Early Islam
What was the attitude of the Arab conquerors of the Middle East to Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians?
10. A) they didn't touch Jews until 1950. B) cristians didn't like Muslims so soon Muslims started also not to like them, but before that there were no conflicts. C) хз хз хз хз хз ХЗХЗХЗХЗХЗХЗХЗ ____________________________________________________ Отношение - хорошее Особенно в начале Они считались людьми книги и их полагалось любить и уважать Мол, они туповаты, но в душе хорошие (muslim) Правда, потом из за политики некоторые начали трактовать то тех, то тех как язычников (ну троица тип)
What was the religious and polotical context of Arabia at the birth of Muhammad? What role might Jewish -Christianity ( the Ebionites ) have played in the shaping of Islam?
2. There were Arabic disunited tribes and jews on the Arabian Peninsula. There were two big cities: Medina and Mecca. Half of Medinian citizens was Jews. Mecca was under control of kuraish (курайншитов) - the richest guys. Most of the people there were pagans, also there were jews and Christians. The ebonies were the allies of muslims after the Hijra to Medina. ________________________________________ Про обстановку, кратенько: Аравийский полуостров. Живут: иудеи, иудео-христиане, язычники, ханифы. Все живут племенами, крутые курайшиты контролируют Мекку, где проходят тусовки возле Каабы. Про влияние: основа ислама - это чистый иудаизм со всеми законами и традициями + признание Иисуса пророком (но не Богом!). Все это свойственно и эбонитам. Мусульмане просто навертели ещё немножко продолжения и подробностей на эту основ
What is the shahada and its main meaning? What were the new religious obligation of the early Muslims? How did their lifestyle differ from that of the Quraysh and the other polytheists?
3. Shahada - свидетельство о вере в Единого Бога (Аллаха) и посланническую миссию пророка Мухаммада. Шахада может также означать мученическую смерть за веру, а также свидетельское показание, даваемое в удостоверение какого-либо факта (wiki) _____________________________________________________________ The shahada is the 'testimony', 'witness', 'creed' = the phrase recited by a person wishing to become a Muslim. It says simply: "I bear witness that there is no god but God (no ila but Allah) and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God (Allah)". It can be broken down into parts, with different meanings: shahada 1: la ilaha illa allah shahada 2: muhammad ar-rasul allah 1.There is no god. 2.Except God. 3.Muhammad is the messenger of God. Meaning: 1. a 'god' is something created which man takes to be uncreated - idols are representations of natural forces conceived as having power in themselves; the Qur'an also talks of 'man taking his own desire as a god': so lust, greed, pride are 'gods'. These gods have no ultimate reality. 'There is no god.' It echoes the atheist creed: if god is conceived to be something of the senses, something material, something immanent to this world —> then 'there is no god'. The atheists are right. It is the first step to belief. 2. Except God. There is only one uncreated principle, utterly separate from the cosmos, the universe, the world. That is God. Everything else is unreal. God alone is the Real. To build one's life as if one was independent, mastering nature, making plans for the future - is to ignore that you are created and totally in the power of the one who created you. If you accept that you are powerless and without reality, that is God is merely acting through you, only then can you admit that you have some reality: as a creature of God. the mystical interpretation of 'there is no god but God': there is also a mystical interpretation, followed by Sufis (Islamic mystics): 'there is no god but God' can be read to mean: any 'god' that man knows, i.e. any value or entity, is really just God: that is, there is nothing outside of God - God is an Ocean outside of which there is no existence. Hence, all of reality, rightly perceived is divine. 'There is no god but God' is thus a pendulum: it swings from asserting the utter transcendence of God: God is beyond anything humans can know - to hinting at the utter immanence of God: everything we know is within God, to some extent is a manifestation of God. This verges on pantheism. The transcendent God is: wrathful, judgment, severity, distance; The immanent God is: loving, merciful, beneficent, near. But the immanent and transcendent God is One: 'O Lord I take refuge in Your kindness from Your wrath' - as one prayer says. 3. Muhammad is the messenger of God. The word here is 'messenger' rather than 'prophet' - the word is considered more universal. Prophets spoke to specific peoples; prophets before performed miracles (Jesus, Elijah: both healed the sick, fed crowds with only a small amount of food, raised the dead, and were taken up to heaven). But they did not bring a universal message for all humanity. In that sense, Muhammad's message is intended for humanity. The Qur'an's words are not tied to a particular narrative (as with the Tawrah [Torah, Old Testament, in Arabic] and Injil [Gospel, Christian Scriptures, so called in the Qur'an]); they are God's words, standing by themselves, and anyone from any tribe or nation can come to 'the Book' and apply God's words to their own lives. Muhammad is 'God's mercy to humanity', as he said of himself. The Qur'an addresses people often with: "O people/humanity..." - rather than, "O Israel" (one nation).
