INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGIONS AND BELIEF SYSTEM

GRADE 11

QUARTER 1 MODYUL 5

ISLAM

Author: GEMMA D. SORIANO

Lesson
Islam

Origins, nature, and significance of Islamic theology

Early developments
The beginnings of theology in the Islamic tradition in the second half of the 7th century are
not easily distinguishable from the beginnings of a number of other disciplines—Arabic
philology, Qurʾānic interpretation, the collection of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad
(Hadith), jurisprudence (fiqh), and historiography. Together with these other disciplines,
Islamic theology is concerned with ascertaining the facts and context of the Islamic
revelation and with understanding its meaning and implications as to what Muslims should
believe and do after the revelation had ceased and the Islamic community had to chart its
own way. During the first half of the 8th century, a number of questions—which centred on
God’s unity, justice, and other attributes and which were relevant to human freedom,
actions, and fate in the hereafter—formed the core of a more-specialized discipline, which
was called kalām (“speech”) because of the rhetorical and dialectical “speech” used in
formulating the principal matters of Islamic belief, debating them, and defending them
against Muslim and non-Muslim opponents. Gradually, kalām came to include all matters
directly or indirectly relevant to the establishment and definition of religious beliefs, and it
developed its own necessary or useful systematic rational arguments about human
knowledge and the makeup of the world. Despite various efforts by later thinkers to fuse the
problems of kalām with those of philosophy (and mysticism), theology preserved its relative
independence from philosophy and other nonreligious sciences. It remained true to its
original traditional and religious point of view, confined itself within the limits of the Islamic
revelation, and assumed that these limits as it understood them were identical with the
limits of truth.

The five pillars

During the earliest decades after the death of the Prophet, certain basic features of the
religio-social organization of Islam were singled out to serve as anchoring points of the
community’s life and formulated as the “Pillars of Islam.” To these five, the Khārijite sect
added a sixth pillar, the jihad, which, however, was not accepted by the general community.
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The shahādah, or profession of faith

The first pillar is the profession of faith: “There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God,” upon which depends membership in the community. The profession of
faith must be recited at least once in one’s lifetime, aloud, correctly, and purposively, with
an understanding of its meaning and with an assent from the heart. From this fundamental
belief are derived beliefs in (1) angels (particularly Gabriel, the Angel of Inspiration), (2) the
revealed Book (the Qurʾān and the sacred books of Judaism and Christianity), (3) a series
of prophets (among whom figures of Jewish and Christian tradition are particularly eminent,
although it is believed that God has sent messengers to every nation), and (4) the Last Day
(Day of Judgment).

Tales and beliefs about numbers and letters

Many Muslim tales, legends, and traditional sayings are built upon the mystical value
of numbers, such as t`he threefold or sevenfold repetition of a certain rite. This is largely
explained by examples from the life of a saintly or pious person, often the Prophet himself,
who used to repeat this or that formula so and so many times. The number 40, found in the
Qurʾān (as also in the Bible) as the length of a period of repentance, suffering, preparation,
and steadfastness, is connected, for example, with the 40 days’ preparation
and meditation, or fasting, of the novice in the mystical brotherhood. To each number, as
well as to each day of the week, special qualities are attributed through the authority of both
actual and alleged statements of the Prophet. Many pre-Islamic customs were thus
justified.

The importance given to the letters of the Arabic alphabet is peculiar to Muslim pious
thought. Letters of the alphabet were assigned numerical values: the straight alif (numerical
value one), the first letter of the alphabet, becomes a symbol of the uniqueness and unity of
Allah; the b (numerical value two), the first letter of the Qurʾān, represents to many mystics
the creative power by which everything came into existence; the h (numerical value five) is
the symbol of huwa, He, the formula for God’s absolute transcendence. The sect of
the Ḥurūfīs developed these cabalistic interpretations of letters, but they are quite common
in the whole Islamic world and form almost a substitute for mythology.

