Prophet Muhammad

Actually Islam was only taught by Muhammad. He claimed that he heard angels that gave him messages from Alah. From then on, people considered him "The Messenger of Alah".

Answer:

Islam came from the One God of Abraham, and is only the final message from the One God of Abraham.

Muhammad was called - just like Moses was called; and then God delivered His message to him.

The holy Qur'an is the last heavenly Book revealed by Almighty Allah that testifies the previous heavenly Books like The Torah, The Zaboor, All Books of Old Testament and New Testament, The bible etc. It teaches the Muslims to have following beliefs:

Basic Beliefs of the Muslims:

1. Belief in Almighty Allah (God) Sura Baqra -2. Aya 163: And your Allah is ONE Allah, There is no god but He. He is the Sole Creator, Sustainer, Provider and Ruler of the Universe. He has No Son, No Parents, No off-spring. He is Omnipotent, Omni-Present, All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Listening. HE and He alone deserves worship. All powers lie in His Hands. He alone is the Master of the Day of Judgment. He has No Partner, No Associate whatsoever. No one can understand Him completely. There is Nothing like Him. He is Most Merciful, Most Gracious, Most Forgiving..

2. Belief in Angels Created by Almighty Allah Karim from light. They are obedient to Allah Karim. Carry out His commands.

3. Belief in all heavenly books, including Tora, Zaboor, the Bible, the last one being the Qur'an.

4. Belief in all the Messengers of Almighty Allah- No distinction among them. Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) being the last Prophet of Islam. NO Prophet after him.

5. Belief in the Day of Judgment. Almighty Allah Karim is the Sole Ruler/Master of that Day. He enjoys the absolute authority to send people to Heaven or Hell.

6. Good and bad Destiny being in the Hands of Almighty Allah. No One can change his destiny.

7. Life hereafter: All the dead will be raised again and judged according to their good or bad deeds. There will be no death to them.

8. Hell and Heaven (Paradise)

These may be further elaborated in the light of the holy Qur'an and the Sahih Hadith.

Five Pillars of Islam:

1. Shahadat: [testimony that there is no god except Allah (God) the One and Only One, having No Partner whatsoever. And Muhammad is His servant and Messenger],

2. Salah: (praying five times a day)

3. Zakah: (specific compulsory charity-2,5% of annual savings)

4. Saum: (fasting during Ramadan)

5. Hajj: (pilgrimage) for each Muslim once in lifetime those who can afford it.

All that has been declared illegal (Haram) by Almighty Allah in the holy Qur'an or by Prophet (SAW) in his doings or sayings. For example:

1. Attributing any Partner or Associate whatsoever with Almighty Allah.

2. Killing any innocent human (irrespective of his caste, creed, color, country, religion)

3. 3. Even halal animals or birds attributed to any idol, holy man, any Deity.

4. Worshiping anything else than Almighty Allah.

5. Adultery

6. Usury

7. Usurping the property/belongings of others

8. Backbiting, theft, robbery/rebellion etc.

9. Disrespect of any of the Prophets (May peace be upon them all)

10. Falsehood, fraud, cheating, defaming others

11. Eating flesh of dead animals/birds. Eating flesh of animals/birds declared Haram.

12. Performing any act of prayers against the teachings of the Holy Prophet (SAW)

13. (Bida'at) Inventing or adding any act of prayer not mentioned by the holy Prophet or Khulafai Rashidoon

14. (Bida'at) Deleting/subtracting any act of worship from the actions of the Holy Prophet (SAW).

Born in Makka on 17th Rabiul Awwal about 53 years before Hijra. The year of his birth was called "Amul Feel" due to the invasion of the Ka'aba by Abraha the viceroy of the Abysinian King. Since the forces of Abraha arrived on elephants which is "Feel" in Arabic, the Arabs called this the year of the elephant. According to the Christian Calendar it was 571 AD. The Roman Empire was in decline, the Capital was transferred from Rome to Constantinople and the whole of Europe was divided into little kingdoms fighting among each other. On the Eastern side The Sasanid Empire of the Persians was also in decline. This was the world scene when a boy was born to the most renowned family of the Qoraish, the Banu Hashim. His father was Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib and his mother was Amena daughter of Wahb. As a baby he was sent to the nearby Baduin Tribe where a lady called Halima nursed him.

Muhammad (SA) was born an orphan as his father Abdullah died a few months before his birth. His grand father Abdul Muttalib looked after the boy. Abdul Muttalib died when Muhammad (SA) was only 8 years old and then his uncle Abu Talib the father of Ali, took over the upbringing of his nephew. His first journey outside Arabia was to thenorthern parts of Syria with the trading caravan of his uncle Abu Talib. During one such journey an old christian monk called Bohaira met the trading caravan and saw young Muhammad (SA) who was about 14 years old at that time. The old monk told Abu Talib to lafter the boy well, "for very soon his enemies will try to hurt him". The monk also told Abu Talib that he saw unusual signs in the boy who will grow up into someone very important. Muhammad (SA) remained with his uncle's family until the age of 25. It was due to his honesty and straight forward manner that he was successful in trading and became known to many traders in Makka .

The Marriage of Muhammad (SA)

One of the leading trading families in those days was the family of Khadija a widow who was looking for an honest young man to look after her business affairs. Muhammad (SA) took Khadija's caravan party to Syria and various other places and was a great success. Khadija was impressed and asked him for marriage. Although being much older then Muhammad (SA), (she was 40 years old), the marriage was agreed upon by both families and Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib read the Khutba of marriage and performed the marriage ceremony according to the Ibrahimic traditions. The words of the Khutba as described in Sirat-e-Rasullallah by Ibne Hisham were:

"Praises be for Allah who was the God of Ibrahim who worshipped one God and a Muslim. I am the descendent of Ibrahim and have remained on the same religion of One God. May Allah keep this purity among the descendents of Ibrahim for ever". After this Khutba Abu Talib completed the marriage ceremony between Muhammad (SA) and Khadija. Muhammad (SA) moved to her house and the partnership from trading to partnership in life began in earnest. A baby daughter was born to Khadija within a few years after the marriage. She was named Fatima (SA). Khadija had two daughters from her earlier marriage which ended in widowhood. So the three daughters, two from Khadija's earlier marriages and one from Muhammad (SA) grew up together in the same house. History mentions another boy growing up in Muhammad's house. He was Ali (AS), Abu Talib's son. Ali (AS) was born in the year 30 Amulfeel when Muhammad was 30 years old. Fatima's birth was recorded some five year's later. So the difference of ages between Fatima and Ali was about 5 years. Ali was treated by Muhammad (SA) like a son and Muhammad (SA) took him every where he went. Ibne Hisham in his Sirat mentions that Muhammad (SA) began to meditate more and more. He would leave the town of Makka to the nearby hill called Jabal el Noor. There was a cave at the top of the hill and Muhammad (SA) would climb the mountain and sit in the cave to meditate. Sometimes he would stay there for days. Many times Ali accompanied him.

One such story tells us that on one occasion Muhammad (SA) did not return for 3 or 4 days and Abu Talib was concerned. His son Ali was also with him. They had taken some food with them. So the searching party from Makka went to the mountain looking for the two. When they reached the top and entered the cave they found Muhammad (SA) and Ali (AS) meditating together, safe and sound. Abu Talib asked Muhammad what did he do there. Muhammad told his uncle that he and Ali were engaged in meditating about the creator of the universe, the God of Ibrahim and Ismael

This meditation continued until one day a voice was heard inside the cave. It said, "Read". Muhammad (SA) replied what shall I read. The voice said, "Read in the name of thy Lord". He was Angel Gabril who told Muhammad (SA) that he was ordained by Allah to be the Messenger of Allah and to preach this "Deen" to the people.

