Islam For Beginners

Five limes a flay, doss 10 a billion people turn ro The Ka'aba in submission to Allah/God In The HWfiTh century C.E.. (he religion of Islam was revealed to [he Prophet Mohammad Through The Holy Koran. Since than, Islam has spread To every corner of the world from Jerusalem TO Sydney, and iron* Dakar lo London and Detroit, lilam has shown continuity with creative versatility. Tnts book presents the hrsiort: beginnings of Islam, the growth and contribution of its dvlluelion, and the •-. •• of Islam m meeting, the chaitange of tne modern world-

To

the

Reader

+ The meanings of the Holy Koran t h a t will appear in t h e t e x t are taken from t h e t r a n s lations by Ahmad Ali, A r t h u r J . Arberry, A. J . Oawood, and Marmaduke Pickthall. The q u o t a t i o n s from Hadith are taken from a t r a n s l a t i o n of specific selections from Muslim and Bukhari. • Whenever t h e name of the Prophet Mohammad appears, i t shall be followed by I t o represent t h e Arabic word&, "May t h e blessings and peace of God be upon Him" which always come a f t e r t h e Prophet's t name.

•

For facility, all d a t e s in t h i s t e x t will refer t o

t h e Common Era (C.E.). To convert to the Muslim Hijra calendar, see page 2 3 below.

•

islamic t r a d i t i o n condemned

the pictorial

depiction of t h e Prophet > and of t h e family of t h e Prophet I in all a r t i s t i c expressions. I t f u r t h e r discouraged t h e representation of Iivin0 creatures for fear t h a t such represent a t i o n would lead t o pagan or polytheistic worship. A s a result, Muslim artiste

did n o t

i m i t a t e t h e external world, but conveyed

its

inherent meaning through t h e arabesque and geometric

patterns.

Whenever they chose t o

draw living creatures, they produced flat, dimensional

two-

illustrations t h a t were deliberately

unrealistic, with no illusion of depth. • This book uses t h e multiple media of narrative, line drawing, calligraphy, and photograph. In all t h e line drawings, the i l l u s t r a t o r has abided by t h e above criteria of Islamic a r t .

Table of Contents

•

REVELATION

1

Ai- Fatiha, The Opening

2

Arabia and t h e Beginnings of islam

3

The Koran, t h e Holy Text of Islam

14

The Sunna and the Hadith

42

•

65

COMMUNITY

Damascus:

Islamic Worship

70

The Mosque Kufa:

Sects Law and Theological Schools Alchemy

32

Baghdad:

Islamic Science 1:

94

M a t h e m a t i c s and Medicine Cordova:

Islamic Philosophy

104

Isfahan:

Sufism and Music

110

Samarkand:

Islamic Science

116

2:

Astronomy and Geography

Cairo:

The Islamic City

122

Djenne:

Islamic Africa

134

Istanbul:

Islamic Power

13Ö

The Impact on Europe Agra:

Islamic India

146

S o u t h e a s t Asia

152

Central and South America

154

United 5 t a t e s

156

Europe

15S>

Muslim Countries of t h e World

162

•

165

STRAIGHT PATH

Islam in t h e Post-Colonial Phase

167

Four Models In Search of t h e

170

S t r a i g h t Path

Bibliography

191

Acknowledgements and Sources

194

The nameı of God and Mohammad • in Arabic.

To Ibrahim, H a d y a n d Seri.

REVELATION

M-fatiha (The

Opening)

In the name ofQod, the Merciful, the Compassionate. (Praise Belongs to Qod, the Lord of all 'Being, the Ad-merciful, the Ail-compassionate, the Master of the (Day of (Doom. Ihee only toe serve; to Thee alone ive pray for succor. Quide us in the straight path, the path of those whom Ihou hast Blessed, not of those against -whom Ihou art xvrathful, nor of those toho are astray.' HQran

1:1-7

The above verses constitute the first chapter of the Koran and are the most widely Invoked words in the world of Islam.

•

THE ROOTS OF ISLAM LAY IN

THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. TO THE WESTERN SIPE OF THE PENINSULA STOOP THE HOLY CITY OF MECCA, PROMINENT ANP FLOURISHING IN THE 6TH CENTURY C.E.

Mecca

O n c e a year, n o m a d poets g a t h e r e d in t h e market t o w n of 'Ukaz, east of t h e city, t o recite their verse.

M o s t importantly, i t was a religious center.

