ISLAM

ISLAM

(A Fact Sheet)

Founder: Muhammad; member of the Hashimite clan of the Al Qu’raysh tribe. Considered the last prophet sent by Allah.

Born: Around 570 A.D. in the city of Mecca in Arabia (present day Saudi Arabia)

Died: June 8, 632 A.D.

Main Book: Qur’an (Koran). About four-fifths the length of the New Testament. It is divided into 114 surahs (chapters). Parts were written by Muhammad, and the rest, based on his oral teachings, was written from memory by his disciples after his death. God himself is not the content of the revelation. Revelation in Islamic theology does not mean God disclosing himself. It is revelation from God. It is inerrant.

Other Books: Hadith (traditions and spoken decisions and judgments of Muhammad)

Sources of Islamic Authority: Qur’an, Hadith, Sunnah, Shari’a, schools of law, the ulama

How Received: Through visions/revelations from the angel Gabriel over a period of 22 years until Muhammad’s death in 632 A.D.

Sects: Sunni , Shi’ite, Sufi, Ahmadiya, Nation of Islam (see the Glossary for additional information)

Holy cities: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem

The four largest Muslim nations: Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh

History/Background:

577 A.D. - His mother Amina died when he was six. His father died before he was born.
Raised by his grandfather and then his uncle Abu Talib, a traveling merchant

595 A.D. - Married a wealthy 40-year-old widow named Khadijah at the age of 25

610 A.D. - Had his first vision at age 40 (610 A.D.) during the month of Ramadan while at Hira cave. The angel Gabriel appeared to him and spoke the Arabic word "Iqra" which means "read" or "proclaim" or "recite". At first Muhammad was unsure of the visions and thought they may be demonic, and that he may be possessed by demons or Jinn. He even contemplated suicide. His wife encouraged him to accept his experiences as a message from God.

619 A.D. – Muhammad’s wife and uncle die. During this time he had a supernatural experience when he was taken by Gabriel to Jerusalem. He met Abraham, Moses and Jesus and led them in prayer. Afterwards, he was taken to the seven heavens from the famous rock that has become the Dome of the Rock.

622 A.D. - Because of opposition to his new faith in Mecca, he fled to the city of Yathrib, now known as Medina. This is known as the Hegira or Flight to Medina and is dated July 16, 1622. It marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Turned to Mecca as the center of worship of Islam where the famous black stone the Ka’aba is enshrined. Muhammad denounced all idols and declared it as the shrine for the one true God, Allah.
Established his governance of the new Muslim community at Medina. Founded the umma (the community of Islam) which was based on religious affiliation rather than tribal blood kinship. Muhammad advocated a plurality of wives, accepted slavery as a fact of life, condemned usury (the taking of financial interest), prohibited the drinking of wine, instigated a calendar based on the lunar movements and seasons which regulated religious practices.

624 A.D. – Muhammad married his youngest wife, Aisha. She was six-years-old when they married, but the consummation did not take place until she ws nine.

630 A.D. – Muslim armies took Mecca

632 A.D. – Muhammad died and was buried in Mecca. Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law, succeeded him as the first caliph. A successor was not designated prior to Muhammad’s death. This question of the Caliphate or Muhammad’s successor would cause more divisions and bloodshed than any other issue in Islam. The major eruption came between those who believed the Caliph should be elected by the Islamic leadership (Sunni) and those who believed the successor should be hereditary, through Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law, married to his only daughter, Fatima (Shi’ite). This caused the formation of the two main branches of Islam, the Sunni and the Shite.

632-634 A.D. – First Caliph, Abu Bakr. One of the first converts to Islam. Appointed as caliph by consensus of the community.

634-644 A.D. – Second Caliph, Umar. Appointed by Abu Bakr. Expanded Islam into Syria and Iraq, took Jerusalem and Egypt and parts of Persia.

644-656 A.D. – Third Caliph, Uthman. Appointed by a council of six elders prior to Uman’s death. Pushed Islam into North Africa as far as Tunisia and Persia became a province. Under his rule the Qur’an was codified.

