I INTRODUCTION
Islam, a
major world religion, founded in
A Muslim is a follower of the revelation (the Koran)
brought by Muhammad and thus is a member of the Islamic community. Because the
name Muslim is given in the Koran itself to the followers of Muhammad (Koran
22:78), Muslims resent being called Muhammadans,
which implies a personal cult of Muhammad, forbidden in Islam. They also object
to the spelling Moslem as a distortion of Muslim.
Although exact statistics are not available, the
Muslim world population is estimated at more than 1 billion. Islam has
flourished in diverse climatic, cultural, and ethnic regions. It has begun to
grow rapidly in the
II ISLAMIC DOCTRINE
The two fundamental sources of Islamic doctrine and
practice are the Koran and the Sunna, or the
exemplary conduct of the Prophet Muhammad.
A The Koran
Muslims regard the Koran as the speech of God to
Muhammad, mediated by Gabriel, the angel of revelation; they believe that God
himself, not Muhammad, is the author and therefore that the Koran is
infallible. The document called the Koran is the collection of the passages
revealed to Muhammad during the approximately 22 years of his prophetic life
(610-32). It is divided into 114 chapters of unequal length, the shortest
containing only 3 short verses, the longest containing 306 long verses. Both
Islamic and non-Islamic scholars agree on the essential integrity of the text
of the Koran throughout its history.
B The Sunna
The second substantive source of Islam, the Sunna, or example of the Prophet, is known through Hadith, the body of traditions based on what the Prophet
said or did regarding various issues. Unlike the Koran, which was memorized—either
in whole or in part—by many followers of Muhammad during their lifetime and
which was compiled in written form quite early, the transmission of Hadith was largely verbal, and the present authoritative
collections date from the 9th century.
Unlike the Koran, Hadith is not considered infallible. In the early Islamic period, whether or not the Prophet himself was infallible (apart from the revelations in the Koran) was a point of controversy. Later, however, the consensus of the Islamic community was that both he and the earlier prophets were infallible. Because Hadith was mainly transmitted orally, however, it was conceded that error could enter into the human transmission. Hadith, therefore, is a source secondary to the Koran, although it is almost equally fundamental for most Muslims.
Recent research, not yet accepted by the large body of Muslims, has demonstrated that much of Hadith was not derived from the Prophet but represents the opinions of the early generations of Muslims, opinions that were subsequently attributed to the Prophet. In some cases a genuine statement of the Prophet was preserved, but additions to it were later made by Muslims who wanted to advance certain theological or legal opinions.
C God
Monotheism is central to Islam—a belief in only one
God, unitary and omnipotent. Belief in a plurality of gods or in the extension
of God's divinity to any person is emphatically rejected. God created nature
through a primordial act of mercy; otherwise there would be pure nothingness.
God provided each element of his creation with its own proper nature, or laws
governing its conduct, so that it follows a characteristic pattern. The result
is a well-ordered, harmonious whole, a cosmos in which everything has its
proper place and limitations. No gaps, dislocations, or ruptures, therefore,
are found in nature. God presides over and governs the universe, which, with
its orderly functioning, is the primary sign and proof of God and his unity.
Violations of the natural order in the form of miracles occurred in the past,
but although the Koran accepts the miracles of earlier prophets (Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and others), it declares them outdated; Muhammad's miracle is the
Koran, the like of which no human can produce.
According to Islam, God has four fundamental functions with respect to the universe and to humanity in particular: creation, sustenance, guidance, and judgment. God, who created the universe out of sheer mercy, is bound to sustain it as well. All nature has been made subservient to humanity, which may exploit it and benefit from it. The ultimate purpose of humanity, however, is to be in the "service of God," that is, to worship him alone and to construct an ethical social order free from "corruptions."
D Ethics
The Koran declares that "reforming the
earth" is the ideal of human endeavor. The basic criticism of humanity in
the Koran is that it is too proud and too petty, narrow-minded, and selfish.
