Introduction to Islam

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"What Is ISLAM?"

What Does It Mean? - Is It A Verb? Or Is It A Noun?

Both - It Is A Verb And It Is Also A Noun

"ISLAM" As A Verb:

Surrender - Submission - Obedience - Sincerity - Peace

Surrender

"Surely, the only religion Allah will accept is (surrender) to His Will."
[Holy Quran 3:19]

This is understood from a verse in the Holy Quran where Allah says:
"And whoever desires any religion other than (Allah's Religion in Surrender to Him), Allah will never accept it, and in the Hereafter, they will be amongst the loosers."
[Holy Quran 3:85)
This submission requires a fully conscious and willing effort to submit to the one Almighty God.

Submission

"But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (Muhammad, peace be upon him) as a judge in all disputes between them, and find no resistance against your decisions, and accept (the decisions) with full submission."
[Holy Quran 4:65]

Total submission is required after the surrender and some terms have to be set forth by Allah to be understood by the Muslim. There can be no option in the matter as Allah says in another verse;
"It is not fitting for the believing man nor for the believing woman, that whenever Allah and His Messenger have decided any matter, that they should have any other opinion."
[Holy Quran 33:36]

Whatever Allah and His Messenger have set out as being the Way of Islam is incumbent on the believer, man or woman to follow completely. One must consciously and conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah.

Obedience

"And obey Allah and His Messenger."
[Holy Quran 3:132]

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger and those of you who are in authority. If you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination."
[Holy Quran 4:59]

"He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you as a watcher over them."
[Holy Quran 4:80]

This means to act on what Allah enjoins all of us to do (in the Qur'an) and what His beloved Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us to do in his Sunnah (his lifestyle and sayings personifying the Qur'an).
After surrendering your free will to Allah and then ratifying the terms and conditions of the surrender, it is obligatory for the Muslim to live up to his terms of the bargain. It is his or her responsibility to do their best to obey the orders of Allah set forth in the Holy Quran and the teachings of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him.

Sincerity & Purity of Intention

The heart must be clean and honest. Allah is Pure and He only accepts pure.

"Verily, deeds are rewarded by intention. And everyone will have the reward for that which he has intended."
[A saying of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him]

Sincere intention is the key to the success or failure of the Muslim. All that he or she does must be for the sake of Allah and not for the chance to show off or call attention to himself or herself. If there is even a speck of pride or showing off for the people instead of doing for Allah, then the whole of the matter will be rejected by Allah on the Day of Judgment. This is due to the fact that Allah wants purity of intention and purity in deed.

Peace
Between You & Allah

"Peace" is mentioned 58 times in the Holy Quran and it is certainly the most sought after condition for the life of every human on earth.

"Peace" is also one of the attributes which Allah has named Himself by in the Holy Quran:
"He is Allah beside Whom there is none worthy of worship, The King, The Holy, The Peace, The Watcher, The All Mighty, The Compeller, The Supreme. Glory be to Allah! He is above all that they try to associate with Him as partners."
[Holy Quran 59:23]

We are all striving to achieve some sort of peace and tranquility in our lives. And providing that the other four conditions have been met, then this is the inevitable result of the one who is truly seeking Allah.

So as soon as he or she has totally surrendered and submitted and obeyed Allah, in complete sincerity and as a result has achieved total and complete peace in this life and in the next.

It does not imply that they will not be tested however. And this must be quickly understood. The one whom Allah loves, He tests. The person who will be successful in this life and the Next Life will be tested as Allah has said:
"Do they think that they will be left alone on saying, 'We believe and that they will not be tested'? For sure we will test them as we have tested those who came before them, to show (them) the truthful of the honest and the liars in their falsehood."
[Quran 29:2-3]

Once we humble ourselves, rid ourselves of our egoism and submit totally to Allah, and to Him exclusively, in faith and in action, we will surely feel peace in our hearts. Establishing peace in our hearts will bring about peace in our external conduct as well.

Islam As A NOUN - Both Faith & Deeds: [click]