Week 8 Reading Guide for Islam Week 8 Islam means what in what language It means submission in Arabic Hanifs Pious ones a group of pre Islamic Arabs who shared the ethical monotheism of Jews and Christians 570 Birth of Muhammad What are the 2 major branches of Islam What is the majority Where do these two branches take their names Sunni and Shi a Sunni are the majority The Shi a name comes from the Arabic for partisans and refers to the group of Muslims who gave their allegiance to Ali after Muhammad s death and Ali s descendants Imams mi raj The Prophet s miraculous journey to heaven after traveling from Mecca to Jerusalem in one night hijrah The Prophet s migration from Mecca to establish a community in Medina in 622 CE In dates the abbreviation AH stands for year of the hijrah the starting point of the Islamic dating system qiblah The direction of prayer marked in mosques by a niche inside the wall nearest Mecca caliph amir From the Arabic khalifah one who represents or acts on behalf of another The caliph was the Prophet s successor as the head of the Muslim community the position became institutionalized in the form of the caliphate which lasted from 632 to 1924 Qu ran Was sent down to the prophet Muhammad over 23 years the angel Gabriel appeared to him and transmitted the ayahs verses and surahs chapters that came to constitute the book Status of Qu ran p 218 Muslims believe this book is an immutable heavenly book containing the eternal Word of God Tafsir Commentary on the Qur an Iman kufr Rejecting belief implies lack of gratitude for God s grace Why is hadith considered so important hadith tradition is important because the earliest commentaries were oral but in tenth century Qur anic interpretation developed into science with several fields of study Halal Ritually acceptable most often used in the context of the slaughter of animals for meat also refers generally to Muslim dietary regulations Haram Forbidden used especially in reference to actions similar in its monotheism of Jews and Christians Muhammad ibn Idris al Shafi i guy that created work that changed the scope and nature of Islamic jurisprudence Rejected personal opinion in favor of absolute dependence on the Qur an and sunnah He argued that people should not base their judgments on the opinions of people but rely on the Book of God and the sunnah of God s Prophet Abu Nasr al Farabi Philosopher musical theorist instrumentalist Said God is pure intellect and highest good First intellect God s self knowledge or contemplation second intellect generates the heavenly spheres then process repeats Each intellect generates another sphere and another intellect Mahdi The Shi I twelfth Iman understood in his role as the rightly guided one who will emerge from hiding at some unspecified future date to restore righteousness and order to the world Jalal al Din Rumi poet that met a great friend Shams of Tabriz Shams means sun in Arabic disappeared and Rumi created verses expressing his love for the Sun of Tabriz Mathnawi couplets was his greatest masterpiece had 30 000 verses Mathnawi evokes the human soul s longing for God Dhimmis Protected people non Muslim religious minorities specifically Jews and Christians as People of the Book accorded tolerated status in Islamic society Week 11 Reading Guide for Islam Week 11 5 pillars of Islam 1 The shahadah the profession of faith through which one becomes a Muslim 2 regular worship including participation in all five of the obligatory daily prayers 3 almsgiving 4 the Ramadan fast 5 participation in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca Shahadah be able to produce the two statements I bear witness that there is no god except God and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God First statement affirms the oneness of God second statement affirms Muhammad s role as messenger in sha Allah if God wills zakat The prescribed welfare tax 2 5 percent of each Muslim s accumulated wealth collected by central treasuries in earlier times but now donated to charities independently of state governments sadaqah Alms given voluntarily in addition to the required zakat Id al Fitr congregational prayer at the end of the Ramadan fast Hajj The annual pilgrimage to Mecca 4 essential features of a mosque a fountain for washing hands face and feet upon entering a large area for kneeling and prostration in prayer a pulpit minbar from which the leader of Friday noon worship delivers the sermon and an imageless niche in the middle of the wall closest to Mecca indicating the qiblah direction of prayer Mohamed Zakariya Islamic calligrapher in the US Teaches calligraphy produces new work writes contemporary instructional material and translates classical texts 2 types of Jihad Inner jihad is the struggle to make oneself more Islamic outer jihad is the struggle to make one s society more Islamic Hijab A woman s veil or head covering Does the Quran mention the hijab What does it mention The Qur an does not refer to the hijab at all It demands that women dress modestly Oxtoby Hinduism section Hinduism shares its name with what other major term and derives from what To what does it refer Hinduism like the word India itself is derived from Sind the name of the region now Pakistan of the river Sindhu Indus santana dharma eternal faith dharma word is close to religion but recognized it is true in a limited way For Hindus it means righteousness justice faith duty a religious and social obligation 2700 BCE Evidence of Indus Valley civilization Mohenjo Daro Mound of the Dead a town on the bank of the Indus River now Pakistan Vedas The four collections of hymns and ritual texts that constitute the oldest and most highly respected Hindu sacred literature Rig Veda Ancient Hindu text Upanishads Philosophical texts in the form of reported conversations on the theory of the Vedic ritual and the nature of knowledge composed around the sixth century BCE What is unique about the Atharva Veda Differs from the other 3 Vedas in that it includes material that scholars consider non Aryan such as incantations and remedies to ward off illness and evil spirits These chants were used for stuff other than sacrificial rituals varnas the four classes of Hindu society karma Action good and bad as it is believed to determine the quality of rebirth in future lives samsara The continuing cycle of re births a mrta without death immortal moksha Liberation from the cycle of birth and death one of the three classical aims in life atman The
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