"Man is by nature timid," says the Koran. "When evil befalls
him, he panics, but when good things come to him he prevents them from reaching
others." This pettiness causes individuals to become so submerged in
nature that they lose sight of its Creator—only when nature fails them do they,
in their utter frustration, turn to God. Because of their shortsightedness,
people fear that charity and sacrificing for others will result in their own
impoverishment. This, however, is Satan's influence, for God promises
prosperity in return for generosity to the poor. The Koran insists, therefore,
that individuals transcend their pettiness and enlarge themselves. By doing so,
they will develop the inner moral quality that the Koran calls taqwa (usually translated "fear of God,"
but actually meaning "to guard against danger"). By this quality
humans can discern right from wrong and, above all, can evaluate their own
actions properly, escaping self-deception, a danger to which they are always
exposed. Often people think they have done something consequential, but the
deed has no importance in the long run. The real worth of a person's deeds can
be judged only through taqwa, and an
individual's aim should be the ultimate benefit of humanity, not the immediate
pleasures or ambitions of the self.
E Prophets Because of humanity's moral weakness, God has sent prophets to teach both individuals and nations correct moral and spiritual behavior. After creation and sustenance, God's mercy is consummated in these acts of divine guidance. Although right and wrong are inscribed in the human heart, the inability or refusal of many people to decipher that inscription has made prophetic guidance necessary. This guidance is universal; no one on earth has been left without it. Adam was the first prophet; after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, God forgave him his lapse (for this reason Islam does not accept the doctrine of original sin). The messages of all prophets emanate from the same divine source, which in the Koran is called "The Preserved Tablets,""The Hidden Book," or "The Mother of All Divine Books." Religions are, therefore, basically one, even though their institutionalized forms may differ. Prophets are one indivisible unity, and one must believe in all of them, for to accept some and reject others amounts to a denial of the divine truth. All prophets are human; they have no share in divinity, but they are the most perfect exemplars for humanity. Some prophets are superior to others, however, particularly in steadfastness under trial. Thus, the Koran describes Muhammad as the "Seal of all Prophets." From this arises the Islamic belief that prophethood was consummated and finished with him and that the Koran is the final and most nearly perfect revelation of God, consummating and superseding all earlier ones.
F The Day of Judgment The divine activities of creation, sustenance, and guidance end with the final act of judgment. On the Day of Judgment, all humanity will be gathered, and individuals will be judged solely according to their deeds. The "successful ones" will go to the Garden (heaven), and the "losers," or the evil, will go to hell, although God is merciful and will forgive those who deserve forgiveness. Besides the Last Judgment, which will be on individuals, the Koran recognizes another kind of divine judgment, which is meted out in history to nations, peoples, and communities. Nations, like individuals, may be corrupted by wealth, power, and pride, and, unless they reform, these nations are punished by being destroyed or subjugated by more virtuous nations.
III PRACTICES AND
INSTITUTIONS
Five duties, known as the "pillars of
Islam," are regarded as cardinal in Islam and as central to the life of
the Islamic community.
A Profession of Faith In accordance with Islam's absolute commitment to monotheism, the first duty is the profession of faith (the Shahadah): "There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet." This profession must be made publicly by every Muslim at least once in his or her lifetime "by the tongue and with full assent from the heart"; it defines the membership of an individual in the Islamic community.
B Prayer
The second duty is that of five daily prayers. The
first prayer is offered before sunrise, the second in the very early afternoon,
the third in the late afternoon, the fourth immediately after sunset, and the fifth
before retiring and before
All five prayers in Islam are congregational and are
to be offered in a mosque, but they may be offered individually if, for some
reason, a person cannot be present with a congregation. Individual, devotional
prayers are not obligatory, but Muslims are encouraged to offer them after
Before every congregational prayer, a formal public call to prayer is made from a minaret of the mosque by the muezzin (from azan,"call to prayer"). In recent times the call has been made over a microphone so that those at some distance can hear it.
