a brief look into the history of islamic culture

8/13/2019 A Brief Look Into the History of Islamic Culture

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2013

Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais - CEAO

Adelson S. de Brito

[A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture ]

A brief paper on the main aspects studied during the development of the course“Islamic Culture and History”, a short term course by Prof. Dr. Angela Lano held atCEAO from May through July 2013 at CEAO.



A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture

By Professor Adelson S. de Brito 2013.2

Dedication

I dedicate this paper to the Palestinian people scattered through the world in a simillarway to what was done to my African brothers and sisters in the African Diaspora





CEAO - Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais

Pç. Inocêncio Galvão, 42, Largo Dois de Julho - CEP 40025-010. Salvador - Bahia -Brasil

Tel. (0xx71) 3322-6742 / Fax (0xx71) 3322-8070 - E-mail: [email protected] - Site:www.ceao.ufba.br

Curso: Islã Culturas e História


Professor: Dr. Angela Lano

A brief look into the History of Islamic Culture: A brief course conclusion paper

By Adelson S; de Brito

August 5, 2013

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.ceao.ufba.br/








Summary

Topic page

1. Introduction

2. Fundamental concepts in Islam

3. Meaning of the terms "Islam" and "Muslim"

4. Where was Islam born

5. The Pillars of faith / belief and the Pillars of worship /adoration

6. The Caliphs rashidun / the rightly guided

7. The fitna the Civil War

8. The differences between Sunnis and Shiites

9. The sources of Muslim law and ijtihad

10. What is the Golden Age of Islam?





1. Introduction

I have developed a special interest in Islamic studies after my broader interest in

African and Eastern Cultures. In fact, when I was living in Japan (1991 – 2006) Iworked as a translator in a Honda infrastructure factory I was asked by one of theengineers from Pakistan: “Mr. Brito, why don’t you embrace the Islam?” Islam is amonotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the Qur'an — which Muslims consider theverbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad — and, with lesser authoritythan the Qur'an, the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditionalaccounts, called hadith ."Muslim" is an Arabic word meaning "one who submits toGod". At the time I simply delivered a lame explanation so to avoid going deep into thedetails of my difficulties towards embracing another official major religion out ofCatholicism. Cultural reasons keep me connected to Catholic world and maybe the chiefmotivation is the freedom I enjoy in it. This freedom that provides me the preciousopportunity to stay connected to my Primitive African Religions. In fact, I love theArabic culture so much that I have started studying Arabic language during myresidence period in Japan (I stayed in Japan from 1991 to 2006 and achieved the statusof permanent resident). From my Arabic studies I remember:

Welcome

(male and female forms) How are you doing?

Peace be upon you

Response

What is your name?

... My name is

And in fact, I saw in the present course an opportunity to come back in touchwith my early studies of Arabic language. And Internet has played its part and providedwritten Arabic texts and I am back trying to read phrases in Arabic.





I love the sound of Arabic language and I am fascinated by the muezzin chantssung during the call for prayers:

Recital Arabic Transliteration Translation [6]

4x Allahu Akbar Allah is greatest.

2x

Ash-had an- la ilāha illa llah I testify that there is none worthy ofworship except Allah.

2x

Ash-hadu annaMuhammadar- rasūlu llāh

I testify that Muhammad is theMessenger of Allah.

2x1 Ash-hadu anna Aliyan wali-ul-lah

I testify that Ali is the wali (viceregent) of Allah.

2x Hayya 'alas- salāh Hasten to the salat .

2x Hayya 'alal- falāh Hasten to success.

2x

Hayya 'ala khayr al amalThe time for the best of deeds hascome!

2x Allah-u Akbar Allah is greatest.

2x Lā ilāha illallāh There is none worthy of worshipexcept Allah.

2. The fundamental concepts in Islam

I use to develop researches through the World Web in many fields of interest Ikeep in life. I research on Physics (that is my main branch of activities), languages,

politics, etc. In the field of languages I develop a strong interest in the Arabic language.I wrote the phrase above using the resources in Google, but I shall stress an interesting

aspect phrase above: when I copy the word and I paste it directly in the phrase

that I am building it reads like . However, I insist to write the word God in the

classical Islamic way.So I work a lot in order to assemble the writing of the word God

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhan#cite_note-6


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhan#endnote_1



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wali










as it is written in the phrases throughout this paper : The fundamental concepts of Islamare:

1. Tawhid : Affirming belief in Divine Unity - the oneness of God;

2. Nubuwwah : Belief in the necessity of prophets to guide humanity;

3. M a'ad : Belief in resurrection to account for one’s deeds on t he Day of Judgment;

4. I mamah : Belief in the continuation of guidance through the line of Imams as rightlyguided successors of the Prophet;

5. 'Adl : Belief in the Divine Justice - the attribute that guarantees that all humans will betreated equally as G od’s creatures, and that all humans are endowed with the conscienceto distinguish the right from the wrong.