656-661 A.D. – Fourth Caliphate, Ali, son-in-law of Muhammad. After the death of Muhammad unrest began among followers of Ali because he was not immediately chosen to succeed Muhammad. Mu’awiya, the nephew of Uthman and a great general, challenged the legitimacy of Ali’s caliphate and a battle ensued and Ali was killed. Ali designated his son Hasan to succeed him, but Mu’awiya forced him out of the caliphate and is said to have poisoned him. Because of these actions, Ali’s two sons Hasan and Husein were to become prominent in Shi’ite history and tradition. The Shi’ites consider Ali the first imam of the imamate, as opposed to the caliphate. Hasan is considered the second imam.

661-750 A.D. – Umayyad Caliphate. Contained 14 caliphates. The capital was now Damascus, Syria. Islam expanded to the Indus Valley, Chinese Turkestan, Morocco and to the Berbers in Spain. During this time Islam expanded quickly. Two great Islamic structures were built; the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (the third holiest place in Islam) and the Great Mosque of Damascus (the fourth holiest edifice of Islam). In 680 A.D. Ali’s son Husein was slain by an Umayyad militia at Kerbala (in Iraq). A shrine to Husein at Kerbala is a most important pilgrimage place for Shi’ites. It is said that a pilgrimage to Kerbala to Husein’s shrine has the merit of a thousand pilgrimages to Mecca, of a thousand martyrdoms, and of a thousand days of fasting. Shi’ites have developed a passion play to commemorate the tragedy as well as a religious calendar of services especially during the first ten days of the month. Husein became the third imam in the Shi’ite chain of twelve imams.

750-1517 A.D. – Abbasid Caliphate. Capitals moved to Baghdad and later to Cairo. During this period their was a renaissance of Islamic art, literature, science and medicine. The clock pendulum was invented, schools of law developed, anethesia used in surgery, wounds were cauterized, the first ambulatory hospital invented, and Arabic numbers replaced roman numerals. Six crusades, beginning in 1099, occurred during this caliphate and Christendom made forays into Palestine to recapture Muslim land. The muslim general Saladin became famous during this time. Shah Jahan built the famous Taj Mahal at Agra , the Grand Mosque and Red Fort of Delhi during the reign of this caliphate.

1517-1924 A.D. – Ottoman Empire.

Five Articles of Faith

God. There is only one true God and his name is Allah.

Angels. The existence of angels is fundamental to Islamic teaching. They do not perform any bodily functions and are made of light. Each man and woman has two angels – one recording his good deeds, the other his bad deeds. Angels are represented generally as God’s messengers. Muslims believe in 4 archangels: Gabriel(the angel of revelation and recognized as the Holy Spirit), Michael (the angel of providence and guardian of the Jews), Israfil (the summoner to resurrection), and Izra’il (the angel of death).

Scripture. There are four inspired books in the Islamic faith. They are the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Gospel of Jesus and the Qur’an. Muslims believe the three former books have been corrupted by Jews and Christians.

Prophets. In Islam God has spoken through numerous prophets through the ages. The Qur’an mentions by name twenty-five prophets, and most of them are found in the Bible. The six greatest are Adam, Noah (the preacher of God), Abraham (the friend of God), Moses (the speaker of God), Jesus (the word of God) and Muhammad (the apostle of God). Muhammad is the most recent and the greatest and anyone claiming to be a prophet or messenger after him is an imposter and deciever. The Prophets were the model of good behavior and perfect character. They held to all virtues and were free from vices. The traditional four virtues associated with the prophets are truth, honesty, conveying the message from God, and intelligence. Muslims believe that God has sent a prophet to each people to warn them with the message to acknowledge the oneness of God, to obey his laws, and to perform good works in light of the life to come.

Last Days. This will be a time of resurrection and judgment. Those who follow and obey Allah and Muhammad will go to paradise. Those who oppose them will be tortured in hell. The day and hour of this last day is not known At this time the dead will be raised and man’s deeds will be weighed. Islam teaches that the decayed body will be resurrected form one bone, the coccyx bone. This is why Muslims always bury the dead and cremation is not allowed. Some signs of the last days are that (1) religious knowledge will decrease, (2) religious ignorance will prevail, (3) there will be a prevalence of open illegal sexual intercourse, and (4) women will increase in number and men will decrease in number so much so that fifty women will be looked after by one man.

