Section II Islam Flashcards
Describe ONE significant practice within Islam drawn from:
– Friday prayer at the mosque
– Funeral ceremony
– Hajj
Hajj is a spiritually significant pilgrimage journey to Mecca, which all Muslims, if able, are required to do at least once in their lifetime. It encompasses several practices and customs, each with their own significance, that help Muslims forge stronger connections with Allah. These practices include:
Ihram
Prior to entering the gate into Hajj, adherents must be in Ihram, a state of spiritual status, required in order to perform the rites of Hajj. Men are expected to two pieces of white cloth and for women, simple white clothing. This aims to signify purity, simplicity and equality in the eyes of Allah.
Sa’y
This is the walking for seven laps between two hills, Safa and Marwa.
Tawaf
Involves the circling in an anti-clockwise direction around the Ka’ba or “house of Allah on earth” 7 times. This symbolises that adherents are totally devoted and dedicated to the one God and their life revolves around Allah.
“Wuquf” Plains of Arafat
Pilgrims gather around the plains of Arafat, or “Mount of Mercy” where Muhammed allegedly made his last sermon. It is here where they will pray from noon to dusk, asking for forgiveness for their sins and supplicating to Allah.
Jamarat
Following the collection of stones at Muzdalifah, the Jamarat is a compulsory Hajj ritual where stones are thrown at three pillars as a sign of rejecting the devil and keeping him out of their life; as well as defying evil.
Nahr
The day of sacrifice, where they sacrifice a lamb for the sake of God. Individuals, particularly men, shave their hair and then they get out of their state of ihram, symbolising rebirth.
Demonstrate how this practice expresses the beliefs of Islam
The Muslim practice of Hajj is intrinsically connected with the beliefs of Islam, encompassing the belief in Tawhid, Rusul, Malai’ka, Al Qedr (fate / predestination) belief in the afterlife (akira) and belief in the sacred texts. These beliefs are expressed through a number of key practices and rituals experienced on the Hajj journey.
Belief in Tawhid
The belief in Tawhid is extensively conveyed through the entirety of the Hajj journey, in a number of practices such as Ihram, Tawaf, Wuquf and Jamarat. This is because through the Hajj, Muslims are expressing their devotion to Allah and the centrality of Him in their lives, as well as their commitment to the monotheistic Islamic faith. Ihraam is a state of spiritual status and sanctity which expresses the adherent’s religious preparedness to undertake the pilgrimage. In doing this, all must surrender to the omnipotence of Allah and display their total commitment to the one unique God. As well as this, during Tawaf, pilgrims circumambulate the ka’ba 7 times, which demonstrates that their lives revolve around Allah and they aim to fulfil their goal of submission. The ka’ba was the first temple made for a monotheistic God therefor circling it exemplifies their belief and devotion to one God. As well as this, Wuquf involves the collective worship towards the merciful God on Mount Arafat, where individuals reaffirm their belief in Allah through various prayers and supplications, as directed in the Qu’ran in “When you file from Arafat you shall commemorate God at the Sacred Location.” ( Surah2:198). In addition to this, Jamarat exemplieifes a belief and allegiance to Allah through the rejection of the devil (satan) who is Allah’s enemy. Through the stoning of the pillars, individuals display their total submission to the commands of the unique and omniscient Allah against the shadow of Satan, and consequently their rejection of evil in their Muslim life. Therefore, through a number of key practices, the emphasis on the unity and oneness of Allah is reiterated throughout the Hajj pilgrimage.
Belief and appreciation of the value of the prophets (rusul)
The belief and appreciation of the value of the prophets (rusul) is interconnected with the Hajj pilgrimage, particularly through Tawaf, Sa’y, Wuquf and Jamarat. Pilgrims show their belief and respect for Muhammed and other prophets by following in their footsteps during the various stages of Hajj. This is especially evident during Tawaf, where adherents circumnutate the ka’ba seven times, which was built by Abraham and later transformed by Muhammed from a polytheistic shrine to a temple exhibiting worship to one God. This means through encircling the ka’ba, adherents are honoring their belief in the prophets (rusul) and the value they have to Islam. Particularly for Muslims, knowing they are visiting a holy site which was established by the holy messengers of Allah is significant as they can walk in their footsteps and hence forge a stronger connection to God. This is also seen through Sa’y, where adherents walk for seven laps between two hills, Safa and Marwa, which is believed to be the same route that Hajar and Ismail had to run between in biblical times, henceforth linking them to the importance of the prophets and the journeys they took. Furthermore, praying at Arafat during Wuquf is closely interrelated with the prophets, as Muhammed made his last sermon there, and henceforth individuals can more profoundly be connected to Muhammed, his legacy and his journey, particularly as the Hajj was one of the last acts of worship he performed before his death. As well as this, within Jamarat, all three pillars represent the three times that Prophet Abraham was seduced by the devil when he was going to sacrifice Ismail. This ritual hence recognizes the Islamic intrinsic belief in prophets, because it celebrates Abrahim’s resilience against temptation and Ishmael’s willingness to be sacrificed. Therefore, through the Hajj journey individuals retrace the pathway of prophets such as Abraham, Muhammed and Ismail, recalling their stories and hence feeling a stronger connection to them as ancestors and messengers of Allah. This is summed up in “He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; it is the way of your father Abraham…” (Surah 22; 78).
