Nothing in Islam’s teachings lead people to atheism; there are no mysteries or ambiguities in Islam that confuse the mind. Islam is simple and solid. The teachings of Islam are summarized as follows:

  • Islam teaches that the universe has one God. He is the Creator of the universe and what it contains. Nothing is like Him. The Muslim must worship his Creator alone by communicating with Him directly upon repentance from sin or seeking help, not through a priest, saint, or mediator. God is the Most Merciful to His creatures, more than a mother to her children, so He forgives them whenever they sincerely repent to Him. It is the Creator’s right to be worshiped alone, and Man’s right to have a direct relationship with his Lord.
  • Islam teaches that the Creator does not come to earth in human, animal, stone, or idol form. He has neither a partner nor child. God the Almighty sent many prophets like Jesus, Moses and Muhammad to spread monotheism. Jesus was created without a father, and Adam was created without a father or mother. So, God creates but does not give birth. He instructed us to worship Him and go to Him alone as the prophets worshiped Him. The Muslim must worship God like what Jesus did, but must not worship Jesus himself. He also must worship God like what Muhammad did, but must not worship Muhammad himself.
  • Islam teaches that the belief in the Creator is based on the fact that things do not appear without a cause or by chance, not to mention this vast inhabited material universe and its creatures who possess an intangible consciousness, and obey the laws of non-material mathematics. In addition, we need an independent, immaterial, eternal source to explain a finite, material universe.
  • Islam teaches that God is Perfect; He does not need to die for us. He gives life and death. He does not become incarnate in anyway. So, He did not die in the person of Jesus Christ nor was He resurrected. He saved His Prophet Jesus and protected him from the crucifixion as He helps and protects His chosen believers.
  • Islam teaches that the lesson God gave to all humanity when He accepted Adam’s repentance for eating the forbidden fruit is the first instance of God’s forgiveness to humanity. There is no issue of the original sin; every soul bears the burden of its corruption. The lesson shows the merciful nature of God. People are born free of sins; they are held accountable for their sins after reaching puberty or maturity.
  • Islam teaches that humans cannot be blamed for sins they did not commit, nor they can gain salvation for not attempting to be good. One’s life is a test, and each soul is responsible for its actions. God gave Man life and gave him the will to test him. Man is only responsible for his actions. The human being has the freedom to choose only within the limits of his knowledge and capabilities. Judgment follows responsibility. Thus, God will not judge us for our physical appearance, our social status or tribal affiliations. Freedom with strife is more honorable to Man than slavery with happiness; judgment and reward is meaningless without choice.
  • Islam involves believing in all the messengers of God sent to different people in different eras without differentiating between them; denying one of God’s prophets violates Islam. The belief establishes a powerful common bond with people of other faiths. [1]
  • Islam involves believing in all earlier revelations of God (Abraham’s scriptures, the book of David, the Torah, The Gospel of Jesus Christ). Islam teaches that the original message in all sacred texts is Pure Monotheism (believing in one God “the Creator” and having a direct connection with Him). Unlike the Divine scriptures that preceded, the Qur’an is not kept in the hands of any particular group or Muslims clergymen which could have led to its misinterpretation or alteration. The text of the Qur’an is still in its original language (Arabic) without any change, distortion or alteration, and it is still preserved as it is until our time. It will remain so, as God promised to keep it. It is available to all Muslims. It’s known by heart to a large number of Muslims. Current Qur’an translations in multiple languages ​​are nothing but a translation of the Quran’s meanings. The Prophet Muhammad’s teachings were transmitted through confirmed chains of authenticated narrators.
  • Islam teaches that all what exists in the universe is under God’s possession and domination. He has comprehensive knowledge, prevalent power and absolute control. Everything is subjected to His Absolute Knowledge and Will. The Sun, planets and galaxies operate in precision without failure ever since they were created. This same precision applies to humans’ creation. Perfect harmony and order between body and soul show that God never puts human beings’ souls into animal bodies. He never lets them wander between plants and insects (reincarnation), in a case which the person will never know what his past was in his previous life. God made the human civilized innately, gave him mind and knowledge, and assigned him vicegerent for earth and commander over other creatures. God will never humiliate human beings.
  • Islam teaches that the true religion of God is always in harmony with human nature. It is one religion, easy, understandable and straightforward. It is suitable for every time and place. The plurality of religions results from taking mediators between the Creator and humans in worship. The key to humanity towards harmony is when people worship the Creator directly without an intermediary ( not through a priest, saint, or mediator, all belief in Muhammad the final Messenger and follow his teachings, then hearts will unite on one religion.
  • Islam teaches doing good deeds and avoiding bad ones, such as the parents’ right by being kind to them, the children’s right by providing them a decent life, preserving the orphan’s money,  observing correct measure, weigh with justice, and not cheat the balance, justice in words and deeds, the fulfillment of covenants, the prohibition of committing immorality or even approaching it, and the prohibition of killing the human soul unjustly. All these values are innate moral principles. Therefore, people are naturally and instinctively aware of these values.
  • Islam teaches that treating each other with good manners to benefit humanity and reconstruct the earth does not substitute believing in the Creator and adherence to universal morals under religion’s umbrella. The reconstruction of the earth and good manners are not the purpose of religion, but they are means. The purpose of religion is to tell the human about his Lord, then to his source, path, and destiny.  The excellent end and future are only achieved by obtaining God’s satisfaction. The way to that is through the reconstruction of the earth and good manners.
  • Islam teaches that there is no priesthood in God’s religion, and faith is for all. People are equal, like the teeth of a comb before God, so there is no difference between an Arab or a non-Arab except with piety and good deeds.
  • Islam teaches that one of God’s greatest attributes is ‘The All-Wise’; He does not create anything in vain, exalted be He! He creates things for reasons that reflect His Great Wisdom. He created us to have mercy on us, and to give us happiness. All beautiful human qualities are derived from His qualities. Our existence in this world is for a noble goal: knowing God Almighty, and turning to Him by repentance and seeking His direct help.
  • Islam teaches that benevolence is the rule, while evil is the exception. Organized things will always collapse and dissolve unless something collects them from the outside, or to be good on a grand scale as it is, without the Creator organizing these random phenomena that appear in the beautiful things like beauty, wisdom, joy, and love.
  • Islam teaches that the Creator established the laws of nature and the laws that govern them. It protects itself by itself when environmental corruption or imbalance appears, and it maintains this balance to reform the earth and continue living better. Therefore, what benefits people and life is what stays and remains on the earth. When calamities occur on earth, such as diseases, volcanoes, earthquakes, and floods, God’s names and attributes are revealed, such as the Strong, the Healer, and the Protector for example, when He heals the sick or preserves the survivor, or His name, the Just, in the oppressor’s punishment and the sinner. His name, Wise, is evident as well in the trials and tests of the non-sinner, for which he is rewarded If be patient and tortured If he complained. So, the person knows the Lord’s Majesty from calamities, similar to how he knows the Attributes of Beauty from gifts. If a person only knows Divine Beauty, it is as if he did not know God, the Exalted.
  • Islam teaches that what permitted calamities is God’s Will. God’s Will is related to absolute wisdom, and absolute wisdom is related to absolute good, as there is no absolute evil in existence. The worldly life that a person lives is only a moment compared to the eternal life. From then he forgets all that he suffered in this world with one dip in the bliss of paradise, as this worldly life is the beginning of an eternal journey that Man will resume after death by resurrection and Judgment, and then the reward.
  • Islam teaches that Man in his freedom may act contrary to what satisfies God, but he cannot do anything in contradiction to His Will. God granted us freedom to transgress against His wishes (we disobey Him) but He gave no one the freedom to transcend His Will. This freedom is further affirmed by our experience that it is impossible under any pressure to compel the heart to accept anything it does not want to. We can force anyone through threats and force them to stay with us but no pressure whatsoever can make them love us.  God has safeguarded our hearts from all forms of compulsion and duress.  This is why God judges according to what is in the heart and rewards according to the intention, which is visible to no-one but Him.
  • Islam teaches that the greatness of Islam is in its simplicity and universality. Islam’s name is not connected to any person or place or a particular group but reflects humans’ relationship with their Creator (submission to God).
  • The teachings of Islam include:

