📘 ❞ An Overview of Islam ❝ كتاب ــ Jasser Auda

عن كتاب An Overview of Islam:
•Islam: Islam (lit. voluntary surrender or submission) means to fully submit to the Will and Law of
God. It has the same root (S-L-M) as the Arabic word Salam (peace). As is clear from the connection
between the words, it is through submission to God’s Will and Law that a person finds peace.
•Attitude to life: The word Islam, therefore, is not a name that derives from a specific man or nation.
Rather, it is descriptive of a state of mind and a whole way of living, thinking, and acting that God
ordained for humankind.
•Innate religion: Islam is also defined as the religion of Fitrah (the natural inborn need for and
awareness of God). According to Islam, every human is born with an innate knowledge of God and a
natural inclination to believe in His Absolute Oneness.
•One religion: Islam introduces itself not as a new religion, but as a continuation of the same message
of pure monotheism revealed by God to all of His prophets, beginning with Adam and ending with
Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
•One God: Islam is strictly monotheistic; there is only one God and no mediator between God and
mankind. It is strictly anti-discriminatory; humanity has one origin, Adam, and God created Adam 1from dust.

•Allah: Allah is the name of the One True God and can never be used to designate any other being. It
is absolutely unique to the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of existence. In Arabic,
it means ‘the One exclusively worthy of deification and worship.’ Arab Christians and Jews use the
word Allah for God.
•Definition of God: In Islam, God is defined as the One Supreme, Eternal, All-Knowing, and Almighty
God Who has no wife, son, partner, or equal. He is the Creator and Sustainer of everything. He is
infinitely Great and Gracious, and is incomparable to any of His creations.
•Absolute monotheism: The belief in the Oneness of God and the worship of God alone is the foundation
of the religion of Islam. Islam teaches that God alone gives life, causes death, brings good, removes
distress, answers supplications, and forgives sins; therefore, no one has the right to be worshipped
except Him alone.
•Messengers: Islam states that God’s Religion was revealed through a long line of prophets and
messengers. Each of them preached the Oneness of God and the worship of Him alone. Belief in
them all, equally and without distinction, is a fundamental article of the Islamic faith.
•Muhammad: The final and complete revelation of Islamic faith was made through Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). He is declared in the Holy Book of Islam, the Qur’an, as the pinnacle of moral
excellence and the last and universal Prophet whose life, teachings, and spirituality, along with the
Qur’an, provide the final and eternal guidance to all humanity – Arabs and non-Arabs alike.



As God is All-Knowing and Changeless, and human nature and needs are basically the same at all times, Islam believes that God’s Message is the same for all humanity. Islam represents itself as a universal and perpetual message, preached not only by Prophet Muhammad, but by all the prophets of God before Muhammad, whose true followers were essentially Muslims, that is, they surrendered to God alone.

Islam: Islam (lit. voluntary surrender or submission) means to fully submit to the Will and Law of God. It has the same root (S-L-M) as the Arabic word Salam (peace). As is clear from the connection between the words, it is through submission to God’s Will and Law that a person finds peace.
Attitude to life: The word Islam, therefore, is not a name that derives from a specific man or nation.
Rather, it is descriptive of a state of mind and a whole way of living, thinking, and acting that God
ordained for humankind.
Innate religion: Islam is also defined as the religion of Fitrah (the natural inborn need for and
awareness of God). According to Islam, every human is born with an innate knowledge of God and a
natural inclination to believe in His Absolute Oneness.
One religion: Islam introduces itself not as a new religion, but as a continuation of the same message
of pure monotheism revealed by God to all of His prophets, beginning with Adam and ending with
Muhammad (peace be upon them all).


Book author :
As God is AllKnowing and Changeless, and human nature and needs are basically the same at all times, Islam believes that God’s Message is the same for all humanity. Islam represents itself as a universal and perpetual message, preached not only by Prophet Muhammad, but by all the prophets of God before Muhammad, whose true followers were essentiall