessness, obscenity, or indecency. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said, ‘After me, I have not left any trial more severe to men than women.’ God the Almighty lists in the Holy Quran those things that men desire and are obsessed with, naming women first:

"Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world's life; but Allah has the excellent return (Paradise with flowing rivers, etc.) with Him" (Quran 3:14)

Other forms of zina include the zina of the eyes, in which one sees that which is forbidden, and zina of the hand, in which one touches that which is forbidden. God the Almighty states:

"Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do. And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof…" (Quran 24:30-31)

God the Almighty connects the respectful lowering of one’s gaze with the protecting of one’s private parts. He mentions the gaze first, as what the eyes view influences the heart. Our prophet peace be upon him narrated: 'The eyes commit adultery, the tongue commits adultery, the hands commit adultery, the feet commit adultery and then the private parts confirm it or deny it.’ The Holy Quran instructs one to not even approach the act of fornication, as certain acts can lead to the commission of this dire sin.

"And come not near adultery for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils)" (Quran 17:32)

Satan will approach you by tempting you first into minor sins, leading you step by step into the commission of bigger evils. Looking upon that which is forbidden is a classic tactic of Satan; one that sets you on a path that will lead you to commit a more serious evil. When one continues to look at that which is forbidden, one can get hooked and addicted to these illicit images. Satan can lay a firm grip on his victim, to the point that the individual will not be able to control him or herself.

"O you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan - indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing" (Quran 24:21)

The negative effects of pornography consumption are massive. Amongst the harms of watching pornographic images or videos are its negative effects and ultimate destroyer of one’s eman (faith), heart, and spirituality--all precious assets that should be treasured. Porn consumption weakens one’s connection with God, weakening one’s prayers and affecting one’s khushoo (one’s humility and mental presence during prayer). Under the influence of porn, one would not be able to recite the Holy Quran with emotion nor shed any tears.

The eyes are the most direct path to the heart. The act of seeing that which is prohibited violates and corrupts the soul. Do not stand amongst those who are enslaved by their desires, as the one who is controlled by his whims and desires is indeed a prisoner. God the Almighty states:

"Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desires" (Quran 45:23)

According to Islamic scholars, one who does not lower his or her gaze and protect their private parts can be deprived of Islamic knowledge, blessings, assistance from God, a sense of modesty, and capabilities of accomplishing certain acts of worship.

The one that watches pornography will experience a dopamine rush, soon feeling the need to view more and more to capture that sensation. Pornography can wreck many negative effects on one’s marriage, mind, eyes, organs, and reproductive system. Pornography can lead to sexual dysfunctions, such as erectile dysfunction or delayed ejaculation. Watching pornography has devastating effects on the brain and will have one constantly checking out the people around them with a lustful gaze and intent, as opposed to treating the opposite gender with dignity and respect.

Pornography can also have a psychological impact on the user, lowering one’s self-esteem or confidence, shame, morals, and even motivation. Watching pornographic images and videos increase the risk of loneliness and depression and deplete valuable time that can be spent on more beneficial activities.

According to Islamic scholars, the one that does not lower his or her gaze and protect their private parts can experience physical weakness, anxiety, hardening of the heart, and an ongoing addiction that leads to other sins, punishment in the hereafter, and other destructive outcomes.

One needs to discover and cut the pornography problem at its root, doing so by uncovering as to exactly what is triggering one to view such images and videos. If one identifies his or her triggers, then one would be able to create strategies that would empower them to avoid such acts. Is watching movies or social media a trigger which inspires you to watch pornography? Is loneliness or some common emotion triggering or urging you to watch pornography? Is it boredom, sadness, stress, anxiety, or loneliness?

Realize that God the Almighty, the All-Knowing, All-Seeing, is watching you at all times, and you are not alone.

"He knows the stealthy looks and that which the breasts conceal' (Quran 40:19)

Do not look at the smallness of the evil deed, rather look at the Greatness of the One Whom you are disobeying. If you do fall back and commit such acts, always repent and follow your sin with a good dead, as good deeds compensate for bad deeds.

"...Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds..." (Quran 11:114)

Pray to God to seek forgiveness, also seeking help and guidance in the process. Perform and perfect your prayers with the utmost humility and concentration.

"...Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing..." (Quran 29:45)

To totally avoid pornography consumption, one will need to keep him or herself busy with productive activities such as reading, exercise, sports, school, going to the mosque, chores, or errands.

A pornography addict is characterized as one whose brain is marked by the compulsive use of pornography, which proves difficult to stop despite all its negative consequences and often worsens over time. It is said that addiction to pornography is more serious than the addiction to certain drugs; as narcotics like cocaine and crack can be detoxed and cleansed from the body, whereas pornographic images can be much harder to remove from the brain.

For those that watch pornography occasionally or are fully addicted, hope is not lost; as this addiction is reversible and God is All-Forgiving. Never give up hope and continue to seek forgiveness every time you slip regardless of the number of times you may have sinned in the past, and no matter how great the sin. Always remember that Allah’s Mercy is far Greater, and God loves to forgive. God states:

"Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful’" (Quran 39:53)

On the other hand, also realize that much like a seed that grows into a large tree, one’s sin can grow bigger and turn into an addiction that will be far more difficult to conquer. So, start your resistance efforts now, and do not procrastinate.

A Muslim is one that realizes the oncoming approach of Judgment Day, and the fact that everyone on this day will be held accountable for the actions they committed throughout their lives. One’s own body parts can potentially testify against you, for using them to disobey the Creator. God the Almighty states, on the day of Judgment:

"Until, when they reach it, their hearing and their eyes and their skins will testify against them of what they used to do" (Quran 14:21)

Lowering one’s gaze comes with many benefits. When one lowers their gaze, they are in obedience to God’s command. Lowering one’s gaze purifies the eyes and the soul and illuminates the heart. It increases one’s wisdom, steadfastness, courage, and quality of intuition. The one that lowers his or her gaze will feel the sweetness and pleasure of his or her Iman (faith) in their heart.

Whereas little scientific research has been completed specifically regarding the effects and benefits of abstaining from pornography for addicts or heavy users, abstaining from such acts is reported to boost confidence, make one less anxious, especially if they suffer social anxiety, improve one’s social life, increase motivation, increase sensitivity, improve health and one’s sex life, improve stamina, increase clarity of the mind and lessen brain fog, improve self-control, and better one’s quality of sleep. The act of resisting urges also can help one develop discipline and willpower in their life, which is sure to help them in other aspects of their lives as well.

Realize, my dear brother or sister, that when you divert your eyes away for God’s sake, He will compensate you with that which is far better and beneficial than that which you averted your gaze from.

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Throughout history, a single question has plagued humanity since the beginning. An item that has been asked many times. An issue that all Abrahamic religions face. The question that if an All-Powerful God, who is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, All-Loving, All-Merciful, and All-Just, is in control of All things and matters, does exist, then why do people experience evil, pain, and suffering in this World? Why must we contend with sickness, natural disasters, starvation, war, calamities, corruption, and killings? If God is indeed All-Merciful, All-Loving, All-Good, and All-Just, why does He allow such things to happen?

This very concept is known as the problem of evil. Many have come to the wrong conclusion that because of the existence of evil, God could not possibly exist--or that he is a cruel, unjust God who enjoys seeing people suffer and in pain. A God that is not worth worshipping, who is unaware, uncaring and incapable of removing and controlling elements of evil. The existence of evil ranks amongst the top reasons as to why people reject the concept of religion or the belief in a Higher Power.

People that reject God because they cannot grapple with the problem of evil do not have nor claim to have an understanding of or a solution to the conditions of darkness and pain. The decision to disbelieve the existence of God only adds more confusion to the situation; leading to the emergence of questions as to why we were created, where we are destined to go, etc. They choose to reject God because of their lack of understanding. To understand the problem of evil and as well as many other life concepts, one must have faith—the very belief system which provides wisdom.

The question of evil was asked by the Angels themselves when God the Almighty announced that He was creating a new form of beings called humans.

"And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the Earth a successive authority" (Quran 2:30)

The Angels responded with a question:

"...They said, ‘Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and You?" (Quran 2:30)

God answered:

"…Indeed, I know that which you do not know" (Quran 2:20)

Although God did not explain nor rationalize the answer to their question, the Angels were completely satisfied with this response; this is owing to their complete humility before, trust in, and faith in God's Wisdom and Knowledge, recognizing His Wisdom as Perfect and without flaw. The Angels did not assume God's Wisdom was incorrect simply because they could not understand nor comprehend that Wisdom. We humans never will fully understand the reason behind the World's pain and suffering, as our limited, finite minds cannot comprehend the logic of God. However, the fact that our intellectual capacity cannot understand and evaluate the Wisdom behind pain and suffering in full does not nullify that Wisdom. How can we judge the situation or God Himself without all the information needed to do so? God states in the Quran:

"...And mankind has not been given of knowledge except a little" (Quran 17:85)

We as humans only can understand the Wisdom behind pain and suffering on a general level. We have no right to question our Creator—as everything belongs to Allah, the Glorious including us, and to Him we will return.

Whereas hardship, pain, and suffering do exist in this World, these incidents are the exception and not the rule. Muslims disbelieve the concept of pure evil. All things that God has created are either purely good or possesses a balance of good and evil. Nothing is purely evil with no goodness inherent. Whereas evil can dominate more than the good in some instances, everything holds an element of some good.

Every evil is good in at least some aspects; for instance, while sickness may harm the body temporally from one angle, that same sickness also strengthens the immune system and teaches one patience with the healing process. Similarly, whereas Volcanos can harm, they rejuvenate the ecosystem that facilitates life in the first place. Without Volcanos, we would not be able to grow food; this is because Volcanos spew out minerals resulting in rich fertile soil. Whatever God Wills, the good will always eventually outweigh the bad. Additionally, one person's calamity can be another person's blessing; for instance, when one person loses a job, another person finds a new occupation.

Good and evil need each other to exist. How can a person be generous if no charitable beneficiaries are available? Poor and hungry people need to exist for charity and generosity to occur. How can forgiveness happen when there is no offense to forgive? How can one learn patience without the perception of evil and calamities? Similarly, following natural disasters, humanity tends to show generosity and support by sending medical assistance, food, donations, etc., to those affected. Consequently, a negative occurrence enables positive results to be manifested. God loves the good that is generated from the perception of evil. Pain and suffering are blessings in disguise.

Also, we need the existence of evil to recognize and appreciate good. It's when we are deprived of something valuable that we feel the appreciation and blessings of God. One needs to experience hardship to value the better times. Sometimes one needs to experience illness to appreciate good health, or poverty to appreciate substance. It's only in the darkness that one recognizes and appreciates the light. The perception of evil, pain, and suffering is not a punishment. Allah states in the Quran:

"What would Allah gain from your punishment if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing" (Quran 4:147)

God does not love evil. Amongst the many pearls of Wisdom behind pain and suffering, and probably the most important, is the idea that trials and tribulations lead people back to God. Sometimes it's through tough times that people return and reconnect to their Lord in desperation, and with the utmost sincere prayers and supplications. Any calamity that brings one back to his Lord is not a true disaster; instead, a blessing in disguise. It is in times of tragedy that one increases his expressions of repentance, humility, and supplication, recognizing he needs the Almighty.

"And when affliction touches man, he calls upon Us, whether lying on his side or sitting or standing; but when We remove from him his affliction, he continues [in disobedience] as if he had never called upon Us to [remove] an affliction that touched him. Thus, is made pleasing to the transgressors that which they have been doing" (Quran 10:12)

Amongst the essential reasons behind perceived evil is the idea that life is a test for humanity, filled with many trials and tribulations.

"[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving" (Quran 67:2)

Through these tests, a person's faith in and loyalty to God is revealed. God states:

"Do the people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe’ and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars" (Quran 29:2-3)

In another verse, God states:

"Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger, and those who believed with him said, 'When is the help of Allah?' Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near" (Quran 2:214)

In another Verse, God states:

"And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient" (Quran 2:155)

God can create any World He desires, including a World with no evil and suffering. However, God, the Glorious, chose to give humanity the freedom of choice and free will. If He did not allow harm to occur, He would be depriving mankind of freedom and free will. Since life is a test, this test would be meaningless without a degree of free will being given to humanity. Sometimes humanity chooses to act in evil ways. God is not the direct cause of these acts of evil. Instead, He is the One who Allows and Wills it to happen for the greater good--and for reasons we may or may not understand.

According to the Holy Quran, evil deeds performed by mankind also result in punishments on this Earth. Every suffering in this World is a fraction of a bit of what mankind has afflicted on this Earth.

"Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done that perhaps they will return [to righteousness]" (Quran 30:41)

God references the fact that many past nations have been destroyed due to their evil actions and disobedience.

"So, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them in the sea because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them" (Quran 7:136)

Amongst the many wisdoms inherent in the perception of evil is the fact, God loves to forgive--as He is the All-Merciful, the All-Forgiving. But for forgiveness to take place, there must exist sins and sinners to forgive.

The protestation of human pain, suffering, misfortune, and hardship faced by innocent people, and the claim that 'life is unfair,' are legitimate complaints; but only if belief in the Hereafter is denied and neglected. Indeed, we all must face an afterlife; a Judgment day in which justice will be served and everyone will be compensated for their life actions. The evildoers will be punished for their sins, and the oppressed will be compensated and rewarded for their patience.

"And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them for a Day when eyes will stare [in horror]" (Quran 14:42)

Indeed, with great trials and patience come great rewards. If one were to measure the suffering of this World against the blessings of the Hereafter, what is 20, 40, 60 years of suffering against an eternity of bliss?

"And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter - that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew" (Quran 29:64)

This World was never meant to be a perfect place devoid of hardship. Muslims believe that an ideal life without pain and suffering awaits them in the next World, not this World. This World is a stepping stone to the afterlife, that will lead you either to Paradise or the Hellfire.

It's through the passing of test trials and tribulations that God raises one's rankings. It is for this very reason that God tests those He Loves. Additionally, when any calamity befalls a Muslim, God expiates some of his sins. When a patient person sees his misfortunes on the Day of Judgment and receives the reward he derived from his patience, he would wish that a more major calamity had struck him.

The Holy Qur'an offers different remedies of coping with hardship, such as faith, prayer, patience, trust, and reliance, which God will give in the hopes of guaranteeing contentment and surety. It's essential that one recognizes that God will not place them in a situation where they cannot manage.

"Allah does not burden a soul except [with that within] its capacity…" (Quran 2:286)

Realize, in every hardship that one faces, God has given them the requirements to handle the situation and pass the test associated with it. He knows that one can cope with the situation, or he would not have placed that person in that difficulty in the first place. And realize that no harm can befall anyone except by the Permission and Will of the Almighty. God states:

"Say, 'Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector’ And upon Allah let the believers rely upon" (Quran 9:51)

A person of faith has a different attitude than others regarding calamities. He has surety and contentment in his or her heart, knowing that life is full of tests and trials; and that with time and patience, things will improve, and he will be rewarded. And remember my dear brother or sister, what your Lord has promised:

"For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease" (Quran 94:5-6)

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Belief in the Holy Quran and All of God’s past Scriptures, that God has sent down to serve humanity as delivered through His Prophets, is an article of faith in Islam; one in which every Muslim is obligated to believe. Muslims believe in all of God’s Inspired Books. The Holy Quran states:

Say, [O believers], "We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him" (Quran 2:136)

Prophet Muhammad reported that more than 124,000 Prophets and 315 Messengers were sent to humanity over time. Inspiration or Revelation comes to God’s Human Prophets either directly or through an intermediary of Angel Gabriel who brings the revelation to them. Every Prophet received Inspiration from God. Some of the Revelations later were compiled to form the content of larger Books. Some of these Books were named to us by God; others were not.

God states that He has sent previous scriptures before the Holy Quran. Among these Divine Books is the Injeel (Gospel), Torah, the Zabur (Psalms of David), and the Scripture revealed to Prophet Abraham. Every religion that believes in God believes in Revelation. These Books seek to guide man through every aspect of life. God’s Books as a whole act as a guide, an instructional manual regarding the manner in which one’s life should be lived.

"He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel" (Quran 3:3)

All of the preceding Prophets and Books were sent to specific past nations that lived before us, and do not apply to us. Only the final Prophet and the final testament, the Holy Quran is meant for our nation, the last nation, and are meant to be followed to the last day.

Whenever a Revelation was sent from God, that Revelation would contain a prediction of another Revelation to come after it. When the new Revelation arrives, it becomes mandatory for the one that believed in the previous Scripture to believe in the next One. One has to believe in All of God’s Revelations and the rejection to any one of them is equal to the rejection of All of them.

Past nations that received Divine Books were entrusted to protect them, also being told to draw guidance through them; empowering them to live righteous lives and become closer to God. However, throughout time, this trust was betrayed. These Books were distorted, changed, corrupted, and edited with manmade additions and subtractions. Once altered, these Books no longer contained the True Words of God. When previous Holy Scriptures were altered and corrupted by the human hand, due to the Mercy of God, He sent new Scriptures so as not to leave mankind in darkness—without the benefit of light and Guidance.

Eventually, God sent his final Testament: the Holy Quran. He did not entrust a nation to preserve this book; rather, God Himself assumed the responsibility to preserve, safeguard and protect His final Book, to ensure that it does not get modified by men in the same manner as the past Scriptures. The final nation, our nation, was entrusted to follow only this Book, the Holy Quran, that would guide them to the right path. God made an explicit Promise in the Holy Quran to preserve His final Book to the end of time.

"Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian" (Quran 15:9)

The Quran is now a widely known and much-memorized document. In fact, the Qu’ran is the only book that is memorized by millions of people of all ages around the world, of all languages and backgrounds, from one end to the other. Even if all copies of the Holy Qu’ran were burned, this Book could not possibly get modified—this owing to the fact that it has been memorized by millions of people across the globe by the letter. Due to the fact that the Holy Quran will never be distorted or modified by the hands of men, no need ever will exist for a new Revelation to be sent from God. The Holy Quran is the only scripture in existence today that exists in its original language and words. Not one letter of the Holy Qu’ran has been changed since its revelation.

Whereas Muslims believe in and respect the past Scriptures, the current modern-day Old Testament and the New Testament--which modern Christians call the Bible--are not published in their original, God-given form. Whereas these Books still contain some remaining traces of truth, they do not stand in their original revealed form. They now contain man-made ideas and innovations that corrupt their current state. God states in the Holy Quran:

"And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is from Allah," but it is not from Allah. And they speak untruth about Allah while they know." (Quran 3:78)

The modern-day new testament was authored by individuals after the departure of Prophet Jesus, including the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, Paul, and the current Psalms of David. These words were authored by individuals, including representatives of the house of Asaph and the sons of Korah, and more.

The Injeel (Gospel) in which Muslims believe in is that which was brought by Prophet Jesus from God the Al-Mighty Himself. Christians do not believe in the existence of a Book (Injeel) sent from God and given to Jesus; nor do they believe Jesus Christ wrote the Bible, rather, they acknowledge that the Bible was written by men of all walks of life over of the years. The current day Bible is polluted with the ideas of a number of different authors, some of whom are anonymous. The modern-day Bible also contains myths, words of men, superstitions, irrational philosophical ideologies, and idol worship. God stated in the Holy Quran:

"So woe to those who write the ‘scripture’ with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn." (Quran 2:79)

Due to the fact that previous Scriptures were meant for past nations, God the Almighty did not find it fit to preserve them. They no longer exist today, in their original form. Muslims believe that the Holy Quran has abrogated all previous scriptures before it; meaning that it cancels the rulings of the previous scriptures and renders them inapplicable going forward.

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The term Da’wah in Arabic translates to mean, ‘to call or to invite’. In the Islamic context, the word refers to the process of calling, conveying, inviting people towards the Message of Islam, towards God, towards the Truth, towards the right path prescribed by the Almighty for all of mankind. The call of Da’wah invites, inclines, and encourages people to voluntarily submit to the Will of Allah, by worshipping Him alone and following His commandments.

Da‘wah, in essence, was the call of all the Messengers and Prophets of God. They were selected by the Almighty to call people to submit and worship Allah, following the path of Islam. They called people out of darkness into light by summoning them to worship the One True God and shun false deities. Prophet Muhammad is the last and final Prophet and Messenger of God sent to mankind. Without any more Prophets to guide us, it becomes a noble obligation for Muslims to convey the Message of God; guiding mankind to the truth. In Prophet Muhammad's final farewell sermon, he ended this powerful message with the words, ‘Let those who are present convey to those who are not present.’ God states in the Quran:

"And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful" (Quran 3:104)

The person who engages in spreading the word of Islam is called a da’ee. However, not all means of spreading the word of Islam would require specialized training to conduct. Whereas the act of preaching to a group of people would require some training, dawah can be given by any Muslim-- simply by living and following the teachings of Islam as an example.

