The Truth

The third and last of the Abrahamic faiths is Islam. The emphasis of this book is on Islam. The third and final book of God is the Quran, which was conveyed by God through Prophet Mohammad beginning in AD 610. The revelations recorded in the Quran took twenty-four years to complete. Again, Mohammad was a simple man with no vices, and God chose him to receive the Quran and give humankind the laws it should follow. But then other powers started misleading it, as with Judaism and Christianity. Today there are sects and divisions in Islam. There are the Ahmadiyya, Khawarij, Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi.

The Ahmadiyya claim to practice the pristine form of Islam as followed by Mohammad and his earliest followers. The Khwaraij were initially divided into five major branches—Sufis, Arariqa, Najdat, Adjarites, and Ibadis. Hanafi, Malki, Shafi and Hanbali, Sunnis. Shia Islam, on the other hand, is separated into three major sects: Ismailis, Zaidis, and Twelvers. Ibadi theology developed in Basra, Iraq. The Ibadis were among the more moderate groups opposed to the fourth caliph, Ali. Sunni, Shia, Ibadi, Ahmadiyya, and Sufism are each important branches of contemporary Islam.

The definition of a sect is a division of a religious group, forming a distinct unit with certain refinements or distinctions of belief of practice.

There is one book in Islam that all are supposed to follow, and that is the Quran. All Muslims believe it, just as Jews believe the Torah and Christians believe the Gospels. The Quran is a book of God; probably no one has the courage to deny it. What Muslims have ended up doing is adding the verbal statement that we all believe in and follow the Quran.

Some Muslims also state that we believe in such-and-such add-ons. These additions are cleverly worded, neglecting that in Quran, God states it is a complete book. I am not giving my opinion one way or another. I leave it to readers’ discretion if any add-ons are necessary. Readers should do their own follow-ups.