Basic Beliefs of Islam

Basic Beliefs of Islam0%

Basic Beliefs of Islam Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
Category: Religions and Sects

Basic Beliefs of Islam

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: Sayyid Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
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Basic Beliefs of Islam

Basic Beliefs of Islam

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Alhassanain (p) Network for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Basic Beliefs of Islam

Author: Sayyid Qasim Mujtaba Moosavi Kamoonpuri

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: religion 4

Chapter 2:How to Identify the True Religion 7

Celibacy 10

Slaughtering of animals 11

Comprehensiveness of the religion 11

CORE CONCEPT 12

Chapter 3: Benefits of the True Religion 13

IMPOSSIBLE 16

Chapter 4: Islam - The Only True Religion 19

The original Judaism and Christianity verify Islam 19

Chapter 5: What Does the Word Islam Mean? 23

Islam means 23

Chapter 6: Tawhid - Oneness of God 28

Chapter 7: Atheism - Kufr 31

What is Atheism 31

1 The Big bang theory 32

2 The Steady State theory 32

3 Organic Evolution 33

4 - Scientists should invite people to worship God 34

Chapter 8: Polytheism - Shirk 35

MINOR SHIRK OR SHIRK-E-ASGHAR. [CONCEALED SHIRK] 40

The Holy Quran warns 41

Imam continues 43

Is touching and kissing of the sacred objects a Shirk ? 44

Chapter 9: Meaning of Tawhid 48

The Rules of Tawhid 48

b - Allah alone is the creator 49

a - Complete trust in God 51

a - Sovereignty of God 52

b - Absolute oneness of God 53

G we must not kneel down to anyone except Allah 54

Chapter 10: Adl - Justice of God 57

What is the meaning of Justice 57

Chapter 11: Causes of human sufferings and natural disasters 59

Hunger and poverty 59

Diseases and epidemics 60

Natural Disasters 61

1 - Prophet Nuh (as) - FLOOD 62

Divine warnings to turn back to our Lord 63

Chapter 12: Nabuwwat - Prophethood 64

Definition of Prophethood 64

Chapter 13: Imamat - Leadership 73

What is Imamat 73

First Case - Sunni Standpoint 75

Shia Standpoint 75

Argument 76

Second Case 77

Chapter 14: Qiyamat - Doomsday 82

Different names of Qiyamat 82

When the Doomsday will occur? 83

The First Soor 84

The Secound Soor 84

The First Soor 87

The Second Soor 91

Chapter 15: Explicit signs of the Qiyamat 92

The Smoke - Climax of the climatic deterioration 92

Dajjal - Climax of the spiritual deterioration 92

Yajuj (Gog) and Majuj (Magog). Nuclear World War 93

Chapter 16: Re-appearance of Imam Mehdi (as) 94

Philosophy of the occultation 95

Chapter 17: Stages of Human Existence 102

The spectum of human existence 102

Womb to Tomb and thereafter 102

PARADISE 103

Chapter 18: First Phase of Our Existence -Life Before Birth 104

What is Soul 105

Organic body 105

The Soul 105

SOUL -- Brain's network -- Organs of the Body 107

Chapter 19: Second phase of our existence 109

What is successful life 109

How can we accomplish the purpose of our life 109

Chapter 20: Third Phase of Our Existence 111

Life After Death 111

Why we fear death 113

The taste of death 114

Death - A sweet taste 114

Burial 115

Wadi-e-Salaam 117

Chapter 21: Fourth Phase of Our Existence 119

Life after Resurrection Resurrection 119

Day of Judgment 119

Sirat 120

Names of Jannat 121

Names of Jahnnum 122

Aaraf 122

Bibliography 123

Chapter 1: religion

Religion means a particular system of faith and worship. When we believe in something strongly and firmly, we say it is my religion. So by definition, if we do not act in accordance to our religious faith and belief, it means that we do not really believe in that religion. If we do things against the teachings of our religion then it means that we do not have faith in our religion. The Holy Quran has told us about such people.

"Of the people there are some who say: we believe in Allah and the last day;' but they do not (really) believe." (2:8)

The Holy Quran does not recognise anyone as Muslim if he or she is not practising its teachings. Thus, a true Muslim is one who follows the teachings of Islam at all times. If we are tr ue Muslims then we should follow the laws of Islam in and out side our home, i.e. in classroom, in playground, inmosque , on streets and where ever we are.

