Denominations in Islam: Sunni Shia Schism & Sufism

Please read LR, pages 399-406 & 429f.

Hadith says: PR announced that his followers would be divided into 73 sects! Both Sunnism and Shi’ism, according to S.H. Nasr (a Shite Muslim), are Islamic orthodoxy. They are different interpretation of the same truth. The differences are to cater to the needs of the varied spiritual temperaments of the different people.

Ali – Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib’s son later married Fathima, Muhammad’s daughter. Ali, the second convert to Islam, was only 10 years when he accepted Islam – a strong supporter of Muhammad!

Ali’s party were called the Shiites – Islam of Ali – today they make up about 20% of the total Muslim population - and Abu Bakr’s company known as Sunni’s – Islam of Abu Bakr – today they make up about 80% of the total Muslim population! This is somewhat oversimplified!

Abu Bakr, first convert to Islam outside Muhammad’s household, was a closest ally and the father in law of Muhammad through Aisha’s – his favourite wife after Khadijah - marriage to Muhammad.

Both Sunni’s and the Shiites do not differ in the fundamentals – five basic beliefs and five pillars! Sunni’s are those follow the sunna (traditions) of the prophet. Shiites “are those who believe that the right of succession to the Prophet belongs solely to his family of the Prophet (ahl al-bait) as their sources of inspiration and guidance for the understanding of the Quranic revelation brought by the Prophet”.

Sunni Muslims – represent the Sunna, the tradition, of the PR – loosely the main stream! They want to preserve the practices of the early umma (the Muslim community). Two major schools of theology within this group are: Mutazilites – Wasil ibn Ata (d. 749 CE) and Asharites – Ali ibn Ismail al Ashari (d. 935). The celebrated theologian Abu Hamid al Ghazali (d. 1111) later became a supporter of the Asharites. Four law schools – Hanafi, Maliki, Shaffi, and Hanbali – play a major role in Sunni Islam.

Mutazilites: Emphasised the role of reason in matters concerning faith; emphasised on human freedom and responsibility; they rejected predestination as inconsistent with the free will of the humans; used allegorical method for interpreting the Qur’an; argued that the Qur’an is eternal but the words are 7th century human making (?); thrived during the Abbasid regime (750-1258 CE).

Asharites: Emphasised the role of revelation in matters concerning faith; defended God’s khadr, and predestination of God; Qur’an with all its word is eternal; today this represent the main orthodoxy.

Sunni’s are guided by the Ulema – learned scholars, while the Imam leads the Shiites – men of special charism, divinely inspired!

Ali was assassinated in 661 CE triggering a bitter controversy between the two groups. Hasan and Hussain – grandsons of the PR – on one side and Muawiyah and his son Zaid on the other ending in a bitter battle at Karbala eventually providing the visible identity of the Shiites who celebrate through their Muharram festival “redemptive, purifying sacrifice” – the Shiite play of the passion.

The concept of Imam is at the bottom of Shia Islam. “The Imam is, in fact, the sustainer and interpreter par excellence of the revelation. His duty is essentially threefold: to rule over the community of Muslims as the representative of the Prophet, to interpret the religious sciences and the Law to men, especially their inner meaning, and to guide men in spiritual life. All of these functions the Imam is able to perform because of the presence of the ‘Light’ within him.”

Shia Islam with a belief in 12 Imams is further divided into “Seven Imam Shiism - Ismailis” or “Five Imam Shiism – Zaidis”.

Islam of the Caliphate and Islam of the Imamate are at the bottom of Sunni - Shia schism or identity! The two different institutes are due to two different conceptions of who is qualified to succeed and what should be precisely the duty of the successor.

Those interested in this section may read: Nasr, “The Tariqah, the spiritual path and its Quranic roots” in Ideals and Realities of Islam. And in Denny, “Islamic Mysticism and the Disciplines of Esoteric Fellowship” (chapter 10, pp. 211-237) + “Masters and Disciples: The Forms and Functions of Sufi Orders” (chapter 11, pp.238-259). Other useful sources: A.J. Arberry, Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam, Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. Nasr, Living Sufism, Unwin Paperbacks, 1980. To enjoy the poetry of a sufi you may read The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, New Jersey: Castle Books, 1995. Another easy reading and easily available book is John Baldock’s The Essence of Sufism, London: Arcturus Publishing Limited, 2004.

Sufism is esoteric Islam. Sufi is a Muslim whose soul is “yearning for God”, a path to “union with God”. Sufism is a way! Sufi is a Muslim with an intense desire after God, or with a passionate love for God, or excessively drunk with awareness of God, like a well known Sufi Al Hallaj”.

Sufism “is to cleanse the heart, to educate, or transform, the self, and to find God”. Essential Sufism, edited by James Fadiman and Robert Frager, 1997, p. 19. Sufis consider this as a “journey” that is “hard”. Junaid (d. 298 AH) once said: “… The journey from the self to God is very hard. And to be able to abide in God is harder still.” (Ibid. p.38)

And the “self”, in Sufi disciplines, is transformed through seven stages (process) – starting from the “egoistic self” to an “egoless self “ where the vision of “tawhid” is seen! Seven stages of the self: The commanding self, the regretful self, the inspired self, the contended self, the pleased self, the self pleasing to God, and the pure self. Rumi said:
If you could get rid
Of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the
Mirror of your perception. Ibid. p. 23.]

Sufism as a historical movement is very large and had been influenced by, according to scholars, Christian, Jewish, Gnostic, Neoplatonic, Zoroastrian, Hindu and Buddhist examples. Reynold Nicholson and others have tried to show the foreign influence on Sufism.

There are other Muslims who have tried to prove the qur’anic origin of Sufism. For Sufis even the manner in which the Qur’an was revealed – God speaks and humans can listen – humans can be in constant touch with his/her creator like Muhammad – are all providing the basis for Sufism. Nearness of God is the foundation of Sufism.

When Sunni’s and Shi’s were bickering on leadership there were those Muslims who considered Islam as a resignation into God and spent greater part of their life in worship of God! There were those Muslims who protested against the extravagance of the Umayyads (661-750 CE) by adapting “a simple life style”. Sufism is a kind of a “protest” movement! Sufism is a kind of “wanting more Islam” and a “wanting Islam to touch their lives deeper”.

Sufis saw Jesus and Muhammad as great Sufis. There are stories of Jesus’ ascetic life popular among the Sufis: One – Jesus possessing only a cup and a comb; Two - Ghazzali – “The highest asceticism was displayed by Christ when he threw away the brick he used as a pillow after the devil asked him why he kept it if he had renounced the world”. You may note that Jesus said: “Birds have nests … no place to lay his head”.

Muhammad’s experiences –
a. The Qur’anic, and
b. The Miraj are both mystical experiences.

God is nearer than ones jugular vein: “It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.” (50:16) Remember Sufis saw God and they saw God seeing them!

Sufism went through different stages of development – ascetical movement – mystical movement – theosophical Sufism – cult of Saints – today a vibrant form of Islam and in other places it remains as a kind of a living in the edge!

Sufi masters established Sufi Orders:

a. Qadiriyah – Abd al Qadir ibn Abd Allah al Jilani (1078-1166).
b. Suhrawadiyah - Shihab al Din Umar ibn Abd Allah al Suhrawardi (1134-1234).
c. Shadhiliya - Nur al Din Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al Shadhili (1196-1258).
d. Maulawiyah - Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273) – Whirling dance.

Great Sufis – Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), Rabia al Adawiyah, (d. 801), Ibn al Farid (1181-1235), Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273), and so on.

Rabia’s Sufism:

a. Emphasis was on “love” for God, joyful in her communion with God, refusing to marry because she considered herself married to God.
b. Her vivid expression that one should love God for God’s sake not out fear for hell or love for paradise.

