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Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University

Egypt]] Al-Azhar University, or Al-Azhar Al-Shareef (الأزهر الشريف; literally, "The Noble Al-Azhar"), is connected to the mosque in Cairo named to honor Fatima Az-Zahraa, the daughter of Muhammad, from whom the Fatimid Dynasty claimed descent. The mosque was built in two years from 971 CE. The school of theology (madrassa) connected with it was founded in 988 as an Ismaili Shia school, but it later became a Sunni school, which it remains to this day. It is one of the oldest operating universities in the world. Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic law, and its scholars are seen as the highest scholars in the Muslim world. Its stated objectives remain the propagation of Islamic culture and the Arabic language. To that end it maintains a committee of ulemas to judge on individual Islamic questions, a printing establishment for printing the Qur'an, and trains preachers trained in da'wa and the propagation of religious publicity. Al-Azhar is run by a Supreme Council forming general policy, headed by a Grand Imam, styled the "Sheikh Al-Azhar." Unlike most universities it does not admit students who are not practicing Muslims, thus it combines the institutions of a Western theological seminary with faculties, established in 1961, of medicine and engineering. Its library, which was consolidated in 1897, is considered second in range and importance only to Dar Al-kotob Al-Masriah in Egypt, as far as the number of Islamic books and manuscripts are concerned. The library comprises of 99,062 books consist of 595,668 volumes of the most precious manuscripts and rare books, some as old as the 8th century. The library is center of attraction to the researchers of Al-Azhar students and other Islamic universities. It contributes in propagating knowledge by making photo copies of some of the manuscripts available for the benefit of researchers from Egypt, Arab and Islamic countries. The library does not collect non-Islamic literature. Since 1929 Al-Azhar has published a magazine (now monthly) whose stated purpose is to promulgate religious rules, subjects related to the propagating of Islamic literature, and basic jurisprudence (shariah), including sections on history, biographies, translated texts and news concerning the Muslim world. In 1961, Al-Azhar was reorganized by the Nasser Government and several secular faculties were added to the university, such as medicine, engineering, agriculture, as well as an Islamic women's faculty. Muhammad Sayid Tantawy, the current Imam of Al-Azhar, has declared that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and suicide bombers are "heretics" who are not following the true path of Islam. In a recent conference in Indonesia, he asked all "true believers" to deny speakers of violently heretical Islam places to speak in the mosque, thus preventing the spread of violent ideologies. However, Abd Al-Sabour Shahin, a prominent professor at the University, denies that Muslims were even involved in the attacks, claiming a "dirty Zionist hand" was behind them. [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=800] Ali Gomaa', the Egyptian Mufti associated with Al Azhar, has declared that insurgents who kidnap and kill civilans in Iraq are the ones which Islam has authorized to kill since they wreak havoc in the Earth. In 2005 the Al Azhar online document archive was launched (see link below). This is a joint venture between the university and the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP) in Dubai. The archive will eventually give access to all 42,000 manuscripts (c. 7 million pages) in the Al Azhar library; as of writing there are around 1.5 million pages available to view.

External links

- [http://www.alazhar.org Al-Azhar Mosque and University] (official site)
- [http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/azhar.html History and organization of Al-Azhar]
- [http://www.islamfortoday.com/alazhar.htm islamfortoday.com/alazhar.htm]
- [http://www.muslimheritage.com/islamonline/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=161 muslimheritage.com/islamonline/topics]
- [http://hrw.org/reports/2005/egypt0605/ Human Rights Watch: The Repression of Academic Freedom in Egyptian Universities.]
- [http://www.alazharonline.org/ The Al Azhar online document archive] The Al Azhar online document archive (Arabic only) Category:Universities and colleges in Egypt Category:Mosques in Egypt Category:Cairo Category:Islamic architecture

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. Masǧid or Masjid (pl. masajid) (Arabic: مسجد—pronounced: // or //) is one of two Arabic terms for a mosque.This is however Originally taken from Mazgat, from Persian, the place of worship for zoroastrians. This term is used widely throughout the Islamic world, and the word masjid is widely preferred by many Muslims. Mosques were known to the English-speaking world before being called "mosques" but in the 15th, 16th and 17th century there were many variations of the word such as: "moseak", "muskey", "moschy", "mos'keh", until it was decided to use "mosquee", imitating the Middle French. This however had originally come from Italian and Old Spanish from the Arabic word for "temple", "masjid". This comes from the Arabic root sajad which means to prostrate; Islamic prayers require prostration. In the early 1700s, the modern spelling was used more and so became the standard spelling for this word. Chinese muslims refer to it in Chinese as roughly "pure conversion (Islamic) temple" (). The other Arabic term is: جامع / (jāmi`) assembly; it is used for Friday-mosques, which must have a pulpit—most mosques do not. The first masjid in the world was the Ka'bah in Mecca. The first masjid in Medina, a city north of Mecca, was the house of the Prophet Muhammad, Masjid al-Nabawi, to which the followers of Muhammad had withdrawn in 622. The reconstructions of Muhammad's house show a large courtyard containing a relatively small house. After many worshippers complained about the heat of the midday sun, Muhammad had a row of palm trunks erected on one side of the courtyard and a roof of palm fronds laid between the columns and the outer wall, creating a shaded prayer space. He himself stood at one end of this simple arcade to preach. arcade]]

Typical parts of a mosque and their functions

Muslims are commanded to offer Salah (Prayer) five times a day: morning (Fajr), midday (Dhuhr), afternoon (Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and evening (Isha)—see the Five Pillars of Islam for details. A muezzin calls the worshippers to prayer from the minaret (Arabic manara). Many mosques do not admit non-Muslims into the buildings. Because Islamic prayer must be preceded by ritual purification, mosques have ablution fountains or other facilities for washing in their entryways or courtyards. In many mosques this function is elaborated into a freestanding building in the center of a courtyard. Entry into the mosque from the ablution area—courtyard or vestibule—leads to an open room without furniture. The architecture of this prayer hall is typically undifferentiated—often a forest of columns or a grid filled with adjacent domes covers the space. The visually emphasized area is usually the wall opposite the entry, the qibla wall. The qibla wall should, in a properly oriented mosque, be set perpendicular to a line leading to Mecca (Arabic, "Makkah"). The faithful kneel in rows parallel to the qibla wall and thus have arranged themselves to face Mecca. In the qibla wall, usually in its center, is the Mihrab, a niche or depression indicating that this is the qibla wall. The mihrab is not occupied by any furniture, unlike the apse often found around the altar of Christian churches. If there is a raised minbar, or pulpit for Friday sermons (qutba), it is to the side of the mihrab. qutba] Many forms of mosque have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. Notable mosque-types include the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia. The oil-wealth of the 20th century drove a great deal of mosque construction using designs from leading non-Muslim modern architects and promoting the careers of important contemporary Muslim architects. Some of the world's most famous buildings, such as the Santa Sophia in Istanbul and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece have been mosques.

Men and women in the mosque

Since men should not be able to look at women during the sermon, women are obliged to pray either behind the men or in separate rooms. Majority of Mosques also have separate doors for men and women.

External links

- [http://www.centralmosque.org.uk Birmingham Central Mosque (UK)]
- [http://www.osmanlimedeniyeti.com http://www.osmanlimedeniyeti.com] Articles about Ottoman Mosques and Architecture (in Turkish)
- [http://perso.wanadoo.fr/istanbul/mosqueebleue.htm The Sultan Ahmet Mosque(Blue mosque), Istanbul (Masjid)]
- [http://haqaonline.lightuponlight.com/pg/index.php?cat=5 A gallery of pictures of Masjids from around the world, from Asia through to America]
- [http://www.garamchai.com/mosques.htm Directory of Muslim Centers and Mosques in the United States and North America]
- [http://www.tijarapages.com/ Directory of Muslim Businesses and Mosques in the United Kingdom]
- [http://www.islamicfinder.org/gallery/index.php?cat=10 Ma'sajid Around the World (islamicfinder.org)]
- [http://www.islamicarchitecture.org/architecture/themosque.htm The Mosque Review (Masjid)]
- Category:Persian language ms:Masjid ja:モスク simple:Mosque th:มัสยิด

Fatima Az-Zahraa

Fatima Zahra also called Fatemeh Al Zahraa or Az-Zahra () was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was born in Mecca, northwestern Arabia, around 614 (Shi'a tradition) or 606 CE (Sunni tradition) and died in Medina in 632, soon after her father Muhammad's death. In 624, she was married to her father's cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was one of Muhammad's lieutenants and later, the fourth caliph, or leader of the Muslims. (Note that this is controversial; Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali was the first legitimate caliph.) Fatima had two sons by Ali, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, and two daughters, Umm Khultum bint Ali and Zaynab bint Ali. The two major Muslim groups, Shi'a and Sunni, generally agree on this much, but give very different detailed accounts of her life.

