Islam derives from the Arabic word “salim” (سَلِم), which reflects a state of perfection, sanctity, and Peace. The word “Salaam” (سَّلَٰم = Peace) thus shares the same root as the word “Islam” (إِسْلَٰم) which Literally means “Submission”. It is a religion the objective of which is to be in a state of total submission before God, in order to achieve perfect happiness and peace. Thus, and contrary to common belief, the religion of Islam described in the Quran is a very peaceful and loving religion.

Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. in the city of Mecca. According to the Quran, the Holy Scripture was revealed in one single night (the 27^th night of Ramadan 610), then gradually released to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel over a long period of time: from 610 A.D. to 632 A.D., the year of his death. Muhammad was born in a polytheistic Arab society. All of a sudden, he started preaching the absolute Oneness of God and rejected the polytheistic cults of the Arab tribes. He was persecuted, humiliated, his life was threatened and had to flee from the city of Mecca to the city of Medina on September 24, 622. This date, the Hegira of the prophet, is a turning point in Islam as it allowed Islam to start blossoming again after a long period of spiritual darkness and ignorance and marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar. Muhammad received the mission to purify the holy sanctuary of Mecca, which was originally built by Abraham and Ishmael, his first son, in order to reestablish the religion of perfect monotheism. In January 630 C.E., after several years of war with the Arab tribes, he reentered the holy city of Mecca as a victor, without any resistance nor any bloodshed (Quran, 48:24-25) and purified it from any trace of idol worship. At the time of his death, the cult of Allah, the One True God, had spread over the entire Arabic peninsula and replaced the polytheist cults.

Today, Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity.

There are hundreds of different denominations or subdivisions within Islam. Nevertheless, there are clearly two major religious tendencies, which emerged from gradual divisions after the death of the prophet Muhammad: The Sunnis and the Shiites. Because of the foundation of their beliefs and a terrible history of violence between the two groups, it is virtually impossible that peace will ever be established between them. Unfortunately, neither of them holds the keys to establish peace on earth, nor do they reflect the purity of Islam.

By the grace of God, the authentic path of Islam is now in the process of being restored: Islam based on Quran alone, the religion of Peace. Quran alone Islam disappeared gradually after the death of prophet Muhammad, and it will, God willing, not only reunite the entire Islamic world, but the human race. Sunni and Shia Islam will in time disappear, God willing – simply because they do not reflect the message described by God in the Quran, and because God provided us decisive signs, some of which are displayed on this website, that enable us today to clearly separate the truth from falsehood.

I Islam based exclusively on the Quran, the best example:

No compulsion, freedom of belief:

(2:62) Surely, those who believe, those who are Jewish, the Christians, and the converts; anyone who (1) believes in God, and (2) believes in the Last Day, and (3) leads a righteous life, will receive their recompense from their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.

(2:256) There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in God has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. God is Hearer, Omniscient.

Jesus in the Quran:

(3:45) The angels said, “O Mary, God gives you good news: A Word from Him whose name shall be `The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary. He will be prominent in this life and in the Hereafter, and one of those closest to Me.’

The Quran advocates defending oppressed people:

(4:75) Why should you not fight in the cause of God when weak men, women, and children are imploring: “Our Lord, deliver us from this community whose people are oppressive, and be You our Lord and Master.”

Politeness:

(4:86) When you are greeted with a salutation, you shall then salute with a better salutation, or [at least] return the same, for indeed, God reckons all things.

(4:148) God does not like the utterance of bad language, unless one is treated with gross injustice. God is Hearer, Knower.

The example of Abraham:

(4:125) Who is better guided in his religion than one who submits totally to God, leads a righteous life, according to the creed of Abraham: monotheism? God has chosen Abraham as a beloved friend.

The example of Abel responding to his brother Cain:

(5:28) “If you extend your hand to kill me, I will not extend my hand to kill you. For indeed, I reverence God, Lord of the universe.

The price of life in Islam:

(5:32) From that time, we decreed to the Children of Israel that anyone who slays a soul other than in exchange for another soul or for spreading corruption on earth, then it shall be as if he had slain all of mankind. But whoever spares one, it shall be as if he had saved all of mankind. Verily, Our messengers came unto them endowed with clear proofs; but, indeed, many of them, after this, blatantly engaged in transgressions on earth.

