Transcript Introduction to Islam

“God is most great [Allahu Akbar]…
I witness that there is no god but
God… I witness that Muhammad is
the messenger of God..
Come to prayer…
Come to prosperity…
God is most great…
There is no god but God.”
Islam II:
“Guide us in the
straight path”
Introduction to World Religions
Fall 2007
Dr. Hannah Schell
Agenda for class meeting
• Preliminary thoughts – connecting belief
and practice
• The “Five Pillars” of Muslim practice
The Quranic basis of the practice
What does the practice signify about Islam?
• Class discussion – student questions
• If time: Sufiism.
Islam as “orthopraxis”
“Islam is a religion in which doing the
truth is more important than simply
knowing what is required. Law is more
important then theology in the sense
that obeying God’s commandments is
open for everyone…”
- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 149.
Preliminary 2:
Divine unity & human activity
“ ‘Behold,’ thy Lord said to the angels, ‘I will create a vicegerent [khalifa]
on earth.’” (2:30).
“Humans cannot muster any power and glory of their own; but they
can participate with God as his vicegerents, or deputies, on earth,
his ‘caliphs.’.. Tawhid [Divine Unity] is in the nature of God, but
it is also a task of humankind as vicegerents. It entails
demonstrating one’s belief by behaving in ways conducive to the
worship and service of God. One cannot truly understand God’s
unity without striving toward unity in the Muslim community.
This is done in many ways – personal, communal, political,
economic, liturgical – and the variety of ways must themselves be
harmonious and mutually enhancing. Perhaps the most dramatic
exhibition of making God’s religion one is the five pillars.”
- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 150-151; my
emphasis.
The “Five Pillars”
1. The Declaration of Faith (Shahada)
2. Prayer
3. Charity
4. Fasting
5. Pilgrimage
1. The declaration of faith
The Shahada (witness, testimony) [sha hah da]:
“There is no god, but God, and Muhammad
is his prophet.”
• Statement of absolute monotheism – the
unity and oneness of God (Allah).
• Profession of faith in Muhammad as a
prophet; “the seal of the prophets.”
The Qur’an on Divine Unity
“In the Name of God the Compassionate the Caring
Say he is God, one
God forever*
Not begetting, unbegotten,
and having as an equal none.”
- Chapter 112, Sincerity/Unity.
*also: the refuge, or the rock.
Source: Michael Sells, Approaching the Koran, 136.
Man whispers the Shahada to his baby girl
Source: http://www.worldreligions.co.uk/islam.htm
Muslim death rituals
“The last person to be with the deceased in the grave should whisper a final Shahada
into the corpse’s era, to remind the soul of the core of the true religion for when
the angels arrive for a postmortem questioning of the deceased’s religious
knowledge.”
- From Jews, Christians, Muslims (271).
A simple profession of faith
unites an entire religion
“Muslims have a nearly uniform liturgy worldwide,
without benefit of clergy or standard creed. The forms
and practices of worship are themselves the creed,
acted out with the heart and the body within the
community. Everything in the acts of worship… can
be interpreted as having theological meaning because
of the divine imperative to serve God above everything
else and to remember him in all thoughts and acts.
One of Muhammad’s Companions asked the Prophet
what true goodness was. Muhammad answered: ‘That
thou worship Allah as if thou seest him: for if thou see
Him not, surely He sees thee.’”
- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to
Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 142.
2. Prayer (Salat): Muslim worship
• Five times a day: before daybreak, just after the sun
has reached the highest point in the sky, in the middle
of the afternoon, just after sunset, and after dark.
• Communal prayer is best, when possible
• Involves rituals of cleansing and preparation
• Prayers said facing Mecca
• Prayers are a set of verses from the Koran
• Recited in a cycle of standing, sitting and kneeling.
Allah says: "And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day
and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take
away evil deeds." 11: 114
Call to prayer (adhan)
“God is most great [Allahu Akbar],
God is most great, God is most
great, God is most great, I
witness that there is no god but
God [Allah]; I witness that there
is no god but God. I witness that
Muhammad is the messenger of
God. I witness that Muhammad
is the messenger of God. Come
to prayer; come to prayer! Come
to prosperity*; come to
prosperity! God is most great.
God is most great. There is no
god but God.”
*falah: good fortune, salvation.
Preparing to pray
• Must become ritually pure
• Minor impurity is caused by
evacuation of bodily wastes,
sleep, bleeding, breaking
wind, contact with a dog,
fainting.
• Major impurity caused by
sexual intercourse, seminal
emission, menstruation,
childbirth, a large flow of
blood, touching a corpse, etc.
Performing ablutions…
Pray with
attention
“Make your heart attentive, emptying it
of evil suggestions. Consider in front of
Whom you stand and speak, and shrink
from addressing your Patron with
negligent heart and breast laden with
worldly suggestions and evil passions.
