A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Introduction
~ 5 ~
INTRODUCTION
“Islam” is an Arabic word which means “submission, surrender and
obedience to God.” In religious terms, this means that the
individual who embraces Islam as his religion must put the
Almighty first and foremost in his life, bowing to His wishes in all
matters great and small.
Everything in the universe—the sun, the moon, the stars— have all
completely subjugated themselves to His will; they cannot make the
slightest deviation from the path He has ordained for them.
Similarly, all other elements in nature function in obedience to the
laws of nature laid down for them by their Maker. The universe,
therefore, literally follows the religion of Islam in that it has
surrendered to God, the Lord of the Universe.
But there is a difference between the status of man and that of the
physical world. The physical world has been given no option but to
submit to God, whereas man has been given free will, so that he
may opt for either good or bad ways. To this end he has been
given a thinking faculty, and a conscience with which to make
moral judgements for himself. He has the ability to accept and
reject in order to follow certain principles in life. He is not bound
by fixed laws like all other created beings. He has been given
freedom of thought, option and action.
It is through this liberty of choice that man is being tested. But
after being given a thinking faculty, a conscience and an ability to
judge between good and bad ways, he was not just left to his own
