What Is Islam Book Pdf

[Alacoque Whitchurch]

Thereligion of Islam originated in Mecca in 610 CE. Muslims believe this is when Muhammad received his first revelation. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam. Muslim rule expanded outside Arabia under the Rashidun Caliphate and the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate ruled from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indus Valley. In the Islamic Golden Age, specifically during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate, much of the Muslim world experienced a scientific, economic and cultural flourishing. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various states and caliphates as well as extensive trade and religious conversion as a result of Islamic missionary activities (dawah), as well as through conquests.

Islam itself was historically called Mohammedanism in the English-speaking world. This term has fallen out of use and is sometimes said to be offensive, as it suggests that a human being, rather than God, is central to Muslims' religion.[17]

The central concept of Islam is tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد), the oneness of God. It is usually thought of as a precise monotheism, but is also panentheistic in Islamic mystical teachings.[19][20] God is seen as incomparable and without partners such as in the Christian Trinity, and associating partners to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as idolatory, called shirk. God is seen as transcendent of creation and so is beyond comprehension. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several names or attributes, the most common being Ar-Rahmān (الرحمان) meaning "The Entirely Merciful," and Ar-Rahīm (الرحيم) meaning "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Quran.[21][22]

Islam teaches that the creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, "Be, and it is,"[i][9] and that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[23] He is viewed as a personal god[9] and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Consciousness and awareness of God is referred to as Taqwa. Allāh is a term with no plural or gender being ascribed to it and is also used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in reference to God, whereas ʾilāh (إله) is a term used for a deity or a god in general.[24]

Angels (Arabic: ملك, malak) are beings described in the Quran[25] and hadith.[26] They are described as created to worship God and also to serve in other specific duties such as communicating revelations from God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' (nūr)[27][28][29] or 'fire' (nār).[30][31][32][33] Islamic angels are often represented in anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles.[34][35][36][37] Common characteristics for angels include a lack of bodily needs and desires, such as eating and drinking.[38] Some of them, such as Gabriel (Jibrīl) and Michael (Mika'il), are mentioned by name in the Quran. Angels play a significant role in literature about the Mi'raj, where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens.[26] Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology, theology and philosophy.[39]

The pre-eminent holy text of Islam is the Quran. Muslims believe that the verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad by God, through the archangel Gabriel, on multiple occasions between 610 CE[40][41] and 632, the year Muhammad died.[42] While Muhammad was alive, these revelations were written down by his companions, although the primary method of transmission was orally through memorization.[43] The Quran is divided into 114 chapters (sūrah) which contain a combined 6,236 verses (āyāt). The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed at Mecca, are concerned primarily with spiritual topics, while the later Medinan chapters discuss more social and legal issues relevant to the Muslim community.[9][44] Muslim jurists consult the hadith ('accounts'), or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Quran and assist with its interpretation. The science of Quranic commentary and exegesis is known as tafsir.[45][46] In addition to its religious significance, the Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature,[47][48] and has influenced art and the Arabic language.[49]

Muslims believe that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet ("Seal of the prophets") to convey the completed message of Islam.[60][61] In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the sunnah (literally "trodden path"). Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's moral behaviors in their daily lives, and the sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of the Quran.[62][63][64][65] This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith, which are accounts of his words, actions, and personal characteristics. Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as God's verbatim words quoted by Muhammad that are not part of the Quran. A hadith involves two elements: a chain of narrators, called sanad[broken anchor], and the actual wording, called matn. There are various methodologies to classify the authenticity of hadiths, with the commonly used grading grading scale being "authentic" or "correct" (صحيح, ṣaḥīḥ); "good" (حسن, ḥasan); or "weak" (ضعيف, ḍaʻīf), among others. The Kutub al-Sittah are a collection of six books, regarded as the most authentic reports in Sunni Islam. Among them is Sahih al-Bukhari, often considered by Sunnis to be one of the most authentic sources after the Quran.[66] Another well-known source of hadiths is known as The Four Books, which Shias consider as the most authentic hadith reference.[67][68]

Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة) is also crucial for Muslims. It is believed that the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God, but unknown to man. The Quran and the hadith, as well as the commentaries of scholars, describe the trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah. The Quran emphasizes bodily resurrection, a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death.[69][70][71]

On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell).[72] The Quran in Surat al-Zalzalah describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Quran lists several sins that can condemn a person to hell. However, the Quran makes it clear that God will forgive the sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals[73] will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Quranic references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God.[74][75][76] Yawm al-Qiyāmah is also identified in the Quran as Yawm ad-Dīn (يوم الدين "Day of Religion");[ii] as-Sāʿah (الساعة "the Last Hour");[iii] and al-Qāriʿah (القارعة "The Clatterer").[iv]

The concept of divine predestination in Islam (Arabic: القضاء والقدر, al-qadāʾ wa l-qadar) means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. Al-qadar, meaning "power", derives from a root that means "to measure" or "calculating".[77][78][79][80] Muslims often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase "In-sha-Allah" (Arabic: إن شاء الله) meaning "if God wills" when speaking on future events.[81]

The shahadah[84] is an oath declaring belief in Islam. The expanded statement is "ʾašhadu ʾal-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh" (أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله), or, "I testify that there is no deity except God and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God."[85] Islam is sometimes argued to have a very simple creed with the shahada being the premise for the rest of the religion. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the shahada in front of witnesses.[86][87]

Prayer in Islam, called as-salah or aṣ-ṣalāt (Arabic: الصلاة), is seen as a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called rakat that include bowing and prostrating to God. There are five timed prayers each day that are considered duties. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language and performed in the direction of the Kaaba. The act also requires a state of ritual purity achieved by means of either a routine wudu ritual wash or, in certain circumstances, a ghusl full body ritual wash.[88][89][90][91]

A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name masjid. Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place of prayer, it is also an important social center for the Muslim community. For example, the Masjid an-Nabawi ("Prophetic Mosque") in Medina, Saudi Arabia, used to also serve as a shelter for the poor.[92] Minarets are towers used to call the adhan, a vocal call to signal the prayer time.[93][94]

Zakat (Arabic: زكاة, zakāh), also spelled Zakāt or Zakah, is a type of almsgiving characterized by the giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually)[95] of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in debt, or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It acts as a form of welfare in Muslim societies.[96] It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe the needy because their wealth is seen as a trust from God's bounty,[97] and is seen as a purification of one's excess wealth.[98] The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater than global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates.[99] Sadaqah, as opposed to Zakat, is a much-encouraged optional charity.[100][101] A waqf is a perpetual charitable trust, which finances hospitals and schools in Muslim societies.[102]

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