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GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT ISLAM
ISLAM AND MUSLIMS
Islam is the name of a religion, as Christianity and Judaism are names of religions The Arabic word Team is based o rast sam” which means peace or surrender to God. Combining both translations results in the combined meaning the state of peace through following Goods guidance.
Islamic is an adjective that modifies a non-human noun, as for example Islamic art amic architecture should not be used to refer to a person.
A follower of Islam is called a Muslim, or “one who is in a state of peace by following God’s guidance
While the term Arab has been used in the past to refer to members of a Samitic ethnic group from the in refers to people from Arabic-speaking countries, most of which are in the Middle East and North this. The ma to describe an inhabitant of the Arabian Peninsula. Today Arabian” is used as an adjective to be a non-huma it should not be used to refer to people.
Islam’s primary message, as understood by the overwhelming majority of Muslims, is the continuation of the Abrahamic monotheistic tradition’s belief in one God. The three major dimensions of Islam include beliefs, ritual practices, and the effort to improve one’s character and actions. There are six major beliefs in Islam and five central practices that are referred to as the Five Pillars.
The last dimension of Islam focuses on the cultivation of excellent moral character to better oneself and the world around oneself. It teaches a set of values that promote life, liberty, equality and justice. Some of these values include:
• Respect for the earth and all creatures
. Care and compassion for those less fortunate
• The importance of seeking knowledge
. Honesty and truthfulness in word and deed
• Striving continuously to improve oneself and the world
The six major beliefs in Islam, as understood by the majority of Sunni Muslims, are:
• belief in God.
• belief in angels.
• belief in God’s prophets/messengers.
• belief in God’s revelations in the form of holy scriptures given to the messengers.
• belief in an afterlife that follows the Day of Judgment on which people will be held accountable for their actions and compensated
accordingly in the afterlife: and
• belief in God’s divine will and His knowledge of what happens in the world.
Muslims practice their faith in many different ways, but the major practices for both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims are known as the Five Pillars, which
include:
• the profession of faith, namely that there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
– the five daily prayers.
required annual donation to charity in the amount of 2.5% of one’s excess wealth.
• fasting during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan, and
• making a pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime. if one is mentally, physically, and financially able to do so.
The primary sources of knowledge about Islam are the Qur’an, which adherent Muslims believe is the divinely revealed word of God, and the Sunnah, which refers to the example or precedent of the Prophet Muhammad (ie.. what he said, did, approved, disapproved, caused, ordered, or allowed to happen). Much of what is known about the Sunnah is from the collection of sayings or reports known as Hadith, or prophetic tradition. The Hadith describe actions of the Prophet Muhammad or actions that his companions attributed to his teachings. Hadith also elaborate on and provide context to the Qur’an.
Though both Surinis and Shias revere and respect the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, many Shi’a’s consider the rulings of the twelve Imams a primary source having a status like that of the aforementioned sources. Other sources may exist for different Muslim seats.
in addition to these primary sources. Muslims have also traditionally relied on the following additional sources scholarly consensus that is the agreement of knowledgeable scholars upon a particular issue, and analogical reasoning that is the application of principles or laws derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah to similar situations not explicitly addressed by them. The lived experience of islam which naturally varies widely not only in different cultures but also between different individuals, also impacts and determines a Muslim’s understanding and practice of Islam.
GOD
This is a challenging issue for all religions that proclaim a belief in a God who is at once omnipotent and beneficent. We believe that God tries people in different ways. through both hardship and ease. While the cause of suffering is not always evident, the way that people respond to difficulty is a test of their moral fiber. Responding to hardship with patience and fortitude is a virtue for which we believe a great reward is promised in this life and the afterlife. Additionally, there may be a silver lining behind every difficulty. For instance, major disasters often bring out the best in people, inspiring them to perform remarkable acts as they respond to their own or another’s hardship with compassion and courage and come to the aid of those in need. Muslims also take comfort in their belief that life does not end after death.
