What is Islam and what do Muslims believe?

It will help at the outset to make my story plain, if at this stage I say what Mohammedanism stands for. The terms Mohammedanism and Islam are interchangeable terms. The former is the name given to the followers of Mohammed; the latter the name given to the movement by Mohammed himself. The word, Islam, is an Arabic word, denoting resignation to the will of God. The Creed of Islam is summed up in the well-known statement, "La ilaha Allah, Mohammed resul Allah," which translated into English means, "There is no God but one, and Mohammed is his prophet." This is the great rallying cry of the armies of Islam. Their propaganda is carried on with fanatical zeal. Islam is a great system based on monotheism. It is the religion of one-sixteenth of the world's population. Within eighty years of its inception, it spread over a great part of Asia with phenomenal rapidity, and later to Africa, largely through the persuasion of the sword. It is based on two cardinal points, Iman, the Faith or Creed; Din, its Practice. The Mohammedan boasts of the simplicity of his religion, and that all we need to do to obtain salvation is to know and believe its teaching, and so an abundant entrance into paradise is assured. On these two words hang all the laws and morals of Islam. The God of Islam is almighty and all powerful, but not a God of love, nor even of justice. Much stress is laid on the intellectual and metaphysical attributes of God.

The Qur'an, or Koran, called the Recitation, is the Mohammedan's great book. It urges moral response on the part of man as created by Allah, foretells the day of judgment, and depicts the tortures of the damned, and the seductiveness of a very sensual paradise for the believer. With increasing fervour Mohammed stated that he received the very words of God, ipsissima verba, through the agency of the Angel Gabriel. It teaches that salvation depends on our good deeds outweighing our bad deeds. The reading of and the hearing the Koran read is considered productive of great good. Its recitation is supposed to expiate sin. It is claimed that Mohammed is the last and greatest of the prophets, that he superseded Christ, and abrogated the four Gospels (Arabic, Injil). It is taught that Mohammed intercedes with God on behalf of his followers, and that out of Divine mercy, and consideration for the prayers of the prophet, Allah will grant forgiveness of sins.

The new religion thus announced was Islam — a word which means submission or resignation to the will of God. His doctrine was summed up in his own aphorism, "There is no God but the true God, and Mahomet is his prophet." The six main articles in the theoretical faith of Islam were: 1, belief in God, 2, in His angels, 3, in His scriptures; 4, in His prophets; 5 in the resurrection and day of judgment; 6, in predestination. The practical part of the prophet's creed was equally unobjectionable, according to the prevalent thoughts of religious observance at the time. It embraces four great precepts: 1, prayers and purification; 2, alms; 3, fasting; 4, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was held to be so essential that any one who died without performing it might as well have died a Jew or a Christian.

Following are the doctrines that every Muslim is required to believe:

God. There is only one true God and His name is Allah. Allah is all - seeing, all ‑ knowing and all ‑ powerful. Angels. The chief angel is Gabriel, who is said to have appeared to Mohammed. There is also a fallen angel named Shaitan (from the Hebrew "Satan"), as well as the followers of Shaitan, the jinns (demons). Scripture. Muslims believe in four God‑inspired books: the Torah of Moses (what Christians call the Pentateuch), the Zabur (Psalms of David), the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus, and the Qur'an. But, because Muslims believe that Jews and Christians corrupted their Scriptures, the Qur'an is Allah's final word to mankind. It supersedes and overrules all previous writings. Mohammed. The Qur'an lists 28 prophets of Allah. These include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah and Jesus. To the Muslim, the last and greatest prophet is Mohammed. The end times. On the "last day," the dead will be resurrected. Allah will be the judge, and each person will be sent to heaven or hell. Heaven is a place of sensual pleasure. Hell is for those who oppose Allah and his prophet Mohammed. Predestination. God has determined what He pleases, and no one can change what He has decreed (also known as kismet, the doctrine of fate). From this doctrine comes the most common Islamic phrase, "If it is Allah's Will."

THE FIVE PILLARS OF THE FAITH

Statement of belief. To become a Muslim, a person must publicly repeat the Shahadah: "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is the prophet of Allah." Prayer. Muslims pray five times a day‑at daybreak, noon, midafternoon, after sunset, and early evening." The Muslim must kneel and bow in the prescribed manner in the direction of the holy city, Mecca. Alms. Muslim law today requires the believer to give one‑fortieth of his profit (2.5 percent). This offering goes to widows, orphans, the sick and other unfortunates. Ramadan. The ninth month of the Islamic lunar year is called Ramadan and is the highest of Muslim holy seasons. Muslims are required to fast for the entire month. Food and drink, as well as smoking and sexual pleasures, are forbidden, but only during daylight hours. During Ramadan, many Muslims eat two meals a day, the first just before sunrise and the other shortly after sunset. During Ramadan, the believer must not commit any unworthy act. If he does, his fasting is meaningless. Pilgrimage to Mecca. This is called the Hajj and must be performed at least once in a Muslim's lifetime. However, if the pilgrimage is too difficult or dangerous for the believer, he can send someone in his place."