Five Pillars of Faith

The Creeds (Shahada). "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah," is the bedrock of Muslim belief. You must say this aloud publicly to become a Muslim. This confession is said before prayers and at other occasions.

Prayer (Salat): Done five times a day [at rising, noon, mid-afternoon, after sunset, and before going to bed]. The worshipper must recite the prescribed prayers while facing the Ka’aba in Mecca. Before praying one must make abulation (cleansing). Since there is no ordination in Islam, prayer leaders are chosen based on their knowledge of Islam and their ability to orate.

Almsgiving (Zakat). Muslims are legally required to give one-fortieth of their income for the poor and destitute.

Fasting during Ramadan (Saum). Ramadan is the time when Muhammad received the revelation of the Qur’an from the angel Gabriel. Devout Muslims must fast from sunup to sundown each day during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Moslem year. No food, drink, smoking or sexual pleasures may be had during the daylight hours. The fast is concluded on the 27^th. The Qur’an forbids touching one’s wife while fasting.

The Pilgrimage (Hajj). This pilgrimage to Mecca is expected at least once in one’s lifetime. The trip is an essential part of a Muslim gaining salvation. The main activity consists of visiting the sacred mosque (al-Kasjid al-Haram); the kissing of the Black Stone (al-Hajar al-Aswad); seven circumambulations of the ka’aba three times running and four times slowly; the visit to the sacred stone called Maqam Ibrahim; the ascent of and running between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwa seven times; the visit to Mt. Arafat; the hearing of a sermon there and spending the night at Muzdalifa; the throwing of stones at the three pillars at mina and offering sacrifice on the last day of Ihram, which is the ‘id sacrifice. The pilgrimage takes about two weeks.

Jihad (Holy War). When the situation warrants, men are required to go to war to spread Islam or defend it against infidels. One who dies in a Jihad is guaranteed eternal life in paradise as well as an honorable name bestoweed on his family. . The Hadith gives approval for violence against infidels and those who leave Islam as their native or chosen religion.

Bible: Muslims believe the Qur’an, the words of Muhammad, have been preserved free of error. The Bible, they believe, has been corrupted through its interpretations and translations and is not free of error. The Qur’an clarifies, refines and corrects the errors in the other corrupted books.

God: Allah is one, transcendent, all-knowing, all-seeing, all-hearing, all-powerful, the sovereign judge, the creator and sustainer of the universe and man. He does not exist in time or place. He is the compassionate and the merciful, but not a personal God. Man’s purpose is not to know and become more conformed to God’s character, but to understand His will and to become more obedient to his commands. Allah was neither begotten nor beget nor had any associates with Him in the Godhead. There is a strong view of predestination by God that believes all good or evil proceeds from the divine will of Allah. Whatever Allah chooses is correct. The Qur’an states: "Say, Nothing will ever befall us save what Allah has written for us…" (9:51). It is blasphemous to call Allah or God your father. God is remote and inaccessible to human knowledge. God’s existence can be seen in the order of nature and the order of life. In Islam there are ninety-nine names for God.

Jesus: Muslims consider Jesus as a prophet of God and hold Him in high respect and honor, but do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Diety) or that He rose from the dead (resurrected). They present Jesus not as the Son of God but as as the son of Mary. The Qur’an says, "…Christ Jesus the son of Mary; Was (no more than) A Messenger of Allah…" They do not even believe Jesus was crucified, but that Judas was crucified in Jesus’ place. The Qur’an says, "…But they killed him not, Nor crucified him, But so it was made to appear to them, And those who differ…For of a surety They killed him not – Nay, Allah raised him up Unto Himself." They do believe Jesus was a sinless prophet, performed miracles as a child, and raised up by God to heaven. Jesus is mentioned ninety-seven times in the Qur’an. The Qur’an speaks of the Virgin birth of Jesus, but Muslims do not believe Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and that an angel, not the Holy Spirit, was the agency of God’s power in the conception. Jesus was only a messenger of Allah.

