WORLD RELIGION

LESSON 6 : ISLAM
 Because it began only in the seventh century
BCE, Islam is considered the youngest of the
major religions. But with its followers, the
Muslims, constituting almost 25 percent of the
world’s population, Islam is considered the
second largest religion.
 The word Islam literally means “surrender” or
“submission.” In the context of the religious
tradition of Islam, the word specifically means
“surrender or submission to God.”
 The word Muslim or Moslem, on the other hand,
means “one who submits to God.’Thus the
followers of Islam are the Muslims (or Moslems).
Muslims refer to God in Arabic as Allah
 The use of the word “Allah” is not intended to
qualify the kind of God that Muslims worship.
Allah is not different from the God of the Jews or
the Christians. Allah, in fact, is the same God that
Abraham—a common spiritual ancestor of the
Jews, Christians, and Muslims—recognizes
 Though most Arabs are Muslims, and the early Muslims
were Arabs, the terms “Muslims” and “Arabs” are clearly
not equivalent. Before most of the Arabs became Muslims,
they were either Jews, Christians, or others (Judaism and
Christianity were already established when Islam was only
beginning to establish itself). There are Arabs who
remained non-Muslims even today—the Arab Jews, Arab
Christians, and others. Furthermore, since the spread of
Islam outside of Arab territories, there have been various
non-Arab Muslims, such as the Muslims in Indonesia
(whose population is predominantly Muslims), Pakistan,
Philippines, Malaysia, and many other parts of the world.
 In addition to believing in Allah, one also needs
to accept other beliefs especially that Muhammad
is God’s last prophet or messenger. This means
that to be a Muslim, or to be one who submits to
God (as Muslims understand it), one must, in
addition to believing in God, also accept that
Muhammad is God’s last prophet, among others.
 Islam shares some of the accounts in the Bible of
the Jews and Christians, and Muslims recognize
most of the prophets mentioned in the Bible.
Muslim Arabs, in particular, trace their racial and
spiritual roots to Abraham through his son
Ishmael. (Some Muslim scholars trace their
spiritual roots even to Adam, the first human in
the Biblical account.).
 It will be recalled that Abraham had two sons, Isaac and
Ishmael. Isaac was Abraham’s son from his wife Sarah,
while Ishmael was Abraham’s son from Hagar, the
Egyptian maidservant of Sarah. Isaac had a son, Jacob,
also known as Israel, whose 12 sons became the 12
tribes of Israel. One of Jacob’s son was Judah, whose
tribe and later on kingdom became the basis of the word
“Jews” and “Judaism.” On the other hand, Ishmael
travelled with his mother Hagar across the desert to
another region. Ishmael is said to have established a
tribe called Ishmaelites, who were later on called Arabs.
 Abraham is the common spiritual ancestor of
Muslims, Jews, and Christians in so far as the
belief in one God is concerned. But while the
Jews trace their racial roots to Abraham through
Isaac, the Arabs trace theirs to Abraham through
Ishmael.
FOUNDER OF ISLAM: MUHAMMAD(570-632 CE)
 Islam began and developed in the region of Arabia,
particularly in the cities of Mecca and Yathrib (Yathrib
was later on called Medina—meaning, “the city of the
Prophet”) in the early seventh century CE. Muslims
believe that the teachings of Islam all come from God or
Allah through the revelations Muhammad (also spelled
as “Mohammad” or “Mohammed”) (570-632 CE) had.
Muhammad is considered in Islam as God’s chosen
messenger. In this light, Muslims believe that Islam, in
terms of its teachings, was founded by Allah (Peters
1994,3); but as a religious tradition, Islam is widely
considered to be founded by Muhammad.
 Muhammad regarded himself, and likewise by the entire
Muslim world, as the last among a series of prophets or
messengers of God. Muhammad acknowledged the
personalities in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures to whom
God revealed his messages, such as Abraham, Noah, Moses,
John the Baptist, and Jesus (Muhammad and his followers
regarded Jesus as a mere prophet and not as a God as the
Christians believe), as all prophets of Islam. Being the last of
the prophets, Muhammad and his followers believed that
the , messages and instructions revealed to him by God were
the final ones. In this regard, Muslims regard Muhammad as
the “Seal of the Prophets,” which indicates that there will be
no further prophets after him, and consequently, there will be
no further revelations from God after those he had.
 Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 CE. Being
orphaned at an early age, Muhammad first lived with
his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and later on, after
his grandfather died, with his uncle Abu Talib. At the
age of 25, Muhammad married a widow named
Khadijah, who was then 40 years old. Muhammad
met Khadijah when he worked as a caravan driver for
Khadijah, who took over the caravan company when
her first husband died. Muhammad and Khadijah led
a successful married life which only ended when
Khadijah died after 25 years of marriage.
 They had six children, consisting of two sons and
four daughters. The two sons unfortunately died
in infancy. Among the daughters, only one, named
Fatima, survived after Muhammad’s death.
Fatima had two sons from her marriage to
Muhammad’s cousin Ali ibn Abu Talib (the son of
his uncle Abu Talib), who became the fourth
Caliph of Islam and first of the twelve imams
(Muslim leaders) after Muhammad’s death. Their
two sons, Hassan and Hussein, would later on be
recognized as imams (or spiritual leaders).
 Wanting to deepen his spiritual life, Muhammad
frequently went to the caves in the hills
surrounding Mecca to meditate. At the age of 40,
while meditating in a cave at Mount Hira in about
610 CE, he received his first message from God
through a bright presence which Muhammad
identified as the angel Gabriel. This first
interaction of Muhammad with God through the
angel Gabriel has been called the “Night of
Power.
 ” Muhammad at first doubted himself about the
experience, thinking that he might have just hallucinated.
But he was later on assured by the cousin of Khadijah,
named Waraqa Ibn Nawfal, who was a believer of one God
and who later on became a Christian, that what
Muhammad went through was an experience of a prophet
that was in line with the experiences of the Jewish and
Christian prophets. Muhammad would later on continue to
receive messages from God until he died on June 8, 632.
Muhammad would share his religious experiences and the
messages that he received with the members of his family
and close friends (which included his wife, cousin Ali, and
close friend Abu Bakr), who became the first Muslims.
 One of the important messages Muhammad received
from God was that only the One God, Allah, should
be worshipped. Thus the statues of other gods should
be destroyed. This particular revelation put
Muhammad in conflict with people in power in
Mecca, in particular the people who profited from the
business involved in the pilgrimage movement in the
region. Mecca was then a center of religious
pilgrimage. At the center of Mecca was a square-
shaped shrine called Kabah (Kaaba or Ka’aba, which
literally means “cube”), which contained a black
meteorite which was worshipped for it was-
 believed to have been sent from heaven. Within the
Kabah were statues of so many tribal gods and
goddesses that people worshipped. Yearly, many
people from other regions would visit Mecca to
worship these gods and goddesses. Because
Muhammad taught the people that these statues must
not be worshipped and should be destroyed, his life
was threatened by the people who were profiting
from the yearly pilgrimages. And when his wife
Khadijah and uncle Abu Talib, who had some
influence in society, both died, Muhammad feared for
his life and considered leaving Mecca.
 Muhammad had a spiritual experience in which
he was carried to Jerusalem and from there,
guided by the angel Gabriel, was brought up to
heaven (or paradise). Once in heaven,
Muhammad first encountered the angels and the
previous prophets like Abraham, Noah, and
Moses and then was united with God. Muslims
have called this experience Muhammad’s Night
Journey or Night of Ascent.
 To escape the increasing persecution of Muhammad
and his followers in Mecca, and upon the invitation of
the leaders of Yathrib (to serve as an impartial
arbitrator of the conflicts there), Muhammad and his
followers moved from Mecca to Yathrib in 622
CE.The migration has been called in Arabic the Hijrah
(or Hegira). This was a momentous event in the
development of Islam, for it was the beginning of the
favorable acceptance of Islam and, consequently, of
the establishment of the Islamic community (called
umma).The muslim considered this period as the
begining year of the muslim calendar.
 THE QUR’AN AND HADITH
 Muhammad shared God’s messages to him first to his
close family and friends and then to other people. Though
some of these revelations were written down by his close
followers, memorization through oral transmission was the
primary way of preserving these messages. The
consistency of these messages was maintained by
Muhammad. If there were questions about what these
messages really were and meant, Muhammad was there to
clarify it. But when Muhammad died, his disciples became
concerned about how to deal with the variations that might
arise with regard to the messages, so they decided to write
down an authoritative version of the messages.
 The project of writing down Muhammad’s revelations was initiated by
Abu Bakr, who became the first caliph (from khalifa which means
“successor”) or successor of Muhammad as Islam’s spiritual leader.
The project was finished in 656 CE during the caliphate of Uthman.