His wife was his first disciple, then some of his household, and then a few acquaintances, some being men of note. He imposed on his followers that they should believe in one God; in future rewards and punishments; in his being the prophet of God; in practising ablution and offering up prayers, and should promise obedience, He declared that this was not a new religion, but the religion of their ancestor Abraham, restored to its purity.

The fundamental doctrine of Mahometanism is embodied in the well-known dogma of its author, "There is no God but God, and Mahomet is his prophet." "We follow," says the Koran, "the religion of Abraham, the orthodox, who was no idolater. We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down to us, and unto Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, and the tribes." The worship of saints, and the use of paintings and images, were declared to be idolatrous, and are expressly forbidden in the Koran; while fastings, prayers, pilgrimages, frequent washings, and almsgiving are insisted upon. The following is the Mussalmans' creed, as taught in their schools at the present day. "I believe in the books which have been delivered from heaven and the prophets. In this manner was the Koran given to Mahomet, the Pentateuch to Moses, the Psalter to David, and the Gospel to Jesus. I believe in the prophets, and the miracles they have performed. Adam was the first prophet, and Mahomet was the last. I believe that for the space of fifty thousand years the righteous shall repose under the shade of the terrestrial paradise, and the wicked shall be exposed naked to the burning rays of the sun. I believe in the bridge Sirat, which passes over the bottomless pit of hell. It is as fine as a hair, and as sharp as a sabre. All must pass over it, and the wicked shall be thrown off. I believe in the water-pools of paradise. Each of the prophets has in paradise a basin for his own use; the water is whiter than milk, and sweeter than honey. On the ridges of the pools are vessels to drink out of, and they are bordered with stars. I believe in heaven and in hell. The inhabitants of the former know no want, and the houris who attend them are never afflicted with sickness. The floor of paradise is musk, the stones are silver, and the cement gold. The damned are, on the contrary, tormented with fire, and by voracious and poisonous animals."

All this pitiful nonsense had, perhaps, been better passed over in silence; but the crying sin of the great impostor remains to be spoken of. Mahomet denied the divinity of Christ. Whatever else he had to say of Him can be of little moment to the Christian — Mahomet's deepest, blackest crime was this he denied the divinity of Christ. By this he has wrecked the eternal hopes of millions of the human race; and for this he will be judged hereafter.

Mohammedanism enjoins as binding on all its adherents the following duties:

PRAYERS to be recited five times a day. These prayers are in Arabic, not understood by the common people of India. They are formulated in set forms, the exercise is simply mechanical and ritualistic.

FASTING (Arabic, Roza) is to be observed the whole of the ninth month (Arabic, Ramadan). During the days of that month, no food and drink are allowed, but liberty is given for the partaking of food and drink at night.

ALMSGIVING (Arabic, Zakath), one-fortieth of income and property is to be given to the poor every year.

Surah 4:111 declares that each person must take care of his or her own sins. The Muslim must earn salvation from sin by following the Five Pillars of the Faith. If he doesn't make it, it's his own fault: "Whoever goes astray, he himself bears the whole responsibility of wandering" (Surah 10: 109).

The key point, however, is that, whether in the East or the West, Islam is a religion of self‑reliance and self‑effort. Muslims, who are trying to follow a religion that puts the responsibility for their salvation squarely on their own shoulders (or on kismet), can only do their best and hope that Allah might have mercy on them. As people whose confidence is not in themselves but in the God who sent His Son to reconcile them to Him, Christians have incredibly good news to share with Muslims who are willing to listen.

SUMMING UP MAJOR, DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS

Regarding God: Muslims believe there is no God but Allah; Christians believe that God is revealed in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons who are coeternally God (see Matt. 3:13‑17; 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14). Regarding Jesus Christ: Muslims believe that Jesus was only a man, a prophet below Mohammed in importance, who did not die for man's sins; Christians say Christ is the Son of God, the sinless Redeemer who died and rose again for sinful man (see John 1:13,14; 1 Pet. 3:18). Regarding sin: Muslims claim that humans are born with hearts that are clean states. if they commit sins, these can be overcome by acts of the will; Christians counter that we are born corrupted by sin, spiritually dead apart from God's grace, and that no one does good apart from faith (see Rom. 3:12; Eph. 5:8‑10). Regarding salvation: Muslims say that Allah does not love those who do wrong, and each person must earn his or her own salvation; Christians contend that a loving God sent His Son to die for our sins, according to the inspired Word (see Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3,4).