Islam

Religion, History,

Philosophy, Culture

IMAGES OF ISLAM

The Ka’ba Stone (above)Entrance to Jamé Mosque, IranCrescent Moon symbol (disputed) There are more than 2,000 mosques in the United States

“Islam” as a word,and its cognates

• Semitic languages work by building cognates from consonantal groupings

• The s-l-m group in Arabic gives

• I-S-L-a-M = Submission (to God)

• M-u-S-L-i-M = One who submits (to God)

• S-a-L-a-a-M = Peace (that comes when one submits to God) - cognate with Hebrew “Shalom”

Prophet Muhammad’s Arabia

• This map shows the relation of Medina and Mecca. • Note the very few relief features on the map

Key Figures in Early Islam: Muhammad

• Muhammad - 570-632 - a human being, chosen by God as a prophet. Talented businessman and devout seeker after truth prior to receiving the revelation of the Qur’an. Never learns to read and write, but highly skilled in oral tradition.

Key Figures in Early Islam: Women in Muhammad’s Life

• Khadijah - 555-619 - Muhammad’s first wife, first woman convert to Islam. Had confidence in her husband’s abilities, and heard the message to submit to God

• A ’isha - 614-678 - Muhammad’s youngest and favorite wife at the time of his death; famous for speaking forthrightly to him

• Fatima - 605-633 - Muhammad and Khadijah’s daughter, wife of ‘Ali, mother of Hasan and Hussain

Key Figures in Early Islam: The Rightly Guided Caliphs

• These men were all companions of the Prophet; ‘Ali was Muhammad’s cousin

• Abu Bakr - 572-634 - among first five converts; a wealthy, respected man

• Umar - 596-644 - like Paul in Christianity, opposed Islam before his conversion

• Uthman - 579-656 - member of Umayya family, a prominent Meccan convert

• ‘Ali - 599-661 - cousin of the prophet, of special importance to Shi’a Islam

Sura 96, 1-5: Initial Revelation

1. Recite, in the name of Thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created -

2. Created man, out of a clot of congealed blood

3. Proclaim! And the Lord is Most Bountiful, -

4. He Who taught the use of the Pen, -

5. Taught man that which he knew not.

Sura 96, 6-7, 14-16, 19:Humanity’s Insubordination

6. Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds.

7. In that he looks upon himself as self-sufficient.

14. Knows he not that God does see?

15. Let him beware! If he desist not, We will Drag him by the forelock

16. A lying, sinful forelock!

19. Nay, heed him (man) not: But bow down in adoration, And bring yourself the closer to God.

Sura 2: 255Philosophic Characteristics of God

255. God! There is no god but God,—the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they (creatures) compass aught of His knowledge except as He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. For he is Most High, the Supreme.

Sura 108: 1-3Kauthar: The Abundance

1. To you have We granted the Fount of Abundance2. Therefore to your Lord turn in prayer and sacrifice.3. For he who hates you,—He will be cut off (from Future

Hope)

This sura, a very early one, may have been occasioned by non-believing opponents of Muhammad who mocked the death of two of his infant sons. God’s abundance is asserted in the face of tragedy, and the self-destroying hatred of those who ridicule others, is simultaneously affirmed.

Peoples of the BookThe Three Abrahamic, Monotheistic Religions -

Judaism Christianity Islam

- share many structural cosmological similarities, such as a) revelation received from b) a monotheistic God who c) acts in history through d) individuals (prophets) and e) historical events (battles, governments, etc.)

Peoples of the BookThe Three Abrahamic, Monotheistic Religions -

Judaism Christianity Islam

- share so much revelation, mythology, ancestry, and structure that they can be called “Sibling religions.”

The Problem with the word “Sibling”

…is that the word that comes most quickly to mind is “Rivalry” - and, indeed, Judaism, Christianity and Islam share aspects of Sibling Rivalry, most prominently the question of who is best loved by the Big Parent

Peoples of the Book

The Three Abrahamic, Monotheistic Religionsand their forms of revelation:

Judaism Christianity Islam

Torah Jesus Qur’an (as recorded in New Testament)

Peoples of the Book

Judaism – Torah (first five books of Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

The three religions appropriate each others’ revelations sequentially

Peoples of the Book

Judaism – Torah (first five books of Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

Christianity – Life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament, plus the “Old Testament” corrected by “The New Law”

The three religions appropriate each others’ revelations sequentially

Peoples of the Book

Judaism – Torah (first five books of Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

Christianity – Life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament, plus the “Old Testament” corrected by “The New Law”

Islam – The Qur’an is a direct revelation from God, but the Torah and the New Testament were also revelation, albeit they are riddled with human error (corrected by the Qur’an)

The three religions appropriate each others’ revelations sequentially

Sura 5: 47-51Sequence of Revelations

47. We have revealed the Torah, in which there is guidance and light. By it the prophets who surrendered themselves (to God) judged the Jews… Have no fear of man; fear Me, and do not sell My revelations for a paltry end….

49. After them We sent forth Jesus…confirming the Torah already revealed, and gave him the Gospel, in which there is guidance and light…

51. And to you We have revealed the Book with the truth. It confirms the Scriptures which came before it…

Sura 5:4Final Revelation, and God’s Mercy

4. The unbelievers have this day abandoned all hope of vanquishing your religion. Have no fear of them: fear Me.

This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favour to you. I have chosen Islam to be your faith.

