MODULE 2

ISLAM
OVERVIEW

Islam is a monotheistic religious tradition that developed in the Middle East

in the 7th century C.E. Islam, which literally means "surrender" or
"submission," was founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as an
expression of surrender to the will of Allah, the creator and sustainer of the
world. The Quran, the sacred text of Islam, contains the teachings of the
Prophet that were revealed to him from Allah. Essential to Islam is the belief
that Allah is the one and true God with no partner or equal. Islam has several
branches and much variety within those branches. The two divisions within
the tradition are the Sunni and Shi'a, each of which claims different means of
maintaining religious authority. One of the unifying characteristics of Islam is
the Five Pillars, the fundamental practices of Islam. These five practices
include a ritual profession of faith, ritual prayer, the zakat (charity), fasting,
and the hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca). Many Muslims are characterized by their
commitment to praying to Allah five times a day. One of the defining
characteristics of Islam is the primacy of sacred places including Mecca,
Medina, and Jerusalem. Muslims gather at mosques to worship Allah, pray,
and study scripture. There is not a sharp distinction between the religious and
secular aspects of life in Islam; all aspects of a Muslim's life are to be oriented
to serving Allah. Islam expanded almost immediately beyond its birthplace in
the Arabian peninsula, and now has significant influence in Africa, throughout
Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Quick Fact Details:

 Formed: This date reflects Muhammad's migration from Mecca to
Medina, considered the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
 Sacred Texts: While the Quran alone is considered sacred scripture, the
Sunna, in its written form hadith, is also part of the Islamic canon.

Quick Facts

FORMED 622

ADHERENTS 1,500,000,000

DEITY ALLAH

SACRED TEXT QUR'AN

ORIGIN ARABIAN PENINSULA

HEADQUARTERS NONE
ORIGINS

Beginnings

"Islam" is an Arabic word that means

"acceptance," "surrender," "submission," or "commitment,"
and is closely related to the Arabic word for peace (salaam; in
Hebrew, shalom). Adherents of Islam are called Muslims,
literally, those who make peace. Muslims are those who
surrender to the will of God (Allah, in Arabic) in every aspect
of their lives and enjoy the resulting peace with God and each
other. The prophet Muhammad gave the name Islam to the
religious movement he founded.

There are several events that could

be considered the beginning of Islam, including the life
of Muhammad, or the Hijra. If we seek the beginning of
Islam in a sacred event, then perhaps it lies in the Night of
Power (laylat al-qadar), when Muhammad received the call to
be God's messenger. This article briefly sets the context for
this decisive event, and notes its essential meaning in Islam.
In the Islamic worldview, the origins of the faith lie in God's
initial creation of the universe and everything in it, including
the First Parents, Adam and his wife. For a time, all creatures
lived in perfect peace, but then the First Parents were tempted
by Iblis and disobeyed God's rules. As a result, Adam and his
wife were banished from Paradise, though God reassured
Adam that the banishment was temporary. God promised to
send messengers to Adam and his progeny, and these
messengers would bring God's guidance. Adam was reassured
that those who follow God's guidance will have no reason to
feel fear or grief (surah 2:31-38).

One of God's most important

messengers was Abraham (Arabic, Ibrahim), who was called
by God to leave his home in Ur (in present-day Iraq). Abraham
(whose name means "Father of Many Nations") is revered in
the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as the ideal
model of pure faith in the one true God. Abraham's islam was
exemplary. He followed God's instructions in everything, and
was even willing to sacrifice his own son because God had
commanded it. The sacred story of Islam tells of how Abraham
and his son Ishmael (Arabic, Ismail) built the Kaaba (literally
"House of God") in Mecca, the center of Muslim worship.
 Muhammad, the final messenger sent
by God, belonged to the Quraysh, the tribe that controlled the
sacred sites of Mecca, including the Kaaba. At the time of
Muhammad's birth, ca. 570 C.E., the culture of the Arabian
peninsula was generally animistic and polytheistic. Shrines
with idols proliferated, especially in Mecca. The Kaaba was
filled with idols that had been placed there by the different
tribes and clans of Arabia. Allah, which means quite simply
"the God," was the highest god, but only one among many.
Still, monotheism was not unknown, as there were Christian
and Jewish tribes in Arabia. They too had received guidance
from God's messengers, recorded in sacred writings such as
the Torah (Moses), the Psalms (David), or the Gospel (Jesus).
They were "People of the Book," or people who possessed
sacred scripture. But from the perspective of Muhammad and
his followers, God's message in these scriptures had become
corrupted, whether by time or self-interest. A fresh revelation
was needed, one that was incorruptible, and Muhammad was
called to deliver it. Although Muhammad was a prophet to the
Arabs of the 7th century, the message was timeless and
intended for all humankind. It was God's final revelation, and
thus Muhammad is called the last prophet, or Seal of the
Prophets.
 This revelation, which was to
become the foundation of Islam, had its beginning in the Night
of Power, which many traditional accounts date to the night
between the 26th and 27th of Ramadan, the ninth month of
the Muslim calendar. Muhammad often went to the caves of
Mt. Hira near Mecca for solitary meditations and vigils, and on
this night, he experienced a profound and disturbing vision.
There are several versions of the story. They differ in the
details, but the meaning is the same. An angelic being, later
identified by Muhammad as Archangel Gabriel, appeared to
him and commanded him to "recite" in the name of God.
Muhammad did not respond immediately, and the angel took
him by the throat and shook him as he repeated his command
to "recite." Again Muhammad did not react, so the angel
choked him until Muhammad agreed to do as he was told. So
began Muhammad's years as a prophet, first to the Meccans
and ultimately to all of Arabia.

