Islam

After the assigned readings and class discussions, I realized that Muslim law is very strict. Muslims must try to live according to God’s book, the Koran, and by the rules Mohammed taught them.

Every Muslim should pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, afternoon, evening, and night. He needs to pray facing Mecca. On Friday at noon, Muslims go to a Muslim temple to pray. After praying, they hear a sermon. There is no priest or minister, only a leader called the Iman. The mosque is built so that when the people pray they will face towards Mecca. Before they pray, the people must wash themselves. God is the greatest king of all, and no one should stand before Him with a dirty face.

Muslims are expected to give some of their money every year to help the poor Muslims. Once in their lifetime, if they can, every Muslim must go to the holy city in Mecca on a pilgrimage. Every Muslim who is physically and economically able to do so is required during his lifetime to make at least one pilgrimage (hajj)to the holy city.

Once a year, during the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast. For one whole month, from very early morning until the sun goes down, he does not eat or drink anything. Their fasting is very strict. They are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke, and engage in sex or violence before sunrise until after sunset for that whole month. Muslims aren’t even allowed to think about these things. I agree that this type of fasting can teach a person self -awareness and to be more sympathetic towards others who are less fortunate. Going hungry and thirsty for this amount of time allows Muslims to realize how grateful they are to have food and water.

Muslims also must never worship anything or anyone but God (Allah). Allah is the personal name of the One true God for Muslims. Nothing else can be called Allah. By having no gender or plural form, the name Allah shows its own uniqueness when compared with the word god, which can be made plural – gods, or feminine – goddesses. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator, Preserver, and Sustainer of the universe, and nothing is comparable to Him. In order to be a Muslim, to surrender oneself to God, it is necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in the sense of His being the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc.