Islam Essay

"Islam began as a religious movement--not as a social, economic, or 'national' one; in particular, it embodied an intense concern for attaining personal salvation through righteous behavior" (Donner, 2011) Praise be to Allah holds great meaning in Islam. There is no greater force that God, and no other creator to give credit to. Muslims give their all to prove commitment and dedication to God. Muslims are peaceful, God-fearing people. Their beliefs and practices are very similar to other monotheistic religions. They are peaceful people that want to live there life in spiritual enlightenment. In order to enter Heaven and avoid Hell they must be genuinely good people and follow the rules of Islam that are defined by the Five Pillars. Prayer is an important part of the faith, as well as learning to read, write, and understand the Qur’an in its intended language, Arabic. Muslims are expected to start learning the way of Islam from a young age, in the United States this is done in local mosques, like the Islamic Center of Passaic County.

Islam is gaining popularity throughout the world. They have very similar beliefs to Judaism and Christianity. Muslim’s are expected to be very devout in their teachings and religious practices. They must accept God and his words in the Qur’an as delivered by the prophet Muhammad. The word Islam is a perfect description of the religion, because it is the Arabic word for peace, purity, acceptance, and commitment.

In the Islamic faith God is everything. The ultimate goal of Islam is to be good and do well. They must commit to peacefully practicing their faith in a pure state. Muslims have a set of guidelines they are expected to follow to be considered good and be allowed into heaven. They have many of the same central beliefs as other monotheistic religions. They are very devout people and spend much time praying and performing spiritual cleansing practices. Prayer is an important part of their spiritual practices, as well as reciting the words of the Quran.

Islam is monotheistic, meaning they only believe in one God. God is a being and the creator of all things in the world, he is referred to by the Arabic word for God which is Allah. The importance of Allah is evident throughout the teachings in the Qur’an. “Allah will bring us together, and to Him is our final goal” (Fisher, 2014 pp 386) The Muslims firmly believe that there is no supreme being other God, and Muhammad is believed to be the messenger of God.

The words of the Qur’an are written as they were given to Muhammad when he was the age 40. The words were delivered to him by an angel and from this point forward he knew these were the words that he needed to share. Muhammad is the prophet that was born to share God’s message and his purpose, according to (Fisher, 2014) was to restore the true religion back to its original path of monotheism.

Muslims that are born into the faith start