What is the Qur'an ? SIra? Hadith?
4. Qur'an - Коран, the main book of Muslims Sira - (сира) особый жанр ранней мусульманской историографии, жизнеописание пророка Мухаммада Hadith - (хадис) предание о словах и действиях пророка Мухаммада, затрагивающее разнообразные религиозно-правовые стороны жизни мусульманской общины. Хадис — изречение (кауль), одобрение (такрир), образ (васфи) или действие (филь) пророка Мухаммада. ________________________________________________________ Qur'an: 114 suras or chapters organized approximately according to length and Mecca/Medina distinction; revealed to Muhammad over 23 years; compiled by Abu Bakr, and then standardized by Uthman, the fourth Caliph. Qur'anic interpretation of tafsir explains the 'occasion of revelation' for each sura and verse. For example, Iqra, sura 96 near the end, is said to be the first words of Gabriel to Muhammad. But tafsir depends on hadith, and hadith are oral, being put down in writing only 230 or so years after the time, and have problems of their own, so one has to trust the tradition - which many Western scholars don't. 'Occasion of revelation' gives vital context, and interlocks with the idea of 'abrogation': 'abrogation' is when a later verse replaces an earlier one - e.g. complete abstention from win abrogates a verse prohibiting wine only before prayer. e.g. the commandment to fight abrogates the commandment to leave the unbelievers to stew in their own blasphemies and let God decide. Or 'no compulsion in religion' is likewise abrogated by verses implying non-believer combatants should be encouraged to accept Islam. Arguments over 'occasion' and 'abrogation' can produce quite different readings of the Qur'an and hence Islamic practice, some moderate, some extremist. Modern academics are skeptical of tradition tafsir: they ask a) why are there Qur'anic words that the tradition finds untranslatable: for them this means the chain of transmission was broken, and parts of the Qur'an lie outside the traditional schema; b) why do Qur'anic laws sometimes contradict early Muslim practice: e.g. the Qur'an proscribes lashing for adultery, early law proscribes stoning to death. In some instances, critics hold that the Qur'an is pre-Islamic law, legend and custom; while 'Islam' itself is a mixture of Byzantine, Persian, or Jewish law and practice. Ancient Arabic fragments were then later compiled into a book claimed to be authored by Muhammad. Similar methods to Biblical criticism - but the results are far more tendentious and shaky. Hadith: Thousands of sayings by and about the Prophet handed down by the Companions and other first-generation Muslims. They were transmitted orally and committed to writing in the 800s. Four collections became the standard ones. Al-Bukhari: 7500 in 97 books out of a 100,000 non-sahih (non-reliable) hadith. Topics include: belief, knowledge, ghusl, wudu, prayer, hajj, fasting, penalty of hunting while on pilgrimage, loans, partnership, creation, prophets, food, meals, oaths, apostates, dreams, merits of the helpers (al-ansar) in Medina etc...Again, traditional scholars and many Western academics place a lot of trust in these traditions; but since the 1970s many 'radical' Western academics have cast almost wholesale doubt on their reliability, and come up with a quite different story of Islamic origins. For them the life of Muhammad as recounted by devout believers is little more than a legend. Sira Ibn Hisham (d.833) edited Ibn Ishaq's (d.767) biography of the prophet. Ibn Ishaq in turn got much material from Al-Zuhri (d.737) compiled oral khabars (or akhbar), that is, events relating to the time of the Companions and the Prophet. A khabar (lit. 'piece of news') differs from a hadith in being related to a specific date and event; a hadith is not linked to an event. But the two are often close, and sometimes had similar lines of transmission
Why was the hijra to Medina so important ? What is the significance of the Constitution of Medina?
