Meaning

Audio transcript:

>>STEVE ST. GEORGE: Hello. I'm Steve St. George. And this is your crash course in Islam. Today we will examine the meaning of the word Islam. In Arabic the word Islam means submission or surrender. However it was derived from the root word Salaam. From this root word you can also deride the words peace and safety. Many people feel that Islam implies some sort of enslavement to Allah. But others find it more helpful to define the word Islam as surrender. Many religions have a concept of surrender to God. In Jewish history when the ancient Hebrews obeyed God's commands they had a long period of prosperity and stability. In Christianity surrendering to God as a way of putting your life into more capable hands. In fact Jesus asked many of his disciples to surrender their livelihoods and follow him. So if we look at the word Islam in this way we can understand why obeying Allah's commands and trusting in Allah's wisdom could bring about peace for a Muslim.

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