Islam By Najiba Haque

Islam: The second largest world religion...and growing. What is Islam?: Islam is a religion. The name of the religion Islam comes from and Arabic root, the word Islam means “peace” and “submission”. An Islam believes in and consciously follows: God The Angels The Prophets The Holy Qur’an Namaaz Ramadan The Day Of Judgement Who is a Muslim?: The religion is called Islam, and a person who believes in and follows it is a Muslim.

God As some of you already know, many people believe in god. They believe he is the creator of life and the earth.   Muslims believe in and worship one God, Who has no son nor partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone.  He is the true God, and every other deity is false. They believe he is the creator of life and everything around.

Angels There are only few angels that we know by name. They are as follows: Jibrreell (The spirit): The most beloved angel to Allah. He is the messenger of god to all his human messengers, such as Jesus. Meekaaeel: His job includes bring rain, plants and food for the creations by the will of god. Israfeel: He will blow the trump on the day of Judgment. Angles of death: They take the soul from the body Munkar and Nakeer: Angels that will question us in the grave

The prophets A Muslim believe in the 25 prophets. They believe the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is the youngest and most beloved prophet and messenger of God. Muhammad (PBUH): Born in 570 CE (Common Era) in the Arabian city of Mecca 25th Prophet 13 wives and 6 kids two Boys and 4 Girls

Why did God send prophets? Musa (Moses) 14th prophet 1526BC - 1406BC (120 years) Moses was born into a family of Israelites living in Egypt The ruling Pharaoh, on the advice of his soothsayers, ordered the killing of all new-born Israelite males. To protect her son, Moses' mother put him in a basket and set him adrift on the Nile. He was discovered by the Pharaoh's wife, Asiya, who adopted him. Isa (Jesus) Born in 0 24th prophet Mother Maryam (Virgin Mary) Why did God send prophets? Allah sent messengers to every nation to guide them to Path of Allah Messengers warn nations to follow Allah’s commands and gave them glad tidings Allah explained that obedience to Him and His Messenger will earn paradise And whosoever disobeys will earn Hell fire Allah said that He will judge us only after we have received the Message from His Messengers, and everyone will be judged based on his own actions Thus, those who received His message will not have excuse of ignorance

The Holy Qur'an The Qur’an is a holy book a Muslim follows. We believe each sentence of the Qur’an was revealed by the angel Jibrreel to the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It is said the fist sentence was revealed to the prophet in the cave of mount Hira.

Namaaz Namaaz is basically praying to Allah. We pray to Allah because this is his command. It is said praying 5 times a day is one of the keys to heaven. We pray to communicate to Allah and to ask him for forgiveness. Namaaz is prayed 5 times a day. Fajr- Dawn to sun rise Zhuhr- After true noon Asr- Afternoon Magrib- After sun sets Esha- Dusk until dawn Jummah – Only on Fridays in the afternoon (only for men)

Ramadan The month of Ramadan is a very special and holy month. We fast for 30 days. The fasting starts when the sunrises and ends when the sun sets. When a person fast they are not aloud to eat or drink anything. When the whole fasting is over then we celebrate Eid.

The Day Of Judgment The day of judgment is the day when the world will no longer exist and everyone will be taken up and be judged. Individually everyone will be tested and then it will be decided whether they should go to heaven or hell. This test will be easy for the people who are piers and the believers but for the non believers this will be very hard for example it is said in the Qur’an that there will be a bridge that will appear thinner than a single strand of hair to the non believers, whereas for the strong faithful believers, this bridge will appear to be normal and they will be able to pass it with no difficulty.

What follows is a small sample of the signs which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) enumerated for us. People will beat others with whips like the tails of oxen. The Slave Trade? The leader of a people will be the worst of them. Hitler? Gains will be shared out only among the rich, with no benefit to the poor. Female singers and musical instruments will become popular. When singers become common. When voices are raised in the mosque. People will believe in the stars. Good deeds will decrease. People will walk in the marketplace with their thighs exposed.

Earthquakes will increase. There will be attempts to make the deserts green. Dubai? Women will be naked in spite of being dressed. When people begin to compete with others in the construction of taller buildings. Wild animals will be able to talk to humans. Men will begin to look like women and women will begin to look like men. Sex Changes? Adultery and fornication will be performed in the open. The consumption of intoxicants will be widespread. Drugs? People will be carrying on with their trade, but their will only be a few trustworthy persons.