HUMSS 302: Islam

• • Islam is the youngest of the major religions
  • Followers are called Muslims
  • 2nd Largest Religion
  • Islam means “surrender” or “submission”
  • Muslim/Moslem means “one who submits to God”
  • Allah as God in Arabic
  • Muslims and Arabs are not equivalent terms
  • Submission to God means acceptance of the doctrines of Islam and Muhammad
  • Muslim Arabs trace their roots to Abraham
  • Ishmael established the Ishmaelites (Arabs)
• MUHAMMAD

  • Islam began in Arabia – Mecca and Yathrib
  • Muhammad is God’s chosen messenger
  • Last among a series of prophets
  • Seal of Prophets, no further prophets and revelations after him
  • Born in Mecca and an orphaned
  • Lived with his grandfather and uncle
  • Married a widow named Khadijah at 25
  • Received God’s message at Mount Hira
  • Night of Power
  • Died June 8, 632
• MUHAMMAD

  • One God, Allah, should be worshipped
  • Threatened because of God’s revelation
  • Muhammad was brought up to heaven – Night Journey or Night Ascent
  • Migration from Mecca to Yathrib – Hijrah
  • Umma – Islamic Community
  • Medina became one of the three most sacred cities
  • Muhammad went back to Mecca and took control
  • God’s messages and instructions are in the Qur’an
• QUR-AN

  • The revelations to Muhammad were written down
  • Abu Bakr – first caliph (khalifa or successor)
  • Qur-an means “The Recitation”
  • 114 chapters/suras
  • Contains the main doctrines of Islam
  • Spiritual origins of Islam
• HADITH

  • Reports or Recollections
  • Written narrations of Muhammad’s life
  • Hadith refers to entire collection of narrations, a hadith refers to each narration
  • Consists of a report and series of narrators
  • Hadith by Umar and Aishah
  • Sunnah (Way of the Prophet)
• SHARI’AH

  • “pathway to be followed” or “path leading to the watering place”
  • Formulated based on the Qur’an and Hadith
  • Islamic Law or basic Islamic legal system
  • System of duties, responsibilities, or rules
• ONENESS OF GOD

  • Tawhid 
  • Allah as the only God
  • Allah embodies all attributes of a God
  • God cannot have a father and a son
  • 99 names for God
  • Allah is a personal God
• THE AFTERLIFE

  • Day of the resurrection of the dead and judgment
  • Heaven or paradise called Jannah
  • Hell called Jahannam
• ANGELS AND JIN

  • Spiritual beings created by God
  • Angels are created from light and do not have free will
  • Jinn are created from fire and have free will
• THE PROPHETS

  • Messengers of God
  • Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, Elisha, David, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Muhammad
  • Muhammad as the last of the prophets
• FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

  • Obligatory activities for Muslims
  • Mentioned in the Hadith
  • Shahadah (Testimony of faith)
  • Salat (Prayer)
  • Zakat (Charity for the poor)
  • Sawm (Fasting)
  • Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca)
• SHAHADAH

  • Shahadah means “to observe, witness, testify”
  • Islamic Testimony of Faith
  • Foundation for all the pillars
  • Worship and daily prayers
  • Almsgiving, fasting, and honoring
  • Islamic Creed
  • “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of God”
• SALAT

  • Daily prayers
  • 5 times a day
  • Before Dawn (fajr)
  • Noon (zuhr)
  • mid-afternoon (asr)
  • Sunset (maghrib)
  • Nighttime (isha)
  • Muezzin
  • Wudu – ritual washing (purification)
• ZAKAT

  • Charity for the poor for  just society
  • Donation of a percentage of their wealth each year to the poor
  • Done at the end of Ramadan
  • Good deeds
• SAWM

  • Fasting to atone sins, special days, obligations
  • Ramadan
  • Avoid all food, water, tobacco, and sex 
  • To promote spiritual growth and purification
• HAJJ

  • Annual Pilgrimage to Mecca
  • To give honor to the holy places
  • Hajji – Muslim Male who has done the pilgrimage
  • Hajjiyah – Muslim Female
  • Men wear the robe of Abraham
• THE JIHAD

  • “struggle”
  • Considered as the 6th Pillar
  • Physical, psychological, spiritual, and moral struggle to defend Islam and to overcome the evils
  • Greater Jihad – Spiritual self-perfection
  • Lesser Jihad - Warfare
• OTHER PRACTICES

  • Polygamy
  • Prohibits eating of pork, drink alcohol, usury and gambling
  • Circumcision
  • Modest clothing
  • Arranged Marriage and Dowry
  • Day of Sacrifice
  • Day of Breaking the Fast
  • Muharram
  • Muhammad’s birthday
• THE CALIPHS

  • “Successors”
  • First 4: Abu Bakr,  Umar, Uthman, Ali
  • Islam spread in many regions
  • Qur’an was finalized and reproduced
  • Golden Age of Islam
  • The Rightly Guided Caliphs
• ISSUE OF SUCCESSION

  • Descendant of Muhammad or Elected
  • Ali, first cousin of Muhammad and became his son-in-law
• SUNNIS

  • Largest denomination of Islam
  • Believed that a Caliph should be elected
  • Anyone living according to the Qur’an and Hadith can be a caliph
  • God did not appoint a leader after Muhammad
• SHIITES

  • Only a descendant could be a successor or spiritual leader or imam
  • Ali is first legitimate caliph
  • “Shiaat Ali” or followers of Ali
• THE SUFIS

  • Sufism is a mystical version of Islam
  • “Tasawwuf” means to dress in wool
  • Came after the Rightly Guided Caliphs
  • Emphasizes on spirituality than worldliness
  • Sufism is present in Sunni and Shia Islam
  • Union with God through submission is achieved through meditative practices
  • Sufi Whirling
  • Sufism contributed to Islamic Literature 
• CHALLENGES

  • Sufis are being persecuted by some Muslim Groups 
  • Arab-Israeli Conflict
  • Internal Wars
  • Association to Terrorism
  • Treatment of women