11 questions about Islam

 

Translated from Arabic, Islam means "surrender to God," and a Muslim is a person "devoted to God." Just like Jews and Christians, Muslims are monotheists. They believe that there is only one God who created the world and everything that fills it. In Arabic, God is Allah. Arabic-speaking Christians also call God the same way. At the same time, according to the Muslim tradition, God has as many as 99 names — these are just some of them: Merciful, Merciful, King, Holy, Peaceful, Faithful, Guardian, Great, Mighty, Exalted, Creator, Creator, Educator, Wise. Muslims believe in angels and demons that God created before man, in prophets, most of whom are identified with biblical characters (Ibrahim — Abraham, Musa — Moses and even Isa — Jesus Christ), and also, like Jews and Christians, expect the coming of the Messiah (Mahdi) at the end of time. Islam is the fastest growing world religion: today there are more than one and a half billion of its followers in the world. 

1. What is the Quran

"For Muslims, God has become a book" — this statement perfectly characterizes the status of Holy Scripture in Islam. Translated from Arabic, al-quran means "reading aloud". The fact is that this is how the Prophet Mohammad received revelations from God. Once in a dream, someone appeared to him with a scroll and ordered: "Read!" Mohammad was illiterate, which he informed the stranger about, but he continued to insist, squeezing the prophet's chest. Frightened, Mohammad asked what exactly he should read, and then the first words of the Koran sounded: "Read in the name of your Lord." The mysterious stranger who appeared to Mohammad is usually identified with the archangel Gabriel. Beginning, according to Muslim tradition, on the 27th of the month of Ramadan, the divine revelation to Mohammad lasted for 22 years, and was fully recorded only after the death of the prophet. The Qur'an says that Mohammad received revelation in Arabic — hence the idea that only the Arabic original is a Sacred text, and any translations are only its interpretations. The Quran is divided into chapters — surahs, and those, in turn, into verses — verses. The sequence of surahs in the Quran, with some exceptions, is determined by their size — long at the beginning, shorter at the end. At the same time, long surahs are considered to be later ones received by Mohammad after moving from Mecca to Medina. 

2. Who is Mohammad

Mohammad is a key figure in the history of Islam, the last prophet, or "seal of the prophets". When mentioning his name, Muslims necessarily add the phrase "May God bless and greet him." The main source for the reconstruction of Mohammad's biography is the Muslim tradition — the Sunnah (translated from Arabic as "example", "sample"), which is a collection of stories — hadiths — about the words and deeds of the prophet. There are several authoritative collections of hadiths (VIII–XI centuries), the compilers of which carefully studied the history of the oral transmission of all hadiths: the chain of transmitters (from one or another of the companions of Muhammad onwards) had to be continuous, and their biography was impeccable. What do we know about Mohammad? He was born in 570 in Mecca, a city in the west of the Arabian Peninsula, where the main Arabian sanctuary, the Kaaba, was located. In addition to the main local shrine — the black stone  (possibly of meteorite origin), inlaid in the corner of the Kaaba — gods of different tribes were worshipped here: the Kaaba was an intertribal cult center. Mohammad was orphaned early, and his uncle, Abu Talib, took care of his upbringing. Mohammad's first wife was the wealthy widow Khadija. It was she and Mohammad Ali's cousin who first recognized him as a prophet and converted to Islam. Around 610, Mohammad began his sermon, urging the Arabs to reject false gods and worship the one God. He reminded that God also sent His prophets to other nations — Abraham, Moses, Jesus — and subjected those who rejected them to severe punishment. However, the sermon was not a success, and after 12 years, the prophet, along with a few supporters, had to leave Mecca. Then he settled in the city of Yasrib, where he already had more followers. Resettlement (Arabic. Hijra) marked the beginning of the Muslim calendar (for example, 2016 is the year 1437-1438 Hijra), and Yasrib was first renamed the City of the Prophet — Madinat—an-Nabi, and then simply the City of Medina. Mohammad returned to Mecca a few years later, accompanied by thousands of troops, the leader — religious and political — of a large community. The pagan shrine of the Kaaba, cleansed of idols, became the main shrine of Islam — and remains to this day. In 632, having subdued almost the entire Arabian Peninsula, Mohammad died before he had time to implement plans for the further spread of the new religion. This was taken up by his followers. 

3. How do Shiites differ from Sunnis 

Islam is not homogeneous, there are several currents in it. The most famous and numerous branches of Islam are Sunnis (which means "adherents of the Sunnah" — although Shiites also have their own Sunnah) and Shiites (from the Arab. shia — "followers").

