Matheus Louly Caixe

REL3308

Daniel Alvarez

04/22/2020

Final Essay Question #3

 Islam is a religion founded by the prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century. The

foundations of Islam are represented in the Koran. It is a monotheistic religion, therefore, the

faithful of that religion believe in the existence of only one god, called by them Allah. The word

“Islam” comes from the Arabic term Islam, which means “submission”, and that term derives

from “salaam”, which means peace, a concept that in Arabic denotes a condition of spirit. The

adept of Islam is known as Muslim or Muslim, a term that comes from “Muslim”, an Arabic

word that means “submissive”. So, in the logic of Islamic faith, the Muslim is one who is

submissive to Allah

Islam is made up of several fundamentals and principles just like any other religion.

The first concept and can be considered very important, are the Five Pillars. Islam is based on

Five Pillars and they are in sequence basically due to the order in which they were put into

practice during the revelation of the religion of Allah, in its final format, Islam. Shahada is the

individual's gateway to Islam and no person is considered a Muslim without having done so. It is

naturally made by the Muslim every day, during prayers and supplications. It consists of saying

"There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God". It is the mandatory prayer

of Muslims, known as salat, which must be practiced 5 times a day at specific times, according to

the position of the sun. During the salat the Muslim recites the Koran and makes supplications

prescribed by the Prophet Muhammad, according to what was revealed by God to him. Zakat is

the compulsory donation of 2.5% for those who are able to pay it, that is, who have value of

goods above 85 grams of gold. The amount is paid on the part that exceeds those 85 grams of

gold and is generally paid to institutions that distribute the amounts among the poor and needy.

Fasting in the month of Ramadan lasts for the entire lunar month of Ramadan and should be

practiced by every Muslim with the ability to fast, starting the fast before the sun rises and
ending after the sun goes down. The pilgrimage trip to Mecca must be made at least once in a

lifetime by Muslims with conditions to do so. In the Pilgrimage, several rituals are practiced

according to the Abrahamic tradition of the pilgrimage, this pillar being started with the Prophet

Abraham on his visits to Mecca.

It is possible to analyze more fundamentals, taking into account what religion preaches as

a belief. It is possible to believe that Islam has a foundation that idolatry is something sinful,

where one cannot worship false gods, nor make statues or images of anything on earth or in the

heavens. Another factor that stands out a lot as a belief is salvation, doing good deeds and being

fair to others. You will also have a final judgment by God, believing in eternal punishment and

also in paradise. Another great reason is that in Islam there are no temples to attend, but

mosques, where it can be anywhere where the individual stops to say his prayers; it can be a

bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, where there is a concentration of Muslims praying, it is

considered a mosque.

To conclude then these fundamentals of Islam, it is possible to perceive that it is very

similar to Christianity and Judaism, having basically similar beliefs, with different details. Each

religion has its foundations and principles, which take into account the respect generated by

something greater (in this case God).