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Islam
A Brief Introduction
Some Initial Ideas

slm or salaam
 Peace
or Wholeness
 Submission

Participial Form –
Muslim – one who
submits
Figures
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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
Muhammad
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Born c.570 CE near
Makkah
Father Abdullah
Mother Amina
Grandfather Abd-alMuttalib
Uncle Abu-Talib
Major Life Events
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Met Khadijah at 25
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610 first of his
revelations
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619 Abu-Talib dies;
marries Sawdah
Lailat ul-Miraj
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Night of Ascents
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Conversations with
important figures in
biblical history
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Muslim rules for
prayer revealed
More Life Events
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Fled from Makkah to
Yathrib in 622
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Yathrib becomes Madinat
or City of the Prophet
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Madinat and Makkah at
war for a number of years
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Muhammad eventually
rules both cities before
his death in 632.
Caliphate

caliph = successor
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Four Rightly Guided
Caliphs
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Abu Bakr (632-634)
Umar ibn al-Khattab (634644)
Uthman ibn Affan (644656)
Ali (656-661)
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)
 Mu’awiyah (Umayyad
and governor of Syria)
 Kharajites
 Umayyad Dynasty
661-750
Sunni and Shia(h)
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85% Sunni
Four Rightly Guided
Political and Military
leadership key – not
religious
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15% Shiah
Power grab by Sunni
Direct descendents of
prophet’s family
Not a prophet but still
inspired
Shiah
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Zaydi or Fivers


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Isma’ili or Seveners


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Zayd ibn Alia
Yemen 893-1963
Jafar al-Sadiq
Agha Khan
Twelvers


Muhammad al-Muntazar
mujtahids

Current Agha Khan
Sufi

Tariqah – spiritual or
interior path

Started as a reform
movement

Feasting, poverty,
celibacy, rhythmic
chanting, breathing
exercises, whirling
dervish
Five Pillars of Islam
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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
Number Two: Salah
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Five times daily
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 Fajr,
zuhr, asr,
maghrib, isha
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Wudu or ritual
cleansing
No shoes
Proper Dress
Rakah
Salat al-jama’ah
Number Three: Zakah
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Purity
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Charity
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At the end of the year, if
you have 85 grams of
gold after expenses, you
give at a rate of 2.5%
Number Four: Sawm or Fasting
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During the month of Ramadan
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No food, water, smoking or sex
during daylight hours
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Menstruating, pregnant,
nursing women are exempt as
are the sick, elderly, and young
children
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Those in military service or on
a long journey are also exempt
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Donate cost of meals if you
cannot do the fast
Number Five: Hajj or Pilgrimage
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Dhu al-Hijah
Haram
Ihram
Tawaf
Ka’aba
Once in your lifetime
Scripture
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Qur’an means ‘recitation’
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It was revealed to
Muhammad over 23 yrs
(610-622) by the angel
Gabriel
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Oral and fluid in his
lifetime
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The “Satanic Verses”
were once heard, but
later declared not right
More on the Qur’an
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Zayd ibn Thabit
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114 surahs
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Abu Bakr
Uthman
Verses are ayah/ayat
Tajwid – proper
pronunciation
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Tilawah – reading with all
of your heart, soul, mind,
strength
Hadith
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Talk or speech
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Hadith qudsi
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Story or matn
List of names or isnad
Divine revelations
Hadith sharif

About Muhammad’s life

Provide the Sunnah or
the foundation used to
develop Shariah (Islamic
legal system
Shariah
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Four Sources
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Two Main Divisions
 Qur’an
 Ibadat
 Hadith

 Qiyas
(analytical
reasoning)
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Use analogies
 Ijma

(Consensus)
Ulama or religious
scholars
Fundamental duties or
obligations
 Muamalat

Contract, International,
Family Law. Social
Duties.
Wahhabi
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Muhammad ibn AbdWahab (1703-1791)
Muwahiddun
Brotherhood of
Ikhwan
Neo-Wahabbism
 Ikhwan
 Salifiyya
 Taliban
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Key Dates
 1811
 1818
 1821-1833
 1884
 1889
 1902
 1932