1.
Arabic script
–
The Arabic script is a writing system used for writing several languages of Asia and Africa, such as Arabic, dialects of Mandinka, Central Kurdish, Luri, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, and others. Until the 16th century, it was used to write some texts in Spanish. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by the number of countries using it, the Arabic script is written from right to left in a cursive style. In most cases the letters transcribe consonants, or consonants and a few vowels, the script was first used to write texts in Arabic, most notably the Qurʼān, the holy book of Islam. It is also the basis for the tradition of Arabic calligraphy, the Arabic script has been adopted for use in a wide variety of languages besides Arabic, including Persian, Malay and Urdu which are not Semitic. Such adaptations may feature altered or new characters to represent phonemes that do not appear in Arabic phonology, the modified version of the Arabic script originally devised for use with Persian is known as the Perso-Arabic script by scholars. In the cases of Bosnian, Kurdish, Kashmiri, and Uyghur writing systems, the Arabic script can therefore be used in both abugida and abjad, although it is often strongly, erroneously connected to the latter. Use of the Arabic script in West African languages, especially in the Sahel, to a certain degree the style and usage tends to follow those of the Maghreb. Additional diacritics have come into use to facilitate writing of sounds not represented in the Arabic language, the term ʻAjamī, which comes from the Arabic root for foreign, has been applied to Arabic-based orthographies of African languages. There is evidence that writing Arabic in this set of letters influenced the style of modern Arabic script. After this initial period, Garshuni writing has continued to the present day among some Syriac Christian communities in the Arabic-speaking regions of the Levant, Kazakh in China Kurdish in Northern Iraq and Northwest Iran. It is mainly used in Sri Lanka and the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu for religious purposes, arwi language is the language of Tamil Nadu Muslims. Malayalam language represented by Arabic script variant is known as Arabi Malayalam, the script has particular letters to represent the peculiar sounds of Malayalam. This script is used in madrasas of the South Indian state of Kerala. It is similar to Chittagonian language in neighboring Bangladesh and sometimes using the Roman script. Malay in the Arabic script known as Jawi, in some cases it can be seen in the signboards of shops or market stalls. In addition, some television programming uses Jawi, such as announcements, advertisements, news, social programs, Berber languages have often been written in an adaptation of the Arabic alphabet. The use of the Arabic alphabet, as well as the competing Latin, West Africa Zarma language of the Songhay family
Arabic script
–
Basic Arabic alphabet
Arabic script
–
Calligraphy
2.
Specials (Unicode block)
–
Specials is a short Unicode block allocated at the very end of the Basic Multilingual Plane, at U+FFF0–FFFF. Of these 16 codepoints, five are assigned as of Unicode 9, U+FFFD � REPLACEMENT CHARACTER used to replace an unknown, unrecognized or unrepresentable character U+FFFE <noncharacter-FFFE> not a character. FFFE and FFFF are not unassigned in the sense. They can be used to guess a texts encoding scheme, since any text containing these is by not a correctly encoded Unicode text. The replacement character � is a found in the Unicode standard at codepoint U+FFFD in the Specials table. It is used to indicate problems when a system is unable to render a stream of data to a correct symbol and it is usually seen when the data is invalid and does not match any character, Consider a text file containing the German word für in the ISO-8859-1 encoding. This file is now opened with an editor that assumes the input is UTF-8. The first and last byte are valid UTF-8 encodings of ASCII, therefore, a text editor could replace this byte with the replacement character symbol to produce a valid string of Unicode code points. The whole string now displays like this, f�r, a poorly implemented text editor might save the replacement in UTF-8 form, the text file data will then look like this, 0x66 0xEF 0xBF 0xBD 0x72, which will be displayed in ISO-8859-1 as f�r. Since the replacement is the same for all errors this makes it impossible to recover the original character, a better design is to preserve the original bytes, including the error, and only convert to the replacement when displaying the text. This will allow the text editor to save the original byte sequence and it has become increasingly common for software to interpret invalid UTF-8 by guessing the bytes are in another byte-based encoding such as ISO-8859-1. This allows correct display of both valid and invalid UTF-8 pasted together, Unicode control characters UTF-8 Mojibake Unicodes Specials table Decodeunicodes entry for the replacement character
Specials (Unicode block)
–
Replacement character
3.
Islam
–
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
Islam
–
The
Kaaba, in
Mecca,
Hejaz region, today's
Saudi Arabia, is the
center of Islam.
Muslims from all over the world gather there to
pray in unity.
Islam
–
The dome of the
Carol I Mosque in
Constanța,
Romania, topped by the
Islamic crescent
Islam
–
Medallion showing "
Allah " (
God) in
Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul,
Turkey.
Islam
–
An
angel presenting
Muhammad and his companions with a miniature city. In the
Topkapi Palace Library,
Istanbul.
4.
Iman (concept)
–
Iman in Islamic theology denotes a believers faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, the term Iman has been delineated in both the Quran as well as the Hadith of Gabriel. According to the Quran, Iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds, in the Hadith of Gabriel, Iman in addition to Islam and Ihsan form the three dimensions of the Islamic religion. There exists a debate both within and outside Islam on the link between faith and reason in religion, and the importance of either. Several scholars contend that faith and reason spring from the source and hence must be harmonious. In Arabic, Iman, pronounced means faith and it is the verbal noun of آمَنَ to believe. In a hadith, Muhammad defined iman as a knowledge in the heart, a voicing with the tongue, Faith is confidence in a truth which is real. When people have confidence, they submit themselves to that truth, hamiduddin Farahi, while explaining the meaning of Imān in his exegesis, wrote, The root of imān is amn. It is used in various shades of meaning, one of its derivatives is mumin, which is among the noble names of Allah because He gives peace to those who seek His refuge. This word is also an ancient religious term, another similar narration ascribed to Muhammad is, Ibn Abbas narrates that the Angel Jibril once asked the Prophet, Tell me what is Iman. Jibril then asked him, If I do all this will I be with Iman, the Prophet said, When you have done all of this, you will be having Iman. It is also assumed that the essential Iman consists of the first 3 items, in the Quran, Iman is one of the 10 qualities which cause one to be the recipient of Gods mercy and reward. The Quran states that faith can grow with remembrance of God, the Quran also states that nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith. Muhammad is reported to have said that he gained sweetness of faith who was pleased to accept God as Lord, Islam as religion and he also said that no one can be a true believer unless he loves the Prophet more than his children, parents and relatives. At another instance, he has remarked that it is love with God. Amin Ahsan Islahi, an exegete of the Quran has clarified the nature of this love. It is because of love that a person, in every sphere of life, gives priority to this viewpoint. Islahi and Maududi both have inferred that the Quranic comparison of a word and a bad word in Chapter 14 is actually a comparison of faith
Iman (concept)
5.
God in Islam
–
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer and judge of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular, unique, inherently One, also all-merciful, the Surat 112 Al-Ikhlāş says, He is God, One. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent, in Islam, there are 99 known names of God, each of which evoke a distinct attribute of God. All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive god, among the 99 names of God, the most familiar and frequent of these names are the Compassionate and the Merciful. Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of mercy for which all creatures sing Gods attributes. Allah is the Arabic word referring to God in Abrahamic religions and it is distinguished from ilāh, the Arabic word meaning deity, which could refer to any of the gods worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia. God is described and referred to in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the Quran refers to the attributes of God as most beautiful names. According to Gerhard Böwering, They are traditionally enumerated as 99 in number to which is added as the highest Name, there are numerous conventional phrases and expressions invoking God. Islams most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called tawhid, affirming that God is one, the basic creed of Islam, the Shahada, involves لا إله إلا الله, or, I testify there is no god other than God. Muslims reject the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, according to Vincent J. Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. The deification or worship of anyone or anything other than God is the biggest sin in Islam, the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. God is the creator of the universe and all the creatures in it, praise is to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills, indeed, Allah is over all things competent. And it is We Who have constructed the heavens with might and verily and we created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, so blessed be Allah, the Best of creators. Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a person and from Him He created his wife. And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord, the most commonly used names in the primary sources are Al-Rahman, meaning Most Compassionate and Al-Rahim, meaning Most Merciful. God is said to love forgiving, with a hadith stating God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance
God in Islam
–
Allah Jalla Jalālah in
Arabic calligraphy
6.
Prophets and messengers in Islam
–
Belief in Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith, and specifically mentioned in the Quran. Muslims believe the first prophet was also the first human being, Many of the revelations delivered by the 48 prophets in Judaism and many prophets of Christianity are mentioned as such in the Quran but usually in altered form and with different names. For example, the Jewish Elisha is called Alyasa, Job is Ayyub, Jesus is Isa, the Torah given to Moses is called Tawrat, the Psalms given to David is the Zabur, the Gospel given to Jesus is Injil). Notwithstanding, none of the seven Jewish Prophetesses are mentioned in the Quran as prophets, each came to preach Islam at different times in history and some told of the coming of the final Islamic prophet and messenger of God, who would be named Ahmed commonly known as Muhammad. Each Islamic prophet directed a message to a different group of people, in Arabic and Hebrew, the term nabī means prophet. Forms of this noun occur 75 times in the Quran, the term nubuwwah occurs five times in the Quran. The terms rasūl and mursal denote messenger or apostle and occur more than 300 times, the term for a prophetic message, risālah, appears in the Quran in ten instances. The Syriac form of rasūl Allāh, s̲h̲eliḥeh d-allāhā, occurs frequently in the apocryphal Acts of St. Thomas, the corresponding verb for s̲h̲eliḥeh—s̲h̲alaḥ, occurs in connection with the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The words prophet and messenger appear several times in the Old Testament, the following table shows these words in different languages, In the Hebrew Bible, the word navi occurs more commonly, and the Hebrew word malakh refers to Angels in Judaism. According to Judaism, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi were the last prophets, with them, the authentic period of Nevuah died, and nowadays only the Bath Kol exists. In the New Testament, however, the word becomes more frequent. Messenger may refer to Jesus, to his Apostles and to John the Baptist, but the last book of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi, speaks of a messenger that Christian commentators interpret as a reference to the future prophet John the Baptist. In Muslim belief, every Islamic prophet preached Islam, the beliefs of charity, prayer, pilgrimage, worship of God and fasting are believed to have been taught by every prophet who has ever lived. The Quran itself calls Islam the religion of Abraham and refers to Jacob, the Quran speaks of the Islamic prophets as being the greatest human beings of all time. A prophet, in the Muslim sense of the term, is a person whom God specially chose to teach the faith of Islam, before man was created, God had specifically selected those men whom He would use as prophets. This does not, however, mean that every prophet began to prophesy from his birth, some were called to prophesy late in life, in Muhammads case at the age of 40. Others, such as John the Baptist, were called to prophesy while still at a young age, the Quran verse 4,69 lists various virtuous groups of human beings, among whom prophets occupy the highest rank. Verse 4,69 reads, All who obey Allah and the messenger are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah—of the prophets, the sincere, the witnesses, and we have made the evil ones friends to those without faith
Prophets and messengers in Islam
7.
Islamic view of angels
–
Belief in Angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam. They are considered heavenly beings without their own will unlike humans who perform tasks of God, the imagination of angels in Islam developed from the Quran and was influenced by other religions like Judaism and expanded by tafsir and the hadith literature. Angels take the role of performing different tasks of God. They are said to be created out of light, unlike humans or jinn, they have no biological needs and therefore no lower desires predicted by the natural world. They may be described as creatures of pure emotion and this is narrated in Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, book 56. Besides the personificated interpretation of angels, they are thought of carrying the laws of nature. Angels are not equal in status and consequently, they are delegated different tasks to perform, jibrail is the archangel responsible for revealing the Quran to Muhammad, verse by verse. Jibrail is the angel who communicates with the prophets and also for coming down with the blessings of Allah during the night of Laylat al-Qadr, mikail, who provides nourishments for bodies and souls. Mikail is often depicted as the archangel of mercy who is responsible for bringing rain, Israfil or Israafiyl, is an archangel in Islam who will blow the trumpet at the end of time. According to the hadith, Israfil is the responsible for signaling the coming of Qiyamah by blowing a horn. Azrael/Azraaiyl/Azrail also known as Malak al-maut, is the angel of death and he is responsible for parting the soul from the body of the deads. The angels of the Seven Heavens, hafaza, Kiraman Katibin, two of whom are charged to every human being, one writes down good deeds and another one writes down evil deeds. They are both described as Raqeebun Ateed in the Quran, muaqqibat who keep people from death until its decreed time and who bring down blessings. Jundullah, those who helped Muhammad in the battlefield Those who draw out the souls of the blessed and those angels who drive the clouds. The Angel of the Mountains Munkar and Nakir, who question the dead in their graves, dardail, who travel in the earth searching out assemblies where people remember Gods name. The angels charged with each existent thing, maintaining order and warding off corruption and their number is known only to God. Ridwan, the keeper of the Paradise, azazil is sometimes considered as an angel, who was the keeper of paradise and leader of an angelic army. He is also the instrument of divine anger, otherwise he is held for a Jinni raised to the angelic realm
Islamic view of angels
8.
Islamic eschatology
–
Islamic eschatology is the branch of Islamic scholarship that studies Yawm al-Qiyāmah or Yawm ad-Dīn. This is believed to be the final assessment of humanity by God, consisting of the annihilation of all life, resurrection, the time of the event is not specified, although there are major and minor signs which have been foretold to happen at al-Qiyamah. Many verses of the Quran contain the motif of the impending Last Judgment, surat al-Qiyama has as its main subject the resurrection. The Great Tribulation is also described in the hadith, and commentaries of the such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Majah, Muhammad al-Bukhari. The Day of Judgment is also known as the Day of Reckoning, the hadith describe the end time with more specificity than the Quran, describing the events of al-Qiyamah through twelve major signs. At the time of judgment, terrible corruption and chaos will rule, the Mahdi will be sent and with the help of Jesus, will battle Masih ad-Dajjal. They will triumph, liberating Islam from cruelty, and this will be followed by a time of serenity with people living true to religious values, however, there is no mention of the advent of Mahdi and Isa in one era in any of the hadith. Some Muslim scholars translate the Arabic word Imam as Mahdi to prove the advent of Mahdi, like other Abrahamic religions, Islam also teaches resurrection of the dead, a final tribulation and eternal division of the righteous and wicked. Islamic apocalyptic literature describing Armageddon is often known as fitna, malāḥim, the righteous are rewarded with pleasures of Jannah Paradise, while the unrighteous are punished in Jahannam Hell. The Day of Judgment or Resurrection, al-Qiyāmah, is one of the six articles of faith in Islam. The tribulation associated with it is described in the Quran and hadith, and commentaries of ulama like al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Majah, Muhammad al-Bukhari, the Day of Judgment is also known as the Day of Reckoning, the Hour, and the Last Day. The Day of Judgment or Resurrection, al-Qiyāmah, relates to one of the six articles in Sunni Islam and seven articles in Shia Islam. There are two sources in Islamic scripture that discuss the Last Judgment, the Quran, which is viewed in Islam as infallible. Hadith are viewed with more flexibility due to the compilation of the traditions in written form. The concept has also discussed in commentaries of ulama such as al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir. The Quran describes the Last Judgment with a number of interpretations of its verses, there are specific aspects, The time is known only to God. Those who have been dead will believe that a time has passed between birth and death. God will resurrect all, even if they have turned to stone or iron and those that have accepted false deities will suffer in the afterlife
Islamic eschatology
9.