2.1. Tawheed - (Oneness of God)

The most fundamental aspect of all beliefs revolves around the total acceptanceof the Absolute and Perfect Creator. A Belief that God Almight is the Originator of allcauses and effects. He is the Only One, Ever living, Everlasting, Beneficent andMerciful. He has neither a colleague nor a partner and that there is none like Him. TheAlmighty God is Unique and is Absolute in the Absolute sense. No entity in HisUniverse can ever comprehend His true state and none should even bother to try for itwill lead to futility and insanity. Yet there is no doubt in any sane mind that Hisexistence precedes all and His presence is absolutely ubiquitous (ever present). Foranyone to say that God does not exist is a liar and a fool because such a person can

NEVER disprove His existence, whether scientifically or philosophically, or for thatmatter in any method known. Because He is Absolute and none is like Him, no one inthe relative world can ever physically define Him, and thus all idol worshippers andthose who ascribe a shape or a body to Him are wrong. Ascribing a shape to the Onewho is beyond our limited perceptions would be tantamount to lying and giving a false

appearance and a false representation. In addition, to believe that one can see God in the physical sense of sitting on a throne like some mythical being is certainly an untruestatement and should never be accepted.

2.2.'Adl - (Justice)

It is essentially a branch of Tawheed.It is the essence of the belief that God is Just and that He will reward or punish

any person according to his/her deeds and thus the notion of predestination (where all

decisions are God's and not anyone else's) in one's deeds does not exist. It is absolutelyforbidden in Islam to believe that the Almighty, Merciful Allah planned our destiny and





that the good and the bad are just His Will and there is no choice for us between them(God forbid!). Those who ascribe to such lies do so because they want to blame theirown evils on Allah and claim the good for themselves! Although the attribute of Allah'sJustice is not a separate entity of Allah for certainly the Almighty God can never becompartmentalized nor defined in any relative terms, it is nonetheless absolutelycompulsory to believe and fully understand the importance of this attribute in Islam.

2.3. Nubuwwat - (Prophethood)

Belief in the Prophets of God

The Prophets are those ones who excel all other persons. All prophets of Allah are perfect and sinless (ma'soom). Prophet Muhammad Mustafa is the last of the prophetssent by God

and the sealer of prophets for NO more are to come, EVER! The total number of prophets that were sent by God to mankind is 124,000 and every nation on earth wasgiven guidance through them. In fact, all major religions today on earth can be traced to

back to these divinely guided teachers as their original propagators of the Truth ofAllah. The best of His messengers all came from the same tree i.e. family lineage andmany of them are mentioned in The Holy Qur'an which describes who they were andwhat their mission on earth was. It is important to note that no prophet on earth evernegated or rejected any of the other divinely ordained prophets and thus their messagewas always the same and one in purpose. Each established the law of the One and OnlyGod and showed the way of life for humans to observe. From the very first creation ofmankind, there was always a prophet on earth which was Prophet Adam. This guidancefrom the Merciful Allah to establish His complete laws continued to the last ProphetMuhammad who exemplified the letters of the law in his most perfect behavior. He

completed and perfected the one and only True religion, Islam. With the revelation ofthe last Holy Book, the Qur'an, which is the most protected and perfect book of Godwith us, he established as part of his mission, every concievable and practical law formankind to follow in order to attain spiritual perfection. Great prophets such as Nuh(Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Ismail (Ishmael), Ishaaq (Isaac), Yaqoob (Jacob), Yusuf(Joseph), Dawood (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Musa (Moses), Yahya (John), and Isa(Jesus), - (Peace be upon them all) - all came from the one blessed lineage of ProphetAdamand ended with the last Messenger, Muhammad.

