Islamic Studies Notes for Test 1 PDF

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Islamic Studies Notes for Test 1 Following Muhammad Preface 1. Lost in this confrontation are hundreds of Muslins who inhabit the world today who have been classified as outsiders to Western Civilization but who do not share the apocalyptic and fanatic vision of Osama bin Laden. 2. Approaching the subject from religious studies, I draw attention to the important role of Modern Christianity, particularly Protestant thought, in shaping modern interpretations of Islam. 3. Orientalists: non-Muslim European and American experts on Islam 4. Political, social, economic factors exist behind phenomenon that are sometimes thought be exclusively religious. 5. Approaching religion from the perspective of history also reveals that behind the apparently seamless unity of religious concepts lie major debates and differences, signs of irrevocable pluralism, and multiple perspectives within every religious tradition. 6. Muslims are human beings – meaning that they have history and that they live in multiple social and historical situation define by economic class, ethnicity, gender and all the factors that ordinary human beings have to deal with. Following Muhammad Chapter 1 1. Americans are not very good at understanding other cultures. This gap in understanding is largely a one-way affair. a. The process of globalization. b. In contrast, Americans and Europeans ignore other cultures with perfect equanimity. 2. Aggressive European military expansion in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia since the days of Napoleon. a. The argument that there would be an eventual death struggle between the progressive West and the retrograde Islamic world (Samuel Huntington – The Clash of Civilizations), might be used to unleash new military adventures against the enemies of the West. b. Shares the basic prejudice of reserving true civilization for Europe. c. Lacks the overt dependence on racial theory d. The technical edge that gave Europe military superiority over the world was mistaken for cultural superiority 3. The Dialogue of Civilizations – President Khatami of Iran 4. Separate Muslim world a. Hasn’t exist for 200 years b. Politically, economically, culturally, militarily i. International financial networks, multinational corporations, media conglomerates, Internet c. Diversity of languages, ethnic groups, differing ideological and sectarian positions d. Concept of Muslim world vs. the West is out of step with reality 5. Prophets recognized in the Qur’an (Israeli prophecy and tradition)

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a. Abraham b. Moses c. Jesus Greek philosophy and science a. Subjects of intense study in the lands ruled by Muslim caliphs b. When they were barely known in Christian Europe c. Translations from Arabic into Latin that Aristotle was rediscovered in Paris and Oxford American claim to the exclusive ownership of the two main sources of civilization is false. Symbols of civilization that moved east a. After the fall of Rome to the barbarian conquest, Byzantium/Constantinople became the capital of the leftover Roman Empire b. Ottoman sultans conquered Constantinople i. Known as Turks to the Western Europeans ii. Romans (Rumi/Arwam) in the Near East (the Arabs) iii. And then Constantinople returned to its former glory “Individuals are thought of as members of a family, state or religion, rather than as entities with a destiny and rights of their own. This leads to autocracy in politics, fatalism in religion and conservatism in both.” Religion is not a realm of facts, but a field in which every statement is contested and all claims are challenged. Religious language in the public sphere is not meant to convey information but to establish authority and legitimacy through assertion and persuasion. a. Eurocentric prejudice against – historical justification for colonialism b. Islamic religious language against the West – ideological response against colonialism that deliberately uses the same rhetoric of religion Those who attribute conflict to religion, whether they speak as opposition figures or state authorities, do not speak for the vast majority of religious people, and indeed they contradict the history of religion. Islam – secondary importance in the scale of values found in traditional theology a. Meaning – submission to god b. Minimum actions required in the community – the five pillars i. Profession of faith ii. Prayer iii. Fasting during Ramadan iv. Giving alms v. Performing pilgrimage to Mecca c. Recent prominence indicates a shift in religious thought i. Much more importance to religious identity was faith – iman ii. Believing in god and everything revealed through the prophets iii. Faithful believer – mu’min d. Muslim – one who has submitted to God i. Corporate, social significance – indicating any membership in a religious community

