Islam and its Five Pillars (week 2)

Question 1

What is islam

Answer 1

submission to God

Question 2

what are the two ways in which you can analyse islam

Answer 2

1. in terms of its four different senses or ‘levels’
2. in terms of key components as outlined in the Hadith of Gabriel

Question 3

what are the four levels of submission

Answer 3

1. All creatures to their Creator - (universal/compulsory)
2. All monotheists to God
3. All Muslims (i.e., those who accept God’s message as revealed to Muhammad) to God
4. All Muslims (as defined above) who follow God’s practical instructions

Question 4

what are the five pillars of islam

Answer 4

shahada
prayer
alms tax
fasting
hajj

Question 5

what is shahada

Answer 5

to witness or proclaim: ‘there is not god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God’
- proclamation of monotheism
- affirmation of Muhammads messenger hood

Question 6

what is salat

Answer 6

blessing and prayer
Muslims pray on a mat at home or in a mosque in a congregation have to face the Kaaba but the ground you clean on has to be clean in essence.
qibla - direction in which you pray - Kaaba

Question 7

what is the Kaaba

Answer 7

located inside the compound of the grande mosque in Mecca is considered the most sacred space in Islam - believed to have been placed by Abraham and Ismail as a symbol of God’s covenant with them and the Muslim community.

Question 8

how often do they pray

Answer 8

five times a day and the timings are dependent on the placing of the sun

Question 9

what do muslims do before each prater

Answer 9

wudu - ritual prurity - have to be in a state of physical and spiritual purity.

Question 11

what is zakat

Answer 11

purifying yourself and submitting the best version of yourself which you do by not spending this extra 2.5% on something unecessary.

Question 12

why is this significant

Answer 12

it is somewhat purifying your possessions. doing this and actively making yourself pure means you are thinking of others and a greater jihad
reminding yourself that Allah has given you this money and you are giving this away and humbling yourself.

Question 13

Fasting during the month of Ramadan -

Answer 13

Not just abstaining from eating (but also drinking, smoking and sex)
Teaches you gratitude rather than focusing on material desires

Question 14

who doesn’t have to fast?

Answer 14

Sick, pregnant or children and there are also special rules for travelers

Question 15

What did the Hadith say

Answer 15

‘five things break the fast of the faster - lying, backbiting, slander, ungodly oaths and looking with passion’.

Question 16

what is hajj

Answer 16

pilgrimage - Series of different things - circle around the kaaba seven times, run from the mountains, go to the river, have purified water - cleanse yourself.

Question 17

what is important about the piligrimage

Answer 17

Everyone is wearing the same thing - sense of unity
Equality, no discrimination, everyone is equal before God

Question 18

expand on the importance of this equality

Answer 18

Reduces ego - not above or below anyone, and unites you all.
Status becomes insignificant
Eradicating class
Scholars exchanging ideas
Social impact and intellectual impact on the history of Islam

Question 19

what does the term ‘jihad’ mean

Answer 19

‘Struggle’
Greater and lesser struggle
Greater - against one’s ego
Lesser - external fighting (but conditions validating external fighting are very hard to fulfill

Question 20

what is sharia

Answer 20

‘broader path leading to water’ - road of right activity that all Muslims must follow

Question 21

where it is deduced from

Answer 21

the Quran and the Prophets own practices (sunna)

Question 22

what is sharia often referred to us

Answer 22

‘revealed law’
‘islamic law’

Question 23

what is the study of sharia called

Answer 23

fiqh - understanding or jurisprudence.

Question 24

what are the five categories of actions discussed in fiqh

Answer 24

Required - halal
Recommended - halal
Indifferent - halal
Reprehensible - halal
Forbidden - haram