|
The Beliefs and
Laws of Islam
Stephen Bates explains the basics to
non-Muslims with little previous knowledge.
Origins Islam is the religion of
allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came
from a family of traders at Mecca. The religion's book of revelation, mediated
by the prophet, is the Koran. The word Islam derives from the same semitic root
as the Hebrew word Shalom, which means peace. Islam means "entering into a
condition of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to
him".
Mohammed is said to have received
his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel,
who was relaying the word of God.
It was not a completely new faith
but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes
a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom
refined and restated the message of God.
The Koran therefore corroborates,
updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.
It contains 114 chapters, written
in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of
Mohammed's death.
Main tenets Central to Islam is
the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the
source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no
God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.
All people should become a single
Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will
rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.
The Koran contains many moral
exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity
and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence
during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.
The five pillars of the Islamic
faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are: · Shahada, the
profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as
his prophet · Salat, formal worship or prayer · Zakat, the giving
of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets
once a year · Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should
undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during
the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year · Sawm, fasting
during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.
Early history In 622, Mohammed
travelled from Mecca to Medina in the hijrah (emigration) - this forms the
starting point in the Muslim dating system.
After the prophet's death his
community split into followers of the caliph Abu Bakr and those who supported
Mohammed's closest relative, his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.
This division between Shia
(followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate) persists
to this day. Although both share most of the customs of the religion, Shiites
place more emphasis on the guiding role of the imam.
About 90% of the world's Muslims
are Sunni and about 10% Shia.
Sharia The divine law of Islam by
which Muslims should live their lives.
It embraces every aspect of life,
including family relations, inheritance, taxation, purification and prayer and
observes no distinction between secular and religious law.
How far modern Islamic states
follow this principle depends on the degree of secularisation they permit. It is
essentially laid down by the Koran but has been updated and extended by fatwa
(legal opinion), consensus and custom.
|