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ii. Islam – practically useful boundary term Muhammadan a. Religious followers of the Prophet Muhammad b. Muslims regarded this label as inappropriate c. “Islam” introduced by Orientalists d. Newly invented European term as Hinduism and Buddhism In a sense, the concept of Islam in opposition to the West is just as much a product of European colonialism as it is a Muslim response to that European expansionism. The world Muslim population is well over 1 billion. It would be a great fallacy to paint this large group with the same brush. a. Majority population on over 50 countries b. Language c. Ethnic composition d. Natural resources e. Level of tech The history of Christian attitudes toward Islam has largely been negative, although not always so. Jews and Muslims typically had much more positive relations with each other in premodern times than either group had with Christians; it is really only with the establishment of the state of Israel that Jews and Muslims have become antagonistic. Muslim understandings of the status of Muhammad as a prophet a. Muhammad was illiterate – proof of the divine origin of the scripture he transmitted b. Descent from Abraham’s some Ishmael – part of traditional Arab genealogy c. Muhammad’s only miracle was the Qur’an – spirituality of his mission d. Muhammad engaged in battle i. Political ambitions? ii. No, leads by example. iii. There will always be conflict – essential to have a ethical code of conduct for war and politics e. Married to a number of women i. Sensual lust? ii. Human life requires procreation iii. Religious model in this area For Muslims, calling a human being (Jesus) divine amounts to idolatry and polytheism a. Unity of God is essential b. Hard for Christians to accept the possibility of a prophet not sanctioned by the Church or scripture c. Muslims are bewildered by the extreme hostility that Christians show to Muslims and Muhammad, when Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God with a lofty spiritual status

Test review sheet 1. Top 10 Muslim countries (in terms of number of Muslims)

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

Indonesia Pakistan India Bangladesh Egypt Nigeria Iran Turkey Algeria Morocco

=IPIBENITAM = Incredibly Peaceful In Behavior Exist Nations In The Assortment of Muslims 2. Hijri calendar a. Lunar calendar b. 12 months and 354 days c. Date events in many Muslim countries i. Used to determine the proper days on which to observe fasting for Ramadan ii. To attend Hajj iii. Other Islamic Festivals and holidays d. First year of the Hijri calendar – it all began in AD 622 i. Emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina occurred – called the Hijra e. Current Islamic year is 1437 AH. f. First month of the Hijri calendar – Muharram i. So called because battle and all kind of fighting is forbidden (haram) during this month. Muharram includes the Day of Ashura. g. Last month of the Hijri calendar – Dhu al-Hijjah i. The month in which the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) occurs and during which war is banned. h. Ramadan is the most venerated month of the Hijri calendar. During this time, Muslims must fast from dawn till sunset and should give charity to the poor. 3. World Abrahamic Religions a. Monotheism b. Universalist c. Not Islam – cosmic mythology i. Role of a prophet with special powers ii. Role of god iii. Divinely composed scriptures 4. Islamic vs. Muslim a. Islamic i. Doctrinal issues

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ii. Islamic theology iii. Quranic studies b. Turkey i. Muslim country, not Islamic ii. Muslim terrorists vs. Islamic terrorists Sunni a. Largest denomination of Islam – 87-90% of all Muslims b. Muhammad’s proper successor as Caliph was his father-in-law Abu Bakr c. Orthodox Islam Shi’a a. Muhammad’s proper successor as Caliph was his son-in-law Ali b. Shi’a countries: i. Iran ii. Pakistan iii. India iv. Iraq Other types of diversity among Muslims a. Ahmadiyya b. Nation of Islam c. Druze d. Legal schools i. The methodology in which the law is interpreted greatly differs ii. Not a monochromatic view iii. Permeable borders e. Theological divisions i. Rationalism vs. traditionalism f. Sufiism Pre-Islamic Arabia a. Arab tribes were nomadic, with a strong community spirit and some specific society rules i. Honor of the person tied to the honor of the tribe ii. Constant state of war among tribes 1. Tribal codes of conduct a. Hospitality/guests – strangers seeking protection/shelter b. Honor – law of retaliation c. Fear factor – maintains stability b. Patriarchal cultures c. Rudimentary religious beliefs i. Paganism 1. Main God called Allah – supreme deity of pre-Islamic pagan religion 2. Host of offsprings to take care of daily needs ii. Polytheism

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Cosmic mythology Gods and goddesses with various roles and responsibilities Natural objects of veneration Rituals and ceremonies

