Download First Pillar: Statement of Faith

"Righteous is he who believes in Allah
and the Last Day and the Angels and
the Scriptures and the Prophets."
-- Qur'an 2:177
Islam
Origins
• According to Muslim belief, the angel
Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, a camel
driver, in a mountain cave and delivered a
message from Allah (God).
Origins
• Islam was started by Muhammad in 622
CE in Saudi Arabia.
• After being visited by the angel,
Muhammad dedicated the remainder of
his life to spreading a message of Islam (a
monotheistic religion) in a polytheistic
world.
• His life's work is recorded in the Qur'an,
the sacred text of Islam.
Adherents
• Islam is the second largest religion in the
world and has approximately 1.3 billion
followers worldwide (Sunni: 940 million).
• The followers of Islam are called Muslims.
Views
• Islam is a
monotheistic religion.
• The Muslim name for
God is Allah.
• Written in Arabic, it
looks like this.
Life’s Purpose
• Humans must submit (Islam) to the will of
God to gain Paradise after death.
Afterlife
• Paradise or Hell.
General Practices
• The word "Islam" means "submission,"
reflecting the religion's central tenet of
submitting to the will of God.
• Islamic practices center on the Five Pillars
of Islam.
First Pillar: Statement of
Faith
• "There is no god but (one) God, and
Muhammad is the messenger of God".
• Muslims believe that Allah is the same
deity as God of Christians and Jews.
Second Pillar: Praying Five
Times a Day
Third Pillar: Yearly Donation to
Charity
Forth Pillar: Fasting
during Ramadan
• Muslims traditionally break their fasts
in Ramadan with dates (like those
offered by this date seller in Kuwait
City), as was the practice of
Muhammad.
Fifth Pillar: Hajj – a
pilgrimage to Mecca
• Every able-bodied Muslim who can
afford to do so is obliged to make the
pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his
or her lifetime
Holy Text(s)
• Qur'an (Scripture)
• Hadith (tradition)