MODULE 8 division and that we can only bridge the gap if

we exert an effort to understand such things.

Introduction
Islam: Did You Know?
In the previous module, we talked about one of
the three major Abrahamic religions, which is The exaggerated fear that a person feels when he
Judaism. We have said that Abrahamic religions or she encounters a Muslim is called
trace their origin from the story of Abraham. “Islamophobia.” According to researchers,
Now, let us move forward and talk about another there are multiple reasons why some people
member of the Abrahamic religions, which is have this fear. The primary cause of
Islam. Perhaps, out of all the religions we have Islamophobia is the negative stereotypes
discussed so far, this particular faith community resulting in bias, discrimination, and
rings a bell the most. More or less, all of us marginalization of Muslims from social,
encounter this religion frequently. However, political, and civic life. This exaggerated fear
despite its popularity, most of us still know very began more than 20 years ago, but it became
little about this religion. worse after the terrorist attacked the World
Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the
Since Islam is one of the most common
different wars happening in Islamic countries. In
religions we know, it is also unavoidable that
the Philippines, Islamophobia also manifests in
prejudices and assumptions are unconsciously
people who fear local Muslims residing in
formed. What is unfortunate is that most of our
Mindanao. The only way to solve this problem
ideas about Islam are negative, like terrorism.
is to stop creating stereotypes in this religious
Nearly all of our perceptions and fears about this
group.
religion are shaped by the way modern history
has portrayed Muslims. However, we should Discussion on Prophet Muhammad
always keep in mind that "history is always
and Islam Today
written by the victors." No losing party ever
gets to dictate what happened in a specific Origin and History
period. We can say that Muslims were the
defeated party in several major historical events. One misconception about the history of Islam is
that it began when Allah made a revelation to
Also, we are easily swayed into believing that the prophet Muhammad. However, if we are
something is like this or something is like that going to follow the Muslim teaching, Islam's
when we know little to nothing about that story does not begin with the prophet
specific matter. Ignorance can be very Muhammad. According to their teachings, their
dangerous and misleading. We always fear the religion began during the times of Adam and
things that we do not understand. This is what Noah and then went on to all people and
we call the fear of the unknown. This is our nations. Further, its followers believe that it is
primal instinct as human beings. We put our an ancient religion – one that has existed as
guards up to things that are different and God's intended religion. Nevertheless, the
unfamiliar to us. We do this to protect and prophet Muhammad remains crucial in the
preserve ourselves from danger. So, to remove story of Islam because he is considered as its
these fears and prejudices about Islam, we last prophet and the final revelation of Allah.
should first be able to understand what it is. I
hope that at the end of this module, we shall all During the 7th century CE in early Arabia,
be able to realize that differences and the Islam that we know today was not yet
unfamiliarity should never be the cause of our established as it is. Yet, there was already a
religious practice that was exercised during
this time which is considered as the religion worship, the necessity of repentance, and the
which Islam evolved from. People still impending final judgment.
embraced polytheism and worshipped idols.
The first revelation was followed by more
They believed in the idea that there is no single
people over the next 23 years of
god.
Muhammad's life. Muhammad's words were
Moreover, the cube or the kaaba – the large transcribed by his followers after his death.
and black cube that sits at the heart of
The Quran, which is the Muslim sacred text, is
Mecca's Grand Mosque where Muslims make
the product of the revelations of Allah to
the pilgrimage – was already existing during
Muhammad.
this time and groups of pilgrims made
pilgrimages to the kaaba. Lastly, during this When Muhammad started preaching about the
time, other monotheistic religions like Judaism message of Allah, the people in his hometown
and Christianity were already present in the did not receive it well. Muhammad preached
caravans in Arabia. the opposite of the common practice during
his time. He wanted people to acknowledge
Prophet Muhammad
only Allah and abolish all their idols. The
The religion of Islam took a drastic change people resisted his teachings because of the huge
during the time of Muhammad. The story of benefits they get from having several gods.