In Islamic terminology, the word 'Deen' is used for religion. But Deen is much more comprehensive in its magnitude than Religion. Thus, our Deen is Islam which is more than a Religion.

Unlike other religions which are confined to worship only, Islam offers:

G a complete code of life.

G a code of behavior.

G a perfect system of social interactions.

G a full constitution of government.

G a balanced curriculam of comprehensive education.

G a right approach to conscious seientific exploration.

Is religionnecessary ?

There are many people in this world who do not believe in religion. They think that religion is not necessary. They give some baseless arguments in suppor t of their assumption. For instance, they say;

1. Man knows what is good and what is bad for him. So he does not need any prophet to teach him.

2. There are many different religions in this world with entirely different teachings and contradictory concepts. Interestingly enough, all religions proclaim that they alone have all the truth while others are wrong. How can it be true?

3. Religious restrictions and commandments consume a lot of human energy and time. So religion is a barrier in progress and scientific advancement.

4. Religion does not allow us to enjoy life.

We can convincingly prove that all these arguments are totally baseless and have no substance in them.

Let us analyze the contents of each argument one by one.

1. It is true that Allah (swt) has given man marvelous brain which can identify good and bad. But still we find that people greatly differ in their judgment about good and bad things.

For instance, many people appreciate nudity, drinking alcohol, gambling and many other such acts which are regarded by others as heinous crimes. Moreover, human brain has certain limits beyond which it can not perceive.

We can know by scientific explorations what is happening on Moon, Mars, and in all other planets. But we can never know by any sophisticated technology the facts of grave and burzakh, and the events that will occur in the hereafter. For all such information, we need a prophet who has direct communication withAllah( swt), The Lord of the Universe.

Thus, undoubtedly men are intelligent beings but they cer tainly need the help of prophets in almost every field of knowledge.

We can see today that world's top scientists are doing grave mistakes just because they do not follow the teachings of the Holy prophets. There is no dispute today that scientific and technological advancement has become a threat to mankind.

Thus, human intellect is not sufficient to discover all the realities of the universe. Thetr ue religion teaches us all those things which no one can discover by his effor ts.

2. It is true that there are many different religions with different teachings and none of them are true except one.

The true religion can be discovered by everyone after research. For instance, in market we knowboth pure and impure, real and ar tificial, good and defective things are sold by the people. Everyone claims that he has the pure, real and goodthings which is not always correct.

What do we usually do in all suchcases ? Do we stop buying things because many are selling impure or defective things and everyone is claiming that he alone has the best and purethings ? Not at all. We make all possible efforts to find the shop which is selling the right things.

Similarly if one realizes the impor tance of religion, he or she can identify the true religion after research and studies.

3. The third argument is also grossly wrong. We spend a lot of time in eating, sleeping, resting, playing and socializing with people. The consumption of time and energy in all these natural functions is quite high. But we never complain that these acts (sleeping, eating and meetings) are wasting a lot of our time and energy and therefore we should stop them in order to progress in science and technology.

In fact, we realize that moderate eating, sleeping, and playing generate energy to do more work. Similarly worshipping Allah subhanu taala increases our potential to do more scientific work.

A person who sincerely worshipsAllah( swt) with understanding will never waste his time in watching useless films, listening music, gambling in casinos or any other hopeless thing. People waste their tremendous amount of energy and time in doing the things which are prohibited in Islam.

Thus, by following the teachings of the true religion we not only save our precious time and energy but also use them for constructive work.

4. The fourth argument is also not correct. The true religion makes our life full of pleasure. Many chronic diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and heart problems are making human life miserable. No one can enjoy life with fear that he can be the next victim of any of these killing diseases. But the true followers of the true religion have no fear. They know that life in this world is temporary and ultimately they have to leave this world for another permanent world.

Thus, for a purposeful and prosperous life religion is essential. However, the choice of a wrong religion can destroy the life here and here-after.

Finally, we can prove that religion is necessary by analyzing ourselves. We have a natural instinct to know about ourselves. We can feel this urge in times when we are free of external pressures. For instance, it has been observed in many cases of serious car accidents, that when the unconscious person recovers, he instantly asks many questions to the people standing around him. He asks; where Iam ? How I camehere ? Who brought mehere ? What has happened tome ? Am Isafe ?

All such questions clearly show that man has a natural instinct to know: from where he has come and where he has to go finally. The true religion has the correct answers to these questions. If anyone is ignoring these questions then it means that he is insensible.

