Download Islam - Armed Forces Christian Union

19
Islam The historical roots of Islam Islam is one of the three great monotheistic faiths that sprang from the Middle East, the other two being Judaism and Christianity. In historical terms, Islam is the youngest of the three, but Muslims would argue that it is and always has been the root of the other two faiths. Muslims claim that God revealed the Koran to Muhammad whom they see as the greatest and last prophet. The Arabic word “Islam” means submission. Muslims are those who submit to God and his will and law as presented by Muhammad and found in the Koran and in the traditions recording Muhammad’s life, deeds and sayings (hadith). The rallying cry of Islam is: ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet’. Prophets Islam reveres all the prophets of the Old Testament, including Abraham, who is both the father of monotheism and the ancestor of both Jews and Arabs. Jesus is revered as a prophet, but Muhammad is seen as the last, greatest and final ‘Prophet and Messenger of God’. Islam is the last and final revealed religion that has superseded all others until the day of judgement. Prophet of Islam According to Islamic sources, Muhammad was born in 570 AD into one of the most powerful tribes in the Arabia of that time, for it had guardianship over the Ka'bah, a very ancient cube shaped building in Mecca said to have been built by Adam and then rebuilt by Abraham. At that time the Arabs followed a form of idolatry, each tribe keeping its own idols at the Ka'bah. The monotheistic message of Abraham had long become forgotten among the general population of the Arabian Peninsula. Muhammad's father died before his birth and when his mother also died he was brought up by his grandfather, Abd al­Muttalib, and later by his uncle, Abu Talib. The young Muhammad, displayed exceptional virtue as a trustworthy individual whom members of various tribes would invite to act as arbitrator in their disputes. The Prophet of Islam is loved and revered by Muslims who see him as the most perfect of human beings ‘shining like a jewel among stones’. 1 Everything he said or did is seen as the perfect embodiment of the will of God. His perfect example is to be emulated by all Muslims at all times. Angel Gabriel When forty years old, in 610 AD, Muhammad first had a vision of a heavenly being, believed by Muslims to be the arch­angel Gabriel, in a cave on top of a mountain outside Mecca, during one of the retreats which he made habitually. Gabriel revealed to Muhammad the words of the Koran as the word of God, and announced that he was to be God's messenger. For the next thirteen years he preached to the inhabitants of Mecca, inviting them to abandon idolatry and accept the religion of ‘One­ness’. A few accepted his call but most, especially those of his own tribe, opposed him violently, seeing in the new religion a grave danger to their economic and social domination which was based upon their control of the Ka'bah. But Muhammad continued to call the people to Islam and gradually a growing number of men and women began to accept the faith and submit themselves to its teachings. As a result, persecution of Muslims increased until Muhammad was 1 Bukhari Islam ­ 1 ­ forced to send some of his companions to Abyssinia where they were protected by the Christian king. Migration With further opposition, in 622 Muhammad moved to Yathrib, a city north of Mecca, which became known as ‘The City of the Prophet’ (Madinat al­nabi) or simply Madinah (Medina). This event was so momentous that the Islamic calendar begins with this migration (hijrah). It is also the basis of the teaching that, in times of trouble, Muslims are to migrate to safe havens where they can consolidate their strength and then reconquer their original territories and expand into new ones. In Medina, the Prophet established the first Islamic society, which has served as the model for all later Islamic societies. In 623 he began sending his followers out to raid the trading caravans from Mecca, and within a few months he was leading these raids himself. Many tribes converted to Islam to avoid being attacked by the Muslim armies. The military power of the Muslim community in Medina increased and they successfully defended themselves against Meccan attacks. Finally the Meccans surrendered and Muhammad entered Mecca victoriously in 630, destroyed the pagan idols in its sanctuary (the kaba) and turned it into the centre of Islam. Muhammad's last Sermon In March AD 632, the year of his death, Muhammad made his final pilgrimage to the kaba in Mecca. After this time no pagans were allowed to visit this sacred place. Following this pilgrimage, the Prophet went to Mount Arafat in ‘his stand before Allah’ where he delivered his famous final sermon before a