Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

  He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

  And there is none like unto Him.

Islam Is The Only Truly Universal Religion

Islam is the religion taught in its fundamentals by all the prophets. It is the religion which the first human being was instructed to follow. It is the religion of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad and all other prophets (peace be upon them all) throughout the existence of human beings.

From the world view of Islam, most of the world's major religions originated in the pure religion of Islam itself and only through the teachings being lost, forgotten or wilfully corrupted have these religions changed. Judaism claims special status for the Jews as the chosen people - a status which cannot be acquired except through birth [1] and which makes a Jew superior to any non-Jew (goyim) whatever their beliefs. Christianity insists that you must believe in various doctrines which form the foundations of what is distinctively 'Christian' belief in order to be 'saved' (i.e. that Jesus (peace be upon him) died to atone for the sins of Mankind, that Allah is a trinity etc.). This doctrine, the (Catholic) church itself admits [2], didn't develop until several hundred years after Christ and so cannot possibly have applied to those before Jesus nor to his early followers. In contrast to this, Islam has at its core, a simple message which applies to all human beings before Muhammad (pbuh) and all after his time:

"...And they say: "None shall enter paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian." Those are their (vain) desires. Say: "Produce your proof if you are truthful." Nay whoever submits his whole self to Allah and is a doer of good, he will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear nor shall they grieve."

Qur'an 2:111-112

Islam Is The Natural Religion

Islam is known not only as a rational and moral way of life prescribed for all of mankind, it is known by the term 'Din ul-Fitra' or 'the natural religion'. Islam is the religion designed by the Creator of mankind for the benefit of mankind and therefore fits human nature perfectly. Being Muslim is living in harmony with your human nature.

Natural desires are considered as coming from Allah and put into people for good reason. They don't need to be repressed but rather simply channelled into the right ways of being fulfilled. So, for example, in Islam getting married is considered 'half of the religion' and each act of making love between a husband and his wife is an act of worship.

When a person is born he/she is purely natural, free of sin and Muslim. Humans, we are told in the Qur'an, are made in the best of forms and start life with a huge plus. It is only in later life that their environments may lead them to take beliefs or adopt practices that contradict Islam.

Because of our nature, deep down we all need to find our purpose in life; we all know we have moral responsibilities and we all know that, if anything ought to be, then Allah must exist.

This being part of human nature, no one can claim that their disbelief was the result of ignorance alone. Disbelief is always, at some level, a conscious and sinful act.

On the day of judgement the conscience of the disbeliever will be his or her own damning evidence.

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There is no god except Allah and Muhammad is a messenger of Allah

This is the statement that qualifies someone as a Muslim. If you are convinced of this at some point then you are a Muslim.

Formally someone becomes a Muslim by saying - in front of witnesses - "I witness that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is a messenger of Allah."

To understand this statement fully some explanation is needed of the word 'god'. A god is understood to mean anything or anyone who you use to set your values in life; to determine how you judge a matter as good or bad and how therefore you live your life. A god is also someone or something that people try to keep happy so that it may be able to change their lives and make those people happy. Since every human being by nature forms value judgements everyone has at least one god.

What is your god? Is it your desires? - Is it your work? - Is it fashion? - Is it your family? - Is it your nation? - Is it your church?

Whatever your gods may be, becoming a Muslim frees you from the service of them and brings you to the service of Allah and only Allah.

Believing that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah flows from believing in the Qur'an.

The word "Islam" means voluntary submission to the will of Allah
 

Translation of Sahih Bukhari

Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying,

"The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever
emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: The Prophet said, "A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands. And a Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden."

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The prayer of a person who does ,Hadath (passes, urine, stool or wind) is not accepted till he performs (repeats) the ablution." A person from Hadaramout asked Abu Huraira, "What is 'Hadath'?" Abu Huraira replied, " 'Hadath' means the passing of wind from the anus."

Narrated Nu'am Al-Mujmir:

Once I went up the roof of the mosque, along with Abu Huraira. He perform ablution and said, "I heard the Prophet saying, "On the Day of Resurrection, my followers will be called "Al-Ghurr-ul-Muhajjalun" from the trace of ablution and whoever can increase the area of his radiance should do so (i.e. by performing ablution regularly).' "

Narrated 'Abbas bin Tamim:

My uncle asked Allah's Apostle about a person who imagined to have passed wind during the prayer. Allah' Apostle replied: "He should not leave his prayers unless he hears sound or smells something."

Narrated Anas:

Whenever the Prophet went to answer the call of nature, he used to say, "Allah-umma inni a'udhu bika minal khubuthi wal khaba'ith i.e. O Allah, I seek Refuge with You from all offensive and wicked things (evil deeds and evil spirits)."

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:

Once the Prophet entered a lavatory and I placed water for his ablution. He asked, "Who placed it?" He was informed accordingly and so he said, "O Allah! Make him (Ibn 'Abbas) a learned scholar in religion (Islam)."