This was the first revelation that came over Muhammad (SA) when he was told to begin his preaching of the Qur'an to Makkans. Muhammad (SA) came home and told Khadija about this who immediately accepted him as the Messenger of God. She also said that her uncle Warqa had told her that Muhammad (SA) had the signs of a great Messenger. When the news of this first revelation of Verse from the Qur'an had reached Warqa through Khadija he told her, "Didn't I tell you that this husband of yours was the Messenger of God". Ali (AS) was living with Muhammad (SA) and had also accompanied him to the Mountain of Hira, and had also experienced the revelation with Muhammad (SA). He had no doubts who Muhammad (SA) was and was the first to acknowledge him as the Messenger of Allah. Khadija among the women, their daughter Fatima (SA) and the two daughters from Khadija's earlier marriage. All acknowledged Muhammad (SA) as the Messenger of Allah. Muhammad (SA) used to enter the Ka'aba and pray there with Khadija and Ali (SA). The story was mentioned by Ibne Hisham in his Sirat as follows: 'One day these three were praying while Abbas Ibne Abdul Muttalib, Muhammad's uncle was sitting on the nearby hill and watching. A trader from Yemen was sitting with Abbas. He asked Abbas who were these three people praying in a strange man.

The woman was Muhammad's wife Khadija and the boy was Abu Talib's son Ali. "they follow some strange 'deen' which we are not familiar with yet," was Abbas's reply.

Muhammad (SA) said that "Lailaha Illallah" means that there is no god, only Allah that Muhammad (SA) is His messenger, and that all men are born equal. He taught against idolatry, and against social injustices of the time. In the beginning this preaching of One God went on secretly. Zaid and Abubakr were the other two who accepted Islam. The slave community of Makka began to accept this because they liked the tone of equality of all human beings. But once they accepted the faith they became steadfast never to go back to their adulatory even after suffering torture by their masters.

Muhammad (SA) preached Islam secretly for 3 years but only a few people were converted to Islam. At the end of the 3rd year Allah told Muhammad to "invite your own family and clan and announce to them that you are preaching Islam." Muhammad (SA) asked Ali to prepare some food. Some bread, meat and milk was brought in. Over 40 heads of the Tribes of Qoraish were invited. They came, ate food then before Muhammad (SA) was able to say anything they all dispersed. So the next day Muhammad (SA) Invited them again and immediately after food Muhammad (SA) announced, "I am the Messenger of Allah and my message is of peace and surrender to One God, any one who helps me in this work will be my Deputy and will be my successor after me." Ali who was only 13 years old stood up and told Muhammad (SA) he will help him in his work. Muhammad (SA) asked Ali to sit down and repeated the same announcement three times and all three times Ali stood alone. In the end Muhammad (SA) announced that Ali will be his deputy and successor after him. One head of the tribesmen laughed at this and one even told Abu Talib, father of Ali that "now you should obey your son." Now that this religion came out in the open the Qoraish of Makka became openly hostile. In the beginning they thought that the whole thing was a joke, but gradually when it became serious, they were angry and became openly hostile. For the people of Makka and towns like Taif, this was a very strange religion. They disliked it so much that first they persecuted the Muslims, then organised a boycott of Muhammad and his whole family of Banu Hashim. They banished him from Makka and the whole family lived in the Hills and mountains around Makka. The place became known as Sho'be Abu Talib, As Abu Talib as Head of the Clan of Banu Hashim protected the family while they were in exile. For three years the family suffered hunger and great poverty. The Leaders of Quraish had written down on a peace of goat skin that Banu Hashim shall never return to the city until Muhammad (SA) denounces his single god religion. At the end of three years Muhammad told his uncle Abu Talib to go to Makka and tell the Makkans that the peace of skin on which the agreement was written was no more. As it was sealed and was kept inside the Kaaba and no one was allowed to enter the place, they were surprised. The leaders said that if Muhammad (SA) was right and the agrwas no more, then they will lift the siege of Banu Hashim and let them return to the city. The Kaaba was opened, the sealed box was opened and the peace of parchment on which the agreement was written was found to be consumed by insects. When they saw this they agreed to liftthe siege and allowed the family of Banu Hashim to return to the City. Little had they realised that the news of this miraculous knowledge of Muhammad (SA) about the disappearance of the parchment, had a great effect on the people of Makka and they began to accept Islam. After this event many more Makkans were accepting Islam readily, especially the poor class of Makka who accepted Islam in earnest. But with this conversion, the feudal lords of Makka had increased their hostility towards new converts, punishing them and torturing them so much so that in the end Muhammad (SA) told them to migrate to another land. Habasha (Abysiniya) was the nearest country across the seas where they could hope to be safe. So the first migration began and about 83 new Muslims under the leadership of Ali's elder brother Jaafer Ibne Abi Talib, migrated to Habasha. Until that time Jaafer was the main writer of the revelation (Wahii) with 2 other companions named Abdullah Ibne Masood and Obai Ibne Ka'aba. Mas'ab Ibne Omair was also an early convert to Islam and a writer of the Revelation. He was sent to Yathrib to teach Qur'an to the people early there who had shown a great interest in this new creed.

Ali Ibne Talib, after his elder brother Jaafer's departure to Habasha became the head among the writers of the Revelation. Ali continued with the writing of the Revelation up to the last Verse of the Holy Qur'an. This was revealed after the Khutba of the Holy Prophet at Ghadeere Khum on 18th of Zilhijja 10th Hijri. This Verse is in Sura 5 (Maeda) V.3 which says that "This day I have perfected your Deen for you, and I have completed my blessings on you, and I have approved Islam for your Deen." Seventy days after the event, the Holy Prophet passed away.

Islam was spreading rapidly, Muhammad's uncle Hamza entered the fold of Islam which gave great strength to the new creed. It was at this time that Omar Ibne Khattab also came to accept Islam.

After Muhammads (SA) return from the Shu'be Abi Talib to the normal city life of Makka, Islam had start to spread rapidly under the protection of Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib. But Allah had other plans. Abu Talib and Khadija both died within one year which was a sad blow to the family. The Hostility of the Qoraish had taken a dangerous trend especially after the death of Abu Talib. Abu Lahab and Abu Sofyan who were the leaders of the hostile group against Islam made plans to end Muhammad's life. They thought of a scheme where if one person from each tribe of Qoraish surrounded Muhammad's house, entered the house in the morning and killed him then the blame would be on all tribes and Banu Hashim would not be able to take revenge. Allah told the Prophet of this scheme and instructed him to leave the city of Makka and migrate to Yathrib. Muhammad asked Ali to sleep in his bed to deceive the enemy. Ali asked " will this save your life," Muhammad (SA) said yes, it will save my life. Ali replied "then I have no hesitation in sleeping in your bed disguised as you." While Ali slept in Muhammad's bed, Muhammad (SA) himself left the house undetected by the enemy who had surrounded his house with open swords. Abubakr was with the Prophet, when they left Makka from the southern exit and hid in a cave a few miles away. While they were inside the cave a spider weaved a web on the entrance to the cave to give an impression that no one had entered the cave. Meanwhile in Makka the enemy with open swords entered Muhammad's house in order to kill him, but found Ali sleeping soundly. They asked Ali, where was Muhammad to which Ali replied, "have you entrusted him to me?" The enemy left disappointed, but realised that Muhammad (SA) must have gone to Yathrib. They tried to follow the tracks with the help of professional trackers and reached the cave of Thaur where these two were sitting inside. But the spider's web deceived them and they all came back disappointed.

Muhammad (SA) reached Yathrib, the town some 400 kilometres north of Makka and the converts there named the city as 'the city of the Prophet' (Madinatun Nabi). Ever since then the town has been known as Madina. The date of this migration was 26th July 623 AD and under the new Islamic Calendar, the first year of the Hijra. Ali stayed in Makka to give back to the owners all the valuables which the people of Makka had deposited with Muhammad for safe keeping. After three days when this important task was completed Ali (AS) set out for Madina and arrived there a week later. Muhammad (SA) waited for him at the outskirts of the town and entered the town with the whole family.

The People of Madina helped Muhammad (SA) settle in this new place. Their help was appreciated so much so that they were called Ansars, the Helpers, while those who came from Makka were called Muhajiroon, the migrants. On orders from Allah, Muhammad (SA) brought Muhajirs and Ansars together by making each Ansar a brother to a Muhajir. This way they shared each others property like brothers. Muhammad (SA) took Ali (AS) as his brother in faith, although Ali was his cousin in relation to blood. (Sirat Ibne Hisham).