Trinity: Islam denies the doctrine of the Trinity. To equate anyone else with God is considered committing "shirk", the act (sin) of regarding anything as equal to Allah. The Qur’an accuses Christians of "shirk".

Abraham: Adopted by Muhammad as the patriarch. Considered the father of all Arabs, as father of Ishmael through whose lineage Muslims claim descent back to Adam. Considered by Muhammad as neither Jew nor Christian nor an idolater, but as the model Muslim surrendered to Allah.

Christians: Muslims view Christians as People of the Book. This means the uncorrupted revelation given to Jesus in his time as well as to Moses in his time. Muslims consider The Book as having been corrupted since the time the revelations were given by translating and interpretations.

Adam & man: Most Muslims still hold the view that Adam was the first human being. The Qur’an says that Adam was made from clay, Adam and Eve (Hauwa) were place in a Garden, but was in the heavens not on earth. They were God’s representative and endowed with knowledge, will and choice. They were pure and sinless, but not created in the image and likeness of God. Satan misled Adam and Eve into disobeying God and tasting of the forbidden tree. This disobedience by Adam and Eve is not look upon they same Christianity does. It is seen as only a single slip-up, and that they were completely forgiven after they repented. Muslims do not believe that Adam’s slip-up pervades to man today. Man is not born a sinner according to Islam. Because man is not fallen, he does not need a savior. Islam teaches that man is born innocent and remains so until he makes himself guilty by a wrong deed. What man does after he is born is a result of external influences and intruding factors. Man is considered intrinsically weak, frail, imperfect and constantly forgetful of God. This is why prophets have been sent to constantly remind man about his need for God. Since Adam is considered the first prophet, and that prophets of God are either totally sinless or at least protected from major sins Adam couldn’t meet the view placed on him by Christians.

Salvation and Sin: Islam makes not real provision for sin. One’s salvation is never certain since it is based on a system of works and on complete surrender (Islam) to the will of Allah. One must earn his salvation. A Muslim holds to the Articles of Faith and follows the Pillars of Faith. For a Muslim, sin is lack of obedience to Allah. Thus, man is sinful by act only, not nature and everyone is responsible for his own actions. To Muslims sin is not inherited. The Bible teaches that man is sinful by nature (original sin).

Paradise (Heaven): Described as a place of extreme beauty, sinless, with no presence of pain or sorrow, and much physical fulfillment. Satan is banished forever. Many traditions focus on the sensual and sexual delights of paradise. Only Muslims will go to paradise. The People of the Book (Jews and Christians) are not admitted to heaven. Soldiers and martyrs have a special place in heaven and it has one hundred grades for the Mujahudin.

Hell: Those whose deeds are evil will receive punishment in hell. It is a burning and odorous place. Tradition says that women go to hell more than men and speaks of boiling brains and molten lead being poured into one’s ears.

Satan: There is controversy regarding the identity of Satan. Some say he is an angelic being, but the Qur’an says that angels cannot disobey God. Because of this many Muslim scholars say satan belonged to the Jinn. Satan was created before man, but his rebellion against God was almost simultaneous with the creation of man (38:71-77). Satan is the power and source of evil; the deceiver of mankind and leads man astray from the straight path of God’s will.

Polygamy: Islam permits a man to have more than one wife under certain conditions; up to four wives are permitted and all wives should enjoy the same rights and privileges.

Fornication and Adultery: considered a principal crime in Islam. Sexual intercourse is reserved for marriage.

Dogs: are considered unclean and is used as a term of vilification against one’s enemies, especially unbelievers.

Slavery: was considered as the natural order of things. Humane treatment was recommended.

Birth Control: Islam prohibits irreversible methods of contraception such as vasectomy, tubal ligation, and hysterectomy. Methods such as the douche, condom, diaphragm and pill are deemed undesirable but not unlawful (haram). Infanticide is condemned.

Homosexuality: Is considered abhorrent and condemned as a major sin.