The Sunni view of Fatima

According to Sunni historians, Fatima was the youngest of the four daughters whom Khadija bore to Muhammad. She died of natural causes and was buried privately. Sunni historians do not accept as authentic the accounts of her injuries and miscarriage at the hands of Umar and his men. Sunnis regard her as a loving and devoted daughter and wife, a sincere Muslim, and an exemplar for Muslim women. They also call her Al-Zahra, the Lady of Light. The Khamsa, an amulet popularly believed to ward off evil and widely used in the Maghreb, represents the Hand of Fatima.

The Shi'a view of Fatima

According to Shi'a Muslims, Fatima was Muhammad's only daughter. Tales that he had other daughters by Khadija were spread by Sunni controversialists, who wished to deny Ali the distinction of being Muhammad's only son-in-law. She was very close to her father. Her children, his grandsons Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn, were very dear to him. However, Muhammad's young wife, Aisha, disliked both Fatima and Ali; she envied their relationship with her husband, she was jealous of Muhammad's high regard for the deceased Khadija, and she had a grudge against Ali for his refusal to defend her when she was accused of adultery. When Muhammad died, Aisha and her father Abu Bakr intrigued to grab the leadership of the Muslim community. Muhammad had wanted Ali to succeed him, the Shi'a say, but his wishes were ignored. After Abu Bakr assumed leadership, he asked the Muslims to swear allegiance to him, as was the Arab custom of the time. Ali and his followers refused; they were called the Rafidi, or refusers. They were harassed and threatened by Abu Bakr's supporters. According to the Shi'a, Umar al-Khattab was one of Abu Bakr's most zealous supporters. He led a party of armed men against Ali's house in Medina and called for Ali and his men to come out and swear allegiance. He would burn the house down if they did not submit. Ali refused to come out and Umar and his men pushed into the house. Fatima was standing behind the door, and when the door was pushed open suddenly, she was crushed between the wall and door. This caused severe injury. She was pregnant at the time and she miscarried of a son whom the Shi'a call Al Muhsin. She later died of her injuries and was buried at night, secretly, by Ali. He did not want Abu Bakr and Umar, whom he blamed for his wife's death, to attend her funeral. Shi'as regard Fatima as the greatest woman who has ever lived, the leader of all women in Paradise, the pattern of female virtue. She was the wife of the first Shi'a Imam and the mother of the second and third, and the ancestress of all the succeeding Imams.

Titles

- Al-Zahra (The lady of light)
- Al-Batool (The pure one)
- Al-Tahira (The virtuous)
- Al-Siddiqa (The truthful)
- Al-Afzal al-Nisa (The most supreme of the women)
- Al-Azhra (The chaste)
- Al-Zakiyah (The chaste)
- Al-Mardhiah (The one who pleases God)
- Al-Radhiah (The gratified)
- Al-Mubarakah (The blessed)
- The Lady of Paradise

Who is right?

As noted in other articles about early Islamic history, our only sources for these events are oral traditions that were written down more than one hundred years after the events they purport to recount. The Sunni have their traditions, the Shi'a have theirs. It is extremely difficult to judge which is more trustworthy. See the article on Historiography of early Islam. Also see Succession to Muhammad for further discussion and references.

External links

- [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/history/biographies/sahaabah/bio.FATIMAH_BINT_MUHAMMAD.html A biography of Fatimah.]
- [http://www.balagh.net/english/ahl_bayt/fatima_the_gracious/index.htm Fatima The Gracious (as viewed by The Shia)] Category:606 births Category:614 births Category:632 deaths

Muhammad

: "Muhammad" is a common Muslim male name. For other prominent people called Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation) Muhammad (, also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammed, and sometimes Mahomet (Latin Mahometus), following the Latin or Turkish), is believed by Muslims to be God's final prophet sent to guide mankind with the message of Islam. Non-Muslims generally consider him to be the founder of Islam. According to traditional Muslim biographers, he was born ca. 570 in Mecca (Makkah) and died June 8 632 in Medina (Madinah); both Mecca and Medina are cities in the Hejaz region of present day Saudi Arabia. Literally, Muhammad means "highly praised" in Arabic.

Summary

Born Muhammad ibn Abdullah, he is said to have been a merchant who traveled widely. Muslims believe that in 610, at about the age of forty, while praying in a cave called "Hira" near Mecca, he experienced a vision. Later, he described the experience (to those close to him) as a visit from the Angel Gabriel, who commanded him to memorize and recite the verses sent by God which were later collected as the Qur'an. Gabriel told him that God (Allah) had chosen him as the last of the prophets to mankind. He eventually expanded his mission as a prophet, publicly preaching a strict monotheism and predicting a Day of Judgement. He did not completely reject Judaism and Christianity, two other monotheistic faiths known to the Arabs; he said that he had been sent by God in order to complete and perfect their teachings. Many of his neighbors resented his preaching, and persecuted Muhammad and his followers. In 622, he was forced to flee from Mecca and settle in Yathrib (now known as Medina) with his followers, where he was the leader of the first avowedly Muslim community. War between Mecca and Medina followed, in which Muhammad and his followers were eventually victorious. The military organization honed in this struggle was then set to conquering the other tribes of Arabia. By the time of Muhammad's death, he had unified Arabia, spread Islam throughout the Arab Peninsula, and launched expeditions to the north, towards Syria and Palestine. Under prophet Muhammad's immediate successors the Islamic empire expanded into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, North Africa, and Iberia. Later conquests, commercial contact between Muslims and non-Muslims, and missionary activity spread Islam over much of the globe.

Sources about Muhammad's life

The sources available about Muhammad's life are the Qur'an, the sira biographies, and the hadith collections. While the Qur'an is not a biography of Muhammad, it does provide some information about his life. The earliest surviving biographies are the Life of the Apostle of God, by Ibn Ishaq (d. 768), edited by Ibn Hisham (d. 833); and al-Waqidi's (d. 822) biography of Muhammad. Ibn Ishaq wrote his biography some 120 to 130 years after Muhammad's death. The third source, the hadith collections, like the Qur'an, are not a biography per se. In both the Sunni and Shia belief, they are the accounts of the words and actions of Muhammad. Some skeptical scholars (Wansbrough, Cook, Crone, and others) have raised doubts about the reliability of these sources, especially the hadith collections. They argue that by the time the oral traditions were being collected, the Muslim community had fractured into rival sects and schools of thought. Each sect and school had its own sometimes conflicting traditions of what Muhammad and his companions had done and said. Traditions multiplied, and Muslim scholars made a strenuous effort to weed out what they felt were spurious stories. Traditionalists rely on their efforts while the skeptics feel that the question must be revisited. Muslim and non-Muslim scholars alike agree that there are some inauthentic traditions concerning the life of Muhammad in the hadith collections. Most of these traditions are acknowledged by Muslim clerical authorities to be weak; only a few hadith collections are considered reliable. A very small minority called the "Quran Alone Muslims" consider all hadith as unreliable. However, the historicity of the biographical material about Muhammad presented in the summary above is not generally contested. Traditionalists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, paint a much more detailed picture of Muhammad's life.

Muhammad's life according to Sira

Muhammad's genealogy

According to tradition, Muhammad traced his genealogy back as far as Adnan, whom the northern Arabs believed to be their common ancestor. Adnan in turn is said to be a descendant of Ismaeel (Ishmael), son of Ibrahim (Abraham) though the exact genealogy is disputed. Muhammad's genealogy up to Adnan is as follows: Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Muttalib (Shaiba) ibn Hashim (Amr) ibn Abd Manaf (al-Mughira) ibn Qusai (Zaid) ibn Kilab ibn Murra ibn Ka`b ibn Lu'ay ibn Ghalib ibn Fahr (Quraish) ibn Malik ibn an-Nadr (Qais) ibn Kinana ibn Khuzaimah ibn Mudrikah (Amir) ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Ma`ad ibn Adnan. (ibn = "son of" in Arabic; alternate names of people with two names are given in brackets.) His nickname was Abul-Qaasim, "father of Qaasim", after his short-lived first son.

Childhood

Muhammad was born into a well-to-do family settled in the northern Arabian town of Mecca. Some calculate his birthdate as April 20, 570 (Shia Muslims believe it to be April 26), and some as 571; tradition places it in the Year of the Elephant. Muhammad's father, Abdullah, had died before he was born and the young boy was brought up by his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the tribe of Quraysh. Tradition says that as an infant, he was placed with a Bedouin wetnurse, Halima, as desert life was believed to be safer and healthier for children. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his mother Amina, and at the age of eight his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib. Muhammad now came under care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of the Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, the most powerful in Mecca. Mecca was a thriving commercial centre, due in great part to a stone temple (now called the Kaaba) that housed many different idols. Merchants from different tribes would visit Mecca during the pilgrimage season, when all inter-tribal warfare was forbidden and they could trade in safety. While still in his teens, Muhammad began accompanying his uncle on trading journeys to Syria. He thus became well-travelled and knowledgeable as to foreign ways.

