ISLAM IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
Compiled by Majed S. Al-Rassi
Edited by Dr. Bilal Philips
Rev. 4
Nov., 2005
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الإسلام دين الفطرة
إعداد : ماجد بن سليمان الرسي
راجعه : د. أبو أمينة ؛ بلال فيليبس
This book is available in
[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]2
NO DOUBT THIS LIFE IS AN EXAMINATION
WHICH NEEDS YOUR FULL CONSIDERATION
AS TO WHAT YOU WILL TAKE TO YOUR LAST DESTINATION
ONLY TRUE BELIEF AND GOOD DEEDS ARE YOUR WAY TO
SALVATION
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الإسلام دين الفطرة ؛ كتيب تعريفي بدين الإسلام ، ُ ذكر فيه :
1. الهدف من خلق البشر ،
2. إلى ماذا يدعو دين الإسلام ،
3. أدلة استحقاق الله تعالى وحده للعبادة ،
4. أدلة بطلان الأديان الأخرى سواء كانت كتابية أو وثنية ،
5. الفرق بين الخالق والمخلوق ،
6. بيان معنى كلمة " الإسلام " ،
7. أركان الإيمان ، مع التركيز على ذكر حقيقة الأنبياء عليهم السلام
على وجه العموم ، وعيسى وموسى ومحمد صلى الله عليهم وسلم على
وجه الخصوص ،
8. أركان الإسلام ،
9. الإسلام والأديان الأخرى ،
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10 . ذكر طرف من محاسن الدين الإسلامي ،
11 . بيان عموم دين الإسلام لكافة البشر
12 . مزايا تعاليم الدين الإسلامي
13 . لماذا يجب على المكلف اعتناق دين الإسلام ،
14 . خاتمة ،
15 . بيان كيفية الدخول في دين الإسلام ،
16 . ذكر مراجع علمية باللغة الإنجليزية لمن أراد مزيدا من الاطلاع
على الدين الإسلامي ، مع ذكر بعض المواقع العلمية ودور النشر
على شبكة الإنترنت .
وكان الفراغ منه في التاسع عشر من شهر الله المحرم لعام 1424 من
الهجرة النبوية المباركة ، والحمد لله أولا وآخرا .
وكتبه ماجد بن سليمان الرسي
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INDEX
I. PURPOSE FOR CREATION
II. THE BASIC MESSAGE OF ISLAM
III. PROOFS FOR GOD'S RIGHT OF WORSHIP
IV. THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS
V. GOD AND HIS CREATION
VI. THE RELIGION’S NAME
VII. THE SIX ARTICLES OF ISLAMIC FAITH
VIII. THE PILLARS OF ISLAM
IX. ISLAM AND OTHER RELIGIONS
X. BEAUTIES OF ISLAM
XI. ISLAM, THE UNIVERSAL RELIGION
XII. FEATURES OF ISLAMIC TEACHINGS
XIII. WHY ISLAM?
XIV. CONCLUSION
XV. HOW TO BECOME A MUSLIM
XVI. FURTHER READING MATERIAL ABOUT ISLAM
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ISLAM
IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT
ach person is born in a religious environment that is not of his/her own
choice. From the very beginning of human existence in this world, they
are assigned the religion of their family or the ideology of the state. By the
time individuals reach their teens they usually accept the beliefs of their
parents or that of their particular society.
However, when some people mature and are exposed to other beliefs
and ideologies, they begin to question the validity of their own beliefs.
Seekers of truth often reach a point of confusion upon realizing that
believers of every religion, sect, ideology and philosophy all claim to have
the one and only correct religion or ideology. There are only three
possibilities. They are either all correct; all wrong or only one is correct and
the rest are wrong. They cannot all be right since all religions are different
from each other in their fundamentals. Furthermore, the majority claim that
they alone are correct and the rest are wrong. On the other hand, to claim
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that they are all wrong is to deny that God revealed His will to humankind.
This proposition is absurd to those who believe in a Wise Creator. So, which
religion is the right one and how can the seeker of truth know it? This is the
subject of the booklet in your hands.
In beginning one’s search for which religion is true, one should keep
four things in mind: First, God gave us the ability and intellect to make the
crucial decision: WHAT IS THE TRUE RELIGION? Second, God, the
Most Compassionate, did not leave us to go astray without any guidance.
