Islam
3 On a worldwide scale, Islam is the second largest religion, with about 1.6 billion followers. 2It is the main religious path for the northern part of Africa, the Middle East and parts of Polynesia.
3Because of its roots in the Middle East and continuing dominance in the region, much of the terminology is in Arabic. 4Allah will be used to describe the God of Islam, out of respect and also to clearly differentiate the Muslim God from the Christian one (though it can be argued that they re essentially the same.)
General Beliefs
5There are Five Pillars of Islam that make up the foundation of the religion, though these are acts and practices rather than beliefs in themselves.
1. The shahada (declaration of faith)
2. Daily prayers (five times a day)
3. Giving to charity
4. Fasting during Ramadan
5. Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
6These are fairly self-explanatory, though there are a few things to mention about the shahada. 7It consists of the Arabic phrase that means there is only one God and Muhammad is his messenger. 8The exact wording is I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is his servant and messenger. 9This expression is part of daily prayer, and it is said to be powerful enough to convert anyone who says it to Islam.
1OAside from these five pillars, there are other beliefs that all Muslims hold:
i. There is only one God (Allah)
ii. Angels exist as messengers of Allah iii. The Quran was a divine revelation
iv. Allah has chosen several prophets to also be his messengers v. There will be a time of judgement before Allah
vi. Destiny is ordained by Allah
Holy Texts
11In English, the holy book of Islam is also called the Koran or the Quran, given in its entirety to Muhammad in a divine revelation. 12He received it over the course of about 23 years from the Angel Gabriel.
13Because the Quran is believed to have come directly from Allah, there are few different versions of it available. 14It has been translated into other languages, but the Arabic version has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. 15Because of the belief that the Quran is divine, it does not come under scrutiny
or interpretation.
16Hadiths are another important text in Islam, though not of divine origin. 17This is text that contains the words and actions of Muhammad during his life, which then acts as additional guidance for Islamic life beyond the official Quran itself. 18Entries in the hadith are often preceded by a list of people who said or heard these sayings, leading back to the original statement by Muhammad.
19Within this religious practice, there are two major branches: the Shi a and Sunni, akin to the differences between Protestants and Catholics. 20Though they share many basic beliefs and tenets, there are some differences between the two. 21In terms of numbers, there are about 1.3 billion Sunnis; and 300 million Shi a.
Proselytising
22Muslims don t usually do very much proselytising, although helping to teach others about the religion is considered a noble practice. 23It's called dawah in Arabic, and while similar to some evangelical practices in Christianity, it is generally less pushy . 24The point is to inform or teach rather than to coerce a conversion.
250ne unique concept within Islam is that you can covert to the religion simply by stating the declaration of faith described above. 26Most religions require a more lengthy process of learning and ritual before you can be considered a true convert. 27Muslims also believe that people are naturally Muslim at birth, so any conversion is simply a return to their natural spiritual state.
Concept of Sin
28In Islam, sins are any actions that go against the will of Allah. 29Not all sins are considered equal:
some sins are simply mistakes, some are transgressions and some are depravity.
30There are seven major sins, called the al-Kaba ir. 31Though the concept is similar to the seven deadly sins in Christianity, the sins themselves are notably quite different:
1. Idolatry
2. Witchcraft
3. Murder of someone innocent
4. Consuming the property of an orphan
5. Usury (borrowing money with interest)
6. Retreating in battle
7. Falsely accusing chaste women
32These seven actions are explicitly mentioned by Muhammad as noxious things to be avoided. 33An additional list of 70 actions are also sometimes referred to as major sins, such as adultery, blasphemy, breaking any of the five pillars, lying, stealing, consuming pork, gambling etc. 34Like in the Christian Bible, there are very long lists of potential sins, and there are varying ways to interpret many of them.
35In order to gain forgiveness for your sins, you only have to repent or regret that you ve committed them and ask Allah to forgive you.
The Afterlife
36Those who have sinned in the eyes of Allah can be punished in jahannam (similar to the Christian version of a burning Hell). 37But because they believe that Allah is merciful, once their souls have been cleansed by fire, Muslims are permitted to move on to jannah (the garden, or Heaven). 38Some do believe that non-Muslims are punished in jahannam permanently but others feel that with enough time, even a non-Muslim can be worthy of entry into heaven.
39Those who die while fighting for God will go directly to heaven and any enemies of Islam are sent directly to jahannam.