When it comes to dawah by speech, our prophet narrated, ‘Convey (my teachings) to the people even if it were a single sentence’ So, the act of calling people to the path of Allah is not meant only for scholars, rather it’s a general command to everyone to spread the message on a basic level. A Muslim most achieve four requirements to enter paradise, which includes having faith, performing righteous deeds, advising others to the Truth and righteousness, and being consistent and patient while doing so.

Muslims are blessed and honored to possess God’s Revelation and are directed to present this Message to mankind with Hikmah (Wisdom) to clarify the meanings and explanations of this Message in effective ways. They tailor the Message toward the listener, in ways he or she can understand based on his/her individual capacity and background.

"Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction and argue with them in the best manner possible. Indeed, your Lord is Most Knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is Most Knowing of who is [rightly] guided" (Quran 16:125)

The act of giving Dawah or spreading the word of Islam can come in different forms and is not delivered solely via speech, preaching, or passing literature. In fact, the most effective and significant way to demonstrate and teach Islam is by having a good character, strong personality, and kind manners, and by being kind, gentle, honest, truthful, and a good role model and living example. The caller of Islam must possess these characteristics, to effectively convey the Message.

In fact, before a person or a community invites others to join Islam, certain good qualities must be established in them to prove their creditability and strength--like truthfulness, good morals, manners, character, reliability, etc.--so that their Message can hold strong and be taken seriously by others. Without these qualities, the Message one delivers would not carry weight; nor will it be taken seriously by others. One’s message would not be taken seriously if their character or actions is disreputable and not coinciding with their sermons. Listeners would not believe their words, especially if they steal, lie, or cheat. Our Prophet was known as ‘the truthful, the trustworthy’ among his community decades before he started preaching Islam.

Dawah also involves helping and reminding other Muslims who may be lacking in prescribing to certain areas of their religion, by commanding good and forbidding evil.

It should be noted that not everyone is intended to be a scholar or preacher and that dawah comes in many different forms. People can engage in dawah in many ways to benefit people and society. It is the duty of every Muslim to better his or her family, community and society to the best of their ability. A Muslim should be involved in and committed to the forefront of battles and struggles against racism, injustice, poverty, aggression, etc. A Muslim is one that gives back to his community and society and is not one that is selfish and only self-serving.

A Muslim is one that serves something of value to others, making a positive change and impact on others; whether it comes in the form of volunteering, social work, helping local orphanages, helping the poor, counseling, political activism, building schools, or advising one’s peers or community youth. For example, a Muslim doctor should devote one day a week or month to give back to his community, by offering free services to those who do not have health care or volunteering at a free clinic.

One needs to ponder and reflect over his or her own talents, unique skills, strengths, education, background, and personality, discovering those specific qualities that God has gifted them that can be used to benefit others. That gift can come in the form of teaching others, creativity, leadership, knowledge, etc. Our ummah (Islamic community) needs help and services from all angles. God’s last and final prophet stated: ‘The most beloved to Allah are the most beneficial to the people.’

Whereas a Muslim does not perform these deeds with the intention to show off to others, their display in public can become a good means of dawah to non-Muslims--or even, for that matter, to weak or non-practicing Muslims. One can become inspired by and curious about Islam when seeing a female Muslim doctor or nurse--with hijab on--representing Islam by volunteering and offering complimentary services at a free clinic.

The one that engages in the work of da’wa needs to be patient and not surrender or lose hope. One does not know which of one’s words will be planted in the listener’s heart, growing and changing their life. The one that engages in the work of da’wa also needs to realize that he or she does not have the ability to transform anyone’s heart or mind. Rather, guidance can come only from God the Almighty. Allah knows who is worthy of and qualified for His guidance. God tells his Messenger in the Holy Quran:

"Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided" (Quran 28:56)

The job and duty of God’s Messengers and Prophets, as well as ours, is to remind others of the Message in clear terms and as kindly as possible. The rest is up to God.

“Your duty is only to convey the message; and on Us is the reckoning” (Quran 13:40)

The one that engages in conveying God’s message needs an understanding of the Islamic discourse, as detailed in the Quran and Sunnah, and should be knowledgeable about the issues he addresses. If one is discussing or debating people of other religions, he or she must have an understanding of these faiths; thus, allowing them to build common ground and talk to them about Tawheed (Monotheism—the Oneness of God), which they might be neglecting in their religion. The Quran instructs Muslims to give dawah to people of the Book (Christians and Jews) by emphasizing the similarities between the different faiths and establishing common ground—while reminding them that we should worship None but Allah (the One and Only Creator) and to not associate Any partners with Him.

"Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to common terms between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah." But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]" (Quran 3:64)

When engaging in a dialog with people of the Book, our main goal is to present and invite them to join our beautiful religion; and not to necessarily talk down or prove their faith or book wrong as there is a time and place for that. Our goal is to prove that what we offer is the true word of God and that our religion is the only faith acceptable to God.

The one engaging in dawah dialogue has a goal--not to win the argument--but to win over the person. Sometimes heated arguments serve only to distance a person from Islam. When giving dawah, one should not make the other feel worthless or denounce him. The attitude of the person inviting should be gentle, kind, and beautiful; the same one would offer if they were inviting them to their own home.

It becomes imperative that one conveys the Message with softness and gentleness because an attitude of harshness could discourage and further people from the truth. In fact, God tells Prophet Muhammad in the Quran that if he was harsh and stern in conveying the Message to his companions, known to be the best of people that ever lived, they would disperse from him.

"It was by the mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been stern and harsh (in speech and heart), they would have dispersed from you. So, pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely (upon Him)” (Quran 3:159)

God also instructed Prophet Moses and his Brother, Prophet Aaron (Harun in Arabic), to gently and softly convey the Message of Islam to the Pharaoh—despite his repute as the worst human being that ever lived, who proclaimed himself a god and killed babies and innocent people.

"Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech that perhaps he may be reminded or fear [Allah]" (Quran 20:43-44)

The success of Dawah is measured by one’s intention and effort, and not necessarily from the number of people they convert. One might give dawah for years and not convert a single soul. In fact, Prophet Noah preached the Message of Islam for about 950 years and witnessed very few conversions. It’s important that one continues to constantly remember the intention of his work, which is all and always for the sake of God.

For those that feel they don’t have the time to spread the word of Islam, they must realize that those currently spreading the word are themselves busy people who make time in their hectic schedules for Dawah; an activity they see as an obligation. This is what God expects from them; something they do in exchange for the great rewards that await them. Additionally, God states that the best manner of speech one can utter in this world is those words of invitation that draw people to God’s religion; inviting others to grasp and comprehend the purpose of their creation. God states:

"And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims" (Quran 20:23-24)

Additionally, for the ones that spread the word of Islam and teach others well, our Prophet narrated: 'Indeed Allah, His Angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths - even the ant in his hole, even the fish - pray for blessings upon the ones who teaches the people to do good.' In addition, our Prophet narrated: ‘Whoever directs someone to do good will gain the same reward as the one who does the good.’ So, if someone accepts Islam from you, you will receive great rewards from God for the effort.

On the Day of Judgement, non-Muslims will face Allah, the Ultimate Judge, and will be questioned regarding their faith. Your non-Muslim friends, colleagues, classmates, and neighbors can potentially incriminate you as the person who failed to give them the Message. This is why you must convey the Message of Islam, carrying it out in your daily life in speech and actions. God states in the Quran that He has made us a middle nation, so we can testify to all people. God has honored and chosen us to service humanity, guiding people back to God.

Oh, my dear brother and sister, you need to carry the message of Islam in your daily life. It should show in your character, your dealings with others, your business transactions, and in your everyday tasks; otherwise, our Prophet may serve as a witness against you on the Day of Judgment, and you could potentially get punished for your neglect of this vital and important life task.

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The one that converts to Islam embraces the folds of this faith because they chose to voluntarily submit and surrender to the Will of God, in exchange for the ultimate acquisition of peace and contentment in this life and the Hereafter. The one that is converting accepts the Islamic belief that to achieve true peace of mind and surety of the heart, one must submit to the Ultimate Creator, the One True God, and live according to His Divinely revealed Laws. The one that converts comes to the understanding that no one is worthy of his or her worship and veneration except the One True Creator, the ultimate Creator, the Creator of this World and everything in it. He realizes that the only true purpose of his or her life to find God, build a relationship with Him, and follow His commandments.

The one that is converting realizes that God the Almighty, would not leave him or her in darkness without guiding and showing them how He wants them to live. So, He (God) chose Messengers and Prophets throughout history to send to different nations at different times to communicate His Message to humanity, to show how one should live, and to teach humanity about Himself. These prophets came with glad tidings, stating that whoever Worships the One God with no partners and lives a righteous life while obeying God’s commands will enter Paradise eternally; and whoever worships other than Allah and does not follow God’s commandments will enter the hellfire.

Islam is not a new religion but embodies the eternal act of submitting to the will of God. It is the only acceptable religion in the sight of God. Islam is the true natural religion and offers the same Message revealed through the ages to all of God’s Prophets and Messengers.

The one that is converting to Islam realizes that Islam will change his or her life for the better and that Islam will provide the light to guide them in their life and grant them true salvation from the eternal hellfire.

The one that searches for his purpose in life, and for his Creator, and is sincere and curious to learn the Truth, that person will eventually be guided to the Truth by the Will of God, and by His Mercy, Love, and Justice. God guides those whom He Wills and Pleases.

My dear brother or sister, if you have the desire to be a Muslim and have a firm conviction and belief that Islam is the true religion of God, then you are ready to embrace the folds of Islam. In Islam, every action begins with one’s intention, so start by setting your intention in your heart to embrace Islam for the sake of God alone. It’s highly recommended that you first take a bath or shower to symbolically purify and cleanse yourself of your past life and your past sins. It’s also recommended that you wear suitable clothes on the day of your conversion.

Unlike other religions, the act of converting to Islam does not involve any rituals, ceremonials, nor baptisms. All one has to do is declare the testimony of faith, which is known as the Shahada in Arabic, or the declaration of faith in English, which is the first of five pillars of Islam. These two statements encapsulate all the beliefs of Islam:

أشهدأن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله

‘I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,

and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and messenger.’

You can state this phrase in privacy by yourself or in public with witnesses, which is recommended as you could have help from others with the accuracy of the pronunciation of the wording in Arabic. The testimony of faith is recommended and often done publicly, in a Mosque or gathering.

You testify, acknowledge, and express you are fully convinced that there is no deity worthy of worship and veneration other than Allah. Allah is the unique name of God; the ultimate Creator. You acknowledge that there is Only One God who is the Sustainer, the Creator, who is in control of all matters and all things, who has no partners, no children, nor associates. He is the Most-High, Most-Merciful, All-Knowing, All-Wise, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, He is the First; He is the Last.

You also testify and acknowledge that Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him is the last and final messenger of God, who was sent to relay the same general Message as the prophets before him. He is the best example and role model for humanity, a slave and worshipper of Allah and should not be wrongly worshipped like past Prophets—who were only human messengers of God, and not God himself.

After you complete your testimony of faith, you are now officially Muslim. As a new convert, you do not need to be burdened by your past sins committed before your acceptance, as all of your past sins would be wiped clean, and you would start with a clean slate—as free of sin as a newborn child. Not only that, but all of your past sins would be converted to good deeds. You should attempt to the best of your ability to keep your slate clean as much as possible and do as many good deeds as you can.

As a new convert, make a lot of supplications to God, asking him to continue to guide you to the straight path and lead you to Paradise and everything else you desire—in this world and the Hereafter.

You should gradually continue learning more about Islam and practicing it by performing your five mandatory ritualized prayers that Muslims perform daily. You should not try to learn all aspects of the faith at once, as that might overwhelm you. Instead, continue to learn and grow your faith over an extended period. It's highly recommended that you find a local Mosque or local Islamic community and attend their gatherings, seek Muslim support, and make new friends. You should also give charity and fast in the month of Ramadan, both of which are mandatory upon every Muslim.

For those who are still unsure whether or not they should convert to Islam, they can pray to God without explicitly naming him; praying out and saying, ‘Oh you who created me, please guide me to the truth’ Then continue to research and look further at the overwhelming evidence and proofs that Islam offers to affirm its existence and validity. Do not procrastinate, and do not take this matter of faith lightly, as you are not guaranteed tomorrow! Your test your life, can end at any moment. Realize, my dear brother or sister, that you did not come to this passage by random or chance. Your Creator guided you here.

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Jesus Christ is a Central and revered figure in the Islamic faith. A fundamental pillar of Islam involves the fundamental belief in all of God’s Prophets and Messengers, that He has sent down to relay His Message to humanity. Anyone who does not believe in any of God’s Messengers or Prophets is considered a disbeliever in Islam. Muslims hold all Prophets of God in high esteem, including Jesus peace be upon him. Muslims love and admire Jesus peace be upon him and will not speak the name of Jesus, or Isa in Arabic, without respectfully adding the words ‘peace be upon him’ following the reference.

Aside from Christianity, Islam is the only other religion that requires followers to believe in Jesus Christ. God’s last and final Prophet, Muhammad narrated, ‘He who bears witness that there is no true god except Allah, alone having no partner with Him, that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, that 'Isa (Jesus) is His slave and Messenger, and he (Jesus) is His Word which He communicated to Maryam (Mary) and His spirit which He sent to her, that Jannah (Paradise) is true and Hell is true; Allah will make him enter Jannah accepting whatever deeds he accomplished.’ Jesus Christ is mentioned over 25 times in the Holy Quran.

The mother of Jesus is Mary (Mariam in Arabic). She was a very pious and righteous woman. According to the Quran, she is the holiest and greatest of all women that ever lived. Mary has the great honor to be the only female mentioned by name in the Holy Quran and even has a whole Chapter named after her.

"And [mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds" (Quran 3:42)

The mother of Mary, Hannah, was at one time a barren woman who longed for a child. She made a vow to God that if He gifted her with a child, then she would consecrate him to His service in the Holiest of all Temples, the Temple of Solomon, to be a scholar or a priest. God answered her prayers and gifted her with a girl child. Hannah was saddened at the child’s gender, as usually only male children were given in service. Following her promise to God, she instructed that Mary is raised at the Temple. Her Uncle Zechariah, who was a Prophet of God raised her. As Mary got older, Prophet Zechariah would visit her in her chamber at the Temple, where only he had access, and he would observe that she feasted on the best of foods and cold drinks. He would ask who had delivered these feasts when no one else had keys to the chamber. She then would respond, ‘Allah!’ She was blessed by miracles from God, even before the birth of Jesus Christ.

According to the Quran, Angel Gabriel walked into Mary’s chamber. Terrified that someone had come to harm her or to remove her chastity, she cried out, ‘I seek refused from Allah!’ Angel Gabriel responded, ‘I am not an enemy, I am Allah’s servant and a messenger who came to deliver glad tidings to you, that Allah would bestow upon you a child.’ She replied, ‘How can I have a child if I don’t have a husband, and no man has touched me?’ Angel Gabriel then responded:

“Allah creates what He Wills. If He decrees a thing, He says unto it only: Be! and it is.” (Quran 3:47)

Jesus’ real name is Esau (Hebrew) or Yeheshua (Classical). The Christians of the West gave the Latin name, Jesus,. The letter ‘J’ does not exist in Aramaic, so Jesus himself would not recognize the name, Jesus.

Mary gave birth to Jesus in the valley of Bethlehem, away from the people, after which she then returned. The Quran confirms that Jesus was born of a virgin woman. When they saw her with her newborn child Jesus, they said:

"…O Mary, you have certainly done a strange thing. O sister of Aaron, your father, was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste" (Quran 19:27-28)

Mary didn’t speak but pointed at her child.

"So she pointed to him. They said, ‘How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?’ [Jesus] said, ‘Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me Prayer and Zakah as long as I remain alive and [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. And peace is on me the day I was born, and the day I will die, and the day I am raised alive’" (Quran 29-33)

The Quran references the miracles that Jesus performed by the power and will of God, even in his infancy, when he spoke in the cradle to defend his mother’s chastity and innocence.

The word Messiah is the title of Jesus. The word Messiah comes from the Arabic and Hebrew word mesaha, which means to rub, to massage, to anoint. In religious context, the word translates to mean ‘the one that has been anointed.’ It was common to appoint or anoint a King or Judge of Israel on the head with oil when taking office, as a sign of his inauguration. In the law of previous nations, they would rub a person’s head with special water when they converted to their religion. This practice lives on today, in the form of a Baptist ritual. Prophet Jesus was anointed as the next Prophet by his cousin, John the Baptist, the preceding Prophet. Jesus peace be upon him is called by four noble titles: The Messiah, the Messenger of Allah, A Word from Allah, and A Spirit from Allah.

Muslim’s belief and understanding of Prophet Jesus stands in accordance with God’s final Book, the Holy Quran, and narrations of God’s last Prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him. Jesus Christ was a mere prophet of God; whose mission was to confirm the Torah which was revealed before him. He did not come bearing a new law, but only abrogated some laws to make life easier for the Children of Israel—the nation that lived before us. Jesus was sent to teach the same general Message, which was taught by all the previous prophets of God; that we must worship and follow the One God and shun every false god.

God created Jesus Christ without a human father, just as Prophet Adam peace be upon him was born without either a human father or mother; Allah just said Be, and it Was. Declining to call Jesus the son of God is not done to belittle or insult Jesus; instead, it is done to Glorify and Magnify God. Allah is the One and Only, and He is far above having a child or a partner in His divinity.

One should realize that Jesus never claimed to be the son of God, let alone God Himself. Through a careful study of the Bible, one would conclude that Jesus never called himself a god or God’s son. Nowhere does it state in the Bible that Jesus proclaimed himself as God. Instead, others made that proclamation after Jesus’ departure. Jesus, peace be upon him, only preached the teachings he received from God the Almighty. Prophet Jesus was only a servant and slave of God. He is not the son of God in the sense he was the begotten Son of God, instead; he is—metaphorically -the son of God in the sense that all righteous people are the sons of God. Yet this title is not to be taken literally as many Christians have done in error. There are many individuals labeled ‘sons of God’ in the Bible including Prophet Jacob, Solomon, and Adam peace be upon them as this was a common saying amongst the children of Israel.

As Jesus Christ grew into adulthood, he began to travel and preach God’s Message throughout the land of Palestine to the children of Israel. He taught the scripture that God sent to him, known as the Injeel, which translates to mean ‘Good News’ or ‘Gospel’; confirming the truth of previous Holy Books of God.

"And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me"(Quran 3:50)

To reinforce his Message, God granted Prophet Jesus peace be upon him the ability to perform miracles; such as fashioning birds from clay, then blowing into them to turn them into real birds—healing lepers and the blind, and even resurrecting the dead, all by the will and power of God the Almighty. Never did Prophet Jesus peace be upon him take credit for performing the miracles by himself, without the power of God. According to the Bible, many verses show that Jesus never took credit nor stated that he could perform miracles on his own:

‘…All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth’ (Matthew 28:18)

‘I can of mine own self do nothing …’ (John 5:30)

‘…I with the Finger of God cast out devils…’ (Luke 11:20)

Prophet Jesus peace be upon him preached and stressed that no deity is worthy of worship except the One true God; and only through Him (the One true God, Allah, which is the unique name of God) can one obtain salvation in the hereafter. Prophet Jesus peace be upon him attracted an inner circle of devoted followers who listened to his teachings with humility; a ring known as the disciples.

Jesus Christ peace be upon him preached the same general Message as the Messengers and Prophets before him. According to the Bible, ‘One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ “The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one’ (Mark12:28-29) Never did Prophet Jesus, nor any other Prophet, preach that God is part of a Trinity.

Because the Children of Israel had gone astray from the straight path of God,

Allah, the Glorious, sent them their final Prophet, Jesus Christ, to remind them that this is their last chance to fulfill God’s commandments. When Jesus Christ continued to preach God’s Message, commanding them to do certain things and to avoid certain things, instead of believing him and following him, they got frustrated by him; turning their backs on him and rejecting him, plotting against him. According to the new testament, a group of hypocritical and self-serving men of the Children of Israelites plotted against Prophet Jesus peace be upon him.

They complained to the Roman authorities, who were pagan idol worshipers who had political power at the time; this because the children of Israel were only a minority. The Children of Israel complained that Prophet Jesus peace be upon him was preaching something new, and they provoked the Romans to rise against him; making the Roman governor believe that the call of Jesus Christ conveyed direct threats against the Roman power. His people claimed that Jesus Christ was an agitator speaking against the emperor which was not true. The Roman governor issued an order that Prophet Jesus peace be upon him is arrested, then crucified by hanging him on a cross and starving him; a common form of shame killing.

