From: zmbenhal@netcom.com (Zeyd M. Ben-Halim)
Subject: Re: Basics of Islam
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 09:50:14 GMT

In article <1993Jan5.163020.6973@news.cs.brandeis.edu> aaron@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:
>I have some basic questions for our Islamic readers since I haven't seen
>anything from them in a while.
>
>1)  What is the basic message of Islam?  I know Islam asserts that both Judaism
>and Christianity have distorted the message of God as revealed in the Old
>Testament and that prophets such as Jesus and Muhammed came to set the people
>straight.  Is this the message or is there more?

The most basic believe of Islam is the Oness and supremecy of God. God is omin-
present and omni-powerful. He has sent us messengers and scripture to guide us.
Our behavior in this world determines our fate in the next. So the believe in
the afterlife, heaven and hell, angels and devils, and the day of judgement
are all parts of Islam. A muslim is one who accepts this message as set forth
in the Quran.

>2)  Related to the above, is there a specific verse or short passage in the 
>Qur'an that summarizes this message?  For example, the message of Christianity
>is summed up in John 3:16.  A more extensive summary would be Ephesians 2:1-10.
>Are there equivalents in the Qur'an for Islam?  Or is the message drawn out
>over the course of the whole book?

I don't think their any one verse can summerize the Quran. The Quran is I'jaaz
nothing is comprable. Its language is as important as its content. That is why
only the arabic version is Quran, all others are mere translation. It is the
only miracle of the prophet Muhammmed. The most famous verse would be 
Ayat Al-kursi, the verse of the throne:
Albaqra(2):255.

"Allah, no god but him, the alive, the upstanding, he neither slumbers nor
sleep, his is all that is in the heavens and on the earth. Who can intercede
with him without permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind
them, and they know not of anything without his will. The breadth of his Throne
is the heavens and the earth, and keeping them tires him not, He is the
High and the Almighty"

N.B. This is my own translation.
>
>3)  What distortions of Islam do we Americans see, for example through the
>media portrayal of Islamic fundamentalism in Middle Eastern nations?

The biggest distortion is that Islam is portraied as a religion of savages and
killers and of men in large beards and women clad in black. A real 
understanding of Islam, even by so-called muslims, is acheived be reading the
Quran and judging for yourself.

>I am very interested in Islam and have two translations of the Qur'an at home
>thanks to Ahmed Abdalla (probably spelled wrong, sorry).  I haven't been
>reading them (don't be offended:  I haven't read the Bible or the newspaper
>much either) but I will this semester.  I would just like to know the basics
>of your beliefs which would help in my understanding of the Qur'an as I read.
>Thank you.
>
>  -- Scott

I suggest you get books about Islam. The Quran is not easy to read, espacially
if not in arabic. It is not in chronological order. You'll need a lot of back-
ground to understand the context in which it was revealed.

Zeyd