Study Guide on Islam: History, Beliefs, and Practices

Introduction and Definitions of Islam

• Demographics: Islam has approximately $1.5\,billion$ adherents worldwide. In Australia, the number of adherents is accounted at $340\,400$.

• Foundational Elements:

  • Sacred Text: The Qur'an.

  • Place of Worship: The Mosque (Masjid).

  • Symbol: The star and crescent.

• Core Meaning: The word 'Islam' means 'submission', referring to the act of submitting or committing oneself to Allah. It also encompasses a system of beliefs and practices followed by Muslims (adherents).

• Cultural Scope: Islam refers to various cultures and civilizations created by Muslims. Historically, early Islamic civilizations existed in Greece, Iran, and India. Today, the religion stretches from the Middle East to Indonesia and from Central Asia to sub-Saharan Africa.

• Linguistic Considerations: Arabic is the foundational language. Some terms present translation challenges:

  • Salah or Salat: Often translated as 'prayer' or 'worship', though these words do not provide a precise explanation of the act.

  • Submission: While some perceive this as a negative term, Muslims do not; 'commitment' is often considered a more accurate alternative.

• Academic and Political Distinctions:

  • Islamicists: Modern term for scholars who pursue the academic study of Islam (formerly called 'Orientalists').

  • Islamists: Individuals whose goal is to establish an Islamic state and society.

The Life of Muhammad

• Early Life: Little is known about Muhammad's early years, except that his father died before his birth and his mother died while he was a young child. He belonged to a clan of the Quraysh, the tribe controlling Mecca (Makka) and its commerce.

• Marriage and Family: At age $25$, he worked in the caravan trade and married Khadja, a wealthy widow aged approximately $40$. They were together for $25$ years and had $6$ children: $4$ boys and $2$ girls.

• First Revelation ($610\,CE$): At age $40$, while meditating in a cave at Hira, Muhammad reported receiving a revelation. This is described as a bright presence (later identified as the Angel Jibreel) placing a cloth covered in writing over his eyes and commanding him to recite.

• Qur'anic Passage ($96:1-19$): "Recite in the name of the Lord who created – created man from clots of blood. Recite! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, who by the pen taught man what he did not know. Indeed, man transgresses in thinking himself his own master, for to your Lord all things return… Prostrate yourself and come nearer."

• Mission and Migration:

  • Muhammad's wife, Khadja, encouraged him to accept the experience as divine. Revelations continued for the next $22$ years.

  • He preached in Mecca for $13$ years to a small group.

  • The Hijra ($622\,CE$): Muhammad moved to Medina. This emigration was the turning point for Islam's spread.

  • Expansion: After $8$ years of armed conflict with Meccan opponents, he prevailed. He received the Meccans into the community in $632$. He died $22$ years after the revelations began (the same year he received the Meccans).

  • Prophetic Legacy: Within a century of his death, Muslim rule spread from Spain to what is now Pakistan.

Core Beliefs: Allah and Tawhid

• Concept of God: Core to the faith is the belief in one God, Allah, who is all-powerful, transcendent, and the creator/controller of the world. The word Allah is a contraction of 'al' (the) and 'ilah' (god).

• Attributes of Allah: There are $99$ names of Allah, including 'the Merciful' and 'the Compassionate', indicating a personal being rather than an impersonal force.

• Tawhid: The central declaration of the oneness of God.

• Shirk: The act of attributing divine powers to anyone/anything other than Allah is condemned.

  • Outward Shirk: Worshipping idols or other gods.

  • Inward Shirk: Giving excessive attention to possessions, family, or personal ambitions.

  • Political Shirk: Some Islamists view secular government as shirk (obeying humans over God).

The Five Pillars of Islam

• 1. Shahadah (Creed): "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." Reciting this with belief makes one a Muslim. It is whispered into the ears of newborns and the dying. It has a personal dimension (belief) and a public dimension (witnessing to the Ummah, or world community).

• 2. Salat (Prayer):

  • Highly structured prayer performed $5$ times daily with specific body movements and verses.

  • Wudu: Ritual washing of hands, arms, feet, face, and neck required before prayer. It is customary even if one feels ritually pure.

  • Daily Prayer Times:

    • Fajr: Dawn

    • Suhr: Noon

    • 'Asr: Mid-afternoon

    • Maghrib: After sunset

    • Isha: Evening after the sun disappears.

  • Requirements: Facing the qibla (Mecca). In mosques, the mihrab (niche) marks the direction. Salat can be joined together (e.g., when traveling) and can be performed alone or in groups in any ritually clean space.

