 Founder
/ Major Figures
- The prophet Muhammad, an Arab and a descendant
of Abraham, received the divine revelations of Allah contained in the Muslim scriptures,
the Holy Qu'ran [Koran].
- The Qu'ran names twenty-five messengers of God,
including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, and Jesus. Muhammad is believed to be
the final messenger until the Day of Judgment.
Major BeliefsThe
Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender
of one's will to the one true God worthy of worship. Anyone who adheres to
this ideal is called a Muslim. Muslims believe that Islam is the one
true religion given to Adam and to all the prophets after him. Muslims
believe in one God, creator of all things, unique in life, power, mercy and justice.
The revelation of God came to an Arabian trader named Muhammad. He passed the
message on to others and headed a community of those who gave up the worship of
idols and spirits. The revelations that Muhammad received were believed to have
come directly from God. Muslims place themselves directly in the line of
those who worship one God, so they feel kinship with Jews and Christians. They
believe that Muhammad came to complete or seal the line of prophets whom God sent
into the world as guidance for humankind. The prophetic line began with the first
man, Adam, and included many of those named in the Jewish and Christian scriptures,
such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Muslims believe God gave scriptures to Moses
and to Jesus and that in their true interpretation they agree with the message
of the Koran. Muslims also hold that the final goal for life lies beyond
the brief span of years spent on earth. After death there will be a new life.
The same God who created the world will also call forth in resurrection all who
have died. Then perfect justice will be administered. Righteous living will be
rewarded and wickedness punished. Jesus occupies a high place of honor in
Islam. He is held as one of the prophets of God and no calling of humankind is
considered higher than that of prophet. According to Islam, Jesus was born of
the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life of sacrificial service to his people, and
when he was threatened by his enemies, God delivered him from a shameful death
and exalted him to Paradise. Many Muslims also believe that Jesus will return
to earth at the end of the age. Jesus in Islam is not the same as Jesus Christ
for the Christians. Muslims do not accept the Christian title, "Son of God"
for Jesus and they do not view Jesus' death on a cross as redemptive as Christians
do.
Scripture / Sacred Writings The
revelations that Muhammad received were believed to have come directly from God.
Eventually they were put together in a book called the Qu'ran or Koran, which
was written in the Arabic language. Besides the holy scripture of the Koran,
Muslims hold as authoritative a large collection of reports telling about the
prophet Muhammad's interpretations of the Koran, his actions in everyday life
and his attitudes. These reports are called hadith.
Worship
and Spiritual PracticeMuslim faith and practice is grounded
in the Five Pillars of Islam: - Iman (Faith): "There
is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God".
The only purpose of life is to serve and obey God.
- Salah (Prayer):
Obligatory prayers are performed five times a day. Since there are no priests
in Islam, prayer is the direct link between the worshiper and God.
- Zakah
(Financial Obligation): Since everything belongs to God, wealth is held in
trust by humankind. Muslims are enjoined to set aside a portion of what they have
(a fortieth of one's capital annually) for those in need. They may also give as
much as they like in secret.
- Sawn (Fasting): All Muslims fast from
dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan. Fasting allows the faithful to focus
on the presence of God.
- Hajj (Pilgrimage): Those who are physically
and financially able to do so, are called on to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at
least once in their lifetimes, during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar.
Mecca, in Saudi Arabia, is connected not only with the life of the prophet Muhammad,
but also, and even more importantly for the pilgrimage, with Abraham, the spiritual
father of Muslims.
Islam sets forth the duties for human life in
a clear way. Life has serious purpose as a response in faith to the creative and
sustaining power of Allah. A Muslim's life is one of social responsibility.  Every
Friday at noon Muslims gather for communal prayer. Although the prayers can be
held in any kind of room or hall, special buildings, or mosques, are often built
or adapted for worship.
The prayer room is bare of furniture, the floor
covered with carpets. Worshippers leave their shoes at the door and gather facing
in the direction of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, where Islam began, the men in one group
and the women in another. They stand in rows close together to carry our the ritual
acts of prayer, its gestures, prostrations, recitations and periods of silence.
Worshippers follow the leadership of a person called the imam. They may
also listen to chanting of the Qu'ran and to the preaching of a sermon while seated
on the floor. The ritual prayer of Islam is mostly in the form of praise
to Allah, although petition does have a place. It is performed at five fixed times
each day, although communal worship is required only once a week.
History
Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad, born in Makkah
[Mecca] in present day Saudi Arabia in 570 CE, is the supreme model for humanity.
An Arab and a descendant of Abraham, he received the divine revelations of Allah
contained in the Muslim scriptures, the Holy Qu'ran, over a period of twenty-three
years.
Calendar Muslims use a lunar calendar.
Each month begins when the new moon is sighted. Every year begins eleven
days later than the previous year, so over the course of one's lifetime Ramadan,
for example, would occur in every season.  Two
main festivals highlight the calendar of Islam. One, known as Eid ul Fitr, comes
at the end of the yearly month-long fast (Ramadan) and is chiefly a time of thanksgiving.
The
other time is called the Festival of Sacrifice which takes place at the same time
as the pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims worldwide commemorate on that occasion the
supreme act of faith by Abraham when he offered to sacrifice his son in obedience
to God and was rewarded by his son's deliverance.
Administration
and Secular Life Muslims, of multiple ethnic origins, number
well over one billion people in the world. Nearly one person in five across the
earth belongs to the religion of Islam. In spite of the immense geographical
scope of Islam, covering the whole world, and in spite of the fact that there
is no central authority (person or council) for the faith, Islamic practice remains
astonishingly uniform across the earth. This uniformity has to do with observance
of the five "pillars" and traditional beliefs and practices handed down
from the prophet Muhammad. Beyond the Five Pillars, Islamic life takes
on the characteristics of the culture in which Muslims live. Many social attitudes
and customs of dress, food, and behavior differ by geographical area. Some American
Muslims retain the ways of the lands from which they came; others, in increasing
numbers, have adopted American ways while staying faithful to the principles and
practices of their faith. Muslims in America have councils and associations
to coordinate and facilitate activities, and they seek the wisdom of leaders to
interpret aspects of their religious law. A lively Islamic press in the
United States keeps its readers abreast of current social, political and economic
trends and suggests how they should react to them in the light of their faith.
Again and again Islamic writers in newspapers and magazines have deplored the
senseless violence of Sept. 11, 2001, sympathized with victims and survivors,
and expressed solidarity with their fellow Americans. Also, and here they join
many Christians and others, they call for justice in international relations.
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