Islamic Religion

The Islamic religion sometimes seems strange to non-Muslims because it is a religion which impacts every part of life, from eating and sleeping to working and playing. Islam is not only a personal religion, but also a social one. Muslims seek to live in agreement with God’s laws. By doing so, they try to stay near to God and strong through temporary trials and temptations in life. All areas of their practice including prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage are meant to help them meet this goal. Islam is a monotheistic religion with about one billion followers. "Along with Judaism and Christianity, the three are the largest monotheistic religions in world." Muslims believe that God is One, indivisible, and they also believe in all the prophets of the Christians and Jews including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Elias, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. In Islam there is no other individual like Him, and no one else worthy of worship.
The followers of Islam, called Muslims believe in one God ‘Allah’ in Arabic, and that Mohammed was His last prophet. Islam began in Arabia when the Prophet Mohammed heard the word of God. Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570AD. When he was forty he was called to become God’s messenger. The Angel Gabriel came to Mohammed and taught him the verses of the Holy Quaran, which is the Holy Book of Islam. At that time the Arabs had many beliefs and goRAB, but Mohammed taught that there was only one god. In Islam they are not allowed to make pictures of God, because it is said that an artist can only express him/herself based on experience. Muslims don’t see God as an "old man wise and bearded," nor do they describe God as a "Spirit." Because they believe that the "spirit" is also part of God’s creation. Muslims are prohibited to put anything between them and God, and are not allowed to direct prayers toward any of the prophets. So they are to direct their prayers directly to the Creator, Allah.
Saudi Arabia is a special place in the Islamic world because it is the birthplace and heartland of Islam. It is so cherished because the sacred Ka’abah, a black cube-shaped stone is in the square of the Holy Mosque in Makkah. Muslims must turn in prayer five times a day towarRAB the Ka’abah. Every Muslim must pray these five daily contact prayers as they are called because they are the main meals for the soul. In Saudi Arabia offices and shops are required to close during those times. The exact prayer times are published in daily newspapers and they happen at dawn (fajr), midday (dhuhr), mid-afternoon (asir), sunset (maghreb) and evening (isha). If a prayer is missed, it cannot be made up; they can only repent and ask forgiveness. The noon prayer on Fridays must be held in a mosque, and is followed by a sermon held by a chosen scholar know for his knowledge of he Quran.
The Islamic calendar is based on a lunar year rather than the solar year. A lunar month is the time between two consecutive new moons. Even though the lunar year has twelve months, it is shorter than the solar year by eleven days. Because Islam’s use the lunar year, the holy days and the months shift a little from one season to another The twelve months in the Islamic calendar are Moharram, Safar, Rabi Awwal, Rabi Thani, Jumad Awwal, Jumad Thani, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadham, Shawwal, Dhul-Qudah and Dhul-Hijjah. Even the years are dated differently. Islamic dates are calculated from the year that the prophet Mohammed migrated from Makkah to Medina in the year 622 AD. So for example 1996 AD would be around 1417 AH in Saudi Arabian terms.
In most Islamic countries treatment of female citizens goes along with pleasing an "ancient sexist cultural tradition." The traditions of the anti-Islamic cultures have taken over the Islamic teachings where women and men are viewed equal. Women in Islam have the right of inheritance and the right of individual independent ownership free from their father, husband, brother, son or anyone else. Muslim women have the right to accept or reject a marriage proposal, they also have the right by a mutual agreement to clarify in the marriage contract that she has the right to divorce, and Islam does not require a women to change her name when married. Islam prefers a strong family structure and condemns the betrayal of a marriage. Husband and wife united by an authentic marriage contract is the only type of family that the Islamic religion recognizes. Women are required only to cover their chests and lengthen their skirts or dresses. These are the only requirements for modesty in women according to the Quran.
The most important message of the Holy Quran is that God is the creator of the world and controls everything in it, and the Muslims are "called upon to surrender to the will of God." They must live by the rules of the Quran and carry out the five main duties of Islam, called the Five Pillars of Faith. They are the "framework" of the Muslim life, faith in one God, Salat or the Contact Prayers, Zakat (self-perification), fasting, and the pilgrimage to Makkah.
