Transcript PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH) MERCY TO MANKIND

Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Mercy to Mankind
A presentation
for brothers and sisters of other faiths!
Dr. Abdulazeez Abdulraheem
www.understandquran.com
Outline

Introduction

Why do we need prophets?

What is special about Prophet Muhammad pbuh?

His living style!

His Nature & Behavior

Message of Muhammad pbuh

Three Main Elements of Islam

His Message
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Introduction
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Who is he ?
Almost 1.2 Billion bear witness he is the
Messenger of God
*1,126,325,000
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ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
MUHAMMAD is the most
successful of all Prophets and
religious personalities.“ (11th
Edition under Koran)
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ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
“.... A mass of detail in the early
sources show that he was an
honest and upright man who
had gained the respect and
loyalty of others who were likewise honest and upright men."
(Vol. 12)
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MICHAEL H. HART,
ranked him 1st in the list of the
Most Influential Persons in
History :
"My choice of Muhammad 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 levels.”*
* THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)
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LAMAR TINE,
The renowned historian, speaking on the essentials of
human greatness wonders:
If
• greatness of purpose,
• smallness of means and
• astounding results
are the three criteria of human genius, who
could dare to compare any great man in
modern history than MUHAMMAD?
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His Life in Brief!!!
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Born in Makkah
Married Khadijah (R) a widow of 40 years at the
age of 25. Stayed with her till her death
Made Prophet at 40 years; Spread the message
Opposition by Makkans (egos; positions; vested
interests; establishments)
Migrated to Madinah at 53 (after 13 years); His
followers migrated too.
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His Life in Brief!!!
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Established Islamic State in Madinah; Taught
Muslims how to live (in all aspects of life: Spiritual,
moral, social, political, … all aspects of life… in all
types of situations).
Attacked continuously by surrounding enemies
including those from Makkah. He and his
companions survived all those attacks.
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Became victorious within 10 years!
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Whole Arabia became Muslim
Died at the age of 63.
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He did it…

He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set
foot on this earth

He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation,
laid down a moral code, initiated numerous social and
political reforms