The split that gave rise to Sunnism and Shiism occurred shortly after the death of the Prophet Mohammad and was associated with the problem of succession of power. Future Shiites believed that Mohammad's cousin and son—in—law, Ali, should become the heir (in Shiism he is called an imam), and power should be transferred from him strictly by inheritance. The majority of Muslims — future Sunnis — decided to choose their own leader, the caliph. However, after the death of the first three elected caliphs, they chose the same Ali next — at that moment there was a chance to overcome differences. But in 661, Ali was killed, and the community split completely. Ali is the only Muslim leader after Mohammad who is recognized by both Sunnis and Shiites. The former consider him the fourth caliph (the last of the "righteous"), and the latter — the first imam and saint. The fifth caliph of the future Sunnis was the governor of Syria Muawiya ibn Abu Sufyan, and the second imam of the Shiites was the son of Ali and grandson of Mohammad Hassan. In total, the majority of Shiites recognize twelve imams. Some time after the last of them, Mohammad ibn al-Hasan, mysteriously disappeared in 872, the doctrine of the "hidden imam" took shape. It says that Mohammad ibn al-Hasan was the Mahdi — the Messiah — and will come again at the end of time. Modern Shiite spiritual leaders are the vicegerents of the hidden imam. Shiites make up about 10% of all Muslims living in the world and predominate in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain. A little less than 90% of all Muslims belong to the opponents of Shiites — Sunnis. The last Sunni caliph was King Hussein ibn Ali alHashimi of Hijaz, who assumed the title in 1923. Almost literally, he turned out to be the caliph for an hour — already in 1924 he was overthrown. There are also different schools within Shiism and Sunnism. In addition, there is a special mystical trend in Islam — Sufism. Sufis who seek to get closer to God with the help of special spiritual practices can be both Sunnis and Shiites. The name Sufism probably comes from the Arabic word suf — wool, the clothes of which were worn by Muslim ascetic mystics - Sufis. In Sufism, the role of a mentor — sheikh is very important, whose example and instructions are followed by his Murid disciples. Sufi orders — tariqas — were formed in the XI–XII centuries, each of them had special practices and insignia. Around the same time, a special Sufi philosophy took shape, which was reflected, in particular, in the poetry of Omar Khayyam, Umar ibn al-Farid, etc. The outstanding Sufi thinker of the XIII century Ibn Arabi in the book "Meccan Revelations" argued that all religions contain an element of faith in one God, but only a Sufi worships God in his fullness.

4. What are the duties of Muslims 

The five fundamental principles or pillars of Islam go back to the Prophet Mohammad and are known from the Muslim tradition — the Sunnah. They are called pillars because they represent a kind of foundation in the foundation of Islam.

The first pillar is the shahada (Arabic. "certificate"). "There is no deity but God, and Mohammad is the messenger of God" (Shiites add to this "and Ali is the friend of God"). Saying these words in the presence of two Muslim men is the main condition for accepting Islam. The second pillar is a five—fold prayer, which should be performed with your face turned towards Mecca. You can pray both individually and together. On Friday, it is customary to perform afternoon prayer in the mosque. The third pillar is alms, which adult Muslims who have the necessary minimum of funds should pay in favor of the poor. The fourth pillar is fasting in the month of Ramadan, when eating and drinking in the daytime is prohibited. The fifth pillar is the pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca to the Kaaba, which a Muslim should make at least once in his life, if his health and means allow him. Another duty of a Muslim is considered to be jihad (Arabic. "effort"), and this word does not necessarily mean a holy war for the spread of Islam, but any struggle for faith — for example, with one's own sins. 

5. What is Sharia and Adat 

Sharia — Muslim law based on the Koran and the Sunnah — covers all spheres of Muslim life: family and criminal law, dogmatics, religious worship, ethics. Islam does not distinguish between the secular and religious spheres of life, so the legal system of most Muslim countries is based on Sharia. In some Muslim communities, in addition, there are local pre—Islamic customs - adat. Moreover, sometimes — as, for example, with the traditions of blood feud, female circumcision or bride kidnapping — they contradict the norms of Sharia. Muslim jurists fought against adat, but this struggle often remained unsuccessful, and the norms of Adat and Sharia influenced each other. Some forms of adat have gone into oblivion over time, but others still play an important role in different Muslim regions, in particular in the Caucasus.

6. How the mosque is arranged

Architecturally, the buildings of mosques are diverse, but there are also mandatory elements: as a rule, each mosque has one or more minarets — towers, from which the call to prayer is heard five times a day. During the Islamic conquests of Christian countries, Christian churches were turned into mosques by attaching minarets to them (let's recall at least the Hagia Sophia Cathedral, turned into the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul). Inside the mosque in the prayer hall there is necessarily a special niche in the wall — a mihrab. She tells the worshippers in which direction Mecca is located. Believers must enter the mosque after performing ablution and taking off their shoes. Women and men pray separately. The functions of the priest are performed by a mullah (Arabic. "sir").

