Islam

Islam, meaning "submission," is currently the world's second largest religion after Christianity, claiming over a billion adherents worldwide. The faith started in the Arabic peninsula with a man named Muhammad, an illiterate caravan operator from the city of Mecca. Born in 570 AD, Muhammad from the very beginning had a keen interest in religion in general and in philosophy. He was possibly a "hanif," or worshipper of one god, likely the chief god of the Arabs known as Al-Ilhah - "The God" - now more commonly referred to as Allah.

In 610 AD Muhammad began preaching in Mecca a series of revelations he claimed to have received through the angel Gabriel while on retreat in a desert cave. The command of God to Muhammad through Gabriel was to "recite" the word being given to him. This word would later be written down in what is now known as the Qur'an, the Arabic for "recitation."

In 622 AD Muhammad and his followers fled Mecca for a city known as Yathrib where he united many of its people together under the banner of submission or Islam to the God. Yathrib would later be renamed Medina al-Nabi, or City of the Prophet, in Muhammad's honor.

By 630 AD Muhammad was able to lead a jihad, or holy war, that swept across Arabia, overtook Mecca, and eventually spread around the Mediterranean world.

Islam consists essentially of five basic teachings, or "pillars." These are Shahada, or creed, Salat or prayer, Sawm or fasting, Zakat or almsgiving, and Hajj or pilgrimage. The Shahada or creed of Islam to be confessed by every Muslim - one who submits - is short and to the point: "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet." Islam requires prayer five times a day in the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Fasting, or Sawm, is required from sun up to sun down during the yearly season of Ramadan. Almsgiving of 2 1/4% of one's income is required by all Muslims and is often collected by the government of Islamic countries. The last pillar, Hajj, is the requirement of a pilgrimage to Mecca once a lifetime if possible.

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