He established a powerful and dynamic society to
practice and represent his teachings and
completely revolutionized the worlds of human
thought and behavior for all times to come
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His Mission Impossible
Started preaching Islam (submission to One God) at
the age of 40;
And departed from this world at the age of 63
During this short period of 23 years as a Prophet, he
changed the complete Arabian peninsula
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His Mission Impossible
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From paganism and idolatry to SUBMISSION to the One
True God,
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From tribal quarrels and wars to national solidarity and
cohesion,
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From drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety,
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From lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined living,
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From utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of moral
excellence.
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His Mission Impossible
Human history has never known such a
complete transformation of a society or a place
before or since
IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST
OVER TWO DECADES.
Yes, this was done by Prophet MUHAMMAD
(pbuh)
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Why do we need
Prophets?
WHY PROPHETS ??
– Sources of human knowledge - limited
– Normal realities can be understood by
observation
– Higher level realities - deductive reasoning +
scientific investigation.
– Ultimate realities (esp. why?)
– Science + Philosophy can only speculate
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WHY PROPHETS ??
– No other source except divine guidance
conveyed thru prophets.
– God did not leave us without guidance. From
first man till the last.
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Mission of a Prophet
To lay down:
– Framework of belief
– Mode of worship
– Moral code
– Rules of culture and civilization
In fact to prescribe whole system of thought and
action (Al-Deen), which includes all aspects of
life.
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Mission of a Prophet
– Read the book to people
– Purify them (belief and actions)
– Teach the book and Wisdom
– Be a practical model
– Train the individuals and society to establish
Islamic system of life (Kingdom of God on
earth)
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Mission of a Prophet
– Not all the prophets succeeded because of the
prejudice and intolerance of people.
Muhammad (pbuh) did succeed in establishing
the kingdom of God.
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Prophethood
– God conveyed his message to man thru
Muhammad (pbuh) in two forms
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Quran - The Book
Sunnah - Sayings, practices, and approvals of the
prophet. (PRACTICAL DEMO)
– Belief in Prophethood brings the life into real
worship and obedience, otherwise, the belief
remains just the theory.
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Requirements (of Belief in
Prophethood)
– Believe in him (as required)
– Obey him in all spheres of life
– His Sunnah is the explanation of Quran, nobody
can contradict his explanation.
– No independent decision in a matter prescribed
by the prophet
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Position of a Prophet
– Servant of God
– Makes people to obey God and worship Him
and not himself, by conveying, No Force !!
– Just a human being. No share in divinity (4
areas mentioned above, entity, attributes,
rights, and powers)
– Not a superhuman. So, Islam has saved its
followers from any exaggeration in this belief.
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What is special about
Prophet Muhammad
pbuh?
What Distinguishes Muhammad
(pbuh) from Others ??
– He was the Last Prophet
– Revived the faith conveyed by all prophets
– Pure message retransmitted thru him
– No messenger after him
– Book is preserved
– Sunnah (practice, sayings, approvals) is
recorded in details (No better compilation of
any person in history is present)
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Why follow Muhammad
(pbuh)
For instruction, we turn to Muhammad (pbuh),
not because of prejudice, but because
– Last Prophet  latest guidance
– Word of God  in pure divine, living language
– Historical record of his Sunnah is preserved
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Muhammad's (pbuh)
Mission was Universal
– Quran confirms it
– Logical consequence of finality
– Complete code  supports finality
– No man in the last 1400 yrs like him
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ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
MUHAMMAD is the most
successful of all Prophets and
religious personalities.“ (11th
Edition under Koran)
www.understandquran.com
MICHAEL H. HART,
ranked him 1st in the list of the
Most Influential Persons in
History :
"My choice of Muhammad 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 levels.”*
* THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)
www.understandquran.com
His Living Style!
His Appearance
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Muhammad (pbuh) was of a height a little above
the average.
He was fair of complexion and altogether very
handsome.
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His Appearance
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He did not speak unnecessarily and what he said
was always to the point and without any padding.
At times he would make his meaning clear by
slowly repeating what he had said.
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His laugh was mostly a smile.
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He kept his feelings under firm control.
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His Dress
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His dress generally consisted of a shirt, tamad
(trousers), a sheet thrown round the shoulders
and a turban.
His blanket had several patches (Tirmidhi).
He had very few spare clothes, but he kept them
spotlessly clean (Bukhari).
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His Dress
Once he enquired of a person in dirty clothes
whether he had any income. Upon getting a
reply in the affirmative, he observed, "When
Allah has blessed you with His bounty, your
appearance should reflect it." [Abu Dawood]
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His House & Belongings!!!
His house was but a hut with walls of unbaked clay
and a thatched roof of palm leaves covered by
camel skin. It contained
– a rope cot,
– a pillow stuffed with palm leaves ,
– the skin of some animal spread on the floor and
a water
– bag of leather
– and some weapons.
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His House & Belongings!!!
These were all his earthly belongings, besides
a camel,
a horse, and
an ass and
some land which he had acquired in the later
part of his life (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu
Dawood).
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Looking at these…

See what people of other faiths, like Mahatma
Gandhi said….
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MAHATMA GANDHI, says
in ‘Young India’..
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's
undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of
mankind.. I became more than convinced that it was
not the sword that won a place for Islam in those
days in the scheme of life.”
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MAHATMA GANDHI, says
in ‘Young India’..
"It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of
the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his
intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God
and in his own mission….”
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His bed…
Sometimes he slept on his cot, sometimes on a skin
or ordinary mattress, and sometimes on the
ground.
To his disciples (who wanted to offer him a soft bed)
"What have I to do with worldly things. My
connection with the world is like that of a traveller
resting for a while underneath the shade of a tree
and then moving on."
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His meals…
His wife A'isha (ra) says that there was hardly a day
in his life when he had two square meals. [Sahih
Muslim]
This was so inspite of him being the most beloved
ruler of the Islamic State of all times.
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For his family!
He had declared unlawful for himself and his family
anything given by the people by way of Zakat
(obligatory donation of 2.5% of savings) or
sadaqa (charity).
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Looking at these…

