Islam II: “Guide us in the straight path”

Introduction to World Religions Fall 2007 Dr. Hannah Schell

“God is most great [Allahu Akbar]…I witness that there is no god but God… I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.. Come to prayer… Come to prosperity…God is most great…There is no god but God.”

Agenda for class meeting

• Preliminary thoughts – connecting belief and practice

• The “Five Pillars” of Muslim practiceThe Quranic basis of the practiceWhat does the practice signify about

Islam?

• Class discussion – student questions• If time: Sufiism.

Islam as “orthopraxis”

“Islam is a religion in which doing the truth is more important than simply knowing what is required. Law is more important then theology in the sense that obeying God’s commandments is open for everyone…”

- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 149.

Preliminary 2: Divine unity & human activity

“ ‘Behold,’ thy Lord said to the angels, ‘I will create a vicegerent [khalifa] on earth.’” (2:30).

“Humans cannot muster any power and glory of their own; but they can participate with God as his vicegerents, or deputies, on earth, his ‘caliphs.’.. Tawhid [Divine Unity] is in the nature of God, but it is also a task of humankind as vicegerents. It entails demonstrating one’s belief by behaving in ways conducive to the worship and service of God. One cannot truly understand God’s unity without striving toward unity in the Muslim community. This is done in many ways – personal, communal, political, economic, liturgical – and the variety of ways must themselves be harmonious and mutually enhancing. Perhaps the most dramatic exhibition of making God’s religion one is the five pillars.”

- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 150-151; my emphasis.

The “Five Pillars”

1. The Declaration of Faith (Shahada)2. Prayer 3. Charity4. Fasting5. Pilgrimage

1. The declaration of faith

The Shahada (witness, testimony) [sha hah da]:

“There is no god, but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.”

• Statement of absolute monotheism – the unity and oneness of God (Allah).

• Profession of faith in Muhammad as a prophet; “the seal of the prophets.”

The Qur’an on Divine Unity

“In the Name of God the Compassionate the CaringSay he is God, oneGod forever*Not begetting, unbegotten, and having as an equal none.”

- Chapter 112, Sincerity/Unity.

*also: the refuge, or the rock.

Source: Michael Sells, Approaching the Koran, 136.

Man whispers the Shahada to his baby girl

Source: http://www.worldreligions.co.uk/islam.htm

Muslim death rituals

“The last person to be with the deceased in the grave should whisper a final Shahada into the corpse’s era, to remind the soul of the core of the true religion for when the angels arrive for a postmortem questioning of the deceased’s religious knowledge.”

- From Jews, Christians, Muslims (271).

A simple profession of faith unites an entire religion

“Muslims have a nearly uniform liturgy worldwide, without benefit of clergy or standard creed. The forms and practices of worship are themselves the creed, acted out with the heart and the body within the community. Everything in the acts of worship… can be interpreted as having theological meaning because of the divine imperative to serve God above everything else and to remember him in all thoughts and acts. One of Muhammad’s Companions asked the Prophet what true goodness was. Muhammad answered: ‘That thou worship Allah as if thou seest him: for if thou see Him not, surely He sees thee.’”

- Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Introduction to Monotheistic Religions (Corrigan et.al.) 142.

2. Prayer (Salat): Muslim worship • Five times a day: before daybreak, just after the

sun has reached the highest point in the sky, in the middle of the afternoon, just after sunset, and after dark.

• Communal prayer is best, when possible• Involves rituals of cleansing and preparation• Prayers said facing Mecca• Prayers are a set of verses from the Koran• Recited in a cycle of standing, sitting and kneeling.

Allah says: "And keep up prayer in the two parts of the day and in the first hours of the night; surely good deeds take away evil deeds." 11: 114

Call to prayer (adhan)

“God is most great [Allahu Akbar], God is most great, God is most great, God is most great, I witness that there is no god but God [Allah]; I witness that there is no god but God. I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God. I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God. Come to prayer; come to prayer! Come to prosperity*; come to prosperity! God is most great. God is most great. There is no god but God.”

*falah: good fortune, salvation.

Preparing to pray

• Must become ritually pure• Minor impurity is caused

by evacuation of bodily wastes, sleep, bleeding, breaking wind, contact with a dog, fainting.

• Major impurity caused by sexual intercourse, seminal emission, menstruation, childbirth, a large flow of blood, touching a corpse, etc.

