Islam

I've written about Judaism and Christianity. Here's some interesting information on Islam. I found this the most interesting of them all. I hope you enjoy reading.

Islam
“submission”

* Historical Background
*Splits from Judaism and Christianity
-Muhammad descendent of Ishmael
*570 AD Muhammad born
*610 Muhammad receives first revelation
-yearly retreat into mountains
-angel Gabriel appeared with revelations: “Recite”
-climate at time polytheistic; Muhammad preaches single God
*622 Muhammad and followers fled after preaching rejected
*630 Returned to Mecca with army; gained control of city
*632 Muhammad died

Basic Theology (monotheistic)
*God:
- a single unity (no different persons or manifestations)
-offers right guidance
-interaction with people through prophets (Jesus, David, Moses, Abraham—Muhammad last and final messenger sent)
*Humanity:
-good by nature
-often causes problems by rejecting divine guidance
-assigned one good and one bad angel to keep record of actions
*Salvation and Afterlife:
-one’s good deeds must outweigh one’s bad
-5 Pillars or obligations:
- Recite the Shahadah (“to bear witness”): “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger”
- Pray (salat): 17 cycles of prayer spread out over the day- dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and two hours after sunset
- Fast (sawn) during daylight hours of 9th lunar month (Ramadhan)
-Give Alms; must give 2.5 % income to poor
-Make a Pilgrimage (Hajj) and visit several sacred sights
*Practices and lifestyle:
-Consistently follow 5 pillars
-treat holy books very carefully
-separation of men and women during times of worship
-“if He wills”; acceptance of circumstances from predestination (business)


Additional clarification:

Islam splits from Judaism due to Muhammad’s claim that he was a descendant of Ishmael. In the Old Testament, God promised Abram (later Abraham) that he would give him and his wife Sari (later Sarah) a baby boy. Through his line, a nation would develop. That line would also include in it the messiah. As Sari and Abram grew older, Sari found that she was unable to bear children. Thus Sari told Abram to sleep with her maidservant Haggar. Haggar became pregnant and birthed Ishmael. Afterwards, God told Abram that the descendant would be through Sari, and she birthed Isaac. Sari sent Haggar and Ishmael away. Muslims believe that Ishmael is the rightful heir.

Islam splits from Christianity because it recognizes Jesus as a prophet. By 500 BC the Christian message had spread to this part of the world through trade. While Jesus was a prophet, he is not considered to be the messiah. Muslims believe that Allah (the one God) has sent prophets to each people group and for various ages. However, all other literature, with the exception of the Koran, has been corrupted over time.

When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, at first he believed that is was the manifestation of a demon or he was possessed. However, his wife, Khadijah, encouraged him to teach what she believed to be divine revelation.

Muhammad was not well received because he began preaching the message of monotheism in a polytheistic society. A large part of culture and economics centered around rituals and worship or idols.

Each human is given two angels to record their deeds. To reach heaven, one’s good deeds must outweigh the bad. This plays into the observance of the five pillars.

The overriding idea in Islam is the submitting to the will of Allah. Often that manifests itself in strict obedience to what one believes the Koran teaches. It can also manifest itself in a lack of pursuit of specifics because if Allah wills it, things should happen automatically. One example is in business. If a member misses a deadline, it is not necessarily that individuals fault, but the will of Allah.