Islam Crash Course Flashcards
The Qur’an
- The holy book of Islam
- Muslims believe it is the true Word of God exactly as it was given to Muhammad
- Made up of verses called ayahs
What else do Muslims look to other than the Qur’an?
They look to the example set by the prophet Muhammad in order to determine how to live their lives. The Sunnah records the actions of Muhammad, while the Hadith records his sayings.
How was Sharia law made?
With reference to the Qur’an, Sunnah and Hadith, Muslim lawyers have put together a set of laws for Muslims to follow, this is known as Sharia.
Who are Imams?
Muslims are also guided by their religious leaders, who are known as Imams in Sunni tradition of Islam or Mujtahid in Shi’a tradition of Islam.
They are the leaders of the mosque.
Why did Sunnis and Shi’a Muslims not get along?
Shi’a Muslims believe that Muhammad identified Ali as his successor and that he was the first of Twelve Imams who led the faith.
Sunni Muslims believe that Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s friend and father-in-law, was the rightful successor to Muhammad.
The 6 Articles of Faith (Sunni)
- Tawhid (oneness of Allah): this includes Muslims beliefs about Allah and the supremacy of Allah’s will
- Malaikah - Beliefs about the angels of Allah
- Kutub - Beliefs about the books of Allah
- Prophets (Rasuul) - Beliefs about the messengers of Allah
- Akhirah (afterlife) - Muslims believe that this life is only a test for what happens after death. They believe in a Last Day, when Allah will judge people on their deeds and will either reward or punish them
- Al-Qadr (predestination): Muslims believe that everything in the universe follows a masterplan set by Allah.
5 roots of religion in Shi’a tradition
Al-Tawhid - belief in oneness and unity of God
Al-Adl - belief in divine justice
Al-Nubuwwah - belief in prophethood
Al-Imamah - belief in Imams
Al-Ma’ad - belief that Muslims will be resurrected and judged by God.
They also believe in Al-Qadr
What is the Muslims belief in Caliphs?
- After Muhammad’s death the majority of Muslims at the time declared Abu Bakr his successor, and he was known as the first Caliph.
- After Abu Bakr died other leaders (caliphs) were appointed, the fourth caliph to be elected was Ali.
- Shi’a Muslims, however, regard Ali as Muhammad’s true successor and they refuse to acknowledge the three caliphs before him because they believe that Muhammad identified Ali as the rightful leader.
Difference between Imams in Sunni and Shi’a Islam
In Sunni tradition the Imam leads prayers in the mosque, but in Shi’a tradition Imams are the successors of Muhammad.
Al-Imamah (Shi’a)
- The Shi’a belief in the twelve Imams chosen by Allah, who were the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
- The Imams are believed to be infallible and inspired by Allah.
- The Imamah is protected by Allah from committing any sin in order to keep the religion true and pure.
What is the role of the Imams for Shi’as?
To interpret the Muslim (Shari’ah) law that was told to Muhammad by Allah and to explain any issues arising from it.
What is the twelfth Imam?
- The twelfth Imam is believed to be in occultation (hiding) and is waiting to reappear at God’s appointed time
- Shi’a believe that the 12th Imam is still a living, breathing human
- God will send him back as a Messiah to bring peace to the world
- The Second Coming of Jesus is a sign that the twelfth Imam will appear in Makkah (the holy city of Islam) at the Kaaba
What is the belief in Divine Justice (Al-Adl)?
All Muslims believe that Allah is just, but for Shi’a Muslims Divine justice is one of the five roots of religion.
- God knows what humans are going to do before they do it, but he doesn’t force them to act in any particular way
- There are many parts of life which are within our power, but there are some parts which aren’t within our power
- Those things for which we can be advised, praised or blamed are within our power
- Therefore, it’s wrong to say that Allah is responsible for our sin and good deeds, whether we are obedient or disobedient to Allah or whether we hold true or incorrect beliefs.
Shi’a Muslims believe that Allah is always right and just. Sometimes Allah may act in ways that are beyond our understanding, but ultimately the world has been created to be fair and just.
What do Sunni Muslims think about Al-Adl?
Sunni Muslims question these beliefs, arguing that there is no objective (that is) right and wrong, but that everything Allah does is right simply because he does it.
They do believe in predestination, where Allah determines all human action.
