What is Islam all about?

Islam does not see itself as a new religion. Rather, it sees itself as a reaffirmation of the same truth that God revealed through all His Prophets to every people. For over a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims are taught to be truthful, to be just, to help the needy, to honor their parents, and to maintain good relations with neighbors and relatives. Muslims believe in the Existance of a Supreme Being, the one and only God, who is the Master and Ruler of the universe. Muslims believe in the Revelation of Gods teachings through Angels in heaven to Prophets on earth. Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment, where God will reward and punish people according to their obedience to His will. The core message of Islam is the same as that which God revealed to all Prophets and messengers. Of the 25 Prophets named in the Qur'an, 21 are biblical figures. Muslims believe that Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, among others, were Prophets sent by God. The Quran tells Muslims to say: We believe in God and what was revealed to us, and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Tribes, and what was given to Moses and to Jesus and to the Prophets from their Lord. We do not differentiate between them, and to Him we submit. (3:84) The Arabic word islam means the state of perfect harmony that exists between God and the whole of creation. It also means devotion and submission, because harmony between the Creator and the creation requires that every element of creation knows its place and obeys the will of the Creator. The Arabic word muslim describes anyone or anything in the state of islam. Prophet Muhammad taught that every human being is created muslim, but each has the choice whether or not to live in harmony with God. The Quran states that a person is most completely at peace when living in the rememberance God: Those who believe and whose hearts find serentity in the rememberance of God; surely in the rememberance of God do hearts find serentity. (13:28) So the fundamental goal of Islam, as a religion, is to guide people to harmony with God. For this reason, God inspired Prophets with His words and teachings. Prophets were men of high moral character chosen by God to receive revelation and guide society. Many thousands of these Prophets were raised throughout the ages, in all lands and in all nations. All of them brought the same message: "O People! There is only One God, and He has decreed that you worship none but Him." The Quran teaches that later generations drifted away from the right path. Either they lost the original teachings through negligence or they deliberately distorted them. So God raised the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia as the Final Messenger with the Final Revelation to complete the mission of the earlier Prophets. The message of Muhammad was for all mankind. He presented anew the teachings of God in their pristine form, providing humanity the Divine guidance which had been mostly lost. The life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad are a Muslims primary source for living a GodConscious way of life. This way of life includes both faith and worship. Islamic Faith means believing that God is One, that angels exist, that the Prophets are true, that revelation has come, that the Day of Judgment is real, and that Gods Will prevails over all. Islamic Worship means affirming Gods Oneness, daily prayer, regular charity, fasting one month every year, and making the pilgrimage to the Holy Sanctuary in Makkah at least once in a lifetime.

What was his Message?

The Prophet Muhammad is defined in the Quran as a Giver of glad tidings and a Warner. What he preached can be summarized by these passages from the Quran: He is God, there is no god but He -- Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He is God, there is no God but He -- the King, the Holy, the Flawless, the Faithful, the Guardian, the Almighty, the Subduer, the Sublime. Glory be to God above what they associate with Him. He is God, the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper, His are the Beautiful Names. All that is in the Heavens and the Earth glorfies Him. He is the Almighty, the Wise. (59:22-24) Take not with God any other god; or you will end in disgrace and defeat. Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! Have mercy on them as they cared for me in childhood." (17: 22-24) Do not kill your children for fear of poverty: We shall provide for them and for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin. And do not come near adultery: for it is shameful indecency, and an evil way. And do not take life - which God has made sacred - except for justice. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority; but let him not transgress in retribution, for he has been helped. And do not come near to the orphan's wealth except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and keep your promises, for every promise will be questioned. Give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a straight balance: that is fair and better in the end. And do not follow what you do not know; for surely the hearing, the sight, and the heart shall all be questioned. And do not walk the earth with arrogance: for you cannot split the earth apart, nor reach the mountains in height. The evil of all such things is ever hateful with your Lord. This, is wisdom, which your Lord has revealed to you. Take not with God any other god, lest you be thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected. (17:31-39) Virtue is not whether you face towards the East or the West; but rather virtue is believing in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Books and the Prophets; and giving wealth despite love for itto the relatives and the orphans and the poor and the travellers and those who ask, and to set slaves free, and to establish prayer and to give charity, and those who keep their pledges when they make them, and show patience in hardship and adversity, and in times of distress. Such are the true believers; and such are the God-fearing. (2:177) When the sky shatters, and when the stars scatter; and when the seas erupt, and when the graves upend; a soul will know what it sent forth and what it kept back. O mankind! What has deceived you from your Lord, the Generous? He Who created you, proportioned you, and balanced you. In whatever form He willed has He assembled you. No! But you deny the Reckoning. And indeed, over you are guardians, honorably writing; knowing what you do. Indeed the righteous will be in bliss, and indeed the wicked will be in the blaze. They will be thrown therein on the Day of Reckoning. And never will they from it be absent. And how can you know what is the Day of Reckoning? Then, how can you know what is the Day of Reckoning? The Day a soul cannot benefit another soul anything, and the Command that Day is with GOD. (82:1-19)