Transcript document

Topic 1: What is Islam and
faith
Mesude Ozturk
Dialog Student Association
University of Oklahoma
What is Islam?
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Islam
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has a wide population in the world
is also the most misunderstood religion
means the active submission to the one God
teaches that God (Allah) is the source of all creation
and that human beings are the best of His creation
is the final religion revealed to human beings through
the last Prophet Muhammad.
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Rules of Islam
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Praying 5 times a day (salah)
Fasting in the Ramadan
Charity
Visiting the Kabe
Accepting one god and Mohammad is his the
last messenger
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What Muslims believe?
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Muslims believe
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The first Prophet was Adam followed by a long chain
of Prophets to guide humanity.
One God and in Muhammad as the final Prophet of
God
The Qur’an, which is the holy book for Muslims, is the
word of God revealed to Prophet Muhammad and
contains 114 chapters (called Suras).
Quran is the pure word of God, unadulterated over 14
centuries
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What Muslims believe?
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Believing in
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One God
Messengers of God
Angels of God
Books of God
The big Judgment day
Destiny and fate comes from God
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The Teachings of Islam
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Islam teaches that
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human beings are born pure and sinless
No one is responsible for, or can take responsibility for
the sins of others
The doors of forgiveness are always open for those
who repent sincerely
Islam balances the spiritual life by emphasizing
human responsibility with daily life
People are created with a purpose.
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The Teachings of Islam
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Apart from human responsibility, Islam also
teaches human accountability
The final destination of human beings is the
hereafter
Muslims believe that all human beings will be
resurrected to account for their deeds in the day
of Judgment
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Those who have performed righteous deeds will be
rewarded with eternal bliss in heaven and those who
have performed evil acts will be punished in hell.
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What does Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) mean to us?
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“You have a good example in God’s Messenger for whoever
hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God often.”
(33:22)
The Messenger
Perfect Servant of God
Perfect Example of
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Husband
Father
Grandfather
Friend
Businessman
Leader
Statesman
Educator
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Why is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) important?
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Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
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Interpreter
Living Quran
Living Islam
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) teaches me
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build a relationship with God
have a better understanding of myself
have a better understanding of the universe
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Why is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) important?
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Perfection in humanism
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Ferrari & Mechanic
Answering the meaning of life
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Who am I?
Where do I come from?
Where do I go to?
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Implications
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Achieving pleasure of God
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Great husband
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Great father
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Great friend
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Great teacher
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Truthful and trustworthy person
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Thank you
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Shia and Sunni
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Islam has two major schools of thought – the Shi’a and
the Sunni.
The Sunnis believe that the community selected its own
leader after Prophet Muhammad’s death whereas
the Shi’as believe that the Prophet had appointed ‘Ali, by
divine will, to be his successor. Leadership is thus
divinely designated.
both the Sunnis and the Shi’as are united in their major
beliefs i.e., they believe in the same God, the same
book, the same Prophets and pray in the same direction.
The differences are mainly theological and
jurisprudential.
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