Better Believer
Islam
General Background
The founder of Islam, Muhammad, was a righteous man born in Mecca in 570 C.E. He often went to pray to Allah, the one true God, to seek guidance and comfort. He found dissatisfaction in the corruption, idolatry, and social inequities of Mecca. When he was 40 years old, as he was praying in a cave on Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to deliver a message from God. He received many revelations about the unity and oneness of God and the universal community. These were in contrast to the polytheistic community that had developed in Mecca. Muhammad taught that it was not enough to perform regular prayers, but that it was also important to care for the poor and the weak.
The revelations Muhammad received are recorded in the Qur'an, which is a sacred book of scripture.
Muhammad and his followers were persecuted and chose to emigrate from Mecca to Medina. There, Muhammad became the temporal and spiritual leader of Medina.
After a series of military battles and negotiations, Muhammad returned to Mecca where many people embraced Islam. Islam spread widely from there.
Muhammad died in 632 CE. His life and teachings were the example of how to live God's will. The records of his words were later collected in books of traditions, or Hadith, which are a part of the Sunnah of the Prophet. While Muhammad is reverenced, he is considered a messenger of God, who is the true center of Islam.
Modern Understandings
There are diverse traditions within Islam that have different interpretations of the Qur'an, Hadith, and views on Islamic leadership.
A few traditions include the Sunni, Shi'i, and Sufi movements.
The Sufi movement drew on the model of Muhammad's close relationship with God and was the primary movement in spreading Islam to all parts of the world. They aim to attain knowledge and love of God through meditative practices, ethical cultivation, and self-purification. This is not considered a separate sect of Islam, but is rather a stream of interpretation.
The Sunni and Shi'i split began with a dispute over who would lead after Muhammad's death and what authority that person should have. From Shi'i perspective, this should be descendants of the prophet. Leadership was passed to a successor known as the Imam, who would guide the community in applying the teachings of God to new situations. From the Sunni perspective, religious authority was gained by following the Quar'an, the Sunnah, and ijma, the consensus of Muslims.
Shari'ah refers to the system of law, ethics, and guidelines in Islam that govern the practical life of a Muslim. This has developed into a complex network that applies in different ways between individual lives and at the societal level.
How do current believers worship?
Muslims perform regular acts of worship to increase their connection to God. According to Sunni Muslims, there are the "Five Pillars of Islam," known as the shahadah, salat, zakat, sawm, and Hajj.
Shahadah: It a witness of wait that is repeated with every prayer: “I bear witness that there is no god but God, and Muhammad is God’s Messenger.”
Salat: A ritual prayer performed five times a day. Muslims will stand, bow, knee, and prostrate themselves before God and recite passages from the Qur'an. Many will pray in a mosque, but it is permissible to do so alone in a clean place or in families. Muslims will pray in the direction of Mecca. There are weekly communal prayers on Fridays known as Salat al'jumu'ah, which includes a sermon and special prayer.
Zakat: This literally means purification. It is a payment of a portion of one's wealth to purify the rest and to ensure justice in society. This money is used to help needy members of a community.
Sawn: This is fasting during the lunar month of Ramadan. Muslims abstain from food, water, sexual activity, and evil thoughts during the daytime hours during this time. Many Muslims perform special nightly prayers. This is a time of community solidarity, as meals and festivities are shared after sunset.
Hajj: This is a pilgrimage to the Ka'bah in Mecca, performed during Dhu'l-Hijjah, the last lunar month of the Muslim calendar.
