The
religion of Islam is summarised in the two phrases: la
ilaha ill-Allah (there is no God but Allah) and Muhammad-ur
rasul Allah (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). By
affirming these two precepts, a person enters the
fellowship of Islam. These
two constituents do not occur together in the Holy Quran,
as they do in the Kalima, but each is a constant
theme of the Quran:
``Know that there is
no God but Allah.'' (47:19)
and
``Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah.'' (48:29)
The Quran also says:
``Believe in Allah and
His messengers.'' (4:171)
As regards who is a
Muslim, the Quran says:
``Say: It is revealed
to me that your God is one God. Will you then be
Muslims?'' (21:108)
``Say: We believe in
Allah and in that which has been revealed to us, and
in that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismael and
Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and in that which was
given to Moses and Jesus, and in that which was given
to the Prophets from their Lord. We do not make any
distinction between any of them, and we are
Muslims.'' (2:136)
``And when I revealed
to the disciples, saying, Believe in Me and My
messenger, they said: We believe, and bear witness
that we are Muslims.'' (5:111)
``The desert Arabs
say, We have faith. Say to them: `You do not have
faith, but rather say, we are Muslims --- faith has
not yet entered your hearts'.'' (49:14)
``Do not say `you are
not a believer' to a person who says assalamu
alaikum to you.'' (4:94)
These verses make it clear
that the person who believes in the oneness of God and
the prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and
believes in his revelation, is a Muslim. Verse no. 5 goes
so far as to say that a person who offers the greeting assalamu
alaikum to show that he is a Muslim cannot be called kafir
(unbeliever or non-Muslim).
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