Islam the Religion of PeaceIslam
| I | INTRODUCTION |
The Qur’an
The inscription on buildings of verses from the Qur’an
symbolizes the living presence of the holy book in Islamic society. This tower
with decorative Qur’anic inscriptions is in Delhi, India.
Gillian
Darley/Edifice/Corbis
Islam, one of the three major world religions, along
with Judaism and Christianity, that profess monotheism, or the belief in a
single God.
In the Arabic language, the word Islam
means “surrender” or “submission”—submission to the will of God. A follower of
Islam is called a Muslim, which in Arabic means “one who surrenders to
God.” The Arabic name for God, Allah, refers to the God worshiped by Jews
and Christians. Islam’s central teaching is that there is only one all-powerful,
all-knowing God, and this God created the universe. This rigorous monotheism, as
well as the Islamic teaching that all Muslims are equal before God, provides the
basis for a collective sense of loyalty to God that transcends class, race,
nationality, and even differences in religious practice. Thus, all Muslims
belong to one community, the umma, irrespective of their ethnic or
national background.
Within two centuries after its rise in the 7th
century, Islam spread from its original home in Arabia into Syria, Egypt, North
Africa, and Spain to the west, and into Persia, India, and, by the end of the
10th century, beyond to the east. In the following centuries, Islam also spread
into Anatolia and the Balkans to the north, and sub-Saharan Africa to the south.
The Muslim community comprises about 1 billion followers on all five continents,
and Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. The most populous Muslim
country is Indonesia, followed by Pakistan and Bangladesh. Beyond the Middle
East, large numbers of Muslims live in India, Nigeria, the former republics of
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and China.
One of the reasons for the growth of the
Muslim community has been its openness to new members. Children born to Muslim
parents are automatically considered Muslim. At any time, a non-Muslim can
convert to Islam by declaring himself or herself to be a Muslim. A person’s
declaration of faith is sufficient evidence of conversion to Islam and need not
be confirmed by others or by religious authorities.
| II | THE TEACHINGS OF MUHAMMAD |
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, holds the
holiest shrine of Islam, the Kaaba. As the birthplace of Islam’s founder, the
Prophet Muhammad, Mecca is considered a holy city. It is a pilgrimage point for
Muslims worldwide, who are expected to visit the city at least once if they are
able to do so.
Mehmet Biber/Photo
Researchers, Inc.
Around the year ad 570 Muhammad, the founding prophet of
Islam, was born in Mecca, at the time the central city of the Arabian Peninsula.
Some 40 years later Muhammad started preaching a new religion, Islam, which
constituted a marked break from existing moral and social codes in Arabia. The
new religion of Islam taught that there was one God, and that Muhammad was the
last in a series of prophets and messengers. Through his messengers God had sent
various codes, or systems of laws for living, culminating in the Qur’an (Koran),
the holy book of Islam. These messengers were mortal men, and they included
among many others Moses, the Hebrew prophet and lawgiver, and Jesus, whom
Christians believe to be the son of God rather than a prophet.
Islam also taught that the Christian Bible
(which includes the Hebrew Bible as the Old Testament and an additional 27 books
referred to as the New Testament), and the Qur'an were all holy books. According
to the Qur’an, the two earlier Scriptures had been altered over time from their
original forms given by God, while the Qur'an would remain perfect, preserved by
God from such distortion. In addition to distinguishing itself from the Hebrew
and Christian traditions, the new religion taught that the God of Islam had
provided humanity with the means to know good from evil, through the prophets
and the Qur’an. Therefore, on the Day of Judgment people will be held
accountable for their actions.
Muhammad’s teachings met with severe and
hostile opposition, and in the year 622 he left Mecca and sought refuge in the
city of Yathrib, as a number of his followers had already done. Upon Muhammad's
arrival, the name Yathrib was changed to Medina (meaning “the city”). The date
of Muhammad's immigration was later set as the beginning of the 12-month lunar
Islamic calendar.
| III | THE FIVE PILLARS |
During the ten years between his arrival in
Medina and his death in ad 632,
Muhammad laid the foundation for the ideal Islamic state. A core of committed
Muslims was established, and a community life was ordered according to the
requirements of the new religion. In addition to general moral injunctions, the
requirements of the religion came to include a number of institutions that
continue to characterize Islamic religious practice today. Foremost among these
were the five pillars of Islam, the essential religious duties required of every
adult Muslim who is mentally able. The five pillars are each described in some
part of the Qur’an and were already practiced during Muhammad's lifetime. They
are the profession of faith (shahada), prayer (salat), almsgiving
(zakat), fasting (sawm), and pilgrimage (hajj). Although
some of these practices had precedents in Jewish, Christian, and other Middle
Eastern religious traditions, taken together they distinguish Islamic religious
practices from those of other religions. The five pillars are thus the most
central rituals of Islam and constitute the core practices of the Islamic
faith.
Many polemical descriptions of Islam have
focused critically on the Islamic concept of jihad. Jihad, considered the sixth
pillar of Islam by some Muslims, has been understood to mean holy war in these
descriptions. However, the word in Arabic means 'to struggle' or 'to exhaust
one's effort,' in order to please God. Within the faith of Islam, this effort
can be individual or collective, and it can apply to leading a virtuous life;
helping other Muslims through charity, education, or other means; preaching
Islam; and fighting to defend Muslims. Western media of the 20th century
continue to focus on the militant interpretations of the concept of jihad,
whereas most Muslims do not.
| A | The Profession of Faith |
The absolute focus of Islamic piety is
Allah, the supreme, all knowing, all-powerful, and above all, all-merciful God.
The Arabic word Allah means “the God,” and this God is understood to be
the God who brought the world into being and sustains it to its end. By obeying
God's commands, human beings express their recognition of and gratitude for the
wisdom of creation, and live in harmony with the universe.
The profession of faith, or witness to
faith (shahada), is therefore the prerequisite for membership in the Muslim
community. On several occasions during a typical day, and in the saying of daily
prayers, a Muslim repeats the profession, 'I bear witness that there is no god
but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger.' There are no formal restrictions
on the times and places these words can be repeated. To become a member of the
Muslim community, a person has to profess and act upon this belief in the
oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad. To be a true profession of faith
that represents a relationship between the speaker and God, the verbal utterance
must express genuine knowledge of its meaning as well as sincere belief. A
person’s deeds can be subjected to scrutiny by other Muslims, but a person’s
utterance of the profession of faith is sufficient evidence of membership in the
Muslim community and cannot be challenged by other members of this community.
| B | The Five Daily Prayers |
Minaret of the Great Mosque at Sāmarrā’
This spiral minaret, where the muezzin once called the
faithful to prayer, is the only surviving feature of the Great Mosque at
Sāmarrā’, Iraq. At the time of its construction (848-852), the Great Mosque at
Sāmarrā’ was the largest Islamic mosque in the world.
SEF/Art Resource, NY
The second pillar of Islam is the religious
duty to perform five prescribed daily prayers or salat. All adult Muslims are
supposed to perform five prayers, preceded by ritual cleansing or purification
of the body at different intervals of the day. The Qur’anic references also
mention the acts of standing, bowing, and prostrating during prayers and facing
a set direction, known as qibla. The Muslims were first required to face
Jerusalem during prayer, but already during Muhammad's lifetime they were
commanded to face the Kaaba, an ancient shrine in the city of Mecca. The Qur’an
also refers to the recitation of parts of the Qur’an as a form of prayer.
However, even with its numerous references, the Qur’an alone does not give exact
instructions for this central ritual of prayer.