According to the Christian narrative, which Muslims do not believe, the Roman authorities found Jesus Christ, arrested him, then put him on the Roman cross—where he died. They eventually buried him, only to see him resurrected and returned from the dead. He announced to everyone he was the son of God. However, in reality, according to the Holy Quran, God states:

"And [for] their saying (in boast), ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise." (Quran 4:157-158)

So according to the Holy Quran, they neither killed nor crucified Prophet Jesus peace be upon him; rather, God placed a resemblance of Prophet Jesus peace be upon him on another person to make him like Prophet Jesus. The Christians were differing amongst themselves as to the truth of the matter, as they themselves were in doubt and had no certainty what happened. In all actuality, God rescued His Prophet by raising Prophet Jesus’ soul and body up to Himself. The Israelites and the Roman authorities never could harm him, crucify him or kill him; this version of events was only an assumption. According to some Islamic scholars, God punished Judas, the traitor by casting him in a resemblance to Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. So, they crucified him instead, assuming it was Jesus Christ.

According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ returned to his followers. Whereas Christians believe that he returned from the dead, Muslims believe that he never died. His followers were terrified at his reappearance, as they thought he had been crucified. Then Prophet Jesus said: ‘Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have’ (Luke 24:39) Jesus Christ then asked for food, so he could eat before them like a human being would, not a spirit or a ghost. After he proved his existence, he told them God had willed him to leave; and that in his absence they should preach and teach his Message and be faithful to God. He promised them finally that another would come after him. Whereas Christians believe that Prophet Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit in the context of this statement, Muslims believe that his words referenced the Prophet, Muhammad peace be upon him.

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him is mentioned and prophesied in Scriptures of all major world religions. In the Old Testament, God the Almighty speaks to prophet Moses: ‘’I will raise up for them (the Israelites) a Prophet like you from among their brethren (the Israelites); I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them (the Israelites) everything I command him.’ (Deuteronomy 18:18) This verse is referencing Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, who came after Prophet Moses and after Prophet Jesus peace be upon them. Prophet Muhammad is also mentioned by name in Song of Solomon Verse 5:16 in Hebrew. The Hebrew word used there is ‘Muhammuddim.’ The letters ‘im’ in the end indicates a plural variation of a term that translates to mean respect majesty and grandeur. Without the 'im’ suffix, the name would be ‘Muhamud’; translated to mean ‘the praised one’ or ‘altogether lovely’ in the Authorized Version of the Bible.

Gospel of John 16:12-14 Jesus Christ states: ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now them bear.’ God did not find it fit for mankind to receive the whole Message of Islam (the way of life of submitting fully to God) at that point, as they would not have been able to bear the Message in its entirety. So, Jesus Christ says: ‘But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me…” (Gospel of John 16:12-14) This Spirit of truth is none other than God’s last and final messenger of mankind, meant to be followed until the last day. Prophet Muhammad, who came after Jesus Christ, preached the same general Message as Prophet Jesus and every other Messenger and Prophet before him.

After the departure of Prophet Jesus, controversies sparked amongst his followers. They questioned whether the person who returned was really Jesus Christ. A severe split erupted in the Christian faith, revealing a broad spectrum of opinions regarding Prophet Jesus and his role in the world.

Prophet Jesus was a mighty messenger of God, but he was only a mortal human being. He was born from a mother; he ate and drank; he would sleep and use the bathroom; he suffered pain and emotions. This differentiates him from God the Almighty, as God need not eat, sleep, or drink. He was only a servant and slave of God. The Trinity—the father, the son, and the holy spirit—and the concept that Jesus died for our sins is firmly rejected in Islam.

“O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your religion or say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So, believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs” (Quran 4:171)

God makes it clear in the Quran that the act of ascribing a son to Him, angers him. Ascribing a son to God is beneath the Almighty. God states:

“And they say: ‘The Most Beneficent (Allah) has begotten a son (or offspring or children)’ Indeed you have brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing. Whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins. That they ascribe a son (or offspring or children) to the Most Beneficent (Allah). But it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Beneficent that He should beget a son” (Quran 88-92)

According to the Holy Koran, the one that calls God part of the Trinity is a disbeliever who will face a painful punishment. The Quran states:

"They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment" (Quran 5:73)

The Quran then says:

"The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look at how they are deluded" (Quran 5:75)

It’s important to mention that Prophet Jesus peace be upon him did not come down with a new Law, nor did he come out to abolish the Old Testament (Torah); instead he came to affirm, teach and preach the previous law, the law of Moses. According to the Holy Koran and the Bible, the Children of Israel were veering away from the laws and disobeying the commandments of God. Prophet Jesus’ mission was to confirm the Torah that was previously sent, to render certain things lawful to facilitate life for the Children of Israel and to proclaim and re-affirm the belief in One God. Prophet Jesus peace be upon him was the last in a long line of Messengers sent to the Jewish people.

Prophet Jesus peace be upon him and the Book he came down with, the Injeel (Gospel), was not meant for non-Israelites. According to the Bible, Jesus states: ‘I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of Israelites’ (Matthew: 15-24) In another verse, 'These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel' (Mathew 10:5-6)

So, my dear Christian brother and sister, why are you spreading the Gospel to those for whom it was never meant? Jesus states he was sent ‘only to the Children of Israel’ and not for everyone else. God has sent another Book after the Gospel—his final Book, the Holy Quran—and his last and final Messenger--Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him — which is meant for our nation, the latest nation to exist on earth until the end of time.

Christians believe that every child is born with the taint of the original sin committed by our parents, Prophet Adam and Eve peace be upon them; a sin committed when disobeying our Creator and eating from the forbidden tree. According to Islam, the notion of the original sin is inconsistent with the concept detailing justice of the Almighty, the All-Merciful, the All-Loving How can God, the All-Just, make an innocent child responsible for or to bear the guilt of a sin committed by a distant ancestor? It is not just for one soul to carry the burden of another, and there is no justice to be found in one person being punished for saving another when they never committed the sin themselves. Islam teaches that everyone is responsible and will be held accountable for their own actions and that everyone is accountable for their own salvation. Salvation only comes from the act of Believing in the One God and following His commandments.

Christians believe that since all men are born in this sinful state, it is necessary that a Christian believes in the atonement; the idea that Jesus Christ died for our sins. However, nowhere in the Bible did Jesus explicitly state that he would die to save mankind from sin. According to the Holy Quran and the Bible itself, one can receive forgiveness of sins from God solely through sincere repentance sought directly from God. If God, the Almighty, wished and willed to forgive humanity, then he certainly could have done so without the need of sacrificing Jesus Christ, his supposedly ‘begotten son.’

The idea that all one has to do to attain salvation is to simply believe Jesus Christ died for their sins, without the need of any worship nor the need to follow the Holy Law because Jesus Christ fulfilled it for them, was never preached by Jesus Christ himself—nor is it even in the Bible.

Muslims believe that Jesus is still alive and that he will return to this world in the last days before the Day of Judgement. Muslims believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Muslims believe that Jesus Christ will return and preach the true Oneness of God as he has always done, and; he will not preach the trinity. Jesus Christ will prove to the Jews that he never was crucified and will prove to the Christians that they were wrong to ascribe him as divine. Imam Mahdi will be alive at the time of his return, also the time of the Battle of the Great Armageddon that Christians also predict. Muslims will fight on the side of Prophet Jesus peace be upon him, who will be their leader.

According to the Holy Quran, God will ask Prophet Jesus peace be upon him on the day of Judgement:

"…O Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people, 'Take me and my mother as deities besides Allah?’ He will say, ‘Exalted, are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord, and your Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are, over all things, Witness. If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (Quran 5:116-118)

Muslims are the true followers of Jesus Christ, following what Jesus Christ preached and taught. To my dear Christian brothers and sisters, it’s imperative you research and learn the real Message of Jesus Christ. God, the Almighty has distinguished man above His other creations, by providing him the gift of reason. One would not be considered a rational being if he or she believed in faith without using their intellect, without investigating, rationalizing, analyzing, examining, pondering, and reflecting over what he or she believes and just blindly following their Church and pastor. To my dear Christian brother or sister, take the time to research and think for yourself.

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In today’s modern vernacular Arabic, the word ‘Hijab’ refers to a ‘headscarf.’ Yet in classical Arabic and the language of the Holy Quran, Hijab refers to a physical curtain, a screen, a partition, or a barrier, that separates one from others when they stood behind a curtain. The one that is being covered by or that is found behind the Hijab is not only covering their head and whole body but also the space around them as they stand behind a curtain, a screen, a partition, or a barrier. According to the Holy Quran, this covering was an extra layer of coverage required to be worn only by Prophet Muhammad’s wives

“…And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts...” (Quran 33:53)

Not only did the Prophet’s wives have to cover their heads and body, but they were required to place a cover or a curtain in front of them to conceal their space when speaking to people other than their mahram (a person whom that individual may not marry because of their close blood relationship such as a brother, uncle, nephew, etc..). The Almighty gave additional rules of etiquette pertaining to how one should speak to the wives of the Prophet peace be upon him, dictating that there should stand a physical separation of the noble Women from the common folk, by a barrier that would be opaque, not see-thru, and impenetrable. It provided an extra layer of privacy and is simultaneously a symbol of their high status and dignity. It’s essential to express that the classic meaning of the term ‘Hijab’ in the Holy Quran is not the same as how we understand and use the term today. The wearing of the Hijab was not required by anyone other than the Prophet’s wives, as is outlined in the Holy Quran. As for all other Muslim women, the Quran explicitly instructs that women should wear a headscarf in a different verse.

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed" (Quran 24:31)

The Holy Quran uses the word ‘Khamar’ to refer to a headscarf—that which covers your head. The word Khamar comes from a root word which means to cover something. The word Khamar is similar to the Arabic word Kha’mir which is the word for alcohol, as alcohol impairs one’s intellect---one cannot think straight while under the influence of alcohol, as it creates a barrier between the mind and the power of speech and reasoning.

God states in his Book to tell the believing women to wear their Khomar (the plural of Khamar) over their bosom as in throwing their shawl over and cover their chest area. So, besides covering one’s chest, the head should be covered too—as the covering of the head is already implied by the use of the word Khomar in this Verse. So, the essentials of the Khamar dictate that the hair is covered, and that cloth cover the chest of the women.

Whereas generally the women of the days of the Prophet peace be upon him would wear headscarves, some of them would push their veils back exposing their chest area. So, God commanded them to cover their chest as well.

Besides covering the head, neck, and chest area, God instructs the believing Muslim woman to throw unto themselves a Jilbab—which references a loose outer garment which does not define their body shape and conceal their beauty. This is regarding a situation in which a Muslimah leaves her home or is in the presence of those who are not her Mahram.

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful" (Quran 33:59)

Because these Verses in the Holy Quran are explicit and direct, no disagreements or disputes have been posed to this edict by representatives of Islamic scholarship in the past; unless it concerns whether women should also cover their face and feet.

The primary reason why a Muslim woman wears the Hijab can be attributed to a Muslima’s belief that her true purpose in life is to worship God the Almighty according to His instructions; as revealed in God’s final Revelation to mankind, the Holy Quran and through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, the final Messenger of God. God made the wearing of the Hijab an obligation and instructed the believing women to wear the head covering in the Holy Quran. So, wearing it is an act of righteousness and an act of obedience to God. A Muslim woman wears the Hijab to gain the pleasure of her Master.

It is the core teaching of Islam that whatever God instructs one to do; it is always best for them to follow the instruction—whether or not one may understand the logic behind it or not. A Muslim woman trusts God and does whatever He instructs her to do, believing that it is best for her, as God knows what’s best for her more than she knows herself. God is the Creator of everything and is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Only when she submits to God and obeys His commands, does she reap the benefits and feel tranquility and contentment of life; as she knows that God is pleased with her. By focusing on and submitting to the demands of God, she is set free and is no longer a slave to and prisoner of society’s pressures and desires.

“Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do" (Quran 16:97)

Islam stresses the relationship between the body and the mind. In covering her body, a Muslim woman shields her heart from spiritual impurities. A Muslim woman wears the Hijab to uphold Islam’s code of modesty. Islam’s code of modesty extends to all aspects in one’s life, including their dress and how they carry themselves. A Muslim’s clothing is an outer manifestation of inner purity, beauty, and humility, as wearing the Hijab embodies moral conduct, character, manners, and speech. A Muslim woman guards her modesty and does not attract unnecessary attention from people, such as a second look, admiration, praise, or sexual attraction from those other than her husband.

Whereas attention from others may boost one’s ego for a short period, a Muslim woman acknowledges that this attention might lead to consequences in the long term, such as jealousy from others, envy, competition, affairs, being a bad role model for children, and possibly a marriage break-up; as we see all so often in the west and around the world where dressing immodestly is common. A Muslim woman boasts the trait of Hayaa’ (modesty, bashfulness, and a sense of shame) within her and values her beauty, so she veils herself as the Hijab diverts attention away from her and conceals and protects the Muslimah. God also instructs women to lower their gaze when the opposite gender is present, which shows the trait of Haya.

“And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts (by being chaste)…” (Quran 24:31)

A Muslima is honored in Islam and Sharia (Islamic Law). Islam elevates the one that covers herself, safeguarding her integrity by not allowing herself to be treated as a sexual object; to be valued and judged externally based solely on her appearance, rather than internally on her righteousness, character, mind, and intellect. A Muslima woman does not desire to adorn her body for men, sexualizing herself to gain attention from those other than her husband.

"...That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused (molested). And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful..." (Quran 33:59)

According to this Verse in the Holy Koran, a Muslima should wear a Hijab and dress modestly so she can be recognized as a Muslima, a woman that is chaste and serious about her modesty. A Muslima sets a standard for herself and sends a message for everyone around her she is not one to sell herself cheap and knows her value, that she is a strong woman with courage, inner strength, endurance, and is a practicing Muslima that would not harm, oppress, or cheat anyone. The Hijab is a shield that helps prevent a Muslima from being a victim of molestation, taunting, humiliation, or teasing. Not only does she wear modest garb to protect herself, but she wears it to protect men and society at large.

Contrary to popular belief, many assume that the Hijab is worn solely to restrain men’s illicit desires. It is not the women’s responsibility to regulate a man’s behavior. Every man is responsible and accountable for their conduct and action. The Holy Qur’an also instructs men to be modest, lower their gaze, guard their modesty, and to handle themselves sensibly in every sphere of their lives. God states:

"Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do" (Quran 24:40)

The Holy Koran instructs men to observe modesty first before addressing women. While many often incorporate the concept of the Hijab with wearing a headscarf, that is only one application of the idea. The Hijab is much more than a head covering, but the overall concept of being modest and humble in other aspects of life as well.

A similar instruction is given in the Bible: ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart’ (Gospel of Mathew 5:27-28)

In the Holy Quran, the Almighty specifically addresses women when He asks them not to show off their adornments, except that which it is proper and easily apparent, and to draw their veils over their bodies due to the physical and biological distinctions that exist between males and females and their modes of attraction to one another. This is evident in today’s world, where the disgraceful exposure of sex-appeal is catered overwhelmingly to men as opposed to women—by corporations and industries mindful of how their advertising and selling of products influence their purchasing behavior.

Some feminist movements and media outlets portray the Hijab as a depiction of oppression and slavery of women. While sadly some Muslim women are oppressed in some Muslim countries even though it goes against the teachings of Islam, the overall oppression of women happens in many parts of the world regardless of the oppressor’s religion or culture, even if they are atheist in faith. While one can say that a particular government or group of people generally oppress women, it is not truthful to say that Islam oppresses women. No Islamic laws oppress women, Islam states women have every right to a decent life without facing aggression or abuse of any sort.

If women were indeed granted their God-given rights, oppression would not exist in the manner it does today. Unfortunately, Islam is not being practiced as it should be—even in Muslim land. Islam honors women; yet sadly across the globe, Muslim women fall victim to cultural aberrations that have no place in this beautiful, perfect faith.

A Muslim woman who covers her hair or places her religion above worldly pursuits is sometimes labeled oppressed; but in reality, oppression is not defined by a piece of material on one’s head, but by a weakening of the heart and mind. Liberation means freedom, but not freedom to do as one pleases. Freedom must never come at the expense of oneself or others. When a Muslim woman fulfills the role for which she was created, to find God, build a relationship with, and follow His guidance and commands, not only is she liberated—but is empowered and honored. She is liberated and freed from the shackles of society, the pressures of society, and the unrealistic stereotypes and images dictated by the media. Muslim women who chose to cover their hair and dress modestly view the act as a right, and not a burden.

The concept of Hijab is not a concept unique to Islam. Both Christianity and Judaism share many beliefs, including covering one’s hair in public with a veil. It was the custom of Jewish women and Catholic Nuns to go out in public with their heads covered. As recently as 40-50 years ago, it was unheard of for a Christian woman to go to church without covering her head nor wearing a long skirt.

In fact, the concept of a female head covering is found in the Bible stating a woman must cover her head and if she shows her head uncovered, she dishonors her head—and should have her head shaved off: ‘But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one las if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be ma shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered’ (1 Corinthians: 11: 5-6)

Unlike related passages found in the Holy Qur’an, Paul in this verse presented the veil as a sign of man’s authority. A woman wearing her headscarf, in his view, should do so to show her subordination to a man. This sexist view of women covering their heads reflects the influence of certain individuals in the west, who think the Hijab is oppressive and a symbol of inferiority and degradation. This is because they subconsciously are reacting to the Judea-Christian concept of the veil which is the symbol of woman’s subjection to her husband. This is not the case in Islam at all.

The concept of the Hijab comes with necessary conditions which should be followed by Muslima women. The terms are that the whole body, except for the face and hands, should be covered, and by clothing that is loose, not tight, and not transparent. The dress should not attract attention or accentuate the body, should not be perfumed, and should not resemble clothing worn by men or unbelievers—nor should it be overly elegant nor ornate.

God has given an exception to this rule to those who are no longer capable of bearing children, who no longer desire marriage or sexual relations, and who cannot excite the passions of men. These ladies do not need to cover themselves to the same degree as other women do. They are allowed to remove their outer garment, known as a Jilbab in Arabic.

"And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing" (Quran 24:60)

The Prophet of God peace be upon him praised modest women, who guard their chastity, and the beauty bestowed upon them by God. Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him also cursed those women that display and flaunt their beauty in public, stating that those women will not smell the fragrance of Paradise. Our Prophet peace be upon him has warned us that towards the end of time, women will exist who are dressed yet naked, he warned us of women who will turn away from righteousness and will be inclined to do evil, leading others astray—including their husbands.

To my dear believing sister, let not the whispers of shaitan (satan) mislead and misguide you. And let not satan drag you from your Creator, the All-Merciful, All-Loving. You need to recognize that you are not in a position to negotiate your faith, what you should accept and what you should decry. You need to submit fully and willingly. And realize, my dear sister, that you are blessed and honored to be amongst the people of La Ala Ila Allah (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). Do not procrastinate, as your death can occur at any moment, bringing with it an end to the test of your faith and actions.

The act of not wearing a Hijab or not dressing modestly is a sin, but to justify your actions is much worse. When you are honest with yourself and will admit your transgressions, you gain the chance for repentance, change, and forgiveness. Feeling guilty of sin is the first step of repentance.

Like any other act of worship, the act of dressing modestly and wearing Hijab will require faith, sacrifice, discipline, and patience. Dressing modestly strengthens the relationship between you and your Lord.

To my dear sister who is struggling through her journey of Hijab, strengthen your prayer rituals and connection with God and His Holy Book. Supplicate to Him and beg for His Help. Pray and enhance your relationship with Him, as these acts will keep you away from sins and unlawful acts—giving you the power you need to resist evil elements. Take the first step now and never give up on your quest for faith.

Wear the Hijab for the sake of God alone and ignore the outside noise, ignore people’s stares and comments, and realize that this journey is worth the struggle. Realize that pleasing people is a goal you can never achieve and that pleasing your Creator is the road to contentment and peace. Our Prophet peace be upon him narrated: ‘Whoever seeks Allah's pleasure by incurring the wrath of the people, Allah will suffice and protect him from the people. And whoever seeks the people's pleasure by Allah's wrath, Allah will entrust him to the people.’ Surround yourself with righteous, practicing sisters, realizing that you are too precious to be on display for each man to see. And realize, my dear sister, that you and your believing sisters are the last true representatives of femininity on this Earth.

