Islam Flashcards
Explain the linguistic root of Islam.
SLM - They have a consonant stem which the vowels are arranged near. Depending on the placement of the vowels, the word changes, though its root meaning is similar. SLM is the consonant stem of Islam, from which originate words such as:
- ISLAM الإسلام submission, wholeness
- MUSLIM One who surrenders/seeks wholeness
- SALAAM Peace Islam or “the religion of peace, submission, and wholeness
What percentage of Muslims make up the world’s population?
23%
True or False: Muslim = Arab Give 2 reasons why or why not.
False. 20% of all Muslims live in Arab countries. The largest Muslim country is Indonesia.
What is the largest denomination of Muslims?
- Sunni - 87-90% of Muslims
- Shi’ah is next largest
Are Sufi’s a denomination? Explain.
- Worship style, not denomination (Like Evangelicals).
- The mystical inner tradition of Islam.
- Formed in response to the legalistic trends of Islam in it’s early development.
Explain the historical background of Islam leading to the rise of Muhammad the Prophet.
- The significance of the spice trade route.
- Mecca; a city with great social inequalities
- Battle for power among tribes and clans
- The law of Vendetta
- Entire tribe was responsible for any act done by any of its members.
- Polytheistic; Allah as a distant but high God
- Muhammad’s identity: Qurash tribe and Hashimite clan
Give a brief Synopsis of Muhammad’s life.
- Born in the late 6th century, soon an orphan
- Married to employer. Had children.
- Disturbed by the religious and social reality of Mecca
- The Prophetic Call (Night of Power)
- First proclamations of message and subsequent persecution
- The night journey and ascention
- “Whilst I was sleeping in the Hijr [Ka‘ba complex] Gabriel came to me . . . and led me out to the gate of the Mosque, and there was a white beast [Buraq] . . . with wings at his side”. In Jerusalem at the site of the temple “they were met by a company of Prophets—Abraham, Moses, Jesus and others,” and Muhammad led them in Prayer. From the sacred rock housed now in the Dome of the Rock, they “ascended beyond the domain of earthly space and time and bodily forms, as they passed through the seven Heavens he met again those Prophets with whom he had prayed in Jerusalem.”
Explain the turn of events and Expansion which came about shortly after the birth of Islam.
- Hijra, move to Medina
Inspired of God - Attempt to unify tribes through Islam
- Death and crisis of succession
- First 4 Caliphs (rightly guided caliphates);
Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali - The Ummayads, the Abbassids, and the slow political decadence
What factors contributed to Islamic Fundamentalism?
- Political and social decline in the 1700s initially attributed to Muslim deficiency in faith and practice
- increasingly attributed to western colonialism (late 1800s)
- recently attributed to the evils of cultural/economic imperialism (late 1900s)
- Arab/Israeli conflict is central to the tension
* The political dimension is primary over the religious one
What are the modern challenges within Islam?
- To what extent should Islamic ideals be permitted to govern society? (Islamists)
- To what extent should western influences be adopted? (private vs. public worships etc)
What are the main themes of the Qur’an? How does it gain credibility? Etc.
3 main themes:
- God
- prophets
- eschatology (final days)
Facts:
- 114 suras (chapters)
- 25 years to receive it
- Oral transmission gave credibility to the text, not vice-versa
- Qur’anic memorization, recitation (several accepted readings), veneration
- Infallible, closest comparison in Christianity could be Jesus Himself
Explain the Hadith
- Also called Sunna
- God = center of the Qur’an
- Muhammad = center of the Sunna
- Criteria of authenticity (chain of transmission)
- Muslim debates often center on the Sunna and its status
Explain the Hadith Qudsi
- Imbetween Sunna and Qur’an
- Qur’an is ‘God said’
- Hadith or Sunna is ‘Muhammad said’
- Hadith Qudsi is ‘Muhammad said that God said’
What are the 3 components to Islamic way of life?
- ISLAM : Behavior
- IHSAN : Beauty/excellence/intention
- IMAN : Belief
Explain components of Iman (belief)
- Tawhid: the oneness/uniqueness of God
- Nabuwwa: prophecy/prophets
- Ma’ad: the return/judgment day
(Also belief in the scriptures and in the angels)
- 3 categories of created intelligent beings
- Jinns – created from fire, have agency (Iblis, the rebellious one)
- Angels – created from light, no agency
- Humans – created from clay, have agency, most like God
Expound on the meaning of Tawhid.
- There is ONE God and nothing is like Him
- He has no partners & no anthropomorphic characteristics
- God is the creator of the visible and invisible
- Knowledge of God through :
- FITRA, divine spark, (light of christ)
- REVELATION, trust 100%, only prophets receive it
- REASON (it is never ending)
Balance between:
Tanzih (transcendence) and wrath (left h.)
Tashbih (immanence) – mercy (right h.)