Some crucial Sufi terminology:

a. Tasawwuf – One who is pure in heart.
b. Sophia - Lover of wisdom or wearer of the wool (suf).
c. Dhikr - Remembrance or recollection of God.
d. Fana - Passing away from self.
e. Baqa - Continuance or abiding in God.
f. Nafs - Self or Soul – dog, mouse, and snake are some images used for nafs in the Sufi thought.
g. Tawwakul - Trusting God – don’t wish! But this is not against the saying: “Trust in God and tie the camel’s leg”

History of the Sufi’s shows there were many conflicts with orthodox Muslims and Ghazali (d. 1111) is attributed with bringing peace between the two – thereafter at least a sober type of Sufism “was accepted as a Muslim science, and as a reasonable and laudable way of life”.

Sufis are known for the sense of humour! Cf. Essential Sufism pp. 161-170 for Sufi jokes. “… Humor as a catalyst to spiritual awareness is less well understood. Sufi teachers know, and use, the power of spontaneity and laughter, which can be at least as vital and powerful as any formal technique. The tradition of Sufism includes endless funny stories, usually on and about ourselves. For many of us laughing at our faults is the first step in being able to release them.” (P. 161)

Other Notable Islamic Denominations:

a. Ismaili’s – Part of the Shia Group, well known for its “charitable organizations” and the Imam of this group is His Holiness the Prince Agha Khan.

b. Ahamadiya – Followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of the Indian Sub Continent, known for their missionary activities and a sense of ecumenism and promoting of inter-religious dialogue.

Questions to Explore:

1. Discuss the two main branches of Islam by describing their similarities and differences.

2. What unique contributions did the Sufi’s make on the world wide Islam.

Tradition, Modern Life and Muslim Women – Some Thoughts

Please read LR, pages 416-419 and watch the documentary (in class) on “Me and the Mosque” written and directed by Zarqa Nawaz who visits mosques through Canada.

Promoting physical modesty Muslim women have adopted hijab (veiling) or in some instances burqa (covering over clothes). It creates and protects, many believe, the space of Muslim women.

The reintroduction of Islamic law (shariah) and resurgence of Islam, some consider, pronounces a negative impact on the status and role of women.

During the post-independent or post-colonial era Muslim women are becoming more visible in the professions – teachers, lawyers, engineers, physicians, etc. There are women who are entering into politics and religious life as well.

Muslim women scholars are also “carefully re-examining the Qur’an and Hadith to determine the historical realities and principles of women’s that have long been hidden behind an exclusively male interpretations of the traditions”.

Some of the these women scholars include the following:

1. Amina Wadud.
2. Sa’diyya Shaikh.
3. Kecia Ali.
4. Fatima Mernissi.

Muslim Women in Politics include the following:

1. Benazir Bhutto.
2. Khaleda Zia.
3. Hasina Wazed.

Some of you may find Irshad Manji’s, The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change (2003) interesting or irritating but certainly it will illuminate on the “becoming” that is happening now in the Muslim community!

Question to Explore:

Discuss and comment on the “women’s struggle” within the Muslim community as you see it.

Menstruation and the Qur’an

Since there was some discussion in the class around the question of “menstruation” – I give below some verses from the Qur’an where this word occurs. Most Muslims take these verses literally and consider women in menstruation unclean and men are encouraged to keep away. There are other Muslims who demand an alternative interpretation.

There are others who consider “sexist and damaging to women to claim that menstruation is in any way "unclean" it is in fact a healthy process that enhances the health of the womb and an essential part of being a women and a positive part of a women's identity. Women are no more unclean than Men.” Emphasis is mine. http://www.submission.org/women/period.html

To justify the above, the writer quotes 3:195 that reads: “And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: Ye are members, one of another: Those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain.”

“They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution: So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by Allah. For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.” (2:222)

“Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will; but do some good act for your souls beforehand; and fear Allah. And know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter), and give (these) good tidings to those who believe.” (2:223)

“O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.” (4:43)

“O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.” (5:6)

“That this is indeed a qur'an Most Honourable. In Book well-guarded, which none shall touch but those who are clean”. (5:77-79)

Clean in what sense? Physical or moral purity or both expected?

Qur’an: Sacred Scriptures of the Muslims

Read LR, pages 384-392.

Muslim Perceptions:

Qur’an is the sacred book of the Muslims. The term qur’an was derived meaning either “he read” or “he recited”. But more regularly it is referred as “a revealed discourse” which was unfolded over a period of 23 years in response to the particular need of the society. In short, the Qur’an, for Muslim is the “speech of God” - It is not a book inspired or influenced by God – But the very “word of God”.

Ibn Manzur (d.1312) reflects the general Muslim View of Qur’an: “ the inimitable revelation, the speech of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel (existing today) literally and orally in the exact wording of the purest Arabic”.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr said: “The Qur’an for the Muslim is the revelation of God and the book in which His message to man is contained. It is the Word of God revealed to the prophet through the archangel Gabriel. The Prophet was therefore the instrument chosen by God for the revelation of His word, of His book of which the spirit and the letter, the content and the form, are Divine. Not only the content and meaning comes from God but also the container and form which are thus an integral aspect of the revelation”.

Fazlur Rahman puts it slightly differently. “Qur’an is entirely the word of God and, in an ordinary sense, also entirely the word of Muhammed”.

Origin of the Qur’an:

For Muslims the Qur’an is not the work of Muhammad – in the sense of the latter writing it! Muhammad is considered, among Muslims, as “unlettered and untutored in the matters spoken about in the Qur’an”. The Muslims cite Qur’anic passages to affirm the Divine origin of he Qur’an. Frequently, cited passages are: 52: 33-34; 17:88; 11:13; 10:38; 2:23 and so on. But does the Qur’an deny the process of collection of the Qur’an?

The argument is that no humans can produce what we see – the language, the content with so high ideals, and the harmony despite the fact that what is there was revealed through a period of 23 years, between 610-632 CE - in the Qur’an.

Structure:

Aya (pl. ayat) – literally it means a “sign”, a “miracle”, or a “token” of God’s existence and God’s controlling power. (Cf. 12: 105, 36: 33), referring to a “verse” – is the shortest division of the Qur’an. The total number of verses is variously estimated, numbering approximately 6200.

Sura (pl. surat) – “chapter”, but literally, it means “row” or “fence” – the passage wise division, a chapter set apart from the preceding, numbering 114. (Excepting “Sura 9”, Sura al Tawba, all the other begin with, “bismi…”. The same phrase occurs within the Qur’an once in 27: 30, making the total number of “bismi…” to 114.

The naming of sura – derived from a word within the text of that chapter (example – anfaal, The Booty (8: 1), baqara, The Cow (2: 67-71);

Sometime derived from the very first verse, word or letters of a chapter (example – ta-ha, (20: 1), furqaan, The Criterion (25: 1).

We may note that the title may not exactly be related to the content, summary, or even the main thought of that chapter.

It is also possible to have a title that is not picked from any word in the text of that particular chapter. The best example is the 1st Chapter, known as fathihah, the opening.)

All chapter’s are not of equal size! Short ones are put behind, while the long ones are placed at the front, with the exception of Sura Fathihah. The longest sura is Sura Baqara (2), with 286 verses, and the shortest with 4 verses 112 or 113. To know more of the titles of each chapter refer to the Yusuf Ali’s translation that has an introduction and a commentary running through with each chapter.

Juz (pl. ajzaa), meaning “portion” – The entire Qur’an is also divided into somewhat equal 30 parts for easy recitation in the 30 nights of the month of Ramadaan.