Indeed, He sent us prophets with scriptures to show us the right path. Third,
seeking the true religion should be the most important thing in one’s life
because the everlasting life to come depends on it.1 Fourth, one can
determine the true path and make a rational and correct decision only if
emotions and prejudices, which often blind one to reality, are put aside.
1 The Bible, in its present form, confirms that seeking the truth is the main cause for
salvation. It states in John 8:32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” Muslims believe that the existing form of the Bible contains facts of the
original truth though it has been significantly altered.
I. PURPOSE FOR CREATION
ave you ever wondered about the reason of our existence? Have you
ever wondered why we die, and where we go after death? What will
happen to us in the end? Have you ever asked yourself why God made the
earth and all that is in it under man’s dominion? Why were the night and the
day, and the sun and the moon created? What are we supposed to do during
our lifetime? Were we created just to eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves before
we die? As one poet put it:
“I do not know whence I have come.
I saw my feet walking on the road.
As they please I go and stop.
What am I doing here?
How did the road find me?
I do not know! I do not know! I do not know! ”
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God has emphasized in many verses of the Qur’an2 that He did not
create us without purpose. He said: “What! Do you think that I created
you simply in jest ? And that you would not be returned to Me?”3
(23:115) He also said: “What! Does man think that he will be left to
roam at his will?” (75:36) In addition, He said: “Do people think that
they will be left to say: “We believe,” and they will not be held
accountable?” (29:2)
Indeed, God Has created human beings for a purpose and with a purpose:
TO WORSHIP HIM ALONE (Monotheism). He said: “I have not created
the Jinn and humankind except only to worship Me. I don't require
provision or feeding from them. Surely Allah4 is the All-provider, the
Possessor of all strength, the Firm.” (51:56-58) In fact, all prophets told
their people to worship God alone (Monotheism) and shun worshipping His
creation (Paganism). God said: “I assuredly sent among every people a
messenger with the command: Worship Allah and avoid worshipping
false gods.” (16:36)
2 Qur'an is the Holy Book revealed to Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be
upon him). Elaborate definition of Qur'an is explained on page 22.
3 Please note that any quotation in this booklet from the Qur’an is the closest meaning to its
translation from Arabic. It is not the text itself.
4 As per Qur’an, "Allah" is the proper name for " God ".
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Prophet Abraham, for example, believed in One God, who had no partner.
Anyone who holds a different understanding of God than this has
contradicted the religion of Abraham and follows falsehood. God says in the
Qur’an: “Those who reject the religion of Abraham make fools of
themselves.” (2:130)
Prophet Jesus was reported in the Gospels to have said: “It is written:
‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’.” (Luke 4:8)
Prophet Jacob also said (in the Qur'an) to his people: “Indeed, those which
you worship besides Allah are only names that you and your forefathers
have established, for which Allah has sent down no authority. The
command belongs only to Allah. He has commanded that you worship
none but Him. That is the right religion, but most people do not
understand.” (12:40)
II. THE BASIC MESSAGE OF ISLAM
he basic message of Islam is the same message of all the previous
prophets: worship God alone and avoid worshipping anything besides
Him, whether it is a person, place or thing, directly or indirectly. This basic
principle of Monotheism is contained in the opening chapter of the Qur’an,
known as Soorat al-Faatihah, verse 4: “You alone we worship and from
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you alone we do seek help.” In (4:36), God also said: “Worship Allah and
do not associate partners with Him.” Muhammad, the last Prophet (mercy
and peace of God be upon him) is reported to have said: “Anyone who
says: There is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and dies holding
that belief will be granted paradise.”5
III. PROOFS FOR GOD'S RIGHT OF WORSHIP
nly God should be worshipped because He is the Creator and
sustainer of all that exists. This Great Universe and everything that is
in it cannot be the product of chance, and could not have created itself.
Signs testifying that God is the only Creator can be seen throughout the
earth and in the very soul of each person. God said in the Qur’an: “It is
Allah who created the sky and the earth, and sent down from the sky
water by which He brought forth fruits for your sustenance. He
subjected for you the ships to sail upon the sea at His command, and He
subjected for you the rivers. And He subjected for you the sun and
moon in continuous cycles, and He subjected for you the night and day.
