Inter-Faith Study: ISLAM: "Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”and that the purpose of existence is to worship God"
what is islam?
Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, completion and bonding/joining.[17]In a religious context it means "voluntary submission to God".[18][19] Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb of which Islām is the infinitive. Believers demonstrate submission to God by worshipping God and following his commands, and rejecting polytheism. The word sometimes has distinct connotations in its various occurrences in the Qur'an. In some verses (ayat), there is stress on the quality of Islam as an internal conviction: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam."[20] Other verses connect islām and dīn(usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (dīn) for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion."[21] Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.[22] Another technical meaning in Islamic thought is as one part of a triad ofislam, imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence) where it represents acts of worship (`ibādah) and Islamic law (sharia).[23]Islam's fundamental concept is a rigorous monotheism, called tawhīd (Arabic: توحيد). God is described in chapter 112 of the Qur'an as:[24]"Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." (112:1-4) Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism, but accept Jesus as a prophet. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension and Muslims are not expected to visualize God. God is described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most common being Al-Rahmān, meaning "The Compassionate" and Al-Rahīm, meaning "The Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam).[25]
Muslims believe that creation of everything in the universe is brought into being by God’s sheer command “‘Be’ and so it is.”[8][26] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[2][27] He is viewed as a personal God who responds whenever a person in need or distress calls Him.[8][28] There are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God who states “We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein”[29]
Allāh is the term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning the one God, while ʾilāh(Arabic: إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[30] Other non-Arab Muslims might use different names as much as Allah, for instance "Tanrı" in Turkish or "Khodā" in Persian. (to be continued)
Source: Wikepedia
