FEW GREAT ARTICLES

MAN, THE FREE AGENT:

Man is the highest creation of God and chooses his own way. Created with the highest potentialities, man is left relatively free in his will, action and choice. God has shown him the right path and the life of Prophet Mohammed provides a perfect example. Mans success and salvation lies in following them. Islam teaches the sanctity of the human personality and confers equal rights upon all without any distinction of race or sex.

The law of God, enunciated in the Qur'an and exemplified in the life of the Prophet, is supreme in all cases. It applies equally to the highest and the lowest, the prince and the peasant, the ruler and the ruled.

LIFE AFTER DEATH:

The world according to Islam, is a place of trial and man is being judged in it. Man is accountable to God for all that he does herein. Life on earth will, one day, come to an end; and after that a new world will be resurrected. It will be in this Life after Death that man will be rewarded or punished for his deeds and misdeeds. God will judge man on the Day of Judgement and send him either to Heaven, a stage of existence which leads to further blessings, or to Hell, a stage of suffering and punishment.

CONCEPT OF WORSHIP:

Islam does not teach or accept mere ritualism. It emphasises intention and action. To worship God is to know Him and love Him, to act upon His laws in every aspect of life, to enjoin goodness and forbid evil and opression, to practice charity and justice and to serve Him by serving mankind. Islam seeks to implant in mans heart the strongest conviction that his every thought and action are with God, Who sees him at all times and in all places.

The Qur'an presents this concept in the following sublime manner: "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or West, but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last Day and the Angels and the Book and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for the love of Him to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observes proper worship and pays the the Zakah. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and are patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are those who are sincere. Such are the Godfearing."

ONENESS OF GOD:

Islam enjoins faith in the oneness and sovereignty of God., which makes man aware of the meaningfulness of the Universe and of his place in it. This belief frees him from all fears and superstitions by making him conscious of the presence of Almighty God and of mans obligations towards Him. Belief in one God requires that we look upon all humanity as one family irrespective of colour, class, race or territory, under the Omnipotence of God-the Creator and Nourisher of all. Islam rejects the idea of a chosen people, making faith in God and good action the only way to Heaven. Thus a direct relationship is

A LETTER FROM SHETAN

I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You awoke without stopping to pray.



As a matter of fact, you didn't even bless your meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so unthankful, I like that about you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, Fool, you are mine.

Remember, you and I have been going steady for years, and I still don't love you yet. As a matter of fact, I hate you, because I hate God. I am only using you to get even with God. He kicked me out of heaven, and I'm going to use you as long as possible to pay him back. You see, Fool, GOD LOVES YOU and HE has great plans in store for you. But you have yielded your life to me and I'm going to make your life a living hell. That way we'll be together twice. This will really hurt God. Thanks to you.

I'm really showing Him who's boss in your life. With all of the good times we've had .. We have been watching dirty movies, cursing people, out partying, stealing, lying, being hypocritical, indulging in fornication, overeating, telling dirty jokes, gossiping, back stabbing people, disrespecting adults and those in leadership position, NO respect for the mosque, bad attitudes: SURELY you don't want to give all this up.

Come on, Fool, let's burn together forever. I've got some hot plans for us. This is just a letter of appreciation from me to you. I'd like to say "THANKS" for letting me use you for most of your foolish life. You are so gullible, I laugh at you. When you are tempted to sin, you give in HA HA HA, you make me sick. Sin is beginning to take its toll on your life. You look 20 years older, I need new blood. So go ahead and teach some children how to sin.

All you have to do is smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, cheat, gamble, gossip, fornicate, and listen to and dance to the top 10 jams. Do all of this in the presence of children and they will do it too. Kids are like that. Well, Fool, I have to let you go for now. I'll be back in a couple of seconds to tempt you again. If you were smart, you would run somewhere, confess your sins, ask forgiveness from Him, live for God with what little bit of life that you have left. It's not my nature to warn anyone, but to be your age and still sinning, it's becoming a bit ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I still hate you...... IT'S JUST THAT YOU'D MAKE A BETTER FOOL FOR GOD.

Quran [14:22] : " And Satan will say when the matter is decided ( The Disbelievers entered the hell ) : "It was Allah Who gave you a promise of Truth: I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you but ye listened to me: then reproach not me, but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries, nor can ye listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. For wrong-doers there must be a grievous penalty."

ISLAM AND MUSLIMS:

Islam is an Arabic Word which means peace, purity, acceptance and commitment. The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of God. (i.e. surrender to the Will of God).

A Muslim is one who accepts freely and willingly the supreme power of God and strives for total reorganisation of his life according to revealed teachings of God. He also works towards the establishment of a just and equitable social order which would totally reflect the guidance of God.

COTINUITY OF MESSAGE:

Islam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which Allah revealed to all his prophets .

"Say, We believe in God and that which was revealed to us and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to the prophets from their Lord; we make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit." (Qur'an 3:83)

On The Nature of God

Who is God? God explains in His Final Book that it is quite simply impossible for us to completely understand Him. We cannot pinpoint a definition of the Creator,

"Glory to the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth - the Sustainer, in almightiness enthroned - from all that they may attribute to Him by way of definition" [43:82]
Our inability to completely understand God does not mean that He is completely remote from us. In spite of our limited understanding, we are all quite capable of turning to God, and He is not unaware of our efforts,

"...and unto thy Sustainer turn with love." [94:8]

"Behold, for those who stand in awe of God although He is beyond the reach of their perception, there is forgiveness in store and a great reward" [67:12]

God has not left mankind entirely in the dark regarding His Nature. He refers to Himself by approximately 100 names in various places throughout the Final Book. Each name is a descriptive attribute of God, and they are all meant to help us understand the Creator. To gain this understanding involves simply thinking about God and reflecting on His names, and this type of awareness is a central pillar of faith (i.e. when one actively remembers God and is conscious of Him). A second benefit of these names is that some of them provide mankind with ideals to try to attain. For example, since God is the Most Forgiving, Most Patient, and Most Knowledgeable, we should each strive to be forgiving, patient, and knowledgeable (educated in our case). Of all His attributes, God emphasizes a single one above all others in His Final Book: that HE IS ONE. God is not two, three, four, or more beings. There is only one deity, and He is God,

"Say: `He is God, Unique God the Eternal, the Independent. He begets not, and neither is He begotten. And there is nothing that could be compared to Him.'" [112:1-4]

In other places of the Final Book, God emphasizes His Greatness and the impossibility of fully grasping Him by using the plural sense of pronouns for Himself - but He is strictly One and Unique with no other partners or deities.