Describe and explain Islamic ethical teachings on bioethics OR environmental ethics OR sexual ethics
Islamic sexual teachings stem from the Kutubullah, particularly the Qur’an and hadith of the Prophet Muhammed, as well as other sources of guidance which include the Ijma and the qiyas. These ensure that adherents follow Allah’s commands and ‘submit to God’ when faced with decisions regarding their sexual behavior: such as Sex inside marriage, divorce and contraception, and sex outside marriage: premarital sex and adultery.
The fundamental tenet of Islam is ‘submission to God’ and Islamic ethical teachings emphasize the centrality of marriage and family as a means for the Muslim adherent to fulfil this goal of submission. In addition, Islam teaches that males and females complement each other and should therefore be united in marriage. This is elucidated within the Hadith in “Whoever Allah provides with a righteous wife, then Allah has assisted him in half of his religion.” In this regard, they essentially permit and likewise encourage sexual relations between a husband and wife in marriage. This is because marriage is for the uniting of husband and wife so they are open to the likelihood of bearing the fruits of children. This is further supported by Allah’s revelation in “They are your garments and you are their garments” (Sura 2) which expresses the physical and emotional connection which is strengthened by sexual intercourse between a married couple. The importance of sexual gratification within married life is also alluded to in the hadith, when the prophet asserted “And when one of you makes love it is rewardable charity.” Thus, this encourages Muslim adherents to understand that sexual relations are confined to marriage between a husband and wife, to create tenderness between the two individuals to satisfy the very basic human need for companionship. In doing this, they are following Allah’s will, effectively submitting to him and his commands.
In addition, there are some issues of contention, such as divorce and contraception, when not necessarily a single teaching exists and there may be a range of views of when it is considered acceptable. Due to the Islamic teaching which holds marriage and family as the center of Muslim society – the practice of divorce is considered to subsequently undermine the value of marriage and threaten the family unit as the fabric of Islamic communities. Therefore, divorce, it is generally viewed with contempt and considered undesirable, however it is universally acknowledged that it may be necessary in particular circumstances. This is supported in the Qur’an which states “Of all the things Allah has permitted, the one he most dislikes is divorce.” (Sura 2) which henceforth illustrates that divorce should be taken as the last resort in Islam, as it is clear defiance of Allah’s commands.
As well as this, although Islam encourages child bearing, contraception is not prohibited. In light of this, contraception is not to be used to permanently avoid pregnancy or cause infertility, as Islam regards children as a gift from God and mandates all married couples aim to bear the fruits of children. This is supported in “You should not kill your children for fear of want.” (Qur’an 17:31) which could allude to couples using contraception just because they don’t want children is ethically wrong. However, as contraception is not explicitly referred to in the Qur’an, they may require the consensus of the Islamic scholars (Ijma) of the use of analogy (Quiya) to arrive at an opinion about it,
Explain the contribution to the development and expression of Islam of ONE significant person OR school of thought, other than Muhammad and the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, drawn from:
- A’isha Bint Abu Bakr
Contribution
Education & Interpretation of Sacred Texts
Aisha is known as the scholar of scholars because of her contribution to Islamic education. During her marriage to the Prophet she spent a lot of time studying the Quran and discussing its contents with her husband. This led to her to have a lot of insight and knowledge that not many people have had before. Aisha has also been told to have an amazing retentive memory, she was able to remember the conversations she had with the Prophet, and then share them both orally and in writing to the Islamic people.
She wasn’t only known for her intimate knowledge of the Prophet, she actually had a lot of intelligence based on her own merit. She had a really amazing knowledge of the Quran and created her own tasfir (exegesis – critical analysis of a text) works. The main parts of her Quranic tasfir involved interpreting the meaning of various qur’anic verses and also contributing to debate surrounding the verses. Many of these ideas became key to Islamic education.
Traditions and Law
The first incident that led to her contribution is known as the “affair of slander”. Muhammad and all his wives, including Aisha were travelling in the desert and somehow the troop got ahead of her and she was left behind at camp. She waited for someone to realize she was left behind, but no one did so she caught up with everyone on the camel of another man. This caused a bit of controversy and people thought she had committed adultery with the guy who owned the camel. The Prophet sought God’s advice and had a new revelation which is in Sura 24:4 “And those that accuse of honourable women but bring not four witnesses… never accept their testimony” which means it’s hard to falsely accuse a woman of adultery and this is a big deal because the punishment is really tough under shariah law. This is not her only contribution to Shariah law. A medieval Islamic scholar has said that up to one fourth of shariah laws are based on different hadiths by Aisha. Another huge contribution.
Spread of the word of Muhammad
After Muhammad died in 632 she was one of the main people that kept Muhammad’s word alive. She did this through being the source of over 2000 hadiths (thoughts and actions of the Prophet and they’re what make up the Sunnah, which is the secondary source of Islamic sacred texts next to the Quran), which is a key part of her contribution. She also spread the word through her direct education of students. Her student came from many places around the world so she was able to help spread Islam by teaching them the importance of faith. She also taught a lot of children to fundamentals and importance of Islam, so they were able to grow up and spread the faith.
