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Founder: Muhammed (570-632 A.D.)
Religious Texts: The Qur'an - this is THE authoritative word of god for the muslim. The sunna and hadiths contain information about mohammeds life and teachings.
View of God: Strict Monotheistism
Name(s) of God: Allah - Generic Arabic term for God. For the muslim, allah has 99 names. A few examples are:
- The Compassionate (al-Rahman)
- The Merciful (al-Rahim)
- The King/Sovereign (al-Malik)
- The Holy (al-Quddus)
- The Source of Peace (al-Salam)
- The Giver of Faith (al-Mu'min)
- The Creator (al-Khaliq)
- The Great Forgiver (al-Ghaffar)
- The Sublime One (al-Jali)
Teachings:
- The absolute oneness of god.
- Angels and spirits exist. Evil spirits exist, but they are not terribly powerful. According to an Islamic cosmology, evil spirits are lower than humans.
- Allah has sent prophets to teach humans his will. Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, and Jesus are all counted as prophets by muslims. The last and greatest prophet was Muhammed.
- God's prophets left mankind books of god. People who adhere to those books may be considered "people of the book".
- All people will have to stand before allah and be judged for their evil actions. If the muslim is sincerly submitted to allah, they might enter paradise.
- Whatever allah decrees will happen, will happen. Allah is completely sovereign.
- A muslim should observer the five pillars of Islam. Those pillars are as follows:
- Confession - A muslim must confess that "There is no God but allah, and Muhammed is the apostle of god."
- Prayer - A muslim is to pray at least five times a day. At sunrise, at noon, in midafternoon, at sunset, and one hour after sunset.
- Fasting - A muslim must fast during the month of Ramadan. They are not allowed to eat or drink anything during daylight hours. Muslims are allowed moderate amounts of food before and after sunset during Ramadan. During the fast, muslims are to abstain from sexual relations.
- Almsgiving - A muslim must give annual alms to the poor. Usually around 2.5 percent of your net profit.
- Pilgrimage - If possible, a muslim should visit Mecca at least once in a lifetime. The pilgrimage is called the hajj.
Muslim Line of Succession:
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