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The last pillar of the Islamic faith in which every Muslim must believe is the concept of Al-Qadr, which closely translates to pre-ordainment (or predestination/ Divine Decree, destiny, fate). When one believes in the tenet of Al-Qadr, which we'll translate as 'Divine Decree,' he or she affirms that everything good or bad that happens in his or her life comes from God the Almighty; something He Willed to happen. Al-Qadr in Arabic linguistically means to measure, to determine, to assess, to decide, to judge. In the context of Religion, the term translates to ‘Divine determined measurements and sustenance for everyone and everything, in accordance with His Wisdom and Power.’ God states in his Book:

Indeed, all things We created with predestination (Quran 54:49)

God the Almighty, being All-Knowing and All-Wise, knows of what we have done in the past, what we are doing now, and what we will do—even before the time of our birth. After all, can God truly be God if He didn't know everything, including the future? Whereas mankind has the free will to make their own choices in life, everything that occurs in life occurs only with the Will and Power of God.

Al-Qadar comprises four components. The first component is the belief that God is All-Knowledgeable of and instigates all things and events—whether major or minor—at all times and places and regardless of their occurrence. The Almighty's foreknowledge is infallible and complete.

"And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is on the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but that He knows it. And no grain is there within the darknesses of the Earth and no moist or dry [thing] but that it is [written] in a clear record" (Quran 6:59)

The second component of Divine Decree is the belief that Allah has recorded everything from the beginning of time to the Day of Judgment, in a Tablet He has kept known as the 'Lawh Al-Mahfooth' (The Preserved Tablet). Each's lifespan, amount of substance, deeds, happiness, sorrow, and more is written and recorded in this Tablet. In fact, according to a narration of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, Allah, the Glorious, had recorded the measurements of all matters pertaining to His creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and earth.

"Do you not know that Allah knows what is in the Heaven and Earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed that, for Allah, is easy" (Quran 22:70)

The third component of Divine Decree is the belief that nothing can occur without the Will and Power of Allah, whether the event stems from the action of the Almighty or actions of humanity. Nothing Occurs Haphazardly; the Almighty has planned everything.

"And your Lord creates what He Wills and Chooses..." (Quran 28:68)

A Muslim acknowledges that whatever has touched or afflicted him, was meant to afflict him, and could not have been avoided or prevented. And whatever has not reached or afflicted him, was not meant to touch or afflict him, and he can avoid nothing unless God has willed it. Our Prophet peace be upon him narrated, 'Know if all of humanity gathered to harm you, they could not harm you unless Allah had decreed. The Pen has been lifted, and the pages have dried.'

The fourth and last component of Divine Decree is the belief that Allah is the Creator and Originator of all things.

"...and has created each thing and determined it with [precise] determination " (Quran 25:2)

Whereas Allah, the Merciful, has bestowed on every human being the free will to make his or her own decisions, that does not provide an excuse for one to sin or abandon the tasks and responsibilities they are obligated to do. The fact that God has predestined everything does not change the fact that human beings have the free will to choose their course of actions. Just because each's choices are known to God beforehand, doesn't mean that they will not be held accountable on the Day of Judgment for the decisions they make and actions they take. God forces nothing upon anyone. It's also important to note that God will hold no one accountable for things out of their control, or for things they cannot do.

Allah is All-Just, All-Wise, and He tests humanity according to their strength and what their soul can bear. A Muslim acknowledges the fact that whatever difficulty they are facing will be made easy for them and that they will have a way to resolve it.

"God does not burden any human being with more than he is well able to bear" (Quran 2:286)

A Muslim acknowledges that whatever befalls him or her, is in accordance with God's Will and Plan, whether or not they understand and accept this fact. A Muslim place his trust and reliance in God, as God brims with Wisdom in all matters. A Muslim affirms that God is All-Loving and loves His servants over one's parents do; and a Muslim affirms that whatever God does must have a good motive, so a believer always assumes good and does not lose faith.

The topic of Divine Decree will never fully be understood and comprehended by humans, as this concept deals with the essence of God's Power and Will—which is beyond what our finite minds can comprehend.

A Muslim benefits from the act of learning, believing, and understanding in Divine Decree in several ways. Amongst the benefits is the peace of mind and contentment in the heart that a Muslim attains as he or she acknowledges that nothing happens without a purpose. A Muslim is confident that whatever afflicted him could not have escaped him, and whatever missed him could not have reached him, as God is in full control of all happenings and events, and he predestines everything. This recognition would help a believer endure difficulties and hardships. A believer would not grieve about what could have happened if things had taken a different course, and a believer would not worry about the future because he knows that the events of tomorrow are written and predetermined already.

The act of learning and believing in Divine Decree increases one's belief in, the trust of, and reliance on God, and increases one's likelihood of performing good deeds. Faith in Divine Decree decreases one's pride and arrogance, as he acknowledges that his intelligence and actions did not emanate from him and that God is the source of all that comes his way. Belief in Divine Decree makes a person refrain from fearing anyone else; inspiring his bravery as he acknowledges that no one can afflict harm on him without the Permission and Will of God. Without a strong belief in God, the human learns, life would not be worth living.

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The term 'Jannah' is derived from an Arabic word meaning hidden, cover, or concealed, as Jannah is a place which is hidden from sight and covered by trees and plants. Jannah is often translated to mean 'Green Garden.' Jannah or Paradise is understood to be located in the region of the Seventh Heaven. The English word 'Heaven' refers to the realm of seven Heavens/Skies that hover above the Earth.

As with other aspects of Islam, Muslims must believe in the concept of Jannah (Paradise) to complete their faith. Jannah is the eternal abode of radiant joy, peace, and bliss in the afterlife, reserved only for faithful and righteous individuals who during their lifetimes believed in the One and Only God—the Ultimate Creator, His Message, and His Prophets and Messengers—and lived righteous lives, following the commandments of God and guarding themselves against evil. It will be the final destination for those entering Paradise, who will dwell there forever and never taste evil or death.

"And Paradise will be brought near [that Day] to the righteous (God-conscious individuals who guard themselves against evil)" (Quran 26:90)

Paradise is exalted, a place of absolute peace and contentment. A person will attain his or her complete fulfillment in this Paradise, where their wishes will be granted with no restrictions. Inhabitants will see only what they desire and listen to sounds that give them pleasure. Unlike the joys of the world we inhabit, the joys and pleasures of Paradise will never fade away and are pure and everlasting.

A person in Paradise will find their company in the righteous, with many families reuniting. Paradise will be free of emptiness, sorrow, hate, boredom, jealousy, handicap, illness, uneasiness, fatigue, disease, hurt, distress, and anxiety. The shade of Jannah will be a shelter of protection and security, and no fear or sadness will afflict its residents.

"And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer - those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged, [even as much as] the speck on a date seed" (Quran 4:124)

The bounties, the beauties, and the pleasures of Paradise are so great, so vast, so pure, so astonishing, that it is beyond the abilities of a person's mind to understand; thus, no heart or mind can ever comprehend them. Much like a blind person cannot possibly see or describe colors accurately in this world, a person cannot possibly imagine the delights of Paradise; delights so immense that they have no basis of comparison in the earthly realm. No one will ever be able to fully understand or grasp the true realm of Paradise until they enter its bounds. God's Messenger stated: ‘Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'I have prepared for my righteous slaves what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the mind of no man has conceived.’ God, the Almighty in his Mercy, has given humanity only glimpses of the descriptions of Paradise in the Holy Quran and narrations of our Prophet Muhammad (Hadith); thus providing an idea of what one can look forward to in Paradise as encouragement and inspiration for one to strive to please their Lord and enter Paradise.

Paradise was created before the creation of mankind by the Almighty, and this ethereal place will never end or cease to exist. The mansions, food, clothing, and jewelry found in Paradise will be far superior to and greater than their counterparts of this world. Unlike the joys and pleasures of this world, the pleasures of Paradise are everlasting. One will never grow tired in Paradise, where delights and pleasures will only increase each time as they indulge in them.

"And no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as reward for what they used to do" (Quran 32:17)

The first of mankind to enter Paradise will be the last and final Prophet of God, Muhammad peace be upon him; and the first nation to enter Paradise will be his nation, the final nation. Generally, the poor will enter Paradise before the rich. Amongst the first to enter Paradise are Al-Shuhada (the martyrs), the ones who are chaste and proud; and the slaves who worship Allah with devotion, sincerity, and faithfulness towards their Master. Amongst the ones that will enter Paradise first are the 70,000 individuals who will be allowed entrance with no questioning or punishment and according to the narration of our Prophet, arriving with each thousand, will be another seventy thousand, plus three handfuls of the handfuls of our Lord, may He be Glorified.

Paradise consists of seven levels, with each level divided into many stages, levels, and categories. Each level up in Paradise comprises greater joys and pleasures and is more amazing than the level beneath it. The lowest level of Paradise is ten times the size of this whole Universe. The highest level of Paradise is called Jannat Ul-Firdous. Our Prophet stated: ‘Paradise has one hundred grades, each of which is as big as the distance between Heaven and Earth. The highest of them is Firdaus and the best of them is Firdaus. The Throne is above Firdaus and from its spring forth the rivers of Paradise. If you ask of Allah Glorified and Exalted Be He), ask Him for Firdaus."

Inhabitants of Paradise from all levels will communicate with one another. Whereas one could visit levels beneath them, one cannot live or enjoy the pleasures of levels higher than he or she inhabits.

Paradise comprise Eight Gates. Each Gate is named and reserved only for individuals who performed specific good deeds. One gate is reserved exclusively for those who fast; another one is meant for those who struggle in the way of God. One gate is for those who pray, and another is for those who give charity. Some will be called to enter from all Eight Gates. The gate at the far right will be for those who will not be held to any accountability. Everyone else will enter Paradise with the rest of their nations, through the other seven gates. The Gates are so vast that the distance between two panels within just one gate of Paradise is that of a distance of forty years’ walking—still there will come a time when the ethereal realm gets very crowded.

Before entering Paradise from its gates, one would feel its breeze and inhale its fragrance; both so strong that they can be experienced 40 years away. When the Doors open, upon entering, Angels will greet and congratulate its inhabitants with the greatest of kindness and peace.

"But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, ‘Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein’” (Quran 39:73)

The dwellers of Paradise will say:

"And they will say, ‘Praise to Allah, who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative" (Quran 35:34)

The people of Paradise will live in pure delight without pain and suffering. No one will feel any anger, sadness, sorrow, emptiness, resentment, envy, jealousy, or bitterness towards others; regardless of any differences or disagreements they may have experienced in their life. The hearts of the dwellers of Paradise will be clean and pure. All speech and actions will be good.

"And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment, [while] flowing beneath them are rivers… "(Quran 7:43)

One would feel absolute safety, tranquility, peace, and contentment in Paradise, facing no worries or concerns. Faces will shine radiant like stars in the sky, some akin to the glow of a full moon. The people of Jannah will praise God not because they are forced to, rather of their own free will. The people of Jannah (Paradise) will never have to use the restroom, spit, or blow their nose. They will have combs made of gold and their sweat will bear the scent of musk. They would wear no hair on their bodies and no beards. The people of Jannah will have beautiful characteristics, their physical forms likening the form of Prophet Adam peace be upon him — 60 feet tall and forever the age of thirty-three. They will have the beauty of Prophet Yusuf peace be upon him and the heart of Prophet Ayyub peace be upon him. The people of Jannah will have the strength of one hundred men of this world.

Paradise will be lined with immense mansions made of gold on top of silver. Rooms upon rooms upon rooms inside these palaces will feature waterfalls falling beneath their rooms. No cracks will mar their facades, nor any repairs will ever be needed. The Soil of Jannah is of pure white musk, and the pebbles are made of pearls, rubies, diamonds, and jewels. The spread carpets in Paradise are culled from soft and colorful silk and are filled with musk, camphor, and amber. The people of Jannah will lean back into the fabrics of luxurious elevated soft couches, and beds with cup holders and comfortable blankets. The beds will be so wide in proximity it would take 500 years to walk through their confines.

The people of Jannah will have a true kingdom which they will control, which will offer whatever they desire. The people of Jannah will have thousands of servants at their command. Paradise will flow forth with rivers of clear, pure water, rivers of milk that never go sour, rivers of pure luscious honey, and rivers of wine that do not intoxicate. Jannah will never be too hot or cold and will always host an environment of the perfect temperature. Jannah has no day or night hours, no sun nor moon, as there will be no need. Paradise contains trees offering shade that seem like they do not cease.

The dwellers of Paradise will eat and drink whatever they wish. If one sees a bird he wishes to eat; it would fall roasted between his hands with no effort on his or her part. Cups will be served to them containing shiny rubies, pearls, and diamonds. Fruits will hang freely from trees and automatically lowered for its inhabits to enjoy whenever they desire.

"[They will be told], "Eat and drink in satisfaction for what you put forth in the days past" (Quran 69:24)

The clothes of Jannah will never wear out or age. The dwellers of Paradise will wear luxurious green silk and will accessorize with jewelry made of diamonds, white pearls, gold, and rubies.

"They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk" (Quran 22:23)

A crown of magnificence will be placed on heads that would outshine the sun, and residents will be given to wear seventy thousand different clothing adorned with various gems and pearls. One piece of their jewelry would be worth more than this world and everything it contains. The fragrance of the perfume of Paradise will smell so pleasant and strong that the scent would reach up to a distance equal to a thousand years.

To satisfy the natural urge and desire for physical pleasure, virgin spouses will be gifted to be loved and adored.

"Indeed, We have produced the women of Paradise in a [new] creation. And made them virgins. Devoted [to their husbands] and of equal age" (Quran 56:35-37)

Allah will say to the dwellers of Paradise: 'O' People of Paradise, is there anything else I can give to you?' The dwellers of Paradise will respond: 'Oh Allah, didn't you beautify our faces, enter us into Paradise, and save us from the Hellfire? You have given us what you have given no one else from your creation.' Allah will then respond, 'Shall I not give you better than that?' Then Allah will remove his veil.

Nothing will be more beloved and enjoyable than the vision of Allah, the Glorious. The Ultimate Pleasure one will experience in Jannah is the ability to see their Lord; there is no Greater joy than seeing Allah's Face, and this experience will stand as the Almighty's most precious gift to his servants who entered Paradise.

"[Some] faces that Day will be radiant, Looking at their Lord" (Quran 75:22-23)

Allah will announce to them, 'Death will never come to you again, you will live forever. I am pleased with you today, and I will never be angry at you ever again!' The inhabitants of Paradise will be able to directly communicate with their Lord, acting as His friend and neighbor.

The dwellers of Paradise will differ in seeing Allah; some will see Him once a week, some will see Him twice a day, etc., depending on the level of Paradise one inhabits. According to our Prophet's narration, the people of Jannah will see God with ease, just like we can see the moon here on Earth.

Ultimately, the life of this world is not meant for one to experience forever. It is a place where one resides temporarily. As a temporary destination, one should prepare themselves to the best of their ability for the next world, their final destination and ever-lasting. It is irrational and illogical for one to become too connected to and engrossed in a temporary world while forgetting and not preparing for their final and eternal destination: the next world.

The descriptions of Heaven found in the Holy Koran, and the Hadith is meant to inspire and encourage one to work harder and become a better person and servant of God. The acts of laziness, procrastination, carelessness, and not using one's intellect can prevent one from entering the abode of never-ending joy and pleasure.

"...Say, the enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah..." (Quran 4:77)

One should note that the finest and greatest things in this life do not come easy—and neither will the reward of Paradise. One needs to strive to his or her best ability to earn the pleasures of Paradise. God states in his Book:

"Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whose width is like the width of the Heavens and Earth, prepared for those who believed in Allah and His messengers. That is the bounty of Allah which He gives to whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty" (Quran 57:21)

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Life is a test, and the test ends upon death. Every little atom of good and evil one performs in his or her lifetime is recorded in their book of deeds which will be presented to them on the Day of Judgement and every soul will be held accountable for their actions. When one dies, he or she will remain in the grave waiting to be resurrected. While in the grave, the deceased souls that deserve to go to Hell will experience some suffering in the grave whereas the deceased souls that are bound for Paradise will experience peace while they wait for the Day of resurrection.

When the hour comes, God will raise every dead person including the Jinn (supernatural creatures) to judge them according to their deeds. God is The Judge, The Arbitrator who will Judge, recompense, reward and punish his creation. Whereas God is Most-Forgiving, he is also Just. If one's good deeds outweigh his bad deeds, he will enter Paradise and be amongst the successful. As for the one that his bad deeds outweigh his good deeds, he will enter the Hellfire. One of the most fundamental aspects of Islam is the purpose of life is to save oneself from the punishment of the Hell Fire and to enter Paradise eternally.

"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except for the enjoyment of delusion" (Quran 3:185)

Believing and accepting the reality of the Last Day, Judgement Day, Paradise and the Hellfire is a component of the six pillars of Iman (Faith) in which every Muslim must believe and accept to become a Muslim. There are many references to the Hell Fire throughout the Holy Quran.

The ones in the Hell Fire will suffer tremendously both physically and spiritually. The pain, the horrors, the anguish, the hardship, the humiliation, the restlessness, and all forms of punishments of the Hellfire cannot be imagined nor perceived, nor grasped by the human finite mind. Not everyone in the hell Fire will suffer the same. The gravity of one's sin will distinguish the severity of one's suffering.

Allah the exalted prepares the Hell Fire for those who do not believe in Him, believe in Gods other than Allah, rebel against God's Religion and Laws, and reject God's Message and Messengers. The Hellfire is also prepared for sinners, criminals, murders, tyrants, hypocrites, the proud and arrogant, the stubborn, and the unjust, and all forms of evil people.

"Do they not know that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger - that for him is the Fire of Hell, wherein he will abide eternally? That is the great disgrace" (Quran 9:63)

Islam states one's salvation is based one's faith in Allah, His Messenger, good deeds, and God's Mercy. As part of the Justice of God the Almighty, He punishes no one or any group of people until He has sent them a Messenger relaying his Message and warning the people. It is the nature of God that he treats no one unjustly or unfairly.

"…And never would We punish until We sent a messenger" (Quran 17:15)

Of the biggest suffering the unbelievers and the evildoers will face is when they come into the realization on the Day of Judgment that they did not follow God's Message nor His Guidance and have failed, thus earning God's Wrath. Many of the dwellers of the Hellfire will instantly regret the choices they made in their lives and will beg for another chance. The Quran states:

And those who followed would say: ‘If only We had one more chance, we would clear ourselves of them, as they have cleared themselves of us’ Thus, will Allah show them (The fruits of) their deeds as (nothing but) regrets. Nor will there be a way for them out of the Fire” (Quran 2:167)

The Quran shares a dialogue that will take place between the dwellers of the Hellfire and the Angel Gate Keeper of the Hell.

“It almost explodes in rage. Whenever a group is thrown into it, its keepers will ask them, ‘Did there not come to you a warner?' They will reply: 'Yes indeed; a Warner did come to us, but we rejected him and said, 'Allah never sent down any (Message): You are but lost in a great delusion!' 'And they will add: 'Had we but listened [to those warnings], or [at least] used our own reason, we would not [now] be among those who are destined for the blazing flame!' They will then confess their sins: but far will be (Forgiveness) from the Companions of the Blazing Fire!” (Quran 67:8-10)

However, no matter how much the sinners beg for forgiveness, it would be too late. The intensity of the Fire will be so terrifying that people will disown their closest and most beloved people in their lives on the Day of Judgement and flee from them on this great Day.

"But when there comes the Deafening Blast. On the Day a man will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his wife and his children. For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him" (Quran 33-37)

Man will give up everything he holds dearest to him to save himself from the Hellfire.

They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children. And his wife and his brother. And his nearest kindred who shelter him. And whoever is on Earth entirely [so] then it could save him" (Quran 70:14)

A quick dip in the Hellfire will have a person forgetting about all the pleasures he or she had in their lifetime. Our Prophet narrated: 'One of the people of Hell who found the most pleasure in the life of this world will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection and will be dipped into the Fire of Hell. Then he will be asked, 'O son of Adam, have you ever seen anything good?' Have you ever enjoyed any pleasure?' He will say, 'No, by God, O Lord.’

Whereas there are a minority of scholars that state the Hell Fire is not eternal, most Islamic scholars' state that the polytheist and unbelievers will reside in the Hell Fire forever and that the Hell Fire is eternal for most people that enter it.

"Indeed, Allah has cursed the disbelievers and prepared for them a Blaze. Abiding therein forever, they will not find a protector or a helper" (Quran 33:64-65)

God, the Almighty created the Hell Fire and Paradise before mankind. Hell is so deep that if one were to drop a stone into it, it would take seventy years for that stone to hit its bottom. The Hellfire is black and dark as night.

