The Prophet Muhammad

•Born: c. 570
•Birthplace: Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia)
•Died: c. 632 (natural causes)
•Best Known As: Founding prophet of Islam
Muhammad is the central prophet of the Islamic faith. Born into a noble Quraish (Quraysh) clan, he was orphaned at an early age. He grew up to be a successful merchant, then turned contemplative; it's said that beginning when he was 40, Muhammad was commanded by Allah (God) to recite the words that would later become Islam's holy book, the Qur'an (or Koran). As the revelations continued, Muhammad preached publicly of the duty to submit to the one true god, gaining followers and earning the enmity of the polytheistic authorities. To escape persecution, Muhammad was forced to flee in 622 to Yathrib (later called Medina). His poetic recitations and pleas for social justice continued to win converts, and Muhammad was repeatedly called into battle in his efforts to unite Arabia behind the faith known as Islam (meaning "submission"). After finally conquering Mecca in 630, Muhammad returned to Medina, where he died in 632.

The prophet's name is sometimes spelled 'Mohammed' or 'Mohamet'... To show respect, many Muslims say or write "peace be upon him" (abbreviated "pbuh") after the name of Muhammad.

Sunnah and Hadith

The men and women of the first generation of Muslims are known as "Sahaba" or "Companions" of the Prophet, since they had direct contact with the Prophet Muhammad.

They are the source of the Sunna, the words and actions of the Prophet.

Hadith is a saying of the Prophet. It begins with an "isnad" or "chain of authority" and the second part is the actual report of the event.

The hadiths have been collected into 6 main collections including the Sahih al-Bukhari, the earliest and most famous. Hadiths are classified as sound, good or weak (sahih,hasan, da'if).

The material gathered from the Sunna, together with the Qur'an forms the root of Shariah or Islamic Law.

Sira is the biography of the life of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ilm means knowledge. One who studies the religion is known as alim (the plural, ulema).

Fiqh is an Islamic term meaning understanding. It refers to the task of understanding the duties incumbent upon Muslims as revealed in the Qur'an and the Sunna, and the implications of these two sources for the individual and social actions.

A specialist in this Islamic science is known as faqih (plural fuqaha).

Shariah is the system of Divine Law that governs worship,ritual conduct, and legal matters such as contracts, marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Shariah means "Path" or "way".

There are four major schools of Islamic Law: Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi and Hanbali.

Qadi means judge.

Human actions are classified by the specialists in Islamic Law as: obligatory, recommended, disapproved, forbidden and permissible.

Religious authority in Islam resides in the Qur'an and the Sunna. There is no organized "church" and nothing comparable to the priesthood.

A mosque or masjid is the place of worship.

Caliph means "Successor" (those who followed the Prophet in leading the Islamic community).

The Islamic Community is called the Ummah.

The Qur'an

For all Muslims, the Qur'an is the word of God. It is the final and perfect revelation revealed in Arabic to His Prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel in a series of revelations that took place in western Arabia between 610 and 632CE.

The word Qur'an is derived from the Arabic verb "to recite" or "to read" and means simply "recitations, readings".

Islam means submission to the will of God.

A Muslim is one who submits.

Faith is "Iman" and a believer is "mu'min".

The essence of the Islamic faith is stated in the Fatiha, the opening of the Qur'an.

Islam is the last of the three monotheistic religions.

The Qur'an is the final revelation and Muhammad is the final Prophet.

The central message of the Qur'an is to believe in the One God and him alone. He is all powerful and all knowing.

The word for God in Arabic is Allah.

Shirk is polytheism.

Muhammad was illiterate. He proclaimed the revelations he received to his followers, who learned them by heart. Even today, many Muslims have committed the entire Qur'an to memory. One who has done so is known as "hafiz", one who has preserved. If all copies of the Qur'an disappeared, the text could be faithfully reproduced from memory.

Tafsir is commentary on the Qur'an.

The Qur'an contains 114 chapters, called suras. Each sura is divided into verses called ayas meaning "signs". Each sura has a name.

The revelations took place over a period of 23 years,in either Makkah or Madina.

The Meccan suras are short, highly charged and deeply moving.

