A guide to Islam

With the war's being fought today in the middle east and terrorist events going on in America in the world many of them being between the west and Islam I think it's important for all of us to understand what Islam is all about, free from the bias shown from all sides. 1 out of 5 people in the world are Muslim and it is the fastest growing religion in the world today. There Is not enough room here to possibly explain every facet of Islam this is just a Basic Guide.

How and When was Islam founded
Depending on who you ask Islam started at various times. Muslim's will say it started with Abraham when he first heard God's voice. The word Islam means submission to God so many will say it started when man first worshiped God. What others say and what we'll go with for this guide is that it started when The Prophet Muhammad heard the voice of God. Muhammad lived from the year 570 to 632. In his middle years he believed he heard God telling him to bring forth his final revelation to the world. He spoke these revelations in a series of sermons or Surrahs in which his followers wrote down word for word. These surah's formed the Holy Qu'ran which is the definitive Holy Book in Islam. At the time these were revealed most of the Middle east practiced various Pagan religions and so the early Muslim's were oppressed. Through a series of battles and conversions the Muslim's managed to conquer Meccah and eventually it spread to most of the Middle East.

What Muslim's believe
Islam is a monotheistic religion that stresses the divine oneness of God. They believe God is all powerful and knowing and that he has no equal. Like I wrote earlier Islam means submission to God. They believe the Koran as revealed by the Prophet Muhammad to be the final and true word of God. They believe Muhammad was the last in a long line of prophet's that include, Abraham, Moses, Issac, Ishmael (Issac's brother and Abraham's son), John the Baptist and others. All of the Old testament prophet's from the Bible are also believed to be prophet's in Islam. The key belief in Islam is to always be mindful of God no matter what. Keep in mind they worship God only. The God they worship is the very same God worshiped by both Jew's and Christians. They DO NOT worship Muhammad but they revere him as being the final Prophet of the Lord. They believe in a code of Law known as Sharia. Sharia law is believed to be God's law. These are the most common names God is reffered to as in the Koran.

• The Most High (al-Ala)
• The Most Great (al-Aziz)
• The Ever Forgiving (al-Ghaffar)
• The Ever Providing (ar-Razzaq)
• The Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds (Rabb al-Alameen)
• The Self Subsisting (al-Haqq)
• The Eternal Lord (al-Baqi)
• The Sustainer (al-Muqsith)
• The Source of Peace (As-Salaam)

Muslim's also believe that God has no resemblance to his creations. He does not have a body for example. he is everywhere and inside everything. He is not limited by anything.

Just as they believe in God and Angel's they believe in Satan and demons. The name for Satan in Islam is Iblis. His demons are referred to in the Koran as Jinn. They like other Abrahamic religions believe that Iblis was once an Angel who rebelled against God and the Jinn are here to corrupt the hearts and souls of man. They in day of Judgment and resurrection, the day that God will return and Judge all mankind.

The 5 pillars of Islam

• The 5 pillars of Islam provide the foundation of Islamic life. The 5 pillars are as follows.
  
• Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad
  
• Daily prayer
  
• Concern for the needy and charity
  
• Fasting and other forms of self purification
  
• Making a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca at least once in your life. (If you are disabled and cant go it's acceptable but all able bodied must go.)

The 5 pillars are what Muslim's must live by and are of fundamental importance to the religion.

Ramadan
Ramadan is the month in which Muslim's fast from sunrise to sundown. They do this because they believe that it was during this month that the Koran was revealed to Muhammad. During this time they must also refrain from all sin and be charitable. Ramadan ends with a day long celebration called Eidul-Fitr with a morning prayer and the giving of gifts and visiting family.

Haraam

Haraam in Arabic means forbidden. These are all things that the koran says god has deemed forbidden in your life. These include some food's such as pork other meat that hasn't been slaughtered in a permitted way. Alcohol use is also considered Haraam. It also includes things like Adultery or Blasphemy.

Jihad
Jihad is a very misunderstood facet of Islam. Jihad means Holy War. This does not mean killing anyone who isn't a believer. It is to be used only as defense against those who wish to destroy Islam. Basically it's the right and duty to defend your faith.

Other Notes and further reading
Aside from the Koran there are some other Holy books in the Islamic faith. These include the Torah(or old testament), Hadith which documents further deeds and actions of Muhammad, and Fiqh which is an extension of Sharia law.

Keep in mind this is an extremely broad overview of Islam. Just as with other religions there are various school's of thought and different tribal factions within the religion.

http://www.freekoran.com/
http://www.understanding-islam.com/default.aspx
www.understandingislam.org/
http://www.islam.com/