What is Islam?

Islam (1.2 billion adherents) is one of the major world religions that, along with Christianity (1.9 billion adherents) and Judaism (14 million adherents), teaches monotheism which is the doctrine that there is only one God in all existence.  Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam traces its roots back to the patriarch Abraham (Gen. 12).  The word "Islam" means "surrender" or "submission"1 and it comes from the root word "salam" which means "peace."  A Muslim (or Moslem - which means one who surrenders to God) is an adherent of Islam, a religion with precise theological doctrines about God, judgment, heaven, hell, angels, prophets, salvation, etc.  The Arabic word for god is "allah" which has become a kind of name of God in Islam.  Islam teaches that Allah is the one and only deity in all existence (Qur'an 5:73; 112:1-4).  He is supreme, all knowing (40:20), ever-present, different from all of creation (3:191), and in complete control of all things.  According to Islam, Allah created the universe in six days (2:29; 25:61-62) and all that is in it continues to exist by his permission and will.  Allah is non-Trinitarian (5:73), absolute, and eternal.  
     The Koran (or Qur』an, which means "the reading" in Arabic) is the sacred book of Islam and is broken up into 114 chapters called Suras which cover the subjects of ethics, history, law, and theology.  It is highly revered by Muslims as the direct, literal word of God.  The Qur'an (also spelled Quran and Koran) was delivered by the angel Gabriel (also known as the Holy Spirit) to Muhammad over a 23 year period after Muhammad's initial encounter with Gabriel in a cave when he was 40 years old.  Muslims consider Muhammad (full name of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah) to be the final prophet of God to the world.  Muhammad was born in 570? AD in Mecca and died in 632 AD.  
     Second only to the Islamic belief in the unity/oneness of God is the supremacy of Muhammad as Allah's prophet.  But, Islam acknowledges that several prophets preceded Muhammad.  The major ones are Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus.  These prophets gave revelations from God which were written as scriptures; mainly, the Old and New Testaments. These predecessors to Muhammad are considered great prophets who spoke for God to specific people and whose message was meant for that time.  Jesus, then, was simply one of many prophets according to Islam.  Therefore, they deny the Christian doctrine of the deity of Jesus, the need for His atoning sacrifice (4:157-158), the Trinity (5:73), and much more.  According to Islam, no sacrifice is needed to be forgiven, only faith in Allah, sincere repentance, and obedience to Islamic law (3:135; 7:8-9; 21:47; 49:14; 66:8-9).  In fact, in Islam, the greatest of sins, called shirk, is to attribute "partners" to God.  In other words, to say that God is a Trinity of persons is an unforgivable sin to a Muslim.
    In addition to the Qur'an is the Hadith.  It is another source of authority in Islam, though it is secondary to the Qur'an.  The Hadith are the sayings and deeds of Muhammad as recorded by his companions.  They are oral traditions and are considered authoritative and instructive as commentaries and applications of Qur'anic principles.  The Hadith has additional principles not found in the Qur'an.  The Hadith are the inspired truths of God transmitted to us in the  and words of Muhammad where the Koran is the exact words of God which is supposed to be protected from corruption by Allah.
     In Islam, all Muslims are united by the common faith irrespective of class, location, race, or gender. Therefore, they have a special bond of unity and equality.  The primary "truth" of Islam is found in the the first pillar of Islam known as the shahda: "There is no true God except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
     Islamic theology also teaches that angels were created from light, that jinn are another race of beings, created from fire, who are invisible yet all around us, that there is an eternal judgment to Paradise for the good and hell for the bad, that Jesus was never crucified, that drinking alcohol is forbidden as is gambling, etc.
     Within the first two centuries after its inception in Arabia, Islam spread very quickly, often aided by sword (jihad2), into North Africa, up through Europe to Spain, and east to India.  Presently, about 1 billion people are Muslim world wide with adherents on every continent and nation.  It is the world's fastest growing religion and second in size only to Christianity.
     Like most ancient religions, there are sects. Islam is no different. The major sects in Islam are the Sunnites and the Shiites. The Sunnites are the largest group and comprise about 90% of all Muslims. The Shiites, though smaller in number, are significant in Islamic history and presently occupy the lands of Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi-Arabia, Yemen, and Persian Gulf states.
     The most important place of worship for the Muslim is the Mosque which is always pointed towards Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad which is located in Saudi Arabia.  All Muslims must face Mecca during their times of prayer because in Mecca is the Ka'aba, a cube structure allegedly built by Abraham which contains a sacred stone.  When a Muslim is in Mecca, he or she faces the Ka'aba.
     Many Muslims hope for shari'ah the complete rule of Islamic law in the world.  To this end, Muslims are seeking more converts, attacking other religious systems both by the sword and by word, moving into every nation, and seeking political power wherever they can achieve it.  Islam is a growing reality.

