Each mufassir has a uniquely different background that applies to that attributes to their interpretation of the 257th verse of chapter two, al- Barqara. For Ibn ‘Abbas, Al-Suyurti, and The Twelve Imams of the Shi’ites tafsir is influenced by social, political, and cultural characteristics. Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas was a companion of the prophet Muhammad, an early scholar, and an initial transcriber of the Quran. He was well known for his vast knowledge and interpretation of the Quran, as well as his family’s close proximity to the prophet. Ibn ‘Abbas’s father, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, was the prophet’s uncle and his mother was the second women to convert to Islam giving him access to early ideology of Islam . As a result Ibn ‘Abbas’s closeness to the orgins of Islam method of interpretation is straight forward and curt. He focuses on the virtues and vices of his society based off of the teaching of Allah. Ibn ‘Abbas make his interpretation personal and relatable to Qur’anic readers of his time by referencing the victory of …show more content…
In Shi’ite Muslim belief the Twelve Imams were close enough to the prophet to not only rule over the community justly, but also to interpret Islamic law and the Quran. The imams are considered to be chosen by divine decree by the prophet himself and therefore without sin . Shi’ite interpretation of the verse is based on divinity of being a Muslim. The Twelve Imams’ method is a bold or harsh approach to idea of false gods or guardians. Their interpretation is based heavily on their jobs as religious leaders and their duty to keep the Shi’ite community of the righteous path. The narration from the imams focuses on Allah as a guardian to believers and nonbelievers having “tyrants” . In the imam’s interpretation nonbelievers are extracted from light and put into darkness suggesting that nonbelievers were once in light bust
People who practice the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam collectively comprise over one half of the world’s population, and while disparities between these three religions are widely spread and politicized, the similarities between their religious texts outweigh their differences. A crucial similarity between these three religions is their view on Abraham as their spiritual patriarch (lecture). The Koran makes use of both the Tanakh and the New Testament, and while minor differences exist between these texts, the perspectives they share are far more significant. The Koran retains many of the core ideas found in the Tanakh and the New Testament, specifically in regards to the perception of Abraham, the status of God, and the role of women. Any religious text can be interpreted in any number of ways, and while it is easy to pull apart texts of different faiths and dissect the differences, finding common ground and similarities is arguably more important.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
The Abbasids tried to manipulate Islamic law by trying to either avoid it or find a way around it to get what they want. The Abbasids called themselves the rightful rulers of the Muslim world because they were descendants of Ali, whom had transferred the right to rule, to them. This gave them more power than anyone else, because they thought of themselves as the chosen ones. Therefore, they did anything they wanted, which included avoiding some laws or finding solutions to get what they want quickly. We know that the caliph wanted/desired a particular girl but he could not have her because she was still owned by Jafar, so the qadi who is Abu Yusuf found a way to marry the girl to a slave man who then would divorce her and give her to the caliphate.
- Translation from Arabic to English by Sahih International, on the electronic version of the Qur’an accessed on April 30th at: http://quran.com/2/256
In the investigation of Islam, the five pillars of Islam provide a glimpse of the life and obligations of the Muslim. The main pillars include confession, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. This essay will provide a brief overview of the pillars, how prayer is lived out in an individual Muslims life, and how Christians assimilate to Muslim culture in Saudi Arabia.
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.
The Quran, like many other holy books and scriptures, has an overall peaceful message to go out into the world in the name of God and do good deeds that reflect his teaching. Over time some of these stories and passages have been interpreted differently, resulting in the formation of different religious groups within Islam. Overall, Muslims, no matter the sect, strive to live a life of peace and devotion through the Five Pillars of Islam. However, like in every society or religion, there are groups of extremists who have very intense beliefs and ideologies.Unfortunately, in the case of the Islamic extremist groups, they have misinterpreted their Prophet Muhammad’s teachings as well as the words in their Quran, and caused much suffering for themselves, their enemies, and their people as a nation.
