Islam began about 1400 years ago. It's the second largest religion in the world and its followers, Muslims, live by the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. Islam began in what's now Saudi Arabia in the city of Makkah. There are over a billion followers of Islam world wide, most Muslims live in the middle east, Asia, North Africa and parts of Europe. In Britain there are over one and a half million Muslims.
Muslims believe in the one almighty creator God they call Allah. Allah has given them rules for living and Muslims try hard to follow them, the example and words of the prophet Muhammad guide Muslims. There are no images of Muhammad but Muslims believe he was chosen by Allah as his messenger and that Islam was first revealed to him while he was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira near Makkah. The Angel Jibril or Gabriel appeared and told Muhammad to start speaking, the words he spoke were from Allah. The prophet continued to receive these revelations throughout his life and the written version is now the Islamic Holy text, the Qur'an.
The Islamic declaration of faith is the Shahadah, and can often be seen on the walls of a mosques. It reads "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."
The word Islam means submission, and at the centre of the Islamic faith is the belief that Muslims should obey the will of Allah. Worship can happen anywhere but often takes place in a Mosque. There is very little furniture in the mosque and no images. Everyone sits on the floor so that everyone is equal. The worship is often led by an Imam who will recite from the Qur'an and sometimes give a talk about the Holy book. Muslims pray together, using the same ritual movements and words. Men and women pray in different places so that they aren’t distracted.
Muslims can show their love for Allah by following the Five Pillars of Islam. The five pillars are: Reciting the Shahadah, Salah, praying five times a day to Allah, Zakah, giving charity to the poor, Sawm, fasting during the hours of daylight for the month of Ramadan and Hajj, making a pilgrimage or special journey to Makkah. Muslims try to follow the Five Pillars to show that they are always thinking of their religion.
The crescent is one of the best known symbols to represent Islam. It’s used on the flags of some Islamic countries like Turkey, Pakistan and Tunisia. Arabic writing is often seen in a mosque. This text is the Arabic word for Allah. It frequently appears on walls or on the top of a dome outside the mosque. Although there are no images depicting the prophet or Allah, mosques often have very beautiful decorations. The intricate patterns represent Islamic belief. Circles remind Muslims that Allah has no beginning or end. The repeated patterns remind Muslims that Allah is infinite.
At the heart of Islam is obedience to Allah the supreme being, Allah has no shape or form, he is just, all powerful, and everlasting and for a Muslim only Allah is worthy of worship.