The finished book was called the Qur’an, which literally means “The
Recitation” (see Molloy 2010, 425). The Qur’an consists of 114
chapters (or suras), which cover a wide variety of topics which include
the spiritual origins of Islam in the persons of the different prophets,
values, and specific instructions on how to live an ethical life. As the
messages of God were revealed to Muhammad in Arabic, an
authoritative written version of these messages had to be in Arabic.
Thus, any translation of the Qur’an is considered to be an interpretation
of the original messages already. The Qur’an contains the main
doctrines of Islam, but to help themselves understand and interpret
these doctrines, Muslims rely on what is called the Hadith, which
literally means “reports” or “recollections
 The Hadith consists of written narrations of Muhammad’s life,
which report his words, actions, decisions, and characteristics as a
person. While the Hadith refers to the entire collection of
narrations, a hadith refers to each narration. Each hadith consists of
two parts: the text or report itself and the chain or series of narrators
for the Hadith (this was intended to give authenticity to the report).
Each branch of Islam, however, refers to a different collection of
hadiths, though they may be about the same things (that is, about
the same events in Muhammad’s life). The idea behind the hadiths
was that Muhammad’s life was an ideal manifestation or a perfect
model of a life lived according to the teachings of the Qur’an.
While Muslims do not regard Muhammad as a god (neither did
Mohammad proclaim to be one), they regard him as a human who
has lived a spiritually and morally perfect life.
 The Hadith is generally also called the Sunnah. Some Muslim
scholars, however, make a distinction between the two (see, for
instance, Peters 1994, 214-15; Matthews 2010, 336), and they
disagree about the nature of the distinction. We can identify at
least three views on this. One view claims that the Hadith as
we have defined it is actually the Sunnah, and the Hadith
actually just refers to the sayings of Muhammad, which would
make the Hadith simply a part of the Sunnah. Another view
maintains the identity of the Hadith as we have defined it
above, and understands the Sunnah as a set of practices that
Muhammad taught the Muslims to follow and which were
passed on to the next generations of Muslims. Consequently,
this view sees the Sunna as more reliable than the Hadith.
 THE SHARI’AH
 From the religious doctrines of the Qur’an and the Hadith,
Islamic scholars formulated the Shari’ah, which literally means
“pathway to be followed” or f‘the path leading to the watering
place”—for the path to this place is the whole way of life in the
desert. Shari’ah refers to the Islamic Law or the basic Islamic
legal system. Recognized by most Muslim groups, the Shari’ah
is a system of duties, responsibilities, or rules which Muslims
must follow as a matter of religion. It covers all aspects of life
such as issues arising from one’s personal dealings with other
people; matters concerning marriage contracts; trade regulations;
how to govern the state; rules for prayer, charity, fasting, sexual
intercourse, hygiene, and diet among others; and punishments for
specific crimes like theft, drinking alcohol, adultery, and murder
(these punishments include beheading, stoning, and flogging).
 In varying degrees, Shari’ah serves as the basis for making legal
laws in many Muslim countries which include Iran, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Yemen,
Mauritania, Qatar, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In sum, the
primary sacred text of Islam is the Qur’an. The secondary ones
are the Hadith and the book of Shari’ah. The Qur’an contains
God’s messages to Muhammad. As Muhammad is believed to be
the last prophet (and there will not be another one), these
messages are believed to be the final messages of God to
humanity. The Hadith is a written record of the words, actions,
decisions, character, and practices of Muhammad, which
constitute a perfect model for a life lived according to the
teachings of the Qur’an. The Shari’ah refers to the Islamic legal
law, which was based on the Qur’an and Hadith and was
formulated to serve as specific guidelines for Muslims in
carrying out their everyday affairs or activities.
 DOCTRINES AND PRACTICES
 Tawhid - At the core of Islamic faith is Tawhid, referring to the
belief in the oneness of God. The Arabic word “Allah” for God
already existed even before Muhammad received his messages
from God, but the Arabs then regarded Allah as merely one among
the gods that they worshipped. Acting on the messages that he
received from God, Muhammad taught and asserted that only Allah
is God and there are no other gods aside from Allah. Allah, in fact,
embodies everything that the other gods were thought to embody.