The Qur’an is believe to the ultimate source of God by many Muslim believers. It contains 114 suras for the believers as the core practices of the Islamic religion and Muslims throughout the world recites its verses (Chang, Lecture. 1/21/14). They believed the prophet of Allah was Muhammad, who received the words of Allah through Angel Gabriel, and was passed on with the Qur’an during Ramadan. Angel Gabriel one night came to Muhammad “in clear human form” (“Scripture and Tradition in Islam- The Qur’an and Hadith” 104), and gave the messages from Allah to him. From the establishment of the Qur’an, Muslims have viewed the book as the last revelation of their god Allah, and thus are the true words from God for their ways of life and in reaching Allah in their afterlife. The book also teaches “mankind’s responsibility assigned by God” (Gordon 115). Therefore, Muslims practices in ways to prove their devotion towards the new religion of Islam by being faithful, and performing religious practices.
Throughout his life, the Prophet Muhammad proved to be exceptionally adept at uniting diverse groups, negotiating a series of alliances and loyalty arrangements that spanned religious, tribal, ethnic, and familial lines (Berggren 2009). Among other things, this ability enabled Muhammad to forge a shared identity and found a nascent Islamic state from a diverse and even heterogeneous community (Rahman 1982; Ernst 2003, pp. 87-93). This diversity proved to be both a source of strength and conflict for Islam, and following the death of Muhammad early Islamic communities engaged in extensive debates not only about the nature of his teachings or how to carry his legacy forward, but also about the terms that should be used to define his authority. Although this debate produced a colorful array of movements within the tapestry of early Islamic civilization, this essay offers a critical examination of two particularly distinct perspectives on the nature of prophetic authority: namely, those articulated
He presents the themes and elements of the pre-Islamic society, including its tribal culture, economic culture, religious background, prominence of poetry (how the Qur’an situates itself in relation to the poetry of the “Jahileen”), and discusses gender issues (particularly infanticide of daughters). Moreover, he introduces the connection between Abraham and Muhammad which is identified as the “cornerstone to the Islamic tradition” (84), situating it relative to other monotheistic religions. Through these elements Safi notes that pre-Islamic Arabia shaped the ways in which “Islamic discourses and practices expressed themselves” (53) thus providing the “the context of Islamic practices”
“Religion” is an inherently social creation which functions to naturalize certain behaviors and ideologies to maintain social order (Martin 94). In his book “A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion”, Craig Martin introduces the concept of a “cultural toolbox”, comprised of the concepts, values, traditions, icons, figures, texts, and stories in a culture that represent and reinforce the elements of the society (97-98). To maintain social order and convince others to conform to the proposed, religions employ a tactic known as “legitimation” to justify traditions, practices, and ideologies using the “cultural toolbox” of a society (Martin 94).
While most westerners know the story of Joseph as a passage from the end of the book of Genesis in the Bible or the Torah, understanding the story and its intricacies in sura 12 of the Qur’an proves equally important. Joseph’s story in Genesis emphasizes his personal abilities and God rewarding him and his people’s loyalty and faith amidst hardship. The Qur’an takes the same plot and enforces the theme of monotheism and Joseph’s prophetic role in its spread. The Qur’an’s interpretation serves as a more influential religious text in the context of its body of belief, whereas the Biblical story of Joseph, with its thematically intriguing story line and embellishments, comparatively serves a greater literary purpose. By reading and understanding both passages, one can gain a clearer knowledge of what is regarded as important to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
The worship of Allah is principal in a Muslim’s mind at all time. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a the faith and obedience of a Muslim. They are frequently called the “Five Pillars of Islam”. The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework and guidelines of the Muslim life. They are the testimony of faith, prayer, supporting the needy, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the once in a lifetime trip to Makkah for those who are able to do so. These Five Pillars are the thing Muslim’s do to please God and to keep themselves well and happy in this lifetime and for the future ones to come. It was Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who was reported to have said, “Islam is based upon five pillars”.
By reading this book, I also realize that all people including prophets do not have right or power to give hidayah or guidance to other people except for Allah. For example, Abu Talib loves and cares about Muhamm...