Islam

Islam (meaning “surrender to God’s will”) is the third of the major Abrahamic religions, and the has the second-largest number of devotees worldwide. Its adherents are known as Muslims, and they number more than 1.8 billion.

Muslims believe their faith is part of a primordial religious tradition, worshipping the same God who was revealed through patriarchs and prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The prophet Muhammad, who lived from approximately 570 until 632 AD, is believed by Muslims to be God’s final prophet. At the age of 40, Muhammad began to have revelations from God, and is said to have been visited by the archangel Gabriel, called Jabril in Arabic. Jabril gave to Muhammad a multitude of new scriptures, which today are organized as the Quran.

All Muslims take part in the following five acts of worship, which are known as the Five Pillars of Faith:

1. Testimony – one must declare that they believe in the one true God, known as Allah in Arabic, and that Muhammad is Allah’s chosen prophet.
2. Prayer – Muslims pray five times each day while facing the holy city of Mecca. Interestingly, the earliest Muslims faced the city of Jerusalem during prayer, though Mecca later became the center of Muslim religious tradition.
3. Charity – Islam teaches its adherents to give generously and compassionately.
4. Fasting – Muslims must fast during each day of the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
5. Pilgrimage – Muslims are expected to take a journey to the holy city of Mecca at least once during their lifetimes.

Muslims believe that all events which take place, both good and bad, are divinely ordained. They also believe that God’s mercy is limitless, and that the Love of God knows no bounds.