What is Islam?

last of these being the Prophet Muhammad—so that human beings, who tended to stray, could be recalled to the path of virtue. Belief in God Suppose we placed a pebble on a potter’s wheel, and then spun the wheel around very fast. The pebble would, of course, fly off, even although a potter’s wheel can hardly reach a speed of 25 miles an hour. Now, just think for a moment that the earth we live on is also revolving but at a much faster rate than the potter’s wheel. Yet we do not fly off. The earth spins continuously on its axis at a speed of 1000 miles an hour—much faster than the average pas­senger plane—yet we move around on its surface, and live our daily lives without any fear of being thrown off like the pebble from the potter’s wheel. What a miracle this is. The explanation scientists give us is that the earth pulls us with great force from underneath, while the pressure of the at­mosphere from above pushes us firmly to the ground. A force attracting us from below, and a five-hundred mile thick blanket of air enveloping us from above are miracles enough in themselves, and to say that they explain our not flying off into space is to lend even greater credence to the miraculous nature of our entire world. Everything in this world, is, in fact, a miracle. Just think what happens when we put tiny seeds into the ground. The soil in which they are planted is uniform in constitution, but they bring forth a vast array of plants ­radishes, carrots, turnips, guavas, mangoes, mustard plants- everything indeed from the humblest blade of grass to the mightiest oak. Each plant has its own distinct ap­pearance, taste and fragrance, and, according to its species, gives certain benefits to mankind. On all sides of us, a whole world of miraculous diversity and proportions stretches out before our eyes. Moreover, at every instant, a great variety of life forms are continually coming into existence, quite unaided by man. Yet if all of the “Islam” is an Arabic word which means “submission, surrender and obedience to God.”