Understanding Islamic Beliefs, Values and the Meaning of Jihad.
Islam is a religion centred on worshipping one God and living responsibly before Him. The word Islam expresses submission to God. A Muslim is someone who follows this faith. Its teachings connect belief with prayer, family life, work and the…
Islam describes human life as a relationship with a Creator who gives guidance and holds people responsible. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — Sahih Muslim 8a — describes six foundations of faith. They concern God, angels, revealed books, messengers,…
Allah is the Arabic name for God. In Islamic teaching, this is the Creator of every person and the whole universe, not a deity limited to one race or country. The Arabic word ilah can refer to a deity; Allah functions as the name of the one…
Du'a means calling upon God. It may express gratitude, ask for help or seek forgiveness. Unlike the prescribed daily prayer, a personal request does not require a fixed script. A Muslim may speak in Urdu, Telugu, Hindi, English or another…
The names describe qualities of the one God, not different gods. The Qur'an speaks of God’s most beautiful names. Saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — Sahih al-Bukhari 2736 — gives special importance to knowing ninety-nine names. The report…
The Qur'an addresses people who have wronged themselves and tells them not to despair of God's mercy. The next verse calls them to return to God. Read together, these passages offer hope and invite change. They do not suggest that harming…
A prophet is a human being chosen by God to communicate revelation. In Islamic teaching, prophets show how guidance can be lived amid family duties, hardship and public responsibility. Their humanity makes their example relevant to other…
Islam teaches one earthly life, followed by death, an intermediate state, resurrection and judgment. The intermediate state is often called barzakh, a barrier or interval before resurrection. God then raises people and judges them. Paradise and…
Illness, poverty, disability and bereavement can affect anyone. Islamic teaching does not give observers the right to look at a person's suffering and announce that the person deserves it. The Qur'an says that no one carries another person's…
Ibadah is often translated as worship. It includes prescribed practices such as prayer, but its wider meaning covers living in willing obedience to God. Honest work, care for family and helping a neighbour can have religious value when the…
The five pillars are central acts through which Muslim faith is expressed. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — Sahih al-Bukhari 8 — lists these five practices. They give worship a regular place in life, while also connecting it with generosity and…
The adhaan, often called azaan in India, announces a time for prescribed prayer. A caller known as a muezzin recites it. Its words affirm God's greatness, declare faith in God and His messenger, and invite people to prayer and spiritual…
Salah is the prescribed form of Muslim prayer, commonly called namaz in India. Its five daily periods are dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and night. Prayer includes recitation, standing, bowing and prostration, with adaptations for people who…
A mosque, or masjid, is a place for Muslim worship. An imam leads congregational prayer. Men commonly attend congregational prayers there, while Muslims can also pray in clean and suitable places such as a home, an office space or a safe place…
Ramadan is a month in the Islamic lunar calendar. During its daily fast, Muslims who are required and able to fast abstain from food, drink and sexual relations from dawn until sunset. Food and drink are permitted at night. The fast begins at…
Zakat is obligatory giving from qualifying wealth to specified recipients. It is one of Islam's five pillars. Its religious purpose includes recognising responsibility towards people in need and resisting the idea that wealth carries no duties.…
Indian organisations apply zakat through education support, food assistance and opportunities to earn. Their reports provide examples of what donors fund. These are organisation-reported activities, sometimes described through press reports,…
Hajj is the pilgrimage to Makkah and nearby sacred sites during appointed days of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah. It involves prescribed rites and is required once in a lifetime for Muslims who meet its conditions of ability. Financial means…
The Qur'an brings worship of God together with care for parents, relatives, orphans, people in need and neighbours. Verse Qur'an 2 : 177 explains righteousness through belief, giving, prayer, keeping commitments and endurance. Religious…
The Qur'an calls for trusts to be returned to their rightful owners and for people to be truthful. A trust may be money, a borrowed item, confidential information or responsibility for someone else's work. These duties apply in ordinary…
Qur'an 4 : 135 calls for justice even when truthful testimony goes against oneself, parents or relatives. Qur'an 5 : 8 warns that hostility towards a group must not lead to injustice. Taken together, these passages challenge two common sources…
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — Sahih al-Bukhari 6013 — connects receiving mercy with showing mercy to others. Kindness is therefore not merely a pleasant feeling. It can involve listening to a distressed person, being gentle with children or…
Islam permits earning through useful work, trade and investment that meet its ethical requirements. It does not require everyone to possess the same amount of wealth. It does ask how money was acquired, what obligations accompany it and whether…
The Qur'an permits trade and prohibits riba. Riba covers prohibited increases in specified transactions. In the mainstream position represented by the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, a stipulated increase on a money loan is prohibited,…
Halal means permitted in Islam. Haram means prohibited. Although these words often appear in discussions about meat, they also apply to earning, trade and conduct. Honest income can be described as halal; theft and bribery are prohibited. The…
Halal certification is a process through which a certifying organisation assesses whether a product or process meets the requirements of its scheme. Depending on the product, checks may include ingredients, animal sources, processing aids,…
Islam permits meat from certain animals subject to requirements about the animal and slaughter. God's name is invoked, and the process follows religious rules. The permission to eat meat does not mean that every way of transporting, holding or…
Eid al-Adha, commonly called Bakrid in India, is a Muslim festival associated with Abraham's willingness to obey God. In the Qur'anic account, Abraham and his son submit to the test, and the son is ransomed with a great sacrifice. The passage…
Demand around Bakrid connects livestock rearers, traders, transport workers, fodder sellers and other services. This is a practical economic relationship alongside the festival's religious meaning. The people involved can come from different…
Shariah refers to the path of guidance understood to come from God. It concerns worship, ethics and relationships as well as legal matters. Prayer, giving, family responsibilities and fair trade all belong within its scope. Reducing it to…
The Qur'an first tells believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, then addresses women with related duties and instructions about dress. Modesty therefore concerns how people look, act and dress. It is not a duty placed only on…
Qur'an 49 : 13 addresses humanity and describes peoples and tribes as an opportunity to know one another. It rejects inherited status as the measure of worth before God. This does not mean that religions have no differences. It means that…
The way “JIHAD” meaning is portrayed in mainstream media, TV shows, news channels, etc., for many people, including those Muslims who are not regular readers of Islamic literature, it means armed conflict, striking civilians or military attack…
Any discussion of jihad must inevitably include armed struggle. The questions that need to be answered in this regard are:
UN Security Council Resolution 1566 (2004) defines Terrorism as the deliberate killing, serious harming, or hostage-taking of civilians in order to terrorize people or force a government to act, in a way terrorists want.