  • Du'a: Spontaneous prayers, distinct from the formal salat.

• 3. Sakat (Charity):

  • An annual payment of $2.5\%$ of one's total wealth (not just yearly income).

  • It is considered a right of the recipients rather than a donation.

  • Recipients ($9:60$): The poor, the needy, those laboring for God, and prisoners of war.

  • Sadaqa: Additional voluntary donations (not Sakat).

• 4. Sawm (Fasting):

  • Occurs during the month of Ramadan ($9^{th}$ month of the Muslim calendar).

  • Abstinence from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity from dawn until sunset.

  • Exemptions: Children, the elderly, nursing mothers, and the ill.

  • Iftar: The breaking of the fast before Maghrib prayer, often followed by large, joyous social gatherings.

• 5. Hajj (Pilgrimage):

  • A journey to the sacred site of Mecca once in a lifetime for those physically and financially able.

  • Ihram: A special two-piece white robe worn by men to symbolize equality; women have no special clothing but do not cover their faces.

  • Talbiya: An Arabic prayer recited: "Here I am, O God, here I am… You have no associate… Praise belongs to you, and blessing and power."

  • Rituals: Traveling to Mina and Arafat (Mount of Mercy); standing from noon to sundown for devotions; running to Mazdalifa; stoning three pillars symbolizing the devil; sacrificing an animal (commemorating Ibrahim); shaving/cutting hair and nails; circling (tawaf) the Ka'ba.

The Mosque (Masjid)

• Literal Meaning: "Place of prostration."

• Purpose: A "special house" for communal prayer ($24:36$).

• External Features:

  • Minaret: "Lighthouse" from which the muezzin (caller) traditionally chants the call to prayer (now often via loudspeakers). Larger mosques may have up to $4$ minarets.

  • Dome: Represents the vault of heaven, reminding worshippers of the creator's splendor; also functions to aid airflow/cooling.

  • Fountain: For cleansing/wudu before prayer.

• Internal Features:

  • Absence of Images: No furniture, statues, or religious images; decoration consists of Qur'anic calligraphy.

  • Mihrab: Ornamental niche indicating the direction of Mecca.

  • Minbar: A three-stepped raised platform used for the khutba (sermon).

  • Gender Separation: Women generally stand behind men or in separate gated alcoves or behind curtains for modesty's sake.

• Friday Prayer (Jum'a): Compulsory congregational noon prayer for men. Includes the khutba (sermon), which often deals with religious, moral, and sometimes political topics, consisting largely of Qur'anic quotations and praises to Allah.

Divisions within the Ummah

• Overview: Approximately $85\%$ of Muslims are Sunni and $15\%$ are Shiite.

• Shiite Islam (from 'shia' or 'faction'):

  • Believes leadership succession was hereditary from the family of Muhammad.

  • Asserts Muhammad appointed Ali as his successor.

  • Subgroups: The 'Fivers' (Zaydis), the 'Seveners' (Ismailis), and the 'Twelvers' (Imanis).

  • Geography: Primarily Iran, with populations in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan.

• Sunni Islam (from 'sunna' or 'tradition'):

  • Accepted the legitimacy of the orthodox successors.

  • Relies on the Qur'an and Hadith (authoritative teaching/example of Muhammad found in the Sunnah) interpreted through established schools of law.

  • Geography: Saudi Arabia is the center of Sunni Islam, with strict governance of behavior.

Sharia Law and Jurisprudence

• Meaning: "A path leading to water."

• Concept: Traditional Islam does not separate religious and secular spheres; all laws should harmonize with the Qur'an.

• Fiqh: The "understanding" or practical application of the Qur'an and Sunnah to daily life.

• Five Categories of Human Action:

  1. Obligatory (wajib or fard): Actions like salat and zakat. God rewards performance and punishes neglect. Subdivided into individual obligation (fard 'ayn) and community obligation (fard kifaya).

  2. Recommended (sunna, mandub, mustahabb): Desirable actions. Performers are rewarded, but there is no punishment for omission (e.g., women attending Friday prayer).

  3. Permissible (mubah): Neutral actions with no reward or punishment. This covers the majority of actions and governmental matters.

  4. Reprehensible (makkruh): "Hated" or undesirable actions that are not strictly forbidden. Divorce is an example; one is rewarded for avoiding it but not punished for it.

  5. Forbidden (haram): Absolutely prohibited actions punished by God, such as eating pork, drinking alcohol, murder, or fornication (sex outside marriage).