He that is constrained by hunger to eat of what is forbidden, not intending to commit sin, will find God forgiving and merciful. (Yusuf Ali translation: “Oft-forgiving, Most merciful”)

Sura 5:16-18People of the Book and the Qur’an

16. People of the Book! Our apostle has come to reveal to you much of what you have hidden of the Scriptures, and to forgive you much.

17. A light has come to you from God and a glorious Book (the Qur’an),

18. with which God will guide to the paths of peace those that seek to please Him; He will lead them by His will from darkness to the light; He will guide them to a straight path.

Sura 5: 119Jesus Speaks of Submission to God

119. Then God will say: “Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever say to mankind: ‘Worship me and my mother as gods beside God?’”

“Glory to You,” he will answer, “how could I ever say that to which I have no right? If I had ever said so, You would have surely known it. You know what is in my mind, but I know not what is in Yours. You alone know what is hidden.”

Sura 5: 120-121Jesus Speaks of Submission to God

(Jesus continues)

120. “I told them only what You bade me. I said: ‘Serve God, my Lord and your Lord.’ I watched over them while living in their midst, and ever since You took me to Yourself. You have been watching over them. You are the witness of all things.

121. If You punish them, they surely are Your servants; and it You forgive them, surely You are mighty and wise.”

Sura 97: 1-5Qadr: The Night of Power

1. We have indeed revealed this in the Night of Power:

2. And what will explain to you what the Night of Power is?

3. The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.

4. Therein comes down the angels and the Spirit by God’s permission, on every errand:

5. Peace! . . . This until the rise of Morn!

Sura 113: 1-5Falaq: The Dawn

1. Say: I seek refuge with Lord of the Dawn

2. From the mischief of created things;

3. From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads;

4. From the mischief of those who practise Secret Arts (magic);

5. And from the mischief of the envious one as he practices envy.

Sura 2: 256-257Religious Co-existence

256. Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.

257. God is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness.

Hadith: Using the Prophet’s Sayings and

Examples as Paradigmatic• While all Muslims agree that Muhammad

was a human being, not a god, they also maintain that he lived as righteously as possible.

• Hadith is a category of Muslim writings that record sayings and actions of the Prophet.

• They are attested to by chains of verifications

Hadith Chains: Legitimating Communication

• An example of a hadith chain can be found in Ishaq’s biography of Muhammad:

• “The apostle was ordered to pray and so he prayed. Salih ibn Kaisan from Urwa ibn al-Zubayr from A’isha told me that she said…”

• Muslim legalists retain biographical information and character-witness information on individuals involved in hadith chains, in order to judge the relative merit and likelihood of any given hadith.

Muhammad loved his cat, Muezza

• An official hadith concerning treatment of a cat, from Volume 3, Book 40, Number 553: Narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (the second Caliph):

• Allah's Apostle said, "A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger." Allah's Apostle further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), 'You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth."

Muhammad loved his cat, Muezza

• There are legends concerning Muhammad and Muezza. These stories are shared among Muslims, but lack the canonical status of hadith

• For instance, Muhammad, when giving a sermon at home, would hold Muezza on his lap

• Once, when call for prayers was sounded, Muezza had fallen asleep on Muhammad’s sleeve; he cut the sleeve in order to get up, rather than wake the feline.

• And yes, Muezza was (reputedly) a tabby.

The History of Islam

Success, Expansion, Empire

The Question of Piety and Society

Islam’s

Schizophrenia• Muhammad had

success in three realms– Religious

– Political/Civic

– Military

• Thus Islam has never known whether these three areas are co-extensive with each other, or logically separable.

• Split of Sunni and Shi’i falls on this fault line

• Existence of, and debate over, Sufism also follows these tensions as well

• Current debates within Wahhabism, in the 2011 uprisings, etc. can be understood thus too

Expansion of Islam610-710

• Above, growth through 660

• Right, growth through 710

After Muhammad: The Rightly Guided Caliphs

• These men were all companions of the Prophet; ‘Ali was Muhammad’s cousin

• Abu Bakr - r. 632-634 - assured that Islam would put God first, not Muhammad

• Umar - r. 634-644 - Established many of the administrative facilities of early Islam

• Uthman - r. 644-656 - favored his Umayya family, chosen because he was weak

• ‘Ali - r. 656-661 - growing Muslim empire created discord that made his caliphate fail

Splits within the Ummah

• Shi’ite Muslims belief the Arab principle of family lineage should have made ‘Ali the first caliph, as he was related to the prophet, and his children by Fatimah are direct descendents of Muhammad

• Sunni Islam, reacting to the growth of the Muslim Empire, established the principle of a separation between human judgment and divine judgment

Splits within the Ummah

• Shi’ite Islam maintains that there are hidden Imams in every generation. They are ever in danger of being persecuted, as the righteous are always persecuted in this world.

• Sunni Islam separated the spiritual unity of the Muslim ummah from the political nation-states under Islam (much as the European nations and the Holy Roman Empire did in Christianity)

Splits within the Ummah

• Shi’ite Islam predominates in the areas around modern-day Iran and southern Iraq

• Shi’ite Islam is institutionally established by the end of the 7th century

• Sunni Islam predominated in the areas of North Africa, Arabia, and the former Byzantine empire.

• Its formation was not complete prior to the ninth century

• Sunnah refers to the “path” of the Prophet