Five Pillars of Islam
–
The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the hadith of Gabriel. The Shia and Sunni both agree on the details for the performance and practice of these acts, but the Shia do not refer to them by the same name. They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self-purification, shahada is a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God and that Muhammad is Gods messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic, lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu-llāh There is no god but God Muhammad is the messenger of God and it is essential to utter it to become a Muslim and to convert to Islam. Salat consists of five daily prayers according to the Sunna, the names are according to the times, Fajr, Dhuhr, ʿAṣr, Maghrib. All of these prayers are recited while facing in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Muslims must wash before prayer, this washing is called wudu. The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including, bowing with hands on knees, a Muslim may perform their prayer anywhere, such as in offices, universities, and fields. However, the mosque is the more preferable place for prayers because the mosque allows for fellowship, Zakāt or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving based on accumulated wealth. The word zakāt can be defined as purification and growth because it allows an individual to achieve balance, the principle of knowing that all things belong to God is essential to purification and growth. Zakāt is obligatory for all Muslims who are able to do so and it is the personal responsibility of each Muslim to ease the economic hardship of others and to strive towards eliminating inequality. Zakāt consists of spending a portion of wealth for the benefit of the poor or needy. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of voluntary charity, There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakāt, The giver must declare to God his intention to give the zakāt. The zakāt must be paid on the day that it is due, after the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than usual means. This means if one is then he or she needs to pay a portion of their income. If a person does not have money, then they should compensate for it in different ways, such as good deeds. The zakāt must be distributed in the community from which it was taken, three types of fasting are recognized by the Quran, Ritual fasting, fasting as compensation for repentance, and ascetic fasting. Ritual fasting is an act during the month of Ramadan
Five Pillars of Islam
–
An artwork depicting the 5 pillars
Five Pillars of Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
–
Afghan politicians and foreign diplomats praying (making salat) at the
U.S. Embassy in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
Five Pillars of Islam
–
Muslims traditionally break their fasts in the
month of Ramadan with
dates (like those offered by this date seller in
Kuwait City), as was the recorded practice (
Sunnah) of
Muhammad.
10.
Shahada
–
The Shahada, is an Islamic creed declaring belief in the oneness of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as Gods prophet. The declaration, in its shortest form, reads, لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadur-rasūlu-llāh There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Audio audio The noun šahāda, from the verbal root šahida meaning to observe, witness, testify, the Islamic creed is also called, in the dual form, šahādatān. The expression al-šahāda is used in Quran as one of the titles of God, in Sunni Islam, the shahada has two parts, la ilaha illallah, and Muhammadun rasul Allah, which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada. The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl, in the Quran, the first shahadah takes the form la ilaha illallah twice, and allahu la ilaha illa hu much more often. It appears in the form la ilaha illa Hu in many places. It appears in these forms about 30 times in the Quran, islams monotheistic nature is reflected in the first shahada, which declares belief in the oneness of God and that he is the only entity truly worthy of worship. The second shahada indicates the means by which God has offered guidance to human beings, the verse reminds Muslims that they accept not only the prophecy of Muhammad but also the long line of prophets who preceded him. While the first part is seen as a truth, the second is specific to Islam. Shahada is a statement of both ritual and worship, recitation of the shahādah is the most common statement of faith for Muslims. In Sunni Islam, it is counted as the first of the Five Pillars of Islam, while the Shii Twelvers and it is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child, and it is whispered into the ear of a dying person. The five canonical daily prayers include a recitation of the shahada. Recitation of the shahada in front of witnesses is also the first and this occasion often attracts more than the two required witnesses and sometimes includes a party-like celebration to welcome the convert into their new faith. In accordance with the importance played by the notion of intention in Islamic doctrine. Intention is what acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity. Though the two phrases of the shahada are both present in the Quran, they are not found there side by side as in the shahada formula. An inscription in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem reads There is no god but God alone, He has no partner with him, Muhammad is the messenger of God. Another variant appears in coins minted after the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, although it is not clear when the shahada first came into common use among Muslims, it is clear that the sentiments it expresses were part of the Quran and Islamic doctrine from the earliest period
Shahada
–
A
mancus gold
dinar of king
Offa of Mercia, copied from the dinars of the
Abbasid Caliphate (774); probably unintentionally, it still includes the Arabic text "Muhammad is the Apostle of God".
Shahada
–
Qiblah of Imam Mustansir in the
Mosque of Ibn Tulun of
Fatimid Cairo showing the Shi'i Kalima with the phrase ʿalī walī allāh at the end.
Shahada
–
The Testimony of Faith inscribed as calligraphy on top of the Babussalam gate of the
Topkapi Palace Museum,
Istanbul,
Turkey.
11.
Fasting in Islam
–
Fasting in Islam, known as Sawm or siyam صيام, the Arabic words for fasting, is abstaining from eating and drinking. In the terminology of Islamic law, sawm means to abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours, the observance of sawm during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, but is not confined to that month. Sawm is a cognate to Syriac, ܨܘܡܐ ṣawmā. Literally, it means to abstain, cognates to Hebrew tsom, fasting is not unique to the Muslims. It has been practiced for centuries in connection with religious ceremonies by Christians, Jews, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists, for example, the Muslims of Central Asia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey use the words roza/rozha/roja/oruç, which comes from Farsi. While the Malay community in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore call it puasa, Muslims are prohibited from eating, drinking and engaging in conjugal sexual relationships from dawn to sunset. Fasting helps Muslims develop self-control, gain an understanding of God’s gifts. Fasting in Islam involves abstaining from all bodily pleasures between dawn and sunset, not only is food forbidden, but also any sexual activity. All things which are regarded as prohibited is even more so in this month, each and every moment during the fast, a person suppresses their passions and desires in loving obedience to God. This consciousness of duty and the spirit of patience helps in strengthening ones faith, fasting helps a person gain self-control. A person who abstains from permissible things like food and drink is likely to feel conscious of his sins, a heightened sense of spirituality helps break the habits of lying, staring with lust at the opposite sex, gossiping, and wasting time. Fasting is also viewed as a means of controlling ones desires, Sawm also carries a significant spiritual meaning. It teaches one the principle of God Consciousness, because when one observes fasting, it is out of deep love for God. Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, the month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion. And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, number of other days. God desireth for you ease, he desireth not hardship for you, and that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify God for having guided you, the intention means resolving to fast. It is essential to have the intention the night before, night by night, throughout the duration of the fast itself, Muslims will abstain from certain provisions that the Quran has otherwise allowed, namely eating, drinking and sexual intercourse. This is in addition to the standard obligation already observed by Muslims of avoiding that which is not permissible under Quranic or sharia law, without observing this standard obligation, sawm is rendered useless and is seen simply as an act of starvation
Fasting in Islam
–
Ending the fast at a mosque
12.
Sharia
–
Sharia, Sharia law, or Islamic law is the religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran. In Arabic, the term refers to Gods divine law and is contrasted with fiqh. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim traditionalists and reformists, traditional theory of Islamic jurisprudence recognizes four sources of sharia, the Quran, sunnah, qiyas, and ijma. Traditional jurisprudence distinguishes two branches of law, ʿibādāt and muʿāmalāt, which together comprise a wide range of topics. Its rulings assign actions to one of five categories, mandatory, recommended, permitted, abhorred, thus, some areas of sharia overlap with the Western notion of law while others correspond more broadly to living life in accordance with God’s will. Historically, sharia was interpreted by independent jurists, ottoman rulers achieved additional control over the legal system by promulgating their own legal code and turning muftis into state employees. Non-Muslim communities had legal autonomy, except in cases of interconfessional disputes, in the modern era, sharia-based criminal laws were widely replaced by statutes inspired by European models. Judicial procedures and legal education in the Muslim world were brought in line with European practice. While the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to sharia, legislative bodies which codified these laws sought to modernize them without abandoning their foundations in traditional jurisprudence. The Islamic revival of the late 20th century brought along calls by Islamist movements for full implementation of sharia, including reinstatement of hudud corporal punishments, in some cases, this resulted in traditionalist legal reform, while other countries witnessed juridical reinterpretation of sharia advocated by progressive reformers. The role of sharia has become a contested topic around the world, attempts to impose it on non-Muslims have caused intercommunal violence in Nigeria and may have contributed to the breakup of Sudan. Some Muslim-minority countries in Asia, Africa and Europe recognize the use of sharia-based family laws for their Muslim populations, there are ongoing debates as to whether sharia is compatible with secular forms of government, human rights, freedom of thought, and womens rights. The word sharīʿah is used by Arabic-speaking peoples of the Middle East to designate a prophetic religion in its totality, for example, sharīʿat Mūsā means law or religion of Moses and sharīʿatu-nā can mean our religion in reference to any monotheistic faith. Within Islamic discourse, šarīʿah refers to regulations governing the lives of Muslims. For many Muslims, the word means simply justice, and they will consider any law that promotes justice, Muslims of different perspectives agree in their respect for the abstract notion of sharia, but they differ in how they understand the practical implications of the term. Classical sharia, the body of rules and principles elaborated by Islamic jurists during the first centuries of Islam, historical sharia, the body of rules and interpretations developed throughout Islamic history, ranging from personal beliefs to state legislation and varying across an ideological spectrum. Classical sharia has often served as a point of reference for these variants, Contemporary sharia, the full spectrum of rules and interpretations that are developed and practiced at present
Sharia
–
Official from the
Taliban beating a woman in
Afghanistan for violating local interpretation of sharia.
Sharia
Sharia
–
Syariah Court in
Malacca,
Malaysia.
Sharia
–
Anti-democracy, pro-Sharia public demonstration in 2014 in
Maldives.
13.
Quran
–
The Quran is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God. It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature, the Quran is divided into chapters, which are then divided into verses. The word Quran occurs some 70 times in the text of the Quran, although different names, according to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammads death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and these codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthmans codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with minor differences in meaning. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures and it summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance and it sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law, during prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic. Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz, some Muslims read Quranic ayah with elocution, which is often called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers, in order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on the tafsir. The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself and it is a verbal noun of the Arabic verb qaraʼa, meaning he read or he recited. The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā, which refers to reading or lesson. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammads lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the act of reciting, as reflected in an early Quranic passage, It is for Us to collect it, in other verses, the word refers to an individual passage recited. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example, So when al-qurʼān is recited, listen to it, the word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel. The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran, each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb, āyah, and sūrah, the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with an article, the word is referred to as the revelation
Quran
–
Manuscript of the Quran.
Brooklyn Museum.
Quran
–
Quran
Quran
–
11th-century North African Quran in the
British Museum.
Quran
–
Quran − in
Mashhad, Iran − written by
Ali.
14.
Sunnah
–
Sunnah is the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as various reports about Muhammads companions. The Quran and the Sunnah make up the two sources of Islamic theology and law. The Sunnah is also defined as a path, a way, in the pre-Islamic period, the word sunnah was used with the meaning manner of acting, whether good or bad. During the early Islamic period, the term came to refer to any good precedent set by people of the past, the sunnah of Muhammad includes his specific words, habits, practices, and silent approvals. Instituting these practices was, as the Quran states, a part of Muhammads responsibility as a messenger of God, recording the sunnah was an Arabian tradition and, once people converted to Islam, they brought this custom to their religion. The word Sunnah is also used to refer to religious duties that are optional, Sunnah is an Arabic word that means habit or usual practice. Sunni Muslims are also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jamāah or Ahl as-Sunnah for short, some early Sunnî Muslim scholars reportedly used the term the Sunnah narrowly to refer to Sunnî Doctrine as opposed to the creeds of Shia and other non-Sunni sects. According to Fazlur Rhaman, Sunnah is a behavior concept and this concept could be applied on mental and physical acts, in other words, sunnah counted as a law of behavior. This behavior belongs to conscious agents who can possess their acts, besides, sunnah counted as normative moral law. Sunnah also means the practice which gains the status of normative. A similar in that We have sent among you a Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge. Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, the teachings of wisdom have been declared to be a function of Muhammad along with the teachings of the scripture. Several Quranic verses mention wisdom coupled with scripture or the book, surah 4, ayah 113 states, For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and taught thee what thou Knewest not, And great is the Grace of Allah unto thee. Surah 2, ayah 231. but remember Allahs grace upon you, surah 33, ayah 34, And bear in mind which is recited in your houses of the revelations of God and of wisdom. Therefore, along with divine revelation the sunnah was directly taught by God, modern Sunni scholars are beginning to examine both the sira and the hadith in order to justify modifications to jurisprudence. The sunnah, in one form or another, would retain its role in providing a moral example. For Muslims the imitation of Muhammad helps one to know and be loved by God, and We have also sent down unto you the reminder and the advice, that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought. And We have not sent down the Book to you, except that you may explain clearly unto them those things in which they differ, and a guidance and a mercy for a folk who believe
Sunnah
15.
