Islam

Islam (Arabic, submission to God) Monotheistic religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the early 7th century. At the heart of Islam stands the Koran, considered the divine revelation of God to Muhammad. Members of the faith (Muslims) date the beginning of Islam from ad 622, the year of the Hejira. Muslims submit to the will of Allah by five basic precepts (pillars). First, the shahadah, “there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”. Second, salah, five daily ritual prayers. At a mosque, a Muslim performs ritual ablutions before praying to God in a attitude of submission, kneeling on a prayer mat facing Mecca with head bowed, then rising with hands cupped behind the ears to hear God's message. Third, zakat or alms-giving. Fourth, sawm, fasting during Ramadan. Fifth, Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The rapid growth in Islam during the 8th century can be attributed to the unification of the temporal and spiritual. The community leader (caliph) is both religious and social leader. The Koran was soon supplemented by the informal, scriptural elaborations of the Sunna (Muhammad's sayings and deeds), collated as the Hadith. A Muslim must also abide by the Sharia or religious law. While Islam stresses the importance of the unity of the summa (nation) of Islam, several distinctive branches have developed, such as Sunni, Shi'ite, and Sufism. Today, there are c.935 million Muslims worldwide.