Rhyme and Rhythm in the Qur’an: Sura One:

Bismi Allāhi Ar-Raĥmāni Ar-Raĥīmi
Al-Ĥamdu Lillāhi Rabbi Al-`Ālamīna
Ar-Raĥmāni Ar-Raĥīmi
Māliki Yawmi Ad-Dīni
'Īyāka Na`budu Wa 'Īyāka Nasta`īnu
Ahdinā Aş-Şirāţa Al-Mustaqīma
Şirāţa Al-Ladhīna 'An`amta `Alayhim
Ghayri Al-Maghđūbi `Alayhim Wa Lā Ađ-Đāllīna

Content of the Qur’an:

Qur’an contains many narratives, qasaas (12:3). One of the functions of the narratives is to illustrate and underline important aspects of the fundamental message. Three types of narratives in the Qur’an are:

a. Stories of prophets of God, their call, their message, their persecution, and so on, example, narratives about Nuh (Sura 26), Musa (Sura 28), Isa (Sura 19).

b. About past people – about the companions of the cave – Sura 18.

c. About events that took place during the life of PR, such as the battle of Badr 3:13, battle of Uhud 3:121-128, the battle of Ahzab 33:9-27, and so on

Reading and appreciating the Qur’ān becomes easier, if you know what to look for in this sacred text of the Muslims that may look jumbled for a first-time reader not initiated the book. Fazlur Rahman in his book, titled The Major Themes of the Qur’ān (1980, Second Edition in 1994) discovers the following major themes:

a. God
b. Human as Individual
c. Human in Society
d. Nature
e. Prophethood and Revelation
f. Eschatology
g. Satan and Evil
h. Emergence of the Muslim Community
i. The People of the Book and Diversity of Religions

Kenneth Cragg in his Readings in the Qur’ān (1988, reprint in 1999) arranges the content of the Qur’ān under 8 headings:

a. God and His Praise
b. God in Creation: Man and Nature
c. Prophets and Messengers from Adam to Jesus
d. Muhammad: The Prophet-Preacher and the Meccan Years
e. Muhammad: The Prophet-Ruler and the Medinan Climax
f. Faith and Religion
g. Society and Law
h. Unfaith, Judgment, and the Last Things

Questions to Explore:

1. Critically comment on the story of Joseph found in the Qur’an. (For this you may read Sura (chapter) 12 of the Qur’an. Holy Qur’an could be read in the following website: http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/Surai.htm or from a translation available in the library.)

2. Identify five themes of the Qur’an ad discuss in detail two of them.

3. What kind of problems are you likely to encounter in reading and understanding the Qur’an. Explain your answer.

Islamic Practices: Five Pillars of Islam

Read LR pages 392-398.

Essential practices of the Muslims, or the Five Pillars of Islam or the Five Acts of worship – din (pronounced ‘deen’), considered as ibadah (or worship in the larger sense) are:

a. Confession of faith – shahādah
b. Regular specific prayers – salāh
c. Regular contributing of the specified poor due – zakāh
d. Fasting during the month of Ramadan – saum
e. Pilgrimage to Mecca – hajj

Some Muslims may add the sixth jihad – often wrongly translated as “holy war”. Jihad is the use of all “energies and resources” to establish an Islamic System. It is trying “one’s utmost” to win “the favour of God”. It is a “striving” to control evil within and around ones self. It persuades at the end to give one’s self completely to this cause of Islam. Here are some interpretations of jihad.

Fazlur Rahman defines jihad as a surrendering of “your properties and yourselves in the path of Allah”.

Kenneth Cragg says: “Endeavour in the way of God, on behalf of Islam. Signifies military struggle but also inward discipline in pursuit of Falah.” Cf. Suras 2:246-251; 47:1-13; 22:28-51; 9:73-89; etc.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr admitting the two aspects of jihad, says, “holy war, of which the ‘lesser’ is against external obstacles to the establishment and functioning of the divine order and the ‘greater’ against the inward forces which prevent man from realizing God within the center of his being.”

Five Pillars:

You may not read about all these five essential duties of a Muslim in one single place in the Qur’an. They are scattered throughout – derived from - the Qur’an.

But Hadith puts all the five together: “Islam is based on five things: declaring that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the messenger of God, the establishment of Salah, the payment of Zakah, the Hajj, the Saum in the month of Ramadan.” (Bukhari)

a. Confession of Faith: Shahaadah – a Muslim declares his/her faith by reciting la ilaha illal lahu muhammadur rasulul lah.

b. Regular Specific Prayers: Salah, the prescribed prayer, we need to explore some of the following: Sacred Space, Sacred Time, Call to Prayer, Ablution, Qiblah, Liturgy, Postures, Dua, (the spontaneous petitions), Intention, Friday Prayer, and Funeral Prayer!

i. Place for prayer – cleanliness absolute! Masjid is the Mosque for congregational worship! A Jumma Masjid – Friday Worship with a sermon! An idgah – larger community festival worship!

ii. Prayer times – five – fajr (from dawn until just before sunrise); zuhr (after mid-day until afternoon); ‘asr (from late afternoon until just before sunset); maghrib (after sunset until daylight ends); and isha (night until midnight or dawn).

iii. Call to prayer – adhaan and iqamah! “God is the greatest – I bear witness that there is no god except God – I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God – Rush to prayer – Rush to success – (Prayer is better than sleep for the early morning prayer!) – God is the greatest! The addition: the prayer has begun for iqamah!

iv. Ablution – water or sand or stone (?)!

v. Qiblah – the physical direction for prayer is towards Mecca!

vi. Liturgy – Qur’an is the source! Fatihah – the opening chapter of the Qur’an is recited. Postures: Standing, bending, prostrating, (somewhat) kneeling – (sitting on your knees)!

vii. Here is a piece of dua to explore the Muslim mind: “O Allah, forgive me and my parents and my teachers and all the believing men and women and all muslim-men and women with your mercy. O Most Merciful of all who have mercy”. Ghulam Sarwar, Islam: Beliefs and Teachings, London: The Muslim Educational Trust, 1984. p.65.

viii. Intention – focussing on God – increasing the motivation – creating interiority – making it “less a mere cult” is important in Islamic prayer.

ix. Friday prayer and Funeral prayer – congregational worship! Khuttba- Sermon!

c. Regular Contribution Towards the Specified Poor Due - Zakah, (or zakat) is translated as “welfare contribution”, “the poor due”, “obligatory donation”, “compulsory charity”, “obligatory alms tax”, “alms giving” and may be more! But the word means basically means “purity”, meaning a way to keep your wealth “pure” and free of “greed”!

i. Paid once a year at the rate of 2½% of your savings. And this applies to cash, bank savings, gold and silver. The rate for cattle and agricultural produce is different.

ii. Zakah has to be spent for helping the poor and the needy – payment for the collectors of zakah, to free captives and debtors, the travellers in need, “to win over hearts and cause for the cause of Allah” (9:60).

iii. Muslims believe zakah brings (a) favour from God, (b) provides an opportunity for the rich to take care of the poor, and (c) keeps the giver free of greed!

iv. In other words, zakah has a spiritual significance and a socio-economic function for the Muslims.

v. Zakah is also a reminder “all that one holds” actually belong to God! It is also considered as a way of “lending to God”!

vi. In addition to this Muslims have sadaqah, a voluntary giving!

d. Fasting During the Month of Ramadan - Sawm, “fasting” is the fourth pillar in Islam. Fasting is expected from every adult from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan – 9th month of the Islamic Calendar.

i. This requires abstaining from “eating, drinking, smoking, and conjugal relations” during the time of fasting! Travelers and the sick can defer fasting and make up for it later.

ii. Sawm, Muslims believe develops “self-control” and helps us to overcome “selfishness”. Some look upon this as an annual training programme. For some it helps them to feel the hunger of the poor and the needy, putting them in solidarity with the less fortunate among us!

iii. Apart from fasting during the month of Ramadan, the Muslims may fast during the other times as well! But the orthodox Muslims do not encourage extreme forms of fasting. Certainly fasting is not permitted during idul fitr and idul adha.

e. Pilgrimage to Mecca – Hajj is the visit to Ka’bah in Mecca, House of God (Bait Allah).

i. It needs to be performed only once in lifetime and by those who can afford and have fulfilled all other responsibilities. Has to be done during the month of Hijjah (12th month of the Islamic Calendar).

ii. Visits to Ka’bah outside the month of Hijjah is known as ‘Umrah, lesser pilgrimage.

Questions to Explore:

1. Explain the five pillars of Islam.

2. Explain in detail the Islamic ritual of salāt or salah.

3. What is jihad? Explain in detail.

Islamic Beliefs

Please read LR, pages 386 392.

