❞ كتاب Islam: The Religion You can no Longer Ignore ❝ ⏤ سيد اقبال ظهير

Introduction
Preface
I. Allah
Who Is Allah?
What Does Allah Want Of Us?
II Prophets
Who Are The Prophets?
Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophethood
Muhammad's Personaliw?
III Revelations
What Is Revelation?
What Occasioned A New Revelation?
IV The Qur'an14
What Is The Qur'an?
The Challenge of the Qur'an
Predictions Of The Qur'an
Miracles Of Scientific Nature

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In the name ofAllah, the Kind the Beneficent

Page no.

Introduction
PreCace
I. Allah
Who Is Allah?
What Does Allah Want OfUs?

iii

1
2
II Prophets 4
Who Are The Prophets? 4
Muhammad, the Seal ofthe Prophethood 4
Muhammad's Personality? 8
III Revelations
What Is Revelation?
What Occasioned A New Revelation?
IV The Qur'an14
What Is The Qur'an?
The Challenge ofthe Qur'an
Predictions OfThe Qur'an
Miracles Of Scientific Nature

10
10
10
15
15
17
19
25

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V Islam
What Is Islam?
The Pillars Of Islam
The Rest Of Islam
Mu'amalat
Jihad
Ihsan
VI Crime and Punishment
Death Penalty
Amputation of the Hand
VII The Hereafter
Death
Resunection
Reckoning and Judgement
Glossary of Terms
Suggested Reading Material
Addresses Of Islamic Centres

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V Islam
What Is Islam?
The Pillars OfIslam
The Rest OfIslam
Mu'amalat
Jihad
Ihsan
VI Crime and Punishment
Death Penalty
Amputation ofthe Hand
VII The Hereafter
Death
Resurrection
Reckoning and Judgement
Glossary ofTerms
Suggested Reading Material
Addresses OfIslamic Centres

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Man cannot live peacefully in this world without knowing who
he is. Who has created him and sent him to this life? What is
his role in it? How can he fulfil that role to the best of his
ability? And what is there for him after this life?

These basic questions cannot be answered by the human in-
tellect alone - man needs Divine guidance for findingthe right

answers to such basic questions.
Such Divine guidance has been implanted in the inner nature
of man, has been taught to Adam and Eve (pbuD at the moment
of their creation, has been revealed through a long chain of
messengers from Allah, and, has been finally integrated in the
message of Muhammad (pbuh), the seal of prophethood.
This Divine guidance was invariably called "Islam" which is
a word derived from two Arabic roots: "Salam" which means

"peace" and "Tasleem" which means "submission." Conse-
quently, Islam means peaceful submission to the will of Allah

and His complete obedience . Hence, the long chain of mes-
sengers from Adam to Muhammad (pbuh) were all Muslims

and their message was invariably Islam. That list includes
(among many others): Adam, Enoch, Noah, Hude, Saleh,
Abraham,Ishmael, Isaac, Lute, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron,
u t

PREFACE

Man cannot live peacefully in this world without knowing who
he is. Who has created him and sent him to this life? What is
his role in it? How can he fulfil that role to the best of his
ability? And what is there for him after this life?

These basic questions cannot be answered by the human in-
tellect alone - man needs Divine guidance for finding the right

answers to such basic questions.
Such Divine guidance has been implanted in the inner nature
ofman, has been taught to Adam and Eve (pbut) at the moment
of their creation, has been revealed through a long chain of
messengers from Allah, and, has been finally integrated in the
message of Muhammad (pbuh), the seal of prophethood.
This Divine guidance was invariably called "Islam" which is
a word derived from two Arabic roots: "Salam" which means

"peace" and "Tasleem" which means "submission." Conse-
quently, Islam means peaceful submission to the will ofAllah

and His complete obedience. Hence, the long chain of mes-
sengers from Adam to Muhammad (pbuh) were all Muslims

and their message was invariably Islam. That list includes
(among many others): Adam, Enoch, Noah, Hude, Saleh,
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Lute, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron,
iii

Dhulkifl, David, Solomon, Job, Ilyas, El-Yasha', Jonah,
Zachariah, John, Jesus Christ and Muhammad (pbut). And any
human being at any place or time who would receive someone
claiming to be a messenger fom Allah, (someone with ample
evidence to support his claim), and accepts his message is a
Muslim.
Hence Islam is not just a religion. lt is the religion, and the
only religion acceptable to Allah (swt).This is not a claim by
Muslims, but a Divine statement in the Glorious eur'an that

was revealed from above seven heavens more than 14 centu-
ries ago.

