My History Report On....

I S L A M

Have you ever wondered what the history of a religion is all about? Do you believe that the history is real? Well, here is the history of the Islamic religion.

Islam, which means “submission”, was founded by Muhammad around 610 AD. Muhammad was born around 570 AD in the city of Mecca. Their holy book is called Al-Quran which they believe to be God’s word, revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. They also follow the Hadith, which are Muhammad’s sayings and actions.

The Islamic followers are called Muslims. Muslim in Arabic means a person who submits to the will of God. They believe that there is only one God, which is called “Allah”. They hope to go to heaven by doing good things and by following Allah’s commandments.

There are five main duties of the Muslims, which they call the five pillars of Islam:
1. Confession: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.”

2. Salat. Muslims have to pray five times a day, facing toward Mecca.
3. Zakat. This means giving money to the poor, widow, or orphans.
4. Fasting. They cannot eat or drink starting from the sun rise until the sun set, during Ramadan, the holy month.
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca, or Haj. This is a trip that has to be taken at least once in a lifetime.
There is a sixth duty is called Jihad or Holy War, where they have to go to war to defend or spread Islam. If they get killed during Jihad, they can go straight to Paradise.

Muslims believe pork or alcohol drink are unclean and because of that they cannot eat pork or drink anything which contains alcohol.

The symbol of Islam is crescent moon and star. According to the Islamic popular tradition, whenever the Prophet Muhammad saw a new moon he would say, “O crescent moon of good and guidance, my faith is in Him who created you!”

There are three major sects of Islam which are the Wahhabis (the most strict followers), the Shiites (who believe only Muhammad’s descendants can be the spiritual leaders), and the Sunnis (who follow Muhammad’s tradition). Ninety percent of Muslims are Sunnis.

After Muhammad died in 632 AD, Islam expanded all the way to India, North Africa, Spain, and finally Babylon in 1038. After that Islam was spread to the rest of the world through trading and migration.

Bibliography:

Davis, Grady L., M.Div., Ph.D., Five Pillars of Islam, http://www.familybible.org/Teaching/Religions/Islam/FivePillars.htm. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Razwy, Sayed Ali Asgher, A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims, http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Sawyer, Rickard L., The Rise of Islam, http://www.familybible.org/Teaching/Religions/Islam/RiseOfIslam.htm. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Wenner, Sarah, 2001, History of Islam, http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/history.html. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, Islam Introduction Part I, http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_intr.htmioustolerance.org/isl_intr.htm. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Picture, http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/368117849_51d76b399d.jpg. Accessed on Sept. 21, 2007.

Picture, http://blog.camera.org/archives/Islam%20map1.jpg. Accessed on Sept. 21, 2007.

Picture of crescent moon and star, http://www.mrdowling.com/images/605islam.gif. Accessed on Sept. 19, 2007.

The University of Rochester, Crescent, http://www.rochester.edu/College/REL/symbols/crescent.html. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.

Truthnet, What is Islam, http://www.truthnet.org/islam/whatisislam.html. Accessed on Sept. 20, 2007.