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Islam
Origins
Islam began during the 7th century in the Arabian Peninsula; the two main cities associated with the development of Islam were Makkah and Madinah.
the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, accounting for the emergence of the Sunni and Shi’a
After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the Muslim community mourned his death and set about appointing his successor. A majority of the members present in the Muslim community believed that it was in their position to determine who would succeed him in a method of election, these individuals were known as the Sunni. Whereas a smaller portion of Islamic adherents known as the Shi’a, favoured the idea that only descendants of Muhammad or Ali, his son-in-law, were eligible to be a leader. With this variance of beliefs in place, numerous philosophical disagreements were consistently arising, resulting in future instances of violence and war. However, the Sunnis prevailed and chose a successor to be the first Rightly Guided Caliph. Eventually, Ali was chosen as the fourth caliph, the leader which the Shiites believed was to be the first rightful successor to which his son Hussain should have succeeded him. The violence and war between the Sunni and Shia Muslims caused conflict issues, resulting in the two branches of Islam to never unite, even to present day where it causes a power struggle for dominance in the Middle East and the religious wars that have occurred since the emergence of the Sunni and the Shia.
Sacred Texts and Writings
As the Qur’an is a sacred text, it is to be handled with respect [etiquette below]
Hands are washed and parts of the body are cleansed before reading it.
It is often wrapped in a special silken-cloth - this is not a requirement of Islam.
No other books are shelved higher than it.
It is recited in personal prayer.
It may not be placed on the floor.
It is expected that Muslims do not speak, eat or drink during the reading of the Qur’an
It is written in Classical Arabic and recitations should only occur in Arabic. There can be no variations of the Quran’s text.
Core Ethical Teachings
The intention of life for a Muslim is to follow the will of Allah
Each moment of each day is to be lived in an attitude of complete surrender or submission to Allah
There is no aspect of life which is separate of removed from Allah's concern
Muslims strive to bring all their actions into accord with the will of Allah
This requires a constant awareness on the part of Muslims and being attuned to the will of God constantly in everyday life. This awareness or consciousness is called "taqwa"
This striving brings Muslim thought into constant contact with the field of ethics. Individuals and communities throughout the world are constantly faced with ethical decisions
process of Islamic jurisprudence
Islamic Jurisprudence [Fiqh] is the process that individuals of Islamic faith derive their set rules and regulations, the Shariah, from the principles of the Qur’an and the Hadith; perceiving the guidelines that all Muslims are to adhere to throughout their daily lives. The Ijma is a consensus of Islamic scholars on a point of Islamic law, particularly religious issues. It is a secondary source of Islamic Shariah and superior to the Qiyas, yet inferior to the Qur’an. If questions arose from a specific section of the Quranic interpretation, jurists of the Ijma would apply their own understanding to develop an interpretation. The Qiyas is a process of inferential analysis that uses teachings of the Hadith, and contrasts it to those present in the Qur’an, to apply an injunction to a new circumstance previously unknown to Muslims. For example, the Qiyas would be applied when discussing the islamic belief regarding the prohibition of recreational drugs. No particular Surahs explicitly prohibits the use of these drugs, however, it is evident that drugs should be prohibited too as Muslims are forbidden from intoxicating harmful substances into their body. Additionally, the concept of halal and haram acts plays a significant role in the process of Islamic Jurisprudence. Anything that is halal is permissible and lawful, in reference to the Fiqh; such as contraception. Whereas, anything haram are acts that disobey the elements of the Fiqh. There are 2 main forms of what is haram; something that is prohibited because its essence causes harm to an individual, and being prohibited because it's associated with an external forbidden source.
HALAL and HARAM
Muslim ethical judgment ultimately leads to a decision about what is permitted or halal and what is forbidden or haraam. In principle if something is not forbidden then it is permitted. However, simply because something is permitted does not mean that it should be done.
In living Shari'ah and making decisions about what should be done a number of aspects need to be considered.
The most important are those things which are required actions or behaviours. Examples of these would include the five pillars. Those things which are required actions are known as fard or wajib. For most Muslims, fard and wajib are identical, however in some schools of thought fard refers to obligations stemming from revelation while wajib refers to obligations stemming from reason.
Fard and wajib can be identified in two forms. One involves a personal obligation while the second is an obligation on the Muslim community as a whole.
The third level of halal actions are known as mubah.
These actions fall into the realm of the unclear and require the prudent exercise of personal judgment
Mubah refers to situations where there is no clear guidance in the Qur'an or in judgments of authorities in Islam
In these situations an individual must choose the correct action based on the principles outlined above
The final level of halal actions are those which are not recommended or are not approved
Expression of Faith
NoteStudied by 23 peopleNoteStudied by 38240 peopleNoteStudied by 3 peopleNoteStudied by 140 peopleNoteStudied by 1 personNoteStudied by 80 people