2.4. (Imamat - (Guidance)





Belief in the divinely appointed leadership after the death of the Holy Prophet

to protect and guide mankind with the revealed Truth, the Holy Qur'an and the true practices of the Holy Prophet himself. The roles of these leaders are an integral part inthe protection of all the Messengers and their divine Messages. The Almighty Allahappointed through the Holy Prophet himself, twelve Guides (Imams) to protect mankindfrom misrepresenting and misinterpreting the Truth. Belief in this is most important inIslam and no doubts about their positions should be allowed. They are indeed sinless(ma'soom) and perfect in the highest sense of the word. The Imams have directknowledge from God, and their verdict is the verdict of God. After the Holy Prophet,only they can interpret and guide mankind in every aspect of life and death and all

believers must acquire guidance from them or else they will certainly be lost. They do NOT bring any new laws nor do they ever innovate their own laws. They alwaysexempliy and elucidate the practical (Sunnah) and the written (the Holy Qur'an). It isalso important to note that they NEVER disagree with each other in their manners andduties nor in their representations of the Divine Laws. They are from the best and themost blessed and purified lineage of the last Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUT) andtheir names are as follows: (1) Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin and son-in-law ofthe Holy Prophet who called him his only brother in this world and in the next, (2)Imam Hasan son of Ali, (3) Imam Husain son of Ali, (4) Imam Ali son of Husain, (5)Imam Muhammad son of Ali, (6) Imam Ja'far son of Muhammad, (7) Imam Musa sonof Ja'far, (8) Imam Ali son of Musa, (9) Imam Muhammad son of Ali, (10) Imam Alison of Muhammad, (11) Imam Hasan son of Ali, and the last and living ImamMuhammad son of Hasan, the establisher of the Truth till the end of this world. There isno successor to the Twelfth Holy Imam Muhammad ibnul Hassan and he is LIVINGtoday but is in occultation and appears only to those who are most in need and to thosewho are most virtuous and pious. By the Command of Allah, he will reappear to allwhen he will establish true justice on earth and will rule mankind compassionately withutmost perfection as is the Will of the Almighty Allah. He will abolish the evilestablishments on earth and mankind will live under true guidance as should have been

many centuries ago!

2.5.Qiyaamat - (Resurrection)

Belief in the Day of Judgement when all human beings shall be raised from thedead and all their good and bad deeds shall be ultimately judged and recompensedaccordingly. This belief is most essential along with the belief in the One True God. TheDay of Judgement will prove to all in this Universe that the Almighty Allah is theCreator of all from nothing and is the Absolute Master. His divine presence shall bemost apparent on this important Day for all to witness. It is a judgement Dayfor Hiscreatures to know themselves and their relationship to the Creator Allah. Just as pursuit





for justice is inseparable in any society on earth, so is the Ultimate Day of Justiceinseparable for mankind.

3. Meaning of the words "Islam" and "Muslim"

The Arabic word 'Islam' simply means 'submission', and derives from a wordmeaning 'peace'. In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God.'Allah' is the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arabic-speaking Muslims, Jewsand Christians alike as the normal word for God. "Allah" is also used to refer to God byMuslims speaking other languages, including English. Arabic speaking Christians donot refer to God as 'Allah'. They refer to him as 'Yaweh'. The deep origin meaning ofYahweh and Allah are very different according to Jews and Christians.

A Muslim , also spelled Moslem is an adherent of Islam. Muslims believe that Allahis eternal, transcendent, absolutely one (see the tawhid , explained in section 2.1) andincomparable. Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version ofa primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including throughthe prophets Abraham, Moses and Jesus (Isa). Muslims maintain that previous messagesand revelations have been partially changed or corrupted over time, but consider theQur'an to be both unaltered and the final revelation from God — Final Testament. MostMuslims accept as a Muslim anyone who has publicly pronounced the Shahadah (declaration of faith) which states, "I testify that there is no god except for the God, andI testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God."

In addition to the belief that Muhammad is the Seal of the Prophets and the final prophet Muslims basic religious practices are enumerated in the Five Pillars of Islam(see section 5)

The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being over 75 – 90% of all Muslims The secondlargest sect, Shia, makes up 10 – 20%. The most populous Muslim-majority country is

Indonesia home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims followed by Pakistan (11.0%),Bangladesh (9.2%), and Egypt (4.9%). Sizable minorities are also found in India, ChinaRussia, Ethiopia, Americas, Australia and parts of Europe. Islam comprises about 1.8

billion followers or 26% of earth's population to be is the second-largest and one of thefastest-growing religions in the world.

