Four things Everyone Should Know About Islam

You can’t log in to social media or turn on the T.V. without seeing something about ISIS. Therefore, I decided to post a paper that I wrote back in 2007.  I hope it helps you understand the origin of Islam and how ISIS and Taliban have made Islam toxic. What is this toxicity? Death to the infidel and ISIS world domination.

Here Are Four Things Everyone Should know About Islam
1. The origin of the religion and their holy books. Muhammad the founder of Islam was born in the city of Mecca in AD 570.

Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in the city of Mecca in AD 570. He lost both his mother and father by the age of five. He was cared for by his grandfather and uncle, but started traveling with caravans at a very young age. In his travels he went as far as Syria and Egypt. His marriage to a wealthy widow named Khadijah would change his life forever, because as he started to receive what he called “visions” from who he said was the angel Gabriel. Khadijah encouraged him to believe they were from God. The alleged revelations he received told him that there was only one god and that he was god’s messenger. This drew tension in Mecca where he lived because there was so much idol worship and Muhammad stood against that. Eventually a plot was conspired to kill him on July 16, 622 AD and he fled Mecca to a small town called Medina. There his following started to grow, and in 630 AD he stormed Mecca with 12,000 thousand fighting men and took it over, setting up worship to Allah.
Muhammad started to receive visions in which he claimed the archangel Gabriel visited him and gave him the revelations orally. Some of the visions were written during his lifetime; however, the rest were compiled from memory by his followers after Muhammad’s death in 632 AD. Muslims consider these writings to be holy: the Qur’an, the Torah and the Hadith. Winfried Corduan in his book, Neighboring Faiths pg 87, illustrates the importance of the Hadith to Muslims and how the effect on daily life when he said, “For any issue that is left undefined by the Qur’an, the prophet’s life and informal sayings are the ultimate authority. These traditions are called the Hadiths, and they were vigorously collected and evaluated in the first generations of Islam. As sunna (here again meaning “consensus”), the Hadiths point to Mohammad’s actual life as indications of how Muslims should act.” One is able to extract a doctrine of belief from the Qur’an, Torah, and Hadiths.

2. What they believe. The five pillars of Islam are Shahada “the creed”, Salat “prayer”, Zakat “almsgiving”, Sawm “fasting”, Hajj “pilgrimage” and Jihad.

To a Muslim, obedience means following the five pillars found in the Qur’an. The first is “the creed,” or Shahada, which says there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. The second is “prayer,” or Salat. The third is “Almsgiving,” or Zakat. The fourth is “fasting,” or Sawm. The fifth is “the pilgrimage,” which is Hajj.

A. The first pillar is confessing Shahada. This confession declares that there is no other God than Allah. They have a great intolerance of other gods as stated by, Caesar Farah E. in his book, Islam: Beliefs and Observances pg 104, “Indeed in Islamic doctrine, the worship of anyone other than god is referred to as shirk, or association in worship, and constitutes the major unpardonable sin, kabirah.” This is what compelled Muhammad to conquer Mecca with the sword. When he was a child in Mecca, the idolatry worship that was carried out around his daily life is what eventually drove him to the caves in the hills of the town to worship the one god, Allah. This is where he received his vision from Gabriel.

B. The second pillar, “prayer,” or Salat, is a major part of the Muslim life as Muslims are required to pray five times a day starting at sunrise and ending at sunset. Muslims must also go through steps to wash their body so they will be clean to perform the prayer at the appropriate times. Prayer must be offered with a pure heart and mind, with clean body and clothes, with pure intentions and on pure ground. Muslims all over the world pray facing Mecca.

C. The third pillar, Almsgiving, or “Zakat” describes the act of giving two and half percent of their net income after other expenses are paid. Muslims believe Zakat helps them overcome their self-centeredness and brings unity and betterment as a whole. This is a duty and privilege for them to give to the needy.

