Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God)

Allah
Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The
name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (pbuh), as many
Christians may think; Allah is the personal name of God.
What do Muslims believe about Allah?
• He is the one God, Who has no partner.
• Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His
creation.
• He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just.
• There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship
besides Him.
• He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be
when nothing else remains.
• He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful, the Supreme, the Sovereign.
• It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything.
• He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind.
• He sent Muhammad (pbuh) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all
mankind.
• His book is the Holy Qur'an, the only authentic revealed book in the
world that has been kept without change.
• Allah knows what is in our hearts.
These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their knowledge
of God:
• Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their
conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite
similar labels or appellations.
• Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) described Allah to be, no more, no less.
• Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His
names and attributes.
• Belief totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe
in some and disbelieve the others.
• One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes,
i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is
without life.
• Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is
being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human
arm, so the "hand" of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is
nothing like human speech, etc.
• Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may
be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in
accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are
acceptable.
Cleanliness
Islam places great emphasis on cleanliness, in both its physical and spiritual
aspects. On the physical side, Islam requires the Muslims to clean their
bodys, clothes, houses, and the whole community, and they will be
rewarded by God for doing so. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, for
example:
"Removing any harm from the road is charity (that will be
rewarded by Allah)." [Bukhari]
While people generally consider cleanliness a desirable attribute, Islam
insists on it, making it an indispensable fundamental of the faith. A Muslim
is required to be pure morally and spiritually as well as physically.
Through the Qur'an and Sunnah Islam requires sincere believers to sanitize
and purify their entire way of life.
In the Qur'an Allah commends those who are accustomed to cleanliness:
"Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those
who keep themselves pure and clean." [2: 22]
In Islam the Arabic term for purity is Taharah. Books of Islamic
jurisprudence often contain an entire chapter with Taharah as a heading.
Allah orders the believer to be tidy in appearance:
"Keep your clothes clean." [74:4]
The Qur'an insists that the believer maintain a constant state of purity:
"Believers! When you prepare for prayer wash your faces, and your
hands (and arms) to the elbows; rub your heads (with water) and
(wash) your feet up to the ankles. If you are ritually impure
bathe your whole body..." [5: 6]
Ritual impurity refers to that resulting from sexual release, menstruation
and the forty days after childbirth. Muslims also use water, not paper or
anything else to clean after ejecting body wastes.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised the Muslims to appear neat and tidy in
private and in public. Once when returning home from battle he advised
his army:
"You are soon going to meet your brothers, so tidy your saddles
and clothes. Be distinguished in the eyes of the people." [Abu
Dawud]
On another occasion he said:
"Don't ever come with your hair and beard disheveled like a
devil." [Al-Tirmidhi]
And on another:
"Had I not been afraid of overburdening my community, I would
have ordered them to brush their teeth for every prayer." [Bukhari]
Moral hygiene was not ignored, the Prophet (pbuh) encouraged the
Muslims to make a special prayer upon seeing themselves in the mirror:
"Allah, You have endowed me with a good form; likewise bless me
with an immaculate character and forbid my face from touching the
Hellfire." [Ahmad]
And modesty in dress, for men as well as for women, assists one in
maintaining purity of thought.
Being charitable is a way of purifying one's wealth. A Muslim who does
not give charity (Sadaqah) and pay the required annual Zakah, the 2.5%
alms-tax, has in effect contaminated his/her wealth by hoarding that which
rightfully belongs to others:
"Of their wealth take alms so that you may purify and sanctify
them." [9: 103]
All the laws and injunctions given by Allah and His Prophet (pbuh) are
pure; on the other hand, man-made laws suffer from the impurities of
human bias and other imperfections. Thus any formal law can only be
truly just when it is purified by divine guidance - as elucidated by the
Qur'an and the Sunnah - or if it is divinely ordained to begin with - the
Shari'ah.