Islam is a very simple
faith. It requires man to recognize his duties toward God Allah, his Creator
and his fellow creatures. It teaches the supreme duty of living at peace with
one's surroundings. It is preeminently the religion of peace. The very name, Islam,
means peace. The goal of a man's life, according to Islam, is peace with
everything. Peace with Allah and peace with man.
The Koran, the Holy Book of Islam, tells us that the final abode of man is the
"House of Peace, where no vain word or sinful discourse will be heard. The
Holy Divine Prophet, Noble Drew Ali, says that a follower of Islam in the true
sense of the word is one whose hands, tongue, and thoughts do no hurt others.
Object of man's life, according to Islam, is its complete unfoldment. Islam
teaches that man is born with unlimited capacities for progress. Islam does not
support the idea that man was born in sin. It teaches that everyone has within
him the seed of perfect development and it rests solely with himself to make or
mar his fortune.
The cardinal doctrine of Islam is the unity of the Father--Allah. We believe in
one God. Allah who is All God, All Mercy, and All Power. He is perfect and
holy, All Wisdom, All Knowledge, and All Truth. These are some of His great
attributes so far as we can understand.
He is free from all defects, holy and transcendent. He is personal to us in so
far as we see His attributes working for us and in us; but He is, nevertheless,
impersonal. Because He is infinite, perfect and Holy, we do not believe that death,
decay, or sleep overtake Him, neither do we believe that He is a helplessly
inactive and inert force. Nothing happens without his knowledge and will. He
neither begets nor is He begotten, because these are the traits of frail and
weak humanity.
This unity of Allah is the first and foremost pillar of Islam and every other
belief hangs upon it.