The Hell Fire has various levels of severity and punishment according to the extent of disbelief and sins of those being punished in it. The lower the level of the Fire, the greater the intensity and punishment one suffers. Our Prophet narrated the lightest punishment of the Hellfire will be a man under the arch of whose feet will be placed a smoldering ember, and his brains will boil because of it. As for the most severe punishment in the Hellfire, it will go to the hypocrites, as God states in His Book:

"Indeed, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire - and never will you find for them a helper" (Quran 4:145)

The Hell Fire has Seven Gates in which its inhabitants will enter. Each gate deals with a specific group or category of sinners and each gate contain different torture and punishments. The distance between each gate is equal to the length of seventy years. Before the inhabitants of Hell enter, they will stand before the gate feeling the heat in terror. They will be shoved and piled thru the first gate until it fills, then the rest will be stacked and shoved into the second gate until it fills, and so on.

The Hell Fire has nineteen Angels who are led by the Chief Keeper of the Hellfire named Angel Malik who has never smiled since he was created. Angel Malik and the Angels of the Hellfire are very severe, harsh, and stern who would never disobey God's commandments.

After the inhabitants of the Hellfire enter, its gates will be shut and there will be no hope of escape for the dwellers of the Hellfire. The dwellers of the Hellfire will beg and plea to Angel Malik to let them out and he will respond 'Be quiet, surely, you shall abide forever!' The Angels of the Hellfire will have wipes made of iron which will whip the inhabitants in it. The dwellers of Hellfire will bear animosity and hate amongst other inhabitants of the Hellfire.

"Indeed, the criminals will be in the punishment of Hell, abiding eternally. (The torment) will not be lightened for them, and they will be plunged into destruction with deep regrets, sorrows and in despair therein. And We did not wrong them, but it was they who were the wrongdoers. And they will call, ‘O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!’ He will say, ‘Indeed, you will remain. We had certainly brought you the truth, but most of you, to the truth, were averse.’ (Quran 43:-74-78)

As for the Believers who practiced Tawheed (monotheism) and believed in the Prophet that was sent to them from God but lived a sinful life, they will be his punished in the Hell Fire for a length that commensurate the level of their sins. Then they would be brought out of it and eventually sent to Paradise. Some of them will be taken out of the Hell Fire with the intercession of their Prophets, some by the intercession of righteous individuals, and some will be taken out solely by the Mercy of God, the Most Merciful.

The Hell Fire has different names with different descriptions that are mentioned in the Islamic tradition. Amongst the names of the Hell Fire are:

Jaheem because of its blazing Fire

Jahannam because of the depth of its pit

Laẓā because of its blazing flames

Sa'eer because it is kindled and ignited

Saqar because of the intensity of its heat

Hatamah because it breaks and crushes anything into debris that is thrown into it

Haawiyah because whoever is thrown into it, is thrown from the top to the deep bottom of its chasm or abyss.

The dwellers of the Hellfire will be made huge, so every part of their body can feel the punishment. A person's molar tooth will be as big as Mount Uhud (a Mountain in the city of Medina). The distance between the shoulders of the dwellers of Hell will be equivalent to three days of walking.

The Fire that exists and burns in this world we live in is 1/70th of the severity and intensity of the Hellfire in the Hereafter. The Fire kindled by the Almighty will burn the skin of its inhabitants and every time their skin gets roasted; their skin will melt to their feet and God the Almighty will replace their burnt skin with a new one to be burnt again and the process will keep on repeating so they may taste the punishment. Other forms of punishment include super-heated scalding burring oil which will be poured on their heads in which will melt away and liquefy their internal organs. The inhabitants of the Hellfire will be in chains and shackles which will be tied around their necks and feet.

"Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and a blaze" (Quran 76:4)

The clothing in the Hellfire will be garments of Fire tailored for them with copper so they will boil inside.

And you will see the criminals that Day bound together in shackles, their garments of liquid pitch and their faces covered by the Fire" (Quran 14:49-50)

The Quran references three types of food in the Hellfire which in fact worsen a sinner's torment when consumed. The food and drink of the Hellfire do not provide nourishment, nor does it relieve hunger nor thirst. The dwellers of the Hellfire will experience intense thirst only to have hot boiling water mixed with puss given to them. Water so hot and intense, if a drop of it touches a mountain of this world today, it would turn it to dust.

Amongst the food of the dwellers of the Hellfire is the tree of Zaqqum in the lowest level of Hell. Its branches are described like heads of devils. Its vicious fruits severely burn the insides of a sinner's stomach. If a drop of its juice lands on Earth, it will poison the whole Earth and everything it contains.

God the Almighty, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, did not create the Hellfire to just throw people in it nor does he want to. In fact, God asks a rhetorical question in the Holy Koran stating:

"What can Allah gain by your punishment, if you are grateful and believe? And ever is Allah Appreciative and Knowing" (Quran 4:147)

God will get nothing from punishing anyone and he wants reasons not do it. In fact, God states in Holy Quran that He created mankind and Jinn to worship Him, glorify Him, and exalt Him, as He is the Only One worthy of worship, and he states in another verse, from his end, He created mankind so He can show them His Mercy:

"Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them...." (Quran 11:119)

One needs to realize that he is a slave, and that God is his Master and one cannot question Him nor His authority nor do they have any right to. A Master can be just and kind or can be unjust and unkind. Allah, the Exalted, is an All-Merciful Master. If one accepts that he is Allah's slave and submits to Him fully, he or she will find that God is The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Only when one submits to His Master, does one find his life become easier and better.

Why would God want to punish an individual when He created him or her with love and mercy in the first place? God wants to warn his servants about Hell now, so one can fix themselves and avoid it to their best of ability. It is best to be informed about the Hellfire now and to recognize its severity, harshness, and how gruesome its punishment is in detail then it is to come across it in the Hereafter unprepared and not knowing. That is a Mercy as God the Almighty could have chosen not to warn one beforehand of the consequences of one’s actions.

While God is All-Merciful, He is Also All-Just. He states in the Quran:

"Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight..." (Quran 4:40)

If one commits murder or oppresses an individual, God may punish that person to serve justice to the person killed or oppressed or to serve justice to the family members. God states every soul shall receive their full compensation for the good and evil deeds they commit on the Day of Judgement.

If God allows the oppressors to oppress without punishing them, it would encourage people to oppress and to commit evil which would spread corruption even further. The fear of punishment prevents some people from committing evil. God has also stated he will surely forgive any soul that repents from their sin as He is Extremely Forgiving and Extremely Loving.

There are certain individuals that want to blame God for Hell because they do not want to fix their act, face reality, or be held accountable for their actions. It's important to realize, whether you believe and accept in God and the Hellfire or not, it will not change the reality that God and the Hellfire do exist, and you will soon find out.

"O, you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones…" (Quran 66:6)

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The word Shirk comes from an Arabic word generally meaning, 'to share.' In the context of Religion, it means giving Rights of Allah to someone other than Allah (God). Shirk is the act of ascribing a partner or rival to Allah in Lordship (Ruboobiyyah).

Only God has the right to be worshipped or venerated. One who believes that anyone other than Allah created him or believes there is an entity worthy of worship besides Allah (God), is committing the grave sin of Shirk. Shirk is often translated to mean the practice of polytheism. The act of Shirk includes failing to worship God, denying His Existence, and sharing or associating a partner with Him; whether the partner is a prophet, an idol, the sun, the moon, or any other being or thing.

Shirk is considered the most severe sin in Islam. Shirk is regarded as the cardinal sin in Islam. Shirk nullifies all of one's good deeds and denies one the rewards of the hereafter.

"And it was already revealed to you and those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers" (Quran 39:65)

Shirk is the only sin that God will not forgive of an individual, if not sincerely repented for before his or her death.

"Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin" (Quran 4:48)

If one repents and ceases from engaging in Shirk, then he or she would be forgiven; as repentance wipes out every sin, without exception, as long as one repents before death.

The very reason for our creation was to worship the One God solely, and not anyone or anything else. Shirk denies the purpose of man's creation. Shirk deviates from the natural state of man, which is the belief in the One God and the worship of Him Alone. It was not until much later that Shirk started to spread in humanity—after the existence of Tawheed (monotheism- the worship of the One God).

Worshipping and praising deities other than Allah, who have no power to benefit or harm, is an act of injustice to Allah—who created this whole Universe and gave life to you and me. Shirk is also an act of ingratitude. Shirk is the root of evil and causes the greatest downfall of human dignity and status.

Islam strictly states that all types of prayers should only be directed to God the Almighty, and no one or nothing else. God is in total control of every man's destiny and is the only One that can benefit a person, grant one's needs and desires, and that can remove one's harm and distress.

In the Holy Qur'an, one that engages in Shirk is referred to as a 'mushrik' or 'mushrikeen' (in its plural form) --- one that takes part in Shirk and plots against Islam. The Holy Quran refers to them as the enemies of Islam.

The mainstream Christian belief of the Trinity is considered a type of Shirk, although not the worst kind of Shirk, such as worshipping, bowing down, or sacrificing for an idol or an image. Any shared divinity is considered Shirk.

"They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of three,’ And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment" (Quran 5:73)

The opposite of Shirk is Tawheed (Monotheism), which is the maintaining and observing of the worship of the One and True Creator while acknowledging his Uniqueness and Attributes. The Christian belief that Jesus is the son of God, or God himself, is the direct opposite of Tawheed.

"They have certainly disbelieved who say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary..." (Quran 5:17)

Trinity—father, son, holy spirit—and the concept that Jesus died for our sins is firmly rejected in Islam.

"O People of the Scripture, do not commit excess in your Religion or say about Allah except the Truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allah and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul [created at a command] from Him. So, believe in Allah and His messengers. And do not say, ‘Three’; desist - it is better for you. Indeed, Allah is but one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is on the Earth. And sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs" (Quran 4:171)

God makes it clear in the Koran that the act of ascribing a son to Him, angers him. Ascribing a son to God is beneath the Almighty. God states:

"And they say: ‘The Most Beneficent (Allah) has begotten a son (or offspring or children) Indeed you have brought forth (said) a terrible evil thing. Whereby the Heavens are almost torn, and the Earth is split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins. That they ascribe a son (or offspring or children) to the Most Beneficent (Allah). But it is not suitable for (the Majesty of) the Most Beneficent that He should beget a son" (Quran 88-92)

Having multiple gods is illogical. According to the Holy Quran, there can only be One God; if there were various gods, they would have been competing to establish superior strength. The aggressive presence of two gods would have also destroyed the Heavens and the Earth.

"If there were in the Heavens and the Earth other gods besides Allah, there would be confusions in both (Heaven and Earth), but glory be to Allah, the Lord of, the throne; high is He above what they attribute to Him" (Quran 21:22)

Shirk is a very serious matter in Religion, as it makes something scared that God has not made sacred—an act of obscuring the truth. The Holy Koran and Sunnah (sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him) indicate that the act of Shirk sometimes expels a person from the Religion of Islam, and sometimes it does not. Therefore, Islamic scholars divided Shirk into the categories of Major Shirk (Shirk Al-Akbar) and Minor Shirk (shirk Al-Asghar).

Major Shirk (Shirk Al-Akbar) is very serious and takes one out of the folds of Islam. Major Shirk is ascribing to someone other than Allah something that belongs Only to Allah, the Glorious, such as Lordship (ruboobiyyah), Divinity (uloohiyyah), and the Divine Names and Attributes of God (Al-Asma' Wa-sifaat). These 'gods' can be in the form of priests, kings, objects, animals, spirits, or anyone or anything other than Allah, the Almighty.

Major Shirk can come in the form of beliefs, words, or actions. Major Shirk can be seen outwardly, such as when one worships idols or graves; and can be hidden, such as when one who relies upon gods other than Allah.

Major Shirk occurs when one prays or supplicates to one other than Allah. Major Shirk includes believing someone or something other than Allah who creates and gives life and death and is in full control of everything. Major Shirk also comprises the belief that someone other than Allah must be obeyed. Major Shirk also includes the idea that others apart from Allah know the unseen. Major Shirk also comprises the act of loving something that is a created being, equally or more than Allah. For example, this occurs when one is so emotionally attached to wealth, they make its attainment their goal in life. Wealth becomes everything to them. Those individuals took money as their God.

Major Shirk also includes loving to obey one's desires more than Allah. One would follow their desires even if it leads to disobeying Allah. Such one takes their desires as their god as they act according to their whims. God states:

"Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So, who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded?" (Quran 45:23)

Minor Shirk (Shirk Al-Asghar) does not make the doer a disbeliever or remove one from the folds of Islam. However, minor Shirk is still a major sin. Minor Shirk includes everything that may lead to major Shirk. Minor Shirk consists of any action which is done to gain praise, fame or any other worldly purpose. This is considered Shirk because the individual is doing an action for other people, instead of for the sake of God. Examples of this can take the form of praying to God in front of others, intending to gain praise from people, or the case of donating to a charity to show off, to gain fame, or for any worldly purpose. When one commits such action, the good action gets nullified, and the doer receives no reward for it. Our Prophet stated: 'The thing I fear most for you is minor Shirk.' They (the Companions) said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is Minor Shirk?' He (peace be upon him) said, 'Riya.' Indeed, Allah (Blessed and Exalted be He) shall say on the Day of Resurrection to the people who used to do good deeds for show: Go to those for whom you were showing off with your acts in worldly life and see if you can find with them recompense.'

Minor Shirk also includes swearing oaths made by those other than Allah; for example, saying, 'I swear by such as such…’ It can be major Shirk depending on particular situations. Minor Shirk also includes the belief in evil omens or superstitions.

When the act of minor Shirk becomes a habit in all of one's deeds, it becomes Major Shirk.

One should be cautious of Shirk, as this evil can be inconspicuous and not as noticeable. Our Prophet stated: ‘Ash-Shirk-al-Khafi (The inconspicuous Shirk) in the Muslim nation is more inconspicuous than the creeping of a black ant on a black rock in the pitch-darkness of the night.’ Therefore, one should take extra precaution to avoid the commission of this sin.

According to the Holy Qur’an, one who commits Shirk and believes in a deity other than Allah— will live a life of constant fear and anxiety.

"We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve for what they have associated with Allah of which He had not sent down [any] authority. And their refuge will be the Fire, and wretched is the residence of the wrongdoers" (Quran 3:151)

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Islam is generally misunderstood, especially in the western world, and no Islamic term is more widely misunderstood and evokes such strong reactions as the word Jihad. Jihad is often mistranslated to mean 'Holy War,' and some non-Muslims misunderstand the term to mean waging war against disbelievers to either convert them to Islam or to kill them. Often the word Jihad is thought to be synonymous with terrorism. In reality, this couldn't be further from the truth.

Jihad comes from an Arabic word meaning to 'make an effort' or 'to strive towards a goal.' The term Jihad means to 'to exert oneself' or 'to struggle.' In the Islamic context, it means to struggle against one's evil inclination. So, any effort of self-improvement, whether in the form of improving One's spirituality, education, or financial situation, is an act of Jihad. The Holy Quran makes it clear that Jihad has been used to mean 'striving' or 'exerting.'

"We shall certainly guide those who strive for Our cause to Our path. God is certainly with the righteous ones" (Quran 29:69)

This Verse applies to ones that spiritually struggle to attain closeness to and seek the pleasure of God.

Jihad comes in different forms. The most essential type of Jihad, which can be labeled as Major Jihad, is Jihad An-Nafs (The Jihad of the soul). This is the spiritual struggle between the two powers within human beings; the soul and the body. The soul is prone to becoming corrupted, with the corruption arising from within oneself, from external influences, or both.

"Verily, the soul is inclined to evil" (Quran 12:53)

Islam expresses the importance of one to purify, to cleanse, and to restrain themselves from submitting to their sinful desires. They are expected to avoid acts of disobedience and are expected to perform acts of obedience which are pleasing to God. Islam expects its followers to give preference to their soul and their conscience over their body and desires, by striving to resist their urges and inner temptations.

"And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds" (Quran 29:6)

Islam places a great deal of emphasis on self-improvement, self-development, self-restraint, and self-control, shaping one's life in the best manner for one's benefit and the benefit of society at large. This Jihad is intended to purify the soul and involves struggling against the greed for worldly purposes, arrogance, pride, envy, jealousy, hatred, hypocrisy, insincerity, vanity, narcissism, and other evil traits which Satan uses to lead humanity astray into destruction. It is imperative for every Muslim to struggle and strive daily to overcome these evils to the best of their ability. The Jihad of the soul also includes the struggle to perform good deeds for the sake of God, to please Him and become closer to him. Allah states in His Book:

"He has succeeded who purifies it" (Quran 91:9)

Scholars state that the successors this Verse is referring to are those individuals that engage in purifying their souls by obeying God and restraining from sins and evil doing.

The other major type of Jihad is Jihad Al-Shaytan (Jihad against Satan). Satan's main aim is to destroy the Religion of mankind by attacking them with continuous whispers regarding their belief in God and when in worship to tempt, corrupt and mislead people away from God's guidance.

"O, you who have believed, enter into submission completely [and perfectly] and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy" (Quran 2:208)

The whispers of Satan can come to pious and righteous people and to wicked and evil individuals. These whispers can be detrimental to one's spiritual, emotional, physical, and psychological well-being, so it's essential for one to strive to fight against Satan; to ward off doubts that Satan stirs up that undermines one's faith in God and to ward off corrupt desires which he provokes.

These two types of Jihad are the foundation for all other varieties of Jihad and are obligatory upon everyone accountable. If one does not engage in these types of Jihad, he or she cannot venture into the other realm of Jihad, which involves battles against external enemies.

This introduces us to the other variety of Jihad: the armed struggle against those who plot against Muslims, which can be classified as Minor Jihad. When Muslims or their faith or territory is threatened under attack, Muslims are permitted to defend themselves. This Jihad is the act of striving in the battlefield, to fight in self-defense to protect one's own life, family, faith, wealth, and property. It also includes fighting against evil, operation, and tyranny to defend what is right and to combat oppression. This Jihad is the effort and struggles to improve society.

As stated earlier, Jihad does not mean Holy War. The Arabic word for Holy War is 'Harbun Muqaddasah.' The word Jihad does not imply Holy War, and the words ‘Holy War' do not exist at all in the Holy Qur'an or any authentic Hadith (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad). The killing of innocent people—whether Muslim or non-Muslim—is condemned in Islam and is considered a major sin. Islam does not permit Muslims to fight against non-Muslims, solely based on their faith.

Islam is a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness. No one can be compelled to accept Islam.

"There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the Religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So, whoever disbelieves in false deities and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing" (Quran 2:256)

Muslims must convey and establish the proofs and evidence of Islam to people so that they can be differentiated from falsehood. Islam is clear in terms of its Message and Mission, both of which no one is compelled to accept. Whoever is not stubborn or arrogant in their acceptance will enter and accept Islam, and whoever rejects the Truth may do so. No one can threaten or harm anyone because they choose not to accept Islam. If one is compelled to accept this faith, then he/she is not a true Muslim at heart.

Islam does not allow for the fighting of noncombatants. Military conflicts are to be directed against only fighting soldiers, and not against innocent civilians. The acts such as those committed on 9/11 in the United States, for example, are classified as a major sin in Islam and carry the death penalty.

"…Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely…" (Quran 5:32)

It is also forbidden for one to harm or kill oneself by any means. Suicide is a severe sin in Islam, a state of disbelief, and a loss of faith that is condemned by the Quran.

"… do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good" (Quran 2:195)

Unfortunately, there is a category of brainwashed Muslim youth who get drafted into misguided terrorist groups, who believe that upon exploding themselves that they would die as martyrs and get sent directly to Paradise. Islam condemns quite the contrary, suicide in any form.

If attacked, one is permitted to fight back in self-defense. Muslims should be keen to defend themselves and preserve their own lives.

"Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being fought because they were wronged. And indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory" (22:39)

However, if the other party refrains from aggression and offers peace, then Muslims are expected to extend their hand for peace in return.

"And if they incline to peace, then incline to it [also] and rely upon Allah. Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing, the Knowing" (Quran 8:61)

The first battle fought by our Prophet and his followers, called the Battle of Badr, was an act of defense against a group who plotted and waged war against the Muslims. When fighting in defense, the Holy Koran warns Muslims not to exceed their military actions beyond the proper limits.

"Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors" (Quran 2:190)

This type of fighting is permitted, as it is a lesser evil designed to rid the world of a bigger evil. It is committed with the purpose of enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong. It constitutes the act of fighting to defend Islam, rather than to spread it.

