Muhammad (peace be upon him) Mercy to Mankind

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Muhammad (peace be upon him)Mercy to Mankind
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Outline

• Introduction
• Messenger of Mercy
• Equality
• Kindness
• For animals
• For environment
• His Message

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Introduction
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Who is he ?

• Almost 1.2 Billion bear witness he is the
  Messenger of God

1,126,325,000
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ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
MUHAMMAD is the most successful of all Prophets
and religious personalities. (11th Edition
under Koran)
6
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA

• .... A mass of detail in the early sources show
  that he was an honest and upright man who had
  gained the respect and loyalty of others who were
  like-wise honest and upright men." (Vol. 12)

7
MICHAEL H. HART, ranked him 1st in the list of
the Most Influential Persons in History
"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the
world's most influential persons may surprise
some readers and may be questioned by others, but
he was the only man in history who was supremely
successful on both the religious and secular
levels. THE 100 A RANKING OF THE MOST
INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978,
p. 33)
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LAMAR TINE, The renowned historian, speaking on
the essentials of human greatness wonders

• If
• greatness of purpose,
• smallness of means and
• astounding results
• are the three criteria of human genius, who could
  dare to compare any great man in modern history
  than MUHAMMAD?

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He did it

• He was by far the most remarkable man that ever
  set foot on this earth
• He preached a religion, founded a state, built a
  nation, laid down a moral code, initiated
  numerous social and political reforms
• He established a powerful and dynamic society to
  practice and represent his teachings
  andcompletely revolutionized the worlds of human
  thought and behavior for all times to come

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His Mission Impossible

• He was born in Arabia in the year 570, started
  his mission of preaching the religion of Truth,
  Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty
  and departed from this world at the age of
  sixty-three.
• During this short period of 23 years as a
  Prophet, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula

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His Mission Impossible

• From paganism and idolatry to SUBMISSION to the
  One True God,
• From tribal quarrels and wars to national
  solidarity and cohesion,
• From drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and
  piety,
• From lawlessness and anarchy to disciplined
  living,
• From utter bankruptcy to the highest standards of
  moral excellence.

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His Mission Impossible

• Human history has never known such a complete
  transformation of a society or a place before or
  since
• IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST
  OVER TWO DECADES.

Yes, this was done by Prophet MUHAMMAD (pbuh)
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WHY PROPHETS ??

• Sources of human knowledge - limited
• Normal realities can be understood by observation
• Higher level realities - deductive reasoning
  scientific investigation.
• Ultimate realities (esp. why?)
• Science Philosophy can only speculate

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WHY PROPHETS ??

• No other source except divine guidance conveyed
  thru prophets.
• God did not leave us without guidance. From
  first man till the last.

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Mission of a Prophet

• To lay down
• Framework of belief
• Mode of worship
• Moral code
• Rules of culture and civilization
• In fact to prescribe whole system of thought and
  action (Al-Deen), which includes all aspects of
  life.

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Mission of a Prophet

• Read the book to people
• Purify them (belief and actions)
• Teach the book and Wisdom
• Be a practical model
• Train the individuals and society to establish
  Islamic system of life (Kingdom of God on earth)

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Mission of a Prophet

• Not all the prophets succeeded because of the
  prejudice and intolerance of people. Muhammad
  (pbuh) did succeed in establishing the kingdom of
  God.

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Prophethood

• God conveyed his message to man thru Muhammad
  (pbuh) in two forms
• Quran - The Book
• Sunnah - Sayings, practices, and approvals of the
  prophet. (PRACTICAL DEMO)
• Belief in Prophethood brings the life into real
  worship and obedience, otherwise, the belief
  remains just the theory.

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Requirements (of Belief in Prophethood)

• Believe in him (as required)
• Obey him in all spheres of life
• His Sunnah is the explanation of Quran, nobody
  can contradict his explanation.
• No independent decision in a matter prescribed by
  the prophet

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Position of a Prophet

• Servant of God
• Makes people to obey God and worship Him and not
  himself, by conveying, No Force !!
• Just a human being. No share in divinity (4 areas
  mentioned above, entity, attributes, rights, and
  powers)
• Not a superhuman. So, Islam has saved its
  followers from any exaggeration in this belief.

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What Distinguishes Muhammad (pbuh) from Others ??