The four basic foundations of Islam are: Faith (creed), Acts of
worship, Moral code and a code for Transactions with others.
These four basic areas are beyond the capacity of man to tailor,
and hence all human efforts in these directions have failed
miserably, ffid have led people astray.
It follows from the discussion above that man cannot live

peacefully and successfully without religion, and religion can-
not be man-made, but has to be absolutely Divine, without the

slightest human alteration. If such facts are accepted, it fol lows

that the only criteria that can be used for discrimination be-
tween the true religion and a false one would be the authen-
ticity of the revelation that was sent down with the religion.

The only revealed book in the hands of man today that has
iv
Dhulkifl, David, Solomon, Job, Ilyas, EI-Yasha', Jonah,
Zachariah,John,JesusChrist and Muhammad (pbut). And any
human being at any place ortime who would receive someone
claiming to be a messenger from Allah, (someone with ample
evidence to support his claim), and accepts his message is a
Muslim.
Hence Islam is not just a religion. It is the religion, and the
only religion acceptable to Allah (swt). This is not a claim by
Muslims, but a Divine statement in the Glorious Qur'an that

was revealed from above seven heavens more than 14 centu-
ries ago.

The four basic foundations ofIslam are: Faith (creed), Acts of
Worship, Moral Code and a Code for Transactions with others.
These four basic areas are beyond the capacity ofman to tailor,
and hence all human efforts in these directions have failed
miserably, and have led people astray.
It follows from the discussion above that man cannot live

peacefully and successfully without religion, and religion can-
not be man-made, but has to be absolutely Divine, without the

slightest human alteration. Ifsuch facts are accepted, itfollows

that the only criteria that can be used for discrimination be-
tween the true religion and a false one would be the authen-
ticity ofthe revelation that was sent down with the religion.

The only revealed book in the hands of man today that has
iv

been kept intact in exactly the same language and exactly the
same words in which it was revealed is the Glorious Qur'an;
all the previous revelations were either totally lost or suffered

endless human modifications that made them useless for hu-
man guidance.

Consequently, the only solution to human problems that are
piling up today is Islam, as integrated in the final message of
Muhammad (pbuh) which is the only Divine guidance in the
hands ofman today. Hence, my heart-felt welcome ofthis book
"Islam: The Religion You Can No Longer lgnore" by brother
Syed Iqbal Zaheer, which has been wriffen in a very concise,
but very clear form. I pray to the Almighty Allah to make it a
source ofguidancetomany fellow human beings and to reward
the author amply for his appreciated effort.

Who is Allah?
Attaft is the proper noun in Arabic applied to the
Only True Cod Who exists necessarily, by Himself,
encompassing all the excellent Divine Attributes of
perfection.
Allah is One and Unique; He has no partner, no equal.
He does not beget, nor was He begoften. He does
not inhere in anything, nothing inheres in Him. He
is the sole Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. He
is the One Cod, besides whom there is no other god.
And there is none worthy of worship save Him'
He has no wife, no son, and no father. He has no
form or no material substance. He does not sleep nor
does He take rest. He is the First, with no beginning,
and the Last, with no end. He is the All-Knowing who
knows what passes through a man's heart. He is the
Omn ipotent who has the free wi ll that is not restrained
by any power. When He desires a thing to be, He
says, "8e," and it is. He is also the Beneficent,he
In the name of Allah, the Kind, the Compassionate