That means Allah, the only true God, has all the powers attributed
to the other gods, such as the powers to help humans deal with
their problems, forgive, and send rains, among others.The Qur’an
particularly notes that God, being one, cannot have a father and a
son, indicating Islam’s nonacceptance of the Christian doctrine of
the Holy Trinity
 Aside from the word “Allah,” Muslims call God by other
names (it is said that Muslims have 99 names for God), each
name indicating a specific divine power. These names
include the following: the Most Compassionate (ar-Rahmn),
the Merciful (ar-Rahm), the All-Peaceful, (as-Salm), the
Forgiver (al-Ghaffr), the Gentle, Knower of Subtleties (al-
Latf), the Grateful (ash-Shakr), the Responsive (al-Mujb),
the Praiseworthy (al-Hamd), the Cause of Death (al-Mumt),
the Light (an-Nr), and the Patient One (asSabi) (Urubshurow
2009, 199-200). The attributes of God as indicated in these
names suggest that the Allah of Muslims is a personal God,
one who cares about the affairs and welfare of humans.
 THE AFTERLIFE
 Like the Jews and Christians, Muslims believe in an
afterlife and in the Day of Resurrection and Day of
Judgment. A day will come when dead humans will be
resurrected and will be judged by God according to
their deeds on whether they deserve eternal happiness
or suffering. In this connection, Muslims also believe
in heaven or paradise (Jannah), a place of eternal
happiness where good people (people who submit to
God’s will) are put by God; and hell (Jahannam), a
place of suffering where evil people (those who do not
submit to God’s will) are put by God.
 ANGELS AND JINN
 Muslims also believe in angels and jinn (the singular is jinnie, djinnie, or
genie), who are spiritual beings created by God. The angels are believed
to have been created by God from light.They do not have free will, and
so they are not accountable for their actions and are neither good nor
evil. They act as messengers of God to the prophets, who in turn are
God’s messengers to the people. For instance, Muhammad received his
messages from God through the angel Gabriel. Angels also keep a record
of the good and bad actions of humans. It is believed that two angels are
assigned to each human being upon birth to record the good and bad
actions of the human being and report them back to God on the Day of
Judgment. On the other hand, jinn are believed to have been created by
God from smokeless and scorching fire. Unlike angels, jinn have free
will and thus are morally accountable for their actions and are either
good or evil. For this reason, like humans, jinn will also be judged on
the Day of Judgment and will be sent either to heaven/paradise or hell.
 THE PROPHETS
 As already noted, Muslims believe in prophets or
messengers of God. God speaks to the people through the
prophets. Muslims recognize many of the prophets
recognized by the Jews and Christians though they
appear in the Qur’an in their Arabic names. These
include Adam (Adem), the first prophet, Abraham
(Ibrahim), Ishmael (lsm‘l), Noah (Nu), Moses (Musa),
Elisha (Alyasa), David (Dawid), John the Baptist
(Yahya), Jesus (Isa), and Muhammad. Jesus, as earlier
noted, is recognized as a prophet and not as a god.
Muhammad, as also previously mentioned, is regarded as
the last of the prophets
 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
 There are five obligatory activities for all Muslims. They are standardly
referred to as the Five Pillars of Islam. These activities were mentioned
by Muhammad in the famous hadith involving the angel Gabriel.
 The five pillars, which define the Muslim life, consist of the following:
(1) testimony of faith (shahadah), which requires Muslims to publicly
profess or affirm their faith in the oneness of God and in the authority
of Muhammad as God’s messenger; (2) prayer (salat), which requires
Muslims to pray to God five times each day; (3) charity for the poor
(zakat), which requires Muslims to donate a certain percentage of their
resources to the poor; (4) fasting during Ramadan (sawm), which
requires Muslims to abstain from taking in food and water for a
specified period of time; and (5) pilgrimage to Mecca (haj)), which
requires Muslims who are physically and financially capable to visit the
holy place of Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
 1. Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) The shahadah or the Islamic testimony of
faith is the most important among the pillars for it serves as the foundation
for the other pillars. Anyone who submits to the will of the one God and in
the authority of the messages that Muhammad received from God must
worship God through daily prayers, provide help to those who are in need,
make sacrifices and empathize with the unfortunate ones through fasting, and
give honor to the place of origin of one’s faith. The testimony of faith is done
by publicly reciting in Arabic the Islamic creed which can be translated in
English as “There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the
messenger of God.” Non-Muslims wanting to be converted to Islam must
recite the creed with conviction. Muslims, for their part, regularly recite it to
reaffirm their Islamic faith or to verify their membership in the Islamic
community (or simply to tell the world that they are Muslims). The creed is
recited in their daily prayers, and it is written in Arabic everywhere inside
their mosques and over the doors of these mosques. It is also the first words
traditionally spoken into the ear of a newborn from a Muslim family.