The Ka'aba w a s a house of (Sods.

Once a year, A r a b t r i b e s went t h e r e on pilgrimage.

N O ROOF

WOODEN STRUCTURE

CONTAINER FOR G I F T S TO G O D S INSIDE

BLACK. S T O

In M e c c a s t o o d t h e K a ' a b a a w o o d e n structure encasing a circular b l a c k stone. Inside a n d a r o u n d It were 360 deities b r o u g h t b y pilgrims from across t h e peninsula.

• 6

Those deities originated in Graeco-Roman

mytho-

logy and m o s t of them tvere female. Manat was one of t h e oldest goddesses and was believed t o control Al-Lat

human fortune.

was t h e sun deity and was widely popular,

Her name meant "The Goddess".

The Goddess Al-Lat

The Lion of Al-Lat

Al-Uzza, t h e "Mighty One", was favored by the Meocans, along with t h e Goddess Hubal, t h e t u t e l a r y goddess

of the Ka'aba.

t h e s e deities involved animal

The worship of

sacrifice.

7*

There were, however, followers of monotheism in Mecca, as In t h e r e s t of Arabia. • There were Jews who were well-established in Yathrib, a rival city t o Mecca. Their chief tribes lived both within t h e city and in Khaybar, north of it. The Jews were p a r t of t h e c u s t o m , language and nomenclature of Arabia. •

So were t h e Christians

who Inhabited

Damascus

and Hira in t h e north of the peninsula, Najran in t h e south and t o a lesser extent, the Hijaz area. Christians were either Monophysites (Christ has one divine nature) or Nestorians (Christ is man born God). EJoth groups were persecuted by t h e Byzantine church and in t h e next century supported Islam because i t offered them toleration. • There were also ai-Hanafiyyeen, monotheism of t h e patriarch

followers of t h e Abraham (Ibrahim).

Ibrahim al-l\halee!, "the friend of God",

professed

f a i t h in one universal God and In celebration, with his son Ismail, t h e Ka'aba, the Holy ary. But after his death, into a place of idols.

• a

p o i y t h e i s t s turned

built, Sanctuit

Kuralsh was o n e of t h e M e c c a n tribes profiting from t h e pilgrims t o t h e K a ' a b a . The Kuralshltes were d o m i n a n t In M e c c a ' s p l u t o c r a c y a n d were unrivalled merchants in Western A r a b i a .

94

:

v

i

In 5 7 0 C.E., Ai;r/i!r i al-Aohi ,im, the; Kin,i of

torn r

*

r£>

>.—•

7 b tie name o/

+

tm

*

w *

<MQ<M<s^

»

- •» - * • *

- _

f\

-

»4

^

tjjjl

I-L-j; (T)

,'

V h a d h e l p e d build, a n d recited t h e Adhan. To t h e present d a y , t h e muezzin uses these words in his c a l l t o prayer:

Rttah u Aftfar. Qod is greater. Qodis greater. I witness that there is nogi But Qod. I witness that Mohammad the prophet of Qod. %ise to prayer. O^ise to felicity. Qod is greater. Qod is greater. There is no god But Qod.

•

36

P f f l 1«

lttrf if the if incline to peace, incline you too to it, and trust in tjod. Lot 'Jte is the'Jiearer,the %nower.' •Koran S:hl

•

and

As Damascus ruled the Muslim world, Islamic culture moved closer to t h e Heilenized Mediterranean and away from the desert.

n Damascus,

t h e Islamic i n s t i t u t i o n

gave rise t o the

FIRST

COIN

STRUCK

IN

FIRST R E G U L A R ARMY IN

ISLAM

ISLAM

FIRST MOSQUE OUTSIDE THE ARABIAN PENINSULA

73

•

•

The courtyard

of t h e Prophet's I house in

Medina served as the f i r s t mosque, the concept

of which developed over the years

include additional

features.

to

These can be

found in t h e UmayyadMosque in Damascus,

a

fine example of the C O M M U N I T Y MOSQUE • With t h e spread of Islam, mosques adapted to indigenous traditional architecture, resulting in a variety of styles. Whether Arabic or Iranian, Turkish, Indian or African, a Muslim House of Worship will always share the principles of t h e Umayyad Mosque.

The Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, built 706-715. In Islam, the building of a mosque is an act of great merit. The Prophet > said in the Hadith: "Whoever builds a mosque, desiring thereby God's pleasure, God builds for him the like of it in paradise."