This decisive event took place when Muhammad was forty

years old, ca. 610, and the revelations continued until his
death in 632. The Quran is the record of the messages
Muhammad recited in the name of God. It forms the basis of
the religion of Islam, which by the time of Muhammad's death
had united nearly all the people of the Arabian peninsula into
a single polity with common beliefs and purpose. And it is the
inaugural event for the establishment and spread of a religion
that is now the second-largest religion in the world, with over
one billion followers. Muslims live in almost every country in
the world, and are the majority in forty-eight countries
stretching from north Africa to southeast Asia, with the
greatest populations concentrated in south Asia and
Indonesia. Despite the great diversity in languages, customs,
lifestyles, and beliefs, Muslims share their love for the
messenger and dedication to the message.

Short Quiz

Task 2.1
Study Questions:
1. Where did Islam get its name? Why are its followers called
Muslims?
2. What are some possible narratives for the beginning of
Islam?
3. Why is Abraham important to Islam’s history?
4. How do Muslims see themselves as different from other
“people of the book”?
5. Who was Muhammad? Describe his role in the Night of
Power.

Founders
 Muhammad is known
as rasul Allah, or God's Messenger to the Arabs, and to all of
humanity. He was born in Mecca ca. 570 C.E., and died in
Medina in 632. Most of what we know about Muhammad
comes from the Quran, but we also have biographies written
in the century after his death (called the sirah) and
the hadith. Some general histories contemporary with the
sirah are also useful sources of information about
Muhammad's life.
Muhammad's father died before he was born, and his mother
died when he was six years old, leaving him an orphan. He
went to live with his paternal grandfather, who sent him to live
with a nomadic tribe. This was customary at the time for boys
born in the towns of the Arabian peninsula. Later, Muhammad
began accompanying his uncle, Abu Talib, on trading
expeditions to Syria. On one of these trips, Muhammad met a
wealthy widow named Khadija. Khadija was impressed by his
honesty, and hired him to manage her caravan business.
Eventually she proposed marriage. The couple was married for
twenty-four years and had at least seven children together,
four daughters who survived to adulthood, and at least three
sons who died in infancy. The marriage was monogamous, and
by all accounts was very happy.
The night Muhammad was called to become a prophet of
Allah, known as the Night of Power, took place when
Muhammad was around forty years old. The strange and
terrifying vision shook Muhammad deeply, but Khadija
advised him to be steady and trust the vision. Muhammad
began preaching to the people of Mecca in 613. His earliest
messages focused on the oneness (tawhid) of Allah, the
punishments that await the greedy and the proud on
Judgment Day, and on exhorting people to show goodwill
toward one another. He put special emphasis on the care of
the poor, especially orphans and widows.
Muhammad gathered followers from a variety of segments of
Meccan society, from both poor and weak clans, and wealthy
ones. All seemed to be seeking something more fulfilling than
the materialism offered by Meccan society. Muhammad and
his followers critiqued the culture of competition and the high
value placed on money and material goods, calling for
submission to the will of the one true God. Mecca, however,
was a center for trade and the most important destination in
the peninsula for the annual pilgrimage that celebrated the
pantheon of gods, a festival that netted for the Meccans their
annual gross income. Therefore logically the merchant society
of Mecca was not particularly receptive to Muhammad's
critique of materialism and his calls for social reform and
monotheism. The Meccans wanted Muhammad to stop
preaching about monotheism and social justice. The most
powerful tribal leaders in Mecca attempted to bribe him into
silence by offering to share the wealth of the annual pilgrimage
with him and even allowed for the God that Muhammad
believed in to be deemed the most powerful of all the gods in
Mecca. Muhammad did not cooperate with the Meccans'
attempts at negotiations, and the Meccans began persecuting
him and his followers.
In a town called Yathrib, north of Mecca, a civil war was
tearing the town apart. Muhammad had established a
reputation as both a charismatic holy man and a fair arbiter.
So in 621 the city leaders sent a delegation to Muhammad to
invite him to move to Yathrib. In 622, Muhammad and his
followers left Mecca for Yathrib, an event remembered as the
Hijra, or emigration. This event became year one of the
Islamic calendar. Muhammad built the first mosque in his new
home, and Yathrib became known as the city of the
prophet, madinat al-nabi, or simply, Medina, one of Islam's
three holiest cities (Mecca and Jerusalem being the other two).

Once in Medina, Muhammad drafted an agreement on behalf

of the feuding clans that guaranteed mutual respect and
religious freedom, and required common defense of the city.
Muhammad and his followers flourished, and added many
more followers to their ranks. He was deeply disappointed,
however, when leaders of the Jewish tribes of the city, close
allies of Muhammad's enemies in Mecca, did not accept his
claims to be a prophet, although they too signed the treaty to
live together in mutual respect.
Until this time, Muhammad had taught that God's revelation
to the Arabs was in a common stream with Jewish and
Christian revelations, not a separate religion but the
culmination of them. Upon this rejection from the powerful
Jewish tribal leaders of Medina, Muhammad received
revelation from God to break away and found Islam as a
separate religion.

