Chapter 7: Islam "The Way of Submission"

The Way of Submission

• ^^Mecca^^ or Makkah (as the Saudis spell it) is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad and the place he was living when he received the revelations that became the Quran

• ^^Haji^^ is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and one of the Five Pillars of Islam

  • In and around Mecca, pilgrims will perform a series of rituals that make up the five-day haji, one of the Five Pillars of Islam and traditionally an obligation for all Muslims who are able to meet its costs and physical exertions. To fail to perform any of these rituals (or to perform them at the wrong time) is to fail to complete the haji

• Classically, pilgrims traveled to the Mecca by foot or on camel via dangerous caravan routes. Storms, desert marauders, epidemics, and extreme temps made these journeys perilous

  • Those who die on the haji are recognized as ^^martyrs^^, with all the afterlife rewards accorded to those who suffer and die defending their religion

• Nowadays, most pilgrims fly on jets that complete in-hours trips that once took yrs. They then board air-conditioned buses that take them toward the Mecca

• The start of the haji is one thing and the start of an individual’s pilgrimage is another. The key moment comes outside Mecca at one of six official thresholds marking the crossing of pilgrims from the profane world of everyday life into the sacred precinct of the haji

  • To mark this crossing into the sacred condition of ^^ihram^^, pilgrims cut their nails, comb their hair, and bathe. They put on special haji clothing also known as ihram
  • After moving into ihram, pilgrims are supposed to refrain from sex, quarreling, killing animals, using perfume, shaving or cutting their hair, and (for men) covering the head and (for women) covering the face

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Our Story

• The ^^Quran^^ is the Arabic words of God brought into the world through the prophet Muhammad; a short book of 114 chapters, the Quran’s key teachings include the unity of God, the prophethood of Muhammad, the Day of Judgment, and the afterlife rewards and punishments

• ^^Muhammad^^ is the founder, lawmaker, jurist, politician, general, family man, the human exemplar of the Ismalic way, the source of the sayings, and the actions in the hadith, and the final prophet of Islam

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Islam in Today’s World

• Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, and is steadily gaining on Christianity

• The majority of Muslims reside in Asia

• Muslims are often depicted in Western movies and shows as terrorists or taxi drivers, but in the real world this religious group contains multitudes

  • Muslims are rich and poor gay and straight, they speak Arabic and Urdu, English and French

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Islam 101

• According to Islamic tradition, the human problem is pride

  • Human beings act as if they are self-sufficient, imagining that they can get along just fine without God or one another

• The solution to this issue is submission to God, who alone is self-sufficent

  • To submit it not just to bow in divine will but to also follow Islamic law
  • ^^Sharia^^ is the Arabic word for this law

• Submission to God leads to the goal of Islam: success here and in the hereafter

  • This success includes health and happiness

• The techniques for achieving this goal - for turning the proud into the successful - are belief and works, and submission of the entire person, both mind and body, to the divine will and purpose

• ^^Six Articles of Faith^^ are the six key Islamic beliefs, namely one God; angels; holy books; prophets, including Muhammad; the Day of Judgement; and predestination

  • To be a Muslim has been more about action than belief

• ^^Five Pillars of Islam^^: reciting the Shahada (“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God”), praying five daily prayers, giving alms to the poor, fasting during Ramadan, and going on the haji

  • Each of these Five Pillars is a technique of surrender and a pathway to worldy and otherworldly success

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God

• Muslims are strict monotheists who reject the Christian and Hindu notions that God can incarnate in human form

• ^^Allah^^ is the Arabic term for God, also used by Arabic-speaking Christians and other theists

• God is said to have 99 “beautiful names” including The Merciful, The Powerful, The Loving, The Creator, The Just, The Loving, The Wise, The Nourisher, The Friend, The Guide, The First, and The Last

  • One purpose of this list is to suggest that God is beyond our understanding - that God’s nature cannot be captured even in these 99 names

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Islam at a Glance

• Problem: pride
• Solution: submission
• Techniques: praying, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage, and affirming the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad
• Exemplar: Muhammad, who in addition to being the final prophet is also the exemplary human being; also (for the Shia) Imams and (for Sufis) sheiks

Islam is a tradition of Muslims “submitters” who give up their pride and achieve this-worldly and otherworldly success by bowing down to the one true God

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