Special early afternoon prayers are offered on Fridays
in congregational mosques. These are preceded by a sermon from the pulpit by
the imam, also called the Khatib. On
the two annual religious festival days called Ids (one immediately after
the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the other immediately after the
pilgrimage to
C Almsgiving The third cardinal duty of a Muslim is to pay zakat. This was originally the tax levied by Muhammad (and later by Muslim states) on the wealthy members of the community, primarily to help the poor. It was also used for winning converts to Islam; for the ransom of war captives; for the relief of people in chronic debt; for jihad (the struggle for the cause of Islam, or holy war), which, according to the Koran commentators, includes health and education; and for facilitating travel and communications. Only when zakat has been paid is the rest of a Muslim's property considered purified and legitimate. In most Muslim states zakat is no longer collected by the government and instead has become a voluntary charity, but it is still recognized as an essential duty by all Muslims. In a number of countries strong demands have been made to reinstate it as a tax, but this would entail a complete revision of its rates and structure to conform with the needs of a modern state.
D Fasting The fourth duty is the fast of the month of Ramadan. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar, Islamic festivals are not confined to any one season. Even during hot summers, most Muslims meticulously observe fasting. During the fasting month, one must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset. Throughout the month one must abstain from all sinful thoughts and actions. Those who can afford it must also feed at least one poor person. If one is sick or on a journey that causes hardship, one need not fast but must compensate by fasting on subsequent days.
E Pilgrimage
The fifth duty is the pilgrimage to the Kaaba at
During recent years, air travel has allowed Muslims from all parts of the world to perform the pilgrimage. In 1977 the reported number was close to 2 million. Through the centuries, the Kaaba has played an important role as a meeting place of Islamic scholars for the exchange and diffusion of ideas. For the past two decades, the pilgrimage has also been used to promote political solidarity in the Muslim world.
Besides these five basic institutions, other important laws of Islam include the prohibition of alcohol consumption and of eating the flesh of swine. Besides the Kaaba, the central shrine of Islam, the most important centers of Islamic life are the mosque, where daily prayers are offered, and the cathedral mosque, where Friday services are held.
IV ISLAM AND SOCIETY The Islamic view of society is theocratic in the sense that the goal of all Muslims is "God's rule on earth." This does not, however, imply clerical rule, although religious authorities have had considerable political influence in some Muslim societies. Islamic social philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life—spiritual, social, political, and economic—form an indivisible unity that must be thoroughly imbued with Islamic values. This ideal informs such concepts as "Islamic law" and the "Islamic state" and accounts for Islam's strong emphasis on social life and social duties. Even the cardinal religious duties prescribed in the five pillars of Islam have clear social implications.
A The Community of the Faithful The basis of Islamic society is the community of the faithful, which is consolidated by the performance of the five pillars of Islam. Its mission is to "command good and prohibit evil" and thus to reform the earth. The community must be moderate, however, and avoid all extremes. During the Middle Ages, Islamic religious authorities began to claim a degree of infallibility for the community, but the European colonial domination of Muslim countries led to speculation that the community must have erred and was being punished. In the 20th century, Islamic thinkers have consequently offered various diagnoses of Muslim society and proposals for reform.
B Education The Islamic university system contributed to the great cultural
developments of Islam. The universities were founded as institutions of
religious learning, where the ulama (religious
scholars), qadis (judges), muftis (interpreters of
the law), and other high religious officials were trained. These officials
formed an important political class, especially in
In the 9th century the caliph al-Mamun
founded an academy at Baghdâd for the study of
secular subjects and for the translation of Greek philosophical and scientific
texts. In the 10th century, at
Among other famous Islamic universities, the Nizamiya, founded (1067) at Baghdâd by the Iranian statesman Nizam al-Mulk, taught law, theology, and Islamic tradition and had on its staff the famous philosopher al-Ghazali; the Mustansiriya, founded (1234) at Baghdâd, taught religious law and other subjects.
C Islamic Law Islamic law, called the Sharia, spells out the moral goals of the community. In Islamic society, therefore, the term law has a wider significance than it does in the modern secular West, because Islamic law includes both legal and moral imperatives. For the same reason, not all Islamic law can be stated as formal legal rules or enforced by the courts. Much of it depends on conscience alone.
