Islam

• Shia Muslims believe that Ali was the successor to the last prophet muhammad , he is known as the seal of prophets

  • Shia Muslims only make up 10% of the islamic faith
  • the believe in the five roots of usual Al din and the ten obligatory acts
• The five roots of usual Al din are followed by Shia Muslims

  • Al tawhid , the oneness of allah
  • Al imam , the belief in imams
  • Al adl , divine justice
  • Al maad , the day of resurrection
  • Al nubuwwah ,prophethood
• Sunni Muslims believe that Abu bakr is the successor to Muhammad,they make up for 90% of the muslim population they follow the six articles of the faith and the five pillars like Shia
• The six articles of faith are

  tawhid , the oneness of allah

  Malalaikah , belief in angels

  al qadr , predestination

  risalah prophets

  akhirah life after death

  kutub belief In holy books
• Allah is the one god in Islam he is the only one who can judge fairly as he is all knowing he is merciful and forgiving he forgives all sins eventually excluding shirk

  • hold anything in the same regards as Allah in doing so being polytheistic opposing tawhid
  • it is impossible to picture him and to draw him would be disrespectful and is prohibited instead Allah has 99 attributes that help understand him
• Sunni and Shia Muslims believe there is no need for Allah to communicate to humanity after the the revelation of the Quran and the death of Muhammad and see Islam to be completed where as ahmadiyya muslims believe that Allah will continue to communicate with humanity but what ever is revealed will be a reminder of what is in the quran or Hadith
• shia Muslims use prayer beads to offer tasbih or to glorify Allah ,there a typically 99 beads for each of Allahs 99 attributes
• Twelver shias believe that allah appointed 12 imams and that the last imam was hidden until the day of judgement as the other 11 were martyred

  • because imams speak on the behalf of all they cannot make mistakes and are therefore infallible
  • shia Muslims spell imam with a capital I to emphasise their role
  • they have divine protection from allah
• The belief in prophets is shared by both Shia and Sunni Muslims they act as

  • moral examples
  • strengthen belief in tawhid
  • purify people
  • the prophet Muhammad said allah sent 124000 prophets to earth

  prophets are fallible but cannot sin

  they are mortal and can’t return from death

  imams protect revelations but do not bring them
• A rasul is a messenger given a new message to replace a past one when the previous one becomes irelevant

  • a Nabi passes on a rasyls past teaching to remind people of Allahs will
• Adam is the first man and prophet created by allah and lived with eve in the garden of eden by eating the forbidden fruit they disobeyed allah but received mercy
• Ibrahim was a believer In tawhid and made people turn away from polytheism he had a dream of him sacrificing his son Ismail and took it as allahs will

  • this was a test of his devotion and allah commanded an animal he killed instead as a symbol of sacrifice
• Ismail the son of ibrahim helped his father rebuild the Hannah after its destruction
• Musa(Moses) freed the Israelites and led them out of Egypt.

  he represents justice within Islam

  dawud became king of israel abd was helped by allah in war and struck down Goliath with a single stone
• ISA in Islam his acts were symbolic for example making birds from clay or resurrection which would be leading people out of darkness

  • Muslims believe that a fake isa was crucified and the real was lifted into jannah to return before the end of the world
• The scrolls were revealed to ibrahim and musa

  • the Torah was revealed to musa
  • the psalms were revealed to Dawud
  • the gospel was revealed to isa
• Muhammad was the last prophet of allah

  • he lived with his grandfather then with his uncle
  • he he was sent a marriage contract by khadijah and had six children
  • laylat al qadr In cave hira where the angel jibril was revealed the Quran
• As the seal Muhammad had the qualities of the past prophets and given the sharia that was never to be changed
• The Quran is the highest source of wisdom and authority and is timeless

  it hasn’t been changed since revealed to muhammad And is allahs final message

  • before touching it a Muslim performs wudu (ablution)
  • it is kept in a high place
• Angels are the messengers to no prophets and created from light

  • they live as long allah wills
  • they are free of sin and incapable of leaving allah
  • they have no free will
  • when commanded by allah to bow to Adam iblis refused and was cast out of jannah and is revered to as shaytan
  • angels can’t be see. By the ned eye unless in physical form
• Jibril is responsible for corresponding messages between allah and prophets