Middle years

Muhammad became a merchant and one of his employers was Khadijah, a rich widow then forty years old. The young twenty-five-year old Muhammad has impressed Khadijah and she proposed to him in the year 595. By Arab custom, minors did not inherit, so Muhammad had received no inheritance from either his father or his grandfather. Ibn Ishaq records that Khadijah bore Muhammad five children, one son and four daughters. All of Khadija's children were born before Muhammad received his first revelation. His son Qasim died at the age of two. The four daughters are said to be Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthum, and Fatimah. The Shi'a say that Muhammad had only the one daughter, Fatima, and that the other daughters were either children of Khadijah by her previous marriage, or children of her sister.

The first revelations

Muhammad had a reflective turn of mind and routinely spent nights in a cave (Hira) near Mecca in meditation and thought. Muslims believe that around the year 610, while meditating, Muhammad had a vision of the Angel Gabriel and heard a voice saying to him (in rough translation) "Read in the name of your Lord the Creator. He created man from something which clings. Read, and your Lord is the Most Honored. He taught man with the pen; taught him all that he knew not." (See surat Al-Alaq for a fuller account.) The first vision of Gabriel disturbed Muhammad, but his wife Khadijah reassured him that it was a true vision and became his first follower. She was soon followed by his ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Abu Bakr, whom Sunnis assert to have been Muhammad's closest friend. Until his death, Muhammad reportedly received frequent revelations, although there was a relatively long gap after the first revelation. This silence worried him, until he received surat ad-Dhuha, whose words provided comfort and reassurance. Around 613, Muhammad began to spread his message amongst the people. Most of those who heard his message ignored it. A few mocked him. Some, however, believed and joined his small group.

Rejection

As the ranks of Muhammad's followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city. Their wealth, after all, rested on the Kaaba, a sacred house of idols and the focal point of Meccan religious life. If they threw out their idols, as Muhammad preached, there would be no more pilgrims, no more trade, and no more wealth. Muhammad’s denunciation of polytheism was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba. Muhammad and his followers were persecuted. Some of them fled to Abyssinia and founded a small colony there. Several suras and parts of suras are said to date from this time, and reflect its circumstances: see for example al-Masadd, al-Humaza, parts of Maryam and al-Anbiya, al-Kafirun, and Abasa. In 619, both Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib died; it was known as "the year of sorrows." Muhammad's own clan withdrew their protection of him. Muslims patiently endured hunger and persecution.

Isra and Miraj

Some time in 620, the prophet Muhammad told his followers that he had experienced the Isra and Miraj, a miraculous journey said to have been accomplished in one night. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca to Jerusalem. In the second part, the Miraj, Muhammad is said to have toured Heaven and Hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muslims believe that the Jerusalem mosque known as the Masjid al-Aqsa is built over the site from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven.

Hijra

By 622, life in the small Muslim community of Mecca was becoming not only difficult, but dangerous. Muslim traditions say that there were several attempts to assassinate Muhammad. Muhammad then resolved to emigrate to Medina, then known as Yathrib, a large agricultural oasis where there were a number of Muslim converts. By breaking the link with his own tribe, Muhammad demonstrated that tribal and family loyalties were insignificant compared to the bonds of Islam, a revolutionary idea in the tribal society of Arabia. This Hijra or emigration (traditionally translated into English as "flight") marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The Muslim calendar counts dates from the Hijra, which is why Muslim dates have the suffix AH (After Hijra). Muhammad came to Medina as a mediator, invited to resolve the feud between the Arab factions of Aws and Khazraj. He ultimately did so by absorbing both factions into his Muslim community, and forbidding bloodshed among Muslims. However, Medina was also home to a number of Jewish tribes (whether they were ethnically as well as religiously Jewish is an open question, as is the depth of their "Jewishness"). Muhammad had hoped that they would recognize him as a prophet, but they did not do so. Some academic historians suggest that Muhammad abandoned hope of recruiting Jews as allies or followers at this time, and thus the qibla, the Muslim direction of prayer, was changed from the site of the former Temple in Jerusalem to the Kabaa in Mecca. Non-Muslim settlements within Muslim territories were taxed rather than expelled. Muhammad drafted a document now known as the Constitution of Medina (ca. 622-623), which laid out the terms on which the different factions, specifically the Jews, could exist within the new Islamic State. In this system, the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book" were allowed to keep their religions as long as they paid tribute. This system would come to typify Muslim relations with their non-believing subjects and that tradition was one reason for the stability of the later Muslim caliphate or Khilafah. In this, the Islamic empire was more tolerant than the other great powers of the area, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, which were actively hostile to any religions or sects other than the state-sponsored religions (Orthodox Christianity and Zoroastrianism).

War

Relations between Mecca and Medina rapidly worsened (see surat al-Baqara). Meccans confiscated all the property that the Muslims had left in Mecca. In Medina, Muhammad signed treaties of alliance and mutual help with neighboring tribes. Muhammad turned to raiding caravans bound for Mecca. Caravan raiding was an old Arabian tradition; Muslims justified the raids by the state of war deemed to exist between the Meccans and the Muslims. Secular scholars add this was also a matter of survival for the Muslims. They owned no land in Medina and if they did not raid, they would have to live on charity and whatever wage labor they could find. In March of 624, Muhammad led some 300 warriors in a raid on a Meccan merchant caravan. The Meccans successfully defended the caravan and then decided to teach the Medinans a lesson. They sent a small army against Medina. On March 15, 624 near a place called Badr, the Meccans and the Muslims clashed. Though outnumbered more than 3 times (1000 to 300) in the battle, the Muslims met with success, killing at least forty-five Meccans and taking seventy prisoners for ransom; only fourteen Muslims died. This marked the real beginning of Muslim military achievement.

Muhammad's rule consolidated

To the Muslims, the victory in Badr appeared as a divine authentication of Muhammad's prophethood, and he and all the Muslims rejoiced greatly. Following this victory, after clashes, and the breaking of a treaty that risked the security of the city state, the victors expelled a local Jewish clan, the Banu Qainuqa. Virtually all the remaining Medinans converted, and Muhammad became de facto ruler of the city. After Khadija's death, Muhammad married again, to Aisha, the daughter of his friend Abu Bakr (who would later emerge as the first leader of the Muslims after Muhammad's death). In Medina, he married Hafsah, daughter of Umar (who would eventually become Abu Bakr's successor). These marriages sealed relations between Muhammad and his top-ranking followers. Muhammad's daughter Fatima married Ali, Muhammad's cousin. According to the Sunni, another daughter, Umm Kulthum, married Uthman. Each of these men, in later years, would emerge as successors to Muhammad and political leaders of the Muslims. Thus all four of the first four caliphs were linked to Muhammad by marriage. Sunni Muslims regard these caliphs as the Rashidun, or Rightly Guided. (See Succession to Muhammad for more information on the controversy on who the first caliph should have been).

Continued warfare

In 625 the Meccan general Abu Sufyan marched on Medina with 3,000 men. The ensuing Battle of Uhud took place on March 23, ending in a stalemate. The Meccans claimed victory, but they had lost too many men to pursue the Muslims into Medina. In April 627 Abu Sufyan led another strong force against Medina. But Muhammad had dug a trench around Medina and successfully defended the city in the Battle of the Trench. Many of the Muslims believed that Abu Sufyan had been aided by sympathizers among the Medinans, the Jewish tribe of the Banu Qurayza. As soon as the battle was over, the Muslims turned upon the Banu Qurayza. After the Banu Qurayza were defeated, all the adult men were beheaded by the order of Saad ibn Muadh, an arbiter chosen by the Banu Qurayza. The remaining women and children were taken as captives or for ransom. Some critics of Islam feel that this was unjust; Muslims believe that this was necessary. The matter is discussed at greater length in the article on the Banu Qurayza. Following the Muslim's victory at the Battle of the Trench, the Muslims were able, through conversion and conquest, to extend their rule to many of the neighboring cities and tribes.

The conquest of Mecca

By 628, the Muslim position was strong enough that Muhammad decided to return to Mecca, this time as a pilgrim. In March of that year, he set out for Mecca, followed by 1,600 men. After some negotiation, a treaty was signed at the border town of al-Hudaybiyah. While Muhammad would not be allowed to finish his pilgrimage that year, hostilities would cease and the Muslims would have permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca in the following year. The agreement lasted only two years, however, as the Meccans broke the treaty in 630. As a result, the prophet Muhammad marched on Mecca with an enormous force, said to number 10,000+ men. The Meccans submitted without a fight, and thus, there was no bloodshed. The prophet Muhammad promised a general amnesty to all the Meccans and ensured them that no harm will be done to them. Most Meccans converted to Islam, as a result of this, and Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Kaaba. Henceforth the pilgrimage would be a Muslim pilgrimage and the shrine a Muslim shrine.

Unification of Arabia

The capitulation of Mecca and the defeat of an alliance of enemy tribes at Hunayn effectively brought the greater part of the Arabian peninsula under Muhammad's authority. This authority was not enforced by any formal governments, however, as he chose instead to rule through personal relationships and tribal treaties. Hunayn The Muslims were clearly the dominant force in Arabia, and most of the remaining tribes and states hastened to convert to Islam.