Muhammad's daughter Fatima was about l 9 years old and there were many suitors, but whenever somebody asked Muhammad (SA) for Fatima's hand in marriage he kept quiet. One day Ali (AS) came to the mosque and asked for Fatima's hand in marriage. Muhammad replied "Yes, this has been ordained by Allah." He asked , "What property do you have," to which Ali replied, "not much." He had a sword, a horse and a protective shield. Muhammad said "sell the shield, because you will need the horse and the sword for the protection of Islam." Ali sold his shield for 200 Dirhams, brought the money to Muhammad (SA) who added another 200 Dirhams over it and asked his companions to buy household goods to set up home for the newly weds. He then read the Khutba and finalised the marriage of Ali (AS) and Fatima. This was in the First year of the Hijra. This was a simple Islamic marriage which should be copied by all Muslims instead of spending lavish amounts of money and huge dowries to cripple the parents economically for ever.

As Islam was the religion of peace and surrender to the Will of God, aggression had been forbidden. In spite of various attacks on the newly converted Muslim community in Madina, Muhammad (SA) had forbidden all retaliation. News came from Makka that all those who left Makka had lost their property. The Makkans had taken all they had left behind. Muhammad's uncle Hamza asked Muhammad (SA) to fight with the Kuffars of Makka but he did not agree. In the end when news came that the Makkans were marching towards Madina to fight Muhammad (SA) and his newly converted Muslim community, the Verses came down on Muhammad (SA) to stand up and defend your "Deen", but do not exceed the limits. In other words you can only defend, aggression was totally forbidden. (Sura Baqra,Verses 173-174)

The Battle of Badr

In the 2nd year of Hijra, 624 AD, 'The Battle of Badr' took place. The Makkans marched towards Madina with 1000 soldiers. Muhammad (SA) with his army of 313 men cam out of Madina. Badr is situated some 10 miles south of Madina and 240 miles north of Makka. The Makkans travelled all the way to Madina to defeat Islam. The Muslims had no choice but to defend Islam. Hamza, Ali Obaida came out of the Muslim side in single combat with the chiefs of Makka who were all slain. The battle ensued and at the end of the day the Makkans were defeated with 70 dead, while very few Muslims were killed. Those Makkans who were taken captive were told that if they could teach Muslims to read and write, they would live freely in the city and be provided with food and shelter. This was a clear direction that gaining knowledge was the first priority in Islam.

The Battle of Ohud

In the 3rd year of Hijra, 'The Battle of Ohud' took place. The Makkans did not like their defeat in Badr and began their preparations in earnest. They came with 3000 men to fight Islam. Muhammad (SA) heard the news and came out of Madina with 700 men. Muhammad(SA) arranged his small army in such a way that the mountain was behind them. Some 30 archers from the Iarmy were strategically placed in an opening in the mountain to protect the Muslims from any attack from behind. Initially the Makkans were no match for the valour of the Muslim soldiers and they began to run away. Newly converted Muslim soldiers prematurely thought they had won the war, so they began to take possession of the booty of war. When the 30 archers saw this, they left their strategic mountain pass to join the others. Khalid Ibne Walid saw this opening and cleverly attacked from behind on the person of the Prophet himself. It was Ali (AS) and a few other true companions of the Prophet that saved the day and saved the life of the Prophet. The Prophet was himself injured by a stone. Khalid Ibne Walid shouted 'Muhammad is killed', upon which hearing this, many companions began to run away in panic. The wounded Prophet was left in the battlefield with only Ali, Hamza, Abu Dajjana and Zakwan to defend him. These brave warriors fought fiercely and during this encounter Hamza was killed by a spear wound inflicted by the Slave of Abu Sofian's wife Hind. Zakwan and Abu Dajjana lay wounded and Ali was left alone to defend the Holy Prophet. Ali had received 16 wounds during this battle. He picked up the Holy Prophet while he was surrounded by the enemy and with Khalid shouting to finish the Prophet off for good. Ali fought against them, killing two of them, which led the others to run away. Ali (AS) boldly lifted the Holy Prophet and carried him to the mountain and safety. Ali kept shouting " the Holy Prophet is alive" so that the Muslims who ran away might come back. Those Muslims who had not run far returned and saw the wounded Prophet and his daughter Fatima (SA) attending to his wounds. They took heart and began to fight the enemy under the command of Ali (AS) and drove them away.

The victory was gained. The Prophet returned to Madina and declared three days of mourning for his uncle Hamza. The Holy Prophet said afterwards that Ali's bravery was applauded by Angel Gabril who said that there is no braver youth than Ali and no better sword than Zilfiqar.(Details of this battle can be read in the History of Tabari, Waqidi and Abul Fida).

The Battle of Khandaq

The Battle of Khandaq: 4th year of Hijra, 626 AD: At the end of the battle of Ohud when Abu Sofian was unable to hurt the Holy Prophet, he returned to Makka after promising that he will come back next year and will take revenge for the defeats of Badr and Ohud. This time it was not only the non believers of Makka who were with him. He had also taken the help of the Jews of Madina to defeat Islam for ever. The Jewish tribes of Madina promised to help in two ways, one to send soldiers to fight in the battlefield and two to create fear among the women and children who were left in the town unprotected. The Prophet's companion Salman Farsi suggested that the Muslims must dig a moat on the unprotected side of the town. The Muslims took this advice and the moat was ready within 3 days in which the Prophet himself took part. When the enemy forces arrived at the scene they were unable to enter the city due to the newly dug moat and they stayed on the outerside. But one of their most famous soldier's named Amr Ibne Abde Wud jumped the moat with his horse and challenged the Muslims to fight with him. When The Prophet asked his bravest to go and fight Amr none of them was eager to come out. Omar Ibne Khattab even suggested that this man was so brave that he fought one thousand men alone and defeated them. Ali was eager as ever to fight this man and he came out with the blessings of the Holy Prophet who said, 'Today the whole faith has come out to fight the whole infidelity. "Ali was able to kill the enemy soon and when the Prophet saw Ali victorious he uttered the words " Verily one blow of Ali's sword on the day of Khadaq is superior to the worship of all beings until the Day of Judgement."

Amr was killed, but the battle was not over. Armies of non believers were on the other side of the ditch while the Muslims were inside the city almost besieged without any provisions. After a while with the prayers of the Holy Prophet a storm blew up that frightened the army of the non believers and they ran away never to come back again.

Treaty of Hodaibiya

After the battles of Badr, Ohud and Khandaq the infidels of Makka avoided any further military ventures. The Prophet decided to perform Umra in the 6th year of Hijra (628 AD)As the Muslims approached Makka, the infidels of Makka did not like this and stopped the Muslims entering Makka. Seeing them bent on aggression, the apostle of God agreed to a treaty with the Makkans. It was wisely drafted by Imam Ali (AS), the terms outwardly looked humiliating to Muslims that if a Muslim was taken captive by the infidels he will not be returned but if an infidel comes to the hands of the Muslims he will be released immediately. When the Holy Prophet signed the treaty, Umar Ibne Khattab disliked it so much that he uttered the words," I have never doubted about the Prophethood of Muhammad (SA) this much as I did today." He questioned the Prophet about this humiliating agreement to which the Prophet replied, "I am the Messenger of Allah and all my acts are on the orders from Allah." But it is evident that this deviation from the path of the Prophet was later to become an acceptable norm rather then an off the cuff event. Later you will see how this misconceived habit of contradicting the infallible Prophet of Islam created divisions within the religion itself. Those who followed Ali as the follower of the Sunna of the Prophet became the partisan of Ali, others followed Omar ibn Khattab.

