Misconceptions about Islam

Misconceptions about Islam

Basic tenets of Islam

It is striking uniformity of religious life even though Islam has no significant intermediaries between God and the faithful, as the ritual ablutions or as daily prayer is personal and hierarchies disappear against religious practice. In Islam there are no priests, and faithful relationship with God is directly and without intermediaries (Ah?mad, 1930).

Muslims believe that man exists as the supreme exponent of the creation of Allah and should build its destiny. Man is free in his will and his actions and can choose to follow or not the way that Allah has shown through his prophet Muhammad, but if you do, is part of an extensive community and identified. The hundreds of millions of Muslims who hear the call of the muezzin brothers feel and recognize each other by their devotion to Allah.

The pillars of the Muslim faith

Muslim religious practice revolves around prayer, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage. They are called "the five pillars of faith" and have the following characteristics:

The “Shahada” or "profession of faith" is the first pillar. Prayer is to pray that summarizes the Islamic faith: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet."

The “Salat” or "prayer" is the second pillar. Muslims must pray five times each day. They do it at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, at sunset and at night, with the particularity of having to make four main positions while reciting the Shahada and other prayers: standing, leaning, prostrating and sitting on heels. The muezzin recites the verse "Allah is great" from the minarets of mosques and heard it, every Muslim knows it is time to pray and stop for a moment any activity you are performing. On Friday, which is the holy day for Muslims, the prayer is done collectively and binding (Muhajir, 1969).

The “saum” or "fast" is the third pillar. The fulfillment of fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the year, is one of the most famous Islamic celebrations. This is the month of fasting and religious reflection through the readings of the Qur'an and the established rites. Fasting is obligatory on every adult Muslim is forbidden to eat, drink or smoke, since the sun rises until it sets. The choice of this month corresponds to the time when Muhammad received the first revelation. At sunset marking the end of the daily fast, Muslims gather to open their fast and then offer prayers (Muhajir, 1969).

Islamic lending systems

In sura 2, verse 275 of the Quran says:

"Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury."

Following this rule, in an ingenious way systems have been developed to provide a way that cannot be equated with usury. Thus the Islamic banking system has devised the following types of loans:

At mudaraba: The bank customer capital and effort to make a business or developing a business. Both bank and customer, share profits and losses, if any.

At murabaha: The bank buys the product requesting client and agree a price with him. Agrees to sell to another agreed price, earning the bank the difference.

At musharaka: The bank and the client are partners, provide the same capital and assume you same risks and benefits as the following ratio: one ...