74

The mosque is designed to create a space of serenity, rather than exaltation.

MECCA

Plan of the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.

Islam discouraged

the portrayal of human

and animal forms for fear of Idolatry. Muslims turned their artistic towards

the abstract,

besques

imagination

decorating

mosques with geometrical

The

patterns,

their ara-

and the calligraphy (beautiful

handwriting) of Koranic

verses. 75

•

During prayer, worshippers form long rows facing t h e Qibla wall. The • MIHRAB • refuge

a niche within t h a t wall, emphasizes t h e direction

of Mecca.

although a central

The mihrab,

feature

in t h e

mosque, is n o t sacred; i t is t h e d i r e c t i o n i t expresses which is sacred.

There is no processionalworship in I s l a m .

The

rectangular

shape

of t h e Prayer Hall fulfills t h e

worshippers' need t o pray as close t o the Qibla wall (hence, Mecca) as possible. Neither are there any priests in Islam: holiness resides solely in God and t h e Koran, and not in any special individual or class of persons.

Even the Prophet I is viewed as j u s t a

simple human being, with no supernatural qualities [Koran 3:144-145).

• 76

To t h e right of t h e mihrab s t a n d s the • MINBAR • pulpit which c o n s i s t s of narrow s t e p s enclosed by hand-rails and leading t o a platform often covered bya canopy. I t is from t h i s minbarthat the Friday noon sermon is delivered, Friday being Islam's holy day (Koran 6 2 : 9 ) .

When t h e Imam (leader

of

prayer) to preach,

the

stands

he never occupies t h e t o p step of t h e

minbar. That is always left empty in recognition of t h e Prophet's ft pre-eminence.

Because there is no separation

between secular

religious life in Islam, t h e sermon addresses political, international and doctrinal

and social,

matters.

77 +

A fundamental

feature

of the moec\ue Is the

-COURTYARDwhlch precedes the prayer hall and accommodates the overflow of worshippers. The removal of shoes Is required prior to entering the mosque precinct; the worshipper then performs the ablution ritual at the fountain generally located in the courtyard. Devotional and ordinary activities yard of t h e mosque.

meet In the

There the community can pray,

while s t u d e n t s can learn, travellers chants

can negotiate

can rest,

mer-

and the weary can find peace In God.

I n the larger m o s q u e s , the c o u r t y a r d m a y be s u r r o u n d e d by a n arcade, riwaq in A r a b i c . T h i s w o r d literally m e a n s " c o m p o s u r e " for c o n t e m p l a t i o n a n d learning. The > — r h y t h m i c arcades h e l p {/ V ! bring the scale of the l a r g e U \ * J J p r a y e r h a l l s d o w n to a h u - ^ ' man level. In the shade of the riwaq, m a n y a teacher i n I s l a m h a s taught the p r i n c i p l e s of faith, for the mosque is a place of w o r s h i p , of sanctuary a n d of s t u d y . s

• 70

court-

The • MINARET • allows t h e muezzin t o call t h e believers t o prayer. In small communities, he c h a n t s t h e words himself; in large cities, loudspeakers are used and t h e call is synchronized among all t h e mosques. In nearly all Islamic countries, t h e call t o prayer is in Arabic.

The structure

of t h e

often reveals the

minaret

geographic

location of t h e mosque:

the

minaret is square in Spain and North Africa, round with a conical cap In Turkey, composite in Egypt, and octagonal

sometimes

and capped with a

dome in India.

1

When t h e muezzin recites t h e Koran, he follows established melodic cadences

known as

• TATWEED » Tajweed or chanting Into the affective

Wings Gods

revelation

experience of t h e believer.

The Koran is t o be felt as well as

yd zakanyyo

lam

nai^al

hu' 'mna nubaisuuka

iahu miin)

qjbiiu

bi gulamim

understood.

smuhu

yahyd

siimiyyd

S a y x M u b a r a m a d Rjf'at, Q u i

19/1

Say-x M u f a i m m a d S i d d i q a l M i o i a w i , Qui

1/7,

1/1

Two different recitations of Koranic verses by contemporary sheikhs in Egypt.

The Koran is chanted at funerals, on feast days and at the call to prayer. reciters

Most

know all the Koran by heart ( 6 , 2 3 6

verses) and some are so famous t h a t recordings of their interpretations worldwide.

are sold

• WOMEN • t h e spiritual equals of men (K.oran4:1),also worship a t t h e

mosque.

