Islam Culture and Beliefs

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Islam is one of the world's greatest monotheistic religions. The followers of Islam are known as Muslims, and they believe in God, Allah. The word "Islam" is an Arabic word that means "submitting and surrendering your will to Almighty God.” The word comes from the same root as the Arabic word "salam” which means peace. Islam is the religion of about one and half billion people in the world. It is the second largest in the number of followers after Christianity. I chose this religion as a topic of my research paper because at high school in my world history class I read few things about this religion like God is one, men can have four wives, etc and those sound interesting to me, so I want to learn more about this religion.

The history of Islam centers on Muhammad, the Prophet of God. In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine. Muhammad was born around 570 A.D. and was brought up by his extended family after the death of his parents. As he grew, he became discontented with polytheism and came to believe in one God, Allah. He began to have religious visions around age 40 (Mahmoud 13). During these visions, Muhammad would receive messages from God. He would memorize them and teach them to his followers. These visions are now recorded in the holy Quran. Muhammad continued to receive these visions until his death in 632 A.D (Mahmoud 15). The Quran has 114 suras. The Quran is believed to be the last revealed word of Allah and the basic source of Islamic teachings and laws. The Quran covers a variety of issues such as creeds, morality, and history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, and human relationship in all aspects. Islam preaches faith in the oneness...

... middle of paper ...

... and before the law. Islam believes that each person is born pure. The Holy Quran tells us that God has given human beings a choice between good and evil and to seek God’s pleasure through faith, prayer and charity. Islam’s main message is to worship God and to treat all of God’s creation with kindness and compassion.

Works Cited

admin, Islam.ca. what is islam. .

History. Compare Infobase Pvt Ltd. april 2009 .

Mahmoud Omar. Muhammad: An Evolution of God. Indiana: Author House, 2008. 13-17. Print.

A-Hali, T., and Khan, M. Interpretation of the Meanings of the Noble Quar'an in the English Language. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam.

Author Sir Robert Hitcham- http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sirrobhitch.suffolk/mosque/subhaor.htm

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