Greetings acausal and welcome to the forum
Islam means Submission to God, generally, yes?
"If you refer to Arabic language dictionaries you will find out that the meaning of the word Islam is: submission, humbling oneself, and obeying commands and heeding prohibitions without objection, sincerely worshipping Allaah alone, believing what He tells us and having faith in Him. The word Islam has become the name of the religion which was brought by Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). "
Read more:
Meaning of the word Islam - islamqa.info
I know the word also has some roots with the word peace, as well (or so I have read).
Yes, it has the same root letters.
All life and all things exist only because they adhere to God- to the way of things. We are all Muslim. Anything else is impossible.
By the word itself, isn't everything already... Islam?
I don't know if you've read a translation of the meanings of the Qur'an, but am wondering if you're referring to this verse, the translation of which is:
Sahih International
So is it other than the religion of Allah they desire, while to Him have submitted [all] those within the heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned? (3:83)
Willingly, or unwillingly, all creatures submit to His laws of the universe. Indeed in questioning, you're using your brain, which God made for us to use. When we eat, we are eating food He provided for us to eat, and the system of humans is that we are creatures who need to eat. People may not acknowledge God, but we all have a need to eat. We submit/concede to the laws by which the universe operates. We are born, we live, we breathe, we die. there is no other system we can choose. We will die whether we want to or not.
"Therefore, the faithful believer submits to Allah in heart and body, while the disbeliever unwillingly submits to Him in body only, since he is under Allah's power, irresistible control and mighty kingship that cannot be repelled or resisted. "
Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir - The Only Valid Religion To Allah is Islam
To be a Muslim, it must be a conscious, willing, active decision to submit - a submission of heart, mind and body. Not just a passive submission of body.
I dont easily accept another man as above me/of being subordinate.
We have never been called subordinate, to my knowledge.
I cannot, or don't seem to, accept Muhammad as closer to God than me.
How do you mean?
Remember, that all the Prophets of God, were amongst the noblest and purest peoples of their times, known for their upright characters and excellent moral conduct.
Allah sent a succession of prophets to people throughout the ages, to convey His message to them, and with guidance to show people how He wants them to live and worship Him. Muslims believe in all the prophets Allah sent, and do not reject or blaspheme any of them, from Adam, to the last and final prophet, Muhammad, peace be on them all. They were the purest and noblest of humanity and were not divine in any way. Allah sent all the prophets with the same message and not different messages. The message was: to submit wholeheartedly to Allah and worship Him and Him alone, without any associates in, or parts to, His Exclusive Divinity, and to obey the prophet. They taught that people should be under no misperception that they can commit themselves to Allah as their Lord, and then combine this with accepting others as their Lord, or associating others in His Divinity, in whatever way. They taught that we should strive hard to translate our belief in the One True God into practice, by obeying Allah and the messengers He sent, who were also role models and examples for us, showing us practically how to put the guidance they were sent with into practice in our daily lives, explaining the scriptures, warning against wrong-doing, giving good tidings, and giving additional legislation from Allah.
So Islam is not a new faith, but is the same ultimate universal truth that God revealed to all the prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be on them), and the same thing they all taught. Thus Islam is not named after a specific person (like Christianity, Buddhism), nor after a certain race or place (like Judaism, Hinduism), but is named by God Himself, the meaning loosely translating as 'submission to God', which is what every Prophet and their righteous followers did, from amongst all times, places and peoples. That in itself is one fraction of the evidence that it was the way of all the Prophets from the beginning.
With time, the message got forgotten or corrupted. So people started worshipping other gods along with Him, made idols, said that God begot a son, said that certain people were incarnations of God, some rejected belief in God altogether, while others elevated the status of some prophets to divine, or at the other end, rejected or blasphemed some of the prophets. Whenever God's message got distorted by people, or forgotten, a new messenger was sent, not with any new or changed message, but reinforcing the actual message that God sent all the messengers with, the actual core beliefs that people were taught from the beginning of humanity, confirming the true parts of previous teachings and scriptures, and correcting wrong beliefs and misconceptions that had crept in. God required that whenever He sent a new messenger, that messenger should be followed along with any new scripture given to him. This chain of messengers culminates in prophet Muhammad (peace on him), who is the last and final prophet and messenger. Since his prophethood, God's message is available unchanged and unadulterated, for the entire world, until the end of time. He wasn't sent as prophet and messenger for a specific group of people and specific time (e.g. as Moses and Jesus were to the Children of Israel), but he was sent for all the world, for all time, until the Day of Judgement. Thus he is the last, not first, prophet of Islam; a messenger to all mankind, for now, and for all time to come. He is the messenger who must now be followed.
Also see the following hadeeth:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:
There is none whose deeds alone can secure salvation for him. They said: Allah's Messenger, not even you? Thereupon he said: Not even I, but that the Mercy of Allah should take hold of me. (Sahih Muslim)
I'll leave it here for now, and perhaps you can let us know if this addresses any of your concerns at all in any way.
Peace.