huge crowd. The summarised text of this sermon may be found in almost every mosque throughout the world: “Oh people, listen carefully to what I say, for I do not know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Listen carefully and report my words to those who cannot be here today. Regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Hurt no one, so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will reckon your deeds... You will neither inflict nor suffer injustice... Remember that you have rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission.... Treat them well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers ... Worship Allah; say your five daily prayers; fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in zakat (charitable giving). Perform hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) if you can afford to.... An Arab has no superiority over a non­ Arab; a white has no superiority over a black nor a black over a white, except by piety and good deeds. Every Muslim is a brother to every other Muslim… No prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born... I leave behind me two things, the Koran and the Sunnah; if you follow these, you will never go astray.” 2 Koran, Sunnah and Hadith For Muslims the Koran is the actual word of God revealed through the arch­angel Gabriel to Muhammad. It has fulfilled and replaced the earlier revealed scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. It is viewed as uncreated and its original exists on a “guarded tablet” in heaven. The Koran is seen as incomparable to any human writing, a divine miracle provided by God’s mercy to guide humanity into the right path. It was revealed in the Arabic language as an oral revelation, which the Prophet repeated to his companions. Arabic became, therefore, the language of Islam even for non­Arab Muslims. Because of Muhammad’s importance to Muslims as the channel of God’s revelation, his saying and his way of life (Sunnah) became the perfect example to be emulated by all in all areas of life. Stories of what he said and did (allegedly reported by his closest companions) gained tremendous authority and are regarded as revelatory. These thousands of traditions, called Hadith, were collected in the ninth and tenth centuries into official volumes, by various scholars. Six such collections are considered authoritative, the best known being that of Bukhari and of Muslim. For most Muslims, Hadith are second only to the Qur’an as a source of divine guidance and are used to explain and interpret the Qur’an’s meaning and to establish legal 2 The Prophet's final sermon is recorded in the Hadith and Sunnah. It is regarded as an inspired summary of the Prophet’s teaching.
­ 2 ­ rulings. The Koran and Sunnah of Muhammad are seen as the revelatory core of Islam, the source of its doctrine and practice. Sunni and Shia Like Christianity, Islam has several branches of belief. The majority of Muslims are Sunnis. However a separate branch, the Shias, developed in a violent disagreement over the succession of the Prophet. Muhammad's only child to survive to adulthood, his daughter Fatima, married Ali­ibn­ Abu Talib, who was eventually accepted as his successor, after the death of three first ‘Caliphs’. 3 3 However, this was then disputed, resulting in Ali's murder and the split of Islam. The ‘Ali’ party continued to accept Ali's credentials and became known as ‘Shiat Ali’, the party of Ali. They believed that the Caliph should be from the blood­line of the Prophet, in other words the blood­line of Ali and Fatima. Today Shias form a majority amongst Muslims in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain, and constitute a significant minority in Lebanon, Yemen, the Gulf States, and other areas. They have been often persecuted by the Sunnis. The Sunnis accepted the historical sequence of the first four Caliphs and their successors as legitimate. Their position was that any suitable person from Muhammad’s tribe (Quraysh) was eligible to be elected as Caliph. Sunni empires and states have on the whole dominated the Muslim world throughout its history. Sunnis thus have a long tradition of political dominance behind them, which strengthens their claims to Islam’s superiority as God’s religion and their desire to regain its lost glories. The Islamic Religion According to the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet, Islam prescribes five duties or “pillars”:
·
·
·
·
·
Affirmation (Shahadah). ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet’
Prayer (Salat). Five times a day facing Mecca, preceded by washing.
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj). At least once in a lifetime, finance and health permitting.
Fasting (Sawm) During Ramadan. No food or drink between sunrise and sunset.
