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Islam

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Since Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, claims descent from the monotheist tradition of the biblical patriarch Abraham, it sees itself as an Abrahamic religion. Muslims hold that it is essentially the same belief as that of all the messengers sent by God to mankind, with the Qur'ān (the one definitive text of the Muslim faith) codifying the final and complete revelation of God. Unlike Christianity, Islam has not undergone any period of reformation, although currently there are some liberal movements within Islam. Islam has three primary branches of belief, based largely on a historical disagreement over the succession of authority after Muhammad's death; these are known as Sunni, Shi'ite, and Khariji. Some consider Sufism (mystic Islam) as another branch of Islamic faith, although many Sufi orders consider themselves to be Sunni or Shia; it is found more or less across the Islamic world, though bearing distinctive regional variations, from Senegal to the Indian subcontinent.

Perhaps the most succinct and clear statement of Muslim belief is to be found in the shahādatan (Arabic for 'two statements'): ''Lā
ilā
hā
 illā
llā
h; Muhammadan rasulullāh''—

Table of contents

1 The meaning of the word Islam 2 Beliefs 2.1 Six Pillars of belief 2.2 God 2.3 Prophets 2.4 Islamic law 2.5 Islamic eschatology 2.6 Other beliefs 2.7 Pre-Islamic practices 3 Religious authority 4 The Five Pillars of Islam 5 The Qur'an 5.8 Revelation of the Qur'an 6 The People of the Book 7 Views of non-monotheistic religions 8 Views of inclusivistic religions 9 Historical origin of Islam 9.9 The growth of Islam today 10 Denominations of Islam 10.10 Religions based on Islam 11 Islam in the modern world 12 Islam around the world 13 Important figures in Islamic history 14 Notes 15 References 16 External links 16.11 Online sources 16.12 General 16.13 Aspects 16.14 Organisations 16.15 Comparative religion 16.16 Perspectives

The meaning of the word Islam

Beliefs

Six Pillars of belief

There are six basic beliefs shared by Muslims:

• Belief in God (in Arabic, Allah)
• Belief in Prophets and Messengers (sent by God)
• Belief in the Books (sent by God)
• Belief in the Day of Judgment (Qiyamah)
• Belief in Angels
• Belief in al-Qadr, (Divine Destiny)

The fundamental concept in Islam is the unity of God (tawhid). This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word. Every chapter of the Qur'an (except for two) begins with "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". God describes Himself in Sura al-Ikhlas, (chapter 112): "Say: He is God The One, God The Eternal. He never begot, nor was begotten. There is none comparable to Him." In Arabic he is called Allah, a contraction of "al-ilah" or "the deity". "Allah" thus translates to "God" in English; it is not a proper name, unlike the Israelite divine name Yahweh. The implicit usage of the definite article linguistically indicates the divine unity. Although no visual images exist of God, and no depictions due to the prohibition on idolatry in Islam, Muslims define God by the attributes mentioned in the Quran, also commonly known as the 99 names of Allah.

Prophets

Islam teaches that God may reveal His will to mankind through an angel; such recipients of revelation are known as prophets. Islam makes a distinction between "prophets" and "messengers". Although all messengers are prophets, not all prophets are messengers.

Notable prophets include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, all belonging to a succession of men guided by God. Muhammad is viewed as the 'Last Messenger', bringing the final message of God to all mankind through the Qur'an. Messengers and prophets were sent to every nation and civilization, and every messenger was given a book for those people. These individuals were mortal humans; Islam demands that a believer accept all of the prophets, making no distinction between them. In the Qur'an, twenty five specific prophets are mentioned.

Islamic law

The reading and recitation of the Qur'an is central to Muslim culture, and leads to modern debates over Islamic law, known as the Shariā. Since Qur'anic passages explicitly mention rules concerning slavery, inheritance, marriage, divorce, women's attire, and so forth, as well as punishments for crimes such as theft and adultery, a traditional body of Islamic law has developed, dealing with both civil government and personal behavior. This body of knowledge greatly influenced the traditional norms of Muslim societies. Thus the separation of church and state has not historically been a part of Islam; although challenging Sharia is generally the goal of many liberal movements within Islam. However, application of Islamic laws in Muslim nation-states today is far from uniform. Some of the largest Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh have mainly secular constitutions with a few religious provisions.

Conservative Muslims generally view Islamic law as essential to their religious outlook. The Qur'an is the foremost source of Islamic jurisprudence; the second is the Sunnah (the practices of the Prophet, as narrated in reports of his life). The Sunnah is not itself a text like the Qur'an, but is extracted by analysis of the Hadith (Arabic for "report") texts, which contain narrations of the Prophet's deeds. The distinction is that a hadith (plural ahadith) is a report about the life of the Prophet, including a chain of transmission or isnad which is traditionally used to verify authenticity; as opposed to the Sunnah, which is his life itself.

Islamic eschatology

Islamic eschatology is concerned with the Qiyamah (end of the world) and the final judgement of humanity. Like the other Abrahamic religions, Islam teaches the bodily resurrection of the dead, the fulfillment of a divine plan for creation, and the immortality of the human soul; the righteous are rewarded with the pleasures of Jannah (Heaven), while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam (Hell). A significant fraction of the Qur'an deals with these beliefs, with many ahadith elaborating on the themes and details.

Other beliefs

Pre-Islamic practices

Religious authority

There is no official authority who decides whether a person is accepted to, or dismissed from, the community of believers, known as the Ummah. Islam is open to all, regardless of race, age, gender, or previous beliefs. It is enough to believe in the central beliefs of Islam. This is formally done by reciting the shahada, the statement of belief of Islam, without which a person cannot be classed a Muslim. As no one can split open another's heart to see what's inside, it is enough to believe and say that you are a Muslim, and behave in a manner befitting a Muslim to be accepted into the community of Islam.

