Islam
FOUNDED: Islam began about 1,400 years ago in present-day Saudi Arabia.§
FOUNDER: Prophet Mohammed.§
MAJOR SCRIPTURES: The Koran, Islam’s revealed scripture, and the Hadith, the teachings, sayings and life of the Prophet Mohammed. §
ADHERENTS: One billion, mostly in the Middle East, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, China and Eastern Europe.§
SECTS: There are two main divisions within Islam. The Sunnis are followers of the political successors of Mohammed. The Shiites are followers of Mohammed’s family successors, all martyred at an early age.§
Islam means “submission,” surrender to the will of God, called Allah. Those who submit are called Muslims. Islam is based upon five “pillars,” or principal acts of faith to which every Muslim in the world adheres. These are: 1) Faith in Allah: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet.” 2) Praying five times daily: kneeling in the direction of Mecca, the holy city. 3) Giving of alms: a share of each Muslim’s income is given to support the mosque and the poor. 4) Fasting: throughout Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset. 5) Pilgrimage: the binding force of the peoples who have embraced Islam. At least once in life every believer, physically and materially able to do so, must go to Mecca, the holy city. They go dressed in simple, seamless white garments.§
Islam teaches absolute monotheism and Mohammed’s primacy as God’s last Prophet on Earth. Stress is on the brotherhood of believers, nondifference of religious and secular life, obedience to God’s Law, abstinence from alcohol, good conduct and the limitation of all except Allah. Today Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion.§
The primary goal of Islam is to enjoy eternal life, both physical and spiritual, in heaven with Allah. Heaven is a paradise in which all the joys and pleasures abound, in which one lives amid beautiful gardens and fountains, enjoying the choicest foods served by sweet maidens. Man is the noblest creation of God, ranking above the angels. It is the sacred duty of Muslims to convert others to the Islamic faith. Islam has an ardent conviction that it is the only true religion, the only path to salvation. From this belief arises an extraordinary zeal, to share the faith and to convert others. The ideal human society is an Islamic theocracy.§
Total submission to Allah is the single path to salvation, and even that is no guarantee, for Allah may desire even a faithful soul to experience misery. The good Muslim surrenders all pride, the chief among sins, and follows explicitly the will of Allah as revealed in the Koran by His last and greatest prophet, Mohammed. This and this alone brings a full and meaningful life and avoids the terrors of Hell which befall sinners and infidels. He believes in the Five Doctrines and observes the Five Pillars. The virtues of truthfulness, temperance and humility before God are foremost for Islam, and the practices of fasting, pilgrimage, prayer and charity to the Muslim community are most necessary to please Allah. The five doctrines are: 1) There is only one true God, Allah. 2) There are angels, chief of whom is Gabriel. 3) There are four inspired books: the Torah of Moses, the Zabur (Psalms) of David, the Injil (Evangel) of Jesus, and the Koran, Allah’s final message, which supersedes all other scriptures. 4) There have been numerous prophets of Allah, culminating in Mohammed, the Last Prophet. 5) There will be a final Day of Judgment and Resurrection. A sixth, but optional, doctrine is belief in kismet, “fate” or “destiny.”§
- I believe that Allah is the Supreme Creator and Sustainer, all-knowing and transcendent and yet the arbiter of good and evil, the final judge of men.
- I believe in the Five Pillars of Faith: 1) praying five times daily, 2) charity through alms-giving, 3) fasting during the ninth month, 4) pilgrimage to Holy Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and 5) profession of faith by acknowledging, “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is His Prophet.”
- I believe in the Koran as the Word of God and sacred scripture mediated through the Angel Gabriel to Mohammed.
- I believe in the direct communion of each man with God, that all are equal in the eyes of God and therefore priests or other intercessors are unneeded.
- I believe in the pure transcendence of God, great beyond imagining—no form or idol can be worshiped in His Name.
- I believe that the soul of man is immortal, embodied once on Earth, then entering Heaven or Hell upon death according to its conduct and faith on Earth.
- I believe in the Last Judgment and that man should stand in humble awe and fear of God’s wrathful and vengeful power.
- I believe that truthfulness should be observed in all circumstances, even though it may bring injury or pain.
- I believe that salvation is only obtained through God’s grace and not through man’s efforts, yet man should do good and avoid all sins, especially drunkenness, usury and gambling.