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Practices of Islam |
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God instructed the Muslims to
practice what they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars,
namely:
Creed
(Shahada): The verbal commitment and pledge that
there is only One God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God,
is considered to be the Creed of Islam.
Prayers
(Salat): The performance
of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims.
Fasting (Saum):
Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate
intercourse (between married couples) from dawn to sunset during
the entire month of Ramadan.
Purifying
Tax (Zakat): This is an annual payment of a certain
percentage of a Muslim's property which is distributed among the
poor or other rightful beneficiaries.
Pilgrimage
(Hajj): The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is
required once in a life time if means are available. Hajj is in
part in memory of the trials and tribulations of Prophet
Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son Prophet Ishmael. |
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Islam and Muslims
The name of this religion is Islam,
the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may
also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful
names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that:
submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator,
within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus,
Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in
peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any
person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and
loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe.
Muslims and Arabs
The followers of Islam are called
Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be
Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malaysians,
Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans, Chinese, or other
nationalities.
An Arab could be a Muslim, a
Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person who adopts the Arabic
language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Qur'an (the
Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to
learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an and
understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an,
namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.
While there are one billion Muslims in
the world there are about 200 million Arabs. Among them,
approximately ten percent are not Muslims. Thus Arab Muslims
constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the
world.
Allah the One and
the Only God
Allah is the name of the One and Only
God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful names, such as: The Gracious,
The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The All-Knowing, The
All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe, The First, The Last, and others.
He is the Creator of all human beings.
He is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the
Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and others. Muslims worship
God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in Him and they seek
His help and His guidance.
Muhammad
Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver
His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common
Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the Message of Islam
when he was at the age of forty years. The revelation that he
received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam.
Muhammad is the very last Prophet of
God to mankind. He is the final Messenger of God. His message was
and is still to the Christians, the Jews and the rest of mankind. He
was sent to those religious people to inform them about the true
mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.
Muhammad is considered to be the
summation and the culmination of all the prophets and messengers
that came before him. He purified the previous messages from
adulteration and completed the Message of God for all humanity. He
was entrusted with the power of explaining, interpreting and living
the teaching of the Qur'an.
Source of Islam
The legal sources of Islam are the
Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the exact word of God; its
authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is
the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet
Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The
Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of
the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad
which provides examples of daily living for Muslims.
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Jews fled from Spain during the
Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the Muslims. They settled
in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed positions of
power and authority. Throughout the Muslim world, churches,
synagogues and missionary schools were built within the Muslim
neighborhoods. These places were protected by Muslims even
during the contemporary crises in the Middle East. |
Some Islamic
Principles
Oneness of God: He is One and
the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This means that
Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God which
implies more than one God in one.
Oneness of mankind: People are
created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no superiority
for one race over another. God made us of different colors,
nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to
be better than others. No one can claim that he is better than
others. It is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety
and righteousness.
Oneness of Messengers and the
Message: Muslims believe that God sent different messengers
throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message
and the same teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and
misinterpreted them. Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David, Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of
Christianity and Judaism are indeed the Prophets of Islam.
Angels and the Day of Judgment:
Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels
created by God in the universe for special missions. Muslims believe
that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the world
throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on
earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.
Innocence of Man at Birth:
Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after
they reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins
that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is
responsible for or can take the responsibility for the sins of
others. However, the door of forgiveness through true repentance is
always open.
State and Religion: Muslims
believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It
encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do
not separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and
religion are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of
Islam. Hence, economic and social transactions, as well as
educational and political systems are also part of the teachings of
Islam.
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Islam entered into the land east of
the Indus River peacefully. Gradually Muslims gained political
power beginning in the early 13th century. But this period which
marked the expansion of both Islam and Islamic culture came to
an end with the conquest of much of India in 1526 by Babur, one
of the Timurid princes. He established the powerful Mogul empire
which produced such famous rulers as Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah
Jahan and which lasted, despite the gradual rise of British
power in India, until 1857 when it was officially abolished. |
Practices of Islam
God instructed the Muslims to practice
what they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars, namely:
Creed (Shahada): The verbal
commitment and pledge that there is only One God and that Muhammad
is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of Islam.
Prayers (Salat): The
performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims.
Fasting (Saum): Fasting is
total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse
(between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire
month of Ramadan.
Purifying Tax (Zakat): This is
an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property
which is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries.
Pilgrimage (Hajj): The
performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time
if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the trials and
tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son
Prophet Ishmael.
Other Related
Aspects
Calendar: Islamic practices are
based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also use the Gregorian
calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the Islamic calendar
includes both the common era and the migration (Higra) year of the
Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623 C.E.
Celebrations (Eid): Muslims
have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of
Fast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the
sacrifice to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of
Fast-Breaking comes at the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan.
Diets: Islam allows Muslims to
eat everything which is good for the health. It restricts certain
items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and any narcotic or
addictive drugs.
Place of Worship: The place of
worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy places of
worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of Kaaba in
Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid Aqsa,
adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. A Muslim may pray any
where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house, an office, or
outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is preferable
that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray
individually anywhere.
Holidays: The holy day of the
Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and the Day of
Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together shortly
after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a
Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the
congregational prayer.
Distribution of Muslims in North
America: There are approximately five million Muslims in North
America and are distributed in its major cities such as New York,
Detroit, Boston, Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Houston, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton,
Vancouver, Windsor, Winnipeg, Calgary, and others.
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The legal sources of Islam are the
Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is the exact word of God; its
authenticity, originality and totality are intact. The Hadith is
the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the Prophet
Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah. The
Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of
the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad
which provides examples of daily living for Muslims. |
Contributions in North America:
Muslims are not established in North America. Sears Tower and the
John Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief
architect, originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established
academic institutions, community centers and organizations, schools
and places of worship. They live in peace and harmony among
themselves and among other groups of people in the society. The rate
of crime among Muslims is very minimal. Muslims in North America are
highly educated and they have added to the success of American
scientific and technological fields.
The Muslims of the early period of the
Islamic era were pioneers in medicine, chemistry, physics,
geography, navigation, arts, poetry, mathematics, algebra,
logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the Renaissance of
Europe and world civilization.
Non-Muslims
Muslims are required to respect all
those who are faithful and God conscious people, namely those who
received messages. Christians and Jews are called People of the
Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the People of the Book for
common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to work together for
the solutions of the many problems in the society.
Christians and Jews lived peacefully
with Muslims throughout centuries in the Middle East and other Asian
and African countries. The
second Caliph Umar, did not pray in the
church in Jerusalem so as not to give the Muslims an excuse to take
it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims, and as such the key of
the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Muslims.
Jews fled from Spain during the
Inquisition, and they were welcomed by the Muslims. They settled in
the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They enjoyed positions of power
and authority. Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and
missionary schools were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These
places were protected by Muslims even during the contemporary crises
in the Middle East.
(ISL Software)
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