5. Hijra was important because sinse the hijra have happened begins the calendar ( летоисчисление) of the muslims. The significance of constitution of Medina is the following: it was protecting Muhammad and his followers from the aggressive guys from Mecca. __________________________________ Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, in the year 622 CE. In June 622 CE, after being warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to emigrate to Medina, along with his companion Abu Bakr. The Hegira is also often identified erroneously with the start of the Hijri calendar which was set to Julian 16 July 622. Hijra could be considered as the beginning of the first Islamic state. The Constitution of Medina establishes the importance of consent and cooperation for governance. According to this compact Muslims and non-Muslims are equal citizens of the Islamic state, with identical rights and duties. Communities with different religious orientations enjoyed religious autonomy, which amounted to essentially choice of legal system based on their religion. Jews were judged by the Torah, Christians by the Gospel, and Muslims by the Koran. The idea of freedom was much wider in scope than the modern idea of religious freedom.
What are the greater and lesser jihad?
6. The lesser jihad is the любое действие на пути к богу (то есть читая это, изучая коран или что либо еще мы совершаем джихад, потому что движемся к богу. Та даам, поздравляю ты джихадист!!!). The greater jihad is the holy war against those, who oppers Muslims. If you die in this war, you get to the paradise. ____________________________ Greater Jihad is when a Muslim tries to fight temptations, sex lust, and other bad thoughts that come to mind. Lesser Jihad is when a Muslim literally goes to the battle field when his religion is being attacked. For example if some country tries to insult Islam. Muslims go to fight with them.
How is the Qur'an arranged? What was its main message and attraction for new converts?
7. Qur'an is arranged as following: 114 suras or chapters organized approximately according to length and Mecca/Medina distinction; revealed to Muhammad over 23 years; compiled by Abu Bakr, and then standardized by Uthman, the fourth Caliph. the message to the new converts is: there is no god, but god, Muhammad is the messenger of God. _____________________________ The Quran is composed of 114 parts or chapters of unequal length. Each chapter is called a surah in Arabic and each sentence or phrase of the Quran is called an aaya, literally 'a sign.' Like the Bible, the Quran is divided into discrete units, referred to as verses in English. These verses are not standard in length or meter, and where each begins and ends was not decided by human beings, but dictated by God. Each one is a discrete act of locution of closed signification, or 'sign', denoted by the word aayah in Arabic. The shortest of the surahs has ten words, and the longest surah, which is placed second in the text, has 6,100 words. The first surah, the Fatihah ("The Opening"), is relatively short (twenty-five words). From the second surah onward, the surahs gradually decrease in length, although this is not a hard and fast rule. The last sixty surahs take up about as much space as the second. Some of the longer aayahs are much longer than the shortest surahs. Islam is a perfect religion which provides solution to every problem and answer to every question. As the word 'Islam' means 'peace', it is effectively the religion of every human who likes peace. Peace within a human being, peace of mind, peace at home, peace in the society, and peace in the world. In other words Islam is a way of achieving peace by submitting to the Will of God.
What is the context of the Sword Verse?
8. ''fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them'' - the main idea of this part of qur'an. The Sword Verse is the fifth verse of the ninth sura of the Qur'an (also written as 9:5). It is a Qur'anic verse widely cited by critics of Islam to suggest the faith promotes violence against "pagans" _________________________ This is chapter 9, verse 5: Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the jizya (a tax for non-Muslims), then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. The Quran calls non-Muslims by many names, including "the idolaters." So this verse tells Muslims to ambush, capture, and kill non-Muslims wherever they can be found. In the Qur'an, the so-called 'sword verses', have "abrogated" the verses that permit warfare only in defence. They used these 'sword verses' to justify war against unbelievers as a tool of spreading Islam.
In what way does Islam resemble Christianity , in what way is it different?