The most detailed descriptions of the
rituals for prayer derive from the example set by the prophet Muhammad and are
preserved in later Islamic traditions. Some details of these rituals vary,
however all Muslims agree that there are five required daily prayers to be
performed at certain times of day: dawn (fajr or subh), noon
(zuhr), midafternoon (asr), sunset (maghrib), and evening
(isha). The dawn, noon, and sunset prayers do not start exactly at dawn,
noon, and sunset; instead, they begin just after, to distinguish the Islamic
ritual from earlier practices of worshiping the sun when it rises or sets.
Layout of a Mosque
Mosques are laid out in accordance with Muslim prayer.
They are generally organized around a courtyard, a reminder of the courtyard of
Muhammad’s house, which served as the first mosque. Muslims pray facing the holy
city of Mecca, a direction known as the qibla. A mihrab, or prayer niche,
indicates the qibla, and the main prayer hall stands on the qibla side.
Worshipers, called to prayer by a crier from the minaret, may hear a sermon
delivered from the mimbar near the mihrab. A mosque that has a vaulted hall, or
eyvan on each side of its courtyard, as this mosque does, is known as a
four-eyvan mosque.
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All Rights Reserved.
A prayer is made up of a sequence of units
called bowings (rak’as). During each of these units, the worshiper
stands, bows, kneels, and prostrates while reciting verses from the Qur’an as
well as other prayer formulas. With some variations among different Muslim
sects, at noon, afternoon, and evening prayers, these units are repeated four
times, while during the sunset prayer they are repeated three times, and at dawn
only twice. The opening chapter of the Qur’an, al-Fatiha, is repeated in each
unit in a prayer sequence. Each prayer concludes with the recitation of the
profession of faith followed by the greeting 'may the peace, mercy, and
blessings of God be upon you.'
Wherever Muslims live in substantial
numbers throughout the world, the call to prayer, or adhan, is repeated
five times a day by a muezzin (crier) from a mosque, the Muslim place of
worship. Muslims are encouraged to pray together in mosques, but group prayer is
only a religious obligation for the noon prayer on Friday. Women, travelers,
sick Muslims, and those attending to the sick are granted license not to attend
the Friday congregational prayer, although they may attend if they wish.
The Friday noon prayer is led by an
imam, who is simply a prayer leader; this prayer differs from the usual
noon prayers of the other days of the week. As a required part of the ritual at
this congregational meeting, two sermons precede the prayer. On other days,
Muslims can pray anywhere they wish, either individually or in groups. They must
observe the rituals of praying at certain times of day, facing in the direction
of Mecca, observing the proper order of prayers, and preparing through symbolic
purification. Depending on the situation, this last ritual of ablution requires
either total washing of the body or a less elaborate ritual washing of the
hands, mouth, face, and feet.
In addition to the five required daily
prayers, Muslims can perform non-obligatory prayers, some of which have fixed
ritual formats and are performed before or after each of the five daily prayers.
Others are performed at night, either individually or with other Muslims. These
additional formal and informal prayers give expression to the primary function
of prayer in Islam, which is personal communication with God for the purpose of
maintaining the abiding presence of the divine in the personal lives of Muslims.
The more formal aspects of prayer also serve to provide a disciplined rhythm
that structures the day and fosters a sense of community and shared identity
among Muslims.
| C | Almsgiving |
The third pillar of Islam is zakat, or
almsgiving. A religious obligation, zakat is considered an expression of
devotion to God. It represents the attempt to provide for the poorer sectors of
society, and it offers a means for a Muslim to purify his or her wealth and
attain salvation. The Qur’an, together with other Islamic traditions, strongly
encourages charity and constantly reminds Muslims of their moral obligation to
the poor, orphans, and widows; however, it distinguishes between general,
voluntary charity (sadaqa) and zakat, the latter being an obligatory
charge on the money or produce of Muslims. While the meaning of terms has been
open to different interpretations, the Qur’an regularly refers to zakat,
identifying specific ways in which this tax can be spent. These specific uses
include spending zakat on the poor and the needy, on those who collect and
distribute zakat, on those whom Muslims hope to win over and convert to Islam,
on travelers, on the ransom of captives, to relieve those who are burdened with
debts, and on the cause of God.
The Qur’an provides less-detailed
information about the kinds of things that are subject to the zakat tax or the
precise share of income or property that should be paid as zakat. These
determinations are provided in the traditions of the prophet Muhammad and have
been the subject of elaborate discussions among Muslim legal experts, or
jurists. For example, one-fortieth (2.5 percent) of the assets accumulated
during the year (including gold, silver, and money) is payable at the end of the
year, while one-tenth of the harvest of the land or date trees is payable at
harvest time. Cattle, camels, and other domestic animals are subject to a more
complex taxation system that depends on the animals in question, their age, the
numbers involved, and whether they are freely grazing. Traditional zakat laws do
not cover trade, but commercial taxes have been imposed by various Muslim
governments throughout history.
| D | Fasting |
Last Day of Ramadan
Muslims pray in the upper gallery of a main mosque in
the old walled city of Delhi, India. They are celebrating the end of Ramadan,
the holy month of fasting as ordained by the Qur’an, the sacred scriptures of
Islam.
REUTERS/CORBIS-BETTMANN
The fourth pillar of Islam is sawm,
or fasting. Clear Qur’anic references to fasting account for the early
introduction of this ritual practice. The Qur’an prescribes fasting during the
month of Ramadan, the 9th month of the 12-month Islamic lunar year (see
Calendar). The month of Ramadan is sacred because the first revelation of
the Qur’an is said to have occurred during this month. By tradition the month
starts with the sighting of the new moon by at least two Muslims. For the entire
month, Muslims must fast from daybreak to sunset by refraining from eating,
drinking, and sexual intercourse. Menstruating women, travelers, and sick people
are exempted from fasting but have to make up the days they miss at a later
date.
Festivities Ending Ramadan
Members of the Tarabin Bedouin tribe in Egypt prepare
food for a three-day festival that marks the end of the Islamic holy month,
Ramadan. During Ramadan adult Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
Ruth Fremson/AP/Wide World
Photos
According to various traditional
interpretations, the fast introduces physical and spiritual discipline, serves
to remind the rich of the misfortunes of the poor, and fosters, through this
rigorous act of worship, a sense of solidarity and mutual care among Muslims of
all social backgrounds. Thus Muslims usually engage in further acts of worship
beyond the ordinary during Ramadan, such as voluntary night prayer, reading
sections from the Qur’an, and paying voluntary charity to the poor. Muslims may
even choose to wake before daybreak to eat a meal that will sustain them until
sunset. After the fasting ends, the holiday of breaking the fast, ‘id
al-fitr, begins, lasting for three days.
At any time of year fasting is also
required as a compensation for various offenses and violations of the law. Many
Muslims also perform voluntary fasts at various times of the year as acts of
devotion and spiritual discipline. However, such additional fasting is not
required by Islamic law.
| E | Pilgrimage to Mecca |
Pilgrimage to the Kaaba
Muslims consider the Kaaba—a small sanctuary near the
center of the Great Mosque in Mecca— to be the most sacred spot on earth. Muslim
legend teaches that the ancient religious patriarchs Abraham and Ishmael built
the shrine using foundations first laid by Adam. Muslims all over the world
orient themselves toward the Kaaba while praying, and every able Muslim is
expected to make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba at least once in his or her lifetime.
