The word Islam means obedience, submission, surrender to the will of Allah. A Muslim is one who has complied to the will of Allah. (Allah is Arabic for God and is the proper name of God), A Muslim is one who sacrifices his ambitions and wishes to obey Allah. All the people from Adam until now who have obeyed the commands of their Creator, as sent
down through the Messengers of God, are regarded as Muslims. When one Muslim meets or communicates with another he or she will use the greeting [As-salamu alaykum] this means - 'Peace be upon you' - it indicates to the other that you are my brother or sister in Islam and that they should have no worries from your part.

The greeting of 'As-salam' is significant in that it can be used at any time of day or night. 'As-salam' is one of the attributes of Allah -meaning Peace Giving. the religion of Islam is not a creation of Muhammad (SAW) as the Qur'an was a revelation to him from God. Attempts have been made to introduce the term 'Muhammadan' to replace the word Islam. This was most evident during the British Rule (Raj) in India and Pakistan when terms such as Muhammadan College, Muhammadan Law, Muhammadan Religion were always used to describe or refer to Islamic details. However, Muslim scholars of that time were quite adamant that the term 'Muhammadan' was incorrect when dealing with Islamic references.

The subject matter can be divided into three parts:

An Introduction to Islam
Islamic Beliefs
The Practice of Islam
The three parts will thus enable those who are newly aware of Islam to have a better
grasp of its teachings.

AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

It is perhaps preferable to say that Islam is more than just another religion as it is also a completely comprehensive code leading to the ultimate way of life. When someone accepts Islam they have access to spiritual satisfaction and a guide to their daily way of life. Islam teaches the proper means to earn money. Islam teaches the proper etiquette of eating and drinking, what to eat, how to eat and what not to eat. For sleep, Islam teaches the best manner to adapt to sleep and what to say before sleeping and on awakening. Islam teaches the methods of one's toilet practices that are most beneficial towards well being and hygiene.

Islam teaches how to bring up one's offspring in the best possible way. In fact Islam does not leave man without guidance on any iota of life. Thus Islam is more than just an ideology as it has realism and practicality. One can say that Islam is a type of movement having its own foundations and principles upon which there is no compromising. However, if one refers to Islam as a movement then it must be as a movement of Peace - of mind,
peace of heart, peace of society, peace of country. Another meaning of Islam is therefore Peace. Thus Islam can only be described with a combination of words. Unlike Mankind and Jinn's the rest of creation such as stars, planets, animals all obey God's Laws (Natural Laws).

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