Fiqh
–
Figuratively, fiqh means, knowledge about Islamic legal rulings from their sources. He must look deep down into a matter and not suffice himself with just the apparent meaning, a person who only knows the appearance of a matter is not a faqīh. Conceptually, the attempt to understand divine law. Whereas shariah is immutable and infallible, fiqh is fallible and changeable, fiqh is distinguished from usul al-fiqh, the methods of legal interpretation and analysis. Fiqh is the product of application of usul al-fiqh, the product of human efforts at understanding the divine will. A hukm is a ruling in a given case. Fiqh deals with the observance of rituals, morals and social legislation in Islam, in the modern era, there are four prominent schools of fiqh within Sunni practice, plus two within Shia practice. A person trained in fiqh is known as a Faqih, the word fiqh is an Arabic term meaning deep understanding or full comprehension. Technically it refers to the body of Islamic law extracted from detailed Islamic sources and this definition is consistent amongst the jurists. In Modern Standard Arabic, fiqh has come to mean jurisprudence in general and it is separated in Sunni, shia and others. Qiyas, i. e. analogy which is deployed if Ijma or historic collective reasoning on the issue is not available. For example, the Quran states one needs to engage in prayers and fast during the month of Ramadan. Details about these issues can be found in the traditions of Muhammad, so Quran, some topics are without precedent in Islams early period. In those cases, Muslim jurists try to arrive at conclusions by other means, Sunni jurists use historical consensus of the community, a majority in the modern era also use analogy and weigh the harms and benefits of new topics, and a plurality utilizes juristic preference. The conclusions arrived at with the aid of additional tools constitute a wider array of laws than the Sharia consists of. Thus, in contrast to the sharia, fiqh is not regarded as sacred and this division of interpretation in more detailed issues has resulted in different schools of thought. This wider concept of Islamic jurisprudence is the source of a range of laws in different topics that guide Muslims in everyday life, Islamic jurisprudence covers two main areas, Rules in relation to actions, and, Rules in relation to circumstances surrounding actions. The Sunni schools are Hanafi Maliki Shafii Hanbali see Wahhabism Zahiri Qurtubi No longer exists Laythi No longer exists, the schools of Shia Islam comprise, Jafari Zaydi Entirely separate from both the Sunni and Shia traditions, Khawarij Islam has evolved its own distinct school
Fiqh
–
Legal systems of the world
Fiqh
–
Green Dome and Prophet's Mosque at sunset.
16.
History of Islam
–
The history of Islam concerns the political, economic, social, and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Despite concerns about reliability of sources, most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca. A century later, the Islamic empire extended from Iberia in the west to the Indus river in the east, polities such as those ruled by the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks were among the most influential powers in the world. The Islamic civilization gave rise to many centers of culture and science and produced notable astronomers, mathematicians, during the 19th and early 20th centuries most parts of the Muslim world fell under influence or direct control of European Great Powers. Their efforts to win independence and build modern nation states over the course of the last two centuries continue to reverberate to the present day, the following timeline can serve as a rough visual guide to the most important polities in the Islamic world prior to the First World War. It covers major historical centers of power and culture, including Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Levant, Egypt, Maghreb, al-Andalus, Transoxania, Hindustan, dates are approximate, consult particular articles for details. The study of the earliest periods in Islamic history is difficult by a lack of sources. For example, the most important historiographical source for the origins of Islam is the work of al-Tabari, while al-Tabari was an excellent historian by the standards of his time and place, use of his work as a source is problematic for two reasons. For one, his style of historical writing permitted liberal use of mythical, legendary, stereotyped, distorted, Second, al-Tabaris descriptions of the beginning of Islam post-date the events by a large amount of time, al-Tabari having died in 923 CE. Differing views about how to deal with the sources has led to the development of four different approaches to the history of early Islam. All four methods have some level of support today, the descriptive method uses the outlines of Islamic traditions, while being adjusted for the stories of miracles and faith-centred claims within those sources. Edward Gibbon and Gustav Weil represent some of the first historians following the descriptive method, on the source critical method, a comparison of all the sources is sought in order to identify which informants to the sources are weak and thereby distinguish spurious material. The work of William Montgomery Watt and that of Wilferd Madelung are two source critical examples, on the tradition critical method, the sources are believed to be based on oral traditions with unclear origins and transmission history, and so are treated very cautiously. Ignaz Goldziher was the pioneer of the critical method. The skeptical method doubts nearly all of the material in the traditional sources, an early example of the skeptical method was the work of John Wansbrough. Nowadays, the popularity of the different methods employed varies on the scope of the works under consideration, for overview treatments of the history of early Islam, the descriptive approach is more popular. For scholars who look at the beginnings of Islam in depth, after the 8th century CE, the quality of sources improves. For the time prior to the beginning of Islam—in the 6th century CE—sources are superior as well, Islam arose within the context of Late Antiquity
History of Islam
–
The
Mosque of Uqba (Great Mosque of Kairouan), founded by the Umayyad general Uqba Ibn Nafi in 670 AD, is the oldest and most prestigious mosque in the Muslim West; its present form dates from the 9th century,
Kairouan,
Tunisia.
History of Islam
History of Islam
–
Dome of the Rock The Mosque of Omar, on
Ash-Haram Al-Sharif (the
Temple Mount), built by Abd al-Malik; completed at the end of the
Second Fitna.
History of Islam
–
An Arabic manuscript written under the second half of the Abbasid Era.
17.
Muhammad in Islam
–
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, in short form Muhammad, is considered by Muslims to be the last Rasul and Nabi sent by Allah to guide humanity to the right way. The religious, social, and political tenets that Muhammad established in the light of Quran became the foundation of Islam, Muslims often refer to Muhammad as Prophet Muhammad, or just The Prophet or The Messenger, and regard him as the greatest of all Prophets. He is seen by Muslims as a possessor of all the virtues, as an act of respect, Muslims follow the name of Muhammad by the Arabic benediction sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a practice instructed by Qur’an and Hadith. The deeds and sayings in the life of Muhammad – known as Sunnah – are considered a model of the life-style that Muslims are obliged to follow. Recognizing Muhammad as Gods final messenger is one of the requirements in Islam which is clearly laid down in the second part of the Shahadah. The Qur’an chiefly refers to Muhammad as Messenger and Messenger of God, and asks people to him so as to become successful in this life. Born in about 570 CE into a respected Qurayshi family of Mecca, because of persecution of the newly converted Muslims, upon the invitation of a delegation from Medina, Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina in 622 CE, an event known as Hijra. A turning point in Muhammads life, this Hijra also marks the beginning of Islamic calendar. Despite the ongoing hostility of the Meccans, Muhammad, along with his followers, took control of Mecca in 630 CE, treated its citizens with generosity, and ordered to destroy all the pagan idols. By the time he died in 632, his teachings had won the acceptance of Islam by almost all the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. The Qur’an enumerates little about Muhammads early life or other details, but it talks about his prophetic mission, his moral excellence. According to the Qur’an, Muhammad is the last in a chain of prophets sent by God, throughout the Qur’an, Muhammad is referred to as Messenger, Messenger of God, and Prophet. Some of such verses are 2,101,2,143,2,151,3,32,3,81,3,144,3,164,4, 79-80,5,15,5,41,7,157,8,01,9,3,33,40,48,29, and 66,09. Other terms are used, including Warner, bearer of glad tidings, the Quran asserts that Muhammad was a man who possessed the highest moral excellence, and that God made him a good example or a goodly model for Muslims to follow. The Quran disclaims any superhuman characteristics for Muhammad, but describes him in terms of human qualities. In several verses, the Quran crystallizes Muhammad’s relation to humanity, according to the Quran, God sent Muhammad with truth, and as a blessing to the whole world. The Quran also categorizes some theological issues regarding Muhammad, the most important among them is the edict to follow the teachings of Muhammad. The Quran repeatedly commands people to follow God and his Messenger in verses including 3, 31-32,3,132,4,59, and 4,69
Muhammad in Islam
–
Common
calligraphic representation of Muhammad's name
Muhammad in Islam
Muhammad in Islam
–
The birth place of Muhammad. After his migration, the house was taken and sold by
Aqil ibn Abi Talib. In modern times, the house was demolished and converted into a library in 1951
Muhammad in Islam
–
Quba Mosque, the first mosque in the history of Islam, at the outskirts of
Medina. It was founded by Islamic prophet Muhammad when he emigrated to Medina
18.
Ahl al-Bayt
–
Ahl al-Bayt is a phrase meaning, literally, People of the House or Family of the House. Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, in Shia Islam the Ahl al-Bayt are central to Islam and interpreters of the Quran and Sunnah. Shias believe they are successors of Muhammad and consist of Muhammad, Fatimah, Ali, Hasan, and Husayn and the Imams, there are differing opinions on the scope and importance of Ahl al-Bayt. Sometimes the descendants of his uncles, Abu Talib and al-‘Abbas are included as well. Some Sunnis consider only the family up until Hasan ibn Ali, the Ummayad Caliph, Muawiyah I, was the one to oppose Ali, member of the Ahlul Bayt, and cousin and brother in law to Muhammad. Following Muawiyah Is rule, his successor and offspring, Yazid I, Bayt refers to habitation and dwelling, whether tented or built. It can also be translated as household. The Ahl-Al-Bayt of a person refers to his members and all those who live in his house. Ahlul Bayt is the form of addressing the members and wife of the family. The Quran uses the term Ahl al-Bayt twice as a term of respect for wives, the first instance refers to Muhammads wives, and the second refers to Abrahams wife Sara. According to some interpretations, the Quran also implicitly refers to Ahl al-Bayt in 42,23 using the term al-qurbā, there has been much debate concerning which people constitute Ahl al-Bayt. Although there have been disagreements, there is a consensus amongst Sunni and Shia Muslims that the Ahl al-Kisa hadith refers specifically to Ali, Fatimah, Hasan. Mention of the Ahl al-Bayt, Muhammads household, is present in a verse of the Quran as follows, O wives of the Prophet. You are not like any other of the women, If you will be on guard, then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn. And stay in houses and do not display your finery like the displaying of the ignorance of yore, and keep up prayer, and pay the poor-rate. Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House, and to purify you a purifying. And keep to mind what is recited in your houses of the communications of Allah, the precise definition of the term in this verse has been subject to varying interpretations. In one tradition, according to which Muhammads companion Salman al-Farsi is included as a member, it is used to distinguish from the muhajirun and this is supported by various traditions attributed to Muhammad wherein he addresses each of his wives as Ahl al-Bayt
Ahl al-Bayt
19.
Sahabah
–
The term aṣ-ṣaḥābah refers to the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This form is definite plural, the singular is masculine sahabi. Later scholars accepted their testimony of the words and deeds of Muhammad, the testimony of the companions, as it was passed down through trusted chains of narrators, was the basis of the developing Islamic tradition. The most widespread definition of a companion is someone who met Muhammad, believed in him and died as a Muslim. ”Anyone who died after rejecting Islam and those who saw him but held off believing in him until after his passing are not considered Sahaba but Tabiin. In their view, the Quran has outlined a high level of faith as one of the qualities of the Sahabah. Hence, they admit to this list only those individuals who had contact with Muhammad, lived with him. This view has implications in Islamic law since narrations of Muhammad transmitted through the Sahabah acquire a status of authenticity. Lists of prominent companions usually run to 50 or 60 names, the book entitled Istîâb fî marifat-il-Ashâb by Hafidh Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Qurtubi consists of 2,770 biographies of male and 381 biographies of female Sahabah. According to an observation in the book entitled Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya, a number of persons had already converted to Islam by the time Muhammad died. There were 10,000 by the time Mecca was conquered and 70,000 during the Battle of Tabouk in 630. Some Muslims assert that they were more than 200,000 in number, indeed, He was to them Kind and Merciful. In Islam, there are three types of Sahabah, The people who were Muslims at the time of Badr, but those who believed and did not emigrate - for you there is no guardianship of them until they emigrate. And if they seek help of you for the religion, then you must help, and Allah is Seeing of what you do. Quran, sura 8, ayah 72 And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, and you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah, Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward. The people who were Muslims before victory at Mecca and went into exile and they are also high in degree, especially those who were present at Hudabiyah
Sahabah
Sahabah
20.
Rashidun
–
The concept of Rightly Guided Caliphs originated with the later Abbasid Caliphate based in Baghdad. It is a reference to the Sunni imperative Hold firmly to my example, the first four Caliphs who ruled after the death of Muhammad are often described as the Khulafāʾ Rāshidūn. The Rashidun were either elected by a council or chosen based on the wishes of their predecessor, in the order of succession, the Rāshidūn were, Abu Bakr. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, – Umar is often spelled Omar in some Western scholarship, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan – Uthman is often spelled Othman in some non-Arabic scholarship. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib – During this period however, Mu‘awiyah I controlled the Levantine, in addition to this, there are several views regarding additional rashidun. Al-Hasan, the eldest grandson of Muhammad, briefly succeeded ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib as caliph in 661 CE, Al-Hasan abdicated his right to the caliphate in favour of Mu‘awiyah I in order to end the potential for ruinous civil war. ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Aziz, who was one of the Umayyad caliphs, has often been regarded by Sunni historians as one of the Rashidun, more rarely, the Ottoman caliph Fatih Sultan Mehmed is also sometimes regarded to be among the rightly guided caliphs. In the Ibadi tradition however, only the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are considered to be the Two Rightly Guided Caliphs, ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also includes the Abbasid caliphs, including Harun al-Rashid, in his enumeration. Abu Bakr was a companion and the father-in-law of Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammads death, Abu Bakr was called Al-Siddiq and was known by that title among later generations of Muslims. ‘Umar c.2 Nov. was a companion and adviser to Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr on 23 August 634 as the second caliph, under Umar the Islamic empire expanded at an unprecedented rate ruling the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. Among his conquests are Jerusalem, Damascus, and Egypt and he was killed by a Persian captive. Uthman ibn Affan was one of the companions of Muhammad, ‘Uthman was born into the Umayyad clan of Mecca, a powerful family of the Quraysh tribe. He became caliph at the age of 70, under his leadership, the empire expanded into Fars in 650 and some areas of Khorasan in 651, and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s. His rule ended when he was assassinated, the committee members were also reciters of the Quran and had memorised the entire text during the lifetime of Muhammad. This work was due to the vast expansion of Islam under Uthmans rule. This had led to variant readings of the Qur’an for those converts who were not familiar with the language, after clarifying any possible errors in pronunciation or dialects, ‘Uthman sent copies of the sacred text to each of the Muslim cities and garrison towns, and destroyed variant texts
Rashidun
Rashidun
–
The names of the first four caliphs inscribed at the dome of
Yeni Mosque in
Eminönü,
Istanbul. Construction was begun during the regency of
Safiye Sultan and completed by Turhan Hatice Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan
Mehmed IV.
