| What
Exactly is Islam?FACTS ABOUT ISLAM:• 1.6 billion adherents worldwide (about
23% of the world’s population), 2nd largest world religion.• Approximately 3
million Muslims in the USA; between 80,000-90,000 Muslim immigrants
annually.• Currently the fastest growing religion worldwide.TERMS &
VOCABULARY:• Islam – the religion of submission to Allah; derived from the
Arabic root salema, “submission.”• Allah – Arabic for the strictly
Unitarian God of Islam.• Muslim – “one who submits,” an adherent of
Islam.• Qur’an (Koran) – The Holy Book of Islam, the word of Allah revealed
by Muhammad.• Hadith – non-inspired records of the deeds and sayings of
Muhammad; relied upon to learn hisexample, which must be emulated by Muslims;
the Qur’an lacks much narrative about him.• Abrogation – Allah’s practice of
annulling a previous revelation and replacing it with a newer one.• Sunni and
Shia – the two largest denominations of Islam.• Sharia – the moral code drawn
from precepts of the Qur’an and Hadith; applied to Islamic states.• Jihad –
the “struggle” to advance Islam and repel evil; used in a variety
of contexts.• Mosque – buildings erected for a congregation of Muslims to
meet for prayer and instruction.• Imam – a prayer leader at a Mosque.• Mullah
– a teacher of Islamic doctrine.FACTS ABOUT THE QUR’AN• Qur’an means
“recitation” in Arabic; proclaims itself to be the final revelation
of God (Allah).• Sent to Muhammad progressively over 23 years because God’s
previous revelations (including theOld and New Testaments) had been
perverted.• One book, roughly the length of the New Testament, divided into
114 surahs.• Surahs – Arabic {or “revelation” or
“recitation”; synonymous with “chapter” in the Qur’an.•
“Written for Arabs,” and strict adherents believe it can only truly
be understood when read in Arabic.FACTS ABOUT MUHAMMAD• Born in 570 AD. Made
a living by traveling the main Arabic trade route as a merchant.• Claimed
that in 610 AD., the angel Gabriel spoke to him while he was seeking solitude
in amountain cave, commanding him to “recite” the words of Allah.
These words and later revelationsbecame the Qur’an.• Known as “The Seal
of the Prophets,” Allah’s greatest and final messenger.• Faced with
persecution in Mecca, he and his few followers migrated to Medina in 622 AD.
Aftereight years of uniting the tribes of Medina, he had gained 10,000
followers and conquered Mecca.• By the time of his death in 632 AD., most of
the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam andMuhammad had united the
tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious and political empire. |
