NOTES OF ISLAMIC STUDIES

• Adultery: on of the most heinous and deadliest of sins in Islam. Adultery of extramarital intercourse as an example of divine-base morality is haram (forbidden) and sinful in Islam. 
• Akhlaq :Islamic Moral Code > it is compulsoray for Muslims to practice the Islamic Moral Code called akhlaq. "The best of the believers in faith are those who are the best in morals." (Hadith narrated by Tabrani).
• Alcohol: Muslims are obliged to avoid alcoholic drinks (even in the form of social drinking) and gambling. (Al-Maaidah: 90)
• Allah : in Arabic, Allah means 'One True God'. Even the Arabic speaking Jews and Christians use the world Allah when speaking about the Supreme Being. It is only Allah who Guides the people and it is only Allah who Misguides.
• Atheism: originated from the Greek atheos meaning "without Gods'. the belief that deities (gods of divine beings) do not exist. Today about 2.3 % of the world's population describe themselves asa atheists as reported by Wikipedia. 
• Creationism: religious belief that humanity, life, the earth and the universe were created in some form by a supernatural being or beings, commonly in a single deity (god). 
• Deen: Islam as a 'Deen' > Islam is not just a religion, it is a 'Deen'. The word 'Deen' means 'obey' and 'Millah' means 'a way of life'. Deen means 'submission, and obedience to the teachings of Islam as a way of life. 
• Divine Based Morality: morality ordained by God based on the Quran and the authentic traditions. 
• Equality in Islam:There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or non-Arab over an Arab, or of a white man over a black-man or of a black man over a white man,except through piety. (Al Hadith). Equality of Islam can be seen during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. 
• Five Pillars of Islam: (Rukun Islam)

1. Syahadah or Testimony > to affirm that there is no God but Allah, and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the messenger of Allah. 
2. Solat (prayer) > the five daily (obligatory) prayers of solah. 
3. Zakat > to pay alms to the poor and needy (obligatory charity). 
4. Fasting in the Month of Ramadan > staying hungry and thirsty makes one understands the misery of the poor and needy. 
5. To perform Hajj to Mecca once in a lifetime. 

• Fundamentalist : a person who follows and adheres to the fundamentals of the doctrine or theory he is following. Fundamentalis Muslim, who, by the grace of Allah, knows, follows and strives to practice the fundamentals of Islam. Fundamentals of Islam are beneficial to humanity and the whole world.
• Gender Equality:  Islam preaches gender equality, not the same rights, different, but equality important roles for both men and women.
• God: God, the creator, is different to His creatioin. God is eternal, has always existed and has no beginning. The Question Who Created God is irrational. 
• Hada & Huda : Hada in Arabic means 'to guide' and Huda means 'guidance. In Islam, common sense is important but it has to be guided by huda. 
• Hadiths: the second source of Islam, and the Islamic law. Sometimes called 'Sunnah' - means ' the way of the Prophet (pbuh), the collection of the Prophets (pbuh) sayings, deeds and approvals of Prophet and is integral to the Quran. The Quran is the message and the Hadith is the explanation of the message. 
• Halal: an Arabis world meaning 'lawful' or 'permissible', referring to anythig that is allowed under Islamic law. Halal in not only pork-free or lard-free or no pork served, halal beef and chicken refer to cows and chickens slaughtered according to the Islamic rituals. Beyond food, halal extends to all aspects of life, including earning a living, social interactions and business ethics. 
• Haram: an Arabic term meaning 'forbidden' or 'unlawful' in Islam, refers to actions, substances and products that are prohibited by Islamic law (Sharia). Example of haram is Pork, alcohol, gambling, usury, stealing, cheating, bribe and many others. 
• Hijab: Symbol of faith, not symbol of oppression - "Hijab" literally means "barrier" or "Curtain", refers to Islamic principles of modesty for both men and woman in Islam. For women, it most commonly refers to a headscarf that covers the hair, neck, and ears, while leaving the face visible. It is worn as an act of religious devotion and as a symbol of modesty and submission to God's will. Hijab is an act of obedience between the Muslim woman and her Creator. Muslim woman covers her physical appearance, not her mind or intellect. Refer Quran in Surah Al-Ahzab 33:59.
• Human Based Morality: a based on human perception, can change based on human influences, desires and whims and can be wrong.
• Ihsan : Excellence or Ihsan > that you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him, otherwise, verily, He sees you. 
• Infidels : or Kafir, a person who rejects or disbelieves in God (Allah). The Christians and Jews are not considered 'Infidels" in Islam, they are referred to as "people of the Book",since we are all monotheistic and trace our roots back to Abraham. The term "infidels" is reserved for pagans, or those who do not believe in the One God.
• Injeel (Bible): No Muslim is a Muslim if he or she not believe in the Injeel. Muslims believe that the original Injeel was the authentic word of God in toto as revealed to Prophet Isa (Jesus), but the Bible was not. However, Muslims still respect the Bible because it does contain some of the original teaching of Allah. 
• Islam: derived from the Arabic word 'Aslama', means to surrender, commit, resign, submit, submission to the will of God. Islam is the religion of truth.
• Islam and Science: Islam is compatible with science, Islam gave birth to many brilliant scientists who changed the world with their knowledge, ideas and innovation. Wikipedia : List of Scientists in Medieval Islamic World.
• Jesus a.s.: A Muslim cannot be considered a Muslim if he denies Jesus (a.s) and believes that he was not a Prophet of Allah. There is an entire chapter in the Quran (Chapter 19) named after the Mother of Jesus, Maryam (AS). Muslim believe in Jesus, but Jesus is not God or the Son of God or part of Trinity. 
• Jihad: to struggle and sacrifies for one's religion in a manner which is pleasing to God. Jihad is not a 'Holy War'.
• Ka'abah in Mecca: The first house established for the worships of ONE God. Muslims do not worship neither the Ka'bah nor the Black stone. The Black stone only serves as an indication of where the circumambulation around the Sacred House should begin, no more. The Ka'bah also tells Muslims which way to turn in order to perform solat. It is the direction for prayer, not an object of worship. 
• Mary the Mother of Jesus: Mary the mother of Jesus has a whole chapter in the Holy Quran named after her (19th chapter - Surah Maryam or Mary), yet the Muslim don't worship her or pray to her as the Catholics do!. 
• Monotheistic Religion: Islam belief in only ONE GOD, with an estimated 1.5 billion adherents spread across the globe. 
• Muslims:those who believe in one God and Muhammad as the final Prophet of God. They perform the daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, practice alms giving, perform Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. 
• People of the Book: Muslims are enjoined to respects Jew and Christians, the "People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab), who worship the same God (Quran 29:46). People of the Book held a special status in Muslim societies and were respected for their foundtional role in monotheism. 
• Polygamy: a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygyny is where a man marries more than one woman, while Polyandry is where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted, whereas polyandry is completely prohibited. 
• Polytheism: the belief in or worship of more than one god. 
• Prophets: Allah had already sent 124,000 prophets, however Muslims are only required to know only 25 names mentioned in Al Quran. 
• Purpose of Life: to acknowledge and worship God alone, so that we live upon the guidance of our Creator. 
• Qiblat: in Arabic means 'direction', not god. Muslims all over the world face the same qiblat (direction) during prayers as a symbol of uniformity and unity. (Al-Baqarah 2: 144). It teaches the concept of equality between humans irrespective of colour, race, wealth and natonality. 
• Quran: 