See what people of other faiths, like Rev Smith
said….
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REV. REGINALD
BOSWORTH SMITH,
"He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he
was Pope without Pope's pretensions,
Caesar without the legions of Caesar:
without a standing army, without a
bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed
revenue;
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REV. REGINALD
BOSWORTH SMITH,
If ever any man had the right to say that he
ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammed,
for he had all the power without its
instruments and without its supports."
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He was Extremely humble!
Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of
Allah, he never assumed an air of superiority.
He used to invite people be they slaves, servants or
the poorest believers, to partake with him of his
scanty meals. [Tirmidhi]
He did not like people to get up for him and used to
say, "Let him who likes people to stand up in his
honour, he should seek a place in hell." [Abu
Dawud]
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At home!
His wife A'isha (ra) said, "He always joined in
household work and would at times mend his
clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He
would milk, tether, and feed his animals and do
the household shopping." [Qazi Iyaz: Shifa; Sahih
Bukhari]
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Spend his time in…
According to the demands on him, he distributed his
time for:
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offering worship to Allah
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public affairs, and
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personal matters.
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Continuously
Remembering God…
All his activities were full of supplications and
prayers.
His Love, Devotion, Dedication is transparent
through all these supplcns. (not just 5 prayers).
A full 300 page-books is there just on the prayers he
used to recite.
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His Supplications…
MIRACULOUS ASPECT of his life. He
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Established / Corrected the relationship with
God, and
Maintained it; continuously revived it.
Millions of Muslims throughout centuries have been
reciting these supplications everyday.
Of course, they want to follow him in all aspects
(name, dress, beard, living style…).
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Supplications…
 And
don’t forget that he was not
just a spiritual guide… He was a
leader in all aspects of life. Look
what others say…
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LAMARTINE,
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.
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LAMARTINE,
The most famous men created arms,
laws and empires only. They founded, if
anything at all, no more than material
powers which often crumbled away
before their eyes.
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LAMARTINE,
This man moved not only armies,
legislation, empires, peoples and
dynasties, but millions of men in onethird of the then inhabited world; and
more than that, he moved the altars, the
gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs
and souls....
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LAMARTINE,
As regards all the standards by which
Human Greatness may be measured, we
may well ask,
IS THERE ANY MAN GREATER THAN
HE ?"
(ALPHONSE DE LAMAR TINE, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, PARIS,
1854, VOL. II, PP 276-277)
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His Nature & Behavior
His Nature
By nature he was gentle and kind-hearted, always
inclined to be gracious and to overlook the faults
of others.
Politeness and courtesy,
compassion and tenderness,
simplicity and humility,
sympathy and sincerity
were some of the keynotes of his character.
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His Character
About himself the Prophet (pbuh) said “Allah has
sent me as an apostle so that I may demonstrate
perfection of character, refinement of manners and
loftiness of deportment." [Malik]
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His Behavior
He was not annoyed if anyone interrupted
him even during the FRIDAY SERMONS
for anything. For example:
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Bedouin (desert-man) interrupted him
during sermon.
Picked up his grandson …
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His Behavior
The Prophet (pbuh) said: “He is a bad person
in the sight of Allah
* who does not behave courteously, and
* people shun his company because of his
bad manners.
[Sahih Bukhari]
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Messenger of Mercy
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We have sent you except as a mercy for the
worlds (al-Qur’an)
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Extremely kind and merciful for believers
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Even for his enemies
– An Example is his treatment to them after
Makkah’s victory
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Messenger of Mercy
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He achieved a huge revolution without almost
any bloodshed!
Only few hundreds were killed. Wars were
initiated by others. He always preferred
peace.
Just compare it with any other revolution of
the world!!!
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Kindness to Animals
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He (pbuh) said: "Indeed, there is heavenly
reward for every act of kindness done to a
living animal.“
If he saw any animal over-loaded he would
pull up the owner and say, "Fear Allah in
your treatment of animals."
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His Love for the poor
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He pbuh said: "He is not a perfect Muslim
who eats his fill and lets his neighbour go
hungry."
To his wife he said, "O A'isha! Love the
poor and let them come to you and Allah
will draw you near to Himself." [Sahih
Bukhari]
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After Studying these
facts…
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See what people of other faiths, like George
Bernard Shaw said….
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GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