Essence of the message: believe and lead a righteous life.

(5:93) Those who believe and lead a righteous life shall bear no guilt by eating any food, so long as they observe the commandments, believe and lead a righteous life, then maintain their piety and faith, and continue to observe piety and righteousness. God loves the righteous.

God is One:

(6:19) Say, “Whose testimony is the greatest?” Say, “God’s. He is the witness between me and you that this Quran has been inspired to me, to preach it to you and whomever it reaches. Indeed, you bear witness that there are other gods beside God.” Say, “I do not testify as you do; there is only one god, and I disown your idolatry.”

Difference between Mainstream Christianity and Islam: The identity of Jesus:

(4:171) O people of the scripture, do not transgress the limits of your religion, and do not say about God except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, was a messenger of God, and His word that He had sent to Mary, and a revelation from Him. Therefore, you shall believe in God and His messengers. You shall not say, “Trinity.” You shall refrain from this for your own good. God is only one god. Be He glorified; He is much too glorious to have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. God suffices as Lord and Master.

(5:116) God will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Make me and my mother idols beside God?’ “He will say, “Be You glorified. I could not utter what was not right. Had I said it, You already would have known about it. You know my thoughts, and I do not know Your thoughts. You know all secrets.

Appreciative versus unappreciative:

(14:7) Your Lord has decreed: “The more you thank Me, the more I give you.” But if you turn unappreciative, then My retribution is severe.

The message of Islam is nonviolent:

(16:125) You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who the guided ones are.

Marriage in Islam, love and care towards the spouse:

(30:21) Among His proofs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, in order to have tranquility and contentment with each other, and He placed in your hearts love and care towards your spouses. In this, there are sufficient proofs for people who think.

Words of wisdom:

(41:34) Not equal is the good response and the bad response. You shall resort to the nicest possible response. Thus, the one who used to be your enemy may become your best friend.

(42:43) Resorting to patience and forgiveness reflects a true strength of character.

(49:11) O you who believe, no people shall ridicule other people, for they may be better than they. Nor shall any women ridicule other women, for they may be better than they. Nor shall you mock one another, or make fun of your names. Evil indeed is the reversion to wickedness after attaining faith. Anyone who does not repent after this, these are the transgressors.

II Restoration and revolution of Islam:

Beside the Sunni and Shiite mainstream which are by essence mostly based on the Hadiths and Sunna, and lead to an extremely codified and often oppressive and violent society, an example of a very revolutionary and peaceful approach has appeared in the 1970s in the world of Islam: Muslims who completely reject all forms of traditions (Sunna and Hadiths) and base their faith on the Quran alone. These Muslims stress on the fact that the Quran contradicts the violent laws of traditional corrupted Islam, and that the message of the Quran has actually nothing to do with nonsense, oppression, and violence. Quran alone Muslims have the capacity to ignore traditions, and go back to the essence of the message of faith, which is a message of love (19:96).

– The Quran prophesied that Islam will prevail over all religions (9:33, 61:9, sura 110). There is no compulsion in pure Islam, and no one will ever be forced to adopt Islam as his or her religion (2:256). Mankind will embrace the one true religion (Islam) simply because God, with His signs and miracles, will prove to the human race above and beyond certainty that the Quran is indeed the final testament that He sent to mankind, and because it is the only way to reach perfect happiness in this world, and in the hereafter.

– Unites States of Islam: The world is destined to be one Islamic nation; a federation of states administered locally, with leaders elected democratically, with one single army that will guarantee that no violence, tyranny or abuse ever takes place. There is no compulsion in Islam and no country should ever be forced to join such a union for peace.

– Drafting a perfect Islamic constitution for the world cannot be simpler: You put a Quran on a table and that’s it. The world has the perfect foundation and constitution to establish Peace on Earth: The Quran, the whole Quran, and nothing but the Quran.

– The Quran is the final scripture revealed to mankind: Quranic Arabic is the language that is destined to reunite the human race, while there is no reason to discourage keeping all the beautiful languages on Earth at the same time.