Performing ablutions…

Pray with attention

Prostration

“Make your heart attentive, emptying it of evil suggestions. Consider in front of Whom you stand and speak, and shrink from addressing your Patron with negligent heart and breast laden with worldly suggestions and evil passions. God most high is aware of your inmost thoughts and sees your heart God accepts your Worship only according to the measure of your humility, submissiveness, modesty and lowliness. Serve Him in your Worship as if you see Him for, even if you do not see Him, yet he sees you.”

-Al – Ghazali, “The Beginning of Guidance,” in Readings in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, ed. Corrigan et al

(241).

Video clip

Segment from “Mosque” (1992); Maryknoll World Productions.

Canadian Muslims praying in the

direction of Mecca.

3. Obligation of alms Zakat (purification): ritual

alms-giving; giving a fixed percentage of one’s wealth and assets in charity every year (2.5%)

“Every Muslim male or female who at the end of the year is in possession of the equivalent of

85 grams of gold (approx. $1400 in 1990) or more in cash or

articles of trade, must give Zakat at the minimum rate of 2.5%.

Taxes paid to government do not substitute for this religious duty. The contributor should not seek

pride or fame but if disclosing his name and his contribution is

likely to encourage others, it is acceptable to do so.” (Source:

http://home.clara.net/najm/zakat2.html)

Alms-giving according to the Koran

"Successful indeed are the believers. Those who humble themselves in their prayers. And who avoid vain conversation. And who are active in deeds of charity..." [23: 1 - 4 ]

"Surely (as for) the charitable men and the charitable women and those who loan to Allah a beautiful loan (by setting apart for Allah's poor servants a goodly portion), it shall be doubled for them and they shall have a noble reward." [57: 18]

"Of their goods, take alms, so that you might purify and sanctify them; and pray for them. Verily your prayers are a source of security for them: And Allah is the All-Hearer, All-Knower." [9: 103]

Source: http://www.msalb.org/islam/pillars/Charity/charity_main.htm

“One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word Zakat means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth.”

http://www.msalb.org/islam/pillars/Charity/charity_main.htm

4. Fasting (during Ramadan)• Ramadan marks the

month when the Qur’an was first revealed – 9th month of the Islamic calendar

• Fasting (abstinence): Abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex from before sunrise until after sunset for one month

Breakfast during Ramadan

Source: http://www.worldreligions.co.uk/islam.htm

“Ramadan is usually seen as the most personal and spiritual of the pillars of Islam. This is so because it is God alone who sees whether or not a person is taking the discipline seriously or not. It is impossible that someone is watching you every moment of everyday to ensure that you are not sneaking a sip of water and nibbling on a falafel.”

From Muslim Wake-Up,http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/cat_ramadan.php

Breaking of the fast

Near the end of Ramadan (27th day), Muslims commemorate the Night of Power (the revelation of the Quran).

Feast of the braking of the fast: (Eid al-Fitr) Time of great rejoicing and celebration that includes gift-giving, charity and feasts.

5. The Hajj Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi

Arabia

Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those Muslims who have the physical and financial ability to undertake the journey. It is also a form of worship that involves the entire being: body, mind and soul.

(Source: http://www.islam101.com/dawah/hajj.html)

Pilgrimage actions

• Approach Mecca, shout “I am here, O Lord, I am here!”

• Circumambulate the Ka’ba• Walk corridor of the Grand Mosque to

commemorate Hagar’s frantic search for water for her son Ishmael

• Drink water from the well (Zam-zam – bubbbling). • Assemble at the plain of Arafat to remember

Muhammad’s farewell sermon.• Symbolically reject the devil by throwing stones

at three pillars that stand at the site where Satan met Abraham and Ishmael

Quranic basis

“Follow the religion of Abraham, the pure monotheist; he was not one of the idolaters. The first house of worship established for the people was at Mecca, full of blessing and guidance for all peoples…. Pilgrimage (hajj) thereto is a duty the people owe to God – those who can afford the journey.” (9:95-97).

Student questions

• Before Islam: What did people worship or believe in before Muhammad began to speak the word of Allah?

• Ramadan: what do people get by doing this and how do they feel about it?

• Religious Practice: Is the Muslim faith the most strict and devoted religion?

• Women: What about the role and status of women in Islam? Why do we hear of women being treated so cruelly?

If time…

The mystical tradition of Islam: Sufiism.

(video clip: “I am Sufi, I am Muslim”).