WE may think we may know, but do we understand this faith which is followed by approximately a quarter of the world’s population?

here are some facts about Islam on the same week that the Mosque in Milford Haven opens to the public:

1. The core message of Islam is that the One God created everything in existence. This Eternal being is All-Powerful, and He is unlike anything in His creation — where no partners should be attributed to Him. Muslims will refer to this being as Allah — which is another name for God — more specifically ‘the God’ who is the only one who is worthy of worship. The name’s origin can be traced to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for God was Il, El, or Eloah, the latter two used in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Allah is the standard Arabic word for God and is also used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews. There are three core themes in the Quran (the final revelation from Allah to humans) about Him: (1) He is the Creator, Judge, and Rewarder; (2) He is unique (wāḥid) and inherently one (aḥad); and (3) He is omnipotent and all-merciful. Allah is the “Lord of the Worlds,” the Most High; “nothing is like unto Him,” and this in itself is to the believer a request to adore Allah as the Protector and to glorify His powers of compassion and forgiveness.
2. This Creator created humanity to know Him and to worship Him. To worship God is the ultimate purpose of our existence. Worshipping God in Islam means remembering Him, being grateful to Him, praising Him, loving Him, and living righteous lives according to His revelation. Through this worship, we’ll find true inner peace in this life and attain paradise in the Hereafter as a reward for fulfilling our purpose. Although God created us to worship, He does not need our worship of Him — but we are in need of Him — the next point explains further.
3. The Arabic term Islam, literally means “submission” which highlights the core religious notion of the faith — that the believer (Muslim) accepts surrender to the will of Allah. Islam as a religion provides a comprehensive explanation for why we at times suffer in this world, and why we go through hardships. God outlines in the Quran that He created life and death to test which of us are best in action and would try to do what’s right to please our Creator. If you hark back to the past, you may have experienced heartbreak when you loved a lost one. This is undoubtedly the most testing of times for most of us, but during this period, we should be conscious of our Creator; “Remember Me; I will remember you. And thank Me, and never be ungrateful.” [The Quran, Chapter 2 Verse 152].

As God will aid you in this time of need and in turn it becomes an opportunity to develop physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Hardship enables us to practice patience and thus drawing closer to Him — putting our temporary existence into perspective — as we all have an expiration date, and paving the way to an Eternal life of bliss: “So, surely with hardship comes ease.” [The Quran, Chapter 94 Verse 5].

4. Muslims believe Allah sent messengers throughout history to guide humanity and remind them of their Creator. Muslims believe in all the significant Biblical prophets of the past, such as Adam, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, and Jesus (peace be upon them all) with Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) being the final messenger where Jesus him. Islam teaches us that these prophets were the best of humanity created by God, the perfect role models for their people and us to follow — however, they were not divine in any way. Their role was to wake people up to the reality of life and draw them away from worshipping created objects, bringing them back to the worship of the One true God. In essence they are the epitome of those who submit themselves to Allah — so every prophet is deemed as a Muslim. However, over time the message and scriptures of the previous prophets were corrupted by humanity hence Allah sending another messenger to replenish the original message.

In Christianity and Islam, there is the message that God wants to make Himself known to us; He wants a relationship, and that’s why He has sent messengers and revelation to humanity throughout history. The question we should ask ourselves is: “Are we willing to take the time and effort to seek out God’s truth?” This is the key to fulfilling the purpose of our creation, which will give us inner peace in this life and success after we pass away. The pursuit of the purpose of our lives is a noble endeavour; however, it should be an objective for everyone to achieve. What will be our means of attaining this lifelong objective?

One of the keys to unlocking the truth lies in the person of Jesus Christ. Islam holds a unique position among the world’s religions as it is the only religion, barring Christianity, that acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah — where believing in him is a compulsory component of being recognised as a Muslim. Even though Jesus is one of the most significant personalities in the world today, with nearly two billion Christians and around 1.8 billion Muslims believing in him, he is also perhaps the most misunderstood and misrepresented person in history. As we will explore, while Christianity and Islam share much in common concerning Jesus, they also make opposing claims that should be studied and discussed with love and compassion.

If we were living in first-century Palestine, then it would be straightforward. We could simply walk up to Jesus and ask him about his message. Since we obviously don’t have that opportunity today, we have to make use of the tools that are available to us, such as scripture, history and reason. We would love for you to attend this upcoming exhibition so we can together explore the life of Jesus, one of the most remarkable men to walk this earth and learn what Islam has to say about Jesus, his life, and his mission.

Those interested in learning more about Islam are welcome to attend the Milford Haven Open Days/Jesus Exhibition taking place on Sat 9th and Sun 10th September at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Islamic Centre, 122 Charles Street, Milford Haven (Post code for Sat Nav: SA73 2HW) The opening times of the exhibition are11:00HRS until 17:00HRS. Women are kindly requested to respect the traditions of Islam when dressing for the occasion.