Hausübung What is Islam? - Answers as seen from a schoolbo­y 976 / ~2½ Jacob L. . 2013

Homework – Answer the following questions about Islam:

 

What is Islam?. 1

Who are the Muslims?. 1

What do Muslims Believe?. 1

How did Islam affect the World?. 3

 

What is Islam?

•        Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people

•        For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life

•        Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith

Who are the Muslims?

·         "Muslim" is an Arabic word meaning "one who submits to God"

·         Muslims believe God is one and incomparable

·         And believe their purpose of existence is to love and serve God

·         Muslims also believe that Islam is the universal version of the original faith was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, whom they consider prophets

·         They maintain that previous revelations have been changed or corrupted over time, but consider the Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of God

·         One billion people from a vast range of races, nationalities and cultures across the globe - from the southern Philippines to Nigeria - are united by their common Islamic faith

·         About 18% live in the Arab world; the world's largest Muslim community is in Indonesia; substantial parts of Asia and most of Africa are Muslim, while significant minorities are to be found in the Soviet Union, China, North and South America, and Europe

·         There are two different interpretations of Islam. And the believers of these specific Interpretations are called the Sunni’s and the Shi’its

What do Muslims Believe?

·         Muslims believe in One, Unique, Incomparable God; in the Angels created by Him; in the prophets through whom His revelations were brought to mankind; in the Day of Judgement and individual accountability for actions; in God's complete authority over human destiny and in life after death

·         Muslims believe in a chain of prophets starting with Adam and including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus, peace be upon them

·         But God's final message to man, a reconfirmation of the eternal message and a summing-up of all that has gone before was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through Gabriel

·         One can become Muslim, simply by saying 'there is no god apart from God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God. ‘By this declaration the believer announces his or her faith in all God's messengers, and the scriptures they brought

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

The Qur’an

·         The Quran is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad

·         It was memorized by Muhammad and then dictated to his Companions, and written down by scribes, who cross-checked it during his lifetime

·         Not one word of its 114 chapters, Suras, has been changed over the centuries, so that the Quran is in every detail the unique and miraculous text which was revealed to Muhammad fourteen centuries ago

·         This opening chapter of The Quran, the Fatiah, is central in Islamic prayer

·          It contains the essence of The Quran and is recited during every prayer

Sunnis and Shias

·         Muslims are split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shias

·         The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis, about 85% - 90%

·         The two communities share the same beliefs - the "oneness" of Allah, that Muhammad was the last prophet, prayer, fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca for example

·         But there are differences in doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organization

·         Sunnis form the overwhelming majority in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Shiites form the majority only in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan, but they constitute sizable minorities in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen

Salafis

·         Salafis are fundamentalists who believe in a return to the original ways of Islam. The word 'Salafi' comes from the Arabic phrase, 'as-salaf as-saliheen', which refers to the first three generations of Muslims (starting with the Companions of the Prophet), otherwise known as the Pious Predecessors

How did Islam affect the World?

·         Islam repeatedly instructs man to use his powers of intelligence and observation

·         Within a few years, great civilizations and universities were flourishing, for according to the Prophet, 'seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim man and woman'

·         The synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas and of new thought with old, brought about great advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature, and history

·         Many crucial systems such as algebra, the Arabic numerals, and also the concept of the zero (vital to the advancement of mathematics), were transmitted to medieval Europe from Islam

·         Sophisticated instruments which were to make possible the European voyages of discovery were developed, including the astrolabe, the quadrant and good navigational maps