Detail about Tawhid (oneness)
- The most important of all Islamic beliefs
- The belief that Allah is the One God, He alone created the Earth and sustains it
- Tawhid encompasses all beliefs about the Nature of Allah
Key Muslim beliefs about Allah
- Infinite: The One God without beginning or end and He wasn’t created and can’t be destroyed
- He is omnipotent and omniscient: Allah created the whole universe, controls everything in it, will one day bring the world to an end and he sees all creation
- Merciful and benevolent: He helps humans by sending messengers in the form of the prophets to help people understand how to live a life following His will
Continuation of Muslim beliefs about Allah
- Transcendent but also immanent: He is much greater than humans and beyond human understanding but he’s also close to them and involved in their lives
- Fair and just: Muslims believe that this life is a test for what will happen to them after death. On the Day of Judgement they believe Allah will judge their actions in life and punish or reward them.
Bismalah
Every chapter of the Qur’an, apart from 9 begins with, “In the name of God the merciful, the Compassionate”
What does Tawhid mean for Muslims?
- Belief in Tawhid has a significant effect upon Muslim believers because they give their whole lives completely to the will of Allah
- Tawhid enables the believer to understand that everything they have is by the will of Allah, and that they’re fully dependent on him
- Placing anything above Allah is idolatry, this is the sin of Shirk and is considered the worst of all sins
- Knowing Allah is the ultimate provider can enable a Muslim to be content with their life
Why can’t Muslims create images of Allah?
This may lead to idolatry, Shirk and an inaccurate representation of Allah.
Detail about Prophethood (Risalah)
- Risalah, or prophethood, is the means of communication between Allah and humans
- A prophet is a messenger, chosen by Allah to teach, guide and train people to follow Him
- Risalah is therefore immensely significant to Muslims
- The last and most important book of Allah’s guidance is the Qur’an, which was revealed through the Prophet Muhammad
Why are prophets important in Islam?
- Through them Allah calls all people to worship him alone
- They give guidance on how to follow Allah and live in a way that pleases him
- Every prophet is of equal status
- Each is a messenger chosen by Allah to deliver His guidance, and that is what’s important to Muslims
What is the ‘Seal of the Prophets?’
- Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final prophet
- He is referred to in the Qur’an as the ‘Seal of the Prophets.’
- He provided the final revelation of Allah to his people in the form of the Qur’an.
- The words of the Qur’an remain unchanged and as such are the direct words of Allah to Muslims today
- Wise prophet
- Shi’a Muslims also believe that Muhammad is the ‘Seal of the Prophets’
What is the ‘Seal of the Prophets?’
Muslims believe that Muhammad was the final prophet and he is referred to in the Qur’an as the ‘Seal of the Prophets.’
What are the 5 books in the Kutub?
- Tawrat, (Torah), revealed to Musa (Moses)
- Zabur (Psalms), revealed to Dawud (David)
- Injil (Gospel), revealed to Isa (Jesus)
- Suhuf Ibrahim, (the scrolls of Ibrahim), revealed to Ibrahim (Abraham)
- Qur’an revealed to Muhammad
Tawrat (Torah) of Musa
- The holy book revealed directly by God to the Prophet Musa.
- Contains the Ten Commandments and sets out the ‘judgement of Allah’ on non-believers.
Zabur (Psalms) of Dawud
- Contains psalms, or poetic prayers of praise and worship.
- Revealed to King Dawud
Injil (Gospel) of Isa
- Injil is a book believed to have been given by God to the Prophet Isa (Jesus).
- Muslims believe that the meaning of this book has been altered by people over time, like all of the holy books prior to the Qur’an.
- Rather than teaching that Isa was the son of God, as in Christianity, Muslims believe that the Injil reveals the coming of the Prophet Muhammad.
Sahifah (Scrolls of Ibrahim)
- Contains the scrolls of Ibrahim (Abraham)
- Also known as ‘Suhuf’
- These are part of the early religious scriptures of Islam.
- It is believed that they are now lost, but contained Allah’s revelations to the Prophet Ibrahim, which were written down by him and his followers.
Name 6 of the 99 names of Allah
- The Merciful
- The Omnipotent One
- The Creator
- The Great Forgiver
- The Embodiment of Justice
- The Impartial Judge (Equal Judge)
Which holy book is believed to be the only pure, unchanged version of God’s word?
The Qur’an
Why are the other books in the Kutub believed to be inaccurate?
