A Brief Introduction To Islam

The focus of Muslim belief is The Koran. In the strict view of orthodox Islam, The Koran was dictated by God through the Angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed, who wrote it down. The primary tenant of Islam is: There is no God but Allah. The second tenant is: Mohammed is his prophet; meaning that through Mohammed, God made his final revelation (which began with Abraham, then continued with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus). Islam places the total responsibility for what a person does on him or herself; each person is to master his/her own conduct and is completely responsible for his/her own decisions. The Koran says: "Whoever gets to himself a sin, gets it solely on his own responsibility (iv:111). Islam believes in eternal life and in a Day of Judgment on which each individual will be accountable for the way s/he lived; thence the person will go to heaven or hell.

Islam believes that each person is to walk "the straight path," to live in ways that are neither devious, crooked, nor corrupt. Islam believes that there have been 4 stages in God's revelation. First, through Abraham, God revealed the truth of monotheism. Second, through Moses, God revealed the Ten Commandments. Third, through Jesus, God revealed the Golden Rule, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Fourth, through Mohammed, God revealed the answer to the question "How should we love our neighbor?" That answer is summarized in The Five Pillars of Islam (arkan ad-din).

The first pillar is the creed of Islam (the shahadah): "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet." The second pillar is prayer (salah). A Muslim is to pray 5 times daily. Upon rising, at noon, at mid-afternoon, after sunset, and before bed. Islam has no holy day of the week (like Saturday, Sabbath, for Jews, or Sunday, Resurrection Day, for Christians). Friday is, however, the day on which Muslims traditionally have gathered at noon for prayer and for recitation of The Koran. Muslims are to pray facing Mecca. Prayer involves a ritual washing and use of a prayer rug. The third pillar is charity (zakat). Each year, each Muslim who is not poor is to give 2 ½ percent (1/40th) of his/her holdings (not income, all that the person owns) to the relief of the poor. The fourth pillar is observance of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in the Arabian calendar (a lunar calendar, so the month moves with the passage of time). It is the month in which "The Night of Power and Excellence" occurred as well as "The Hijrah" The observance involves a fast (Sawm). From sunrise until sunset, neither food nor drink are to pass a Muslim's lips during Ramadan. The fifth pillar is pilgrimage (Hajj). Once in a Muslim's life s/he is to travel to Mecca, the place where God gave humanity his final revelation.

In terms of economics, Islam established an economic order in which the poor were not forgotten, and in which children (both male and female regardless of birth order) received an equal share of inheritance. Islam abolished the lending of money at interest (although now it allows it for business enterprises, but still interest rates must be kept low). Islam asserts the principle that unearned money is not one's own.

In terms of women, Islam initially vastly improved the status of women. Women had been bought and sold; they had no say in their marriages; they had often been victims of infanticide. Islam gave women inheritance rights, final say in who they would marry, gave women rights and economic support in divorce, and gave her at least the possibility of equal rights with men. The custom of "purdah," the veiling of a woman's face and general seclusion of women was initially an effort to protect women from rapacious men. Mohammed's relationship with Khadiji speaks to his intention and it is unlikely he would have taken it to the extreme it has reached today.

In terms of war, Islam does allow for "the jihad", holy war; "the jihad" was meant to be applied to wars for justice or in self-defense. Mohammed was quite clear in The Koran, "Defend yourself against your enemies; but attack them not first: God hates the aggressor." (ii:190)