Download Islam

FrontPage: What comes to mind when you hear the word,
“Islam”?
Spice up Goodwill
paintings by adding
monsters
Last Word: Chapter 26.1 Reading
Guide due Wed.; QR reader
The Beliefs and
Teachings of…
Historical Background to Islam
 Pre-Islamic Arabia –
 Home to nomadic herders, small towns (Mecca and Yathrib)
 Each tribe had own god, worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca
 Mohammed born in Mecca around 570 CE (AD)
 Became an orphan, raised by his uncle; married Khadija
 Revelation of Mohammed in cave outside Mecca
(around 610)

Begins preaching; few people listen at first; eventually more
begin to follow and this angers local leaders
 The “Hejira”
 In 622 Forced to flee to Yathrib (Medina)

Year 1 of the Muslim calendar
 Builds a following in Medina; returns to Mecca and
conquers the city in 630

At the time of his death in 632, Islam had become the
dominant religion across the Arabian peninsula
Major Beliefs of Islam
The Basics
Holy Books
The “5 Pillars”
The Basics
 Islam means “submission” or “surrender”, to
God
 Muslims believe in only one God;

Named “Allah”
 “Same” God as the Christians and Jews
 For this reason, Mohammed gave them a special,
protected status
 Called them “People of the Book” because of their
similar beliefs
 **But also believe in angels, demons, life after
death
Muhammed
 Considered a direct
descendent of Abraham,
original leader of the
Hebrews
 Muslims believe he
received divine revelations
for 23 years after 610CE
 Muslims also believe he is
the last prophet

Moses, Jesus, Abraham,
others
Holy Books
 The Koran (Quran, Q’ran)
 The “holy book” of Islam
 Contains the word of God as spoken
through Mohammed
 Contains 114 suras, or chapters
 Most parts are commandments or
warnings, with very few stories
 Hadiths (a.k.a. “Sunna”) – collections
of the sayings and actions of
Mohammed
 Used
to bring clarification to certain ideas
5 Pillars of Islam
 Muslims are required to follow these 5
“pillars” (activities which are central to
Islam)
 Shahadah (“witnessing”)
 Salat (“prayer”)
 Zakat (“charity”)
 Sawm (“fasting”)
 Hajj (“pilgrimage”)
Shahadah (“witnessing”)
 Muslims are required to recite the
following:
 "I
bear witness that there is no God
other than Allah, and I bear witness
that Muhammed is His messenger."

(“Ashadu alla ilaha illa Allah, wa ashadu anna Muhammed
ar-rasool Allah“.)
**Most Muslims recite this daily; required
simply to recite once in a lifetime
Salat (“prayer”)
 5 times a day, Muslims are required to
face the Kaaba (Mecca) and pray

Before sunrise (Fajr), after the noon hour
(Zuhr), mid-afternoon (Asr), after sunset
(Magrib) and night (Isha)
 Involves several steps/procedures

Wuudu – cleansing before the prayer

Reciting your intentions, bowing, standing
The Mosque
 Islamic house of worship
 No set design; must
contain certain parts


Mihrab – indicates the
direction of Mecca
Must have a roofed area
in front of the mihrab
 Usually have minarets
 Towers where the muezzin
call Muslims to pray
The prayer call is named
“athan” or “adhan”
Charity (“zakat”)
 Also called “alms-
giving”
 Muslims are required
to give 2.5% of their
yearly savings
 Muslims
must have a
certain amount to be
able to give
Fasting (“sawm”)
 During the lunar month of Ramadan
 Believed
to be the month when Gabriel
appeared to Mohammed
 Dawn to sunset fast for 29/30 days (no food
or drink)
 Required for all Muslims above the age
of 13 (girls) and 14 (boys)
 Exemptions
women
for aged, sick and pregnant
Fasting - Benefits
 Piety: Help believers to become more
holy and increases their faith.
 Learn self-control:
 Helpful
to control bad habits like
smoking, excessive eating
 Experience/sympathize with the pain
of poor starving people.
 Feel the weakness of one’s body and
the continuous need for God’s
support.
Hajj (Pilgrimage)
 Pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime
for able Muslims
 About
2-3 million Muslims perform Hajj
each year from all over the world.
 Perform acts related to historical events
in the history of Islam
 Limits have been placed on how many
people can enter Saudi Arabia for the
hajj
The Kabaa (“the cube”)
 Most sacred site in all of Islam
 Muslims
must face it during prayer no
matter where they are
 Located inside of the most sacred
mosque in all of Islam – Haram mosque
 Built
first by Abraham
Essentially a large stone
building with a marble floor
Inside the Kabaa
The Hajj
Jihad - A Sixth Pillar of Islam?
 Some Muslims consider jihad, (“struggle”) to
be a sixth pillar of Islam

There are actually several different types of jihad
 Personal – “inner struggle” to cleanse the
spirit of sin
 Verbal – to strive for justice with right speech
and non-violent actions
 Physical – use of force in defense of Islam
**This last type of jihad has been the source of
much controversy…
Review:
 What happened after Mohammed built a
following in Medina?
 What is one basic belief of Islam?
 What is the holy book in Islam called?
 What are the 5 Pillars of Islam?
 Which Muslim belief is considered by
some to be a 6th pillar of Islam?