Meat: Pork meat and carnivorous animals are forbidden. Meat should be from animals slaughtered according to Islamic law

Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages are forbidden

Glossary

Abd: A slave; isued either literally or in the religious sense as a servant of God

Abu: means ‘father of"

Abu Bakr: The first Moslem caliph, according to Sunni Muslims.

Ahmadiya Sect: Offshoot of Islam founded in India by Mirsa Ghulam Ahmad (died 1908); he is believed to be the Muslim Messiah (Mahdi), and received revelations from Allah. One of their major characteristics is the practice of purda, the separation of men and women in public places and modest dress for women which is usually with a head covering and a face veil. They are considered heretical by Orthodox Islam. They publish and distribute their own version of The Holy Qur’an. They believe that their founder is a prophet, believe in the second coming of Jesus, and declares Jihad as un-Islamic.

Ali: Muhammad’s son-in-law, the fourth caliph, and believed by the Shites to be the first true successor to Muhammad. First Imam of the Iranian Shi’ites.

Allah: The Supreme Being. The name of God, derived from the Arabic Al-llah

Aya: A verse of the Qur’an

Ayatollah: Religious leader among the Shi’ites who is given high authority

Caliph: means successor. Title given to office of the spiritual and political leadership which took over after Muhammad’s death.

Dervish: Member of a religious brotherhood like a Sufi order; induce ecstasy by movement, dance, and the recitation of names of God.

Hadith: "Tradition"; the sacred sayings of Muhammad. Reports of the words, actions, and attitudes of the Prophet Muhammad. They are narratives, statements, or stories of what Muhammad said or did. It is the actual tradition or custom practiced by Muhammad.

Hasan: Son of Ali; grandson of Muhammad, second Imam of Shi’ites

Hezbollah: Party of Allah

Hijira: means flight, and marks the move by Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina on July 16, 622. All Islamic calendars mark this date as their beginning. [ex. 630 A.D. would be 8 A.H.]

Husein: Son of Ali; grandson of Muhammad; third Imam of Shi’ites; Iranian Shi’ites revere him with the narrative and drama of his death.

Ibn: means "son of"

Ijma: "Agreeing upon, concensus"; the concensus of the Muslim community as expressed by its mujtahids (those who have a right by virtue of their knowledge and position) to form a judgment of their own on a matter of interpretation of the Islamic law. Ijma must be based on the Qur’an and Hadith.

Imam: (1) Leader of the congregational prayer (Salat) in the mosque; (2) among Sunnis, the Caliph; (3) among Shi’ites, one of the descendants of Ali recognized by Allah as supreme ruler of the world

Injil: Gospel of Jesus. Muslims believe it was revelation given to Jesus for his era and the people but has been corrupted, and superceded by the Koran.

Islam: means submission or surrender.

Isma’ilis: A group of Shi’ite Muslims who believed the seventh Imam was the last Imam.

Jinn: creatures between angels and men which can be either good or evil. Have freedom of choice.

Ka’aba: "Cube"; known as the house of God; A small stone building located in the court of the great mosque at Mecca containing the black stone (a meteorite) supposedly given to Abraham by Gabriel. Muslims believe the Ka’aba had been built by Abraham for the worship of the one true God.

Mahdi: "the guided one"; the divinely guided one often associated with the Hidden and Twelfth Imam of the Shi’ites.

Masjid: "Place of prostration"; a mosque

Mecca: Holy city of Islam; birthplace of Muhammad and home of the Great Mosque (Masjid al-haram). Non-Muslims are barred from the city

Medina: Second holiest city of Islam besides Mecca; location of Muhammad’s tomb

Mihrab: The niche in the mosque which marks the direction of Mecca; the recess into which the Imam (prayer leader) enters to pray

Miraj: Muhammad’s ascent to heaven on his famous "Night Journey"

Muhammad, Elijah: Founder of the Nation of Islam in the United States; syncretism of Islam with racist ideology

Muhammad, Wallace D.: Son of Elijah Muhammad. Succeeded his father and founder the American Muslim Mission; moved toward orthodox Islam.

