Before you die... know the only truth that determines your fate in the afterlife."
True Happiness and Salvation from Hellfire .
As most of us have come to realise, happiness is that ethereal quality that encompasses contentment and peacefulness; it is the soft joy that causes our lips, faces and hearts to smile. It is determined by faith in God and obedience to Him. Thus happiness embodies the peace security and submission that is Islam.
The word “Muslim” means one who submits to the will of God, regardless of his/her race, nationality or ethnic background. Hence, any person who is ready to submit to the will of God is eligible to become a Muslim.
the belief in God and His worship,At the heart of Islam lies belief in God.
Among the blessings and favors that God has bestowed upon humanity is that He endowed them with an innate ability to recognize and acknowledge His existence.
everybody asks the big questions: “Who made us,” and “Why are we here?”
So who did make us?
God. Why are we here? To serve and worship Him.
To serve and worship Him. A third question naturally arose: “If our Creator made us to serve and worship Him, how do we do that?”
since it is not possible for human beings to have a detailed knowledge of God except through revelation from Himself, God sent His Messengers to teach the people about their Creator Who they must worship. These Messengers also brought with them the details of how to worship God, because such details cannot be known except by way of revelation. These two fundamentals were the most important things that the Messengers of all the divine revelations brought with them from God. On this basis, all the divine revelations have had the same lofty objectives, which are:
1. To affirm the Oneness of God - the praised and glorified Creator – in His essence and His attributes.
2. To affirm that God alone should be worshipped and that no other being should be worshipped along with Him or instead of Him.
Islam upholds strict monotheism and belief in God forms the heart of their faith. Islam teaches belief in one God who neither gives birth nor was born Himself.
Islam is a universal and inclusive religion. Muslims believe in the prophets, not just the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, but the Hebrew prophets, including Abraham and Moses, as well as the prophets of the New Testament, Jesus, and John the Baptist. Islam teaches God did not send prophets to Jews and Christians alone, rather He sent prophets to all nations in the world with one central message: worship God alone. Muslims must believe in all prophets sent by God mentioned in the Quran, without making any distinction between them. Muhammad was sent with the final message, and there is no prophet to come after him. His message is final and eternal, and through him God completed His Message to humanity.
Every Act is Worship
In the Islamic system, each and every human act can be transformed into an act of worship. In fact, God commands the believers to dedicate their whole lives to Him. In the Quran, God says:
“Say: ‘Surely my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for God, the Lord of all the worlds.’” (Quran 6:162)
God knows what is best for His creation. He has complete knowledge of the human psyche. Consequently Islam clearly defines the rights and responsibilities we have towards God.
It was the central message of all prophets and messengers sent by God - the message of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, and Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. For instance, Moses declared:
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Jesus repeated the same message 1500 years later when he said:
"The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.’" (Mark 12:29)
And reminded Satan:
"Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." (Matthew 4:10)
Finally, the call of Muhammad some 600 years after Jesus reverberated across the hills of Mecca:
"And your God is One God: there is no god but He…" (Quran 2:163)
They all declared clearly:
"…Worship God! You have no other god but Him…" (Quran 7:59, 7:65, 7:73, 7:85; 11:50, 11:61, 11:84; 23:23)
What Is Worship?
Worship in Islam consists of every act, belief, statement, or sentiment of the heart which God approves and loves; everything that brings a person closer to His Creator. It includes ‘external’ worship like the daily ritual prayers, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage as well as ‘internal’ worship such as faith in the six articles of faith, reverence, adoration, love, gratitude, and reliance. God is entitled to worship by the body, soul, and heart, and this worship remains incomplete unless it is done out of four essential elements: reverential fear of God, divine love and adoration, hope in divine reward, and extreme humility.
One of the greatest acts of worship is prayer, invoking the Divine Being for aid. Islam specifies that prayer should only be directed to God. He is deemed in total control of every man’s destiny and able to grant his needs and remove distress. God, in Islam, reserves the right of prayer for Himself:
"And do not invoke, along with God, anything that can neither benefit you nor harm you, for behold, if you do it, you will surely be among the evildoers!"
(Quran 10:106)
Giving anyone else - prophets, angels, Jesus, Mary, idols, or nature- a portion of one's worship, which is essentially due only to God, such as prayer, is called Shirk and is the most enormous of sins in Islam. Shirk is the only unforgivable sin if not repented from, and it denies the very purpose of creation.
