Islamic thought and culture chapter 3

EIBFS/Islamic Thought and Culture 1

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Lifetime Learning… Building Success… Towards Globalization

Islamic Thought and CultureChapter Three

Lifetime Learning… Building Success… Towards Globalization


Faith and Belief

• Pillars of faith:• To be Muslim, on need to:

– believe that Allah is the One and the Only God;– believe in Allah’s prophets and messengers;– believe that Muhammad (PBUH) is His final messenger and

prophet;– believe in Allah’s angels;– believe in Allah’s divine revealed books;– believe that Quran is Allah’s final preserved word;– believe in the Day of judgment and accountability.– believe in Destiny ( Al Qadr)


1. Witness of the Oneness of Allah

• Belief in the oneness of Allah is based on three dimensions;a. Allah’s divinityb. Allah’s Godhoodc. Allah’s Unique names and attributes.


a. To believe in Allah’s divinity means that one has to believe that; - Allah is the Lord, the Creator, the Sovereign and

the Manager of all affairs.- Only Allah provides sustenance for His creatures

and no one else.- Only Allah knows the unseen- Allah alone has the knowledge of the hour and

day of judgment.


• b. to believe in Allah’s Godhood;- Allah is the true God while every other so called-deity is false

and not worthy of worship.- to sincerely worship Allah alone, with complete love for Allah

above all.- To have full trust and faith only in Allah.


C. To believe in Allah’s Unique names and attributes;- To believe and affirm all names and attributes of

Allah as mentioned in the Holy Quran and sunnah of the prophet (pbuh)

- To glorify Allah’s names and attributes above any comparison to those of any creation.

- To believe in names and attributes of Allah as they are without attaching them to any creation.


Virtues of belief in Allah

• Believing in Oneness of Allah, builds in the individual;– love and glorification of Allah, – psychological peace; and– spiritual strength

• It leads to;– achieving ultimate happiness in this life and the hereafter.– following His commands and avoiding His prohibitions.


Belief in Angels

• God created angels beings with intellect, but unlike human beings angels were not granted free will.

• We believe in their existence and that they are;– created to worship and obey Allah– honored servants carrying Allah’s command


Angels duties

• Angels are assigned different functions. • Gabriel; assigned with revelations to Allah’s Prophets

and messengers. • Others angels are in charge of;

– rain, – mountain, – blowing the horn– Taking people’s souls at time of death;– Keeping records of all deeds and actions until death;– questioning the dead after his burial.


Revealed Scriptures

• To guide and redirect humanity, Allah revealed books and scriptures to His messengers.

• We are ordered to believe in all the books that Allah has revealed to messengers before Mohammad (pbuh)


• Books that are revealed by Allah include:– Suhuf of Prohphet Ibrahim– The zabur that Allah gave to Prophet Dawud;– The Tawarah that was revealed to Prophet Musa;– The Injil that was revealed to Prophet Isa’ – The Nobel Quran that was revealed to our Prophet

Muhammad (pbuh)


• Muslims believe that the Holy Quran is the final unchanged revelation.

• It contains 30 parts that makes 114 chapters.• It acts as guidance to humanity and regulates every

phase of their life, practice, laws and morals.


Some of the Qualities of the Quran

1. The only divine book which Allah pledged to preserve2. It contains summary of the teachings of the previous books.3. The Quran came easy for people to understand and follow.4. It contains the purposes of Islamic law; causes of happiness

in this life and hereafter.5. It is the final revealed book.6. The Prophet Mohammad Message is for all humanity and it

is the final message.


Prophets and Messengers of Allah

• Allah sent human Messengers and Prophets to act as warners and bringing good tidings to humankind.

• There are 25 Messengers and Prophets mentioned in the Quran.

• We must believe and respect and love to all Messengers and Prophets and;

• We must believe that Muhammad (pbuh) is the last of all prophets and was sent with final and complete guidance for all humanity.


• Adam was the first prophet and from Ibrahim came a long line of prophets through his two sons Ismai’l and Ishaq.

• Ismail was the forefather of Arab people and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

• From Ishaq descended a number of Prophets such as Yaqub, Yousuf, Mosa, Dawood, Sulaiman and Isa (pbuh).


Duties of Messengers and Prophets

Some of the tasks and duties of Messengers and Prophets are:1. Conveying the messages of Allah to His creation2. Reminding people and guiding them.3. Educating and preparing people4. Being a living example for his people


Virtues of Belief in Messengers

• Belief in Messengers directs us to appreciate Allah’s mercy through sending great messengers to guide us.