Decency, however, dic-

T h e Prophet I i n v o k e d men to be gentle to their spouses: "The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he ivho is best in manner ami kindest to his wife."

t a t e s a private q u a r t e r for t h e m , and when such

Women

a q u a r t e r is not found,

were always active in

women pray in rows be-

communal and military

hind men. A t t h e mosque,

affairs.

a s well a s

Prophet's I wife Aisha

spaces,

in

public

women cover

In 6 5 6 ,

took p a r t in t h e

the Battle

t h e i r heads and arms.

of the Camel (so named

The facial veil found in

because the b a t t l e cen-

some Muslim countries

tered around the

is not a Koranic injunc-

she rode).

t i o n , but a local c u s t o m .

later

camel

Aisha was

buried

in

the

Umayyad mosque. Women

• One of the ihidiths of the Prophet I stated:

were also intellectually active:

Aisha was well-

versed in Arabic poetry "Do not prohibit the handmaids of God from attending the mosques of God."

and genealogy. A f t e r t h e death of t h e Prophet I , she became an a u t h o r i t y on t h e Sunna, so much so, t h a t over 200

au-

thentic

are

ascribed

Hadiths to her.

•

uta Calligraphy and theological

studies in Islam

focus on t h e Koran. The f i r s t calligraphic

style (XufiJ and

t h e foundations of legal studies were begun in • KUFA a city in Iraq.

"If you seek elegance, go to Kufa." The 10th-century writer al-Jahiz.

To t h e Muslims, copying t h e Koran, t h e w r i t t e n Word of God,

is an a c t

of

deep

devotion, for in Islam, a r t is not separate from f a i t h . The Kufi script, which borrows i t s name from t h e c i t y of Kufa, is angular, geometric

and

monumental. TheNaakhi

calli-

graphic style, a rounded,

cursive,

easily legible script, was later Introduced.

These are but

two of t h e numerous styles of calligraphy t h a t developed as a reflection of t h e geographical diversity of t h e Islamic peoples.

S 3 *

• B y expanding outside its Arabian bound­ aries, Islam faced new social, legal and reli­ gious issues t h a t had not earlier challenged it. To resolve these issues, • FOUR SCHOOLS OF L A W • fiqh

appeared, representing different approaches to Ijtihad: Theological Reasoning.

1. H A I M A F l S C H O O L

Founded by A b u Hanifa (699¬ 767) who lived and died in Kufa. H e urged that free reason serve as the principal c o n d u i t to I s l a m i c inter­ pretation. Thus his became

the School

of

Opinion.

2. M A L İ K İ S C H O O L

Founded by M a l i k ibn Anas (710-795 ) who lived in Medina. H e rejected free reason and emphasized that the Tradi­ tions of the Prophet I (Hadith) should alone guide the Mus­ lim. H i s became the School of Tradition.

•

04

3. S H A F J ' I S C H O O L

F o u n d e d by M o h a m m a d i b n Idris al-Shafi'i (767-820) w h o s e major w o r k Risala established for Sunni Islam the Foundations of Jurisprudence. If there is a legal problem, the Muslim should try to solve it by first referring to the Koran; if there is no definite answer, he should turn to the Sunna; if there is still no answer, turn to the concensus of the whole community; and as a final recourse, draw an analogy with the Koran. For instance: alcoholic beverage is prohibited in the Koran, but there is no mention of hard drugs. Since alcohol is prohibited because of its intoxicating effect, and since hard drugs generate a similar effect, then by analogy, hard drugs are also prohibited.

4. H A N B A L 1 S C H O O L

Ahmad i b n Hanbal (780-855) lived and lectured in Baghdad. For h i m only the Koran and the Sunna guided the Muslim.

65

•

Muslim calligraphers turned words into shapes: fruits (apples and pears) and animals (birds and lions) infused language with visual impact.

These Schools of Law have moulded t h e intellectual life of Islam. There has never been a conflict between them because they fully accept

each other's

rules and

practices. Followers of these

legal schools c o n s t i t u t e nearly &b%

of the Muslim umma.

They are the • SUNNIS • (followers of the Sunna in the Books of Hadith).

The compilation of Hadith was undertaken

by t h e

Persian j u r i s t al-Bukhari (Ô10-Ô70) who produced Definitive (Sahih) edition. Out of t h e 600,000 ings that

he gathered

{and partly memorized),

identified only 7,275 as authentic

•

66

the say-

he

Prophetic sayings.

