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God created the universe and everything within it, including humans

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God is faith and reason of pure, divine life and freedom

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The essence and identity of Christianity

At its most basic, Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus Christ. In this context, faith refers both to the believers' act of trust and to the content of their faith. As a tradition, Christianity is more than a system of religious belief. It also has generated a culture, a set of ideas and ways of life, practices, and artifacts that have been handed down from generation to generation since Jesus first became the object of faith. Christianity is thus both a living tradition of faith and the culture that the faith leaves behind. The agent of Christianity is the church, the community of people who make up the body of believers.

To say that Christianity "focuses" on Jesus Christ is to say that somehow it brings together its beliefs and practices and other traditions in reference to a historical figure. Few Christians, however, would be content to keep this reference merely historical. Although their faith tradition is historical-i.e., they believe that transactions with the divine do not occur in the realm of timeless ideas but among ordinary humans through the ages-the vast majority of Christians focus their faith in Jesus Christ as someone who is also a present reality. They may include many other references in their tradition and thus may speak of "God" and "human nature" or of the "church" and the "world," but they would not be called Christian if they did not bring their attentions first and last to Jesus Christ.

While there is something simple about this focus on Jesus as the central figure, there is also something very complicated. That complexity is revealed by the thousands of separate churches, sects, and denominations that make up the modern Christian tradition. To project these separate bodies against the background of their development in the nations of the world is to suggest the bewildering variety. To picture people expressing their adherence to that tradition in their prayer life and church-building, in their quiet worship or their strenuous efforts to change the world, is to suggest even more of the variety.

Given such complexity, it is natural that throughout Christian history both those in the tradition and those surrounding it have made attempts at simplification. Two ways to do this have been to concentrate on the "essence" of the faith, and thus on the ideas that are integral to it, or to be concerned with the "identity" of the tradition, and thus on the boundaries of its historical experience.

Modern scholars have located the focus of this faith tradition in the context of monotheistic religions. Christianity addresses the historical figure of Jesus Christ against the background of, and while seeking to remain faithful to, the experience of one God. It has consistently rejected polytheism and atheism.

A second element of the faith tradition of Christianity, with rare exceptions, is a plan of salvation or redemption. That is to say, the believers in the church picture themselves as in a plight from which they need rescue. For whatever reason, they have been distanced from God and need to be saved. Christianity is based on a particular experience or scheme directed to the act of saving-that is, of bringing or "buying back," which is part of what redemption means, these creatures of God to their source in God. The agent of that redemption is Jesus Christ.

It is possible that through the centuries the vast majority of believers have not used the term essence to describe the central focus of their faith. The term is itself of Greek origin and thus represents only one part of the tradition, one element in the terms that have gone into making up Christianity. Essence refers to those qualities that give something its identity and are at the centre of what makes that thing different from everything else. To Greek philosophers it meant something intrinsic to and inherent in a thing or category of things, which gave it its character and thus separated it from everything of different character. Thus, Jesus Christ belongs to the essential character of Christianity and gives it a unique identity.

If most people are not concerned with defining the essence of Christianity, in practice they must come to terms with what the word essence implies. Whether they are engaged in being saved or redeemed on the one hand, or thinking and speaking about that redemption, its agent, and its meaning on the other, they are concentrating on the essence of their experience. Those who have concentrated from within the faith tradition have also helped to give it its identity. It is not possible to speak of the essence of a historical tradition without referring to how its ideal qualities have been discussed through the ages. Yet one can take up the separate subjects of essence and identity in sequence, being always aware of how they interrelate.

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Christianity | Definition, Origin, History, Beliefs, Symbols, Types, & Facts

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Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth in the 1st century CE. It has become the largest of the world's religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused. Learn about the history of Christianity, its doctrines, and the major Christian traditions.

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"The day when the life of every human being will be assessed to decide whether they go to heaven or hell."

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"The divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others."