We believe that God’s love for humanity is indeed central to our faith. The Qur’an mentions God’s compassion and mercy 192 times, as opposed to God’s wrath, which is mentioned only 17 times. Two of God’s main attributes are the “Compassionate and the “Merciful. Both names denote God’s love and care for all creation. These are the two most often mentioned names of God, since all but one of the 114 chapters in the Qur’an begin with “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. The Qur’an cites 99 different names or attributes of God, many of which also emphasize these characteristics including the Loving the Giving.” “the Forgiving” and “the Kind.”
ANGELS
Angels are mentioned many times in the Qur’an and Hadith (prophetic sayings) Unlike humans, angels are described as beings who obey God’s commandments without fall by nature and are assigned to specific duties. Two of the most prominent angels mentioned by name in the Qur’an are Gabriel (Jibril) and Michael (Mikhail): Gabriel is the angel of revelation and Michael is the angel in charge of rain and earth’s plant life.
SATAN
Satan (Shaytan in Arabic) is believed to be a third type of creation. addition to humans and angels, known as a “jinn Humans are said to have been made from clay, angels from light, and jinn from fire. While the Qur’an teaches that some jinn are good and submit to God, it states that others such as folis or Shaytan (Satan), try to tempt people to do evil, similar to the belief about Satan in traditional Christian theology.
PROPHETS
That depends on which prophat we are talking about in many cases the stories of the prophets in the Qur’an are like the stores in the Some examples include:
- the story of Noah and his ark
- the story of Abraham and Sarah and the birth of their son a who is also considered a prophet in the Quran<br>
- the story of Jacob and his twelve sons including ph, who is also considered a prophet in the Quran and
- the most oft-mentioned prophet in the Quran Moses and the story of his mission in Egypt to rescue his people.
Some the major differences between the biblical account of some of these prophets and the Quran stem from the fact that the Chur that prophets were immune from major sins. The stories of the Prophet Jes ut fer sharply in their account of the divinity of Jesus and test the Quran states that that before the crucifixion Jesus was taken up to heaven and replaced by a person who looked like him.
While most Muslim theologians historically consider all the prophets to have been men, some hold the view that there were female prophets especially in view of the fact that only two dozen of the 124,000 prophets are identified in the Qur’an Four of the women regarded by these scholars as prophets are Eve, the first female created by God: the mother of Moses, who is not named in the Quran Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh who in the Qur’an is the one who adopts Moses as her son, as opposed to the daughter of Pharaoh who does so in the Bible. and Mary, the mother of Jesus, because they all received direct divine revelation. In either case. Muslims revere them as among the many righteous and saintly women mentioned in the Qur’an.
*According to one hadith, there were 124,000 prophets. Muslims believe every group of people was sent a prophet to convey the message of God.
MOHAMMAD
Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad is the final prophet on the basis of statements in Islamic scripture, including the following Qur’anic verse: “Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of God, and the Seal of the Prophets and God has full knowledge of all things.” (Qur’an, 33:40) There are also various Hadith (prophetic sayings) which designate Muhammad as “the Seal of the Prophets Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was preceded by a long succession of prophets before him that include Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, and Jesus. Muslims believe that all the prophets were sent by God and that some of them foretold the coming of the Prophet Muhammad.
The general consensus among scholars is that physical representations of the Prophet Muhammad are discouraged on the grounds that, since the prophets are exemplars, they should not be presented in a manner that either is disrespectful or might lead to idolatry. However, one can
find representations of Muhammad and other prophets in different periods of Islamic history, mainly in the form of manuscript illustrations known as Persian miniatures, in which Muhammad’s face is often obscured by light.
This questions refers to protests sometimes erupting into lethal violence, as in the 2015 Paris attacks in response to cartoons published in French satrical weekly and in the 2012 Benghazi attack against two American government facilities in Benghazi Libya purportedly in roma to them the innocence of Muslims which was derogatory to the Prophet Muhammad.
Munaders and organizations worldwide, even in countries that restrict the publication of such offensive material vigormly condemned these instances of violence. The great majority of Musim Americans and many Muslims elsewhere after the right to freedom of expression.
