is said to have 'lived the Qur'an'. His actions
and teachings, which helped explain the wisdom and guidance of
the Qur'an, have also been recorded in what is referred to as
the Hadith or the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallAllahu alayihi
wasalam). This too has been committed to memory by numerous
Muslims. The science of recording and authenticating the
Hadith is one of the most precise sciences known to man. Every
Hadith must have an authentic chain of narrators which leads
back to the Prophet (sallAllahu alayihi wasalam). Muslims
worship Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala), The Creator and
Sustainer. As part of this worship, Muslims are required to
believe in :
* The Oneness of the Creator
* The Creator's Angels
* All the Divine Scriptures, including the Books of Ibrahim
(Abraham, alaihis salam), the Torah revealed to Musa (Moses,
alaihis salam), the Injeel revealed to 'Isa (Jesus, alaihis
salam), the Scriptures of Dawud (David, alaihis salam) and
all other Divine Scriptures.
* All the Prophets and Messengers (alaihim assalam - meaning; may peace be upon them) from Prophet Adam
(alaihis salam) through Muhammad (sallAllahu alayihi wa
salam). These include Adam, Idris (Enoch), Nuh (Noah), Hud, Salih (Salih),
Ibrahim (Abraham),
Isma'il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya'qub (Jacob), Lut
(Lot), Yusuf (Joseph), Ayuub (Job), Dhil-Kifl (Ezekiel), Yunus (Jonah),
Musa (Moses), Harun (Aaron), Ilyasa (Elisha), Ilyas
(Elijah), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Zakaryia (Zechariah), Yahya
(John), Isa (Jesus), alaihim assalam, and Muhammad (salla
Allahu alayihi wasalam), as well as the over 124,000 others
whose names have not been revealed.
* The Day of Judgement or Day of Reckoning, when all human
beings will be evaluated based on their own deeds and will be
rewarded a place in Paradise or a place in hellfire.
* The existence of Paradise and hellfire.
* Al-Qadar. Al-Qadar is the understanding that some facets of
our lives have been pre-destined by Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta'ala). These include the existence of all creatures, the
length of a person's life span, and the amount of provision
(or wealth) they will receive. Although Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta'ala) has the Supreme authority, He has granted man, His
Vicegerent (deputy) use of a limited authority in exercising
discretion and making choices. Since accountability
presupposes authority, Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala) equipped
man with all the necessary and appropriate faculties to
understand and exercise judgement. Allah (Subhanahu wa
ta'ala), out of His Mercy, revealed additional guidance
through His chosen Prophets (alaihim assalam) to explain the
rewards and the consequences of his deeds. It is up to man to
make or mar his own future.
Islam is based on 5 pillars:
Shahada (Testimony of Faith)
Salat (Prayer - 5 times a day)
Siyam (Fasting - abstaining from food drink, maritial relations, and others from dawn til dusk)
Zakat (Obligatory Charity to the poor and needy)
Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah - to the House of God, if one is able to afford it)
Some of the additional practices
Muslims are required to observe are:
Modesty
Kindness to neighbors
Cleanliness
Justice
Close family ties
Charity
Some of the practices which are forbidden to Muslims are:
Eating pork or pork by-products
Consuming alcoholic beverages
Incest
Riba, which is dealing with usury
It should be noted that a prohibition in Islam requires
totally avoiding any association with the prohibited item. For
example, the prohibition of alcohol means it is not allowed to
drink it, transport it, buy it, sell it, manufacture it, grow
the raw materials for producing it or in any way being
involved with it.
The Muslim calendar is called the Hijrah Calendar and is a
lunar based calendar. It consists of 12 months, with each
month beginning upon the sighting of the new moon. This
results in months that are 29 or 30 days long. (No month can
be more than 30 days long.) Hence the Hijra calendar seems to
float or span through the Gregorian Calendar. The calendar
gets its name from the Hijra (migration) of the Prophet(salla
Allahu alayihi wasalam) from Makkah to Madinah. |