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The Muslim year is based on Lunar calendar.

(Ramadhan)
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and a time when Muslims across the world will fast (do not eat) during the hours of daylight.

The Muslim year is a lunar (moon) year, so Ramadan moves forward by ten or eleven days each year. The day Ramadan begins is decided by the sighting of the new moon.

Muslims believe that the gates of Heaven (Jannah) are open and the gates of Hell (Jahanam) are locked for the duration of Ramadan.

During Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the time when the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Ramadan is a time of worship and contemplation. A time to strengthen family and community ties.

Every Muslim is expected to fast from sunrise to sunset. Muslims must not eat or drink during daylight hours. During Ramadan Muslims get up early before dawn (Fajr) and have a light meal. This time is known as Suhoor.

At the end of each day (Maghrib), Muslims traditionally break their fast with a meal called the iftar. Following the custom of Prophet Muhammad, the fast is often broken with dates, then followed by a prayer and dinner.

Ramadan concludes with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr.

(Id-ul-Fitr)- The festival for the first day after Ramadan.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the breaking of the fast for Muslims at the end of Ramadan. Lasting three days, it is a time for family and friends to get together, for celebrating with good food and presents for children, and giving to charity.

The Festival of Sacrifice which occurs 70 days after Eid-al-Fitr.Eid ul-Adha is the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar. It is to remember the time when Abraham was going to sacrifice his own son to prove obedience to God and marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca). It takes place on the 10th day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar.

Dhu Al-Hijja:
The month of pilgrimage during which all Muslims, at least once in their life, should try to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Al Hijra:
The Islamic New Year begins on the day Muhammad left Mecca to travel to Medina.
Calendar of Religious Festivals 2008

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The Muslim year is based on Lunar calendar. (Ramadhan) Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and a time when Muslims across the world will fast (do not eat) during the hours of daylight. The Muslim year is a lunar (moon) year, so Ramadan moves forward by ten or eleven days each year.

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God wrote the 10 Commandments on stone tablets and gave them Moses to share with all the Israelites soon after they left captivity in Egypt ( Exodus 20:1-26). Moses reiterated them 40 years later in Deuteronomy 5:1-22 as the Israelites neared the Promised Land.

Though God wrote the 10 Commandments thousands of years ago, they still influence our society today.

Modern Significance of the 10 Commandments

The law given to Moses provided the foundation for a new Israelite society, they provided the foundation of personal and property rights found in our modern legal system. Jewish tradition holds that all 613 laws found in the Torah are summed up in the 10 Commandments.

Though Christians do not believe fulfilling the law is required for salvation, they still view the 10 Commandments as the foundation of God's moral law. Jesus called people to an even higher standard by obeying the commandments not only in their actions but also in their hearts. For instance, Jesus quoted the command to not commit adultery ( Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18)

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" ( Matthew 5:27-28).

What Are the 10 Commandments in the Bible?

Scholars agree that the 10 Commandments, or more literally "10 Words," are found in Exodus 20:1-26 and Deuteronomy 5:1-22, but they debate the division of the commands because there are more than 10 commands!

In Hebrew scrolls, the text is typically written in a format that is justified in columns. The 10 Commandments stand out because they are right and left side justified but there are large white spaces in the middle of the text. This "parashah setumah" spacing in the text highlights the importance of these words.

In English translations, a new paragraph is started after each commandment. The unusual Hebrew spacing has led to differences in counting the 10 Commandments in Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic tradition. (See the chart on page 31 of The Ten Commandments Reconsidered.)

List of the 10 Commandments in the Bible
Thou shall not have any other gods before God, Thou shall not murder, Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not testify or bear false witness against your neighbor, Thou shall not covet Thou shall not make yourself an idol, Thou shall not take the Lord's name in vain, Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, Honor your Father and Mother
The Commandments about the Lord God

The first several commandments kept the Lord God as the focus. God created the world and everything in it. He knew what was required for a successful, holy life.