Islam is inseparable from the life of this man. Pilgrims used to visit several shrines of
Muhammad was born between 570 to 571 CE. different gods and the kaaba, which provided
He was orphaned at birth and did not get any a livelihood to many people.
formal education. His rise to becoming the
Nevertheless, Muhammad continued with his
revered prophet of Islam that he is today was
mission and converted his first follower, his
pure because of his spirituality, generosity,
wife Khadija. After this, several conversions
and intellect. He believed in a singular God
happened. Slowly, Muhammad's group
and hated the worship of idols.
expanded with members coming from the lower
Muhammad married a widow named Khadija ranks of Meccan society. When the tension and
who was 15 years older than him. We can say opposition against Muhammad grew, in 615
that Khadija was wealthy, which enabled CE, he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia,
Muhammad to focus on spiritual discipline which is today known as Ethiopia to escape
and reflection on the reality of the world. The persecution.
focus of his meditations was the worship of
After seven years, Muhammad migrated to
idols and the oppression happening in society.
Yathrib, which is today known as Medina.
He also contemplated the way Judaism and
Christianity described the end of days. This migration is now known as hegira that
marks the start of the Muslim calendar called
Furthermore, the first revelation to Muhammad
THE HIJRI. There are two reasons why
occurred when he was meditating on Mt. Hira
Muhammad left Arabia and went to Medina.
during the month of Ramadan. The angel
The first one is because he was asked to
Gabriel, Djibril in Arabic, appeared to
mediate between a property dispute, while the
Muhammad and ordered him to "read or recite
second and more important one is because
in the name of the Lord." After receiving the
Muhammad's life was threatened in Mecca.
first revelation from angel Gabriel, Muhammad
In Medina, he managed to convert numerous
began preaching Islam or the submission to
faithful followers.
the One God, Allah, the hatred of idol-
Moreover, the story of Muhammad does not end Islam today is experiencing a crisis because of
in Medina. After a year, his enemies in Mecca several terrorist groups that claim to fight for
organized what was initially a caravan raid the name of Allah. In short, the terrorist
which escalated into a full-blown war. groups qualify the terrors and wars they wage
However, after seven years, it was already as a form of a holy war known as jihad for the
difficult to bring Muhammad down because he Muslims. However, the Muslim community
was able to gather a massive and strong denies this accusation because Islam does not
following in Medina. Later on, he brought his teach terrorism to its followers. The terrorist
followers to Mecca for a pilgrimage. After this groups, who are today branded under Islamism,
first pilgrimage, Muhammad decided to have misunderstood and taken out the context
conquer and take over Mecca. As a result of of the teachings of the Quran regarding the
his victory, all idols and false gods in the concept of holy wars. One person that could be
kaaba were demolished. blamed for this contemporary issue about Islam
is Osama bin Laden who claimed that the
Only the black meteoric stone was spared from
terrors they caused were for the sake of their
the demolition because he believed that Mecca
religion. However, President Bush, the former
and the meteoric stone were built by
president of the United States of America who
Abraham and his son, Ishmael. This is the
focused on fighting terrorism, made it very
story of how Islam evolved under the rule of the
clear that the war they were fighting for was
prophet Muhammad.
not against the Muslims, but a war against
Muhammad was not just a religious leader but terrorism.
also served as a political leader in Arabia.
To prove to you that Islam is not a religion that
Even the leaders of smaller tribes also promised
promotes terrorism, we must talk about their
loyalty to him. Under his leadership, Islam
witnessed steady growth and continued to concept of holy war or jihad. The term came
expand to other nations. However, in 632 CE, from an Arabic word j-h-d which means
at the age of 63, Muhammad died and left no striving or effort. All Muslims have to strive
child to succeed him. Because of this, his for the path of God. Jihad has two important
father-in-law, Abu Bakr, became the first meanings.
caliph or khalif, the successor to the Islamic The first meaning of jihad is moral striving.
state or the caliphate or khalifah. Note that the Every Muslim has to strive to be good and do
position of caliph was very important to the good in ways that are prescribed in the holy
Islamic state before because of the way they book, the Quran. This first meaning of jihad is
view the relationship of the state and religion. considered as the higher meaning of the term.
Our common understanding is that a state is From this, we can say that the jihad as a holy
divided into different religions. However, this is war does not refer to fight the people who are
not the case for the Islamic states. They believed against Islam, but more of a personal battle
that Islam is a religion divided into states. against one's demons. The most common and
Therefore, the caliphate means so much to their higher form of war that Muslims have to win is a
religion. war against sins that prevent them from
attaining salvation.

The second meaning of jihad is an armed

struggle or the war that may involve physical
Discussion on Islam Today killing. A Muslim who dies fighting for the
path of Allah is guaranteed to reach paradise.
