ISLAM

(Submission to God)

The Muslim, or Moslim (obedient ones) belief is that of obedience to God.  God or Allah (which is Arabic, comprising two words: Al (The) and Illah (God), in effect The God) is great and deserves their complete submission.  They believe that with submitting to God, it will bring them eternal salvation.  Allah is the preferred name by Muslims as this appears in their sacred text The Qur’an (Koran).  There is also no gender to Allah, unlike other religious Gods.

MUHAMMAD IBN ABDULLAH

Muhammad or Mohammed

(Messenger of God)

(The Prophet)

(Beloved of God)

(Joy of Creation)

The place of Muhammad’s birth was Makkah (Mecca).  He was a member of the Quraish (Koraish) and was born around AD 570.  Muhammad seemed to have a hard time in his early years, as he lost his father before he was born, and then lost his mother at the age of six.  His grandfather then became responsible for his upbringing, but after only a couple of years he too passed away.  This then brought Muhammad under the guardianship of his uncle, Abu Talib, who was also a deeply religious man.  It was during this time that Muhammad made his career as a trader.  (Later on Abu Talib would become one of Muhammad’s staunchest supporters).

From the early days of his childhood, Mohammad seemed destined to be great, as his mother had heard Angelic voices proclaiming the birth of a prophet, while she was pregnant with him.  This greatness was also noticed at an early age (12) by a Christian monk.  

However, due to tribal warfare and the polytheist religions Muhammad began to exile himself away for meditation, prayer and contemplation.  He used to go to the mountains for this.  As time passed this became a more prominent feature of Muhammad’s life, until at the age of 40, the Angel Gabriel (Jibril) appeared to him while he was sleeping.

REVELATIONS

It was during this time that Muhammad finally knew his destiny to be Gods messenger and spread his word.  This night of his vision would become known as the Night of Power of the Night of Destiny.

From then on until his death in 632 CE (common era) he received many more messages from God through Gabriel.

These revelations, which he would receive while in a trance like state, were then committed to the memory of his followers, and eventually to be written down forming the Qur’an.

THE QUR’AN

(RECITATION)

The Qur’an (Koran) is the Holy Book of the Muslims.  The main message of this is that of absolute supremacy of God (Allah).  This is believed by Muslims to be the word of God, given to Muhammad through Angel Gabriel.  In effect it means that Allah is the author of this works and not Muhammad.

Mohammad believed that these verses were taken from a heavenly book (Mother of the Book), which is said to contain the wisdom of Allah (God).  There are 6,666 verses in the Qur’an, and these are organised into Suras (Chapters).

SUNNA AND HADITH

There are other writings, which are placed in high esteem by Muslims as well, and these are collectively known as the Sunna (Sunnah).  (Sunna means approved custom or tradition).  These Sunna in turn are separated into writings called Hadiths (statements).  These writings are the scriptures of everything that Muhammad said and did, and contain advice and guidance for the Muslim way of life.

ONE GOD (ALLAH)

The belief of Muslims is that there is only one God, who exists.  This single God is Allah, and he is supreme.  They believe that all other divinities are just mere myths, and that Allah is unique.  All that happens is the will of Allah (God).  They utter the Witness, or Sahada each and every day.  This is as follows:

La ilaha illa Allah; Mohammad rasul Allah

Otherwise translated as:  There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet.

THE LAW

(SHARI’AH)

The law (Shari’ah) is also written in the Qur’an, which if they do not follow this law and obey it, they will receive eternal condemnation.  This law concerns much of Muslim life from marriage to government, as well as the religious issues.

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

To Islam there are five pillars or beliefs, which are the golden rules for Muslims and are the minimum practices, which they must adhere too.

 

These pillars are as follows:

THE SHAHADAH – Confession or declaration of their faith.

SALAT OR SALAH – Prayer (to be said at five set times during the day).

ZAKAT OR ZAKAH – Special humanitarian tax which is paid yearly.

SAWM – Month long daytime fast, generally known as Ramadan.

HAJJ – Pilgrimage to Mecca.  (Every Muslim should do this at least once in their lifetime).

PLACE OF WORSHIP

(MOSQUE)

The place where Muslims do worship and pray is called a Mosque, or Masjid.  (Meaning “Place of Prostration”).  During the day these Mosques will relay the Adhan (call to prayer) at five set times.  The person who is responsible for reciting this call is called the Mu’adhin.

As a sign of respect to Allah, Muslims will wash their hands, arms, face and feet; they will also remove their shoes before entering the Mosque.  The ritual of washing is called Wudu.

Muslims will always pray facing Ka’bah in Mecca.

 

AFTER WORD

This treatise is just a small introduction to the Muslim world and to Islam.  However, if there is, any mistakes, which I have made with Muslim terms or any of the information above, please let me know.  As this is not a treatise, which is in anyway against this belief, it is to convey a small piece of the view of Muslim (Islamic) faith, in order for our members to gain an insight into this area.

Written by Sage Robert Worrall

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