Islam

• five roots of Usul ad-Din (Shi'a Islam)

  1. Tawhid - belief in one God
  2. Prophethood (Nubuwwah) - belief in the prophets and messengers
  3. The justice of God (Adalat)- the belief that God will judge everyone in a just and fair way on the Day of Judgement
  4. Imamate - belief in the leadership of the 12 imams chosen by God.
  5. resurrection (Akhirah) - belief in the Day of Judgement and resurrection in life after death.
• heaven (Jannah)

  • a state of eternal happiness in the presence of God
  • If the book of deeds is given in their right hand, they will go to heaven
  • people who have kept their faith in God and committed good deeds will be rewarded with heaven
  • "For such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath—an eternal dwelling. How excellent a recompense for those who work (and strive)!" Quran
  • described as the gardens of happiness. Quran
  • free of suffering
• Imamate (five roots of Usul ad-Din)

  • When Muhammad died, Muslims split into two groups, Shia and Sunni.
  • Shias believe that the Imam should be a descendant of prophet Muhammad and chosen by God. " There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger, Ali is the friend of Allah. (Shia Shahadah)
  • There have been 12 imams in total. The twelfth imam (imam Mahdi) has been kept alive by God and hidden somewhere on earth. He will return with prophet Isa (Jesus) in the future to bring equality and justice.
• Nature of angels

  • Angels are spiritual beings created by God from light and have wings : "praise be to God, creator of the heavens and earth, who made angels messengers with two, three, four pairs of wings" Quran
  • pure and sinless
  • have no free will
  • constantly serve and praise God
  • have the power to take human form to give messages to people
• Role of angels

  • messengers of God. They receive Gods words and pass them on to the prophets
  • live to please and worship God : "they exalt him night and day and do not slacken" Quran
  • take care of people throughout their lives : " each person has angels before him and behind, watching over him by God's command" Quran
  • angels on shoulders who record everything a person does in their own 'book of deeds'. described as 'honourable scribes' in the Quran. "the record of their deeds will be laid open and you will see the guilty" Quran
• main angels

  • Israil - angel of death, takes peoples souls to God after they die
  • Jibril - the angel of revelation, recited Quran to Muhammad
  • Mika'il - angel of mercy, responsible for sending rain, thunder and lightning to earth
  • Israfil - will blow a trumpet on the Day of Judgement
• five pillars of Islam (sunni)

  • shahadah - declaration of faith
  • salah - praying 5 times a day
  • zakah - giving 2.5% of wealth to charity annually
  • sawm - fasting in ramadan
  • hajj - pilgrimage to Makkah
• ten obligatory acts (shia)

  • salah, sawm, zakah, hajj
  • khums - 20% tax (half to charity and half to imams)
  • jihad - the struggle to maintain the faith and defend Islam
  • Amr-bil-Maruf - encouraging people to do good
  • Nahi Anil Munkar - discouraging people from doing what is wrong
  • tawallah - showing love for God and people who follow him
  • Tabarra - not associating with enemies of God
• Salah

  • Sunnis pray 5 times a day: Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha
  • Shias pray 3 times a day: Fajr, combine Zuhr and Asr, combine Maghrib and Isha.
  • perform wudu before praying to make themselves spiritually clean and focus on God in their prayers
  • pray towards the city of Makkah as this means that all muslims are focusing on one place associated with God.
  • sunnis pray on a prayer mat and shias place a stone from qarbala where their head will rest during prostration
• the importance of salah

  • commanded by God to pray 5 times a day
  • helps Muslims become closer to God
  • motivates Muslims to do Gods will
  • united Muslims around the world as they all pray in the same way
  • the actions of bowing and prostrating remind Muslims that God is greater than them
• fasting (sawm)

  • ramadan was when angel Jibril started to reveal the quran to muhammad "it was in the month of ramadan that the quran was revealed as guidance for mankind...so any one of you who sees in that month should fast"
  • muslims focus on their faith by fasting from sunrise until sunset, read quran, pray, give charity, commit good deeds etc
  • the self discipline required to fast shows obedience and dedication to God
  • children, people who are ill, pregnant or breastfeeding are excused from fasting
• the night of power (laylat-ul-qadr)

  • when Jibril first appeared to muhammad and started revealing the quran. "read in the name of your lord who created: he created man from a clinging form (blood clot)."
  • "the night of glory is better than a thousand months"
  • the night of power is one of the odd number dates in the last 10 days of ramadan
• giving charity (zakah)

  • zakah requires Muslims to give 2.5% of their savings to charity every year. It is compulsory
  • "God is aware of whatever good you do"
  • "alms are meant only for the poor, the needy"
  • "and establish prayers, give obligatory charity"
  • importance - fulfilling a duty from god (five pillars), purify souls by removing selfishness and greed, strengthens community, purifies wealth
• Ashura (shias)

  • remembers the death of Husayn (grandson of Muhammad) in battle of Karbala in Iraq
  • day of mourning - reading poems that retell the story
  • public holiday in Afghanistan, Iraq and pakistan
  • beat and cut themselves to connect with Husayns suffering and death
  • re-enactments to retell the story
  • pilgrimage to the tomb of Husayn
  • some believe blood should be shed
• Ashura (sunnis)