The Meccans continued to harass Muslims, confiscating and

selling their property. They responded by defending
themselves and their property. In 624, the Meccans and
Muslims fought a major battle, with the Muslims defeating a
Meccan force three times its size. Many saw this as a sign of
God's protection, and converted to Islam. The following year,
Muhammad and his troops suffered heavy losses in a second
battle with the Meccans. Ultimately, however, Muhammad
and the Muslims prevailed, and in 630, Muhammad and the
Muslims took control of Mecca. Muhammad destroyed the
idols in the Kaaba and the other shrines in the city, and
performed the rites of pilgrimage.
Muhammad had married several women after Khadija's death,
and he and his wives and children settled in Medina. The
following year, many of the tribes of the peninsula pledged
loyalty to Muhammad and Meccans converted to Islam.
Muhammad had gained control of Arabia. After a pilgrimage
to Mecca in 632, Muhammad fell ill and died in the home of
his youngest and favorite wife, Aisha.
 The Quran and the hadith
emphasize Muhammad's humanity, portraying him, warts and
all, as a mortal man with desires and limitations. In the Quran,
God reminds Muhammad that he will face God on Judgment
Day along with everyone else. Muhammad is a beloved figure
in Islam, and Muslims remember him for his many virtues,
such as fairness, gentleness, and kindness to everyone,
especially the most vulnerable members of the community. He
is recalled as wise and humble, never living above the rest of
the community, his door open to anyone, quick to share his wit
and charm. Muslims will often say "Peace Be upon Him," or
write "pbuh," after hearing or saying his name.

Short Quiz

Task 2.2
Study Questions:
1. Where does our knowledge of Muhammad come
from? How is he portrayed in the Quran?
2. What was Muhammad’s family life like? How did his
relationships help create the future of Islam?
3. What was Muhammad’s message, and why did the people
of Mecca try to silence it?
4. Why was the Meccan/Muslim battle of 624 significant to
the history of Islam?
Sacred Texts

The word "Quran" means "recitation,"

because the Quran was first heard in sermons and public
readings. Muslims believe it is still best communicated by
being recited. The Quran has been translated into many
languages, but only the Arabic version is considered
authoritative. The sounds of the Quran recited aloud in Arabic
are considered part of its nature, inseparable from its
meaning. It is also believed to be divine, the eternal and literal
word of God. It is filled with God's direct speech, revealed
through the use of the first person plural ("we"). The original,
divine version of the earthly book is considered coeternal with
God, either in heaven or in the mind of God. Translations into
other languages, removed from sacred Arabic words and
sounds, are not the literal word of God, and are classified as
interpretations.

The Quran is available in

translation in every language of the world; non-Arabic-
speaking Muslims read translations of the Quran as a form of
extra devotion and look to the Quran as a source of divine
guidance. All Muslims memorize verses from the Arabic Quran
because verses from the Quran are required to be recited in
the daily ritual prayer that all Muslims perform. The ritual
prayer has remained in Arabic despite the fact that most
Muslims in the world live outside of the Middle East. This
provides Muslims a tremendous sense of unity and shared
brotherhood and sisterhood throughout the world because the
liturgy of worship has never changed. The most devout male
and female Muslims—even those who are not religious
authorities on Islam—will memorize the entire Quran in
Arabic; those that do so are referred to as hafiz or hafiza.
The Quran contains a record of the revelations recited by the
prophet Muhammad over a period of approximately twenty-
two years in piecemeal, from 610 to 632. Muhammad
commissioned scribes to record the revelations in writing, and
at the time of his death, a number of his followers had
memorized the entire text. As Muhammad's followers began to
die, the community became concerned that variations on the
revelations would proliferate, and the original, authentic
revelation would become obscured. Work began on producing
an authoritative version, starting with the time-consuming
task of gathering all the revelations from both written and oral
sources. Muhammad's wives, companions, and scribes all
owned partial versions. The challenge was to correlate all the
partial versions, decide between variations, and produce an
authoritative version. Under Uthman, the third caliph, a team
of scholars led by one of Muhammad's companions completed
the task by around 650.
 The Quran is approximately the
same length as the Christian New Testament. It has 114
chapters, called surahs, which range in length from 3 to 286
verses. Each surah is named after an image or topic mentioned
in it, and many of the names are memorable and appealing,
such as "The Elephant," "Light," "Dawn," "Thunder," "The
Cave," "The Moon," or "Smoke." The surahs are ordered from
longest to shortest, except for the first one, which contains a
brief invocation and is the shortest of all. The first surah, al-
Fatiha, is the most recited chapter of the Quran as it is said
multiple times in every ritual prayer. In contemporary printed
Qurans, along with each chapter name, the heading of the
surah also indicates whether it was revealed before or after
the Hijra, as well as the number of verses it contains. The
surahs vary in style and content, and the longer ones cover a
variety of topics. Many Muslims and non-Muslims consider
the Quran to be a masterwork, a work of incredibly beautiful
and eloquent poetry and wisdom. Much of the beauty is lost in
the Quran's translation to English, so this point may be hard
to understand for those who do not understand Arabic.

