Lesson 6: ISLAM

ISLAM
 Islam, is a major world religion (2nd Largest in the world) promulgated by
the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE.
 The Arabic term Islam, literally means ―surrender,‖ illuminates the
fundamental religious idea of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim,
from the active particle of Islam) accepts surrender to the will of Allah
(in Arabic, Allāh: God).
 Allah is viewed as the sole God—creator, sustainer, and restorer of the
world. The will of Allah, to which human beings must submit, is made
known through the sacred scriptures, the Qurʾān (often spelled
Koran/Quran in English), which Allah revealed to his messenger,
Muhammad. Islam is usually symbolized today by a crescent moon and a
star though Muslims hold no sacred meanings behind it.
The Foundation of Islam
Legacy of Mohammed
Islam began with the Prophet Muhammad.
(Mohammed). Islam means "surrender" and
its central idea is a surrendering to the will
of God. Its central article of faith is that
"There is no god but God and Muhammad is
his messenger".
Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
Muslims believe that they are following in
the same tradition as the Judeo-Christian
figures Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and
Jesus who they believe were significant
prophets before Muhammad
 Muhammad was born in 570 C.E. in Mecca, and
his early life was unremarkable. He married a
wealthy widow named Khadija who was 15 years
older and his employer. Around 610 C.E.,
Muhammad had his first religious experience,
where he was instructed to recite by the Angel
Gabriel. After a period of introspection and self-
doubt, Muhammad accepted his role as God’s
prophet and began to preach word of the one
God, or Allah in Arabic. His first convert was his
wife.

 Muhammad's divine recitations form the Qur'an

and are organized into books (surahs) and verses
(ayat). Because these revelations focused on a
form of monotheism considered threatening to
Mecca's ruling tribe (the Quraysh), which
Muhammad was a part of, the early Muslims
faced significant persecution.
  Eventually in 622, Muhammad and his followers fled
Mecca for the city of Yathrib, which is known as
Medina today, where his community was welcomed.
This event is known as the Hijra, or emigration. 622,
the year of the Hijra (A.H.), marks the beginning of
the Muslim calendar, which is still in use today.
 One of Muhammad's first actions was to purge the
Kaaba of all of its idols (before this, the Kaaba was a
major site of pilgrimage for the polytheistic religious
traditions of the Arabian Peninsula and contained
numerous idols of pagan gods). The Kaaba is believed
to have been built by Abraham (or Ibrahim as he is
known in Arabic) and his son, Ishmael. The Arabs claim
descent from Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar.
The Kaaba then became the most important center
for pilgrimage in Islam.
 In 632, Muhammad died in Medina. Muslims believe
that he was the final in a line of prophets, which
included Moses, Abraham, and Jesus.

City of Yathrib (Medina Today)

 From the very beginning of Islam, Muhammad had
inculcated a sense of brotherhood and a bond of
faith among his followers, both of which helped to
develop among them a feeling of close relationship
that was accentuated by their experiences of
persecution as a nascent community in Mecca.

 When the Prophet migrated to Medina, his

preaching was soon accepted, and the community-
state of Islam emerged. During this early period,
Islam acquired its characteristic ethos as a religion
uniting in itself both the spiritual and temporal
aspects of life and seeking to regulate not only the
individual’s relationship to God (through
conscience) but human relationships in a social
setting as well. Thus, there is not only an Islamic
religious institution but also an Islamic law, state,
and other institutions governing society.
1. The Shahada (The Profession of Faith)

The Profession of Faith, the shahada, is the

most basic expression of Islamic beliefs. It
simply states that ―There is no God but
God and Muhammad is his prophet.‖ It
underscores the monotheistic nature of
Islam. It is an extremely popular phrase in
Arabic calligraphy and appears in numerous
manuscripts and religious buildings.
2. Salat/Salah (Daily Prayers)
Muslims are expected to pray five times a
day. This does not mean that they need to
attend a mosque to pray; rather, the
salat/salah, or the daily prayer, should be
recited five times a day. Muslims can pray
anywhere; however, they are meant to
pray towards Mecca. On Friday, many
Muslims attend a mosque near midday to
pray and to listen to a sermon, khutba.
3. Zakat (Alms-Giving)