This picture shows pilgrimage ceremonies, which consist of several days of
rituals and festivals during the Islamic month of pilgrimages, Dhu
al-Hijja.
Mehmet Biber/Photo
Researchers, Inc.
The fifth pillar requires that Muslims who
have the physical and financial ability should perform the pilgrimage, or hajj,
to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. The ritual of pilgrimage was practiced by
Arabs before the rise of Islam and continues from the early days of Islam. The
hajj is distinct from other pilgrimages. It must take place during the 12th
lunar month of the year, known as Dhu al-Hijja, and it involves a set and
detailed sequence of rituals that are practiced over the span of several days.
All of the pilgrimage rituals take place in the city of Mecca and its
surroundings, and the primary focus of these rituals is a cubical structure
called the Kaaba. According to Islamic tradition, the Kaaba, also referred to as
the House of God, was built at God's command by the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham of
the Hebrew and Christian Bibles) and his son Ismail (see Ishmael).
The Qur’an provides detailed descriptions
of various parts of the ritual, and it portrays many of these rituals as
reenactments of the activities undertaken by Ibrahim and Ismail in the course of
building the Kaaba. Set into one corner of the Kaaba is the sacred Black Stone,
which according to one Islamic tradition was given to Ibrahim by the angel
Gabriel. According to another Islamic tradition this stone was first set in
place by Adam.
Once pilgrims arrive in Mecca, ritual
purification is performed. Many men shave their heads, and most men and women
put on seamless white sheets. This simple and common dress symbolizes the
equality of all Muslims before God, a status further reinforced by the
prohibition of jewelry, perfumes, sexual intercourse, and hunting. After this
ritual purification, Muslims circle the Kaaba seven times, run between al-Safa
and al-Marwa, two hills overlooking the Kaaba, seven times, and perform several
prayers and invocations. This ritual is a reenactment of the search by Hagar for
water to give her son Ismail.
After these opening rituals, the hajj
proper commences on the seventh day and continues for the next three days.
Again, it starts with the performance of ritual purification followed by a
prayer at the Kaaba mosque. The pilgrims then assemble at Mina, a hill outside
Mecca, where they spend the night. The next morning they go to the nearby plain
of Arafat, where they stand from noon to sunset and perform a series of prayers
and rituals. The pilgrims then head to Muzdalifa, a location halfway between
Arafat and Mina, to spend the night. The next morning, the pilgrims head back to
Mina, on the way stopping at stone pillars symbolizing Satan, at which they
throw seven pebbles.
Dome of the Rock
The oldest extant Islamic structure, the Dome of the
Rock stands on the sacred rock in Jerusalem where the Prophet Muhammad is
believed to have ascended to heaven. Caliph Abd al-Malik built the mosque during
the late 7th century. The mosque’s basic octagonal design encloses a central
space topped by a dome. A rich mosaic decoration covers the outer walls.
Israel Ministry of
Tourism
The final ritual is the slaughter of an
animal (sheep, goat, cow, or camel). This is a symbolic reenactment of God's
command to Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail, which Ibrahim and Ismail duly
accepted and were about to execute when God allowed Ibrahim to slaughter a ram
in place of his son. Most of the meat of the slaughtered animals is to be
distributed to poor Muslims. The ritual sacrifice ends the hajj and
starts the festival of the sacrifice, ‘id al-adha. The festivals
of breaking fast (‘id al-fitr) at the end of Ramadan and ‘id al-adha
are the two major Islamic festivals celebrated by Muslims all over the
world.
During the pilgrimage most Muslims visit
Medina, where the tomb of the Prophet is located, before returning to their
homes. If the pilgrimage rituals are performed at any time of the year other
than the designated time for hajj, the ritual is called umra. Although
umra is considered a virtuous act, it does not absolve the person from the
obligation of hajj. Most pilgrims perform one or more umras before or after the
hajj proper.
Many Muslims pilgrims also travel to
Jerusalem, which is the third sacred city for Islam. Muslims believe Muhammad
was carried to Jerusalem in a vision. The Dome of the Rock houses the stone from
which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven and Allah in a night
journey. Some Muslims perform pilgrimages to the Dome of the Rock and to other
shrines where revered religious figures are buried. Some of these shrines are
important primarily to the local populations, whereas others draw Muslims from
distant regions. There are no standard prescribed rituals for these pilgrimages
nor are they treated as obligatory acts of worship.
| IV | THE MOSQUE |
Mosque of Córdoba in Spain
This mosque in Córdoba, Spain, was begun in ad 786,
while the city was the capital of Moorish Spain. Although the mosque became a
Christian cathedral after the Roman Catholics of Spain captured Córdoba in 1236,
the building retains its Islamic heritage. The mosque features columns that
support horseshoe-shaped arches decorated with stripes of alternating colors.
Layered in two tiers, these distinctly Moorish arches convey a light and airy
feeling to the interior of the building.
Adam Lubroth/Art Resource,
NY
Of all Muslim institutions, the mosque is
the most important place for the public expression of Islamic religiosity and
communal identity. A mosque is a physical manifestation of the public presence
of Muslims and serves as a point of convergence for Islamic social and
intellectual activity. The Arabic word for mosque is masjid, which means
a 'place of prostration' before God. Mosques are mentioned in the Qur’an, and
the earliest model for a mosque was the residence that the prophet Muhammad
built when he moved to Medina. This first mosque was an enclosure marked as a
special place of worship. A small part of the mosque was sectioned off to house
the Prophet and his family, and the remaining space was left open as a place for
Muslims to pray.
Although later mosques developed into
complex architectural structures built in diverse styles, the one requirement of
all mosques continues to be based on the earliest model: a designation of space
for the purpose of prayer. The early mosque served an equally important function
that thousands of mosques continue to serve today: The mosque is a place where
Muslims foster a collective identity through prayer and attend to their common
concerns. A Muslim city typically has numerous mosques but only a few
congregational or Friday mosques where the obligatory Friday noon prayers are
performed.
As Islam spread outside Arabia, Islamic
architecture was influenced by the various architectural styles of the conquered
lands, and both simple and monumental mosques of striking beauty were built in
cities of the Islamic world. Despite the borrowings from diverse civilizations,
certain common features became characteristic of most mosques and thus serve to
distinguish them from the sacred spaces of other religions and cultures.
Mosque in Burkina Faso
The Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso is
built of mud brick, the local building material. About half the people in
Burkina Faso are Muslims.
J. Hartley/Panos
Pictures
The most important characteristic of a
mosque is that it should be oriented toward Mecca. One or more niches
(mihrab) on one of the walls of the mosque often serve as indicators of
this direction, called qibla. When the imam leads the prayers he usually
faces one of these niches. Next to the mihrab, a pulpit (minbar) is often
provided for the delivery of sermons (khutba). Many mosques also have
separate areas for performing ritual ablution, and separate sections for women.
In many mosques, several rows of columns are used to mark the way for worshipers
to line up behind the imam during prayer.
Mosques usually have one or more
minarets, or towers, from which the muezzin calls Muslims to prayer five
times a day. In addition to their functional use, these minarets have become
distinguishing elements of mosque architecture. In large mosques in particular,
minarets have the effect of tempering the enormity and magnificence of the domed
structure by conveying to the viewer the elevation of divinity above the
pretensions of human grandeur.
Most mosques also have a dome, and the line
connecting the center of the dome to the niche is supposed to point toward
Mecca. Throughout the world there are many mosques that are not actually
directed toward Mecca, but such misalignment is due to inaccurate methods for
determining the direction of Mecca and does not imply a disregard for this
requirement. The mosque is not a self-contained unit, nor is it a symbolic
microcosm of the universe, as are some places of worship in other religions.
