Sure, previous religions have been corrupted,

Sure, previous religions have been corrupted, and that is one of the reasons why we have a chain of revelation.  Ask yourself: wouldn’t God send another revelation if the preceding scriptures were impure?  If preceding scriptures were corrupted, humans would need another revelation, to keep upon the straight path of His design.

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So we should expect preceding scriptures to be corrupted, and we should expect the final revelation to be pure and unadulterated,for we cannot imagine a loving God leaving us astray.  What we can imagine is God giving us a scripture, and men corrupting it; God giving us another scripture, and men corrupting it again … and again, and again.  Until God sends a final revelation He promises to preserve until the end of time.

Muslims consider this final revelation to be the Holy Quran.  You consider it … worth looking into.  So let us return to the title of this article: Why Islam?  Why should we believe that Islam is the religion of truth, the religion that possesses the pure and final revelation?

“Oh, just trust me.”

Now, how many times have you heard that line?  A famous comedian used to joke that people of different cities cuss one another out in different ways.  In Chicago, they cuss a person out this way, in Los Angeles they cuss a person out that way, but in New York they just say, “Trust me.”

So don’t trust me—trust our Creator.  Read the Quran, read books and study good websites.  But whatever you do, get started, take it seriously, and pray for our Creator to guide you.

Your life may not depend on it, but your soul most definitely does.

Among the blessings and favors that God

Among the blessings and favors that God has bestowed upon humanity is that He endowed them with an innate ability to recognize and acknowledge His existence.  He placed this awareness deep in their hearts as a natural disposition that has not changed since human beings were first created.  Furthermore, He reinforced this natural disposition with the signs that he placed in creation that testify to His existence.  However, since it is not possible for human beings to have a detailed knowledge of God except through revelation from Himself, God sent His Messengers to teach the people about their Creator Who they must worship.  These Messengers also brought with them the details of how to worship God, because such details cannot be known except by way of revelation.  These two fundamentals were the most important things that the Messengers of all the divine revelations brought with them from God.  On this basis, all the divine revelations have had the same lofty objectives, which are:

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1.    To affirm the Oneness of God - the praised and glorified Creator – in His essence and His attributes.

2.    To affirm that God alone should be worshipped and that no other being should be worshipped along with Him or instead of Him.

3.    To safeguard human welfare and oppose corruption and evil.  Thus, everything that safeguards faith, life, reason, wealth and lineage are part of this human welfare that religion protects.  On the other hand, anything that endangers these five universal needs is a form of corruption that religion opposes and prohibits.

4.    To invite the people to the highest level of virtue, moral values, and noble customs.

The ultimate goal of every Divine Message has always been the same: to guide the people to God, to make them aware of Him, and to have them worship Him alone.  Each Divine Message came to strengthen this meaning, and the following words were repeated on the tongues of all the Messengers: “Worship God, you have no god other than Him.” This message was conveyed to humanity by prophets and messengers which God sent to every nation.  All of these messengers came with this same message, the message of Islam.

All the Divine Messages came to bring the life of the people i

Memorization

Memorization

In relation to memorization of the Qur'an, the best and most easiest transliteration is This One

The best way that we found to memorize verses from the Qur'an is to repeat the verse 20 times before moving onto the next verse. Then repeat the next verse 20 times. Then repeat the first and second verse together 10 times then move onto the 3rd verse and so on.

For example, the first verse in Surah (sura (chapter)) Al Fatiha (The opening) is "AL-HAMDU LILLAAHI RABBIL'AALAMEEN"

Repeat the first verse 20 times (This is only when memorizing the Qur'an, not while praying)

The Second verse in Surah (sura (chapter)) Al Fatiha (The opening) is "ARRAHMAANIR RAHEEM"
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Repeat the second verse 20 times

Then combine what you have just memorized "AL-HAMDU LILLAAHI RABBIL'AALAMEEN, ARRAHMAANIR RAHEEM"

Repeat the combination of the first 2 verses 10 times then move onto the 3rd verse

The 3rd verse in Surah (sura (chapter)) Al Fatiha (The opening) is "MAALIKI YAWMIDEEN"

Repeat the third verse 20 times

Then combine what you have just memorized "AL-HAMDU LILLAAHI RABBIL'AALAMEEN, ARRAHMAANIR RAHEEM, MAALIKI YAWMIDEEN"

Repeat the combination of the first 3 verses 10 times then move onto the 4th verse and so on and so on.

Baby steps and patience are the key to success!

Let’s talk frankly.

Let’s talk frankly.  Almost never do non-Muslims study Islam until they have first exhausted the religions of their exposure.  Only after they have grown dissatisfied with the religions familiar to them, meaning Judaism, Christianity and all the fashionable “-isms”—Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism (and, as my young daughter once added, “tourism”)—do they consider Islam.

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Perhaps other religions do not answer the big questions of life, such as “Who made us?”  and “Why are we here?”  Perhaps other religions do not reconcile the injustices of life with a fair and just Creator.  Perhaps we find hypocrisy in the clergy, untenable tenets of faith in the canon, or corruption in the scripture.  Whatever the reason, we perceive shortcomings in the religions of our exposure, and look elsewhere.  And the ultimate “elsewhere” is Islam.

Now, Muslims would not like to hear me say that Islam is the “ultimate elsewhere.”  But it is.  Despite the fact that Muslims comprise one-fourth to one-fifth of the world’s population, non-Muslim media smears Islam with such horrible slanders that few non-Muslims view the religion in a positive light.  Hence, it is normally the last religion seekers investigate.