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

"You shall have no other gods before me.

"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name" ( Exodus 20:2-7).

The initial commandments start with the relationship with the "Lord your God" ( Exodus 20:2). God told his people he was their Lord, Master, and their Creator God. They should have no other gods, and they should not make idols. They should not misuse his name. These commands were a dramatic change from the Egyptian view of deity. During captivity in Egypt, they worshipped Pharaoh and other Egyptian deities like Ra, Anubis, and Osiris.

A Warning against Worshipping Idols

You may have noticed a warning regarding the importance of obeying the commandments; disobedience would result in "punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." ( Exodus 20:4-5)

God wanted his people to know that their choice either to obey or disobey his commands would influence their lives and even the lives of their grandkids.

This warning may seem vindictive, but it wasn't meant to be harsh; any more than warning a kid walking along the edge of a sheer cliff face, "If you get too close to the edge of the cliff, you could fall and break your neck and die." The warning is not harsh. It is realistic, serious injury is likely in such a dangerous situation. And rejecting God's commands would have serious consequences.

The Sabbath: Connecting God and His People

The Sabbath provides a bridge between our relationship with God and the following commandments, which address our relationships with other people.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" ( Exodus 20:8-11).

God commanded his people to take the Sabbath for their benefit. God "blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." This phrase in the 10 Commandments is a quote from the creation account in Genesis 2:3, "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested."

God wants us to delight in His Word, enjoy his creation, celebrate beauty and love, and rejoice in the harvest. God intended for his people to enjoy their relationship with Him and each other by valuing the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is set apart to connect with God and with other people. No one was excluded from the command to rest - even foreigners, servants, and livestock were called to take a break from work on the Sabbath. It was to be a blessing for all of creation.

The Commandments about Our Relationships with Other People

Leaving captivity in Egypt meant establishing a new society. The law established healthy boundaries based on respect for God and other people, rather than on brute strength.

Read through these laws and imagine how they would help develop a healthy community.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

"You shall not murder.

"You shall not commit adultery.

"You shall not steal.

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor" ( Exodus 20:2-17).

Honor Your Father and Mother. Our relationship with our parents is the foundation for our future relationships and choices. Here's how Paul explained to new believers in Ephesians that the choice to honor your parents has consequences like enjoying a long life.

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother'-which is the first commandment with a promise- 'so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth'" ( Ephesians 6:1-3).

Parents are their kids' first teachers. Kids learn to honor their parents by seeing their parents honor God and His commandments.

Do Not Lie. After establishing healthy relationships with God and family, the next commandments dealt with relationships with other people.

Living in a healthy community meant respecting others' boundaries. Lying devalues and disrespects another person by not telling the truth.

Do Not Steal. God's people were also commanded to not steal. In a time when "might makes right," they were to respect each other's property rights.
Here are 15 Bible Verses Every Christian Should Know By Heart for you to download or share with loved ones!
Do Not Murder. Then God commanded his people to not murder. Because people are made in the image of God, life has value. Murder is an intentional act that says that a person's life has no value compared to another's priorities.

An interesting note is that God did not say, "Do not kill." Hebrew has nuances that take into account the difference between murder and an accidental death or an act of war.

You Shall Not Commit Adultery. God commanded his people to be faithful in marriage and to respect other people's vows as a model of faithfulness in relationship with God. Adultery devalues the commitment made between a husband and wife and to God. Interestingly, God's command to not commit adultery was an equal standard for men and women.

In the New Testament, Jesus called his followers to faithfulness in marriage ( Matthew 5:27-28, Mark 10:11-12). Paul explained to the Corinthians how to avoid sexual immorality by being faithful to one's spouse.

"But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband" ( 1 Corinthians 7:2).

You Shall Not Covet. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor" ( Exodus 20:17).

Why would God include coveting in the same list as murder, stealing, and adultery?