On Charity, the Prophet I srtirf: "The man who exerts himself on behalf of the widow and the poor one is like the one who struggles in the way of God, or the one who keeps awake at night for prayer and fasts during the day."

A Selection from al-Bukhari's

Hadith

On Faith: "None of you has faith unless he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." On Work:

"No one cats better food than that, which he eats out of the work of, his hands." On

Hospitality:

"A man should accompany his guest to the door of the house.'

On Knowledge:

I

"The learned ones are the heirs of the Prophets- they leave knowledge as their inhrritance; he who inherits it inherits a great fortune." 67 4-

The • SHI'ITES • were the Party (shi'a) of AH bin A b i Taleb

t h e f o u r t h Caliph t o rule t h e Muslim community (fi. 6 5 6 - 6 6 1 ) . His 5hi'a believed t h a t he should have been t h e f i r s t Caliph; they also believed t h a t a f t e r him came eleven Imams, t h e l a s t of whom went into occultation in Ô74, b u t would appear again at t h e end of t i m e as t h e Mahdi ( t h e chosen one) t o bring j u s t i c e t o t h e world. Each of t h e twelve Imams had divine powers which made him infallible in legal judgement; t h u s t h e Imam alone could rule t h e Umma.

The lion was the symbol of Ali. This is a calligraphic rendering of a prayer of praise to Ali.

Although Ali played a chief role in Shi'ite spirituality, the t w o Imams who formulated Shi'ite law were Mohammad Baqir ( 6 7 7 - 7 3 3 ) and Ja'far as-Sadik ( 7 0 2 - 7 6 5 ) .

3&

• Ali was murdered in Kufa in 661, and his followers called upon his eldest son Hasan, the second Imam, to become Caliph. He was l a t e r succeeded by his brother Hussein, a s t h e t h i r d Imam, As Hussein marched from Medina t o Kufa, he and his family were c u t down by t h e Umayyad Ruler Yazid in t h e field of Karbala, n o r t h w e s t of Kufa. Every 10th of Moharram, the Shi'ites mourn the death of Hussein and l a m e n t t h e i r f a i l u r e t o a s s i s t him.

The names of the twelve Imams.

From Shi'ism many s e c t s emerged that are today.

present

They include: t h e Zaidis, Ismailis, Agha Khanis,

Druzes, and Alawites.

Both Sunnis and Shi'ites recognize the primacy of the Koran and the Sunna. I n deciding matters outside those sources, however, the Sunnis depend on community concensus while the Shi'ites rely on the infallibility of the Imams.

&9

+

The m e t i c u l o u s scholarship used in t h e collection of t h e Koran and of t h e Had/t/i produced

a number of theological sciences crucial t o Islamic • TAFSEER • Exegesis

1. The Science of the Contexts o: Revelation: This science focused on the his torical circumstances

in whicl

the verses of the Koran were revealed.

To master

t h i s science

j u r i s t s had t o learn t h e exact dialect of Arabic used by KuraisK t h e Prophet's > tribe.

2. The Science o f Meccan and Medinan Verses (Historical Criticism):

The j u r i s t s studied the gradua stages

of Koranic revelation. This

science examined

•

90

chronology

3. The Science of Abrogation: In the Koran, God abrogated

certain

commande. For example, wine was condemned and prohibited

{Koran

2:219; 5:90), J u r i s t s had t o learn t h e reasons governing the divine

abrogations.

4. The Science of the Reputation of Transmitters: Because t h e compilation of t h e Koran and later of the Hadith depended on oral and written transmissions, there was need to verify t h e reliability of transmitters in order to arrive at an accurate t e x t and pronunciation. Thus t h e s t u d y of t h e transmitters' reputation, biography and genealogy.

In Kufa lived the first

Arab alchemist.

• JABIR B I N H U N A Y N • (fl. 7 6 0 - & 1 5 ) known in t h e West as Geber, "King of t h e Arabs". Aichemy had a special place in islamic because

science

It used experimentation t o t e s t t h e

speculative

theories on t h e nature

of t h e

universe. In so doing, alchemists shared t h e concerns

of theologians

who sought t o dis-

cover t h e divine order In the

creation.

Jabir's writings and experiments, along with t h e work of his disciples, t r a n s m i t t e d t h e knowledge of t h e mineral acids to t h e Western World. From the Arabic word f o r "alc h e m y Gflma tho wnrd "chemistry".

A 15lh-centuiy German illustration c