Basic beliefs of Islam are five (or six) – God, Angels, Books, Messengers, Judgment, and Predestination also known as the Supremacy of the Divine Will –

Muslims believe that God is all knowing and all-powerful and therefore from this has led some Muslims to believe in the “supremacy of the divine will and predestination”. There are the other Muslims put greater emphases on “human free-will”, which may down play, the predestination.

Tawhid – Oneness or Unity of God

Stated in Sura 112: “Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; and there is none like unto Him.”

Hence a Muslim is expected to declare this oneness of God. The declaration is known as shahadah – la ilaha illal lah, there is no god beside God.

(The second part – muhamadur rasulullah, Muhammad is only a prophet – may carefully guard that none deify Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.)

The word Allah occurs over 2500 times in the Qur’an. There are many other names used to refer to this reality Muslims identify as God. They include Al Rahman and Al Rabb. In fact there are 99 names for God.

Sample Names from “99 Beautiful Names of God”

The Beneficent; The Merciful; The King; The Holy; The Peaceful One; The Faithful One;
The Protector; The Strong One; The Mighty One; The Most Great; The Creator; The Great Forgiver; The Thankful, etc.

(Al-asma al-husana, beautiful names, of God! A pious Muslim finds his/her awareness of God is increased by the “utterance” of the beautiful names of God! It is a way to get connected to the otherwise a “transcendent God”. To do this a pious Muslim – like a Sufi - may use a “tasbih” - meaning, “to praise God” - a prayer rosary. Go to www.farsinet.com/tasbih/ for more details!)

a. Muslims assume the existence of God; believe in God, and to become “aware” of the “unseen”. 2:3; 5:94; 21:49; 35:18; 36:11; 50:33; 57:25; 67:12.

b. Since God is “unseen”, God through “revelation” to Prophets makes known God’s presence. Cf. 81:24; 68:47; 52:41; 53:35; 12:102; 11:49.

c. But despite the “revelation” there is much that is “hidden” to humans – fuller knowledge is only with God – 72:26; 64:18; 59:22; 49:18; 39:46; 35:38; 32:6; 27:65; 23:92; etc.

d. With all the “hidden-ness” of God, those who care to reflect know God!

e. God is creator, sustainer, and judge of humans. Humans come from God and return to God. God is sovereign. God is one and unique. God is merciful. God is very near for the humans to turn to and seek after God (50:33; 50:37; 41:44; 50:16). At the end the whole purpose of the belief in God is not to talk about God but to provide guidance and order human life. In that sense, the Qur’anic meaning of “finding God” is “transformation of human life”.

Angels

Angels are special creation of God – created from fire (or light) – to perform specific functions. Angels have no free will. They serve and obey God. Angels may appear in the form of humans as angel Jibrail appeared to Muhammad. There are host of angels but only a few are named – Jibrail, Mikail, Izrail, and Israfil. Satan is also an angel.

Prophets

Muslims believe in “prophets of God”. Immaturity of humans with regard to ethical perceptions and motivation along with the hidden-ness of God necessitates “revelation” from God.

Further, God due to his mercy does not abandon humans. Therefore, continuously provides humans with “guidance” (divine messages) that comes through “wahy” and “nazala”, to the “nabi” and “rasul”, usually translated as prophets and messengers.

God’s messengers to the humanity, Muslims believe are numerous and they are not confined to the Qur’an alone – some are mentioned in the Qur’an and many are not mentioned there. Cf. 4:164f and 40:78. There is a “universality of prophethood”, according to the Qur’an – that way the Qur’an opens up a space for both “plurality” and “singularity” of “religions”; that way the Qur’an can justify the existence of many religions, but in the same time argue for one religion “Islam”!

All messengers – “nabi” and “rasul”-essentially preached the same message – the oneness of God, “tawhid”, and humans are basically the servants, “abd” of God. Hence human worship and services are only due to God.

All prophets and messengers of God prohibit worship of, and service to “false gods”! The stories of prophets in the Qur’an are witness to this.

Muslim scholars do not accept the belief, that the concept of “tawhid” was borrowed from Judaism.

This objection is perhaps a theological necessity more than a historical accuracy!
Why two words, “nabi” and “rasul”? The traditional answer is: “nabi means a divine envoy without a law (sharia) and, presumably, without a revealed book”. And “rasul means one with a law and a revealed book”. Fazlur Rahman believes that “such sharp distinctions are somewhat doubtful”.

Qur’an uses nabi and rasul for certain personages. Moses and Ismail 19:51, 54. Muhammad 7:158. Jesus 4:171 (rasul), 19:30 (prophet).

Read 6:74-88. God chooses the prophets and guides the humanity in the straight path. These are Hebrew Prophets. The celebrated Hebrew Prophets in the Qur’an are: Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.

Shu’aib (Prophet of Midyan) and Salih – tribe of Thamud, and Hud – tribe of Ad (Prophets of Primal Arabs) are those not found in the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Books of God

Muslims believe in the revealed books of God, (or from God) brought by the prophets of God. Qur’an mentions four: Tawrat, (Torah) brought by Moses; Zabur, (Psalms) brought by David; Injil, (Gospel) brought by Jesus; and Qur’an, brought by Muhammad. There are other holy books alluded to in the Qur’an and the Islamic traditions – one such is “Scrolls of Abraham”. However, most Muslims also believe that of “the divine books, only the Qur’an exists in its original form, unchanged and unmixed”. More discussion on Qur’an is to follow soon!

Day of Judgment

Akirah, the judgment day, is a fundamental Muslim concern! It is one of the recurring themes in the Qur’an.

Qur’an frequently speaks of “garden” and “punishment”. Muslims consider the “life here” as “temporary” and a preparation for the “life hereafter” and “eternal” – “never ending”. For Muslims “life here” becomes meaningless without “punishment” or “reward” in the “hereafter”.

Belief in judgment increases a sense of responsibility and accountability in the mind of a Muslim – “Allah is watching”!

There are at least 15 chapters of the Qur’an that carry a title related to judgement and the last day – Does this not suggest the importance of this particular theme for the Qur’an? Some examples: Sura 75 – Al Qiyamat (Resurrection); Sura 56 – Waqi’a (Inevitable Event); Sura 111 – Al Lahab (The Father of Flame); Sura 88 – Al Ghaashiyah (The Overwhelming Event).

The Qur’anic teachings on “hereafter”, refers to a “moment” – the hour (as saat) – every thing will be shaken up and humans will come to know their “doings” – doings, misdoings, not-doings!

Since humans are generally absorbed in the “immediate” and “materiel concerns” have the tendency to ignore concerns of the “end times” (al akhirah). Hence these can come as a shock!

Some passages that deal with as saat or al akhirah are 79:34f; 50:22; and 81:1-14. The last one speaks more of the horrors connected with the end times! It will be horrible, according to the Qur’an, for those who perpetrated “evil” in this life! The others will be seen, of course, as those who welcome the hour!

There are several images connected with the “happenings” of the last day (yawm al din) – weighing scales, record-book given, body-organs testifying, and questionings!

Questions to Explore:

1. Briefly discuss the five basic beliefs of the Muslim community.

2. Explain in detail the Muslim understanding of God.

Life of Muhammad (570-632 CE)

Please read LR, pages 376-384.

Resources to Study the Life of Muhammad:

Most later biographers of Prophet Muhammad heavily rely on Ibn Ishaq (717-767 CE), Sirat Rasul Allah: The Life of Muhammad, translated by A. Guillaume, New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Ibn Hisham, later, in 834 CE expanded the work of Ibn Ishaq.

“Qur’an” and “Hadith” are also good sources to reconstruct the biography of the Prophet Muhammad.

What is pbuh? And why? A prayer Muslims say every time they mention the prophet, “May God’s Peace Be Upon Him”, to honour the prophet.

Muhammad means, “Praise Worthy”! Muhammad is the best example 33:21; Muhammad (or the Qur’an) is a blessing for the universe 21:107! Muhammad is the barer of the Qur’an! Humanity of Muhammad – “just a mortal” 18:110. And in popular Islam Muhammad’s “sinless ness” is mentioned.