1. the first source of Islam > an Islamic law, the world of God with no human interpolation and is free from inconsistencies. The Quran is a guidance for mankind.
2. The Quran is not a book of science, it is a book of "Signs" that point to its divine origin.
3. Quran is the Final Revelation, the last scripture revealed by Almighty Allah. 
4. People who hate Islam very much still called the Quran amazing (Dr Gary Miller).
5. Both Quran and Hadith are important sources of understanding true Islamic teaching.
6. Quran has been preserved and unchanged since it was revealed over 1400 years ago. 
7. Quran contains many scientific and historical facts that were unknown to the people of that time and have only been discovered recently, which is one of the proofs it is from God. 
8. There is probably no other book in the world which has remained 14th centuries with so pure a text. (Sir William Muir).
9. Quran is far superior to modern science.
10. The Quran does not contain contradictions. Present day Quran copies have the same content as those original standard manuscripts. 
11. Is memorised cover-to-cover by millions of people. Even if every printed copy is lost or destroyed, the exact Quran text can be reproduced from the memories of millions of Muslims - a miracle unique to Allah's Final Book!
12. Allah makes a challenge in His Quran " If you doubt what We have revealed to Our servant, Muhammad, then produce jus one chapter like it." (Quran 2:23). 
13. World renowned scientists have studied verses of the Quran relating to various fields such as cosmology, embryology, geology and oceanology.
14. Chapter 19 of the Quran is named Surah Maryam or Mary,the Mother of Jesus. 
15. Chapter 3 of the Quran - "The Family of Imran" who was Mary's father. Mary was the Mother of Jesus. 

• Racism in Islam: Islam teaches that an indivicual is not superior to another because of race of colour, and is strictly against any form of racism. 
• Religion : Has existed from the day our forefathers made their presence in this world. It is derived from the Latin noun 'religio' which denotes both earnest observance of ritual obligations, and an inward spirit of reverence. The earliest definition of religion is from Johnson's Dictionary which simply calls it 'a system of faith."
• Religion of Truth :Islam is the religion of truth revealed by Allah through His Messenger to mankind. Islam was not named after a person of a group of people, as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gautama Buddha, Confucianis after Confucius and Judaism after Judah. The name 'Islam' was given by Allah as mentioned in the Quran Chapter Al-Maaidah verse 3.
• Science in Islam: 

1. Science is a tool that enables man to understand the greatness of God. Islam is a religion of reason and conscience. 
2. Renaissance did not start in the West. It started in the Muslim world particularly in Muslim Spain. Without Islam, the West would still linger in the Dark Ages. 