Muhammad as a warrior

For most of the sixty-three years of his life, Muhammad was a merchant, then a prophet. He took up the sword late in his life. He was a warrior for ten years. Much criticism has been leveled at Muhammad for engaging in caravan raids and wars of conquest. Critics say that his wars went well beyond self-defense. Muslim commentators, however, argue that he fought only to defend his community against the Meccans, and that he insisted on humane rules of warfare.

Muhammad's family life

From 595 to 619, Muhammad had only one wife, Khadijah. After her death he married Aisha, then Hafsa. Later he was to marry more wives, for a total of eleven (nine or ten living at the time of his death). Some say that he married his slave girl Maria al-Qibtiyya, but other sources speak to the contrary. Khadija was Muhammad's first wife and the mother of the only child to survive him, his daughter Fatima. He married his other wives after the death of Khadija. Some of these women were recent widows of warriors in battle. Others were daughters of his close allies or tribal leaders. One of the later unions resulted in a son, but the child died when he was ten months old. His marriage to Aisha is often criticized today citing traditional sources that state she was only nine years old when he consummated the marriage. (See Aisha for a discussion of other, conflicting, traditions). Critics also question his marriage to his adopted son's ex-wife, Zaynab bint Jahsh, and his alleged violation of the Qur'anic injunction against marrying more than four wives. For further information on Muhammad's family life and consideration of these criticisms, see Muhammad's marriages.

Companions of Muhammad

The term companions refers to anyone who met three criteria. First, he must have been a contemporary of Muhammad. Second, he must have seen or heard Muhammad speak on at least one occasion. Third, he must have converted to Islam. Companions are responsible for the transmission of hadith, as each hadith must have as its first transmitter a companion. There were many other companions in addition to the ones listed here. List in alphabetic order:
- Aamir
- Abdullah ibn Abbas
- Abdulrahman
- Abu Bakr
- Ali
- Bilal the Ethiopian
- Hamza
- Sa'd
- Sa'eed
- Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas
- Salman the Persian
- Suhaib the Roman
- Talha
- Umar
- Uthman
- Zubair

The death of Muhammad

After a short illness, Muhammad died around noon on Monday 8 June 632, in the city of Medina at the age of sixty-three. According to Shi'a Islam, Muhammad had appointed his son-in-law Ali as his successor, in a public sermon at Ghadir Khumm. But Abu Bakr and Umar intrigued to oust Ali and make Abu Bakr the leader or caliph. The majority Sunni sect dispute this, and say that the leaders of the community conferred and freely chose Abu Bakr, who was pre-eminent among the followers of Muhammad. However it happened, Abu Bakr became the new leader. He spent much of his short reign suppressing rebellious tribes in the Ridda Wars. With unity restored in Arabia, the Muslims looked outward and commenced the conquests that would eventually unite the Middle East under the caliphs.

Muhammad's descendants

Middle East. The mosque now contains the tombs of Muhammad and the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab]] Muhammad was survived by his daughter Fatima and her children. (Some say that he had a daughter Zainab, who had borne a daughter, Amma or Umama, who survived him as well.) In Shi'a Islam, it is believed that Fatima's husband 'Ali and his descendants are the rightful leaders of the faithful. The Sunni do not accept this view, but they still honor Muhammad's descendents. Descendents of Muhammad are known by many names, such as sayyids, syeds سيد, and sharifs شريف (plural: ِأشراف Ashraaf). Many rulers and notables in Muslim countries, past and present, claim such descent, with various degrees of credibility, such as the Fatimid dynasty of North Africa, the Idrisis, the current royal families of Jordan and Morocco, and the Agha Khan Imams of the Ismaili branch of Islam. In various Muslim countries, there are societies that authenticate claims of descent; some societies are more credible than others.

Muhammad's historical significance

Before his death in 632, Prophet Muhammad had established Islam as a social and political force and had unified most of Arabia. A few decades after his death, his successors had united all of Arabia, and conquered Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Armenia, and much of North Africa. By 750, Islam had emerged as the spiritual counterpart to the two great monotheistic belief systems, Judaism and Christianity, and as the geopolitical successor to the Roman Empire. The rest of North Africa had come under Muslim rule, as well as the entire Iberian Peninsula and much of Central Asia (including Sind, in the Indus Valley). Under the Ghaznavids, in the tenth century, Islam was spread to the mainly Hindu principalities east of the Indus by conquering armies in what is now northern India. Even later, Islam expanded peacefully into much of Africa and Southeast Asia. Islam is now the faith of well over a billion people all over the globe, and is the second largest religion of the present day.

Muslim veneration of Muhammad

Image:Muhammad callig.gif|The name "Muhammad" written in Arabic calligraphy. Many Muslims believe that Islam prohibits art depicting humans or animals; much Islamic art is decorative calligraphy or arabesque (abstract pattern). Image:Miraj2.jpg|A 16th century Persian miniature painting celebrating Muhammad's ascent into the Heavens, a journey known as the Miraj. Muhammad's face is veiled.

All Muslims feel a great love and veneration for Muhammad, and express this feeling in many ways.
- When speaking or writing, Muhammad's name is preceded by the title "Prophet" and is followed by the phrase, Peace be upon him, or Peace be upon him and his descendents by Shias; in English often abbreviated as "(pbuh)" and "pbuh&hd", or just simply as "p".
- Concerts of Muslim and especially Sufi devotional music include songs praising Muhammad (see Muslim music, Qawwali).
- Some Muslims celebrate the birthday of Muhammad (Mawlid) with elaborate festivities. Others do not, believing that such festivities are modern innovations.
- Criticism of Muhammad is often equated with blasphemy, which is punishable by death in some Muslim states.
- Muhammad is often referenced with titles of praise.
- Muhammad's relics, such as his grave, his sword, his clothing, even strands of his hair, are revered by some.
- Even non-iconic representations of Muhammad are traditionally discouraged. From the 16th century however, Persian and Ottoman art frequently represented Muhammad in miniatures, albeit with his his face either veiled, or emanating radiance (see e.g. Siyer-i Nebi).
- Beyond the stories accepted as canonical by Islamic scholars of hadith, or oral traditions, there are many folktales praising Muhammad and recounting miraculous stories of his birth, upbringing and life.

References

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-
-
-
-
- Sahih Muslim Book 008, Number 3310
- Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64
- Sahih Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 65

External links

;Non-sectarian biography
- [http://www.pbs.org/muhammad Public Broadcasting System program on Muhammad]
- [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553918/Muhammad_(prophet).html/ Encarta Encyclopedia]
- [http://31.1911encyclopedia.org/M/MA/MAHOMET.htm 1911 Encyclopedia article of Muhammad] ;Muslim biographies
- [http://www.al-sunnah.com/nektar/ Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar)- Memoirs of the Noble Prophet]
- [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MH_LM/default.htm The Life of Muhammad] Muhammad Husayn Haykal Translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi
- [http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/mohamed/1424/index.shtml Islamonline]
- [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/prophet/ About Muhammad]
- [http://www.muhammad.net/ Muhammad Biography and more] ;Critical perspectives:
- [http://www.answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Jeffery/historical_mhd.htm The Quest for the Historical Mohammed]
- [http://debate.org.uk/topics/theo/muhbiog.htm Trends in Biographies of Muhammad] ;Other
- [http://www.usna.edu/Users/humss/bwheeler/swords/swords_index.html Swords of the Prophet Muhammad] Category:Muslims Category:Arab people Category:Islamic prophets Category:Islam Category:570 births Category:632 deaths Category:Revolutionaries ko:무함마드 ms:Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. ja:ムハンマド・イブン＝アブドゥッラーフ simple:Muhammad th:มุฮัมมัด

971

Events
- Kenneth II of Scotland succeeds Culen as King, though he wasn't sole king until 977. Births
- Deaths
- Culen of Scotland Category:971 ko:971년

Common Era

The Common Era (CE), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes the Current Era, is the period beginning with the year 1 onwards. The term is used for a system of reckoning years that is chronologically equivalent to the anno Domini (AD) (Latin for "in the year of [our] Lord") system, but with less overt religious implications. Although common era was a term first used by some Christians in an age when Christianity was the common religion of the West, it is now a term preferred by some as a religiously neutral alternative. It has its equivalents in other languages. For example, Chinese uses its literal translation, gōngyuán (公元), for date notation.