FIVE PILLARSS OF ISLAM

1. Profession of Faith (shahada). The belief that "There is no god but Allah , and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam. This phrase, written in
Arabic, is often prominently featured in architecture and a range of objects, including
the Qur'an, Islam's holy book of divine revelations. One becomes a Muslim by
reciting this phrase with conviction.
2. Prayer (salat). Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-
afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening chapter
(sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat used
expressly for this purpose. Muslims can pray individually at any location imam)
guides the congregation. Men gather in the mosque for the noonday prayer on
Friday; women are welcome but not obliged to participate. After the prayer, a
sermon focuses on a passage from the Qur'an, followed by prayers by the imam and
a discussion of a particular religious topic.
3. fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm),
4. almsgiving (zakat),
5. pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime.

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Muslims have main beliefs.
• Belief in Allah as the one and only God
• Belief in angels
• Belief in the holy books
• Belief in the Prophets...
• e.g. Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus).
• Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final prophet.
• Belief in the Day of Judgement...
• The day when the life of every human being will be assessed to decide whether they go to
heaven or hell.
• Belief in Predestination...
• That Allah has the knowledge of all that will happen.
• Muslims believe that this doesn't stop human beings making free choices.

ALLAH
Allah is the name Muslims use for the supreme and unique God, who created and rules
everything.
The heart of faith for all Muslims is obedience to Allah's will.
• Allah is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent...
• Allah has always existed and will always exist.
• Allah knows everything that can be known.
• Allah can do anything that can be done.
• Allah has no shape or form...
• Allah can't be seen.
• Allah can't be heard.
• Allah is neither male nor female.
• Allah is just...
• Allah rewards and punishes fairly.
• But Allah is also merciful.
• A believer can approach Allah by praying, and by reciting the Qur'an.
• Muslims worship only Allah...
• because only Allah is worthy of worship.
The one and only God
All Muslims believe that God is one alone:
• There is only one God.
• God has no children, no parents, and no partners.

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• God was not created by a being.
• There are no equal, superior, or lesser Gods

BBC © 2014

BRANCHES OF ISLAM

Sunni and Shi'a

Mosaic tiled columns in a mosque ©

The words Sunni and Shi'a appear regularly in stories about the Muslim world but few
people know what they really mean. Religion permeates every aspect of life in Muslim
countries and understanding Sunni and Shi'a beliefs is important in understanding the
modern Muslim world.

The division between Sunnis and Shi'as is the largest and oldest in the history of Islam.

They both agree on the fundamentals of Islam and share the same Holy Book
(The Qur'an), but there are differences mostly derived from their different historical
experiences, political and social developments, as well as ethnic composition.

These differences originate from the question of who would succeed the Prophet
Muhammad as leader of the emerging Muslim community after his death. To understand
them, we need to know a bit about the Prophet's life and political and spiritual legacy.

The Prophet Muhammad

When the Prophet died in the early 7th century he left not only the religion of Islam but
also a community of about one hundred thousand Muslims organised as an Islamic state
on the Arabian Peninsula. It was the question of who should succeed the Prophet and lead
the fledgling Islamic state that created the divide.

The larger group of Muslims chose Abu Bakr, a close Companion of the Prophet, as the
Caliph (politico-social leader) and he was accepted as such by much of the community
which saw the succession in political and not spiritual terms. However another smaller
group, which also included some of the senior Companions, believed that the Prophet's
son-in-law and cousin, Ali, should be Caliph. They understood that the Prophet had
appointed him as the sole interpreter of his legacy, in both political and spiritual terms. In
the end Abu Bakr was appointed First Caliph.

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Leadership claims
Both Shi'as and Sunnis have good evidence to support their understanding of the
succession. Sunnis argue that the Prophet chose Abu Bakr to lead the congregational
prayers as he lay on his deathbed, thus suggesting that the Prophet was naming Abu Bakr
as the next leader. The Shi'as' evidence is that Muhammad stood up in front of his
Companions on the way back from his last Hajj, and proclaimed Ali the spiritual guide and
master of all believers. Shi'a reports say he took Ali's hand and said that anyone who
followed Muhammad should follow Ali.