• Last Prophet
• Revived the faith conveyed by all prophets
• Pure message retransmitted thru him
• No messenger after him
• Book is preserved
• Sunnah (practice, sayings, approvals) is recorded
  in details (No better compilation of any person
  in history is present)

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Why follow Muhammad (pbuh)

• For instruction, we turn to Muhammad (pbuh), not
  because of prejudice, but because
• Last Prophet ? latest guidance
• Word of God ? in pure divine, living language
• Historical record of his Sunnah is preserved

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Muhammad's (pbuh) Mission - Universal

• Quran confirms it
• Logical consequence of finality
• Complete code ? supports finality
• No man in the last 1400 yrs like him

24
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
MUHAMMAD is the most successful of all Prophets
and religious personalities. (11th Edition
under Koran)
25
MICHAEL H. HART, ranked him 1st in the list of
the Most Influential Persons in History
"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the
world's most influential persons may surprise
some readers and may be questioned by others, but
he was the only man in history who was supremely
successful on both the religious and secular
levels. THE 100 A RANKING OF THE MOST
INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978,
p. 33)
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Appearance

• Muhammad (pbuh) was of a height a little above
  the average.
• He was fair of complexion and altogether very
  handsome.

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Appearance

• He did not speak unnecessarily and what he said
  was always to the point and without any padding.
• At times he would make his meaning clear by
  slowly repeating what he had said.
• His laugh was mostly a smile.
• He kept his feelings under firm control.

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Dress

• His dress generally consisted of a shirt, tamad
  (trousers), a sheet thrown round the shoulders
  and a turban.
• His blanket had several patches (Tirmidhi).
• He had very few spare clothes, but he kept them
  spotlessly clean (Bukhari).

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Dress

• Once he enquired of a person in dirty clothes
  whether he had any income. Upon getting a reply
  in the affirmative, he observed, "When Allah has
  blessed you with His bounty, your appearance
  should reflect it." Abu Dawood

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House Belongings!!!

• His house was but a hut with walls of unbaked
  clay and a thatched roof of palm leaves covered
  by camel skin. It contained
• a rope cot,
• a pillow stuffed with palm leaves ,
• the skin of some animal spread on the floor and a
  water
• bag of leather
• and some weapons.

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House Belongings!!!

• These were all his earthly belongings, besides
• a camel,
• a horse, and
• an ass and
• some land which he had acquired in the later part
  of his life (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood).

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MAHATMA GANDHI, says in Young India..
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds
today's undisputed sway over the hearts of
millions of mankind.. I became more than
convinced that it was not the sword that won a
place for Islam in those days in the scheme of
life.
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MAHATMA GANDHI, says in Young India..
"It was the rigid simplicity, the utter
self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous
regard for pledges, his intrepidity, his
fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in
his own mission.
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House Belongings!!!

• Sometimes he slept on his cot, sometimes on a
  skin or ordinary mattress, and sometimes on the
  ground.
• To his disciples (who wanted to offer him a soft
  bed)
• "What have I to do with worldly things. My
  connection with the world is like that of a
  traveller resting for a while underneath the
  shade of a tree and then moving on."

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House Belongings!!!

• His wife A'isha (ra) says that there was hardly a
  day in his life when he had two square meals.
  Sahih Muslim
• This was so inspite of him being the most beloved
  ruler of the Islamic State of all times.

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For his family!

• He had declared unlawful for himself and his
  family anything given by the people by way of
  Zakat (obligatory donation of 2.5 of savings) or
  sadaqa (charity).

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REV. REGINALD BOSWORTH SMITH,

• "He was Caesar and Pope in one but he was Pope
  without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the
  legions of Caesar without a standing army,
  without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a
  fixed revenue

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REV. REGINALD BOSWORTH SMITH,

• If ever any man had the right to say that he
  ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammed, for
  he had all the power without its instruments and
  without its supports."

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Extremely humble!

• Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of
  Allah, he never assumed an air of superiority.
• He used to invite people be they slaves, servants
  or the poorest believers, to partake with him of
  his scanty meals. Tirmidhi
• He did not like people to get up for him and used
  to say, "Let him who likes people to stand up in
  his honour, he should seek a place in hell." Abu
  Dawud

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At home!

• His wife A'isha (ra) said, "He always joined in
  household work and would at times mend his
  clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He
  would milk, tether, and feed his animals and do
  the household shopping." Qazi Iyaz Shifa Sahih
  Bukhari

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Spend his time

• According to the demands on him for
• offering worship to Allah
• public affairs, and
• personal matters.

