Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Islam
Islam was founded by Muhammad, a former merchant
from Mecca in Arabia. Born around AD 570, at the
age of 40 he began to receive revelations of the word
of Allah. These continued for the rest of his life and
were transcribed as the Quran. Muhammad's preachings
were not well received in Mecca and in 622 he and
his followers were forced to flee for Medina. This
flight, or
hejira
, constitutes year zero in the Islamic
calendar. Before Muhammad died in 632, he had
returned to conquer Mecca. Within a further four
years, the armies of Islam had swept out of the
Arabian desert and conquered the Holy Land.
The crescent
moon
, the symbol
of Islam, has
resonances
of the lunar
calendar, which
orders Muslim
religious life.
DOME OF THE ROCK
One of the oldest and most beautiful
of all mosques, the richly decorated
Dome
(see pp70 -73)
is the third most
holy site of Islam after the Prophet's
cities of Mecca and Medina.
The Quran
, the holy book of Islam, is regarded as the
exact word of Allah. Muslims believe that it can never
be truly understood unless read in Arabic: translations
into other languages can only ever paraphrase. The
Quran is divided into 114 chapters, or
suras
, covering
many topics, including matters relating to family,
marriage, and legal and ethical concerns.
THE FIVE PILLARS OF FAITH
Islam rests on what are known as the “five pillars
of faith”. The first of these, known as the
Shahada
, is
a simple declaration that “There is no god but Allah
and Muhammad is his Prophet”. The second pillar
is the set daily prayers, performed in the
direction of Mecca five times a day (though
many Muslims don't completely observe
this). The third pillar is the fasting during
daylight hours that takes place for the
whole of the holy month of Ramadan,
and the fourth is the giving of
alms. The fifth pillar is
Haj
: at
least once in their lifetime all
Muslims must, if they are able,
make the pilgrimage to Mecca,
birthplace of Muhammad.
House decorated with pilgrimage scenes,
indicating the owner has made the
Haj
Muslim at prayer
