Page 124 - New English Book L

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That “shalom” and the Syriac “shlama,” as well as
the Arabic “salam” and “Islam,” are of one and the same
Semitic root, “shalam,” and mean the same thing, is an
admitted truth by all the scholars of the Semitic languages.
The verb “shalam” signifies “to submit, resign oneself to,”
and then “to make peace;” and consequently “to be safe,
sound, and tranquil.” No religious system in the world has
ever been qualified with a better and more comprehensive,
dignified, and sublime name than that of “Islam.” The true
Religion of the True God cannot be named after the name
of any of His servants, and much less after the name of
a people or country. It is, indeed, this sanctity and the
inviolability of the word “Islam” that strikes its enemies
with awe, fear, and reverence even when the Muslims are
weak and unhappy. It is the name and title of a religion
that teaches and commands an absolute submission and
resignation of will and self to the Supreme Being, and
then to obtain peace and tranquillity in mind and at home,
no matter what tribulations or passing misfortunes may
threaten us that fills its opponents with awe. [1] It is the
firm and unshaking belief in the Oneness of Allah and
the unswerving confidence in His mercy and justice that
makes a Muslim distinguishable and prominent among
non-Muslims. And it is this sound faith in Allah and the
sincere attachment to His Holy Quran and the Apostle that
the Christian missionaries have been desperately attacking
and have hopelessly failed. Hence, Jeremiah’s words that
“the Prophet who prophesies, namely, who preaches and
speaks concerning the affairs of Islam as his religion, he

[1] It is interesting and significant to note how the observations of the learned
professor coincide with those of the ex-Kaiser of Germany who, on the occasion of
his seventieth birthday celebrations at Doorn, Holland, was reported to have said in
his speech: “And understand this - if ever the Muhammadans should conceive the
idea that it is Allah’s command to bring order into a declining West and subjugate to
His will, then -with faith in God- they will come upon the godless Europeans like a
tidal wave, against which even the reddest Bolshevist, full of eagerness for combat,
will be helpless.” (Evening Standard, London, January 26, 1929.). (The author).