Muhammad: The Prophet of Islam

We have been talking a lot about religion in history. There is always a person or group of people that start a religion and Islam is no exception. Muhammad Ibn Abdullah was the prophet who started Islam. He helped spread the word and made Islam well known in the Arabian Peninsula.

Muhammad was born sometime in 570 AD in Mecca. He was born to a widow and was orphaned when he was a child. He was raised by his Uncle and he worked as a shepherd for his uncle. Muhammad became a very successful merchant and met different people from all kinds of religions/faiths.

He married at the age of 25 to a woman 15 years older than him. Khadija comforted Muhammad and many believe that was god’s doing. Muhammad stayed faithful toe Khadija even though marrying multiples wives was allowed. His wife died when he was 49, but before she died Muhammad was visited by an angel. He was very hesitant, but with encouragement from his wife Muhammad gladly took his position as prophet.

As Muhammad began to spread the word of Allah, he didn’t gain very many followers. The first group of followers went through a lot of hard times. They were stoned, sometimes thrown in jail, and they were refused service by traveling merchants. After this struggle Muhammad got followers in a nearby town and gladly took the job because he was offered protection and loyalty. He successfully escaped to this nearby town known as Yathrib. The Muslims attacked Mecca in 624 and won, but lost a battle in 627. The Muslims didn’t get control of Mecca until 630 and sadly Muhammad died in 632.

http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/history/prophet.htm

The Sunni and Shia

After the death on the prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, a division occurred between Muslims as they argued who should rule the people. Muhammad did not have any direct descendants and therefore the people argued whether Abu Bakr or Ali should lead the people. The Sunni Islam believed that Abu Bakr was the right leader and the Shia believes that Ali should have succeeded Muhammad first.

The Sunni and Shia people believe in the same basic teachings of Islam. They both believe in the five pillars and the articles of faith. However, the fact that they have similar beginnings is irrelevant when looking at the differences between the two groups. The Shiites call of prayer is different and the way they praise is also different. The Shiites pray less often than the Sunni praying about three times a day compared to the five times that the Sunnis pray. Sunnis believe that the first four leaders are legitimately Muhammad's successors. The Shiites believe those after Ali are the true successors. Another difference between the Shiites and Sunnis is Mahdi. Shiites believe that he has already been here, and will return. The Sunnis believe he has yet to emerge into history.

The two groups have more rules that make these groups so different. To this day the two groups still fight over issues.

http://www.islamfortoday.com/shia.htm
http://hnn.us/articles/934.html

Archiecture of Islam -- The Five Pillars

The Islamic religion is based on simplicity. A person cannot simply claim to be Muslim, but if he follows the duties of worship laid out by the Five Pillars of Islam, he is considered a believer. The Pillars, belief, worship, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage, are centered around the faith in one God, Allah, and the word spread by his prophet, Mohammad.

The first Pillar is belief or Iman. Under this duty, a Muslim is to believe in only one God, Allah. Believers must proclaim this in the shahada which states "There is no god but God and that Muhammad is His messenger[1]." According to this principle, nothing is worthy of worship besides Allah and the only duty in life it to serve him.

Worship or salat is the second Pillar of Islam. Under salat, a Muslim must pray five times a day. The prayer can take place almost anywhere, in offices, fields, or markets, and are typically said at dawn, mid-day, late-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. The call to prayer is performed by a Muslim at those times. During prayer, worshippers must face in the direction of Mecca on their hands and knees.

The third Pillar of Islam is fasting or sawm. During Ramadan, Muslims must refrain from food and drink as well as other indulgences such as smoking for one month. The month of fasting is intended to bring worshippers in touch with God and invoke gratitude within them for the things God provides. At the end of Ramadan, a feast takes place called id-al-Fitr to break the fast.

Almsgiving or Zakat is the fourth Pillar. Simply put, worshippers are required to give a specific monetary donation or donation of property to a charity each year.

The final Pillar is pilgrimage or Hajj. This pillar requires all that are able, physically and financially, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs during the beginning of the twelfth month of the Muslim calendar.

The foundations of Islam laid out by the Five Pullars of Islam Faith do not seem very difficult. If a person wants to become a Muslim, they simply submit to Allah as God, Mohammad as prophet, pray, fast, donate, and go to Mecca once in a lifetime, and they are golden, no questions asked.

Information for this post is composed from the following websites:

http://www.islam101.com/dawah/pillars.html
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithpillars.html