An Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam Research Paper

An Overall Analysis of Various Aspects of Islam - Research Paper Example (Waines 92) This ambiguity of the meaning of Islam ultimately evolves from the concept that one’s submission to the will of God will bring peace in this worldly life. A fundamental Muslim thinks that submission to God and peace are the two sides of the same coin. Conventionally it is often believed that Islam was founded by Muhammad, in the 640 AD, who claimed himself to be the messenger of God. But referring to the Quranic evidences, some scholars claim that the origin of Islam dates back to Adam, the first man as well as the first prophet of Islam. This is how, all of the Abrahamic religions and few others were the ancient versions, of Islam, which have now been annulled by God Himself. (Nasr 45) But other scholars argue that since the ancient versions of Islam such Christianity (the religion of Prophet Zesu, one of the most revered prophets in Islam), Judaism (the religion of Prophet Moses, another revered prophet in Islam) and other religions have been repealed by God beca use the distortions of these religions by men, the true Islam for modern people is the one that Muhammad founded in the Seventh Century. Articles of Faith in Islam Institutional Islam, to a great extent, can be viewed as the summation of some seven beliefs and actions according to these beliefs. A follower of Muhammad or a believer of Islam needs to believes in: a. one God (Allah), b. prophets starting from Adam to Muhammad including Noah, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, etc. c. divine scriptures (Qutub) such as the Torah (the divine message of David or Da’ud), the Zabur (the divine message of Moses or Musa), the Bible of Zesu or Isaac (the Ingile as the Muslim calls it), the Quran (Muhammad), other unnamed minor religious scripts that were descended upon the prophets, d. the angels as the servants of God, e. belief in the â€Å"Day of Judgment† () and f. belief in fate. The summation of these beliefs is known as Islamic Belief, in Arabic ‘Iman’ or ‘Aqidahâ⠂¬â„¢. ‘Iman’ or ‘Aqidah’ essentially means to have beliefs in these six articles. Indeed five of these Articles of Faiths are supported by the textual evidences from the Quran. For an example, the verse 136 of chapter â€Å"An-Nisa† says, â€Å"Whoever disbelieveth in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily wandered far astray.† (4:136) Again the verse 285 of Chapter ‘Baqarah’ tells about the four of the main articles of faith in Islam: â€Å"believers have believed in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers† (2:285). Tawhid: Islamic Belief in the Oneness of God Islamic belief in God is both confirmation of one’s belief in one God and denial of many. In this sense, belief in Islamic God is a rigorous monotheism. In Arabic, this monotheism is called Tawhid or the oneness of God. This ‘Tawhid’ is the most fundamental concept of Islam. Indeed th e Islamic belief in the existence of one God is essentially the denial of many gods. According to the Quran, the fact that God is one is self-evident and therefore, the concept of many gods is simply false. God as well as His oneness, in Islam, often sides with transcendentalism. Though the transcendentalism has not directly been affirmed in Islam. The description of God, in a round about way, infers that God is transcendental. The Chapter, â€Å"