Muslims have to have the faith that there is no other god worthy of worship except God himself. Showing this faith is called Shahada, which is a saying that all the faithful state, "there is no god except God."
The Salat prayers are performed five times a day, and are a strong connection between the worshipper and God. There is no power structure in Islam, or priests. So a "learned" person who knows the Quran and has chosen leaRAB the five daily prayers by the congregation. These five prayers involve verses form the Quran and are performed in Arabic, the religion’s language. The prayers are intended to be in a mosque, although a Muslim may pray anywhere. Such as in fielRAB, offices, factories and universities.
The word zakat means both ‘purification’ and ‘growth’. One of the most important points of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is "held by human beings in trust." "A Muslim’s possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth."
Each Muslim keeps tract of his or her own zakat on their own. Zakat must be given away "on the day of harvest." Whenever a Muslim receives a "net income" they must set aside 2.5% and give it to the parents, relatives, orphans, the poor and the traveling alien, in this order.
Fasting is done every year during the ninth month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from first light until sundown. They must stay away from food, drink, and sexual relations. Those who are sick, elderly, on a journey and women who are pregnant or nursing are allowed to break the fast and make up the same nuraber of days later in the year. If they are physically unable to do this, they must feed 30 needy people a day for every day that they missed. If Muslims surrender to sexual intercourse with knowing that it is still daylight, they must fast for an additional 60 days or feed 60 needy people a day for 60 days. Children begin to fast from puberty, even though many start earlier. The fast is known to help the health, but is also a method of self-purification. By cutting their self off from "worldly comforts" even for only a month. A fasting person is known to gain "true sympathy with those who go hungry as well as growth in one’s spiritual life." Ramadan is the time of year when Muslims "recharge their spiritual batteries." Each month begins when they sight the moon’s crescent and it last 29 or 30 days until the next month’s crescent is sighted. Ramadan is the month when the Quran was exposed as a guide for all mankinRAB. During the month Muslims also focus on intensive worship, reading of the Quran, doing acts of charity and purifying their behavior. At the end of the month, the Muslims have a "feast-day" celebrating the end of Ramadan.
The fifth pillar of Islam is the pilgrimage or Hajj to Makkah. It is mandatory for all Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey at least once on their lifetime. About two million people go to Makkah each year from all over the world. The annual Hajj begins in the twelfth month of the Islamic year. Pilgrims wear special clothes that are simple, which take away distinctions of class and culture so that they all stand equal before God. The Hajj begins with a bath or shower, followed by a "state of sanctity" called "Ihraam," where the male pilgrim wears seamless sheets of material, and the woman wears a "modest" dress. During the Hajj the pilgrims stay away from sexual intercourse, vanities, arguments, misconduct and bad language. Bathing and regular hygiene are allowed, but vanities such as shaving and cutting the hair is not allowed. When arriving at the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, the pilgrim walks around the Ka’bah seven times, while praising God. The next step is to walk the half-mile distance between the knolls of Safa and Marwah seven times, with here and there trotting. These steps full fill the ‘Umrah part of the pilgrimage. Then the pilgrim goes to ‘Arafat to spend a day worshiping, meditating and glorifying GoRAB from dawn to sunset. After sunset the pilgrim goes to Muzdalifah where the night prayer is performed. Twenty-one pebbles are picked up for the stoning of Satan at Mina. At Mina the pilgrim spenRAB two or three days. The first morning the pilgrim "offers an animal sacrifice to feed the poor and to commemorate God’s intervention to save Ismail and Abraham from Satan’s trick." Then the pilgrim returns to Makkah and "observes a farewell circumvolution of the Ka’bah seven times." They end the pilgrimage by a festival called Eid al-Adha, which is a celebration with prayers and the exchange of gifts in Muslim communities.
Muslims believe that believing in God does not guarantee a happy afterlife. "The religious duties instituted by God are in fact a great gift from Him. They constitute the nourishment required for the growth and development of our souls. Without such nourishment, we cannot survive the immense energy associated with God’s physical presence on the Day of Judgment." They must continue to nourish their souls, so that they can strengthen their certainty that they will have the energy to stand before God on the Day of Judgment.