Birthplace: Mecca, Saudi Arabia Founding Date: 622 CE Founder : Muhammad ( C.E.)

Islam means “to surrender”- to submit to Allah and to follow His Commands Muslim = person who submits Islam=religion, Muslim=person Allah = Arabic for God (monotheistic). In Islam, Allah has 99 names- the creator, the destroyer, the judge, the merciful, the beneficent, the everlasting, the provider, the protector, the wise, the generous…etc.

He is the Last Messenger of God Prophet, but not divine He was born in 571- and received his first revelation from Allah –through Angel Gabriel when he was 40 For 23 years he preached the message of Islam- the words of God Muslims don’t believe in pictures or statues that depict any of the prophets (including Mohammed) Why are there no images?

Sacred Texts The Books of Allah (Quran, Torah, Bible…) A Muslim believes in: Allah (God) The Prophets (Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Jesus…) The Angels (Angel of Death, The Guardians, Gabriel…) Life After Death (The Grave, Judgment Day, Heaven, and Hell…) Man is born without Sin- and has Free Will

Code of Conduct: Sharia Law: Mix of Quran teachings and Muhammad’s teachings Guide to regulate Muslims’ daily lifestyles 5 Pillars (next slide) Holy scripture of Islam Written in Arabic Teachings and knowledge of the earlier books What were the earlier scriptures? Info on how to serve and worship Allah, how to live life, how to behave, and how to treat one another Muslims believe it contains the will of Allah

Shahadah (Declaration of Faith) “There is only one God but God, and Mohammad is his last Messenger” Salat (Prayer) Muslims pray five times a day- facing East (towards the Ka’aba) Keeps evil away from man, and reminds man he is a servant of Allah Muslims pray in Mosques- or at home, or anywhere

Zakat (Giving to the Needy) Islam teaches that wealth is a trust from Allah- what you give will be given back to you It is a great sin not to share one’s wealth with the needy and to let them suffer from hunger and disease

Sawm (Fasting) The ninth month of the Islamic calendar is Ramadan- the month of Fasting Fasting begins at daybreak and ends at sunset- eating, drinking, smoking, and all temptations are to be resisted during the day. Fasting is a means of spiritual training and development Helps resist temptations and helps gain self discipline

Hajj (Pilgrimage) Muslims must make Pilgrimage to Mecca to pray at the Ka’bah at least once in their lifetime, if one can afford it, or is able to. Muslims from all around the world pray together as one.

Culture is often mixed with religion- people are told that Muslim women are ‘lesser, weaker’ and should be covered head to toe---this is not Islam, that is culture- Islam teaches that women and men should dress modestly—some women wear the hijab to show they are Muslim- and to resist temptation- and to show self respect. Not only Arabs are Muslim- there are many Arabs of many religions- and many people from around the world are Muslim. What country has the most Muslims? Extremists twist the truth- and confuse people- when a terrorist is killing someone “and saying it’s in the name of God” ---he’s killing someone, and that’s a sin- he has no faith

The universe was created in 6 stages (eons), beginning with a “big bang.” Animal life began in water and developed into what it is today through the process of evolution. Humans are not animals who developed through evolution. Humans were created through a single pair of a male and a female.

Paradise "O soul who is at rest, return to thy Lord, well-pleased with Him, well-pleasing Him. So enter among My servants, and enter My garden." (89:27-30)Paradise (firdaws), also called "The Garden" (Janna), is a place of physical and spiritual pleasure, with lofty mansions (39:20, 29:58-59), delicious food and drink (52:22, 52:19, 38:51), and virgin companions called houris (56:17-19, 52:24- 25, 76:19, 56:35-38, 37:48-49, 38:52-54, 44:51-56, 52:20-21). There are seven heavens (17:46, 23:88, 41:11, 65:12). Hell Hell, or Jahannam (Greek gehenna), is mentioned frequently in the Qur'an and the Sunnah using a variety of imagery. It has seven doors (Qur'an 39:71; 15:43) leading to a fiery crater of various levels, the lowest of which contains the tree Zaqqum and a cauldron of boiling pitch. The level of hell depends on the degree of offenses. Suffering is both physical and spiritual. (See The Quran and The Hadith)The QuranThe Hadith Being a Muslim does not keep one out of Hell, but it is not clear whether Muslims remain in Hell forever. Non-Muslims (kafir), however, will be punished eternally.kafir Islam teaches the continued existence of the soul and a transformed physical existence after death. Muslims believe there will be a day of judgment when all humans will be divided between the eternal destinations of Paradise and Hell.