Chronology and notation

The calendar practice prompting the coining of the term common era is the system of numbering and naming years using the presumed (although incorrect) birth year of Jesus as a starting point. This system was devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525, and used the label anno Domini to identify the year. Two centuries later the monk Bede introduced a Latin term that is roughly equivalent to the English term before Christ to identify years in the era preceding anno Domini. Both Dionysius and Bede regarded anno Domini as beginning at the incarnation or conception of Jesus, not his birth nine months later. Anno Domini was in widespread use by the ninth century, but the Latin equivalent of before Christ did not become widespread until the late fifteenth century (neither was abbreviated in Latin). The term "common era" refers to the time period since the year 1 in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars. By convention, for most purposes except astronomical use, year zero is not used. Instead, 1 BCE (or 1 BC) immediately precedes 1 CE (or AD 1). The Gregorian calendar is the de facto standard calendar system. Thus, according to this calendar, the French Revolution occurred in the year 1789, and human beings first walked on the Moon in the year 1969. Users of common era nomenclature consider these events to have occurred in years "of the common era". When used as a replacement for BC/AD notation, the common era is abbreviated as CE and is the direct chronological equivalent of AD. Similarly, the time before the common era is written as BCE and is the direct chronological equivalent of BC. Both abbreviations are written following the year, thus Aristotle was born in 384 BCE (or 384 BC), and Genghis Khan died in 1227 CE (or AD 1227). On (rare) [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22Era+Vulgaris%22&btnG=Google+Search&meta= occasions], one may find the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" instead of "CE"; this stands for "Era Vulgaris", the Latin translation of "Common Era".

Origins

According to Peter Daniels (a Cornell University and University of Chicago trained linguist):

CE and BCE came into use in the last few decades, perhaps originally in Ancient Near Eastern studies, where (a) there are many Jewish scholars and (b) dating according to a Christian era is irrelevant. It is indeed a question of sensitivity.

However, the term "common era" has earlier antecedents. A 1716 book by English Bishop John Prideaux says, "The vulgar era, by which we now compute the years from his incarnation." In 1835, in his book Living Oracles, Alexander Campbell, wrote "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini; the fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of which was but eight days." In its article on Chronology, the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia uses the sentence: "Foremost among these (dating eras) is that which is now adopted by all civilized peoples and known as the Christian, Vulgar or Common Era, in the twentieth century of which we are now living." "Vulgar" comes from the Latin word vulgāris (from vulgus, the common people), meant "of or belonging to the common people, everyday," and acknowledges that the date was commonly used, even by people who did not believe that Jesus was divine. By the late 1800s, however, vulgar had come to mean "crudely indecent" and the Latin word was replaced by its English equivalent, "common". The first known Jewish use of this practice is from an inscription on a gravestone in a Jewish cemetery in Plymouth, England:

Here is buried his honour Judah ben his honour Joseph, a prince and honoured amongst philanthropists, who executed good deeds, died in his house in the City of Bath, Tuesday, and was buried here on Sunday, 19 Sivan in the year 5585. In memory of Lyon Joseph Esq (merchant of Falmouth, Cornwall). who died at Bath June AM 5585/VE 1825. Beloved and respected.

This inscription, like most, uses the Jewish calendar (5585), but ends by providing the common year (1825); presumably the "VE" means "Vulgar Era", and presumably VE was used instead of AD in order to avoid the Christian implications.

Usage

Jewish and Christian scholars have developed the BCE/CE terms for the benefit of cross-cultural dialogue.[http://www.torontoareamennonites.ca/danforth/dmc_notes/witmer10.htm]. Some Islamic scholars and others outside the Judeo-Christian religious traditions have used the system. Some Christians have used the term CE to mean "Christian era." Many non-religious academics in the fields of history, theology, archaeology and anthropology have also in recent decades begun using this system. More visible uses of common era notation have recently surfaced at major museums in the English-speaking world: Canada's Royal Ontario Museum adopted BCE/CE in 2002 [http://www.rom.on.ca/ossuary/ossuary_intro.html], and the Smithsonian Institution also prefers common era usage, though individual museums are not required to use it.[http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/field_trips/standards/world_history_standards.html] As well, many style guides now prefer or mandate its usage. [http://www.egyptstudy.org/OstraconGuidelines.html][http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/natrel/pom/pomstyle.html][http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/guidelines.html][http://www.sagepub.com/journalManuscript.aspx?pid=10754][http://www.yorku.ca/topia/docs/styleguide] Some style guides for Christian churches even mandate its use; for example, that of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.[http://www.ang-md.org/mcn/style-guide.pdf (pdf)] "CE" is growing in usage in textbooks. It is used by the College Board in its history tests.

Support

Supporters of common era notation promote it as a religiously neutral notation suited for cross-cultural use. Arguments given for standardizing common era notation include:
- The calendar used by the West has become a global standard — one built into every computer's hardware. It should be religiously and culturally neutral out of consideration for those cultures compelled to use it out of necessity. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A3176345]
- It has been largely used by academic and scientific communities for over a century now, and is not a completely unfamiliar dating system. [http://www.answers.com/topic/common-era]
- Dating years according to Christian theology has the potential to be culturally divisive in worldwide use. Dating months and days based on Roman and Norse gods, however, is of little concern because the Roman and Norse religions are virtually extinct, and because the names can just as easily be seen as coming from the names of the planets and other celestial objects. People in other cultures are free to name the months and days of the week as they wish in their own language, but years are just numbers and it is quite easy to make them less overtly culturally specific. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A3176345]
- It promotes ecumenical standards and Christian Era is an interchangeable meaning for the acronym CE.
- It is simple to change BC/AD to BCE/CE terminology, since the years are exactly equal, regardless of which terminology is used. No conversion of the numbers is required. Documents with years that do not have AD designation do not need to be changed. (example: 1066 remains 1066 in AD and in CE systems)
- The label Anno Domini is likely inaccurate because Christ's birth probably occurred no later than 4 BC, the year of Herod the Great's death.
- It avoids confusion over whether "AD" should come before or after the year. (This is important for the in-house manuals of style of periodicals.)
- Stylistic rules which require that AD precede the year are justified by saying that "In the year of our Lord 2005" is correct syntax, and "2005 in the year of our Lord" is incorrect. Such statements belie the claim that AD has lost its religious meaning.
- The intensity with which some Christians protest any switch from BC/AD to BCE/CE indicates that, despite any claims to the contrary, BC/AD has not become "removed from its religious connotations".

Opposition

Changing dates expressed in BC terminology to BCE has given rise to some opposition. Arguments against the common era designation include:
- BC and AD have been used for such a length of time as to have become somewhat removed from their religious connotations.
- The newer BCE/CE system has not been used widely enough so as to have become commonly understood.
- "BCE" and "CE" are so similar that they may confuse readers.
- The names for the months and days of the week derive respectively from Roman and Nordic religious traditions, so naming eras based on the Christian tradition should not be seen as objectionable.
- It downplays the prominence of Jesus in societies that have a Christian heritage.
- Some object to the common era's retention of the year 1 as its epoch because it preserves a Christocentric worldview at the expense of a religiously neutral timekeeping system. Examples of this opposition include:
- When BC was changed to BCE in one examination question in New South Wales, Australia in early 2005, it prompted questions and protestations of offence in both chambers of the State Parliament, and the State Education Minister stated in Parliament that the change should not have been made.
- When the teaching of what BCE/CE meant was introduced into the English National Curriculum in 2002, it prompted confused letters to national newspapers.
- When the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada changed from using BC to using BCE, it was subjected to derision as well as complaints expressed in the national Canadian press.

Other calendars in use

Several major calendar systems exist in addition to the Western calendar.
- The Hindu calendar constitutes four eras and the epoch of the present (fourth) era, the Kali Yuga, is BCE 3102 January 23 on the proleptic Gregorian calendar, making the current year (2005) 5107.
- The Hebrew calendar dates from the Creation (according to which the year beginning in the northern autumn of 2000 was 5761 AM);
- Most Chinese do not assign numbers to the years of the Chinese calendar, but the few that do (expatriate Chinese and Westerners) date from the Yellow Emperor (three different systems are in use, which caused the Chinese years 4637, 4697, or 4698 to begin in early 2000).
- The Buddhist calendar dates from the birth of the Buddha (making 2000, 2543 under this calendar, but only in Thailand);
- The Indian national calendar (also the Saka calendar) is the official civil calendar in use in India. Years are counted in the Saka Era, which starts its year 0 in 78. The current year is 1927.
- The Islamic calendar dates from the Hijra in 622 using a lunar year of about 354 days (so the Western year 2000 contains parts of 1420 AH and 1421 AH);
- The Bahá'í calendar dates from the year of the declaration of the Báb. Years are counted in the Bahá'í Era (BE), which starts its year 1 from March 21, 1844.