Islam has provided guidelines for fighting against the enemy in self-defense. Islam prohibits the killing of children, women, the elderly, the sick, monks in monasteries, rabbis, those who are sitting in places of worship, and the murder of any other noncombatant--even in a state of war and fighting. Islam does not allow torture of prisoners of war, mutilation, treason, rape, cutting down fruitful trees, or the destroying of cultivated fields or gardens, or the destruction of property. Islam also does not allow the slaughter of cows, sheep, and camels, except for food. Muslims are also forbidden from attacking wounded soldiers unless the wounded soldier is still fighting you. Islam only allows fighting with minimum necessary force.

Some enemies of Islam take the text of the Holy Quran and Hadith out of context, claiming Islam promotes violence and terrorism; even though Jihad has nothing to do with harming oneself or society. Jihad remains a noble matter; a noble strike for the sake of God.

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The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj, which translates to mean 'the pilgrimage to the Holy city of Makkah' The Arabic word Hajj, linguistically, means 'heading to a place for the sake of visiting'; in Islamic terminology, it describes the act of heading to Makkah to observe specific acts and rituals. Hajj, or the pilgrimage, is a 5-6-day journey to this sacred place between the 8th and 13th day of the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Dhul-Hijjah. The Hajj journey is obligatory for every Muslim, male or female, to complete at least once in a lifetime; providing that they are mentally, physically and financially capable of making the trip. God states:

"...And [due] to Allah from the people is a pilgrimage to the House - for whoever is able to find thereto a way...” (Quran 3:97)

The Hajj includes detailed reenactments of certain symbolic rituals performed by great Prophets and righteous individuals in the past. The Hajj Pilgrimage and its symbolic rituals commemorate the legacy of Prophet Abraham peace be upon him, so one needs to learn about Prophet Abraham to understand the reasoning behind individual acts performed as a part of Hajj.

Integral to Hajj is the Kaaba, a Holy Shrine, a black silk-clad cube stone structure at the heart of the Grand Mosque in the modern-day city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is at the center of the Earth, built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismael peace be upon them. Upon completion, God the Almighty Commanded Prophet Abraham to relay the Message amongst the people that they would be required to make a pilgrimage to this House. Prophet Abraham peace be upon him replied, 'O Allah, with no one here, how will they hear my Message?' God then answered, 'Upon you is the proclamation, and upon me, is to see who responds.' Prophet Abraham peace be upon him went on top of the Kaaba and also climbed Mount Safa and called out, ‘O People, Allah has built a house for himself on this Earth, and he has legislated upon you to perform pilgrimage, so come and perform pilgrim to this house!'

"And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass" (Quran 22:27)

By performing Hajj, Muslims are answering the command of Allah. Over 4000 years later, to this day, millions upon millions of Muslims continue to answer the call of Prophet Ibrahim peace be upon him from every corner of the globe. You find Muslims from Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and all over the world making this pilgrimage every year. It is the largest annual convention of faith on Earth, where Muslims gather to commemorate the rituals observed by Prophet Abraham and his son, Ishmael peace be upon them. Muslims celebrate the legacy of Prophet Ibrahim and the many sacrifices he has made for the sake of God.

When Muslims enter the scared Makkan territory during Hajj, they bathe themselves and enter a ritually purified state called Ahram. In this state, pilgrims are forbidden to perform typical actions that are otherwise permissible, such as covering one's head for males, clipping their fingernails, cutting their hair, hunting animals, picking plants, engaging in sexual activity, and wearing traditional clothing for men.

Male Pilgrims wear two white seamless lyon sheets with no stitching by hand, that are wrapped around the body. No belts, no rings, no perfumes, no jewelry, or any accessories or garish clothing, may be worn. The simple garb worn represents complete impoverishment and humility and signifies the equality of humanity—as everyone comes before God the same. No one is better than the other among the pilgrims of Hajj. Muslims are all united in their devotion to God. Every human being is displayed equally, as we are all equal in the eyes of Allah regardless of our color or race. The black man stands next to the white man, and they call on Allah with one voice. The King stands beside a peasant; the businessman stands beside the politician, the doctor beside the engineer, and they declare their submission to the will of Allah using the same words. Several Millions of people are dressed the same way and look the same; no one can tell the rich from the poor; all fulfill the same rituals with the utmost humility. This is to remind pilgrims of the coming Day of Judgment when all people will be stripped of their clothes and displayed before their God. The pilgrims show a sense of poverty with their appearance, as the pilgrims acknowledge that they are the ones in need, and God is the one that owns and has everything they require.

Pilgrims start to perform their tawaf from the black stone corner. Tawaf is the act of circulating the Kaaba counterclockwise. Pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba seven times while they recite prayers during each circuit. Pilgrims perform the tawaf (circumambulation) to follow the suit of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as has been ordained in the Qur'an. As Pilgrims circulate the Kaaba, they disconnect themselves from worldly attachments and focus upon the presence of the Divine. As Pilgrims circumambulate the Kabah, they chant: 'Here I am, O Allah, Here I am, you have no partner; indeed, all praise, favor, and dominion belong to you, you have no partner.'

Since Prophet Abraham and his wife Sara could not bear any children, Sara asked her husband to marry their servant so they could beget a child before they were too old to raise offspring. Later, Prophet Abraham was commanded by God to take both his second wife Hagar and their son Ismael and leave them in a barren desert valley in modern-day Mecca. As soon as Prophet Abraham peace be upon him started to leave, Hagar cried out, 'Where are you going? Why are you leaving us?' Abraham did not respond. After a few more attempts to find answers, Hagar then asked if this action was a commandment from God. He responded, 'Yes.' Then she replied, ‘if God commanded you to leave us, then leave us, because God never will leave us to perish.” She was sure that God would not abandon her and her child, despite their presence at the center of a Desert Valley. He left them with little water and some dates.

Later, Hagar ran out of food and water and started to worry for her child. She then fell into a state of anxiety and climbed a hillock called Mount Safa, crying out, ‘is anyone there?’ Then she ran to another hillock—Mount Marwa—again crying out, ‘Is anyone there?’ Then she paced back and forth to each mountain, seven times.

On the seventh round, Hajar saw Angel Gabriel descend from the sky and strike the ground with his wing, causing water to gush upward from the Earth. Angel Gabriel declared, ‘Zam, Zam,’ meaning ‘Stop, Stop,’ commanding the water to stop. This water is now referred to as Zam Zam Water. This well to this today nourishes pilgrims of Mecca every day.

Passersby rescued Hagar and her child. Years later, when Ismael was growing to become a man, his father Prophet Abraham returned and built with him the house in Mecca, called the Kabah.

In commemoration of this great sacrifice from Hagar, Muslim pilgrims in Hajj progress in a quicker pace going back and forth between the two hillocks (which are 300-400 yards apart) seven times, reenacting Hagar's movements when attempting to find aid. This action is symbolic of Hagar's search for water and the miracle of the well of Zam Zam.

Then the pilgrims depart Mecca toward the valley of Minna, which is about 3-4 miles outside of Makkah. During Hajj season, Minna is full of over 100,000 air-conditioned tents that cover every open space as far as the eye can see, row after row, where pilgrims stay overnight. The tents accommodate roughly 2-3 million people performing Hajj. Pilgrims spend their time in prayer, worship, and meditation, asking for forgiveness on the night known as Layali Al-Tashreeq.

After spending the night at the village of Mina, pilgrims take the next step and proceed to a large plain about 7-8 miles from Mecca called Arafat, a large plain surrounded by bare mountains. Forming the center is a hill known as Mount Mercy (Gabal Al-Rahma), where Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him delivered his memorable Farewell Sermon. This is the central rite of the entire Hajj. Pilgrims stand from noon to sunset praying quietly before God, begging for mercy and forgiveness and asking their wishes. Many pilgrims shed tears as they ask the Al-Mighty to forgive them their sins in this very emotional day of standing. Standing, reflecting, considering their actions, and begging and pleading to God is often thought of as a preview and representation of the great assembly of the upcoming Day of Judgment. It is to remind people of the fateful day where everyone will stand before their Lord begging for mercy.

Then pilgrims spend the night at Muzdalifah, an open plain about halfway between Arafat and Mina where pilgrims pray, then go back to Mina.

At 95, Prophet Abraham peace be upon him saw himself slaughtering his son in a dream; interpreting the vision to mean that he needed to slaughter his son for the sake of God. He was to lay his son on to the sand and raise a knife to sacrifice him. Islam doesn't allow this act; the dream was only a way for God to test Prophet Abraham. But Prophet Abraham didn't know that this was only a test to see who he loved and was devoted to the most; his Lord or his son. Ismael was his only progeny at the time. His son looked at his father and said, ‘if God commanded you to do this, do as you were commanded as I too am submissive to God.’

As Prophet Abraham peace be upon him raised his sword, Satan appeared in front of him and stated, 'that's your only son, what are you doing? How can you kill him?' Prophet Abraham, recognizing Satan the cursed, started to pelt him with seven stones until he went away. After that, Prophet Abraham moved to another place, where Satan once again returned and was pelted again by Prophet Abraham; then again, the action was repeated in another place. Satan always tries to separate people from their Lord. Eventually, when Prophet Abraham was poised to kill his son, his son was replaced with a Ram sent down by God. Prophet Abraham immediately realized that this was only a test from the Almighty.

At Minna, pilgrims take part in a ritual known as the ramy, which is the throwing of seven stones at three monuments called Al-Jamarāt. Until today, millions of Muslims pass by three monuments and throw pebbles as a ritual, which symbolizes the reenactment of the actions of Prophet Ibrahim when he faced the trial of sacrificing his son. The three monuments or pillars in Mina represent the three places that the Devil tempted Prophet Abraham to forego the sacrifice. The throwing of the pebbles is purely symbolic. To this day, at the end of Hajj, Muslims annually sacrifice sheep, cows, camels, and goats in the millions; commemorating the spirit of Prophet Abraham peace be upon him, his intention, his sincerity, and his passion. The meat from the sacrifice is then given to the needy.

During Hajj, Muslims also kiss a black stone, symbolizing their apperception of being invited to the house of the King of all Kings— our Lord, our Creator. Muslims also kiss the black stone in tradition of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. If they cannot kiss it, they can touch it or point in its direction. This stone was sent down from Heaven for Prophet Abraham peace be upon him, to be used for the construction of the sacred house. Buildings in ancient times often had cornerstones, and Prophet Abraham wanted a cornerstone for this house. Narrations describe the stone as being whiter than milk darkening slowly from the sins of humans until it morphed into a black stone. The black stone is the starting-point for tawaf — the circling of the Kabah.

Hajj is completed by the act of men either shaving their heads or clipping their hair, and women cutting off a fingertip's length of their hair, to mark their partial deconsecration; a symbol of humility.

Apart from Hajj, a minor pilgrimage known as Umrah is performed in the year's remainder. The completion of Umrah does not fulfill the obligation of Hajj. Umrah is much shorter, lasting a few hours which entail the seven circumambulations of the Kabah and the light jogging between Mount Safa and Mount Mara.

This spiritual journey known as Hajj boasts many benefits, including a powerful positive transformation that makes pilgrims more spiritual, righteous, softer, and better human beings overall. Pilgrims who embark on the journey of Hajj faithfully and sincerely are cleansed of all their previous sins, leaving them with a fresh start.

Upon completion of Hajj, Muslims celebrate one of two Muslim Holidays called Eid Al-Adha. Muslims celebrate by praying to God and visiting family and friends to thank and praise God for all the blessings He has bestowed upon them.

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The Holy Month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and can last 29 or 30 days. The Islamic calendar is based on a lunar year of 12 full lunar cycles, taking 354 or 355 days. The moon circles the Earth twelve times in a full lunar year. The observance of a new moon marks the beginning of each month. When a new moon is sighted, Ramadan begins and then fasting would commence in the next dawn. If a new moon is not sighted, then Muslims would start their fast the following day.

Islam is built upon five pillars and fasting during the Month of Ramadan is the 4th pillar of Islam. Muslims fast by abstaining from eating, drinking, chewing gum, smoking, and involving in any sexual activity from dawn to sunset. Fasting in Islam does not solely comprise refraining from food and drinks; instead one is to abstain from every kind of evil, selfish desire, and wrongdoing. The purpose of fasting is not merely for the body; instead, it's for the spirit as well. Fasting in Ramadan is for the soul, mind, and body. Muslims are commanded to refrain against gossiping, backbiting, slandering, lying, cheating, looking at what's prohibited, nursing a grudge, using sinful speech, and any wrongdoing. Muslims must adhere to the morals of Islam strictly during their fast as failure to do so can violate one's fast.

Fasting in Ramadan is obligatory for every sane, healthy Muslim, who is not ill or traveling long distance whether male or female unless a female is on her menstruation cycle or having post-childbirth bleeding. Most religions practice some fasting that generally requires one to go without food or drinks for a specified period. According to the Bible, Jesus fasted for 40 days.

… But why do Muslims Fast? The primary reason Muslims fast is because God the Almighty has commanded them to do so in His Last and Final Revelation, the Holy Quran. The Holy Quran was sent down to the last and final nation, our nation, whereas the Bible, Torah, and all previous scriptures were sent to former nations. God states in the Quran:

"O, you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may become righteous and (hopefully learn) self-restraint" (Quran 2:183)

Fasting is an act of worship beloved by God. The Holy Month of Ramadan & the prescribed fasting is a gift and mercy to Muslims from the Almighty. God prescribes none rulings to his slaves unless there are great wisdom and benefit behind it.

… But How is Ramadan & Fasting a gift & mercy to the ones that fast sincerely? Sin is defined as an act of disobedience in which a person goes against the commandments of God. God deliberately placed human beings on Earth knowing they will sin. By nature of human beings, mankind is fallible and bound to sin due to outside evil influences whether it's from friends, family, the media, or from Satan's attack and whispers that can stray one from the straight path leading them to destruction. God is willing to accept anyone's repentance. It is, in fact, Allah that loves people who repent repeatedly. Since Muslims are erred to sin because of ignorance, forgetfulness, or from the handiwork of Satan. Mankind needs to be reminded and trained from abstaining from harmful behaviors that go against the commandments of God.

God, the Almighty states fasting and abstaining from which is prohibited will increase one's Taqwa. God the Almighty states fasting and abstaining from which is prohibited will increase one's Taqwa. Taqwa is translated to God-fearing piety, righteousness, mindfulness, and consciousness of God where one is aware God is watching at all times. The concept of Taqwa is expressed in the Holy Koran over 200 times. The word Taqwa comes from the root word 'to guard' When one has Taqwa or God consciousness, one loves to do good and avoid evil for the sake of God.

….But how does one attain Taqwa by fasting? Fasting is a shield for mankind. Fasting protects a person from sin and lustful desires. The purpose of fasting is not merely physical training to withstand hunger, thirst, and exhaustion; instead, it is disciplining the soul & the ego to give up what's loved in this world from material goods, wealth, etc. for the sake of God. Fasting Muslims seek to overpower and suppress sinful desires in themselves, putting aside all evils and bad behaviors to express their dedication and love to God and use it to draw closer to Him so that God becomes a reality in their lives resulting in a higher spiritual state. Fasting in Ramadan offers one to develop spiritually and gain strength and control over one's soul and one's ego which would dominate one's life when left unchecked and unmonitored.

Sincere and proper fasting for the full month of Ramadan every year is very beneficial for individuals and society as it develops piety and self-restraint. Once one is conscious that God is watching, one's sins and disobedience will dramatically decrease. Fasting in Ramadan recharges one's spiritual and physical state. Fasting is meant to instill virtuous qualities in humans from being generous, patient, while cleansing the spiritual heart. Fasting cleansing the soul, mind, and body as temporally giving up food, water, and many disobedient acts is a natural way of removing toxins from the soul, mind, and body. When Fasting, one controls the urge to eat and drink empowering one to exercise self-control and help to develop patience, inner strength and will-power in a person.

Fasting develops good qualities of endurance and self-restraint, helping one control his or her anger, tongue, and actions. Fasting help resists unlawful desires and wicked habits which would help guard one against evil. Fasting in Ramadan suppresses worldly desires and strengthens one's spirituality.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is special and blessed because the Holy Quran, which is God’s final Book, was revealed to Prophet Mohammad Peace Be Up Him, in this special month. Therefore, Muslims recite the Holy Qur’an frequently in this blessed month. Ramadan is the month when Muslims try to establish or re-establish a relationship with their Creator and the Holy Qur’an so that one may be guided. Ramadan is a month for deep inner reflection.

Muslim believe they earn extra spiritual rewards in this month for good deeds which can lead them to paradise in the hereafter and avoid the punishment of the hellfire. During Ramadan, Muslims engage in consistent spiritual reflection and prayer with the aims of drawing closer to God and becoming a better person.

During this blessed month, extra voluntary prayers are offered in every Mosque well into the night, with many places of worship crammed with worshippers. Hearts are directed away from worldly material goods and get directed to Almighty, His Religion, and His Final Revelation, the Holy Quran. Due to the blessings and rewards associated with this Holy Month, Muslims are encouraged to give and help others to the best of their ability. While the primary reason for fasting is to draw closer to Allah by purifying oneself by abstaining from sins and increasing acts of good, fasting comes with many additional benefits. Amongst the benefits of fasting is that it teaches man the principle of sincere Love to God as he struggles to fast solely for the pleasure of God.

Fasting in Ramadan is supposed to help discontinue any bad habits one may have developed throughout the year. Fasting is supposed to free a person from the slavery of sinful desires as they give it up for a whole month. Fasting develops new good habits as Muslims increase acts of good in this month.

Fasting in Ramadan is a way of experiencing hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and developing sympathy for the less fortunate which should cause an increase in helping the less fortunate. Many take blessings like food and water for granted. When one is fasting, he or she realizes what the less fortunate feel every day. This should increase helping and giving others, especially the less fortunate as fasting helps one to sympathize with the poor so one may know and experience their hardships.

Fasting in Ramadan leads one to be more thankful and appreciate all of God's gifts and provisions. Fasting is a way to humble one before God and His creation, as hunger and thirst help one come in a realization they desperately need God and his provisions decreasing one's false pride and arrogance. Fasting in Ramadan teaches patience as one feels the pains of deprivation, but he endures them patiently. Fasting teaches moderation and increases one will-power as one feels hunger but disciplines him or herself not to eat so they can benefit from the increased will-power and discipline after the month is over. This month is supposed to be a training period for the rest of the year so that one can be better equipped to resist temptations.

Amongst the many spiritual benefits, lie many physicality benefits. Fasting in Ramadan speeds up one's metabolism, lowers cholesterol levels, helps with weight loss, indorses longevity, improves one's brain function, clears one's skin from acne and dry skin, improves the immune system, and purifies the body by allowing the body to rest from the continuous task of digesting food.

Whereas fasting in the Month of Ramadan may appear very exhausting and challenging, it is, in fact, an enjoyable time for Muslims. It becomes a month of family and friends getting together to worship the One God and to eat together after sunset. Ramadan has a different atmosphere from other months of the year. Often, local families and individuals sponsor breaking-fast and dinners at local mosques open to the community. Mosques are often packed with worshippers at night and they usually hold special evening prayers in mosques during Ramadan.

After the month, Muslims celebrate one of the two Islamic festivals; Eid-ul-Fitr which translates to the 'festival of the breaking of the Fast' It is a festival of celebration. It is a time of joy, a social gathering of family and friends, gift giving, wearing new clothes, and time which Muslims express thanks and gratitude to their Creator for the self-control, will, strength and the endurance and benefits they practiced and achieved during this Holy Month.

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Ramadan By islam101

Why Do Muslims Fast?

Article & Video By: TheSincereSeeker.com

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Zakat is the third pillar of Islam. Zakat in Arabic translates to 'the act of giving of alms to the poor and needy.' Offering Zakat is a religious obligation for Muslims. In Islam, it is considered the duty of individuals with wealth to assist the poor and needy. The term Zakat in Arabic linguistically has several meanings, including 'to purify, to increase, cleanliness, blessings, and goodness.'

Zakat means to purify; because, according to the Islamic faith, one's wealth and property are not pure unless the owner shares a divinely appointed proportion with people in need. The principle of Zakat also purifies one's heart of greed and selfishness. Whereas the humanistic love of wealth is natural, Zakat is intended to free Muslims from the excessive and all-consuming love of money and selfish desire; teaching self-discipline.

"Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase and invoke [Allah's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing" (Quran 9:103)

Zakat also means growth and blessings; because if one were to give and help others in times of ease and difficulties, God will be pleased and return with increase and bless his wealth. Allah, the Glorious, has promised that the one who spends his wealth in Zakat will see his prosperity increased manifold.