As the literal word of God, the Quran is

regarded as sacred and infallible. In the Quran, God's message
is pure and uncorrupted. It is the primary source of belief and
practice for Muslims, and is the source for understanding
God's will for humans. It contains solutions to disagreements
and practical challenges. As the territory under the Muslims
expanded, and as time passed, the original context of the
Quran changed. It became more urgent to understand the
Quran's meaning in changed circumstances. The pursuit of
historically textualized explanation and interpretation of the
Quran became known as tafsir, or exegesis.
The second most important source of guidance for Muslims is
the Sunna, the custom of the Prophet, which is recorded in
the hadith. The hadith do not have the status of scripture, but
they are deemed as canonical and are an important source for
culture and guidance. Along with the Quran, they are the basis
for shariah (political and religious law). In contrast to the
Quran, which is the record of God's speech to Muhammad, the
hadith contain sacred history, reports of the words and deeds
of Muhammad and other early Muslims. After Muhammad's
death, his companions compiled a record of all his teachings
and actions. They passed these on so that the study of the
Prophet's life and work would influence the community.
Muhammad is the model Muslim, and the hadith are studied
for their insight into understanding ideal Muslim behavior.

Short Quiz

Task 2.3
Study Questions:
1. What is the Quran, and how is it used?
2. How did oral tradition contribute to the creation of the
Quran?
3. How is the Quran organized?
4. How is the Quran interpreted in contemporary society?
5. What are the Sunna and the Hadith?
BELIEFS

Ultimate Reality and Divine Beings

Submission to God lies at the very

heart of Islam. The word islam means "surrender," or
"submission," or "peace," and the fundamental meaning of
Islam is "surrender to God." One who surrenders to God and
recognizes Muhammad as God's prophet is a Muslim. Arabic is
the language of the first Muslims and of the Quran, and in
Arabic, the word for God is Allah, or "The God." Arabic-
speaking Christians also use "Allah" when speaking of God
and praying to God. Islam teaches that Allah is the same God
worshipped by Jews and Christians.
For Muslims, the Quran is the most important source of
knowledge about God. In a popular verse called the "Throne
Verse" (surah 2.255), the Quran describes God in this way:

God, there is no god but He, the living,

the self-subsistent. Slumber takes Him not, nor sleep. His is
what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. Who is it that
intercedes with Him save by His permission? He knows what
is before them and what behind them, and they comprehend
not aught of His knowledge but of what He pleases. His throne
extends over the heavens and the earth, and it tires Him not to
guard them both, for He is high and grand.

The Quran describes God as the

creator and ruler of all things, and the judge of all things. He is
all-powerful, all-knowing, merciful, and compassionate. He is
eternal. He is master of all things in the universe, and guides
humans through his prophets who are bearers of his word,
such as Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and lastly, Muhammad. God
sent his prophets to create communities chosen for a special
relationship with him, including Jews and Christians. They are
known as the People of the Book, because they accept God's
revelation as it has been recorded in scripture. On the day the
world ends, the Day of Judgment, God will resurrect the dead
and every person will be judged for his or her deeds. Each
person's good deeds will be balanced with the bad deeds.
Those whose good deeds outweigh their bad deeds will live
forever in paradise, while those whose bad deeds outweigh the
good will be condemned to eternal fire. Intentions, and not
just deeds, are also used in the equation for judgment. Good
deeds carry a significantly higher value than bad deeds; they
are worth more in God's eyes.
Islam emphasizes that God is perfectly one. He was not
created by any other being, nor has he had any offspring. He is
completely unique, completely transcendent, and nothing
compares to him. The basic statement of faith for all Muslims
begins, "La ilaha ila Allah" (There is no God but Allah). There
are no other gods, no other divine beings, nothing to associate
with God or compete with him. Islam does believe in angels,
including wicked angels with Satan as their leader, but they
are creatures of God, created just as humans are. People and
jinn are intelligent beings, people created out of clay and jinn
created from smokeless flames. Angels, created out of light,
are not intelligent beings in Islam.
Unlike humans and angels, jinn are imperceptible. They can
take many different forms, and are capable of performing
heavy labor and difficult tasks. Muhammad was sent to bring
God's revelation to the jinn as well as humans, and the jinn
will be judged just as the humans will be. Some will spend
eternity in heaven, while others will be cast into the eternal
fire.

The most famous angel is the

archangel Gabriel. Gabriel is the divine messenger who reveals
divine mysteries and delivers God's orders and aid to the
prophets. Muhammad taught that it was Gabriel who brought
him God's revelation. There are many different legends about
Gabriel in Muslim tradition, many of which overlap with
biblical traditions about the patriarchs and the prophets.
Gabriel is said to have consoled Adam after the expulsion
from paradise and taught him the letters of the alphabet, how
to cultivate wheat, and how to make tools from iron. It is also
said that Gabriel took Adam to Mecca and taught him the rites
of pilgrimage. He showed Noah how to build the ark, and
had numerous encounters with Abraham. He helped Moses
fight the magicians of Egypt, and goaded Pharaoh's army into
the Red Sea. He taught the prophet Samuel, and comforted
King David. And he announced the coming birth of John the
Baptist to Zacharias.
Satan, or the Devil, is called Iblis. Satan is one of the jinn. The
Quran tells the story of his role at the beginning of the world.
God formed Adam out of the earth, the Quran reports, and
then breathed life into him. Then God ordered the angels and
Iblis to prostrate to Adam. Iblis refused. He was created of
fire, and considered it beneath his dignity to bow to a creature
made of earth. God cursed him and banished him, but he
begged God to delay his banishment until the Day of
Judgment, and God agreed. While they were still in paradise,
Iblis tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Iblis
was also granted the power to tempt other creatures, allowing
him to expose those who are not true servants of God. Iblis has
gathered followers along the way, and at the end of the world,
he will be thrown into the eternal fire along with all his
followers and all those judged to be wicked. Until the world
ends, Iblis will play tricks on humans and lead them astray.
Only the believers will remain firmly committed to God.

