History of Muslim Religion

The history of Muslim religion states that, the Islamic faith is a monotheistic faith based on the teachings of the Quran, a religious book considered by Muslims as the literal word of God (Allah).

The Islamic prophet Muhammad narrated the Quran to his companions, in the volumes of Hadith over a twenty year period. Islam means peace and an adherent of Islam is a Muslim which means “one who submits to God”.

Muslims consider Islam as the completed version of an original monotheistic faith, revealed by God to peoples before, including Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets. Muslims believe that previous revelations were distorted and their beliefs are the truth.

Islam is of the Abrahamic religions with the date of origin in the 7th century. Judaism and Christianity predated Islam.

The Qur’an stipulates that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his angels, his messengers and the Day of Judgement

There are two main sects of Islam, Sunni and Shia. The Sunni concept of predestination is called divine decree while the Shia version is called divine justice. Unique to the Shia sect is the political and spiritual leadership of the Imams.

Sunni sect comprise 85% of Muslims and the Shia sect comprise 15% of Muslims.

The history of muslim religion states there are other offshoots of Islam which are, Ismailis, Sufis, Wahhabis and Ahmadiyya.

Muslims believe that God revealed the final and true message to humans through the Islamic prophet Muhammad and through the archangel Gabriel. In Islam prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers.

There are five pillars of Islam, which are five practices essential to Islam. Sunni and Shia sects have pillars which are slightly different.

The five pillars:

The Shahadah which is a basic belief that “I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God”.

The Salah or ritual prayer which must be performed five times a day and is done facing the Kaaba in Mecca.

Zakat or alms giving which is a practice of giving based on accumulated wealth and is obligatory for all Muslims who can afford it.

Sawm or fasting during the Ramadan. Muslims must not eat or drink from dawn to dusk during this month and must be mindful of other sins.

The Hajj which is the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah to the city of Mecca. Every able bodied Muslim who can afford it, must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime.

Muslims unlike Christians have their laws dictated by their religion. This law is called the Sharia. This is a brief history of Muslim religion.

Abrahamic Religion

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