The Issue of Islam
Islam has seriously deviated from the message that God sent to His messengers. The message that God gave to Muhammad (God bless him) popularly called the Quran by Muslims is indeed God's message. But it has something different to say than what most Muslims have to say. Quranists are here to show you what the Quran is really saying.
What does Islam really mean?
Learning the Classical Arabic of Muhammad's day is the key to understanding the Quran. That means eliminating the practice of reading into the Quran those meanings of Arabic words that originated after the Quran. As well we must accept alternative understandings of Arabic words and phrases. Islam as 'submission to God' is one of these meanings that came after the Quran - originating with an Arab religious scholar by the name of Imam Shafi'ee.
The word in its most understood meaning is only submission. In looking at this meaning of "submission" we can all falsely guess that the submission is to God in a religious context (even Shafi'ee falsely assumed that), but that is all that we are doing. Guessing and Assuming!
"If you obey most of those on earth they would mislead you far from God's way. They follow nothing but opinion, and they only guess."
Quran 6:116
The universal message of the Quran which is 'Submissiveness/Submission to God' is not expressed by any word that just means 'Submissiveness/Submission' alone. That includes the word Islam.
The only general definition that can be understood from the word Islam is in the current general application of the word to everyone who believes that the Quran was inspired by God and that Muhammad is a prophet and messenger of God, and consequently claims to follow the Quran and Muhammad. No matter how radical or moderate any particular denomination of Islam may be, as long as they believe in the Quran and in Muhammad, and claim following the two they are Muslim. That is how the intelligent world sees it, and even how Muslims really see it. But why do Muslims not want to recognize this?
Mainly because traditional Islam, and even most radical denominations of Islam are full of false ideas and beliefs that, while claiming to be referenced from the Quran, usurp the Quran's authority, mostly by separating the last prophet from the Quran. Quranists or Quranies, as some like to call us, are here to bring the authority back to the only thing our beloved last prophet preached and followed; the Quran.
Muslim by default
Being godly, that is pro-God, is the actual message of the Quran; We do believe that the Quran is inspired by God and that Muhammad is God's prophet and messenger and we claim to follow the two. For this reason only we accept the title Islam and Muslim, or Islamic. Because we exclusively follow the Quran and its teachings, we are Quranist Muslims. In spite of that, we do not accept the stain that non-Quranic and Unquranic Muslim denominations have put onto the Quran, and even onto our lord God.
Muhammad, the last prophet (God bless him) was a Quranist Muslim as well. He believed in his prophethood and messengership and only followed the Quran. We know from the Quran that above all he was submissive to God and followed Abraham's religion. He was a Quranist Muslim even if he would not have called himself this because the meanings of Quran and Islam that we use came after the revelation. The meaning of the Arabic word Quran is a reading, recital or study.The Quran doesn't call itself the Quran, people nicknamed it that after its revelation. And the Quran doesn't call the religion it preaches Islam alone.People nicknamed
it that after it was revealed.
Wherever you find the word Islam in the Quran understand that it only means:
Submission, as well as 'giving, quitting (something/someone), paying in advance,
salutation, salvation
It has nothing to do with God by itself, and is used with context; but context does not determine the definition of words, context clarifies the message of an entire saying using the group of words used before and after any one word. The point of context is that not only one word can communicate the entire message.
The Message
The message is what is really important and it should never matter what language it is communicated in. It is better for someone to say that they are pro-God in whatever language they want, then to use some name which has no meaning in their own language and to their own people. There is no need to prefer Arabic terms, even if the Quran is in Arabic. This is a counter-productive habit which plagues the Islamic world. No language is superior to another when it comes to a message that can be translated into every language.
Why is God's last sent scripture in Old Arabic?
The Quran is in Old Arabic for the multifaceted way that it can be used and understood. It sets a certain stage for how the Quran can be comprehended and applied, as well as fulfilling God's plan to bring a messenger to the Arabs of that time. That is all.
