History of Islam - Understanding Islam

Understanding Islam

Eric Raymond

REL/134

October 27, 2015

John Warnshuis

Understanding Islam

The purpose of this paper is to give a summary of the history of Islam.  The author will explain the importance of the Qur'an, the Five Pillars of Islam, and Ramadan.  The author will also describe the differences and similarities in the different branches of Islam.

Islam is a religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad who was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.  "Islam" is an Arabic word that means "submission".  In Islam, it is important to submit one's will to do the will of God who is called "Allah", which is the Arabic word for God.  Islam is one of three Abrahamic religions that share the belief that there is one God and one God only: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Muhammad was very religious and would meditate in caves in the hillsides outside of Mecca.  During one of his meditation sessions in a cave, it is believed that the angel Gabriel came to him and revealed the sacred word of the Qur’an.  He brought the word back to others in Mecca and began teaching Islam to the people.

The Qur’an

The Qur’an is believed to be directly the word of God delivered to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.  When Muhammad returned from the caves, he told his wife, Khadijah, about what happened.  He doubted what happened and thought he may have been hallucinating but Khadijah encouraged him and told him to accept what was revealed to him as being from God.  These experiences happened several times and he began to share the revelations given to him with his friends and family.  His wife Khadijah, his cousin Ali, and his close friend, Abu Bakr accepted his teachings and became the first “Muslims”, meaning “those who submit their wills to do the will of God”.

These revelations given to Muhammad were never written down in full until after the death of Muhammad.  Muhammad received revelations from the angel Gabriel through God throughout his life until his death.  Instead they were memorized word for word, line for line and then shared by word of mouth to be memorized by those who the word was shared with.  The practice of memorizing the Qur’an is still widely practiced to this day by Muslims.  They practice memorizing every word from beginning to end and there are even competitions for Qur’anic recitation.  It is believed that the Qur’an has been protected from being changed throughout the years like previous scriptures such as the Bible.

The Five Pillars of Islam

In order to become a Muslim, a person must practice the Five Pillars of Islam which are five principles and rules to live by.  The first pillar is called the “Shahadah” which is a statement that all Muslims must make and also live by.  The Shahadah is “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”.  “This single sentence, when recited with belief, makes a person a Muslim.” (Molloy, 2013)

The second pillar is “Salat”, which means prayer in Arabic.  Muslims are required to pray at least five times a day at specific times depending on the cycle of the sun and moon.  The times for prayer are approximately “before dawn, midday, midafternoon, sunset, and nighttime.  Prayer time is announced by the singing of “the call to prayer”, by a muezzin, and is often broadcasted over a loudspeaker.  Prayers are done by Muslims facing toward the Grand Mosque in Mecca.