The world of Islam took its place in history in the Arabian city of Mecca in the year 570, when a child was born named Muhammad. He was the son of a merchant who grew up to "maturity in a time of transition." "Muhammad, like Jesus, Moses, and other figures of the Old Testament, was a prophet, but he was also a man like other men. Allah the all mighty God of the Islam religion had chosen Muhammad to deliver his final revelation to all mankind who had rejected other messengers of early time. The Islam religion is monotheistic just like the religions of Christianity and Judaism. "Allah is the all-powerful being who created the universe and everything in it." Islam believes in salvation and gives on the hope of having an afterlife. All those who wish to reach this state must follow and practice the will of Allah. .
The Islamic religion that is based on the Holy Koran, which is the "heart of Islam." The Koran means recitation, which gives out the basic message that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad, is his Prophet. The Koran consists of 114 suras, which means chapters, which were created and written by a group that established themselves after the death of Muhammad. "The Koran is not only the sacred book of Islam, but an ethical guidebook and a code of law and political theory combined." In order to be a true Muslim one had to obey the will of Allah. The will of Allah was to practice a basic ethical code known as the "five pillars" of Islam. The first was to belief in Allah and Muhammad as his Prophet; second was to pray five times a day of which the Fridays would be the day a public prayer would be done midday to show worship to the all mighty Allah; then there was the recognition of the holy month of Ramadan in which you fast from dawn to sunset for thirty days; the forth is making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least one time in your life if possible; and last is giving "alms" also called a zakat to the poor and unfortunate.
