Islam for non-Muslims

Islam is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The word Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to the Islamic conception of God (called Allah in Arabic).

Those who believe in and practice Islam are known as Muslims, meaning "one who submits [to God]"

Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur'an (Koran) to Muhammad, God's final prophet, through the angel Gabriel, and regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (words and deeds of Muhammad) as the fundamental sources of Islam. They do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion, but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.

Islamic tradition holds that Jews and Christians distorted the revelations God gave to these prophets by either altering the text, introducing false interpretations.

Muhammad ibn'Abdullah (sometimes spelled Muhammed), was born around 570 AD in the Arabian city of Mecca. By the age of 12 he had lost both parents and was being raised by his uncle, a merchant/trader, who took him on caravans to Syria, where a Christian monk reportedly declared that when he matured Muhammad would be a prophet of God.

When he was around 25, Muhammad was asked to lead a caravan on behalf of a Khadija bint Khuwaylid, a 40 year old Meccan businesswoman, who later became his first wife. Some sources say Khadija was a Christian, although this was not documented. We do know her cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal, was a Christian.

Around the age of 40, Muhammad began going in solitude to a mountain cave outside Mecca, where he started receiving strange visions. When he reported these happenings to Khadija, she took him to soeak with Waraqah, who proclaimed that these visions were from the Angel Gabriel, the same Angel who had appeared to Moses.

Soon after, Khadija and other relatives began following Muhammad's teachings which resulted from these visions. In effect, they were the first Muslims.

Simply put, The Qu'ran is Islam's Holy Book. It contains the stories and visions which their major prophet, Muhammed, received from the Angel Gabriel in the Sixth Century A.D.

Its standard written form came into usage by around 650 A.D.

British historian Bettany Hughes explores the culture and contributions the Moors, or Muslims, brought to southern Spain beginning in the 700s A.D.

Filmed on location at the exquisite Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain, this 101 minute video is a must-see for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge and appreciation of the Islamic culture.

When the Moors Ruled in Europe

Sunni- The word Sunni comes from the word Sunnah, which means the words and actions or example of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Historically, Sunni Islam has often been defined only in contrast with other denominations or schools of thought, such as Shia Islam, hanafiyah, Mu'tazila and others, considering itself to be the orthodox form of Islam.

Shi'ite, or Shia- Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. Shi'a Muslims, though a minority in the Muslim world, constitute the majority of the populations in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Iraq, as well as a plurality in Lebanon.

The Shi'a attribute themselves to the Qur'an and teachings of the final Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. In contrast to other Muslims, they believe that his family, the Ahl al-Bayt (the People of the House), including his descendants known as Imams, have special spiritual and political rule over the community. Unlike Sunni Muslims, the Shi'a believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad's cousin and husband of his daughter, Fatimah, was the true successor to Muhammad who was appointed by God as his prophet, and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs.

Christianity, Islam and Judaism are known as Abrahamic religions because of their common origin through Abraham. Muslims consider Ishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham, to be the "Father of the Arabs" and the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Abraham's second son, Isaac, is called "Father of the Hebrews". His story is told in the Book of Genesis.

Muslims commonly refer to Christians and Jews as "People of the Book" , people who follow the same general teachings in relation to the worship of the One God as known by Abraham.

*from the Qu'ran "Verily! Those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians, whoever believes in Allâh and the Last Day and does righteous good deeds shall have their reward with their Lord, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

*Although Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet and the Messiah, it does not believe Jesus to be divine or the son of God. Muslims do not believe Christ was the "begotten son of God" and they do not accept the Trinity. According to Muslims, Jesus was a human prophet who brought mankind into closer relationship with God and each other. In the "religion-literal" sense, Christians reject the Muslim understanding of Christ as heretical.

*"What do contemporary Christianity and Islam share with each other that they do not share with Judaism?" The first and most important answer is their shared certainty in the objective existence of heaven and hell in the afterlife.

Moreover, they both believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, but disagree on the nature of Jesus' paternity in relation to the conception. Muslims believe the creation of Jesus was like the creation of Adam; they were both created by God without human fathers, but neither are seen as being the "sons of God" in the literal sense. This produces the major gap as Christianity is based on the sacrificial death of Christ [and Islam teaches that Jesus did not die.
Furthermore, Islam emphasizes that each soul is personally responsible for its salvation, and no soul can bear the burden(sins) of another.

Other Christian terms are also present in Islam, although their meanings are not always the same. These include the Second Coming, Antichrist and The Beast.

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I hesitate to add this section, and it will be brief because I do not want it to take the focus off the purpose of this page.

Some of you will be angry at this page. Some will think I am uninformed, and state that Islam is a warlike religion of violence and conquest.
It's true that I am an idealist, and that I have much to learn. That is why I am beginning this journey of exploration.

As in all religions, and in all areas of the world, Islam has extremists whose intent is to convert or to kill. I do not profess to understand how any religion which preaches peace, love and understanding can be twisted to inspire its followers to turn to these tactics and beliefs.

I feel that a lot of the bad blood between our cultures, so to speak, dates from the time of The Crusades. As I have not yet studied this era in depth, I will decline to comment on the causes of this unfortunate period in our history.
I do know neither side can say they were innocent.