This is what Ammr-ul-momineen Hazrat Ali (as) said in one of hissermons ; " People are sleeping, they will awake after their death." The true religion tells us many things which we can never know from any other source. For instance, Islam gives us correct answers of the following difficult questions:

Who has created theuniverse ?

Who has created the millions of types of livingspecies ?

Who has made humans superior over all the creatures?

Why has He createdus ?

No one can know how the universe and every thing in ithas come into existence. What scientists tell us about the origin of the universe and the living creatures is their guesswork.

This is the reason that there are many different theories in science with entirely different explanations. For instance, Big-bang theory, Steady state theory, and theory of evolution give different stories about the existence of the universe. Until today, no scientist can say with certainty that he really knows about the origin of the universe and life.

But the holy Quran tell us very clearly about the origin of the universe.

"He (Allah) created the heavens and the universe..... He makes the night overlaps the day and the day overlaps the night. He has subjected the sun and the moon to His laws. Each follows the course for a fixed time ---- Is not He the Exalted in Power - HE Who forgives again and again. (39:5)

The basic aim of this lesson is to equip you to fight intellectually with the false propaganda of the West which they have been tactfully doing against the religion. The students should realize that religion is a necessity of life.

Chapter 2:How to Identify the True Religion

Is it not rational to test your faith?

There are thousands of religions in the world.The major religions which have a large number of followers are Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, Shintoism, and Sikhism.

How can we identify the true religion when the adherents of all religions claim thattheir 's is the true one?

This is not difficult. One can search the true religion from the bulk of religions if he is sincere in his research and investigation.

For instance,If you study all the major religions of the world, the outcome of your unprejudiced research would be as follows:

A. Islam is the only religion which agrees with the human nature.

Allah's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: (30:30).

For example,The engineers always try to foresee student's concerns in such areas as safety and the environment when they plan to design school buildings. Similarly the laws of Islam are made by Allah Subhanahu taala according to the pattern on which He has created the human beings and the environment in which they were planed to live.

B. Islam is the only religion which never collides with any of the cosmic laws.

HeWho created the seven heavens one above another: Do you see any fault in the work of Merciful? Turn up your eyes: Can you detect any rift? Then look once more and yet again: your eyes will in the end grow dim and weary. (67:3-4)

The perfect order and harmony in the vast space, visible and invisible to us, following precise laws of motion, proves absolute unity and supreme authority of a single creator.

The multiple laws of nature are closely connected with each other in the continuous working of the universe. There is no gap, no overlapping nor discontinuity. This phenomenon is one of the signs of the unity of the creator. Thus, the laws of religion and laws of cosmos have the same origin and therefore the question of collision does not arise.

C. Islam is the only religion which gives strong emphasis on pondering, reasoning and rational thinking. Islam demands its followers to understand the Holy Quran and then show its applications in practical life. Quran has repeatedly advised the Muslims to ponder, to reflect and to understand its message. Quran has made it very clear that it is addressing to only those people who are intellectuals.

"Thus doWe explain the signs in detail for those who understand (7:32)

Thus doWe detail our message for people who have knowledge (7:32)

Here are signs for people who are wise( 30:28 )

Verily there are signs for people who reflect (39:42)

Verily in this are signs for people endued with intelligence. (13:3)

Quran was revealed in Arabic which was the language of Arabs.

We have revealed (Quran) in Arabic so that you may understand (12:2)

Soon after the introduction of Islam in non-Arab countries, the people ofthat countries translated it into their own language. Many people learned Arabic just to understand Quran.

Christians and Jews who live in English speaking countries also needed a translation of the Bible. But the first English translation of the Bible appeared in the 1380's. Mar tin Luther translated Bible into German language in 1534.

Why the Bible was translated so late into the language of the people?Because the evangelists never allowed to arrange translations and discouraged people to read it in their own language.

Similarly in Hindus, a special group of people known as Brahmans were allowed to read the religious books.

D. Islam is the only religion which totally rejects blind following and irrational arguments. This is a clear sign of a true religion. Quran has condemned those people who follow the footsteps of their forefathers without understanding.

E. Islam is the only religion which never imposes its beliefs on someone to accept it whether or not it appeals to him. Islam demands full understanding of the core concepts before one accepts it "there be no compulsion in religion" (2:256)

There is no need of applying any kind of force or pressure on some one to accept Islam. The logical teachings of Islam attracts people exactly as magnet attracts iron by its innatenature .

