$JES 911 Essence of World Religions Reference Book

Author(s): Pravin K Shah
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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Essence of World Religions
Ritual Prayer (Salat): perform five times a day facing Mecca the holy city of Saudi Arabia.
Alms Giving (Zakät): support the mosque and the poor Fasting (Säwm): throughout Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, the faithful fast (abstaining from food and drink) from sunrise to sunset.
Pilgrimage (Hajj): At least once in a lifetime every believer must go to Mecca, the holy city. They go dressed in simple, seamless white garments. This is the binding force of the people who have embraced Islam.
According to Muslims, the Sharia (the way, denoting the sacred law governing the life of individuals as well as the structures of society) is derived from four sources
The Qur'an, the holy scripture
The Sunnä (customs) of the Prophet, which are embodied in the Hädith (tradition)
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Qiyas (analogy) the application of a decision of the past, or the principles on which it was based, to new questions Jma (consensus) the consensus of the community of believers, who, according to a saying of the Prophet, would not agree on any error
After the death of the Prophet Mohammed, a series of successors (Khalifä, or Caliphä, or IMAM) were chosen to rule in his place. The interpretations of Jihad (striving in the way of God), sometimes added as an additional duty, vary from sacred war to striving to fulfill the ethical norms and principles expounded in the Qur'an.
Beliefs
Allah is the Supreme Creator and Sustainer, all knowing and transcendent and yet the arbiter of good and evil, the final judge of humans.
The five Pillars of Faith:
Faith in the only God Allah and His Prophet Mohammed • Praying five times daily
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