The other books were written down after the death of the prophets and so the contents are believed to be distorted. They don’t contain the literal words of Allah because it’s mixed with human words.
Adam
- Adam was the first man created by Allah
- Created in the image of Allah
- Allah created him using the dust off the ground, which he combined with water to form clay, breathing life into him by His spirit
- Adam was given knowledge of the created world and the ability to make choices
- Hawwa is Eve and she lived with Adam in Jannah (Paradise)
- Allah gave them one rule: not to eat from one specific tree.
- Iblis (Satan) succeeded in tempting them to eat from the forbidden tree
- They felt guilty and asked for Allah’s forgiveness, which he gave to them
- Allah expelled them from al-Jannah to live on Earth
- He promised to give them His guidance so that they could be obedient to Him
Iblis (Satan)
- Iblis believed he was better than Adam because he was made from fire but Adam was made from dust
- Allah expelled Iblis from his presence
- Iblis seeks to misguide Adam and and all his descendants
Ibrahim
- ‘Man of truth’
- He was born in a polytheistic family in Babylon
- Allah chose him to be a prophet
- Ibrahim told his father and the people of Babylon they were wrong to worship idols, but they rejected his message and sent him out of Babylon
- Ibrahim had his first son Isma’il with his second wife Hajar and then another son Ishaq, with his wife Sarah
- Allah tested Ibrahim’s faith by telling him to sacrifice his son Isma’il
- Despite being told three times by Iblis not to do it, Ibrahim resisted by throwing stones at him
- Allah honoured Ibrahim’s faith and produced a ram as an alternative sacrifice
- At the end of every salah (prayer) Muslims recite a special prayer (du’a’) asking Allah to bless Ibrahim and his family
Hanif
Believer in one God
Isma’il
- The son of Ibrahim
- Allah required Ibrahim to leave his son with his mother, Hajar, at the place where the Kaaba now stands in Makkah
- Ibrahim left them there with some dates and a flask of water and remained obedient to God
- The flask of water ran out and Hajar ran 7 times between 2 hills (Safa and Marwa) in search of water
- As she was about to leave for the 8th time, Isma’il began to kick the ground with his heel and from this spot water miraculously started spurting from the ground.
- This source of water is called the Zamzam well
- After Hajar’s death, Ibrahim visited Isma’il and together they rebuilt the Kaaba
What happened to the Kaaba after Ibrahim rebuilt it?
Over time, people began to worship idols at the Kaaba instead of the one God, Allah. However, Muhammad restored the Kaaba to its original purpose when he converted Makkah to Islam.
Musa
- Musa’s mother put him in a basket in the Nile river to help him escape from Pharaoh
- Pharaoh’s wife adopted Musa and hired a nanny to care for him - this was Musa’s own mother
- Musa fled Egypt when he killed an Egyptian
- Allah called him to be his messenger and told him to return to Egypt.
- Allah revealed the Tawrat (Torah) to Musa
Dawud
- Prophet and eventually King of the Israelites
- He killed Goliath
- Talut (Saul), the king, rewarded Dawud and made him commander of the army
- Talut soon became jealous of Dawud
- When Talut was killed, Dawud became king
- Allah revealed the Zabur (Psalms) to him
Isa (Jesus)
- Sunni Muslims believe that Isa is the Messiah, who will return on the Day of Resurrection at the end of the world and bring together true Muslims
- According to the Hadith (sayings of Muhammad), Isa will establish Islam in the end times and will make war until all religions except Islam are destroyed
Shi’a believe that the Twelfth Imam is the Messiah and the Second Coming of Jesus is a sign he will come out of occultation (hiding).
Very Important: Life of Muhammad
- Last prophet of Allah
- His life is an example that Muslims today follow because he demonstrated how to obey Allah
- Sent by Allah to declare the truth of Islam
Important facts about Muhammad’s life
- Born in Makkah, Arabia in around 570 ce
- His parents had died by the age he was six
- Born in poverty but he didn’t complain
- After the death of his grandfather he was brought up by his uncle
- He was ILLITERATE - couldn’t read
- He worked as a trade person for money
- This was an uneducated and dishonest job but Muhammad was trustworthy
- He saw loads of money exploitation where people made and sold idols
- There were people worshipping idols (polytheism)
- He was working for a wealthy woman called Khadijah who proposed to him and they got married
What is inerrance?
Inerrant - infallibility of the Qur’an, different to the other Kutubs