4. Where was Islam born ?

In pre-Islamic Arabia Arab people lived on the Arabian Plate. In the south of Hedjaz(principal religious and commercial centre of post-classical Arabia), the Arabic tribe ofQuraysh (Adnani Arabs), to which Muhammad belonged, had been in existence. Near





Mecca, the tribe was increasing in power. The Quraysh were the guardians of the Kaabawithin the town of Mecca and was the dominant tribe of Mecca upon the appearance ofIslam. The Kaaba, at the time, was used as an important pagan shrine. It broughtrevenues to Mecca because of the multitude of pilgrims that it attracted. Muhammadwas born into the Banu Hashim tribe of the Quraysh clan, a branch of the Banu Kinanahtribe, descended from Khuzaimah and derived its inheritance from the Khuza'imah(House of Khuza'a). According to the traditional Islamic view, the Qur'an (Koran)

began with revelations to Muhammad (when he was 40 years old) in 610. The history ofthe Qur'an began when its verses were revealed to the Sahabah during Muhammad'slife. The rise of Islam began around the time Muslims took flight in the Hijra , movingto Medina. With Islam, blood feuds among the Arabs lessened. Compensation was paidin money rather than blood and only the culprit was executed. In 628, the Makkah tribe

of Quraish and the Muslim community in Medina signed a truce called the Treaty ofHudaybiyya beginning a ten-year period of peace. War returned when the Quraish andtheir allies, the tribe of 'Bakr', attacked the tribe of 'Khuza'ah', who were Muslim allies.In 630, Muslims conquered Mecca. Muhammad died in June 632. The Battle ofYamama was fought in December of the same year, between the forces of the firstcaliph Abu Bakr and Musailima.

The Islamic state and Muslim's system of government evolved through variousstages.The precise dates of various periods in history are more or less arbitrary. TheCity-state period lasted from 620s to 630s. The Imperial period lasted from 630s to750s. The Universal period lasted from 750s to around 900s. These correspond to theearly period of post-classical history. The "Decentralization" period lasted from around900s to the early 1500s. This correspond to the high period and late period of post-classical history. The "Fragmentation" period lasted from around 1500s to the late1910s. The contemporary period, referred to as the National period , lasted from 1910sinto the twenty-first century.

5. The Pillars of faith / belief and the Pillars of worship / adoration

The pillars of faith make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self purification and the pilgrimage. They are:

1. Shahadah (belief or confession of faith)2. Salat (worship in the form of prayer)3. Sawm Ramadan (the fasting during the month of Ramadan)4. Zakt (alms or charitable giving)5. Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime).

5.1. Shahada is the declaration of faith and trust, i.e. the professing that there is onlyone God and that Muhammad is God's messenger Kalima is a set statement normally





recited in Arabic: ' La 'ilea-ha 'IL-all-laa-hu mu-ham-ma-door Ra-soo-lul-laah "I bearwitness that there is none worthy of worship except God and Muhammad is His Servantand Messenger." Reciting this statement is obligatory in daily prayer (salāh) as well ason other occasions; it is also a key part in a person's conversion to Islam .[10]

5.2. Salat (Prayer) ( ṣalāh) is the Islamic prayer. Salat consists of five daily prayersaccording to the Sunna; the names are according to the prayer times: Fajr (dawn),

Dhuhr (noon), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (evening), and Isha' (night). The Fajr prayer is performed before sunrise, Dhuhr is performed in the midday after the sun has surpassedits highest point, Asr is the evening prayer before sunset, Maghrib is the evening prayerafter sunset and Isha is the night prayer. All of these prayers are recited while facing theKaaba in Mecca. Muslims must wash themselves before prayer, this washing is called

wudu ("purification"). The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including; bowing with hands on knees, standing, prostrating and sitting in a special position (noton the heels, nor on the buttocks).

5.3. Sawm: Fasting

Three types of fasting ( Siyam ) are recognized by the Quran: Ritual fasting,fasting as compensation for repentance (both from sura Al-Baqara), and ascetic fasting

(from Al-Ahzab). Ritual fasting is an obligatory act during the month of Ramadan.Muslims must abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk during this month, andare to be especially mindful of other sins. Fasting is necessary for every Muslim that hasreached puberty (unless he/she suffers from a medical condition which prevents him/herfrom doing so). The fast is meant to allow Muslims to seek nearness and to look forforgiveness from God, to express their gratitude to and dependence on him, atone fortheir past sins, and to remind them of the needy. During Ramadan, Muslims are alsoexpected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam by refraining fromviolence, anger, envy, greed, lust, profane language, gossip and to try to get along withfellow Muslims better. In addition, all obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to

be avoided.

