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Please
feel free to copy, print, forward, download or utilize any
of our presentations for the purpose of sharing these important
contributions to the true historical character and mission
of Mohamed ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Mutalib, the last and final
messenger and prophet to all mankind and jinn. |
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The
Truth About -
"Muslims"
- By Yusuf
Estes, Former Christian Preacher
Everyone is asking about "Muslims" -
who they are, where they come from, what they believe and what
they are doing around the world.
Some are interested to know why so many people
are turning to Islam and how it has become the world's fastest
growing religion in the world today, being only second to Christianity.
Good questions. But before we begin, it is necessary
to provide some understanding of the meaning of words from the
Arabic language so as to better present an accurate picture of
what is "ISLAM" and
who are the "MUSLIMS."
According to the Arabic dictionary, the word
"Muslim" comes from the word "Islam."
The
word "Moslem" is
inappropriate in both spelling and meaning, as there is a word
in Arabic, "mozlum" which means a "wrongdoer" or "oppressor" and
does not come from the same root.
Both "Muslim" and "Islam" come
from the same root: "S", "L", "M" (silm)
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meaning; "to submit in peace"; "surrender in obedience";
and this immediately implies a relationship between two entities,
one being superior to the other or in charge of matters.
It must be mentioned before going any further,
the teachings of Islam are based on the "Recitation
of Speech" (Arabic;
"Quran") to Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his teachings
("sunnah").
All of the Quran and the sunnah are preserved
in authenticated documents known as hadeeth (narrations) both
memorized and written down by known companions of Muhammad, peace
be upon him, who were eye witnesses to the events concerning
his prophethood.
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Muslims literally "submit" to
the Will of Almighty Allah (Arabic for "The One God of the
universe, and stronger in meaning than "god" in English).
Everything is in the control of Allah and the
Muslim is the one who recognizes this and submits himself or
herself to the Allah's Will in all matters.
This may be best understood for those of the
Christian faith by referring to the New Testament of the Bible
wherein Jesus, peace be upon him, instructs his followers to
pray the Lord's Prayer with the words, "Thy Will be done on earth
as it is in heaven." This is clearly the proper attitude for
one who is turning to the Creator of everything and asking Him
for His Will to prevail in all matters and indicates a willingness
to accept whatever Allah may decree. The difficulties and the
pleasures alike would be seen by the true believer in this concept
as all eminating from the same source, Allah, and as such the
Muslim is at peace with whatever takes place.
The statement, "This too, is from Allah" very
well suits a Muslim and should be his goal in all that occurs
on a daily basis.
Some Statistics
Calculations according the United Nations
put the number of Muslims on earth today between 1.2 billion
and 1.5 billion, making Islam the number two religion in the
world after Christianity. That would mean about 1 in four people
today are Muslim.
The same statistics indicate the number of
new Muslims is increasing everyday. This is largely due to
people converting to Islam is higher than ever before with
Islam being the world's fastest growing religion in the west.
The vast majority of Muslims today are not Arabic,
nor do they speak Arabic. Indonesia has the most Muslims with
most (over 90%) of all Indonesians being Muslim. Other interesting
statistics show over 140 million Muslims in China, 1/3 of India
being Muslim, the former Soviet Union, countries such
as Azerberjan,
Turkmenistan,
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan all having
over 95% Muslims.
Questions:
Often people ask where Muslims come from and
the answer is clear; everywhere. Anyone on the earth who believes
in the One God of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus
and Muhammad, (peace be upon them all) and is trying to do what
the Commandments of Allah has ordered them to do and trying to
stay away from the things the Commandments of Allah order them
to stay away from, is very much a Muslim, by both definition
and intent.
Some will ask, "What about Muslims terrorists?"
And of course the answer is simple; "If you are at peace with
Allah and doing what He has ordered and staying away from what
He has forbidden, how could you be a terrorist?" This is a misrepresentation
of both the meaning of the word, "Muslim" and a gross
misrepresentation of what Muslims are all about.
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NEW
VIDEO & AUDIO - JUST
RELEASED:
"Muhammad: A-Z & More . . ."
- by Sheik Yusuf Estes
Famous for his outspoken humor on Islam
and Muslims, Sheik Yusuf tells everything from A
to Z about the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
[click
here] |
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