C1 The Four Sources Islamic law is based on four sources, or "roots of law." The first two are the documentary sources, the Koran and the Sunna, or Hadith. The third source is called ijtihad ("responsible individual opinion"). It has been used when an issue is not covered by passages in the Koran or Sunna; a jurist may then resolve the issue by using analogical reasoning (qiyas). Such reasoning was first employed when Islamic theologians and jurists in conquered countries were confronted with the need to integrate local customs and laws with the Koran and Sunna. Later, Islamic authorities considered this original thinking a threat to the Koran and Sunna and laid down strict rules limiting its use. Because of the profound changes in the Muslim world community during the last few decades, however, a renewed emphasis has been placed on the innovative thinking of ijtihad. The fourth source is the consensus (ijma) of the community, which is reached by gradually discarding some opinions and accepting others. Because Islam has no official dogmatic authority, this is an informal process that often requires a long period of time.
C2 Schools of Law Five
schools of law developed in Islam, four Sunnite and one Shiite. The four
Sunnite schools emerged in the first two centuries of Islam: the Shafi'i, the Hanafi, the Maliki, and the Hanbali. All use
systematic reasoning to deal with areas of law not covered by the Koran or Sunna. They differ primarily in their emphasis on textual
authority or analogical reasoning, but each school recognizes the conclusions
of the others as being perfectly legitimate and within the framework of
orthodox Islam. Each school tends to predominate in certain areas: the Hanafi in the Indian subcontinent,
D Jihad The term jihad, usually translated "holy war," designates the struggle toward the Islamic goal of "reforming the earth," which may include the use of armed force if necessary. The prescribed purpose of jihad, however, is not territorial expansion or the forcible conversion of people to Islam, but the assumption of political power in order to implement the principles of Islam through public institutions. The concept of jihad was nevertheless used by some medieval Muslim rulers to justify wars motivated by purely political ambitions.
According to classical Islamic law, the world was divided into three zones: the House of Islam, where Muslims are ascendant; the House of Peace, those powers with whom Muslims have peace agreements; and the House of War, the rest of the world. Gradually, however, jihad came to be interpreted more in defensive than in offensive terms. In the 20th century the concept of jihad inspired Muslims in their struggle against Western colonialism.
E The Family The early Islamic community aimed at strengthening the family at the expense of old tribal loyalties, although it was not able to suppress the latter. The Koran stresses filial piety and "love and mercy" between husband and wife. Men and women are declared equal, "except that men are a degree higher" because they are charged with the household expenditure. Sexual fidelity is sternly demanded, and proven adultery is punishable by 100 lashes.
The Koran advocates measures that were intended to improve the condition of women. The infanticide of girls, formerly prevalent among certain tribes, is forbidden; daughters are given a share of inheritances, although only half of that allotted to boys. The Koran repeatedly emphasizes the kind treatment of women and grants to wives the right of divorce in case of maltreatment. The Koran approves polygamy, allowing as many as four wives, but also states, "if you fear you cannot do justice among co-wives, then marry only one wife." The abuse of polygamy and of the husband's right in traditional Islam to repudiate his wife, even when her conduct is faultless, has recently led to the enactment of reformed family laws in most Muslim countries.
V HISTORY
In Muhammad's time (circa 570-632), the
A Muhammad Muhammad began his ministry at the age of 40, when, he claimed,
the archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision. Muhammad confided to his
family and close friends the substance of this and succeeding visions. After
four years he had converted some 40 persons to his views, and he then began to
preach openly in his native city of
Muhammad's central teachings were the goodness, omnipotence, and unity of God and the need for generosity and justice in human relations. Important elements from Judaism and Christianity were incorporated into the emergent religion, but it was rooted in the pre-Islamic Arabic tradition; such central institutions as the pilgrimage and the Kaaba shrine were absorbed, in modified form, from Arabic paganism. Muhammad, in reforming the pre-Islamic Arabic tradition, also confirmed it.
B The Classical
Period During the first centuries of
Islam (7th-10th century), its law and theology, the basic orthodox Islamic
disciplines, were developed. Theology is next in importance to law in Islam,
although it is not as essential as Christian theology has been to Christianity.
