ABC’s of ISLAM: Introduction
ABCs of ISLAM Fatih Guvenen ABCs of ISLAM Fatih Guvenen

ABC’s of ISLAM: Introduction

ABC’s of ISLAM will publish a series of short and accessible posts that provide an introduction to the basics of Islam.

The target audience is someone who has little-to-no knowledge about Islam. The only background needed is a curious mind and an open heart.

Here is a brief list of topics this series plans to cover:

  • Who is God according to Islam?

    • What does He want from us? What does He promise in return?

  • What is the Quran, the Holy book of Islam?

  • Who wrote it? What does it contain? How does it differ from the Bible?

  • Why do some say it’s a miraculous book?

  • Why do some find it hard to understand?

  • Who is Muhammad?

  • What are his main teachings? What legacy did he leave behind?

  • Where/when did he live? What did he do or not do? Was he a warlord? Who did he marry and why?

  • What is Islam’s view of women? How do women’s rights in Islam compare to other cultures?

  • Is Islamcompatible with modern science? With democracy and freedom of choice?

  • What do Muslims think of Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists, and others?

  • What is Jihad? What does infidel mean? Why do we always seem to hear about Islam in the context of wars, terrorism, and such?

  • And many other similar questions…

Feel free to submit your own questions for future articles using the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Read More
What is the First Sentence of the Quran?
ABCs of ISLAM Fatih Guvenen ABCs of ISLAM Fatih Guvenen

What is the First Sentence of the Quran?

The Quran is the Divine Book of Islam, and Muslims believe that it is the Word of God, unaltered. And Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said it will remain “his greatest miracle until the end of time.”

Clearly, these are bold claims, and a non-Muslim has every right to be skeptical about their truth. I will discuss these claims and the evidence put forward in detail in future posts.

For now though, what matters is that regardless of whether you believe this or not, these statements reflect how Muslims view the Quran.So, if you want to know what Islam is — as understood by Muslims — you start with the Quran.

First: A unique feature of the Quran is its hierarchical structure: that all the (600-page!) Quran is summarized in its first Chapter (1/3-page long!), and that the first chapter is summarized in the first Sentence.

(You may notice that this is precisely the format of modern scientific articles: “Article summarized in Introduction summarized in Abstract”, which I find pretty remarkable for a book that goes back 1500 years.)

So,what does that first sentence say? Here it is:

Read More