Chapter 7 Islam Summary

Islam originated in present day Saudi Arabia where the prophet, Muhammad, had been born. Islam would later be able to spread quickly through trade, the appealing nature of the Islamic faith, and military campaigns.

Muhammad descended from Ishmael. The fundamental practices of Islam is the five pillars. These practices include a ritual profession of faith, praying five times daily facing east, giving of alms (zakat), fasting, and performing the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

The development of Islam – 7th century C.E. – This religion began when the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and told him to spread the word of God. At this time, many people worshipped many gods/idols. Muhammad was thought of as the “one true prophet” by his followers. There are five pillars of Islam: the shahada – profession of faith, salat – ritual prayer, sawm – fasting, zakat – giving alms, and hajj – pilgrimage to mecca. Muhammad’s preaching about there only being one god got him kicked out of Mecca in 622 C.E. where he and his followers ended up in Medina. In Medina, the Islamic community grew into a small emoire-like group. In 630, the Muslims took back Mecca. After Muhammad’s death, the religion continued to grow with many disputes

The five pillars of the Islamic faith are of tremendous importance to the Muslim culture. These five pillars are the foundation of Islamic teachings, principles and morals. One could think of the pillars just as you would think of the pillars of a building. As some buildings need pillars to remain standing, Muslims believe that the five pillars are essential to the existence and continuation of their religion. There are many aspects to the Islamic religion, but the five pillars are required for anyone who wants to acquire the title of

Prior to reading an excerpt on Islamic theology and Islamic philosophy in the book Introduction to Islam by Carole Hillenbrand, I did not realized the tremendous effect and contributions Muslims had on the fields of theology and philosophy. According to Hillenbrand, “the term normally used for “theology” in Islam is kalam, which literally means “speech”” (Hillenbrand, 170). Similar to all religions, those following the Islamic faith would eventually be faced with opposition and questions about the teachings of Islam. Hillenbrand explained that Muhammad was not looked to as a theological figure because he merely gained his revelations from the all-knowing God, Allah; therefore, Islamic theologians would begin to emerge overtime. These Islamic theologians would engage in debates on core issues and topics that oppositioners had with the islamic faith, such as

The primary source I chose is Muhammad: Koran. I chose this document because it seem interesting and I wanted to learn a little bit more about a man name Muhammad who was visited by an angel name Gabriel leading him to be the messenger of God. Muhammad was the founder of Islam he created koran and became a model to humanity. Before Muhammad became the prophet, he was an orphanage that grew up in poverty. Muhammad wasn’t attach to the polytheistic religion his town Mecca believed in while he grew older, there wasn’t something giving him faith from what they believe in for him to worship any of the gods they believed in. So as time past he separated from his village for a while and there he was visited by the angel of Gabriel changing Muhammad

Chapter 5 has a great explanation for the religions that exists in our life time. With everything that is happening in our world now, I am very interested in the Islam religion. With all my respect to people beliefs , I can not accept and understand why ISIS attacking and killing Christians? According to page 275, in contrast to other societies of the age, which often forced conversions and persecuted or killed of differing beliefs, the Islamic Empire become known for its relative tolerance of minorities and non-Muslims. Unfortunately, not all of the members of Islam inherited it. To add, every Muslim was instructed to follow the five basic pillars: belief in Allah, prayer five times a day the giving of alms, fasting from sunrise to sunset

Despite slight variations, many of the ideas of the Five Pillars of Islam, which were the foundation Islam was based upon, were similar to practices in Judaism and Christianity; these practices were used to unify members of the religion and strengthen the religious community, which lead to a more of a connection between followers and their religion, as well as creating a sense of comfort and security; thus, Islam was more of a continuation of Jewish and Christian traditions, rather than a revolutionary deviation from them. Firstly, in Islam, ritualized prayer, known as Salat, was required, along with the communal Salat al-jum’a at the Mosque on Fridays. Christians and Jews also prayed and attended a service; for Christians, that meant going

The meaning of the pillars of Islam considered as a work for Muslims, they have to go through the five pillars to be a true Muslims. The Quran presents Muslims the framework for worship and a sign serious commitment to faith. The five pillars explains the witnessing the oneness of God and the prophet hood of Muhammad. The five pillars means daily prayer and giving offers and fasting and no alcoholic. To be a Muslim you have to submissive to God no faking you have sacrifice a lot to prove prophet of Muhammad. some people do not understand the five pillars of Islam for middle east because they do not rule by not showing five pillars http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/cite/opr/t125/e1859.

Like many other religions, the Muslim faith has experienced many changes and branches. Like Christianity, the original faith is still practiced by some, but others have started new branches with their own unique interpretation being Muslim. Despite these differences within the Muslim religion, one set of rules for moral guidance is central to all. These rules are the Five Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars act as a moral compass for Muslims and are universally accepted as they are mentioned specifically in the Qur’an, the sacred Muslim book of God’s words as they were recited to Muhammad (Molloy, 425).

The history of Islam and the major cultural shift caused by the religion due to its acceptance within its beginning stages had provided the foundation needed for the prophet Muhammad to impose his will of spreading the message of a new god, referred to as Allah, and push for a rapid expansion this new religion, but with this historical spreading also came difficulties of one true interpretation of their holy book, the Quran. Muhammad had implemented this religion and through it had risen to power as he was deemed the messenger of Allah. With the expansion of his newly formed religion, Muhammad had to put in a set of guidelines to ensure the security of his religion. These guidelines were known as the five pillars of Islam. Unfortunately

Muhammad the Muslim prophet was introduced to trade when he was around 12 years of age. He was introduced when his grandfather took him. When he grew up in his younger years he became a trader for a widow. As he traded he married the widow. This exposure led to a different life style and a differed path.

Every religion has a set of values and guidelines they follow. Many have scared text that as members they are supposed to live by. For Christians the Holy Bible is the book they turn to for answers, and just like the bible, The Quran is the sacred religious text of Islam. The Holy Book is believed to be the direct and pure word of God transmitted to the Prophet Mohammed.

Islam is a religious system that begun in the seventh century by Muhammad. In the seventh century, Muhammad claimed an angel called Gabriel visited him. During the visits by Gabriel, the angel revealed to Muhammad the words of Allah or God. The angelic visitations continued for about 23 years until Muhammad’s death. The words of Allah that the angel revealed to him dictated revelations composed in Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. Muslims are people that practice Islam. Muslims follow the teaching of the Qur’an and strive to keep the five pillars, which according to Islam-guide.com are: 1. The testimony of faith .This means, “There is no other God but Allah. and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah .2. Prayer :Five ritual prayers must be

Although Islam is the second largest religion in the world with a following of 1.8 billion followers, no other religion has faced more scrutiny and hardship in the past decades. This has been caused by media and governments labeling Islam as a whole with their extremist groups like Al Queda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. I even thought that the principals held by these extremist group were more common in Islam than they are. After studying Islam and gaining more information I came to respect this religion more than any other we studied this semester because of its seriousness and unity. The Quran and Hadith provide concrete details and instructions to follow in the faith of Islam. No texts from any other religion are as upfront with their beliefs than these. Muhammad was and continues to be a powerful and understanding leader that has led it to becoming the world’s fastest growing religion. I enjoyed studying the powerfulness of Muhammad and the direct voice of God in the Quran that is sets Islam apart from Judaism and Christianity.