5.4. Zakāt

Zak āt or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based onaccumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to

be a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others andeliminate inequality. zakāt consists of spending 2.5% of one's wealth for the benefit ofthe poor or needy,like debtors or travelers. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of

voluntary charity ( sadaqah ), rather than to achieve additional divine reward.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam#cite_note-10



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fajr



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhuhr


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asr



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghrib



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isha%27



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudu



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba











There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakāt:

1. The giver must declare to God his intention to give the zakāt.

2. The zakāt must be paid on the day that it is due. 3. After the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than

usual means.4. Payment must be in kind. This means if one is wealthy then he or she needs to pay 2.5%

of their income. If a person does not have much money, then they should compensatefor it in different ways, such as good deeds and good behavior toward others.

5. The zakāt must be distri buted in the community from which it was taken.

5.5. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca

The Haji is a pilgrimage that occurs during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjahto the holy city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim is obliged to make the pilgrimageto Mecca at least once in their life. When the pilgrim is around 10 km (6.2 mi) fromMecca, he/she must dress in Ihram clothing , which consists of two white sheets. Bothmen and women are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. After a Muslim makesthe trip to Mecca, he/she is known as a hajj/hajja (one who made the pilgrimage toMecca) .[27] The main rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaabatermed Tawaf , touching the Black Stone termed “Istilam ”, traveling seven times

between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah termed Sa'yee , and symbolically stoning theDevil in Mina termed Ramee. The pilgrim, or the haji , is honoured in the Muslimcommunity. Islamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion toGod, not a means to gain social standing. The believer should be self-aware andexamine their intentions in performing the pilgrimage. This should lead to constantstriving for self-improvement .[28] A pilgrimage made at any time other than the Hajjseason is called an Umrah , and while not mandatory is strongly recommended. Also,they make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem in their alms giving feast.

6. The Caliphs rashidun / the rightly guided

The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs (al- Khulafā’u r -Rāshidū n) is aterm used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four caliphs after the Prophet Muhammadwho established the Rashidun Caliphate: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. Theconcept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the later Abbasid Dynasty, whichwas based in Baghdad. It is a reference to the Sunni tradition, "Hold firmly to myexample (sunnah) and that of the Rightly Guided Caliphs" (Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood).The implication of the term is that later caliphs were less "righteous" and perhaps lesserexamples of Muslim piety.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam#cite_note-Britannica_India-27












7. The fitna the Civil War

The Islamic State expanded very quickly under Muhammad and the first threecaliphs. Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, marginalized as religiousminorities and taxed heavily to finance the Byzantine – Sassanid Wars, often aidedMuslims to take over their lands from the Byzantines and Persians, resulting inexceptionally speedy conquests. As new areas joining the Islamic State, they also

benefited from free trade while trading with other areas in the Islamic State; so as toencourage commerce, in Islam trade is not taxed, wealth is taxed. The Muslims paidZakat on their wealth to the poor. Since the Constitution of Medina was drafted by theIslamic prophet Muhammad, the Jews and the Christians continued to use their own

laws in the Islamic State and had their own judges. Therefore they only paid for policing for the protection of their property. To assist in the quick expansion of thestate, the Byzantine and the Persian tax collection systems were maintained and the

people paid a poll tax lower than the one imposed under the Byzantines and thePersians. Before Muhammad united the Arabs, the Arabs had been divided and theByzantines and the Sassanid had their own client tribes that they used to pay to fight ontheir behalf. Now some of the elite in the old empires of the Middle East feltdiscontented with the passage of their empires. After being defeated on the battlefield,they started to think about other ways of slowing down the progress of the Arabs, by

making them fight amongst each other.The First Islamic Civil War (656 – 661), also called the First Fitna ( Fitnat

Maqtal Uthmā n) "The Fitna of the killing of Uthman"), was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate. It arose as a result of the death of the previous CaliphUthman.The Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, thefourth of the Sunni Rightly Guided Caliphs and first Imam of Shia'a. It was caused bythe controversial assassination of his predecessor, Uthman Ibn Affan. It lasted for theentirety of Ali's reign, and its end is marked by Muawiyah' s assumption of the caliphate(founding the Umayyad dynasty), and the subsequent recorded peace treaty betweenhim and Hassan ibn Ali.

