Islam and Sufism an introduction

What is Sufism  or Tasawwuf Professor Sayyed Hossein Nasr of George Washington University and an authority on Sufism , says Sufism or Tasawwuf is the name for the inner or esoteric dimension of Islam. Professor Allan Godlas of the University of Georgia  says that Tasawwuf  is the inner, mystical, or spiritual dimension of Islam. An Islamic website says that   Tasawwuf   is the rooh (soul) and state of perfection of the Deen (religion). Its function is to purify the heart from anger, malice, hate, jealousy, greed, etc. and to fill it with truth,  justice, compassion, forgiveness, Zikr (remembrance of God) and other virtues. The way  I understand it, Tasawwuf is necessary to build a foundation of our Deen (faith). It requires that we control our ego  ( Nafs ) and  get rid of the toxic trash/baggage* from our heart and replace it with compassion, humility, truth, forgiveness, gratitude, justice and ...

Who is a Muslim, a brief explanation. Khaliq Anyone who professes to be a Muslim is a Muslim. However practicing Muslims  observe  prescribed rules and actions derived from the Quran and the Sunnah.. These fall into two categories. do and don't   or to stay away from. Do category. In this category are namaz, fasting, zakat and all other obligatory duties. Also be fair, just and honest in all actions and do good deeds.  do not category.  Refrain from envy, greed, malice, resentment, hate and anger, inflated ego, lust, backbiting(gheebat) and stinginess. Also to stay away from gambling, dishonesty in any action, eating pork, consuming alcohol, drugs or any substance that blurs  judgement or is harmful to your body. One must follow the commandments in both categories.  Neglect of one negates the other.  Therefore, observe all obligatory duties and do good deeds. Strive to remove from your heart hate...

The term Halal is generally associated  with meat or food. It indicates that meat is from an animal that has been slaughtered in Muslim way. It also indicates that  a substance contains no pork products. Halal simply means permissible or lawful . The term equally applies to income or  wealth whether it is halal or non halal. Any income derived from breaking the law of land, by dishonesty, by paying unfair wages, using unfair means, bribery, gambling is not halal. So is income derived from sale or  distribution  of  substances or activities that are prohibited by Islam such as pork products, Alcohol,  can ibis, drugs, dope etc. One is entitled to enjoy an income or  wealth obtained by halal means. But its display and boasting is  not halal. One should enjoy wealth with humility.  Islam requires that object or goal one wants to achieve is halal and means to achieve that object or goal are also hal...

Following 9/11 in 2001, I was asked to speak about Islam to a few church groups and my Rotary Club and at several Rotary interfaith  meetings in Toronto. Here is a short overview of Muslims and their belief prepared for a non Muslim audience.   (1)    Muslims believe in the strict Oneness of God .  God has no gender or shape or form that we can comprehend. God is without any equal, Eternal. Nothing precedes Him, He is without any end. He is the First and the Last. He knows everything….  .   (2) Belief in the prophets, who received  God’s revelations from Abraham to Prophet Mohammed, the last prophet, through whom the Quran was revealed. Jesus is a prophet and not a son of God. God sent his message to other people but those messengers are not mentioned. (3) Belief In the Day of Judgment when everything ends. There is no free pass for Muslims, who will be judged like everyone else based on deeds and actions. Islam...