BEING ISLAM: WHY ISLAM?-THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION IN THE WORLD... /ALLAH'MDULILAH/

ISLAM is the fastest growing religion in the world. Because Islam is a complete way of life. It tells man about the purpose of his creation and existence, his ultimate destiny, his place among other creatures and more importantly, it provides him with guidance to lead a balanced and purposeful life which will enable him to avoid the Hell-fire and be rewarded with a place in Paradise in the life after death. Simply Islam is to "Obey Allah" (Allah is the Name of the Only One True God). Islam is a verb in Arabic (a doing word). The one who does Islam is called a Muslim. (Allah calls us "Muslims" in His Speech of Qur'ân).

The Arabic word Islaam means voluntary surrender to the will of Allaah and obedience to His commands. Allaah is an Arabic word, the proper name of God. Muslims prefer to use Allaah rather than God.

MUSLIM

A person who freely and consciously accepts the Islamic way of life and sincerely practices it is called a Muslim. A Muslim (the one who does Islam) remembers:

*TO SURRENDER (to give up himself/herself to ALLAH the Almighty)

*TO BE IN SUBMISSION (happily submit his/her own will to Allah's Will)

*TO OBEY ALLAH (understand Qur'ân and Sunnah and he implements it in action)

*TO DO ALL OF ABOVE, ONLY FOR SAKE OF ALLAH (not to impress/show off)

*THE RESULT IS PEACE in worldly life & Eternal PARADISE, by Mercy of Allah.

Therefore a Muslim cannot be truly a Muslim "by birth" in a Muslim family or nation or tribe; rather after seeking knowledge and understanding of the Qur'ân & Sunnah and obeying Allah on Allah's Terms, then only one can say that "I am obedient servant of Allah" (i.e. I am a Muslim).

We may know that Islam is the only Way to Peace & Paradise.. but unless we make up our mind to obey Allah in ACTION, Allah may not Accept it from us, May Allah Forbid.

BASIC BELIEFS

The three fundamental Islamic beliefs are:

Tawhid - Oneness of Allah;
Risalah - Prophethood;
Akhirah - Life after death.

TAWHID is the most important Islamic belief. It implies that everything in existence originates from the one and only Creator, who is also the Sustainer and the sole Source of Guidance. This belief should govern all aspects of human life. Recognition of this fundamental truth results in a unified view of existence which rejects any divisions of life into religious and secular. Allah is sole source of Power and Authority, therefore entitled to worship and obedience from mankind. There is no scope for any partnership with the Creator. Tawhid tells man that Allah is not born, nor is anyone born of Him. He has no son or daughter. Human beings are His subjects.

RISALAH means Prophethood and Messengership. Allah has not left man without Guidance for the conduct of his life. Since the creation of the first man, Allah has revealed His guidance to mankind through His prophets. The prophets who received books from Allah are called messengers. The message of all the prophets and messengers is one and the same. They urged the people of their time to obey and worship Allah alone and none other. Whenever the teachings of a prophet were distorted by people Allah sent another prophet to bring human beings back to the Straight Path. The chain of Risalah began with Adam, included Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Lot, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Jesus, and ended with Muhammad (peace be upon them all), as the final messenger of Allah to mankind. The revealed books from Allah are: the Torah (Tawrah), the Psalms (Zabur), the Gospel (Injeel) and the Qur'an. The Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), as the final book of Guidance. It is unchanged and nobody can change it.

AKHIRAH means Life after death. Belief in Akhirah has a profound impact on the life of a believer. We are all accountable to Allah on the Day of Judgment when we will be judged according to how we lived our lives. A person who obeys and worships Allah will be rewarded with a permanent place of happiness in Paradise (Jannah); the person who does not do so will be sent to Hell (Jahannam), a place of punishment and suffering.

FESTIVALS

IDUL FITR, one of the major festivals, is observed on the first day after the month of Ramadan. On this day, Muslims express their joy and happiness by offering a congregational prayer. Special food is prepared, and it is customary to visit friends and relatives and to give presents to children to make the occasion lively and special for them.