8. The differences between Suni and Shia

Both Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs andarticles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islaminitially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones. Over the centuries,however, these political differences have spawned a number of varying practices and

positions which have come to carry a spiritual significance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war







The division between Shia and Sunni dates back to the death of the ProphetMuhammad, and the question of who was to take over the leadership of the Muslimnation. Sunni Muslims agree with the position taken by many of the Prophet'scompanions, that the new leader should be elected from among those capable of the job.This is what was done, and the Prophet Muhammad's close friend and advisor, AbuBakr, became the first Caliph of the Islamic nation. The word "Sunni" in Arabic comesfrom a word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." On the otherhand, some Muslims share the belief that leadership should have stayed within theProphet's own family, among those specifically appointed by him, or among Imamsappointed by God Himself.

The Shia Muslims believe that following the Prophet Muhammad's death,leadership should have passed directly to his cousin/son-in-law, Ali bin Abu Talib.

Throughout history, Shia Muslims have not recognized the authority of elected Muslimleaders, choosing instead to follow a line of Imams which they believe have beenappointed by the Prophet Muhammad or God Himself. The word "Shia" in Arabicmeans a group or supportive party of people. The commonly-known term is shortenedfrom the historical "Shia-t-Ali," or "the Party of Ali." They are also known as followersof "Ahl-al-Bayt" or "People of the Household" (of the Prophet).

Sunni Muslims make up the majority (85%) of Muslims all over the world.Significant populations of Shia Muslims can be found in Iran and Iraq, and largeminority communities in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon.

9. The sources of Muslim law and ijtihad

Ijtihad ( "diligence ") is an Islamic legal term that means “independent reasoning” or“the utmost effort an individual can put forth in an activity. ”[1] As one of the foursources of Sunni law, it is recognized as the decision making process in Islamic law(sharia) through personal effort (jihad), which is completely independent of any school(madhhab) of jurisprudence (fiqh). As opposed to taqlid , it requires a “thoroughknowledge of theology, revealed texts and legal theory (usul al-fiqh); an exceptionalcapacity for legal reasoning; thorough knowledge of Arabic. ”[2] By using both theQu'ran and Hadith as resources, the scholar is required to carefully rely on analogicalreasoning to find a solution to a legal problem, which considered to be a religious dutyfor those qualified to conduct it. Thus, a mujtahid is recognized as an Islamic scholarwho is competent in interpreting sharia by ijtihad . Today, there are many differentopinions surrounding the role of ijtihad in modern society, and whether or not the“doors of ijtihad are closed.”

10. What is the Golden Age of Islam?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ijtihad#cite_note-1


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ijtihad#cite_note-Oxford_Islamic_Studies-2








By Professor Adelson S de Brito 2013 2

The Islamic Golden Age is an Abbasid historical period beginning in the mid8th century lasting until the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258. The IslamicGolden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascensionof the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus toBaghdad. The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and hadith such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr" thatstressed the value of knowledge. The rise of Islam was instrumental in unitingthe warring Arab tribes into a powerful empire. The Abbasids claimed to belongto the same tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged, and were for thatreason considered holy. During this period the Arab world became anintellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education; the Abbasidschampioned the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom

(Bait-ul-Hikmat) at Baghdad where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholarssought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic. The Arabsdisplayed a remarkable capacity of assimilating the scientific knowledge of thecivilizations they had overrun. Many classic works of antiquity that mightotherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later inturn translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. During this period the Arabworld was a collection of cultures which put together, synthesized andsignificantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese,Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine and Phoenician civilizations. Thedecimal system travelled from India to Arab during this time and in 9th centuryit was popularized in the region by the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi.Later in 12th century a monk Abelard introduced it in Europe. They also beganthe use of Algebra in order to solve complex mathematical problems.

11. Conclusion

The present paper is a condensation of the information received during thecourse. I intend to include Islamic Culture as one of the Cultures I Afro-AsianCulture into my field of interests.

Author data:Adelson Silva de BritoMaster of SciencesFaculty of MedicineUniversidade Federal da BahiaPedagogic Coordinator in Nigeria Cultural HouseTel (71) 8644 7753 [email protected] CV Lattes:

http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4475720Z0








a brief look into the history of islamic culture

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