Belief in one god and relationship to other Abrahamic faiths
Islam, Christianity and Judaism are known as the Abrahamic faiths, as they trace their common roots to Prophet Abraham (Ibraheem in Arabic).
The Holy Book of the Muslims, the Qur’an, contains references to many prophets that are mentioned in the sacred books of Christianity and Judaism, including Adam, Noah, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus (peace be upon them all).
The Qur’an refers to Christians and Jews as “Ahl-e-kitab” or People of the Book and makes various references to the Holy Scriptures given to Moses (the Torah) and Jesus (the Bible), reinforcing the common thread of all these religions.
Other common beliefs between the religions include a belief in Angels, the Devil, Heaven and Hell, the Day of Judgement, and bearing witness to faith through acts of prayer, charity, love and compassion for others.
Common rituals include eating religiously slaughtered meat, known as Zabiha or Halal in Islam and Kosher in Judaism; fasting, during Lent, Ramadan, and on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement); male circumcision (in Islam and Judaism) and modesty in dress.
Belief in one god and relationship to other Abrahamic faiths
Shahadah – the testimony of faith
The basic creed of a Muslim is to believe and state “I testify that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”. The shahadah, which is the statement is Arabic, reads, “Ash-hadu Alla Ilaha Illa Allah Wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammad Rasulu Allah”.
Salat – prayers
Muslims are required to perform five obligatory prayers each day. These prayers allow Muslims to put aside their everyday thoughts and concentrate on God for small portions of the day. The five daily prayers are set at different times according to the position of the sun.
Fajr – early morning prayer between dawn and sunrise
Zuhr – afternoon prayer after the sun passes the zenith (highest point)
Asr – late afternoon prayer
Maghrib – performed just after sunset
Isha – night prayer
Muslims carry out a ritual washing before praying, called wudhu. Muslims can perform their prayers anywhere, with congregational prayers offered in mosques. Additional prayers which occur at special times of the year include the Eid prayers, on the days of Eid, and the Taraweeh prayers performed during the nights of Ramadan.