The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam² are five basic duties of Muslims:

• Shahada, the recitation and acceptance of the Creed
• Salah (or salat), daily prayer
• Zakat (or zakah), alms
• Saum (or Siyam), observing the fast of Ramadan
• Hajj (or Haj), pilgrimage to Mecca

The Qur'an

The Qur'an (also spelled "Quran" or "Koran") is the holy book of Islam. Its title means "Recitation" or "Reading". It consists of 114 chapters (or Surahs) laid out roughly in order of size, the largest being near the front, the smallest near the back. It is regarded by Muslims as God's message to Humanity; describing the origins of the Universe, Man, and their relationship to each other and their Creator. It sets out rules for society, morality, economics and many other topics. It is intended for recitation and memorization. The Qur'an is primarily taught from one generation to the next this way. Muslims regard the Qur'an as sacred and inviolable. Muslims do not touch the book unless in a state of ablution, known as "wudu." Muslims will typically keep it on a high shelf in their room, as a show of respect for the Qur'an, and some carry small versions with them for comfort or security. Only the original Arabic version of it is regarded as the Qur'an; an attempt at translations would omit the original's meaning and nuance, as well as flow of the verse.

For Muslims, the Qur'an answers questions about daily needs, both spiritual and material. It discusses God and God's Names and attributes; believers and their virtues, and the fate of non-believers (kuffar); Mary, Jesus, and all the other prophets; and even scientific subjects. Muslims do not follow the laws of the Qur'an exclusively; they also follow the example of Muhammad, which is known as the Sunnah, and the understanding of the Qur'an contained in the teachings of the prophet known as the Ahadith.

Muslims are taught that God sent down other books. Besides the Qur'an, the others are the book of Ibrahim (now lost) the Law of Moses (the Taurah), the Psalms of David (the Zabûr) and the Gospel of Jesus (the Injil). The Qur'an describes Christians and Jews as "the people of the Book" (ahl al Kitâb). The teachings of Islam concern many of the same personages as those of Judaism and Christianity. However, Muslims frequently refer to them using Arabic names which can make it appear they are talking about different people: e.g. Allah for God, Iblis for Satan, Ibrahim for Abraham, and so forth. (See also: The Bible in Islam)

Revelation of the Qur'an

Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad through the angel Jibrail (Gabriel); Muhammad then recited this to his companions, many of whom were said to have memorized it and written it down on available material. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was illiterate; the revelations to Muhammad were later gathered by his companions and followers in book form. Muhammad is considered to be the final prophet, sent to preach the same message as the prophets of Christianity (Jesus) and Judaism (Moses) (and possibly Zoroastrianism and other ancient religions).

According to Islam, all the prophets successfully taught their nation the same message of the oneness of God. In the past, however, the message of Islam became distorted by later generations and the revealed scripture corrupted, leaving reason for another messenger to be sent. As Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last of a long line of prophets, they have taken his message to be a sacred trust, and have taken great care to ensure the message was assembled and transmitted in a manner that did not betray that trust. Although Muslims make scrupulous efforts to protect and respect the Qur'an, they believe that it is not through their own endeavours, but by the mercy of God that the Qur'an is preserved intact and will never be altered.

The People of the Book

This group includes the Jews, Christians and Muslims. According to Islam, all nations were given a Messenger and guidance from Allah. Eventually, due to their abandonment of adherence to strict monotheism, the followers of Moses earned God's anger (by supposedly worshipping the Golden Calf, mentioned in the Biblical account of Moses, and later Ezra) and the followers of Jesus Christ supposedly went astray (by worshipping Jesus Christ). It is popularly held by the vast majority of Muslims that the Holy Taurah (revelation given to Moses) and the Holy Injil (revelation given to Jesus Christ) have been corrupted over time and that the present day Bible and Torah share little or no resemblance to the original message. According to Islam, Muhammad was sent during a time of spiritual darkness and once the Qur'an was finally established, all past revelations were abrogated, making the Last Testament not only for the Arab nation but for all mankind until the Day of Judgement.

Some parts of the Qur'an attribute differences between Muslims and non-Muslims to tahref-ma'any, a "corruption of the meaning" of the words. In this view, the Jewish Bible and Christian New Testament are true, but the Jews and Christians misunderstood the meaning of their own Scripture, and thus need the Qur'an to clearly understand the will of God. However, other parts of the Qur'an make clear that many Jews and Christians used deliberately altered versions of their scripture, and had altered the word of God. This belief was developed further in medieval Islamic polemics, and is a mainstream part of both Sunni and Shi'ite Islam today. This is known as the doctrine of tahref-lafzy, "the corruption of the text".

Historically, Islamic scholars have agreed that the Qur'an gives "People of the Book" special status, allowing those who live in Muslim lands (called dhimmi—protected people) to practice their own religions and to own property. People of the Book were not subject to certain Islamic rules, such as the prohibitions on alcohol and pork. Under the Islamic state, they were exempt from the draft, but were required to pay a tax known as jizyah, part of which went to charity and part to finance churches and synagogues. (They were, however, exempt from the zakat required of Muslims.) This agreement has in the past led to Islamic countries practicing religious toleration, often more so than some European countries of the past.

One verse of the Qur'an says "God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loveth those who are just." (Qur'an, 60:8), which is interpreted as a clear admonition not to be disrespectful or unkind to non-Muslims. According to a hadith, Muhammad said to his people "The one who murders a dhimmi [non-Muslim under protection of the state] will not smell the fragrance of Paradise, even if its smell was forty years travelling distance" [Sahih Ahmed].

See also: Islam and Judaism -- Judeo-Islamic tradition -- The Bible in Islam -- Islam and anti-Semitism -- Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs

Views of non-monotheistic religions