Thursday, August 11, 2011

Islam: the basics Part 1: Overview

As-Salamu Alaykum!
Peace be upon you friends!


The first thing I thought I should adress is the very basics of Islam~!


      Islam isn't actually something new, it's been around for some 1400 years! Islam was established by the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), through the inspiration of Allah, over the extent of 23 years. The prophet(PBUH) received his first revelation at the age of 40 while meditating in a cave outside of Makkah in Saudi Arabia. The Prophet(PBUH) continued to receive these revelations until his death at the age of 63, thus completing Islam as it is today.


      There are five things you must believe in to follow Islam and be a muslim. And the Holy Qur'an tells exactly what they are


"This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them. And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you and they are sure of the hereafter."(The Holy Qur'an 2:2-4).


   So what does that tell us? The five main beliefs (or Pillars) of Islam is

  • Belief in Allah(God) and angels
  • Keeping Prayer
  • Zak'at (giving to charity)
  • Belief in the prophet Muhammad, and all prophets before him (ie Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, David, and Jesus)
  • Belief in the after life (ie Heaven, Paradise, Hell, Hellfire)
   Sounding pretty evil so far isn't it? In the next few posts I'll look into each of these five requirements, but there are a few more things I need to cover here first!

   So now that we have a basic idea of what Islam is, what exactly does it mean to be a moozlim? Well the word Muslim literally means a person who submits!(see Orgin) That's it~ no secret Arabic meaning or hidden phrasing, to be a Muslim just means to submit to Allah.

Again, this is just the very basics of Islam. If you want to know more about Islam, you can always read the Qur'an for yourself, or do a little studing...


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