Islam Today
There are two types of war that are considered as
jihad in the sense of an armed struggle. The first The Quran
one is the war against infidels and apostates or
If the Christians have the Holy Bible, the
heretics. If the interpretation of the concepts
Muslims have the Quran. The term Quran
stops from here, the result will surely be chaotic.
means "recitation." The revelations contained
Luckily, the Quran provides more laws that
in this scripture serves as guiding principles to
govern the idea of jihad to make sure that it is
their individual and communal life. According
executed properly. Some of the laws state that
to Islam, the revelations that the Quran contains
no women and children must be killed unless
are definitive and final. This means that
they attack first, torture and mutilation of
Muslims consider the teachings of the Quran as
prisoners are prohibited and agreements must
true, irrevocable, and ultimate. Muslims treat
be honored.
the Quran with much respect because they
In fact, during the Medieval period, missile and believe that it is Allah who is speaking directly
chemical warfare – the use of catapults and and unadulteratedly to them. Because of this,
poison-tipped arrows – were prohibited. trying to translate the Quran in different
Further, suicides are not also prescribed in the languages apart from Arabic is to risk
Quran because killing oneself and dying at the distorting or even losing its meaning.
hands of the enemy are two different things. Therefore, all Muslims are encouraged to
memorize the Quran in Arabic regardless of
Suicide will lead the spirit to hell while dying their native language. However, it is not easy to
at the hands of the enemy will result in going memorize it because it contains 114 surrahs or
to heaven. Therefore, all of the techniques of chapters, although some commit to memorizing
the terrorist groups such as kidnapping, suicide it.
bombing, using chemical weapons, etc.,
invalidate their claim that they are fighting for The Quran has various contents. Some of which
the name of Allah. At no point that the basic are hymns of praises for Allah, signs of Allah
texts of Islam encourage terrorism and random in the world forecasting the end of the world,
slaughter of uninvolved bystanders. This exhortations to pious living, guidelines for
meaning of jihad is a lower form of the concept. personal and social morality, and others. The
chapters or surrahs in Quran are arranged
If we want to end the stigma on Muslims, it according to their length from longest to
should always start with us. We can help them shortest, which means that it is not
by just simply educating ourselves about their chronologically arranged. The surrahs are
religion – by knowing and understanding what labeled with a title instead of numbers.
Islam is and what it is not. Terrorism masks Usually, the title given to each chapter are
itself in the form of holy wars to justify its words original to the surrahs.
unholy terrors. All different extremist groups
sanctify their actions through pious references to Muslims do not dismiss the sacred texts of
Islamic texts. Nevertheless, all of the terrorist other religions. They even recognize their
groups that associate themselves with Islam validity. However, for them, the Quran is still
are selective in their choice and interpretation the final and definitive word of God. Further,
of the sacred texts. This is something we they believe that the Quran corrects the
should always keep in mind to avoid teachings and revelation of earlier prophets
stereotyping the religion of Islam. such as Jesus Christ, known as Isa, the 24th
and last prophet before Muhammad.
Discussion on the Quran
More than just religious scripture, the Quran
Traditions also has several functions in the lives of
Muslims, which makes it the foundation of all
Islam. It sets the grammatical rules and of different nations happened – to make them
teaches children how to read Arabic. Also, it dar al-Islam.
is the basis for laws in Muslim societies.
Every nation that is a threat to Islam is
considered as DAR AL-HARB or land of war.
This implies that a holy war can be waged
against a dar al-harb.
Some nations tolerate and respect the religion
Discussion on Dar-al-Islam of Islam but do not make it as their official
religion. These nations are called dar al-sulh or
Religious Experience land of peace. To better understand these terms
Dar al-Islam look at the table below.

Islam is also an eschatological religion, just

like its closest relative, Judaism and
Christianity. This means that it believes in the
idea of death, the final judgment, and the
final destiny of the soul and humankind.
They have an idea that the world will come to an
end in times we do not expect. The Quran has a
concept CALLED AL-QIYAMA, which is
their idea of the day of reckoning. If you can
still remember our discussion on Judaism, we
have mentioned about the Day of the Lord. This If we are going to look at the history of the
is similar to that. The Quran teaches that when world, it is apparent that the Muslims tried to
this day comes, all faithful will be judged expand the house of Islam. They tried to
based on their earthly life and will be led share the revelations of Allah and convert as
either in heaven or hell. Also, Muslims believe many nations as they can. Most of the people
that salvation can be attained if one faithfully they have successfully converted were the
follows the teachings of the Quran since it is polytheists and idolaters – people who were
the word of Allah. This is a motivation why primarily found in Asia and Africa. This is
Muslims want to convert other people – to similar to the mission of evangelization of
enlighten them. Christians. During the medieval period or
In addition, Dar al-Islam can be considered as a more popularly known as MISNOMERED –
religious experience of the Muslims. The phrase THE DARK AGES, these two major religions
means "house of Islam." This pertains to all were primary rivals in the struggle for world
territory in which the law of Islam prevails. domination. Both religions aspired to enlighten
All Islamic states are considered as dar al- other people about the existence of the One
Islam because their communal life is based on God.
