Prayer Times
Welcome to
Voice of Islam
This is not just a website rather it
is a community center for all.
The website is committed to preserving an Islamic
identity, building and
supporting a viable Muslim community, promoting a
comprehensive Islamic
way of life based on the Holy Quran and the
Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad.
Islamic Knowledge
Islam
Islam is the name of the religion that Muslims
follow. People who
practice Islam are called Muslims,
just like those who practice Christianity are called
Christians. The literal and lexical meaning
of
Islam means submission. Islam comes from the root
Arabic letters s-l-m which are the same root
letters
the word peace (salam) comes from. The term Islam
itself does not mean peace, but it implies
that
one
finds peace (salam) through submission (islam). The
term Arab is often used interchangeably with
Muslim, but this is incorrect. Arab is a race while
Islam is a religion. Not all Arabs are
Muslim
and
most Muslims are actually not Arab. Arabs make up
about 13% of the Muslim population.
Islam is named after the action of submitting to
God’s commands and will and not a person. Other
religions are often named after a person or people.
For instance, Christianity is named after
Christ,
Judaism is named after the tribe of Juda, and
Buddhism is named after Buddha. Islam is not name
after
Muhammad because Islam existed before him. The
message of previous Prophets, such as Adam,
Abraham,
Noah, and Moses was to submit (islam) to God. Hence,
the message of Islam did not start with the
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. It started with
Adam and continued until today. With the
passing
of time, God would send new Prophets and Messengers
to remind mankind of His message, to worship
Him
alone. Muhammad peace be upon him is the last of
these Prophets.
What do Muslims believe?
> Muslims believe in God the Creator of the
universe. The Arabic term for God is Allah.
Sometimes
Muslims prefer to use the name Allah over God because
Allah linguistically does not have a gender and
cannot be made plural. The English name God could become
goddess or gods. The main message of the
Qurʾān is that God is one. He has no partner, child, or
helper.
> Muslims believe in angels. There are many
angels and that all obey God. Unlike humans, angels
do not have free will and must obey all the commands of
God. Different angels have different tasks.
For example, the angel Gabriel was responsible of
communicating the message of God to human Prophets
and Messengers. The Angel Michael (Mikaaeel) was
responsible for rain. Angels also help and assist
believers in times of difficulty.
> Muslims believe in all Prophets and
Messengers.A Muslim is required to believe in
Adam, Noah,
Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, Jesus, and Muhammad peace
be upon all of them. They all came with the
same message, to worship one God and not associate any
partners with him.
> Muslims also believe in all previous scripture that
God sent to His Prophets and
Messengers.Moses was given the Torah, Abraham
was given the scrolls, David was given the
Psalms, and Jesus was given the Injeel. With the
exception of the Qurʾān, no previous scripture is
completely preserved in its original form. With time,
many of these scriptures were lost or corrupted.
The Qurʾān was sent as a the “final testament” and it
functions as God’s final message to mankind.
> Muslims believe in the afterlife.There will be
a day of judgment where God will hold people
accountable for their actions in this world. Those who
did good will enter paradise and those who did
evil will either be forgiven or punished in hell.
Everyone will be compensated for their actions in
this world.
> Lastly, Muslims believe in God’s divine will and
decree.God has knowledge of all things that
will happen. He does not force humans to make decisions,
we choose what we want to do. However, there
are certain things that God decreed and are outside of
our control. These things include the time and
place we were born, where and when we will die, and
anything that happens that is outside our control.
Muslims submit to these things as part of God’s decree
and will.
Belief in these six items is what makes one a Muslim.
One might not practice Islam perfectly, they may
commit sins and make mistakes, but as long as they have
these beliefs they are considered to be a
Muslim. Put differently, these are the most basic
requirements of being a Muslim.