Theological speculation began soon after Muhammad's death. The first major
dispute was provoked by the assassination of the third caliph, Uthman ibn Affan,
and subsequent political struggles. The question was whether a Muslim remains a
Muslim after committing grave sins. A fanatical group called the Kharijites maintained that the commission of serious sins,
without due repentance, excludes even an observant Muslim (who continues to
subscribe to the articles of faith) from the Islamic community. Good works,
therefore, and not just faith, are essential to Islam. The Kharijites
came to regard almost all Muslim political authorities as impious, and after
numerous rebellions, they were finally suppressed. A more moderate faction of Kharijites, called Ibadis,
survived, however, and still exists in North and
C The Mutazilites The translation of Greek philosophical works into Arabic in the 8th and 9th centuries resulted in the emergence of the first major Islamic theological school, called the Mutazilites, who stressed reason and rigorous logic. The question of the importance of good works persisted, and the Mutazilites maintained that a person who committed a grave sin without repenting was neither a Muslim nor a non-Muslim but occupied a middle ground. Their fundamental emphasis, however, was on the absolute unity and justice of God. They declared God to be pure Essence without attributes, because attributes would imply multiplicity. Divine justice requires human free will, because if the individual is not free to choose between good and evil, reward and punishment become absurd. God, because he is perfectly just, cannot withhold reward from the good or punishment from the evil. As rationalists, the Mutazilites maintained that human reason is competent to distinguish between good and evil, although it may be supplemented by revelation. The theology of the Mutazilites was established as a state creed by the caliph al-Mamun, but by the 10th century a reaction had set in, led by the philosopher al-Ashari and his followers. They denied the freedom of the human will, regarding the concept as incompatible with God's absolute power and will. They also denied that natural human reason can lead to a knowledge of good and evil. Moral truths are established by God and can be known only through revelation. The views of al-Ashari and his school gradually became dominant in Sunnite, or orthodox, Islam, and they still prevail among most conservative Muslims. The tendency of the Sunnites, however, has been to tolerate and accommodate minor differences of opinion and to emphasize the consensus of the community in matters of doctrine.
D Medieval Philosophy The Mutazilites were probably the first Muslims to borrow Greek philosophical methods in expounding their views. Some of their opponents used the same methods, and the debate initiated the Islamic philosophical movement, which relied heavily on the Arabic translation and study of Greek philosophical and scientific works, encouraged by the caliph al-Mamun.
The first important Islamic philosopher was the 9th-century Arab al-Kindi, who tried to bring the concepts of Greek philosophy into line with the revealed truths of Islam, which he still considered superior to philosophical reasoning. As were subsequent Islamic philosophers of this period, he was primarily influenced by the works of Aristotle and by Neoplatonism, which he synthesized into a single philosophical system. In the 10th century, the Turk al-Farabi was the first Islamic philosopher to subordinate revelation and religious law to philosophy. Al-Farabi argued that philosophical truth is the same throughout the world and that the many different existing religions are symbolic expressions of an ideal universal religion.
In the 11th century, the Persian Islamic philosopher and physician Avicenna achieved the most systematic integration of Greek rationalism and Islamic thought, but it was at the expense of several orthodox articles of faith, such as the belief in personal immortality and in the creation of the world. He also contended that religion is merely philosophy in a metaphorical form that makes it palatable to the masses, who are unable to grasp philosophical truths in rational formulations. These views led to attacks on Avicenna and on philosophy in general by more orthodox Islamic thinkers, notably the theologian al-Ghazali, whose book Destruction of the Philosophers had much to do with the eventual decline of rationalist philosophical speculation in the Islamic community. Averroës, the 12th-century Spanish-Arab philosopher and physician, defended Aristotelian and Neoplatonic views against al-Ghazali and became the most significant Islamic philosopher in Western intellectual history through his influence on the Scholastics.