9.Islam is similar to Christianity, both believe that: - There is only one God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. - God sent prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joseph, John the Baptist, Jesus, etc. - People should follow the Ten Commandments and the moral teachings of the prophets. - Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin; therefore Jesus was born miraculously. - Jesus Christ is the Messiah and he performed miracles. - The Old testament/Torah and the new testament/Gospel) are holy scriptures. - Satan is evil; therefore, people should not follow Satan. - An Anti-Christ will appear on Earth before the Day of Judgment. - Jesus Christ will return by descending from Heaven and will kill the Anti-Christ. - The Day of Judgment will occur and people will be judged. - There is hell and paradise. There are 3 main differences between Islam & Christianity: 1. Today, most Christians believe in the Trinity, meaning that God has 3 forms (Father, Son, Holy Ghost/ Spirit). The concept of trinity was not adopted by Christianity until the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Some of the early Christians were Unitarians. Even today, there are Christian Unitarian churches that do not accept the Trinity. Notable Rationalist Unitarians include thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson (American), scientists such as Isaac Newton (British), as well as famous figures such as Florence Nightingale (British) in nursing and humanitarianism, Charles Dickens (British) in literature, and Frank Lloyd Wright (American) in architecture. While in Islam, (a) Trinity is totally rejected. Jesus is neither God, nor Son of God (in the literal sense). Jesus was a human prophet and not divine. (a) Muslims worship only God, the one and only the creator of the universe. (b) This God (the Quran refers to as Allah) is the God and creator of Jesus and is the same God that Jesus in the current Bible refers to as Father and to whom Jesus used to pray. (c) Muslims consider Mohammad, Moses, and Jesus as prophets and messengers sent by God ("messengers" is term that refers to prophets who brought holy scriptures to their people as a message from God). These prophets were human beings, not divine, and should not be worship directly or indirectly. (d) Muslims believe that each human being can be called son/daughter of God because he/she was created by God. So there is nothing special or divine about Jesus being called son of God and therefore Jesus should not be worshiped. (e) Finally, angels (such as Gabriel) are servants/agents of God. Angels are created by God; therefore, they are not divine and should not be worshiped. 2. The Quran says Jesus did not die on the cross, but God made it appear that way to people. Furthermore, the Quran also says that Jesus was ascended to Heaven by God. Most Christians today insist Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but two days later was resurrected. 3. Christians believe in the concept of "Original Sin" which means that human beings are born as sinners , bearing the burden of the "Original Sin" of Adam and Eve. Muslims do not believe in the " Original Sin" for 2 main reasons: (a) In the Quran, God forgave Adam for what he has done, and (b) according to the Quran, no one should be made to bear the burden of someone else's sin or mistake because it is unfair.
6 periods of Muhammad's life:
A) birth and the early life of Muhammad. Until 25 years, till the moment, when he has gone to the cave where he met an angel. B)the beginning of проповедничества. The first stage, just looked at, also includes the process whereby Muhammad recited his verses to a limited audience and attracted followers among friends and family c) Meccan period, persecution, Abyssinian hijra. this stage came when Muhammad proclaimed his verses publicly to the pagan Meccans, attracting their wrath and condemnation. Next came a phase of vicious persecution, during which Muhammad even sent some of his more vulnerable followers (those without tribal protection) to Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and finally had to flee himself. D) Hijra to Medina . His own flight marks the third stage, and is called the Hijra (or 'flight'). The Muslim calendar is actually numbered from the year of this flight from Mecca, such an important turning-point was it in Islamic history: Muhammad and his followers took a gamble, deciding to abandon their very homes, properties, tribal ties, and families in a bid to actually make the dream of monotheism work in this world. E) Medinan phase. His own flight marks the third stage, and is called the Hijra (or 'flight'). The Muslim calendar is actually numbered from the year of this flight from Mecca, such an important turning-point was it in Islamic history: Muhammad and his followers took a gamble, deciding to abandon their very homes, properties, tribal ties, and families in a bid to actually make the dream of monotheism work in this world. F) Fighting against Meccans. The next (and almost final) stage is one of fighting with the Meccans: the Meccans pursued Muhammad to Medina to attack the growing Muslim community, still fearful of its influence even so far away, and the Muslims fought back against the Meccans, often raiding their caravans as well. The final stage of the Muslim story is Muhammad and his community's ultimate defeat of the Meccans and the peaceful taking of Mecca, with the triumph of Islam in Muhammad's home-town, the home of Abrahamic monotheism. ___________________________________________ 1. Early revelation, 2. Meccan period, persecution, Abyssinian hijra, 3. Hijra to Medina, 4. Medinan phase, 5. Fighting against Meccans, 6 Return to Mecca.
