Islam

Islam “surrender” “submission”

Muslim “one who submits” 

Four Foundations of Islam

  1. Qur’an: primary sacred text

  2. Prophet Muhammad

  • The Seal of Prophets

  1. Iman: 6 major articles of belief

    1. Oneness of God: Allah

      1. Transcendent, superpersonal, genderless

    2. Angels of God: Do God’s will in the world

    3. Books of God: Allah revealed his divine message to messengers before Muhammad

      1. Torah, Psalms, Scrolls, Gospels, etc.

      2. But the Qur’an is the final revelation and the only book in its original form

    4. Prophets of God: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus

      1. But Muhammad is the final prophet (Seal of Prophets)

    5. Judgment Day: Humans will be judged for their actions

    6. Divine decree: Muslims believe that God has a divine destiny for all things 

  2. Umma: the global community of Muslims

    1. Transcends race, ethnicity, language


The Prophet Muhammad

  • Born in 570

    • Pre-Islamic Arabia was polytheistic 

    • Other Abrahamic religions already existed

    • Tribal culture: warring tribes who had their own gods

  • Orphan → raised by his uncle

  • He married his boss a wealthy caravan manager: Khadija

    • She was the first follower of Islam

  • One time he was meditating in a cave outside the city

    • 610: Night of Power and Excellence → Angel Gabriel appeared and had him say a “recitation”

    • Shares message of monotheism (Allah is ONE god)

    • Received recitations until he died 

    • Recitations → Qur’an

  • Not well-received in Mecca

  • 622: Hijira → Left Mecca for Yathrib (renamed Medina “city of the prophet”)

    • The official beginning of the Muslim Era and of the Muslim calendar (AH 1= 622 AD)

  • 630: Islam forces conquer Mecca and clear out the Ka’aba to dedicate it to Allah

  • 632: Prophet Muhammad dies 


Muhammad’s Succession → Sunni/Shi’a

  • Islam became an imperial power

    • Caliphates

    • Within 100 years of Muhammad’s death Islam spread to the Middle East, Persia, N. Africa, most of Spain/Iberian peninsula

  • Sunni: wanted a wise elder as caliph

    • Today → 87% of Muslims

  • Shi’a wanted Muhammad’s cousin Ali to be caliph

    • Small faction

    • Today → less than Sunni but a majority in Iraq and Iran

    • Shi’ism

  • 661: Ali (4th) caliph was assassinated 

  • 680: Ali’s son Husayn was killed by SUNNI RIVALS in the Battle of Karbala

    • Definitive break between the two factions

Sufism

  • Mystical form/expression of Islam

  • Both Sunni and Shi’a communities

  • There is nothing BUT God

    • Worshipper must be one with God 

    • Sufi experience oneness with Allah and their experiences gain them spiritual fortitude

  • Living life in accordance with the divine will & following Shari’a

  • Organized into different orders led by a shayk (master/teacher)

    • Leads disciples to achieve union with God through religious practices (ex: recitation of sacred names/phrases, breathing exercises, chanting odes, dance)

  • Emphasizes:

    • Immaness/closeness of Allah

    • Goal of al-fana (extinction): eliminating any sense of separation from God and experiencing personal union with Allah



Qur’an “reading, recitation”

  • God’s word/presence in the world

  • Only one official version in Arabic

  • 114 suras (chapters)

  • Given to Muhammad as a recitation

    • Recited to his listeners

    • Oral recitation is still preferred 


Sunna

  • Traditions and practices of the Prophet Muhammad

  • Model for Muslims to follow

  • Divine revelations that God delivered through Muhammad 

  • Practices for Muslims during their daily lives


Shari’a

  • Divine law/Law of the land

  • Drawn from the Qur’an and the Sunna

  • 5 categories: Obligatory, recommended, indifferent, disapproved, and forbidden

    • Explains how to practice Islam—Submission before Allah

    • To stop Shari’a = stop being a Muslim

  • Basis of government in several countries with Muslim majorities (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan)

  • Guidelines on care of the body, status of women, jihad (struggle)

    • Care of the body: physical joys while controlling desires

      • The body is to be kept clean

      • Modest clothing (ex: hijab)

      • Forbidden food and actions: eating pork, lying, killing, gambling, etc.

        • Haram: things harmful to the body, mind, soul, or society

        • Halal: everything beneficial and permissible to the body

      • Marriage is a legal contract 

        • Avoid sexual interactions before marriage

    • Women in Islam: men and women are equal w different roles

      • Men: economic and public life

      • Women: family life 

      • Divorce can be initiated by men or women 

      • Muslim communities often require women to cover their hair and sometimes their entire body

        • Veiling: pre-Islamic practice in Arabia, no longer universal among Muslim women

        • Hijab: meant so that women’s sexuality will not become a source of temptation or enter into their interactions with men

          • Considered by some Muslim Women to liberate them from the male gaze

    • Jihad: “Struggle”

      • Sometimes considered the sixth pillar of Islam

      • Individual’s spiritual struggle against the veneration of Allah and acting on his divine will

      • Preservation of the order Allah has willed for the world

      • Armed struggle “holy war”