Being Muslim Class: A short introduction... :)

            These "Being Muslim Class" posts intend to summarize an informative class I am taking on Saturdays at Berlin Masjid in Berlin, Connecticut. Being Muslim Class is a free class that covers the essential aspects of Islam from the most basic level. This class is administered by Mr. Amjad Tarsin, who is the Muslim Chaplin at Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT.  Mr. Tarsin is very knowledgeable in these topics and he is very active in the Islamic community.

Islam = Submission to God (Allah)       

Being Muslim is a lifelong journey. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

We have to:

§  Set realistic goals while still challenging yourself. 

§  Make good friends: Surround yourself with people who will help you grow and who will remind you of Allah.

Don’t lose yourself. 

"Islam doesn’t replace who you are but enhances who YOU are. 

The concluding and culmination of the prophetic message are The Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad. 

Islam has 3 dimensions:

   1.  The 5 Pilars of Islam: 

   i.      Shahada (testify that there is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God)

   ii.      Salat (Prayer)

   iii.      Zakat (Charity)

   iv.      Ramadan (Fasting)

   v.      Hajj (Pilgrimage)

   2.  Iman = To believe (faith)

   3.  Ihsan = Purity of soul, which is an internal constitution a believer should have.

“To seek knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim man and woman.”      – Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)

Muslims get their knowledge from these sources:

    1.   Quran

    2.   The prophetic way: Sunnah

    3.   Analogy

    4.   Scholarly consensus

“The scholars are the inheritors of the prophets.”

There are also different schools of thoughts in Islam:

• Hanafi
• Shafi’i
• Maliki
• Hanbali

These are the schools of analysis.  They had some disagreements but they ALL agree on Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad.

There is a hole in your heart ♥ that can only be filled with Allah.