"The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing" (Quran 2:261)

Our Prophet has stated that the act of Charity does not decrease wealth; instead, it blesses, purifies and ultimately increases one's fortune.

There are three primary types of giving in Islam. Two of these giving methods are mandatory, while one is highly recommended but not obligatory. The first obligatory act of giving is called Zakat Al-Mal, which is the Zakat given from one's saved wealth and liquid assets. The second obligatory Zakat is called Zakat Al-Fitr, which is a special Zakat due at the end of the Month of Ramadan—to be paid by the head of the household. The third type of giving in Islam is called Sadaqah, which is voluntary and can be given at any time on any amount.

Sadaqah comes from an Arabic word meaning sincerity, as giving Sadaqah or charity is a sign of sincere faith in God by the person who gives it. Sadaqah is described in the Holy Quran as a beautiful loan; which includes any act of charitable giving made as a gesture of love and generosity; whether the act stands in the form of giving money or time, helping others, praying for someone, spreading knowledge, giving advice, forgiving someone, visiting the sick, or even smiling at someone.

Zakat plays a significant role and holds a commendable high standard in Islam, to the extent that about three dozen Verses in the Holy Quran link the obligatory prayer to charity. God describes the true believers as the ones that both pray their obligatory prayers and give Zakat. This proves the concept that Zakat is the believer's most important obligation, after the obligatory prayer.

"Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish Prayer and give Zakah will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve" (Quran 2:277)

All things belong to God, and God has given wealth to specific individuals so they can distribute resources to those not as fortunate. People are given wealth as a trust from God, to distribute to and benefit the ones in need. The true Owner of all things is not man, but God, and we human beings are merely His trustees. God, the Glorious, who provided wealth to the intended recipient, reserved a portion of the resources for the poor, so the underprivileged have a right to claim a portion of one's wealth. The concept of Zakat reminds Muslims that everything they possess belongs to the Almighty.

People are given their wealth as a test from God. Wealth should be acquired, distributed, and spent in a way which is pleasing to God.

"And it is He who has made you successors upon the Earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you" (Quran 6:165)

The acquisition and hoarding of wealth for one's own sake to increase a man's worth, is condemned. Mere acquisition of wealth counts for nothing in the sight of the Almighty, as it does not give man any merit—in this life or the hereafter. Islam teaches that one should acquire wealth to spend it on his/her self, family, and people in need. The act of giving and helping others shows one's love of God, more than the amount or quantity of one's own wealth; as when they give to others, they donate funds they otherwise would have spent on themselves--doing so to please God the Almighty. Zakat is a sign of true belief and love in God.

"The ones who establish prayer, and from what We have provided them, they spend. Those are the believers, truly. For them are degrees [of high position] with their Lord and forgiveness and noble provision" (Quran 8:3-4)

Zakat offers both humanitarian and socio-political benefits. It is designed by our Creator to reallocate and redistribute wealth in a society. Zakat establishes social justice and—if practiced collectively by a population—can lead a community to prosperity and security. Zakat helps to circulate wealth in a balanced way, stabilizing and equalizing the flow of money in a society; eliminating as it does the eternal cycle of poverty. Zakat is an interest-free financial strategy that could help prevent society from undergoing an economic recession.

Every Muslim who has wealth exceeding a specific minimum—a level known as Nisab—and who maintains that wealth for over one lunar year, must give Zakat. Zakat is given annually based on the Islamic lunar calendar and is not based on the western calendar—which is 11 days longer than its counterpart.

The Nisab is the specific minimum amount of wealth that a Muslim must possess before being required to pay Zakat. One must pay Zakat if what they own is equal to or more than the equivalent to 3 ounces of gold, or its value in cash or trade goods. Zakat must be paid for gold and silver currency, cash, agricultural produce such as date farms, livestock, rent income, and business commodities such as inventory stock in a shop warehouse.

Islam requires Muslims to pay an annual contribution of 2.5 percent of the wealth and liquid assets they have accrued and held for over the course of one lunar year. Zakat is calculated on the person's earned net balance; that amount which remains after paying all other necessary expenses. Zakat is not an income tax, rather the amount due is based on what a Muslim has saved and held for an entire year, and not on their income level. Zakat is not paid from the pool of funds used for debt repayment, or necessary living expenses such as food, water, shelter, clothing, and transportation.

The recipients of Zakat are the poor, the needy individuals who live in turmoil, those who have accumulated much debt, captives, the Zakat administrators, and more recipients. Scholars state that the poor and the impoverished are the most important categories of people eligible to receive Zakat.

"Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [Zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise" (Quran 9:60)

The purpose of Zakat is to help those who cannot help themselves. Zakat can be given to an individual's extended family; however, one may not give this specified amount to his parents or his children, as one is already obligated to support them. When one offers Zakat in this world, he or she is really helping themselves; as they are transferring needed goodwill from their worldly life to their afterlife, which is the best investment one can make.

When one gives to someone in need, he shouldn't think of the gesture as a favor; instead, he is giving to God. The one giving is more in need of the beggar, than the beggar needs him. Whereas the beggar is in need only of money, the giver needs the Almighty's forgiveness.

"Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and receives charities and that it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful?" (Quran 9:104)

The benefits of giving in charity are many and varied. Amongst the benefits is the pleasure that God expresses to the one who gives. Zakat is known to extinguish the Wrath that the Almighty may hold for one who doesn’t give. Giving Zakat also protects one from the punishment of hellfire. The act of giving to the needy awakens the soul and initiates genuine concern and sympathy for the well-being of the underprivileged and others.

It is recommended to give charity in secrecy to ensure that one is offering for the right, pure reason, of pleasing God, and not to receive praise or to boast before others—both acts which would nullify good deeds. However, under certain circumstances--for instance, if one has the intention to encourage others to donate similarly one may give Zakat in public.

It's important to note that Zakat money needs to be given from an untainted pool of 100% pure and halal funds—not taken from thefts or bribes, nor profits from interest-based loans or from sales of alcohol, pork, drugs, or anything that is prohibited in Islam. God, the Almighty is Good and Pure and only accepts that which is good and pure.

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The second Pillar of Islam is the mandatory round of ritual prayers that every Muslim must perform five times every day. The Islamic method of Prayer is a ritualized form of worship, which involves the recitation of Verses from the Holy Quran and supplications to God; all while standing, bowing and prostrating. This mandatory act of worship is called Salah in Arabic and differs from the act of merely praying or supplicating to God in an impulsive act, just speaking one's mind. Instead, the Salah prayers demand a formalized structure in which one prays a certain way at specific times, as demonstrated to us by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him; drawing direct inspiration from Angel Gabriel, who learned from God Himself.

The Arabic word ‘Salah’, which is generally translated as Prayer in English, is linguistically derived from the Arabic word meaning 'connection'; in that this mode of Prayer connects the servant with his Creator. Salah is a Muslim's way of establishing direct contact with God the Almighty. Salah represents a Muslim's affirmation of servanthood and submission to his Creator's Will. In Salah, a Muslim acknowledges his weakness and neediness by seeking and begging for God's guidance, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Salah, or this Islamic ritualized Prayer, is one form of worship amongst many in this beautiful faith. However, Salah holds an extraordinary status in Islam because Prayer builds a relationship between a servant and his Creator. Salah is considered the center pole of the Religion of Islam; whoever demolishes or denies this practice in their life, demolishes his or her Religion. According to Islamic Scholars, this is the only form of worship which—if neglected—would exclude the disobedient from the folds of Islam.

When prayer time arrives, one is expected to discontinue their present activity and pray to connect with God, the All-Merciful; refreshing his/her faith for his or her benefit. The act of Prayer helps to remind one why they are here in this world and for what purpose. Prayers help direct a person's thoughts and actions away from sin; from that which is not beneficial. Prayers redirect a believer's thoughts to the remembrance of God.

The Salah prayer is specifically a human form of worship. All other creatures of God, including animals and plants, submit without question to the Almighty in their unique way. Everything in the Sky and Earth declares Allah's perfection and worships Him in their way; a way in which we humans may not understand. All other creations of God are in continuous glorification, praise, and remembrance of God, and worship in their own way. Just like the other members of creation-worship Allah, man is expected to worship God.

"Do not you see that Allah - glorify Him whoever (is) in the Heavens and the Earth and the birds (with) wings outspread? Each one certainly knows its Prayer and its glorification. And Allah (is) All-Knower of what they do" (Quran 24:41)

Humanity was created for Prayer and Divine worship. God states in the Quran:

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me" (Quran 51:56)

God commands humanity to establish and perfect their Prayer, by praying properly with concentration and the utmost humility. Every Muslim must work and practice to improve their prayer technique, which is a lifetime commitment. Muslims must engage in a lifelong effort to master this art of communication with their Creator. The ones that fall into a habitual routine, reciting their words without concentration and humility, would miss the point of Prayer; not benefitting from their Prayer nearly as much as those who pray earnestly and with full concentration and mindfulness.

Neglecting mandatory Prayer is a grave sin in the Islamic faith. Allah, the Glorious shares a dialogue in the Holy Koran in which the residents of Paradise ask the people of the hellfire as to the reason for their condemnation and that condemned respond:

"They will say, 'We were not of those who prayed, nor did we used to feed the poor, and we used to indulge in vain talk with the vain talkers, and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, Until there came to us the certainty'"(Quran 74:43-47)

The state of one's Prayer will be the first thing that will be asked of each on the Great Day of Judgement. If one’s Prayers was in order, then everything else will fall into place. If one’s Prayer was not in order, then he will be doomed. The Messenger of Allah stated: ‘The first of man's deeds for which he will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection will be Salat. If it is found to be perfect, he will be safe and successful; but if it is incomplete, he will be unfortunate and a loser…" (At-Tirmidhi).

Prayer should be directed only to God the Almighty, as he is the Only One in full control of everything—including man's destiny. He is All-Powerful, All-Wise, All-Knowing, All-Hearing, and can fill anyone's needs and remove all of man's pain and miseries.

The Islamic ritual of Prayer expresses submission to God, showing humility to, devotion toward, and love of God. Praying to the Creator daily is the best way to build a personal connection with Him while seeking His guidance, Blessings, and Forgiveness. Muslims pray to God to gain spiritual strength and peace of mind and to strengthen the foundation of their faith. A Muslim temporarily steps out of his/her daily activities five times a day to connect to God; to stay mindful of Him in this world of stress, struggle, and distractions. Prayers remind Muslims that Allah is in control of all things so they can put their worldly concerns into perspective.

The Islamic prayer method and mode act as a spiritual diet. Such as the body requires food and water throughout the day, our spirit needs to partake in the remembrance and worship of God to stay spiritually healthy; is not the soul more valuable than the body?

When someone does another person a favor or helps them, it's human nature to want to thank that individual for their aid. Since God has blessed humanity with a countless number of favors, including one's wealth, health, family, and gifts of all kinds, a Muslim prays numerous times to thank Him throughout their day and night. The best way to demonstrate gratitude is through these five daily prayers.

The Islamic ritual prayers come with many benefits—in this world and the next—for the ones that engage in them sincerely and mindfully, with concentration and humility. Amongst the benefits of praying is that the act guards and protects a believer from sins and evil doings.

"Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish the Prayer. Indeed, the Prayer prevents from the immorality and evil deeds, and surely (the) remembrance (of) Allah (is) greatest. And Allah knows what you do" (Quran 29:45)

When one becomes lackadaisical in their worship or neglects Prayer altogether, he or she will experience the consequence of feeling distant from God; which may cause increased instances of sinning and evil doing. As they distance themselves from Prayer and the remembrance of God, they become easier targets for Satan to reach out to and tempt them. The one that guards and faithfully practices his prayers would be mindful of everything else that matters. The one that neglects his prayers would be neglectful of what matters in this life.

Amongst the many benefits of Prayer is the transformative power that Prayer has on a person. Prayer transforms a person's attitude, behavior, mentality, thoughts, and priorities; redirecting these elements to what really matters in life. Prayer softens one's heart towards Allah and his Creation. Muslims that are steadfast in their Prayer is continually looking to help others and have a genuine concern for them—not just themselves.

If one does not see the benefits and positive effects of their prayers, one should question their sincerity, humility, and concentration in praying. God references the fate of past generations who did not take advantage of their prayers—wasting them.

"But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so, they are going to face Destruction" (Quran 19:59)

Salah (Prayer) is also connected to the state of our Ummah (Muslim community). If our Prayer is strong, then everything else in the state of our community will be healthy. Prayer solves those many problems our nation is facing.

Much like the pillars of a building, where one cannot move them and need to walk around them physically, a Muslim's life revolves around their five daily prayers; instead of casually trying to fit their prayers into their life. A Muslim's prayers are always their top priority in life; everything else comes secondary.

The five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims are:

• Fajr Prayer: From dawn to right before sunrise
• Zuhr Prayer: Just after noon (mid-day, when the sun passes the median point in the sky)
• Asr Prayer: Late part of the afternoon (halfway between noon and sunset)
• Maghrib Prayer: Directly after sunset
• Isha Prayer: Late evening, dark night (approximately an hour and a half after sunset)

The five daily Prayers set the rhythm of a Muslim's day. Prayers must be performed at their appointed due times unless a reasonable excuse exists to delay them. Prayers are prohibited to be postponed to where they overlap into the next Prayer's timeframe.

Before the Prayer is begun, a Muslim is required to perform ablution (wudu in Arabic), which is the act of cleaning and purifying oneself from any physical bodily fluids such as blood, urine, or any impurity with water. The ritual of ablution comprises washing one's hands, face, arms, head, and feet. It's essential that a Muslim must be clean and free of impurities in his body, clothing, and the area in which the Prayer will be performed. One drop of waste matter present anywhere would void one's Prayer.

Prayers can either be performed individually or in a congregation with others at a Mosque (a Muslim place of worship) which is highly recommended for males.

In Muslim countries, Prayer is publicly announced to the community—not by bells—but by an Islamic chant or call of Prayer known as Adhan in Arabic. Prayer is commenced by standing up facing the direction of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia, where the Holy House of God—known as the Kaaba—is situated. Muslims from all over the globe face the direction in which the first house was built for the worship of the One God. It's important to note that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba; instead, Muslims only use the Holy House as a direction to face while worshipping the One God, as instructed by God Himself.

During Prayer, Muslims are directed to disconnect themselves and clear their minds of any worldly matter as they are conversing with God. They pray to a God who is near, who is All-Loving, All-Hearing, All-Caring, All-Powerful. A Muslim is to concentrate on their words and humble themselves only to the Almighty. A Muslim affirms that God is the Master and that he or she is the servant and slave of God who needs the Almighty's direction, help, and guidance to the straight path. The Islamic Prayer is so sacred that it is prohibited for one to eat, drink, or hold a conversation as they pray.

Muslims are commanded to pray in how was taught by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. The Islamic prayer movements comprise standing, bowing, and prostrating. According to our Prophet, man is closest to God when he is in prostration. The Prayer comprises recitations from the Holy Quran, praises of the Almighty, and supplications seeking guidance, forgiveness, and more.

"And establish Prayer and give Zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience]" (Quran 2:43)

While not mandated, it is highly encouraged for one to awaken in the middle of the night to pray to God, as this is a common practice of righteous people.

The Islamic Prayer is a ritual which has been unchanged for more than 1400 years and is repeated five times a day by hundreds of millions of people all around the globe. Earlier Prophets and Messengers also performed Salah prayer, in which the act of prostration was involved. According to the Gospel of Mathew, Prophet Jesus fell with his face to the ground and prayed: ‘Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed: 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Not as I will, but as you will'"(Mathew 26:39)

It's important to note that God is transcendent, free of all needs, and independent. He is in no need of human worship or reverence, as He gains nothing from it. Muslims do not pray or worship God for God's sake; instead, they praise and worship God for their own sake. God made worship and the remembrance of Him beneficial to mankind, both in this world and the next.

"And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds" (Quran 29:6)

The benefits of praying to the Almighty are vast, and the blessings of Prayer are beyond our imagination. Prayer motivates one to do good and strive for the best, so one can live a good life in this world--and in the next world, eternally.

"Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish Prayer for My remembrance" (Quran 20:14)

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The first of the Five Pillars of Islam is the Declaration or Testimony of Faith (called Shahada in Arabic), to which every Muslim must adhere. The word Shahada in Arabic linguistically translates to 'testifying, bearing witness.' The Shahada is the Islamic creed. The Shahada contains two parts, both of which a Muslim must testify to and believe.

The first part requires the believer to testify that no deity is worthy of worship, veneration, or complete devotion, other than Allah. A Muslim acknowledges that Allah has the exclusive right to be worshipped, venerated, loved, inwardly and outwardly, by one's heart, tongue, and limbs. A Muslim accepts Allah as the only God, Master, Lord, and Ruler. Allah is not a foreign God, as Allah is the Arabic name for God. Islam states that God has none partners or associates in worship. No other deity, being, or idol is worthy of worship. The act of worshipping any other besides Allah is the biggest sin in Islam; standing as the only sin that is not forgiven if a person dies in that state without repenting.

Regretfully, many have regarded certain historical figures as their gods and deities, who are wrongfully worshipped and venerated; whether they are idols, superstitions, saints, ideologies, ways of life, or any authority figures who claim to be divine or semi-divine--even though they themselves are creations and have no power to bring any benefit or harm to anyone.

"But they have taken besides Him gods which create nothing, while they are created, and possess not for themselves any harm or benefit and possess not [power to cause] death or life or resurrection" (Quran 25:3)

The belief in worshipping the One God is considered the central Message of all of God's Prophets and Messengers, who were sent to humanity to deliver His Message. This was the Message of Prophet Adam, Prophet Noah, Prophet Abraham, Prophet Moses, Prophet Jesus, and Prophet Muhamad; peace be upon them all.

"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid false deities..." (Quran 16:36)

Through verbally stating these words, believing in them, acting and living upon them, one enters the fold of Islam. Merely saying these words verbally without action does not complete a Muslim.

The second part of the testimony requires the believer to testify that Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of God. In accepting Prophet Muhammad as the 'seal of the Prophets,' one affirms the belief that his Prophecy confirms and fulfills all the previously revealed Messages beginning with Prophet Adam. Peace be upon him. Whereas Muslims believe in all the previous Messengers and Prophets of God, Islam states Prophet Muhamad is both a Messenger and Prophet of God; one who carries a higher role than all previous Messengers and Prophets before him. Prophet Muhammad was a mere mortal with no share in Divinity, who was chosen by God the Almighty, as the last and final Prophet to the last nation, our nation.

"Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and last of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing" (Quran 33:40)

A Muslim is required to fully carry out in practice the instruction given by Prophet Muhammad, as commanded by God the Almighty. Prophet Muhammad also serves as the best role model for mankind that ever-stepped foot on Earth, by his exemplary life. Muslims are encouraged to attempt to follow and emulate Prophet Muhammad's examples, manners, generosity, good habits, politeness, respect, gentleness, noble feelings, and way of life to the best of their ability, reflecting an emphasis on Islam and the Holy Quran.

"There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often" (Quran 33:21)

These two phrases are the most frequently repeated words in the world, as hundreds of millions of practicing Muslims repeat these words dozens of times throughout their day and through their prayers. It is recommended for a believer to say it when they first rise in the morning and before going to bed. These words reflect and encompass every dimension of a Muslim's life.

The Shahada (testimony of faith) is by far the essential aspect of Islam, as it affirms the belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allah, upon which the whole Religion of Islam is built upon, and all other beliefs hinge. It is the central belief that a Muslim adheres to his entire life. Verbally stating these words and living by them is unquestionably the most significant and most important duty of a Muslim. Unless one acknowledges this testimony, he or she cannot be a Muslim.

Muslims strain to utter these words as their last spoken before departing this world since whoever does so has been promised the destiny of God-given Paradise. However, only the ones that lived and acted upon these words will be granted the ability to utter these blessed sentiments in the form of their final words.

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The Religion of Islam is based upon Five Primary Foundations or Pillars. Just as a building would lack stability without the presence of strong pillars, a believer's relationship with God would lack a focus and a secure connection without the observance of and adherence to these five fundamental Pillars.

These Five Pillars or religious duties are mandatory; every Muslim is expected to follow and enact them with utmost devotion. Failure to comply and enact any of these dictates can lead to the commission of grave sin, some resulting even in the expulsion of a believer from the fold and faith of Islam.

