Elements of Faith (6 beliefs)
- There is only one God and he does not beget nor was he begotten (O)
- There are prophets, Muhammad was the last prophet (P)
- There are holy books (monotheism), Quran, Torah, Bible (B)
- There are Angels (A)
- There is a second life, Heaven/Hell (S)
- God predestines life, God provides justice (P)
Pillars of Faith
Arkam
There are 5:
- Must pray 5 times a day
- Must fast
- Must be charitable
- Pilgrimage
- Jihad
Profession of faith
“Ash-shahada”
“There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger”
Salat
Must pray 5 times a day
Must face Makka while praying (Qibla)
Niche in mosque shows the direction of Makka (Mihrab)
“Adhan” = call to prayer
Mu’adhadhan = caller to prayer
Siam
Must fast (those who are capable)
Month of Ramadan = nothing from sunrise to sunset
Zakat vs. Sadaqa
Must be charitable
Zakat=required charity (2.5% of income if possible)
Sadaqa=voluntary charity
Pilgrimage
Greater pilgrimage = Hajj, pilgrimage to Makka, once in a lifetime
Lesser pilgrimage = Umra, voluntary pilgrimage
Jihad
Effort
Greater effort = inner Jihad, effort to release the bad qualities
Lesser effort = self-defense against aggressors
Sharia Law
Followed Muhammad’s customs (Sunna) as example
(4 sources)
1st source: Quran (Sura = chapters)
2nd source: Hadith = narration of Muhammad’s sayings
3rd source: Ijma = consensus of religious scholars
4th source: Qiyas = analogy; uses independent reasoning (Ijtihad)
Fatwa
Legally binding religious proclamation to the person who states it
Mutazilities
Founded by Wasil
- Believed there was an intermediary between heaven/hell
- God is One. He has no attributes
Al-Mamun
Khalifa who was a Mutazilite (813-833)
- imprisoned Ibn-Hanbal who was a famous religious leader who refused his request
- Believed God had no speech, Quran was created by God
- Opened the House of Wisdom, responsible for translating Greek works to Arabic
Beliefs of the Mutazilites
- intermediary between heaven and hell
- God is One. He has no attributes.
- God is just. He cannot change his mind or he will be deceiving Muslims
- Human beings are free. God gives human beings freedom
- Human reasoning is capable of understanding everything
- The values of things are in the objects (beauty in a painting)
Abu al-Hasan al-Ashari
IDK
Asharites
Believed the opposite of Mutazilites
- No intermediary between heaven and hell
- God has attributes because he said he did
- God is just
- Human reasoning is limited to what the Quran says
- Human beings have freedom, but God predestines life
- Values are only in God’s mind
Acquisition Theory
human capacities are predestined, but the action is up to the human (responsibility)
