What this message teaches
A message that calls people to worship only one God, to treat their parents well, to give alms to the poor, to guard their chastity, to treat their neighbors kindly, never to take innocent life, to stand up against oppression and injustice, and, even in defense, not to overstep the moral bounds.
A message that forbids lying, backbiting, alcohol, gambling, exploitation, interest and any other deeds that bring suffering to you or others. It calls upon people to strive for knowledge, to give from what they love, to wish for others what they wish for themselves, and to do good until their last breath. And the reward for all this: an eternal life in Paradise.
According to the Quran, God has at various times sent prophets to particular peoples, from Adam through Abraham and Moses to Jesus (peace and blessings be upon them). The prophets were given miracles that proved their divine messages. As the final prophet, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was sent to all of mankind. The Quran is at once the miracle and the final message, which applies to all people until the Day of Judgment. It was revealed at a time when female babies were buried alive, women had no rights, slaves were exploited and people were judged by tribe and origin.
In precisely this era, women received the right to property, inheritance, education and trade. From then on, no one was allowed to take from their wealth or do them any injustice without their consent. Orphans and their property were placed under protection. The poor and slaves were granted rights; no one was any longer regarded as superior to another, only through faith, good deeds, taqwa (piety, consciousness of God), as well as through following God's commandments and avoiding His prohibitions.
What Islam proclaimed as divine right in the 7th century, people in the West could only win with great difficulty in the 20th century, through protests, revolutions and civil rights movements. As a contrast: in 1958 the last so-called “human zoo” in Europe was closed, in which people from Africa were exhibited like animals. And in Germany, until the 1970s, a husband was allowed to dispose of his wife's property without her consent.
In the 7th century, by contrast, Bilal ibn Rabah, an Abyssinian slave, received the honorable position of the first caller to prayer, a symbol that dignity and rank do not depend on origin, skin color or social standing. Out of a predominantly illiterate desert culture there grew, in a short time, a civilization that for centuries was a pioneer in science. It laid foundations that shape the world to this day:
Al-Khwarizmi (780–850) developed algebra, Ibn al-Haytham (965–1040) revolutionized optics, Ibn Sina (980–1037) wrote one of the most influential medical works in history, which was taught in Europe until the 17th century, and Fatima al-Fihriya (857–859) founded the first and oldest still-existing university in the world, to name just a few.
This golden age did not end because of faith, or a battle between religion and science such as the Church waged in the Middle Ages, but through various factors, such as Muslim rulers who departed from the principles of faith, power struggles, excessive wealth, as well as devastating wars and invasions.
In the year 1258, Baghdad fell victim to the Mongols. In the process, the famous House of Wisdom was also destroyed, the largest library of the world at that time. While the best libraries of Europe of that era possessed scarcely more than a few dozen books, this collection alone comprised around 400,000 works on medicine, mathematics and theology. The immeasurable writings were thrown into the Tigris, which turned black from the ink. With this destruction, the world lost one of its greatest centers of knowledge.
In Spain, in 1492, the Reconquista brought to an end nearly 800 years of Muslim rule that had made Andalusia a center of science and architecture. In the following centuries, colonialism, imperialism and repeated military interventions — for example in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Syria — led to political and economic destabilization in large parts of the Islamic world, the consequences of which reach into the present. This paved the way for authoritarian regimes that represented less the principles of Islam than their own interests of power and those of other countries.
Yet neither colonialism, wars, authoritarian regimes nor anti-Islamic propaganda could extinguish the light of this message. On the contrary: Islam is the fastest-growing religion and finds new adherents every year from all parts of the world. For Islam is not bound to a particular people or nation, but is addressed to all of mankind. It is a complete religion that unites faith, legislation and noble character. It orders all areas of human life, spiritual as well as physical, and regulates the relationship of the human being to his Creator, to himself, to his family and to his society.
It is a timeless message founded on firm principles from the Quran, the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ and the foundations of Islamic jurisprudence. In a changing world, Islam therefore remains a universal guidance that leads the human being in all aspects of his life, independent of time and place.
What do you think:
Why have you never before heard anything about the miracles of the Quran, or about the many narrations that show the incomparable mercy, generosity and kindness of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?
