Islam – A Concise Introduction
Islam – A Concise Introduction
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Islam: A Concise Introduction is a condensed version of Mīzān, a comprehensive treatise on the contents of Islam by the author: Javed Ahmad Ghāmidī. The author himself has produced this abridged version. While Mīzān took almost two decades for its completion, this abridgement understandably just took six months.
Book Contents PDF Book
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The True Religion
1. The Sources of Religion Religion is the guidance which was first inspired by the Almighty in human nature and after that it was given by Him with all essential details to mankind through His prophets. Muhammad (sws) is the last of these prophets. Consequently, it is now he alone who in this world is the sole source of this religion. Read more... -
The Sharī‘ah of Worship Rituals (1/2)
I The objective of Islam is purification of the soul. Attainment of excellence in this purification relies on a person’s relationship of servitude with the Almighty. The stronger this relationship, the greater a person is able to achieve purification both in his concepts and in his deeds. Love, fear, sincerity, faithfulness and gratitu Read more... -
The Sharī‘ah of Worship Rituals (2/2)
3. The Fast After the prayer and zakāh, the fast is the next important worship ritual of Islam. In the Arabic language, the word used for it is صَوْم (sawm), which literally means “to abstain from something” and “to give up something”. As a term of the Islamic sharī‘ah, it refers to the state of a person in which he i Read more... -
Morals and Morality
II After faith, the second important requirement of religion is purification of morals. This means that a person should cleanse his attitude both towards his creator and towards his fellow human beings. This is what is termed as a righteous deed. All the sharī‘ah is its corollary. With the change and evolution in societies and civilizati Read more... -
Faith and Beliefs (2/2)
3. Belief in the Prophets People through whom the Almighty completed providing His guidance to mankind are called prophets. They were, in fact, human beings; however, the Almighty selected them for this purpose on the basis of His all embracing knowledge and wisdom. As such, prophethood is God-given and cannot be acquired through s Read more... -
The Social Sharī‘ah
II Man by nature likes to live in a community. The reason that the Almighty has given him this nature is that He does not create human beings in the prime of their youth. Similarly, He does not generally make them die in their youth without making them pass through old age. On the contrary, a human being is created as a feeble child in t Read more... -
The Political Sharī‘ah
III Man, by his nature, is a social being: a social set-up is an essential requirement of his nature. However, to protect this social set-up from the misuse of his God-given free-will he, soon or late, is forced to protect the created social set-up by organizing it as a collective system. In the history of mankind, politics and governmen Read more... -
The Economic Sharī‘ah
IV The economic sharī‘ah has been revealed by the Almighty through His last Prophet (sws) for the purification of the economy. It is based on the Qur’ānic philosophy of creation. According to this philosophy, the Almighty has created this world as a trial and test for man; every person has therefore been made to depend on others fo Read more... -
Faith and Beliefs (1/2)
I Īmān (faith) is a religious term. If something is accepted with the certitude of the heart then this is called īmān. The foundation of this word is īmān (faith) in God. If a person accepts the Almighty such that he submits his heart and mind to Him to the utmost and is happy at all His decisions, then in the terminology of the Qur&rsquo Read more... -
The Sharī‘ah of Preaching
V An important requirement of religion is that its followers should also continue to urge others to adopt it. It is this requirement of religion for which the terms da‘wah (preaching) and tablīgh (propagation) are used. A study of the sharī‘ah of preaching mentioned in the Qur’ān shows that the responsibility of preaching h Read more... -
The Sharī‘ah of Jihād
VI Peace and freedom are two essential requirements of a society. Just as various penal measures help in protecting a society from the evils and excesses committed by an individual, resorting to armed offensives sometimes becomes essential to curb the evils perpetrated by countries and nations. As long as diplomatic relations and negotiations c Read more... -
The Penal Sharī‘ah
VII The opportunity a man has to exercise his will is one of the greatest favours the Almighty has blessed him with. However, just as this freedom is a source of honour for him, its misuse is a source of dishonour for him because from every instance of misuse emanates evil and disorder. In the history of mankind, the first manifestation of this Read more... -
The Dietary Sharī‘ah
VII The objective of Islam is to purify all aspects of human life and soul. It therefore insists that besides cleansing the inner-self from contamination, care must be exercised in the intake of food and drinks. Only the ritually clean among them should be eaten and drunk. Man’s own nature generally provides him with ample guidance in Read more... -
Islamic Customs and Etiquette
IX The ways in which the inner inclinations of human beings become evident in various patterns of living and in various manifestations of culture and civilization are called customs and etiquette. No period of human civilization has remained devoid of them. We find them in currency and practice in the same manner and as a general traditi Read more... -
Oaths and Atonements
X Pledging oaths carries a great significance in Islam. Keeping one’s word is a fundamental part of Islamic ethics. Oaths emphasize an assertion to the ultimate extent. When a Muslim swears by the Almighty on an intention or a plan that he wishes to carry out, it is as if he has called the Creator of the heavens and the earth to be a w Read more...