IDUL ADHA begins on the 10th of the month of Dhul Hijjah and continues till the 12th. This celebration is observed to commemorate the willingness of Abraham when he was asked to sacrifice his own son - Ishmael. Abraham showed his readiness and Allah was very pleased. A lamb was sacrificed instead of Ishmael on Allah's command. Muslims offer congregational prayer on the day, and afterwards they sacrifice animals to seek the pleasure of Allah. The meat of the animal is shared amongst poor, relatives, neighbors and friends.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE

Marriage is the basis of family life in Islam. It is a solemn and yet a simple contract between a man and a woman. Marriages are generally arranged by parents, but with the consent of the couple, as required by Islamic law (Shari 'ah). Marriages are performed in a simple ceremony in the presence of relatives, friends and neighbors. Islam does not allow the free mixing of men and women; nor does it allow sex before marriage. Extra-marital sex is severely punishable. No discrimination is made on the basis of sex. Husband and wife are equal partners of the family and play their part in their respective fields.

DIET

Muslims are encouraged in the Qur'an to eat what is good for them, and are specifically forbidden to eat:
1. Animals slaughtered without invoking the name of Allah

2. Pork

3. Dead animals

4. The blood of animals

Islamic law requires an animal to be slaughtered Invoking the name of Allah. All varieties of alcoholic drinks are prohibited. These rules aim at rooting out the evil effects of food and drink in society.

DRESS

Muslims must cover their body properly and decently. No particular dress is recommended. For men, covering from the naval to the knees is a must For women, covering the whole body except the face and hands is compulsory. A woman must not wear a dress which rouses man's base feelings, e.g. transparent, skin-tight or half-naked dress Pure silk and gold are not allowed for men Simplicity and modesty are encouraged

SOCIAL MANNERS

Islam teaches decency, humility and good manners. A Muslim greets another Muslim by saying: As-salamu 'Alaikum Which means (peace be upon you) and the reply is: Wa'alaikumus salam and this means (peace be upon you too). Keeping promises, truthfulness, justice, fair play, helping the poor and needy, respect for parents, teachers and elders, love for children and good relations with neighbors are the most valued virtues of a Muslim. Islam condemns enmity, back-biting, slander, blasphemy, ridicule, use of offensive names, suspicion and arrogance.

The SECRET of Success

Worship ALLAAH Alone with Complete Trust in Him, The CREATOR & SUSTAINER, WITHOUT associating ANYONE/ANYTHING as PARTNERS with HIM (including bosses, wealth or relatives) and OBEYING ALLAH'S SPEECH in Qur'ân as FOLLOWED BY Prophet Muhammad and his righteous companions.

The practice of doing Islam leads to Allah's Friendship and Mercy. (Look at Prophet Ibrahem's (AS) example)

ISLAM IS THE SOURCE OF PEACE,MERCY, HONESTY, AND FORGIVENESS

The number of Europeans, Americans, Latinos and Africans converting to Islam is growing rapidly

According to Guinness Book of World Records,Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion by number of conversions each year: Although the religion began in Arabia, by 2002 80% of all believers in Islam lived outside the Arab world. In the period 1990-2000, approximately 12.5 million more people converted to Islam than to Christianity”.^{[not in citation given]} In 1990, 935 million people were Muslims and this figure had risen to around 1.2 billion by the year 2000, meaning that around this time one in five people were followers of Islam. According to the BBC, a comprehensive American study concluded in 2009 the number stood at 1 in 4 with 60% of Muslims spread all over the Asian continent: A report from an American think-tank has estimated 1.57 billion Muslims populate the world - with 60% in Asia. The report was done by the Pew Forum Research Centre.The forum also projected that in 2010 out of the total number of Muslims in the world 62.1% will live in Asia.

However the report also included a statement saying While the global Muslim population is expected to grow at a faster rate than the non-Muslim population.. From 1990 to 2010, the global Muslim population increased at an average annual rate of 2.2%, compared with the projected rate of 1.5% for the period from 2010 to 2030. The report also made reference to the fact that Muslims are estimated to make up 23.4% of the total global population in 2010 (out of a total of 6.9 billion people) and that by 2030 Muslims will represent about 26.4% of the global population (out of a total of 8.9 billion people).

According to the Christian Plain Truth Magazine (issue February 2nd 1984), and republished in a readers digest almanac, states that, between 1934 and 1984 Islam grew by 235%, with Christianity second with 46%.

Projections
	Estimated 2000		Projected 2025		Projected 2050		50 Year Projected Growth 2000-2050
Religion	Adherents	% of world	Adherents	% of world	Adherents	% of world	New Adherents	% Growth
Christianity	1,999,563,838	33.0%	3,016,670,052	33.4%	3,651,564,342	35.3%	1,052,000,504	52.61%
Islam	1,188,242,789	19.6%	2,184,875,653	26.1%	2,629,281,610	28.0%	1,041,038,821	87.61