The Five
Pillars, or primary duties, of Islam are profession of faith, prayer, to be performed five times a day;
almsgiving to the poor and the mosque (house of
worship); fasting during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan; and pilgrimage to Makkah (the hajj) at least once in a
Muslim's lifetime, if it is
physically and financially possible. The pilgrimage includes homage to the
ancient shrine of the Ka'aba, the most sacred site in Islam.
Muslims gather for corporate
worship on Fridays. Prayers and a sermon take place at the mosque, which is
also a center for teaching of the Qur'an.
The community leader, the imam, is considered a teacher and prayer leader. Islam succeeded in uniting an Arab world of
separate tribes and castes, but
disagreements concerning the succession of the prophet caused a division In Islam between two groups, Sunnis and
Shi'ites. The Shi'ites rejected the
first three successors to Muhammad (PBUH) as usurpers, claiming the fourth, Muhammad’s (PBUH) son in-law
AM, as the rightful leader.
The Sunnis
(from the word tradition), the largest division of Islam (today more than 80%), believe in the
legitimacy of the first three successors.
Among these, other sects arose (such as the conservative Wahhabi of Saudi Arabia), as well as
different schools of theology. Another development within Islam, beginning in
the eighth and ninth centuries, was Sufism,
a form of mysticism. This movement was influential for many centuries and was instrumental in the spread of Islam in Asia and
Africa.
Islam
has expanded greatly under Muhammad’s (PBUH) successors. It is the principal religion of
the Middle East, Asia and the northern
half of Africa.
Top 10 Muslim Countries as per Population:
1.
|
Indonesia
|
213 Million
|
2.
|
India
|
200 Million
|
3.
|
Pakistan
|
180 Million
|
4.
|
Bangladesh
|
129 Million
|
5.
|
Egypt
|
70.53 Million
|
6.
|
Turkey
|
68.96 Million
|
7.
|
Iran
|
67.33 Million
|
8.
|
Nigeria
|
64.38 Million
|
9.
|
Ethiopia
|
37.53 Million
|
10.
|
Morocco
|
32.30 Million
|
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