SHS Class # 12- _______

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD
RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEMS

ISLAM

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES

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 Islam

Islam
 Is the second largest religion next to Christianity
 Is an Arabic word which means “submission” and implies submission to the will of God
 Was born in the early 7th century Mecca

Muslim
 A person who follows Islam
 Means “one who submits to Allah (God)”
 Could trace their heritage back to the Old Testament of the Bible
 Believed that Ishmael, the son of Abraham, lived in the city of Mecca and was visited there by his
father.

Basic Teachings of Islam

A. Qur’an

Qur’an
 Is the official sacred text of Islam
 Is believed to be the literal Word of Allah
 Is written in Old Arabic and is divided into 114 chapters (suras) and verses (ayas).
Muslims believed that the words in the Qur’an are the revelations of God to Muhammad
through Angel Gabriel and thus, are divine and eternal.
 Teaches that God revealed Himself in history, nature, and scripture. Thus, God’s
existence is also revealed in those forms
 Muslims begin learning it at an early age; Qur’an is read to babies, and toddlers who can
already speak are asked to memorize andy recite Qur’anic verses. They begin to write by
copying verses of the Qur’an by hand. People who manage to memorize the book are held
in high regard by the community.
 Is believed to be the last in the series of revelations by Allah Himself, which includes the
Hebrew revelations recorded in the Torah, and Jesus’ teachings recorded in the New
Testament
 Condemns any association of a person or thing with God. They believe that it violates a
fundamental Islamic principle –that there is just one God. That is why they rejected the
divinity of Jesus Christ.

 An important branch of Islam is the proper interpretation of Qur’an, and the intellectual
explanation of Qur’an is called Tafsir, written by Mufassir.
 Like the Judaism and Christianity, Islam is a religion that emphasizes on the community.
According to the Qur’an, God made the Muslims into a particular community, the ummah, and a
devout Muslim is both loyal to Allah and the ummah. “The goal of the Muslim society is to create
a just society.

Meccan surahs
 Are shorter chapters
 Believed to have been revealed to Muhammad in Mecca

Medinan surahs
 The longer chapters
 Believed to have been revealed to Muhammad in Medina

Shahada
 Where the basic belief of Islam is expressed
 The Muslim confession of faith, which states that “there is only one God, and this God
is Allah.” This belief can be found in Al-Fatihah.

Al-Fatihah (The Opening)

 The first chapter of the Qur’an
 Is considered the heart of the Qur’an and is repeated in daily prayers and in the other
occasions. Below is the Al-Fatihah

“ In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Universe
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Owner of the Day of Judgement.
You alone do we worship, and You alone we turn for help
Guide us to the straight path;
The path of those whom You have bestowed your grace,
Not (the way) of those who have earned Your anger,

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 Nor those who went away

Al-Baqarah (The Cow)

 Also called as the Medina surah
 Is the second longest sura (chapter) of the Qur’an.
 Muslims believed that this chapter was revealed to Muhammad gradually as necessitated
by the various Islamic social circumstances and conditions when he was in Medina.
 Addresses a wide variety of topic including monotheism; inimitability and significance of
the Qur’an; history of Abraham and Moses; and some Islamic rules on pryaers, fasting,
Holy War, pilgrimage to Mecca, among others.

3.1 II The Cow

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It is not piety, that you turn your faces to the East and to the West. True piety is this: to believe in
God, and the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the Prophets, to give of one's substance, however
cherished, to kinsmen, and orphans, the needy, the traveller, beggars, and to ransom the slave, to
perform the prayer, to pay the alms. And they who fulfil their covenant when they have engaged in a
covenant, and endure with fortitude misfortune, hardship and peril, these are they who are true in
their faith, these are the truly godfearing.

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O believers, prescribed for you is retaliation, touching the slain; freeman for freeman, slave for slave,
female for female. But if aught is pardoned a man by his brother, let the pursuing be honourable,
and let the payment be with kindliness. That is a lightening granted you by your Lord, and a mercy;
and for him who commits aggression after that -- for him there awaits a painful chastisement.

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In retaliation there is life for you, men possessed of minds; haply you will be godfearing.

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Prescribed for you, when any of you is visited by death, and he leaves behind some goods, is to make
testament in favour of his parents and kinsmen honourably -- an obligation on the godfearing.

183
O believers, prescribed for you is the Fast, even as it was prescribed for those that were before you --
haply you will be godfearing –

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for days numbered; and if any of you be sick, or if he be on a journey, then a number of other days;
and for those who are able to fast, a redemption by feeding a poor man. Yet better it is for him who
volunteers good, and that you should fast is better for you, if you but know;

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The month of Ramadan, wherein the Koran was sent down to be a guidance to the people, and as
clear signs of the Guidance and the Salvation. So let those of you, who are present at the month,
fast it; and if any of you be sick, or if he be on a journey, then a number of other days; God desires
ease for you, and desires not hardship for you; and that you fulfil the number, and magnify God that
He has guided you, and haply you will be thankful.

