Part 2

The Qu’ran

The Five Pillars of Islam © 2008 George E. Blanford Jr.

Remember that we are outsiders. Islam can never mean as much to us as it does to believers

For 14 centuries Islam has spiritually nourished hundreds of millions of people, giving them a way of life and a way to finding meaning in life, achieving holiness and encountering the Transcendent Islam has produced saints, mystics, artists and beauty

Islam is practiced across a large spectrum of cultures, geographies and languages Whereas the essentials of Islam may be the same across time and space, it

is a living religion that shows differences across time, cultures and geographies

The Qur’an is the considered the literal word of God revealed to Muhammad by Gibra’il (Gabriel) One would not quote the Qur’an beginning,

“Muhammad says . . .”

The Qur’an is considered a miracle (Muhammad did not perform miracles—the Qur’an was the witness to his legitimacy as a prophet)

The Qur’an is God’s guide to humanity and Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets (2:185, 3:3, 33.40)

To those who question its authenticity, the Qur'an challenges them to produce a Surah like that of the Qur’an (2:23,10:37-38, 11:13, 52:33-34)

Artistic Giant Qur’an

Even though 85% of Muslims do not speak Arabic, it is the language they believe that God spoke to reveal it Translations are considered interpretations and are

inherently inferior to the Arabic Qur’an

During prayers, the Qur’an is always recited in Arabic following complicated rules (tajwid)

Hearing the sound of the Qur’an is a deep and powerful religious experience for Muslims

The Qur’an has content, but, to a Muslim, it is a book with power beyond what it says

A Qur’an from Andalusia

The Qur’an is written in rhymed prose (saj’u) This imposes a restraint on the language that makes the Qur’an

elliptical, i.e., a lot must be assumed before one can understand the text

A tension exists between the meaning of the words and their sounds—both are important in a way that is foreign to us

The Blue Qur’an

The Qur’an is ~ the size of the New Testament with 114 Sura (chapters) The Sura are roughly arranged by size and not

in the order of their revelation

Each Surah, except 9, begins with the bismilla

Muhammad received the revelation and then he recited it to his followers who memorized it It is considered a virtue to memorize the

Qur’an

Smaller Surah were often revealed in their entirety whereas longer Surah were more often revealed piecemeal

Copies of the Qur’an are often produced with the text centered on the page and commentary written around it. Explanatory notes, especially of the historical setting of the revelation, and meanings of words are often included

Muslims very early developed an elaborate and detailed method of interpreting the Qur’an

One interpretation technique is naskh or abrogation which Westerners question

Surah 4:82 indicates that there is no discrepancy in the Qur’an because a divine book cannot be self-contradictory

Faced with the fact that some verses are not compatible with each other, a later verse is declared to be nasikh (abrogating) and the earlier verse to be mansukh (abrogated)

Example: 4:10-11, which gives detailed instructions on apportioning inheritances, abrogates 2:180, which regulates inheritances in a general way

A Qur’an from Syria

Each Surah has a traditional name Examples with animal names: “The

Cow,” “The Spider,” “The Ant” Examples with names of Biblical

people: “Jonah,” “Joseph,” “Abraham,” “Mary”

Often, but not always, the name is suggested by the opening line of the Surah

The Surah may not deal with the topic of the title

A Qur’an from Egypt

Stories about biblical persons are often different from those in the Bible This led to early disagreements with

Jews Denial of the divinity and sonship of

Jesus Christ and even the fact of his crucifixion has led to contention with Christians

To a Muslim, the Qur’an, God’s direct revelation, always takes precedence over other sources

A Qur’an with Large Calligraphy

1. Sheheda or Creed

2. Salat or Prayer

3. Zakat or Almsgiving

4. Sawm, the Fast of Ramadan

5. Hajj or Pilgrimage to Mecca

The pillars of Islam are practices considered essential for every Muslim

Professing the sheheda before an adult witness makes one a Muslim—it is an act of profession and submission

Part 1 God is radically one (tawhid)—utterly unique, single, and

transcendent The unpardonable sin of Islam is idolatry (shirk) (4:48) It is a grave sin for a Muslim to associate anything with God

Belief in the Trinity is considered unbelief (5:73) Jesus cannot be the Son because then he would be in partnership with

God (4:171)

There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of God

Part 2 Muhammad is human and only human

Muslims disapprove of any portrayal of the Prophet

Calling a Muslim a “Muhammadan” is offensive—they submit to God, not Muhammad

Muslims have a tremendous devotion to the Prophet

He is the perfect model of what a human life should be

His words, deeds, practices, likes and dislikes have been gathered to provide a path by which a Muslim can walk in righteousness

After pronouncing his name, a pious Muslim will add, “Peace be upon him.”

