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Islam at a Glance

Islam at a Glance

 A religion, demystified.
By Wesley Baines

With 1.6 billion adherents, Islam is the second most-followed religion in the world, and is currently growing faster than any other. A report by the Pew Research Center shows that it will, in fact, overtake Christianity—the world’s most popular religion—by 2070, if current growth continues. It is also one of the most feared and maligned belief systems on the planet.
But that fear is misplaced, largely due to a lack of information. The Muslim world remains mysterious to many, a state which results in “Otherness,” which is the perception that a people group is somehow mysterious, alien, and fundamentally different, which often results in culturally engrained fear and exclusion of that group. To be “other” is to be the opposite of “us”—a dangerous position. But if knowledge is the first step along the road to empathy, then let us take that step with a brief look at the core tenants of Islam.
Islam is a monotheistic religion which calls mankind to serve the one omnipotent creator, known, in Islam, as Allah, a word which simply translates to “the God,” from Arabic. Islam is articulated through the Qur’an, the religion’s central text, which is composed of revelations given by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.
Islam emphasizes the importance of belief and practice together—they are inseparable. Let’s first take a brief look at some of the core beliefs of Islam.
Six major beliefs can be construed from the teachings of Qur’an, beginning with Islam’s strictly monotheistic nature. Muslims believe in one, all-powerful, all-knowing God, who has no body, no gender, and no offspring, and who is the creator of all things. They do not believe Jesus to be the literal son of God, but rather a prophet, and one of the greatest of God’s messengers who was born without sin and was raised to heaven rather than being crucified. Within Islam, every individual is capable of their own independent relationship with God without intermediary.
The next major belief involves spiritual beings. In the Islamic narrative, the angel Gabriel revealed God’s word to Muhammad, who then transcribed that word into the Qur’an. Muslims believe in an unseen spiritual world, and acknowledge the existence of both angels and jinn—a separate race of being created by God from smokeless fire, some of which refused to bow to Adam, as God commanded, and thus were cast from paradise, becoming similar to Christianity’s demons.
All of this is recorded in the Qur’an, which is another core belief of Islam—the belief in the holy books of God. Muslims revere the Torah, the Gospel, the Abrahamic Scrolls, and the Psalms, but believe that only the Qur’an remains as it was first revealed by God. The Qur’an dictates many aspects of Muslim life. Prohibitions include everything that is harmful to the body, mind, soul, or society, while anything that is beneficial is permissible, or “halal”. Specific prohibitions include gambling, fortune-telling, killing, lying, abusing, and engaging in sex outside of marriage.
As for God’s revelations to mankind, Muslims believe that God has guided humans throughout history, beginning with Adam, who is considered to be the first prophet. Twenty-five prophets are named in the Qur’an, with Muhammad being the latest, sent to give mankind the ultimate message of Islam.
Muslims believe in a Day of Judgment, in which all mankind will be judged for their actions. Those who followed God’s commands will reside in paradise, while those who did not will be relegated to hell.
Finally, Muslims believe in predestination—that whatever happens to a person is preordained by God. This does not, however, negate the idea of free will in the minds of Muslims. Although God knows the fate of every man, woman, and child, humans are still capable of choice. This creates a religious atmosphere which encourages gratefulness for blessings and patience through trials, both of which are seen as a part of God’s ultimately good and divine plan.
Alongside these core beliefs, Muslims also marry action to their faith, and performing acts of worship are just as important as adhering to their intellectual beliefs. The level of adherence to these acts is dependent upon each individual—as in all religions, some are more strict than others. There are five pillars of worship in Islam.
The first pillar is the declaration of faith. The very first act of worship that a Muslim must make is the proclamation “There is no deity except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” This is repeated many times a day during Islamic prayers, and is the entry-prayer spoken when someone initially becomes a Muslim. There is no established ceremony involved in conversion—one must simply believe in and recite the declaration of faith.

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