what is islam?

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what is islam?

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What is Islam?

September 13, 2001 -- Surveys differ about the number of Muslims living in the U.S., but whether you accept a figure of two million or six million or somewhere in between, Islam remains the fastest-growing religious minority in the country. In these times of trial, it is important to remember that Muslims arrived in the Americas with Columbus and that they are our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family members.

Counting about 1 billion followers, Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. Roughly 45 nations have majority Muslim populations and approximately 30 other countries also have sizable Muslim communities.

Indonesia, which is non-Arab, is the largest Islamic country, and a sizable population of Christian Arabs live in the Middle East.

According to the Institute of Islamic Information and Education and the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, followers of Islam -- across sects and denominations -- share central tenets.

ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
The word "Islam" is derived from root words Silm and Salam, which mean "peace."

A Muslim follows the teachings of Islam, a monotheistic religion characterized by a doctrine of submission to God and to Muhammad as the chief and last prophet of God.

ALLAH THE ONE AND THE ONLY GOD
For Muslims, Allah is the name of the "One and Only God."

Allah has a total of ninety-nine different names, including: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, and The Last.
Muslims consider Allah the creator of all human beings and the god for Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, and others.

MUHAMMAD
Muslims believe Muhammad was the last Prophet of God to humankind and the final Messenger of God. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia.

Muhammed, considered to be the summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers that came before him, was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an.

There are two major branches of Islam, based largely on the the divisions between successors to the Prophet Mohammed: Sunni, with the most followers, and Shiite.

Sunni Muslims constitute a 90% majority of the faith's believers. Considered to be mainstream traditionalists, Sunni Muslims often practice their faith within secular societies and adapt to a variety of national cultures. Like all Muslims, Sunnis follow the sources of law -- the Qur'an and Hadith.

Shi'ite Muslims promote a strict interpretation of the Qur'an and close adherence to its teachings. They believe in 12 heavenly Imams (perfect teachers) who led the Shi'ites in succession. Shi'ites believe that the 12th Imam, the Mahdi (guided one), never died, but rather went into hiding. The Mahdi awaits the optimum time to reappear and guide humans towards justice and peace.

SOURCE OF ISLAM
The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the "exact word of God;" The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet Muhammad.

SOME ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES

Oneness of God:Islam rejects the idea of multiple manifestations of Allah.
Oneness of mankind:People are created equal in the Law of God. There is no superiority of one race over another.
Oneness of Messengers and the Message:Muslims believe God sent different messengers throughout the history of humanity. All came with the same message and the same teachings, but some people misunderstood and misinterpreted them.
The prophets and teachers of Christianity and Judaism are also the Prophets of Islam: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad.
Angels and the Day of Judgment:Muslims believe in unseen creatures created by God for special missions. Muslims also believe in a Day of Judgment when all people of the world will be brought for "accounting, reward and punishment."
Innocence of Man at Birth:Muslims believe people are born free of sin. Only after they reach puberty will they be accountable for sinful acts. Forgiveness through true repentance is always available.

PRACTICES OF ISLAM
God instructed Muslims to practicefive pillars:

Creed (Shahada):The verbal pledge that there is only One God, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of Islam.
Prayers (Salat):The performance of five daily prayers is required of Muslims.
Fasting (Saum):Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and sexual relations from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan.
Purifying Tax (Zakat):An annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries.
Pilgrimage (Hajj):A pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time, if means are available. Hajj is, in part, done in memory of the trials and tribulations of Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son Ishmail.

MUSLIMS AND ARABS
There are approximately one billion Muslims in the world.

Muslims are not necessarily Arabs.
Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other nationalities.

There are about 200 million Arabs.

Arabs can be Muslim, Christian, Jewish, an atheist or a follower of another faith.
Arab Muslims constitute only about 20% of the Muslim population of the world.