What is Islam?

The word ‘Islam’, in Arabic, means submission and peace. As a term, ‘Islam’ refers to the message that was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Allah, the One Creator. A ’Muslim’ is the one who believes in Allah as the only God and Muhhammad (peace be upon him/pbuh) as the last and final Prophet and Messenger of Allah. Consequently, a Muslim believes in Islam its entirely.

The Islamic idea itself is compossed of two essential component: the creed or doctrine (aqeedah), and system of rules and regulations founded on this creed (shari’a). The creed of Islam provides comprehensive answer to the fundamental questions regarding humanity’s existence and that of the universe. It addresses the issue of human being’s purpose in life, and links it with what precedes life and what comes after it, thereby adressing the humanity’s core problems and providing the basis for systems and rules to properly organize human affairs.

The Islamic system provides a comprehensive law governing the affairs of human beings. It corectly establishes: 1) the relationship between human beings and the Creator, 2) the personal affairs of individuals; and 3) the various relationship (social, political,, economic, and international) that exist in society. Islam constitutes a creed, a system, and a method. Thus, Islam not only a religion, but also an ideology. What distinguishes Islam from the ideologies of Capitalism an Communism is that Islam attempt to address the deep question relating to the meaning of life in ways that other ideologies do not.

Since Islam establishes the correct understanding of life and places humanity in the correct context, the systems and culture emanating from the Islamic creed would correctly address the human nature and provide the correct solution. Islam does not ignore a human being’s instincts or desires, but organize them. In this context, Islam is compatible with the human being.