Frequently Asked Questions about Islam

Q. What is Islam?
A. Islam is the best and only form of complete religion. It has got a set of rules and regulations, which when followed will give best results in the social and political lives of people.

Q. Was this universe created automatically?
A. Those who believe in the big bang theory and that the whole universe or at least the earth was created as a result of it, should just ponder over the fact that in this modern world when a person would say to you that a building was built overnight automatically from the rubble of the old one that was demolished some time back, would you believe it? Certainly not. Then how can this whole world along with its so many installations be created as a result of big bang or any other theory?
The only answer to this question is that someone created this earth and the universe and that particular someone is called God or Allah.

Q. Is God one?
A. After one believes that this universe is created by Allah comes the point that whether that entity is single or not.Take the example of an institution. It is run by an administration and a managing director heads that body. Now if there will be more than one managing directors in a company it will not be able to run smoothly as no two people think alike and specially if they have power, so how can this world, which is an example of discipline with its accurate sunrises and sunsets and sequence of seasons, be governed by any one other than the sole entity without any turmoil being witnessed by humans.
This proves that Allah is alone the Creator of the universe and all that we know of and even whatever lies beyond our imagination.

Q. Are humans free to do whatever they want in their day-to-day life?
A. God has sent many messengers in this world who told the humans about the right and wrong path. Now it is up to the human beings to follow whichever path they want. Its just like an exam where we are given questions and we have to answer them in the best possible way. If we have studied well before, we are able to give the right answers for most of them but if we haven't studied then there is no one to blame for our failure except ourselves.
Similarly if after having the knowledge we still follow the wrong path then we will have to be ready for the punishment as well.

Q. Why should only Islam be considered as the best religion and likewise followed?
A. Islam gives us the complete code of life. It tells us not only how to lead our life in our social circle but also how to deal with our personal problem.

Q. Who is Muhammed?
A. Muhammed is the last Prophet of Allah. The first Prophet was Adam and in between them there came 2 less than one lakh twenty four thousand Prophets. All these Prophets gave the same message of peace and brotherhood and the religion, which Adam brought, was Islam and that Muhammed (pbuh) brought was also Islam. Muhammed (pbuh) is also the progeny of Abraham. He was born in Makkah in 570 AD in the Hashmite family. His father died before He was born. He was raised as per Arabic customs in a village. When he was 6 his mother too expired and his grandfather and uncle raised him. At a young age he was respected for his manners and truthfulness. As he grew old he used to meditate in the cave of Hira and during one such meditation Gabriel came to him with the revelation. He announced about his Prophet hood when he was 40 years old and mainly the poor and slaves embraced this religion, which shunned all the caste systems and divisions among human beings. The revelations continued for 23 years during which he migrated from Makkah to Medina and then stayed there till his last breath.

Q. What is Quran?
A. The revelations, which were revealed to Muhammed, were compiled in a form of book called Quran. Quran has remained in its original form since then. It was revealed in Arabic but since then it has been translated in various different languages. It has got stories from the past and the future. In it there is also the mention of Jesus and Moses and all the Prophets that Allah sent before proving the fact that whatever the Prophets earlier preached was also Islam.

Q. Do Muslims worship Muhammed?
A. No Muslims do not worship Muhammed or any other Prophet or any other thing or person. They believe in all the Prophets like Abraham, Aaron, Jesus, Moses, David, Solomon and many others. They consider Allah to be the only one liable for worshipping.

Q. What do Muslims think of Jesus?
A. Muslims think very highly of Jesus. They consider him as the Prophet of Allah and that he was born miraculously as is said in Quran, " The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was. " (Quran 3:59). God had bestowed him with many miracles like he spoke as a newly born to tell the world about his Prophet hood and his mother's chastity. He could heal the blind and sick specially lepers. He performed many other miracles too. According to Muslim belief he was not crucified but risen to heaven and is alive and will come back on the earth someday.

