Mahommedanism

From Metapedia

The Mahommedan religion is generally known as Islam - the name given to it by Muhammad himself - and meaning the resigning or submitting oneself to God. The participle of the same Arabic verb, Muslim (in English usually spelt Moslem), is used for one who professes this religion. The expression "Mahommedan religio " has arisen in the West probably from analogy with "Christian religion", but is not recognized as a proper one by Moslem writers. Islam claims to be a divinely revealed religion given to the world by Mahomet, who was the last of a succession of inspired prophets. Its doctrine and practices are to be found in (1) the Book of God - the Koran - which was sent down from the highest heaven to Gabriel in the lowest, who in turn revealed it in sections to Mahomet; (2) the collections of tradition (liadith) containing the sayings and manner of life (sunna) of the Prophet; (3) the use of analogy (giyas) as applied to (1) and (2); and (4) the universal consent (ijma°) of the believers. The worship of Islam consists in (1) the recital of the creed; (2) the recital of the ordained prayers; (3) the fast during the month of Ramadhan; (4) almsgiving; (5) the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The theology of Islam finds its first public expression among the orthodox in the teaching of al-Ash`ari (d. after 932), but had its real beginning among the sects that arose soon after the death of Mahomet.

Islam is the latest of the so-called world-religions. Several of the others were practised in Arabia at the time of Mahomet, and the Prophet undoubtedly borrowed some of his doctrines and some of his practices from these.