And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him (Qur’an 3:85)

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(And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him (Qur’an 3:85))

Introduction to Islam

Mohammad A Rahman

All praise is for Allah Who sent down the Qur'an to His servant, Muhammad (peace be upon him) so that he may be a warner to the worlds; and blessings be on him whom He sent as a witness, and a bearer of good news and a warner, and as one inviting to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch; and blessings be on his Family and his chosen companions.

Islam is a belief system with moral and practical laws that have their source in the Qur'an. The reason for our saying that Islam has its source in the Qur'an is that Allah says:

And we have revealed the Book to you explaining clearly everything (Qur'an16:89);

Nor anything greener nor dry but (it is all) in a clear book (Qur'an 6:59).

Therefore the fundamental teachings for the salvation of human beings are given in the text of the Qur'an; and then its details for which it has referred the people to, is found in the teachings of the Prophet - as Allah says:

And whatever the Apostle gives you, take it, and from whatever he forbids you, keep back (Qur'an 59:7);

That you may judge between people by means of that which Allah has taught you (Qur'an 4:105).

Thus we know that Islam has put its attention to all big and small topics relevant to divine knowledge, moral virtues and religious laws - covering worship, mutual dealings, social regulations, penal code, and, in short, everything that affects life and character. All this is based on the foundation of human nature and monotheism. If we analyze the details, we find monotheism as their basis; and if we combine the basis with relevant principles, we get the details.

It is a pride for the Muslims that the Holy Qur'an has been preserved by almighty Allah in its entirety and has been guaranteed its preservation until the end of time. However, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has not been preserved in the same way. Many researchers have shown that many of the sayings of the Prophet (SAW) got lost or even been fabricated in huge numbers which has complicated the task of finding true sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which is also widely known as Sunnah (way) of the Prophet (SAW). As an example it can be mentioned that Imam Bukhari collected about 600,000 traditions related to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and according to his own criterion kept less than 8000 traditions in his famous Sahih Al-Bukhari. Even then many traditions in today's Sahih Bukhari do not agree with other established traditions of the Prophet (SAW) or teachings of the Qur'an. All books of traditions (Shia, Sunni alike) suffer from this. After the death of the Prophet (SAW), initially Prophet's traditions were destroyed and then people were prevented from writing them down even as the Prophet (SAW) himself advised his followers to record them down. Prophet's (SAW) traditions are equally important as the Holy Qur'an. By the time the collectors of traditions could record all the traditions of the Prophet faithfully, most of the traditions were either destroyed, forgotten or even fabricated. In our opinion, the curse of the glaring differences among the Muslims today which most times result in labeling each other disbelievers is due to the fabricated traditions attributed to the Prophet (SAW).

Due to the fact that many of the traditions of the Prophet (SAW) have been fabricated, Muslim scholars have declared that for a tradition to be accepted as authentic, especially when it is related to fundamentals laws of Islam, it has to agree with the Holy Qur'an. Holy Prophet of Islam has advised his followers to refer his traditions to the Book of Allah (Qur'an) and accept only that which agrees with it:

The Prophet said: There will be narrators narrating Hadis from me. So judge it by the Qur’an. If a report agrees with the Qur’an, accept it, otherwise reject it (The Religion of Islam by Maulana Muhammad Ali, p.88)

So, in this website of ours, we will primarily focus our discussions on the Holy Qur'an and will attempt to find traditions that agree with it insha'Allah. We ask Allah's help in our effort and seek His nearness. We are from Allah and unto Him is our eventual return. May the peace and blessings be on the best of the prophets, Muhammad, his Family and chosen companions.