21.
Imamah (Shia doctrine)
–
In Shia Islam, the imamah is the doctrine that the figures known as imams are rightfully the central figures of the ummah, the entire Shiite system of doctrine focuses on the imamah. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance to their followers as is the case of the living Imams of the Nizari Ismaili tariqah. According to Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, the Imam is a means through which humans receive divine grace, because He brings men closer to obedience, as fulfilling the human being is his wish, it is logical that God appoints Imams to subject man to his wishes. So his existence and his deeds display two forms of grace of God toward man, the word Imām denotes a person who stands or walks in front. For Sunni Islam, the word is used to mean a person who leads the course of prayer in the mosque. It also means the head of a madhhab, all Muslims believe that Muhammad had said, To whomsoever I am Mawla, Ali is his Mawla. This hadith has been narrated in different ways by different sources in no less than 45 hadith books of both Sunni and Shia collections. This hadith has also narrated by the collector of hadiths, al-Tirmidhi,3713, as well as Ibn Maajah,121. The major point of conflict between the Sunni and the Shia is in the interpretation of the word Mawla, for the Shia the word means Lord and Master and has the same elevated significance as when the term had been used to address Muhammad himself during his lifetime. However, for the Sunnis the word means the beloved or the revered and has no other significance at all. Each succession dispute brought forth a different tariqah within Shia Islam, each Shia tariqah followed its own particular Imams dynasty, thus resulting in different numbers of Imams for each particular Shia tariqah. When the dynastic line of the separating successor Imam ended with no heir to succeed him, then either he or his successor was believed to have gone into concealment. The Shia tariqah with a majority of adherents are the Twelvers who are known as the Shia. After that come the Nizari Ismailis commonly known as the Ismailis, the Druze tariqah initially were part of the Fatimid Ismailis and separated from them after the death of the Fatimid Imam and Caliph al Hakim Bi Amrillah. The Shia Sevener tariqah no longer exists, another small tariqah is the Zaidi Shias, also known as the Fivers and who do not believe in The Occultation of their last Imam. Although all these different Shia tariqahs belong to the Shia group in Islam, the Shia Nizari Ismailis by definition have to have a present and living Imam until the end of time. Thus if any living Nizari Ismaili Imam fails to leave behind a successor after him then the Nizari Ismailism’s cardinal principle would be broken and it’s very raison dêtre would come to an end. They refer to the verse 5,3 of Quran which was revealed to the prophet when he appointed Ali as his successor at the day of Ghadir Khumm, regarding 17,71, no age can be without an Imam
Imamah (Shia doctrine)
–
Imamah of Islamic
Imamah (Shia doctrine)
–
Imamah
Imamah (Shia doctrine)
Imamah (Shia doctrine)
–
The name of Imam as it appears in
Masjid Nabawi.
22.
Caliphate
–
A caliphate is an area containing an Islamic steward known as a caliph —a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, the Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt, before the advent of Islam, Arabian monarchs traditionally used the title malik, or another from the same root. The term caliph, derives from the Arabic word khalīfah, which means successor, steward, however, studies of pre-Islamic texts suggest that the original meaning of the phrase was successor selected by God. There was no specified procedure for this shura or consultation, candidates were usually, but not necessarily, from the same lineage as the deceased leader. Capable men who would lead well were preferred over an ineffectual heir, Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr was chosen by the community and that this was the proper procedure. Sunnis further argue that a caliph should ideally be chosen by election or community consensus, the Shia believe that Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of Muhammad, was chosen by Muhammad as his spiritual and temporal successor as the Mawla of all Muslims in the event of Ghadir Khumm. The caliph was often known as Amir al-Muminin, Muhammad established his capital in Medina, after he died, it remained the capital during the Rashidun Caliphate, before Kufa was reportedly made the capital by Caliph Ali. At times there have been rival claimant caliphs in different parts of the Islamic world, according to Sunni Muslims, the first caliph to be called Amir al-Muminin was Abu Bakr, followed by Umar, the second of the Rashidun. Uthman and Ali also were called by the title, while the Shia consider Ali to have been the only truly legitimate caliph. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially abolished the system of Caliphate in Islam as part of his secular reforms, the Kings of Morocco still label themselves with the title Amir al-Muminin for the Moroccans, but lay no claim to the Caliphate. Some Muslim countries, including Somalia, Indonesia and Malaysia, were never subject to the authority of a Caliphate, with the exception of Aceh, consequently, these countries had their own, local, sultans or rulers who did not fully accept the authority of the Caliph. Abu Bakr, the first successor of Muhammad, nominated Umar as his successor on his deathbed, Umar, the second caliph, was killed by a Persian named Piruz Nahavandi. His successor, Uthman, was elected by a council of electors, Uthman was killed by members of a disaffected group. Ali then took control but was not universally accepted as caliph by the governors of Egypt and he faced two major rebellions and was assassinated by Abd-al-Rahman ibn Muljam, a Khawarij. Alis tumultuous rule lasted only five years and this period is known as the Fitna, or the first Islamic civil war. The followers of Ali later became the Shia minority sect of Islam, the followers of all four Rashidun Caliphs became the majority Sunni sect. Under the Rashidun each region of the Caliphate had its own governor, Muawiyah, a relative of Uthman and governor of Syria, succeeded Ali as Caliph
Caliphate
–
Mustansiriya University in
Baghdad
Caliphate
–
Caliphate خِلافة
Caliphate
–
Abdülmecid II was the last Caliph of Islam from the
Ottoman dynasty.
23.
Spread of Islam
–
Trading played an important role in the spread of Islam in several parts of the world, notably southeast Asia. Islamic expansion in South and East Asia fostered cosmopolitan and eclectic Muslim cultures in the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. As of January 2011, there were 1.62 billion Muslims, with one out of five people in the world being Muslim, the Islamic religion is still the second most populous religion as of 2016. The expansion of the Arab Empire in the first centuries after Muhammads death soon established Muslim dynasties in North Africa, West Africa, to the Middle East, and Somalia. For the subjects of this new empire, formerly subjects of the greatly reduced Byzantine, the objective of the conquests was more than anything of a practical nature, as fertile land and water were scarce in the Arabian peninsula. A real Islamization therefore only came about in the subsequent centuries, Islam was introduced in Somalia in the 7th century when the Muslim Arabs fled from the persecution of the Pagan Quraysh tribe. When the Muslims defeated the Pagans, some returned to Arabia, the local Somalis adopted the Islamic faith well before the faith even took root in its place of origin. Conversion initially was neither required nor necessarily wished for, did not require the conversion as much as the subordination of non-Muslim peoples, at the outset, they were hostile to conversions because new Muslims diluted the economic and status advantages of the Arabs. Only in subsequent centuries, with the development of the doctrine of Islam and with that the understanding of the Muslim ummah. The caliphs of the Arab dynasty established the first schools inside the empire which taught Arabic language, at the end of the Umayyad period, less than 10% of the people in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain were Muslim. Only on the Arabian peninsula was the proportion of Muslims among the higher than this. Expansion ceased and the disciplines of Islamic philosophy, theology, law and mysticism became more widespread. These initial conversions were of a flexible nature, the reasons why, by the end of the 10th century, a large part of the population had converted to Islam are diverse. According to British-Lebanese historian Albert Hourani, one of the reasons may be that Islam had become clearly defined. Muslims now lived within a system of ritual, doctrine. The status of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians was more precisely defined and they were regarded as the People of the Book, those who possessed a revealed scripture, or People of the Covenant, with whom compacts of protection had been made. In general they were not forced to convert, but they suffered from restrictions and they paid a special tax, they were not supposed to wear certain colors, they could not marry Muslim women. It should be pointed out that most of these laws were elaborations of basic laws concerning non-Muslims in the Quran, Albert Hourani points towards interwoven terms of political and economic benefits and of a sophisticated culture and religion as appealing to the masses
Spread of Islam
–
The
Abbasids are known to have founded some of the world's earliest educational institutions such as the
House of Wisdom.
Spread of Islam
Spread of Islam
–
Courtiers of the
Persian prince
Baysonqor playing chess in
Ferdowsi 's epic work known as the
Shahnameh.
Spread of Islam
–
A Persian miniature of Shah Abu'l Ma‘ali a scholar.
24.
Islamic culture
–
Islamic culture is a term primarily used in secular academia to describe the cultural practices common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture were predominantly Arab, Islamic culture generally includes all the practices which have developed around the religion of Islam, including Quranic ones such as prayer and non-Quranic such as divisions of the world in Islam. It includes as the Baul tradition of Bengal, and facilitated the conversion of most of Bengal. There are variations in the application of Islamic beliefs in different cultures, Islamic culture is itself a contentious term. Muslims live in different countries and communities, and it can be difficult to isolate points of cultural unity among Muslims. Anthropologists and historians nevertheless study Islam as an aspect of, and influence on, the noted historian of Islam, Marshall Hodgson, noted the above difficulty of religious versus secular academic usage of the words Islamic and Muslim in his three-volume work, The Venture Of Islam. He proposed to resolve it by using these terms for purely religious phenomena. However, his distinction has not been widely adopted, early Muslim literature is in Arabic, as that was the language of Muhammads communities in Mecca and Medina. As the early history of the Muslim community was focused on establishing the religion of Islam, see the articles on Quran, Hadith, and Sirah, which formed the earliest literature of the Muslim community. With the establishment of the Umayyad empire, see The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. While having no content, this secular literature was spread by the Arabs all over their empires. By the time of the Abbasid empire, Persian had become the language of Muslim World. Much of the most famous Muslim literature was written in Persian, from Rumi in Anatolia, to Nizami in the Caucasus, to Jami in Samarkand, from the 11th century, there was a growing body of Islamic literature in the Turkic languages. However, for centuries to come the official language in Turkish-speaking areas would remain Persian, in Anatolia, with the advent of the Seljuks, the practise and usage of Persian in the region would be strongly revived. A branch of the Seljuks, the Sultanate of Rum, took Persian language, art and they adopted Persian language as the official language of the empire. The Ottomans, which can roughly be seen as their eventual successors, after a period of several centuries, Ottoman Turkish had developed towards a fully accepted language of literature, which was even able to satisfy the demands of a scientific presentation. However, the number of Persian and Arabic loanwords contained in those works increased at times up to 88%. With the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish grew in importance in both poetry and prose becoming, by the beginning of the 18th century, the language of the Empire
Islamic culture
–
World Muslim population by percentage (
Pew Research Center, 2014).
Islamic culture
–
Tabatabaee-ha House, Kashan Iran
Islamic culture
–
The
Badshahi Mosque in
Lahore, Pakistan is one of the few classical examples of
Mughal design and architecture in South Asia.
25.
Muslim world
–
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, comprising all those who adhere to the religion of Islam, or to societies where Islam is practiced. In a modern sense, these terms refer to countries where Islam is widespread. In the modern era, most of the Muslim world came under influence or colonial domination of European powers. The nation states emerged in the post-colonial era have adopted a variety of political and economic models. As of 2015, over 1.7 billion or about 23. 4% of the population are Muslims including the 4. 4% who live as minorities. Muslim history involves the history of the Islamic faith as a religion, the history of Islam began in Arabia with the Islamic prophet Muhammads first recitations of the Quran in the 7th century in the month of Ramadan. However, Islam under the Rashidun Caliphate grew rapidly, a century after the death of last Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Islamic empire extended from Spain in the west to Indus in the east. The Islamic Golden Age coincided with the Middle Ages in the Muslim world, starting with the rise of Islam and establishment of the first Islamic state in 622. The end of the age is given as 1258 with the Mongolian Sack of Baghdad, or 1492 with the completion of the Christian Reconquista of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadiths, such as the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr, that stressed the value of knowledge. The major Islamic capital cities of Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba became the intellectual centers for science, philosophy, medicine. Between the 8th and 18th centuries, the use of glaze was prevalent in Islamic art. Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters, the first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Another contribution was the development of fritware, originating from 9th century Iraq, other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Old world included Fustat, Damascus and Tabriz. The original concept is derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype Hezār Afsān that relied on particular Indian elements and it reached its final form by the 14th century, the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales tend to be called Arabian Nights stories when translated into English, regardless of whether they appear in The Book of One Thousand and this work has been very influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Imitations were written, especially in France, various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba. A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance is Layla and Majnun and it is a tragic story of undying love much like the later Romeo and Juliet, which was itself said to have been inspired by a Latin version of Layla and Majnun to an extent
Muslim world
–
The
Tabula Rogeriana, drawn by
Al-Idrisi in 1154, one of the most advanced
ancient world maps. Al-Idrisi also wrote about the diverse Muslim communities found in various lands.
Muslim world
–
The Muslim population of the world map by percentage of each country, according to the
Pew Forum (assessed in 29 June 2014).
Muslim world
–
Mir Sayyid Ali, a scholar writing a commentary on the
Quran, during the reign of the
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Muslim world
–
Portrait of a painter during the reign of
Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II.
26.