(see Saheeh Bukhari, Kitab-alKholafa)

The Battle of Khyber

The Jews of Madina ever since their treachery during the battle of Khandaq, were always on the look out for some mischief to hurt Islam. This mischief mongering increased so much so that they were banished from the city to live outside Madina. They had extensive lands and had built strong fortresses where most of the Jewish community lived. The fort of Khyber was a strong fort built of stone with an iron gate. It was the strong hold of the Jews who invaded Muslim lands and villages around the area. They killed Muslims and looted their property. Warnings were given to the Jews of Khyber to stop their mischievous deeds but they did not bother even to acknowledge their misdeeds. The Holy Prophet proceeded to stop this problem for the Muslims. Muslim forces encamped outside this fort. It was in the month of Muharram in the 7th year of Hijra. On the First day Abubakr led the Muslim forces to fight the Jews. The Jews came out of the fort. A furious battle was fought, Muslims could not break the Jews onslaught and retreated back to their camp. The Next day Omar Ibne Khattab took the flag and tried to defeat the Jewish forces without success. That night the Prophet announced," Tomorrow I will give the flag of Islam to a man who is brave and does not run away from the battlefield, he loves Allah and the Prophet of Allah and Allah and His Prophet love him." The Next day, after morning prayers the Prophet called for Ali (AS) and gave the Flag in his hands. Ali (AS) holding the flag in his hand went towards the fort. Noticing that only one man was coming towards the fort the Jews did not come out in the open field. Reaching the gates of the fort Ali fixed the pole on a hard stone slab. Noticing the fixing of the flag on a hard stone, a Jew who was a learned scholar, asked from the top of the wall, " who are you? "Ali replied, "I am Ali son of Abu Talib." Hearing the name the learned scholar turned towards his people and told them, "I have read in the sacred bothat a man of this name will defeat you." In accordance with the convention of the Arabs, Ali announced his challenge and demanded the bravest of them to come out and fight him in single combat. Merhub, one of the brave and skilled warriors came out and was killed by Ali (AS) in one blow.

His brother Anter came out and he was also killed in a single blow of Ali's SwZulfiqar. Once these brothers were killed Ali went towards the iron gates and brought them down. Once the gates were open Muslims entered the fort and soon the Jews were defeated. This was a great victory for Muslims, for the Jews were a mischievous lot and had been giving a lot of trouble to Muslims of Madina and those living around. Most of the Jewish land came into the Muslims hands. It was at this time that a Palm orchard called Fadak also came into the Muslim hands. The Prophet of Islam took this orchard for himself and later gave it to his daughter Fatimah.

Praise be to Allaah.

Allaah has enjoined upon His slaves five prayers throughout the day and night at specific times decreed by the wisdom of Allaah so that the slave may be in contact with his Lord in these prayers throughout all of these times. They are for the heart like water for a tree, given to it time after time, not all in one go and then it stops.

Part of the wisdom behind doing the prayers at these times is so that people will not get bored or find it too difficult, which would happen if they all had to be done at once. Blessed be Allaah, the Wisest of judges.

(From the Introduction to Risaalat Ahkaam Mawaaqeet al-Salaah (Essay on the Rulings on the Times of the Prayers) by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen, may Allaah have mercy on him).

Source: Islam Q & A : islam-qa.com

Prophet Muhammad teachings are based on Quran that reflects real God words in their real language (Arabic). Those teachings call for worship of Allah (God in English); the one and only one God with no partner, no son, no companion, and no associate. This is the main call of all God prophets; including Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

In addition, Islam is a social universal system that; for the first time; laid the rules for:

• elimination of racism and discrimination based on gender, color, hierarchy, or culture
• protection and equality of human rights
• right of property
• Women rights,
• rights of prisoners ,
• respect for all religions,
• protection of faith and worship places of all religions,
• helping the poor,
• rights of widows and orphans,
• rights for technical education and employment,
• protection of children ladies and elders of all religions,
• decisions based on consulting the public,
• provision of justice,
• equality of all in front of the law with no exceptions for rulers or officials,
• excellent relationship with neighbors
• social security and respect for senior citizen

and many other morals that could be referred to in related question below.

In addition to the above, Islam guarantees for the basic four democracy principles; namely:

• Freedom to chose their leaders, having accountancy on them, and controlling their doings.
• Equality in front of the law and constitution irrelevant to their faiths, hierarchy in the society, gender, races, or colors.
• Freedom of expressing their opinions and freedom of debate.
• Equal rights of work, education, and other civil rights.

It contains the word of Allah as told to Muhammad

________________________________________________________

Quran is significant to Muslims because Quran is:

• Calling for worship of Allah (God), the one and only one God, with no partner and no companion and no son
• correcting previous faiths and previous holy book texts from alterations introduced by human
• describing ritual worship and relevant obligations
• setting God commands as for what to do and what not to do
• laying down basis for true faith and right path to God
• tales of old nations for gaining lessons for true faith and good life
• giving scientific statements that were only validated by current technologies and discoveries to provide evidences on the authenticity and miracle of Quran as god revelation and not human written text.
• reminding with the Day of Judgment to be prepared for it
• describing the 2nd life and the paradise and hell fire.

Answer 3

If this homework or gradpoint, the answer is: It contains the word Allah as told to Muhammad. The Koran, literally meaning the "Recitiation", is a direct translation of the word of God, brought to Mohammad, by the angel Gabriel. It was revealed that this is the final and unmistakenly version, of God's Will. Also, they believe that there will be no other Mesiah, whom Christians believe to be Jesus Christ, and whom Jews believe has yet to come

Answer

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the last and final messenger of Allah sent for the guidance of all humanity.

When Prophet Jesus (PBUH) left his late followers were misleaded by the emperer in 4th century contradicting the commandments of Allah and teachings of all Prophets which is GOD IS ONE but those in 4th century changed it in to 3 gods in 1.

Therefore Allah as he already prophesized the last messenger to humanity, sent him at a time when it was needed.

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has brought a solid proof and evidence for his prophethood which is the AMAZING QURAN.Which is full of scientific facts which were unknown to scientists but were mentioned in the Quran 1400 years ago.

Every prophet (PBUH) had a miracle to prove his prophethood, Muhammad (PBUH) also proved it to the Jews, pagans and Christians at his time by spliting the moon in half and also by bringing the EVER LASTING MIRACLE which is the Holy Quran.

There are approximately 1 billion Muslims (followers of Islam) in the world today.
Because He is a prophet of one of the major religions ISLAM
Muhammad (pbuh) was a prophet of Allah in line with the earlier prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abharam,David, Moses, Jesus etc(peace be upon them all). He is the last prophet of Allah and Muslims believe that no prophet will come after him.He did not come with a new religion but perfected the earlier religions.Muhammad (peace be upon him)was born on Monday 9th Rabi Al-Awwal, some say 12th (22nd April or 29th august) 571 AD in Mecca, a town in Arabia.The year was called Amul Feel (the year of the elephant). It was called so because At that time, Abraha the governer of Yemen , had invaded Mecca intending to demolish the Ka'bah in order to attract the Arab pilgrims to the mock Ka'bah he had set up in Yemen. Abraha arrived in Mecca, together with his troops in Elephants.Allah made him and his army perish by making birds drop stones on them.

Muhammad's (pbuh) fathers name was Abdullah Bin Abdul Muttalib and he was the chief of his clan Banu Hashim.He died in Yathrib before Muhammad (pbuh) was born.His mothers name was Aminah Bint Wahab.

When Muhammad (pbuh) was delivered Aminah said with great joy,"Since the day I carried my son in my womb, until I bought him forth, I never suffered the least pain.I never felt his weight and should not have known the state I was in, if it had not been that after I conceived and was about to fall asleep, an angel appeared to me , saying 'Dost thou not see that thou art pregnant with the Lord of thy nation and the prophet of all thy people?Know it full well.' At the same time a streak of light ,darting out of my body,went up northwards, unto the land of Syria.

"When the day of my deliverance came due ,the angel appeared to me again and gave me a warning : 'When thou shalt bring forth thy child into the world thou must utter these words : 'For him I implore the protection of Allah, the Only One, against the wickedness of the envious,' thou shalt call him by the name of Muhammad which means The Lauded, as he is announced in the Torah and the Injil , for he will be lauded by all the inhabitants of heaven and earth.' "

When the planet Al-Mushtari (Jupiter) passed,a line of light darted for the second time from Aminah's body in the direction of faraway Syria and it illuminated the palace of the town of Busra.At the same time other prodigies astonished the world : The lake Sowa suddenly dried up , a violent earth quake made the palace of Chosroes the Great tremble, and shattered fourteen of its towers ; the Sacred Fire kept alight for more than a thousand years ,went out, in spite of the exertions of the Persian worshipers and all the idols of the universe were found with their heads bowed down in great shame.

