World Religions in a Nutshell (9 page)

Background

Approximately 1,500 years ago in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a man named Muhammad was contemplating inside a cave when he claimed he was visited by an angel named Gabriel. The angel gave him messages, and continued to reveal things to him over a 23-year period. Muhammad used these teachings to form the basis of a religion called Islam. The word “Islam” means “surrender” or “submission.” People who believe the teachings of Islam are known as Muslims.

Yet Muslims do not believe that Muhammad and his followers were the first Muslims. Others mentioned in the Bible—such as Abraham (Koran, 3:67)—were Muslims, even though they lived hundreds of years before Muhammad.

In fact, Muslims believe that Islam was the original religion from the time of creation, and that Adam was the first prophet of Allah. Other biblical characters such as Noah, Moses, David, Solomon, John the Baptist, and Jesus were also prophets of Allah. In all, there have been about 124,000 prophets sent for specific times, but Muhammad is considered the last and the greatest, and is known as the “seal of the prophets.”

After Muhammad’s death, his followers disagreed on who should be his successor, and they divided into two main groups: the Sunnis and the Shi’ites. About 85 percent of the world’s Muslims are Sunnis and 15 percent are Shi’ites. The two branches differ somewhat in their practices and traditions.

Scriptures

Muslims believe their holy book, the Koran (or Quran), was dictated to the Muslim prophet Muhammad by an angel from Allah. Muhammad recited the messages to his followers, who either wrote the words down or memorized them. The Koran was not arranged into the form of a book until after Muhammad’s death. Sometime later, a Muslim leader collected all the writings that were part of the official Koran,
and he ordered other versions to be burned.

The Koran is divided into 114 chapters, called suras, which cover the topics of ethics, history, law, and theology. It is slightly smaller than the New Testament. Although the Koran is printed in many languages, Muslims believe Arabic
is the language of Allah, and that the true meaning of the Koran can be fully learned only in Arabic. Muslims who memorize the Koran usually memorize it in Arabic, even if they don’t understand the language. Because they believe it is the word of Allah, Muslims handle copies of the Koran with great care. They wash their hands before reading it, and
they keep it in a safe place—never on the floor. In Muslim countries, anyone who intentionally damages a Koran can be arrested.

Islam teaches that Allah was the source of both the Bible
and the Koran. Muslims believe that some of the previous prophets were given books that are considered to be divinely
inspired:

1) The
Tawrat
(Torah), given to Moses

2) The
Zabur
(Psalms), given to David

3) The
Injil
(Gospel), given to Jesus

4) The Koran, given to Muhammad

Muslims are taught that the first three have been corrupted, so to correct the errors Allah appointed Muhammad
to receive the Koran. It supersedes all previous revelation, and Allah has preserved it from corruption. (Perhaps this would be a good question to ask a Muslim: If all books were originally true and given by Allah, who is able to preserve his word, why is he able to keep the Koran free from corruption, but he wasn’t able to preserve the first three?)

In addition, Muslims try to live as Muhammad did by following the
hadith
, collections of records of the things Muhammad and his companions did and said. Several
hadith
collectors gathered reports of Muhammad’s life, similar to the different Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life.

Who Is God?

Like in Christianity and Judaism, Islam teaches monotheism—a belief that there is only one God. Muslims worship Allah, who they believe created the universe in six days and is in complete control of all things. While he is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, Muslims believe that Allah himself is not knowable, and they cannot have a personal relationship with him. Rather than fellowship with
Allah, Islam is concerned only with allegiance to him and total submission to his will.

The Koran does not say that Allah seeks to redeem those
lost in sin, and it states repeatedly that he does not love sinners (Sura 3:32; 4:107).

The Muslim belief that there are no gods other than Allah is recited daily in the
shahada
. Like with Judaism, they believe in God’s absolute oneness and reject the Trinity. To ascribe any partners to Allah is to commit the unforgivable sin of
shirk
.

Who Is Jesus?

Muslims believe that, prior to Muhammad, Allah sent many
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. The Koran
does acknowledge Jesus’ virgin birth, holy life, and many miracles, but says He was no more than a man. Jesus (whom
they call Isa) must never be called “God,” “Lord,” or the “Son of God.” The Koran has many verses stating that Jesus is not the son of Allah, and adds that anyone who says Allah has a son is a liar (Sura 37:152). Many Muslims think calling Jesus “the Son of God” means that Allah had physical relations, which is highly offensive.