Meccan Period 570-622

Birth and Childhood – Belonged to the tribe of Quraish; Father Abdullah died before his birth and the mother Aminah when he was just six; his foster mother was Halimah; Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather cared for Muhammad after the death of his mother, and the grandfather died when he was only eight; Abu Talib, the uncle who was a leader of the Quraish and a merchant looked after him.

Muhammad as a Youth:

a. A Business Trip to Syria – at the age of twelve with his uncle! Encounter with Bahira, a Christian Monk at Busra (in Syria)!

b. Teenager and the battle of Fujjar – a local war broke out when Muhammad was only 15 years during the Hajj! Warring was forbidden during Hajj according to the Meccan tradition! War lasted four years and Muhammad considered war futile! Az Zubair, another uncle of Muhammad was responsible in establishing Hilf ul Fudul, Alliance for charity, to care for the “the oppressed, the poor, the needy”. Muhammad participated in this programme!

c. Young shepherd – Muhammad tended sheep while he was a boy! This provided with him a unique opportunity to contemplate! (You may want to think of other Hebrew prophets who were also shepherds – Moses, David, Amos, Jesus (?) – what about Buddha shepherding (?), Lord Krishna, the shepherd (?)).

Muhammad’s Marriage – Muhammad continued to help his uncle Abu Talib in the business! By now he earned his name as al Amin, an honest and upright young man!

a. Khadijah, a wealthy woman entrusted her business to Muhammad that ended in the Marriage. They had six children (some sources say five) two boys (some sources say one) and four girls, boys died before he became a PR. Daughters: Zainab, Ruqaiyyah, Umm Kulthum and Fatimah who married Ali.

b. Ā’isha, his “favoured” wife had played an important role in the history of early Islam.

Muhammad’s Search/Involvement in Religion:

a. Rebuilding of Kaba – Muhammad played an important role in that! By this time he was considered al Amin (trust worthy) and as Sadiq (the truthful)!

b. Search for truth – Muhammad was inclined “to think and meditate”, retreating into seclusion and solitude! Cave Hira was his favourite place! Perhaps, he was discontent with the existing social and political system! Blood shed, tribal disputes, and oppression of the poor bothered him much!

c. Muhammad’s Encounter with the Angel Gabriel: First Revelations – He was 40 years when he had a series of revelations beginning with 96:1-5 and 74:1-5. Waraqah ibn Nawful, an uncle of Khadijah, a Christian Monk, counselled Muhammad during this time!

d. Muhammad’s Mission:

First converts – Khadijah was perhaps the first convert. Ali, the son of Abu Talib was the next followed by Zaid, the son of Muhammad’s servant, Abu Bakr, a friend! He began to call the other Meccans too to the new faith! Some accepted!

Hostility begins – This begins with Abu Lahab, another uncle of Muhammad! 111:1-3. Opposition to Muhammad’s preaching takes the new movement into another stage! Muhammad was persecuted in Mecca! He, with his group, moved to Yathrib. It is generally accepted that this happened in 622 CE; with it the Islamic calendar begins.

‘Umar’s conversion is parallel to Paul’s conversion in early Christianity.

e. Muhammad’s Supper-Normal Experiences: Two “extra-ordinary” experiences of the PR that has become part of the Meccan period are:
“Transfiguration” of Muhammad - Angel Gabriel cleansing Muhammad’s “chest”!

Mi’rāj, Muhammad’s journey to heaven through Jerusalem! The traditional date for this is around 622 CE. You may want to remember three words: Mi’rāj, Isrā, and Burāq.

Medinan Period (622-632 CE)

Meccan Opposition:

a. The tribe of Quraish made several attempts to discourage Muhammad and his followers from adopting their newly found faith. Compromise too was suggested. But Muhammad was “uncompromising” as indicated in Sura 109 – “You have your religion, and I have mine”. This led to further intense persecutions – harassment, ridicule, torture, and false propaganda increased! At this point Muhammad advised those Muslims who felt “in-secured” to immigrate to Abyssinia. This leads to the spread of Islam!

b. The members of Quraish who were not Muslims made an official boycott of the Muslims who were particularly from Hashim and Muttalib clan!

c. And by now Muhammad was 50 years old and ten years have passed after his prophet hood established! Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib, a strong supporter of the new movement have died. His invitation to the people in Taif, 60miles from Mecca, to join Islam was turned down while he was persecuted much there. Muhammad was “bruised, hurt, blood stained, yet never pronounced one word of curse for the people who had abused him”.

d. A mystical experience – al mi’raj – the ascent to the heaven! It was after that the five times prayers for Muslims was established and Muhammad continued his public preaching including during the time of Hajj.

e. his led to the conversion of some from Yathrib to Islam who enters into a covenant with Muhammad – these people pledged to Muhammad to follow the simple faith of early Islam - “to obey none but Allah (God), neither to steal nor commit adultery, neither to kill their children nor commit any evil, and not to disobey Allah”.

f. Eventually, there was a second covenant by which the Muslims of Yathrib (Medina) were to protect Muhammad and his followers in Mecca.

g. The Hijra:

Meccan Muslims were at this time encouraged to move to Medina. Muslims in Medina at this time were known as the Ansars (helpers) and the Muslims of Mecca who moved to Medina were known as Muhajjiruns (immigrants).

The Muslim perception is that Muhammad, himself left to Medina, only after God commanded him! And this was in the year 622 CE.

Yathrib became to be known as the city of the prophet – and Medina, the city! Ansars shared all what they had with the Muhajjiruns. And the cause of Islam began to grow in the new city.

h. Establishment of Umma:

Muslims were a cohesive community in Medina and they were organized further by the faith and practices of Islam that began to evolve through the “continuing” revelations that came to Muhammad!

Islam as a faith was now established with duties and responsibilities of Muslims outlined.

Islam was preached and battles were fought against those who opposed the Islamic cause – the battle of Badr, the battle of Uhud, the battle of Ahzab, and finally the conquest of Mecca.

i. Final Days of the Prophet:

The death of Muhammad was in 632 CE at the age of 63. He was a PR during the last 23 years of his life, receiving revelations from God.

Abu Bakr who was to lead the Muslim community after Muhammad spoke and said: “Surely he who worshipped Muhammad (pbuh) should know that Muhammad (pbuh) is dead, but hw who worshipped Allah should know that Allah is alive and never dies”.

Question to Explore:

Discuss the main events in the life of Muhammad that led to his emerging as a prophet.

Pre-Islamic Arabia - People, Way of Life, Values, and Beliefs

Please read LR, 376-384.

Pre-Islamic Arabia – One million square miles, unfriendly terrain; Hijaz is the “cradle of Islam”. Arabs are called the Semites, and Arabic language belongs to the language family called Semitic Languages along with Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, and Assyrian languages. This whole thing has reference to the story of Noah and the flood and Genesis 9 (of the Hebrew Bible). Semitic people are to be the descendents of Shem! Population here is very sparse. According to traditions this whole place was very fertile and supported a large population. Islam held Northerners and Southerners in Arabian Peninsula together!

Story of Abraham and the son Ishmael are important for Islam! Ishmael belongs to the Northerners who were primarily a pastoral-nomad!

Jāhiliyyah – (the state of) ignorance (prior to the revelation of the Qur’an) – is used to describe the pre-Islamic Arabia. Jāhiliyyah has several meanings:

a. Jāhiliyyah is a kind of “Wildness” – a kind of absence of spirituality and religion! Over against Islam establishes “a godliness”! In sura 33:33 you read: “And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance; and establish regular Prayer, and give regular Charity; and obey Allah and His Apostle.”

b. It refers to a kind of “Licentiousness and Idolatrous way of life”.

c. Today it also refers to “Unworthy or nominal Islam practiced by Muslims!

d. In some cases, particularly those influenced by Seyyid Qutub of Egypt and Mawlana Mawdudi of Pakistan, permissiveness and much of the very liberal life style of the West is also described as jāhiliyyah!