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1.  ". . . The One (True) God; To Him do we submit" (Qur'an 2:133).

2.  Jihad means "striving."  Fighting against one's own sinful self.  Also, a physical fight for the truth of Islam, not allowing anyone to steal the ability to worship.  It also means "holy war."

Islamic Terms

Adhan - The call to prayer.
Ahmad - Another name for Muhammad.
Allah - The Arabic word for "god."  It is often used as a name for God in Islam.
Badr - The place of the first significant battle between and the pagans of the Quraish.  It is located in Saudi Arabia.   
Caliph - A Muslim ruler.   
Dajjal - Antichrist.
Dawah - The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.   
Din - Obedience to the revelation of Allah's Qur'an (Koran).  It involves total submission.
Fatwa - Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
Fiqh - Religious law.
Hadith - The sayings and deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his followers.  Considered authoritative and perfect.  A saying is called a Sunnah.
Hajar - The Black Stone set into the corner of the Ka'aba in Mecca.  Tradition states it fell from heaven.
Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar.  One of the five pillars of Islam.
Hawijah - The sixth level of hell which is the place for Christians.
Hegirah - Muhammad's immigration to Medina.  It begins the Muslim calendar.
Hijrah - Moving from a land where a Muslim cannot practice his faith to a land where he can.
Ibadah - All the words and deeds with which Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.
Iblis - Satan, a fallen Jinn.
Imam - The political head of an Islamic state.   
Injil - The inspired sayings of Jesus.  The message of Jesus.
Islam - Submission, the religion of all the prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.
Jannah - The heavenly garden, Paradise.  The place of the faithful in the afterlife.
Jihad - Striving.  Fighting against one's own sinful self.  Also, a physical fight for the truth of Islam, not allowing anyone to steal the ability to worship.  It also can mean "holy war."
Jinn - Supernatural, invisible beings race of beings, below angels.  They were made from fire and are capable of looking like humans or animals.  Some may dwell in rocks, trees, etc, and may possess black dogs, and black cats.  There are good and bad Jinn and all will be judged on Judgment Day.
Ka'aba - A cube shaped building in Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael.  All Muslims face this cube when praying.
Koran - Also spelled Qur'an.  The holy book of Islam given to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel.  Koran literally means "the recital."  It is the final revelation of Allah given to the prophet Muhammad.  It has 114 surahs, or chapters.
Kufr - Disbelief
Khutbah  - A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.
Maksiat - Sinful act
Masjid - A center for Muslim activity.  It is like a local mosque.
Mecca - The Holy City of Islam.  It is the birthplace of Muhammad.
Medina - The city, then called Yathrib, that Muhammad fled to after announcing Islam.
Mosque - A Muslim house of worship.
Muhajir - Immigrant, one who leaves his home town to join a Muslim community.
Muhammad - the final messenger/prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations.  He received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period.
Muhammad ibn Abd Allah - the full name of Muhammad.
Muslim - Someone who holds to the religion of Islam.
Nas - The multitude of people who are not dedicated to Allah and sway to and fro to various teachings.
Nasara - A word used in the Koran to designate those who are Christians.
P.B.U.H. - A shortened designation for "eace be upon him" which is placed in writing or said after the word "Muhammad" is used.
Paradise - Another word for heaven.  A garden (79:41) of bliss and fruit (69:21-24), has rivers (3:198), with maidens pure and holy (4:57), and carpets and cushions, (88:8-16).  It is the hope of all Muslims.
Qadar - Preordainment is the teaching that all things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.
Qatl - Murder
Qibla - The direction which Muslims turn for daily prayers, towards Mecca.
Quraish - An ancient Arab tribe to which Muhammad once belonged.
Rakat (rak'ah) - One complete cycle of sacred words and gestures during the ritual prayer.
Ramadhan - The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the month of the fast.
Salat - Prayers
Sawm - Fasting
Shi'ites - A sect of Islam that teaches that leaders should be political rulers.   
Shirk - Associating another god with Allah.  Associating anything with Allah that is not true and revealed in the Koran.
Sirq - Theft
Sufi - A sect of Islam.  It is very mystical and teaches strong self denial with the hope of union with God.
Sunnah - The life, practices, and sayings of Muhammad recorded as examples of perfect conduct in society, religion, action, etc.  They contain the Hadith.
Sunnis - One of the sects of Islam
Surah - A chapter of the Koran.   
Taghut - Everything that is worshipped or followed other than Allah.
Taiyib - Pure, clean, wholesome.
Taqwah - Proper fear and veneration of Allah.  A divine spark that enables the person to understand God.
Tauhid - Monotheism in Islam is the teaching that there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship.
Tauhid-ar-Rububiyah - Declaring that God is one, the sovereign who performs all his will.
Tauhid-al-Uluhiyah - Declaring that God is the only one worthy of worship.
Ummah - A religious community, usually referring to an Islamic one.
Umrah - A Minor form of pilgrimage to Mecca.
Wa Alaikum Assalam - The Arabic way of saying "peace be upon him."
Zaboor - The Psalms
Zakat - The third pillar of Islam.  Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.
Zinah - Fornication and adultery.
     These words were collected from numerous websites