Rather, the mosque is always built as a connection with Mecca, the ultimate home
of Muslim worship that metaphorically forms the center of all mosques. See
Islamic Art and Architecture.
| V | THE GOD OF ISLAM |
Islamic doctrine emphasizes the oneness,
uniqueness, transcendence, and utter otherness of God. As such, God is different
from anything that the human senses can perceive or that the human mind can
imagine. The God of Islam encompasses all creation, but no mind can fully
encompass or grasp him. God, however, is manifest through his creation, and
through reflection humankind can easily discern the wisdom and power behind the
creation of the world. Because of God’s oneness and his transcendence of human
experience and knowledge, Islamic law forbids representations of God, the
prophets, and among some Muslims, human beings in general. As a result of this
belief, Islamic art came to excel in a variety of decorative patterns including
leaf shapes later stylized as arabesques, and Arabic script. In modern times the
restrictions on creating images of people have been considerably relaxed, but
any attitude of worship toward images and icons is strictly forbidden in
Islam.
| A | Islamic Monotheism |
Mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Ottomans conquered most of Bosnia in 1463, and by
1483 controlled most of Herzegovina as well. The two territories, then
separated, remained provinces of the Ottoman Empire for the next 400 years.
Here, a mosque built by the Ottomans stands near Mostar. Mostar was severely
damaged as a result of the civil war that followed Bosnia and Herzegovina’s
declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
Before Islam, many Arabs believed in a
supreme, all-powerful God responsible for creation; however, they also believed
in lesser gods. With the coming of Islam, the Arab concept of God was purged of
elements of polytheism and turned into a qualitatively different concept of
uncompromising belief in one God, or monotheism. The status of the Arabs before
Islam is considered to be one of ignorance of God, or jahiliyya, and
Islamic sources insist that Islam brought about a complete break from Arab
concepts of God and a radical transformation in Arab belief about God.
Islamic doctrine maintains that Islam’s
monotheism continues that of Judaism and Christianity. However, the Qur’an and
Islamic traditions stress the distinctions between Islam and later forms of the
two other monotheistic religions. According to Islamic belief, both Moses and
Jesus, like others before them, were prophets commissioned by God to preach the
essential and eternal message of Islam. The legal codes introduced by these two
prophets, the Ten Commandments and the Christian Gospels, took different forms
than the Qur’an, but according to Islamic understanding, at the level of
doctrine they are the same teaching. The recipients of scriptures are called the
people of the book or the 'scriptured' people. Like the Jews and the Christians
before them, the Muslims became scriptured when God revealed his word to them
through a prophet: God revealed the Qur’an to the prophet Muhammad, commanding
him to preach it to his people and later to all humanity.
Although Muslims believe that the original
messages of Judaism and Christianity were given by God, they also believe that
Jews and Christians eventually distorted them. The self-perceived mission of
Islam, therefore, has been to restore what Muslims believe is the original
monotheistic teaching and to supplant the older legal codes of the Hebrew and
Christian traditions with a newer Islamic code of law that corresponds to the
evolving conditions of human societies. Thus, for example, Islamic traditions
maintain that Jesus was a prophet whose revealed book was the Christian New
Testament, and that later Christians distorted the original scripture and
inserted into it the claim that Jesus was the son of God. Or to take another
example, Muslims maintain that the strict laws communicated by Moses in the
Hebrew Bible were appropriate for their time. Later, however, Jesus introduced a
code of behavior that stressed spirituality rather than ritual and law.
According to Muslim belief, God sent
Muhammad with the last and perfect legal code that balances the spiritual
teachings with the law, and thus supplants the Jewish and Christian codes.
According to the teachings of Islam, the Islamic code, called Sharia, is the
final code, one that will continue to address the needs of humanity in its most
developed stages, for all time. The Qur’an mentions 28 pre-Islamic prophets and
messengers, and Islamic traditions maintain that God has sent tens of thousands
of prophets to various peoples since the beginning of creation. Some of the
Qur’anic prophets are familiar from the Hebrew Bible, but others are not
mentioned in the Bible and seem to be prophetic figures from pre-Islamic
Arabia.
For the Muslim then, Islamic history
unfolds a divine scheme from the beginning of creation to the end of time.
Creation itself is the realization of God's will in history. Humans are created
to worship God, and human history is punctuated with prophets who guarantee that
the world is never devoid of knowledge and proper worship of God. The sending of
prophets is itself understood within Islam as an act of mercy. God, the creator
and sustainer, never abandons his creations, always providing human beings with
the guidance they need for their salvation in this world and a world to come
after this one. God is just, and his justice requires informing people, through
prophets, of how to act and what to believe before he holds them accountable for
their actions and beliefs. However, once people receive the teachings of
prophets and messengers, God's justice also means that he will punish those who
do wrong or do not believe and will reward those who do right and do believe.
Despite the primacy of justice as an essential attribute of God, Muslims believe
that God’s most fundamental attribute is mercy.
| B | Humanity’s Relationship to God |
Mosque Lamp
This mosque lamp from the early 14th century is an
example of the kind of glasswork that had been produced in Islamic countries for
500 years. This piece features enameled decoration and is inscribed with three
quotations from the Qur'an. It is dedicated to Beybars II. Oil was burned inside
the lamp.
Bridgeman Art Library,
London/New York
According to Islamic belief, in addition to
sending prophets, God manifests his mercy in the dedication of all creation to
the service of humankind. Islamic traditions maintain that God brought the world
into being for the benefit of his creatures. His mercy toward humanity is
further manifested in the privileged status God gave to humans. According to the
Qur’an and later traditions, God appointed humankind as his vice regents
(caliphs) on earth, thus entrusting them with the grave responsibility of
fulfilling his scheme for creation.
Mosque in Tajikistan
A majority of Tajikistan’s inhabitants are ethnic
Tajiks, who are predominantly Muslim. Under Soviet rule (1921-1991), religion
was severely restricted; mosques were closed and religious practice was
prohibited outside of state-sanctioned places of worship. Restrictions were
eased somewhat in the mid-1980s, but it was not until Tajikistan became
independent in 1991 that Muslims were again able to freely practice their
religion.
V.
Khristoforov/TASS/SOVFOTO-EASTFOTO
The Islamic concept of a privileged
position for humanity departs from the early Jewish and Christian
interpretations of the fall from Paradise that underlie the Christian doctrine
of original sin. In the biblical account, Adam and Eve fall from Paradise as a
result of disobeying God’s prohibition, and all of humanity is cast out of
Paradise as punishment. Christian theologians developed the doctrine that
humankind is born with this sin of their first parents still on their souls,
based upon this reading of the story. Christians believe that Jesus Christ came
to redeem humans from this original sin so that humankind can return to God at
the end of time. In contrast, the Qur’an maintains that after their initial
disobedience, Adam and Eve repented and were forgiven by God. Consequently
Muslims believe that the descent by Adam and Eve to earth from Paradise was not
a fall, but an honor bestowed on them by God. Adam and his progeny were
appointed as God's messengers and vice regents, and were entrusted by God with
the guardianship of the earth.
| C | Angels |
The nature of humankind’s relationship to
God can also be seen clearly by comparing it with that of angels. According to
Islamic tradition, angels were created from light. An angel is an immortal being
that commits no sins and serves as a guardian, a recorder of deeds, and a link
between God and humanity. The angel Gabriel, for example, communicated God's
message to the prophet Muhammad. In contrast to humans, angels are incapable of
unbelief and always obey God. Some followers of Islam view Satan as an angel who
was unusual in his ability to defy God, while others view him as a jinn,
or spirit created by God from smokeless fire, who roamed among the angels.
