Muslim+Faith

__The Religion of Islam __



__﻿The History of Islam ____ //-// __ The Islamic religion was born from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, God's last prophet, as it is believed by Muslims. It was in the 7th century that Islam was founded and originally spread. Islam is taught to be a religion in which the followers give them-selves to the will of God, or Allah as they call him. Each follower was to follow the word of the Qur'an, their holy scripture much like the Christian Bible. The Qur'an came to be in a very similar way that the Bible had become to be. It is said that Muhammad like the Prophet David was visited by a single angel, Gabriel, who gave him the word of God, thus the Qur'an was given life. With the Qur'an and the faith and sense of connection that Muhammad gave Muslims the Islamic religion become a solid and infectious religion that spread from Spain to India within the first century of its beginnings. The Islamic faith spread further over the years and still stands as firmly, if not more firmly, the Christian religion.

 __The Five Pillars of Islam - __
 * Shahada- Faith or belief in the Oneness of God and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad;
 * Salah- Establishment of the daily prayers;
 * Zakat- Concern for and almsgiving to the needy;
 * Saum- Self-purification through fasting
 * Hajj- The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are ablet here

__Muslim Holidays - __ ﻿Islam has two major holidays. Both of these major holidays have minor holidays that correspond with them. These Holidays are: 
 * Ramadan - A holiday that calls for fasting to show dicipline and piety as a celebration of the first verses Allah gave of the Qur'an. Starts the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar which is based of the lunar cycle.
 * Eid ul-Fitr - The end of Ramadan
 * Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca on the 12th month of the Islamic Calendar


 * Day of Arafat - Day during the pilgrimage where pilgrims stop in the Plain of Arafat for Allah's mercy and then fast in a seperate location




 * Eid al-Adha- The final day of the Hajj

__Major Divisions of Islam - __ In 632 AD the Prophet Muhammad died without naming a successor. It was left to the father of Muhammad's favorite wife, Abu Bakr to choose the Prophets successor, the Caliph. In the end it was Abu Bakr who took the position of Caliph despite the belief of others. One section of Muhammad's followers believed there was not meant to be a successor. Another section believed that 'Ali the husband of Muhammad's daughter and father of his only surviving grandsons should have been Caliph. A third section was willing to follow Bakr, because they believed so long as one is related to Muhammad they have the right to be Caliph. It is this dispute that created the divisions in the Islamic religion. The two major divisions are: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">There have been other divisions and still are other smaller ones but the Sunnah and the Shi'ah are the two divisions that make up majority of the Islam population.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">The Sunnah (Sunni)- the traditionalists
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 200%;">The Shi'ah (Shi'ites)- the legitimists



<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|History - Islam] <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Intro to Islam <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Al-Mahdi] <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Islam Holidays] <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[|Islamic Calendar]