God knew that coveting a neighbor's servant, ox, or wife was a steppingstone to ungratefulness and discontentment - even lying, stealing, murder, and adultery. Focusing on what others have diminishes our ability to appreciate the good things in our lives.

Why Were the 10 Commandments on Two Tablets?

According to Exodus 32:15, God engraved both sides of the tablets. Many people wonder which words were written on the stone tablets and if the first tablet contained commands 1-5 and the second contained 6-10. Other scholars divide the list between the first two commandments and the following eight based on the word length of the text.

The 10 Commandments are evidence of a covenant between God and his people. Some scholars think that both tablets contained identical copies of the same commands just we have two copies of a legal document.

Two Greatest Commandments from Jesus

In simple terms, you could summarize the 10 Commandments given to Moses in the two "greatest commandments" given by Jesus: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself." As Jesus continued, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." ( Matthew 22:40)

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. ~ Mark 12:28-34

Teachings of the Ten Commandments

I think the first thing we need to do is understand who the author of all law is, and that of course is God. And here's where we now fall back to our theology and understand God and his attributes. If indeed, God is perfect, which he is and he must be, then we need to think about God as the author of law. First, I think we need to step back and remember natural law. If God is the author of both mosaic and natural law, those laws cannot contradict one another, or else the perfect God has two separate and distinct laws. So what we must remember is natural law is that non-saving law, that all of humanity, every man, woman, boy, or girl has written on their heart or what we'd call the conscience. And so everyone, even though Romans 1 says that "Everyone gladly distorts the truth with a lie," everyone knows that there is a God. He is a perfect God. He is righteous and holy. He is to be served and worshiped. And that there is punishment for not coming to him according to his desires.

What mosaic law is, one, it cannot contradict natural law. And so what it is, it is a special revelation view or exa Jesus, if you will, of natural law, because it tells us the exact same thing, except in a salvific manner, that God is holy. He is righteous. And that he, his laws are righteous. And the only way to him is through perfection or righteousness, according to his law, which of course we do not possess through the fall. And so the only way back to God, the father, is through Jesus Christ, the son, the one who perfectly observes all law, mosaic and natural.
This article is part of our Bible resource for understanding the significance and meaning of biblical phrases and ideas. Here are our most popular Bible articles to grow in your knowledge of God's Word: Promises of God in the Bible
Is "This Too Shall Pass" in the Bible?
What Was the Ark of the Covenant?
Top 10 Bible Stories for Kids

The 10 commandments are the embodiment of the mosaic law. It is not as though these 10 are the only 10. In fact, when you look at Exodus chapter 20, all the way through 25, you will see in fact, all the way through the Pentateuch, law after law after law. The 10 commandments are those 10 words in Hebrew, which are the embodiment of the mosaic legislation or the mosaic covenant.

And so it's these laws that those who are inside the mosaic covenant are now obligated to abide by. And of course in Exodus, chapter 24, Moses repeats the law. And he also repeats the blessings and the curses of the covenant. And then of course, he offers a sacrifice, splashes some of the blood on the altar, and then he splashes the blood on the people who are under an obligation of the covenant. And so, those 10 commandments in and of itself in the strictest sense, they belong to the mosaic covenant. However, because they're tied to and are the further exa Jesus of natural law, therein lies that which all of humanity is under. So in that sense, yes, all of humanity, Christians, and non-Christians, are under natural law. And through these laws, through these 10 commandments through natural law, God teaches that he is holy, that he is righteous, that there is one God, he is perfect. And he is a God of order and that he must be worshiped rightly and according to his mandates rather than our own.

Sources

Bar-IlanUniversity, "Counting the Ten Commandments and Writing Them on the Tablets." Yogev Bar-Gad. 2017.

Britannica.com, "Exodus: Old Testament." The Editors. 2014.

JewFAQ.org, "Aseret ha-Dibrot: The 'Ten Commandments.'" Tracy Rich.