Despite these traits, Islamic doctrine
holds that humans are superior to angels. According to Islamic traditions, God
entrusted humans and not angels with the guardianship of the earth and commanded
the angels to prostrate themselves to Adam. Satan, together with the other
angels, questioned God's appointment of fallible humans to the honorable
position of viceregency. Being an ardent monotheist, Satan disobeyed God and
refused to prostrate himself before anyone but God. For this sin, Satan was
doomed to lead human beings astray until the end of the world. According to the
Qur’an, God informed the angels that he had endowed humans with a knowledge
angels could not acquire.
| D | Islamic Theology |
Kazimayn Mosque
The gold-domed Kazimayn Mosque, pictured at night, is
near Baghdād in Iraq. This famous building, begun in the 11th century and
completed in the 19th century, contains the tombs of revered Shia Muslim
leaders.
Mehmet Biber/Photo
Researchers, Inc.
For centuries Muslim theologians have
debated the subjects of justice and mercy as well as God’s other attributes.
Initially, Islamic theology developed in the context of controversial debates
with Christians and Jews. As their articulations of the basic doctrines of Islam
became more complex, Muslim theologians soon turned to debating different
interpretations of the Qur’an among themselves, developing the foundations of
Islamic theology.
Mosque in Vladikavkaz
This mosque serves members of the Muslim minority in
Vladikavkaz, the capital of the Russian republic of Alania (North
Ossetia).
SOVFOTO-EASTFOTO
Recurring debates among Islamic scholars
over the nature of God have continued to refine the Islamic concepts of God’s
otherness and Islamic monotheism. For example, some theologians interpreted
Qur’anic attributions of traits such as hearing and seeing to God metaphorically
to avoid comparing God to created beings. Another controversial theological
debate focused on the question of free will and predestination. One group of
Muslim theologians maintained that because God is just, he creates only good,
and therefore only humans can create evil. Otherwise, this group argued, God’s
punishment of humans would be unjust because he himself created their evil
deeds. This particular view was rejected by other Muslim theologians on the
grounds that it limits the scope of God's creation, when the Qur’an clearly
states that God is the sole creator of everything that exists in the world.
Mosque of Muhammad Ali, Cairo
The Mosque of Muhammad Ali stands within the walls of
the Citadel in Cairo. Built between 1830 and 1857, it is the largest and
grandest of the four mosques contained in the Citadel. Cairo has been an Islamic
cultural center for more than 1000 years.
Richard Evans
Another controversial issue was the
question of whether the Qur’an was eternal or created in time. Theologians who
were devoted to the concept of God's oneness maintained that the Qur’an must
have been created in time, or else there would be something as eternal as God.
This view was rejected by others because the Qur’an, the ultimate authority in
Islam, states in many places and in unambiguous terms that it is the eternal
word of God.
Many other theological controversies
occupied Muslim thinkers for the first few centuries of Islam, but by the 10th
century the views of Islamic theologian al-Ashari and his followers, known as
Asharites, prevailed and were adopted by most Muslims. The way this school
resolved the question of free will was to argue that no human act could occur if
God does not will it, and that God's knowledge encompasses all that was, is, or
will be. This view also maintains that it is God's will to create the power in
humans to make free choices. God is therefore just to hold humans accountable
for their actions. The views of al-Ashari and his school gradually became
dominant in Sunni, or orthodox, Islam, and they still prevail among most
Muslims. The tendency of the Sunnis, however, has been to tolerate and
accommodate minor differences of opinion and to emphasize the consensus of the
community in matters of doctrine.
As is the case with any religious group,
ordinary Muslims have not always been concerned with detailed theological
controversies. For ordinary Muslims the central belief of Islam is in the
oneness of God and in his prophets and messengers, culminating in Muhammad. Thus
Muslims believe in the scriptures that God sent through these messengers,
particularly the truth and content of the Qur’an. Whatever their specific
religious practices, most Muslims believe in angels, the Day of Judgment,
heaven, paradise, and hell.
| VI | THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD |
Belief in the message of Muhammad comes
second only to belief in the one God. Muhammad was born around the year 570 and
was orphaned at an early age. He was eventually raised by his uncle, who had
religious prominence within the main Quraysh tribe of Mecca but was of modest
financial means. At age 25, Muhammad married Khadija, a well-to-do, 40-year-old
woman. At age 40, during a retreat in the hills outside Mecca, Muhammad had his
first experience of Islam. The angel Gabriel appeared to a fearful Muhammad and
informed him that he was God's chosen messenger. Gabriel also communicated to
Muhammad the first revelation from God. Terrified and shaken, Muhammad went to
his home. His wife became the first person to accept his message and convert to
Islam. After receiving a series of additional revelations, Muhammad started
preaching the new religion, initially to a small circle of relatives and
friends, and then to the general public.
The Meccans first ignored Muhammad, then
ridiculed him. As more people accepted Muhammad's call, the Meccans became more
aggressive. After failing to sway Muhammad away from the new religion they
started to persecute his less prominent followers. When this approach did not
work, the opposing Meccans decided to persecute Muhammad himself. By this time,
two main tribes from the city of Yathrib, about 300 km (200 mi) north of Mecca,
had invited Muhammad to live there. The clan leaders invited Muhammad to Yathrib
as an impartial religious authority to arbitrate disputes. In return, the
leaders pledged to accept Muhammad as a prophet and thus support the new
religion of Islam.
| A | Hegira |
In the year 622, Muhammad immigrated to
Yathrib, and the name of the city was changed to Medina, meaning city of the
Prophet. This date was designated by later Muslims as the beginning of the
Muslim calendar, year one of hegira (Arabic hijra, “immigration”). Only
two years after Muhammad's arrival in Medina, the core community of Muslims
started to expand. At Medina, in addition to preaching the religious and moral
message of Islam, Muhammad organized an Islamic society and served as head of
state, diplomat, military leader, and chief legislator for the growing Muslim
community. Hostilities soon broke out between the Muslims in Medina and the
powerful Meccans. In 630, after a series of military confrontations and
diplomatic maneuvers, the Muslims in Medina extended their authority over Mecca,
the most important city of Arabia at the time. Before Muhammad died in 632, the
whole Arabian Peninsula was united for the first time in its history, under the
banner of Islam.
| B | Muhammad’s Humanity |
Early accounts of Muhammad contain some
stories that describe supernatural events such as his night journey from Mecca
to Jerusalem and his subsequent ascent to heaven on the back of a supernatural
winged horse. Despite such stories, the primary focus of the biographies, as
well as Islamic doctrine in general, is on the humanity of Muhammad.
Like all prophets before him, Muhammad was
a mortal man, commissioned by God to deliver a message to his people and to
humanity. Like other prophets, Muhammad was distinguished from ordinary people
by certain powers and faculties. For example, Muslims believe that the
distinction of being sinless was granted to Muhammad by God to support his
career as a prophet. Thus Muhammad is portrayed in the Qur’an as a person who
makes mistakes but who does not sin against God. However, God corrected
Muhammad’s mistakes or errors in judgment, so that his life serves as an example
for future Muslims to follow. This emphasis on Muhammad's humanity serves as a
reminder that other humans can reasonably aspire to lead a good life as he
did.
| VII | THE QUR’AN |
Muslim Boys Studying the Qur’an
The Qur’an is at the center of Muslim life. Muslims
recite verses from it in their daily prayers and at important public and private
events. Many Muslims also memorize this holy scripture so that they can keep it
in their hearts. Before touching the holy book, Muslims follow rituals for
purification, including washing and preparing the mind, body, and spirit. Care
must be taken that the Qur’an does not come into contact with any unclean
substance, and it is never to be laid upon the ground.