Muslims who believe that Abu Bakr should have been the Prophet's successor have come
to be known as Sunni Muslims. Those who believe Ali should have been the Prophet's
successor are now known as Shi'a Muslims. It was only later that these terms came into
use. Sunni means 'one who follows the Sunnah' (what the Prophet said, did, agreed to or
condemned). Shi'a is a contraction of the phrase 'Shiat Ali', meaning 'partisans of Ali'.

The use of the word "successor" should not be confused to mean that those leaders that
came after the Prophet Muhammad were also prophets - both Shi'a and Sunni agree that
Muhammad was the final prophet.

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The division

Seeds of division
Ali did not initially pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr. A few months later, and according to both
Sunni and Shi'a belief, Ali changed his mind and accepted Abu Bakr, in order to safeguard
the cohesion of the new Islamic State.

The Second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, was appointed by Abu Bakr on his death,
followed by the third Caliph, Uthman ibn 'Affan, who was chosen from six candidates
nominated by Umar.

Ali was eventually chosen as the fourth Caliph following the murder of Uthman. He moved
the capital of the Islamic state from Medina to Kufa in Iraq. However, his Caliphate was
opposed by Aisha, the favoured wife of the Prophet and daughter of Abu Bakr, who
accused Ali of being lax in bringing Uthman's killers to justice. In 656 CE this dispute led to
the Battle of the Camel in Basra in Southern Iraq, where Aisha was defeated. Aisha later
apologised to Ali but the clash had already created a divide in the community.

Widening of the divide

Islam's dominion had already spread to Syria by the time of Ali's caliphate. The governor of
Damascus, Mu'awiya, angry with Ali for not bringing the killers of his kinsman Uthman to
justice, challenged Ali for the caliphate. The famous Battle of Siffin in 657 demonstrates the
religious fervour of the time when Mu'awiya's soldiers flagged the ends of their spears with
verses from the Qur'an.

Ali and his supporters felt morally unable to fight their Muslim brothers and the Battle of
Siffin proved indecisive. Ali and Mu'awiya agreed to settle the dispute with outside
arbitrators. However this solution of human arbitration was unacceptable to a group of Ali's
followers who used the slogan "Rule belongs only to Allah", justified by the Qur'anic verse:

The decision is for Allah only. He telleth the truth and He is the Best of Deciders
Qur'an
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This group, known as the Kharijites, formed their own sect that opposed all contenders for
the caliphate. In 661 the Kharijites killed Ali while he was praying in the mosque of Kufa,
Iraq. In the years that followed, the Kharijites were defeated in a series of uprisings. Around
500,000 descendents of the Kharijites survive to this day in North Africa, Oman and
Zanzibar as a sub-sect of Islam known as the Ibadiyah.

Shortly after the death of Ali, Mu'awiya, assumed the Caliphate of the Islamic state, moving
the capital from Kufa to Damascus. Unlike his predecessors who maintained a high level of
egalitarianism in the Islamic state, Mu'awiya's Caliphate was monarchical. This set the tone
for the fledgling Ummayad dynasty (c.670-750 CE) and in 680 on the death of Mu'awiya,
the Caliphate succeeded to his son Yazid.

Shi'a Muslims in London commemorate Ashura ©

About the same time, Hussein, Ali's youngest son from his marriage to Fatima, the
daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and the third Shi'a Imam, was invited by the people of
Kufa in Iraq to become their leader. Hussein set off for Kufa from his home in Medina with
his followers and family, but was met by Yazid's forces in Karbala before reaching his
destination.

Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, Hussein and his small number of companions
refused to pay allegiance to Yazid and were killed in the ensuing battle. Hussein is said to
have fought heroically and to have sacrificed his life for the survival of Shi'a Islam.