Short Quiz

Task 2.4
Study Questions:
1. How does the Quran describe God?
2. Why is Allah considered to be the final judge?
3. What are jinn?
4. What is the role of angels within Islam?
Human Nature and the Purpose of
Existence

Islam is a monotheistic religion

like Judaism and Christianity, and like those religions, it
teaches that God created the whole universe and everything in
it. God is the master designer who put order and purpose in
his creation, and he rules over it with compassion and mercy.
Everything in creation depends upon God, the Sustainer, for
its existence. The purpose of all creation, including humans, is
to love and serve God.
The very name of the religion, Islam, means submission or
obedience to God, and the Muslim is one who submits or
surrenders to God and recognizes Muhammad as God's
prophet. All created things fulfill their assigned purpose by
serving God. Plants and animals, rocks and minerals, rain and
wind, stars and planets all naturally fulfill the purpose for
which they were designed. By doing so, they worship and serve
God. Everything in nature, by acting according to its design,
serves God's will. In a sense, the whole universe is Muslim
because it surrenders to the divine purpose.
The Opening Chapter of the Holy Quran
1. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
2. Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;
3. Most Gracious, Most Merciful
4. Master of the Day of Judgment
5. Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek
6. Show us the straight way,
 7. The way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those who
(portion) is no wrath, and go not astray.

Islam teaches that God created humans from clay and

breathed the spirit of life into them. He separated them from
the rest of creation by giving them three divine gifts:
intelligence to distinguish the true from the false, a will that
can freely choose between them, and the power of speech to
worship. Because of these gifts, people are the noblest of God's
creatures, superior to the rest of nature. However, people are
not perfect. Although not sinful by nature, humans are
vulnerable to temptation. Because they are rebellious and
proud, they often forget that they are dependent on God.

The Quran stresses the mercy and

compassion of God, and the words "merciful" (rahmah) and
"compassionate" (rahim) come from the same root, rahma,
which carries the meaning of forgiveness, and abundant mercy
that sustains, protects, and rewards. Because He is the
sustainer and protector, God has created a well-regulated and
ordered universe in which night regularly follows day so that
creatures may rest, and the sun and moon follow predictable
patterns, creating seasons so that humans may cultivate plants
for food. God also provided animals to assist humans in
fulfilling their needs for warmth and food. Those who
remember this fulfill their purpose by worshiping and serving
Him as stewards of His creation.
What does it mean to serve God, according to Islam? The
answer lies in God's books of prophecy. God gave his
revelation through the prophets, so that humans may know
how to fulfill their purpose as God's agents on earth. They are
to assist in realizing God's will for all of creation. In their
desire to understand God's plan, most people benefit from
God's guidance, which is why God sent prophets. God gave
humans the Quran and the law, and together, they are the
guide to a peaceful life. Put simply, humans serve God by
doing good deeds, telling the truth, and obeying God's
instructions contained in the Quran and the law. They serve
the underserved. They feed the poor and care for orphans.
They are faithful, and when they sin, they seek forgiveness
with sincere remorse.

As in Judaism and Christianity,

simply following the way of Islam is its own reward. By
following the path revealed by God, Muslims live in harmony
with God and with all of creation. This brings the great
blessings of peace and happiness in life. Those who live
according to God's design will find wealth and success, and
they will be respected in their communities, because they will
always choose the right way. Not only will they be blessed by
God, they will be a source of blessing to those who know them.

Short Quiz

Task 2.5
Study Questions:
1. Why is viewing Allah as the creator essential to the
behavior of Muslims?
2. What is the role of service within Islam?
3. What is the ultimate reward of working toward a peaceful
and service-oriented existence?
Suffering and the Problem of Evil
The monotheistic faiths must consider the problems of
suffering and evil within the context of God's power and
mercy. In Islam, there are two views of suffering, both of
which resemble views held by its sister faiths, Judaism and
Christianity. Suffering is either the painful result of sin, or it is
a test.
In the latter view, suffering tests belief; a true Muslim will
remain faithful through the trials of life. But suffering also
reveals the hidden self to God. Suffering is built into the fabric
of existence so that God may see who is truly righteous. In
other words, God not only allows the various agonies and
struggles of life, but has a purpose for them. Suffering opens
up the soul and reveals it to God. God uses suffering to look
within humans and test their characters, and correct the
unbelievers.