Piers Benatar/Panos
Pictures
As with other prophets and messengers, God
supported Muhammad by allowing him to work miracles and thus prove that he was a
genuine prophet. The singular miracle of Muhammad and the ultimate proof of the
truthfulness of Islam is the Qur’an. In accordance with the words of the
scripture itself, Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the timeless word of God,
“the like of which no human can produce.” This trait of the scripture, called
inimitability (i'jaz), is based on belief in the divine authorship
of the Qur’an. Unlike earlier religions, the miracle of Islam is a literary
miracle, and Muhammad's other supernatural acts are subordinate to it.
This belief in the unique nature of the
Qur’an has led Muslims to devote great intellectual energies to the study of its
contents and form. In addition to interpreting the scripture and deriving
doctrines and laws from it, many disciplines within Qur’anic studies seek to
understand its linguistic and literary qualities as an expression of its divine
origins.
| A | The Format of the Holy Book |
Illustrated Text of the Qur’an
This beautifully decorated page comes from a Qur’an of
the late 8th century or early 9th century. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is an
infallible transcription of God’s message to Muhammad. As the messenger of God
and seal of the prophets, Muhammad was charged with the responsibility of
relaying this message to all believers. Divided into 114 suras, or chapters, the
Qur’an is meant to be recited or chanted as part of Islamic worship.
Bojan Brecelj/Corbis
The Qur’an is made up of 114 chapters,
called suras, which appear, from the second chapter onward, roughly in
order of length, beginning with the longest and ending with the shortest
chapters. The first chapter, al-Fatiha (“the Opening”), is a short chapter that
is recited during each of the five daily prayers and in many other ritual
prayers. All but one chapter begin with the formula 'in the name of God, the
Merciful Lord of Mercy' (bism Allah al-Rahman al-Rahim). Each chapter is
divided into verses called ayat (singular aya, meaning “sign” or
“proof”). With few exceptions the verses are randomly organized without a
coherent narrative thread.
A typical chapter of the Qur’an may
address any combination of the following themes: God and creation, prophets and
messengers from Adam to Jesus, Muhammad as a preacher and as a ruler, Islam as a
faith and as a code of life, disbelief, human responsibility and judgment, and
society and law. Later Muslim scholars have argued that the text’s timelessness
and universality explain the lack of narrative coherence and the randomness of
the topics. In other words, the multiple meanings of the Qur’an transcend linear
narrative as they transcend any particular historical moment.
| B | The Qur’an and the Bible |
Islam recognizes the divine origins of
the earlier Hebrew and Christian Scriptures and represents itself as both a
restoration and a continuation of their traditions. Because of this, the Qur’an
draws on biblical stories and repeats many biblical themes. In particular, the
stories of several biblical prophets appear in the Qur’an, some in a condensed
form; other stories, such as those of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, are given in
elaborate detail and even with subtle revisions of the biblical accounts.
One of the important differences between
the Qur’anic and biblical stories of Abraham's sacrifice of his son, for
example, is that the Qur’an suggests this son is Ishmael, from whom Arabs are
descended, and not Isaac, from whom the tribes of Israel are descended. A more
substantial difference relates to the Islamic story of Jesus, who according to
the Qur’an is a mortal, human prophet. The Islamic faith categorically rejects
the idea that God was ever born, as opposed to Christian belief that Jesus was
born the son of God. Islam also rejects the idea that God shared his divinity
with any other being.
Another important idea elaborated in the
Qur’an and later Islamic doctrine, in conscious distinction from the biblical
accounts, is that although prophets are capable of human errors, God protects
them from committing sins and also protects them from excruciating suffering or
humiliating experiences. God would not abandon his prophets in times of
distress. Therefore, the Qur’an maintains that God interfered to save Jesus from
torture and death by lifting him to heaven and replacing him on the cross with
someone who looked like him.
| C | The Preservation of the Qur’an |
From its inception during the lifetime of
Muhammad, Islamic doctrine gave priority to the preservation of the scripture.
As a result, one of the earliest expressions of religiosity focused on studying,
reciting, and writing down the scripture. When Muhammad died, the preservation
of the scripture was also a conscious concern among his companions and
successors. Early historical sources refer to immediate efforts undertaken by
successors of Muhammad to collect the chapters of the Qur’an, which were written
down by his various companions.
Within about two decades after the death
of the Prophet, various existing copies of parts of the Qur’an were collected
and collated by a committee of close companions of Muhammad who were known for
their knowledge of the Qur’an. This committee was commissioned by the third
successor of Muhammad, Uthman ibn Affan, and the committee’s systematic effort
is the basis of the codified official text currently used by Muslims. The
thematic randomness of the verses and chapters of the Qur’an in its current
format clearly illustrates that the early companions who produced this official
version of the Qur’an were primarily concerned with establishing the text and
made no attempt to edit its contents in order to produce a coherent narrative.
Because of this, scholars agree that the Uthmanic text genuinely reflects, both
in its content and form, the message that Muhammad preached.
| D | Interpretations of the Qur’an |
Despite the consensus among Muslims on
the authenticity of the current format of the Qur’an, they agree that many words
in the Qur’an can be interpreted in equally valid ways. The Arabic language,
like other Semitic languages, has consonants and vowels, and the meanings of
words are derived from both. For several centuries, the written texts of the
Qur’an showed only the consonants, without indicating the vowel marks. As a
result, there are different ways in which many words can be vocalized, with
different meanings; this allows for various legitimate interpretations of the
Qur’an.
One of the disciplines for the study of
the Qur’an is exclusively dedicated to the study and documentation of acceptable
and unacceptable variant readings. According to Muslim scholars, there are some
40 possible readings of the Qur’an, of which 7 to 14 are legitimate. The
legitimacy of different possible interpretations of the scripture is supported
by a statement in the Qur’an that describes verses as either unambiguously
clear, or as ambiguous because they carry a meaning known only to God.
Therefore, with the exception of a small number of unquestionably clear
injunctions, the meaning of the Qur’anic verses is not always final.
The Qur’an is the primary source of
authority, law and theology, and identity in Islam. However, in many cases it is
either completely silent on important Islamic beliefs and practices or it gives
only general guidelines without elaboration. This is true of some of the most
basic religious obligations such as prayer, which the Qur’an prescribes without
details. Details elaborating on the teachings and laws of the Qur’an are derived
from the sunna, the example set by Muhammad’s life, and in particular
from hadith, the body of sayings and practices attributed to him.
| VIII | HADITH |
Shrine of Abbas
The shrine of Abbas in Karbalā, Iraq, is a pilgrimage
site for Shia Muslims. Abbas was the son of Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet
Muhammad. Abbas was martyred and buried in Karbalā. His tomb is in a domed
chamber that shimmers with silver mirrors.
Eddie Adams/Leo de Wys,
Inc.
As the second source of authority in
Islam, hadith complements the Qur’an and provides the most extensive source for
Islamic law. The ultimate understanding of the Qur’an depends upon the context
of Muhammad’s life and the ways in which he demonstrated and applied its
message. There is evidence that Muhammad's sayings and practices were invoked by
his companions to answer questions about Islam. Unlike the Qur’an, however, in
the early periods hadith was circulated orally, and no attempts were made to
establish or codify it into law until the beginnings of the second century of
Islam.
