ISLAM

A report prepared by Group 5

MWF 3:30 4:30 PM
Prophets Mosque
Prophets Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Quick Facts
Formed 622 CE
Origin Arabian peninsula
Followers 1,500,000,000
Deity Allah
Sacred Texts Qur'an
Headquarters None
Islam is

a monotheistic religious tradition that

developed in the Middle East in the 7th
century C.E. Islam, which literally means
"surrender" or "submission," was founded on
the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as an
expression of surrender to the will of Allah, the
creator and sustainer of the world.
Allahis viewed as the sole Godcreator, sustainer,
and restorer of the world.
The will of Allah, to which human beings must submit,
is made known through thesacredscriptures, the
Qurn(often spelled Koran in English), which Allah
revealed to his messenger, Muhammad.
In Islam Muhammad is considered the last of a series
of prophets (includingAdam,Noah,Abraham,Moses,
Solomon, andJesus), and his message simultaneously
consummates and completes the revelations
attributed to earlier prophets.
Muhammad the Founder of Islam
Muhammad (also spelled Mohammed) born 570 AD in Mecca (current
day Saudi Arabia), and passed away June 8, 632 in Medina (current
day Saudi Arabia) is the founder of the religion of Islam; however, he
is contrarily regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God,
the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets, as
taught by the Qur'an.
Muslims thus consider him the restorer of the uncorrupted
original monotheistic faith of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Jesus and other prophets.He was also active as a diplomat,
merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general,
and, according to Muslim belief, an agent of divine action.
According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad, at the age of 40, was
confronted by a being that identified himself as the angel Gabriel. It
was the angel Gabriel who commanded him to "proclaim the name of
God."What Muhammad saw and heard in successive
revelations over some 20 years was summarized in what
became Islam's sacred book, The Qur'an.
Six main Articles of faith in Islam

To believe in the Oneness of Allah

To believe in all His Angels
To believe in all His Books
To believe in all His Prophets
To believe in the Day of Resurrection
To believe in the Decree of Allah
To believe in the Oneness of Allah

The Islamic concept of Unity also inculcates in man

the realisation of the oneness of the human species,
and does away with all such barriers as divide man
into racial, ethnic and colour denominations. This
gives birth to the universal concept of equality in
Islam, which is its distinctive feature. Hence from the
vantage point of God, all human beings, wherever and
in whichever age they were born, stand equal in His
sight.
 To believe in all His Angels
Let us now try to comprehend the nature of angels with
reference only to the Quran and the traditions of the Holy
Prophet of Islam, and not with reference to commonly held
views. According to the Quran, the entire material universe as
well as the entire religious universe is governed by some
spiritual powers, which are referred to as angels.
Although some angels are referred to as single persons -- such
as Gabriel, Michael or Israel -- they in fact do not work alone.
For each function there is one leader or one supreme angel
who governs that function and under him work a host of
angels, who are referred to in the Holy Quran as theJunoodof
the Lord. Whatever they do is completely subject to the will of
God and the design that He has created for things. They
cannot make the slightest deviation from the set course of
functions allocated to them, or from the overall plan of things
made by God.
To believe in all His Books