Islamic calendar
–
The Islamic, Muslim, or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries and it is also used by Muslims to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual period of fasting and the proper time for the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Islamic calendar employs the Hijri era whose epoch was retrospectively established as the Islamic New Year of AD622, during that year, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib and established the first Muslim community, an event commemorated as the Hijra. In the West, dates in this era are usually denoted AH in parallel with the Christian, in Muslim countries, it is also sometimes denoted as H from its Arabic form. In English, years prior to the Hijra are reckoned as BH, the current Islamic year is 1438 AH. In the Gregorian calendar,1438 AH runs from approximately 3 October 2016 to 21 September 2017, four of the twelve Hijri months are considered sacred, Rajab, and the three consecutive months of Dhū al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Ḥijjah and Muḥarram. As the lunar calendar lags behind the solar calendar by about ten days every gregorian year, the cycle repeats every 33 lunar years. Each month of the Islamic calendar commences on the birth of the new lunar cycle, traditionally this is based on actual observation of the crescent marking the end of the previous lunar cycle and hence the previous month, thereby beginning the new month. Consequently, each month can have 29 or 30 days depending on the visibility of the moon, astronomical positioning of the earth and weather conditions. However, certain sects and groups, most notably Dawoodi Bohra Muslims and Shia Ismaili Muslims, use a tabular Islamic calendar in which odd-numbered months have thirty days, in Arabic, the first day of the week corresponds with Sunday of the planetary week. The Islamic weekdays, like those in the Hebrew and Baháí calendars, the Christian liturgical day, kept in monasteries, begins with vespers, which is evening, in line with the other Abrahamic traditions. Christian and planetary weekdays begin at the following midnight, Muslims gather for worship at a mosque at noon on gathering day which corresponds with Friday. Thus gathering day is regarded as the weekly day of rest. A few others have adopted the Saturday-Sunday weekend while making Friday a working day with a midday break to allow time off for worship. Inscriptions of the ancient South Arabian calendars reveal the use of a number of local calendars, at least some of these calendars followed the lunisolar system. For Central Arabia, especially Mecca, there is a lack of epigraphical evidence, both al-Biruni and al-Masudi suggest that the Ancient Arabs used the same month names as the Muslims, though they also record other month names used by the pre-Islamic Arabs. Nevertheless, the Islamic position equating Nisan with Dhū al-Ḥijja has prevailed, for a comparison between the Islamic and pre-Islamic months, see Islamic and Jahili months. The Islamic tradition is unanimous in stating that Arabs of Tihamah, Hejaz, the forbidden months were four months during which fighting is forbidden, listed as Rajab and the three months around the pilgrimage season, Dhu al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram
Islamic calendar
–
Islamic Calendar stamp issued at King Khaled airport (10 Rajab 1428)
Islamic calendar
–
Muhammad prohibiting Nasī’. Found in an illustrated copy of
Al-Bīrūnī 's
The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (17th-century copy of an early 14th-century
Ilkhanid manuscript).
Islamic calendar
–
Civil and Hijri establishment dates of a library in Old City, Jerusalem
Islamic calendar
–
Key concepts
27.
Islamic studies
–
Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam and Islamic culture. Islamic studies can be seen under at least two perspectives, From a secular or neutral point of view, Islamic studies do academic research on Islam and Islamic culture independent of faith. In this respect, Islamic studies neither engage in shaping Muslim faith by making Islamic theology, from a Muslim point of view, Islamic studies also do academic research on Islam and Islamic culture, but from a faithful perspective. Historically, both perspectives had been separated by the separation of the Western and Islamic worlds. They differed in their understanding of academia and were organized either in universities or madrasas, scholars of Islamic studies are called by their special field of study, as e. g. historian, sociologist, or political scientist, or in general a scholar of Islamic studies. The professional title Islamicist is dated, scholars of Islamic studies from a faithful point of view can be historians etc. too, yet they also can be called Muslim scholar, teacher of religion, cleric, or Ulama. In a Muslim context, Islamic studies is the term for the Islamic sciences. Specialists in the discipline apply methods adapted from several fields, ranging from Biblical studies and classical philology to modern history, legal history. Scholars in the field of academic Islamic studies are often referred to as Islamicists, in fact, some of the more traditional Western universities still confer degrees in Arabic and Islamic studies under the primary title of Oriental studies. This is the case, for example, at the University of Oxford, the first attempt to understand Islam as a topic of modern scholarship was within the context of 19th-century Christian European Oriental studies. Some orientalists praised the tolerance of Islamic countries in contrast with the Christian West. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, philological and historical approaches were predominant, leading in the field were German researchers like Theodore Nöldeke s study on the history of the Quran, or Ignaz Goldziher s work on the prophetic tradition. Western orientalists and Muslim scholars alike preferred to interpret the history of Islam in a conservative way and they did not question the traditional account of the early time of Islam, of Muhammad and how the Quran was written. To understand the history of Islam provides the basis to understand all aspects of Islam. Themes of special interest are, Historiography of early Islam History of the Quran Historicity of Muhammad Early Muslim conquests Kalam is one of the sciences of Islam. In Arabic, the word means discussion and refers to the Islamic tradition of seeking theological principles through dialectic, a scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim. Islamic eschatology Sufism is a tradition of Islam based on the pursuit of spiritual truth as it is gradually revealed to the heart. It might also be referred to as Islamic mysticism, while other branches of Islam generally focus on exoteric aspects of religion, Sufism is mainly focused on the direct perception of truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love
Islamic studies
–
Mir Sayyid Ali, a scholar writing a commentary on the
Quran, during the reign of the
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Islamic studies
–
Portrait of a painter during the reign of Mehmet II
Islamic studies
–
A Persian miniature of Shah Abu'l Ma‘ali a scholar.
Islamic studies
–
The
Mongol ruler,
Ghazan, studying the
Quran.
28.
Islamic art
–
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onward by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations. The huge field of Islamic architecture is the subject of an article, leaving fields as varied as calligraphy, painting, glass, pottery. Islamic art is not at all restricted to art, but includes all the art of the rich. It frequently includes secular elements and elements that are frowned upon, if not forbidden, figurative painting may cover religious scenes, but normally in essentially secular contexts such as the walls of palaces or illuminated books of poetry. There are repeating elements in Islamic art, such as the use of floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as the arabesque. The arabesque in Islamic art is used to symbolize the transcendent, indivisible. Mistakes in repetitions may be introduced as a show of humility by artists who believe only God can produce perfection. Human portrayals can be found in all eras of Islamic art, above all in the private form of miniatures. Human representation for the purpose of worship is considered idolatry and is forbidden in some interpretations of Islamic law. There are also depictions of Muhammad, Islams chief prophet. Small decorative figures of animals and humans, especially if they are hunting the animals, are found on pieces in many media from many periods. Other inscriptions include verses of poetry, and inscriptions recording ownership or donation, Islamic calligraphy in the form of painting or sculptures are sometimes referred to as quranic art. Large inscriptions made from tiles, sometimes with the letters raised in relief, complex carved calligraphy also decorates buildings. For most of the Islamic period the majority of coins only showed lettering, the tughra or monogram of an Ottoman sultan was used extensively on official documents, with very elaborate decoration for important ones. Other single sheets of calligraphy, designed for albums, might contain short poems, Quranic verses, or other texts. The main languages, all using Arabic script, are Arabic, always used for Quranic verses, Persian in the Persianate world, especially for poetry, calligraphers usually had a higher status than other artists. The tradition of the Persian miniature has been dominant since about the 13th century, strongly influencing the Ottoman miniature of Turkey, portraits of rulers developed in the 16th century, and later in Persia, then becoming very popular. Mughal portraits, normally in profile, are very finely drawn in a realist style, while the best Ottoman ones are vigorously stylized, album miniatures typically featured picnic scenes, portraits of individuals or animals, or idealized youthful beauties of either sex
Islamic art
–
Detail of
arabesque decoration at the
Alhambra in Spain
Islamic art
–
The Ardabil Carpet, probably the finest surviving
Persian carpet,
Tabriz, mid-16th century
Islamic art
–
Part of a 15th-century ceramic panel from
Samarkand with
arabesque background
Islamic art
–
Scene from the
Khamsa of Nizami, Persian, 1539–43
29.
Islam and children
–
The topic of Islam and children includes the rights of children in Islam, childrens duties towards their parents, and parents rights over their children, both biological and foster children. Also discussed are some of the differences regarding rights with respect to different schools of thought, the Quran uses various terms for children, but, according to Avner Giladi, the context seldom makes it clear whether it is exclusively referring to non-mature children, or simply offspring. The Quranic statements about children, Giladi states, are concerned with infanticide, adoption, breast-feeding. These statements were of a significance for later Muslim jurists who formed the foundations of Islamic legislation. Muhammad established laws and examples in respect of which is obligatory for the Muslim community to follow, Muhammad had seven children, three boys and four girls. All his sons, including Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, died in infancy, because of this, his experience as a father is sometimes described as sorrowful. Muhammad also had a son, Zayd, who is said to be the object of Muhammads parental affection. He also had two grandsons, Hassan and Hussein, and three granddaughters, Umm Kulthum, Zaynab and Umamah, in one Islamic tradition, Muhammad ran after Hussein in a game until he caught him. Muhammad used to let Umamah sit on his shoulders while he was praying, when Muhammad was chided for kissing his grandchild, he responded, what can I do if God has deprived your heart of all human feeling. Muhammad has been described as being fond of children in general. Watt attributes this to Muhammads yearning for children, as most of his own children died before him and he comforted a child whose pet nightingale had died. Muhammad played many games with children, joked with them and befriended them, Muhammad also showed love to children of other religions. Once he visited his Jewish neighbors son when the child was sick, once, Muhammad was sitting with a child in his lap, and the child urinated over Muhammad. Embarrassed, the father scolded the child, Muhammad restrained the father, and advised him, This is not a big issue. But be careful with how you treat the child, what can restore his self-esteem after you have dealt with him in public like this. Advent of Islam The Quran forbade sexual relations between males and their milk-mothers or milk-sisters, the Quran in 19 verses forbids harsh and oppressive treatment of orphaned children while urging kindness and justice towards them. Six-year-old Muhammad himself became an orphan after his mother died in 577, an early Quranic verse celebrates Gods providence and care towards him. Other Quranic verses identify those who repulse the orphan as unbelievers, rebuke those who do not honor the orphans, the Quran speaks of the reward waiting for those who feed orphans, poor and the prisoner for the love of God
Islam and children
–
A young Muslim couple and their toddler at
Masjid al-Haram,
Makkah,
Saudi Arabia.
30.
Islamic schools and branches
–
This article summarizes the different branches and schools in Islam. The best known split, into Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, and Kharijites, was mainly political when it occurred in the early Islamic era, there are three traditional types of schools in Islam, schools of jurisprudence, Sufi orders and schools of theology. The article also summarizes major denominations and movements that have arisen in the modern era, the first centuries of Islam gave rise to three major sects, Sunnis, Shias and Kharijites. Each sect developed distinct jurisprudence schools reflecting different methodologies of jurisprudence, for instance, Sunnis are separated into five sub-sects, namely, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali and Ẓāhirī. Shia, on the hand, was first developed Kaysanites. Qarmatians, Ismailis, Fatimids, Assassins of Alamut and Druses all emerged from the Seveners, Ismailism later split into Nizari Ismaili and Musta’li Ismaili, and then Mustaali was divided into Hafizi and Taiyabi Ismailis. Moreover, Imami-Shia later brought into existence Jafari jurisprudence, akhbarism, Usulism, Shaykism, Alawites and Alevism were all developed from Ithnaasharis. Similarly, Kharijites were initially divided into five branches, Sufris, Azariqa, Najdat, Adjarites. Among these numerous branches, only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, Hanbali, Imamiyyah-Jafari-Usuli, Nizārī Ismāīlī, Alevi, Zaydi, Ibadi, Zahiri, Alawite, Druze and Taiyabi communities have survived. In addition, new schools of thought and movements like Quranist Muslims, Ahmadi Muslims, Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam and are known as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h or simply as Ahl as-Sunnah. The word Sunni comes from the sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet. Therefore, the term Sunni refers to those who follow or maintain the sunnah of Muhammad, in many countries, overwhelming majorities of Muslims are Sunnis, so that they simply refer to themselves as Muslims and do not use the Sunni label. Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs as al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn or The Rightly Guided Caliphs, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, there has never been another caliph as widely recognized in the Muslim world. Shia Islam, is the second-largest denomination of Islam, comprising 10-13% of the total Muslim population in the world, Shia Muslims, though a minority in the Muslim world, constitute the majority of the populations in Iran, and Iraq, as well as a plurality in Lebanon. The Shia Islamic faith is broad and includes many different groups, there are various Shia theological beliefs, schools of jurisprudence, philosophical beliefs, and spiritual movements. The Twelvers believe in twelve Imams, the Alawites are a sub-denomination of this sect. Ismailism, including the Nizārī, Sevener, Mustaali, Dawoodi Bohra, Hebtiahs Bohra, Sulaimani Bohra, the Druze are a distinct traditional religion that developed in the 11th century. The Zaidiyyah historically come from the followers of Zayd ibn Ali, Muslim groups who either ascribe divine characteristics to some figures of Islamic history or hold beliefs deemed deviant by mainstream Shii theology were called as Ghulāt
Islamic schools and branches
–
Major schools and branches of Islam.
Islamic schools and branches
–
Green Dome and Prophet's Mosque at sunset.
31.
Islamic feminism
–
A combination of Islam and feminism has been advocated as a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm by Margot Badran in 2002. There are substantial differences to be noted between the terms Islamic feminist and Islamist, any of these terms can be used of men or women. Islamic feminism is defined by Islamic scholars as being more radical than secular feminism, during recent times, the concept of Islamic feminism has grown further with Islamic groups looking to garner support from many aspects of society. In addition, educated Muslim women are striving to articulate their role in society, Islamists are advocates of political Islam, the notion that the Quran and hadith mandate a caliphate, i. e. an Islamic government. Some Islamists advocate womens rights in the public sphere but do not challenge gender inequality in the personal, suad al-Fatih al-Badawi, a Sudanese academic and Islamist politician, has argued that feminism is incompatible with taqwa, and thus Islam and feminism are mutually exclusive. During the early days of Islam in the 7th century CE, reforms in womens rights affected marriage, the Oxford Dictionary of Islam states that the general improvement of the status of women in Arab societies included prohibition of female infanticide and recognizing womens full personhood. Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a status but rather as a contract, the dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property. Women were given inheritance rights in a society that had previously restricted inheritance to male relatives. William Montgomery Watt states that Muhammad, in the context of his time, can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf of womens rights. Muhammad, however, by instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce, whilst the pre-modern period lacked a formal feminist movement, nevertheless a number of important figures argued for improving womens rights and autonomy. Women played an important role in the foundations of many Islamic educational institutions and this continued through to the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries, of 160 mosques and madrasahs established in Damascus, women funded 26 through the Waqf system. Half of all the patrons for these institutions were also women. According to the Sunni scholar Ibn Asakir in the 12th century and he wrote that girls and women could study, earn ijazahs, and qualify as scholars and teachers. This was especially the case for learned and scholarly families, who wanted to ensure the highest possible education for both their sons and daughters, Ibn Asakir had himself studied under 80 different female teachers. Female education in the Islamic world was inspired by Muhammads wives, Khadijah, a businesswoman, and Aisha. Muhammad is said to have praised the women of Medina for their desire for knowledge, How splendid were the women of the ansar. While it was not common for women to enroll as students in classes, they did attend informal lectures and study sessions at mosques, madrasahs. Although there were no restrictions on female education, some men did not approve of this practice
Islamic feminism
–
A symbol for Islamic feminism
32.
