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Learning About Islam
Week One
World Religions
Throughout time, around the world, human beings have sought to express a sense of ultimate
meaning through their religious beliefs. Although there has been a lot of noise made by atheists
in recent years about the evils of religion in general, you can see from the chart below that only
about 14% of people worldwide classify themselves as non-religious. While there are thousands
of religious groups in the world, 75% of people belong to one of the “big five religions,
Christianity, the large majority belong to Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. While Judaism and
Buddhism receive a lot of attention. Their numbers are insignificant.
For those of us in the West, the most significant religions
are classified as “Abrahamic,” Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. The Abrahamic label comes from the fact that all of
these religions trace their origins back to Abraham.
Religions can also be considered according to how old they
are. Of the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism is by far the oldest
dating to approximately 1500 BCE. Christianity dates back
to the time of Jesus Christ in the First Century C.E. Islam in
is the youngest of the world’s religions dating back to 622
C.E., the year that Muhammad and his followers fled
Mecca.
The evolution of all the religions is complex. Religions developed alongside tribal and cultural
lines and eventually became associated with nation states. It is also beyond refute that religious
conflicts have resulted in the loss of millions of lives. You could even go as far as saying that
religion is involved in almost all conflicts. This is not so much and indictment of religion,
however, as it is of the sinful nature of humanity in general. All religions have at their core a
sense of love, peace, and justice. So far these values have been imperfectly, to say the least,
expressed.
Is there anything that surprises you about the distribution of religions?
Where did Islam come from?
The earliest history of the Abrahamic faiths is told in the book of Genesis. Abraham had been
promised by God that he would be the ancestor of a great people. Abraham and Sarah were
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without a child well beyond their child bearing years, so Abraham conceived a child by an
Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar. Unfortunately for Hagar and her son Ishmael, Abraham
miraculously produced a son, Isaac, so Ishmael had to go. According to tradition, Ishmael
became the ancestor of the Arab people.
In the year 570, about two thousand years after Ishamael was born, a child named Muhammad
was born to a wealthy merchant in the tribal area of Arabia. Muhammad’s father died before his
birth and he was raised by his grandparents. Beginning in the year 609 C.E., Muslims believed
that God began a verbal recitation to Muhammad which continued over a period of 23 years.
The Qur’an, which literally means “the recitation”, became the central religious text of Islam.
The Qur’an was compiled by companions of Muhammad after his death.
The Qur’an assumes knowledge of Biblical scriptures. Some stories of the Bible are
summarized, some quoted verbatim, and some are presented in variant versions. The Qur’an is
not the only authoritative text of Islam. The hadith are commentaries that were written
describing the life, habits and teachings of Muhammad when he was alive. The hadith are
second in authority only to the Qur’an.
How does the revelation of the Qur’an differ from that of the Holy Bible?
Who determines the authority of scripture?
As Christians should we give any credence to the teachings of the Qu’ran?
The God of Abraham
A question that often comes up these days is whether or not Muslims and Christians worship the
same God. As we have already seen from the succession of developing Abrahamic religions,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all identify their object of worship as the God of Abraham.
From that perspective all three religions worship the same God. And linguistically the God’s of
the three religions are also related. In Hebrew the root “El” is one of the designations for God or
the Lord. Allah, the way the name of God is written in Arabic, is the equivalent of El.
The confusion arises today, however, with regards to the attributes of God. In modern
discussions, particularly with the association of Islam and terrorism, the God of the Muslims is
seen to be a rigid, vengeful God while the God that Christians worship is the God of love. A
more careful look at the God of Islam reveals that Allah is most often described as the merciful
and the beneficent. Conversely, the God of the Old and New Testaments can at times be pretty
harsh and vengeful.
For the sake of interfaith conversations, it is most helpful to begin by assuming
that all three Abrahamic religions worship the same God. It is clear that at
times we perceive God and how God acts in the world very differently. It will
be most productive so focus on the positive attributes of God in all religions. If
we will truly listen and learn from each other we may find that we hold more in
common than we think.
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The Five Pillars of Islam
Every religion has its foundational beliefs and practices.
Turning to these beliefs and practices is a good place to start in
order to compare what seem to be very different religion. The
faith of Islam, no matter what sect, is built upon these five
solid pillars.
Pillar #1 – Shahada
The first pillar of Islam is Shahada or the confession of faith. Christianity is known as a
confessing religion, that is we confess or affirm what we believe according to a set formula. The
main confessions of the Christian faith are the Athanasian, the Nicene, and the Apostles’ Creeds.
All of them are quite complicated (especially the Athanasian). Lutheranism is a confessing
church because we affirm these creeds in worship and hold them normative for the faith.
The confession of faith of Islam is much simpler – “There is only one God and his prophet is
Muhammad.” The Islamic creed is simpler for one reason because Islam is a radically
monotheistic faith. Muslims consider the doctrine of the Trinity in indicate that we worship
three Gods. Most of the language of our Creeds is used to explain, or try to explain, the Trinity.
Pillar #2 -- Salah
The second pillar of Islam is Salah or prayer. Islam prescribes that Muslims are two pray five
times a day at particular hours. I find it ironic, considering that Christianity also has an emphasis
on prayer, that Muslims are often ridiculed or criticized for taking prayer seriously.
Pillar #3 – Zakat
The third pillar of Islam is Zakat or giving alms to the poor (charity). Islam places a premium on
community and caring for others in that community as a religious obligation.
Pillar #4 – Hajj
The faithful Muslim is required once in his or her life to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of
Mecca. Exception is made for those who cannot afford the trip or who are physically unable.
Pillar #5—Sawn
The final pillar of Islam is Sawm or fasting during the month of Ramadan. During Ramadan the
faithful are to fast from dawn to dusk. Excepted from fasting are children, the sick, and the
elderly.
Compare the 5 Pillars of Islam to the religious practices of Christianity.
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