True faith in Islam

      The pillars of the faith of Islam can be compared to the concept of a Statement of Faith, or Articles of faith.  These are Islamic concepts of essentials of the faith.

Allah
Allah is the supreme being of all. He is uncreated, the creator of all, without beginning or end. He is completely sufficient to himself and needs no other. He does not have offspring nor a spouse. He knows all things, is everywhere, and is all powerful. He hears all prayers. Everything that occurs, does so by his permission.
His Angels
Angels reside in the unseen world and carry out the commands of Allah. They cannot sin. Muhammad stated that it was the angel Gabriel that brought the message of the Koran to him.
His Messengers
People who have been sent from Allah to a particular group of people for the purpose of giving to them the message revealed by Allah. Some of them are Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and, of course, Muhammad. Islam teaches that all messengers previous to Muhammad were sent to limited people groups where Muhammad was sent to all people.
His Books
Islam recognizes many sacred scriptures that have been given by Allah throughout history. However, Muslims claim that only the Quran is trustworthy and that the other scriptures have been compromised because we do not posses their original manuscripts. They assert that the accounts of the Bible were written down hundreds of years later and cannot be considered inerrant, and they were written in ancient languages which have been lost. Therefore, exact translations are not possible. Nevertheless, the scriptures recognized in Islam are:
The Koran - The Koran (Qur'an) is the inspired word of Allah given to people through the Prophet Muhammad and it supercedes all other scriptures before it including. It alone is inerrant and trustworthy as a revelation for today. It is unchanged from the beginning.
The Torah -the first five books of Moses.
The Injil - the gospel message of Jesus in the New Testament
The Psalms - the sacred writings given to David.
The Last Day
There is a future day in which this world and its governments and systems will come to end and all people will face judgment based upon their deeds. Muslims go to paradise and non-Muslims go to hell.
Divine Preordainments good or bad
In Islam, Allah is completely control of all things and ordains all things that occur.

The word Islam means "surrender" or "submission" and it comes from the root word "salam" which means "peace."

A Muslin (or Moslem which means one who serrenders to God) is an adherent of Islam.

The Arabic word for god is "allah" which has become a kind of name of God in Islam.

According to Islam, Allah created the universe in six days and all that is in it continues to exist by his permission and will.

Allah is non-Trinitarian, absolute, and eternal.

The Koran (or Qur'an, which means "the reading" in Arabic) is the sacred book of Islam.

According to Islam, no sacrifice is needed to be forgiven, only faith in Allah, In Islam... the greatest of sins, called shirk,... to say that God is a Trinity of persons is an unforgivable sin to a Muslim.

On the Last Day, this world and its governments and systems will come to end and all people will face judgment based upon their deeds. Muslims go to paradise and non-Muslims go to hell.