Women in Islam
–
The experiences of Muslim women vary widely between and within different societies. Many of the latter – including perhaps most famously, Ibn al-Arabī – have themselves produced texts that have elucidated the metaphysical symbolism of the principle in Islam. In particular, Wahhabis and Salafists tend to reject mysticism and theology outright, conversely, within Islamic Orthodoxy, both the established theological schools and Sufism are at least somewhat influential, accordingly, women are accorded a greater social and cosmological role. There are four sources of influence under Islam for Muslim women, the secondary sources of influence include ijma, qiyas and, in forms such as fatwa, ijtihad. These interpretations and their application were shaped by the context of the Muslim world at the time they were written. During his life, Muhammad married nine or eleven women depending upon the accounts of who were his wives. In Arabian culture, marriage was contracted in accordance with the larger needs of the tribe and was based on the need to form alliances within the tribe. Virginity at the time of marriage was emphasised as a tribal honour, william Montgomery Watt states that all of Muhammads marriages had the political aspect of strengthening friendly relationships and were based on the Arabian custom. Women or Sūrat an-Nisāʼ is the chapter of the Quran. The title of the sura derives from the references to women throughout the chapter, including verses 3-4. The above primary sources of influence on women of Islam do not deal with every conceivable situation over time and these formed the secondary sources of influence for women. Among them are ijma, qiya, ijtihad and others depending on sect, fatwas are theoretically non-binding, but seriously considered and have often been practiced by most Muslim believers. There is considerable controversy, change time, and conflict between the secondary sources. Gender roles in Islam are simultaneously coloured by two Quranic precepts, spiritual equality between women and men, and the idea that women are meant to exemplify femininity, and men masculinity. Islams basic view of women and men postulates a complementarity of functions, like everything else in the universe, in Islamic cosmological thinking, the universe is perceived as an equilibrium built on harmonious polar relationships between the pairs that make up all things. Moreover, all phenomena are reflections of inward noumena and ultimately of God. The emphasis which Islam places upon the feminine/masculine polarity results, quite logically, the Quran dedicates numerous verses to Muslim women, their role, duties and rights, in addition to Sura 4 with 176 verses named An-Nisa. Both the Quran – Islams sacred text – and the spoken or acted example of the Prophet Muḥammad advocate the rights of women and men equally to seek knowledge
Women in Islam
–
Quran is a primary source of influence for women in Islam.
Women in Islam
–
Aisha, the widow of Muhammad, joined the
Battle of the Camel, the first major Islamic civil war between
Sunni and
Shia sects of Islam. This internecine Islamic war is also called the
First Fitna. Aisha was the only woman in the war. Thousands were killed, Ali captured and pardoned Aisha. She retired thereafter.
Women in Islam
–
University of al-Karaouine was founded in 859 by
Fatima al-Fihri, a Muslim woman. It is the oldest, still operating Islamic university. Women in Islam, nevertheless, were rarely permitted to attend formal classes in universities, only allowed to attend religious lectures in mosque and public places.
Women in Islam
–
Pakistani school girls in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
33.
Mosque
–
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. There are strict and detailed requirements in Sunni jurisprudence for a place of worship to be considered a mosque, many mosques have elaborate domes, minarets, and prayer halls, in varying styles of architecture. Mosques originated on the Arabian Peninsula, but are now found in all inhabited continents, the mosque serves as a place where Muslims can come together for salat as well as a center for information, education, social welfare, and dispute settlement. The imam leads the congregation in prayer, the first mosque in the world is often considered to be the area around the Kaaba in Mecca now known as the Masjid al-Haram. Others regard the first mosque in history to be the Quba Mosque in present-day Medina since it was the first structure built by Muhammad upon his emigration from Mecca in 622. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad went on to another mosque in Medina. Built on the site of his home, Muhammad participated in the construction of the mosque himself and helped pioneer the concept of the mosque as the focal point of the Islamic city. The Masjid al-Nabawi introduced some of the still common in todays mosques, including the niche at the front of the prayer space known as the mihrab. The Masjid al-Nabawi was also constructed with a courtyard, a motif common among mosques built since then. Mosques had been built in Iraq and North Africa by the end of the 7th century, the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala is reportedly one of the oldest mosques in Iraq, although its present form – typical of Persian architecture – only goes back to the 11th century. The shrine, while operating as a mosque, remains one of the holiest sites for Shia Muslims, as it honors the death of the third Shia imam. The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As was reportedly the first mosque in Egypt, serving as a religious, like the Imam Husayn Shrine, though, nothing of its original structure remains. With the later Shia Fatimid Caliphate, mosques throughout Egypt evolved to include schools, hospitals and it was the first to incorporate a square minaret and includes naves akin to a basilica. Those features can also be found in Andalusian mosques, including the Grand Mosque of Cordoba, still, some elements of Visigothic architecture, like horseshoe arches, were infused into the mosque architecture of Spain and the Maghreb. The first mosque in East Asia was reportedly established in the 8th century in Xian, however, the Great Mosque of Xian, whose current building dates from the 18th century, does not replicate the features often associated with mosques elsewhere. Indeed, minarets were initially prohibited by the state, mosques in western China were more likely to incorporate elements, like domes and minarets, traditionally seen in mosques elsewhere. In turn, the Javanese style influenced the styles of mosques in Indonesias Austronesian neighbors—Malaysia, Brunei, Muslim empires were instrumental in the evolution and spread of mosques. Although mosques were first established in India during the 7th century, reflecting their Timurid origins, Mughal-style mosques included onion domes, pointed arches, and elaborate circular minarets, features common in the Persian and Central Asian styles
Mosque
–
The
Masjid al-Haram surrounds the
Kaaba, and it is the holiest site in Islam.
Mosque
–
The
Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran is a complex which contains the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Twelver Shi'ites
Mosque
–
Quba Mosque in
Medina is one of the oldest mosque in the world.
Mosque
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan, in Tunisia, is the oldest mosque in the Muslim West.
34.
Islamic philosophy
–
Islamic philosophy is the systematic investigation of problems connected with life, the universe, ethics, society, and so on as conducted in the Muslim world. Early Islamic philosophy began in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and this period began with al-Kindi in the 9th century and ended with Averroes at the end of 12th century. Ibn Khaldun, in his Muqaddimah, made important contributions to the philosophy of history, Interest in Islamic philosophy revived during the Nahda movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and continues to the present day. By way of introduction Islamic philosophy refers to philosophy produced in an Islamic society, Islamic philosophy is a generic term that can be defined and used in different ways. In its broadest sense it means the view of Islam, as derived from the Islamic texts concerning the creation of the universe. In another sense it refers to any of the schools of thought flourished under the Islamic empire or in the shadow of the Arab-Islamic culture. It is not necessarily concerned with issues, nor exclusively produced by Muslims. Nor do all schools of thought within Islam admit the usefulness or legitimacy of philosophical inquiry, some argue that there is no indication that the limited knowledge and experience of humans can lead to truth. It is also important to observe that, while reason is sometimes recognised as a source of Islamic law, Islamic philosophy is a generic term that can be defined and used in different ways. In its broadest sense it means the view of Islam, as derived from the Islamic texts concerning the creation of the universe. In another sense it refers to any of the schools of thought flourished under the Islamic empire or in the shadow of the Arab-Islamic culture. The historiography of Islamic philosophy is marked by disputes as to how the subject should be properly interpreted, Islamic philosophy as the name implies refers to philosophical activity within the Islamic milieu. Many of the philosophical debates centered around reconciling religion and reason. Some Muslims oppose the idea of philosophy as un-Islamic, but the fact of the matter is that philosophy is an alien entity in the body of Islam. Ibn Abi al-Izz, a commentator on al-Tahhaawiyyah, condemns philosophers as the ones who most deny the Last Day, in their view Paradise and Hell are no more than parables for the masses to understand, but they have no reality beyond people’s minds. In early Islamic thought, which refers to philosophy during the Islamic Golden Age, the first is Kalam, which mainly dealt with Islamic theological questions, and the other is Falsafa, which was founded on interpretations of Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism. In Arabic, the word literally means speech, one of first debates was that between partisans of the Qadar, who affirmed free will, and the Jabarites, who believed in fatalism. At the 2nd century of the Hijra, a new movement arose in the school of Basra
Islamic philosophy
–
An Arabic manuscript from the 13th century depicting
Socrates (Soqrāt) in discussion with his pupils
Islamic philosophy
–
Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), Muslim philosopher, poet and scholar from Pakistan (then
British India).
35.
Animals in Islam
–
In Islam, God has a relationship with animals, He cares for them and they praise Him, even if this praise is not expressed in human language. Baiting animals for entertainment or gambling is prohibited, the Qur’an explicitly allows the eating of the meat of certain halal animals. Although some Sufis have practised vegetarianism, there has no serious discourse on the possibility of vegetarian interpretations. Certain animals can be eaten under the condition that they are slaughtered in a specified way, prohibitions include swine, carrion, and animals involved in dhabihah in the name of someone other than God. The Qur’an also states eat of that over which the name of Allah, in pre-Islamic Arabia, Arab Bedouin, like other people, attributed the qualities and the faults of humans to animals. Generosity, for example, was attributed to the cock, perfidy to the lizard, stupidity to the bustard, others have argued that these evidences may only imply practice of a form of animalism. On the other hand, the term dābba, usually taken to mean beast of burden, occurs a number of times in the Qur’an, while remaining rare in medieval Arabic works on zoology. By implication, animals in the Qur’an and early Muslim thought are usually seen solely in terms of their relation to human beings, the Quran teaches that God created animals from water. God cares for all his creatures and provides for them, all creation praises God, even if this praise is not expressed in human language. God has prescribed laws for each species, since animals follow the laws God has ordained for them, they are to be regarded as Muslim, just as a human who obeys the laws prescribed for humans is a Muslim. Just like humans, animals form communities, in verse 6,38, the Qur’an applies the term ummah, generally used to mean a human religious community, for genera of animals. The Encyclopaedia of the Quran states that this verse has been far reaching in its moral and ecological implications, there is not an animal on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but communities like you. Nothing have we omitted from the Book, and they shall be gathered to their Lord in the end, the Quran often calls upon Muslims and non-Muslim to examine animals as a marvel of creation, and sign of Gods omnipotence and wisdom. The Quran says that animals benefit humans in many ways, and this is used a proof of Gods benevolence towards humans. Animals that are slaughtered in accordance with sharia may be consumed, according to many verses of the Qur’an, the consumption of pork is sinful, unless there is no alternative other than starving to death. Sunnah refers to the biographies of Muhammad wherein examples of sayings attributed to him. Sunni and Shia hadith differ vastly, with Shia hadith generally containing more anthropomorphism, Animals must not be mutilated while they are alive. According to another hadith, Muhammad issued advice to kill animals, such as the rat
Animals in Islam
–
Quran
36.
Islam by country
–
Adherents of Islam constitute the worlds second largest religious group. According to a 2010 study that was released in January 2011, Islam has 1.6 billion adherents, according to more recent study in 2015 Islam has 1.7 billion adherents. Most Muslims are either of two denominations, Sunni or Shia, Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, Central Asia and some other parts of Asia. Sizable Muslim communities are found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus. Western Europe host large Muslim immigrant communities where Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity, converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world. Historically, Islam was divided into three religious denominations well known as Sunni, Khawarij and Shī‘ah. In the modern era, Sunnis constitute more than 70% of the overall Muslim population while the Shias are slightly more than 20%, today, many of the Shia sects are extinct. The major surviving Imamah-Muslim Sects are Usulism, Nizari Ismailism and Alevism, on the other hand, new Muslim sects like the Nation of Islam, Ahmadi Muslims, non-denominational Muslims, Quranist Muslims and Wahhabis were later independently developed. According to the Pew Research Center in 2010, there were 50 Muslim-majority countries, around 62% of the worlds Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 1 billion adherents. The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan. About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries, in the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey, Pakistan and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries, in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. The study found more Muslims in the United Kingdom than in Lebanon, other studies show variance with Pew figures. The percentage of Muslims in Egypt is given as 93. 7%, however, the figure for Christians in Egypt is usually estimated at 12-15%, but in truth nobody knows since there has been no religious census
Islam by country
–
World Muslim population by percentage (Pew Research Center, 2014).
37.
Islamic banking and finance
–
Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of sharia and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. As such, a correct term for Islamic banking is sharia-compliant finance. Sharia prohibits acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money, Investment in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to Islamic principles is also haraam. As of 2014, sharia-compliant financial institutions represented approximately 1% of total world assets, an early market economy and an early form of mercantilism, sometimes called Islamic capitalism, was developed between the eighth and twelfth centuries. The monetary economy of the period was based on the widely circulated currency the gold dinar, organizational enterprises independent from the state also existed in the medieval Islamic world, while the agency institution was also introduced during that time. Many of these early capitalist concepts were adopted and further advanced in medieval Europe from the 13th century onwards, the word riba literally means “excess or addition”, and has been translated as interest, usury, excess, increase or addition. According to Shariah terminology, it implies any excess compensation without due consideration, according to Islamic economists Choudhury and Malik by the time of Caliph Umar, the prohibition of interest was a well-established working principle integrated into the Islamic economic system. This interpretation of usury has not been accepted or applied in the Islamic world. The Investor is called Rab ul Maal and the party is termed as Mudarib. Further works specifically devoted to the subject of interest-free banking were authored by Muhammad Uzair, Abdullah al-Araby, Nejatullah Siddiqi, al-Najjar, in the middle of the 20th century some organizational entities were found to offer financial services complying with Islamic laws. The first, experimental, local Islamic bank was established in the late 1950s in a area of Pakistan which charged no interest on its lending. A remarkable effort in sharia-compliant savings banking was undertaken in 1963 in rural Egypt by economist Ahmad Elnaggar to appeal to people who lacked confidence in state-run banks, the experiment was shut down by the government in 1968, but was considered by many a success. By this time there were nine such banks in the country, in 1972, the Mit Ghamr Savings project became part of Nasr Social Bank which, currently, is still in business in Egypt. The influx of petro-dollars and a general following the Yom Kippur War and 1973 oil crisis gave great help to the development of the Islamic banking sector. And since 1975 it has spread the globe, in 1975, the Islamic Development Bank was set up with the mission to provide funding to projects in the member countries. The first modern commercial Islamic bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, was established in 1979, in 1980, government of Pakistan brought in regulatory framework under the caption Modaraba companies and Modarabas and rule made thereunder. The ensuing financial panic led to the bankruptcy of some companies, in 1990 an accounting organization for Islamic financial institutions, was established in Algiers by a group of Islamic financial institutions. By 1995,144 Islamic financial institutions had been established worldwide, including 33 government-run banks,40 private banks, by 2008 Islamic banking was growing at a rate of 10–15% per year and with signs of consistent future growth
Islamic banking and finance
–
A Jordan Islamic Bank branch in
Amman.