I ALLAH

Who is Allah?
&lIah is the proper noun in Arabic applied to the
Only True God Who exists necessarily, by Himself,
encompassing all the excellent Divine Attributes of
perfection.
Allah is One and Unique; He has no partner, no equal.
He does not beget, nor was He begotten. He·does
not inhere in anything, nothing inheres in Him. He
is the sale Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. He
is the One God, besides whom there is no other god.
And there is none worthy of worship save Him.
He has no wife, no son, and no father. He has no
form or no material substance. He does not sleep nor
does He take rest. He is the First, with no beginning,
and the Last, with no end. He is the All-Knowing who
knows what passes through a man's heart. He is the
Omnipotent who has the free wi II that is not restrained
by any power. When He desires a thing to be, He
says, "Be, II and it is. He is also the Beneficent, the

Kind and the Merciful whose love for man is seventy
times greater than that of a mother for her child.
And the Cod of lslam is neither remote nor abstract.
He is the Real Lord of the universe whose love swells
the heart and intoxicates the soul. Those who seek

Him do not have to depend on the vicarious convic-
tion of a priest, orthe arguments in the books, to assure

them that He exists. They can feel His existence in

themselves, as well as in both the animate and inani-
mate objects around them.

And this is not the prerogative of the "spiritualists."
Any layman, who follows His guidance and seeks His
Presence, will find Him close to himself.
This is the reason why people of all sorts - intellectuals,
scientists, priests, as well as people from all walks of
life - enter into the fold of lslam every day. In lslam
they find a Cod who responds to their call.
What Does Allah Want of Us?
Since Allah is One and Unique, endowed with the
qualities of perfection that no one shares with Him,

and since He is the sole Creator, Sustainer and Nour-
2

Kind and the Merciful whose love for man is seventy
times greater than that of a mother for her child.
And the God of Islam is neither remote nor abstract.
He is the Real Lord of the universe whose love swells
the heart and intoxicates the soul. Those who seek

Him do not have to depend on the vicarious convic-
tion ofapriest, orthe arguments in the books, to assure

them that He exists. They can feel His existence in

themselves, as well as in both the animate and inani-
mate objects around them.

And this is not the prerogative of the "spiritualists. It
Any layman, who follows His guidance and seeks His
Presence, will find Him close to himself.
This is the reason why people ofall sorts - intellectuals,
scientists, priests, as well as people from all walks of
life - enter into the fold of Islam every day. In Islam
they find a God who responds to their call.
What Does Allah Want of Us?
Since Allah is One and Unique, endowed with the
qualities of perfection that no one shares with Him,

and since He is the sale Creator, Sustainer and Nour-
2

isher of all that exists, He demands that man should
worship Him alone, not associate anyone with Him,

and obey Him by following the guidance he has re-
ceived from Him through His Prophets.

It may be pointed out at this juncture that by nature
man is a follower and a worshipper. lf he is not
devoted to Allah, he will devote himself to others:

deities, saints, thinkers, philosophers, or national he-
roes: following them in thought and action. And they,

being human like himself (or worse - in the case of
deities), will lead him nowhere. In fact, they need
guidance themselves, although they are too proud to
admit it. Aren't they who have brought the world to
this pass? The Qur'an asks: "S^y, 'Of your partners
(that you associate with Allah), is there anyone who
can guide to Truth?' Tell them, 'lt is Allah who guides
to Truth. ls He then who can guide to Truth more
worthy of following than he who cannot guide until
he himself is guided?'Sowhat'swrongwith you? How
do you judge?' (Ch.10, verse 35).
isher of all that exists, He demands that man should
worship Him alone, not associate anyone with Him,

and obey Him by following the guidance he has re-
ceived from Him through His Prophets.

It may be pointed out at this juncture that by nature
man is a follower and a worshipper. If he is not
devoted to Allah, he will devote himself to others:

deities, saints, thinkers, philosophers, or national he-
roes: following them in thought and action. And they,

being human like himself (or worse - in the case of
deities), will lead him nowhere. In fact, they need
guidance themselves, although they are too proud to
admit it. Aren't they who have brought the world to
this pass? The Qur'an asks: "Say, 'Of your partners
(that you associate with Allah), is there anyone who
can guide to Truth?' Tell them, 'It is Allah who guides
to Truth. Is He then who can guide to Truth more
worthy of following than he who

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