my faith
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ISLAM
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The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root
‘
salama
’ which means, among other things, peace,
purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense the
word Islam means submission to the Will of Allah and obedi-
ence to His Law. The connection between the original and the
religious meanings of the word is strong and obvious. Only
through submission to theWill ofAllah and by obedience toHis
Law can one achieve true peace and enjoy lasting purity.
Those who follow Islamic teachings are Muslims. Contrary to
popular misconceptions, Islam or submission to the Will of
Allah, together with obedience to His Law, does not mean in
any way loss of individual freedom or surrender to fatalism.
Anyone who thinks or believes so has certainly failed to under-
stand the true meaning of Islam and the concept of Allah in
Islam. The concept ofAllah in Islamdescribes Himas theMost
Merciful and Gracious, and the Most Loving and most con-
cerned with the well-being of man, and as Full of Wisdom and
care for His Creatures. His Will, accordingly, is a Will of
Benevolence and Goodness, and whatever Law He pre-
scribes must be in the best interest of mankind.
Submission to the good Will of Allah, therefore, does not take
away or curtail individual freedom. On the contrary, it gives free-
dom of a high degree in abundant measures. It frees the mind
from super stitions and fills it with truth. It frees the soul from sin
andwrongandquickens it withgoodness andpurity. It frees the
self from vanity and greed, from envy and tension, from fear
and insecurity. It freesman fromsubjugation to falsedeities and
low desires, and unfolds before him the beautiful horizons of
goodness and excellence.
Submission to the good Will of Allah, together with obedience
to His beneficial Law, is the best safeguard of peace and har-
mony. It enables man to make peace between himself and his
fellow men on the one hand, and between the human com-
munity and Allah on the other. It creates harmony among the
elements of Nature. Man is singled out as being endowed with
intelligence and the power of making choices.When he choos-
es the course of submission to the LawofAllah, hewill bemak-
ing harmony between himself and all the other elements of
Nature, which are by necessity obedient to Allah. He will be
consistent with the truth and in harmony with all the other ele-
ments of the universe. But if he chooses disobedience he will
deviate from the Right Path and will be inconsistent. Besides,
he will incur the displeasure and punishment of the Law-Giver.
PT