Smith, James E., Ph.D. The Ten Commandments Reconsidered. Pg. 31. 2016.

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

"Iron Sharpens Iron" in Proverbs 27:17
"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" in Psalm 139
"Be Still and Know That I am God" in Psalm 46:10
"No Weapon Formed Against Me Shall Prosper" - Isaiah 54:17

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What Are the 10 Commandments? Their Meaning and Significance

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God wrote the 10 Commandments in the Bible on stone tablets and gave them Moses to share with all the Israelites soon after they left captivity in Egypt (Exodus 20:1-26). Moses reiterated them 40 years later in Deuteronomy 5:1-22 as the Israelites neared the Promised Land.

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Set of principles and ethics written in the holy bible

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2.2 Billion people

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2.5 Billion

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Submission to the will of God

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The Trinity

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The Five Pillars of Islam

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Following the birth of the Prophet Muhammad Islam started to spread from Saudia Arabia

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2.1 Billion followers world wide

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Jesus Christ

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"Surrender, Submission, Commitment, and Peace"

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Followers believe in 1 god

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Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago.

For ease of navigation, we include as Christian any group that sincerely regards itself as Christian, and whose beliefs are based on the teaching of Jesus.

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Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. For ease of navigation, we include as Christian any group that sincerely regards itself as Christian, and whose beliefs are based on the teaching of Jesus.

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Christianity originated in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born circa 4 B.C.E. in Roman-occupied Palestine, a Jewish province of the Roman Empire.

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The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam:

1. Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam. This phrase, written in Arabic, is often prominently featured in architecture and a range of objects, including the Qur'an, Islam's holy book of divine revelations. One becomes a Muslim by reciting this phrase with conviction.

2. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter (sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat used expressly for this purpose (see image 24). Muslims can pray individually at any location (fig. 1) or together in a mosque, where a leader in prayer ( imam) guides the congregation. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on Friday; women are welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur'an, followed by prayers by the imam and a discussion of a particular religious topic.

3. Alms (zakat). In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.

4. Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink. Through this temporary deprivation, they renew their awareness of and gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives-including the Qur'an, which was first revealed during this month. During Ramadan they share the hunger and thirst of the needy as a reminder of the religious duty to help those less fortunate.

5. Pilgrimage (hajj). Every Muslim whose health and finances permit it must make at least one visit to the holy city of Mecca, in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Ka'ba, a cubical structure covered in black embroidered hangings, is at the center of the Haram Mosque in Mecca (fig. 2). Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction (qibla) when they pray. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered around the Ka'ba in Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of the Islamic calendar.

RELATED AUDIO FROM THE GALLERY GUIDE
Sheila Canby: The call to prayer reminds pious Muslims five times a day to make their prayers to God. Imam Shamsi Ali, from the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, recites it for us in his beautiful voice.

[Recitation]

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The Five Pillars are the core beliefs and practices of Islam.

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Islam is a monotheistic faith centered around belief in the one God (Allah). In this regard, it shares some beliefs with Judaism and Christianity by tracing its history back to the patriarch Abraham, and ultimately to the first prophet, Adam. All the prophets preached the same universal message of belief in one God and kindness to humanity. The last in the series of prophets, according to Muslims, was Muhammad. Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia around 570 CE. He worked first as a shepherd and then as a merchant. He was not happy with the people around him because of superstitions and social and economic injustice. The people were worshipping many gods and had forgotten the message of prophet Abraham to worship one God. Muhammad loved to pray and meditate in the mountains. On one of those occasions, in the year 610 CE, when he was about 40 years old, he received a revelation from God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). He continued to receive messages from God throughout his life and he began preaching to others what he had learned. His main message is that there was no other God but Allah and that people should lead their lives in a way that was pleasing to Allah.