  Mikail is responsible for governing life and nature

  Israel is the angel of death and takes away a persons final breath

  israfil is the trumpet angel and blows the end of the world

  recording angels keep track of a person’s life
• Heaven in islam is called jammmh and has two rivers on of milk and the other of water some Muslims believe they are synbolic and indicate purity and has multiple gates

  Matyrdom is dying for your faith and defending their faith by dying for faith a person will be taken immediately to jannah however is exploited by terrorist groups

  • jahannam is hell a place of torture and sinners are made to drink boiling water and wallow columns of fire some believe it is a place of permanence where as some believe it is temporary as allah is merciful
• muslims believe that they were given stewardship and responsibility to care for the earth

  • bazar is a on intermediate pace where the soul goes and the bright souls indicates going to heaven and dark going to hell at this stage a soul knows his fate
  • on the day of judgement it’s believed all will come to a plain of judgement
• The five pillars of Islam are Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, Hajj
• Shia Muslims follow the ten obligatory acts

  • salah five daily prayers
  • sawm fasting
  • hajj pilgramige to Mecca
  • zakah paying 2.5 % of a Muslims earning this is an act of purifying wealth
  • jihad striving on the path of allah
  • amr bil maroof ,commanding what is good for example being truthful and just
  • forbidding what is evil ,working to correct evil
  • tawalla ,expressing love to allah
  • tabarra disassociation from evil
• Wudu is physical and spiritual cleansing of the body and soul before prayer washing the body head to toe with water - annother form ablution is ghusl and is done after sex and menstruation

  • if water is not available soil and earth is can be used
• Malay must always start with niyyah ,intentions in order to focus the mind

  • salah should be offered with complete focus on allah
  • when in prayer a Muslim must face the qibla direction this is in the direction of the kaaba
• The four main rakats are

  • standing
  • bowing
  • prostration
  • kneeling
  • after prayer Muslims will say salam wishing peace upon all in prayer
• Shia Muslims combine prayers so they only pray 3 times a day

  • according to Shia the Quran refers to prayer being done 3 times rather than 5
  • Shia Muslims use clay tablets when in prostration for prayer because the prophet would prostrated directly on earth
• Men should almost always offer salah in the mosque

  • women are exempt when menstruating
  • families will reserve spaces thst are clean and with few distractions for salah
• Jummah is the most important prayer and held on Friday afternoon

  • there is no day of rest in Islam so Muslims return to work after
  • the listen to a sermon which teaches moral messages and the Hadith and encourages Muslims to be better people
  • it is a time when people can learn from the imam and lear spiritual knowledge
  • it’s a chance for sins to be forgiven and promotes unity
  • some view Jummah as compulsory especially for men
  • the prophet teaches people who miss jummah 3 times lose faith
• Shia Muslims view Jummah as optional in the absence of the 12th imam and may prefer salah al suhr instead
• The shahadah is the declaration of faith la ilaha ila llah Muhammadur Rasulullah

  • there is no god but allah ,Muhammad is the messenger of god
  • the shahdah puts emphasis on tawhid and on prophethood
• The shahdah is the first thing a child hears from birth

  • it reminds the parents to bring up the child in the teachings of islam
  • when someone converts they must say the shahadah
  • when someone is dyibg the shahadah show that a person lives their life according to Islam
  • it is a personal recognition and acceptance of tawhid
• Shia Muslims see the shahadah as a belief rather than a practice and therefore not apart of the obligatory acts

  • its instead shown through tawhid ,prophethood and imans
• dua is a personal prayer

  • set prayers are recited then a person may say anything they wish
  • such as the improvements of theirs or someone elses health
  • diss end with the word amin and the wiping of hands just as the prophet did
• tasbih is another form of private worship

  and be offered at any time of day and remind a Muslim of allahs attributes
• Private worship is important because the prophet also did it when he would go to cave hira

  • it enables a Muslim to develop a person relationship with allah and some may not be in an area with Muslims or mosques
• Hajj is pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia,

  • it is the holiest place as it is where Muhammad ibrahim and ismail lived and taught tawhid
  • the prophet ibrahim and ismail were commanded to rebuild the kabba
  • the kabba is considered the first masjid
• Only healthy Muslims should go or if they are able to afford it.

  if there is no safe route to Makkah they are exempt this shows the mercy of allah