• Shariah : literally means 'path towater', the source of life and signifies the way to God (Allah) as given by Him. 
• Secularism: the word 'secular' derived from the Latin word 'saeculum' which means 'present age of this world'. The Islamic civilazation does not condone secularism. It is first used in 1648 in the Treaty of Wesphalia at the end of religious wars in the West. 

• Six Pillars in Faith : (Rukun Iman) 

1. To believe in Allah
2. To believe in His Angels
3. To believe in His Books (Scriptures) : - The Quran, The Torah, The Injil (Gospel), The Psalms (Zaboor in Arabic) and The Scrolls (Suhuf). 
4. To Believe in His Prophets > From Adam, Noah, Abraham (Ibrahim), Ishak (Isaac) and so on until Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) and Muhammad. 
5. To believe in the Day of Judgement.
6. To believe in the Divine Decree (Divine Fate) be it good or evil (Qada' and Qadar).

• Tauhid  : the doctrine of the Oneness of God which underlies the concept of monotheism in Islam. 
• Terrorist & terrorism: 

1. a person who causes terror. Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance and respect for human life in all its variation. Islam does not condone terrorism. In fact, Muslims are not even allowed to destroy plants and animals unnecessarily, let alone innocent humans. Refer Quran 5.32.
2. Islam does not support terrorism. The Prophet (pbut) ordered all Muslims not to hurt non-Muslims in any way unless they declare war on Islam and the Muslims. 

• There is no compulsion in religion of Islam, truly the right way is clearly dintinct from error (Al-Baqarah: 256). Muslims must call people to Islam with wisdom.
• Ummul Mukminin: Prophet Muhammad's wives were called the "Mother of the Faithful" or Ummul Mukminin, a title given to honour them. They were scholars of religion and spiritual mentors who guided the faithful, especially women, during and after the Prophet's lifetime.  
• Violence and Terrorism: Islam is against violence and terrorism (Surah al-An'aam verse 151). 
• Virgin Birth of Jesus: Muslims believed in the virgin birth of Jesus, if a Muslim does not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, he/she is not a Muslim. 
• Women in Islam:

1. Women are given the utmost respect and honour, with nor form of oppression condoned towards them. 
2. Islam give woman equal rights, but recognised her as an individual. Both men and woman in Islam are equally encouraged to seek knowledge. 
3. “It is only in the last twenty years that Christian England has recognised the right of woman to property, while Islam has allowed this right from all times. It is a slander to say that Islam preaches that women have no souls.” (Annie Bessant - The Life and Teachings of Mohammed, 1932).
4. Islam treats women as one of the vicegerents on earth who are born with a godly mission. 

• Did Islam Spread by the sword? > One of the most widespreads misconceptions about Islam.Islam spread far and wide because it's the true religion, perfect religion, not because of the sword. There is no Muslim army in history that forced people's at the country with Majority Muslims to accept Islam, example Indonesia with the largest Muslim population in the world. The word 'SWORD' is not in the Quran - not even once. However the word "SWORD" appears in the Bible over 200 times... many in the New Testament.
• In the Quran, the only permissible war is one of self-defence. Muslims may not begin hostilities (Quran 2: 190). 
• The Muslim with all his sense of superiority has no race complex. Islam has never known classes, the whole European history since the time of Greece and Rome is full of class struggle and social hatred. Islam is indeed much more that a system of theology, it is a complete civilisation. (H.A.R.Gibb - in his book "Whither Islam". 
• "Islam was a religion conceived, and introduced by a genius, and a remarkable man of great intellect known by the name of Muhammed (Dr. Maurice Bucaille). 
• Learning about Islam from unqualified sources without verification is dangerous and leads to misunderstandings. Do not be misled into accepting misconceptions and false information about Islam - the belief share by more than a quarter of mankind. 
• The Muslims do not pray to Muhammad as the Christians pray to Jesus (Khadija Sue Watson). 
• Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came with the same message that all the Prophets brought, to worship the one true God, that is Allah. Jesus also delivered the exact same message (Mark 12:29-30).
• Islam brings peace not only to humans, but also to animals. The Prophet (pbuh) said "There is a reward in (doing goodness) to every living being." (Hadith narrated by Bukhari).
• Not all Arabs are Muslim, only about 20% of Muslims in the world are Arabs. Of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, more than 60% live in South and Southeast Asia and Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country. 

Reference:

1. Islam the Misunderstood Religion - Dr. Danial Zainal Abidin , PST Millennia Sdn Bhd (2012). 
2. Whither Islam cited in Muhammad in Non-Muslim - H.A.R Gibb (1932). 
3. The Amazing Quran - Dr. Gary Miller
4. 20 Most Common Questions About Islam - Dr. Zakir Abdul Karim Naik.
5. The True, Peaceful Face of Islam - Karen Armstrong : Time Magazine, 1 October 2001 Vo.. 158 No. 15. 
6. Jesus Christ in The Quran - Hidayah Centre Foundation.
7. What They Say About Islam, the Prophet and the Quran - Zulheimy Maamor Blogspot.

Hj Zulheimy Maamor

Lembah Keramat, K.L

14 October 2025: 6.15 p.m