The suras revealed in Medina are longer and often deal with issues like marriage, divorce, inheritance, and other subjects of concern to the Islamic society.

The Qur'an should only be touched by people in the state of ritual purity.

Introduction to Islam

The meaning of Islam:

Islam isn’t just a religion – it’s a way of life.

The word “Islam” is derived from the Arabic root “S L M” which means, among other things, peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious sense the word Islam means submission to the will of God and obedience to his Law.

Muslims around the world greet each other with the phrase , “as salamu alaikoom” which means “Peace be upon you” the reply being “wa alaikoom as salam” “and upon you peace.

Muslim - a follower of Islam or one who submits to the will of God.

Muslims worship Allah – Allah is the Arabic word for God.
It is incorrect to say that Muslims worship a God named Allah. A Christian or a Jew that speaks Arabic will refer to God as Allah as well. Christians and Jews worship the same God as Muslims and are referred to by Muslims as “ahl al kitab” or “people of the book” meaning that they received the revelation from God.

Some outsiders call the religion “Mohammedanism” and address the believers in Islam as “Mohammedans”. Muslims reject and protest the use of these terms because they imply that Muslims worship Mohammed. Muslims never worshipped Mohammed or any other human being. They have always believed that Mohammed was a mortal like the numerous prophets before him including Abraham, Ishmael, Issac, David, Moses and Jesus. Muslims believe that Mohammed was the last, not the only prophet, who sent the message of God to mankind.

Anyone can be a Muslim. Islam is a universal religion. To become a Muslim, all that one must do is recite the shahada or declaration of faith with conviction.

Not all Muslims are Arabs. Not all Arabs are Muslim. In fact, most Muslims are not Arab.

Today there are as many as 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, one-fifth of mankind. There are 50 countries with majority Muslim populations spreading from Morocco to China. The largest Muslim country is Indonesia. There are growing Muslim populations in Europe and the United States.

Main Beliefs of Islam (Arkan al Islam):

1. Belief in Allah – One God – Supreme and Eternal, Infinite and Mighty, Merciful and Compassionate, Creator and Provider.
2. Belief in all of the messengers (rasul) of God without any discrimination among them. 3. Belief in the Holy books including the Torah, the Bible and the Qur’an. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the only authentic, complete and uncorrupted text from God in existence today.
4. Belief in the Angels of God. Angels spend their days and nights in service of God.5. Belief in the Last Day of Judgement. On the last day, the dead will rise to stand for their final and fair trial.
6. Belief in Pre-destination - Qadr. God has a plan for each of us.
7. Belief in Heaven and Hell.

5 Rituals of Islam – The 5 Pillars of Islam
1. The Shahada or Declaration of Faith – “Ashadu inna la ilaha ila Allah wa ashadu an Muhammadan rasul Allah” There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.

2. Salat. Prayer. Muslims pray five times per day – fajr, dhuhur, asr, maghrib and isha (dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset and evening) in the direction of Mecca. Prayers must be performed in a state of ritual purity accomplished by performing wudu ( a ritual washing). The direction of prayer is called “qibla” and is indicated in mosques (masjid) by a niche in the wall called the “mihrab”. All words and movements of these prayers are set down and unchangeable. Prayers can be performed anywhere. Friday prayer or Salat al Jumaa is led by an Imam “literally one who stands in front”.

3. Zakat. Alms-giving. Charity is a form of worship and is required. 2 ½ %.
Muslims should also give voluntary alms called “sadaka”.

4. Sawm. Fasting during the lunar month of Ramadhan. The fast lasts from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. The object is to subdue the passions and draw nearer to God by purifying one’s being through self-denial. When the sun sets, Muslims gather together for a communal meal called iftar. A small meal eaten prior to the sunrise is called Sahur. Because Islam follows a lunar calendar, Ramadhan can fall during any month of the year. It goes back by 11 days each year.