When Muhammad (pbuh) came into this world , he was devoid of all pollution , circumcised naturally , and the umbilical cord had been cut by the angel Gabriel himself. The atmosphere of the city to infants, the leading citizens wee in the habit of confiding their children to Bedouin wet nurses who bought them up in their Babyaland.

Shortly after the birth of Muhammad (pbuh) about a dozen women belonging to the tribe of Bani Sad , all bronzed by the bracing breezes of their country ,arrived in Mecca, to seek nurse lings.Upon one of them devolved the honor of suckling the Prophet of Allah.And she was Haleema, signifying "the gentle".

He grew up in a healthy atmosphere and acquired pure speech and learned good manners. She suckled him for two years. A great event took place during his stay with Haleema.One day Gabriel and an angel ascended from the heavens.They seized hold of him and cut his chest open and took out his heart.They then extracted a clot of blood which they cast far away and washed him with Zamzam.His foster brother ran to Haleema and Haris (his foster father) to tell them what he had seen.He told them that two men dressed in pure white had cut open Muhammad's (pbuh) chest and then suddenly disappeared like phantoms.

When Muhammad went back to Mecca, Abdul Mutallib his grandfather embraced him affectionately and took him to his mother Aminah who was rejoiced on seeing her son after a very long time. Aminah kept her child with her,and his health fortified by life in the open air had now nothing to fear from the unhealthy conditions of town life.Under the vigilant eyes of the most loving of mothers, Muhammad grew up handsome and intelligent, but he was not fated to long enjoy maternal affection which no ther love can equal. On returning from a journey to Yathrib, Aminah died suddenly,halfway on the road ,in the straggling village of Al-Abwa,where she was buried.

Muhammad (pbuh), now a sorrowing orphan boy was bought back to Mecca by his caring nurse ,Umm Aiman. He was taken in hand by his grandfather Abdul Mutallib, who had always shown him great affection and the old man's love increased daily , as he saw the young lad growing up more and more like Abdullah,his father.The following anecdote gives a clear idea of Abdul Muttalib's boundless affection for his grandson ,Muhammad (pbuh):

The square in which stands the Ka'bah, where, morning and evening the citizens gathered, gossiping about their business as well as performing their devotions. Not a day passed without the servants of Abdul Mutallib throwing down a carpet in the Temple's shade ,and round the rug sat his sons, grandsons and the leading townsmen, awaiting his coming.The respect shown to Abdul Mutallib the Superintendent of the "House of Allah" was so great that never did anyone dare to put his foot even on the outer edge of his carpet.

It came to pass one day that young Muhammad (pbuh) took up a position right in the middle of the revered carpet,scandalizing the highest decree his uncles who drove him away immediately.But Abdul Mutallib was coming and he witnessed the conflict from afar."Let my grandson go back at once to where he was seated!" he called out."He is the delight of my old age and his great audacity arises from the presentiment he has of his destiny, for he shall occupy a higher rank than any person has ever attained".So saying , he made Muhammad sit by his side and fondled his cheeks and his shoulders,while in ecstasies at the least thing the boy said or did. Abdul Mutallib died at the age of ninety five ,after caring for Muhammad (pbuh) for two years,unanimously regretted by his fellow-citizens.

Then Muhammad (pbuh) was received into the house of his uncle Abu Talib.He had been chosen for this kind succor by his grandfather, for the reason that, alone among his uncles he was the brother of both Muhammad's mother Aminah and father Abdullah. He loved him too much and preferred him to his own sons.

When he was twelve years old , he visited Syria with his uncle Abu Talib and had his first exposure to Jews and Christians and apparently developed a respect for these "People of the Book." A particular incident took place during his journey which narrates as follows:

When the caravan of Abu Talib and Muhammad (pbuh) reach Busra, a place in Syria,a Christian monk called Bahira,

At the age of twenty five Muhammad (pbuh) married a widow named Khadija who was involved in trade and got him involved in it as well. She was the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the first convert to Islam. It is clear that Khadija played a vital role in supporting her husband through the first difficult years of Islam.Khadija was a wealthy woman. She controlled a trade system in Arabia,reaching as far north as Mesopotamia, which can have helped to spread Islam in its earliest history. Muhammad loved and respected her very much. She bore Muhammad several children.The most known of these is Fatima, who came to play an important role in the development of Islam.

The earliest accounts we have of him date to 750 C.E. with the book Life by Ibn Ishaq, more than one hundred years after Muhammad's death. Although this is the first and most basic source for information about the life of Muhammad for all Muslims, it does not present a very flattering portrait of him.

Surviving papyri of that era say nothing, and the coins invoke only Allah, not his Prophet. As late as the second century of the Muslim era, scholarly opinion on Muhammad's birth date differed by as much as 85 years, demonstrating that even at that point there was a great deal of variation in what people knew about Muhammad.

The focus on Mecca is also questionable. Muslim tradition teaches that Mecca was an important crossroads for trade caravans, but the location of Mecca today is not a natural stopping place for the incense route from south Arabia to Syria. Contemporary non-Muslims sources also don't make any mention of such a city, which is very strange if Mecca was indeed important for commerce and religion.

By and large, it appears that the Muslim belief that we have accurate eyewitness reports for every aspect of Muhammad's life is not unlike similar beliefs among Christians regarding Jesus and Orthodox Jews regarding Moses. The motivation lies more in a need to believe than in a sound foundation based on confirmed historical evidence.

Given that, the following description of Muhammad's life is based almost entirely upon the traditional beliefs of adherents and not upon historically confirmable fact. However, where such confirmations exist, they will be noted.

By the time of Ibn Hisham's writings, Islam had entered into extended contact with Christianity, and some scholars suggest that Muhammad's biography was deliberately constructed in an effort to offer a contrast to the gospel stories of Jesus. Indeed, for the first two hundred years of Islam, the Arab conquerors were a minority ruling a non-Muslim majority. Some scholarship estimates that by the middle of the eighth century, Muslims constituted only eight percent of the subject populations, vastly outnumbered by Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and others.

The accounts we do have suggest that Muhammad was an honest and moral man because, for example, the rich widow fifteen years his senior who had put him in charge of her trade business offered herself to him in marriage. Whatever his early life might have been like, tradition has it that as he grew older, he became more distressed at the state of society around him and regularly retired to the cave Hira' outside of Mecca. Here he would sometimes spend days at a time, contemplating life.

During one of these retreats in the year 610 C.E., at about the age of forty, Muhammad experienced "the Call," a common event for religious reformers and revolutionaries. According to his own reports, he was in a dream or dream-like state when he received instruction from God (through the angel Gabriel) on what he must believe and what he must do. These instructions were not a one-time event, however, and lasted throughout his life.

The first instruction was that there existed only one god, and that strict monotheistic belief was required of all people. The second involved socioeconomic justice for all, and the third involved the existence of a final judgment for both the just and the unjust.

Muhammad's preaching of his new revelations was not especially welcome among his fellow citizens of Mecca. Muslims today believe that this was due largely to the fact that Muhammad emphasized economic and social justice too much for the rich and greedy traders there. Even if that is true, and the preaching of these ideals did impede his efforts at first, the doctrine of zakat, or alms for the poor, was important in the development of a tightly knit community of believers - and, ultimately, of Islam's success.

After thirteen years of preaching, the small band of followers he gathered was simply not powerful enough to take control of the city of Mecca. Nevertheless, even if his standing among the city's leaders was not especially good, he must have had a good enough reputation for the city of Medina (located 200 miles north) to approach him and offer him the position of ruler there.

He thus moved his group to Medina in 622, an event which is called the hijra and marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. In Medina he established a charter which guaranteed freedom of religion for the local Jews - but evidently he expected them to quickly convert to Islam once they heard what it had to offer, and he was disappointed when they didn't.

It is at this point where we have the only really secure date for early Muslim history, 622 C.E., which has been confirmed on coins as a the beginning of a new era. What exactly this new era meant is unclear, and there is no indication that it is the hijra of tradition. The only information that we have about it is from documents 676 and 680 C.E., two Nestorian documents which refer to 622 as the year of "the rule of the Arabs."