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And when My servants question thee concerning Me -- I am near to answer the call of the caller,
when he calls to Me; so let them respond to Me, and let them believe in Me; haply so they will go
aright.

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Permitted to you, upon the night of the Fast, is to go in to your wives; -- they are a vestment for you,
and you are a vestment for them. God knows that you have been betraying yourselves, and has
turned to you and pardoned you. So now lie with them, and seek what God has prescribed for you.
And eat and drink, until the white thread shows clearly to you from the black thread at the dawn;
then complete the Fast unto the night, and do not lie with them while you cleave to the mosques.
Those are God's bounds; keep well within them. So God makes clear His signs to men; haply they
will be godfearing.

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Consume not your goods between you in vanity; neither proffer it to the judges, that you may
sinfully consume a portion of other men's goods, and that wittingly.

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They will question thee concerning the new moons. Say: 'They are appointed times for the people,
and the Pilgrimage.' It is not piety to come to the houses from the backs of them; but piety is to be
godfearing; so come to the houses by their doors, and fear God; haply so you will prosper.

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 190
And fight in the way of God with those; who fight with you, but aggress not: God loves not the
aggressors.

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And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you;
persecution is more grievous than slaying. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should
fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them -- such is the recompense of unbelievers –

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but if they give over, surely God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.

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Fight them, till there is no persecution and the religion is God's; then if they give over, there shall be
no enmity save for evildoers.

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The holy month for the holy month; holy things demand retaliation. Whoso commits aggression
against you, do you commit aggression against him like as he has committed against you, and fear
you God, and know that God is with the godfearing.

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And expend in the way of God; and cast not yourselves by your own hands into destruction, but be
good-doers; God loves the good-doers.

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Fulfil the Pilgrimage and the Visitation unto God; but if you are prevented, then such offering as
may be feasible. And shave not your heads, till the offering reaches its place of sacrifice. If any of you
is sick, or injured in his head, then redemption by fast, or freewill offering, or ritual sacrifice. When
you are secure, then whosoever enjoys the Visitation until the Pilgrimage, let his offering be such as
may be feasible; or if he finds none, then a fast of three days in the Pilgrimage, and of seven when
you return, that is ten completely; that is for him whose family are not present at the Holy Mosque.
And fear God, and know that God is terrible in retribution.

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The Pilgrimage is in months well-known; whoso undertakes the duty of Pilgrimage in them shall not
go in to his womenfolk nor indulge in ungodliness and disputing in the Pilgrimage. Whatever good
you do, God knows it. And take provision; but the best provision is godfearing, so fear you Me, men
possessed of minds!

198
It is no fault in you, that you should seek bounty from your Lord; but when you press on from
Arafat, then remember God at the Holy Waymark, and remember Him as He has guided you, though
formerly you were gone astray.

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Then press on from where the people press on, and pray for God's forgiveness; God is All-forgiving,
All-compassionate.

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And when you have performed your holy rites remember God, as you remember your fathers or yet
more devoutly. Now some men there are who say, 'Our Lord, give to us in this world'; such men shall
have no part in the world to come.

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And others there are who say, 'Our Lord, give to us in this world good, and good in the world to
come, and guard us against the chastisement of the fire';

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those -- they shall have a portion from what they have earned; and God is swift at the reckoning.

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And remember God during certain days numbered. If any man hastens on in two days, that is no sin
in him; and if any delays, it is not a sin in him, if he be godfearing. And fear you God, and know that
unto Him you shall be mustered.

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And some men there are whose saying upon the present world pleases thee, and such a one calls on
God to witness what is in his heart, yet he is most stubborn in altercation,

[Link]

B. No god but God: Allah

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 Oneness of God (Tawhid)

Tawhid
 Refers to the belief in the oneness of God
 The core of Islamic faith

Allah
 The Arabic word for God had already existed even before Muhammad received his messages from
God, but the Arabs then regarded Allah as merely one among the gods that they worshipped
 Is a contraction of the Arabic word Al-llah which means “the God.”
 The origin of the word can be traced back to the Semitic word El or Il for God
 Is the hinge where Muslim faith is founded.