– God elected Adam and his descent as Khalifas on Earth (2:30). It is the primary duty of each and every human being to be God’s steward on Earth in every way. Life is not about greed and accumulating wealth blindly. It is about establishing God’s kingdom on Earth by respecting the genetic foundation of life that God has created (all forms of GMOs are by definition a satanic plot according to the Quran), respecting and maintaining God’s way in which He established a perfect balance of everything (15:19), and making sure that all its inhabitants (animals, plants and human beings) enjoy happiness. Our actions are what determines our future in the hereafter.

– Through a system based on equivalence, one single judicial system based on the Quran alone will be established as well. God’s law is the only law that can guarantee Peace on earth.

– One single currency system will unite the world: The Dirham (12:20), one of only two currencies mentioned in the Quran; World division, a world dominated by banks, populations enslaved by usury systems and interest rates is not the path of Islam.

– In Islam, saving one human life is equivalent to saving the entire human race (5:32). The human race needs to establish a healthcare system that is free for the entire mankind. The power of corrupted pharmaceutical lobbies around the world and market protectionism often make what should be inexpensive medicines ridiculously costly. It is currently preventing hundreds of millions of human beings to have access to life saving cures, especially natural, inexpensive and often more effective cures that are kept away from the general public to serve an agenda of greed. This contributes greatly to the loss of numerous lives, as well as making healthcare systems extremely expensive: It needs to stop. Saving human lives and the well-being of the human race comes long before insane corporate profits. Muslims who follow the Quran alone are never involved in criminal activities, doing drugs, or drinking alcohol and have a very pure way of life. The human race embracing Islam will make universal healthcare a goal easy to reach, God willing.

– In Islam, the Zakat is mandatory and is meant to purify any income we receive (in reality as a pure gift and mercy from God); Paying the Zakat is vital for whoever wants to attain salvation in the hereafter (7:156). It is a system designed to eradicate poverty and strengthen family ties. There is no place for poverty in a pure Islamic world. There is only one Zakat charity rate mentioned in the Quran and it is 20% (8:41). Zakat has to be paid at the time of harvest (6:141). According to the Quran, we are commanded to give in charity from what we save, which is the surplus after paying all expenses and taxes (2:219). We should therefore pay 20% of our savings at the time of harvest, which, depending on the society where we live, can be a pay period, an actual harvest, or at the time we pay taxes, as long as we pay or have paid our due share when a new income year resets.

– An Islamic society is all about freedom. Because God gave us the perfect system and constitution to establish God’s kingdom on earth, we must stay away from any form of dictatorship, and establish a society where people do not become slaves of big governments and heavy taxation systems. Islam is a simple society. For instance, there is no need for a costly, complicated judicial system with a hoard of lawyers who prey on people. It is insane to inflict on ourselves a tyrannic “Internal Revenue Service” which spreads fear and burdens the economy; an inexpensive flat tax system that collects money to pay for all types of government expenses in my opinion a lot preferable. In Islam, governments have absolutely no right to take any share of people’s inheritance either: The Quran guarantees that only the heirs do. “Modern” governments have gradually enslaved people all around the world and taken over their rights. Islam is about setting them free.

– If you take into account the fact that pure Islam based on the Quran alone is a perfectly balanced society which rejects war, where people are united and lead a healthy, pure and righteous life staying away from sins and corruption, where people are heavily involved in charity instead of greed, where a minimal government is designed by the people to serve the people instead of enslaving them, some of the major costs of a society (army, judicial system, taxation system, prisons…) are so minimal that the society can easily finance an advanced, affordable education system and inexpensive universal healthcare system for everyone in any part of the Muslim world.

– True Muslims do not believe the false assumption that humans are divided into several races. There is only one race in Islam: The human race. We are all the children of the same man and woman: Adam and Eve. Variation in color and ethnicity only contributes to the extraordinary beauty and richness of the human race. All Muslims who follows the Quran alone know for a fact that we all are brothers and sisters closer to each other than any relative who would not have embraced Islam.

