Discover Islam Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 by a small group of men in Bahrain with the aim of inviting and educating their fellow countrymen and expatriates about Islam. The organization has grown tremendously over the past three decades with hundreds of volunteers and dozens of staff working from several locations. It has become one of the leading Islamic organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain and its influence extends far beyond the shores of these Islands.
Our mission is to educate and invite people to Islam and become an authentic source for information on Islam. We endeavour to Highlight Islam as a way of life, a belief system, and Civilization that inherently benefits Humanity.
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Who were some of the great Muslim Scientists and Thinkers?
Like many of their later Renaissance counterparts, most Muslim scientists and thinkers were multidisciplinary, and produced remarkable works in many fields. A few of the more famous scholars include:
Ibn Hayyan (Geber, 738-813) - known as the father of chemistry.
Al-Khawarizmi (Algorizm, 750-850) - invented algebra and was instrumental in the development of trigonometry, calculus, and the use of algorithms based on which modern computers function.
Ibn Firnas (died 888) - developed the mechanics of flight before DaVinci; he also built a planetarium.
Al-Razi (Rhazes, 864-930) - a great physician who identified and treated smallpox.
Al-Zahravi (Albucasis, 936-1013) - recognized as the father of modern surgery.
Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 981-1037) - a very well-known physician, authored the "Cannon of Medicine" and the "Book of Healing." His writings were considered the authority of medicine for over five hundred years.
Al-Idrisi (Dreses, 1099-1166) - made the first world maps that clearly showed North, Central, and South America.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes, 1128-1198) - a great philosopher, astronomer, and physician.
Ibn Batuta (1304-1378) - an avid world traveler, writer and geographer; he visited most of the known world from Spain, to parts of Africa, to China.
Apart from the Qur���an are there any other sacred sources?
Yes, the Sunnah - the practice and example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the second source of inspiration and instruction for Muslims. Belief in the Sunnah is part of the Islamic faith. The Prophet's Sunnah and sayings were documented extensively by his contemporaries and are known as hadith. Here are a few examples of hadith from the Prophet:
"None of you truly believe until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."
"He who eats his fill while his neighbor goes without food is not a believer."
"God does not judge you according to your bodies and appearances, but He looks into your hearts and observes your deeds."
"Whoever does not express his gratitude to people shall never be grateful to God."
"Show mercy to those on earth, the One in Heaven will show mercy to you."
"God is gentle and loves gentleness."
"O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God Almighty, perform your five daily prayers, fast during the month (of Ramadan), give regular charity and perform the pilgrimage if you can afford to…
" 'A man walking along a path felt very thirsty. Reaching a well he descended into it, drank his fill and came up. Then he saw a dog with its tongue hanging out, trying to lick up mud to quench its thirst. The man saw that the dog was feeling the same thirst as he had felt, so he went down into the well again and filled his shoe with water and gave the dog a drink. God forgave his sins for this action.' The Prophet was asked: 'Messenger of God, are we rewarded for kindness towards animals?' He said, 'There is a reward for kindness to every living being.' "
Know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are equal. Nobody has superiority over others, except by piety and good actions…
I leave behind two things, if you follow these you will never go astray: the Book of God (the Qur'an) and my example."
"The world is green and beautiful and God has appointed you His guardians over it."
"Forgive him who wrongs you; join him who cuts you off; do good to him who does evil to you; and speak the truth even if it be against yourself."
The earliest interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims occurred near the beginning of Muhammad's Prophethood. The Prophet and his companions were greatly oppressed by the polytheists of Makkah. Muhammad sent some of his followers to seek refuge with the Negus of Abyssinia - a righteous and just Christian king. He listened to the Prophet's emissary with great respect and awe, especially the Qur'anic description of Mary and Jesus. This description led the king to affirm that this indeed was God's revelation, and gladly grant the Muslims the asylum they sought.
The Prophet recognized Christians as one of the "People of the Book." He treated them with respect and kindness, contracted treaties with the various Christian tribes, and he assured them the freedom to practice their faith and determine their own affairs while living under Islamic law.
One noteworthy example is when a large delegation of Christians from Najran visited the Prophet in Madinah. He received them with great hospitality, and they stayed at the Prophet's Mosque. When they wanted to leave the Mosque and go outside to perform their church services, the Prophet surprised them by offering the use of his Mosque.
Although they did not reach an agreement on all matters of faith, they left Madinah with a treaty of peace and cooperation given to them by the Prophet. This, and similar incidents, are the examples for Muslims and Christians to emulate in the pursuit of better interfaith relations.
How do Muslims view Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern Beliefs?
A lot of the core principles of the Eastern religions contain ideas that are easily recognizable and sound quite familiar to Muslims. This indicates that Eastern religions probably have same source of revelations as does Islam and the differences in belief might actually be external influences on that pure message. These similarities form the underlying principles of a Universal truth.
It is therefore quite understandable on the stance the Qur’án takes when it advises Muslims to show respect to the beliefs of people who follow even non Abrahamic faiths.
