Living the Muslim Life

• Ra'kahs --> the physical movements performed during prayer
• a mihrab --> marks the direction of Mecca in a mosque
• Eid-ul-Ghadeer --> a Shi'a festival, celebrates Muhammad appointing Ali as his sucessor
• Shahadah --> the foundation of the other four pillars of Islam
• Laylat Al-Qadr --> The Night of Power 


  (When Angel Jibril first appeared to Muhammed to begin revealing the Qur'an --> is the most important event in history to Muslims)

  Praying during Laylat Al-Qadr is believed to be better than a lifetime of prayers ("better than 1000 months of prayer")

  Is celebrated through meditation and retreating to the mosque for the last 10 days of Ramadam --> brings a special closeness to Allah
• What is the importance of Greater Jihad?

  requires having to "strive with might and main" (Surah 25:52)

  is the struggle to make oneself the perfect Muslim; striving to uphold all of God's commandments and avoiding all his prohibitions

  Examples include: performing the Five Pillars correctly, following the Shar'iah exactly, following the perfect example of Muhammed, struggling to be "pleasing to Allah"
• Why is Lesser Jihad important?

  aims to make the world a better place by carrying out Allah's work, aim to remove evil from themselves and then remove evil from society (bringing the whole world into Islam, and so into peace)

  Examples include: attempting to target injustices such as underdevelopment in countries, lack of education, gaps between the rich and the poor

  Lesser Jihad is important as it's an Islamic teaching that God's law can bring world peace; Ummah is the "abode of peace" and outside the Islamic world is the "abode of war"
• Muslim understandings of Jihad:

  -most Muslims agree greater Jihad is most important

  -Muhammed supported greater Jihad
• "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits" (Surah 2)
• Allah --> described at the "most judge of judges" (Surah 95)
• However justice may not be that greatly significant as:

  -predestination: Allah already knows all that will happen

  -95 of 99 of Allah's names don't refer to justice --> shows there is a lot more to Islam
• The Qur'an teaches that children are a gift from God and that on the Last Day parents will be judged on how well they raised their kids --> encourages families to stay together and mosques provide support
• Muslim attitudes to suffering:

  -praying for the suffering

  -practical work

  -reducing poverty by sharing their wealth, e.g. Zakah is used to relieve poor Muslims . Gambling is also banned
• "God is all forgiving, all merciful" (Surah 6)
• Why forgiveness is important in Islam:

  -is recited in the Bismillah; refers to God as "the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy" --> refers to God's greatness, and divine justice

  -Muhammed was thought to be merciful and forgiving --> practice of Sunnah
• "He who eats and drinks whilst his brother goes hungry is not one of us." --> Hadith
• "Establish regular prayer, for... remembrance of God is the greatest thing in life." (Surah 29)
• Greater Jihad:

  -requires having to "strive with might and main" (Surah 25)

  -is the struggle to make oneself the perfect Muslim

  Must:

  -perform all pillars

  -follow the Shari'ah exactly

  -practice Sunnah

  -struggle to be "pleasing to Allah"
• Lesser Jihad --> can be achieved by targeting injustices such as underdevelopment; lack of education; and the gap between rich and poor

  Muslims aim to produce a perfect Muslim society, then aim to target non-Muslim societies
• "Listen not to the unbelievers, but strive against them" (Surah 25:52)
• Muslim Festivals:

  • Id-ul-Fitr --> community prayer service in the morning, family + friend time. People decorate their homes with ornaments and lights. Charity called Zakat al-Fitr is collected before the prayer and distributed to the poor so all people can celebrate in the festival. Celebrated at the end of Ramadam, celebrates the end of the fast --> is a spiritual celebration of Allah's provision of strength and endurance
  • Id-ul-Adha --> animals are sacrificed and their meat is shared out amongst the poor; special prayer, sermon is read. Remembers Ibrahim's sacrifice + devotion
• Shi'a Festival:

  • Ashura --> remebers the death of Husaya (Muhammed's grandson). Ten days before the festival there is a period of mourning, so many Muslims wear black.
  • Is a voluntary day of fasting