A concise way to introduce Islam are five of the main pillars of Islam (there are many additional pillars) which provide a good overview of some of the religious duties of a Muslim:

1. The first pillar of Islam: the absolute Oneness of God.

The first pillar of Islam, as described in the Quran, is to bear witness to the following:

We find this most important pillar word for word in two verses of the Quran as well as in many verses under a variety of forms:

(37:35) Indeed, when they were told, “Laa Elaha Ellaa Allah” (There is no god but God), they turned arrogant.

(47:19) Therefore, you shall know that “There is no god but God”, and ask forgiveness for your sins, as well as for believing men and women; God fully knows your dwellings and your resting places.

(3:18) Allah bears witness that there is no god but He (Allah), and so do the angels and those endowed with knowledge, standing firm in justice. There is no god but He, The Almighty, The Most Wise.

2. The ritual Prayer (Salaat).

The prayer in Islam is a way to establish contact with God, find guidance, keep us away from evil deeds, and remember Him. Without giving a detailed explanation of the Quranic prayer here (see the article “salaat”), the first chapter of the Quran, the “Key”, is consistently recited twice (15:87) in all five daily ritual prayers:

(1:1) In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

(1:2) Praise be to God, Lord of the universe.

(1:3) The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

(1:4) He who reigns over the Judgment day.

(1:5) It is You whom we worship; it is from You that we seek help.

(1:6) Guide us onto the right path,

(1:7) The path of those whom You blessed, not that of those who have incurred Your wrath, nor that of those who have gone astray.

This first chapter is basically a summary of the spirit of the entire Quran in seven verses.

3. The fast of Ramadan.

The Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad on the 27^th night of the month of Ramadan (Islamic lunar calendar) and is called “the Night of Decree” (لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْر = laylatul Qadr). This month has a very special place in the life of a Muslim.

(2:185) The month of Ramadan is the one during which the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind; and providing proofs regarding such guidance, as well as the ability to distinguish [between right and wrong]. Therefore, whoever amongst you witnesses [the advent of] this month shall fast therein. Whoever is sick or on a journey shall make up for the missing days at a later date. God wants to facilitate things for you and does not intend any hardship upon you, so you may fulfill the prescribed period and magnify God for having guided you, and for you to be appreciative. 

4. The obligatory charity (zakât).

In Islam, it is an obligation to help those in need. It is mandatory to set aside a minimum of 20% of your savings at the end of the year to give away as charity.

(6:141) He is the one who created gardens with or without trellises, date palms, crops diverse in taste, olives, pomegranates, [some] similar and [some] dissimilar. Consume its fruit when it yields and donate its [due] share [of zakât] on the day of harvest. And do not be extravagant. Indeed, He does not like those who are extravagant.

(2:177) Righteousness is not about turning your faces towards the east or the west. In fact, righteousness belongs to those who believe in God, the Last Day, the angels, the scripture, and the prophets; and they give the money, cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the traveling alien, the beggars, and towards freeing slaves; and they observe the ritual Prayer (Salat) and give the mandatory charity (Zakât); and they keep their word whenever they make a promise; and they steadfastly persevere in the face of persecution, hardship, and war. These are the truthful; these are the righteous.

Note: The Quran, just like the Bible, was revealed in a society who used to advocate slavery. It is noteworthy in the above verse that the Quran strongly advocates the disappearance of such malevolent practices.

5. The pilgrimage to Mecca.

(22:27) “And proclaim that the people shall observe Hajj pilgrimage. They will come to you walking or riding on various exhausted (means of transportation). They will come from the farthest locations.”

At least once in a lifetime, it is a religious duty to perform the Hajj pilgrimage to the valley of Mecca for whoever can afford it. It is a symbol of unity of the Muslim “ummah” (أُمَّة = community) all around the world in their worshiping God.

III Islam, religion of peace.

Most of all, Islam is a very simple religion. It is all about loving God, it all about loving your neighbor as yourself and strive to make a better world and leave a legacy of goodness; it is about listening to your heart, it is all about peace…

(5:16) With it, God guides those who seek His approval. He guides them to the paths of peace, leads them out of darkness into the light by His leave, and guides them in a straight path.

May the peace of God be upon you, always.

Article published in 2007, updated in 2020.