Suffering is also a painful result of

sin. In Islam, sin is associated with unbelief. Muslims
surrender to God's will, and find peace in that surrender.
Sometimes people forget to listen to the prophets, and fail to
serve God in all that they do. This is the state of unbelief,
called kufr, which literally means to forget through hiding of
the truth. Therefore someone who is a kafir is someone who
has purposefully forgotten the Lord. They become preoccupied
with their own particular needs and their passions. Islam does
not condemn human passions or human needs, seeing them as
a necessary part of a full and useful life. But when people
forget to serve God, these needs and passions can enslave
them. They begin to misuse their divine gifts of intelligence,
will, and speech. Enslaved by lust, and by cravings for wealth
and pleasure, they do evil and destructive things. These
moments of unbelief can happen to anyone, and when people
realize their mistake, they suffer. Seen in this light, suffering is
not only painful, but a lesson. It reminds humans of the truth
of God's revelation.

Although all people are imperfect

and vulnerable to kufr, Islam does not teach that they are
essentially evil. When they realize their sin and make amends
with true remorse, God forgives the sin. Genuine repentance is
all that is needed to restore humans to a sinless state.
However, individuals are always vulnerable to it, and sin and
suffering are serious matters. The great struggle, or jihad, of
human life is the struggle to perfect one's heart and live in
total submission to God. It is possible to be a perfect Muslim,
since God does not ask anyone to do anything that is beyond
his or her ability. But perfect Muslims, like prophets, are very
rare individuals. Most must be vigilant and always begin with
the intention to do good.

Islam teaches the endurance of

suffering with hope and faith. The faithful are not counseled to
resist it, or to ask why. Instead, they accept it as God's will and
live through it with faith that God never asks more of them
than they can endure. However, Islam also teaches the faithful
to work actively to alleviate the suffering of others.
Recognizing that they are the cause of their own suffering,
individuals work to bring suffering to an end. In the Islamic
view, righteous individuals are revealed not only through
patient acceptance of their own suffering, but through their
good works for others. And if suffering is a consequence of
unbelief, then good works will relieve pain.

Short Quiz

Task 2.6
Study Questions:
1. How should suffering be viewed? Why might it be the key
indicator of one’s devotion?
2. Do Muslims view themselves as inherently sinful?
3. How does sin differ from evil, and why might this be
important to Muslims’ actions and relationship with Allah?
Afterlife and Salvation
Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment and heaven and hell.
A person's ultimate destiny, whether it is heaven or hell,
depends on the degree to which that person intended and
acted as God desires, with justice and mercy toward others.
While it is impossible to know with certainty who will go to
heaven and hell, believers, who had faith in the revelations
that God sent through his prophets and lived according to
those revelations, may hope for heaven. There is some
evidence that nonbelievers can attain paradise, and even those
who do evil but who are met at the end with God's grace and
mercy may attain paradise.

All of creation is journeying toward

God, and the world will end on some unknown day. The Last
Day has many names in the Quran, including the Day of
Reckoning, the Day of Distress, the Day of the Gathering, the
Great Announcement, and quite simply, The Hour. At the end
of time, all people will be rewarded or punished according to
how well they followed the instructions contained in God's
revelations to his prophets. God will resurrect the dead, and
each person will be judged directly by Allah according to his or
her intentions and deeds. Islam teaches that God is more
merciful than he is wrathful. Each person's deeds will be
weighed in a balance, and if the evil deeds outweigh the good
deeds, the person will be condemned to the eternal flame. If
the good deeds outweigh the evil deeds, then the person will
be rewarded with paradise. The Quran says that each person
receives a book that contains an account of all of his or her
deeds. If the book is placed in the right hand, the person is
destined for eternal bliss. If the book is placed in the left hand,
that person is destined for eternal flame.

Islam does not teach that humans

need intercession, although some traditions have allowed that
Muhammad might intercede with God on humanity's behalf.
No one can know God, but at the same time, no one stands
between the individual Muslim and God. If individuals find
that they have sinned, they may sincerely apologize, and
through remorse, receive forgiveness. The slate is clean, and
they may begin again. This will likely happen many times in a
life, because humans are not perfect. But on the Last Day,
there are no excuses. God has sent many prophets to remind
humans of their duty and to wake them up when they forget
their dependence on God. As a result, the punishment on the
Last Day is just.
The Quran says that terrible events will proclaim that the end
is near. The people will gather at the bridge called Sirat. Sirat
spans the fires of hell. Those bound for paradise will find the
crossing easy. But for those bound for hell, the bridge will be
as thin as a razor, and the condemned will fall into the flames.
Hell, called Jahannam, is a horrifying inferno. The flames
roar, scorching hot winds blow, and black smoke chokes the
air. The skin of the suffering sinners is continually refreshed
so that they will feel the pain of burning, with no relief. Their
thirst is unquenchable, and yet they drink disgusting fluids in
an effort to alleviate their suffering. Boiling water is poured
over their heads. If they try to flee, iron hooks drag them back.
In contrast, paradise is a blissful garden where the blessed are
at peace and are content. The conversation is pleasant, the
wine has no ill-effects, and the food is endlessly abundant. The
faithful, dressed in silk robes, relax on beautiful couches while
servants tend to their every need. Men and women are
attended by beautiful and handsome young members of the
opposite sex. Choirs of angels sing in Arabic and all the
bounties of heaven are enjoyed endlessly. No one is ever full.
There are many descriptions of paradise in Islamic literature.
The Quran describes it this way:
And God will guard them from the evil of that day and will cast
on them brightness and joy; and their reward for their
patience shall be Paradise and silk! reclining therein upon
couches they shall neither see therein sun nor piercing cold;
and close down upon them shall be its shadows; and lowered
over them its fruits to cull; and they shall be served round with
vessels of silver and goblets that are as flagons—flagons of
silver which they shall mete out! and they shall drink therein a
cup tempered with Zingabîl, a spring therein named Silsabîl!
and there shall go round about them eternal boys; when thou
seest them thou wilt think them scattered pearls; and when
thou seest them thou shalt see pleasure and a great estate! On
them shall be garments of green embroidered satin and
brocade; and they shall be adorned with bracelets of silver;
and their Lord shall give them to drink pure drink! Verily, this
is a reward for you, and your efforts are thanked. (surah 76.11-
22)