Islamic banking and finance
–
Building housing the Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) in downtown
Kuala Lumpur.
Islamic banking and finance
–
A Saba Islamic Bank branch in
Djibouti City.
Islamic banking and finance
–
An Islamic Development Bank branch in
Dhaka.
38.
Criticism of Islam
–
Criticism of Islam has existed since its formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, before the ninth century, later the Muslim world itself suffered criticism. Criticism of Islam in the West was renewed after the September 11 attacks, objects of criticism include the morality of the life of Muhammad, the last prophet according to Islam, both in his public and personal life. Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, are discussed by critics. Figures in Africa and India have described what they perceive as destruction of indigenous cultures by Islam, the earliest surviving written criticisms of Islam are to be found in the writings of Christians who came under the early dominion of the Islamic Caliphate. One such Christian was John of Damascus, who was familiar with Islam, the second chapter of his book, The Fount of Wisdom, titled Concerning Heresies, presents a series of discussions between Christians and Muslims. John claimed an Arian monk influenced Muhammad and viewed the Islamic doctrines as nothing more than a hodgepodge culled from the Bible, writing on Islams claim of Abrahamic ancestry, John explained that the Arabs were called Saracens because they were empty of Sarah. They were called Hagarenes because they were the descendants of the slave-girl Hagar, other notable early critics of Islam included, Abu Isa al-Warraq, a 9th-century scholar and critic of Islam. Ibn al-Rawandi, a 9th-century atheist, who repudiated Islam and revealed religion in general, Al-Maarri, an 11th-century Arab poet and critic of Islam and all other religions. Also known for his veganism and Antinatalism, in the early centuries of the Islamic Caliphate, the Islamic law allowed citizens to freely express their views, including criticism of Islam and religious authorities, without fear of persecution. As such, there have been several notable critics and skeptics of Islam that arose from within the Islamic world itself, in tenth and eleventh-century Syria there lived a blind poet called Al-Maarri. He became well known for a poetry that was affected by a pervasive pessimism and he labeled religions in general as noxious weeds and said that Islam does not have a monopoly on truth. He had particular contempt for the ulema, writing that, In 1280, maimonides, one of the foremost 12th century rabbinical arbiters and philosophers, sees the relation of Islam to Judaism as primarily theoretical. Maimonides has no quarrel with the monotheism of Islam. He also considered Islamic ethics and politics to be inferior to their Jewish counterparts, maimonides criticised what he perceived as the lack of virtue in the way Muslims rule their societies and relate to one another. In his Epistle to Yemenite Jewry, he refers to Mohammad, in Dantes Inferno, Muhammad is portrayed as split in half, with his guts hanging out, representing his status as a schismatic. Some medieval ecclesiastical writers portrayed Muhammad as possessed by Satan, a precursor of the Antichrist or the Antichrist himself, the Tultusceptrum de libro domni Metobii, an Andalusian manuscript with unknown dating, shows how Muhammad was tricked by Satan into adulterating an originally pure divine revelation. The story argues God was concerned about the fate of the Arabs
Criticism of Islam
–
Dante shown holding a copy of the Divine Comedy, next to the entrance to Hell, the seven terraces of Mount Purgatory and the city of Florence, with the spheres of Heaven above, in
Michelino 's fresco
Criticism of Islam
–
John of Damascus a Syrian
monk and
presbyter, 19th-century Arabic
icon
Criticism of Islam
–
David Hume
Criticism of Islam
–
Vivekananda in 1900, at
San Francisco
39.
Islam and other religions
–
Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance, the Quran distinguishes between the monotheistic People of the Book on the one hand and polytheists or idolaters on the other hand. There are certain kinds of restrictions that apply to polytheists but not to People of the Book, one example is that Muslim males are allowed to marry a Christian or Jew, but not a polytheist. Muslim women, however, may not marry non-Muslim men, the idea of Islamic supremacy is encapsulated in the formula, Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it. Apostasy in Islam can be punishable by death or imprisonment according to most interpretations, W. Heffening states that Shafiis interpret verse as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in Quran. Wael Hallaq states the death penalty was a new element added later and reflects a later reality and he further states that nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text. There are also interpretations according to which apostates arent executed nor punished, however, the non-Muslim dhimmis were subject to taxation jizyah at a different rate of the Muslim zakat. Dhimmis also faced economic impediments, restrictions on political participation and/or social advancement based on their non-Muslim status, some Jews generally rejected Muhammads status as a prophet. According to Watt, Jews would normally be unwilling to admit that a non-Jew could be a prophet, in the Constitution of Medina, Muhammad demanded the Jews political loyalty in return for religious and cultural autonomy. In every major battle with the Medinans, two local Jewish tribes were found to be treachous, after Badr and Uhud, the Banu Qainuqa and Banu Nadir, respectively, took up arms against the ummah and were subsequently expelled with their families and possessions from Medina. However, this incident does not imply that Jews in general rejected Muhammads constitution, still, some Yemeni Jews considered Muhammad a true prophet, including Natanel al-Fayyumi, a major 12th century rabbi who incorporated various Shia doctrines into his view of Judaism. The Syriac Patriarch Ishôyahb III wrote in his correspondence to Simeon of Rewardashir, As for the Arabs, to whom God has at this time given rule over the world, you know well how they act toward us. Not only do not oppose Christianity, but they praise our faith, honour the priests and saints of our Lord. After Muhammads death in 632, Islamic rule grew rapidly, encompassing what is now the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, most of the new subjects were Christian or Jewish, and considered People of the Book. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians were called dhimmi, protected persons, as noted above, they could worship, follow their own family law, and own property. People of the Book were not subject to certain Islamic rules, such as the prohibitions on alcohol and pork, under the Islamic state, they were exempt from military service, but were required to pay a poll tax known as jizya. They could be bureaucrats and advisors, but they could never be rulers, with the Ghaznavids and later the Mughals, Islam also expanded further into northern India. Will Durant, in The Story of Civilization, described this as probably the bloodiest story in history and this approach was not uniform, and different rulers adopted different strategies
Islam and other religions
–
World Muslim population by percentage (
Pew Research Center, 2014).
40.
Islamism
–
Islamism is a concept whose meaning has been debated in both public and academic contexts. It is commonly used interchangeably with the terms political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism and these movements have arguably altered the Middle East more than any trend since the modern states gained independence, redefining politics and even borders according to Robin Wright. Some authors hold the term Islamic activism to be synonymous and preferable to Islamism, Central and prominent figures of modern Islamism include Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Abul Ala Maududi, and Ruhollah Khomeini. Some Islamist thinkers emphasize peaceful political processes, whereas Sayyid Qutb in particular called for violence, however, Qutb, unlike modern extremists, denounced the killing of innocents. Following the Arab Spring, some Islamist currents became heavily involved in politics, while others spawned the most aggressive and ambitious Islamist militia to date. A theocratic ideology that seeks to impose any version of Islam over society by law, subsequently, clarified to be, the desire to impose any given interpretation of Islam on society. A movement so broad and flexible it reaches out to everything to everyone in Islam, making it unsustainable. and at the extremes, a violent vehicle for rejectionists and radicals. All who seek to Islamize their environment, whether in relation to their lives in society, their circumstances, or the workplace. Moderate and reformist Islamists who accept and work within the process include parties like the Tunisian Ennahda Movement. Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan is basically a socio-political and democratic Vanguard party but has gained political influence through military coup détats in the past. The Islamist groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine participate in the democratic, following the Arab Spring, Roy has described Islamism as increasingly interdependent with democracy in much of the Arab Muslim world, such that neither can now survive without the other. While Islamist political culture itself may not be democratic, Islamists need democratic elections to maintain their legitimacy, at the same time, their popularity is such that no government can call itself democratic that excludes mainstream Islamist groups. The term, which denoted the religion of Islam, first appeared in English as Islamismus in 1696. The term appears in the U. S. Supreme Court decision in In Re Ross, the term Islamism acquired its contemporary connotations in French academia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. From French, it began to migrate to the English language in the mid-1980s, a 2003 article in Middle East Quarterly states, In summation, the term Islamism enjoyed its first run, lasting from Voltaire to the First World War, as a synonym for Islam. Enlightened scholars and writers generally preferred it to Mohammedanism, eventually both terms yielded to Islam, the Arabic name of the faith, and a word free of either pejorative or comparative associations. To all intents and purposes, Islamic fundamentalism and Islamism have become synonyms in contemporary American usage, the AP Stylebook entry for Islamist now reads as follows, An advocate or supporter of a political movement that favors reordering government and society in accordance with laws prescribed by Islam. Do not use as a synonym for Islamic fighters, militants, extremists or radicals, where possible, be specific and use the name of militant affiliations, al-Qaida-linked, Hezbollah, Taliban, etc
Islamism
–
Sab'u Masajid, Saudi Arabia
Islamism
–
An Islamist protestor in London protesting over anti-Muslim cartoons, 6 February 2006
Islamism
–
Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani
Islamism
–
Painting of
Abul Ala Maududi
41.
Islamophobia
–
Islamophobia or Muslimophobia refers to fear, prejudice, hatred or dislike directed against Islam or Muslims, or towards Islamic politics or culture. The introduction of the term was justified by the assessment that anti-Muslim prejudice has grown so considerably. The causes and characteristics of Islamophobia are still debated, some people also question the validity of the term. The academics S. Sayyid and Vakil maintain that there are societies where virtually no Muslims live, in German, Islamophobie and Islamfeindlichkeit are used. The Scandinavian term Muslimhat literally means hatred of Muslims, the word Islamophobia is a neologism formed from Islam and -phobia, a suffix used in English to form nouns with the sense ‘fear of ——’, ‘aversion to ——’. The compound form Islamo- contains the thematic vowel -o-, and is found in earlier coinages such as Islamo-Christian from the 19th century, Islamophobia reintroduces and reaffirms a global racial structure through which resource distribution disparities are maintained and extended. In 1996, the Runnymede Trust established the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, chaired by Gordon Conway, the Commissions report, Islamophobia, A Challenge for Us All, was published in November 1997 by the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. In the Runnymede report, Islamophobia was defined as an outlook or world-view involving an unfounded dread and dislike of Muslims, the symposium was an early attempt to bring insights from critical race theory, postcolonial and decolonial thought to bear on the question of Islamophobia. The presentations from the symposium were turned into a volume, Sayyid. Thinking Through Islamophobia, Global Perspectives New York, Columbia University Press, nonetheless, he argued that the term is here to stay, and that it is important to define it precisely. The exact definition of Islamophobia continues to be discussed with academics such as Chris Allen saying that it lacks a clear definition, several scholars consider Islamophobia to be a form of xenophobia or racism. A2007 article in Journal of Sociology defines Islamophobia as anti-Muslim racism, similarly, John Denham has drawn parallels between modern Islamophobia and the antisemitism of the 1930s, so have Maud Olofsson, and Jan Hjärpe, among others. Others have questioned the relationship between Islamophobia and racism. Jocelyne Cesari writes that academics are still debating the legitimacy of the term and questioning how it differs from terms such as racism, anti-Islamism, anti-Muslimness. On occasion race does come into play, diane Frost defines Islamophobia as anti-Muslim feeling and violence based on race or religion. Islamophobia may also target people who have Muslim names, or have a look that is associated with Muslims, according to Alan Johnson, Islamophobia sometimes can be nothing more than xenophobia or racism wrapped in religious terms. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance defines Islamophobia as the fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and it has also been defined as fear of Muslims and Islam, rejection of the Muslim religion, or a form of differentialist racism. The concept of Islamophobia as formulated by Runnymede was also criticized by professor Fred Halliday on several levels
Islamophobia
–
An American protester holding a sign saying he's Islamophobic.
Islamophobia
–
An English Defence League demonstration. The placard reads Shut down the mosque command and control centre.
Islamophobia
–
A mannequin symbolizing a Muslim in a
keffiyeh, strapped to a "Made in the USA" bomb display at a protest of
Park51 in
New York City.
Islamophobia
–
British novelist
Salman Rushdie, a former Muslim, ridiculed the term 'Islamophobia'.
42.
Aqidah
–
Aqidah is an Islamic term meaning creed. Many schools of Islamic theology expressing different views on aqidah exist, any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah. However, this term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology and it is a branch of Islamic studies describing the beliefs of Islam. Literally, the word ʿaqīdah is derived from the Semitic root ʿqd, the first creed written as a short answer to the pressing heresies of the time is known as Fiqh Akbar and ascribed to Abu Hanifa. Two well known creeds were the Fiqh Akbar II representative of the Ashari and these creeds were more detailed than those described below. The six articles of faith or belief, derived from the Quran, in Sunni and Shia view, having Iman literally means having belief in Six Articles. However the importance of Iman relies heavily upon reason, Islam explicitly asserts that belief should be maintained in that which can be proven using faculties of perception and conception. Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam, according to Islamic belief, Allah is the proper name of God, and humble submission to his will, divine ordinances and commandments is the pivot of the Muslim faith. He is the only God, creator of the universe, and he is unique and inherently one, all-merciful and omnipotent. The Quran declares the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His 99 descriptive names expressing a quality characteristic, Iman, in Islamic theology denotes a believers faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, the Hadith of Gabriel includes the Five Pillars of Islam in answer to the question, O messenger of God, what is Islam. This hadith is called the truly first and most fundamental creed. Salat is the practice of worship in Islam. Its importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, people who find it physically difficult can perform Salat in a way suitable for them. To perform valid Salat, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, in the terminology of Islamic law, sawm means to abstain from eating, drinking and sexual intercourse from dawn until dusk. The observance of sawm during the month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Zakat is the practice of giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to be a responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others
Aqidah
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Allah Jalla Jalālah in
Arabic calligraphy
Aqidah
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An
Imam leading prayers in
Cairo,
Egypt, in 1865.