The Battle of Karbala is one of the most significant events in Shi'a history, from which Shi'a
Islam draws its strong theme of martyrdom. It is central to Shi'a identity even today and is
commemorated every year on the Day of Ashura. Millions of pilgrims visit the Imam
Hussein mosque and shrine in Karbala and many Shi'a communities participate in symbolic
acts of self- flagellation.

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Expansion

Sunni and Shi'a expansion

As Islam expanded from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula into the complex and urban
societies of the once Roman and Persian empires, Muslims encountered new ethical
dilemmas that demanded the authority of religious answers.

Sunni expansion and leadership

Sunni Islam responded with the emergence of four popular schools of thought on religious
jurisprudence (fiqh). These were set down in the 7th and 8th centuries CE by the scholars
of the Hanbali, Hanafi, Maliki and Shaafii schools. Their teachings were formulated to find
Islamic solutions to all sorts of moral and religious questions in any society, regardless of
time or place and are still used to this day.

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The Ummayad dynasty was followed by the Abbasid dynasty (c. 758-1258 CE). In these
times the Caliphs, in contrast to the first four, were temporal leaders only, deferring to
religious scholars (or uleama) for religious issues.

Sunni Islam continued through the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties to the
powerful Mughal and Ottoman empires of the 15th to 20th centuries. It spread east
through central Asia and the Indian sub-continent as far as the Indonesian archipelago, and
west towards Africa and the periphery of Europe. The Sunnis emerged as the most
populous group and today they make up around 85% of the one billion Muslims worldwide.

Shi'a expansion and leadership

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Shi'a community continued with 'Imams' believed to be
divinely appointed from the Prophet's Family. Unlike the Sunni Caliphs, the Shi'a Imams
generally lived in the shadow of the state and were independent of it. The largest sect of
Shi'a Islam is known as The Twelvers, because of their belief that twelve divinely appointed
Imams descended from the Prophet in the line of Ali and Hussein, led the community until
the 9th century CE.

Shi'a imams according to the Twelve are shown

in blue

Muhammad al-Muntazar al-Mahdi was the Twelfth Imam. The Shi'a believe that as a young
boy, he was hidden in a cave under his father's house in Samarra to avoid persecution. He
disappeared from view, and according to Shi'a belief, has been hidden by God until he
returns at the end of time. This is what Shi'as call the Major Occultation. The Shi'a believe
this Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi or Messiah, is not dead and will return to revive the true
message of Islam. His disappearance marked the end of the leadership of the direct
descendants of the Prophet.

(Note: While the information provided is the position of the largest Shi'a subdivision, that of
The Twelvers, other Shi'a groups, such as the Ismailis, hold differing views.)

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In the absence of the Mahdi, the rightful successor to the Prophet, the Shi'a community was
led, as it is today, by living scholars usually known by the honourable title Ayatollah, who
act as the representatives of the Hidden Imam on earth. Shi'a Muslims have always
maintained that the Prophet's family are the rightful leaders of the Islamic world.

There are significant differences between scholars of Shi'a Islam on the role and power of
these representatives. A minority believe the role of the representative is absolute,
generally known as Wilayat Faqih. The majority of Shi'a scholars, however, believe their
power is relative and confined to religious and spiritual matters.

Although the Shi'a have never ruled the majority of Muslims, they have had their moments
of glory. The 9th century Fatimid Ismaili dynasty in Egypt and North Africa, when Cairo's
prestigious Al-Azhar University was founded and the 16th century CE Safavid
Dynasty which engulfed the former Persian Empire and made Shi'a Islam the official
religion.

Significant numbers of Shi'as are now found in many countries including Iraq, Pakistan,
Albania and Yemen. They make up 90% of the population of Iran which is the political face
of Shi'a Islam today.

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Differences

How do Sunnis and Shi'as differ theologically?

Hadith and Sunnah
Initially the difference between Sunni and Shi'a was merely a question of who should lead
the Muslim community. As time went on, however, the Shi'a began to show a preference for
particular Hadith and Sunnah literature.

