Before the birth of Islam, there was no political unity in the Arabian peninsula. The nomadic tribes of the region subscribed to a primitive religion of naturism, whereby they attributed spirits to inanimate objects such as stones and trees. They had no formal priesthood but, when in need of advice, consulted soothsayers who would respond with brief, enigmatic oracular utterances.
Within Makkah itself tribes worshipped idols placed around and over the Ka'aba. As the trade routes of the Arabian peninsula grew in importance in the fourth century AD, towns developed, especially along the west and east coasts. Among these towns was Makkah, made up of a number of tribal groups, the most important of which was the Quraysh tribe. It was from the Quraysh that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was descended.
Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was born around 570 C.E.
At the age of 40, Muhammad received his call to become a prophet. He received the word of God through the Angel Gabriel and the divine message was recorded in the Holy Qur'an.
The God that spoke to Muhammad was the God of Abraham. Islam is thus essentially part of the great monotheistic movement that emerged and developed in the Near East. In Muhammad, regarded as the "seal of the prophets", the message of God for man was finally comprehended and Islam (submission to the will of Allah) is seen by Muslims as the apotheosis of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
Islam is a religion that informs every part of daily life. The five Pillars of Islam constitute the basic religious duties which every Muslim must perform.
- Al-Shahadah (Testimony)
The first of the five tenets of Islam is the profession of faith in pronouncing of the words that "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet". This Shahadah, or testimony, when recited by a person of sincerity, sound capacity and without any mental reservations, constitutes the first major requirement for being a Muslim. Through this public profession of faith, the individual becomes part of the Islamic community.
Of parallel importance and in accordance with the Shahadah is the solemn belief in a general resurrection, in the final day of judgment, in all the prophets of God and in the Scriptures of God and the total submission to the will of the Creator and acceptance of fate - be it good or bad.
- Al-Salah (Prayer)
Prayers are of such great significance that some leading scholars of the religion describe them as the backbone of Islam.
Each Muslim is required to pray five times daily, in a prescribed manner. The first prayer is at dawn; the next is at high noon; then in the afternoon; after sunset; and finally at night. The formalized prayer consists of a sequence of obeisances made first from a standing position and then from a kneeling one. Muslims may pray in any place, alone or in the company of others. When praying, the Muslim faces in the direction of the Ka'aba in the Holy City of Makkah.
Inseparable from prayers in Islam is the Tahara, that is, the complete cleanliness of clothes, body and place. Without the Tahara, a Muslim's prayers will be rendered null. It is the Muslim's obligation, therefore, to be clean at the time of each prayer before facing his Creator.
- Al-Siyam (Fasting)
The imposition of fasting, which means complete abstention from food and drink and sexual intercourse from sunrise until sunset during the month of Ramadan, is the third basic tenet of the Islamic religion. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which consists of twelve lunar months. Therefore, the Islamic lunar month is either twenty-nine or thirty days but never thirty-one days. Fasting in Ramadan, besides being a religious duty, is no doubt of great benefit as it trains one to be patient, wise, well disciplined and to share the feelings of others. Ramadan, traditionally held to be the month in which the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, received his first revelation and the month in which the Holy Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet, is considered particularly holy by Muslims.
- Al-Zakat (Almsgiving)
In various parts of the Holy Qur'an great stress is laid on the Zakat, that is, almsgiving to those who deserve it. Each able Muslim should give a certain percentage of his annual income, either in money or kind, to the poor and the indigent. Al-Zakat on the individual's annual income from any legal source amounts to almost 2.5%.
It is believed that one of the reasons for the imposition of Al-Zakat is the fact that Islam calls for the purity of both the soul and the body. (Zakat means purification, and the payment of Zakat is regarded primarily as an act of worship of God.) Since it is required from the rich to satisfy the needs of the poor, the paying of Al-Zakat, no doubt enhances amity and caring within society and strengthens the relationship between the wealthy and the indigent. It reflects fulfillment of an early concept of social justice, as it is taken from each person according to his capacity. The Book of God, the Holy Qur'an, says "Take of their wealth a portion (as charity) to purify them by it", and who better qualified than God Almighty to stress the significance of Al-Zakat as a humanitarian source in Islam?
- Al Hajj (The Pilgrimage)
The fifth and last Pillar of Islam is the Hajj. It is explicitly stated in the Holy Qur'an that every physically and financially able Muslim should make the Hajj to the Holy City of Makkah once in his or her lifetime. The Hajj is considered the culmination of each Muslim's religious duties and aspiration. Muslims from all over the world seek to make the Hajj to the Holy City of Makkah, which occurs between the eighth and thirteenth days of the last month of the Islamic calendar - Dhu al-Hijira - of each year. Muslims travel thousands of miles to reach the Holy City of Makkah for the Hajj and perform the rituals in the same manner as the Prophet Muhammad (Alayhi al-Salah wa Salam - peace be upon him) almost fourteen centuries ago.
Teachings of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab
Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab did not create a new sect. His travels through the Arab lands, which then formed part of the Ottoman Empire, revealed to him diverse deviations from the true Islamic faith. His purpose was to strip away those deviations and to re-establish Islam in its pure form. Therefore there is no such creed or sect as "Wahabi", it is nothing more than an allegation that has arisen from those who had ill feelings and ill intentions towards Muhammad bin Albdul Wahhab's attempt to bring the people back to the Book of God (the Qur'an) as well as to the teachings of the Messenger (the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him).
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