"soon will We show them our signs in the Regions (of the earth and heavens) and in their own souls, untill it become manifest to them that this is the truth."(41:53) Thus, we know many people in the worldwho have discovered the true religion by their sincere efforts. One such great man was Salman Farsi.

Salman el-Farsi was born in Iran. All his family members and fellow citizens were either Christians or Zoroastrians. Salman was also taught by his parents the basic beliefs and principles of Zoroastrianism. But Salman was not satisfied with Zoroastrism. Histor y tells us that Salman accepted and rejected one religion after the other but remained displeased until he met the Holy Prophet and embraced Islam. Salman was extremely happy and satisfied after meeting the Holy Prophet and discovering the true religion.

Similarly many Hindus, Christians, Jews and adherents of other religions have accepted Islam after their sincere research. We have a long list of such converts. Let me give you one example of our time.

Dr. Maurice Bucaille, a famous French surgeon of our times, is one of them whohas accepted Islam after his deep research in the Holy Quran. Dr. Bucaille was a Christian by birth . He wrote a book The Bible, The Quran and Science in which he has scientifically proved that Islam is the only true religion in the world.

Many other learned people have rejected their false religion but could not procure the absolute truth. One such genius was Bertrand Russell. He is ranked by the historians among the greatest philosophers and mathematicians of the 1900's. He has also been called the most important logician (expert in logic) since the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Russell was a born Christian but rejected his faith in Christianity. He wrote a book, Why I Am Not a Christian (1927), in which he has exposed the irrationality of his former faith. Russell is an example of spoiled genius. He had detected the falsehood but could not discover the truth.The Basic rules of the Judgment.

Inability to live in harmony with nature

Perfect harmony with nature

False Religion

True Religion

Incompatibility with laws of nature

Unanimity with laws of nature

It is not difficult to ascertain the identity of the true religion and to distinguish it from the false religion.

If we fairly examine the basic concepts and teachings of different religions then we can choose the true religion and reject the untrue religion. Following are the three basic rules of scrutinizing the religion in order to identify the true and false nature of the religions.

1- Compatibility with the Natural laws.

2- Unanimity with biological laws.

3- Comprehensive in contents.

Compatibility with the Natural laws.

The true religion will never clash with the laws of nature.

It is quite obvious. Because if the religion is from God, Who is the sole creator of the universe, then there should not be any conflict between the cosmic laws and the teachings of that religion, as both have the same origin. A conflict will certainly arise between the principles of religion and the natural laws working in the universe, if the religion is not from The Master of the Universe, Who has made the laws of universe.

Today, the basic structure of all religions, except Islam, has been shattered by the bombardment of scientific researchers. Thetruth of the Nature discovered by the scientists have nakedly exposed the falsehood of fictitious religions.

The polytheistic religions preaching the worshipping of sun, moon, stars, animals and thousands of other such gods can not survive now. The edifice of polytheism has totally collapsed after the discoveries of scientific truths. In 1969, the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 astronauts landed on the head of the god (moon) of the polytheists. That was the most shameful day for all the worshippers of moon, when one of their gods was under the feet of man.

Science has dishonored almost all the gods of the polytheists by disclosing their reality. The pioneer of modern scientific adventures is Prophet Muhammad (sws), who cleared the space for moon landing 1400 years ago. History tells us how the Holy Prophet (sws) smashed the whole structure of symbolic gods, which were being worshipped by people. A sincere study can prove that all religions, except Islam, have a direct collision with the established facts of science.

Dr. Maurice Bucaille has identified several scientific blunders in the Bible. He has also certified that there is not a single scientific error in the Holy Quran. Thus, scientific analysis of the religion is an unbiased and reliable approach of identifying the genuine and false religion.

Unanimity with the biological laws. Another important distinctive characteristic of the true religion is thatits basic principles shows a complete unanimity with the biological laws of life. If the religion is truly from God, Who is the creator of man, then the religious precept must comply with the natural demands of human body. This rule also invalidates all religions except Islam.

Islam is the only religion which not only allows but educates its followers to take the maximum benefits from the Nature. The Halal and Haram of Islam do not stop us to enjoy anything but regulate our natural instincts to take the full advantage of the uncountable blessings of Allah Subhanu taala. The Holy Quran has made it very clear in the following verse. "Say: Who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah, which He has produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure, (which He has provided) for sustenance? Say:

They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) purely for them on the Day of Judgment"(7:32) In fact, Quran has condemned those people who unnecessarily avoid halal things and make their life miserable. However, Islam certainly demands from its adherants to exercise self- discipline and avoid what is forbidden even if it attracts them.

