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The differences between the important beliefs of the monotheistic faiths
The differences between the important beliefs of monotheistic faiths
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Religion can be a very tricky subject to understand. There are many different religions in the world today. In addition to the many different religions, some of these religions have many different subgroups. There are people who spend their whole lives trying to wrap their head around religion and the idea of worshiping someone who cannot be seen. The purpose of this paper is to explore the Five Pillars of Islam so that we can have a better understanding of this religion that western culture doesn’t really understand all too well.
Islam is the religion practiced by Muslims. They follow the teaching of the prophet Muhammad. Contrary to some beliefs, Islam is a monotheistic religion. Muslims take their religious practices very seriously. So
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The confession of faith is one simple sentence. It says “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” The first part of this sentence sates that Islam is a monotheistic religion. They only believe in God. The do not believe that God had a son or that he had a partner. Muslims think that by giving God a son, this makes him human like. That is not the case. Muslims believe that God is too powerful to have any kind of human-like qualities. However they do acknowledge that Jesus did exist. Instead of him being the son of God, like in Christianity, they believe that he was a prophet. The second part of the sentence confirms that Muslims have great faith in the authenticity of the book that Muhammad wrote. Once during their lifetime a Muslim must confess their faith. They must say the conformation of faith correctly, slowly, thoughtfully, out loud, with full understanding, and heartfelt conviction. (Smith 244) Muslims tend to say the first part of the affirmation of faith whenever they are in a crisis and when they are overwhelmed. The statement “There is no god but God,” is the ultimate answer to all questions. The testimony of faith is the most important pillar of Islam. Muslims must be able to spread the word of Allah and the works of Muhammad to anyone thinking about converting to …show more content…
In life there are always going to be people that have more than another group of people. Instead of trying to figure out a way to fix this problem, Muslims focus on taking the burden off of those less fortunate. The Koran states that there should be a tax of 2 ½ % on the people who are in the upper and middle class. There is a limitation on who shall receive benefits from said tax. People who benefit from this are those in immediate need, slaves in the process of buying their freedom, debtors unable to meet their obligations, strangers, and those who collect and distribute the
The Pillars are a list of rules that give five key practices that the observant Muslim should follow. An individual must follow these five rules: openly declare devotion to their god, Allah, pray five times daily facing towards the holy city Mecca, fast and abstain from secular pleasures during the month of Ramadan, pay an alms tax for the welfare of the poor, and make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during one’s life if circumstances allow (Smart 290). These guidelines provide an obvious way to distinguish the religious insider from the outsider and work to reinforce a continual sense of community among the insiders (Smart 291). The concept of jihad works to legitimize the expansion of Islam. Jihad, or the “struggle on behalf of the faith” resulted in two different interpretations (Smart 299). Firstly, the Qur’an states that it is the duty of religious adherents to fight against polytheists, Christians, and Jews until they pay the jizya, or tax, acknowledging Muslim supremacy (Smart 299). However, a branch of Islam called Sufism softened this doctrine to imply that jihad is not a physical conflict, but is instead an internal struggle to eliminate temptations and foster obedience to God (Smart 300). This concept is shown in action when examining the chronological expansion of Islam. In the classical and medieval periods of Islam, stretching from the early seventh
The book lays the foundation of Islamic basic beliefs and practices. Muslims believe in one God, and feel their religion continues the Judaic and Christian traditions. Arab peoples "trace their origins to the patriarch Abraham, who, according to the Koran was neither Jew nor Christian, but a kind of universal ancestor of monotheists" (5). Thus, Muslims believe in the same God as Jews and Christians.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
In the early 6th century, Muhammad introduced Islam into the Arab world, and asserted that there was only one true God. Islam demanded that believers obey God’s will and laws (Islamic Law, web). By introducing Isla...
Islam is also a monotheistic religion that believes there is one God. Islam is based on the teachings and normative example of Muhammad, who is considered to be the last prophet of God . People who follow the Islam faith are called Muslims. The Qur’an is the central text of the Islam faith, and Muslims believe it to be a revelation from God. There are two main denominations of Islam. There is Sunni, which is the largest denomination making up 75-90% of all Muslims and Shia, which is the second largest branch with 10-20%.
