Often non-Moslem people judge Moslem people as a bad people, like terrorist, brutal, et cetra. The judgment influences their thinking about Islam itself, that Islam is a bad religion.

 

They see Moslem, but have they seen Islam?

 

In the world, one of religions that is the main focus is Islam. The meaning of Islam is peacefulness, prosperity, and welfare. The person who professes Islam is called Moslem. S.H. Nasr in Islam dalam Cita dan Fakta defines  the Moslems as creatures who accept the guidance of Allah Swt (God) and give him/her/itself up to follow the God's will. The term of Moslem is not only for humans but also other creatures, like animals, plants, et cetra. He argued that only humans can refuse to adjust him/herself to God's will (being non-Moslem), because he/she has mind and freedom from God. This human is called Islamic person (orang Islam) if he/she still admits that his/her religion is Islam.

 

In this article, I consider that the term of Moslem is the person who professes Islam; and I ignore the definition of Moslem from S.H. Nasr. The reason is that the Islamic person is called Moslem (or Muslim) in English language. It is different from Indonesian language. Even though, I agree with the definition of S.H. Nasr.

 

The main sources of Islamic teaching are al-Qur fan and Sunnah Rasulullah Muhammad Saw (hadits). Al-Qur fan as a Holy book is the words of Allah Swt. conveyed to prophet Muhammad Saw. Sunnah Rasulullah is words, action, and being silent of Prophet Muhammad Saw. Islam consists of three elements, i.e. akidah, syarifah, and akhlak.

 

Akidah is belief or faith that becomes guide of life. Moslem must believe in Allah Swt, all of Rasulullah (the messengers), al-Qurfan, Angels, Qadaf and Qadar, and the hereafter. Understanding this element will know the purpose of life.

 

Syarifah is the norm of God that regulates relation between human and God, relation between human, others humans, and the relation between human, goods and environment. These relations consist of two principles, ibadah and muamalah. Principle of ibadah is the norm of direct relation between human and God, like pray (shalat), tithe or donation (zakt), fast (shaum), and haj. In this norm, human is not allowed to change it. God gives detailed guidance in al-Qurfan and Hadits. Therefore, praying five times a day, fasting in the month of Ramadhan, and going to Meccah for haj are the same rule for Moslem anywhere and anytime. Principle of muamalah is the norm of relation between human and the others humans, goods, and environment. In this norm, human is allowed to explore the way of relation, like commerce, economy, law, medical, astronomy, et cetra. Allah only gives principle guidance, except in certain subjects for humans' advantage, for example distribution of legacy and prohibition of marriage. Therefore, implementation of muamalah is different from one area to the others.

 

Akhlak is the norm of behaviour of human to Allah and to creatures. The behaviour of human to Allah is learned to developing soul in efforts to find and bring oneself closer to Allah (the science is called tasawuf, the person who learns it is called shufi). The behaviour of humans to creatures is to do a good act to the others (the science is called ethics).

 

All of three elements above are not separated. One to the others are connected. It means that when a human does his/her any kind of activities, they are always related to his/her belief of existence of Allah, his/her responsibilities to creatures in the worlds and to Allah in the next life. There is a horizontal and vertical relationship simultaneously.

 

Not all of Moslems do these relationships. The causes are not learning Islam, learning it but incompletely, and not understanding it well. The effect is they just do one-way relationships, mostly only horizontal. They separate the vertical and horizontal relationships. It is called secularism. As a consequence, they don't implement Islamic teaching completely. Therefore, there are frictions that disturb him/herself and the others. Generally, a Moslem is forbidden to do a bad thing to others. If they do, they will get punishment in hell in the next life. If they don't, they will come into Heaven. Heaven and Hell are described in al-Qurfan and Hadits. Hell is an incredible painful place. While, Heaven is an incredibly fun place.

 

This explanation of Islam is not enough and not deep. But I hope I can give a little explanation of Islam. The truth is coming from Allah Swt. and the mistake is coming from myself.