World Religions Islam

World Religions: Course Study Guide Islam: Key Vocabulary: Algebra: The mathematical discipline of algebra, still taught in schools today. In the ninth century, an Arab mathematician developed algebra. Allah: A supreme god, whom the Arabs recognized as their so-called God. The word “Allah” translates to “God” in Arabic. Arabesques: The decorations that got repeated over and over in geometric patterns. These arabesques completely covered the surfaces of objects. Astrolabe: An instrument used by sailors to determine their location with stars and heavenly bodies. Caliph: A successor to Muhammad. In 632, Abū Bakr was named a caliph to Muhammad, the messenger of the supreme god, Allah. Five Pillars of Faith: The practices of worship for the Muslims. The Five Pillars have five steps to them; 1) Belief; 2) Prayer; 3) Charity; 4) Fasting; 5) Pilgrimage. Hajj: When the Muslims make a pilgrimage to Makkah, as they are encouraged to do. A hajj, or a pilgrimage, is one of the Five Pillars of Faith. Jihad: A struggle in the way of God. A jihad was used by the Arabs when the Quran permitted fair, defensive warfare. Minaret: A tower attached to a mosque from which a call to prayer gets issued. The minaret is roughly ninety feet tall, and the minaret has an unusual outside spiral staircase. Mosque: The Muslim houses of worship. The mosques got burned to the ground by Hülegü when he captured Baghdad in 1258. Muezzin: The one who makes a call to prayer for the Muslims. The muezzin is also known as the “crier,” and the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer five times a day from the minaret. Quran: The holy book of the religion of Islam. Many revelations got written down in the Quran, and the Quran contained the ethical guidelines and laws by which the followers of Allah are to live. Shari’ah: The law code for the Islams. The shari’ah got developed by Muslim scholars for the death of Muhammad, the One God’s messenger. Sheikh: A ruler of a tribe who got chosen from one of the leading families by a council of elders. A sheikh was also Arab, as the tribes got made up of Arab people. Shia: One of the two groups of Muslims who only accepted the descendants of Ali as the true rulers of Islam. Sultan: A holder of power. In the time of the Abbasids, a Turkish leader captured Baghdad in 1055 A.D. and took control as an empire. This man called himself a sultan. Sunni: The other group of Muslims after Islam got divided into two groups. The Sunni Muslims “did not agree with Umayyad rule but accepted the Umayyads as rulers, or caliphs.” Vizier: A prime minister who headed the council and advised the caliph. The viziers existed under the Abbasids. The Hijrah: The sacred black stone supposedly placed by Abraham in the center of Mecca. The Kaaba: Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina. Analyze Islam’s Creed, Code, and Cult. Islam is a religion that has played an extremely vital role in history and the exploration of our past. In Islam, fascinatingly, there are many factors that play into Islam's history, like its creed, code, and cult. The creed, to start, for the Islams is very straightforward, as the Islams believe in Allah, their one God (illustrating that Islam is monotheistic), and the Islams also believe in Muhammad, God's prophet who came after Jesus, Moses, etcetera. This important creed led to the Islamic cult, which is to follow the Five Pillars of Faith, referred to as belief, prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. The cult, nonetheless, occurred because of the code, the Quran, which contains all of the holy writings of the Islamic religion, making it a comparison to the Christian's Holy Bible. The Creed, Cult, and Code of the Islamic religion plays an influential role in so many people's lives, and it is great to watch the Islamic religion develop in history. Key People: Ibn-Rushd: Islamic scholar who translated and commented on the works of Aristotle. Muhammad: Prophet who received revelation from God via the archangel Gabriel. Ibn-Sina: Had much confidence in himself, and he was very intelligent, as he wrote a medical encyclopedia. Ibn-Khaldun: Had high expectations for himself. He was the most prominent Muslim historian of the age, and he was disappointed with his political career, so he wrote and studied history. He eventually went on to write what would be one of his most famous works, Muqaddimah (Introduction to History). Omar Khayyam: Was influential to the Islam literature, and he was also well-known. One of his most familiar works was The 1001 Nights (also called The Arabian Nights), which influenced Islamic literature. Islam: Creed, Cult, and Code Creed Allah is the supreme God and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Cult Five Pillars of Islam (Belief, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage). Code The Quran, the holy book of the religion of Islam. Review: Analyze any of the world religions according to the rubric of Creed, Cult, and Code; Islam: Creed: The creed of the Islamic faith is that Allah is the supreme God and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Cult: The cult of the Islamic faith is the "Five Pillars of Islam (Belief, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage). Code: The code of the Islamic faith is the Quran, "the holy book of the religion of Islam." What was the main Islamic contribution to the field of mathematics?: Arabs transmitted the Indian number system (including the number zero) to Europe. How did Islamic scholars play a crucial role in the preservation of knowledge? Using paper-making techniques developed in China, Islamic scholars translated and preserved the writings of the ancients. True or False?: The Hadith prohibited depictions of God in art? - True Muslim astronomers developed the astrolabe, a tool for determining one's location according to the position of the stars? - True Ibn-Khaldun developed a theory of history, in which he posited a civilizational cycle of birth, decay, and fall? - True Islam spread rapidly through Asia and Africa; Primarily, Islam spread through the activities of Muslim merchants and traders; - In India and present-day Indonesia Cities within the Arab and Turkish empires became major centers of trade: - Damascus in Syria; - Cairo in Egypt; - Cordoba in Spain; What was the Islamic tradition surrounding Muhammad? How does the origins of the revelation contained in the Quran differ from (1) the insights of the Buddha and (2) the Old and New Testament? Muhammad received the definitive revelation of God via the archangel Gabriel, which became the basis of the Quran. Muhammad then is the final prophet who reveals God's will and teaching. Unlike the Buddha (who arrives at the insights of the Four Noble Truths himself) and the Old and New Testaments (which are inspired by God but written by human beings), Muhammad is not the author of the Quran but the receiver of the Quran. What is meant by a religion of optimism? Give an example. Religion of optimism sees the world as redeemable and that suffering either has a purpose or can be redeemed. Examples: the Monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. How are Islam and Judaism are both religions of law? Both Judaism and Islam are religions of law because the emphasis is more on the practice and following of legal prescriptions rather than accepting complicated articles of faith. In summary, what was the Shia/Sunni divide within Islam? Shia Muslism insist the leader of the community must be connected to the family of Muhammad while Sunni Muslims do not insist on this point. What does a religion of optimism deal with? A religion of optimism deals with a religion's way of looking at the world. Is the world good, does suffering have a purpose or can it be redemptive, or is a person left with escape as their only option?