Muslims believe that the absolute deity is Allah. However, they also believe that there was a string of prophets sent by God to teach his word. The last of these prophets was Muhammad. His life is used as a foundation for Muslims to see how they are supposed to live and to help explain the teachings of the holy book of Islam, which is called Holy Qur’an. These teachings are said to have been revelations that Muhammad received that confirmed the God’s unity and the direct life in the world.
Much of the history of Islam has been obscured by a veil of fear and misunderstanding. This was caused by the fear of Islamic terrorists before, and mainly after, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The history of Islam begins with the birth of Muhammad, who was born in the holy city of Mecca, in a time where warring tribes were constantly fighting over the scarce sources of water. Muhammad received the Qur’an from the angel Gabriel, and his most radical proclamation that came from God was that their was only one God. This meant that since their was only one God, their could only be one people. Over time, Muhammad and his followers took control of Mecca and much of the Arabian Peninsula. Within the Qur’an, Muhammad received the 5 Pillars of Islam, which are the explain the five concepts a good Muslim must follow. The first pillar, the profession of faith, is the primary pillar that is used by radical...
In Arabic, the word Islam represents,” submission to the will of god”. Muslims or followers of the Islamic religion believe in their one god, Allah or “Almighty God”. The Qur’an is their most important scripture; it contains messages sent from God to Muhammad (God’s messenger). The Islamic religion is a way of life for the Muslims and teaches them to be kind, respectful, and selfless. All Muslims are seen as equal before God and each other. About 23% of the world is Muslim, which shows that Islam is a widespread and accepted religion.
The worship of Allah is principal in a Muslim’s mind at all time. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a the faith and obedience of a Muslim. They are frequently called the “Five Pillars of Islam”. The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework and guidelines of the Muslim life. They are the testimony of faith, prayer, supporting the needy, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the once in a lifetime trip to Makkah for those who are able to do so. These Five Pillars are the thing Muslim’s do to please God and to keep themselves well and happy in this lifetime and for the future ones to come. It was Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who was reported to have said, “Islam is based upon five pillars”.
Based on history, Islam began in Arabia in the Middle East. Now known as Saudi Arabia, this is where the prophet Muhammad was born, raised, lived, and died. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, despite the huge following around the world; Islam is foreign to many Americans. Due to the many misconceptions about the Muslim religion, many people judge the religion without making an effort to learn more about their traditions, faith and history. Islam is a monotheistic religion, which basically means that they believe in one God. Prophet Muhammad proclaimed the religion in the 7th century A.D. The word "Islam" means, "To surrender to God" and is described as a "Deen" in Arabic, meaning "way of life and/or religion." The Muslims refer to God as "Allah" who is the creator of the world. Allah revealed the Qur’an (Koran) to his messenger, Muhammad. Based on the beliefs of the Islamic religion, Muhammad is the last of a series of prophets, which brings the final message of God to all the people through the Qur’an.
They have a belief that God is only one, who is Allah SWT. Islam misinterprets some Bible verses to convince us, Christians, that the Promised One was Prophet Muhammad not Jesus Christ. They believe that Jesus was just a messenger of Allaah while Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger of Allaah who was sent to perfect the previous religious. They also use Jesus’ sayings. For example, Jesus mentions the Comforter in John.
The Muslim religion has distinct path on how one should arrive at their belief in God. The Islamic people believe that belief in God is a choice that must be made in full understanding through analysis (Turner, 108). Although some may choose not believe, Muslims believe that there is signs all around us. The rewards of true belief are living in paradise with God, eternally (Turner, 108).The principal requirement in Muslim religion is that one should acquire a state of mind in which he believes that all of creation is signs point to the one God. This belief includes internal and external surrender of oneself.
These five pillars compromise of 1-Faith in Allah 2-Prayers 3- Zakat 4-Fasting 5-Hajj- 1-Faith(Shahadah): - The very first pillar of Islam is Shahadah if someone wants to enter the circle of Islam he first confirms to the oneness of Allah and believe in the last messenger
Islam is a religion of peace and guidance. Islam simply means “Submission to the will of God” (bbc.co.uk). Islam is the youngest of the world’s very large religions-which include: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism (IntrotoIslam). Islam is the second largest religion in the world; there are approximately one billion followers. (bbc.co.uk)
Islam is a religion in which there is only one God, like previously stated, and thus, can be classified as a monotheistic religion. The God that muslims worship is called Allah. In Arabic the translation for God is Allah, so the name is very fitting. Muslims believe that Allah sent prophets or messengers to teach