Islam spread quickly first throughout Arabia and surrounding countries and then throughout the world. There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world with 7 million in the United States. Only about 18% of Muslims are Arabs and live in the Middle East. The countries with the largest Muslim populations are Indonesia and India. There are two basic groups of Islam: the Sunnis (about 80% of the world's Muslims) and the Shi'ites (about 20% of the world's Muslims). Although they share the same basic beliefs, they disagree on who was the rightful leader of Islam after Muhammad's death.

Islam is an Arabic word which means "surrender, submission, commitment and peace." Thus, Islam can be defined as a path to attain complete peace through voluntary submission to the divine will.

"Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God. He is the same universal God worshipped by people of all faiths. The word "Allah" is sometimes preferred over God because it is neither masculine nor feminine. Also, there is no plural for "Allah."
Muslims have six major beliefs:

Belief in one God (Allah)

Belief in the Angels

Belief in the holy books sent to all the prophets including Torah that was revealed to the prophet Moses, Bible that was revealed to the prophet Jesus, and Qur'an (Koran) that was revealed to the prophet Muhammad

Belief in all the prophets sent by God including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Although Muslims believe in Isa or Jesus they don't think of Jesus as the Son of God the way Christians do.

Belief in the Day of Judgment and life after death. The best reward for performing good deeds is getting closer to God.

Belief in divine decree. This means that God is all-powerful and nothing can happen without His permission, however, he has given human beings freedom to choose whether to be good or bad. In the end, everyone will be questioned about how they lived in this life.

These are guides for daily life for putting the beliefs of Muslims into practice:

Shahadah (declaration of faith)-to bear witness or testify that there is no god except one God (Allah) and Muhammad is His prophet or messenger.

Salat (ritual prayer)-the five daily prayers are performed at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and night. The prayers are offered in Arabic language and facing the direction of Mecca.

Zakah (alms tax) -Giving 2.5% of one's wealth to the poor and needy.

Sawm (fasting)-Muslims fast during the daylight hours in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar called Ramadan. The purpose is to remind people of the goodness of what they have and to show equality with the poor. Ramadan is a time for study and self-discipline.

Hajj (pilgrimage): Muslims believe in making a pilgrimage to Mecca to the Ka'bah at least once in their lifetime. The kA'bah is believed to have been built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and one of his sons. Muhammad restored it to worship Allah. For this reason it is a very sacred place to Muslims.

Muslims believe that the last revealed scripture sent by God is the Qur'an or Koran. It is the speech of God revealed in the Arabic language to Muhammad during his mission of twenty-three years. The Qur'an was written down by scribes and memorized during the lifetime of Muhammad. The Qur'an emphasizes moral, ethical and spiritual values with the aim of establishing justice for everyone. Many Muslims try to learn to read the Koran in its original language, Arabic. It is not uncommon for Muslims to memorize whole chapters of it. They read part of it every day. The Sunnah is a record of Muhammads words and deeds. The Sunnah is used to help interpret the Koran. There is also instruction in it on belief, worship and behavior.

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Islam is a monotheistic faith centered around belief in the one God (Allah). In this regard, it shares some beliefs with Judaism and Christianity by tracing its history back to the patriarch Abraham, and ultimately to the first prophet, Adam. All the prophets preached the same universal message of belief in one God and kindness to humanity.

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Islam, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century ce. The Arabic term islām, literally "surrender," illuminates the fundamental religious idea of Islam-that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of islām) accepts surrender to the will of Allah (in Arabic, Allāh: God). Allah is viewed as the sole God-creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. The will of Allah, to which human beings must submit, is made known through the sacred scriptures, the Qurʾān (often spelled Koran in English), which Allah revealed to his messenger, Muhammad. In Islam Muhammad is considered the last of a series of prophets (including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus), and his message simultaneously consummates and completes the "revelations" attributed to earlier prophets.