the revelations of Allah. For them, the ideal In summary, Islam and Christianity both share
society is a community that follows the the idea that there is only one God. According
examples of the early Islamic centers such as to the British-American historian named
Medina and the whole of Arabia. They have a Bernard Lewis, Christianity and Islam are
goal to make Islam a universal religion. This two defined religions that were brought into
is the reason why the conquest and conversion
conflict, not by their differences, but by their Muhammad as divine. They simply believe
resemblances. that the revelations that he received from Allah
were final and infallible. They do not also
Discussion on the Five Pillars of Islam:
invalidate the legitimacy of other prophets
Shahadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj
before Muhammad like Noah, Abraham,
The Muslim tradition of worship does not make Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus. They
use of a priest to stand as intermediaries believe that these prophets were also sent by
between them and Allah. The individual and Allah, but the revelations to Muhammad are
society are responsible for their worship. A the most correct.
person who lives a rational life will conclude
2. Salat
that the only way to live one's life is to submit
oneself to Allah. This is the reason why Islam is Salat is the daily prayer of the Muslim and it is
the way of submission. their second pillar. Each Muslim is required to
pray five times a day: early morning, noon,
Five Pillars of Islam mid-afternoon, sunset, and evening. By doing
this, Muslims strive to be pure physically and
Islam teaches its followers that the most
spiritually. They attain physical purification
genuine form of joy is by remembering Allah.
by cleansing their hands, mouth, face, nose,
Remembering does not only imply recalling
teeth, and feet.
the name of Allah but goes far beyond that.
To remember Allah is also to respect and obey While spiritual purification is resolved by
the revelations that were communicated to being kind, concern for others, gratefulness,
prophets like Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. openness to Allah, and sensitivity to moral
To sum up the teachings of Islam, it just simply issues are also observed.
encourages a person to live a righteous life.
In the Muslim communities, there is a crier
There are five pillars of Islam that Muslims called MUADHIN OR MUAZZIN to call the
should recognize as their obligations. These are faithful into salat. This muadhin is like their
the foundations of Muslim life. alarm-clock that notifies them that it is
already time to pray. The muadhin does this by
1. Shahadah
climbing the tower, a minaret of a mosque –
Shahadah is the first pillar of Islam, and this is the place of worship of Muslims – and
where the four other pillars of Islam begin. This announces the adhan or the call to prayer.
term means "bearing witness." This requires
Furthermore, Muslims do not just enter their
repeatedly reciting the Muslim creed "LA
mosques the way they want to. They observe
ILAHA ILLA ALLAH; WA-
proper ways and discipline before coming in.
MUHAMMADUM RASULU ALLAH,"
They should
which means "There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is His prophet." Muslims recite first take off their shoes before they could enter
this in Arabic daily and ideally. It is also the the place. Also, when they recite the salat, they
last words of a dying Muslim. Once a Muslim face the direction of Mecca accompanied by
starts to recite this creed, he is already bending, bowing, and prostrating on the
accepting the other four pillars as his knees, the head, and the hands on the ground.
obligations. All these symbolize their submission to Allah.
This shows their conviction that Allah is their Summary and Conclusion 8
only God and Muhammad is the ultimate
prophet. However, they do not consider
n this module, we have discussed one of the
most misunderstood religions in our time, which
is Islam. We learned that Muslims believe that
their religion existed since the beginning of
time. We have also discussed the life of the
prophet Muhammad and how they understood
him. Just like the other religions that we have
discussed, Islam is also a well-defined religion
in terms of its belief and laws.
What we can probably take away from our
discussion of Islam is that this religion is rich in
terms of its history, teachings, and laws. There
are so many things that we can learn from it.
Unfortunately, Islam is always reduced to
negative stereotypes because of a lack of
information and knowledge about this religion. I
hope that after we discuss Islam, we will be able
to change our perspective about this religion.