5. Islam
Islam is a monotheistic religion founded in the Arabian Peninsula, in the city of Mecca, in the seventh century A.D. by Muhammad, considered by Muslim worshippers the last prophet sent by God to the world to definitively reaffirm the Revelation, announced for the first time to Adam, the first man and the first prophet.
With about 1.8 billion worshippers, Islam is the second largest religion in the world. The fundamental precepts that every Muslim must observe, shared by all the currents in which Islam has been articulated over the centuries, are five:
- Profession of faith. In order to be effective, it must be recited with full understanding of its meaning and in complete honesty of intent. It is sufficient, alone, to sanction the adhesion to Islam of the one who pronounces it;
- Daily prayer, to be carried out five times a day, in precise moments that are marked by the call of the muezzins who work in every mosque;
- Almsgiving, cash contributions - mandatory for every Muslim who can afford it - which legitimises one's own wealth; to be allocated to the poor and needy;
- Fasting - from sunrise to sunset - during the lunar month of Ramadan;
- Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, for those who are able to support it physically and economically.
Islam does not recognize the existence of a priestly clergy, and worship can take place in private or in public, under the guidance of expert men (imams) and in buildings that are also places of study and meeting, not only intended for prayer.
The sacred texts of Islam are essentially two, in order of importance: the Qur'an and the Sunna. The first is considered to be revealed entirely by God to the Prophet Muhammad, while the second is the collection of the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, which represents examples to be imitated by the Islamic community, and above all a regulatory basis for what is not foreseen by the Koran. The Sunna therefore represents, together with the Koranic text, the sacred Law for all Muslims.