The Development of the Qur’an
The Qur’an developed when Muhammad experienced various subjective
visions. Through these visions, its contents were given to him saying by saying
or verse by verse. Muhammad’s followers memorized these recitations, and hundreds
of years later, they wrote them down and collected them into manuscripts. No original
written record from Muhammad’s day exists today.
Followers of Muhammad wrote down what they understood from his recitations.
These traditions became known as the Hadith or the “Writings.” The Writings actually
had far more influence over the everyday Muslim’s life than the Qur’an because few
Muslims could read or understand the Arabic Qur’an. Instead, even today, nearly all
Muslim leaders rely on commentaries to know what is appropriate for daily living.
Muslim Beliefs and the Five Pillars of Faith
Muslims believe in a sovereign but capricious and unpredictable God, who
does anything he wants and can change what he wants at any time or in any
degree.
They also believe in the final judgment and paradise. They believe that at the final
judgment the good and the bad are weighed—those who have done more good than
bad will be accepted into paradise, and those who have done more bad than good will
go to hell; yet, they have no assurance one way or the other of where they will go.
The five basic tenets in the practice of Islam are known as “The Five Pillars of Faith.”
In the order of most frequent and important practices, the first is the confession that
there is no god but God and Muhammad is his final prophet or messenger. The second
is the prayer carried out five times each day. Ceremonial washing is included as part
of the ritual of daily prayer. The third is the month-long Ramadan fast practiced once a
year to commemorate the giving of the Qur’an. The fourth is the giving of alms to the
poor, primarily once a week before the high prayer at noontime on Fridays. And the fifth
is the once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. Some Muslims hold to a sixth t