Generally what is represented by ‘what is Islam’ are the following;
What is Islam?
[list]Islam is the religion articulated by the Quran, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh), and, for the vast majority of adherents, by the teachings and normative example (called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 June 632 CE).
Islam is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion that upholds that God is one and incomparable[8] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[9] Muslims consider Muhammad to be the last prophet of God. wiki[/list:u]
Who is a Muslim?
[list]A Muslim, sometimes spelled Moslem,[1] relates to a person who follows or practises the religion of Islam,[2] a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion based on the Quran. Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet and messenger Muhammad. They also follow the sunnah teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts called hadith.[/list:u]
The above are a general understanding of ‘what is Islam’ and ‘who is a Muslim as a believer of Islam’.
However when we engage on issues related to “Islam” we are often bombarded with a varied plethora definition and understanding of what-is-Islam in relation to specific interests of various parties.
For example, the majority of Sunni Muslims [apprx 80% of all Muslims] will often claim the Islam they followed is the original precise Islam, while those followed by Shias, Ahamdiyas, Sufis and any non-Sunni Islams are not Islam-proper. The consequences is many non-Sunni Muslims are killed for reasons merely because they are not Sunni-Muslims.
Even within the Sunni Muslims themselves, the majority will claim some Sunni groups are not following Islam-proper, e.g. ISIS and certain Sunni groups are denounced as non-Islamic by the majority and vice-versa.
The following is a presentation of what Islam-proper is in perspective;
1. Islam-Proper
To be very precise, Islam-proper is a religion conditioned upon solely by the Quran’s 6,236 verses that were revealed to Muhammad within the period 610 to 632 AD.
A Muslim-proper is a person who has entered into a covenant with Allah via submission, and thus obliged to comply with all terms and conditions of the covenant within the 6,236 verses of the Quran and no where else.
2. Pseudo-Islam
Pseudo-Islam is;
Islam-Proper + additional texts other than the Quran.
E.g. Sunni-Islam = Quran + Ahadiths + Sira.
… Shia-Islam = Quran + Ahadiths
The Ahadiths are recognized as having divine authority from Allah via Muhammad.
3. Fringe-Islam
Fringe-Islam is;
Pseudo-Islam + Fringe elements.
Fringe elements are the claim of Messiah after Muhammad [Ahamadiya], incorporating elements from other religions, e.g. Sufism.
From the above, whatever is claimed to be Islamic, it must have its central core represented by Islam-proper.
Thus pseudo-Islam and fringe-Islam are fundamentally Islamic at their core, they are not purely Islam-proper because they have added other elements to the core of Islam.
Are there Muslims who practiced Islam-proper?
There were probably rare individual Muslims who practiced Islam-proper in the olden days, but in the early part of the 20th century there were groups emerging as claiming to follow Islam-proper, i.e. relying on the verses of the Quran only and nothing else.
At present, there are many groups and individual[s] who are claiming to be practicing Islam-proper, e.g. the Quranites, Quranists, the Submitters, Quran-Only, the anti-hadith, etc. Muslims.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quranism
quranists.net/
submission.org/
ahl-alquran.com/English/main.php
& many other Quran-Only groups and sites.
I believe when we discuss Islam, we need to present Islam in the above perspectives, otherwise we will discussing pass each other all the time.
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