Questions about Islam

Questions about Islam
answered by Sh. G. F. Haddad

Thank you for your questions:

1. First of all, what is the correct way to pronounce "Muslim"? I have read the "Moslem" is an improper and offensive way to say Muslim. Is that correct? What sound does the "U" make? Is is "moo"slim or "mu"slim as in Muhammad? A short U?

The latter.

2. How would you describe the faith of Islam (the most important guidelines to follow, etc)?

It is the way of the Prophets and the elect of human beings since our father Adam through our father Abraham then Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, upon them blessings and peace, consisting in true worship of our Creator and excellent living and dying until we return to Him and enter everlasting life, in which this life forms less than a drop in the ocean; a way the formal description of which is [1] belief in the one God alone without partner, son, or spouse, in the angels, the Divine Books, the Prophets and Messengers, the Day of the Resurrection and Judgment, and the foreordained Divine decree that includes both good and evil, and [2] praying the five prayers in their appointed times every 24 hours, remitting the poor-due, fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing, if physically and monetarily able, the pilgrimage to Makka.

3. I have read that Islam believes that the God of the Jews and Christians is the same God of the Muslims, is that a correct statement? And that Muhammad was the last and final Prophet ﷺ of God correcting misleading concepts in the above religions. So then all three religions are from the same origin?

All three dispensations are indeed from the same Divine origin and we believe that Religion is one just as God is One, the same One that sent all the Prophets and Whose basic message does not change.

4. What would you say is the relationship of Islam to Judaism and Christianity today?

Islam is the unadulterated form of their message but addressed to all creation, a universal Last Testament.

5. I recently traveled to Israel and Egypt and felt the Middle Eastern tension for myself. There are so many political issues with the state of Palestine and Israel. Is the root of the conflict primarily religious?

No more for the Zionists than for those whom they have been plundering, oppressing, and killing mercilessly since that conflict began.

It seems as though there is a real hatred towards the Jews, is that true? More so than towards Christians? Why?

There is no hatred towards "the Jews and Christians" but hatred towards injustice and oppression, hence expressions as those attributed to Jesus in the Gospel such as "whitened sepulchres" and "race of vipers" to characterize attitudes that ultimately stem from satanic pride and which are also excoriated in other Divine admonitions including the Psalms and the Qur'an.

The reason why the latter describes the Christians as generally closer to the truth is only insofar as they tend to be more devoid of that trait; further, they reject only one of the Prophets of God (Muhammad) while the others reject two (Jesus and Muhammad).

6. What is the greatest hindrance holding Islam back from advancing? How can this barrier be removed?

It is advancing by the grace of God despite any appearance to the contrary. The ending has already been written and it is to the honor and glory of God and His Prophets, let the enemies try what they may.

7. How would you describe the faith of Islam specifically in South Africa? Do you think it could end up similar to the Sudan one day?

The Sudan has been the object of a systematic campaign of defamation in the Western press and the second question apparently presupposes the misconceptions born of such a campaign, however, I leave both questions to others more qualified to answer them.

8. I have so many things to ask, but this I will make my last! I have read that physical action towards unbelievers is not to result in violence towards the innocent, but when I think of what has gone on in the Sudan or even the 9/11 situation, I see the innocent being killed. Is this only those taking Islam out of the context Muhammad intended?

As far as any true and sincere people of faith and goodness can see, true Muhammadan Islam is the last remaining living Divine recipe for enlightened belief and right living in the highest desirable sense for all human beings. It makes perfect sense that the enemies of the human race should therefore focus on the poisoning, corruption, and demonization of Islam whether through aggressive, insane chaos or through a reptilian discourse that poses as reasonable and historical but strives even more desperately and aggressively to represent the followers of the most perfect man ever to walk the earth as fanatic loons. See, for example, the hate site "jihad watch."

However, the last word belongs to the owner of this Religion which is God Himself--a fact of which there is no escape. Hence the vanity of the misrepresentation that is going on, of which the situations mentioned are mere elements, and their ultimate irrelevance to the endurance of Islam as the last Godgiven way of safety and salvation.

Hajj Gibril
GF Haddad
[Sun, 21 Mar 2004]