And He gave you all you asked Him for .” (14:32-34)
5 Sahih Al-Bukhari (5827) and Sahih Muslim (94).
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In the Qur’an, God mentions Prophet Abraham’s search for truth as an
example of how those who follow God’s signs will be rightly guided to the
worship of Him alone; God said: “In this way I showed Abraham the
kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he would have faith with
understanding and certainty. When the night covered him with
darkness, he saw a star and said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he
said: ‘I don’t like those that set.’ When he saw the moon rising up, he
said: ‘This is my Lord’, but when it set, he said: ‘Unless my Lord guides
me, I will certainly be among the people who went astray.’ When he
saw the sun rising up he said: ‘This is my Lord, this is the greatest of
all.’ But when it set, he said: ‘O my people! I am indeed free from what
you join as partners with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards
Allah who created the heavens and the earth and I reject those who
associate partners with Allah (in worship).”(6:75-79) Actually, in the
Qur’an God calls people to continuously look at the Universe, as this will
affirm the divine truth of His existence, His greatness and that He alone
should be worshipped.
God alone deserves our worship because only He can answer our
prayers. God says in the Qur’an: “And your Lord says: Call on Me and I
will answer your prayer.” (40:60) Hence, if a human being prays to an idol
and his prayers are answered, it is not the idol which actually answered his
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prayers but God. Similarly, prayers to Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Saint
Christopher, Saint Jude or to Prophet Muhammad, are not answered by
them, but are answered by God. Consequently, prayer is an act of worship
which should be directed to God alone.
Indeed, prophets who are worshipped besides Him did not tell
people to worship them. Instead, the prophets warned their people against
doing just that. For example, Islam teaches that Prophet Jesus (mercy and
peace of God be upon him) was a human being who was created by God in
a miraculous way. He was born of a mother, Mary, without a father and he
worshipped God. He was not God, nor was he the son of God. He was
neither one of three manifestations of God as Christians say, nor was he the
son of a prostitute as the Jews say. He told his people (the tribes of Israel) to
worship God alone. He did not tell people to worship either himself or his
mother. Furthermore, Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him)
did not worship himself when he worshipped, rather he worshipped God.
However, those who claim to be the followers of Jesus Christ today worship
Jesus himself, claiming that he is God, and others also worship his mother
calling her ‘the mother of God.’! God says in the Qur’an that He will ask
Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace of God be upon him) on the Day of
Judgment: “O Jesus, son of Mary! Did you tell people: Take me and my
mother as gods besides Allah? Then he will say: Glory to you, I could
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never say what I had no right to say. If I had said it, You would have
known it, You know what is within myself, but I do not know what is
within Yourself. Verily, You alone are the Knower of the unseen. I did
not say to them except what You commanded me; to worship Allah, my
Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness over them as long as I was
among them, but when You raised me up, You were the observer over
them, and You are the witness over all things.” (5:116 - 117)
God emphasizes in the Qur’an that Prophet Jesus (mercy and peace
of God be upon him) was neither killed nor crucified, but God raised him up
into the heavens in body and spirit and he will be returned to the earth
before the end of the world. Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God
be upon him) stated that Prophet Jesus would rule the earth according to the
Islamic law, then he will die on earth like other human beings and will be
buried and resurrected like them on the Day of Judgment. Hence, Prophet
Jesus who was given life, was born from a woman’s womb and circumcised,
ate, slept, went to the toilet, grew up, prayed, and will die, should never be
taken as God as all these characteristics are not the attributes of God, but of
His creatures.
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The New Testament states that Jesus Christ taught his followers to
pray to God saying: “Our Father6 who art in heaven, hallowed be your
name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.” (Luke 11:2 / Matthew 6:9-10) Also, he taught that only those who
submit to God would inherit paradise: “None of those who call me ‘Lord’
will enter the Kingdom of God, except one who does the will of my
Father in heaven.”(Matthew 7:21) Prophet Jesus also pointed out that he
himself submitted to the will of God: “I cannot do anything of myself. I
judge as I hear and my judgment is honest because I am not seeking my
own will but the will of Him who sent me.” (John 5:23)
In fact, there are many reports in the Gospels that show that Prophet Jesus
made it clear to his followers that he was not God. For example, when
speaking about the final hour, he said: “No one knows about that day or
hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son7, but only the Father.”