Insulting Muhammad is a grave sin punishable by death in many countries

They expect those in dialogue with them to be respectful of Muhammad

In general, Muslims oppose portrayals of people in art and prefer decorative calligraphy

instead

Not prayer in general, but the obligatory prayer said five times a day by every healthy adult Muslim

Times Dawn (fajr)—2 rakat

Noon (zuhr)—4 rakat

Afternoon (‘asr)—4 rakat

Sunset (maghrib)—3 rakat

Night (‘isha)—4 rakat

Announced by a muezzin (mu_adhdhin) He calls allahu akbar “God is most great” followed by the

sheheda with slight variations for the time of day

Casablanca Mosque with the Muezzin’s Tower or Minaret

In 620, Muhammad mystically traveled to Jerusalem and from there to God’s throne in heaven

As he ascended to the throne, he met Jesus and other prophets of Israel

God told him that Muslim’s were to pray 50 times a day

On the way down, he met Moses. Moses told him that 50 times was too much and he should ask God for a lower number

He did this several times until the number was reduced to 5 times a day

Even though Moses thought this was still too large, Muhammad was too embarrassed to go back to God again so the number was fixed at 5

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem—the place where

Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is on the site of the ancient Temple

Before salat, there is a ritual washing of hands, feet, face and head

The believer must make a conscious intention to pray in fulfillment of the obligation

Each rakah begins with allahu akbar and ends with a kiss of peace (assalam ‘aleikum)

Prayer consists in recitations from the Qur’an— some aloud and others in a whisper, with bows and prostrations

The first recitation is the opening Surah, the al-Fatiha

On Fridays, there is also a sermon at the noon prayer

Communal prayer takes place in a mosque (masjid), but the prayers can be performed anywhere

Imams lead prayers Imam literally means “the one up front” There are preaching imams (educated) and

non-preaching imams

In addition to the obligatory prayers, Muslims have a rich tradition of other personal prayers and devotions One of the more common devotions is the

recitation of the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God—often with a circular string of beads (subha) similar to the Rosary

A subha

All Muslims are required to give a certain percentage of their goods to the poor

There are four schools of jurisprudence that have different ways of calculating the percentage

Traditionally, the zakat is given at the Feast of ‘Eid al-Fitr which breaks the Fast of Ramadan

Sawm is the solemn fast of the holy month of Ramadan The fast is between sunrise and sunset each day of the month

Forbidden are

Eating

Drinking

Smoking

Sexual activity

After sunset the fast is broken (iftar) and normal activity may resume

Not penitential but focused on self-discipline and re-dedication

Pilgrimage to Mecca with accompanying rites Required once in the

lifetime of every Muslim who is physically and financially able

Once performed, a Muslim has the title al-Hajji or al-Hajjiya Great Mosque of Mecca (al Masjid al Haram) during

Hajj facing the King Fahd Gate

The Hajj predates Islam The Quraysh tribe maintained a polytheistic shrine

that was a significant source of income

The site (the Holy Sanctuary of the Great Mosque ) commemorates Abraham, Ishmael and Hagar The Ka’aba is built around the Black Stone found by

Abraham and Ishmael

The Black Stone came from heaven (it is probably a meteorite)

The Well of Zamzam is where Hagar found water for Ishmael after being sent to the desert

The sacrifice of ‘Eid ul Adha commemorates Abraham’s sacrifice of a sheep after being willing to sacrifice Ishmael

Rites—solemn version (Ihram) on 8 Dhu al-Hijjah Bathe and put on the white pilgrimage

vestments in the prescribed manner

Tawaf (circumabulation of the Ka’aba)

Enter the Holy Sanctuary of the Great Mosque preferably through the Bab-as-Salam gate

Recite prescribed prayers

When you reach the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad), begin circumambulation of the Ka’aba

Man in ihram dress

Rites—8 Dhu al-Hijjah continued

Tawaf –continued

Express your intention to make tawaf (niyyah)

Kiss, touch or point to the Black Stone

Circumambulate the Ka’aba 7 times with the Ka’aba on your left

Stop at the Place of Abraham (Makam Ibrahim), face the Ka’aba and recite prayers

The Black Stone

Rites—8 Dhu al-Hijjah continued Sa’y (shuttling between two small

hills, Safa and Marwah)

The rite commemorates Hagar searching for water for her son, Ishmael

Proceed to Safa

Say appropriate prayers then walk /run to Marwah and say prayers

Repeat 7 times

Walk to Mina and camp for the night

Begin gathering stones

Rites—9 Dhu al-Hijjah Pray morning prayer and

walk to Arafat Attend the sermon at

Namirah Mosque Perform Wuquf—stand

praying to Allah while facing Mecca

Before sunset, walk to Muzdalifah and camp Gather more stones (need

70)

Mecca (Makkah) to Arafat is ~6.5 miles

Rites—10 Dhu al-Hijjah Pray morning prayer and walk to

Mina

Stone the pillar representing the devil

The act of stoning the pillar commemorates Abraham’s resistance to the devil’s temptations by stoning him and driving him away

Perform the sacrifice of ‘Eid ul Adha. Give uneaten meat to the poor

Men shave their heads and women clip their hair

Bathe and change to normal clothes

Mecca (Makkah) to Arafat is ~6.5 miles

Rites—10 Dhu al-Hijjah continued Return to Mecca and

perform Tawaf al-Ifadha and Sa’y

Drink water from the Well of Zamzam

Return to Mina The Great Mosque of Mecca

Rites—11-13 Dhu al-Hijjah

May stay up to 3 days

Each day you stone other pillars

Hajj is completed with a farewell Tawaf in Mecca