Test Your Knowledge

Islam: A Summary

• Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion with approximately 1.9 billion adherents globally, making it the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.

• Muslims believe that Islam is the universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, among others.

• The Quran is considered to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation. Muslims also believe in the previous revelations, such as the Tawrat, the Zabur (Psalms), and the Injeel (Gospel).

• The Five Pillars of Islam are considered obligatory acts of worship and comprise the Islamic oath and creed, daily prayers, almsgiving, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca.

• Islamic law, sharia, touches on virtually every aspect of life, from banking and finance and welfare to men's and women's roles and the environment.

• Islam originated in the 7th century in Mecca and expanded outside Arabia under the Rashidun Caliphate and the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate.

• There are two major Islamic denominations: Sunni Islam (85–90%) and Shia Islam (10–15%).

• The pre-eminent holy text of Islam is the Quran, which is divided into 114 chapters and contains 6,236 verses.

• Prophets are believed to have been chosen by God to receive and preach a divine message. Muslims believe that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet to convey the completed message of Islam.

• Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or Yawm al-Qiyāmah is crucial for Muslims. On this day, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell).

• The concept of divine decree and destiny in Islam means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God.

• The Five Pillars of Islam are considered duties – the Shahada declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, the Zakat alms-giving, fasting during Ramadan, and the Hajj pilgrimage – collectively known as "The Pillars of Islam."

• Muslims also perform acts of worship such as recitation of the Quran, voluntary charity, and acts of kindness and compassion towards others.Islamic Practices and History

• The declaration of faith, or shahada, is an oath declaring belief in Islam and is required for non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam.

• Prayer, called as-salah or aṣ-ṣalāt, is a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called rakat, with five timed prayers each day that are considered duties.

• Almsgiving, called zakat, is a type of almsgiving characterized by the giving of a fixed portion of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, and is considered a religious obligation.

• Fasting is considered a duty during the month of Ramadan and precludes food and drink, as well as other forms of consumption, from dawn to sunset.

• The Islamic pilgrimage, called the "ḥajj," is to be done at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim with the means to do so during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah.

• Muslims recite and memorize the whole or parts of the Quran as acts of virtue, and Tajwid refers to the set of rules for the proper elocution of the Quran.

• Supplication to God, called ad-duʿāʾ, has its own etiquette, and remembrance of God, called Dhikr', refers to phrases repeated referencing God.

• Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 CE, and during the next 22 years of his life, he continued to receive revelations from God, becoming the last or seal of the prophets sent to mankind.

• Muhammad preached about one God and gave questionable ideas to the poor and slaves, which destabilized the social order of the Meccan elite who profited from the pilgrimages to the idols of the Kaaba.

• After 12 years of persecution, Muhammad and his companions performed the Hijra in 622 to the city of Yathrib, where Muhammad established his political and religious authority.

• The first successors, called Caliphs, are known in Sunni Islam as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn, and some tribes left Islam and rebelled under leaders who declared themselves new prophets but were crushed by Abu Bakr in the Ridda wars.

• During the early Abbasid era, scholars compiled the major Sunni and Shia hadith collections while the four Sunni Madh'habs and the Ja'fari jurisprudence were established.A Brief History of Islam

• The early years of Islam were characterized by theological debates, with different schools of thought emerging, including Muʿtazila, Māturīdism, Ash'ari, and Sufism.

• The Islamic Golden Age saw significant scientific and cultural achievements, including advancements in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, physics, economics, engineering, and optics.

• The fragmentation of the Abbasid empire led to the establishment of new dynasties, including the Tulunids in Egypt and the Ghaznavid dynasty in Central Asia.

• The Shi'a Century saw the rise of millennialist Isma'ili Shi'a missionary movements, including the Fatimid dynasty and the Qarmatians, who sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone.

• The expansion of the Muslim world continued through religious missions, trade, and migration, bringing Islam to new areas and cultures.

• The introduction of gunpowder weapons led to the consolidation of previously splintered territories and the rise of the Muslim gunpowder empires, including the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.

• Islamic modernism emerged as a response to Western imperialism, embracing modern values and institutions while being scripture-oriented.

• Forerunners of Islamic modernism influenced Islamist political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the AK Party.

• The globalization of communication has increased the dissemination of religious information, leading to the rise of popular "televangelist" preachers and more individualized interpretations of Islam.

• As of 2015, about 24% of the global population, or about 1.8 billion people, are Muslims, with Sunni Muslims accounting for 87-90% and Shia Muslims accounting for 10-13%.

• Islam is the world's fastest-growing major religious group and is projected to be the world's largest by the end of the 21st century.

• Islam has drawn converts from all walks of life, with the majority of new Muslim converts in Britain being women and in the US being African-Americans.

• Muslim minorities have faced persecution, including by communist and nationalist forces, and religious authority has been co-opted by the state in some countries.Overview of Islam and its Denominations

• Islam is the second-largest religion in the world and is projected to become the largest by 2050.

• The two main denominations of Islam are Sunni and Shia, with Ibadi Islam being a smaller denomination.

• Sunni Islam is the largest denomination and is characterized by adherence to one of the four traditional schools of jurisprudence and a textualist understanding of the Quran and Sunnah.

• Shia Islam split from Sunni Islam over the question of Muhammad's successor and recognizes specific spiritual leaders known as Imams.

• Ibadi Islam is a small denomination associated with Oman and is sometimes considered a moderate variation of the Kharijites.

• Non-denominational Muslims are those who do not identify with a specific Islamic denomination.

• Sufism is a mystical-ascetic approach to Islam that seeks a direct personal experience of God and is considered an inseparable part of Islam by its adherents.

• Sharia is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition and is derived from the Quran and Hadith.

• Schools of jurisprudence or madhahib differ in their methodology and are used for interpreting law.

• Islam has no clergy in the sacerdotal sense, with religious interpretation presided over by the 'ulama.

• Islamic economic jurisprudence prohibits hoarding of wealth and led to the development of Islamic banking.

• Charity is an important aspect of Islamic governance and was distributed by the state in the past.

• Jihad is a term used to describe striving or struggle in the way of God and can refer to spiritual self-perfection or warfare.

• Adab, or etiquette, is an important aspect of daily life in Islam, with specific prohibitions on certain foods and a focus on health as a trust from God.