Retaining its emphasis on an uncompromising monotheism and a strict adherence to certain essential religious practices, the religion taught by Muhammad to a small group of followers spread rapidly through the Middle East to Africa, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Malay Peninsula, and China. By the early 21st century there were more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. Although many sectarian movements have arisen within Islam, all Muslims are bound by a common faith and a sense of belonging to a single community.

This article deals with the fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam and with the connection of religion and society in the Islamic world. The history of the various peoples who embraced Islam is covered in the article Islamic world.

The foundations of Islam

The legacy of Muhammad

From the very beginning of Islam, Muhammad had inculcated a sense of brotherhood and a bond of faith among his followers, both of which helped to develop among them a feeling of close relationship that was accentuated by their experiences of persecution as a nascent community in Mecca. The strong attachment to the tenets of the Qurʾānic revelation and the conspicuous socioeconomic content of Islamic religious practices cemented this bond of faith. In 622 ce, when the Prophet migrated to Medina, his preaching was soon accepted, and the community-state of Islam emerged. During this early period, Islam acquired its characteristic ethos as a religion uniting in itself both the spiritual and temporal aspects of life and seeking to regulate not only the individual's relationship to God (through conscience) but human relationships in a social setting as well. Thus, there is not only an Islamic religious institution but also an Islamic law, state, and other institutions governing society. Not until the 20th century were the religious (private) and the secular (public) distinguished by some Muslim thinkers and separated formally in certain places such as Turkey.

This dual religious and social character of Islam, expressing itself in one way as a religious community commissioned by God to bring its own value system to the world through the jihād ("exertion," commonly translated as "holy war" or "holy struggle"), explains the astonishing success of the early generations of Muslims. Within a century after the Prophet's death in 632 ce, they had brought a large part of the globe-from Spain across Central Asia to India-under a new Arab Muslim empire.

The period of Islamic conquests and empire building marks the first phase of the expansion of Islam as a religion. Islam's essential egalitarianism within the community of the faithful and its official discrimination against the followers of other religions won rapid converts. Jews and Christians were assigned a special status as communities possessing scriptures and were called the "people of the Book" (ahl al-kitāb) and, therefore, were allowed religious autonomy. They were, however, required to pay a per capita tax called jizyah, as opposed to pagans, who were required to either accept Islam or die. The same status of the "people of the Book" was later extended in particular times and places to Zoroastrians and Hindus, but many "people of the Book" joined Islam in order to escape the disability of the jizyah. A much more massive expansion of Islam after the 12th century was inaugurated by the Sufis (Muslim mystics), who were mainly responsible for the spread of Islam in India, Central Asia, Turkey, and sub-Saharan Africa ( see below).

Beside the jihad and Sufi missionary activity, another factor in the spread of Islam was the far-ranging influence of Muslim traders, who not only introduced Islam quite early to the Indian east coast and South India but also proved to be the main catalytic agents (beside the Sufis) in converting people to Islam in Indonesia, Malaya, and China. Islam was introduced to Indonesia in the 14th century, hardly having time to consolidate itself there politically before the region came under Dutch hegemony.

The vast variety of races and cultures embraced by Islam (an estimated total of more than 1.5 billion persons worldwide in the early 21st century) has produced important internal differences. All segments of Muslim society, however, are bound by a common faith and a sense of belonging to a single community. With the loss of political power during the period of Western colonialism in the 19th and 20th centuries, the concept of the Islamic community (ummah), instead of weakening, became stronger. The faith of Islam helped various Muslim peoples in their struggle to gain political freedom in the mid-20th century, and the unity of Islam contributed to later political solidarity.

Sources of Islamic doctrinal and social views

Islamic doctrine, law, and thinking in general are based upon four sources, or fundamental principles (uṣūl): (1) the Qurʾān, (2) the Sunnah ("Traditions"), (3) ijmāʿ ("consensus"), and (4) ijtihād ("individual thought").