Short Quiz

Task 2.7
Study Questions:
1. Does one have to be a Muslim to obtain salvation? Why or
why not?
2. What will happen on the Last Day? What events does the
Quran teach will happen before it comes?
3. How is the afterlife, or paradise, described?
RITUALS AND WORSHIP

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

1. The Profession of Faith (Shahada)

The profession of faith is the first pillar of Islam. This is

express in the following words “I hear witness that there is no
god except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God”.

These words are called the shahada because this means

‘witnessing’, when the words are said the Muslim starts by
saying: ‘I witness/testify that there is no god except God…’ So
the profession is quite simple. The Muslim asserts that he
adores the One God and that Muhammad is the messenger of
God.

While we are looking at the importance, which Muslims attach

to adoring the One God only, we should know that the greatest
sin in Islam is the practice of associating something or
somebody with God. God has no co-existents or partners or
equals. Muslims are careful to make sure that there is no
lessening for the ‘Godness’ of God. God and idolatry are
incompatible.

When a Muslim baby is born, the very first words that a baby
hears are the words of shahada. Likewise the same words are
said into the ears of the dying Muslim so that he will be ready
to meet his Creator.

2. The Five Times Daily Prayers (Salat)

Prayer in Islam is founded primarily on the precepts found in

the Holy Qur’an and the examples of Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) in his traditions (sunnah) and sayings (haddith). it is
understood as a duty of every Muslim to pray five times a day.
Muslims also have what is called ‘dua’ prayer, or non-formal
prayer, private and personal prayer which is more
spontaneous and does not follow a particular ritual.
The Qur’an commands the performing of the prayer but apart
form the direction to be taken during the prayer (i.e. toward
the Mecca), all the details of the prayer are derived from extra
Qur’anic sources. The custom of praying five times daily for
example comes from tradition of the Prophet.

The following are the names of the five obligatory prayers:

Salat al Fajr - The Dawn Prayer

Salat al Zufr - The Noon Prayer
Salat al Asr - The Afternoon Prayer
Salat al Maghrib - The Sunset Prayer
Salat al Aisha - The Evening Prayer

There is no sabbath in Islam, though work does come to a halt

for the midday assembly prayer on Friday and there is sermon
included in the prayer. All go back to work when the prayer is
completed, however.

Before prayer, the Muslim performs ritual ablutions so that he

will pray in a purified state. He must wash himself as is laid
down in the law. This purification is called ‘wudhu’. The
Arabic word for mosque is ‘masjid’ which literally means ‘the
place of prostration’. However, the Mosque is not absolutely
necessary for the performance of the prayer and as no priests
are necessary in Islam and a mosque is a place of prostration,
anywhere a Muslim can find space to spread out his prayer
mat is his mosque.

Prayer in Islam is not confined to the five obligatory prayers.

The Muslim may pray freely during the day and during the
crisis, worries and joys. His prayers maybe prayers of
adoration or petition.

3. Alms giving (Zakat)

This pillar is not just charity but an obligation and a duty and
a way which the Muslim comes into contact with God. ‘Zakat’
is the principle of social responsibility by which the possession
of wealth obligates the owner to concern himself with the
people who have little wealth. ‘Zakat” says in fact that what is
mine really belongs also to the community in the final
analysis. So the Muslim gives up part of his wealth yearly for
public use. Zakat in other words is the setting aside of a
determined part of one;s wealth and transferring the
ownership of it to those people to whom God has decided it
should be given. Those who do not pay the zakat are likened in
the Qur’an to the idolaters who worship false gods.

The Qur’an supports the right to private property but a portion

must be given to the poor. This portion purifies or legitimizes
the property, which is retained. Without this purifying,
ownership would in same way be impure.

Zakat is given to the poor, destitute, debtor, those who strive

in the way of God, the son of the traveller and those employed
in the collection of it. The Qur’an also makes it clear that
greedy people, anyone who hoards items like food are hateful
to God and will go to hell.

4. Fasting (Saum)

All Muslims who have reached puberty are required to fast

during the month of Ramadhan, except those who are sick,
aged or infirm, pregnant women, nursing mothers and
travelers. Throughout the period of the fast there is a special
emphasis on attendance at the mosque more than during the
rest of the year. The fast is an assertion that man has larger
needs than those of the body. The body is to be the subject of
man and not his master, dictating his every thought. The fast
is for thirty days but it is not the same as the Christian Lent for
the idea of Penance as Christians understand it is absent from
Ramadhan. The dominant theme is detachment from all
created things in order to avoid and abandon everything
except that all subsistent God who never passes away, the All
Powerful and Merciful Lord. By fasting the Muslim intends to
draw closer to Gods and to be more finely attuned to his will.

