The story of Islam for Children

Around 622 years after the birth of Jesus Christ, a man by the name of Muhammad traveled from a place called Mecca to another country called Medina.  There he started the religion known as Islam.  People who believe in this religion are called Muslims.  Muslims believe that there is only one true god, and his name is Allah.  Allah sent many prophets to earth like Abraham, Noah, Isaac, and even Jesus Christ.  Many Muslims believe that Islam was around even when Adam and Eve were created.

Muhammad was the last of Allah’s prophets.  Over several years he went to the mountains and an angel, called Gabriel, came to him and told him messages from Allah.  Mohammed wrote these down in a book called the Qur’an.  This is the Holy Book of Islam.

Muhammad started preaching his religion to his friends and family first, converting them to the Islamic faith.  Then he started preaching to the people in Mecca.  This wasn’t wanted in Mecca, because Muhammad was preaching about only one god.  The Meccans believed in many different gods.  They tried to kill Muhammad, but he escaped to a place called Yathrib, which is now known as Medina.  There he built the first Mosque, which is a place to worship Allah.

Many Muslims during Muhammad’s time were persecuted and killed.  Soon, however, Muhammad made an army that was very big.  They conquered all of the Middle East, including Egypt.  The religion of Islam grew and grew.  Arabia is now the leading Islamic country in the world, were the Muslim faith started.

Muslim believers have the Five Pillars of faith.  These are:

Shahada:  There is no god but Allah.

Salah:  This is prayer.  Prayer is done 5 times a day, while looking towards the east.  You must wash your hands and feet and be clean before prayer.

Zakat:  This means looking after other people.  All Muslims must give something to the poor to be cleansed of greed and selfishness.

Hajj:  This is a holy pilgrimage that has to be done by a Muslim at least once in their lifetime.  It is the journey to Makkah, or Mecca, where they worship Allah.

Saum:  This is Ramadan.  This marks the beginning when Muhammad received visions from Allah.  It is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar.  Muslims do not eat or drink for 30 days during the day.

The Muslim faith is a growing and popular religion.  Nearly 1.5 billion people are Muslims in the world.

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

One in a series of articles about Religion written for children.

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