At this time, then, Muhammad changed the nature of the salat, the daily prayers which each Muslim must recite. Previously all Muslims had faced Jerusalem when saying the prayers, but now they all faced Mecca. This was surely connected to his disappointment with the Jews, but it may have also been connected to his hope of eventually winning over the city to his new religion. Some scholars also take this as a sign of his desire to create a national/ethnic religion for Arabs.

There are normally three reasons offered for Muhammad's interest in taking Mecca. The first was that it was supposed to be an important religious center for Arabs at the time - for his new religion to become widespread, he needed that city. Second, it was supposed to be the seat of Muhammad's own tribe, the Quraysh. If they could be won over, he could use them and their allies to further spread his message.

The third was that the Meccans simply didn't like him very much and continued to harass him and Medina in an effort to repress his efforts. The property and possessions of all of those who left with him had been seized, and a genuine state of war existed between Mecca and Medina.

Various skirmishes eventually lead to a major battle at Badr, where 300 Medinians are supposed to have defeated one thousand Meccans. Because of this, Muhammad was able to sign a treaty with several Bedouin tribes and gain their aid; but he lost it again after a defeat to the Meccans the next year.

During all of this, Muhammad accused local Jewish tribes of conspiring to aid Mecca. After Badr, the Medinese Jews were attacked and forced to emigrate to Syria. After the defeat at Uhud, the Nadir tribe of Jews received the same fate. Two years later, after a failed Meccan siege of Medina was over, the Qurayza tribe of Jews was attacked and all the men were killed.

Eventually, eight years after the hijra, Mecca was forced to negotiate a peaceful surrender to Muhammad and almost all citizens became Muslims. Thereafter Mecca would remain a center of devotion for Muslims all over the world. During the next two years, Islam swept across Arabia with most cities voluntarily joining, but a few remained stubborn and had to be brought in by force.

On June 8, 632 (eleven years after the hijra), Muhammad died. By the 640s, Arabs possessed most of Syria, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt. Thirty years later they were conquering parts of Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia.

Islam per Torah revelation by God to prophet Moses is called Judaism. Islam per the Bible revelation by God (same God) to prophet Jesus is called Christianity. Islam per Quran revelation by God (same God) to prophet Muhammad is called the same name Islam. All God prophets since Adam; through Noah, Abraham, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, ..., Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all) call for Islam or ; in another words, call for submission to God as the one and only one God with no partner, no son, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence.

Quran revelation by God to prophet Muhammad started in year 610 AD through the Angel Gabriel (Jibril) when the prophet was in mount cave Hira in Mecca (or Makkah) in the nowadays Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Quran revelation to prophet Muhammad continued until year 632 AD (year of prophet death).

As per Muslim ,Islam and Quran ... the Islam is absolute religion which exists from the day one of the mankind and Adam (peace be upon him) was the first prophet/messenger of Allah ....and the last being Muhammad (peace be upon him) ......

The following verses from Quran proves the point ....

And He(Allah) taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."

( Quran,Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #31)

Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of 'Imran above all people,-

( Quran,Aal-e-Imran, Chapter #3, Verse #33)

We(Allah) have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms.

( Quran,An-Nisa, Chapter #4, Verse #163)

And remember We(Allah) took from the prophets their covenant: As (We did) from thee: from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary: We took from them a solemn covenant:

( Quran,Al-Ahzab, Chapter #33, Verse #7)

We(Allah) gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!

( Quran , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #87)

Islam started about 1440 years ago in Makkah

Answer 1

it was a very small place and he was popular..... Myth... meaning stories parents told there kids and on and on and then there are stories too.

Answer 2

Mohammed's death did not spread or help to spread Islam. It was actually a detriment to the early spread of Islam. A large minority of Arab tribes had seen converting to Islam as a loyalty pact to Mohammed as opposed to an eternal religion. As a result, when Mohammed died, they considered themselves "released" from Islam. Caliph Abu Bakr was then forced to fight a civil war in Arabia to reunify the seceding Arab tribes into a unified Islamic region. It was not until Caliph Abu Bakr had quelled this dissent that Islam could spread under his successor, Caliph Omar.

"What are the Five Pillars of Islam and who invented them?"

God invented the five pillars of Islam and revealed them through Quranic revelation and his Prophet's.

There are as follows:

1. The Shahada: Declaration before a Muslim audience that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

2. Prayer: salat (5 times daily)

3. Fasting: sawm (in Ramadhan)

4. Charity: zakat

5. The Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime if your finances and health will permit doing so.

As Salaam Alaikum: Peace Be upon you

What are the purposes of 5 pillars of Islam?

1: There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad (PBUH) is his messenger.

How do you know Mohammad (PBUH) is the true prophet?

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in 5 major religious scriptures, they describe Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the last messenger, but the follower of the scriptures like Christians changed it to something else.

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in Christianity

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in Judaism

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in Buddahism

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in Hinduism

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is prophesized in Parsism

Watch the lecture or read the text for the prophesies.

The book which prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is a miraculous book which can change a human life and bring peace, tranquility and love, dispite being misunderstood by many due to political reasons.

The book provides detail about the PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

It has perfect agreement with scientific facts such as creation of the universe and going out to space.

The holy Quran explains how to stop corruption in the society such as robbery,rape,murder and personal problems.

http:/www.miraclesofthequran.com

http:/www.harunyahya.com

http:/www.quranmiracles.com

2:Salaah

The second pillar of Islam, is Salaah. Many people translate the word Salaah, as 'prayer'. To pray, is to ask for help... to beseech -how a person beseeches in the court of law, to ask for help. Prayer does not denote the complete meaning of the Arabic word, Salaah, because in Salaah... besides asking for help, we also praise Allah (SWT), we also get guidance in the Salaah, so therefore the English word prayer, does not denote the complete meaning of the Arabic word Salaah. The more appropriate meaning that I say, I verily prefer calling it as programming, because we Muslims... we are programmed in our Salaah. We are programmed in what is wrong, and what is right -do the good things, do not do the bad things, do not rob, do not cheat, do the good things, love your neighbour, etc. We are being programmed.

We Muslims are supposed to pray 5 times a day -in the morning before sunrise, it is the Fajr Salaah -the Zohar Salaah, after the sun reaches highest, that is early in the afternoon -the Asr Salaah, late in the afternoon... that is before the sunsets -the Maghrib Salaah,after the sun sets immediately, and the Isha Salaah, that is late in the evening or the early in the night. We have to pray minimum 5 times a day. How... for a healthy body, the doctor will tell you -You should have three meals a day. Similarly for a spiritual soul, you should offer Salaah, 5 times a day, minimum. And whenever we offer Salaah, when we enter the Mosque, we remove our footwear -this was the commandment given to prophet Moses (Peace be upon him). It is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an in Surah Taha, Ch. 20, Verse 11 and 12, that...'' When he approached the fire he heard a voice... 'Oh! Moses verily I am your Lord ; take off thy shoes for thou art in the sacred valley of Dua'.

This was the commandment given to Moses(Peace be upon him) which we Muslims follow -We take off our footwear when we offer Salaah. Besides that, we are hygienic people, who want to see our place of worship is clean. And since we do prostration, we do not want to prostate in mud, dirt and filth which comes along with the footwear. Before offering Salaah, the Holy Qur'an says in Surah Maidah, Ch. 5, Verse 5...(Arabic)... 'O ye believe, when you prepare yourself for Salaah, when you prepare yourself for prayers, wash your face, and your hands, and arms, up to the elbow -rub your head with water, wash your feet upto the ankle'. It is the ablution -In Arabic, it is called as wudhu. It is compulsory that before we offer Salaah,we should do ablution, we should wash ourselves. Because we are hygienic people, we want to be clean before we appear in front of the Lord. And besides that, it is also a mental preparation -that mentally we are being prepared, that now we are going to appear in front of Allah (SWT), in front of Almighty Lord. Our believed Prophet said -it is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, Vol. No. 1, in the Book of Adhan, Ch. No. 75, Hadith No. 692. Our prophet said... 'When you stand for Salaah, stand shoulder to shoulder'. In another Hadith, it says that... 'When you stand for Salaah, stand shoulder to shoulder, so that the devil does not come in between you'.

