What Is Islam?
“Islam” is a word that most of us know but very few can define. Depending on where you look or who you ask, it can have many different connotations. But what is the real meaning of Islam, and what does it involve?
“Islam” is an Arabic word that means “submission” or “surrender”--in this case to God’s will for us as human beings. Since it comes from the same root word as “peace”, salam, it more specifically refers to the peace that one experiences from living in accordance with God’s will.
There is a beautiful hadith, or narration of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, known as the Hadith of Jibril, that explains Islam in its fullness. It is long, and well worth reading, but I will paraphrase it here. One day, while the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with his Companions, the Angel Gabriel came to them in the guise of a man. He asked the Prophet ﷺ to explain islam, or the outward forms of worship, to him. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Islām is to testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except God and that Muhammad is the messenger of God, to perform the prayers, to pay the purifying alms, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the Sacred House if you are able to do so.” Gabriel confirmed his response and then asked him to explain iman, or belief. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “It is to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine decree, both the good and the evil thereof.” Gabriel confirmed this response as well and asked him to inform him of ihsan, or spiritual excellence. The Prophet replied that it is “to worship God as though you are seeing Him, for even if you cannot see Him, He indeed sees you.” Gabriel confirmed this final answer and later departed. Afterwards, the Prophet ﷺ turned to his companion, Umar, and informed him that that man was the Angel Gabriel “who came to you to teach you your religion.”
Together, islam, iman, and ihsan form the three dimensions of our religion. These are the paths we take toward full submission to God’s will. Islam, the acts of worship, guide us toward outward submission. They provide an outlet where we can channel our natural impulse to worship God, to show our gratitude for the blessings in our lives, and to draw nearer to Him in a consistent way. Iman, the points of belief, inform us of, and orient us toward, the great realities of the universe: the oneness of God, the existence of the unseen, the guidance God sends to humanity through revelation, and our ultimate destiny as humans. Ihsan does not add new content to the religion; it enhances the quality of or belief and our worship. Abstract belief in God or worship lacking full sincerity will only get us so far in our quest to draw nearer to our Lord. We are called, instead, to worship God as if we see Him--to imagine how sincere our devotion would be then and to work toward fulfilling that.
On a personal note, I grew up near the beach and I’ve always found surfing to be a perfect metaphor for Islam as it is laid out in this hadith. The best surfers are all Muslims in a sense because they submit themselves to the waves willingly and peacefully. To surf, you first must believe in the realities of the ocean--its waves, currents, and undertows. False perception of the ocean will lead to disaster; right perception of it will allow you to do things you otherwise cannot. Next, you must build upon this knowledge with skillful action. You may know that waves are real, but what do you do with them? Fight them or ride with them? How far out should you paddle to catch one? These are all questions about islam, about outward submission. Ihsan is where this metaphor really takes off. Every surfer surfs as if they see the wave. There can be no halfheartedness when the water rises beneath you and you must ride or be pummeled. So you can watch surfers and learn something real about spirituality: they concentrate all their knowledge of the ocean and skill navigating it into moments of beautiful harmony with an enveloping reality. The best will move with the waves perfectly and even describe their experiences as states of flow where the boundary between themselves and their environment fades. Yet such sublime states are built upon simple foundations, the most important of which is willing surrender to the great truths of the ocean.
What is Islam? You will hear many Muslims say that it is more than a religion--that it is a way of life, that it is all encompassing of our everyday existence. Islam is satisfying in this sense because it offers something to our minds, our bodies, and our souls--and what it offers is always available to us. When Muslims are at their best, Islam is like the experience of surfing, where belief, action, true sincerity meld into perfect moments of devotion to our Creator.