Three major themes of the reality of Allah:

1.) Allah is the creator, provider, and judge
2.) Allah is unique (wahid) and one (ahad)
3.) Allah is omnipotent and merciful

The Qur’an emphasizes the unfathomable sovereignty of God that leads every Muslim to
surrender oneself to Allah

Some of the 99 names of Allah as mentioned in the Qur’an and the Hadith (collection of sayings of
Prophet Muhammad):
1.) Most Compassionate (ar-Rahmn
2.) Merciful (ar-Rahm)
3.) All-Peaceful (as-Salm)
4.) Forgiver (al-Ghaffr)
5.) Gentler, Knower of Subtleties (al Latf)
6.) Grateful (ash-Shakr)
7.) Responsive (al-Mujb)
8.) Praiseworthy (al-Hamd)
9.) Cause of Death (al-Mumt)
10.) Light (an-Nr)
11.) Patient One (as-SAbr)

The attributes of God as indicated in these names suggest that the Allah of Muslims is a personal
God, one who cares about the affairs and welfare of humans.

The Muslims view God as one and unique – no other partner and equal. The Qur’an teaches that
there is no way that God can send intermediaries and be incarnated in anything. It also teaches
that God is everywhere – that he is always in our midst but has no incarnations. Hence, the
majestic and sovereign God of the Qur’an is also described as a personal God, who is very much
present in the history and listens to the call of his people (immanent but at the same time
transcendent).

C. Five Pillars of Faith

Five Pillars of Faith

These are the five obligations that every Muslim must satisfy in order to live a good and
responsible life according to Islam. These Pillars are:
1.) Shahadah
 Is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam
 Is the Muslims’ declaration of faith, obedience, and submission to Allah which is the
expressed as: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.”
 The greatest sin –that which Allah cannot forgive – is known as shirk or the worship of
other gods and goddesses aside from Allah.

2.) Salat
 The second Pillar
 Daily prayers are obligatory on every Muslim who has reached the age of puberty, unless
one is physically and/or mentally incapable of saying them.
 Is offering five canonical prayers everyday at prescribed times: before sunrise, at
midday/noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and at nighttime.
 They are intended to focus the mind on God, express gratitude to God, and worship him.
 The prayers are recited from memory in Arabic, and they consist of verses from the
Qur’an and other prayer formulas.
 They are also accompanied by several body postures: standing, bowing, prostrating, and
sitting (exceptions are given to those physically incapable of performing these postures).
 Prayers are done facing the direction of Mecca (they are earlier done facing the direction
of Jerusalem until their revelations to Muhammad changed the direction to Mecca).
 Before praying, Muslims must first perform the absolutions or the ritual washing (wudu)
of hands, face, and feet.

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  The imam leads the community. The imam stands in front of the qiblah (the direction
facing the Kaaba in Mecca) while the congregants stand behind him. Prayers are
accompanied by a rakat consists of a standing posture, a genuflections, and two
prostrations. Every shift of posture comes with the recitation of the phrase Allah akbar
(God is great).
 Prayers may be done everywhere except on Fridays, the day of public prayer, during
which prayers are done at mosques at midday in most Muslim countries.
 Public prayers are usually done by men only at mosque. Women ordinarily pray at home,
but when they are allowed to pray at a mosque, they are separated from the men.

3.) Zakat
 The third Pillar of Islam
 The compulsory giving of a portion of one’s wealth to charity or religious tax.
 Is regarded as a form of worship.
 The amount of zakat to be paid by an individual depends on one’s income and types of
assets. The Qur’an does not provide specific guidelines, but the customary practice is a
tax of 2.5 percent on capital assets (e.g., money) and a tax of between 2.5 to 20 percent
on agricultural goods, livestock, and precious minerals.
 The money collected from zakat will go to the poor, as specified in the Qur’an. It can also
be used to help slaves or captives (become free), the wayfarers and stranded travelers,
and those who are fighting for Allah’s cause.

4.) Sawn (Fasting)

 The fourth Pillar of Islam
 Muslims are required to fast during the month of Ramadan. The fasting begins at
daybreak and ends at sunset. During a fast, Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink,
smoke, or have sexual intercourse. (The elderly and severely sick people are exempted
but have to feed one poor person if they have the means.)
 Purposes of fasting
a. Become spiritually stronger
b. To learn self-discipline
c. To share the suffering of the poor and help sympathize with them
d. To share fellowship with other Muslims.

Muslims believe that the spiritual benefits of fasting are great as Muhammad said that
“The breath of the one who fasts is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of must.”

5.) Hajj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca)

 The last pillar of Islam
 Is required at least once in their lifetimes, among all adult Muslims who have the
resources to spend and have enough provisions for their families while on pilgrimage.
 This is done from the eighth to twelfth (or in some cases thirteen) month of the Islamic
(lunar) calendar.

