Chapter 8 3. Islam
Islam means submission.
Muslims are submissive people.
Obedience is specific, and this is obedience to the will of God.Allah, known as Allah in Arabic, was originally the creator god of the inhabitants of Mecca during the polytheistic period, and was probably the main god.After the rise of Islam, Allah became the only God.Islam believes that only by absolutely fearing Allah and obeying Allah's will can it be possible to obtain happiness, tranquility and peace.
Yes, Islam also means peace.
This is of course typical monotheism, and very firm and thorough.Muslims are told that all human beings have one religion, which is Islam, and that they should worship only one God, which is Allah.Yahweh in Judaism and Yahweh in Christianity are just different expressions of the only God.
Therefore, the three major monotheistic religions are inherited in one continuous line, and those who inherited the will of Allah are the Messenger (Rasul, transliterated to Suli) and the Prophet (Nabi, transliterated Nabi).A prophet is a person who can receive revelations from Allah in various ways and make predictions.Messenger can not only do this, but also shoulder the special religious mission bestowed by Allah.Therefore, a prophet is not necessarily a messenger, but a messenger must be a prophet.
Prophets and messengers are specially selected by Allah from among human beings and sent to different peoples at different times.Before Muhammad, the most famous messengers and prophets were Adam, Nuhai, Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa, which are actually Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus in the Bible.
Muhammad is the last messenger, the sealed prophet.That is to say, after that, Allah will no longer send messengers and prophets.Therefore, Muhammad is also the greatest saint, which is expressed in Chinese as the most holy, and five people including Adam (Adam) and Jesus (Jesus) are the great saints. In addition, there are Qin Sheng and Li Sheng.
This is indeed intriguing.
So, why did Allah send the Most Holy Muhammad (he is therefore simply called the Holy Prophet) to make the final revelation?
I am afraid that the previous teachings did not satisfy Allah.
The most unacceptable thing is the Christian Trinity.Allah, whether called Allah or God, is unique, how could it be one of the three persons, and how could the only God have three persons?If all three persons are worshiped equally, how is it different from polytheism?
It is also suspicious to say that Jesus is the Christ (the Savior), and it is even more unreasonable to say that he is the Son of God.Allah has no son, and Jesus is a man, not God.He is only the Messenger of Allah, and only one of the Messenger, not the greatest.The greatest messenger was Muhammad, but again man not God.Muslims obey only Allah, and their attitude towards the Prophet is admiration rather than worship.As for the death of the Son of God on the cross in order to make atonement for mankind, it is even more nonsense in their view.
Therefore, there is no such thing as "Tao becoming flesh", only "Tao becoming classics".
The scriptures include all revelations revealed by Allah, even those of Judaism and Christianity are recognized.Jews and Christians are called "people of the scriptures" and are nobler than those without scriptures and beliefs.But, just as the greatest Messenger was the Prophet, so the holiest and most perfect scripture is.As the last revelation of Allah, it is announced in the world's best and most beautiful Arabic, so the language closest to Allah is also the most accurate version of Allah's will.
There are 30 volumes, 114 chapters and 6236 verses in the handwritten fragments. Each chapter of the Quran is named after an Arabic word. On July 22, 2015, the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom stated that the oldest surviving handwritten fragments in the world were discovered in the library of the school. The manuscript was no later than 20 years after the death of Muhammad.The pages are at least 1,370 years old, making them the oldest surviving manuscripts in the world.
Therefore, Muslims attach great importance to reading and have a series of related regulations.Some early scholars even objected to translating into other languages, because it would lead to the distortion of Allah's will, at least not accurately convey the passion and appeal of the scriptures in terms of rhyme, rhythm and rhetoric.
This is not surprising.
In fact, the original meaning of the Qur'an is recitation, and recitation can strengthen faith and cohesion.You should know that except for the ninth chapter, the chapter capital of each chapter has the words "in the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most merciful", and the first chapter that must be recited every time of worship is like this:
Obviously, what is expressed here is the core belief, the core appeal, and the core value of Islam.It is not difficult to imagine what kind of emotions rise in the hearts of Muslims when they recite this scripture in unison.
Is reading a must?