2. PRAYER (SALAT)
 Daily prayers are obligatory on every Muslim who has reached the
age of puberty, unless one is physica lly and/or m entally incapable
of saying them. The daily prayers are done five times a day:(1)
before dawn, (2) at midday/noon, (3) mid-afternoon, (4) sunset,
and (5) nighttime. They are intended to focus the mind on God,
express gratitude to God, and worship him. The prayers are recited
from memory in Arabic, and they consist of verses from the
Qur’an ' and other prayer formulas. They are also accompanied by
several body postures: standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting
(exceptions are given to those physically incapable of performing
these postures). Prayers are done facing the direction of Mecca
(they were earlier done facing the direction of Jerusalem until later
revelations to Muhammad changed the direction to Mecca).
3. CHARITY FOR THE POOR (ZAKAT)
 The practice of zakat is in line with Muhammad’s overall
vision of a just society. To address the injustices and inequality
existing in society, Islam requires believers to donate a certain
percentage (usually 2.5 percent) of their total resources or
accumulated wealth each year to the poor. This practice is also
done as a way of submitting one’s properties to the purposes
of God. The payment of zakat, or the giving of charity, is
usually done at the end of the month of Ramadan. Those who
do not have much money should compensate for it by doing
good deeds toward others. Aside from the yearly obligation to
give charity to the poor, Muslims are also expected to perform
charitable acts whenever necessary, as Islam highly regards
these acts as morally valuable.
 4. FASTING DURING RAMADAN {SAWM)
 Fasting is done by Muslims on many occasions. They fast to atone
for their sins, fulfill certain obligations, or observe certain special
days. Ritual and shared fasting is done during the month of
Ramadan, which is the ninth month in the Islamic (lunar) calendar.
From dawn to dusk, Muslims must avoid all food, water, tobacco,
and sex everyday of this month. Fasting during the month of
Ramadan (which falls differently every year since its determination
is based on the lunar calendar) is required for all Muslims at the age
of puberty and up, except if one is physically not capable for reasons
like illness, old age, and certain female conditions such as
pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menstruation. Fasting during
Ramadan serves several purposes for Muslims. Generally, it is done
to promote spiritual growth or purification by disciplining an
individual’s desires, foster spiritual unity among Muslims, empathize
with the suffering and the poor, and reinforce dependence on God.
 It was also during the last ten days of the month
of Ramadan when Muhammad first received his
revelations. The feast at the end of this month is
therefore seen as a fitting way to celebrate this
special event. Furthermore, during Ramadan,
Muslims are expected to exert more effort to
follow the teachings of Islam, such as seeking
forgiveness from God, expressing gratitude to
God, reading the Qur’an, and refraining from
doing bad deeds.
 5. PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA (HAJJ)
 The annual pilgrimage to Mecca or hajj is required for all Muslims
who are physically and financially capable. The pilgrimage is done
from the eigth to twelfth (or in some cases thirteenth) month of the
Islamic (lunar) calendar. Even before Muhammad was born,
pilgrimage to Mecca was already a regular religious practice. While
the practice began with Abraham, later pilgrims worshipped other
tribal gods and goddesses. Muhammad adopted this practice but in
light of Abraham’s belief in one God. Thus the objective of the
pilgrimage for Muslims is to give honor to the holy placesassociated
with Allah and his prophets, such as the Kabah (believed to have been
built by Abraham and Ishmael) which houses the black meteorite
(believed to have been sent by God through Angel Gabriel), and the
places where Hagar and Ishmael drew * water while travelling across
the desert, and where Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice to God
(this contrasts to the Jewish and Christian account in which it was
 Though not officially a pillar, the important Islamic principle called
the jihad—which literally means “struggle"—is sometimes referred
to by some Muslims as the sixth pillar. Nowadays, most non-Muslims
understand jihad as a military warfare or battle of Muslims against
non-Muslims. Muhammad and his followers did engage in military
warfare against non-Muslims when they went back to Mecca from
Medina, so jihad does include the meaning of physical struggle to
defend Islam. But jihad is not limited to this. It also means
psychological, spiritual, and moral struggle to overcome the evils
within oneself and in one’s environment and thus to lead an ethical
life according to the principles of Islam. In this consideration, a
distinction is made between greater jihad, referring to spiritual self-
perfection, and lesser jihad, referring to warfare. In its general sense,
jihad thus means any kind of struggle to defend the faith of Islam.
