Islam at a glance

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 558.

The word Islam means 'submission to the will of God'. Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers. Muslims believe that Islam was revealed over 1400 years ago in Mecca, Arabia. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. They believe that there is only One God. The Arabic word for God is Allah. Allah is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent, has always existed and will always exist, knows everything that can be known, can do anything that can be done, has no shape or form, can't be seen or heard, is neither male nor female, is just and merciful, rewards and punishes fairly. Muslims worship only Allah, because only Allah is worthy of worship. A believer can approach Allah by praying, and by reciting the Qur'an.

According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to His law. Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God. They believe that the final Prophet was Muhammad. Muslims believe that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes, date their religion from the time of the migration of Muhammad. Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. Muslims believe the Sunnah is the practical example of Prophet Muhammad and that there are five basic Pillars of Islam. These pillars are the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and a pilgrimage to Mecca (at least once).

Muslims have six main beliefs: belief in Allah as the one and only God, belief in angels, belief in the holy books, belief in the Prophets, e.g. Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus). Muhammad is the final prophet; belief in the Day of Judgment (when the life of every human being will be assessed to decide whether they go to heaven or hell), belief in Predestination, that Allah has the knowledge of all that will happen but that this doesn't stop human beings making free choices.