JIHADISLAM is, in essence, a peaceful religion. In Islam, peace is the general rule or norm. On the other hand, war is only a rare exception in Islam, as a compulsion in response to an armed attack by

initiate. The basic aim of Islam is to bring about an intellectual revolution in their minds based on tawheed, or the oneness of God. Our actions depend on our thoughts. That is why Islam gives great stress to

intellectual awakening. Hence, war is not part of Islam’s basic plan of life. In fact, war is something that goes diametrically against this plan. No matter what one’s religion, the fact is that through war

THE PRIMACY OF PRAYERNever Lose Sight of the Hereafter ISLAM enjoins believers to perform salat five times daily. Salat is an Islamic form of worship and it has a specific ritual. Performing this ritualistic

striving his utmost for the cause of God, even in these instances, when the time for prayer approaches, Islam asks one to leave every other thing aside and perform salat. However, in cases of emergency, believers

obligation. Why is this so? This great emphasis is to remind the believers what is of true importance in this ephemeral world. What is of real value is realizing and remembering God. All acts of religion

DISTINCTIVE QUALITYScience and Reason ISLAM as presented in the Quran and demonstrated by the Prophet possesses the quality of being in accordance with human reason and human nature. Rational thinking

thinking and academic progress do not clash with the message of Islam. That is to say, at no stage does Islam and reason contradict one another. No believer is faced with the problem of accepting religious dogmas

dogmas at the expense of science and reason. Acknowledging this characteristic of Islam, George Bernard Shaw writes: When the Mohammedan reformation took place, it left its followers with the enormous advantage

appeared to be some sort of peace in the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 20th century—at least this is what the Communists called ‘peace’. But both this Communist ‘peace’ and the ‘peace’ of Pax Romana were

the question of peace-building, Islam does not figure in their list. That is why they come to their conclusion on the basis of their study of religions other than Islam. This is because of the widespread

widespread misconception that Islam is a religion of violence. The reality, however, is that Islam is in the full sense of the word a religion of peace. Peace can come about only through freedom, not through

to brainstorming. Why do most Muslims have a tendency to try to convert people to their religion? Islam does not subscribe to the concept of conversion. It believes that religion is a matter of individual

your own discovery, your own realization. It is a personal choice. If you want to know what the purpose of life is, what life and death are about, you have to study, reflect and discuss with learned people

‘conversion’ there are two parties, the converter and the converted. But this is not the concept of Islam. In Islam, there is only one party—and that is you. If you want to find the truth, you have to reflect

NONVIOLENCEA STUDY of the Quran and Sunnah (sayings and deeds of the Prophet) tells us that Islam is a religion which teaches nonviolence. According to the Quran, God does not approve violence (fasad)

instance, the Quran attaches great importance to patience. In fact, patience is set above all other Islamic virtues — with the exceptional promise of ‘reward beyond measure’. (THE QURAN 39: 10) Patience implies

to rifq (gentleness) what He does not grant to anf (violence). (Abu Dawud, 4/255) The word rifq has been used in this Hadith as an antithesis to anf. These terms convey exactly what is meant by violence

ISLAMS ORIGINAL SOURCESThe Quran and Sunnah A TRUE believer in Islam is one who subordinates his thinking to God, who follows God’s dictates in all aspects of his life. What are the dictates of God? These

These are preserved in the original sources of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Both the Quran and Sunnah were transmitted to us through the last Messenger of God, Muhammad bin Abdullah. The Quran The Quran

a source of Islam just as much as the Quran. The Prophet’s role is not overemphasized: his life was dictated by what the Creator desired, and the Messenger did not add or subtract to Islam according to

the ongoing conflict, we must ask why so great a contradiction has arisen between the principles of Islam and the practices of Muslims. At least one root cause may be traced to historical exigency. Since

latter phase of Islamic history. With the automatic accord in Muslim society of a place of honour and importance to the heroes of the battlefield, annalists’ subsequent compilations of Islamic history have

writings on Islamic history followed the same pattern of emphasis on militarism. The Prophet’s biographies were called ‘maghazi’, that is ‘The Battles Fought by the Prophet,’ yet the Prophet of Islam in fact

Wahiduddin Khan, born in 1925, in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who is well-versed in both classical Islamic learning and modern disciplines. The mission of his life has been

Sayyidina Imam Al Hassan Peace award for promoting peace in Muslim societies. He has been called ’Islam’s spiritual ambassador to the world’ and is recognized as one of its most influential Muslims . His

be used as a stepping stone rather than considering it as an obstacle. There is an example from Islamic history to illustrate this: The Kabah was built in the shape of a rectangle by Prophet Abraham, four

SOCIETYMutual Respect THE teachings of Islam on the subject of multi-religious society amounts to an easily applicable formula for mutual respect. It teaches that all believers, whatever their elected

elected religion, must have due reverence for the religions adhered to by others. What establishes the need for such a formula is the edifice of religion being founded on the total conviction that it is the whole

natural one and is to be found in all areas of civilized living. One of the major demands made by Islam is that this natural principle be upheld and acted upon by the adherents of different religions, so