Belief in Allah, the Messenger, and the scriptures, together with the belief in angels, the doomsday, and the predestination, constitute the six major beliefs of Islam.Simply put, everything is arranged in advance by Allah, including the destruction of the existing world.Everything is also created by Allah, including angels created with light.Angels have their own functions. For example, Jabre Eli is responsible for conveying the apocalypse to Muhammad, and Israfil will sound the horn of judgment in the future and announce the end of the world.
Doomsday is thrilling.At that time, all the dead will be resurrected and then be judged by Allah one by one.Those who do good deeds will enter the Paradise, and those who do evil will fall into the Hell; those whose merits and demerits are balanced will be suspended in the air, and they can see both the joy of Paradise and the pain of Hell, and they must pray for the forgiveness of Allah .
This is quite similar to Christianity, but Islam does not recognize original sin.They believe that man is born pure and sinful only for disobedience to Allah.Therefore, as a Muslim, the most important thing is to have a firm belief in Allah and the Prophet.Therefore, the first of the five homework in Islam is reciting exercises, that is, reciting the Shahad - there is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of the Lord.
The Shahadah is the programmatic expression of the fundamental beliefs of Islam and is therefore the most spoken word of every Muslim in his life.On some solemn occasions, such as when entering the religion and before dying, it is necessary not only to recite the Shahad, but also to recite the testimony—I testify: there is no God, only Allah, and the uniqueness of Allah is beyond doubt; I testify again: Muhammad is the servant and messenger of Allah.
Apparently, the main contents of Shahadah and testimonies are exactly the same.So, with the Shahadah, why do we need to recite the testimony?
In order to strengthen the faith.
In fact, although the content of the Shahad and the testimony are basically the same, the tone is different.Piously chanting "There is no God but Allah; Muhammad, the Messenger of God" is already a confession of faith, and adding "I testify" makes it even more unwavering.Therefore, these two sentences must be read out to show a public confession.
No kidding, Muslims too.
In addition to chanting the Shahadah and testifying, Muslims pray daily and fast in Ramadan, the month of Ramadan when the Prophet first received revelation.If you have the conditions, you should go to Mecca for Hajj at least once in your life. If you don’t have the conditions, you can ask someone to perform it on your behalf.
In addition, there are classes, that is, a certain percentage of surplus property other than normal expenses is handed over, which is used for poverty alleviation and religious affairs.Because this is a religious obligation "according to the Lord's order" and it is something that can please Allah, it is called Zakat (Zakat, transliterated Zakat).Reciting, praying, fasting, accepting classes and pilgrimage are referred to as reciting, ritual, fasting, class, and hajj, which are the five homework of Muslims.
With six beliefs and five tasks, Islam as a religion is quite complete.The question is why this religion enabled the Arabs to quickly develop from a loose alliance of desert tribes into a powerful world empire in less than a hundred years; The situation of dissemination and penetration, and finally become a world religion that is not affected by the rise and fall of the dynasty and can rely on its own mechanism and strength?
Where is the mystery?
Notes: There is a clear statement: He is our Lord and your Lord.We worship the same God that you worship, and we submit to Him.See 2:139, 29:46. The twenty-eight prophets mentioned in are all messengers.See "Dictionary of Religion" edited by Ren Jiyu. Convey the will of Allah and say: We have indeed sent a Messenger in every nation.See 16:36. Clearly stated: Those who falsely claim that Allah is indeed one of the three have indeed disbelieved.There is no one worthy of worship but the one and only God.If they do not cease their blasphemy, then those who disbelieve among them will have a painful punishment.See 5:73. Clearly pointed out that Isa (Jesus) "is only the messenger of Allah", and Allah "has no heirs".Muhammad was also "only a warner".There is no one worthy of worship except the one and only Allah.See 4:171, 38:65.Therefore, Muslims are very disgusted by someone calling their religion "Muhammadism".Because Christians worship Christ, of course they can be called Christianity.Muslims only obey Allah, and their religion is a religion that obeys the will of Allah, which can only be called Islam. There is also hadith, that is, the words and deeds of Muhammad, which are not discussed here. 1:1-7. 7:46-47.