.: The Islamic Association of Australia

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful

Muhammad's Influence
(Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

by Anonymous

In Islam, Muhammad is said to be the last Prophet and Messenger of God - the seal of the Prophets. It is a well-known fact that this man Muhammad did indeed exist and was the man responsible for the growth and spread of Islam. However, according to Muslims, Muhammad did not "discover" Islam. He simply came and completed a long-term mission that all the other Prophets had set up and had been creating for generations. The end product of this mission can be seen in the form of the Islamic religious revelation, the Holy Koran.

God showed great kindness to the believers whom He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His (God's) Signs to them and purify them and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Qur'an 47:164)

The practice of following Muhammad is what is known as following his Sunnah. However, it should be noted that following the Prophet's Sunnah does not mean that Muslims worship him. According to the Islamic faith, Muhammad was a real life example of how to live according to the Koran. Thus all his actions and advice have been recorded in historical documents called hadith or 'sayings of the Prophet' to help Muslims correctly understand the Koran. These hadith have gone through very lengthy and strict processes to ensure maximum authenticity. And many of these hadiths have been narrated by the wives of the Prophet and other important Muslim women to ensure that the female Muslim population have sufficient guidance for those things in life which men may not have the information about.

"…So take what the Apostle assigns to you and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you…" (Qur'an 59:7)

The most fundamental beliefs of Islam are the five obligatory pillars. These can be closely tied in with how Muslims understood the role of Muhammad, as these pillars are the essence of the religion. The five pillars of Islam are as follows:

1. Shahadah - Declaration of Faith: Verbal commitment and pledge that there is only one God and that Muhammad is the servant and messenger of God.

2. Salat - Prayers: The performance of the five daily prayers.

3. Sawm - Fasting: Total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse from dawn to sunset during the entire Islamic month known as Ramadan.

4. Zakat - Purifying Tax: This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property which is distributed accordingly among the poor and needy.

5. Hajj - Pilgrimage: The performance of pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (located in Arab) is required once in a lifetime by every Muslim, if the means are available. Hajj is part in memory of the trials and tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son, the Prophet Ishmael.

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