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Spend his time

• All his activities were full of supplications and
  prayers.
• His Love, Devotion, Dedication is transparent
  through all these supplcns. (not just 5 prayers).
  
• A full 300 page-books is there just on the
  prayers he used to recite.

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Supplications

• MIRACULOUS ASPECT
• Establish / Correct the relationship with God
• Maintain it
• Millions of Muslims throughout centuries have
  been reciting these everyday.
• Of course, they want to follow him in all aspects
  (name, dress, beard, living style).

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Supplications

• And dont forget that he was not just a spiritual
  guide He was a leader in all aspects of life.

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LAMARTINE,
Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator,
warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational
dogmas, of a cult without images, the founder of
twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual
empire, that is MUHAMMAD.
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LAMARTINE,
The most famous men created arms, laws and
empires only. They founded, if anything at all,
no more than material powers which often crumbled
away before their eyes.
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LAMARTINE,
This man moved not only armies, legislation,
empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of
men in one-third of the then inhabited world and
more than that, he moved the altars, the gods,
the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and
souls....
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LAMARTINE,
As regards all the standards by which Human
Greatness may be measured, we may well ask, IS
THERE ANY MAN GREATER THAN HE ?" (ALPHONSE DE
LAMAR TINE, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, PARIS, 1854,
VOL. II, PP 276-277)
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His Behavior

• By nature he was gentle and kind-hearted, always
  inclined to be gracious and to overlook the
  faults of others.
• Politeness and courtesy,
• compassion and tenderness,
• simplicity and humility,
• sympathy and sincerity
• were some of the keynotes of his character.

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His Character

• About himself the Prophet (pbuh) said Allah has
  sent me as an apostle so that I may demonstrate
  perfection of character, refinement of manners
  and loftiness of deportment." Malik

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His Behavior

• He was not annoyed if anyone interrupted him even
  during the SERMONS for anything.
• Bedouin (desert-man)
• His grandson

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His Behavior

• The Prophet (pbuh) said He is a bad person in
  the sight of Allah who does not behave
  courteously, and people shun his company
  because of his bad manners.
• Sahih Bukhari

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Messenger of Mercy

• We have sent you except as a mercy for the worlds
  (al-Quran)
• Extremely kind and merciful for believers
• Even for his enemies - After Makkahs victory

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Kindness to Animals

• "Indeed, there is heavenly reward for every act
  of kindness done to a living animal.
• If he saw any animal over-loaded he would pull
  up the owner and say, "Fear Allah in your
  treatment of animals."

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Love for the poor

• He said "He is not a perfect Muslim who eats his
  fill and lets his neighbour go hungry."
• To his wife he said, "O A'isha, love the poor and
  let them come to you and Allah will draw you near
  to Himself." Sahih Bukhari

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Messenger of Mercy

• He achieved a huge revolution without almost any
  bloodshed!
• Only few hundreds were killed (initiated by wars
  from others).
• Just compare it with any other revolution of the
  world!!!

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GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

• I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my
  opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be
  called the Savior of Humanity.

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His Life in Brief!!!

• Born in Makkah
• Married Khadijah (R) a widow of 40 years at the
  age of 25. Stayed with her till her death
• Made Prophet at 40 years Spread the message
• Opposition by Makkans (egos positions vested
  interests establishments)
• Migrated to Madinah at 53 (after 13 years) His
  followers migrated too.

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His Life in Brief!!!

• Established Islamic State in Madinah Taught
  Muslims how to live (in all aspects of life
  Spiritual, moral, social, political, all
  aspects of life in all types of situations).
• Attacked continuously by surrounding enemies
  including those from Makkah
• Became victorious within 10 years!
• Whole Arabia became Muslim
• Died at the age of 63.

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The Message of Muhammad pbuh
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Basic Definitions

• Islam Peaceful, willing submission to God.
• Islam is not a religion alone. It is a code/way
  of life (Deen). It encompasses all spheres of
  life.
• Religion guides in the area of 'ibadaat
  (worship) only. Whereas Deen guides all spheres
  of life of a man i.e. in mosque/church and state
  affairs.

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Basic Definitions

• A Muslim is the one who submits himself to God
  willfully and peacefully.
• A Muslim's belief is
• There is no God except the one true God
• and Muhammad is the messenger and slave of God.
  (Peace be upon him)

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Who was the first Muslim on earth?

