Islam: An Overview
Islam is a monotheistic religion, articulated by the Qur’an, which is considered by its followers to be the verbatim word of Allāh.
Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam
ISLAM: Part II: Islamic Studies
Shari’a is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Qur’an and the Hadith
ISLAM: Part III: Islamic Denominations
Islam has nine schools of jurisprudence, six schools of theology, and over 40 denominations. Approximately 85 percent to 90 percent of Islam are 7Sunni with 10 percent t0 15 percent being Shi”a leaving the remaining thirty some-odd filling in the over-lap.
Compared to religious leaders/clerics of the two Abrahamic faiths, Islamic clergy are said to resemble rabbis and not priests.
With widespread attention on the Middle East and the suspicion that Osama bin Laden is responsible for terrorist attacks against the United States, it is helpful to have in mind some basic facts about Islam.
According to Islamic tradition, a man named Muhammad began receiving revelations from an angel which came directly from god, known in Islam as Allah. These revelations were received in Mecca, a city in the Arabian Peninsula, now part of Saudi Arabia.
Some of the basics that define Islam.
Islam In The United States – Part I: The Beginning
Islam is the third largest religion in the United States after Christianity and Judaism. American Muslims come from various backgrounds and, according to a 2009 Gallup poll, are one of the most racially diverse religious groups in the United States.
Islam In The United States – Part II: Religious Freedom
In 1776, John Adams published “Thoughts on Government,” in which he mentions the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a “sober inquirer after truth” alongside Confucius, Zoroaster, Socrates, and other thinkers.
Islam In The United States – Part III: Demographics
Tom W. Smith, author of “Estimating the Muslim Population in the United States,” said that of twenty estimates he reviewed during a five-year period until 2001, none was “based on a scientifically-sound or explicit methodology.
Islam In The United States – Part IV: Organizations
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the United States largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. CAIR presents itself as representing mainstream, moderate Islam, and has condemned acts of terrorism.
CAIR has been linked to Hamas and was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood – both, are terrorist organizations.
The story goes that in 1930 Allah appeared to the people of Detroit in the form of a mysterious man
named “Fard.” Allah’s human form seemed to be of African and Arab descent and claimed to have
been born in Mecca, a descendant of the prophet Muhammad.
Muhammad would retreat to a cave in the mountains for several days at a time, for seclusion and prayer; at age 40, he said it was at this cave, he was visited by the Angel, Gabriel, and received his first revelation from Allāh.
The Prophet of Islam was a religious, political, and social reformer who gave rise to one of the great civilizations of the world.
Shi’a is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor.
The term sunni comes from the word sunnah, which literally means “the trodden path” and refers to Islamic customs based on the exemplary behavior of Muhammad.
The Sunni / Shi’a Split: Their Current Relationship
The historic background of the Sunni–Shi’a split lies in the division that occurred when the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in the year 632, leading to a dispute over the succession to Muhammad as a Caliph of the Islamic community.
Perhaps one of the most familiar in name and least understood, Sufism can be described broadly as the intensification of Islamic faith and practice, or the tendency among Muslims to strive for a personal engagement with the Divine Reality.
From its inception, Islam had mystical elements that were integral to the spiritual lives of the faithful. There were pious mystics who developed their personal spiritual paths involving devotional practices, recitations, and literature of piety.
In many Muslim countries special shrines have been constructed honoring famous Ṣūfī leaders or “saints” who, it isnelieved, could work miracles during their lives and even after their death.
The Mevlevî, a Turkish/Ottoman Ṣūfī order known also by its Arabic name Mawlawīyah, takes its name from the epithet of its founder Muḥammad Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (1207–1273).
The Kaaba is the primary destination of Muslims during the hajj. Pilgrims visiting Mecca walk counterclockwise around the Kaaba seven times.
The Black Stone is a symbol of Allah’s covenant with Abraham and Ismail and with the Muslim community itself. According to tradition, the stone was originally white but turned black after absorbing the sins of the many pilgrims who have touched it.
Ramadan is structured around food, a lack of food, and prayer — the early meal before dawn, the fasting during daylight, the meal at the end of the day, and the daily prayers. Sunni Muslims pray five times a day and often perform extra prayers (tarawih) during the month of fasting. Shi’a generally pray three times a day and typically do not perform these extra prayers,
The traditional Islamic (or Hijrah) calendar consists of twelve lunar months, each of which lasts from one first sighting of the crescent moon to the next. The twelve months of the Islamic calendar in order are Muḥarram, Ṣafar, Rabīaʿ al-Awwal, Rabīaʿ al-Thānī, Jamādī al-Awwal, Jamādī al-Thānī.
The Hegira: Muhammad’s Flight Fom Mecca To Medina
On September 24, 622, the prophet Muhammad completes his Hegira, or “flight,” from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution. In Medina, Muhammad set about building the followers of his religion —Islam — into an organized
community and Arabian power. The Hegira would later mark the beginning (year 1) of the Muslim calendar.
The Israʾ and Miʿraj are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621. Within Islam it signifies both a physical and spiritual journey. A brief sketch of the story is in the Quran surah al-Isra, while greater detail is found in the hadith; later collections of the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad.
Sequence of events that chronicles Islam.
The events of Islam throughout history.
Section 100: An Introduction To Islam
https://discerning-Islam.org
Last Update: 02/2021
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