Our prophet was not talking about the devil which you see in the Onida T.V. add. You Know the Onida T.V. add it has the devil with two horn and a tail. Our Prophet was not talking about the devil which you see in the Onida T.V. add or in the comic strip with two horns and a tail. He was referring to the devil of rascism, devil of casteism, devil of colour, of wealth mean irrespective of whether you are rich or poor, whether you are black or white, whether you are from America or from China or from India or from Pakistan, whether you are from a noble family, or you are not from a noble family. When you offer Salaah, stand shoulder to shoulder, so that it shows the best Universal brotherhood, five times a day.

when we offer Salaah, irrespective from which ever part he is coming, whether he is rich or poor, whether he is black or white, when they stand for Salaah, we Muslims, we stand shoulder to shoulder. Universal brotherhood... the best example, practical example ...so that the devil of racsism, the devil of colour, the devil of cast, the devil of wealth does not come in between the brothers.

And the best part of the Salaah, is the sujud... is the prostration. The Arabic word sujud, is mentioned in the Qur'an, no less than 92 different times. And the Psychologists, they tell us, that the mind is not directly under our control. The body, it is directly under our control but our mind, keeps on wandering. It is not directly under our control... It keeps on wandering -the body is under our control. So to humble the mind, you have to humble your body -And which is the better way, than the way we Muslims do. We put the highest part of the body... that is the forehead, to the lowest part of the ground, and then say...' Glory be to Allah (SWT), Who is the most greatest, glory be to Allah, Who is the most highest.

And if you analyse, that when we offer Salaah there various benefits of the Salaah (i.e. prayers). Normally, throughout the day, there are electrostatic charges given out from the brain. When we do sujud, these charges get grounded -there is grounding of the frontal lobe, there is grounding of these charges. How, we have a three pin plug and a two pin plug... Three pin plug grounds. That does not mean, that if you put your hand below the head you will find, you will get a shock. It is not that grounding as the electric grounding, but it is dominance of the frontal lobe. Normally when you live, you always stand erect -blood is being pumped by the heart to the brain, but it is not sufficient for a very healthy brain. So when you do sujud,extra blood flows from the heart to the brain, due to gravity. This extra flow of blood, is a requirement for a very healthy brain. So when we do sujud, extra blood flows in to the brain, which is very good for a healthy brain. When we do sujud, there is extra blood supply to the skin of the face, which prevents 'Chill bane'. When we do sujud, the secretion of the synuses... the 'Aismodal' synus, Magniotal synus, they get drained- there are less chances of a person suffering from Synusitis. Normally when you breath, only 2/3rd of your lungs capacity is utilised. The remaining 1/3rd is known as residual air. But when we do the sujud, and when your breath in the sujud, the abdominal vicra, it presses against the diaphragm. The diaphragm presses against the lower part of the lungs, and even the residual air... the 1/3rd air is exhaled out, so more fresh air enters in to the lungs, in which there are less chances of that person suffering from lung diseases. When we do sujud, there is drainage of secretion of the Brocheal tree, in which there are less chances of a person suffering from Bronchitis. When we so sujud, there is increased vynus return, to the Abdominal vicra... when we do sujud there is less chances of having Hamroid. There are several benefits. When you do kayaam, ruku, sujud...when you stand up, and when you get up from the sitting position, the calf muscles are being activated. The calf muscles are referred to as peripheral heart, because they supply blood to the lower part of the body. So when you do kayaam, ruku, sujud... when you stand up, sit up, prostate, get up... the calf muscles are activated, and it increases the blood supply to the lower part of the body when you stand up bow down and prostrate the vertebrae is being exercised you have less chances of having disease of vertebrae. There are several medical benefits only of salah -You can give a talk only on that. But we Muslims, we do not offer salah, for these medical benefits -these are only side dishes. We offer salah, to praise Allah (SWT) to thank...Allah (SWT). That is our main dish...that is a biryani. The medical benefits are side dishes -we do not pray for these medical benefits. It may attract a person, who does not believe in Islam -that okay, you get medical benefits... he may come closer to salah. But we Muslims offer salah, to thank Allah (SWT)... to praise Him -That is our main biryani. This is the additional benefit that Allah (SWT) gives us.

3: Zakah

The third pillar is Zakah. The Arabic words Zakah,means purification... it means growth. In Islam every rich person who has a saving of more than the nesaab level, more than the minimum wealth, that is seven and a half tolaof gold. He should give 2.5% of that saving every lunar year, in charity -and the criteria to do the charity is given in Surah Tauba Ch. 9, Verse 60, which says... 'It can be given to the fukra, to the poor people, to the masakeen who are needy, whose heart is bent towards Islam, to those who are in debt, those in freeing of slave, a way farer who gets scanted in a foreign land, and those who spend in the way of Allah(SWT)'. These are 8 categories given in Surah Tauba, Ch.9,V 60, to whom this Zakat can be given. It is compulsory for every rich Muslim, who has saving of more than the nisaab level, he should give 2.5% of that saving, every lunar year, in charity. I ask a question, that if every human being in the world gives Zakat, gives 2.5 % of his excess wealth in charity... poverty will be eradicated form this world. There will not be a single human being who will die of hunger. That is why the Holy Qur'an says, in Surah Hashr, in Ch. 59, Verse 7, that... 'It prevents the wealth from circulating among the rich -is that, that the rich will not become more richer'. It prevents the wealth from circulating amongst the rich. The Holy Qur'an says in Surah Taubah, Ch. 9 Verse 34, that... 'Those who bury gold and silver, and spend it not in the way of Allah (SWT), do not give charity, announce to them a grievous penalty. That on the day of Judgement, heat will be produced from this wealth, from fire of hell, and they will be branded on their fore heads, on their flanks, and on their back. And it will be told to them, that you hoarded the wealth- now have a taste of your wealth'. Hoarding of wealth, is prohibited in the Holy Qur'an -You cannot hoard wealth.

4: Fasting

The fourth pillar in Ramadhan, is saum. That every adult Muslims should fast, should abstain from having food and drink, from sunrise to sunset, in the complete lunar month of Ramadhan. The Holy Qur'an says in Surah Al-Baqarah, Ch. 2, Verse 183, that... 'Ramadhan has been prescribed to you, as it was prescribed earlier, to the people who came early before you, so that you may learn self restrain'. The reason for fasting has been described in the Holy Qur'an,for self restraint. And the Psychologists, they tell us today, that if you can control your hunger, you can control almost all your desires. That is what Qur'an says, that... 'Ramadanhas been prescribed to you, so that you may learn self restrain, you may control your desire. If you can control your hunger, you can control almost all your desires. And there are various benefits, that if a person can abstain from having alcohol, from sunrise to sunset, he can very well abstain from having alcohol, from the cradle to the grave. If he can abstain from smoking from sunrise to sunset, he can very well abstain from smoking, from the cradle to the grave. It gives an opportunity to improve yourself. I call it the over hauling -like how your machine requires servicing...like you service your car every three months, every four months... your motor cycle every five month, etc. If you allow me to call the human being a machine, I would say... It is the most complicated machine on the face of the earth. Ramadhan is a servicing of the human body -one lunar month, every lunar year... servicing. There are several medical benefits even of the Salaah. I would not like to go in to detail. But it also improve, increases the intestinal absorption when you fast, it increases your intestinal absorption.

