Muslim Religion

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Muslims believe a God, who is incomparable, unique and one, who do not have a son or partner. At the same time, He is the only one who is supposed to worship because He is the only true God and any other deity is considered false. God has been given the most magnificent names as well as sublime perfect traits. God is supreme ruler, Almighty and maker of the entire creation. God is All-Knowing, All-Hearing and All-Seeing. He knows everything that has happened in past, present and future. At the same time, nothing happens in the world without His will. God has the power and is capable of doing anything. He is gracious, compassionate and beneficent. Muslims believe God is just and wise.

Muslims also believe angles existence and considered them honoured creatures. The angels worship and obey God and their actions are guided by His command. One of the angels is Gabriel, who gave Muhammad the Quran. At the same time, Muslims share the belief that God revealed His books to His own messengers and considers them a proof for mankind as well as guide them. Quran is one of the books, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad by God. He also guaranteed protection of Quran’s from any alteration or distortion (Lane, Redissi & Ṣaydāwī, 2009).  Muslims tend to believe God’s messengers and prophets such as Jesus, Adam, Ishmael, Isaac Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Moses. The final message from God to mankind, which is an eternal message reconfirmation, was made known to Prophet Muhammad. Conversely, Muslims believe that the last prophet who is Muhammad was sent by God and that prophet and messengers were created as human beings and do not possess any divine God qualities. Muslims believe Judgment day when the dead will resurrect and face judgement from God in accordance to their beliefs and actions. Between right or evil Muslims also believe in Al-Qadar that is Divine Predestination in that God has provided human beings with free will, and they can choose and are accountable for the choices made by them.

Sacred texts

The most well known sacred books associated with Muslim is the Quran. The Holy book,which is the Quran is considered the basis of Islam by those practicing Islam and was passed on by Muhammad, who is the religion creator and prophet. The holy book has 114 chapters, which are called Surahs and is viewed as Islam Bible. There are other sacred text sources although; Quran is the only text that has Allah words, which is significant for Muslims.

The Quran

The Sunna is another sacred text and is a record of Muhammad’s teachings, sayings and customs, which he left behind for all Muslims to practice. Muhammad is viewed as the perfect example by Muslims for all mankind. Sunna is equally significant to Muslim just like Quran because it interprets the holy book. It is evident that Quran can be understood properly without the Sunna as various aspects associated with Islamic religion are not mentioned in the Holy book but only found in the Sunna( Lane, Redissi & Ṣaydāwī, 2009). The Quran and Sunna form the basis for Muslims beliefs and practices because they inspirational and authoritative.

Another sacred text is the Hadith literature is the most critical in relation to the various Islamic traditions because a lot of the Islamic beliefs especially about the end-times is found in Hadith literature. It is a record that shows Muhammad saying and deeds. Every Hadith comprises of two parts, which are the Isnad and Matn. The Isnad relies on Muhammad actions or sayings.

Origin of Muslim religion

Islam religion started around 600 AD and saw it spread to regions such as Central Asian,North Africa, East Asia and Central Europe. Islam religion began with Prophet Muhammad teachings that are considered the messenger of the powerful God who is Allah. The spread of Islam was rapid from the Arabian Peninsula in a period of less than 20 years. Both the Persian and Roman Empires were overpowered by Muslim armies,which were less capable and out-numbered.

The next centuries saw Islam reach as far as the East in India and Spain, which is found in the West. At the same time, the spread of Islam continued by traders who moved to Southeast Asia. For instance, a country like Indonesia boost of the largest Muslim country, as the spread of Islam was by Arab traders. The Islamic rule peak, which was associated with Europe Dark Ages, mathematics science, algebra, physics, astronomy and medicine were developed and apparently are still used presently founded on the early Muslim scholar’s principles (Henningfeld, 2010).  Presently, Islam is viewed to be the fastest growing religion around the world. One of the key figures in Islam was Prophet Muhammad, who was married to a rich lady. He was a truthful, sincere and kind person. God exposed to him the intricate religion facts through Gabriel, who was 40years and angel. Prophet Muhammad remains the last prophet line, which began with Jesus, Abraham and Moses.

Prophet Muhammed

Fasting as a Major festivals in Islamic religion

Islam is considered the second largest in the world with almost 1.62 billion members as 23 percent of the whole world’s population is Muslim. Around 49 countries boosts of Muslim majority, even though Africa is considered the only continent, which have a Muslim majority. Many of the world Muslim population are found mostly in countries such as India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Over almost 88 percent of the population in Indonesia’s population are Muslims with 96.4 percent of the Pakistan population also subscribing to the Islamic religion? Countries with almost 100 percent Islamic populations are Morocco, Iran, Somalia, Western Sahara, Afghanistan and Tunisia. The Quran orders Muslims to fast during the fasting month each year. The whole Muslim world is undivided about the fasting principle and considers it compulsory for every Muslim who is physically able (Tames, 2006).

Muslims praying during the Holy month of Ramadan

Fasting during the Ramadan month is compulsory for every adult Muslim, any male or female at the puberty age or any person who is not ill or travelling. Sickness might be temporary sickness, which an individual expects to recover soon. One is allowed to fast if sick, but, they must fast later after completion of the Ramadan to compensate for the days they missed fasting. Those persons who are sick and are suffering from an incurable illness and do not expect to recover are not permitted to fast but have to pay fidyah. This means giving of a day’s meal for any fast missed to needy people.

Instead of giving food a person is allowed to give the equal amount of money to a person who is in need. Women who are in the periods as well as breastfeeding are not authorized to fast, but they have to ensure they make up for the after the Ramadan period is over. Pregnant women, as well as breastfeeding mothers, are allowed to postpone their fasting to a time when they are able to fast comfortably. Travelling in accordance to the Shariah means any journey, which takes one away from their places of residence being a minimum of around 80 kilometres. The journey has to be for a good cause an individual need to avoid frivolous travel in the holy month of Ramadan, which makes a person not to fast. An individual should try to change their travel plans arrangements in the month of Ramadan to ensure they are able to fast and avoid travelling necessary. Any person who misses fasting because of travelling need to make up for the days they missed immediately after Ramadan.

Sharing food with the needy during Ramadan

Muslims share the belief that good action always results to greater rewards in the holy month of Ramadan compared to any other of the Islamic calendar (Tames, 2006).  This is because the month has already been blessed with Allah and it is easier for an individual to do good because during this month the devils are chained in Hell and, therefore, cannot tempt believers. The aspect cannot be interpreted that Muslims will not commit sin, but, that any evil act committed by them comes from them with no additional support from Satan. Majority of Muslims often try not to commit the habits considered bad during the Ramadan month as others attempt to be better Muslims by doing more praying and reading of the Quran during this period. Muslims share the belief that this is one of the ways chaining of the devil is evident, because they do not have any other reason to act that way during the Ramadan period.

About the Author

Muslim religion is fascinating and intriguing and at the same time there have been many misconceptions associated with religion. The opportunity to write about Muslim religion gave me a chance to understand and research deeply about Islam, which is a peace loving religion contrary to misconceptions that have been experienced in the media. I have had the opportunity to personally practice Islamic because I grew up as a Christian.

References

Lane, J.-E., Redissi, H., & Ṣaydāwī, R. (2009). Religion and politics: Islam and Muslim civilization. Farnham, England: Ashgate Pub. Co.

Tames, R. (2006). Muslim. Danbury, Conn: Childrens Press.

Henningfeld, D. A. (2010). Religion. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press.