7. Are images prohibited in Islam 

There is a widespread belief that images of people and animals are prohibited in Islam. However, there is no such prohibition in the Koran itself. True, in the hadith it is said that angels do not enter a house where there are such images, and God calls a sinner who tries to create like the Almighty: "Truly, those who depict will experience torment on the Day of Judgment. It will be said to them: "Give life to what you have created." In one Muslim parable it is said that the sage Ibn Abbas answered the question "Can I draw animals?" He replied: "It is possible, but strip their heads so that they do not resemble living beings, or try to make them resemble flowers."

In some Islamic regions — Iran, Central Asia — people and animals were traditionally depicted on book miniatures illustrating famous poetic works or historical works. A striking example of this is the Persian miniature, on which you can see images not only of ordinary mortals, but even of the Prophet Mohammad himself. Such miniatures were considered sufficiently conventional in order not to contradict the ban on realistic images. In Arab countries, where the ban on images was usually interpreted more strictly, calligraphy flourished mainly — calligraphic images adorn the walls of mosques and the pages of books. Nevertheless, a few illustrated Arabic manuscripts depicting living beings have also come down to us. As for photos, most Muslim theologians allow taking photos if necessary — for example, for a passport. There is no consensus about amateur photos, but even liberal spiritual authorities recommend keeping photos of family members in albums, and not keeping them in plain sight.

8. What is Halal In the broad sense of the word

Halal means everything allowed to Muslims, the antonym of Halal — Haram, "forbidden". However, in everyday speech, "halal" is usually understood as permitted food. Prohibited includes, for example, pork, as well as meat of permitted animals (beef, mutton, etc.), if they were killed not according to the rules (for example, strangled, beaten with sticks or simply killed without mentioning the name of God) or died of natural causes. In Muslim communities belonging to different legal schools, some rules about halal food may differ. In addition, Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol. In the event of a threat of death from starvation, it is allowed to consume prohibited foods, but only in the minimum amount necessary to maintain life.

9. How Muslim women dress

It is easy to notice that the degree of closeness of women's clothing in different Muslim regions is very different — for example, the burqa, burka and niqab are designed to completely hide the female figure and face from prying eyes, while the hijab leaves the face open. The tradition of wearing this or that clothing is due more to local traditions than to the prescriptions of the Koran, which are quite general in nature. So, in the Quran in the 24th Surah ("Light") we read: "Tell the believing women to lower their eyes and keep their modesty. And not to flaunt their beauty; they did not dress up or make up for the sake of attracting the attention of other men, apart from just what is obvious. And let them throw a handkerchief over their chest. Let them not show their beauty, except to their husbands, relatives, servants or small children." The burkini— a bathing suit that recently caused an explosion of passions in France, was developed already in our century by the Australian designer of Lebanese origin Aheda Zanetti, who in 2004 began producing sportswear for Muslim women under her own brand. Burkinis, according to Zanetti, are popular not only among Muslim women, but also among followers of Judaism, Hinduism and even some Christian denominations. 

10. What are the Muslim holidays

Muslims use the lunar calendar, so the dates of holidays relative to the generally accepted Gregorian calendar are shifted annually. One of the main holidays is the sacrifice, which in Russia is known by the Turkic name of Eid al-Adha. On this day, Muslims sacrifice animals in memory of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his willingness to sacrifice his own son to God. The feast of the Resurrection (Eid al-Adha in Turkic) ends the fast in the month of Ramadan. Muslims believe that on the 27th of the month of Ramadan, on the so-called Night of Predestination, God makes a decision about the fate of each person. It is believed that it was on this night that Muhammad received the first divine revelation. Shiites, in addition to all-Islamic holidays, celebrate Imam Ali's birthday and some other dates. 

11. How do Muslims relate to other religions 

In the Muslim tradition, all people are divided into orthodox (Muslims), people of Scripture who cannot be forcibly converted to Islam, and polytheists who need to be converted to Islam. Jews and Christians were originally referred to the people of Scripture, since they were also given Revelation (however, over time they distorted it). Later, during the Islamic conquests, the status of zimmi (Arabic. "protected") were also received by Mandaeans, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc. The Muslim government allowed Zimmi to freely practice his faith, provided that he paid a special tax and remained loyal to Muslims. Over time, the list of duties of the zimmi expanded: they were ordered to wear distinctive clothes, it was forbidden to breed pigs, arrange noisy religious processions, etc. Individual prohibitions could be temporary — introduced and canceled in different territories. Currently, in most Muslim States, representatives of different religions are equal before the law.