External links

- [http://www.ucc.org/ucnews/jan03/asiseeit.htm Whatever happened to B.C. and A.D., and why?] (United Church of Christ)
- [http://www.religioustolerance.org/ce.htm The use of "CE" and "BCE" to identify dates] (Religious Tolerance.org) Category:Calendars

Madrassa

] ]] The word madrasah (مدرسه in Arabic) means a "school." It is often incorrectly transliterated in the media as madrassa, madrash, or madressa. This particular word also exists in many Arabic-influenced languages such as, Hebrew, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, Indonesian, Malaysian etc. In Arabic, the word مدرسه implies no context other than that which the word school represents in the English language , such as private, public or parochial school, as well as for any primary or secondary school whether Muslim, non-Muslim or secular. Unlike the understanding of the word school in British English, the word madrasah is referred to as a university in American English. The appropriate word for the university, however, is al-Jami'ah. In Hebrew the word "midrasha" means a place of learning," which is obviously a cognate of madrassa. It is commonly understood that wherever the governments failed to provide general education to its common citizens, private religious establishments succeeded to take the lead to fill this gap and administer the educational system of the country according to their own principles. In this context, a madrasah herewith is refered as an Islamic school for the Muslims, just as a parochial school for the Catholics or the yeshiva for the orthodox Jews. Although these institutions are academically assigned to provide general education, they also feel obliged to teach their students about the fundamentals of their religion. In the case of a madrasah, Islam. In some cases female students are also allowed to attend certain madrasahs, however they must sit in separate class rooms or buildings. A typical madrasah usually offers two courses of study: a "hifz" course; that is memorisation of the holy Qur'an (the person who commits the entire Qur'an to memory is called a hafiz); and an 'alim course leading the candidate to become an accepted scholar or an `aalim. A regular curriculum includes courses in Arabic, Tafsir (Qur'anic interpretation), shari'ah (Islamic law), Hadith (recorded sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad), Mantiq (logic), and the Islamic History. Depending on the educational demands, some madrasahs also offer additional advanced courses in Arabic literature, English, and other foreign languages as well as science and world history. People of all ages attend, and many often move on to becoming imams. The certificate of an `aalim for example, requires approximately twelve years of study. A good number of the huffaz (plural of hafiz) are the product of the madrasahs. The madrasahs also resemble colleges, where people take evening classes and reside in dormitories. An important function of the madrasahs is to admit the orphans and poor children in order for to provide them with education and training. There are approximately 10,000 madrasahs currently operating in Pakistan. Contrary to some media reports, only 0.3 percent of the Pakistani school age children are enrolled in the traditional madrasahs. This is according to Pakistan's 1998 Population Census [http://econ.worldbank.org/view.php?type=5&id=41363:Cite_source]. Other sources estimate that enrollment at 1–1.5 million children although the 1998 Population Census found only 150,000 children. Orphans, migrants, and part-time students may explain the discrepancy. Regardless, percentage wise, the madrasah enrollment is relatively insignificant. There are some madrasah-like institutions also exist in North America and in Europe. Established in 859 A.D. Jami'at al-Qarawiyyin (located in Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque) in the city of Fas (Fez) is not only considered the oldest madrasah in the Muslim world but perhaps the first University ever established in the world. Due to administrative mishandling, radical political indoctrination of students and adopting a more conservative view of the simple teachings of Islam, especially in certain Muslim countries such as Pakistan, the madrasahs nowadays are sometimes deemed as ideological and polictical training grounds for hatred against the West. See also: Islamic architecture Category:Education Category:Arabic culture Category:Arabic words

988

Events
- Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev marries Anna, sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II and converts to Christianity.
- Abbo becomes abbot at Fleury Births
- Adhemar de Chabannes Deaths
- May 19 - Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 909) Category:988 ko:988년

Ismaili

The Isma'ili (Arabic الإسماعيليون, Persian: اسماعیلیان Esmâ'iliyân) branch of Islam is the second largest Shi'a community, after the Twelvers who are dominant in Iran.

Location

The Ismailis are found primarily in the Indian subcontinent, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and East Africa but have in recent years emigrated to Europe and North America. The Ismailis and Twelvers both accept the same initial Imams from the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and therefore share much of their early history. However, a dispute arose on the succession of the Sixth Imam, Ja'far as-Sadiq. The Ismailis became those who accepted Ja'far's eldest son Ismail as the next Imam, whereas the Twelvers accepted a younger son, Musa al-Kazim. A branch of the Ismaili known as the Saaabiyin or Seveners held that Ismail's son, Muhammad, was the seventh and final Imam (a belief inaccurately but commonly ascribed to Ismailis as a whole). There is still a small Sevener Ismaili community in parts of Saudi Arabia to this date. In the face of persecution, the bulk of the Ismailis continued to recognize imams who secretly propagated their faith through missionaries (da'is) from their bases in Syria. However by the 10th century, an Ismaili Imam, Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah (previously Sa'id bin Husayn), had emigrated to North Africa and had successfully established the new Fatimid state in Tunisia. His successors subsequently succeeded in conquering much of North Africa (including the prized Egypt) and parts of Arabia. The capital for the Fatimid state hence shifted to the newly founded city of Cairo. from which the Fatimid Caliph-Imams ruled for several generations. A group of followers of the 16th Imam, Hakim bi-Amr-Allah broke away from the mainstream Ismailis to form the Druze religion. A more fundamental split amongst the Ismaili occurred on the dispute of which son should succeed the 18th Imam, Mustansir. Mustaali, his younger son, was installed as Imam in Cairo with the help of Vizier Badr al-Jamali. However, Mustansir's elder son Nizar contested this claim and was imprisoned; he gained support from an Ismaili da'i based in Iran, Hasan as-Sabbah. Sabbah is noted by Western writers to be the leader of the legendary Assassins. The Fatimid state eventually collapsed after Mustaali's successor Amir was assassinated, but Mustaali Ismaili held that Amir had left a son named Tayyib who had gone into seclusion and that the imamate continued in his progeny during this time. They also regarded a succeeding chain of Yemeni da'is as representatives of the imam. In time, the seat for one chain of dais was transferred to India as the community split several times, each recognizing a different da'i. Today the Dawoodi Bohras, which constitute the majority of the Mustaali Ismailis accept Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin as the 52nd da'i. The Dawoodi Bohras are based in India. While lesser known and smallest in number, Alavi Bohras accept as the 44th "da'i" : Da'i-e-Mutlaq, H.H. Saiyedna Abu Haatim Taiyeb Ziyauddin Saheb (TUS). There has been, in recent years, a reapprochment between the Yemeni Mustaalis and the followers of the da'i based out of Mumbai. The Bohras are noted to be the more traditional of the two main groups of Ismaili, maintaining rituals such as prayer and fasting more consistently with other Muslim and Shi'a sects, although a reformist movement has emerged within the sect challenging the authoritarian Dawoodi Bohra clergy. The largest part of the Nizari Ismaili community today accepts Prince Karim Aga Khan IV as their 49th Imam. The 46th Imam, Aga Hasan Ali Shah, fled Iran to the Indian subcontinent in the 1840s after a failed coup against the Shah of the Qajar dynasty. Aga Hasan Ali Shah settled in Bombay in 1848. The Aga Khan was recognized as the legitimate Imam over Shia Ismaili Muslims in Bombay through a legal case at the Bombay high Court in 1866. The Judge in this case, Sir Joseph Arnold, ruled that the Khoja Muslim community was Ismaili (and not Sunni), that the Aga Khan was its leader, he was due the traditional tithes of the community and that community property belonged to his Imamate. The Aga Khans have been in contact with various Nizari Ismaili communities around the world and several have accepted them as their Hazar Imam or 'Present Imam'. Deputations came to Mumbai to receive the Imam's guidance from as far afield as Kashgar in China, Bokhara in Central Asia, and all parts of Iran and the Middle East.

History(accuracy questioned)

See History of Ismailism After the death of Uthman the Islamic state remained without a Caliph for three days. Ali refused to accept the Caliphate. But he was compelled by the people overwhelmingly to take the leadership to save them from disintegration. Mowla Ali was born on the thirteenth of Rajab twenty-two years before Hijra (A.D. 600) inside the sacred house of Ka'ba. No one else has been born in the House of Allah ever since its foundation by Prophet Ibra'hi'm (Abraham). His mother Fatima bint Assad (not to be confused with Fatima bint Muhammad, Ali's wife), daughter of Asad bin Ha'shem, said that he did not cry after birth, nor did he open his eyes. He refused to be fed until after three days when the Holy Prophet arrived and took him caressingly in his arms. He opened his eyes and smiled at the Holy Prophet who then gave his tongue into his mouth. Ali sucked the moisture of the tongue. Ever since they remained together in all walks of life only to be separated physically at the death of the Holy Prophet. Short in physical structure but robust, Ali was born bald with thick hair at the back of his head and at the temples. Thick eyebrows, over his large and heavy eyes, meeting together above his straight nose, and thin lips gave an impressive look no one could resist. The Holy Prophet said that to look at Ali's face was an act of worship. Ali was never defeated in a war or a combat throughout his life. His physical strenght was beyond human comprehension. He removed from the hinges the strong doors of the Khyber fort with a single jolt of his hand. Later, seven strong men with Abu Ra'fe', the famous strongman, could not lift even an inch from the ground one of the corners of the door. When asked about his wonderful display of strength, in removing the doors, Ali replied that it was his divine power.