God most high is aware of your inmost
thoughts and sees your heart God
accepts your Worship only according to
the measure of your humility,
submissiveness, modesty and lowliness.
Serve Him in your Worship as if you see
Him for, even if you do not see Him, yet
he sees you.”
-Al – Ghazali, “The Beginning of Guidance,” in Readings in
Judaism, Christianity and Islam, ed. Corrigan et al (241).
Prostration
Video clip
Segment from “Mosque” (1992); Maryknoll
World Productions.
Canadian Muslims praying in the direction of Mecca.
3. Obligation of alms
Zakat (purification): ritual
alms-giving; giving a fixed
percentage of one’s wealth
and assets in charity
every year (2.5%)
“Every Muslim male or female who
at the end of the year is in
possession of the equivalent of 85
grams of gold (approx. $1400 in
1990) or more in cash or articles of
trade, must give Zakat at the
minimum rate of 2.5%. Taxes paid
to government do not substitute for
this religious duty. The contributor
should not seek pride or fame but
if disclosing his name and his
contribution is likely to encourage
others, it is acceptable to do so.”
(Source: http://home.clara.net/najm/zakat2.html)
Alms-giving according to the Koran
"Successful indeed are the believers. Those who humble themselves in
their prayers. And who avoid vain conversation. And who are active
in deeds of charity..." [23: 1 - 4 ]
"Surely (as for) the charitable men and the charitable women and those
who loan to Allah a beautiful loan (by setting apart for Allah's poor
servants a goodly portion), it shall be doubled for them and they
shall have a noble reward." [57: 18]
"Of their goods, take alms, so that you might purify and sanctify them;
and pray for them. Verily your prayers are a source of security for
them: And Allah is the All-Hearer, All-Knower." [9: 103]
Source: http://www.msalb.org/islam/pillars/Charity/charity_main.htm
“One of the most important principles of
Islam is that all things belong to God,
and that wealth is therefore held by
human beings in trust. The word Zakat
means both 'purification' and
'growth'. Our possessions are purified
by setting aside a proportion for those in
need, and, like the pruning of plants,
this cutting back balances and
encourages new growth.”
http://www.msalb.org/islam/pillars/Charity/charity_main.htm
4. Fasting (during Ramadan)
• Ramadan marks the
month when the
Qur’an was first
revealed – 9th month
of the Islamic
calendar
• Fasting (abstinence):
Abstain from eating,
drinking, smoking,
and sex from before
sunrise until after
sunset for one month
Breakfast during Ramadan
Source: http://www.worldreligions.co.uk/islam.htm
“Ramadan is usually seen as the most
personal and spiritual of the pillars of
Islam. This is so because it is God alone
who sees whether or not a person is
taking the discipline seriously or not. It
is impossible that someone is watching
you every moment of everyday to ensure
that you are not sneaking a sip of water
and nibbling on a falafel.”
From Muslim Wake-Up,
http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/cat_ramadan.php
Breaking of the fast
Near the end of Ramadan (27th day),
Muslims commemorate the Night of
Power (the revelation of the Quran).
Feast of the braking of
the fast: (Eid al-Fitr)
Time of great rejoicing
and celebration that
includes gift-giving,
charity and feasts.
5. The Hajj
Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia
Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime
obligation for those Muslims who have
the physical and financial ability to
undertake the journey. It is also a form
of worship that involves the entire
being: body, mind and soul.
(Source: http://www.islam101.com/dawah/hajj.html)
Pilgrimage actions
• Approach Mecca, shout “I am here, O Lord, I am
here!”
• Circumambulate the Ka’ba
• Walk corridor of the Grand Mosque to commemorate
Hagar’s frantic search for water for her son Ishmael
• Drink water from the well (Zam-zam – bubbbling).
• Assemble at the plain of Arafat to remember
Muhammad’s farewell sermon.
• Symbolically reject the devil by throwing stones at
three pillars that stand at the site where Satan met
Abraham and Ishmael
Quranic basis
“Follow the religion of Abraham, the pure
monotheist; he was not one of the
idolaters. The first house of worship
established for the people was at Mecca,
full of blessing and guidance for all
peoples…. Pilgrimage (hajj) thereto is a
duty the people owe to God – those who
can afford the journey.” (9:95-97).
Student questions
• Before Islam: What did people worship or
believe in before Muhammad began to speak
the word of Allah?
• Ramadan: what do people get by doing this
and how do they feel about it?
• Religious Practice: Is the Muslim faith the
most strict and devoted religion?
• Women: What about the role and status of
women in Islam? Why do we hear of women
being treated so cruelly?
If time…
The mystical tradition of Islam: Sufiism.
(video clip: “I am Sufi, I am Muslim”).