What is Islam?

Published On: January 12, 2022846 words4.2 min read

Islam – Definition and Explanation

Normally we try to understand a religion, simply by its rituals, but this is not sufficient. Rituals are outward actions through which a follower of a religion tries to implement the philosophy and the teachings of the religion. When we pay attention only to the rituals, we will not find the real reason, the real teaching or philosophy for that action. We need to explore deeper and pay attention to the core-to real substance. When we do this, then only we will get the idea behind its teaching, its beauty, its real purpose and value. So, let us study Islam in that context.

Islam – Submission

Islam means submission, word Islam comes from root word salam which has two meanings, one is to submit and the second is peace.

So, when someone says verbally, “There is no one worthy of worship except Allah and prophet Muhammad is His messenger” and also believes the same in his heart, this is submission.

Requirement and outcome of Submission

There are some requirements and implications of this verbal proclamation.

Requirement – Having faith

The submission has to be true and honest. If someone proclaims submission, but does not believe in it, this will be hypocrisy. True submission will only come if there is trust, faith, respect and love for the authority or entity to whom a person is submitting. Thus, faith or trust in God becomes an essential and integral part of submission. If someone simply says this by tongue and does not have faith in his heart, that is not sufficient.

Outcome.

Basically, when a person says this testimony, he submits to live as per laws of God, rather than living as per his own desires, inclinations and aspirations. Laws of God, which humanity has received through the Qur’an and God’s messenger Muhammad (pbuh). The person who submits, should do all mandatory rituals like praying, fasting, giving charity, doing pilgrimage and other recommended actions like being honest, just, humble, charitable and so on, to the best of his ability and should also strive to build a relationship with God. When a person is born into a Muslim family parents will teach the child to follow this path.

The compulsory rituals of Islam provide constant reminder of our Creator Allah and also help a person to achieve the essence, that is putting laws of God above our own desires and wishes. As per human psychology, we love to play as a child, and we love relationships as teenagers and as adults. As we grow old, we love, money, wealth, recognition, reputation, power and so on. A human tends to do everything in his power, whether right or wrong to achieve what he desires, but when we submit, we agree to guide our desires as per rules of God, rules of Allah. This is submission, this is Islam.

What is the need of submission

Every human needs to submit to God, not only Muslims, there are two major reasons for this.

God is only one, He created us, every one of us and everything around us in this universe. After death, one day we will stand before our Creator, to account for our actions in this life, this is certain, so, it is essential that we live our life as per His rules, follow His commands and build a relationship with Him.

As humans we prefer to live in a society for that we create and follow some laws and rules and expect others to follow the same. Now question arises who will make these rules and regulations. God is Omnipotent, Omni present, and Most knowledgeable. He knows all the past, all the present and all the future. He knows our nature and nature of everything around us. When a superior authority with such power and knowledge makes rules, those rules will be just and equitable for all humans. On the other side if every society wants to make their own rules and try to impose them upon others there will be chaos in the world.

Is this applicable today?

Someone can argue, this was something for old time, is this relevant today?

Yes this is applicable even today, because whenever we die we will stand before our Creator to account for actions in this life. .0 Also, when we pay attention, we will realize nothing has changed for centuries, God is same, we are same, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the universe are the same. Man’s nature has not changed, human nature has remained the same over centuries. Every human soul is yearning to recognize God and connect with Him.

At some point of time – put all the worldly pressure aside, take time, listen to your own soul, connect with your own soul and ask whether your soul wants to connect with God? The real God? Do you find this urge to submit to One God?