• Penalties: Classified as those imposed in the afterlife, those specified in the Qur'an/Sunnah (e.g., stoning for fornication), and discretionary penalties decided by judges (the most common type).

Dietary Requirements

• Halal (Fitting): Broadly refers to appropriate behavior, dress, or speech; specifically refers to food laws.

• Edible Categories:

  • Halal: Permitted.

  • Mushbook: Uncertain.

  • Haram: Forbidden.

• Forbidden Foods: Pork, blood, carrion (putrefied flesh), animals dead of natural causes or killed by other animals. Hadith adds animals with fangs, birds of prey, pests, and poisonous animals.

• Permitted Exceptions: All sea animals (if they live in water full-time), camel, horse, and rabbit ($2:173$; $16:115$; $5:3$).

• Zabihah (Slaughter Method):

  • The slaughterer must be a mature, committed Muslim approved by authorities.

  • The animal must be healthy (eyes and ears checked).

  • The animal must be given a drink and not see the knife being sharpened.

  • Slaughter is performed with one swift cut across the throat while the animal is alive and conscious (no drugging or stunning).

  • A blessing or the name of Allah must be uttered during the process.

Islamic Arts and Literature

• Arabesque: Floral and geometric ornamental designs (flowers, leaves, stems) intended to display the unity of the divine and the experience of contemplation. Found on floors, walls, and carpets.

• Calligraphy: The art of beautiful handwriting, usually featuring words from the Qur'an to represent the eternal word of God.

• Image-making Prohibitions and Exceptions: Generally strong prohibition against human or animal images, with three exceptions:

  1. Muhammad's Night Journey: Often represented with the face left blank.

  2. Persian Miniatures: Stylized scenes from pre-Islamic Iranian history featuring rulers, lovers, and complex garden designs.

  3. Folk Art: Pictures commissioned by returning pilgrims to commemorate their journey.

• Poetry: Traditionally recited or sung in public. Themes include love, wine, and satire.

  • Omar Khayyam ($1048-1131$): Known for the Rubaiyat (stanzas, estimated between $200$ and $600$).

  • Rumi: A Sufi poet focused on spiritual perspectives, specifically the relationship between Beauty, Love, and Allah.

• Paradise in Art: Symbolically depicted as a fertile oasis/garden. Architectural features include tree-like slender pillars, pointed arches (branches), and blue ceilings with stars. Fragrant plants like roses and jasmine are utilized.

Modern Context and Reinterpretation

• Migration: Since the late $1960s$, migration has increased to the UK (Indian subcontinent), France (North Africa), Germany (Turkey), and Australia.

• Institutional Growth: Development of purpose-built mosques, halal food access, university prayer rooms, and Islamic schools in Western nations.

• Progressive/Liberal Intellectuals:

  • Fazlur Rahman ($1919-88$): Argued the Qur'an is both the word of God and Muhammad; Sunnah was transmitted 'silently' through behavior.

  • Amina Wadud ($1952-$): Provides a feminist reading of the Qur'an; led a mixed congregation for Friday prayer in New York in $2005$.

  • Nasr Abu Zayd ($1943-2010$): Argued the Qur'an is a human expression of God's word reflecting a specific time and place.

  • Abdolkarim Soroush ($1945-$): Iranian philosopher distinguishing between divinely revealed religion and imperfect human religious knowledge.

  • Chandra Muzaffar ($1947-$): Malaysian advocate for human rights and 'just peace'.

Media Exploration Activities

• Hinduism (Activity $11.37$): Content includes forces pulling on identity in The Namesake ($2006$).

• Buddhism (Activity $11.38$): References in contemporary culture; films include The Cup, Kundun, The Karate Kid, and Seven Years in Tibet.

• Judaism (Activity $11.39$): The Simpsons Episode $306$ ('Like Father Like Clown') features Torah scrolls, Yad, Kippah, Payot, Hebrew, Menorah, Star of David, Synagogue, Yiddish, Yeshiva, and Brit Milah. Discussion of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film/novel) regarding Holocaust representation and the concept of 'holy' literature.

• Christianity (Activity $11.40$): Contrasting depictions of Jesus in Jesus of Nazareth ($1977$), The Life of Brian, and Jesus of Montreal ($1989$).

• Islam (Activity $11.41$): Analysis of Malcolm X, The Message, and Aladdin. Note on Aladdin lyrics: The original cinema version ("Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face. It's barbaric, but hey it's home") was changed for video release to avoid offensive stereotypes ("Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense, it's barbaric, but hey it's home").