The Koran teaches that Jesus did not die, but was taken directly to heaven. Muslims believe that Allah would not allow Jesus, a prophet, to die on the cross. Such a death would mean defeat—if Jesus were killed, that would mean He failed and His enemies won. So they believe someone else, possibly Judas, was made to look like Jesus and died on the cross in place of Jesus. Of course, since they believe Jesus didn’t die, then He also did not rise from the dead.

Heaven and Hell

Muslims believe that everyone will attain either the punishment of Hell or the reward of Heaven (Paradise).

“
For those who reject Allah, is a terrible Penalty: but for those who believe and work righteous deeds, is Forgiveness, and a magnificent Reward.” (Sura 35:7)

Hell is where unbelievers and sinners will spend eternity. One translation of the Koran states: “The unbelievers among the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures” (Sura 98:1–8).

The “magnificent reward” that Muslims hope to achieve is Paradise—“gardens of bliss” where they will be joined by their spouses (resurrected as virgins) and waited on by immortal youths. There they will enjoy sensual pleasures: choice food and drink, nice clothes and jewelry, lovely companions, and beautiful virgins (Sura 56:12–37).

Sin and Salvation

Muslims believe human beings are born sinless and are good by nature. Since they don’t have a fallen nature, they don’t think they need a Savior. They depend on their own efforts to please Allah.

Muslims believe that Allah will judge everyone on Judgment Day according to their deeds (helping others, testifying to the truth of God, leading a virtuous life). If they have done more good deeds than bad, they hope Allah will forgive their sins and let
them into Paradise when they die. But they can’t be sure.

The Koran tells them that the good deeds they do will cancel out bad deeds (Sura 11:114), but no one knows how many good deeds are enough. Although they believe they can ask Allah to forgive their sins, Allah may or may not forgive them. The Koran says,
“
Allah...punishes whom he pleases and forgives whom he pleases” (Sura 5:40).

Because the tally of good deeds vs. bad is known only to Allah, Muslims cannot know whether they are saved until Judgment Day. The Koran says:

“
Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will be successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in hell will they abide.” (Sura 23:102–103)

To go to Paradise, the Koran says Muslims should believe in Allah, the prophets of Islam, the Koran, angels, and Judgment Day (Sura 4:136). They must repent and obey Islamic law, but even doing those things will not necessarily assure Muslims of salvation.

In other words, though Allah is frequently called Forgiving and Merciful in the Koran, forgiveness and mercy don’t appear to be applied to the sinner’s account—sin must still be atoned for by each individual’s works.

Muslim Customs

All Muslims have five important duties that they are obligated to fulfill. These duties, called the “Five Pillars,” are referred to by their Arabic names:

1.
Shahada
: Confess the faith by reciting, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.”

2.
Salat
: Pray five times a day at specific times while facing the city of Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad. Wherever they live, all Muslims must face Mecca during their times of prayer, and perform ceremonial washing beforehand. The five daily prayers are recited in Arabic.

3.
Zakat
: Give money to help the poor. Muslim adults are required to give 2.5 percent of their wealth to charity every year. Some Muslim youth do volunteer work as a form of helping the needy.

4.
Sawm
: Fast from sunrise to sunset during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, to remember the giving of the Koran to Muhammad. After sunset, Muslims may get together with family and friends to eat a meal called
iftar
. Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan with a three-day festival called
Eid al-Fitr
. Schools and businesses close in Muslim countries for the holidays.

5.
Hajj
: Take a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once if possible. Mecca is a holy city for Muslims; by law, non-Muslims may not enter it. On the road to Mecca, highway signs direct non-Muslims to exit before reaching the city. Once a year, approximately 2 million Muslims from all over the world come to Mecca for the
Hajj
, a ritual lasting several days. For many Muslims, the
Hajj
is the high point of their lives.

The Five Pillars form the framework for the Muslim’s life and practice. Faithfully adhering to these pillars is how Muslims hope to satisfy Allah and achieve salvation.