The history of Islam began in Mecca in the 7th century. Farhadian (2015) notes that it is the second-largest religion since 1.3 billion adherents around the world, especially in South and Southeast Asia. Prophet Muhammad founded and led the Ummah – a Muslim community. He is the last Prophet of Allah, who received the Qur’an. After his death, four Righteous Caliphs headed to Islam – Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman who made a significant contribution to the spread of Islam, and Ali. Allah is the focus of the Qur’an, whose ninety-nine names are mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. The Qur’an declares that Allah is the creator, maintainer, judge, and ruler of the material, human and spiritual kingdoms.
In Islam, there are two of the largest and most influential branches that emerged after the death of the Messenger of Allah – the Sunnis and Shiites. Farhadian (2015) affirms that the Ummah comprises about 10 percent Shiites and 90 percent Sunnis; most Shiites live in Iran and Iraq. The main differences between them relate to issues such as the principles of power and succession, the role of Imam Ali, and secondary sacred texts, hadiths.
Muslims around the world find guidance in four additional sources: the Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad and hadiths, Sharia, and Islamic jurisprudence. The Qur’an is an absolute, perfect revelation of the word of God through the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad, consisting of 114 chapters (suras) in Arabic. Hadiths are legends about the actions and sayings of Muhammad and his companions, which constitute the Sunnah, which is the basis of the life rules of the Sharia. Islamic jurisprudence is called fiqh, the most critical foundational sources of which are the Qur’an and Sunnah (hadith). Sources of fiqh are ijma (consensus), qiyas (reasoning by analogy), ijtihad (independent decision), taqlid (following an authoritative expert). The five pillars of worship are Shahada (a confession of faith), Salat (daily prayer performed five times), Sawm (fasting), Zakat (charity), and Hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca).
Jihad is a struggle that believers wage in the path of Allah. Periods of violence have marked the expansion of Islam into non-Muslim regions. During the Crusades, the West sought to expel Muslims from Spain, Italy, and the Mediterranean. According to Farhadian (2015), for many Muslims, the memory of the Crusades lives on as an example of militant Christianity. Thus, many Muslims are hostile to the West due to their religious beliefs and historical events.
Reference
Farhadian, C. (2015). Introducing world religions. Baker Academic.