d. Hanifs i. Desert hermits ii. Monotheism iii. Idol adorations e. Not much scope for complex political structures f. Trade passageways, fertile coastal settlements g. Pastoral nomadism i. Small livestock ii. Herders iii. Trade these animals, sell produce h. Oasis towns of Medina, Khyber, Taif i. Sedentary tribes ii. Trading centers iii. Livestock and agricultural produce 9. Jahiliyyah (Age of ignorance) a. Ignorance of divine guidance b. Allegedly barbaric conditions in which Arabs found themselves in pre-Islamic Arabia i. Prior to the revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad c. General condition of those that haven’t accepted the Muslim faith 10. Al-Shanfara a. A poet b. Pre-Islamic c. An outlaw warrior d. attacks on the rigidity of tribal life and praise of solitude. Some of these attacks on the values of the clan and of the tribe were meant to be ironic, teasing the listeners only in order finally to endorse all that the members of the audience held most dear about their communal values and way of life. 11. Significance of poetry in Pre-Islamic culture and as a historical source a. Earliest form of Arabic literature. b. Eloquence and artistic value i. Respect for artists/poets c. Source for classical Arabic language, both in grammar and vocabulary d. Reliable historic record of the political and cultural life i. Poets (shairs) fulfilled the roles of historians, soothsayers, propagandists ii. Individual tribe’s prestige and importance 1. Collective memory of the tribe e. Quasi-magical i. Spirit (jinn)

ii. 12. Byzantium a. Ancient Greek colony b. Christian c. Far more advanced (along with Sasanian) d. Farmer communities e. City states 13. Zoroastrianism a. State religion of the pre-Islamic Iranian empires (Sasanian Empire) b. Integrated into Islam from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia 14. Sasanian Empire a. Arch rival to the neighboring Roman-Byzantine Empire b. To the north-east of Arabian peninsula c. B and S existed as perpetual and mutual threats to each other d. They both would enlist tribes and mercenaries from the Arabian peninsula 15. Arabia a. Harsh climate prevented much settlement b. Urban trading settlements: Mecca and Medina c. Nomadic and tribal societies, uninhabitable desert d. Introduction of Islam in the 7th century e. From there on, he and his companions united the tribes of Arabia under the banner of Islam and created a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the Arabian Peninsula. 16. Ka‘bah a. Cubical building at the center of the most sacred Islamic mosque in Mecca b. Muslims are expected to face the Kabah c. Idols of several deities inside the Kabah – polytheism and idolatry – central shrine d. Ukkaz i. Annual festival gathering for business, trade, poetry exchange, competition 17. Quraysh a. Ruling tribe of Mecca at the time of the birth of Muhammad b. Powerful tribe c. Muhammad was born into the tribe 18. Al-Lat, Uzza, Manat a. Pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses b. Uzza like Aphrodite c. Manat – goddess of fate d. Shrines and temples demolished on the orders of Muhammad to eliminate the last idols reminiscent of the pre-Islamic practices 19. Muhammad a. Founder of Islam

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b. Last prophet sent by God to mankind to restore Islam – the unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus c. United Arabia into a single Muslim polity d. Ensured that his teachings and practice in the Qur’an e. Humanity of Muhammad i. Makes mistakes, but no mistakes related to the scripture f. Beauty, chivalry, articulate g. Justice for the weak and oppressed i. Promoting chastity, against female infanticide ii. Equitable distribution of wealth, critiqued the wealth of Mecca’s elite Nabi and Rasul a. Prophets b. Messengers of Allah Hijra a. The journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers too from Mecca to Medina (Yathrib) Umma a. A nation with common ancestry or geography b. Collective community of Islamic people c. Qur’an – single group of people that share common religious beliefs d. Constitution of Medina – explicitly refers to Jewish, Christians and pagan citizens of Medina as members of the umma Khadija a. First wife of Muhammad b. “Mother of Muslims” c. First person to convert to Islam d. Significantly older than Muhammad Aisha a. Wife of Muhammad that he probably liked best b. Sunni traditions i. Scholarly and inquisitive ii. Spread of the message of Muhammad iii. Narrated various hadiths on the life of the Muhammad c. Her father – first caliph to succeed Muhammad Muslim understanding of prophecy and Muhammad’s position as prophet in human history Ibn Ishaq a. Arab Muslim historian b. Collected oral traditions that formed the basis of Muhammad’s biography c. Maghazi i. Accounts of military expeditions, raids, tribal genealogy d. Student Ibn Hisham Ibn Sa’ad

