The Nature of Islam
One out of every six people on earth is a Muslim, a follower of Islam. It is the second largest religion in the world next to Christianity, and, it is estimated that there are currently over one billion Muslims today. Islam has been a religious, cultural, and political force since the late sixth century A.D. Today it plays a dominant role in the Middle East and large sections of Africa and Asia.
Many people have been amazed to find out that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, particularly in the West. If current trends (2002) continue, in just a few short years there will be more Muslims in America than Jews or Presbyterians. It is said that of “Prison Conversions” today in America, over 90% are to Islam. Mosques now dot the skyline in most all major American cities and this rapid change in cultural and worldview has had a significant impact on traditional Western values and society.
Islam is the name given to the religion
founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the early seventh century. The word ISLAM is
derived from the verb SLM to resign, surrender, submit oneself, and iSLaM
means the act of submission and of resignation of oneself. One who professes
Islam is a muSLiM, one who has submitted. It is said by Muslims to be the
religion of all prophets from Adam to Muhammad.
The Four Foundations of Islam
As in all religions, Islam has a core, an
essence, a sort of DNA that has defined the religion from the beginning. The
best way to grasp this basic and fundamental identity is to recognize four
absolutely key realities in the faith of all Muslims. Even if you knew
everything there was to know about Islam, these keys to understanding the Muslim
faith would be the same.
1)
What is absolutely primary in Islam is a total belief in Allah
(the Arabic term for God). Muslims believe with great conviction that there is
one supreme creator, an infinite, eternal power who can do all things and knows
all things.
According to
Muslims, Allah is the perfect, wise, merciful, and just Guide who holds all
humans accountable for their deeds, both good and bad. All of this is captured
in the first few verses of the Quran, the primary Muslim scripture. “In
the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the
Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds.” It continues: “Master of the Day of
Judgment. You do we worship, and Your aid we seek. Show us the straight way.”
2)
Muslims also believe that Allah has spoken to the world through
Muhammad, the final and greatest Prophet. The vast majority of Muslims
believe that Muhammad (who died in 632 A.D.) was sinless. Every area of Islamic
life is patterned after what Muhammad taught, what he did, how he dressed, how
he responded to threats, and what he said had been revealed to him by Allah.
The reverence and adoration of
Muhammad is hard to overstate, though most Muslims do not believe he was divine.
However, those who cast aspersions on the prophet are in extreme danger. Slander
brings death.
3)
Further, the Quran is absolutely fundamental to all Muslims.
This is the Holy Book. Muslims believe the Quran was revealed to Muhammad
and is the literal, actual Word of Allah. It is required to be recited in
Arabic, the original language, memorized and studied, but never questioned.
Islamic views on everything are
determined by what the Quran says or by what can be deduced from its general
teachings. Thus, polygamy is acceptable because the Quran says so. Muslim
veiling of women is derived from one passage that demands modesty. The hand of a
thief is amputated simply because the Quran says this is to be the punishment.
Muslims have certain views about Jesus because the Muslim holy book teaches so.
4)
Islam is also a religion of law. While every religion has
general principles, some religions like Orthodox Judaism and Roman Catholicism
have elaborate rules and regulations. This is even more so in Islam, since
Islamic law extends to every area of life, including how Muslim nations are to
obey God’s will, known as Shariah (SHAR rih ah).
The history of Islamic
jurisprudence is very long and complicated, especially after Islam experienced a
serious division following the death of Muhammad. Basically, however, Islamic
law is derived first from the Quran, and then from the example (sunnah) of
Muhammad. When neither the Quran or the Prophet’s life and teachings speak
directly on issues, most Muslim legal authorities depend on reason and consensus
to formulate either new law or judgments based on the massive codes of law given
in the three centuries after Muhammad’s death.
The scope of shariah law is
amazing to most non-Muslims. Consider some of the rulings (known as fatwas) on
thousands of topics, including: (a) what direction should be faced when using
the bathroom, (b) when swallowing thick dust makes fasting void, and (c) how
much is owed Allah in alms-giving if a Muslim owns 61 camels.
