section 3

• sunni muslims- five pillars

  • shahadah- declaration of faith
  • salah- prayer five times a day
  • zakah- charitable giving
  • sawm- obligation to fast during Ramadan
  • hajj- pilgrimage to Makkah
• shi'a muslims- ten obligatory acts

  • salah, sawm, zakah, hajj
  • khums- kind of tax
  • jihad:
  • greater- muslims' personal struggle to live a good life
  • lesser- muslims struggle to defend islam
  • amr-bil-maroof and nahi anil munkar- encourage good deeds and avoid bad ones
  • tawlla and tabarra- love for those who follow allah and they shouldn't associate themselves with anyone who's an 'enemy' of allah or muhammad
• salah

  • five daily prayers
  • sunnis do 5 shi'as combine and do 3
  • prayer cycle- say allah is great
  • men- friday prayers- jummah- mosque
  • keeps muslims in close contact with allah
  • encourages moral and spiritual discipline
• rituals for salah

  • wudu- washing before prayer
  • prayer mat- when not in mosque
  • face Makkah in Saudi Arabia- qiblah
  • rak'ah- stand, kneel, forehead to floor- sign of submission to allah
  • shi'a- forehead to clay or wooden tablet- during the rak'ah
  • mosque- women and men pray separately- concentrate on allah
  • salah in the home- way for children to learn about islam
• zakah

  • shi'as pay khums as well
  • redistributing wealth, given by allah, so should be used to serve him
  • 2.5% of a person's wealth each year, help muslims who are less well off, or given to charities or mosques
  • distribution of wealth fairer and helps those in need, encourages generosity
• sawm

  • between sunrise and sunset, month of ramadan
  • eat just before sunrise and just after sunset
  • exceptions to fast during ramadan: under about 12 years old, excused for medical reasons, women when pregnant breastfeeding or menstruating, if you're on a journey
• sawm

  • make up for the days you miss
  • can't listen to music, have sex, or smoke
  • physical and moral self-discipline, obedience to allah, help others, show publicly that allah matters more than any physical needs
  • laylat al-qadr (the night of destiny or power):
  • thanksgiving for the qur'an- during ramadan
  • it's read from beginning to end at the mosque
  • allah will forgive their sins on this night
• hajj

  • at least once in their lifetime, as long as affordable and healthy
  • month of Dhu'l-Hijja
  • holy- adam ibrahim isma'il-makkah and muhammad- lived there
  • simple white clothing (ihram)-equal before allah
• ka'aba- hajj

  • giant stone cube covered in black cloth
  • ibrahim and isma'il built it as a place of worship- qur'an suggested it
  • adam built it
  • holiest place in islam
  • twaf- seven circuits anticlockwise off the ka'aba
• hajj

  • seven journeys between the hills of safa and marwa
  • pilgrims then draw water from the zamzam well
  • mount arafat-stand and pray for allah's forgiveness
  • adam was forgiven after being thrown out of eden- day of judgment
  • spend the night at muzdalifa-a valley between arafat and mina, where they collect pebbles
  • thrown at three pillars in mina- symbolise driving the devil away
  • hajji- those who complete the hajj
  • helps their faith and increases unity between muslims
  • cleanses the hajji of all sins
• jihad

  • striving or struggle
  • misunderstood by muslims
  • one of the ten obligatory acrts for shi'as but it's part of sunni muslim too
• most muslims believe there are two kinds of jihad

  • greater
  • lesser
• the greater jihad

  • every muslim's struggle to obey allah, follow his teachings + become a better muslim
  • it is individual and personal
  • you alone will be held responsible for your behaviour
  • if you're not a good muslim, it's harder to help make the world better- lesser jihad
• the lesser jihad

  • struggle to make the world a better place
  • struggling against wrongs such as poverty and injustice
  • struggle to defend islam against threats
  • can be in peaceful ways- helping others be good muslims
• more on the lesser jihad

  • quran and islamic law say actual fighting should only be in self-defence and not against people who aren't fighting
  • quran says muslims should fight on behalf of people being oppressed
  • when islam began, muslims fought to survive as people of other religions persecuted them- quran reflects this- defending islam against its enemies
• islamic terrorists- lesser jihad

  • they claim quran supports violence to defend islam against oppression
  • muslims condemn this
  • muslims think they aren't true muslims
• festivals

  • bring muslims together
  • significance- makes the community (umah) stronger
  • reminds them of the shared beliefs that they have
  • become closer to allah
• festivals

  • Id ul-adha
  • Id ul-fitr
  • Id ul-ghadeer
  • ashura
• Id ul-adha is important to shi'as

  • celebration of after hajj
  • festival celebrating complete obedience to allah
  • commemorates when ibrahim nearly sacrificied his own son- ismail
  • very important festival- forms part of hajj
  • ibrahim dreamt allah told him to sacrifice ismail- told ismail- ismail agreed- allah told ibrahim to sacrifice a ram in place of ismail- so ismail survived- was a test of ibrahim's loyalty to allah
• what happens on Id ul-adha

  • muslims should attend mosque- services included communal prayers + sermon focused on the importance of obedience to allah + lessons to be learnt from ibrahim and ismail
  • a time of communal joy and festivity lasting up to four days
  • muslims dressy up in best clothes + spend time with family
  • present exchanged
  • animal sacrificed- family keeps a third, third goes to relatives or neighbours, third to the poor
• Id ul-fitr marks the end of ramadan- important to sunnis and shi'as

  • end of ramadan
  • day of thanksgiving to allah for giving muslims the strength to fast for a month
  • joyful festival
  • celebrates the fact that muslims have completed the fourth pillar of islam by observing sawm- have become closer to allah
• what happens during Id ul-fitr

  • muslims pay a special zakah- £5- helps muslims who are less well-off to celebrate
  • involves a service- mosque or outdoors- meal to break the fast
  • time of celebration- family and friends meet up- presents are exchanged
• festivals

  thousands attend celebrations of Id ul-adha and Id ul-fitr in the UK- many find it important for community cohesion between muslims and with those of other faiths
• Id ul-ghadeer is important for shi'a muslims- sunnis don't celebrate Id ul-ghadeer- just shi'as

  • commemorates a speech- hadith- muhammad made after his final hajj
  • shi'as believe he said ali should be the next muslim leader after his death- master- muslims will learn arabic to read the quran
  • sunnis think muhammad was just saying ali should be respected- trusted friend
  • after speech, it's believed quran 5:3 was revealed
  • shi'as venerate ali and celebrate the festival as the day he was chosen as leader
  • shi'as fast, have ritual bath, say prayers- Du'a Nudba
  • shi'as reaffirm their commitment to islam with a vow
• ashura commemorates the death of husayn- a predominantly shi'a festival

  • mostly a shi'a festival
  • originally a compulsory day of fasting for all muslims
  • muhammad said muslims should observe sawm during ramadan, fasting on ashura became voluntary
  • sunnis now tend to think of it as a day of atonement
  • sunnis fast, but it's not compulsory- fasting may absolve people of their minor sins
• ashura commemorates the death of husayn- a predominantly shi'a festival

  • significant for shi'as as the day of husayn, ali's son and muhammad's grandson, was killed in a battle
  • ten days up to and including ashura (ashura is the tenth day) are a period of mourning
  • ashura- shi'as wear black as a sign of mourning- public processions + passion plays- story of husayn is performed- poems or stories about husayn are often read out
  • shi'as hurt themselves to commemorate husayn's suffering- banned in some countries
  • shi'as- ashura is a reminder of the suffering the shi'a community has experienced- shi'as have been persecuted as a minority
  • processions are used as protests against injustice