• Adam not Muhammad (peace be on them both)
• Islam is not a new religion. It is the religion
  given by God to the first man and is the same
  for the last one too and for every one in
  between.

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Misconceptions

• Muhammad pbuh is not the founder of Islam. He
  came with the last edition of Islam.
• Muslims are not Muhammadans.
• Muslims do not worship Muhammad pbuh.

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The Miracle given to Muhammad pbuh Al-Quran

• A UNIQUE BOOK
• Memorized in Full by hundreds of thousands
• TOP in being read daily by millions all over the
  world (Encyclopedia Britannic, 11th edition)
• Preserved in its ORIGINAL form for the last 14
  centuries

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Center, The KAABA in Makkah

• Built by Prophets ABRAHAM and ISHMAEL 3000 years
  ago
• Muslims throughout the world face towards it
  while praying
• 1.5 MILLION Muslims in Hajj 1.5 in Umrah
• Where everybody (males) dress the same and race,
  wealth, status, etc., all are removed.

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The FASTEST Growing Religion in the world

• Not by Sword or Money ! Today it is 'perhaps'
  the fastest growing religion in US (Maston
  Speight, Director of the office of Christian
  Muslim relations of the national council of
  churches of Christ of the USA)
• 'World's fastest growing religion' (Robert Morey,
  Director of research and education foundation,
  Austin, TX) in spite of the Muslims powerlessness
  and decadence in the past 2 centuries.
• 'In modern times it has made great gains in
  Africa' (The 1990 Almanac, Houghton Mifflin
  Company, Boston) .

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The FASTEST Growing Religion in the world

• Never witnessed large scale desertions As
  against all other religions.
• Devoid of Major Splits Divisions (Shiites,
  Zaidi, etc.,) are around 10 only.

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MUSLIMS A GLOBAL COMMUNITY

• Total Population 1 Billion
• Indian Subcontinent 30
• sub-Saharan Africa 20
• Arab World 18
• Southeast Asia 17
• USSR and China 10
• Non-Arab Middle East 10
• Countries with more than 50 Muslim population
  57

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Famous Books of Islam

• 1. Psalms of David
• 2. Torah The old testament
• 3. Bible The new testament
• 4. Quran The final testament

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Famous Prophets of Islam

• ADAM
• NOAH
• ABRAHAM
• MOSES
• JESUS
• MOHAMMED
• (Peace be on them all)

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Basic Sources of Islam

• Quran The Book of Allah
• Sunnah The sayings, practice, and approvals
  of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

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Three Main Elements of Islam

• Sovereignty of God on all matters of life
  spiritual and material.
• Prophethood Guidance (spiritual and material) is
  sent thru prophets from Adam thru Mohammed (peace
  be upon them.)
• The Hereafter (Life after death)
  Obedience.....Paradise for ever
  Disobedience.Hell for ever

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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM

• Every act done with the consciousness that it
  fulfills the divine will is considered an act of
  worship in Islam.
• Nevertheless, the specific acts of worship termed
  as the Pillars of Islam are on the higher plane
  of spirituality.

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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM

• They are
• The Declaration of Faith (Shahadah) 'I bear
  witness that there is none worthy of worship
  except God and that Muhammad is His servant and
  messenger.
• The Prayer (Salah) 5 times a day as a duty
  towards God. To strengthen the belief in God. To
  inspires man to higher morality.
• Fasting (Siyam) Cultivates piety, patience and
  love for the poor.

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BASIC PILLARS OF ISLAM

• The poor-Tax (Zakat) To give 2.5 annually of
  one's net savings as alms to the poor. (Life
  insurance in a Muslim community)
• Pilgrimage (Hajj) To Makkah, provided one has
  the means (financial and physical).

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Articles of Faith

• Existence, oneness and Attributes of Allah
• Belief in Angels
• Belief in Holy Books
• Belief in Prophets
• Belief in the Hereafter
• Belief in the Destiny (All past, present, and
  future events are from Allah and in His
  Knowledge.)