The Five Pillars of Islam
Islam has a
very highly developed code of religious observance, usually referred to as
pillars of religion. Just as the Ten Commandments shape Judaism and
Christianity, the five pillars of Islam constitute core patterns of faith for
most Muslims who have ever lived. These five pillars are:
Confessing the faith
Prayer
Fasting
Giving of alms
Pilgrimage
to Mecca
Some
Muslims add jihad ( a holy or just war) as a sixth pillar.
All of
these are obligatory duties based on explicit injunctions in either the Quran or
the tradition of precedent (hadith). There is no evading them. These aside,
there are other duties which a good Muslim is expected to carry out, but while
judged to be “necessary”, they are not, like the others, “obligatory”.
Supreme
importance is attached to these duties by most Muslims. They believe, on the
authority of the Quran, that salvation is by “works” such as these. Hence
their concern, even to the point of great anxiety and fear, to fulfill their
duties. The representation of a pair of scales on the walls of Muslim buildings
conveys to them more than the idea of justice. Those scales remind them of the
statement in the Quran: “Then those whose balance (Of good deed) is
heavy – They will attain salvation: But those whose balance is light, will be
those who have lost their souls; In Hell they will abide.” (Q 23:102,103)
1)
Confession (Shahadah). The primary pillar is a confession
of faith known as the shahadah, (which is derived from an Arabic root which
yields the meaning “testify”) so that, strictly speaking, a Muslim’s
confession of faith takes the form: “I testify there is no God but Allah; I
testify to His Unity and that He has no partner, I testify that Muhammad is His
servant and His messenger.” Alternatively, the testimony may be made more
briefly as in: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger.”
Devout Muslims must repeat this statement a minimum of 17 times each day. Every
day this prayer is repeated over 17 billion times by the 1 billion Muslims of
the world.
2)
Prayer (Salat). The
second pillar involves the discipline of prayer (salat) and the call to all
Muslims to pray at five specific times every day (at dawn, before sunrise; soon
after mid-day; mid-afternoon; soon after sunset; and after nightfall), while
facing Mecca, the holiest city.
1)
Clothing
Clothing
worn at a time of prayer is important to a Muslim, as the forehead must touch
the ground. Muslim men wear brimless hats, (e.g. the fez) or turbans. In
traditional clothing, the man normally removes his pants under his long robs to
pray and all Muslims remove their shoes. Western clothes are traditionally
considered unfitting for a true Muslim.
2)
Ablutions (Ceremonial Cleansing)
Before a
Muslim proceeds to pray, certain prescribed ceremonial ablutions must be
performed. There are three kinds.
(a)
Wudu – the lesser ablution. This is the most common form wherever water
is available, and is customary before the daily appointed prayers. Precise rules
are prescribed for the washing of four parts of the body: the face, from the top
of the forehead to the chin and as far as each ear; the hands and arms, up to
the elbows; the remainder of the head is rubbed with the wet hand; and the feet
are washed up to the ankles.
Many
Muslims believe that, should any of these body parts be left unwashed, then the
subsequent prayers, though correctly recited, are robbed of all value. Nor is
the due performance of these ablutions quite so simple as they appear on the
surface. Bound up with the four main rules are no less than fourteen minor ones,
all based on the custom of Muhammad himself. These include: to utter one of the
names of Allah at the commencement of the ablutions; to clean one’s teeth; to
rinse out the mouth three times; to put water into the nostrils three times; and
to observe the proper order in washing the various parts of the head and body.
The beard must be combed with wet fingers; one must rub under and between the
toes with the wet fingers of the left hand, commencing with the toes of the
right foot and finishing with the toes of the left foot.
It is
an orthodox Muslim’s confident belief, based on a saying attributed to
Muhammad, that his “little sins” will be forgiven after such ablutions, duly
followed by prayer.
(b)
Ghusl – The bathing of the entire body after certain legal defilements.
