Lisa Jane Dhar founded The Fig and The Olive in 2008. She is the daughter of a 'Born Again' Welsh mother and Hindu Indian father. She reverted to the Islamic faith whilst studying Psychology at Cardiff University. She furthered her academic knowledge by undertaking an intensive Arabic course. She has been studying Islamic Studies and Islamic [Natural] medicine for a number of years under Shiekh Abdalla Yassin Mohamed [OBE.PHD].

A Spiritual Tradition

There are over 1.4 billion people in the world today who follow a peaceful and beautiful way of life called Islam. This is not a new faith but one that exists from time immemorial. The first beliver being Adam (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), the first man and father of all humanity. There has been much unfavourable press about this harmonious way of life, but this has not deterred it from becoming the world's largest faith and the fastest growing spiritual tradition today. Islam is derived from the root word 'Salam' meaning peace. This is because a person can only obtain true peace when they follow the laws of their Creator, which are in harmony with the laws of nature. A person is considered to be a believer when he or she believes in six principles. They are as follows:-

1) Belief in the One true God 'Allah'. Allah in Arabic can be translated as 'God'. It is a special word that is without gender and pluarity. Middle Eastern Christians will also use the Arabic word Allah for God. Allah is One, without partner, son or equal. He is omnipotent, omniscient, perfect, etc.

2) Belief in the Angels & Jinn. Allah has created other forms of life. Angels are created from light and are faithfully obedient. Jinn are beings created from fire and are equipped with the ability of 'choice'. The Jinn therefore like humans are able to choose whether or not they wish to follow the laws of their Creator or to follow the desires of the self.

3) Belief in all the Prophets. From the very first Prophet being Adam, through to Moses, Solomon, David, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jesus, to the seal of the Prophets Prophet Muhammad. These Prophets were sent to guide the people to a perfect way of living, one in which recognition is given to the Lord of the Worlds.

4) Belief in all the books of Revelation from God. These books are the Torah (Old Testament), The Scrolls of Abraham, The Psalms of David, The Gospel of Jesus, and the final book, being the Qur'an. The Qur'an was given to Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon them all). Books of revelation act as guidance for reading the signs of God in His creation. The Qur'an is a protected book that remains unchanged since it was revealed. It is in Arabic and contains 114 chapters.

5) Belief in the Day of Judgement and the Hearafter. Our life on earth is temporary, our purpose of life is to know God. Ultimately, all of us will be exposed to the mercy of God Almighty proportional to our acheivement in life.

6) Belief in Allah's decree. Belief that all good and perceived bad comes from the Creator. 'God Almighty is absolute goodness'. 'In every affair of the believer there is good'. Once a person believes in these six principles they are a Muslim. 

"There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the right path has become distinct from the wrong path..." [Al Quran Surat Al Baqarah 2:256]