Another problem is that by the time non-Muslims examine Islam, other religions have typically heightened their skepticism: If every “God-given” scripture we have ever seen is corrupt, how can the Islamic scripture be different?  If charlatans have manipulated religions to suit their desires, how can we imagine the same not to have happened with Islam?

The answer can be given in a few lines, but takes books to explain.  The short answer is this: There is a God.  He is fair and just, and He wants us to achieve the reward of paradise.  However, God has placed us in this worldly life as a test, to weed out the worthy from the unworthy.  And we will be lost if left to our own devices.  Why?  Because we don’t know what He wants from us.  We can’t navigate the twists and turns of this life without His guidance, and hence, He has given us guidance in the form of revelation.

When we say "prayers"

When we say "prayers" we are referring to an act of worshipping God which has a specific format as God revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). The prophets, from Prophet Adam to Prophet Muhammad (Pbut), ordered their followers to pray as per God's orders.

Since the prayer is the most important matter of Islam after having the correct belief in God and His Messenger, one must plan his life around the prayer. It would be a great sin to neglect praying when at work if a prayer was required at that time. If a believer is shopping at the mall or waiting at the airport and there is no way to get home or to a mosque, he is still obligated to perform the prayer within its due time instead of purposely leaving out or delaying the prayer. This indicates the importance of the obligatory prayer. Performing the obligatory prayer on time takes priority over other non-obligatory matters.

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Each of the 5 prayers have different number of units (Raka'at) for each.

Fajr (Dawn Prayer) is 2 units (Raka'at)
Dhor (Noon prayer) is 4 units (Raka'at)
Asr (Afternoon prayer) is 4 units (Raka'at)
Maghrib (Sunset prayer) is 3 units (Raka'at)
Isha (Night prayer) is 4 units (Raka'at)

A unit (Raka'a) of prayer is from step 1 to step 8 of the 'Full Prayer Mat' tutorial below.

Step 1 to step 8 is repeated for each unit (Raka'a) of prayer.

Step 9 is the completion of the first 2 units (Raka'at) of prayer.

If the prayer is only 2 units ie Fajr, then after you complete step 9, move onto steps 10 and 11 to complete your prayer.

If the prayer is 4 units then complete steps 1-8 twice then step 9 and then repeat for the next 2 units and then move onto steps 10 and 11 to complete your prayer.

If the prayer is 3 units then complete steps 1-8 twice then step 9 and then steps 1-11 to complete your prayer.

The first 2 units (Raka'at) of prayer consist of 2 suras (chapters) from the Qur'an and the 3rd and forth unit is only 1 sura (chapter). The first sura (chapter) that is recited is sura (chapter) 1 of the Qur'an 'Al Fatiha' (The Opening).

Al fatiha (The opening) is recited for each and every unit of prayer. When praying the first 2 units, recite Al Fatiha (The opening) and also one of the short suras (chapters) of the Qur'an such as suras (chapters) 112-114. You are free to recite any of the suras (chapters) of the Qur'an after Al Fatiha even the lengthy ones but I recommend that you start with the short ones as they will be easier to memorize.

Eg. 1st unit (Raka'a) of prayer = sura (chapter) 1 plus sura (chapter) 112
2nd unit (Raka'a) of prayer = sura (chapter) 1 plus sura (chapter) 113
3rd unit (Raka'a) of prayer = sura (chapter) 1 only
4th unit (Raka'a)of prayer = sura (chapter) 1 only

Be sure to watch the step by step video guide below to put everything into perspective for you.

Shortened Prayer

Shortened Prayer

Until you memorize the full prayer, you can perform a shortened prayer.

Please note, the shortened prayer is NOT meant to replace the full prayer but rather it can be done in the short term while you are memorizing the full prayer.

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Below, in the 'Prayer Mat' section, there is a 2 part shortened prayer mat that you can print out and stick together. Place the print out in front of you so that you can see it while you are praying.

There is also an image of the prayer mat complete, so you can see it complete but we have cut it into part 1 and part 2 for printing purposes.

You will also find, in the prayer mat section, the full prayer as well, also divided into part 1 and part 2.

You will also find a prayer booklet which will put everything into perspective for you and also give you a background.

Lastly, we recommend that you watch the video below which will show you step by step how to perform the prayer and also give you a background on prayer itself.

We recommend that you first read the booklet, then watch the video with the prayer mat open so that you can visualise everything, then perform the prayer.

Medical Benefits of Ramadan

Medical Benefits of Ramadan

Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits which are of a secondary nature. Fasting has been used by patients for weight management, to rest the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse effects of total fasting as well as of crash diets. Islamic fasting is different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. The calorie intake of Muslims during Ramadan is at or slightly below the nutritional requirement guidelines. In addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed imposition from the physician.

Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, there effects will be long lasting. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities.

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The difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water for 8 to 10 hours is not necessarily bad for health and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.

The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension.

In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or their baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from severe diseases, whether type I diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not be allowed to fast.

There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. Muslims take advice from the Prophet who said, "If one slanders you or aggresses against you, say I am fasting." This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes. There is a beneficial effect of extra prayer at night. This not only helps with better utilization of food but also helps in energy output. There are 10 extra calories output for each unit of the prayer. Again, we do not do prayers for exercise, but a mild movement of the joints with extra calorie utilization is a better form of exercise. Similarly, recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory.

One of the odd nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan is called the night of power when angels descend down, and take the prayer of worship to God for acceptance.

Fasting is a special act of worship which is only between humans and God since no one else knows for sure if this person is actually fasting. Thus God says in haddith Qudsi that "Fasting is for Me and I only will reward it". In another haddith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said "If one does not give up falsehoods in words and actions, God has no need of him giving up food and drink".