In this case, water must be poured three times over the right shoulder, three
times over the left, and finally, three times in the head. Besides this, there
are three more “obligatory” regulations: the mouth must be rinsed, water
must be put into the nostrils, and the entire body must be washed. Not one hair
should be left dry in the process.
(c)
Tayammum – This is the purification by sand or earth. This procedure is
prescribed when water is not available within a distance of two miles, or when
one is sick and the use of water might prove dangerous, or when water cannot be
obtained without the risk of encountering an enemy, a wild beast or a reptile.
This cleansing is carried out by striking the sand or earth with one’s open
hands and then rubbing them over the face and arms up to the elbow.
3) The Recitation of Prayers
Having
performed the necessary ablutions, the worshipper is now ready to pray the
prescribed prayers. These prayers are said in ‘sets’ and a certain number of
sets constitute one complete recitation.
Prayers
said along with a congregation in a mosque are judged to be more meritorious
than those said alone. There is a prescribed manner in which these prayers must
be said in order for Allah to hear and answer them: The worshipper’s person
and clothing must be clean; their face must be looking in the direction of Mecca
(there is a niche in the wall of each mosque which indicates this direction);
they must pray with their eyes open in certain prescribed body positions
(generally kneeling with the forehead actually touching the ground); and at the
end of the recitation, the worshipper turns his right and says “ The peace and
mercy of Allah be with you.” He then repeats this phrase to his left.
A
noteworthy gesture marks the conclusion of the prayer. Raising the hands
shoulder high, with palms upturned to heaven, the worshipper offers up a final
supplication, in Arabic, and then draws his hands down over his face and on to
his chest as if to suggest that he is conveying the asked-for blessing to every
part of his body.
3)
Fasting (Sawm) Muslims are to intensify their spiritual
focus through the third pillar of fasting. They fast from sun-up to sundown
during the entire month of Ramadan (the ninth month in the Islamic calendar).
Unless prohibited by bad health, all Muslims are to abstain from all
food, water, and sexual activity from sunrise to sunset during the month of
Ramadan. The fast offers a time for spiritual reflection, repentance, and giving
to the poor. The whole Quran is often recited in evening worship over the
thirty-day period. Ramadan ends with a huge three-day feast.
4)
Giving (Zakat). This
forth pillar is giving or zakat. The zakat is collected by a few Muslim states
but most Muslims give through leaving money in the metal zakat box in their
local mosque. The money is used to help the poor and for emergency situations.
The zakat involved giving 2.5% of the Muslim’s assets but it is not charity
since it is an obligatory act, one that is usually to be done in private.
5)
Pilgrimage (Hajj) The fifth pillar, known as the hajj, is the
command for all able-bodied Muslims to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least one
in their lifetime. Every year, two million Muslim pilgrims make their way to
Mecca. Mecca is a city of about 618,000 residents and is located in Saudi Arabia
about 50 miles from the Red Sea. It is thought by Muslims to be the first place
ever created on earth and that this is the place where Abraham was asked to
sacrifice Ishmael (not Isaac as told in the Old Testament). Non-Muslims are
barred from entering the city.
Outside the city both males and
females don simple white garments, end enter Mecca while reciting “here I am
at your service, O God, here I am!” They
circle seven times around the Kaba ( a brick structure about 34 feet x 39 feet
and 49 feet high), the temple Muslims believe was built by Abraham and Ishmael.
On the corner of the east door the Black Stone can be found. This stone (which
is now three stone fragments) is considered sacred and there are several
theories of its origin, the most likely is that it is believed to be meteor
fragments. The pilgrims engage in a ritual of running between two mountains
outside of Mecca, in memory of the plight of Hagar looking for food and water.
Muslims also throw stones at a pillar that symbolizes Satan, and sacrifice
animals in memory of the story of Abraham and Ishmael.
Seven Other Major Beliefs
From what
we’ve already learned, we know that all faithful Muslims believe that Allah is
the one true God. They also want to emulate Muhammad, obey the Quran, pray, give
financially, fast, take the pilgrim’s journey to Mecca, and obey the law of
God in all things. Beyond these over-riding and paramount aspects of Islam,
seven other fundamental beliefs help paint and accurate picture.
