lesson 7: initiation into islam

Question 1

video notes

Answer 1

• How Muslims are born is very important, they believe that they are born Muslim, they do not become it
• When the baby is born ,the first thing that they do is read a call to prayer. The adhan is the first call to prayer and is recited in the right ear of the baby
• Then the second part of the call to prayer is the Iqamah which is recited in the left ear of the baby
• The dad does the call to prayer
• They start off by reciting that God is great, Allahu akbar, and this is recited four times. Then they declare that there is no God but Allah; Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa Allah, which is recited twice
• The next part of the birth ceremony is the Tasmiyah, the naming of the baby. In Islam, it is tradition to call the baby after the 99 names of Allah. The 99 names of Allah are all virtues of the God, if the baby has a name such as merciful, 50% of their nature will be merciful
• Then the Tahneek which is when something sweet is put in the babies mouth (date or a bit of honey), which symbolizes the sweet nature that the child will grow into
• If the baby is a boy, they will be circumcised (Khitan) which was the tradition started by Prophet Ibrahim. This symbolizes purity and is usually done in the first three years of the child’s life .
• On the seventh day after the baby is born, the Aqiqa is done. They share a big meal with the family, and it is when the entire family gets to meet the baby and celebrate it’s birth
• In the Aqiqa, they shave the hair of the baby and weigh it and find out the value of the weight in gold. They then give that amount to charity, and this is a very important part of the ritual

Question 2

aqiqa

Answer 2

• Upon birth, the first word a child will hear is ‘Allah,’ After bathing, the father recites Adnan (call to prayer) in the baby’s right ear.
• After seven days, the Aqiqa naming ceremony takes place. The child will be given a religious name – often Muhammad, or Fatima for the girl, making it the most common name in the world.
• The baby’s head will be shaved and the equivalent weight in gold or silver will be donated to the poor.
• A sacrifice and feast follow (for a boy, two goats or sheep and for a girl, one goat or sheep).
• The family eats the meat and one third is given to the poor.
  It is a celebration of the child entering the religion, they take on a religious name, their head will be shaved and the weight in gold is donated, an animal will be sacrificed, and then the family eats the meat.

Question 3

bismillah

Answer 3

• the Bismillah, the invocation of the Qur’an, ‘in the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate.’
• The child is then encouraged to learn about the Qur’an and the practices of Islam.
• From puberty Muslim children are expected to assume personal responsibility for ritual obligations.

Question 4

marriage

Answer 4

• Muslims are expected to marry as a religious duty.
• Marriage is a contractual ceremony – an imam (religious leader) does not need to be present. The Adq Nikah is spoken.