The Qurʾān (literally, "reading" or "recitation") is regarded as the verbatim word, or speech, of God delivered to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. Divided into 114 suras (chapters) of unequal length, it is the fundamental source of Islamic teaching. The suras revealed at Mecca during the earliest part of Muhammad's career are concerned mostly with ethical and spiritual teachings and the Day of Judgment. The suras revealed at Medina at a later period in the career of the Prophet are concerned for the most part with social legislation and the politico-moral principles for constituting and ordering the community.

Sunnah ("a well-trodden path") was used by pre-Islamic Arabs to denote their tribal or common law. In Islam it came to mean the example of the Prophet-i.e., his words and deeds as recorded in compilations known as Hadith (in Arabic, Ḥadīth: literally, "report"; a collection of sayings attributed to the Prophet). Hadith provide the written documentation of the Prophet's words and deeds. Six of these collections, compiled in the 3rd century ah (9th century ce), came to be regarded as especially authoritative by the largest group in Islam, the Sunnis. Another large group, the Shiʿah, has its own Hadith contained in four canonical collections.

The doctrine of ijmāʿ, or consensus, was introduced in the 2nd century ah (8th century ce) in order to standardize legal theory and practice and to overcome individual and regional differences of opinion. Though conceived as a "consensus of scholars," ijmāʿ was in actual practice a more fundamental operative factor. From the 3rd century ah ijmāʿ has amounted to a principle of stability in thinking; points on which consensus was reached in practice were considered closed and further substantial questioning of them prohibited. Accepted interpretations of the Qurʾān and the actual content of the Sunnah (i.e., Hadith and theology) all rest finally on the ijmāʿ in the sense of the acceptance of the authority of their community.

Ijtihād, meaning "to endeavour" or "to exert effort," was required to find the legal or doctrinal solution to a new problem. In the early period of Islam, because ijtihād took the form of individual opinion (raʾy), there was a wealth of conflicting and chaotic opinions. In the 2nd century ah ijtihād was replaced by qiyās (reasoning by strict analogy), a formal procedure of deduction based on the texts of the Qurʾān and the Hadith. The transformation of ijmāʿ into a conservative mechanism and the acceptance of a definitive body of Hadith virtually closed the "gate of ijtihād" in Sunni Islam while ijtihād continued in Shiʿism. Nevertheless, certain outstanding Muslim thinkers (e.g., al-Ghazālī in the 11th-12th century) continued to claim the right of new ijtihād for themselves, and reformers in the 18th-20th centuries, because of modern influences, caused this principle once more to receive wider acceptance.

The Qurʾān and Hadith are discussed below. The significance of ijmāʿ and ijtihād are discussed below in the contexts of Islamic theology, philosophy, and law.

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Islam | Religion, Beliefs, Practices, & Facts

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Islam, major world religion that emphasizes monotheism, the unity of God ('Allah' in Arabic), and Muhammad as his final messenger in a series of revelations. As the literal word of God, the Qur'an makes known the will of God, to which humans must surrender (lending the name Islam, meaning 'surrender').

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Islam - Five Pillars, Nation of Islam & Definition

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Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of Islam to the 7th century, making it the youngest of the major world religions.

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Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

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There are different branches of Christianity because some Christians worship in different ways.

What are the different branches (denominations) of Christians?

There are several denominations of the Christian faith, however all Christians share common beliefs.

Church of England - Anglicanism
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England.

Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the western world. It can trace its history back almost 2000 years.

Baptists
For Baptists, the church is not just a particular place or building, but rather a family of believers, committed to Christ, to one another and to the service of God in the world.

Methodist
The calling of the Methodist Church is to respond to the gospel of God's love in Christ and to live out its discipleship in worship and mission.

Orthodox The Orthodox Church shares much with the other Christian churches in the belief that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection.

Seventh-day Adventist
The belief which makes Seventh-day Adventists really stand out, though it is not the most important part of the faith, is the belief that Saturday is the Sabbath (the day of worship)

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