Interpretation of the Hadith and Sunnah is an Islamic academic science. The Shi'a gave
preference to those credited to the Prophet's family and close associates. The Sunnis
consider all Hadith and Sunnah narrated by any of twelve thousand companions to be
equally valid. Shi'as recognise these as useful texts relating to Islamic jurisprudence, but
subject them to close scrutiny. Ultimately this difference of emphasis led to different
understandings of the laws and practices of Islam.

The Mahdi
The concept of the Mahdi is a central tenet of Shi'a theology, but many Sunni Muslims also
believe in the coming of a Mahdi, or rightly guided one, at the end of time to spread justice
and peace. He will also be called Muhammad and be a descendant of the Prophet in the
line of his daughter Fatima (Ali's wife). The idea has been popular with grassroots Muslims
due to the preaching of several Sufi or mystical trends in Islam.

Over the centuries a number of individuals have declared themselves the Mahdi come to
regenerate the Muslim world, but none has been accepted by the majority of the Sunni
community. However, some more Orthodox Sunni Muslims dispute the concept of the
Mahdi because there is no mention of it in the Qur'an or Sunnah.

Shrines
The Wahabi movement within Sunni Islam views the Shi'a practice of visiting and
venerating shrines to the Imams of the Prophet's Family and other saints and scholars as

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heretical. Most mainstream Sunni Muslims have no objections. Some Sufi movements,
which often provide a bridge between Shi'a and Sunni theologies, help to unite Muslims of
both traditions and encourage visiting and venerating these shrines.

Practical differences
Prayer
All Muslims are required to pray five times a day. However, Shi'a practice permits
combining some prayers into three daily prayer times. A Shi'a at prayer can often be
identified by a small tablet of clay from a holy place (often Karbala), on which they place
their forehead whilst prostrating.

Leadership
Today there are significant differences in the structures and organisation of religious
leadership in the Sunni and the Shi'a communities. There is a hierarchy to the Shi'a clergy
and political and religious authority is vested in the most learned who emerge as spiritual
leaders. These leaders are transnational and religious institutions are funded by religious
taxes called Khums (20% of annual excess income) and Zakat (2.5%). Shi'a institutions
abroad are also funded this way.

There is no such hierarchy of the clergy in Sunni Islam. Most religious and social
institutions in Sunni Muslim states are funded by the state. Only Zakat is applicable. In the
West most Sunni Muslim institutions are funded by charitable donations from the
community at home and abroad.

How do Sunni and Shi'a view each other?

The persecution of the Prophet's family and the early Shi'as provide a paradigm of
martyrdom which is repeated throughout Shi'a history. The relationship between Sunni and
Shi'a Muslims through the ages has been shaped by the political landscape of that period.

As the Sunni Ottoman Empire expanded into the Balkans and central Asia and the Shi'a
Safavid dynasty spread through the Persian Empire from the 16th century CE, tensions
arose in Sunni-Shi'a relations.

The majority of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims do not allow their theological differences to divide
them or cause hostility between them. For example, Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot of the Al-
Azhar University in Cairo, the oldest institution of Islamic learning in the world, considers
Shi'a Islam to be of equal status to the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence.

However, current global political conditions mean there has been a degree of polarisation
and hostility in many Muslim societies. The term Rafidi (meaning "Rejecter") has been
applied by radical Sunnis to disparage Shi'as. In turn the Shi'as will often use the label
Wahabi, which refers to a particular sectarian movement within Sunni Islam, as a term of
abuse for all those who disagree with Shi'a beliefs and practices.

TASK 1
Directions: Identify the following terms in one sentence only.
1. Islam
2. Muslem
3. Salat
4. Sakat
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 5. Jihad
6. Ramadan
7. Sunni
8. Shi’a
9. Mecca
10. Pilgrimage

TASK 2
Directions: Answer the questions in maximum of 3 sentences. .
1. How did Islam originate as religion?
2. Give at least 2 fundamentl beliefs of Islam.
3. Compare Islam and Christianityas to:
4.
a. Belief In God,
Method of salvation

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