Islam

1
Islam

• A Brief Introduction

2
Some Initial Ideas

• slm or salaam
• Peace or Wholeness
• Submission
• Participial Form Muslim one who submits

3
Figures

• 1.2 million Muslims
• 56 countries
• Fastest growing religion in the world

• Only 20 of Muslims are Arab
• Most Arabs are Muslim most Muslims are not Arab
• Largest Muslim population is in Indonesia

4
Muhammad

• Born c.570 CE near Makkah
• Father Abdullah
• Mother Amina
• Grandfather Abd-al-Muttalib
• Uncle Abu-Talib

5
Major Life Events

• Met Khadijah at 25
• 610 first of his revelations
• 619 Abu-Talib dies marries Sawdah

6
Lailat ul-Miraj

• Night of Ascents
• Conversations with important figures in biblical
  history
• Muslim rules for prayer revealed

7
More Life Events

• Fled from Makkah to Yathrib in 622
• Yathrib becomes Madinat or City of the Prophet
• Madinat and Makkah at war for a number of years

• Muhammad eventually rules both cities before his
  death in 632.

8
Caliphate

• caliph successor
• Four Rightly Guided Caliphs
• Abu Bakr (632-634)
• Umar ibn al-Khattab (634-644)
• Uthman ibn Affan (644-656)
• Ali (656-661)

9
Questions of Succession

• Ali
• Married to Fatima (only surviving child of
  Muhammad and Khadijah)
• Cousin of Muhammad
• Partisans who favored him called Shiah

• Once Ali was caliph
• Challenged by Aisha (widow of Muhammad and
  daughter of Abu Bakr)
• Muawiyah (Umayyad and governor of Syria)
• Kharajites
• Umayyad Dynasty 661-750

10
Sunni and Shia(h)

• 85 Sunni
• Four Rightly Guided
• Political and Military leadership key not
  religious

• 15 Shiah
• Power grab by Sunni
• Direct descendents of prophets family
• Not a prophet but still inspired

11
Shiah

• Zaydi or Fivers
• Zayd ibn Alia
• Yemen 893-1963
• Ismaili or Seveners
• Jafar al-Sadiq
• Agha Khan
• Twelvers
• Muhammad al-Muntazar
• mujtahids

• Current Agha Khan

12
Sufi

• Tariqah spiritual or interior path
• Started as a reform movement
• Feasting, poverty, celibacy, rhythmic chanting,
  breathing exercises, whirling dervish

13
Five Pillars of Islam

• Basic Duties and Obligations of all Muslims
• Explain the relationship between the believer and
  Allah

• Number One Shahadah
• There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his
  messenger
• Public declaration before two witnesses

14
Number Two Salah

• Five times daily
• Fajr, zuhr, asr, maghrib, isha

• Wudu or ritual cleansing
• No shoes
• Proper Dress
• Rakah
• Salat al-jamaah

15
Number Three Zakah

• Purity
• Charity
• At the end of the year, if you have 85 grams of
  gold after expenses, you give at a rate of 2.5

16
Number Four Sawm or Fasting

• During the month of Ramadan
• No food, water, smoking or sex during daylight
  hours

• Menstruating, pregnant, nursing women are exempt
  as are the sick, elderly, and young children
• Those in military service or on a long journey
  are also exempt
• Donate cost of meals if you cannot do the fast

17
Number Five Hajj or Pilgrimage

• Dhu al-Hijah
• Haram
• Ihram
• Tawaf
• Kaaba
• Once in your lifetime

18
Scripture

• Quran means recitation

• It was revealed to Muhammad over 23 yrs (610-622)
  by the angel Gabriel
• Oral and fluid in his lifetime
• The Satanic Verses were once heard, but later
  declared not right

19
More on the Quran

• Zayd ibn Thabit
• Abu Bakr
• Uthman
• 114 surahs
• Verses are ayah/ayat
• Tajwid proper pronunciation

• Tilawah reading with all of your heart, soul,
  mind, strength

20
Hadith

• Talk or speech
• Story or matn
• List of names or isnad
• Hadith qudsi
• Divine revelations
• Hadith sharif
• About Muhammads life

• Provide the Sunnah or the foundation used to
  develop Shariah (Islamic legal system

21
Shariah

• Four Sources
• Quran
• Hadith
• Qiyas (analytical reasoning)
• Use analogies
• Ijma (Consensus)
• Ulama or religious scholars

• Two Main Divisions
• Ibadat
• Fundamental duties or obligations
• Muamalat
• Contract, International, Family Law. Social
  Duties.

22
Wahhabi

• Muhammad ibn Abd-Wahab (1703-1791)
• Muwahiddun
• Brotherhood of Ikhwan
• Neo-Wahabbism
• Ikhwan
• Salifiyya
• Taliban

• Key Dates
• 1811
• 1818
• 1821-1833
• 1884
• 1889
• 1902
• 1932