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Universality of Message

• Quran always address "O Mankind", "O Son of
  Adam". And Not to people of any particular race,
  tribe, are, color, language..
• "The believers are like brothers" (Quran).
• "All men are equal in Islam. The Arab has no
  superiority over non-Arab, nor does the non-Arab
  have superiority over Arabs except in the fear of
  God." - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

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FAITH IN GOD

• Not just that HE exists but
• Creator, Master, Ruler, Administrator of the
  universe
• No one has share in His
• Entity (Asma)
• Attributes (Sifaat)
• Rights (Huqooq)
• Authority/powers (Ekhtiaraat)

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Purity of Faith

• In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
• Say He is God, The One and Only
• God, the Eternal, the Absolute
• He begets not, nor is he begotten
• And there is none like unto Him. Quran 1311-5

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Requirements (of Faith in God)

• Worship Him alone
• Pray Him alone
• Have hope and fear from Him alone
• Take the law from Him alone. Law making should
  be within the limits prescribed by Him and under
  His permission.

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BELIEF IN THE HEREAFTER

• This life is a test.
• At the end Accountability
• Time for accountability - fixed by God
• present order of things will be replaced by
  another
• All human beings will rise once again in the new
  world
• Everyone will face God individually

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BELIEF IN THE HEREAFTER

• Judgment based on not just God's knowledge but
  Proofs from angles, his environment, his book of
  deeds etc.,
• No undue intercession. No bribery, No advocacy
  without His permission.
• Criteria Did the man conduct himself a/c to
  Islam?

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BELIEF IN THE HEREAFTER

• In one of his sermons calculated to instil the
  fear of Allah and the day of reckoning in the
  hearts of men, Prophet Muhammad pbuh said
• O people of Quraish be prepared for the
  hereafter, I cannot save you from the punishment
  of Allah
• O Bani Abd Manaf, . O Abbas O Fatima,
  daughter of Muhammad, even you I cannot save you
  from the punishment of Allah."

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Three Categories of people

• Who Reject - Hellfire forever
• Who Believe, but distorted way - (a/c to
  scholars, such people will be sent to Hell for
  sometime and then sent to Heaven)
• Who accept and practice - Paradise forever

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Three Categories of people

• Every thing in this life is pure blessing of God
  and it is impossible for human to deserve any
  reward. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) clarified
  that even he also will enter paradise because of
  the mercy of Allah and not based upon his
  actions. The actions we do just enable us to
  receive that mercy which will send us to paradise.

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SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

• Oneness of God
• Oneness of mankind No one can claim that he is
  better than others. It is only God Who knows who
  is better. It depends on piety and righteousness.

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SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

• Oneness of Messengers and the Message
• Muslims believe that God sent different
  messengers throughout the history of mankind.
• All came with the same message and the same
  teachings.
• Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail,
  Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad. They
  are all the Prophets of Islam.

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Equality in Islam (POLICY)

• O' Mankind! We created you from a single (pair)
  of a male and a female, and made you into nations
  and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that
  ye may despise each other). Verily the most
  honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is)
  the most righteous of you. Quran 4913
• God looks not to your FIGURES nor to your WEALTH
  but to your HEARTS and to your DEEDS - Prophet
  Muhammad (Peace be upon him)

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Equality in Islam (PROGRAM)

• Group prayers - a part of the program
• 5 times a day for every locality
• Once a week for the whole city
• Once a year for the whole Muslim world i.e.
  pilgrimage to Makkah.
• Where everybody prays shoulder to shoulder.

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SAROJINI NAIDU, the famous Indian poetess says
"It was the first religion that preached and
practiced democracy for, in the mosque, when the
call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are
gathered together, the democracy of Islam is
embodied five times a day when the peasant and
king kneel side by side and proclaim 'God Alone
is Great'... (S.NAIDU, IDEALS OF ISLAM, VIDE
SPEECHES WRITINGS, MADRAS, 1918)
92
PROF. JULES MASSERMAN of USA Psychiatric
Association

• Leaders must fulfill three functions
• provide for the well being of the led,
• provide a social organization in which people
  feel relatively secure
• provide them with one set of beliefs

93
PROF. JULES MASSERMAN of USA Psychiatric
Association

• People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the
  first sense.
• People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand,
  and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other,
  are leaders in the second and perhaps the third
  sense.
• Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category
  alone.

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PROF. JULES MASSERMAN of USA Psychiatric
Association

• Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was
  MUHAMMAD, who combined all three functions.
• To a lesser degree, Moses did the same." 

95
ANNIE BESANT in The Life Teaching of MUHAMMAD
says

• "It is impossible for anyone who studies the life
  character of the great Prophet of Arabia, .,
  to feel anything but reverence for that mighty
  Prophet, one of the great messengers of the
  Supreme. 
• I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way
  of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that
  mighty Arabian teacher." 

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Thank you!!!