Muslims are required to believe not only in the divine

scripture revealed to the Holy Founder of Islam, which
is called the Quran, but it is essential for every Muslim
to believe in all such divine revelations as were
vouchsafed to other prophets, from wherever and
whichever age. It is an essential part of a Muslim's
belief that if anyone professes belief only in the divine
origin of the Quran, and refuses to acknowledge the
divine origin of other books, such as the Old
Testament and the New Testament etc., his profession
of Islam would be invalidated.
 To believe in all His Prophets
There are two things which are specifically mentioned in the Quran
relating to this issue:
a) Although the names and short histories of some prophets were
revealed to the Holy Founder of Islam, the list is in no way
exhaustive. They are just specimen names, and there are a large
number of prophets do not find mention in the Quran.
b) In the list of prophets who are specifically mentioned, there are
certain names which do not seem to belong to the prophets of
Israel. Many commentators therefore are inclined to believe that
they are non-Arab prophets who are included in the list just for the
sake of representation of the outer world. For instance, Dhul-Kifl is
one name in the list of prophets which is unheard of in the Arab or
Semitic references.
To believe in the Day of Resurrection
In the Quran are given many signs of the coming of
the Hour but its exact timing is known only to God.
Following is a description of the Day of Judgment
taken from Surah al Qariah, the 101st Chapter of the
Holly Quran:
The Great Calamity; What a Great Calamity!
And what should make thee know what the Great
Calamity is?
The day when men will be like scattered moths;
And mountains will be like carded wool;
Then as for him whose scales are heavy,
He will have a pleasant life.
But as for him whose scales are light,
He will have hell as his resort. (101:2 10)
 To believe in the Decree of Allah
We have covered in detail the five fundamental beliefs in Islam. There are, however, many
other beliefs which are also very important in Islam. We will mention a few of these below:
(vi) A Muslim believes in taqdir or the Divine Decree. In Islamic philosophy taqdir, or God's
decree, controls the eventual outcome of all actions in this universe.
(vii) A Muslim believes that every person is born innocent and free from sin. Sin is a conscious
breach of some ordinance of God brought to one's attention by the Prophet, or by one's own
intellect, a God-given faculty. Only when a person reaches maturity of understanding and can
distinguish between right and wrong, does he become accountable for his actions.
(viii) A Muslim believes that God does not hold anyone responsible unless He has shown him
the right way. This is the reason why God has sent so many messengers and revelations. God
always sends His guidance and warning before inflicting His punishment on people.
(ix) A Muslim believes that faith is not meaningful if it is followed blindly, without reasoning or
understanding. A person should use his powers of reasoning and reflect upon God's teachings.
(x) A Muslim believes that every person is responsible for his own deeds and that no one
carries the burden of another. On the Day of Judgment, no intercession will be accepted on
behalf of another and each soul will be rewarded according to what it had earned.
(xi) A Muslim believes that all prophets were sent by God and that no distinction should be
made among them in this respect.
The Five Pillars of Islam
(Declaration of the Islamic Faith)
Bearing witness that there is no God but Allah
and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
Observance of Prayer
Paying Zakat
Fasting during Ramadhan
Pilgrimage to the house of Allah
1. DECLARATION OF FAITH
The first step towards the implementation of
faith in Islam is to declare it. The declaration
of faith or Kalima carries in its two short
sentences the essence of Islam:
"There is none worthy of worship except God
Muhammad is the Messenger of God"
In the early days of Islam, the reciting of this
Kalima marked the act of conversion to the
new faith.
2. PRAYER
There are two kinds of prayers in Islam: Du'a or the
Silent Prayer, invoking God's help, and Salat or the
ritualistic Prayer. In this section we will deal mainly
with the Salat.
The performing of the Salat was the rust duty enjoined
upon the Holy Prophet and the keeping up of Prayer is
the most frequently repeated injunction in the Holy
Quran.
In Islam, no one day is set aside exclusively for Prayer
such as the Sabbath (Saturday) for the Jews and
Sunday for the Christians. For Muslims, Prayer is made
part of everyday life.
There is a Prayer in the morning before sunrise; another
just after midday; a third in the afternoon; a fourth at
sunset; and a fifth later in the evening. The names of
these five Daily Prayers are as follows:
Fajr Prayer in the morning before sunrise
Zuhr Prayer in the early afternoon
Asr Prayer in the late afternoon
Maghrib Prayer just after sunset
Isha Prayer later in the evening
There are certain times during the day when the
performing of the Salat is prohibited. These are:
o when the sun is rising
o when the sun is directly overhead, and
o when the sun is setting
3. FASTING
The third act of worship in Islam is the fasting during the Islamic month
of Ramadhan by all able, adult Muslims. The fasting begins before
daybreak and continues till sunset. During this period a Muslim does not
eat or drink anything and abstains from any vulgar speech or act. Fasting
in some form or another has been practiced by almost all religions. The
purpose of fasting in Islam is summarized below:
by fasting a Muslim obeys the command of God which is a justification
for fasting in itself
fasting is a mini sacrifice of one's physical needs and makes one feel
better spiritually
experience shows that other worships like duo and Salat are more
enjoyable and spiritually more beneficial, when one is fasting
it is during a fast that we find out how the hungry and poor people in
this world really feel
even on purely medical grounds, fasting is an excellent activity and a
good training for the body systems
4. PILGRIMAGE
The fourth act of Islamic worship is the
performing of the Hajj or the pilgrimage to
Mecca. A Muslim must perform this pilgrimage
at least once in his lifetime if economic and
political conditions are favourable. The focal
point of this pilgrimage is the Ka'ba, which
was rebuilt by Prophet Abraham some 4,000
years ago.
5. ZAKAT (OBLIGATORY ALMS WITH PRESCRIBED
RATE)
The proceeds of Zakat are supposed to be devoted
towards:
relieving poverty and distress
helping those in debt
providing comfort and convenience for travelers
providing stipends for scholarships
providing ransom for prisoners of war
propagation of Islam
meeting the expenses for the collection of Zakat
other things beneficial for the society
Quick Fact Details:
Formed: This date reflects Muhammad's migration
from Mecca to Medina, considered the beginning of
the Islamic calendar.
Sacred Texts: While the Quran alone is considered
sacred scripture, the Sunna, in its written formhadith,
is also part of the Islamic canon.