Instead, you are deliberately fed negative images and information (also called framing) so that you do not read the Quran yourself and form your own opinion. So that you leave the judgment to those who have the most to lose if people were to follow the truth and confront their system.
A system that is based on greed, inequality, exploitation, interest, bribery, corruption and propaganda, and that promotes the spread of alcohol, drugs, pornography and prostitution. Things that Islam strictly forbids. Instead, it obliges the rich to give 2.5% of their wealth annually to the needy, and forbids the hoarding of their wealth.
It is therefore hardly surprising that the most powerful media corporations and politicians, who often serve the interests of the elites and the wealthy, systematically portray Islam as a threat. For Islam confronts their system.
The end of the journey
With this we have reached the end of our journey.
Now imagine you were to start a complex game that has eternal consequences. So that you can complete the game successfully, you receive a clear and detailed guide from the developer of the game. The guide contains the goal of the game, explains the rules, and warns you of dangers. The guide is thus your signpost, containing everything you need to complete the game especially successfully. In such a situation, would you ignore the guide and simply start playing?
No one would ignore it, would they?
Next, imagine that after death you wake up and learn that all your life you disregarded the true guide and did not fulfill the purpose of your life. Unfortunately, though, you cannot, as in a game, go back and start again from the beginning.
The Quran is your guide, the word of the Creator who created heaven and earth. It is a message and a signpost that explains to you why we exist, what our task in this life is, why there is suffering, why God does not immediately punish tyrants, what awaits us after death, and how you can complete your test on Earth especially successfully. The Quran warns, on the one hand, against injustice, oppression, sin and disbelief, which lead into the Fire. And, on the other hand, it invites to justice, mercy, God-consciousness, faith, good deeds, and the right path that leads to eternal Paradise.
Should you at this point have any questions about Islam, then you can visit a mosque near you or contact one by telephone. They should generally be able to answer your questions.
If you would like to get in touch with me, that is also possible. You can reach me through the following ways.
I am glad to help you further, whether with answers to your questions, book recommendations, or the search for a Muslim community near you. If you should have no further questions and would like to accept Islam, then you need only pronounce the declaration of faith in Arabic or in a language known to you.
“Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah”
Translated, it means: “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger.”
If you believe and pronounce this testimony from the heart, then you are a Muslim. As soon as a person accepts Islam, all his previous sins are forgiven. The Arabic word “Islam” means to surrender to the will of God, and the word “Muslim” denotes someone who surrenders his will to God.
The Five Pillars of Islam
The declaration of faith
The declaration of faith is the first of the five pillars of Islam. Accepting Islam means consciously surrendering to the will of Allah, submitting to His divine commandments and prohibitions, and trusting in Him in all circumstances of life.
This does not mean a loss of your freedom. Laws in a society are meant to protect the welfare and freedom of all. Whoever follows these laws voluntarily does not restrict his freedom. On the contrary, he secures and protects his own freedom and that of all people in that society, even if freedom is thereby not limitless.
By the same principle, a person does not lose his freedom by following divine commandments. God is all-knowing, merciful, kind and caring; He created us and knows what is best for us. His laws therefore serve the welfare and protection of the human being. Whoever follows these commandments therefore does not lose his freedom, but orders his whole life according to what is best for him and for society.
The five daily prayers
The second pillar of Islam is the five daily prayers. Muslims must perform five obligatory prayers each day. The prayers are spread throughout the day: one in the early morning before sunrise, one at midday, one in the afternoon, one after sunset and one at night. Prayer is a direct connection between you and God. There is no intermediary between you and God, such as a priest. If you want to ask Allah for something, you speak directly to Him. If you make mistakes, you do not have to disclose them before others, but ask Allah Himself for forgiveness.
The alms tax (Zakat)
The third pillar of Islam is the alms tax (Zakat in Arabic). Muslims whose wealth is equal to at least the value of 87.48 grams of gold must give 2.5% of their wealth once a year as Zakat. The Arabic word “Zakat” means, among other things, “purification” and “growth,” and thus points to the spiritual purification of wealth. Through this contribution, poor and low-income families as well as other eligible groups are supported. At the same time, Zakat counteracts people becoming greedy or accumulating wealth without sharing.
In November 2025, Statista published the following figures:
“In 2024, 1.6 percent of the world's population owned around 48.1 percent of global wealth. By contrast, around 40.7 percent of the world's population owned only 0.6 percent of global wealth.”
