In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praises is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls, and the adverse consequences of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides cannot be misguided, and whomsoever Allah leads astray cannot be guided. I bear witness and testify that there is god that is worthy of worship except for Allah, alone without any partners or peers. I further witness and testify that Muhammad (PBUH) is his slave and messenger.
First of all, thank you to my lecturer because he is the one that encourage me to read the book. Because of him, I read English book even I don’t like it too much. I know he want to make sure my knowledge are increase, my vocabulary are better and my information about something will become wide. One day I got this assignment, I went to library to search the book and then I found the book “Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship, by Al-Ghazali”. It attracts me to take it because I want to know about it. Then I show the book to him to get approval. After that, he approved my book. I’m very curious to know about this book. The word “inner dimensions” attracted me to know what the content of this book are. Maybe it contains something that I don’t know, so I should explore this book to know what the insides of book are.
Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship, written by al-Ghazali is a book discussed in detail about worship in Islam. It is a comprehensive and perfect guide for a practicing Muslim. For me, this book is very interesting and suitable for Muslim reading because there are a lot of benefits and lessons that can be taken to implement in his/her life. This book will be of immense help to the countless young men an...
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...t all aspects in our life which is look at situation today like for example our world life. He is not only emphasis on his time but also our times that are very hectic.
The last but not least, this book is very making me enjoy during reading. A formidable ocean of knowledge that I got in this thin book. It is very good book that I have read even it is in English. This book is very thin, so people will able to read it even they are very busy with works. This book teaches me about many things that I don’t know because it contains quranic verses and also hadith, so I can take it as proof. Alhamdulillah, I finished read the book and I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the inner meaning of the five pillars of Islam. It is a must read for every Muslim because it is very short but to the point and it will leave an instinct impact on your life.
Fakhry, M. 1997. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism: A Short Introdu ction. Oxford: One World Publications.
The next stop on this exploration of this book is chapters seven through nine which reviewer Geoffrey Sutton says “seems to be the center point in his book” (372). These three chapters go into in depth analysis of the Old Testament, New Testament, and Koran, respectively.
Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people.
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
“In thinking about religion, it is easy to be confused about what it is.” (Smart, 1992) To combat this, Smart uses seven dimensions to define common characteristics of religion. Much of what will be explored will fit his dimensions. The practical and ritual dimension can been seen in all three religions through worship and rituals and patterns of behaviour. The latter are those acts that help the believer develop spiritual awareness or ethical insight, such as yoga or meditation in Buddhism and Hinduism. The experiential and emotional dimension of religion explains that religion feeds on human emotions and key events from history to illustrate this is, the enlightenment of the Buddha, or the visions of Muhammad. A person will not follow something without meaning or emotion driving it. The narrative or mythic dimension of religion refers to the use of story telling in religion. Typically, all faiths use stories to illustrate their beliefs or events in history, whether they might be of things to come, or like in this essay, stories of the Buddha, or Muhammad. The use of story telling is important as the stories are often based on accounts of history or documents that have been found. Story telling can enhance the believers faith and are often integrated into rituals. The doctrinal and philosophical dimension of religion talks about the importance of the holy books/ doctrines. Since the doctrines typically have an account of the leaders life, and the leaders are usually educated, believers read the doctrines to gain an insight into the leaders life; and thus strive to become more like them or abide by their teachings. The ethical and legal
There are two declarations of faith in Islam: That there is only one God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. In Memories of Muhammad, Omid Safi explores the ways in which Muhammad – both the historical and spiritual Muhammad – is remembered, commemorated, and contested by Muslims throughout the centuries. Safi focuses on the movements and moments in Muhammad’s life and after his death that for many Muslims best exemplify the teachings of Islam. He succeeds in opening up the dialogue to correct the negative portrayals of Muhammad and the religion of Islam, calling it a “Muhammad problem” in his introduction. Furthermore, he provides a book that is accessible and intelligible to both Muslims and non-Muslims, drawing from historical and spiritual sources, and addresses relevant issues contested between Muslims in relation to other religions, presenting Muhammad as a historical figure and one who is beloved by the Umma.
The Islamic tradition, as reflected in Naguib Mahfouz’s Zaabalawi, has over the course of history had an incredible impact on Arab culture. In Mahfouz’s time, Islamic practices combined with their political relevance proved a source of both great power and woe in Middle Eastern countries. As alluded to in Zaabalawi, Mahfouz asserts the fact that not all Muslims attain religious fulfillment through this common tradition, and other methods outside the scope of Islam may be necessary in true spiritual understanding.
Saheeh International. The Qur’an: Arabic Text with Corresponding English Meaning. Jeddah: Abul-Qasim Publishing House, 1997. Print.
Understanding Islam gives a broad outline which could help to erase American misconceptions about this religion, and could be helpful in easing global racial tensions. The book is not top of the line scholarship about Islam; it is for the uninformed or otherwise unaware beginner. After reading this book the reader has a basic understanding of Islam, devoid of many American or western misconceptions. However, Lippman explains that the holy book is not spelled "Koran," but rather "Qur-an," though he uses the first spelling throughout the book (56). The real version is written in arabic, but I would have rather him used the more authentic spelling. In this way I see that this book was beneficial, but not the final word. It is a good book because it lays a positive foundation for Americans, and hopes to inspire them to continue their study of a fascinating religion.
Al Ghazali a significant person in Islam has helped shape Islam to be what it is today - a living religious tradition for the lives of its adherents. His contribution to Islam though his theories, knowledge and works have left a positive impact upon the Islamic world that continues into the present. An everlasting impact upon the faith, Muslims and the expansion of Islam to be one of the most popular religious traditions in the present world for the lives of its adherents is seen as Al Ghazali’s
Jaoudi, Maria. Christian and Islamic spirituality: sharing a journey. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993. Print.
Ibrahim, I. A.. A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam . 2nd ed. Houston: Darussalam, 1997.
On the board on Monday morning, there were numbers one through five and they each had a religion written next to them. 1 was Hinduism, 2 was Christianity, 3 was Judaism, 4 was Buddhism, and I was lucky enough to get 5: Islam. Oh, I know so much about Islam culture and their religion, are you kidding? I don’t even know where Islam is. I’m just kidding, it’s not a country. There are many differences between Islam and the United states like our religion, clothes, and food, and becoming a Christian or a Muslim, but Islam is the second largest religion in the world, so it’s important to a lot of people. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Becoming a Muslim is not an easy process. You must do a long list of tasks. After you become a Muslim you must do everything in your power to try to have a good Muslim lifestyle.
Translation: I witness that there is no god except Allah, and Mohamed (saws) is the Messenger of Allah.