Being a Christian, I developed an interest in understanding the Islamic religion ad the various beliefs that they hold onto. I, therefore, choose to interview a fellow workmate who was a Muslim. I asked him to give me the various beliefs and practices that they hold onto in their religion. After work, I requested him to accompany us to a food court where we shared various beliefs of our religions as we passed the time at the food court having a drink. The interview was open. I conducted it in a free manner as we carry on with our talk on the various religious beliefs among the various religions that exist. I was curious to note the differences and similarities that can be compared to our Christian beliefs. I also wanted to understand the reason for the jihad practices among the Islams, an activity that claims people’s lives. Yet, it is considered religiously right among the Islams.
Islam religion is basically based on the Judeo-Christian religions, where it holds the beliefs on one God’s existence. They believe in Allah as their only God, with Muhammad as his prophet. Similarly, they believe Adam was the first prophet after creation, where Abraham, Moses, Noah, and Jesus were the other prophets that Muslims believe in. Muslims that the angel Gabriel made revelations to Muhammad, who then translated the revelations into the Quran, the holy book for the Muslims. They hold onto strong grounds that Jihad is a struggle that enforces Allah’s commands and, therefore, can practice it at a personal and community level to enforce Allah’s requirements. Like any other religion, Muslims have their own denominations, with Sunni being the largest where the denomination is characterized by accepting that the first four caliphs succeeded Muhammad legitimately. Other major denominations are the Wahabi, a sect of the Sunni common in Saudi Arabia, Shiite, Alawite, Israel, and the Kharijites. Basically, the Islam religion is the second largest religion coming second after Christianity, with an estimated population of 1.8 billion in research conducted in 2015. The largest Islam population is located in Indonesia, with Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh being other Islam populations’ strongholds. Islam has five pillars that make the religion unique. The five pillars are the Profession of Faith (shahada), Prayer (Salat), alms (zakat), Fasting (sawm), and Pilgrimage (hajj).
The profession of faith is a pillar among the Islams where they believe in a single God, Allah. Th belief states that “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.” The saying is popular among the Arabic calligraphy, and it can easily be found on religious buildings and manuscripts such as the Quran, the holy book. Muslims are expected to recite the phrase wholeheartedly to prove their faith as Muslims, as those who fail to recite are considered not to be Muslims. Every Muslim must recite the phrase at least once in their lifetime aloud before Muslim leaders receive a full credit to become a Muslim. However, it is considered that a person can recite the phrase being alone in centrally to the requirements for witnesses. Some Muslims believe that if a person is real between himself and Allah recites the phrase and keeps it, and they are considered Muslims in Allah’s sight.
Prayer, known as salat, is the other pillar that Muslims hold onto. Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca, at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and dark. In the prayers, the Muslims recite the first chapter of the Quran, known as Sura. Usually, the act is performed on a mat where they are aligned in parallel rows behind the Imam or the person guiding the mosques’ prayer session. However, prayers are mostly performed in togetherness in the mosques. Muslims can also pray from a private place where they need to observe the various practices during the prayer session.
As commonly known as Zakat among the Muslims, Muslims are required to give specific portions of their income to be donated to the community members with various needs. The practice applies to Muslims who meet the various criterion for the contribution. The cat needs to be charitable since the Islam religion is focused on oneness. The contribution they give is considered a ta for their incomes to Allah as Allah requires that the able persons need to care for the needy and poor in society. Even though Zakat is a requirement from Allah, the Muslims believe that the giving will cleanse the incomes that the Muslims make from the various impurities such as the acquisition’s impure ways. Muslims believe that giving purifies the givers’ soul, their possessions and makes them pleasing to Allah.
Facing, also known as Sawn among the Muslims, is where Muslims are required to facts during Ramadan’s daylight hours. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar where healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from foods and drinks. During the fasting period, Muslims are expected to renew their awareness and gratitude for the various favors in their lives from Allah. The Quran having been first revealed during the month of Ramadan, Islams believe that the month is holy and they need to express their concerns for the disadvantaged persons in the society. Therefore, during the month, the Muslims share the hunger and thirst of the needy to remind themselves of their duty to help the less fortunate persons in society.
Pilgrimage (hajj) refers to the requirement for all the persons with the finanv=cial capability and health required to visit Mecca’s holy city, presently Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lifetime. There is a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings located at the Haram Mosque center found in Mecca and is referred to as the Ka’ba. It is common among the Islams that the Ka’ba was the house that Abraham built for Allah, and they face in its direction when they pray. In most cases, people worldwide have been gathering around the Ka’ba every eighth and twelve-day of the last month in the Islamic calendar to pray as they face its direction.
In conclusion, the interview enlighted the various aspects of the Islam religion, where the religion has certain beliefs that may align with Christian beliefs. The religion is monotheistic, where they believe in one God by the name Allah similar to Christians where Christians hold onto the sole beliefs on God as the only supreme being. Islams believe that Jesus was a prophet of Allah, while Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God. According to the Muslims, Adam was the first prophet God used to make revelations to, with Abraham, Moses, Nah, and David being other common prophets among the Christians and the Islams. Islams hold onto five pillars that they believe in guiding their religion. Hajj, Sawm, Zakat, Salat, and Shahada are the five pillars that guide the Muslim religion. However, from the interview, I noted that Islam religion could be compromised on its ethics where Jihad is religiously accepted as an act of revenge among the Muslims. The act is committed both from a personal level to a community level enforcing Allah’s various requirements. The act involves taking away innocent souls. The act can be condemned as illegal among other religions. The level of commitment among the Muslims is recommendable, where they hold onto many practical beliefs that they require to be fulfilled in ensuring the continuity of the religion. Some practical practices, including facing Mecca while in prayers, holding prayers five times a day, and having a whole month for fasting. Islams believe that they are obligated to serve Allah maximally and therefore hold the various beliefs that they feel please Allah, such as helping the needy during the month of Ramadan and making contributions of their incomes to sustain the poor and the needy in the society.