The Islamic religion is widespread with over 49 countries consisting of Islamic faith as the majority of them occupy the Middle East a region that is affected by wars and political instabilities. The core values of the Islamic community are extensive and diverse hence cannot be attributed to a single course. Their fundamental beliefs and religious practices being traced to Prophet Muhammad. Resulting in a general agreement amongst all the Muslims across different geographical backgrounds. In comparison with Christianity that doesn’t share a mutual agreement and no similar uniformity in their belief systems the Muslim scholars have identified core teachings in the Quran and agreed on most of them.
The Muslim community shares common fundamental beliefs that have been described by Muslim Scholars as The Six Articles of Faith. Belief in one God is the most important teaching of the Islam religion to its followers. Worshipping of other gods is considered the biggest sin in the Islamic faith and is punishable by death as a remedy for repentance. The Muslims also have a strong belief in the existence of angels who surround us and work tirelessly in administering His kingdom. The angels are tasked with the responsibility of recording our every deed and word. The Muslims also believe that God communicates to His people through prophets to pass his guidance. Amongst the prophets who have existed in the past include; Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad. The central message preached by all these prophets is the existence of only one God that needs to be worshiped (Possumah, Ismail, & Shahimi, 2012).
The Muslims firmly believe that a Quran is God’s last revelation to Muhammad and need for its preservation. Still, there is an argument that God revealed His wisdom through books to some prophets. Some of the books that were believed to have been revealed by God but later on got distorted and lost include; Torah, Psalms and The New Gospel. The Muslims believe that at one time the whole world will come to an end and the Day of Judgment shall come. On the Day of Judgment, everybody will be judged individually according to their right or wrong action but all the same, God will be fair and will show mercy in judgment. According to the Islamic religion, those who had done according to God’s will and instructions will be rewarded with going to heaven whereas those who had rejected faith in God will burn in the eternal fire as punishment.
Belief in divine decree and destiny since God is the provider and sustainer of life everything occurs by his will and full knowledge. The idea does not suppress free will or force us. Believing in all-knowing God whose knowledge is complete beforehand helps to recognize that God knows the hardships and difficulties we are facing and will give us the courage to endure. To Islam, worship is not a mere participation of rituals but a daily way of life with five pillars of Islam that include faith, fasting, prayer, charity and pilgrimage. Declaration of faith must also be shown with actions. A prayer is the establishment of connection with God and helps in gathering spiritual strength and helps achieve peace of mind. The Muslims believe that God is the giver of all wealth and the duty of wealth is to share with the needy. Once a year Muslims are commanded to fast for a whole month from dawn to dusk. During the month of Ramadan Muslims exercise self-control and devote them in spiritual nourishment (Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies, 2013).
The Muslim fraternity faces a lot of challenges of inadequate health care, war, violation of human rights, high illiteracy levels, and lack of political transparency, dictatorship, ethical conflicts and regional divisions. Islamic religion cannot be entirely blamed for these contemporary issues as the Muslim have from time to time argued that Islam is a religion that advocates for progress, development and innovations. Muslim women have struggled in the past against inequity and restricted practice in workplace participations, education and family roles. Most of these oppressive practices do not originate from Islamic religion but local cultures. Everywhere in the world women had had to struggle for competitive places and recognition in the society, i.e., in England before 19th-century women’s property was given to their husbands at the time of marriage.
Islam, in fact, provides women with some rights to women i.e. right to keep their last name, to own property and the right to ask for a divorce should they feel they have been neglected. The Quran states explicitly that man and woman are equal in the eyes of God. There has been a significant change in roles played by women over time. This has been advocated individual personalities and capabilities, integration with the western cultures that has changed perspectives that have seen them being allocated bigger responsibilities. Benazir Bhutto was the first Muslim female to occupy such a senior governmental position in 1988 serving as the Pakistan’s prime minister. Over time women have experienced growing numbers that have shown interests to participate in all activities without gender disparity.
Education has been the primary root development that has propelled women economically giving them the power to neglect the traditional expectations of women. Even for the most educated women, their definitions on some of the appropriate attitudes, behaviors, and attires have differed with some insisting on the veils and Islamic modest dressing code. Change in time has seen women want to work in the public service while others are entirely comfortable in their positions. A lot of modern day challenges will always need the Islamic religion to adapt to change at the same time not lose their right sense of reality.
