Islam is one of the Western Abahamic religions, among Judaism and Christianity. It is a monotheistic religion in which Muslims believe that a person finds peace in the surrender to God. The word Islam means, “submission to God” and those who submit to the one God are Muslims, which means “one who surrenders”, or “submits” to the will of God. Muhammad is their great prophet whom they believe was the last prophet of God and the conduit for the Qur’an. Muslims know that there are certain ways to live a moral life that are the basic tenets of Islam called the Five Pillars of Islam. Islam is the world’s second largest religion, following Christianity.
The Western Abrahmic religions share the belief in covenant, tradition, and monotheism. Judaism believes in one God with the divine name “Yahweh”. Christianity also believes in the one God who created the world and takes interest in the humans who inhabit it. To Muslims, their one God named “Allah” transmitted his word to the prophet Muhammad. This revelation was written down in the Qur’an and is considered the divine word of God. The Qur’an means “recitation”, and has become the scripture of Islam. These writings are so important because they were dictated from Allah to Gabriel and then to Muhammad. The Qur’an is often sung to enhance joyous celebrations. It consists of 114 chapters or surahs and has similar stories to that of Jewish and Christian scripture.
The prophet Muhammad was very influential in the religion of Islam. He is believed to be the last prophet of God and a conduit for the Qur’an. He was also a human man who was born in 570 CE around Mecca in a trading city called Arabia. Muhammad was orphaned, illiterate, and worked for a wealthy caravan trader. The trader had a daughter named Khadija whom Muhammad married when he was 25 years old. Muhammad lived the rest of his life in prayer at Mt. Hera near Mecca. In 610 CE, when he was 40 years old, Muhammad received a revelation from the angel Gabriel. The angel appeared to him while he was praying and Muhammad submited; this is miraculous because he was illiterate. He had many revelations over the years, which he has written down and became the writings of the Qur’an. Muhammad is not considered divine and Muslims do not worship him.
The Five Pillars of Islam are the basic tenets of Islam. They are the basic ways to live a moral life and are believed to make a person a good practicing Muslim. The Five Pillars include Shahadah, Salat, Sawm, Sakat, and a Hajj. Shahadah is the Muslim’s creed or “profession of faith”. The creed is said in the morning and at night before bed. It says, “I witness that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.” The second pillar, Salat, is a prayer ritual. It is a precise ritual of praying five times a day facing Mecca. Mecca is the navel of the earth, sacred center, or the axis mundi to Muslims.
The third pillar of Islam is Sawm, a fasting ritual. Each day in Ramadan, the ninth month in Islam, Muslims are required to fast. From dawn until sunset they will fast from everything including eating, drinking, sexual activity, gum, toothpaste, and medicine. Sakat is the fourth pillar and is the pillar of charity. Muslims participate by giving alms to the poor in acts of charity. These alms are money savings or charitable gifts they give to the less fortunate.
The last and final pillar of Islam is the Hajj, which literally means “pilgrimage”. Muslims are required to take a pilgrimage to Mecca, if physically able, at least once in their lifetime. No non- Muslim is allowed in Mecca because Mecca is the most holy place for Muslims. The first step to the Hajj is to circumambulate the Ka’aba seven times. The Ka’aba is a black stone around which Muslims gather at Mecca. Second, a Muslim must “hustle” between the two hills and drink from the spring, symbolizing when Hagar was looking for water for her son. The third step is the go to Mt. Arafat to pray and rest. After much rest and prayer, a Muslim throws seven stones at each three pillars to represent casting out evil. Sacrificing an animal and sharing a meal is the last step and ends the pilgrimage.
Great Blog! It really shows that you understand and are comprehending the ideas about Islam. What I learned especially was the Muslim/Islam mix up. I really thought they were just the same, but at the same time...I didn't know exactly what they meant. Isn't it strange how we know there are a lot of religions out there, yet we only know about the religion we are? Like without this class I would be clueless on things such as Islam/Muslim, the Turner/Eliade models, and etc. Sometimes I believe that we shouldn't have to just confess our love towards one religion because then we will never know what else is out there? Isn't that discriminating our knowledge of any kind of religion? Just a thought!
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