Islam means ‘submission’ or ‘surrendering’ to God.
It is a monotheistic religion, meaning it is a religion that believes in One God as preached by Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) and all the preceeding Prophets.
The Qur’an is the central book in Islam, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) in Arabia during the period between 610 – 632 A.D.
Islam means ‘submission’ or ‘surrendering’ to God.
It is a monotheistic religion, meaning a religion that believes in One God and dates back to Prophet Adam, the first human being.
The Qur’an is the central book and source of guidance in Islam, containing moral messages, laws, scientific facts, theological doctrines and realities about God’s creation.
The Key pillars of Islam are divided into two sections: Muslim Beliefs and Muslim Practises.
Muslim Beliefs
Muslims are expected to understand and confirm their belief in:
- One God
- His Justice
- All the prophets he has sent to humanity
- The inheritors of the Prophets he has sent to humanity
- The notion that every human being will be resurrected and held accountable for his/her deeds.
Muslim Practises
Muslims are obliged to:
- Pray (Salat) 5 times a day
- Fast (Saum) for approximately 30 days during the month of Ramadhan
- Perform pilgrimage (Hajj) in Makkah
- Pay Khums and Zakat
- Struggle against their base desires
- Help others to perform good deeds and love the saints and righteous servants of God
Combined, these key pillars of Islam make Islam a religion of belief and action helping the individual and humanity in general to become better human beings.
Islam means ‘submission’ or ‘surrendering’ to God.
It is a monotheistic religion, meaning a religion that believes in One God and dates back to Prophet Adam, the first human being. Muslims believe that Islam is the oldest religion because the action of submitting to One God has been practised by all the great Prophets such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Nuh (Noah), Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus).
Over time, the books that were delivered by these Prophets were altered, thus corrupting the Divine message of the Oneness of God and the performance of good deeds. It was during the period of 610 – 632 AD that the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) in Arabia in order to correct all of the previous alterations and spread the authentic version of Islam to humanity.
The Qur’an is the central book and source of guidance in Islam, containing moral messages, laws, scientific facts, theological doctrines and realities about God’s creation. Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) is the final messenger to humanity who had the responsibility of elevating, not just his own Arabian society, but the whole world away from ignorance and corruption to intelligence and morality and has left human beings the accurate message of God in the form of the Qur'an, which Muslims believe must be applied alongside his own sayings and actions.
The key pillars of Islam are divided into two sections: Muslim Beliefs and Muslim Practice.
Muslim Beliefs
Shia Muslims are expected to understand and confirm their belief in:
- One God
- His Justice
- All the prophets he has sent to humanity
- The inheritors of the prophets who have been sent to humanity
- The notion that every human being will be resurrected and held accountable for his/her deeds
Muslim Practice
Muslims are expected to:
- Pray 5 times a day (Salat)
- Fast for approximately 30 days during the month of Ramadhan (Saum)
- Perform pilgrimage in Makkah (Hajj)
- Give Khums and Zakat (forms of charitable tax)
- Fight in the name of God and defend Islam (Jihad)
- Help others to perform good deeds and refrain from committing bad deeds (Amr bil Ma’ruf and Nahi ‘an al-Munkar)
- Love the saints and righteous servants of God and to reject the enemies of God (Tawalli and Tabarri)
Combined, these principles and branches (Usul and Furu al-din) make Islam a religion of belief and action helping the individual and humanity in general to become better human beings and increase their awareness of their Creator.
The Islamic vision of society is one of peace and constant awareness of God. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) informed the Makkan elite of his time not to degrade others or neglect the needy amongst them. That is why Islam is continually of relevance today because it reminds humanity of its key responsibilities towards others and how to overcome ignorance through seeking knowledge.
In this way, Islam is a universal religion, capable of adapting to differing environments and needs through offering intellectual, moral and spiritual inspiration. Islam has been the source of inspiration for scholars, scientists and artists who have viewed the Qur’an as a constant source of guidance and dynamism.