These Five Pillars are mentioned individually throughout the Holy Quran and through narrations of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him which are known as Hadith. The Five Pillars of Islam are:

Testimony of faith in the Oneness of God (Allah) and the last and final Prophet, Muhammad

Establishment of the Five Mandatory Prayers

Concern and almsgiving to the needy (Zakat in Arabic)

Fasting during the month of Ramadan (for Self-purification)

The Pilgrimage to Makkah (at least a once in a lifetime journey for those who can make and can afford it)

The first pillar, the declaration, and testimony of faith rank as the first of these vital, integral Pillars. The remaining principles relate to putting faith into action, as Muslims are required to apply their faith in behavior and practice. The other four Pillars are religious acts are to be performed either daily, once a year, or at least once in a lifetime toward the attainment and accomplishment of faith.

Similar to the Ten Commandments, these Pillars provide a spiritual foundation and a framework to facilitate a Muslim's life. Fulfillment of these Five Pillars provides blessings and rewards for the one following them, in both this life and the next. These Pillars help one establish a closer relationship with their Creator and build a spiritual connection with Him. A faithful Muslim prioritizes these Pillars over all worldly matters, principles or regulations in his or her life, as they form the foundation and starting point for all other good deeds and acts of worship to their Creator.

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To mark the World's end, God the Almighty will order Angel Israfil to blow a trumpet to announce the arrival of this fateful Day. At the blast of the trumpet, a blast will be heard so horrendous and terrifying that the inhabitants of the Heavens and the Earth will fall unconscious, except those whom Allah wills. The Mountains will be lifted, crushed and crumbled into pieces likening wool, the sky above will split open and crack piece by piece, the Oceans will boil over as they burn in flames. The Planets, the Moon, the Stars will fall from their orbits, losing their shine. Darkness will commence everywhere. The Earth will shake in a terrifying quake, flattening and leveling with no peaks or troughs. Every living thing will cease to exist.

"Then when the Horn is blown with one blast, And the Earth and the mountains are lifted and leveled with one blow, Then on that Day, the Resurrection will occur" (Quran 69:13-15)

Then Allah will command His Angel to blow the trumpet for a second time, and a violent earthquake will erupt, causing the graves to split open and all of the creation from the beginning of time will be resurrected.

"And the Trumpet will be blown (i.e. the second blowing) and behold! From the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord" (Quran 36:51)

Then God will replace this Earth and Heavens with another creation. Every deceased person will rise up from their grave, reclaiming their original physical body. Bones and body parts will be reassembled in their original form. Just as God created the everything the first time, he will do so again.

"The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a sheet of paper. As We began the first creation, We will repeat it. [That is] a promise binding upon Us. Indeed, We will do it" (Quran 21:104)

People will rush from their graves so quickly in chaos, terrified and confused. A child's hair will turn grey and their face will wrinkle from fear. A nursing mother will forget her child, and pregnant women will miscarry. People will run about in chaos as if in a drunken state, but they are not drunk, but the punishment of Allah is severe.

"They will say, ‘O Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?’ [The reply will be], ‘This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers spoke truth’ (Quran 36:52)

On this Day, a man will flee from his brother, mother, father, spouse, and children nearest and dearest to him, even as they beg for help. Man will think only of himself, terrified as his soul peers into the eyes of infinity.

God will gather all mankind naked, bare-footed, and uncircumcised, including both the believers and non-believers, all jinn (spirits made from smokeless fire), and all animals, all of whom will be brought to a plain known as the place of gathering. No one will speak, and heads will be lowered in humility as they hear only footsteps.

"And they will be presented before your Lord in rows, [and He will say], ‘You have certainly come to Us just as We created you the first time. But you claimed that We would never make for you an appointment’" (Quran 18:48)

Everyone will be stripped of the titles and roles which they held in their worldly lives. The kings, the presidents, the millionaires, the poor, the slaves, all will be lined before their Lord regardless of the ranks and classes they possessed throughout the course of their worldly lives. The area will be so overcrowded, with humans, jinn, and animals all pressing each other, that every individual would be crowded into the space covered by their own two feet. People will stand nervously waiting for judgment, and mankind will perspire in agony. Anxiety levels will run so high that not a single person will sit down on that frightening Day.

As humankind awaits the decree of the Almighty, the sun will descend so low above their heads, it will linger a mile away and each person will sweat according to the level and intensity of their good and bad deeds. Some will sink to their own ankles in their own perspiration, while others would sink to their thighs and waist, and still others would drown in their own sweat, flowing up to their mouths. The only souls that will be shaded will be seven categories of righteous people who will be granted shade during this traumatic day in which there will be no other shade but the shade of Allah's Magnificent Throne.

On this Day, Allah the Exalted will gift Prophet Muhammad a pond called the pond of Kaw’thar; one located in the courtyard of the place of gathering, where the water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. He will drink from the pond and invite the Believers and the righteous of his nation—those who died in the way of Allah and His Messenger—to drink from the same pool. A personal invitation will be required to drink, and Prophet Muhammad will recognize the righteous of his nation by the foreheads, hands, and limbs rendered bright and shiny from the effects of their wudu (ablution that is performed before prayer to remove impurities of the body). Those who reach this pool will drink from it and quench their thirst permanently.

"Indeed, the righteous will be among shades and springs" (Quran 77:41)

Judgment Day will equal 50,000 years in duration of our time, but for the believers, it would only feel like the time elapsed between the Asr to the Maghrib prayer, which is a roughly a couple of hours.

For the unbelievers and the wrongdoers, conditions on this Day will be intense and unbearable, this because of the terror, the heat, the standing, and the thirst prevalent during this period. All of mankind, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews from all nations, would unite and some would exclaim, 'Let us ask somebody to intercede for us and ask our Lord to begin the accountability.'

Then all of mankind will rush to Prophet Adam and ask, 'O Prophet Adam; you are the father of all mankind, whom Allah created with his own hands, please intercede for us.' Prophet Adam then will respond, 'Myself, Myself, I am not fit for this. I fear the same thing you fear as I disobeyed my Lord once, and today my Lord is in the state of anger which He has never been before. Please go to Prophet Noah!' Then mankind will go to Prophet Noah, who will respond the same to the effect, 'Myself, Myself, I cannot do this, go to Prophet Abraham!' Then mankind will go to Prophet Abraham, then to Prophet Musa, then to Prophet Jesus. Prophet Jesus then will respond, 'I am not fit for this as people took me for a God and I have to answer to that.'

Finally, all of mankind will reach Prophet Muhammad, who will respond, 'This is what Allah has favored me for and the only intercession I'll be able to give is on behalf of my nation who followed me. As for the nations before me, they will need to go after their Prophets; and as for the disbelievers and for the ones that worshipped other than Allah, they will need to follow those who they followed and worshipped in their worldly life.’ Prophet Muhammad will then prostate to His Lord and will praise His Lord with words inspired within him by God. God, the Almighty then will say, 'O Muhammad, lift your head and ask for anything and I will give you.’ Prophet Muhammad then will respond, 'O my Lord, save my nation, save my nation.' Then Judgement will begin.

God will call upon each individual to stand before Him, to judge and question him/her according to his or her faith and how they lived their life, with no translator or interpreter needed. The conversation will involve only you and Your Master, who will judge you and your deeds. Each individual will be held accountable for every action they took, said, and intended, all of which were recorded inaccurate records by each person’s assigned Angels.

The first thing that will be questioned is whether each person performed their mandatory prayers. Each individual will be asked terrifying questions about how he/she lived their life, utilized their youth, earned and spent their wealth, and what One did with the knowledge they acquired. One will be reminded and informed of the good and bad deeds they have done. On that Day, one would either meet the Mercy of God or the Justice of God.

As the disbelievers will try to argue and lie their way out of their deserved punishment, God will seal their mouths, hands, feet, ears, skin, and body parts; with these body parts testifying against them as surprise witnesses of their life actions. Their body parts will complain to God, their Master, on how that person made them sin.

"That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn." (Quran 36:65)

The disbelievers will ask their own body parts why they bore witness against them, to which they then will reply, 'God, who gave speech to all things, has made us speak.' Everyone shall be dealt with according to their deeds and actions. No injustice or transgression will occur on this Day, not even for the disbeliever or the evilest of people.

When the Reckoning is completed, books of each records and deeds will fly to each person. Everyone will be given his or her Book, that will contain records of all the deeds he or she performed in their life.

"And then the record of their deeds shall be placed before them and you will see the guilty full of fear for what it contains and will say: ‘Woe to us! What a Record this is! It leaves nothing, big or small, but encompasses it.’ They will find their deeds confronting them. Your Lord wrongs no one" (Quran 18:49)

The believer will be given his Book in his right hand, as a sign of honor. The One who will receive his record in his right hand will undergo an untroubled audit. His sins will be overlooked, and he will turn to his people rejoiced.

"As for him who is given his Book in his right hand, he will say, 'Here! Take and read my Book! Indeed, I was sure that I would have to face my Reckoning (one day), So he will have a pleasant life, in an elevated garden, whose clusters [of fruits] will be within easy reach, [He will be told]: 'Eat and drink pleasantly for what you did before in the days gone by' (Quran 69:19-24)

As for the disbeliever, the wrongdoer, he or she will receive their book in their left hand or from behind their back, receiving the worst kind of auditing with full regret, wishing he or she were dead as they anticipate their descent into the Hellfire.

"But as for he who is given his record in his left hand, he will say, 'Oh, I wish I had not been given my record And had not known what is my account. I wish the death (that I suffered in the world) was the final death. My wealth has not availed me, and my power has perished from me.' [It will be ordered], 'Seize him and shackle him. Then into Hellfire drive him. Then into a chain whose length is seventy cubits insert him.' Indeed, he did not use to believe in God, the Most-High, nor did he encourage the feeding of the poor. So there is not for him here this Day any devoted friend. Nor any food, except from the discharge of wounds; none will eat it except the sinners." (Quran 69:19-37)

Then the scales intended for weighing people's deeds will be presented for view. A balancing scale which is real and accurate in its results. No act, even of an atom's weight of importance, will be overlooked, whether it took the form of cursing, backbiting, stealing, or something that was done or said for the good of helping someone.

"And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant" (Quran 21:47)

A person's good deeds will be placed in one pan, and his evil deeds in the other. If his good deeds outweigh the evil, then—with God's Mercy—success and salvation will be rewarded for that individual. If one's evil deeds outweigh his good deeds, then he or she would be condemned to the Hellfire for severe punishment.

"And the weighing [of deeds] that Day will be the truth. So those whose scales are heavy - it is they who will be the successful. And those whose scales are light - they are the ones who will lose themselves for what injustice they were doing toward Our verses (Quran 7:8-9)

Then Allah will destroy all lights and pure darkness will fall everywhere, so dark that if one placed his hand in front of his face, he could not see it. Paradise will lie on one side and in order to reach it, one would have to cross a very narrow bridge. A bridge so narrow, it would stand thinner than a hair and sharper than a knife; under the bridge will burn Hellfire. People will need to pass this bridge with the aid of his or her light, which would shine from their bodies in accordance with their belief and the righteousness they presented in their lives.

And there is none of you except he will pass over it. This is upon your Lord an inevitability decreed (Quran 19:71)

Some people will reflect very strong bright lights emanating from their bodies and will pass the bridge in a blink of an eye. Every act of worship accepted by God will be transformed into light on that Day. Our Prophet stated, 'Convey glad tidings to those who walk to the Mosque in the darkness. For they will be given full light on the Day of Resurrection'

Others will emanate only enough light to see one step ahead, some will crawl, and some will fall into the Hellfire. This slippery bridge has thrones, and hooks that will snare people, and the soul will struggle and fight against the fall. The ones that do not deserve to pass the bridge will fall. And those who successfully cross the bridge will approach Paradise. The Prophets will wait on the other side, praying to God to save their nations. Amongst the people will stand the Hypocrites who will ask the believers to share their lights, so they can pass over the bridge and they will be told in response, ‘Get your own light.’

"On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, ‘Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light.’ It will be said, ‘Go back behind you and seek light.’ And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment" (Quran 57:13)

The final stage before the admission to Paradise is what's known as the Gon'ta'ra, where one would have to make amends with people they harmed or wronged in their life—those to whom they never made amends or of whom they never asked forgiveness. If a person were wronged and did not receive justice from his abuser, he finally would see justice by benefitting from some of that person's good deeds, which would adjust the level of Paradise they enter.

On the Day of judgment, 70,000 Angels will conjure the Hellfire and every single person will ponder and reflect on the quality of his/her life. But of what purpose will this remembrance and recounting serve at that point? Those who fell into worship of false deities, those who denied the belief of God, and those who lived a wicked and evil life of sin, will be condemned eternally to the Hellfire. They will be led into the Hellfire by the idols and false gods they followed and worshipped to receive their everlasting torture, punishment, pain, and disgrace.

The Hellfire is a place of an unimaginable and immense suffering, extreme blazing temperatures, an unquenchable thirst, a residence prepared for the disbelievers. They will feel remorse and terror as they beg for safety and forgiveness, but it will be too late.

"Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say, ‘Oh, I wish that I were dust! (Quran 78:40)

As for sinful believers, they will be placed into the Hellfire in accordance with their sins—but only to be cleansed from all their sins and eventually sent to Paradise.

As for the ones that believed and worshipped God Alone and lived a righteous life, they will be rewarded generously and warmly welcomed to God's Paradise; where they will live eternally in a garden of physical pleasures and spiritual delights, where every wish shall be granted.

"And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, ‘This is what we were provided with before’ And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally (Quran 2:25)

The people of Paradise will live in beautiful mansions, where rivers will flow beneath them. They will know no disease, sickness, hardship, pain, sorrow or animosity, as God will remove all ill feelings from people's hearts. A place of riches, servants, streams of wine that does not intoxicate, milk that never changes in flavor, honey of utmost purity pleasant in color, taste, and smell, water which does not brackish, pleasant fragrances, and pure, gorgeous partners. Never will a person of Paradise ever feel tiredness, exhaustion, boredom, nor will they ever have to taste death again. The believers will be rewarded with the greatest bliss of all, which will be the honor of looking upon the Holy and Beautiful Face of God, the Glorious. The unbelievers will be deprived of this vision.

"...Say, the enjoyment of this world is little, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah..." (Quran 4:77)

Faith in the last Day, Resurrection, and Judgment Day are fundamental beliefs that Muslims must hold to complete their faith. Everything the Almighty creates and does has a purpose, including the creation of each of our lives. God states in the Quran:

"Did you think that We created you for no reason and that to Us you would not be returned?" (Quran 23:115)

God proves life after death as stated in the Holy Quran. Amongst his proofs is a moral and ethical argument. Certain evil people in this world have gotten away with horrific crimes, and good people have lived difficult lives. If a person was wronged and did not see true justice in his or her life, God will give him his justice on that Day. Without Judgement Day, un-convicted mass murderers would never be punished, and life would be unfair. Everyone shall be judged, and justice shall be served. God states in his Book:

"Do the evildoers think that we will make them like those who believed and done righteous deeds in their life and in their death? Bad, indeed is their judgment!" (Quran 45:21)

If God created mankind the first time, why couldn't He create mankind a second time? To re-create mankind a second time will be even easier. Mankind has already witnessed the Almighty's first creation, in which people were created out of soil:

"And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own (origin and) Creation: He says, 'Who can give life to decomposed rotten bones?' Say, 'He will give them life Who produced them (the) first time; and He (is) of every creation All-Knower'" (Quran 36:78-79)

The creation of the heavens and Earth is greater than the creation of mankind. He, who can create such a vast, and complex world can certainly raise the dead.

Amongst Allah's signs of life after death is the continuous Resurrection of plants and vegetation. Every year we observe the phenomenon of dead land with no vegetation, with the land being dead in the winter only to return to life in the spring.

"And He (is) the One Who sends the winds (as) glad tidings before His Mercy, until, when they have carried clouds - heavy, We drive them to a dead land then We send down from it the water then, We bring forth from it all (kinds) of [the] fruits. Thus, We will bring forth the dead so that you may bear this in mind (Quran 7:57)

God asks man to ponder over the situation of seeds placed on the ground. When water and Earth surround the seeds, they logically should decompose—as opposed to opening and splitting into a root that grows out of the ground, producing magnificent life forms like trees and plants. These are all signs of Allah's Power, Infinite Wisdom, and the Capabilities of bringing about life after death.

The Holy Koran has over 40 names of Judgement day. Among its names is the Day of Standing; since everyone will be too nervous to sit, the Day of Accounting, the Day of Sorting Out, the Day of Eternity, the Day of Meeting, and the Hour. Judgment day will be such a heavy, difficult day that every page of the Quran mentions Judgement Day, either directly or indirectly.

The Quran contains many vivid descriptions of Judgement Day. It's a true blessing that one can acquire knowledge about Judgement Day and its severity now, so he or she can prepare themselves adequately for this Great Day. The possession of faith in life after death encourages one to do righteous deeds, to fear God, to increase his God consciousness, and to avoid wrongdoing.

"O, you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones..." (Quran 66:6)

Do not stand amongst people that have convinced themselves that Judgment Day is far away and that they don't have to prepare themselves for this fateful occurrence.

"O, you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do" (Quran 59:18)

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Believing in God's Prophets and Messengers is a fundamental part of Islam. Muslims believe God sent Prophets and Messengers to convey his Message to humanity. The Holy Quran states:

"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], ‘Worship Allah and avoid Ta’ghut (false deities).’ And among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So, proceed through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers" (Quran 16:36)

Every people, every nation was given a Prophet, and they were sent with the tongue of their people. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad is the only universal Prophet meant for the whole Globe since he is the last and final Messenger. All other Prophets and Messengers including Prophet Moses and Prophet Jesus peace be upon them were only sent for a particular group of people/tribe who lived before us. Islam states all Prophets came with the same general Message to Worship Only One God and Follow His Commandments. Whereas some finer details differed from one nation or Book to another, the Theology and God never changed.

Due to God's Mercy and Love to humanity, God continued to send Prophets and Messengers to deliver give good news and warning to their people. The general Message was whoever worships the One God and follows His commandments will go to Paradise for eternity. And whoever worships other than Allah and goes against His Commandments will enter the Hell Fire. The Prophets also came to teach their people how to purify oneself. Every Messenger was given Inspiration from God. Some of those Inspirations were written down and complied to become more extensive Books.

The Prophet & Messengers that God sent to humanity to convey His Message cannot make mistakes for speaking on behalf of God. Humanity could not attain true knowledge of morality and ethics without the knowledge from their Creator to reveal what is truly good and evil. Muslims believe that God communicates His guidance through human Prophets. These Prophets were sent to guide their people, not only by preaching people to worship the One God and follow His commandment but by example with their actions.

A Messenger (Rasool in Arabic) has a higher rank than a Prophet (Nabi in Arabic). A Messenger is sent to a tribe or people that did not believe in the Message and generally sent with a new Revelation (Divine Laws). A Prophet (Nabi in Arabic) is someone that was sent to a people or a tribe that already believed in the Message and carried and continued the same Revelation from the prior Messenger before Him. Every Messenger is a Prophet, but not every Prophet is a Messenger by default. The Islamic Tradition states there are about 124,000 Prophets that were sent to people and nations and 310 and some Messengers. There are 25 Prophets mentioned by name in the Holy Quran.

1. Prophet Adam
2. Prophet Enoch (Idris in Arabic)
3. Prophet Nuh (Noah)
4. Prophet Eber or Heber (Hud in Arabic)
5. Prophet Methuselah (Saleh in Arabic)
6. Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim)
7. Prophet Lot (Lut in Arabic)
8. Prophet Ishmael (Ismail in Arabic)
9. Prophet Isaac (Ishaq in Arabic)
10. Prophet Jacob (Yaqoob in Arabic)
11. Prophet Joseph (Yusuf in Arabic)
12. Prophet Job (Ayoub in Arabic)
13. Prophet Jethro (Shuaib in Arabic)
14. Prophet Moses (Musa in Arabic)
15. Prophet Aaron (Harun in Arabic)
16. Prophet Ezekiel (Dhul-Kifl in Arabic)
17. Prophet David (Daud in Arabic)
18. Prophet Solomon (Suleiman in Arabic)
19. Prophet Elijah (Ilyas in Arabic)
20. Prophet Elisha (Al-Yasa in Arabic)
21. Prophet Jonah (Younus in Arabic)
22. Prophet Zachariah (Zakariya in Arabic)
23. Prophet John (the Baptist), (Yahya in Arabic)
24. Prophet Jesus (Isa in Arabic)
25. Prophet Muhammad

Peace be upon them all.

Muslims believe all Prophets and Messengers were mere human beings, not divine or semi-divine. They do not have the right to be worshipped, adored, revered, venerated and nor did they claim so.

Video & Article By: TheSincereSeeker