The word is found in the Qur’an, for example 3:154, 33:33, 48:26, etc. This word, like jihad, need to be explored very carefully!

Social Structure and Economy: Pastoral people divided into more or less independent tribes. Alliances were made! Genealogy, tribal purity, and family honour – these were very important for the Arabs! There was an aim in their wandering and they had the water holes to be guarded! Camels and sheep were produced. Hunting was done. They also served as bodyguards for travelling caravans. They also occasionally raided other communities! Raiding was not simply adding goods but also a “sport”! Cf. Qur’an 100:1-5 preserves the spirit of ghazwa (raid).

With “raiding” comes two important concerns –

e. Skills for making and handling weapons, and

f. Clan loyalty. Asabiya is a “powerful group feeling! A tent, a family. Number of tents pitched together, makes up a qaum, clan! Several clans make a tribe.

Retaliation was a fair game in pre-Islamic Arabia! A feud between to clans or two tribes can go for years and they make up their “literary subject”! To treat an outsider or an enemy the way one wanted was a “personal honour”, ‘ird. Personal honour was a male concern and women were considered “weak and apt to yield to temptations”. Man had and should have manliness – “muruuwa”. This included courage, loyalty, and generosity! All these qualities and sung in the pre-Islamic poetry!

You may want to read more about “Honour Killing”, cultural fallout, which is found in certain communities, such as the Indian and Pakistani communities even now! Cf. http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html

Importance of camel! Camel increased freedom in the desert!

Poetry – a form called qasiida, or ode, was very important. It was the main form of artistic expression the ancient Arabs had. Poet from a kahin and was related to religion, trance, and ecstasy. A poet was called a shaa’ir, one who has an esoteric knowledge that he received from shaytān or from a jinnī.

Pre-Islamic religion perhaps was

a. A form of “animism” that included the veneration of stones, wells, trees, and sacred precincts connected with tribe’s origin.

b. Polytheistic. Kaba had representation of 360 deities. Divinities were both male and female. The Qur’an mentions three female deities disapprovingly! The daughters of Allah – al ‘Uzza, Venus the morning star; al-Lat; and al-Manat. See Qur’an 53:19f. “Have ye seen Lat and 'Uzza, and another, the third (goddess), Manat?” Also mentioned in the Qur’an 71:23 other “divinities” people worshipped in Arabia during the pre-advent Arabia: Wadd, Suwa, Yaguth, Ya’uq, and Nasr. "And they have said (to each other), 'Abandon not your gods: Abandon neither Wadd nor Suwa', neither Yaguth nor Ya'uq, nor Nasr'; …”

c. Allah was known but only as a high god!

d. Watt introduces another aspect of the pre-Islamic religion. The Tribal Humanism: “… the constellation of basic attitudes and activities connected with the social group – honour, manliness, hospitality, the equitable distribution of goods, the shaykh as first among the equals, raiding as a display of courage, the vendetta, and devotion to one’s genealogy – together comprised the real religion of the majority”. (Frederick M. Denny, An Introduction to Islam, 2006, p. 38f)

There were also the other religious communities in Arabia prior to the advent of Islam.

a. Jews were numerous in Southern Arabia as well as in Yathrib, Medina.

b. There were Christians too, particularly in Najran in South Arabia.

c. Zoroastrians were also there.

d. There was a native Arabian monotheistic group called Hanifs. Perhaps Abraham was a Hanif.

Question to Explore:

Describe the pre-Islamic Arabia identifying particularly the religions that existed there prior to the advent of Islam.

Introducing Islam

Today (November 12th, 2008) the class will watch critically a documentary titled “Islam: A Bird’s Eye View”. Students will be expected to take notes as they watch the documentary that will take approximately 50 minutes.

You will be expected to read LR, pages 376-433.

What follows are some thoughts to prepare you to watch the documentary:

Akbar S. Ahmad provides (in Islam Under Siege, 2003. pp. 7-9) six reasons why Islam is important today:

a. Islam, which is the religion of peace, is now associated with “murder and mayhem”.
b. Consider Islam today – 1.3 billion Muslims living in 55 states (one with nuclear bomb!); one third of the total Muslim population live in non-Muslim states; 25 million live in the West (including 7 million in the USA and 2 million in the UK); the Muslim population is one of the fastest growing.
c. Islam is in a collision course wih the other world religions.
d. Many Muslim countries are allied to non-Muslim nations and many Muslims live in non-Muslim countries.
e. There is the ongoing clash between Western Civilization and Islam.
f. The prevailing “Islamophobia”, “a generalized hatred and contempt of Islam and its civilization”.

John L. Esposito (in What Everyone Needs To Know About Islam, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. P. 1) provides four reasons why North Americans need to know about Islam:

a. Islam is the second largest religion in the world (after Chris­tianity) and will soon be the second largest religion in America.
b. Muslims are and will increasingly be our neighbors, col­leagues at work, and fellow citizens.
c. Although Islam is similar in many ways to Judaism and Christianity, most Americans and Europeans think of Mus­lims as strange, foreign, and frightening, inevitably linked to headline terrorist events. This state of affairs need to change - and can change with better information and deeper understanding.
d. We must put an end to the spiral of fear, hatred, and vio­lence, spawned by ignorance, that no longer only afflicts other countries but has come home to America.

Many scholars and casual observers, both Muslims and non-Muslims have noted a rising tide of “Islamophobia” in the post 9/11 events particularly in North America and in Western Europe:

a. Many Muslims were picked/ are being picked up for interrogation.
b. Harassement in the West of Muslim women wearing hijab.
c. Shutting down of several Muslim charities.
d. Distorted media portryals of Islam – eg. The Fox television Bill O’Reilly equating the Holy Qur’an to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
e. Christian leaders such as Rev Jerry Vines (former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention) describing the PR as “demon-possessed paedophile” – Rev Jerry Falwell describing the PR as “terrorist”, Rev Franklin Graham describing Islam as “a very wicked and evil religion”, and Pat Robertson saying the same but perhaps in a greater volume!
f. Killings of too many Muslim civilians all over the world, and destruction of Muslim property. Western chorus (?): “We must do this otherwise they will kill us!”
g. The abuse of the so called “moderates”, Musarraf and Mubarak, controlling their opponents Jamaat-I-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the Documentary:

Islam is one of the great monotheistic faiths and second largest religion in the world. Islam as a historical phenomenon is traced to Prophet Muhammad’s encounter with the “divine”. In the 9th to the 12th centuries, Islam rose to great prominence with a profound influence on art, history, science and politics. Today Islam is spread throughout the world. Islam continues to be very vital and growing.

Time Line:

570 CE - Muhammad is born in Mecca, Arabia
610 CE - Beginning of Muhammad’s prophet hood
622 CE - Muhammad’s emigration to Medina and the beginning of the Islamic calendar
630 CE - Muslims take control of Ka’bah in Mecca
632 CE - Death of Muhammad
800-1100 CE - The age of cultural brilliance in the Muslim world and the beginnings of the Islamic mystical movement called Sufism
1400-1600 CE - Persia, Turkey and India emerge as militarily powerful, culturally rich and economically strong Muslim nations.
1700-1940 CE - Islamic countries are colonized by Western civilizations. Islamic countries go into decline.
1948 CE - Muslim nations adapt Western culture and gain prominence using oil.