• Through messengers people were guided to the proper worship and led their lives.


The Hereafter and the Day of Judgment

• Belief in the Hereafter contains three elements of faith.– Believe in the resurrection (rebirth) of the dead;– Believe in the day of judgment;– Believe in the Heaven and Hell.


• Islamic gives freedom of choice to every individual; however with such freedom come accountability.

• Each person is responsible for his/her actions. • Although the hereafter with all its stages is unseen, it

is well documented in the Quran.


The Destiny

• Islam teaches that everything that occurs in the universe is controlled by Allah and is a part of His eternal plan.

• Nothing occurs or takes shape within the heavens or on earth but with His knowledge and by His order.


• Belief in Predestination consists of four aspects:• Knowledge: Allah knows everything. What already

happened, what is happening, what will happen, and how it will happen. His knowledge is eternal.

• Recording: Allah has recorded what already happened, what is happening, what will happen, and how it will happen until the day of judgment.

• Will: Nothing happens except by His will. • Creation: Allah is the creator of All things.


Acts of Worship

• Islam is not only built on a set of belief; belief needs to be followed by action.

• The concept of worship in Islam is unique as every action of an individual carried out for the pleasure of Allah is considered as an act of reward able worship.


• In addition, there are five obligatory acts of worship, that are called the five pillars of Islam.

• Shahadah – Declaration of Faith• Salah – The Prayer• Sawm – Fasting• Zakah – Charity• Hajj – Pilgrimage to Makkah• These acts of worship are obligatory to all Muslims at all times

and places, except when someone is unable to perform them because of age, sickness, lack of financial resources or fear of persecution.


Shahadah – Declaration of Faith

• The first act of worship is declaration that:'ِه% • الَّل ُس+وُل+ َر/ ُم+َح/َّم'ًد1ا /َّن' َو/َأ 'ِه+ الَّل %ال ِإ /ِه/ %ل ِإ ال /َّن; َأ َه/اَد/ِة% َش/

• This declaration contains two parts:• The first part +ِه' الَّل %ال ِإ /ِه/ %ل ِإ ال /َّن; َأ َه/اَد/ِة% :refers that َش/

– No god is worthy of worship and only worthy of worship is Allah;

• The second part refers to:– the prophethood of Mohammad, his messages and guidance.


The Prayer: Salah

• Prayer is the most visible act of worship that shapes one’s daily life.

• One of the effects of prayer is that it cultivates the heart and makes it find satisfaction.

• Prayer protects the human being from indulging in evil action.

• When performed in congregation, it also provides a strong sense of community, equality and brotherhood.


Sawm – Fasting

• Fasting is the third act of worship in Islam. • It is compulsory on all adults who are physically able

to fast.• Fasting reduces one’s desires. • It trains a person in self-restraint. • The core value that fasting aims is to attain piety,

humbleness and to feel hunger of those who are in need.


Zakah – Charity

• The fourth pillar of Islam zakah is an obligatory form of charity on one’s annual savings.

• The word zakah means purification and growth. • Zakah is one of the greatest social and financial

establishment in Islam.• It creates social harmony by recognizing needs of

others.• Allah promised that giving charity will never decrease

the wealth; on the contrary it will increase it.


Hajj – Pilgrimage to Makkah

• Hajj is an act of obedience and worship that was first performed by Prophet Ibrahim.

• Pilgrimage to Makkah for Hajj is an essential duty once in a lifetime upon all Muslims who are in good health and financially able.

• Hajj is an act of purification in which a person washes away all his/her sins.

• Hajj reminds people that one day everyone will face their Creator.

• It is a reminder that all mankind are equal.• It encourages the feeling of equality and brotherhood amongst

all Muslims.


Review Questions

• Write pillar of faith in Islam.• Belief in the oneness of Allah is based on three

dimensions; list them.• Write some of the duties of angels. • Write some of the books revealed by Allah on His

Prophets. • Write four main qualities of the Holy Quran.• Write four duties and tasks of prophets.• Belief in the Hereafter contains three elements of faith.

List them.• Briefly explain four aspects of belief in Predestination.


Review Questions

• Write in details effects and benefits of salah (prayer) on individual and social life.

• Write some benefits of sawm (fasting).• Write a note on zakah in Islamic system.• Write a note on the effect of Hajj in life of a Muslim.

Islamic thought and culture chapter 3

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