Mujahidun: Soldiers of Allah

Muslim: one who submits

Nation of Islam: Founded by Elijah Muhammad in the United States in the 1930’s. Louis Farrakhan became the leader after Elijah’s death. The teachings of the Nation of Islam stem from a man by the name of Fard Muhammad who suddenly appeared in Detroit in July 1930. He said that he was the supreme leader of the universe and that he had come to deliver "the lost-found nation of Islam." He taught that God is black, that the white man is the devil, and that the black race is supreme. The original name of the organization was the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the Wilderness of North America, but was changed to the Nation of Islam. Fard Muhammad disappeared on march 19, 1934. Elijah Poole (Elijah Muhammad), the son of a Baptist preacher, met Fard Muhammad in Detroit in August of 1930 and became a follower of his teachings. Fard Muhammad became Allah in person and Elijah Muhammad became his messenger or prophet. A basis of the teaching was a story based on "Yacub’s History." It said that the original human race was the black race whose religion was Islam and that they had founded Mecca. A special tribe of blacks called Shabbazz was created. This tribe was the ancestors of the blacks in America. Yacub was the God 6,600 years-ago. He then created a white race which was made the world’s ruler. In time, God was to appear and destroy the white race and restore blacks to their rightful leadership. This God is said the have appeared in the person of Fard Muhammad. The Nation of Islam grew in the 1950’s and 1960’s during the civil rights movement and had mosques throughout major cities in the U.S. Malcom X became a follower of Islam in 1948 while in prison in Boston, and he eventually became the leading spokesman for the Nation. Over time he became disillusioned with Elijah Muhammad regarding his affairs and adultery with various women. Malcom X left the Nation of Islam in 1964 to found his own group called the Muslim Mosque, Inc. He then traveled to the Middle East and made the pilgrimage to Mecca. This experience changed his life such that he changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz and preached the brotherhood of the races and that the white man is not inherently evil. Malcom was called a traitor and "cowardly hypocritical dog" by the Nation of Islam and eventually murdered on February 21, 1965 while giving a speech in Harlem’s Audubon Auditorium. His three killers were former members of the Nation of Islam. After the death of Elijah Muhammad his son WallaceDeen Muhammad took over and starting moving the Nation of Islam more toward orthodox Islam. He changed the name from the Nation of Islam to World Community of Islam in the West (WCIW). Louis Farrakhan had been named the National Representative of the Nation of Islam after the murder of Malcom X, and left the WCIW in 1978 to rebuild the former Nation of Islam under the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. In the meantime, in April of 1980 Wallace Deen Muhammad changed the name of his new origanizations to the American Muslim Mission. Eventually the American Muslim Mission faded into the fabric of the general Muslim community in the U.S. Louis Farrakhan is still presently the head of the Nation of Islam and has made statements over the years that have angered Jews and others by calling Hitler a "great man" and stating that Jews were "bloodsuckers."

A Regular section that appeared weekly in the Nation of Islam’s newspaper "Muhammad Speaks" was called "What the Muslims Believe" and stated their beliefs. The main points are shown below:

One God – Allah
The Qur’an and the scriptures of all the prophets of God
The truth of the Bible, though now corrupted, must be reinterpreted
Mental resurrection
Judgment, which will take place first in America
Immediate separation of Negroes and white Americans
Justice, whether under God or not (respect U.S. laws)
Integration is hypocritical and deceptive
Muslims should not fight, especially for the U.S.
Muslim women should be respected and protected as others
Allah appeared in the person of Master W. Fard Muhammad in July 1930
Fard was the Christian Messiah and the Muslim Mahdi

The Nation of Islam also wanted freedom, justice, equal opportunity, a separate state/teriitory, release of all Muslims from prison, tax exemption for Negroes equal education and no mixing of the races.

Qiyas: Analogy; a provision whereby the law of Islam may be extended to cover matters analogous to but not explicitly in the Qur’an and Hadith.

Salaam: "Peace"; a salutation, greeting, blessing

Shari’a: Sacred and canon Islamic law given in the Qur’an, Hadith, Qiyas, and Ijma’. The Qur’an is the primary source. The Hadith must never contradict the Qur’an and is complementary to it. The Qiyas and the Ijma are complementary to both the Qur’an and the Hadith.