Please look for the following terms carefully:

a. Arabia – The Arabian Peninsula, located east of modern Egypt and south of Israel, is mainly Saudi Arabia today. The homeland of Muhammad and the birthplace of Islam.
b. Allah – Arabic word for God.
c. Islam – Peace, submission, and surrender to the will of God.
d. Muslim – Followers of Islam.
e. Mecca – Birthplace of the Prophet of God and the founder of Islam.
f. Medina – Second most important city, literally means “the city”.
g. Gabriel – The chief of the angels who brought the Qur’an down to Muhammad.
h. Ka’bah – Sacred shrine in Mecca.
i. Abu Bakr – Successor to Muhammad
j. Ali – Muhammad’s cousin and the leader of the Shiah faction.
k. Khalifahs – Successors of Muhammad that lead the early Muslim community. Every human, according to the Qur’an, is a “Khalifah” entrusted with the responsibility of the “care for the creation”
l. Qur’an – The sacred book of the Muslims.
m. Shariah – The moral code and rules the Muslims adhere in their daily life.
n. Pillars of Islam – The five tenets of Islam: Profession of faith, prayer, alms giving, fasting and pilgrimage.
o. Muezzin – The person who calls Muslims to prayer.
p. Minaret – The Islamic prayer tower used to call the Muslims to prayer.
q. Ramadan – The 9th month of the Islamic calendar. Fasting month.
r. Masjid – Mosque. The place of worship.
s. Hajj – Pilgrimage to Mecca.
t. Halal – That which is permitted.
u. Sufism – Islamic Mysticism.
v. Sunni – One of the major sects (?) of Islam.
w. Shiah – Those Muslims who followed the leadership of Ali.
x. Salat – The five times prayer.
y. Ottoman Empire – The reigning Muslim dynasty of the 17th century CE in what is present-day Turkey.
z. Zakat – Alms giving.

A question to probe: Judaism, Christianity and Islam share similar principles of love, respect for human life, peace, and high moral principles. What then might explain the animosity and violence between the groups throughout history? (The Crusades, the creation of Israel, Bosnia, the Muslim-Christian conflict in the Balkans and other places, the European colonization of the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia, etc. and the rise of the Islamic militancy.)

Questions to Explore:

1. Does Islam foster violent fundamentalism? Explain your answer.

2. Do the Muslim women enjoy a sense of equality with men? Clarify your answer with examples.

3. Can Islam be democratic? Discuss your answer in detail.

Protestant Exclusivism: The Lausanne Covenant

Please read “Evangelicalism” in LR, p. 361f.

While the spirit of “inclusivism” was growing among the Christians – in the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant circles, 2,700 Christian official participants from over one hundred and fifty nations attended an International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne, Switzerland, from July 16-25, 1974. This meeting took place after a two and a half year preparation. Billy Graham was the main mind behind the Lausanne Congress.

The purpose of the Congress was reiterated in the theme: “Let the Earth Hear His Voice”. The most significant stress of the 1974 Congress was “reaching” the “unreached peoples of the world”, by which the participants referred to the “non-Christians”, including those with no religions. According to the Congress report there are 2.7 billion “unreached peoples”. The highlight of the conference was the issue by Congress participants a brief document entitled, “The Lausanne Covenant” (hereafter LC), establishing various programs (LCP).

The Lausanne Covenant

The LC had fifteen sections. Each section is “packed fairly tight with content” and at the end had reference to several biblical passages. The great commission of Christ, that is, proclaiming the Gospel to all people and making disciples of every nation was the central theme of the covenant. Much stress was put on:

1. The authority of the Bible (section 2).
2. The uniqueness and universality of Jesus Christ (section 3).
3. More than six sections spoke exclusively of evangelism, which included also changing the religious allegiance of people.
4. The LC accepted that all people “have some knowledge of God through his general revelation in nature”. But, it denied, “that this can save”. Hence, by implication, all non-Christians must hear and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
5. LC advocated a “dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand”. But, if by dialogue it is implied “that Christ speaks equally through all religions and ideologies”, then, the LC argued, it was “derogatory to Christ and the Gospel”. The ultimate goal of a Christian, according to the LC, was not “dialoguing” but “reaching”, and “persuading” non-Christians, to come to Christ.
6. LC, an interdenominational effort, has made inroads into many of the individual protestant denominations. A good example is the “Anglican Essentials Movement” of Canada and their Montreal Declaration of 1994. Refer to: http://anglicanessentials.ca/about.htm
Also see: http://www.stpaulshalifax.org/Essentials.html

To make things easy for you I have copied the entire “Lausanne Covenant” below:

INTRODUCTION

We, members of the Church of Jesus Christ from more than 150 nations, participants in the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne, praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the gospel is God's good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ's commission to proclaim it to every person and to make disciples of every nation. We desire, therefore, to affirm our faith and our resolve, and to make public our covenant.

1. THE PURPOSE OF GOD

We affirm our belief in the one eternal God, Creator and Lord of the world, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to the purpose of his will. He has been calling out from the world a people for himself, and sending his people back into the world to be his servants and his witnesses, for the extension of his kingdom, the building up of Christ's body, and the glory of his name. We confess with shame that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission, by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it. Yet we rejoice that even when borne by earthen vessels the gospel is still a precious treasure. To the task of making that treasure known in the power of the Holy Spirit we desire to dedicate ourselves anew.

Isa. 40:28; Matt. 28:19; Eph. 1:11; Acts 15:14; John 27:6,18; Eph. 4:12, Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 5:10; 2 Cor 4:72

2. THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE BIBLE

We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written word of God, without error in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the power of God's word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. The message of the bible is addressed to all men and women. For God's revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God's people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole Church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God.

2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Isa. 55:fl; Rom. 1:16i 1 Cor. 1:21; John 10:35; Matt 5:17-18; Jude3; Eph. 1:17-18

3. THE UNIQUENESS AND UNIVERSALITY OF CHRIST

We affirm that there is only one Savior and only one gospel, although there is a wide diversity of evangelistic approaches. We recognize that everyone has some knowledge of God through his general revelation in nature. But we deny that this can save, for people suppress the truth by their unrighteousness. We also reject as derogatory to Christ and the gospel every kind of syncretism and dialog which implies that Christ speaks equally through all religions and ideologies. Jesus Christ, being himself the only God-man, who gave himself as the only ransom for sinners, is the only mediator between God and people. There is no other name by which we must be saved. All men and women are perishing because of sin, but God loves everyone, not wishing that any should perish but that all should repent. Yet those who reject Christ repudiate the joy of salvation and condemn themselves to eternal separation from God. To proclaim Jesus as "the Savior of the world" is not to affirm that all people are either automatically or ultimately saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God's love for a world of sinners and to invite everyone to respond to him as Savior and Lord in the wholehearted personal commitment of repentance and faith. Jesus Christ has been exalted above every other name; we long for the day when every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess him Lord.

Gal. 1:6-9; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Tim 2:5,6; Acts 4:12, John 3:16-19; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Thes. 1:7-9; John 4:42; Matt. 11:28; Eph. 1:20-21; Phil. 2:9-11

4. THE NATURE OF EVANGELISM

To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sin and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is that kind of dialog whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church and responsible service in the world.

1 Cor. 15:34; Acts 2:32-39; John 20:21; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:11,20; Luke 14:25-33; Mark 8:34; Acts 2:40,47; Mark 10:43-45

5. CHRISTIAN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression. Because men and women are made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, color, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he or she should be respected and served, not exploited. Here too we express penitence both for our neglect and for having sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with other people is not reconciliation with God, nor is social action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation, nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and socio-political involvement are both part of our Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of our doctrines of God and man, our love for our neighbor and our obedience to Jesus Christ. The message of salvation implies also a message of judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again, into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.

Acts 17:26,31; Gen. 18:25; Ps. 45:7; Isa. 1:17, Gen. 1:26-27, Lev. 19:18; Luke 6:27,35; James 3:9; John 3:3,5; Matt 5:20; Matt. 6:33; 2 Cor. 3:18; James 2:14-26

6. THE CHURCH AND EVANGELISM

We affirm that Christ sends his redeemed people into the world as the Father sent him, and that this calls for a similar deep and costly penetration of the world. We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christian society. In the Church's mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary. World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very center of God's cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading the gospel. But a church which preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things including promotion and finance. The church is the community of God's people rather than an institution, and must not be identified with any particular culture, social or political system, or human ideology.