5: Hajj

The fifth pillar is Hajj. Every Adult Muslim who has the means to perform Hajj, that is pilgrimage to the Holy city of Makkah, should at least do it once in his life time. And I say that the Hajj is the best practical example in the world, of Universal brotherhood -There is not a better example. In Hajj, there are 2.5 million Muslims who gather in Mecca. In Mina, in Arafat... the holy land, 2.5 million Muslims from various part of the world, from America, England, Japan, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore and various part of the world. And the men, they dress up in two pieces of unsewen cloth preferably white -so that the person standing next to you, when he is performing the pilgrimage, you cannot make out whether the person standing in front of you is a king or a popper. You cannot come to know, whether he is rich or poor. All of the Muslims from various parts of the world ...they collect -It is the biggest annual gathering of the world. 2.5 million Muslims, 25 lakhs Muslims, they gather there and they perform their pilgrimage, and they are dressed in the same simple unsewen pieces of cloth -Best example of Universal brotherhood. I started my talk by quoting a Verse from the Holy Qur'an, Surah Hujurah, Ch.49, Verse 13, which says... (Arabic)... 'O human kind, We have created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye shall recognize one another, and not that you shall despise one another'. And the most honoured in the sight of Allah (SWT) is the one who has taqwaa, who has righteousness, who has God-consciousness, who has piety. The Holy Qur'an says that... 'The whole of the human kind, has been created from a single pair of a male and a female'. And God Almighty has divided them into nations and tribes, so that they shall recognise each other not that they shall despise each other -That I am superior to you... or you are superior to me. And the Prophet said that... 'No Arab is superior to a Non-Arab, neither a Non-Arab superior to an Arab, neither a White superior to a Black, nor a Black superior to a White'. The Qur'an says -the only criteria for judgment in Surah Hujrat, Ch. 49, Verse 13... 'The only criteria for judgment in the sight of Allah (SWT) is not sex, it is not caste, it is not colour, it is not wealth, it is not age, it is taqwaa, it is God-consciousness, it is peity, it is righteousness, it is by God-consciousness... not by wealth, colour or nobility'. These are the guidance given by the Holy Qur'an, for Universal brotherhood.

These were in a nutshell the five pillars of Islam. If you remember the Prophet said these are the pillars of Islam, these are the principles of Islam. This does not constitute the complete Islam. Many people have a misunderstanding that if they do these 5 things they become very good Muslims. These are only the 5 pillars, and any engineer will tell you, that if the pillar is strong, then hopefully the structure will be strong. If the foundation is strong, then the structure will be strong, so if we follow these 5 pillars correctly, then InshaAllah the structure will be correct. And the other structure, the do's and don't's are mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. How a person should lead his life, is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an says in Surah Dhariyat, Ch. 51, Verse 56...(Arabic)...

'That We have created the jinn and the men, not but to worship Me'.

What is the purpose of life?

http:/www.sultan.org/articles/purposeoflife.htm

'We have created the jinn and the men, not but to worship Me'.

Al-Quran 51:56

The 5 pillars of Islam are:

1. Shadat (testimony of faith)

2. Prayer

3. Zakah (Annual money that ones has to give to the poor)

4. Saum (Fasting in the month of Ramadhan)

5. Hajj (Pilgramage to Mecca)

As a Muslim, one believes that these pillars weren't 'invented' by anyone. Rather they are part of God's law which was given to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who taught mankind these laws.So in conclusion god made the five pillars of Islam

Answer B

2. Divine Justice ('adl)

3. Prophethood (nubuwwa)

4. Succession to Muhammad (imamat)

5. The Day of Judgement and the Resurrection (Qiyama)

2. Fasting (sawm) during Ramadan

3-4. Alms giving (zakaat and khums) 5. Pilgrimage to the city of Makkah (hajj)

6. Holey Defense (Jihad)

7-8. Enjoining good (amr bil-ma'rouf) and forbidding evil (nahiy an al-munkar)

9. Supporting those who walk in the path of Allah (tawalli li awliyaa' Allah)

10. Turning away from the enemies of Allah (tabarri min a'daa Allah)

2. Prayer (Salat)

3. Alms-giving (Zakāt)

4. Fasting (Sawm of Ramadan)

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

Muhammad in Christianity is a prophet per God revelation of Quran to him through the angel Gabriel to call people to worship God (Allah) as the one and only one God with no partner and to correct the deviations in previous religions from the righteous God path. Refer to the question below on why was Quran revealed for more information in this regards. As Jesus (Peace be upon him-PBUH) is a prophet per God revelation of the Bible to correct for the deviations in Judaism from the righteous path originally called for by Moses (PBUH), Muhammad (PBUH) is a prophet per God revelation of Quran to correct for deviations in Judaism and Christianity from the righteous path originally called for by, respectively, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them).

As for prophet Muhammad in the eyes of Christians, Christians were not having the same view.

1. Some believe in Muhammad prophesy and in Quran holy book.
2. Some respect Muhammad and respect the Guides of Quran but don't believe in Muhammad prophesy and don't believe in Quran holy book.
3. Some falsify the facts about Muhammad and his prophesy and falsify facts about the Quran holy book.

1. About Christians who believe in Muhammad prophesy and Quran holy book:

• During the life of Prophet Muhammad, many Christians believed in Quran and believed in the prophesy of Muhammad despite remaining on their Christian faith. Many Christians believed in both Muhammad and Jesus as two of the five greatest prophets. The other three are Noah, Abraham, and Moses.
• Some Christians who seek the truth, believe in the prophesy of Muhammad and believe in Quran. About those, Quran says (meaning English translation): ".... You will find the nearest in love to Muslims those who say "we are Christians'. That is because amongst them are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant. And when they listen to the Quran revelation received by the Messenger (Muhammad), you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognized. They say ' O Lord! we believe; so write us down among the witnesses. And why should we not believe in Allah (God) and in that which has come to us of the truth (Islamic Monotheism)? and we wish our Lord admit us in Paradise along with righteous people (prophet Muhammad and his followers). So because of what they said, Allah (God) rewarded them Gardens under which rivers flow in Paradise where they abide forever. Such is the reward of the good-doers. But those who disbelieved (Quran God revelation and Muhammad prophecy) they shall be the dwellers of the Hell"[Quran, chapter 5, verses 82-86]
• When prophet Muhammad first met by the Angel Gabriel and returned back to his wife, Khadija, trembling and afraid and not recognizing what is going on, the Cousin of Khadija, who was Christian called Waraqa Ibn Nofal, saw Muhammad and told him that he would be the prophet of this nation and if he would be long lived he will back and support him.
• When the early Muslims faced torture in Mecca from the nonbelievers, they immigrated to Ethiopia that was ruled by Christian ruler who guaranteed their safety and welcomed them and believed in the true prophesy of Muhammad (without convert to Islam) and was in good relations with Muhammad after the spread of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
• Quran says about those Christians (and Jews):{And indeed, among the People of the Scripture (Christians and Jews) are those who believe in Allah (God) and what was revealed (Quran) to you (Prophet Muhammad) and what was revealed to them (the Bible and Torah), [being] humbly submissive to Allah. They do not exchange the verses of Allah for a small price. Those will have their reward with their Lord. Indeed, Allah is swift in account. (199) O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful. (200)} [Quran, chapter 3, verses 199-200]

2. About Christians who respect Muhammad and respect the Guides of Quran but don't believe in Muhammad prophesy and don't believe in Quran holy book.

Quran says: { ... among the People of the Scripture (Christians and Jews) is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]. (113) They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous. (114) And whatever good they do - never will it be removed from them. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous. (115)} [Quran, chapter 3, verses 113-115]

3. About those who falsify the facts about Muhammad and his prophesy and falsify facts about the Quran holy book.

• Some claim that Muhammad is a false prophet and that he is just a political leader who unified the scattered Arabs under a system of law to accomplish this unity. They forget that many non Arabs (Ethiopians, Persians, ...) believed in the prophet and followed Islam religion. They forget that all Arab leaders offered the prophet to accept him as their ruler and offered him to be the richest among them on condition that he abandons calling for Islam but he refused.
• Some claim that and the prophet just created a new sect of Abrahamaic faith derived from Judaism and Christianity. They forget that if Islam religion is derived from Christianity/Judaism why there are principal dogmatic beliefs with them? He could have canceled them and earned additional people beside him.
• Some claim that Quran is a human written text. They forget the many proofs that Quran is real God words revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Refer to related link below for more information.
• Quran says: {They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers. (72) They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. (73) So will they not repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (74) The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him...} [Quran, chapter 5, verses 72-75]

______________________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 18:

"I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

Muhammad is not mentioned in biblical scripture & he has nothing to do with biblical prophecy or christianity.