I have studied him - the wonderful man
and in my opinion far from being an antiChrist, he must be called the Savior of
Humanity.“
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He came with a divine message, which
changed him and the whole world. Let
us look at…
The Message of
Muhammad pbuh
Basic Definitions of Islam
– Islam: Peaceful, willing submission to God.
– Islam is not a religion alone. It is a code/way of
life (Deen). It encompasses all spheres of life.
– Religion guides in the area of 'ibadaat
(worship) only. Whereas Deen guides all
spheres of life of a man i.e. in mosque/church
and state affairs.
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Basic Definitions of Islam
– A Muslim is the one who submits himself
to God willfully and peacefully.
A Muslim's belief is:
– There is no God except the one true God
– and Muhammad is the messenger and
slave of God. (Peace be upon him)
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Who was the first Muslim
on earth?
– Adam not Muhammad (peace be on them
both)
– Islam is not a new religion. It is the religion
given by God
to the first man and is
the same for the last one too and
for every one in between.
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Misconceptions about
Muhammad pbuh
– Muhammad pbuh is not the founder of
Islam. He came with the last edition of
Islam.
– Muslims are not Muhammadans.
– Muslims do not worship Muhammad pbuh.
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The Miracle given to
Muhammad pbuh – Al-Qur’an
– A UNIQUE BOOK
– Memorized in Full by hundreds of thousands
– TOP in being read daily by millions all over the world
(Encyclopedia Britannic, 11th edition)
– Preserved in its ORIGINAL form for the last 14 centuries
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The Miracle given to
Muhammad pbuh – Al-Qur’an
– Basic source of guidance in Islam
– Qur’an is theory and the life of Muhammad (pbuh) is a
practical demonstration
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Center, The KAABA in
Makkah
– Built by Prophets ABRAHAM and ISHMAEL 3000 years
ago
– Muslims throughout the world face towards it while
praying
– 1.5 MILLION Muslims in Hajj; 1.5 in Umrah
– Where everybody (males) dress the same and race,
wealth, status, etc., all are removed.
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The FASTEST Growing
Religion in the world:
– Not by Sword or Money ! “Today it is 'perhaps' the
fastest growing religion in US” (Maston Speight,
Director of the office of Christian Muslim relations of the
national council of churches of Christ of the USA)
– 'World's fastest growing religion' (Robert Morey,
Director of research and education foundation, Austin,
TX) in spite of the Muslims powerlessness and
decadence in the past 2 centuries.
– 'In modern times it has made great gains in
Africa' (The 1990 Almanac, Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston) .
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The FASTEST Growing
Religion in the world:
– Never witnessed large scale desertions: As against all
other religions.
– Devoid of Major Splits: Divisions (Shiites, Zaidi, etc.,)
are around 10% only.
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MUSLIMS: A GLOBAL
COMMUNITY
Total Population:
1 Billion
Indian Subcontinent:
30%
sub-Saharan Africa:
20%
Arab World:
18%
Southeast Asia:
17%
USSR and China:
10%
Non-Arab Middle East:
10%
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Famous Books of Islam
1. Psalms of David
2. Torah: The old testament
3. Bible: The new testament
4. Quran: The final testament
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Famous Prophets of Islam
– ADAM
– NOAH
– ABRAHAM
– MOSES
– JESUS
– MOHAMMED
– (Peace be on them all)
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Basic Sources of Islam
– Quran :
The Book of Allah
– Sunnah:
The sayings, practice, and
approvals of the prophet
Muhammad (pbuh).
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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM
Every act done with the consciousness that it fulfills the
divine will is considered an act of worship in Islam.
Nevertheless, the specific acts of worship termed as the
Pillars of Islam are on the higher plane of spirituality.
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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM
They are:
1. The Declaration of Faith (Shahadah): 'I bear witness
that there is none worthy of worship except God and
that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
2. The Prayer (Salah): 5 times a day as a duty towards
God. To strengthen the belief in God. To inspires man
to higher morality.
3. Fasting (Siyam): Cultivates piety, patience and love for
the poor.
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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM
4. The poor-Tax (Zakat): To give 2.5% annually of one's
net savings as alms to the poor. (Life insurance in a
Muslim community)
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): To Makkah, provided one has the
means (financial and physical).
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Articles of Faith
– Existence, oneness and Attributes of Allah
– Belief in Angels
– Belief in Holy Books
– Belief in Prophets
– Belief in the Hereafter
– Belief in the Destiny (All past, present, and future
events are from Allah and in His Knowledge.)
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Universality of Message
– Quran always address "O Mankind", "O Son of
Adam". And Not to people of any particular race,
tribe, are, color, language..
– "The believers are like brothers" (Quran).
– "All men are equal in Islam. The Arab has no
superiority over non-Arab, nor does the non-Arab
have superiority over Arabs except in the fear of
God." - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
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Three Main Elements of
Islam
Three Main Elements of
Islam
1. Sovereignty of God on all matters of life; spiritual and
material.
2. Prophethood: Guidance (spiritual and material) is sent
thru prophets from Adam thru Mohammed (peace be
upon them.) – We have seen this in earlier slides.
3. The Hereafter (Life after death)
Obedience...…..Paradise for ever
Disobedience….Hell for ever
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1. FAITH IN GOD
Not just that HE exists but He is:
– Creator, Master, Ruler, Administrator of the
universe;
– No one has share in His
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Entity (Asma)
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Attributes (Sifaat)
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Rights (Huqooq)
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Authority/powers (Ekhtiaraat)
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Purity of Faith – Translation
of a chapter from Al-Qur’an.
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
– Say: He is God, The One and Only
– God, the Eternal, the Absolute
– He begets not, nor is he begotten
– And there is none like unto Him.
[Quran 131:1-5]
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Requirements (of Faith in
God)
– Worship Him alone
– Pray Him alone
– Have hope and fear from Him alone
– Take the law from Him alone. Law making
should be within the limits prescribed by Him
and under His permission.
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3. BELIEF IN THE
HEREAFTER
– This life is a test.
– At the end Accountability
– Time for accountability - fixed by God
– present order of things will be replaced by
another
– All human beings will rise once again in the new
world
– Everyone will face God individually
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BELIEF IN THE
HEREAFTER
– Judgment based on not just God's knowledge
but Proofs from angles, his environment, his
book of deeds etc.,
– No undue intercession. No bribery, No advocacy
without His permission.
– Criteria: Did the man conduct himself a/c to
Islam?
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Three Categories of
People in the Hereafter
– Who Reject - Hellfire forever
– Who Believe, but distorted way - (a/c to
scholars, such people will be sent to Hell for
sometime and then sent to Heaven)
– Who accept and practice - Paradise forever
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PROF. JULES MASSERMAN
of USA Psychiatric Association :
Leaders must fulfill three functions
– provide for the well being of the led,
– provide a social organization in which people feel
relatively secure
– provide them with one set of beliefs
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PROF. JULES MASSERMAN
of USA Psychiatric Association :
People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first
sense.
People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and
Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are
leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense.
Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone.
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PROF. JULES MASSERMAN
of USA Psychiatric Association :
Perhaps the greatest leader of all times
was MUHAMMAD, who combined all
three functions.
To a lesser degree, Moses did the same."
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ANNIE BESANT
in The Life & Teaching of
MUHAMMAD says
"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life &
character of the great Prophet of Arabia, …., to feel
anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one
of the great messengers of the Supreme. …
I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of
admiration, a new sense of reverence for that
mighty Arabian teacher."
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Thank you!!!