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Problem
Pride or Self-sufficiency
4- the sense that I can get along just fine without
God.
Solution
Submission to Allah, specifically absolute
obedience to Allah
Technique Quran stresses on faith and Orthopraxy (right
actions) as the path to Paradise
Orthopraxy: Praying daily, charity, Fasting,
Exemplar
Prophet Mohammad was a perfect role
model.
Religious leaders (Imam) and the Muslim
community
1. Ritual Salat: They are required in response to the
adhan (invitation) to stop whatever they are doing
and step into a sacred time of prayer as they face
Mecca and pray at dawn, noon, midafternoon,
sunset and night
Hajj (Pilgrimage): If they are physically and
financially capable of, they are expected to go
once in a lifetime on a pilgrimage to Mecca
Sawm: They observe sawm (fasting) during the
month long Ramadan, wherein they abstain from
eating, drinking, sex and smoking from dawn to
dusk.
Narrative
Allah, the God •
•
•
•
Muhammad:
Monotheism.
Singular, absolute and transcendent.
Beyond gender
May be referred to by 99 other names such as: All
Compassionate, The Majestic, The Compeller, The
guardian, and The Keeper of Faith
• Prophet and a perfect role model
• When he was 40 yrs old, an angel of God came to
visit the uneducated Muhammad in a cave on Mt.
Hira and commanded him to “recite”, which is
what he did till his death.
• After his death, conflicts of who should succeed
him lead to the emergence of two branches- Sunni
and Shia.
By the 7th centaury, the movement had spread across
the Arabian Peninsular, North Africa, South-eastern
Europe, Afghanistan and India.
Jihad
•
•
•
Life
after
death
•
•
Refers to struggle.
Muslims recognize two kings of struggle: the
spiritual struggle against pride and self-sufficiency;
and the physical struggle against the ‘enemies of
Islam’.
Many Islamic devotees have condemned and
apologized for the extremist interpretation of Jihad
and have stressed on it’s spiritual interpretation.
The Quran repeats vivid warnings of horrors
expected for those who refuse to submit to Allah,
stresses a life of wonder that awaits those who are
faithful
Experiential
Swam During Ramadan, abstain from eating, drinking,
fasting smoking, and sex from dawn until sunset
Ramadan concludes with Idal-Fitr, a fastbreaking festival that brings families together to
eat, pray and exchange gifts.
Charity Typically, Muslims are obliged to give 2.5% of
(zakat) most of their assets, (excluding personal
possessions) above a subsistence level (nisab)
Pray 5
times/d
ay
Hijab
While facing Mecca. Their prayers include an
exaltation and blessing of Allah and a prayer for
peace upon the righteous servants of Allah
Women are usually required to wear a head
covering (hijab)
Institutional
2 Muslim groups: the Sunnis and the Shias.
•Shia centralizes social, political and religious
authority to the Imam, their leader, a direct
descendent of Mohammad
•Sunnis decentralize social, political authority to
caliphs (Muslim leaders) and religious authority to
the Muslim community as a whole
Ethical
Shariah, the Muslim law dictates laws pertaining to
all aspects of life- family, society, economics and
politics. It includes rituals, ethics, criminal laws,
taxations and public policies.
5 pillars:
Doctrinal “Shahadah” for the creed that testifies to the
existence of only one God and his messenger,
Muhammad and professes people’s faith to
God
“Salat” for daily prayers
“Zakat” for charity
“Sawm” for fasting during
“Hiji” for pilgrimage to Mecca
Quran
Material Hadith
Both contain accounts of words and deeds of
Muhammad