Due to the late beginnings of the efforts
to collect and compile reports about Muhammad's traditions, Muslim scholars
recognize that the authenticity of these reports cannot be taken for granted.
Many spurious reports were often deliberately put into circulation to support
claims of various political and sectarian groups. Other additions resulted from
the natural tendency to confuse common practices that predated Islam with new
Islamic laws and norms. The fading of memory, the dispersion of the companions
of the prophet over vast territories, and the passing away of the last of these
companions also contributed to the problem of authenticating Muhammad’s
traditions.
Preaching in the Mosque
Book illustration was an essential Islamic art, which
flourished from the 7th to the 18th century. This manuscript page shows Abu Zayd
preaching in the mosque of Samarqand. Islamic art focused on book arts rather
than easel painting because it was believed that art should serve a function,
that of education.
Bridgeman/Art Resource,
NY
To establish the authority of hadith on
firmer ground, Muslim scholars developed several disciplines dedicated to
examining and verifying the relative authenticity of various reports attributed
to the Prophet. The contents of sayings, as well as the reliability of those who
transmitted them, were carefully scrutinized, and the hadiths were classified
into groups granted varying degrees of authenticity, ranging from the sound and
reliable to the fabricated and rejected. This systematic effort culminated in
the 9th century, some 250 years after the death of Muhammad, in the compilation
of several collections of sound (sahih) hadith. Of six such highly
reliable compilations, two in particular are considered by Muslims to be the
most important sources of Islamic authority after the Qur’an. These are Sahih
Muslim and Sahih Bukhari (the sound books of Muslim and
Bukhari).
Jumeirah Mosque
The Jumeirah Mosque is located in the city of Dubai, in
the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the chief port and commercial center of the
Emirates.
SIME/Schmid
Reinhard/4Corners Images
Historically, the compilation of hadith
went hand in hand with the elaboration of Islamic law and the parallel
development of Islamic legal theory. Initially, neither the law nor its
procedures were systematically elaborated, although there can be little doubt
that both the Qur’an and hadith were regularly invoked and used to derive laws
that governed the lives of Muslims. By the beginning of the 9th century, the use
of these two sources was systematized and a complex legal theory was introduced.
In its developed form, this theory maintains that there are four sources from
which Islamic law is derived. These are, in order of priority, the Qur’an, the
hadith, the consensus of the community (ijma), and legal analogy
(qiyas). Functional only when there is no explicit ruling in the Qur’an
or hadith, consensus confers legitimacy retrospectively on historical practices
of the Muslim community. In legal analogy, the causes for existing Islamic
rulings are applied by analogy to similar cases for which there are no explicit
statements in either the Qur’an or hadith. Using these methods, a vast and
diverse body of Islamic law was laid out covering various aspects of personal
and public life.
In addition to the laws pertaining to the
five pillars, Islamic law covers areas such as dietary laws, purity laws,
marriage and inheritance laws, commercial transaction laws, laws pertaining to
relationships with non-Muslims, and criminal law. Jews and Christians living
under Muslim rule are subject to the public laws of Islam, but they have
traditionally been permitted to run their internal affairs on the basis of their
own religious laws.
| IX | THE SPREAD OF ISLAM |
Spread of Islam
In the 7th and 8th centuries the religion of Islam
spread through conversion and military conquest throughout the Middle East and
North Africa. By 733, just 100 years after the death of Muhammad, the founder of
Islam, an ordered Islamic state stretched from India in the east to Spain in the
west.
© Microsoft Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
Since its inception Islam has been perceived
by Muslims to be a universal code. During Muhammad's lifetime, two attempts were
made to expand northward into the Byzantine domain and its capital in
Constantinople, and within ten years after Muhammad’s death, Muslims had
defeated the Sassanids of Persia and the Byzantines, and had conquered most of
Persia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt. The conquests continued, and the Sassanian
Empire was soon after destroyed and the influence of Byzantium was largely
diminished (see Byzantine Empire). For the next several centuries
intellectuals and cultural figures flourished in the vast, multinational Islamic
world, and Islam became the most influential civilization in the world.
| A | The Rightly Guided Caliphs |
Mosque at Mazār-e Sharīf
Muslims from all over the country make pilgrimages to
the 15th-century mosque at Mazār-e Sharīf in northern Afghanistan. The religious
significance of the site derives from the belief that the tomb of Ali, fourth
caliph of Islam and son-in-law of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, lies within
the mosque. More than 99 percent of the population of Afghanistan practices
Islam.
George Hunter/ALLSTOCK,
INC.
The first four successors of Muhammad,
known as rightly guided caliphs, ruled for some 30 years (see Caliphate).
Their rule, together with that of Muhammad, is considered by most Muslims to
constitute the ideal Islamic age. The second caliph, Umar, ruled from ad 634 to 644; he is credited with being
the first caliph to found new Islamic cities, Al Başra (ad 635) and Kūfah (ad 638). The administration of the
eastern and western Islamic provinces was coordinated from these two sites.
After the third caliph, Uthman, was murdered by a group of Muslim mutineers, the
fourth caliph, Ali, succeeded to power and moved his capital to Kūfah in Iraq.
From this capital he fought the different opposition factions. Among the leaders
of these factions, Mu’awiyah, governor of the rich province of Syria and a
relative of Uthman, outlasted Ali. After Ali’s death in 661, Mu’awiyah founded
the Umayyad dynasty, which ruled a united Islamic empire for almost a century.
Under the Umayyads the Islamic capital was shifted to Damascus. See
Spread of Islam.
| B | Shia Islam |
The followers of Ali were known as the
Shia (partisans) of Ali. Although they began as a political group, the
Shia, or Shia Muslims, became a sect with specific theological and doctrinal
positions. A key event in the history of the Shia and for all Muslims was the
tragic death at Karbala of Husayn, the son of Ali, and Muhammad's daughter
Fatima. Husayn had refused to recognize the legitimacy of the rule of the
Umayyad Yazid, the son of Mu’awiyah, and was on his way to rally support for his
cause in Kūfah. His plans were exposed before he arrived at Kūfah, however, and
a large Umayyad army met him and 70 members of his family at the outskirts of
the city. The Umayyads offered Husayn the choice between a humiliating
submission to their rule or a battle and definite death. Husayn chose to fight,
and he and all the members of his family with him were massacred. The incident
was of little significance from a military point of view, but it was a defining
moment in the history of Shia Islam. Although not all Muslims are Shia Muslims,
all Muslims view Husayn as a martyr for living up to his principles even to
death.
The Twelver Shia, or Ithna-‘Ashariyya, is the largest of the
Shia Muslim sects. They believe that legitimate Islamic leadership is vested in
a line of descent starting with Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, through
Ali's two sons, Hasan and Husayn, and then through Husayn's descendants. These
were the first 12 imams, or leaders of the Shia Muslim community. The Shia
Muslims believe that Muhammad designated all 12 successors by name and that they
inherited a special knowledge of the true meaning of the scripture that was
passed from father to son, beginning with the Prophet himself. This family,
along with its loyal followers and representatives, has political authority over
the Shia Muslims.
| C | Sunni Islam |
Sunni Islam was defined during the early
Abbasid period (beginning in ad
750), and it included the followers of four legal schools (the Malikis, Hanafis,
Shafi’is, and Hanbalis). In contrast to the Shias, the Sunnis believed that
leadership was in the hands of the Muslim community at large. The consensus of
historical communities, not the decisions of political authorities, led to the
establishment of the four legal schools. In theory a Muslim could choose
whichever school of Islamic thought he or she wished to follow and could change
this choice at will. The respect and popularity that the religious scholars
enjoyed made them the effective brokers of social power and pitched them against
the political authorities.