Shirk: "Association"; the act (sin) of regarding anything as equal to Allah; idolatry, polytheism, or attributing divinity to anyone. The Qur’an says "God forgiveth not [The sin of] joining other gods with Him; but He forgiveth Whom he pleaseth other sins Than this: one who joins Other gods with God, hath strayed far, far away [From the Right]" (4:16)

Shi’ites: A Moslem sect which rejects the first three caliphs, insisting that Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali was Muhammad’s rightful initial successor. Iran is the primary Shi’ite Muslim nation. The religious authority of the Shi’ites is the imam, not the caliph. The cycle of the imamate will be completed with the messianic return of the twelfth imam. The twelfth imam is believed to be in hiding or occultation since the ninth century. This imam gives supernatural guidance to the community through it’s leaders. The ayatollah serves as the living imam and interprets the Shari’a and states the correct rulings for society. The imamate is so important to the Shi’ites that they add to the confession (shahada) a phrase that declares Ali the commander of true believers and the "friend of God." The Shi’ites have also split and formed various sects. Most Shi’ites are of the group known as the Twelvers. They accept the line of twelve imams from Ali to Muhammad al-Muntazzar. Muhammad al-Muntazzar disappeared at the age-of-nine and the doctrine of the hidden imam developed. Another group is called the Isma’ilis or the Seveners. They accept the first seven imams in the lineage of Ali, ending with Ismail ibn jafar. They have radical views and activities and form secret societies with esoteric teachings. The Isma’ilis enabled the Fatimid Dynasty (96901174 A.D.) of Egypt to gain power through revolutionary activities. The Isma’ilis themselves split into two groups; the Nazaris who look to the modern day Aga Khan as their imam, and the Mustalis (Bohoro Muslims) who believe in a hidden imam who is descended from Hasan or Husein. The Shi’ites comprise about ten percent of the more than one billion Muslims.

Sunnah: The path of tradition; orthodoxy; way of faith and conduct followed by the Sunni community of Islam. The Hadith provides the base for developing customs and traditions of Islamic faith and culture that have become the Sunnah.

Sunnites: The largest Moslem sect, which acknowledges the first four caliphs as Muhammad’s rightful successors. They represent orthodoxy in Islam. They believe that by a process of consensus (ijma) the community should select the leader. He should be a caliph who is to administer the affairs of the community according to the Qur’an and tradition. A movement called the Wahhabis was founded in Saudi Arabia in the eighteenth century. They are literalists and believe just what the Qur’an says relating to beheading and the severing of hands for appropriate crimes. They also despise Sufism. The Sunni comprise about ninety percent of the more than one billion Muslims.

Sufis: A Muslim mystic; It has leaders called Sheikhs and followers called brotherhoods. Iranian (Persian) philosophical mystics who have largely adapted and reinterpreted Islam for themselves. Most well know is the whirling dervish order who whirl and dance while repeating the name of God. It stresses emotions, feelings, and personal attributes of God, and personal relationships with God. They believe one can find God through introspection and inward experiences.

Ulama: Religious leader. Classical Islam did not provide for a clergy, but the ulama rose is early Islamic society with the responsibilities to study, interpret and administer Islamic law; to preside over the rituals at the mosque, and to administer the Qur’anic schools. These religious leaders are called by various titles such as sheik, imam or ayatollah.

Umm and Ummu: mean "mother of"

Bibliography

Islam, Its Prophet, Peoples, Politics and Power

George W. Braswell, Jr.

ISBN: 0-8054-1169-0

Broadman and Holman Publishers–1996

Answering Islam

Norman Geisler & Abdul Saleeb

ISBN: 0-8010-3859-6

Baker Books-1993

Understanding Non-Christian Religions

Josh McDowell & Don Stewart

ISBN: 0-86605-092-2

Here’s Life Publishers Inc.-1982

Kingdom of the Cults

Walter Martin

ISBN: 1-55661-714-3

Bethany House Publishers, 1997