Q. Do Muslims have sects?
A. Muslims initially were not divided into any sects but after the death of the Prophet they divided into two sects namely Shias and Sunnis. There is no difference in them except from the fact that Sunnis only believe in Quran and the Prophet's Hadith whereas the Shias along with these also follow the sayings of Ali and his 11 progeny whom they consider the caliphs after Prophet. Shias mainly live in Iran and Iraq and the rest of the Muslims are Sunnis. The shias comprise of 16% of the total Muslim population.

Q. What is the concept of worship in Islam?
A. Islam tells the Muslims to spend each and every minute of their life in accordance with Allah's orders. This is to be done by abiding by Allah's laws and not to perform any action, which is against His orders. Thus Islam teaches Muslims to be conscious about their deeds throughout their lives.

Q. Do the Muslims believe in Hell, Heaven and hereafter?
A. Muslims believe that Allah is Just and he will reward those who will do good in this world and punish those who will disobey Him. In reward He will send His creation in Heaven and punish them by putting them in Hell. Islam teaches that this present life is temporary one and the real life is after death where we have to live forever.

Q. Will all the good deeds of the non-believers be wasted?
A. No the non-believers will be rewarded for their deeds in this world only as is said in Quran, " Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. " (99:7,8) But the Muslims who do good will be rewarded in this world as well as the hereafter.

Q. What are the dietary restrictions in Islam?
A. Islam prohibits eating of pork, meat of that animal which is not slaughtered according to Islamic way, meat of animals who either died natural death or due to any disease and carnivores also drinking of blood and intoxicating liquids such as wine and taking illicit drugs are also not allowed.

Q. What is the dress code for Muslims?
A. Islam preaches decency. It forbids its followers to dress improperly. All the men and women are supposed to dress in a way that doesn't attract the opposite sex's attention. Men are supposed to cover the area from navel to knee and women should cover themselves completely except hands and face. It is not essential to cover the face with a veil.

Q. What are the fundamental principles of Islam?
A. Islam is based on the main principle of Tawhid or belief in oneness of Allah. Then there is the principle of Nabuwat or belief in the Prophet hood and another main principle is belief in Qiyamah or the Day of Judgment. Apart from these there are other principles too but these three are the main pillars of Islam.

Q. What is the Islamic calendar?
A. The Islamic calendar started from the day the Prophet migrated from Makkah to Medina in 622 AD. As migration is called "Hijrat" in Arabic the calendar is called Hijri. It is a lunar calendar of 354 days. Its first month is Muharram and last is Zilhajj. The year 2005 AD is 1425 Hijri.

Q. What are the festivals of Islam?
A. Eid ul Fitr is a festival celebrated at the end of the Holy month of Ramzan to say thanks to Allah for His blessings. Eid ul Azha is celebrated on 10 th Zilhajj at the end of the Hajj. On this day people sacrifice cattle according to their means and distribute its meat among their relatives, neighbors, near and dear ones and poor people. This is done to commemorate Hazrat Abraham's offer to sacrifice his son Ismail. Allah happy at his obedience had sent a lamb from Heaven to save his sons life.

Q. What is Jihad?
A. It is one of the important principles of Islam. The word Jihad means to struggle, meaning to struggle in the path of Allah or to please Allah. The biggest Jihad is the one to control oneself from performing bad deeds. Another form is to stand up against a tyrant. Jihad doesn't only mean to fight with sword; it can also be done with words or pen or by money. If a Muslim country is attacked, then the Jihad with arms is allowed and that too if the religious leadership or the Muslim head of a state, who follows the rules of Quran and Sunnah, orders it.

Q. Do Muslims have a different law?
A. Islam has devised a set of rules and regulations in accordance with Quran and Sunnah (sayings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh)). It is called Shariah. The purpose of Islamic laws is to protect an individuals right and to create a peaceful environment among the Muslims.

Q. How does Islam react to terrorism?
A. Islam is religion of peace and it condemns all kinds of violence and terrorism activities. It is in Quran, "any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people." (5:32)

Q. Does Islam promote polygamy?
A. Islam does not promote polygamy; it is just an injunction of Islam. It is allowed in Islam for men to have 4 wives at a time not for mere lust but to provide for the orphans and widows. In pre Islamic age people use to keep up to 11 wives but Islam has permitted 4 wives and that too when a man deals with all of them equally. As it is said in Quran, "Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one." (4:3) As men cannot treat all their wives equally therefore they do not have more than one wife. Whereas in the western world man has only one wife and many extramarital affairs.