After the first four caliphs, the
religious and political authorities in Islam were never again united under one
institution. Their usual coexistence was underscored by a mutual recognition of
their separate spheres of influence and their respective duties and
responsibilities. Often, however, the two powers collided, and invariably any
social opposition to the elite political order had religious undertones.
| D | Sufism |
Whirling Dervishes
In the Middle Ages the great Sufi orders, which had
several million adherents, were established; about 100 orders still exist, many
of them in Turkey and Iran. One of the most influential founders of orders was
the Persian poet Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, who, in addition to composing
poetry and other works, instituted devotional dances, particularly those of the
whirling dervishes.
BBC Worldwide Americas,
Inc.
An ascetic tradition called Sufism, which
emphasized personal piety and mysticism and contributed to Islamic cultural
diversity, further enriched the Muslim heritage. In contrast to the legal-minded
approach to Islam, Sufis emphasized spirituality as a way of knowing God. During
the 9th century Sufism developed into a mystical doctrine, with direct communion
or even ecstatic union with God as its ideal. One of the vehicles for this
experience is the ecstatic dance of the Sufi whirling dervishes. Eventually
Sufism later developed into a complex popular movement and was institutionalized
in the form of collective, hierarchical Sufi orders.
Rumi
Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, influenced the lyrical
poetry of 13th-century Persian writer Jalal al-Din Rumi. He explored spiritual
concepts such as the meaning of life and the ultimate need for the human soul to
unite with God. Rumi often used the second person “you” in his poetry, but he
frequently disguised the identity of the “you.” For example, the subject of
Rumi’s poem 1245 (recited by an actor) may be a human lover, God, another part
of himself, or a combination of all three.
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Corporation. All Rights Reserved./© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights
Reserved.
The Sufi emphasis on intuitive knowledge
and the love of God increased the appeal of Islam to the masses and largely made
possible its extension beyond the Middle East into Africa and East Asia. Sufi
brotherhoods multiplied rapidly from the Atlantic coast to Indonesia; some
spanned the entire Islamic world, others were regional or local. The tremendous
success of these fraternities was due primarily to the abilities and
humanitarianism of their founders and leaders, who not only ministered to the
spiritual needs of their followers but also helped the poor of all faiths and
frequently served as intermediaries between the people and the government.
| E | The Abbasid Dynasty |
Córdoba, Spain
The Moorish history of the city of Córdoba in Spain
dates from the 8th century, when the city became a Muslim caliphate. The Moorish
influence can still be seen in much of the architecture, including the city’s
famous cathedral, originally an impressive mosque.
Poseidon Pictures
London
Islamic culture started to evolve under
the Umayyads, but it grew to maturity in the first century of the Abbasid
dynasty. The Abbasids came to power in ad 750 when armies originating from
Khorāsān, in eastern Iran, finally defeated the Umayyad armies. The Islamic
capital shifted to Iraq under the Abbasids. After trying several other cities,
the Abbasid rulers chose a site on the Tigris River on which the City of Peace,
Baghdād, was built in 762. Baghdād remained the political and cultural capital
of the Islamic world from that time until the Mongol invasion in 1258, and for a
good part of this time it was the center of one of the great flowerings of human
knowledge. The Abbasids were Arabs descended from the Prophet's uncle, but the
movement they led involved Arabs and non-Arabs, including many Persians, who had
converted to Islam and who demanded the equality to which they were entitled in
Islam.
Courtyard, Madrasa, Eşfahān
A madrasa is a place for learning and prayer. This view
into the courtyard of the Madrasa Chahār Bāgh in Eşfahān, Iran, shows the domed
mosque, central pool, and rooms around the courtyard for study and
accommodation. The madrasa was built from 1706 to 1714.
Art Resource, NY
The Abbasids distributed power more evenly
among the different ethnicities and regions than the Umayyads had, and they
demonstrated the universal inclusiveness of Islamic civilization. They achieved
this by incorporating the fruits of other civilizations into Islamic political
and intellectual culture and by marking these external influences with a
distinctly Islamic imprint.
Baghdād, Iraq
Baghdād became the capital city of the newly created
kingdom of Iraq in 1921, but the city’s history dates back many centuries more.
Built in ad 762 on a fertile plain next to the Tigris River in central Iraq,
Baghdād is the country's largest city and its center of transportation and
manufacturing. In 1991, however, heavy bombing during the Persian Gulf War
destroyed much of the city's industry and transportation network.
Barry Iverson/Woodfin Camp
and Associates, Inc.
As time passed, the central control of the
Abbasids was reduced and independent local leaders and groups took over in the
remote provinces. Eventually the rival Shia Fatimid caliphate was established in
Egypt, and the Baghdād caliphate came under the control of expanding provincial
dynasties. The office of the caliph was nonetheless maintained as a symbol of
the unity of Islam, and several later Abbasid caliphs tried to revive the power
of the office.
Persian Manuscript
During the rule of the Abbasid caliphs, from 750 to
1258, Islamic culture flourished. This 13th-century Persian manuscript was
created during this period. Islamic art used input from neighboring cultures
including the Persians in the development of a cohesive Islamic style of
art.
Bibliotheque Nationale,
Paris/Laurie Platt Winfrey, Inc./Woodfin Camp and Associates, Inc.
In 1258, however, a grandson of Mongol
ruler Genghis Khan named Hulagu, encouraged by the kings of Europe, led his
armies across the Zagros Mountains of Iran and destroyed Baghdād. According to
some estimates, about 1 million Muslims were murdered in this massacre. In 1259
and 1260 Hulagu's forces marched into Syria, but they were finally defeated by
the Mamluks of Egypt, who had taken over the Nile Valley. For the next two
centuries, centers of Islamic power shifted to Egypt and Syria and to a number
of local dynasties. Iraq became an impoverished, depopulated province where the
people took up a transitory nomadic lifestyle. Iraq did not finally experience a
major cultural and political revival until the 20th century.
| X | THE PRESENCE OF ISLAM IN THE 20TH CENTURY |
Many of the accepted Islamic religious and
cultural traditions were established between the 7th and 10th centuries, during
the classical period of Islamic history. However, Islamic culture continued to
develop as Islam spread into new regions and mixed with diverse cultures. The
19th-century occupation of most Muslim lands by European colonial powers was a
main turning point in Muslim history. The traditional Islamic systems of
governance, social organization, and education were undermined by the colonial
regimes. Nation-states with independent governments divided the Muslim community
along new ethnic and political lines.
Today about 1 billion Muslims are spread over
40 predominantly Muslim countries and 5 continents, and their numbers are
growing at a rate unmatched by that of any other religion in the world. Despite
the political and ethnic diversity of Muslim countries, a core set of beliefs
continues to provide the basis for a shared identity and affinity among Muslims.
Yet the radically different political, economic, and cultural conditions under
which contemporary Muslims live make it difficult to identify what constitutes
standard Islamic practice in the modern world. Many contemporary Muslims draw on
the historical legacy of Islam as they confront the challenges of modern life.
Islam is a significant, growing, and dynamic presence in the world. Its modern
expressions are as diverse as the world in which Muslims live.
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