John 17:18; 20:21; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 20:27; Eph. 1:9-10; 3:9-11; Gal. 6:14,17; 2 Cor. 6:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:19-21; Phil. 1:27

7. COOPERATION IN EVANGELISM

We affirm that the Church's visible unity in truth is God's purpose. Evangelism also summons us to unity, because our oneness strengthens our witness, just as our disunity undermines our gospel of reconciliation. We recognize, however, that organizational unity may take many forms and does not necessarily forward evangelism. Yet we who share the same biblical faith should be closely united in fellowship, work and witness. We confess that our testimony has sometimes been marred by sinful individualism and needless duplication. We pledge ourselves to seek a deeper unity in truth, worship, holiness and mission. We urge the development of regional and functional cooperation for the furtherance of the Church's mission, for strategic planning, for mutual encouragement, and for the sharing of resources and experience.

Eph. 4:34, John 17:21,23; 13:35; Phil. 1:27

8. CHURCHES IN EVANGELISTIC PARTNERSHIP

We rejoice that a new missionary era has dawned. The dominant role of western missions is fast disappearing. God is raising up from the younger churches a great new resource for world evangelization, and is thus demonstrating that the responsibility to evangelize belongs to the whole body of Christ. All churches should therefore be asking God and themselves what they should be doing both to reach their own area and to send missionaries to other parts of the world. A reevaluation of our missionary responsibility and role should be continuous. Thus a growing partnership of churches will develop and the universal character of Christ's Church will be more clearly exhibited. We also thank God for agencies which labor in bible translation, theological education, the mass media, Christian literature, evangelism, missions, church renewal and other specialist fields. They too should engage in constant self-examination to evaluate their effectiveness as part of the Church's mission.

Rom. 1:8; Phil 1:5; 4:15; Acts 13:1-3; 1 Thes. 1:6-8

9. THE URGENCY OF THE EVANGELISTIC TASK
More than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be evangelized. We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and to the whole Church. There is now, however, in many parts of the world an unprecedented receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are convinced that this is the time for churches and para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the salvation of the unreached and to launch new efforts to achieve world evangelization. A reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an evangelized country may sometimes be necessary to facilitate the national church's growth in self-reliance and to release resources for unevangelized areas. Missionaries should flow ever more freely from and to all six continents in a spirit of humble service. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and receive the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple life-style in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.

Mark 16:15; John 9:4; Matt. 9:35-38; Isa. 58:6-7; James 2:1-9; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; James 1:27, Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-35

10. EVANGELISM AND CULTURE

The development of strategies for world evangelization calls for imaginative pioneering methods. Under God, the result will be the rise of churches deeply rooted in Christ and closely related to their culture. Culture must always be tested and judged by Scripture. Because men and women are God's creatures, some of their culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because they are fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic. The gospel does not presuppose the superiority of any culture to another, but evaluates all cultures according to its own criteria of truth and righteousness, and insists on moral absolutes in every culture. Missions have all too frequently exported with the gospel an alien culture and churches have sometimes been in bondage to culture rather than to Scripture. Christ's evangelists must humbly seek to empty themselves of all but their personal authenticity in order to become the servants of others, and churches must seek to transform and enrich culture, all for the glory of God.

Mark 7:8-9,13; Gen. 4:21-22; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Phil. 2:5-7; 2 Cor. 4:5

11. EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP

We confess that we have sometimes pursued church growth at the expense of church depth, and divorced evangelism from Christian nurture. We also acknowledge that some of our missions have been too slow to equip and encourage national leaders to assume their rightful responsibilities. Yet we are committed to indigenous principles, and long that every church will have national leaders who manifest a Christian style of leadership in terms not of domination but of service. We recognize that there is a great need to improve theological education, especially for church leaders. In every nation and culture there should be an effective training program for pastors and laity in doctrine, discipleship, evangelism, nurture and service. Such training programs should not rely on any stereotyped methodology but should be developed by creative local initiatives according to biblical standards.

Col. 1:27-28; Acts 14:23; Titus 1.5,9; Mark 10:4245; Eph. 4:11-12

12. SPIRITUAL CONFLICT

We believe that we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the principalities and powers of evil, who are seeking to overthrow the Church and frustrate its task of world evangelization. We know our need to equip ourselves with God's armor and to fight this battle with the spiritual weapons of truth and prayer. For we detect the activity of our enemy, not only in false ideologies outside the Church, but also inside it in false gospels which twist Scripture and put people in the place of God. We need both watchfulness and discernment to safeguard the biblical gospel. We acknowledge that we ourselves are not immune to worldliness of thought and action, that is, to a surrender to secularism. For example, although careful studies of church growth, both numerical and spiritual, are right and valuable, we have sometimes neglected them. At other times, desirous to ensure a response to the gospel, we have compromised our message, manipulated our hearers through pressure techniques, and become unduly preoccupied with statistics or even dishonest in our use of them. All this is worldly. The Church must be in the world; the world must not be in the Church.

Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 4:3-4, Eph. 6:11,13-18; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; 1 John 2:18-26; 4:1-3; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4.2; John 17.15

13. FREEDOM AND PERSECUTION

It is the God-appointed duty of every government to secure conditions of peace, justice and liberty in which the Church may obey God, serve the Lord Christ, and preach the gospel without interference. We therefore pray for the leaders of the nations and call upon them to guarantee freedom of thought and conscience, and freedom to practice and propagate religion in accordance with the will of God and as set forth in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We also express our deep concern for all who have been unjustly imprisoned, and especially for those who are suffering for their testimony to the Lord Jesus. We promise to pray and work for their freedom. At the same time we refuse to be intimidated by their fate. God helping us, we too will seek to stand against injustice and to remain faithful to the gospel, whatever the cost. We do not forget the warnings of Jesus that persecution is inevitable.

1 Tim. 2:1-4; Col. 3:24; Acts 4:19; 5:29; Heb. 13:1-3; Luke 4:18; Gal. 5:11; 6:12, Matt.
5:10-12, John 15:18-21

14. THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father sent his Spirit to bear witness to his Son; without his witness ours is futile. Conviction of sin, faith in Christ, new birth and Christian growth are all his work. Further, the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit; thus evangelism should arise spontaneously from a Spirit-filled church. A church that is not a missionary church is contradicting itself and quenching the Spirit. Worldwide evangelization will become a realistic possibility only when the Spirit renews the church in truth and wisdom, faith, holiness, love and power. We therefore call upon all Christians to pray for such a visitation of the sovereign Spirit of God that all his fruit may appear in all his people and that all his gifts may enrich the body of Christ. Only then will the whole Church become a fit instrument in his hands, that the whole earth may hear his voice.

Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 2:4; John 15:26-27; John 16:8-11; 2 Cor. 12:3; John 3:6-8; 2 Cor. 3:18; John 7:37-39; 1 Thes. 5:19; Ps. 85:4-7; Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; Ps. 67:1-3

15. THE RETURN OF CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, in power and glory, to consummate his salvation and his judgment. This promise of his coming is a further spur to our evangelism, for we remember his words that the gospel must first be preached to all nations. We believe that the interim period between Christ's ascension and return is to be filled with the mission of the people of God, who have no liberty to stop before the end. We also remember his warning that false Christs and false prophets will arise as precursors of the final Antichrist. We therefore reject as a proud, self-confident dream the notion that people can ever build a utopia on earth. Our Christian confidence is that God will perfect his kingdom, and we look forward with eager anticipation to that day, and to the new heaven and earth in which righteousness will dwell and God will reign forever. Meanwhile, we rededicate ourselves to the service of Christ and of people in joyful submission to his authority over the whole of our lives.

Mark 14:62; Heb. 9:28; Mark 13:10; Matt. 28:20; Acts 1:8-11; Mark 13:21-23; 1 John 2:18; 4:1-3; Luke 12:32; Rev. 21:1-5; 2 Peter 3:13; Matt. 2818

CONCLUSION

Therefore, in the light of this our faith and our resolve, we enter into a solemn covenant with God and with each other, to pray, to plan and to work together for the evangelization of the whole world. We call upon others to join us. May God help us by his grace and for his glory to be faithful to this our covenant! Amen, Alleluia!

Source: http://www.elijahscave.org/Lausanne_Covenant.pdf

Question to Explore:

Critique the exclusive spirit expressed in the “Lausanne Covenant” issued in 1974.