Q. Does Islam oppress women?
A. No in fact Islam gave women their true rights 1400 years ago when no woman was respected in the world. It has given woman the right to divorce; to keep her maiden name after marriage to earn her living and use her money as she wishes and has asked the man to protect his woman as any one can harm her. Not Islam but some Muslim oppress their women because of their culture or own conservative thinking. Female genital mutilation is not an Islamic ritual but it was practiced in pre Islamic era by some African tribes and even by Coptic Christians.

Q. Is Islam intolerant of other minorities?
A. Islam greatly recognizes the rights of minorities. In the time of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) a special tax was collected from the non-Muslims called Jazia, which insured their safety in the Islamic state. Prophet and after him his caliphs also did not let the Muslim armies destroy the minorities' praying places. The Christians flourished in Spain under Muslim rule and they consider that era as the Golden era for them. Minorities are allowed to practice their religion and also hold positions in the government but such behavior is often not seen for Muslim minorities. The example of Bosnia, Israel and India, where Muslims' rights are violated unchecked.

Q. What is Islam's verdict on the topics of Extra marital and pre marital sex, Abortion, HIV, Homosexuality, Euthanasia, Suicide, Organ transplantation?
A. -Islam prohibits sex out side the wedlock be it before or after marriage. It also does not approve of segregation of sexes at any social place but Islam approves of marriage as a shield against all carnal desires.
-Abortion is prohibited in Islam until it is essential to save the mother's life.
-Homosexuality is considered a sin in Islam but Islam advises the people infested with HIV virus to be treated with the same dedication as the other patients.
-To end the life of a patient suffering from a deadly disease to stop his suffering is not allowed in Islam.
- Similarly suicide is also considered a sin.
- Islam is very keen on saving lives hence transplant can be done to save someone's life provided the donor consent is available. The sale of organs is not allowed.

Q. How does Islam tell its followers to treat non- Muslims?
A. Christians and Jews are called "the people of the Book" as scriptures were revealed to their Prophets as well. Islam orders Muslims to be forbearing towards them and not to fight them unless they initiate any fight or insult Islam. It is said in Quran, " O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will). " (3:64)
Other minorities are also told to be respected.

Q. Are Muslims allowed to marry out side their religion?
A. Unless the non-Muslim partner has freely agreed to embrace Islam, Islam does not allow its followers to marry outside the religion. Also to force the non-Muslim partner to embrace Islam is not allowed.

Q. What Non-Muslims Say About Mohammad SAWW, The Prophet of Islam
A. This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslims notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West. To our Knowledge none of them ever become Muslims. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the life of the prophet.

Michael H. Hart
(1932 -) Professor of astronomy, physics and the history of science.

"My choice of Mohammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level."
[The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History, New York, 1978, p.33]

"His readiness to undergo persecutions of his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an imposter raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad."
[Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p. 52]

"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"
[Translated from Histoire De La Turqie, Paris, 1854, vol.II, pp. 276-277]

".. He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammad; for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports."
[Mohammad and Mohammadanism, London, 1874, p. 235]

". I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble."
[Young India (periodical), 1928, Volume X]

"The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword."
[History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870]

John William Draper
(1811 -1882) American scientist, philosopher, and historian.

"Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . Mohammed."
[A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London, 1875, pp. 329-330]

David George Hogarth
(1862 -1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

"Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle."
[Arabia, Oxford, 1992, p. 52]

Washington Irving
(1783 -1859) Well-known as the "first American man of letters".

"He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected, but a result to a real disregard to distinction from so trivial a source . In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints . His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown to him."
[Life of Mahomet, London 1889,pp. 192-3, 199]

"It is impossible for any one who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel any thing but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things, which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher."
[The life and teachings of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p.4]

His (i.e., Muhammad's) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action."
[History of Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol-5.p.335]