Islam1A

ISLAM Devyn, Cali & Eva The word Islam means ‘submission to God’, ‘peace’, and ‘way to peace’. Islam is the second largest religion and one of the fastest growing religions in the world. It is a monotheistic religion. Muslims believe God is incomparable and the purpose of life is to worship God. God is described and referred to by certain names or attributes, the most common being al-rahman, meaning the compassionate” and al-rahim meaning “the merciful”.The beginning of the Muslim era was chosen to be Hijra in 622CE. The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle. The Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory for all believers. Belief in angels is fundamental to the faith of Islam. Ritual prayers must be preformed five times a day. 4The Arabic word for angel means “messenger”. Fasting, called “Sawm” from food and drink (among other things) must be performed from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadhan. The Sunni Muslims are the largest group in Islam, comprising the vast bulk of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims, hence the title Ahl-as-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah. The most important expression of Islamic art is architecture .