Mecca
 Is considered a holy place among Muslims, such that non-Muslims are not allowed entry.
 Is the home of the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building and the direction of Muslim prayer.

Kaaba
 Is the “House of Allah” and is this considered the most sacred structure in Islam.
 The Kaaba is draped with a black cloth (kiswah) with Qur’anic verses in gold thread and
contains the Black Stone (al-Hajar-ul-Aswad), a sacred stone vital to pre-Islamic worship
and which is believed to be placed by Abraham and Ishmael.
 During the hajj, Muslim circumambulate the Kabaa seven times counterclockwise. Such
a movement of the angels in the throne of Allah.

Hajji
 A Muslim male who has undertaken the journey to Mecca

Hajjiyah
 A Muslim female who has undertaken the journey to Mecca

Muslim Beliefs and Practices

The Afterlife

Muslims believe in an afterlife and in the day of Resurrection and Day of Judgment. A day will
come when dead will be resurrected and will be judged by God according to their deeds on whether they
deserve eternal happiness or suffering. In this connection, Muslims also believe in heaven or paradise
(Jannah), a place of eternal happiness where good people (people who submit to God’s will) are put by
God; and hell (Jahannam), a place of suffering where evil people (those who do not submit to God’s will)
are put by God.

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Angels and Jinn

Muslims believe in angels and jinn (the singular is jinne, djinne, or genie), who are spiritual
beings created by God.

Angels
 Are believed to have created by God from light.
 They do not have free will, and so they are not accountable for their actions and are neither good
nor evil. They act as messengers of God to the prophets, who are in turn are God’s messengers to
the people.

Jinn
 Are believed to have been created by God from smokeless and scorching fire.
 Jinn have free will and this are morally accountable for their actions and are either good or evil.
 For this reason, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgement and will be sent either to
heaven/paradise or hell.

The Prophets

 Muslims believe in prophets and messengers of God. God speaks to the people through
the prophets. Muslims recognized by the Jews and Christians though they appear in the
Qur’an in their Arabic names. These include Adam (Adem), the first prophet, Abraham
(Ibrahim), Ishmael (Ism’l), Noah (Nu), Moses (Musa), Elisha (Alyasa) David (Dawid), John
the Baptist (Yahya), Jesus (Isa) and Muhammad.

Holy Days and Festivals

Muslims have 12 lunar months in their calendar and they have a total of 354 days in a year.
Since the Muslim year is shorter than the Western year of 365 days, Muslim holidays occur during
different seasons depending on the year.

Some festivals and holy days observed by Muslims:

1.) Eid al-Adha (Day of Sacrifice)
 Is a four-day festival that remembers prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham) willingness to offer his
son to God,
 During this festival, Muslims, who can afford to, sacrifice animals as a symbol of
Ibrahim’s sacrifice and of their willingness to sacrifice anything for God.
 This feast of sacrifice signals the end of the hajj.
2.) Eid al-Ftr (Day of Breaking the Fast)
 Signals the end of Ramadan.
 During this festival, Muslims do not only celebrate and end of fasting; they also thank
Allah for the help and strength that he gave them throughout the previous month to help
them practice self-control.
3.) Ramadan
 Ramadan is considered the holiest month of the year for Muslims.
 In Ramadan, Muslims fast from food and drink during the sunlit hours as a means of
learning self-control, gratitude, and compassion for those less fortunate.
 Ramadan is a month of intense spiritual rejuvenation with a heightened focus on
devotion, during which Muslims spend extra time reading the Qur’an and performing
special prayers. Those unable to fast, such as pregnant or nursing women, the sick, or
elderly people and children, are exempt from fasting.
 Prayers were offered, special foods prepared, new clothing is purchased, and gifts are
given.
4.) Festival of Ashura
 Celebrated on the 10th day of the Muslim year.
 Was originally the Jewish feast of the Passover, remembering the escape of the Israelites
from Egypt.
 On this day, the landing of Noah’s ark on the dry land is also celebrated.
 Shites also remember the martyrdom of Mohammad’s cousin, Ali, on this day.
5.) Birthday of Mohammad
 Is celebrated in different ways by Muslim communities around the world.
 The festival may include parades, speeches, and special prayers.

Symbols

Crescent Moon and a star

 The symbol of Islam since the 15th century
 The new moon represents the rebirth that takes place at the beginning of each month of the
Islamic calendar.
 The star represents the guidance of Allah
 This symbol appears on the flags of many Muslim countries

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  Islam strictly forbids the use of human or animal figures or pictures in their mosques, fearing
that they could replace Allah as objects of worship. Instead, mosques are decorated with
elaborate and beautiful geometric or floral designs, as a reminder of Allah’s creation.

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