The teachings of Islam are there for us All!

I have a good friend who came to me recently (he is from a Sikh background) to ask my advice. He wanted to know whether he should set up business with a person that he has known for a relatively short time. We had tea and chatted together and I told him my opinion: if you haven’t travelled or stayed with a person then you don’t really know him, so how can you make a big decision like that? You need to spend time with that person first.

Based on this advice my friend called me later saying he decided to not go ahead with the deal. Someone else went into business with this character instead and within two months he had left the country with their shared profits.

My friend was really glad that he took my advice and he wanted to know who had told me? I mentioned that it is one of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). He was so inspired he began – and still is – reading the Qur’an and learning more about the faith and how it can help him on other issues.

I tell you this story because the advice and knowledge I share and offer as an Imam – is not just for Muslims but is and should be for people of all faiths. We can all learn something from each other and each other’s religion.

My friend was not tolerating my faith, he was acknowledging it, because he realised that there was something beneficial in Islam that could help him in his life.

Islam means peace, not terror

First and foremost, the word ‘Islam’ means peace.

The Prophet Muhammed – love and blessing be upon him – said that no one has a right to burn Allah’s (God’s) creations – even if it an ant – only Allah has the right to take life away.

The Qur’an does not teach terrorists acts, suicide bombing, violence and killing.

I hope that most people know this; but the best way to find out about Islam is to study it yourselves. If you feel content about your faith – in your mind and in your soul – you will be able to give a better understanding to others.

Take, for example, the opinion people have with regards to Muslim women: the majority of non-Muslim people see women in a headscarf and they think that they are being oppressed. But that’s not how it is from an Islamic point of view: Islam teaches us that women and men are all seen as equal in the eyes of Allah (or God).

In Islam everyone is equal – that includes people of all faiths. The Prophet Mohammed once saw a funeral of a Jewish man go past and he began crying in sadness for the man. His companion looked at him and asked him:

‘why are you crying? He’s not even a Muslim’.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) replied:

‘No, but it is a soul of a human being.’

There are many, many more teachings of the prophet that come back to this simple point: a person does not have to be a Muslim for you to love, take care and respect him, because he is also a human.

If a Muslim knocks on the door of your front door, you should invite him in. But if a Christian or a Jew comes to your house, you should invite welcome him into your home too. That is the teaching of our beloved Prophet Muhammed (P.B.U.H.)

And so, I say to you again, that is important to acknowledge other people’s religion and culture as well as your own. You may be a Muslim, but learn about Christianity, and Sikhism, and Judaism too, because if you understand someone’s faith you can understand where they are coming from and what they trying to ask or say.

The fact is, we live in a British society but there is no need for this to conflict with our faith. What we have to understand is that most of the rights and rulings of this country are in accordance with the beliefs of Islam not against them.

True Muslims believe in peace, human rights, tolerance of other religions and equality.