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The Qur’an or Koran is the holy book of Islam. The original was written in Arabic.
Muslims stop to pray five times a day. If they are not in a mosque, they pray in a clean place or spread a prayer mat on the floor. The prayer position represents submission to God’s will or obedience to Allah.
Both Muslim men and women try to dress modestly. Some women cover their entire bodies when outside the home.
The crescent moon and stars are symbols associated with Islam. Islam has a lunar calendar, hence the crescent. Stars are signs of Allah.
A mosque is the house of worship for Muslims. The worship of images of Allah, people, or animals is forbidden in Islam. For this reason, Islamic art and architecture uses geometric shapes and patterns.
The tower of a mosque is called a minaret. A muezzin calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret.
Islam is an Arabic word which means "surrender, submission, commitment and peace." Thus, Islam can be defined as a path to attain complete peace through voluntary submission to the divine will.
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Islam is a monotheistic faith centered around belief in the one God (Allah). In this regard, it shares some beliefs with Judaism and Christianity by tracing its history back to the patriarch Abraham, and ultimately to the first prophet, Adam. All the prophets preached the same universal message of belief in one God and kindness to humanity. The last in the series of prophets, according to Muslims, was Muhammad. Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia around 570 CE. He worked first as a shepherd and then as a merchant. He was not happy with the people around him because of superstitions and social and economic injustice. The people were worshipping many gods and had forgotten the message of prophet Abraham to worship one God. Muhammad loved to pray and meditate in the mountains. On one of those occasions, in the year 610 CE, when he was about 40 years old, he received a revelation from God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). He continued to receive messages from God throughout his life and he began preaching to others what he had learned. His main message is that there was no other God but Allah and that people should lead their lives in a way that was pleasing to Allah.
Islam is an Arabic word which means "surrender, submission, commitment and peace." Thus, Islam can be defined as a path to attain complete peace through voluntary submission to the divine will.
Muslims have six major beliefs:
Image: Wikipedia
Muslims believe that the last revealed scripture sent by God is the Qur'an or Koran. It is the speech of God revealed in the Arabic language to Muhammad during his mission of twenty-three years. The Qur'an was written down by scribes and memorized during the lifetime of Muhammad. The Qur'an emphasizes moral, ethical and spiritual values with the aim of establishing justice for everyone. Many Muslims try to learn to read the Koran in its original language, Arabic. It is not uncommon for Muslims to memorize whole chapters of it. They read part of it every day. The Sunnah is a record of Muhammads words and deeds. The Sunnah is used to help interpret the Koran. There is also instruction in it on belief, worship and behavior.
Students of Madarasa Bhalwal by Rizwan Sagar
Kaaba at the heart of Mecca, by Medineli
Farewell India - The Taj Mahal by Trey Ratcliffe
Barefeet in the Mosque by Trey Ratcliffe
Sultan Ahmed Mosque by Gregory T. Smith
Islamophobia and its culture of hate is not only a threat to the civil liberties of Muslims but also the very fabric of who we are and what we stand for, the principles and values embodied in our constitution.
By John L. Esposita, Contributor
University Professor, Georgetown University
We are passing through difficult and dangerous times. The impact of staggering economic crisis and fears of a continued terrorist threat have spawned a culture of hate that threatens the future of our American way of life and values.
The legacy of the 9/11 and post 9/11 terrorist attacks has been exploited by media commentators, hard-line Christian Zionists and political candidates whose fear-mongering targets Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia is fast becoming for Muslims what anti-Semitism is for Jews. Rooted in hostility and intolerance towards religious and cultural beliefs and a religious or racial group, it threatens the democratic fabric of American and European societies. Like anti-Semites and racists, Islamophobes are the first to protest that their stereotyping and scapegoating of these "others" as a threat to all of us, incapable of integration or loyalty, are not Islamophobic. Yet, examples that illustrate the social cancer of Islamophobia that is spreading across the United States, infringing upon the constitutional rights of American citizens, abound:
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Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/islamophobia-a-threat-to_b_676765
Islam spread quickly first throughout Arabia and surrounding countries and then throughout the world. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world with 7 million in the United States. Only about 18% of Muslims are Arabs and live in the Middle East. The countries with the largest Muslim populations are Indonesia and India. There are two basic groups of Islam: the Sunnis (about 80% of the world's Muslims) and the Shi'ites (about 20% of the world's Muslims). Although they share the same basic beliefs, they disagree on who was the rightful leader of Islam after Muhammad's death.
"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God. He is the same universal God worshipped by people of all faiths. The word "Allah" is sometimes preferred over God because it is neither masculine nor feminine. Also, there is no plural for "Allah."
These are guides for daily life for putting the beliefs of Muslims into practice:
This festival marks the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan. It ends with the sighting of the new moon in the sky. Muslims visit their mosque to say special prayers, visit friends and relatives, eat special feast foods and exchange gifts and cards. It is a time of thankfulness for Allah's blessings which are better appreciated because of the experience of fasting during Ramadan.
This is the pilgrimage to Mecca to worship in the Ka'bah. Muslims try to do this at least once in their lifetime. Pilgrims wear plain, identical clothes to show that all are equal in Allah's eyes. They walk around seven times, counterclockwise. They they walk or run seven times between two hills followed by a 16 mile walk to Mount Arafat where Muhammad preached his last sermon. On the way back to Mecca, Muslims throw stones at three stone pillars which represent Satan. Then they make a final seven circles around the kA'bah.
The Hajj, whether on pilgrimage or at home, ends with the festival of Id ul-Adha in which a sheep or goat is sacrificed. This is a reminder of the sacrifice Ibrahim (Abraham) was asked to make of his son, Isma'il (Ishmael). When Ibrahim was just about to sacrifice his son to show his obedience to God, God provided a lamb instead. The festival celebrates God's mercy and Ibrahim's obedience. This story in different versions is in the Koran, the Bible, and the Old Testament which shows the common heritage of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
This festival in Shia communities around the world celebrates the anniversary of the Holy Prophet Mohammed's completion of his final message to humankind with regard to his succession. Ghadir-e-Khun is the famous place where this event took place during the month of Hajj in the 10th year of the Hijra, or migration, of the Prophet Mohammed from Mecca to Medina.
Muslims celebrate this occasion with great rejoicing. Muslims gather to narrate the stories of the Prophet's birth, childhood, his character, manhood and his mission.
The night in which the prophet Mohammed received the first revelation from God. The Night of Power is one of the odd-numbered nights of the last ten days of Ramadan. A portion of this night is spent reading the Qur'an and making special prayers.
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