In addition, it is important to stress that these violent reactions have generally been fueled by political issues that compunded enger at the utensive images Investigations into the Benghazi attack found that it was in fact long planned by militants, while the Pattacks the of maitants who may have been trying to recruit French Muslims to al-Qaeda by creating an incident that would idate them from ther Trench people is both cases the offensive representations served as a pretext.
At the many Muslim fit the lack of respect an many secular cars for sacred symas regardless of the region and to be offee The Pphet Muhammal respected them and the sacred symbols and the Qur’an gronbits nevilling the followers of other ratand that which they hold sacred.
Muhammad’s outlook, and actions were initially similar to those of Jesus if one compares Muhammad’s strategy during the first part of his mission in Mecca when he like Jesus sought change as a non-violent reformer However, their tactics diverged due to a change in circumstances ance Muhammad and his followers were expelled from Mecca and migrated to Medina. While Jesus and his community of benevers remained politically powerless throughout his mission, Muhammad in Medina, as the head of a new political community was required to serve as a political and even military leader as he finally fought back against the Meccans after years of persecution. As the head of the new Community in Medina he also had to deal with internal conspiracies and rebellions in addition to external threats.
This question, as posed, also assumes that there is only one way of looking at these figures which is misleading, For instance, while Jesus is commonly viewed today as a “non violent reformer” this has not always been the case. In his book Jesus through the Centuries, church historian Jaroslav Pilkan depicts and analyzes the varied views of Jesus at different times and in different cultures and devotes a whole chapter to Jesus as both Prince of Peace and instigator of divine warfare-sometimes at one and the same time. The representations of Muhammad are likewise varied in her book The Lives of Mohammad. Kecia All writes “Far from being uniform or non-changing, both non Musim and Muslims of Muhammad have been diverse multifaceted, and subject to dramatic changes over the centuries. However, Muslims uniformly love and nelipect path me not only as prophets and messengers descended from noble familes, but also as exemplars of the most perfect character Prophet Jesus is desented in the Quran as one who is held in hanor in this world and the Hereafter and of those nearest to God Prophet Muhammad was known even before his prophethood as al-Ameen the Trustworthy and his praiseworthy acteristics and actions are the topic of books (kribwn as Shamai, poems, and songs through the centuries.
Muslim leaders and organizations worldwide, even in countries that restrict the publication of such offensive material, vigorously condemned these instances of violence. The great majority of Muslim Americans and many Muslims elsewhere affirm the right to freedom of expression.
In addition, it is important to stress that these violent reactions have generally been fueled by political issues that compounded anger at the offensive images. Investigations into the Benghazi attack found that it was in fact long planned by militants, while the Paris attacks were the work of militants who may have been trying to recruit French Muslims to al-Qaeda by creating an incident that would isolate them from other French people. In both cases, the offensive representations served as a pretext.
At the same time, many Muslims find the lack of respect in many secular societies for sacred symbols, regardless of the religion involved, to be offensive. The Prophet Muhammad respected other religions and their sacred symbols, and the Qur’an prohibits reviling the followers of other religions and that which they hold sacred.
Polygamy was common in seventh-century Arabla. as it has been in many other cultures, especially for a political leader, for instance, the patriarchs in the Hebrew Bible are described as having multiple wives, and the kings of Israel are depicted as having harems numbering in some cases into the hundreds. According to Muslim historians, the Prophet Muhammad’s marriages were contracted to assist needy widows and divorcees and to solidify the nascent community of Muslims by forging alliances among the tribes in and around Medina. Considering the time and place, there was nothing unique or unusual about Muhammad marrying several women. It is also noteworthy that he married a woman fifteen years his senior during his young adulthood and remained in a monogamous relationship with her for twenty-five years until her death when he was nearly fifty years old.
