How to Understand Islam

Islam is the second largest and the fastest growing religion on earth. With 1.8 billion^[1] Muslims, living in every part of the world, in possession of 70% of world oil reserves^[2], 49% of world gas reserves^[3] and 21% of world production of uranium^[4].^[5]With the world turning into global village the importance of understanding the religion that more than 24% of world's population^[6]follows is undeniable.

Steps

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   Remove any preconceptions you may have about Islam. If you have preconceptions, they may prevent you from getting an unbiased view of the religion. There are a small minority of Muslims who have a violent interpretation and who commit acts of violence in the name of Islam; these people do not represent the majority of Muslims.
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   If you're non-Muslim, be prepared to learn about things that may go against your beliefs. Every religion has different beliefs, and some collide with other religions.
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   Know and understand the five pillars of Islam. The tenets of what makes someone Muslim is based on these five points:

   • Shahada. Saying "Ashhadu an la elaha ella Allah wa anna muhammadan rasool allah", which means that you witness there are no Gods except Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is His messenger.
   • Salat. Praying the five obligatory prayers a day.
   • Zakat. Giving money to charity. The rule in this pillar is that if you have an amount of money that passed one year being stored without any input or output, you should donate 2.5% of this amount to poor people.
   • Fasting during Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month that requires Muslims to stop eating, drinking, and having sex from sunrise to sunset.
   • Hajj. The final pillar is doing pilgrimage to Makkah once in your lifetime if you can. If a Muslim can't afford it or is unable to travel due to certain reasons, such as a disability, they are exempt.
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   Read some of Islam's scriptures, the Qur'an—the holy book of the religion, and Sunnah—the sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad.

   • Muslims believe that the words of the Qur'an were revealed by God. Humans simply wrote them down into books and memorized the words contained in the Holy Book. Even if you don't know Arabic, there are translations available. Also, commentaries exist to help explain the meanings of verses. However, the Qur'an does not mention everything (e.g. specifics of sexual transgression) and can sometimes confuse people if read by itself. That is why hadith exists, to help clarify the statements of the Qur'an.
   • Sunnah is the way of life of the Prophet Muhammad. It's comprised of his actions and verbal sayings (Hadiths). One of the most recognized hadith scholars, Imam Al-Bukhari from the 7th century^[7]collected over 300,000 hadiths but only included 2,602 hadiths in his book.^[8] This was to ensure authenticity by not including doubtful hadiths in his collection. Other reputable Hadith collections include Saheeh Muslim, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, Nisaa'i, and the Muwatta of Imam Malik.^[9]
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   Be wary of online websites providing information about Islam. They may be biased. The best most reputable websites to turn to for Islamic knowledge are Wikipedia and islamqa.info. You should also ask knowledgeable scholars if you have any questions.

   • Hadith are categorized based on their authenticity. Only cite hadith that are labelled "saheeh" or "hasan". One's that are "da'eef" (weak) are not the best, and if someone quotes one, you should ask them for better evidence.
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   Understand Islam's belief of God. Muslims believe that only one God created all human beings and in order to guide them, he sent Prophets to teach their people about Islam. Some Prophets received books (e.g. Jesus/Isa and the Bible), but they were altered by humans over time. The only book that has been unaltered over time is the Qur'an.

   • Over 100,000 prophets existed^[10], but only the names of twenty-five are written in the Qur'an^[11][12].
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   Socialize with Muslim friends. Invite them over to your house, and visit theirs. Ask about their religion.

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