Islam at a Glance

• Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
• The spiritual center of the Muslim world is Mecca , Saudi Arabia .
• In the entire world, some 1.3 billion people - one person in five - are Muslim.
• In the United States , Muslims represent roughly 2 percent of the population, or some 6 million people.
• Islam is the world's fastest-growing religion, and some 80 percent of Muslims live outside the Arab world.
• Muslims consider the Old and New Testaments to be integral to their tradition.
• Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam traces its line of descent to the Prophet Abraham.
• Muslims revere Jesus as a messenger from God.
• For Muslims, the final prophet of God is the Prophet Muhammad.

The Prophet Muhammad and the Origins of the Koran

"Born about a.d. 570 in Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia , Muhammad was an orphan raised by his grandfather and uncle. He grew up to be a modest and respected businessman who rejected the widespread polytheism of his day and turned to the one God worshiped by the region's Christian and Jewish communities. At about age 40 Muhammad retreated to a cave in the mountains outside Mecca to meditate. There, Muslims believe, he was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who began reciting to him the Word of God. Until his death 23 years later, Muhammad passed along these revelations to a growing band of followers.These verses, compiled soon after Muhammad's death, became the Koran, or 'recitation,' considered by Muslims to be the literal Word of God and a refinement of the Jewish and Christian scriptures."

(Belt, Don (ed.) The World of Islam , pp. 16-17 . Washington , D.C. : The National Geographic Society, 2001)

Islamic tradition outlines five acts of worship that are essential to the lives of Muslims. They are often called the Five Pillars of Islam.

1. Shahadah (witness) a profession of faith declaring that there is only one God and Muhammad is his messenger.
2. Salat (prayer) prayers performed five times a day, facing in the direction of Mecca and the ancient shrine in Mecca known as the Kaaba.
3. Zakat (charity) charitable giving of a percentage of annual household income, if possible.
4. Sawm (fasting) fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
5. Hajj (pilgrimage) pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime, if physically and financially able to do so without compromising responsibilities to family.

Source: Belt, Don (ed.). The World of Islam. Washington , D.C. : The National Geographic Society, 2001. 

About the Hajj

At least once in his or her lifetime, every Muslim who is financially and physically able must make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the hajj during the last month of the Islamic year. The Islamic calendar is a lunar one containing only 354 days, so the month of hajj moves about 11 days earlier each year. While the hajj was in February in 2003, it will take place in late January 2004 and in early January 2005. It takes about 33 years to make a full cycle.

The hajj was an especially arduous undertaking in centuries past, when pilgrims had to haul all of their supplies - food, water and shelter - with them. Today, however, Mecca is a modern city and most amenities are available. In addition, the government of Saudi Arabia provides pilgrims on hajj with water, modern transportation and healthcare facilities.

The series of rites that pilgrims perform during the hajj symbolizes essential concepts of the Islamic faith and commemorates the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family, including Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in response to God's command.

Before arriving in the holy city, pilgrims enter a spiritual state known as ihram through a ritual washing and a declaration of intent to perform the pilgrimage. Then, pilgrims don simple attire - two seamless white sheets for men, and loose-fitting dresses and head scarves for women, which leave the face and hands exposed. The simple garments are symbolic of equality before God.

Upon arriving in Mecca , pilgrims often head straight to the Grand Mosque, home to the Kaaba, Islam's most sacred shrine. As they approach, they recite " Labbayka Allahumma Labbayk ," which means, "Here I am at your service, O God, here I am." When they reach the Kaaba, pilgrims perform the initial tawaf , which entails circling the Kaaba counter clockwise seven times. Pilgrims also perform the sa'y, which is hurrying seven times between two small hills, reenacting the story of Abraham's wife Hagar's search for water and food.

Next, on the first official day of hajj, some two million pilgrims travel a few miles to the valley of Mina , where they stay in thousands of white, air-conditioned tents. From Mina, pilgrims travel the following morning to the Plain of Arafat, where they spend the entire day in prayer, supplication and thanksgiving in what is often thought of as a preview of the Day of Judgment. After sunset, the pilgrims move to Muzdalifah, a site between Mina and Arafat, where they collect small stones there for the ritual to come. Here, they pray and, traditionally, spend the night under the stars.

The next day, the pilgrims return to Mina and throw pebbles at the first of three stone pillars, the jamarat . According to an Islamic tradition, Abraham pelted Satan with stones at these three locations when Satan tried to tempt Abraham to refuse God's command to sacrifice his son. Pilgrims also sacrifice animals, further reenacting the story of Abraham, who showed his willingness to obey God's command, but was allowed to sacrifice a lamb provided by God instead. The meat from the slaughtered animals is distributed to other pilgrims and poor and needy people throughout the world. In addition, pilgrims cut their hair or shave their heads and perform another required tawaf in Mecca before returning to Mina to complete the stoning of all three pillars. Finally, they return to Mecca to bid farewell with a final tawaf.

There are three ways to perform the hajj, and there may be variation in the details, but all pilgrims perform the major rites during the same five-day period. Muslims believe the rites of the hajj were instituted by the Prophet Abraham and restored by the Prophet Muhammad. The hajj is believed to be an opportunity to seek forgiveness of sins and to become closer to God.

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