JESUS AND MARY
Muslims overwhelmingly revere Jesus and believe that he was born to the Virgin Mary through an act of God, without a father, just as Adam is believed to have been created by God without a father or mother. The Qur’an describes his conception and birth and his many miracles such as healings of the sick. The Qur’an also emphasizes that Jesus was a great prophet of God and a messenger who received revelation from God. but that he was, like all other prophets, only a human being. For Muslims, God, in his divine transcendence, is incomparable to His creation in every aspect, and therefore He does not procreate, even metaphorically. Muslims also believe that Jesus was not crucified but instead was taken to heaven and will return to earth to live out the rest of his life, a belief commonly known as the second coming of Jesus.
Most of the Qur’an depicts itself as a text addressed to Muhammad; it therefore talks less about Muhammad than it does to Muhammad about other subjects, including previous prophets such as Jesus.
Muslims generally believe that she is the Virgin Mother of the Prophet Jesus who conceived him miraculously without a father. A chapter in the Qur’an named after her (Maryam in Arabic) emphasizes her piety and righteousness and her status as an exemplar for all people. The Qur’an also describes her as the greatest of all women: “God chose and preferred her above all the women of the worlds.” (Quran, 3:42)
Muslim leaders and organizations worldwide, even in countries that restrict the publication of such offensive material, vigorously condemned these instances of violence. The great majority of Muslim Americans and many Muslims elsewhere.affirm the right to freedom of expression.
In addition, it is important to stress that these violent reactions have generally been fueled by political issues that compounded anger at the offensive images, Investigations into the Benghazi attack found that it was in fact long planned by militants, while the Paris attacks were the work of militants who may have been trying recruit French Muslims to al-Qaeda by creating an incident that would Isolate them from other French people. In both cases, the offensive representations served as a pretext.
At the same time, many Muslims find the lack of respect in many secular societies for sacred symbols, regardless of the religion involved, to be offensive. The Prophet Muhammad respected other religions and their sacred symbols, and the Qur’an prohibits reviling the followers of other religions and that which they hold sacred.
While Muslims greatly revere Jesus Christmas is generally considered a Christian holiday and not a part of Musim cultures except where there are Christian minorities. There is even debate among Muslims over the celebration of Muhammad’s birthday However, some Muslims bate Christmas as part of an American cultural observance like Thanksgiving or Independence Day.
QUR' AN
Since only 15% of all Muslims are Arabs the Quran has been translated into and is read in many other languages with mute Engl translations. However, because Muslims consider the original Arabic text to be the literal word of God, during ritual prayers the Canad in its original Arabic language (just as some Catholic churches otill perform mass in Latin or smagiques performs part of a prayer ) in order to fully comprehend the Qur an for instruction and spintual enrichment, non-Arab Hustis ao read the translation in their native language.
KA' BAH
The Ka’bah is the cube-shaped building covered with a black cloth in Mecca that is believed by Muslims to have been the first house of worship to God Muslims throughout the world face towards the Ka’bah when they perform each of their daily prayers.
The Ka’bah is the cube-shaped building covered with a black cloth in Mecca that is believed by Muslims to have been the first house of worship to God Muslims throughout the world face towards the Ka’bah when they perform each of their daily prayers.
DAY OF JUDGMENT
We believe that only God knows where a person will end up in the afterlife, since only God knows a person’s intentions, deeds, circumstances, and limitations. We also believe that God will judge human beings according to His complete justice on the Day of Judgment based on both their beliefs and actions, considering the opportunities and abilities that He gave them. In the Qur’an. God’s names include “the Judge” and “the Just.”
Though Muslims believe that belief in God is an essential aspect of humanity, they also believe that no one can be forced to believe, and that belief remains an individual choice. How God will judge such people is entirely up to Him, but He will do so in a way that is absolutely just. Muslim scholars contend that people who live morally but do not believe in God for reasons beyond their control (for instance, because they have no access to the messages of the prophets) will not be held accountable for their lack of belief.
FREE WILL
This is a topic of debate in all religions. Muslims believe that humans have free will to commit good or evil, but that God’s knowledge and power encompasses all that happens in this life. That means that we will be held accountable for our actions, since God, while knowing what the outcome will be, allows people to act on their own free will to choose good or evil.