The Holy
The Text
The Community
The Practice
The Celebration
100

'Islam' derives from the Arabic word 'Salaam' which has these two meanings.

"peace" and "surrender"

100

This is the original language of the Qur'an and the reports of the Prophet's Sunnah (his state of being, demeanor, actions, and utterances other than revelation from God).

Arabic

100

Islam was founded in this year in the city of Mecca (Makkah) when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was age 40 and received the first revelation from Allah through the angel Gabriel.

610 CE

100

A common Muslim greeting is, "Assalaamu Alaikum," which means this.

The response is, "Wa-Alaikum Assalaam".

"Peace be upon you"

100
Each of the five obligatory prayers begins with a "Call to Prayer". 

Then, the worshipper recites of the first chapter of the Qur'an (7 verses), another passage, and bows holding their knees, a process followed by two prostrations. This procedure is repeated two, three, or four times depending on which of the five prayer times is involved. The worshipper then sits with their legs folded under them while praising the Prophet (PBUH) and his descendants and Abraham (PBUH) and his descendants, turning their face to the right and then the left, each time saying this.

"Peace and God's mercy be on you"

200
This is the word 'God' in Arabic.


Allah

200

The Qur'an was revealed by God to this person.

Muhammad (PBUH)

200

The Muslim community was fully established in 622 CE after he migrated to this city.

Hint: The date of this migration marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar

Medina

200

These are the Five Pillars of Islam:

1. Shahada

2. Salat

3. Sawm

4. Zakat

5. Hajj

1. the profession of faith "There is no god but Allah (God) and Muhammad is the messenger of God.

2. Daily prayer (5 appointed times of day)

3. Fasting in the month of Ramadan (no food or drink from sunrise until sunset)

4. Making an annual almsgiving offering

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime (if health and financial conditions permit it)

200

In order to become a Muslim, one must declare their intention, believe in their heart and declare these words. It is preferable to have witnessed present.

"There is no deity except Allah (the One God) and that Muhammad is His Prophet."

300

This word literally means "struggle" and refers primarily to the personal, spiritual struggle to submit to the will of God and to resist the inhuman tendencies in one's self.

jihad (the Greater Jihad)

300

While the chain of prophets begins from Adam and includes Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Jesus (peace be upon them all), this is the main and final prophet of Islam.

Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Adbul Muttalib (Peace Be Upon Him)
300

These are the two major sects of Islam. This division arose as a disagreement over the succession to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), not as a prophet but as the head of the Muslim state. Whereas the majority believed in picking a ruler based on popular will and a contract between the ruler and the ruled, a minority believed that succession should have been hereditary and must remain within the family of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Shi'a

and 

Sunni

300

Muslims use this salutation when referring to any prophet.

Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH)

300

This is one of the main holidays in Islam. It is the day after the last fast of Ramadan when congregational prayers are conducted. 

Eid al-Fitr

400

In Islam, God has no form and no gender. This is a feature shared with Judaism but not shared with Hinduism and Christianity. In Hinduism and Christianity, God is believed to be incarnate in at least one form on earth.

Nevertheless, in Islam God is revered by this number of "Beautiful Names", including 'the One', 'the Creator', 'the Source of Peace', and 'the Self-Subsisting'. 

99

400

The Qur'an was revealed through this Archangel.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God and the final revelation to all humanity.

Gabriel

400

While there is no complete "dress code", during prayer men must cover their body except for their arms, feet, and head, and women must cover their this and entire body except hands, face, and feet.

Hint: I will provide each of the women in our group with a hijab for our visit to Masjid Muhammad and Dhuhr (midday prayer experience).

head 

400

Halal (lawful) food is wholesome. 

Prohibited (haram) foods include the following five categories:

1. Flesh of dead animals that have died by any means except being slaughtered in the prescribed way.

2. this

3. All these products

4. Food items that are dedicated by prayer to or sacrificed in the name of another God

5. This and other mind altering substances

2. Blood

3. Pork products (including those used to create non food products or for other uses)

5. Alcohol

400

Congregational prayers on this day are always communal, while prayers may be performed privately or communally each of the five times on other days.

Friday

500

This movement (not a sect) are Muslims who through extra prayer and meditation and remembrance of God, wish to deepen their experience of God and at a very deep level obliterate their selfhood into the being of God.

Sufi 

500

This is the term for the oral report of the sayings and actions of the Prophet (PBUH). It does not have the status of scripture, but it is nevertheless considered essential for defining Islamic modes of behavior and religious regulations.

Hadith

500

While doctrinal differences have become numerous and fixed, these two groups of believers accept each other's legal foundations as valid and can pray in mixed congregations and often intermarry.

Sunni and Shi'a

500

Formal prayer in Islam involves the entire body and soul such that each person must make wudu, meaning this.

ablution (ritual washing of hands, mouth, nose, arms, feet and wetting the neck and hair)

500

While there is no class of clergy in Islam, any Muslim may serve as this, or a leader of prayers. If they are knowledgeable, they may officiate any religious function.

Imam

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