5. Hajj. The Pilgrimage to Mecca. Performing the Hajj is a duty for all Muslims once in their lifetime – finance and health permitting. The Hajj takes place during the eighth and thirteenth days of the last month of the lunar calendar Dhu al-Hijja. It is a demonstration of the universality of Islam and the equality of all Muslims. It is performed to commemorate the divine rituals observed by Ibrahim and Ishmael , who are known to have been the first pilgrims to the house of God on Earth (the Kaaba at Mecca).

JIHAD IS NOT A PILLAR OF ISLAM!
Muslims celebrate two holidays – Eid al fitr and Eid al adha. Eid al fitr is celebrated at the conclusion of Ramadhan and Eid al adha is celebrated at the conclusion of the Hajj.

Duties in Islam
1. Dawah – calling others to Islam
2. Jihad – striving in the way of Allah
3. Encouraging good while forbidding wrong
Authority in Islam.
Religious authority in the Muslim community resides in the Qur’an and the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad. There is no organized “hierarchy” in Islam. Every Muslim has access to the Qur’an and in a sense is his own priest.

The Qur’an
For all Muslims the Qur’an is the word of God. It is the final and perfect revelation revealed in Arabic to His Prophet Muhammad through the Archangel Gabrial in a series of revelations that took place between 610 and 632 CE.
The word Qur’an is derived from the Arabic word meaning “to recite” or “to read”. The Qur’an is believed by Muslims to be the final revelation from God. It supersedes all that proceeds it and nothing will come after it.
The central message of the Qur’an is to believe in the One God and him alone. There is no other, and to associate anything with God, is shirk or polytheism.
The first word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was “Iqra” meaning read. The Prophet Muhammad was illiterate – he could neither read nor write. The revelation was given to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabrial , beginning in the Cave of Hira.

Muslims in America

The Muslim population in America is approximately 8 million people.

2.6% of the US population.

The majority of Muslims living in the US live in the states of:
California
New York
Illinois
New Jersey
Indiana
Michigan
Virginia
Texas
Ohio
Maryland

Within the United States - Total Muslim Population

African American 24%
Arab American 26%
South Asian 26%
Other 24%
-----
100%

*American Muslims are Younger than the general population
67% of Adult American Muslims are under 40
age American Muslims Total Americans
18 - 29 26.1% 14.1%
30 - 49 52.4% 31.1%
50 - 64 16.7% 27.7%
65+ 4.8% 27.2%


67% of the adult American population is over 40.

*American Muslims are well-educated.

67% BA or higher compared to 44% of non-Muslims

1 out of 10 households has a doctor

Muslim Total American
advanced degree 42.7% 8.6%
BA 35.2% 35.1%
some college 9.5% 32.3%
HS 10.1% 18.9%
no HS diploma 2.4% 4.7%


*American Muslims are Affluent.

Annual Income Muslim % of HH Cumulative Total

under 25K 13% 100%
25 -50K 21% 87%
50-75K 22% 66%
75-100K 18% 44%
100-150K 14% 26%
150-250K 7% 12%
+250K 5% 5%


Top 10 occupations for American Muslims

Student
Engineer
Doctor/Dentist
Homemaker
Programmer
Manager
Teacher
Small Business Owner
Researcher
Administative Assistant


Under-represented Occupations for Muslims

Journalist
Lawyer
Director/Producer/Actor

They are under represented in occupations that make public policy and influence public opinion.

Islam in America is growing by approximately 6% per year.

The Muslim population of the US is expected to reach 16 million by 2014.

Growth Factors:

Birthrate (25% larger family)
Conversions
Immigration

Where are Muslims found?

Who practices Islam?

According to a 2009 study of 232 countries:

23% of the global population are Muslim.

About 1 out of 5

1.57 Billion people world-wide are Muslim.

87% - 90% are Sunni Muslim
10% - 13% are Shia Muslim
a small minority belonging to other sects.

Islam is growing at about 2.9% per year.

It is growing faster than the world population, which grows at 2.3% annually.

57 countries are represented in the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Approximately 50 are majority-Muslim countries

Arabs account for around 20% of all Muslims

The majority of Muslims live in Asia and Africa.

62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in population - 234 million

In the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries.

In Africa, Egypt and Nigeria are the largest.

The Peoples Republic of China has the 8th highest Muslim Population (65.3 mil).