This extreme inequality shows what potential lies in Zakat to alleviate social hardship and effectively reduce poverty.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan
The fourth pillar is fasting in the month of Ramadan. Every year, Muslims all over the world fast in the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. During the day, one does not eat and does not drink. Furthermore, spouses may not be intimate during this time. In addition, one must not hurt anyone with words, use no bad or insulting expressions, and harm no one with one's hands.
The pilgrimage to Mecca
The fifth pillar of Islam is the pilgrimage to Mecca. Every Muslim must perform the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime, provided he or she is physically and financially able to do so. Normally, around two million people from all over the world come together to perform the pilgrimage. During the pilgrimage, all men wear essentially the same clothing, a white garment (the “Ihram”). This symbolizes that there is no difference between a rich person and a poor one, between a politician, a manager, a worker, an Arab or a non-Arab, someone with dark or light skin.
The Six Pillars of Faith (Iman)
In addition to the five pillars of Islam, there are six pillars of faith (Iman) that every Muslim must believe in:
Belief in Allah
There is only one God, Allah, who has no partner and no son. The Arabic word “Allah” has no gender and no plural form. Allah is all-knowing, merciful, all-hearing and all-seeing. In the Quran He describes Himself through His names and attributes. Studying them helps one to come to know God better.
Belief in the angels
Angels in Islam are part of the world of the “unseen,” which we cannot comprehend, but angels are mentioned in many places in the Quran and the Sunna. They were created from light and carry out Allah's commands without free will. They do not eat, do not sleep and do not fall ill. Every human being has two angels who record his good and bad deeds. The greatest of all angels is Gabriel (peace be upon him), who brought God's messages to the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them all).
Belief in the holy scriptures
God has sent down books to His prophets as proof and guidance for mankind. Allah revealed to the Prophet Abraham the Scriptures, to the Prophet David the Psalms, to the Prophet Moses the Torah, to the Prophet Jesus the Gospel, and finally to the Prophet Muhammad the Quran (peace and blessings be upon them all).
For more than 1,400 years, people all over the world, in various regions and continents, from various teachers and from generation to generation, have memorized the Quran. Millions have memorized the same verses, word for word, and hundreds of millions know a part of the Quran by heart.
That millions today can recite the same text by heart can only mean that the text has remained unchanged. To claim the opposite, one would have to believe that all these people from different centuries and regions had gathered at one point and agreed upon an identical text, which is completely out of the question.
In addition, manuscripts from the first centuries of the Islamic calendar show that the wording of the Quran fully corresponds with the verses transmitted today, and thus its continuous preservation is proven. God says that He protects the Quran from corruption.
It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.
[15:9]Thus the Quran is the final, fully preserved revelation of God.
Belief in the prophets
Muslims believe in all the prophets and messengers, from Adam through Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob to Moses, Jesus and the final Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all).
Belief in the Day of Judgment
After death, all people will be resurrected and held to account for their deeds. Either the person enters Paradise forever, enters Hell forever, or, after a certain time in Hell, enters Paradise forever in the end.
Belief in divine predestination (al-Qadar)
Belief in al-Qadar comprises the following four aspects:
First: the belief that Allah knows everything.
Second: that Allah has written down everything that has happened and that will happen.
Third: the belief that everything that happens in this universe happens through the will of Allah. What He does not will does not happen. Nothing exists outside of His will.
Fourth: the belief that Allah is the Creator of all things, including the actions of human beings. Allah created not only the human being but also his abilities and his will. With these possibilities given by Allah, human beings carry out good or bad actions. The human being thus possesses the freedom to choose between right and wrong, and is held to account for these decisions. Thus the human being cannot say that he was forced to sin or had no choice.
What can you do next?
- Read the translation of the meaning of the Quran in your mother tongue and form your own opinion.
- Explore the words and deeds of the Prophet ﷺ in the authentic narrations. They are an example of how the Quran is put into practice. Begin, for example, with the famous collection “The Forty Hadith” of Imam An-Nawawi.
- Discover the 99 names of Allah, which describe His perfect attributes and teach you who He is.
- Visit a mosque and speak with Muslims who practice Islam according to the Quran and the actions of the Prophet ﷺ.