"And insult not those whom they (Non-Muslims) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge” [al-An‘aam 6:108]
Hinduism and Buddhism have some ancient texts that set the framework for their beliefs. The oldest of the Hindu texts available are the five Vedas available today, and then what is known as the Upanishads, the Puranas and a variety of post Vedic epics, poems and plays.
These are a few verses that highlight the very nature of God that Hindus worship.
"Na tasya pratima asti" "There is no likeness of Him" Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being.
"shudhama poapvidham" "He is bodyless and pure." [Yajurveda 40:8]6
"Ekam evadvitiyam" "He is One only without a second." [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1
These verses do not contradict the Quran in anyway with regards to the attributes of God. Despite this irrefutable similarity with regards to who the Creator is, human and cultural influences have taken sway over the centuries with regards to practices and worship methodologies.
Buddhism remains silent on the question of the existence of God. Buddhism was born into Hindu society wherein multiplicity of Gods was worshipped. The first of the canonical Buddhist texts were written 500 years after the death of Gautama Buddha. Both these factors could have contributed to that silence on the existence of God. Other eastern religions like Confucianism, Shintoism and Taoism among others are faiths that depend on animistic beliefs, ancestor worship, and nature worship as elements within these faiths. They serve their societies as reference points for proper functioning of societies and very rarely delve into the spiritual aspects of people’s beliefs.
What is the Islamic opinion on Atheism, Agnosticism and other Secular Beliefs?
Atheism, humanism and other agnostic beliefs tend to question the existence of a Divine Being or beings or refuse to accept it outright. Atheism strongly pushes the idea of non-existence of God. Agnostics take a more measured approach by sitting on the fence so to speak, and find solace in proclaiming that they “don’t know” if God exists or that they are searching for empirical evidence” for the existence of Divine being or beings.
The Quran speaks directly to such individuals and exhorts them to think over their world view by placing three important questions for them to ponder upon.
Or were they created from nothing? Or were they their own creators? Or is it they who created the heavens and the earth? No; the truth is that they lack sure faith (Surah At -Tur 52: 35,36)
The Quran outlines three distinct possibilities towards understanding human existence and the existence of the Universe itself. The Qurán asks the following questions:
Were they created from nothing?
This question basically begs the question did the Universe come from nothing, or can anything be created from nothing. If there was something beforethe Universe, what was it and who had power over that something?
Were they their own creators? To create oneself would mean that the creator would have to exist and not exist at the same time. That is a nonsensical argument. Therefore, for something to come into existence, there had to be intention to create it, and therefore, the intention had to reside in something. The intention is the stumbling block to the idea that something can create itself.
Is it they who created the heavens(skies) and the earth?
This proposition by means of implication, asks whether created being could create the Universe. This draws the argument into infinite regression as one could very well ask who created the created being to infinity, and if this question does go on for infinity, would the Universe have come into existence? For it to come into existence, there has to be the first cause, the uncaused cause. Occam’s razor would then push the idea of the Universe to be created by the first cause in the first instance.
This would mean, the Universe exists, that it was created by an Uncaused Cause, that has always existed as being the simplest and the only logical explanation for the existence.
Outside of these three possibilities, the Universe could not have come into existence.
At length she brought (the baby) to her people, carrying him. They said, ‘O Mary! Truly an illegitimate thing, have you brought! O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil nor your mother a woman unchaste!’ But she pointed to the baby. They said, ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?’
How do Muslims view the elderly, death and the afterlife?
Muslims, by faith, are expected to respect and care for the elderly. It is quite common to find children, parents, grandparents and sometimes great grandparents all living together in one large home.
In Islam, serving one's parents is a duty second only to worshipping God. It is considered despicable to express any irritation when, through no fault of their own, the old become difficult to handle.
God says in the Qur'an: "Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and be kind to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, do not even say 'uff' to them or scold them, but speak to them in terms of honor and kindness. Lower to them the wing of humility, and say, 'My Lord! Have mercy on them, for they did care for me when I was young.'" (Qur'an 17:23-4)
When a Muslim dies, he or she is washed, usually by a family member, wrapped in a clean white cloth, and buried with a prayer, preferably on the same day.
Muslims believe that the present life is only a trial for the Hereafter. God says in the Qur'an: "Every soul shall taste death. And you will be given your dues on the Day of Judgment. Only the one who is removed from the brink of Hellfire and admitted into Paradise has ultimately won; and life of this world is nothing but a material illusion." (Qur'an 3:185)
ඉස්ලාමය යනු කුමක්ද සහ මුස්ලිම්වරු කවුද?
මුස්ලිම්වරු විශ්වාස කරන්නේ කුමක්ද?
අල්ලාහ් කවුද?
මැවීමේ අරමුණ කුමක්ද?
මුහම්මද් කවුද?
මුහම්මද් දෙවියන්ගේ පණිවිඩකරුවෙකු වූයේ කෙසේද?
ඉස්ලාමයේ ව්යාප්තිය ලෝකයට බලපෑවේ කෙසේද?
Who were some of the great Muslim scientists and thinkers?
අල්-කුර්ආනය යනු කුමක්ද?
Apart from the Qur’an are there any other sacred sources?