Performing the ritualistic prayers to keep the connection with the Creator.

Fasting the month of Ramadan to developing better self-control and appreciate God’s blessings.

Giving a certain specific percentage of certain types of a person’s saved wealth annually, reaching the poor people to keep economic balance in society, purify the wealth, and revive the economy.

Performing the pilgrimage to Mecca[2] once in a lifetime symbolizes all believers’ unity regardless of their classes, backgrounds, cultures, or languages.

  • Islam teaches that some people believe it is enough to be kind and charitable to other human beings. It makes no sense for an employee to keep his relationship with his colleagues perfect while ignoring his manager’s relationship. Our relationship with the Creator should be the best in our life.
  • Islam teaches that many people go through a search and doubt period before finding a path to the Creator; they are like a lost child searching for his mother. Once they start the relationship with God, they finally find peace.

[1] While many of the prophets and messengers that God has sent to different nations are mentioned by name in the Qur’an (i.e. Jesus, Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, Ismail, Isaac, Joseph, etc.), others are not mentioned. Therefore, the possibility that other famous religious teachers such as the Hindu Lords Rama, Krishna, and Gautama Buddha were prophets of God cannot be outrightly negated.

[2] A city in Saudi Arabia where Muslims believe that it has the first House of God (Ka’aba) was appointed for humanity to worship God a lone without intermediary.


A Global Religion

Faten Sabri

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