D. The fourth pillar is “Sawm” , fasting. Fasting is very important to Muslims especially during the month of Ramadan. Muslims who are physically capable are expected to participate.

E. The fifth pillar is “Hajj”, the pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims who are able to travel are required to make to Mecca at least once in their life time. Once they reach Mecca extended rituals that last several days are performed.

3. The orthodox group’s toxicity. They want to fight and kill everyone, according to their belief, who does not submit to the Qur’an, Mohammed, and Allah. This worldview is set on domination and stifling the freedom of religion wherever this toxicity takes root.

Seeing as how assured salvation is never distinctly promised in the Islamic religion, the notion of jihad is an even more perplexing concept. In America, the subject of jihad is seen in the headlines almost every night. There are two jihads to fight in a Muslim’s life: internal and external. With the latter, some believe they have a right to defend Islam if anyone is to come against it, yet some use it as a way to broaden political, cultural and religious aspects. Others see it as the ultimate righteous act in their lives to receive the eternal benefits of heaven. In the Qur’an it says, “Let me inform you of much better deal: for those who lead a righteous life, reserved at their Lord, are gardens with flowing streams, and pure spouses, and joy in GOD’s blessings. GOD is seer of his worshipers.” Some even believe they have instant access to heaven if they die a martyr. George Braswell wrote in,What You Need To Know About Islam and Muslims pg 30, “Soldiers and martyrs are given a special place. In Muhammad’s time, martyrdom might result from following his command, spreading Islam by fighting the enemy, and losing one’s life in battle. A martyr gained immediate entry into heaven with priority status. Heaven was so good that a martyr would be willing to die again.” This is the type of jihad that the 9-11 terrorist fought. It is some of what coalition forces faced in Iraq, and it is know what we see with ISIS and the Taliban.

The external Jihad is the heartbeat of ISIS. According to their belief, they want to fight and kill everyone who does not submit to the Qur’an, Mohammed, and Allah. Where do they find this in the Qur’an? Surah 2:191, “And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.”

There are other verses that fan the flames of their toxic zeal for Allah; however, time restrains me. Why do I say this is toxic? This worldview is set on domination and stifling the freedom of religion wherever this toxicity takes root. Do I think all Muslims want this external Jihad? No. However, look at what Hitler and Pol Pot did with a small percentage of their countries’ allegiance. I am not concerned about the peaceful Muslims, but we should all be concerned about the toxicity of the radical orthodox Muslims like the Taliban and ISIS.

4. How do you share with them. Therefore, if they trust the Qur’an they need to trust the Bible for two reasons. One, it was written before the Qur’an. Two, they are commanded by their own book to observe the Torah and Gospels.

When you are a Christian sharing with a Muslim they think the bible has been changed by man, so the first set of question is to get them to quit making conjectures. Here are some questions that will help you navigate through their conjectures.

• Who changed the Bible?
• What was changed in the Bible?
• When was it changed?
• Where in the Bible are the changes found?
• Why was it changed?
• How did the changes take place?

We also find out from the Qur’an that they are to observe the Torah and Gospels. Surah 5:68, “Say: O People of the scripture! Ye have naught till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from the Lord.” The Torah and the Gospels were written well before the Qur’an was written. Therefore, if they trust the Qur’an, they need to also trust the Bible for two reasons. One, it was written before the Qur’an. Two, they are commanded by their own book to observe the Torah and Gospels.

(m/history/people/prophets/jesus/christ_in_islam2.htm) “They can also be shown how many times the name of Jesus shows up in the Qur’an compared to Muhammad. Jesus shows up twenty five times compared to Muhammad only five.” If Jesus is that important, they should find out what he did, what he taught, and how he lived. This is an open door to get a Muslim into the Bible and start leading him to the good news of the Gospel.

Go proclaim the Gospel to see a life transformed. Don’t forget to like us on our Social Media outlets.The more you like, share, and post our content the more the Gospel is spread.