Gregory Gleason Course Notes: Islam

Islam is built on five pillars: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying zakat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan.
Islam means peace. Islam is the belief that there is but one God and Allah is his name and Muhammad is his Prophet.

The three fundamental unities of Islam are: God, Humankind, and Religion

The Qur'an (the “recitation”) contains 114 chapters revealed to the Prophet during a period of 23 years from 609 to 632, the year of his death. The Qur'an is arranged not in the chronological order of its revelation but according to the length of each Surah. The longest is first, and the shortest last. The divine revelations were manifested in divine inspiration, which the Prophet sometimes uttered in the presence of his companions. His words were passed on in the oral tradition of his Arabic culture. Some forty years after his death they were transcribed in the written form that has been preserved to date without change.

Bearing witness to the one and only God (shehada) Allah in Arabic denotes the one and only true God, the beginning and the end of everything, neither born nor giving birth. The Qur'an states that He is beyond human description, but is referred to in the Qur'an by ninety-nine attributes, such as the merciful, the compassionate, the forgiving. Together with the command to bear witness and acknowledge the singularity, centrality, unity, and uniqueness of God, the believer is enjoined to confess that Muhammad is God's messenger and prophet.

Religious tax (zakat) Zakat is the payment of a certain percentage of one's income to support the needy and to fulfill other community objectives. It is a combination of taxation and charity.

Fasting during Ramadan (siyam) Fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar, is required of those whose health permits. (The Islamic lunar calendar is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, thus the annual shift of Ramadan's occurrence in relationship to the Gregorian calendar.) It is a complete fast, requiring that nothing be taken into the body but needed medication.

The pilgrimage (hajj) The pilgrimage to Mecca once in one's lifetime is required of all those who have the physical and financial ability to make the journey.

Prayers (salat) The required individual prayers are said five times a day: at dawn, noon (when the sun is at the center of the sky), afternoon (when the sun is halfway to sunset) sunset, and night (after sunset but before sunrise). Muslims consider Friday the last day of Creation.

There is no formal clergy in Islam. An Imam does not necessarily have any special religious status in Sunni tradition just because he is the prayer leader. An Imam is a person whose schooling or training conferred on him special status, as is the case with a scholar, an alem (plural, ulema) Umma is the Faithful (plural, Ummat).

Allahu akbar" (God is great)

"al-hamdu lillah" (thanks be to God)

Jihad, striving

Amra-Bil-Ma’aroot, To enjoin what is right

Nahi-Anil-Munkar, Forbid what is wrong

Tawalla, love and respect the Ahl-ul-bait

Tabarra, keep away from the enemies of the Ahl-ul-bait

Taqleed—to approach a Mujthaeed for interpretation with the intent to follow the instructions. Performance of religious rites without adopting a Taqleed will be void.

Mosque, a sanctuary, a place of repose, a place of perfect equality, without regard to social position, wealth, birth.

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