E Sufism The mystical movement called Sufism originated in the 8th century, when small circles of pious Muslims, reacting against the growing worldliness of the Islamic community, began to emphasize the inner life of the spirit and moral purification. During the 9th century Sufism developed into a mystical doctrine, with direct communion or even ecstatic union with God as its ideal. This aspiration to mystical union with God violated the orthodox Islamic commitment to monotheism, and in 922 al-Hallaj, who was accused of having asserted his identity with God, was executed in Baghdâd. Prominent Sufis subsequently attempted to achieve a synthesis between moderate Sufism and orthodoxy, and in the 11th century al-Ghazali largely succeeded in bringing Sufism within the orthodox framework.
In the 12th century Sufism ceased to be the pursuit
of an educated elite and developed into a complex popular movement. The Sufi
emphasis on intuitive knowledge and the love of God increased the appeal of
Islam to the masses and largely made possible its extension beyond the
F The Shiites The Shiites are the only surviving major sectarian movement in Islam. They emerged out of a dispute over political succession to Muhammad, the Shiites claiming that rule over the community is a divine right of the Prophet's descendants through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali. The Shiites believe in a series of 12 infallible leaders beginning with Imam Ali and are thus also known as the "Twelvers." The 12th and last imam disappeared in 880, and Shiites await his return, at which time the world will be filled with justice. Until that time even the best ruler is only half legitimate. The Shiites, in contrast to the orthodox Sunnites, emphasize esoteric knowledge rather than the consensus of the community.
G Other Sects Several small sects have developed out of Shia
Islam, the most important of which is the Ismailis.
The theological ideas of the Ismailis are more
radical than those of the Shiites and are largely derived from Gnosticism and Neoplatonism. Ismailis are found
mainly in
In 1844 a young Shiite, Mirza
Ali Muhammad of Shîrâz, in
H Islam in the
Modern World
The stagnation of Islamic culture after the medieval
period led to a reemphasis on original thinking (ijtihad)
and to religious reform movements. Unlike the primarily doctrinal and
philosophical movements of the Middle Ages, the modern movements were chiefly
concerned with social and moral reform. The first such movement was the Wahhabi, named after its founder, Ibn
Abd al-Wahhabi, which
emerged in
Other Islamic reformers have been influenced by
Western ideas. The most influential reformist of the 19th century was the
Egyptian Muhammad Abduh, who believed that reason and
modern Western thought would confirm the truth of Islam rather than undermine
it, and that Islamic doctrine could be reformulated in modern terms. Sir Muhammad
Iqbal is the most important modern philosopher to
have attempted the reinterpretation of Islamic doctrines. Other intellectuals
in
Although the modernist ideas were based on plausible interpretations of the Koran, they were bitterly opposed by Islamic fundamentalists, especially after the 1930s. The reaction against modernism has been gathering momentum since that time for several reasons. The fundamentalists do not oppose modern education, science, and technology per se, but they accuse the modernists of being purveyors of Western morality. They believe that the emancipation of women, as conceived by the West, is responsible for the disintegration of the family and for permissive sexual morality. Some fundamentalists are suspicious of democracy because they do not trust the moral sense of the masses. Moreover, modernist leaders and officials in some Muslim countries have failed to improve significantly the condition of the mostly poor and rapidly increasing populations of those countries. Finally, and perhaps most important, the bitter resentment Muslims feel toward Western colonialism has made many of them regard everything Western as evil.
During the modern period Islam has continued to win new converts, especially among black Africans and some black Americans, to whom its fundamental egalitarianism appeals.
I Islam and Other Religions Convinced of the absolute truth of Islam, Muslims traditionally have not sought dialogue with representatives of other religions, although medieval Islamic scholars wrote fairly objective works about them. Recently, however, Muslims have engaged in dialogues with representatives of Christianity and Judaism, recognized in Islam as the two other "religions of the book" (based on revelation). Nonetheless, memories of Western colonialism have generated suspicion and impeded ecumenical efforts.
See also Arabic Literature; Islamic Art and Architecture; Arab Music. For additional information on historical figures, see biographies of those whose names are not followed by dates.
Contributed By:
Fazlur Rahman
Further
[1]"Islam," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia
99. © 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.