Understanding Islam — Page 13
13 D OES I SLAM SAY , C ONVERT OR D IE ? Some Christian evangelists contend that while Islam does mean peace, it only promotes a state of violence and war. They argue that Prophet Muhammad sa himself used the words, “ Aslim Taslam ”, when giving warning to neighbouring tribes, which they wrongly translate as, “If you surrender, you will have peace”. Their argument is that the word Aslim here means to surrender by conversion. 12 This argument is born out of ignorance or perhaps prejudice. Prophet Muhammad sa would indeed send the message of Aslim Taslam to tribes, individuals, and even Kings. Aslim Taslam simply means: “Accept Islam and you will have salvation. ” Both the words Aslim and Taslam are variations of the word “Islam”. Considering the earlier discussion of the root letters of Islam – S-L-M – another meaning of the phrase Aslim Taslam is “maintain peace, and you will be granted peace”. In other words, as long as the non-Muslims remain peaceful, they should expect the same from Muslims.