Sub-sects

- Sulaimani, also part of the Mustaali group.
- Dawoodi Bohras, the largest Mustaali group.
- Alavi Bohras, the lesser known, the smallest Mustaali group.
- Nizari Ismailis, the largest Ismaili group today. (See next few headings for information this group and its beliefs).
- Carmathians

Mustaali groups: Dawoodi Bohras, Alavi Bohras

:See main articles at Dawoodi Bohras, Alavi Bohras.

History of the Nizari Ismaili community in the 20th century

Under the leadership of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, the first half of the twentieth century was a period of significant development for the Ismaili community. Numerous institutions for social and economic development were established on the Indian sub-continent and in East Africa. Ismailis have marked the Jubilees of their Imams with public celebrations, which are symbolic affirmations of the ties that link the Ismaili Imam and his followers. Although the Jubilees have no real religious significance, they serve to reaffirm the Imamat's world-wide commitment to the improvement of the quality of human life, especially in the developing countries. The Jubilees of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, are well remembered. During his 72 years of Imamat (1885-1957), the community celebrated his Golden (1937), Diamond (1946) and Platinum (1954) Jubilees. To show their appreciation and affection, the Ismailis weighed their Imam in gold, diamonds and, symbolically, in platinum, respectively, the proceeds of which were used to further develop major social welfare and development institutions in Asia and Africa. On the subcontinent of India and Pakistan, social development institutions were established, in the words of the late Aga Khan, "for the relief of humanity". They included institutions such as the Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Platinum Jubilee Investments Limited which in turn assisted the growth of various types of cooperative societies. Diamond Jubilee Schools for girls were established throughout the remote Northern Areas of what is now Pakistan. In addition, scholarship programmes, established at the time of the Golden Jubilee to give assistance to needy students, were progressively expanded. In East Africa, major social welfare and economic development institutions were established. Those involved in social welfare included the accelerated development of schools and community centres, and a modern, fully-equipped hospital in Nairobi. Among the economic development institutions established in East Africa were companies such as the Diamond Jubilee Investment Trust (now Diamond Trust of Kenya) and the Jubilee Insurance Company, which are quoted on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and have become major players in national development. Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah also introduced organisational forms that gave Ismaili communities the means to structure and regulate their own affairs. These were built on the Muslim tradition of a communitarian ethic on the one hand, and responsible individual conscience with freedom to negotiate one's own moral commitment and destiny on the other. In 1905 he ordained the first Ismaili Constitution for the social governance of the community in East Africa. The new administration for the Community's affairs was organised into a hierarchy of councils at the local, national, and regional levels. The constitution also set out rules in such matters as marriage, divorce and inheritance, guidelines for mutual cooperation and support among Ismailis, and their interface with other communities. Similar constitutions were promulgated in the Indian subcontinent, and all were periodically revised to address emerging needs and circumstances in diverse settings. Following the Second World War, far-reaching social, economic and political changes profoundly affected a number of areas where Ismailis resided. In 1947, British rule in the Indian subcontinent was replaced by the two sovereign, independent nations, of India and Pakistan, resulting in the migration of at least a million people and significant loss of life and property. In the Middle East, the Suez crisis of 1956 as well as the preceding crisis in Iran, demonstrated the sharp upsurge of nationalism, which was as assertive of the region's social and economic aspirations as of its political independence. Africa was also set on its course to decolonisation, swept by what Mr. Harold MacMillan, the then British Prime Minister, aptly termed the "wind of change". By the early 1960s, most of East and Central Africa, where the majority of the Ismaili population on the continent resided (including Tanganyika, Kenya, Uganda, Malagasy, Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire), had attained their political independence. This was the world in which the present Aga Khan acceded to the Imamat in 1957. The period following his accession can be characterised as one of rapid political and economic change. Planning of programmes and institutions became increasingly difficult due to the rapid changes in newly-emerging nations. Upon becoming Imam, the present Aga Khan's immediate concern was the preparation of his followers, wherever they lived, for the changes that lay ahead. This rapidly evolving situation called for bold initiatives and new programmes to reflect developing national aspirations. In Africa, Asia and the Middle East, a major objective of the Community's social welfare and economic programmes, until the mid-fifties, had been to create a broad base of businessmen, agriculturists, and professionals. The educational facilities of the Community tended to emphasise secondary-level education. With the coming of independence, each nation's economic aspirations took on new dimensions, focusing on industrialisation and modernisation of agriculture. The Community's educational priorities had to be reassessed in the context of new national goals, and new institutions had to be created to respond to the growing complexity of the development process. In 1972, under the regime of the then President Idi Amin, Ismailis and other Asians were expelled, despite being citizens of the country and having lived there for generations. The Aga Khan had to take urgent steps to facilitate the resettlement of Ismailis displaced from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and also from Burma. Owing to his personal efforts most found homes, not only in Asia, but also in Europe and North America. Most of the basic resettlement problems were overcome remarkably rapidly. This was due to the adaptability of the Ismailis themselves and in particular to their educational background and their linguistic abilities, as well as the efforts of the host countries and the moral and material support from Ismaili community programmes. Spiritual allegiance to the Imam and adherence to the Shia Imami Ismaili tariqah (persuasion) of Islam according to the guidance of the Imam of the time, have engendered in the Ismaili community an ethos of self-reliance, unity, and a common identity. The present Aga Khan continued the practice of his predecessor and extended constitutions to Ismaili communities in the US, Canada, several European countries, the Gulf, Syria and Iran following a process of consultation within each constituency. In 1986, he promulgated a Constitution that, for the first time, brought the social governance of the world-wide Ismaili community into a single structure with built-in flexibility to account for diverse circumstances of different regions. Served by volunteers appointed by and accountable to the Imam, the Constitution functions as an enabler to harness the best in individual creativity in an ethos of group responsibility to promote the common well-being.

The Nizari Ismaili community today

Like its predecessors, the present constitution is founded on each Ismaili's spiritual allegiance to the Imam of the time, which is separate from the secular allegiance that all Ismailis owe as citizens to their national entities. The guidance of the present Imam and his predecessor emphasised the Ismaili's allegiance to his or her country as a fundamental obligation. These obligations discharged not by passive affirmation but through responsible engagement and active commitment to uphold national integrity and contribute to peaceful development. In view of the importance that Islam places on maintaining a balance between the spiritual well-being of the individual and the quality of his life, the Imam's guidance deals with both aspects of the life of his followers. The Aga Khan has encouraged Ismaili Muslims, settled in the industrialised world, to contribute towards the progress of communities in the developing world through various development programmes. In recent years, Ismaili Muslims, who have come to the US, Canada and Europe, mostly as refugees from Asia and Africa, have readily settled into the social, educational and economic fabric of urban and rural centres across the two continents. As in the developing world, the Ismaili Muslim Community's settlement in the industrial world has involved the establishment of community institutions characterised by an ethos of self-reliance, an emphasis on education, and a pervasive spirit of philanthropy. From July 1982 to July 1983, to celebrate the present Aga Khan's Silver Jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his accession to the Imamat, many new social and economic development projects were launched, although there were no weighing ceremonies. These range from the establishment of the US$ 300 million international Aga Khan University with its Faculty of Health Sciences and teaching hospital based in Karachi, the expansion of schools for girls and medical centres in the Hunza region, one of the remote parts of Northern Pakistan bordering on China and Afghanistan, to the establishment of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Gujarat, India, and the extension of existing urban hospitals and primary health care centres in Tanzania and Kenya. These initiatives form part of an international network of institutions involved in fields that range from education, health and rural development, to architecture and the promotion of private sector enterprise and together make up the Aga Khan Development Network. It is this commitment to man's dignity and relief of humanity that inspires the Ismaili Imamat's philanthropic institutions. Giving of one's competence, sharing one's time, material or intellectual wherewithal with those among whom one lives, for the relief of hardship, pain or ignorance is a deeply ingrained tradition which shapes the social conscience of the Ismaili Muslim community.

The "Hashishin" issue

Please read: The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma‘ilis by Farhad Daftary Daftary, Farhad, The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Ismailis. London: I. B. Tauris, 1994. ISBN: 1 85043 705 X (HB) ISBN: 1 85043 950 8 (PB) Synopsis Since the 12th century fantastical tales of the Assassins, their mysterious leader and their remote mountain strongholds in Syria and northern Iran have captured the European imagination. These legends first emerged when European Crusaders in the Levant came into contact with the Syrian branch of the Nizari Ismailis, who at the behest of their leader were sent on dangerous missions to kill their enemies. Elaborated over the years, the legends culminated in Marco Polo’s account according to which the Nizari leader, described as the ‘Old Man of the Mountain’, was said to have controlled the behaviour of his devotees through the use of hashish and a secret garden of paradise. So influential were these tales that the word ‘assassin’ entered European languages as a common noun for murderer, and the Nizari Ismailis were depicted not only in popular mythology but also in Western scholarship as a sinister order of ‘assassins’. In recent decades new scholarship on the history of the Ismailis has established the extent to which older Western accounts have confused fact and fantasy. In view of the very different picture of Ismaili history that has now emerged, Farhad Daftary’s book considers the origins of the mediaeval Assassin legends and explores the historical context in which they were fabricated and transmitted. How did they persist for so long, and in what form did they come to exert such a profound influence on European scholarship? Daftary’s fascinating account ultimately reveals the extent to which the emergence of such legends was symptomatic of both the complex political and cultural structures of the mediaeval Muslim world and of Europeans’ ignorance of that world. The book will be of great interest to all those concerned with Ismaili studies, the history of Islam and the Middle East, as well as the mediaeval history of Europe. Also included as an appendix is the first English translation of the French orientalist Silvestre de Sacy’s famous early 19th century “Memoir on the Assassins and the Etymology of their Name”.

