22 Interesting Facts You Should Know About Islam

• The word Islam means (Submission): If you search in the Arabic language dictionaries, you will find that the meaning of the word Islam is: submission, humbling oneself, obeying commands, heeding prohibitions without objection, sincerely worshipping Allah alone, believing what He tells us, and having faith in Him. The Arabic root of the word Islam is “aslama,” which means submit, and from that, we get the word Islam, which can be translated to submission. Salaam is the Arabic word for peace.

The word Islam has become the name of the religion which was brought by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

• All prophets are human and never part of divinity: Prophets were vulnerable to the same things as all other humans, except that they received revelation, as Allah, may He be exalted, instructed His Prophet to tell us:

“Say, I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God”

[al-Kahf 18:110].

• The original Arabic text of the Quran has not been altered: The Glorious Quran is the pure word of God. There is not a single word therein that is not divine. The divine verses, therefore, have not been mingled with the history of the Arabs or the events that occurred during the period of its revelation.

The Book has been handed down to our age in its complete and original form since

the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

From the time the Book began to be revealed, the Prophet had dictated its text to the

scribes. The written text was then read out to the Prophet, to ensure that the scribe

had committed no error in recording, and would put the manuscript in safe custody.

The Prophet used to instruct each scribe about the sequence in which a revealed

message was to be placed in a particular Surah (chapter). In this manner, the

Prophet continued to arrange the text of the Quran in systematic order till the end of the

chain of revelations.

• The Islamic calendar started in 622 AD: Before the Hijri calendar came into use, Muslims used a range of important events in Muslim history, for example, Am Al-Fil, the year in which the Prophet Muhammad was born, to define time.

But, seventeen years after the Prophet’s migration and in the third or fourth year of

the succession of Khalifa Umar ibn al-Khattab, a complaint was made by Abu Musa al-

Ash’ari, an official in Basrah (Iraq), regarding a lack of consistent dates on the

correspondence he received. Abu Musa al-Ash’ari sent a letter to Khalifa Umar, asking

him to develop a new way to calculate dates.

Khalifa Umar debated the issue with his advisors. Some suggested that the date of

the Prophet’s birth should mark the beginning of a new calendar, whilst others

suggested the date of his death. However, the majority agreed that the calendar

should begin with the date of his migration. Khalifa Umar then consulted the Prophet’s revered companions, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali bin Abi Talib, and they agreed.

After all the discussions, Khalifa Umar announced that the year in which the Prophet

Muhammad migrated would mark the beginning of the Hijri calendar. The calendar

would begin with the first of the month of Muharram and end with the month of Dhu

Al Hija. Consequently, 622 AD (the year of the Prophet’s migration) became the first year of the Hijri calendar.

• Men who oppress women are not following Islam: In Islam, there is no family without union or marriage and there is no marriage without rules and discipline. The family in Islam is a unit in which two independent persons unite and share life.

The husband’s dignity is an integral part of his wife’s dignity. Accordingly, neither of them is better than the other. To unite and share, there must be mutual love and compassion – a genuine feeling which; unless translated into action and behavior, would be a mere illusion.

Prophet Muhammad said: “The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family…”

• It is a religion for everyone: Everyone can convert to Islam, and it doesn’t matter which skin color or ethnicity you have. Only 15% of Muslims are Arabs, even though many from Western countries think of Arabs first when it comes to Islam.
• The Qur’an is the holy text of Islam: The Quran is the holy book of the Islamic world. Collected over 23 years during the 7th century C.E., the Quran is said to consist of Allah’s revelations to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), transmitted through the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) (peace be upon him).
• Allah has 99 names (attributes), with each one having a different meaning: being Muslims, we have a firm belief in the fact that the names of Allah carry many benefits for all of us. Muslims in their prayers daily read the names of Allah for well-being, protection from evil, comfort, elimination of poverty, success, dignity, and acceptance of supplication.
  Some of the names are:

Ar-Rahmaan (The Beneficent, He who wills goodness and mercy for all His creatures)

Ar-Raheem (The Merciful, He who acts with extreme kindness)

Al-Ghaniyy (The Self-Sufficient One, the One who does not need to creation)

Al-Kareem (The Bountiful One, the Generous One, the Gracious, the One who is attributed with greatness of Power and Glory of status)

• Muslim women are not prohibited from getting an education or holding a job: Women in Islam have the right to own property, control their own money to buy and sell and give gifts and charity.  It is not permissible for anyone to take a woman’s wealth without her consent. Islam gave women formal rights of inheritance. Women in Islam have the right to an education; seeking and acquiring knowledge is an obligation on all Muslims, male or female.

Muslim women have the right to accept or refuse marriage proposals as they see fit, and married women are completely free from the obligation of supporting and maintaining the family. Working married women are free to contribute to the household expenses, or not, as they see fit. 

It is well-known that Khadijah (May Allah be pleased with her), Prophet Muhammad’s wife, was a successful and esteemed business-woman.

• The word (Jihad) does not hold within it the connotation of Holy War: This is often translated wrongly in Westernized media.
• Islam does not specify a particular form of government: it imposes the condition that, no matter what the form, government responsibilities should always be discharged with equity, justice, and compassion – always fulfilling and upholding basic human rights. Islam does not allow any discrimination based on color, creed, wealth, or social status.
• Islam explicitly teaches that “there is no compulsion in religion”: as is evident from the verse of Surah Al Baqarah (2:256) There is no compulsion in religion. The right way stands clearly distinguished from the wrong. Hence, he who rejects the evil ones and believes in Allah has indeed taken hold of the firm, unbreakable handle. And Allah (Whom he has held for support) is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

“Deen” here signifies the belief about God embodied in the above ‘Verse of the Throne’ and the entire system of life which rests upon it. The verse means that the system of Islam, embracing belief, morals, and practical conduct cannot be imposed by compulsion. People cannot be forced to accepting religion.