(Mark 13:32)
Buddha, was a reformer who introduced a number of humanistic
principles in the Hindu religion practiced in India. He did not claim to be
6 This is an example of the distortions that exist in the Gospel. " Father " should be
" God ".
7 This is another example of the distortions that exist in the Gospel. " Son " should be " the
slave ".
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God, nor did he suggest to his followers that he be worshipped. Yet, today
most Buddhists have made him their God and they prostrate themselves
before idols representing his likeness. In brief, from the perspective of the
object worshipped, all religions today [except Islam] invite people to the
worship of creation!
God’s attributes point to the fact that God alone deserves
worship. He is One, without relatives; He has neither father, son, mother
nor wife. He is the Eternal Absolute. He neither gives birth, nor is He born,
and there is nothing like Him. He is perfect in His knowledge, in His power,
in His will, in His mercy and in all His other attributes. God is all-powerful
and perfect, while human beings are weak and imperfect. That is how He
defined Himself and how all prophets defined Him.
Another proof that God alone deserves to be worshipped can be
found within the human soul. Islam teaches that all human beings have
imprinted on their souls an awareness of God and a natural inclination
towards worshipping Him alone imprinted on their souls. In the Qur’an,
God explained that when He created Adam He caused all of Adam’s
descendants to come into existence and then He took a pledge from all of
them saying: “Am I not your Lord? To which they all replied: Yes, we
testify to it.” God then explained why He had all of humankind bear
witness that He is their Creator and only true God worthy of worship: “That
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is in case you, humankind, may say on the Day of Resurrection: Indeed
we were unaware of this.” God further elaborated on this point saying: “It
is also in case you may say: It was our ancestors who made partners
with Allah, and we are only their descendants, will you then destroy us
for what those liars did?” (7:173) Hence, people who associate partners
with God in worship cannot claim on that day that they had no idea that
Allah was the only god who deserved to be worshipped.
Prophet Muhammad (mercy and peace of God be upon him) reported
that God said: “I created my slaves upon the right religion, but devils
made them go astray.”8 He also said: “Each child is born in a state of
Islam. Then his parents make him a Jew, Christian or a Zoroastrian.”9
Thus, Islam is the birthright of every human being, since every child is born
with a natural belief in the existence of God and an inborn inclination
towards worshipping Him alone. Just as the child submits to the physical
laws which God has imposed on the physical world, in the same way its soul
also submits naturally to the fact that God is the only Lord and Creator. But
if their parents are following a different path, the child is usually not strong
or aware enough to recognize the truth or resist the will of the parents. In
such cases, the religion which the child follows is one of custom and
8 Sahih Muslim (2865).
9 Sahih AlBukhari (1385) and Sahih Muslim (2658 upbringing. But God, the Most Merciful and Compassionate, will not hold
him to account or punish him for following a false religion before he
reaches the age of reason and is exposed to the pure message of Islam.
IV. THE MESSAGE OF FALSE RELIGIONS
alse religions, on the other hand, all teach the worship of creation
(Paganism) in one way or another. Some religions call to idolatry
indirectly while proclaiming God’s unity, while others openly call to the
worship of other gods besides God or along with God, instead of calling to
the worship of God alone (pure Monotheism). Idolatry is the greatest sin
that a human being could commit because it equates the Creator with the
creation and diverts worship from the Creator to the creation. It also
contradicts the very purpose for which humans were created; the worship
of God alone. One who dies in a state of idolatry has sealed his or her fate
in the next life. This is not an opinion, but a divinely revealed fact stated by
God in the Qur’an: “Verily, Allah will not forgive joining of partners
with Him, but He may forgive sins less than that for whomsoever He
wishes.” (4:48 & 116)
Man should not worship other than God because it makes no
sense to worship the creation which is weak in nature, and neglect the
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Creator who controls the whole Universe! God says in the Qur’an: “Do they
attribute to Me partners who created nothing but are themselves
created? They can neither help others nor can they help themselves.