External links

- [http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/islam/shia/index.html Graphical illustration of the sects of Shi'a Islam]
- [http://www.amaana.org/history/history1.htm History of Imams from the "Nizari" point of view.]
- [http://www.iis.ac.uk Institute of Ismaili Studies]
- [http://www.mumineen.org Dawoodi Bohras]
- [http://www.akdn.org Aga Khan Development Network]
- [http://www.ismaili.net/html/ First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database]
- [http://www.alavibohra.org Alavi Bohra: The Smallest Sect of Ismaili Mustaali Faith]
- [http://www.ismailiconnect.com Ismaili Connect: Ismaili Information / Discussion / Community Site]

References

- The Ismailis: Their history and doctrines; Farhad Daftary; Cambridge University Press, 1990
- A Short History of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim Community; Farhad Daftary; Edinburgh University Press, 1998 Category:Shi'a Islam Category:Ismailism ja:イスマーイール派

Sunni

There are several branches of Islam. The majority of Muslims belong to Sunni Islam.

Historical Background of Sunni-Shi'a split

The principal issue upon which Islam's first major sectarian split occurred centers on the question of leadership. According to Sunni thought, Muhammad died without appointing a successor to lead the Muslim community. After an initial period of confusion, a gathering of Muslims at Saqifah accepted Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law, as the first Caliph. Sunnis consider Abu Bakr to have been Muhammad's closest friend. Sunnis believe this process was conducted in a fair and proper manner and accept Abu Bakr as a righteous and rightful Caliph. The second major sect, the Shia, believe that the Prophet had appointed his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor years earlier during an announcement at Ghadir Khom. Shi'a regard the election of Abu Bakr as illegitimate and accuse the companions involved of ulterior motives ranging from enmity towards Ali to outright hypocrisy. Though both Sunnis and Shias believe that Muhammad delivered a major speech at Ghadir Khom, Sunnis interpret any references to Ali as mere praise, and do not view them as constituting his appointment as a successor. (Some secular historians, notably Wilferd Madelung, would regard the whole incident as possible invention.) Thirty years after Muhammad's death, the Islamic community plunged into a civil war, called the Fitna. Many Muslims (among them some of Muhammad's widows and companions) believed that Uthman, the third Caliph, was favoring his kin and abusing his power. Discontented Muslim soldiers from garrisons in Iraq and Egypt surrounded Uthman's house in Medina and demanded that he repent or resign. The Caliph temporized, fighting broke out, and Uthman was killed as he sat reading the Qur'an. Though Ali was appointed Caliph upon Uthman's death, he was opposed by Muawiyah, the governor of Syria and a relative of Uthman's. Muawiyah claimed that because Ali had taken no action to apprehend Uthman's killers, Ali was complicit in his murder. Muawiyah consolidated his own power and refused to accept Ali's authority until Uthman's assassins were brought to justice. Ali was not able to resolve the crisis before he was assassinated by a rebel faction, and Muawiyah claimed the Caliphate upon his death. Muawiyah's rise to power marked the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty, and he managed to bring most of the Muslim community (ummah) under his authority and put an end to the civil war. The Fitna led to the emergence of three distinct Islamic groups:
- Sunnis - Sunnis regard the first four caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman, and Ali) as Rightly Guided Caliphs, that is, Caliphs who followed the tradition of the Prophet in terms of their lifestyles and styles of governance. According to Sunni Muslim tradition, though Caliphs that followed Ali were mostly legitimate and entitled to obedience, most departed from the standards laid down by the prophet. Sunnis regard Muawiyah as a legitimate Caliph, but not a Rightly Guided one. Though most Sunnis acknowledge that Ali had the stronger claim in his dispute with Muawiyah, Sunni authorities usually refrain from questioning the sincerity of Muawiya's intentions and generally give him the benefit of the doubt. The full name of the Sunni branch is Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'ah.
- Shi'a - Shi'a generally reject all caliphates except that of Ali. In contrast to Sunnis, Shi'a regard Muawiyah as a conniving usurper who used Uthman's murder as an excuse to seize power. Some Sunnis, particularly the Salafis, do not accept certain groups of the Shi'a as Muslims.
- Khwarij, or Kharijites - The Khwarij were initially loyal to Ali, but turned against him in response to his decision to accept arbitration as a means of resolving the dispute with Muawiya. The Khwarij declared that all the partisans involved in the Fitna had become disbelievers and could only redeem themselves by repenting and renouncing their role in the dispute. The Khawarij killed Ali as part of a string of assassination attempts that targeted Ali, Muawiyah, and Amr ibn al-As, Muawiya's governor of Egypt (Ali's assassin was the only one who succeeded). Because the Khwarij had a very narrow view of what constitutes kufr (acts that invalidate one's Islam), they quickly split up into sects within themselves, each accusing one another of having fallen into disbelief. Though one branch of the Khwarij survives in Yemen and Oman as the Ibadi denomination of Islam, Khwarij doctrine has been largely rejected and relegated to the history books. Other divisions have arisen since the Fitna of the 7th century A.D. Some groups are now extinct. Of the existing groups, Sunni Muslims do not accept members of the Nation of Islam, Ahmadiyya, and Zikri as fellow Muslims.

Demographics

See Demographics of Islam. Present calculations indicate that some 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and approximately 10% are Shi'a, but the Shi'a are certainly undercounted. Further work is needed before these statistics are defensible. It should be noted that Sunni-Shi'a adherent counts are quite controversial. Sunni tend to see Shi'a as a small and insignificant sect, and champion a low adherent count for Shi'a; the Shi'a see this as discrimination and claim larger figures.

Sunni schools of law (Madhab)

There are four Sunni schools of law:
- Hanafi (based on work of Abu Hanifa)
- Maliki (founded by Malik)
- Shafi'i (founded by Shafi'i, a student of Malik)
- Hanbali (founded by Ahmad bin Hanbal, a student of Shafi'i) A madhab is a particular tradition of interpreting Islamic law, or shari'a. The schools were started by eminent Muslim scholars in the first four centuries of Islam. Most Sunnis believe that there are no living jurists of the stature of the founders of the four madhabs. Contemporary scholars can comment on the traditions, but they cannot start new ones. This belief is called "the closing of the gate of ijtihad". A madhab is not to be confused with a religious sect. There may be scholars representing all four madhabs living in larger Muslim communities, and it is up to those who consult them to decide which school they prefer. Some Sunni Muslims say that one should choose a madhab and then follow all of its rulings. Other Sunnis say that it is acceptable to mix madhabs, to accept one madhab's ruling regarding one issue, and accept another madhab's ruling regarding a different issue. Some modern Sunni, such as liberals, reject some or all of the intricate structure of hadith and shari'a erected over the centuries. Some Salafis reject strict adherence to traditional jurisprudence and others follow the Hanbali school of thought.

Sunni theological traditions (kalam)

Some Islamic scholars faced questions that they felt were not specifically answered in the Qur'an, especially questions with regard to philosophical conundrums like the nature of God, the possibility of human free will, or the eternal existence of the Qur'an. Various schools of theology and philosophy developed to answer these questions, each claiming to be true to the Qur'an and the Muslim tradition (sunnah). There were the following dominant traditions:
- Mu'tazilah was the school established in Iraq by Wasil bin 'Ata (699-749), a student of the distinguished scholar Hasan al-Basri (642-728). The Mu'tazilites rose to prominence in 750, under the new Abbasid dynasty of caliphs. One caliph, al-Ma'mun, declared Mu'tazilah doctrine to be the state creed, and persecuted dissenters. This completely alienated the Sunni Muslim clergy, the ulema, and Mu'tazilism fell into disrepute after the death of al-Ma'mun. There are no current Sunni adherents of Mu'tazilism, though their texts are still read and preserved as important to understanding the history of Sunni theology. The Shi'a follow a Mu'tazili tradition.
- The Mu'tazilites were heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, and attempted to establish religion and ethics on the basis of reason alone. While they accepted the authority of the Qur'an, they argued that it should be accepted because it was reasonable. They understood many Quranic passages metaphorically, particularly those implying that God has a human body. They stressed human free will, and taught that the Qur'an was created in time, existing only from the moment it was revealed to Muhammad.
- Ash'ariyyah, founded by