 OTHER ISLAMIC PRACTICES
 Muslims are opposed to the practice of celibacy even for their
imams (religious leaders). Males are allowed to have four wives
whom he must treat equally, while women are allowed to have only
one husband. Muslims are forbidden to eat pork, drink alcohol, and
engage in usury and gambling. Muslims also practice circumcision.
 Both men and women are required by the Qur’an to wear modest
clothes, which has been translated to include, among others, the
practice of covering the hair or both hair and faces of women by a
veil or headscarf in varying ways in different Muslim regions. In
traditional Muslim societies, the parents arrange the marriage of
their children. The bridegroom’s family provides dowry, or an offer
of money or property, to the family of the bride as part of the
marriage contract.
 Some of the main festivals and holy days observed
by the Muslims are the following: Day of Sacrifice
{Id al-Adha), which is celebrated during the
month of the Hajj; Day of Breaking the Fast {Id
al-Ftr), which is observed just after the end of the
month of Ramadan; Muharram, which celebrates
the migration of Muhammad and his followers to
Yathrib (Medina); Muhammad’s birthday, which is
celebrated on the twelfth day of the third month of
the year; and the birthdays of other holy men and
women of Islam.
 DENOMINATIONS AND CHALENGES
 The Rightly Guided CaliphsAfter Muhammad’s death, the
Islamic world was headed by the caliphs (which literally means
“successors”). The first four were (1) Abu Bakr, who reigned
from 632-634 CE; (2) Umar, who reigned from 634-644 CE; (3)
Uthman, who reigned from 644-656 CE; and (4) Ali, who
reigned from 656-661 CE. It was during the reign of these four
caliphs that Islam spread in many regions outside of Arabia
(such as Iran, Africa, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt), which
eventually led to Islam becoming a world power. Islamic
countries enjoyed economic prosperity during this period. It
was also during this time that the Qur’an was finalized,
reproduced, and distributed to many parts of the world. The
reign of these four caliphs is considered the golden age of Islam
and has been called the era of “The Rightly Guided Caliphs”
 THE ISSUES OF SUCCESSION
 When Muhammad died, there was a disagreement over who
should be his rightful successor. Some felt that it should be
someone elected by the Islamic community and has the moral
authority to be its leader (being a devout Muslim), while some felt
that it should be a direct descendant or someone in the bloodline of
Muhammad. Muhammad, however, did not have a living son when
he died (his two sons from his first wife both died in infancy and
apparently he did not have a son from his other wives as well).
Though Abu Bakr was the father-in-law of Muhammad, being the
father of Muhammad’s youngest wife Aisha, he was not an
immediate family or a blood relative of Muhammad. It was only
Ali who was a blood relative of Muhammad. He was the prophet’s
first cousin, as he was the son of Muhammad’s uncle, Abu Talib.
 THE SUNNIST AND SHIITES
 The question of who should be the rightful successor of Muhammad divided
the Muslim world into two major groups, the Sunnis (or Sunni Muslims) and
the Shiites (Shia’s or Shia Muslims). The Sunnis, the largest denomination of
Islam (making up 75 to 90 percent of all Muslims today), believe that a caliph
should be elected by the community. Anyone who is righteous and just, and
who is living according to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadith, could be
a caliph. Since God did not appoint a particular leader after Muhammad’s death
and the first four caliphs were elected and were followers of the Qur’an and the
Hadith, these four caliphs were rightful leaders of Islam. The Shiites (making
up about 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims today), however, have a different
belief. They believe that only a descendant or blood relative of Muhammad
could be his successor. And since only Ali was Muhammad’s blood relative
among the first four caliphs, the Shiites believe that only Ali was the legitimate
or rightful one, which makes Ali the first legitimate caliph. The term “Shia” is a
contraction of shiaatAli (or ShiatAli), meaning supporters or followers of Ali.
The Shiites claim that Muhammad himself on one occasion named Ali as his
successor. The Shiites also believe that only the descendants or blood relatives
 THE SUFIS
 Sufism is the mystical version of Islam. It is called
Tasawwuf (literally, “to dress in wool”) in Arabic.
The term “Sufism” comes from the Arabic word
suf, which means “wool,” the material that makes
up the garments worn by Sufi ascetics.
 If the division of Islam into the Sunni and Shia
versions came about after the death of
Muhammad, Sufi Islam came about after the reign
of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. After the reign of
these caliphs, Islam spread to many regions and
eventually became an empire.
Thank you!