1)
Muslims believe that Islam began long before Muhammad. The assert that
Islam started when God created Adam and Eve, and that Islam was the religion of
faithful Jews and Christians. Thus, Jews in the time of Moses were Muslims,
and Christians, in the time of Jesus were Muslims!
2)
Though Muslim views are similar in some ways to Christian tradition, Muslims
do not believe in original sin. This
is the concept that all human beings are born with a sinful nature. Muslims do
believe that Adam rebelled against God’s law in the Garden of Eden, but there
was no fall of the human race, as taught by Christians. Humans are frail and
weak, prone to temptation, obviously, but not predisposed toward sin.
3)
Muslims believe in the total sovereignty of God. Islam’s
emphasis on this belief cannot be overstressed. In parts of Afghanistan, goals
in soccer games are celebrated by shouting “Allahu Akbar” or “God is
Great.” Muslim theologians
developed a very rigid doctrine of predestination out of the emphasis on
Allah’s total supremacy. If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, He must, in
some sense, be responsible for everything. If nothing really deviates from Hid
will, and He knows the future, everything must be predestined – or so it has
been argued. Some analysts of
Muslim culture believe that a sense of fatalism has emerged as a result of this
Islamic preoccupation with predestination.
4)
Islam also teaches that our universe is home to angels, devils, and
another kind of spirit beings known as jinns.
Islam shares with Christian tradition a belief in Satan or the supreme
devil, and angel who chose to rebel against Allah. Muslims also believe in
angels, disembodied spirits who obey God. The English term “genie” derives
from Muslim stories about the jinn, supernatural entities who can do both good
and evil.
5)
Islam has very definite views about the Day of Judgment. At a time
known only to Allah, the world will end. All humans will be judged by their
deeds. Humans await either eternal punishment in hell fire or eternal bliss in
heaven. Islam has no Catholic notion of purgatory, and virtually no openness to
any idea that all humans will eventually reach paradise.
The explicitness of Islam on the
severity of hell fire makes frightening reading. One famous verse in the forth
chapter of the Quran states: “Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast
into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them
for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for God is Exalted in Power,
Wise.” (v 56)
6)
Muslims believe that heaven is the eternal home of the righteous.
It is described in the Quran as a wonderful garden paradise, an image
especially appealing to Muslims used to the sands of the Arabian deserts. There
will be no sin, no death, and no tears in heaven. There will be a special reward
for Muslim martyrs. Some traditions imply that no Jews or Christians will be in
heaven, only Muslims. A few famous
verses in the Quran promise that faithful Muslim men will be rewarded by
beautiful virgins when they enter paradise. For both men and women the Quran
states that “the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah.” (9:72)
7)
Muslims claim that Jesus is a prophet of Islam.
Given the bitter hostilities between Islamic and Christian empires in
history, it is often assumed the Muslims have no interest in Jesus. While
Muhammad is the chief prophet, Muslims also look to Jesus as a spiritual guide.
Often when Muslims speak of Jesus, they will add the phrase “Peace be Upon
Him” – just as they do when Muhammad’s name in mentioned either vocally or
in print. For short, in writing you will often see “Muhammad (PBUH)” or
“Jesus (PBUH).
There are significant differences
between Muslim and Christian understandings of Jesus. The is most easily seen by
a list of Muslim negative assertions about Christian views.
For Islam, Jesus is not the Son of God and not an incarnation of God.
Jesus is not divine. He did not die on the Cross at Calvary. His death is not a
sacrifice for sin. He was not put into a tomb outside Jerusalem. The Christian
story of Easter is not true, though Muslims do believe that Jesus went to heaven
when He died years after attempts to have Him crucified failed.
Muslims do agree with Christianity on the following points: Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, was a prophet of God, lived a holy life, taught with wisdom and love, and performed many miracles. Muslims also unite with Christian tradition in teaching that Jesus was persecuted for His faith, was opposed to idol worship, and is now in heaven.
Copyright
©
2002, Scott Ptak. All Rights Reserved.