Almsgiving (Zakat). At least 2½% of one’s surplus wealth 4 to be given to the poor. According to Islam, faith means believing in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment and God's determination of human destiny. The Koran forbids lying, stealing, adultery and murder. Muslims observe a similar diet to Jews, although slightly less rigorous. Alcohol is forbidden. Islamic Law (Shariah) Islam possesses a religious law called Shariah, which encompasses all aspects of life, and does not separate between secular and religious spheres. It is a set of detailed rules and regulations which Muslims must live by. This legal code is based on the Koran and Sunnah. These are complemented when needed by a process of consensus (ijma‘) and analogical reasoning (qiyas). Four Sunni orthodox schools of law, named after their founders, developed and were codified by the end of the tenth century: these are the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali. The Shi‘a version is very similar. In many ways, Islam is Shariah, the Islamic way of life, the framework of dos and don’ts within which a Muslim leads his life. It is also the constitution of the Muslim community and the pattern of its communal order, as well as an identity marker separating Muslims from non­ Muslims. The Shariah tries to describe in detail all possible human acts, dividing them into permissible (halal) and prohibited (haram), and subdividing them into various degrees of good or evil such as obligatory, recommended, neutral, objectionable or forbidden. Shariah regulates in detail all matters of devotional life, ritual purity, marriage and inheritance, criminal offences, commerce and the governing of the Islamic state. It also regulates relations to non­Muslims within the Muslim state as well as to enemies without. 3 The Caliph was the leader of the Muslim faithful following the death of Muhammad. Surplus wealth is defined as any wealth that is over and above the necessary expenses a person and his family dependants need in order to live their normal day­to­day lives.
4 ­ 3 ­ Christians and Jews In Mecca Muhammad had preached that Muslims should be friendly towards Jews and Christians, even recognising the validity of their faiths (Jesus and the Prophets are mentioned many times in the Koran) and commanding Muslims to face Jerusalem when they prayed. In Medina he became increasingly hostile towards Jews and Christians who would not accept his claims to being the prophet of God, and told his followers that they should now face Mecca when they prayed. Muhammad fought the Jewish tribes, massacred many of their men, enslaved many of their women and children and expelled others from their lands. His hardening of attitude to Jews and Christians is clearly seen within the Qur’an, whose earlier verses are much more peaceable than its later verses. The Shariah was compiled mainly at a time of Muslim dominance during the days of the ‘Abbasid Empire. Its basic assumptions are therefore based on the fact of political power being in the hands of the conquering Muslims. Jews and Christians were defined as subjugated second­class people (dhimmis) given limited tolerance and protection by the Muslim state. However, this held only as long as they did not bear arms, knew their place in society, were humbled, treated Muslims with respect, paid a special poll tax (jizya) and did not act arrogantly. Numerous petty laws restricted and humiliated Jews and Christians in their daily lives. Religious ritual was only to be practised within their synagogues and churches and was not allowed in public space (bells were not allowed to be rung). No new church buildings were allowed, nor could Christians repair existing churches. Dhimmis could not testify in a Shariah court against a Muslim. Finally, dhimmis were not to obtain any public office that placed them in a position of authority over Muslims. The general attitude of contempt for non­Muslims engendered by centuries of dhimmi application, means that even in modern secular Muslim states that have constitutionally guaranteed equal rights to all citizens, Christians and other non­Muslims are discriminated against in numerous ways. Jihad Jihad (literally striving) is so important a concept to Islam that it is almost regarded as a sixth pillar. Koran and hadith include many passages recommending and glorifying jihad (striving in God’s way for God and Islam). Linked to the concept of jihad is the division of the world into two opposing domains: the house of Islam (dar al­Islam) and the house of war (dar al­harb). Some mystical (Sufi) Muslims and modern reformists stress the spiritual aspects of jihad as a fight against moral evil in the individual and society. However, according to classical Islamic doctrine, jihad is the God­given way for the expansion of Islam’s political dominion into the house of war. The Caliph was required to lead an army in jihad against unbelievers at least once a year. Most contemporary Muslims agree that jihad includes a religious obligation to defend Muslims and Muslim territory from any form of aggression, a concept which can be interpreted in many different ways. Radical Islamists have recovered some aspects of classical jihad as a legitimisation for their violence and terrorism. Further Reading Patrick Sookhdeo, A Pocket Guide to Islam. Fearn, Ross­shire and McLean, VA: Christian Focus Publications and Isaac Publishing, 2010 Bat Ye'or. Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilisations Collide. Translated from the French by Miriam Kochan and David Littman. Fairleigh Dickenson University Press 2002
­ 4 ­