Islam means submission,
obedience, surrender and compliance with the command and prohibition of
the
commander without objections. Allah has named the true religion, ‘Islam’
for it is an obedience to him, submission to His Commands without any
resistance, purifying acts of worship for Him, believing in His words and
having faith in Him. Islam then became a proper name for the religion
brought by Muhammad.
Why was
this religion named Islam?
Adherents of various religions
all over the world have named their religions, either with the name of a
man or a particular race like Christianity, which was named after Jesus
Christ; and Buddhism was named after its founder Buddha; and
Zoroastrianism
was named after its founder and flag banner, Zoroaster. Judaism had also
emerged among the tribe of Judah and so on. The All-Mighty Allah Himself
called it Islam when He said,
{{Truly, the religion with Allâh is Islâm. (submission
to His Will)}},(Holy Qur'an 3:1) It is only Islam that is not attributed to
any particular man or nation. Its name indicates a special characteristic
that the meaning of Islam denotes. It is evident in this name that no man
has any role in bringing this religion into existence and that it is not
peculiar with any nation to the exclusion of others. Its only goal is to
make all people of the earth have characteristics of Islam. So, whoever is
characterized with the qualities of Islam among ancient people and
contemporary people is a Muslim, just as he shall be called a Muslim, and
anyone who possesses its qualities among the coming
generations.
The Message of
Islam:
The most important message of Islam is the absolute
Unity of God-that there is only One Supreme Being who has no partners and is
not dependent on anyone or anything. He is the creator of everything and the
whole universe is under His control. Since the total submission of one's
will to Allah represents the essence of worship, Islam is the worship of
Allah alone and the avoidance of worship directed to any person, place or
thing other than Allah. In essence, Islam calls man away from the worship of
creation and invites him to worship only its Creator. Allah is the only one
deserving man's worship as it is only by His will that prayers are answered.
Hence prayers to the non-living such as the sun, fire, and to humans whether
they are Jesus, Moses or even Muhammad are rejected, as Allah informs us in
the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an,:
{{You (Alone) we worship,
and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).}}( Holy Qur'an
1:4