And if you call them to guidance they will not follow you. It is the same
for you whether you call them or you keep silent. Certainly, those
whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves like yourselves. So call
upon them and let them answer you if you are truthful. Do they have
feet with which they walk, hands with which they hold, eyes with which
they see? Or do they have ears with which they hear?” (7:190-195)
The following is an example of a sign revealed by God to a man to
show him the error of his idol-worship.
In the southeastern region of the Amazon jungle in Brazil, South America, a
primitive tribe erected a new hut to house their main idol Skwatoo,
representing the supreme God of all creation! The following day a young
man entered the hut to pay homage to his god. While he was prostrating to
what he had been taught was his creator and sustainer, a mangy, old and
flea-ridden dog slunk into the hut. The young man looked up just in time to
see the dog lift its hind leg and pass urine on the idol. Outraged, the young
man chased the dog out of the temple, but when his rage died down, he
realized that the idol could not be the Lord of the Universe. God must be
elsewhere, he concluded. As strange as it may seem, the dog urinating on
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the idol was a sign from God for that young man that his idol does not
deserve to be worshipped. This sign contained the divine message that what
he was worshipping was false. It liberated him from slavishly following his
traditionally learned worship of a false god. As a result, this man was given
a choice: either to seek the true God or to continue in the error of his ways.
V. GOD AND HIS CREATION
slam emphasizes that God and His creation are distinctly different
entities. God is neither a part of His creation nor is He mixed in with it.
His creation is neither equal to Him in His attributes nor a part of Him.
Indeed, God is the Most High; He is above all creation, above the heavens
and above His Throne, as He informed us about Himself in the Qur’an and
in the previous scriptures. This might seem obvious, but man’s worship of
creation instead of the Creator is to a large degree based on ignorance or
negligence of this fact. The wrong belief that the essence of God is
everywhere in His creation or that He is a part of His creation, has provided
justification for the worship of God’s creation. Philosophical idol
worshipers justify their idolatry by saying that they do not actually worship
the stone or metal image, but God who becomes concentrated in it during
their rituals of worship! They claim that the stone idol is only a focal point
for God’s essence and is not itself God! Anyone who accepts the concept of
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God being present in any way within His creation will be obliged to accept
this argument in justification of idolatry.
Actually, those who have claimed divinity for themselves down
through the ages have often based their claims on the mistaken belief that
God is present in humans. Taking this belief one step further, they claim that
God is more present in them than in others, and that other humans should
therefore submit to them and worship them as God incarnate or as God
concentrated within their person. Similarly, those who have asserted that
others were God, after their deaths, have found fertile ground among those
who accept the false belief of God’s presence in man.
Some idol worshippers try to justify what they are doing by saying:
“We treat idols as mediators and intercessors between us and God.” This is
also an incorrect belief because God does not need mediators between Him
and people. He hears everything and knows all the needs of His creation. In
fact, this argument reduces God to the level of His creatures who often use
intermediaries to achieve their goals. In hundreds of Qur’anic verses God
invites humans to have a direct relationship with Him without any mediator
or intercessor, and He prohibits them from worshipping anything other than
Him under any circumstance or for any justification. God, the Most Wise,
did not prescribe for people religious rites that would affect the direct
relationship between Himself and humans, such as baptism confession, or
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belief in man as a savior, or as an intermediary. Indeed, God is too great and
perfect to will a thing that would lower Himself to a level of weakness and
inferiority. To claim that God humbled Himself and took a human form is to
claim that He became feeble. And to claim that He decided to die means that
He decided to be as weak as His weakest creature. It also means that those
who were alive when He died would have been superior to Him!
To conclude, all false religions have in common one basic concept
with regard to God; that God and His creation are one. They either claim
that all men are God, or that specific men are God, or that nature is God, or
that God is a figment of man’s imagination or that man is a mediator
between people and God. Thus, it may be said that false religions invite
humans to the worship of creation instead of the Creator by calling the
creation or some aspect of it ‘God’.
VI. THE RELIGION’S NAME
nother evidence that Islam is the true religion can be identified by the
meaning of the word “Islam” itself. Basically, the word ' Islam ' is an
Arabic word that denotes submission and obedience. As a religion, Islam
has two meanings; general and specific. Islam in general, refers to the
religion which God revealed to all prophets: The worship of God alone