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Islam is not a new religion; in fact it is the first
religion in human history. When God /Allah created Adam, he
forbade him and his wife, Eve from eating the fruit of a
particular tree in paradise. However both were deceived by
Satan into eating the forbidden fruit and thus both were
expelled from there and sent to this world. Upon there
arrival here God/Allah revealed: And when guidance comes to you
from me, whoever follows my guidance - there will be no fear
concerning them, nor will they grieve. (2:38). Following
this guidance and adhering to it is Islam.
As time went by and the descendents of Adam grew in
number and began spreading in different regions many people
began deviating from the worship of God/Allah and became
involved in idolatry. In order to save man from eternal ruin
and loss God/Allah made particular individuals his
Messengers, such as Nuh/Noah, Hud/Heber and Salih/Methusaleh,
and sent them to different communities with the task of
inviting them back to His worship. Their message was one and
the same: O my people, worship Allah; You
have no deity other than Him.. (11:61). Indeed I am to you a
trustworthy messenger. So fear Allah and obey me. And I do
not ask for (my services) any payment. My payment is only
from the Lord of the worlds.(26:178-180).
In the chain of messengers was the renowned prophet
Ibrahim/Abraham who was originally from
Iraq
and settled in
Palestine
. He had two sons who were also made messengers by Allah;
Isma’eel/Ishmael and Is’haq/Isaac. Isma’eel/Ishmael
was relocated to Makkah while still a child, while his
younger brother; Is’haq/Isaac, who was born later,
remained in
Palestine
. Great prophets such as Yusuf/Joseph, Musa/Moses, Haroon/Aaron,
Dawood/David, Yahya/John and Isa/Jesus all came from the
progeny of Is’haq/Isaac while the last and final messenger
of Allah; Muhammad came from the progeny of Isma’eel/Ishmael. |