The giving of alms is the third

pillar. Although not defined in the
Qu’ran, Muslims believe that they
are meant to share their wealth
with those less fortunate in their
community of believers.
4. Saum/Sawm (Fasting during Ramadam)

During the holy month of Ramadan,

the ninth month in the Islamic
calendar, Muslims are expected to
fast from dawn to dusk. While there
are exceptions made for the sick,
elderly, and pregnant, all are
expected to refrain from eating and
drinking during daylight hours.
5. Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)

All Muslims who are able are

required to make the pilgrimage to
Mecca and the surrounding holy sites
at least once in their lives.
Pilgrimage focuses on visiting the
Kaaba and walking around it seven
times. Pilgrimage occurs in the 12th
month of the Islamic Calendar.
Sacred Places and Days

The most sacred place for Muslims is

the Kaʿbah (Kaaba) sanctuary at
Mecca, the object of the annual
pilgrimage. It is much more than a
mosque; it is believed to be the
place where the heavenly bliss and
power touches the earth directly.
According to Muslim tradition, the
Kaʿbah was built by Abraham.
The Mosque
The general religious life of Muslims is
centered on the mosque. Back in the days
the mosque was the center of all
community life, and it remains so in many
parts of the Islamic world to this day.
Small mosques are usually supervised by
the imam (one who administers the prayer
service) himself. -most mosques are
private and are run by the local
community, although increasingly some of
the larger ones have been manage by the
government specially in Western Asia.
Holy days
The Muslim calendar (based on the lunar
year) dates from the emigration (hijrah) of
the Prophet from Mecca to Medina in 622.
The two festive days in the year are the
Eids (ʿīds), Eid al-Fitr, which celebrates
the end of the month of Ramadan, and Eid
al-Adha (the feast of sacrifice), which
marks the end of the hajj. Because of the
crowds, Eid prayers are offered either in
very large mosques or on specially
consecrated grounds.
 Islam Sectarianism (Brief History)
Despite the notion of a unified and consolidated
community, as taught by the Prophet Muhammad,
serious differences arose within the Muslim
community immediately after his death. According to
the Sunnis—the traditionalist faction whose followers
now constitute the majority branch of Islam—the
Prophet had designated no successor. Thus, the
Muslims at Medina decided to elect a chief. Two of
Muhammad’s fathers-in-law, who were highly
respected early converts as well as trusted
lieutenants, prevailed upon the Medinans to elect a
leader who would be accepted by the Quraysh,
Muhammad’s tribe, and the choice fell upon Abū Bakr,
father of the Prophet’s favored wife, ʿĀʾishah. All of
this occurred before the Prophet’s burial.
 Islam Sectarianism (Brief History)
According to the Shiʿah (Shite or Shia), however, the
Prophet had designated as his successor his son-in-law
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, husband of his daughter Fāṭimah and
father of his only surviving grandsons, Ḥasan and
Ḥusayn. His preference was general knowledge. Yet,
while ʿAlī and the Prophet’s closest kinsmen were
preparing the body for burial, Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and Abū
ʿUbaydah, from Muhammad’s companions in the
Quraysh tribe, met with the leaders of the Medinans
and agreed to elect the aging Abū Bakr as the successor
(khalīfah, hence ―caliph‖) of the Prophet. ʿAlī and his
kinsmen were dismayed but agreed for the sake of
unity to accept the fait accompli because ʿAlī was still
young.
After the murder of ʿUthmān, the third caliph, ʿAlī was
invited by the Muslims at Medina to accept the
caliphate. Thus, ʿAli became the fourth caliph (656–661),
but the disagreement over his right of succession brought
about a major schism in Islam, between the Shiʿah—
those loyal to ʿAlī—and the Sunni ―traditionalists.‖
Although their differences were in the first instance
political, arising out of the question of leadership,
theological differences developed over time.

Today, about 85 percent of the approximately 1.6 billion

Muslims around the world are Sunni, while 15 percent
are Shia, according to an estimate by the Council on
Foreign Relations. While Shia represents the majority of
the population in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Azerbaijan, and
a plurality in Lebanon, Sunnis are the majority in more
than 40 other countries, from Morocco to Indonesia.