Eat clean and halal food that Allah has given you Avoid food that Allah has forbidden for you

Adultery

Pork

Alcohol

Fruits

Meat

Marriage

Kills millions of people

Keeps Healthy & Fresh

Other religions either totally suppress the genuine demands of the body and society or leave them totally free to exhaust their precious energy in the abundance of vast Nature. A few examples of this kind are being cited here to show a marked difference between the Divine religion and man-made laws.

Celibacy

Celibacy means to refrain from lawful sexual relations for religious reasons, i.e., not to mar ry for the sake of God's pleasure.

Christian and Buddhist monks and nuns view celibacy as a religious ideal. By law, all Roman Catholic priests must remain celibate i.e. they must remain unmarried throughout their lives. In Eastern Churches, married men can become priests, but bishops must practice celibacy. One can ask a valid question: why the pope, bishops, nuns, who also have the natural sexual desires like other human beings, are not allowed by the religion tomarry ?

If marriage displeases God, then why has He created the whole system of sexual reproduction? Why all living creatures including humans have been created by God with special sex organs to perform the sexual act?

If God does not approve of sexual relations for men and women, then why the basic process by which God has created more and more humans entirely depends on sexual relationship. The reproductive systems of males and females in humans and in other kinds of living species have been specially designed by God to produce, nourish, and develop their respective offspring.

If the ideology of celibacy were to be an ideal example to be followed by mankind as a manifestation of their devotion towards God, then it would seriously repress the Divine Scheme of creation.

If all the adherents of Christianity follow the lifestyle of Pope, who must be regarded by his followers as the most ideal person, then the whole Christian world would be wiped out within one generation. Also, all Christians recognize Hazrat Ibrahim (as), Hazrat Musa (as) and many other prophets as messengers of God. All these prophets had wives and children. Thus, this religious practice of Christianity and Buddhism brings a direct collision with God's plan and His mechanism of pro-creation. This is an antithesis of Divine Religion. Islam not only allows the marriage institution but puts special emphasis on it.

The Holy Quran says;

"Marry women of your choice". (4:3) The Holy Prophet (sws) has shown disapproval of remaining unmarried or delaying marriage unnecessarily. The Prophet has said:

"Marriage is my sunnat whosoever diver ts from my sunnat is not of me." There are many other hadith of the Holy Prophet (sws) and Imams to this effect.

Slaughtering of animals

Similarly, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists do not eat meat and consider slaughtering of animals for their meat as cruel and inhuman. We can analyze it rationally whether slaughtering of animals is cruelty or not.

We know that there are many animals that eat chiefly meat (Carnivos). Such animals have an inborn tendency and biological make-up to prey on plant-eating animals (herbivores). God has given these animals extremely sharp bladelike shearing teeth, strong jaw muscles and other necessary facilities of hunting. If hunting, slaughtering and eating of meat is a cr uel and barbarous act then why the Most Kind and Merciful Godhas created carnivores which can not eat anything except meat.

Millions of goats, sheep and cows are being slaughtered every day for eating purposes. But there has never been any shortage ofthese halal animals.Thus, eating meat can not be regarded as a barbaric act. However, Islam stresses on moderate eating of animals meat and strictly maintains regulation regarding the welfare of all living species.

Comprehensiveness of the religion

Lastly, the true Divine religion can easily be recognised by its ability to guide the mankind in each and every sphere of his life.

The war between Islam and the adherents of all other religion is on the issue of comprehensiveness of Islamic teachings.

They argue that religion is a private thing and it should not come out to inter fere with the social and official works. Several times a practicing Muslim encounters such provoking remarks;Don't bring your religion in office, please keep it in the mosque or in your house. These people do not know one basic thing about Islam and that is the comprehensive nature of Islam. Unlike other religion, Islam covers each and every aspect of human life and therefore demands its followers to observe its teaching in every sphere of their life.

Thus, a careful analysis of religions can help every person of rational thinking to differentiate between the true and untrue religion

CORE CONCEPT

The aim of this lesson is to enable you to identify your faith in a rational way.Blind following and inheriting the father's religion without real understanding of the faith has no value in Islam. The primary criterion of Emaan laid down by the Holy Quran is: to testify and intellectually recognize the basic contents of the faith. The fulfillment of this basic condition demands sincere efforts to acquire useful knowledge and to do some research. This is why, acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for every male and female Muslim.