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a. Sunni Muslim scholar of Islam Sirah a. Traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad b. Source of information about the life of the Muhammad, along with the Qur’an, hadiths Ibn, Bint, Abu a. Ibn, Bin (pl. Banu): son of i. Saudi Arabia – strong connections to tribal culture b. Abu: father of c. Bint: daughter Sunnah a. Verbally transmitted record of teachings, deeds, sayings of Muhammad b. Along with Qur’an, makes up the two primary sources of Islamic theology and law c. Path, way, manner of life of Muhammad – model for Muslims to follow Hadith a. Collections of reports claiming to quote what Muhammad said b. Second to the Qur’an in developing Islamic jurisprudence c. Understanding the Qur’an d. Things mentioned in the hadiths, not in the Qur’an i. Portraiture of living things ii. Stoning adulterers iii. Five salat prayers e. Isnad i. Chain of transmission (actual text: Matn) ii. Classified by Muslim clerics and jurists to be authentic or not Akhbar a. News, historical reports, early Muslim authorities Constitution of Medina a. Drafted by Muhammad after his arrival to Medina (the Hijra) b. Agreement between the various Muslim, Jewish, pagan, Christian groups in Medina to constitute ummah – form the basis of a multi-religious Islamic state in Medina c. Created to end the tribal fighting between tribal clans d. Freedom of religious beliefs e. No one can go to war without consulting the Prophet f. Security of women g. Tax system for supporting the community in times of conflict h. Representatives of all parties should be present during negotiation with foreign states i. Judicial system for resolving disputes j. Medina – haram – no weapons can be carried/no blood can be spilled Hilya a. Religious genre of Ottoman Turkish literature b. Physical description of the Muhammad c. Based on hadith accounts

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d. Reading and possessing the hilya can protect an individual from trouble in this world and the next e. Rendered in fine calligraphy – art form, wall decoration Seal of Prophecy a. No other prophet after Muhammad b. Finality and supremacy of Muhammad’s prophethood c. The large sign on Muhammad’s back, between his shoulders i. Physical proof of Muhammad’s prophethood Significance of Washington Irving in terms of understanding American vs. European views of Muhammad Chronology of Muhammad’s life a. Birth – 570 b. Death – 632 c. Revelation – 610 - 632 d. Hijra e. Battles of i. Badr – outside Medina, Muslims win with small force ii. Uhud – Meccans win under the leadership of Khalid b. al Walid f. Treaty of Hudaybiyya i. Prophet attempts to make pilgrimage with large group of Muslims; turned back by Meccans with the agreement that he could come following year. Treaty also initiates 10 year truce between Muslims and Meccans. ii. In aftermath of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad continues to make allies and strengthen his position. g. Conquest of Mecca h. Delegations – last years of his life – delegations of tribes come to Muhammad to convert or ally with Muhammad as rising power Muslim representations and veneration of Muhammad a. Pictorial representation of Muhammad is strongly discouraged Mawlid a. Observance of the birthday of the Prophet Ziyara a. Pilgrimage to the tomb of Muhammad Aniconism a. Absence of material representations of God b. Differs from iconoclasm (physical destruction of images) Surah a. Chapter of the Qur’an Ayah (Ayat) a. Verses of the Qur’an i.jaz al Qur’an a. Qur’anic doctrine of inimitability of the Qur’an

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b. No human speech can match the miraculous quality of the Qur’an in content and form Tafsir a. Science of Qur’anic exegesis (interpretation) (Arabic text) b. Atomistic line-by-line approach, not thematic c. Author of a tafsir – mufassir Tajwid a. Rules of Qur’anic recitation b. Hifz – memorization of the Qur’an – Hafiz Madrassa a. Institutions that aid the memorization and elementary learning of the Qur’an for young children b. Existed since the first century c. Cuts across socio-economic barriers Asslam Alaikum a. Greeting – Peace be upon you Insha Allah a. God willing Bismillah a. To start something – In the name of Allah Alhamdulillah a. Praise be to Allah Allahu Akbar a. God is Great Surat al-Fatihah a. The first chapter of the Quran Meccan vs. Medinan verses a. Medinan i. How Muslim identity is distinct from Christian and Jewish ii. Addressed to the followers of Muhammad iii. Legislative nature, laws of Islam, leisurely in style iv. Specific guidelines 1. Prayer/fasting 2. Public and private matters a. Inheritance, divorce, marriage b. Meccan i. Chronologically earlier ii. Come near the end of the Qur’an iii. Typically shorter iv. Addressed to Muhammad, or men generally v. Prophetic in nature, striking style 1. General establishment of religion 2. Paganism and polytheism

3. Primordial monotheism 4. Core, doctrinal messages of Islam 5. Accountability though the Day of Judgement 6. Ephemeral world, eternal afterlife 7. Universal ethics – those marginalized, orphans, honesty 55. Handling and disposal of the Qur’an 56. Textual variety and different roles of the Qur’an in Muslim life a. Language for ritual ceremony i. Obligatory prayer ii. Recite in Arabic, supposed to be memorized iii. Hajj, R...