Islam Religion Facts Biography
Source:- Google.com.pkThis section provides "just the facts" on Islam in a quick, at-a-glance format. Here you can get a general sense of the Muslim faith before exploring it in greater depth, get the basics in order to compare Islam to other religions, study for a test on Islam, or just learn something new. For the basics in paragraph form, see Overview of Islam.
Important note: Muslim beliefs differ between sects and individual believers. Those listed below are believed by the majority of Muslims, but not all.
Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, with over 1 billion followers. It is a monotheistic faith founded by a man named Muhammad in 7th-century Saudi Arabia.
Muhammad
According to Muslim belief, the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, a camel driver, in a mountain cave and delivered a message from the one true God. The Prophet Muhammad dedicated the remainder of his life to spreading a message of monotheism in a polytheistic world. His life's work is recorded in the Qur'an, the sacred text of Islam.
In 622 AD, the Prophet fled north to the city of Medina to escape growing persecution. This event is celebrated by Muslims as the hijira ("flight") and marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar (622 AD = 1 AH).
Eight years later, Muhammad returned to Mecca with an army and defeated it easily. By Muhammad's death, 50 years later, the entire Arabian Peninsula had come under Muslim control.
The word "Islam" means "submission," reflecting the religion's central tenet of submitting to the will of God. Islamic practices center on the Five Pillars of Islam: confession of faith, daily prayer, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage and charity.
The Quran
The sacred text of Islam, the Qur'an, was written in Arabic within 30 years of Muhammad's death. Muslims believe it contains the literal word of God as gradually revealed to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel over the course of 20 years. Also important is the tradition of the sayings and actions of the Prophet and his Companions, collected in the hadith.
Islam and the West have had a rocky relationship for centuries, and in recent years the tension has only seemed to escalate. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine is religiously charged, Western involvement in Middle Eastern affairs is resented, and various hijackers, suicide bombers and terrorists base their actions on their Muslim faith.
Many Muslims, however, have denounced this radical minority as violating both true Islam and the true meaning of jihad, and Islam continues to be the fastest-growing religion in the world.
There is no official creed to which one must adhere to be considered a Muslim. All that is required is to believe and recite the Shahada: "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet." Beyond this core belief, however, Muslim doctrine is often summarized in "Six Articles of Faith." Many Muslims believe that one must adhere to the six articles to be considered a Muslim.
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Muslim Beliefs about God
The single most important belief in Islam, and arguably the central theme of Islam, is that there is only one God. The name of God is Allah, which is simply Arabic for "the (al) God (Ilah)." The term is related to Elohim, the Hebrew word for God.
Muslim Beliefs about the Prophets
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is revered as "the Seal of the Prophets" - the last and greatest of the messengers of God. He is not divine in any way, for the strict monotheism that characterizes Islam (as well as Judaism) does not allow for such an interpretation. Other prophets are important in Islam as well, all of which are shared with the Jews or the Christians.
Muslim Beliefs about Human Nature
According to the Qur'an, Allah "created man from a clot of blood" at the same time he created the jinn from fire. Humans are the greatest of all creatures, created with free will for the purpose of obeying and serving God.
Muslim Beliefs about Life and Salvation
For a Muslim, the object of life is to live in a way that is pleasing to Allah so that one may gain Paradise. It is believed that at puberty, an account of each person's deeds is opened, and this will be used at the Day of Judgment to determine his eternal fate.
Muslim Beliefs about the Afterlife
Like Christianity, Islam teaches the continued existence of the soul and a transformed physical existence after death. There will be a day of judgment and humanity will be divided between the eternal destinations of Paradise and Hell.
Muslim Views of Other Religions
The Qur'an is clear that there must be "no compulsion in religion" (2:256). Yet Islam is not indifferent to conversion either - Muslims consider their religion to the be the one true religion, and invite people of all races, nationalities and religions to be part of it.
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