Islam is a religion that looks at life and says this world is but a transient place and our reason for being is to worship God. Sounds simple doesn’t it? God is One, acknowledge this and worship Him and peace and serenity are obtainable. This is within the grasp of any human being and can be had simply by believing sincerely that there is no god but God.
If a person truly believes that there is no god but God, he or she should accept Islam without delay.
that Islam is the religion of forgiveness. No matter how many sins a person may have committed, he or she never becomes unforgivable. God is the oft Forgiving, Most Merciful and Quran stresses these attributes more than 70 times.
“And to God belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. He forgives whom He wills, and punishes whom He wills. And God is oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran 3:129)
There is however, one sin that God will not forgive and that is the sin of ascribing partners or associates to God. A Muslim believes that God is One, without partners, offspring, or associates. He is the only One worthy of worship.
“Say (O Muhammad), He is Allah, (the) One. Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). He begets not, nor was He begotten; And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.” (Quran 112)
“Verily, God forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills.” (Quran 4:48)
It may seem strange to say that God is the Most Merciful, and stress that Islam is the religion of forgiveness while also saying that there is one unforgivable sin. This is not a strange or unreliable concept when you understand that this grave sin is only unforgivable if a person dies without repenting to God. At any time, up until a sinful person draws his last breath he or she may turn sincerely to God and ask for forgiveness, knowing that God truly is the Most Merciful Oft Forgiving. Sincere repentance assures God’s forgiveness.
“Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief), their past will be forgiven.” (Quran 8:38)
Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said: “God will accept His slave’s repentance so long as the death rattle has not yet reached his throat.” Prophet Muhammad also said, “Islam destroys that which came before it (sins)”
Whenever any human being experiences and understands God’s mercy, Satan tries his best to harm that individual. Satan does not want us to feel comfort and mercy; he wants us to feel anxious and depressed. He wants us to make mistakes and commit sins. Satan despairs of ever feeling God’s love therefore he wants to corrupt as many human beings as he can.
(Satan said) “…surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left…” (Quran 7:16-17)
Whenever a person realises the truth and wants to become a Muslim, Satan introduces the word ‘but’. I want to become a Muslim...BUT! But I am not ready. But I don’t speak Arabic. But I am white. But I don’t really know about Islam. God warned us against Satan and his cunning ways.
“O children of Adam. Let not Satan deceive you.” (Quran 7:27)
“Surely Satan is an enemy to you so take him as an enemy.” (Quran 35:6)
Satan’s whispers try to prevent us from converting to Islam. These ideas should not stand in the way of a person connecting, or reconnecting with the Most Merciful God. In this series or articles we will discusssome of the most prominent myths, lay them open to scrutiny and see that God is indeed Most Merciful. He makes converting to Islam easy, not difficult.
Conversion to Islam is as easy as saying the words, I testify that there is no god but God and I testify that Muhammad is His messenger. The conversion does not have to be done in a mosque (Islamic centre) and nor are witnesses needed for the conversion.
many multitudes amongst mankind who, throughout the ages, neglect their moral duty to their Lord God , let then not forget that:
"Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So whoever is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, it is indeed he who has succeeded. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion." (Quran 3:185)
God has said in the Quran:
"Those who have disbelieved and died in disbelief, the earth full of gold would not be accepted from any of them if one offered it as a ransom. They will have a painful punishment, and they will have no helpers."
(Quran 3:91)
So, this life is our only chance to win Paradise and to escape from Hellfire, because if someone dies in disbelief, he will not have another chance to come back to this world to believe. As God has said in the Quran about what is going to happen for the unbelievers on the Day of Judgment:
"If you could but see when they are set before the Fire (Hell) and say, "Would that we might return (to the world)! Then we would not reject the verses of our Lord, but we would be of the believers!" (Quran 6:27)
But no one will have this second opportunity.
God says:
"And I have neither created jinn nor humans, except for My worship." (Quran 51:56)
Humans are required to live not according to their subjective desires, automatisms, mental conditioning or according to the dictates of social, political or academic authorities, but in accordance with their cosmic purpose inherent in us: the worship of God.
"So direct your face towards the straight religion, the nature (framed by) God with which He has created humankind. No change let there be in the creation of God, that is the straight religion, but most people do not know." (Quran 30:30)
