g we can do, they are autonomous Ti ne Student Union stood on its feet instead of ng on the fence, and did something about this

en ain, a womyn for equal rights for all on this anet!

awn Ambler

author, in terms of literary merit, in the whole of Arabic literature? How could he then pronounce truths of scientific nature thatno other human being could - Possibly have developed at the time, and all this without making the slightest error in his pronounce- ments on the subjects?’’ This is the glorious Qur’an, a Guide for humanity. Moreover,the Qur’an is the only book that has come to usin an unadulterated form. Since humanity was unable to preserve the

ea Mr. Editor:

his is in response to your supplement on religion in : X-press dated March 26, 1992. Itis encouraging See the interest and efforts to understand various igious beliefs and practices in this Global Village. dwever, the appropriate approach should have been contact the people who practice these religions and « them to present the basic teachings in an authentic nner. The segment on Islam was so brief that it did tconvey any idea about Islam except to give the pression that Muslims are interested only in eating iod food and drinking soft drinks and procreating.

im is much more than that. Volumes have been itten on the topics Islam deals with. So to present ewhole of Islam in about twelve lines in one col-

n does not do the justice. Instead it create the

dng impression. I do not know who wrote those elve lines. Here I will try to outline very briefly the in ideas or teachings of Islam. Islam is not a

igion in the ordinary sense of the word and the tan, the revealed book of Islam is not a Book on igion alone. The Qur’an is the foundation of Is-

lic way of life. From this book springs all encom- Sing Islamic culture. What is the subject matter of ‘Qur,an? It isa book of Guidance. It is not a book ‘conomics, politics, sociology, philosophy, escha- ogy, history, culture, law and jurisprudence, inter- ional relations, physics, biology, creation (the

ince of embryology and creation of the universe example), astronomy, animal and vegetable king- n, Yet it deals with all of them at some length in ition to dealing with prayer, forgiveness, piety, sin avarice. In other word the Qur,an deals with the lity of human situation. It certainly goes beyond ng and drinking as is the impression given by

¢ twelve lines in the X-Press. In the words of Dr. urice Bucaill, a French Physician ‘* What initially kes the reader confronted for the first time with a of this kind is the sheer abundance of subjects ussed,., What human explanation can there be for ervation? ... How could aman (Muhammad), ing illiterate, become the most important

RESS | April

Books given to other prophets before Muhammad, God took upon Himself to preserve the Qur,an in its purest form. “‘It is for Us to collect it and to promul- gate it’’?(75: 17). What is the basic message of the Qur,an? God is the Supreme Owner of the Uni- verse and we are His trustee on this earth .We are supposed to execute our affairs according to His will. Just like in our daily dealings with each other we expect the trustee to carry out the instructions of the person who owns the estate (i.e the person’s estate should be handled according to his/her will), God expects us to do the same when dealing with Him. God has revealed His Will to all the prophets from Adam to Muhammad. The Qur,an contains the same Will as was revealed to Adam, Abraham, Noah, Isaac, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all), but in its final form. What is His Will? His Will is reflected in the basic beliefs of Muslims.

A Muslim believes in God, His Angels, His Prophets, His Books given to these prophets, Day of Judgement and fate, good or bad is from God. These are called Articles of Faith. A Muslim also believes that **God is Unique and there is nothing like Him.(i.e., we are not created in His image). He is inimitable. He is the Creator of the Universe. Muhammad was a human being whom God inspired to guide people to His worship; for God has absolute authorities in all mat- ters in this world and in the hereafter. God is not triune (three in one). He does not beget nor was He begotten. Muhammad is not an anthropomorphic god, nor was he aprophet on earth and a god in heaven.”’ Islam means submission to the Will of God. Anybody who submits to His will is called a Muslim, Since all the Prophets of God from Adam to Muhammad will- ingly submitted to His Will, they are all described in the Qur’an as Muslims, Without going into more details let me point out the Major Commandments as

mentionedinthe Quran; Say: ‘‘Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbid-

den you; 1). Do not associate anything with Him; 2), And [show] kindness towards both [your] parents; 3). Do not kill your children because of poverty; We shall

ovide for you as well for them. 4). Do notindulge : 9, 1992 age 5 a