During Ramadhan, those who fast often give gifts and alms to
the poor. They share with the less fortunate those goods that
God has given to them. This act is performed in the name of
God and is a way of making contact with Him.
Fasting encourages patience and endurance. It is a
remembrance of God, it is not a fast of the stomach but also of
the ears, moth and eyes that bad things will not be listened to
and of the eyes that nothing bad or impure is looked at.

Fasting is a sign of contradiction to the world that is becoming

steadily more materialistic. It unifies the rich and the poor
those who eat will and those who fasts practically everyday of
the year. The spirit o getting closer to God and of submitting to
his Will which is expressed in the Ramadhan fast are genuine
religious values.

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

The ‘hajj’ is the journey to the point of the ‘Qibla’ of the prayer.
Each Muslim is expected to to to Mecca once in his lifetime for
the pilgrimage if he is able to do so.

In Mecca is the great Mosque in its courtyard is the ‘Kaabah’ a

cube-shaped building which houses the black stone. This
single stone announces to all the central belief of Muslims that
there is but one God and no other. It was a center of
pilgrimage even before the time of Muhammad. Mecca is
where Abraham worshiped with his son Ishmael.

The Hajj is response to the revelation and the law of God,

which was revealed in Mecca. It is pledge of the pilgrim to
dedicate the rest of his life to God. The hajj is also a sacrament
of Muslim unity and it inspires solidarity.

THE HOLY QUR’AN

Islam is a religion of the Book, the book being the Holy

Qur’an. It has been said that just as Christ, a person, is the
center of Christianity, in the same way for Islam the center is a
book.

We should remember that the Qur’an is written in Arabic can

never be adequately translated. There are many translations
because the majority of Muslims are not Arabs, but these
translations are not called “translations”, e.g., Pickthall’s work
is title “The Meaning of the Glorious Qur’an”. In the second
Surah, the Qur’an says, “We have sent down an Arabic
Qur’an”. So the Muslims feel that God sent it in Arabic, and
the only real reading of it must be in Arabic. Any translation
changes its Arabic form so that it can never be more than
approximately the Qur’an.

The Qur’an is considered not only to be the masterpiece of the

Arabic language, but it is also the place where Muslims find
the final truth. It has 114 Surahs or chapters, all of unequal
length and having about 6200 verses. In the early surahs,
revealed at Mecca, the language is poetic. In the later surahs,
revealed at Medina, the language is often more legal and less
poetic in form. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the eternal
and literal word of God. Qur’an has come down from heaven
from the “Mother of the Book” which is already written there.
The Qur’an was “transmitted” or descended on Muhammad”,
it was “dictated from heaven” to Muhammad. Muhammad had
nothing to do with the form or composition of the Qur’an. He
merely spoke aloud the words what he was commanded to
speak - no more no less. Muhammad in the Qur’an was firstly
a “warner” telling of the coming Judgment of Mankind. Later
on much legislation was revealed for the proper ruling of the
community.

The Qur’an is seen by Muslims as the final revelation of God’s

will, the final revelation and scripture from God; it is the last
Word, the most complete revelation from God to Man through
Muhammad, who is the “Seal of the Prophets”, the last in the
line of Prophets of God which began with Adam. The Qur’an is
the primary source for all Islamic Law and Dogma. Tradition
became a secondary source later on.

Views of Revelation in the Qur’an and in the Bible

We shall now look very briefly at the way at the way a Muslim
sees how the Qur’an was revealed in contrast to the way
Christians view the revelation of the Bible. Christians believe
that God made biblical writers his instruments in such a way
that they respected their freedom, mental processes,
traditions, culture, languages,and their individual historical
contexts. So when they spoke or wrote their inspired works, in
a real way it was their own message as well as God’s word.
Thus the biblical message comes in so many different forms
and images, to the extent that we can identify different authors
of the Bible by their literary style. But this does not make to o
much sense to a Muslim. For him, revelation is a dictation.
God spoke to Muhammad through and Angel and the Prophet
repeated wht he heard word for word. He had no say in the
choice of language used, the phrasing or even the sentences.
So a Muslim will never say: “As Muhammad said in the
Qur’an…”, that would be blasphemy. He says, “God says in the
Qur’an…” This is something we must be careful about, because
we do say, “As St. Paul says in Romans…” and this would
confuse a Muslim because we seem to be denying the
authorship of God in the Bible.

In the Bible we find stories, proverbs, Laws, poetry and many

other types of writing. We are all familiar with them. But in
the Qur’an there are only the Prophetic utterances. Everything
is presented as a kind of sermon spoken by God or and Angel
to Muhammad and to mankind.

The Qur’an is the WORD OF GOD. It is a copy of the Eternal

Tablet in Heaven. The idea and the Message of the Qur’an are
uncreated and Eternal. The Qur’an can not be bought or sold.
It is shown the greatest reverence. All occasions in life are
blessed with quotations from it.

Short Quiz

Task 2.7
Study Questions:
1. What are the essential duties of a Muslim?
2. Describe the ritual of salat.
3. What is zakat? Is it limited to economic wealth?
4. What is Ramadan? How do Muslims participate in it?
5. Has the convenience of contemporary times changed the
importance of Hajj? Why or why not?