Islam Essay -- Religion Religious Islam Essays

Islam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Islam is comprised of three essential beliefs: The belief in God, obeying his moral laws, and believing in the after-life. Submission to God is directly followed by obeying the moral standards of everyday life. The Qur'an makes morality reign supreme and ensures that the affairs of life, instead of dominated by selfish desires, be regulated by norms of morality. These laws are the standard by which God determines the life of the believers, and the disbelievers on the Day of Judgement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The belief in life after death not only guarantees success in the Hereafter but also makes this world full of peace and happiness by making individuals responsible and dutiful in their activities. The Qur'an lays down a moral system which is the standard by which conduct a particular mode of conduct is judged and classified as good or bad. "It is not righteous that you turn your faces East or West; but it is righteous to believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Book, and the messengers; to spend the rest of your substance, out of love for Him, for you kin, for orphans for the needy, for the steadfast in prayers, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you made; to be firm and patient in pain or suffering and adversity and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-conscious." (2:177) To elaborate further, our faith should be true and sincere, we must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellow-men, we must be good citizens, supporting social organizations, and our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in al circumstances. Along with these standards, there is also the five pillars of Islam that is essential to ensure a rewarding after life. These pillars include: The belief that Allah is the one and only God, and Mohammad is his prophet; Salat five times a day; Zakat; Pilgrimage to Meccah; Observe fasting ritual during the month of Ramadan. These standards provides a sanction to morality in the love and fear of God, which will impel man to obey the moral law even without external pressures. Through belief in God and the Day of Judgement it furnishes a force which enables a person to adapt the moral conduct with sincerity and devotion straight form the heart and the soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Qur'an explains the Day of Judgement as the day when the whole universe will be destr... ... glum therein." (23:99-104) The scales that this passage refers to is the scales of moral conduct on earth. If one does good deeds on earth, the weight of those deeds are heavier on the Day of Judgement. Evil deeds constitutes less wieght on the scale of judgement. In essence, life on earth is a test for all humans. The more good deeds one accumulates, the better the chances are of eternal bliss in the afterlife.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The explanation that the Qur'an gives about the necessity of life after death is what the moral consciousness of man demands. If there is no life after death, the very belief in God becomes irrelevant, or even if one believes in God, that would be an unjust and indifferent God: having once created man and not concerned with his fate. This is not so in Islam. We know through the Qur'an that God is Just and Merciful. The day of resurrection will be the day when God's attributes of Justice and Mercy will be in full manifestation. God will show his Mercy on those who suffered for his sake, and punish those who cared nothing about God and the after-life. Believing in God, obeying His laws, and believing in the after-life is what determines ones fate in the Hereafter.