  • The day of atonement - remembers the day when the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Some believe it remembers the day Noah left the ark after the flood
  • day of fasting
  • recite prayers
  • give food to family and friends
  • show kindness to family and poor
• Hajj

  • Pilgrimage Muslims should make once in a lifetime if they are healthy and wealthy enough
  • part of the 5 pillars
  • in the memory of ibrahim sacrificing his son
  • “pilgrimage to the house is a duty owed to God by people who are able to undertake it”
  • ”when you come back from hajj, you are like a newborn baby“
• Importance of hajj

  • Direct commandment from allah
  • follow the footsteps of Muhammad
  • 5th pillar of Islam
  • wash away sins “when you come back from hajj, you are like a newborn baby”
  • Visit the house of Allah
• Rituals of hajj

  • Ihram - wearing the white cloth and making an intention
  • tawaaf - circulating around the kabah 7 times
  • Saai- Safa and Marwa - walking up the mountains of safa and marwa 7 times to remember the miracle of Zam Zam
  • arafat - asking for forgiveness, rehearsing for the day of judgement
  • jamarat - stoning the devil, represents ibrahim being tempted by the devil
• Six articles of faith (Sunnis)

  1. Tawhid - belief in one god
  2. Malaikah - belief in angels
  3. belief in the holy books
  4. belief in the prophets (nabuwwah)
  5. belief in the day of judgement and resurrection after death (akhirah)
  6. belief in the supremacy in the will of god (al qadr)
• tawhid (belief in one god)

  • Both Sunnis and shias believe in one god
  • islam is a monotheistic religion
  • shahadah shows belief in one god “there is no god but allah and prophet Muhammad is his messenger”
  • no one has gods attributes or qualities
  • shirk - an unforgivable sin
  • “ he is god the one, god the eternal. He begot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to him”
  • “ you who believe, obey God and the messenger”
• Importance of tawhid

  if you do not believe in tawhid then you are not Muslim/ committing shirk.

  • if you believe in tawhid you are promised jannah in life after death/ submitting yourself to the will of god
• Nature of God

  • 99 names help Muslims understand gods nature
  • help feel gods presence
  • “ the most excellent names belong to God, use them to call on him”
  • transcendent - out of this world “ he is beyond all visions“
  • immanent - present in this world “he is closer to you than your jugular vein”
  • greatest - “Allahu Akbar”
  • merciful - “in the name of allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful”
  • omnipotent - “not a leaf moves without allahs permission “
  • omnibenevolent - “he is with you wherever you are”
• Prophethood

  • Prophets are gods chosen people to bring the message of Islam to people “every community Is sent a messenger “
  • rislah - shias and sunnis
  • role models
  • live according to gods will
  • method of communication between god and humans
• prophet Adam

  • first prophet and man on earth
  • created by god from off the ground “he first created man from clay”
  • father of the human race
  • god taught Adam the name of all things “ he taught Adam the name of all things”
  • god asked Adam to teach the angels And the angels bowed down to him
  • eve (hawwa) was created for Adam and they lived in the garden of Eden. Iblis deceived them into disobeying god and eating from the tree. They were thrown out from paradise and brought sin into the world.
• Prophet ibrahim

  • Declared the belief in one god
  • ”god took Abraham as a friend”
  • stoped idol worship
  • one day when everyone left the town, he too an ace and destroyed all the idols in the temple. he was burned alive and he walked out unharmed.
  • people began to follow god “do good and follow the religion of Abraham, who was true In faith”
  • kaaba was rebuilt by ibrahim and ishmael
  • he had a dream to sacrifice his son to god and he did.
  • id al adha - Muslims slaughter an animal to remember Ibrahim willingness to sacrifice his son
• similarities between sunnis and shias

  • Allah is the one God.
  • They regard the Holy Qur'an as the word of Allah.
  • They acknowledge the same prophets.
  • They believe that angels passed on messages to the prophets.
  • They believe there will be a Day of Judgement.
• nature of god - quotes

  • "in the name of Allah, the most merciful, the most beneficient"
  • "Say ‘He is Allah, [who is] One."
  • "He is God the One, God the eternal. He begot no one nor was He begotten. No one is comparable to Him.’
  • "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger"
  • ‘His mercy takes precedence over his wrath.’
  • ‘He is able to do all things.’
  • ‘Is Allah not the best of judges?’
• the afterlife

  • When a person dies, their soul is taken by Azra'il, the Angel of Death.
  • God sends two angels to question the waiting soul.
  • If the questions are answered correctly, the good soul then sleeps during Barzakh.
  • If the questions are not answered correctly, the soul is tormented by angels, known as punishment of the grave.
• hell (jahannam)

  • place of eternal torment
  • ‘Fear the fire which has been prepared for those who reject faith.’
• predestination - al Qadr

  • Al Qadr is the belief that Allah has already decided everything that will happen in a persons life
  • Sunnis : believe that Allah has made it impossible for them to choose anything other than what he has chosen."Only what God has decreed will happen to us."
  • shias : believe that Allah has ultimate control of the world but that people’s lives are down to their own free will. "God does not change the conditions of a people for the worse unless they change what is in themselves."