Islam

The word Islam means 'submission to the will of God'.Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers. The 2001 census recorded 1,591,000 Muslims in the UK, around 2.7% of the population.

• Muslims believe that Islam was revealed over 1400 years ago in Mecca, Arabia.

• Followers of Islam are called Muslims.

• Muslims believe that there is only One God.

• The Arabic word for God is Allah.

• 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 (atleast 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. Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus).

• Belief in the Day of Judgement...

• The day 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 knowlege of all that will happen.

• Muslims believe that this doesn't stop human beings making free choices.

Allah

Allah is the name Muslims use for the supreme and unique God, who created and rules everything.The heart of faith for all Muslims is obedience to Allah's will.

• Allah is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent...

• Allah has always existed and will always exist.

• Allah knows everything that can be known.

• Allah can do anything that can be done.

• Allah has no shape or form...

• Allah can't be seen.

• Allah can't be heard.

• Allah is neither male nor female.

• Allah is just...

• Allah rewards and punishes fairly.

• But Allah is also merciful.

• A believer can approach Allah by praying, and by reciting the Qur'an.

• Muslims worship only Allah...

• because only Allah is worthy of worship.

The one and only God

All Muslims believe that God is one alone:

• There is only one God.

• God has no children, no parents, and no partners.

• God was not created by a being.

• There are no equal, superior, or lesser Gods.

Muslims believe that Islam is a faith that has always existed and that it was gradually revealed to humanity by a number of prophets, but the final and complete revelation of the faith was made through the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE.

Muhammad was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 570.He was a deeply spiritual man, and often spent time in meditation on Mount Hira.The traditional story of the Qur'an tells how one night in 610 he was meditating in a cave on the mountain when he was visited by the angel Jibreel who ordered him to recite.Once Jibreel mentioned the name of Allah, Muhammad began to recite words which he came to believe were the words of God.

The Qur'an

During the rest of his life Muhammad continued to receive these revelations. The words were remembered and recorded, and form the text of the Holy Qu'ran, the Muslim scripture.

Preaching

Believing that God had chosen him as his messenger Muhammad began to preach what God had revealed to him.The simple and clear-cut message of Islam, that there is no God but Allah, and that life should be lived in complete submission to the will of Allah, was attractive to many people, and they flocked to hear it.

The Hijrah

Muhammad's popularity was seen as threatening by the people in power in Mecca, and Muhammad took his followers on a journey from Mecca to Medina in 622.This journey is called the Hijrah (migration) and the event was seen as so important for Islam that 622 is the year in which the Islamic calendar begins.

The return to Mecca

Within ten years Muhammad had gained so many followers that he was able to return and conquer Mecca.From this time on he was generally accepted by the faithful as the true final Prophet of God.Muhammad continued to lead his community both spiritually and in earthly matters until his death in 632.

Muslim holy days

There are only two Muslim festivals set down in Islamic law: Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha (Eid or Id is a word meaning festival). But there are also several other special days which Muslims celebrate.Some Muslims disapprove of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet, on the grounds that it is an innovation, and innovations in religious matters are forbidden.Some Muslims say that if changes were made in religious matters it would imply that Islam was not complete when it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, or that the Prophet did not tell Muslims everything that was revealed to him. This would be seen as highly sacrilegious by many Muslims.

The Five Pillars of Islam

The most important Muslim practices are the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Five Pillars of Islam are the five obligations that every Muslim must satisfy in order to live a good and responsible life according to Islam.The Five Pillars consist of:

• Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith

• Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day

• Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy

• Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan

• Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca

Why are they important?

Carrying out these obligations provides the framework of a Muslim's life, and weaves their everyday activities and their beliefs into a single cloth of religious devotion.

No matter how sincerely a person may believe, Islam regards it as pointless to live life without putting that faith into action and practice.

Carrying out the Five Pillars demonstrates that the Muslim is putting their faith first, and not just trying to fit it in around their secular lives.

What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar,

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