Aqidah
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The
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb performing Salat.
43.
Schools of Islamic theology
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See Islamic schools and branches for different schools of thought, see aqidah for the concept of the different creeds in Islam, see Kalam for the concept of theological discourse. Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding aqidah, according to Muhammad Abu Zahra, Qadariyah, Jahmis, Murjiah, Muʿtazila, Batiniyya, Ashari, Maturidi, Athari are the ancient schools of aqidah. The main split between Sunni and Shia Islam was initially more political than theological, but over time theological differences have developed, aqidah is an Islamic term meaning creed or belief. Any religious belief system, or creed, can be considered an example of aqidah, however this term has taken a significant technical usage in Muslim history and theology, denoting those matters over which Muslims hold conviction. The term is translated as theology. Such traditions are divisions orthogonal to sectarian divisions of Islam, one of the earliest systematic theological school to develop, in the mid 8th-century, was Mutazila. In the 10th century, the Ashari school developed as a response to Mutazila, Ashari still taught the use of reason in understanding the Quran, but denied the possibility to deduce moral truths by reasoning. This was opposed by the school of Maturidi, which taught that moral truths may be found by the use of reason without the aid of revelation. Another point of contention was the position of iman vs. taqwa. Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam and are known as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h or simply as Ahl as-Sunnah, the word Sunni comes from the word sunnah, which means the teachings and actions or examples of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Therefore, the term Sunni refers to those who follow or maintain the sunnah of the prophet Muhammad, Sunni Muslims regard the first four caliphs as al-Khulafā’ur-Rāshidūn or The Rightly Guided Caliphs. A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim as distinguished from philosophers, jurists, after leaving the Mutazili school, Al-Ashari formulated the theology of Sunni Islam. He was followed in this by a number of distinguished scholars. The most famous of these are Abul-Hassan Al-Bahili, Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani, al-Juwayni, Al-Razi, thus Al-Ashari’s school became, together with the Maturidi, the main schools reflecting the beliefs of the Sunnah. Ashari is a school of early Islamic philosophy founded in the 10th century by Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari and it was instrumental in drastically changing the direction of Islam. The Asharite view was that comprehension of the nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability. A Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidis theology, points which differ are the nature of belief and the place of human reason. The Maturidis state that belief does not increase nor decrease but remains static, the Asharis say that belief does in fact increase and decrease
Schools of Islamic theology
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Allah Jalla Jalālah in
Arabic calligraphy
44.
Sunni Islam
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Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
–
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a
Mawlid procession in capital
Putrajaya, 2013.
Sunni Islam
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the
Maliki Madh'hab. It is located in the city of
Kairouan in
Tunisia
45.
Maturidi
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In Islam, a Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidis systematic theology, which is close to the Ashari theology. The school is known as Maturidism or Maturidiyyah and it is considered one of the orthodox theologies in Sunni Islam alongside the Ashari school. Māturīdism has been the predominant theological orientation among later Hanafis and enjoyed a preeminent status in the Ottoman Empire, many Turkic tribes and Asian Muslims practice Maturidism. Points about which the Maturidis differ from the Asharis are, among others, the nature of belief, the Maturidis state that iman does not increase nor decrease with actions, it is rather taqwa which increases and decreases. The Asharis say that belief does in fact increase and decrease according to the taqwa. The Asharis disagree, and conclude that the human mind is unable to determine if something is good or evil, lawful or unlawful, moral or immoral. Another point where Asharis and Maturidis differ regarding the role of reason is divine amnesty for certain non-Muslims in the afterlife
Maturidi
46.
Sunni
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Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
Sunni
Sunni
–
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a
Mawlid procession in capital
Putrajaya, 2013.
Sunni
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the
Maliki Madh'hab. It is located in the city of
Kairouan in
Tunisia
47.
Imamate (Twelver doctrine)
–
Imāmah means leadership and is a concept in Twelver theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the words and deeds of Muhammad and the Imams guide the community. For this, the Imams must be free from error and sin, the Imam is not the recipient of divine revelation, but has a close relationship with God, who guides him, allowing the Imam in turn to guide others. The Imamat, or belief in the guide, is a fundamental belief in Shia Islam and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance. According to the Twelvers, an Imam of the Age is always the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law. Ali was the first Imam in this line and in the view of Twelvers the rightful successor to Muhammad, each Imam was the son of the previous Imam, with the exception of Husayn ibn Ali, who was the brother of Hasan ibn Ali. The twelfth and final Imam is Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is believed by the Twelvers to be alive, not because they are the prophets family, but because they have the prerequisites of religious and political leadership. Shia theology, philosophy and mysticism, politics as well as historical progression derives from the doctrine of Imamah, Two important functions of Muhammad were to reveal the divine law to humans and to guide them towards God. The prophetic mission must be followed by a keeper of the Quran because it contains esoteric depth, superficial contradictions, the meaning can be manifested not by ordinary knowledge, but by an inspired heir who is the Hujjah of Allah. Divine knowledge is only through divine revelation or inspiration. While the prophet was a prophet, the continuation of the esoteric prophecy is through walayah. The role of the Imam in society is equivalent to the role of the mind in the body, before the creation of the world, from His own light, Allah derived a light called light of Nubuwwa or exoteric and from that derived another light called Walaya or esoteric. Without them, I would have created none of my creation, the very names of prophecy and Imamate are derived from the names of Allah. Through these creatures, men could know His attributes. This is His plan to make Himself known. By verse 2,124, Shia believe that the position of Imamate is higher than prophethood, Shia believe that Imam is Gods Witness for the people, the Gate to God and the Road and the Pillar of His Unity so he should be infallible and chosen by God. Allamah al-Majlisi, a Shia scholar of the Safawid era, states, The Imams are superior to the prophets, the Covenant of the Imams was taken from the prophets, the angels and the entire creation. The major prophets called ulul-‘Azm attained the status of ulul-‘Azm on account of loving the Imams, the Imam is Gods image and face. It is the highest position for man that is mentioned, which causes the angels to prostrate themselves before him, as Gods best representative and sign, the vicegerent in the best way can contribute to Gods goals. So every attribute which God owns by His Essence, the vicegerent also owns by accident, the vicegerent is the epiphany of Gods divine names
Imamate (Twelver doctrine)
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Imam Husayn Shrine in
Karbala,
Iraq, where the
Battle of Karbala took place
Imamate (Twelver doctrine)
48.
Jihad
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Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim. It can have many shades of meaning in an Islamic context, such as struggle against ones evil inclinations, in classical Islamic law, the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers, while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate military jihad with defensive warfare. In Sufi and pious circles, spiritual and moral jihad has been traditionally emphasized under the name of greater jihad, the term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by terrorist groups. The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran with and without military connotations, Islamic jurists and other ulema of the classical era understood the obligation of jihad predominantly in a military sense. They developed a set of rules pertaining to jihad, including prohibitions on harming those who are not engaged in combat. In the modern era, the notion of jihad has lost its jurisprudential relevance, while modernist Islamic scholars have emphasized defensive and non-military aspects of jihad, some Islamists have advanced aggressive interpretations that go beyond the classical theory. Jihad is classified into inner jihad, which involves a struggle against ones own impulses, and external jihad. Most Western writers consider external jihad to have primacy over inner jihad in the Islamic tradition, gallup analysis of a large survey reveals considerable nuance in the conceptions of jihad held by Muslims around the world. Jihad is sometimes referred to as the pillar of Islam. In Twelver Shia Islam jihad is one of the ten Practices of the Religion, a person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid. The term jihad is often rendered in English as Holy War, in Modern Standard Arabic, the term jihad is used for a struggle for causes, both religious and secular. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic defines the term as fight, battle, jihad, nonetheless, it is usually used in the religious sense and its beginnings are traced back to the Quran and words and actions of Muhammad. In the Quran and in later Muslim usage, jihad is commonly followed by the expression fi sabil illah, in the path of God. Muhammad Abdel-Haleem states that it indicates the way of truth and justice, including all the teachings it gives on the justifications and it is sometimes used without religious connotation, with a meaning similar to the English word crusade. The context of the Quran is elucidated by Hadith, of the 199 references to jihad in perhaps the most standard collection of hadith—Bukhari—all assume that jihad means warfare. He said, The best jihad is the one in which your horse is slain, Ibn Nuhaas also cited a hadith from Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, where Muhammad states that the highest kind of jihad is The person who is killed whilst spilling the last of his blood. According to another hadith, supporting one’s parents is also an example of jihad and it has also been reported that Muhammad considered well-performing hajj to be the best jihad for Muslim women. The practice of raids by Bedouin against enemy tribes and settlements to collect spoils predates the revelations of the Quran
Jihad
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Sayyid Qutb, Islamist author
Jihad
49.
Seven pillars of Ismailism
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The Ismāīlī Shia – the Nizari, Druze and Mustaali – have more Pillars than those of the Sunni. The Shahadah, is not considered a Pillar and is seen as the foundation upon which they are built. Walayah Guardianship denotes love and devotion to God, the prophets, the scripture, the imams, in Ismāīlī doctrine, God is one and the true desire of every soul, creator of everything. The appointed duāt lead believers to the right path, the Druze refer to this pillar as Taslīm Submission, An informative article on the Seven Pillars and Walayah. An informative article on the relationship between Salah and Dua. These three times have been related with the three times that have mentioned in the Quran, sunrise, before sunset, and after sunset. In contrast, the Mustalī maintain five prayers and their style is closely related to that of the Twelvers. The Druze believe that the meaning of prayer is sidqu l-lisān speaking Truth and they do sometimes attend prayers, which is the practice of the uninitiated and historically was also done for reasons of taqiyya. The Ismāīlīs donate 10% to 12 and these institutions are run by the Aga Khan Development Network, which is one of the biggest welfare networks in the world. Thus, Ismāīlīs believe that as Muhammad was designated to take zakāt from the believers in the past, the Druze practice hifzu l-Ikhwān Protection of Ones Brothers instead of paying a fee, a culturally complex practice of interdependence. Sawm Fasting, Nizari and Mustalī believe in both a metaphorical and literal meaning of fasting, in particular, Ismāīlīs believe the real and esoteric meaning of fasting is avoiding devilish acts and doing the good deeds. Not eating during the month of Ramadan in conjunction with an implementation of fasting. The Druze emphasise the esoteric meaning, which they call tark ibādat al-awthān deserting idol-worship, hajj Pilgrimage, For Ismāīlīs, visiting the imām or his representative is one of the most aspired pilgrimages. There are two pilgrimages, Hajj-i-Zahiri and Hajj-i-Batini - the first is the visit to Mecca, the second, the Mustalī maintain also the practice of going to Mecca. The Druze interpret this completely metaphorically as fleeing from devils and oppressors, in addition, the Uqqāl Wise Ones, the religious cadre of the Druze, are pacifists. The ordering of the pillars as understood by Druze is as follows, Taslīm Submission denotes love and devotion to God, the prophets, the Imām and the du‘āt missionaries. In Ismā‘īlī doctrine, God is the desire of every soul, and he manifests himself in the forms of prophets and imāms. The Druze never mention ‘Alī, unlike most Ismā‘īlīs, as they believe al-Hakīm supersedes his authority, sidqu l-Lisān speaking Truth, The Druze believe that the meaning of prayer is sidqu l-lisān and do not believe in five daily prayers
Seven pillars of Ismailism
50.
Walayah
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Welayah or Welaya, is a word which empower gives authority/guardianship to a person, community, or country that is under the direction and rule on behalf of another. Wali is someone who has Walayah over somebody else, for example, in fiqh, a father is wali of his children. Two verbal noun are derived from the Arabic root of the word w-l-y ولي, Walayah and Wilayah which means to be near to something, to be a friend of someone, the term welayah also has similarity with AWLIA. The term Wali derives from Quran. It occurs also in a number of aḥādīṯ qodsīya or Hadith Qudsi, such as “whoever harms a friend of Mine, I declare war against him and others. There are several kinds of Walayah, Wila of love or nearness which implies that the household of the prophet are his near relatives, Awliya Allah means the friends of Allah or the beloved of Allah. Wila of socio-political leadership Spiritual Wila which concerns changing the potentials to the action and making the people to get to the divine nearness, the Wali has a kind of creative power over the world and the men. Corbin states that Walayah is the foundation of the prophecy and the mission of the messenger, and it concerns to the esoteric dimension of the prophetic reality. Abu al-Hasan Sharif Isfahani, a student of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, by many hadith argues that the walayah is the inner, mulla Sadra states that the genealogical descendents of Muhammad and his spiritual heirs are Awliya. Dakake describes Walayah as an inheritance, esoteric knowledge, that Imams inherit from the prophets. Which expresses the spiritual and political authority of ahl al-Bayt, tabatabaei regards that Walayah is the esoteric dimension of the Imamah and it is not just guiding the man, but it is conveying the man to the Truth. By verse 42,23 and hadith of Ghadir, the called the Muslims to love his pure. Al-Tabari, Az-Zamakhshari and Fakhrud-Din ar-Razi state that verse 5,55 is revealed about Ali, the verse implies that Allah and His prophet is the Wali and the holders of the authority of the Muslims and the believers must accept their Wila. This bond of love further causes that the Muslims follow their speeches, deeds, in Quran, the term walayah is used in conjunction with nusrah and it is not only used in relation to God but also is used for those who have perfect devotion to God. Some traditions state that the verse 7,172 deals with the pact that God has taken for His Lordship and the Walayah to the prophet. In the Quran, the term showes a link between faithfulness to God and devotion to the members of the community, tabatabaei claims that wherever Quran ascribes the guardianship for the prophet, it means authority and devotion. Whosoever dies in enmity to the family of Muhammad, dies an nbeliever, whosoever dies in enmity of the family of Muhammad, will not smell the scent of Paradise. A hadith al-Baqir narrates that Islam is built upon five, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, pilgrimageand walayah, and not one of them was proclaimed, the way walayah was proclaimed. Hasan ibn Ali narrates that after professing tawhid and the mission of the prophets, jafar al-Sadiq told that Imam separates the people of the Heaven from the Hell, without any judgement, because their love for the Imam is their Heaven or Hell respectively
Walayah
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