Islam In Brief 1

Chapter One

The CreatorThe name Allah (God) in Islam is the personal name of God. The most concise definition of God in Islam is given in four verses of Surah Al-Ikhlaas in the Holy Qur'an:

{{Say, "He is Allah, [Who is] One,

 Allah, the Eternal Refuge,

 He neither begets nor is born,

 Nor is there to Him any equivalent."}}

 (Holy Qur'an 112: 1-4)

To Muslims, this four-line definition of Almighty God serves as the touchstone of the study of God. Any candidate to divinity must be subjected to this ‘acid test' and since the attributes of The Creator given in this chapter are unique, false gods and pretenders to divinity can be easily dismissed using these verses.

What is Islam?

1. What is Islaam?

Islam (or Islaam) is the name of the religion, or more properly the ‘way of life’, which God (Allaah) has revealed and which was practiced by all of the Prophets and Messengers of Allaah that He sent to mankind. Even the name stands out unique among other religions in that it means a state of being; it does not refer to any particular person, such as Christianity, Buddhism or Zoroastrianism; a tribe like Judaism; or a nation like Hinduism. The root Arabic word from which Islam is derived implies peace, safety, salutation, protection, blamelessness, wholesomeness, submission, acceptance, surrender, and salvation. Islam specifically means being in the state of submission to Allaah, worshipping Him Alone, and reverently accepting and