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THE NAME ISLAM ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING:
When a person is born, he is given a name. By this name he is recognized and identified. As a proof of his name there would be some valid document. In the same way, to validate the name of a religion we should look for two things
-The identity certificate, i.e. is that really its valid name ? if so where it is recorded?
- The certificate authority , i.e. who has given it this name?

THE IDENTITY CERTIFICATE:
Islam is the original name of this religion revealed by God .
It is recorded in the holy book of Islam (the Qur'an).
(The religion in the sight of God is Islam.) (chapter 3:verse 19)
(If anyone desires a religion other than Islam , never will it be accepted of
him , and in the Hereafter he shall be among the losers.)(3:85)
A person who practice Islam is a Muslim.
WHO IS CERTIFYING AUTHORITY?
Is the name Islam given by Muslims themselves, or by Arabs, or by other people, or by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
Or , has the name itself acquired the usage in the course of time? The answer is that names Islam and Muslims are given by none other than God Himself.
(This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.)(5:3)
(it is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this[Revelation].)(22:78)
This is one of the reasons why Muhammadan is not an acceptable term in place of Muslims ,even thought Muslims are the followers of Muhammad (PBUH) .Why should anyone call them Muhammadans when they already have their name Muslims?
The name Islam is not just a word for identification , as for example fish is recognized as a fish but the word fish by itself doesn't carry any functional meaning. This is not the case of with the word Islam .It is not just a name for identification .It also carry some functional meaning in it. Its meaning conveys the essence of religion's outlook and objectives. It has two elements of meaning:
A- submission to the will of the One and Only God, the true God.
B- Peace the same root as in As-salam Alaikum ,meaning peace be unto you.
In fact , these two meanings are not separated from each other, they are interrelated. Thus , the fullest meaning of Islam is the attainment of peace through submission to the will of the One True God.

1) Belief in God:
Muslims believe in one, unique, incomparable God, Who has no son nor partner, and that none has the right to be worshipped but Him alone. He is the true God, and every other deity is false. He has the most magnificent names and sublime perfect attributes. No one shares His divinity, nor His attributes.
In the Qur'an, God describes Himself
Say, "He is God, the One. God, to Whom the creatures turn for their needs. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none like Him." (Qur'an, 112:1-4)
No one has the right to be invoked, supplicated, prayed to, or shown any act of worship, but God alone.

God alone is the Almighty, the Creator, the Sovereign, and the Sustainer of everything in the whole universe. He manages all affairs. He stands in need of none of His creatures, and all His creatures depend on Him for all that they need. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the All-Knowing. In a perfect manner, His knowledge encompasses all things, the open and the secret, and the public and the private. He knows what has happened, what will happen, and how it will happen. No affair occurs in the whole world except by His will. Whatever He wills is, and whatever He does not will is not and will never be. His will is above the will of all the creatures. He has power over all things, and He is able to do everything. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and the Most Beneficent. In one of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we are told that God is more merciful to His creatures than a mother to her child. God is far removed from injustice and tyranny. He is All-Wise in all of His actions and decrees. If someone wants something from God, he or she can ask God directly without asking anyone else to intercede with God for him or her.
God is not Jesus, and Jesus is not God. Even Jesus himself rejected this. God has said in the Qur'an ,
Indeed, they have disbelieved who have said, "God is the Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary." The Messiah said, "Children of Israel, worship God, my Lord and your Lord. Whoever associates partners in worship with God, then God has forbidden Paradise for him, and his home is the Fire (Hell). For the wrongdoers,3 there will be no helpers." (Qur'an, 5:72)
God is not a trinity. God has said in the Qur'an
Indeed, they disbelieve who say, "God is the third of three (in a trinity)," when there is no god but one God. If they desist not from what they say, truly, a painful punishment will befall the disbelievers among them. Would they not rather repent to God and ask His forgiveness? For God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The Messiah (Jesus), son of Mary, was no more than a messenger exactly the same as Muhammad and all the previous messengers (peace be upon them)

Islam rejects that God rested on the seventh day of the creation, that He wrestled with one of His angels, that He is an envious plotter against mankind, or that He is incarnate in any human being. Islam also rejects the attribution of any human form to God. All of these are considered blasphemous. God is the Exalted. He is far removed from every imperfection. He never becomes weary. He does not become drowsy nor does he sleep.

The Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only true God who created the whole universe). This word Allah is a name for God, which is used by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This word cannot be used to designate anything other than the one true God. God is also referred to as Allah.

2) Belief in the Angels
Muslims believe in the existence of the angels and that they are honored creatures. The angels worship God alone, obey Him, and act only by His command. Among the angels is Gabriel, who brought down the Qur'an to Muhammad (peace be upon him).

3) Belief in God's Revealed Books
Muslims believe that God revealed books to His messengers as proof for mankind and as guidance for them. Among these books is the Qur'an, which God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) . God has guaranteed the Qur'an's protection from any corruption or distortion. God has said
Indeed, We have sent down the Qur'an, and surely We will guard it (from corruption). (Qur'an, 15:9)

4)Belief in the Prophets and Messengers of God
Muslims believe in the prophets and messengers of God, starting with Adam, including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them). But God's final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) . Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last prophet sent by God, as God has said
Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the last of the prophets... (Qur'an, 33:40).
Muslims believe that all the prophets and messengers were created human beings who had none of the divine qualities of God.

5) Belief in the Day of Judgment
Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) when all people will be resurrected for God's judgment according to their beliefs and deeds.

6) Belief in Al-Qadar
Muslims believe in Al-Qadar, which is Divine Predestination, but this belief in Divine Predestination does not mean that human beings do not have freewill. Rather, Muslims believe that God has given human beings freewill. This means that they can choose right or wrong and that they are responsible for their choices.
The belief in Divine Predestination includes belief in four things:
1) God knows everything. He knows what has happened and what will happen.
2) God has recorded all that has happened and all that will happen.
3) Whatever God wills to happen happens, and whatever He wills not to happen does not happen.
4) God is the Creator of everything.