Islam Worksheet
When studying Islam, it is important to understand the essential elements of the faith, how they are practiced, and the distinctions among the three branches: Shiite Islam, Sunni Islam, and Sufism.
Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following directives and note where there are differences among the three branches of Islam.
1. Explain the meaning of the name, Islam.
The word Islam is derived from the Arabic root "Salema": peace, purity, submission and obedience. In the religious logic, Islam means submission to the will of God and accordance to His word (Barghout, n.d.). The meaning of the name Islam is important to the community of Muslim people. “Islam” as it has many ties with words that mean “peace”. The word is sometimes misunderstood and thought to indicate being imprisoned to Allah. Yet, it is a symbolism for the covenant made between Allah and the Muslim people.
2. Explain the basic concepts of Islam.
The basic concepts of the Islam faith derive from the five pillars. The five pillars are the basic essential principles of the Islamic belief. The five pillars can be found in the Holy Quran. These basic concepts are required to be adopted by those of the Muslim faith (Molloy, page 432, 2010). The Muslims are expected to (Molloy, page 432, 2010:
• Have no other god before Allah, believing that no other God exist except Allah, and that Muhammad serves as Allah’s messenger.
• Prayer is central, praying five times per day.
• Charity to the poor is essential
• Participate in the Holy day Ramadan
• A trip to Mecca is expected in one’s lifetime, unless prevented by extenuating circumstances.
3. Describe the practices of Islam.
There are many practices of the Islam faith, and all are p...
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...ugh, in theology, both philosophy and religion is utilized to understand and principles of religions. As philosophical views contradict some of the basic principles of Islam, a devout Muslim could not agree to both beliefs, because agreeing would question one’s personal faith.
3. What artistic themes are regularly expressed in Islamic art and architecture? How are these themes explored? How has the Qur’an influenced the development of art in the Islamic world?
The artistic theme that reflects Paradise is conveyed frequently the Islam’s artwork, form structures, painting, to silks and fabrics. Because paradise is the goal of Islam, it is important to express it and view it in the artwork. The Quran uses many eloquent passages to reference paradise. It is described to have trees of fruit, cool breezes, many streams, and wildflowers (Molloy, page 469, 2010.)
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA as it is commonly known, is among the world’s largest art collections in North America, and to be specific enough the most prevalent artwork in the western United States (Compton 165). This massive art museum has a collection of over 100,000 artworks, which extends from the ancient times to present days (Gilbert and Mills 174). These collections, which are mainly from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin-America and America itself, are grouped into several departments within the museums buildings, depending on the region, culture, media, and time period. This paper analyzes the different genres of art and explains the main features that make the Islamic artworks distinguish themselves as historic masterpieces, by using stylistic and interpretive analysis methods.
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.
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many differences that separate the three major religions of the world. This paper will delve into all three of them.
Islam is a religion that is based on the submission oneself to the will of God, who is called Allah. Muslims are the people believe in that, regardless of their culture, background or ethnicity. It is believed that God’s prophets brought a message for the people to worship one God without intermediaries and that prophet Muhammad was the end of G...
3) Five Pillars of Islam- The Five Pillars of Islam are five important actions that all Muslims must complete during their life. Muslims must recite the profession of faith, pray five times a day facing Mecca, give alms, fast during the month of Ramadan, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Five Pillars of Islam are the base for the whole religion of Islam. The pilgrimage to Mecca is the only one that is not required; if a person is not able to go at all, they are not required to.
In this time period there was little art, though the culture that was growing in this time came to add to todays present art. The Islamic culture goes beyond the vast religion they study, and goes far into their art, and ideals that are even studied today. In the following is the differences in the art, and the connection each one has with the Islamic culture. The architecture such as the Dome on The Rock touches on the religions of the Islamic area, and the art that connects to it.
... believe in one God, and relates their life to the basis of the text in the Qur’an. To give themselves to God, by doing right, such as performing the duties within the five pillars, followers are then able to show their true devotion and commitment. Therefore, a true Muslim is one who submits to God and who God will lead on to have a righteous salvation.
The beginnings of Islamic visual arts were introduced before the Dynastic Rules. This was a period of “rapid expansion” of Islamic art by the people who lived within any Islamic territory (page 8). The traditions of Islam flourished approximately around the 7th century over a vast geographic area extending from one side to the other side of the globe. The Islamic Empire, itself, was developed from Roman, Umayyad, Byzantine, Persian, and Central Asian influences and the visual arts of the Islamic regions evolved following the death of Prophet Mohammad. An example would be the “blue and white porcelain” introduced from the Chinese and duplicated as it was seen as rare (page 103). The richness associated with this architecture and design was adopted from around the world from a plethora of people. Also, the arts quick development was caused by the invasion and conflict by groups of people and the direction of Islamic art was determined politically, geographically, and sociologically. This form of art encompasses diversity well as it incorporates all of the unique traditions of the new Islamic Empire altogether.
Beginning with the life of the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) and continuing to the present day, Islamic art has both a wide historical range and broad geographical spread, including North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and part of South and Southeast Asia as well as eastern and sub-Saharan Africa. Through it’s beautiful use of colors, and its balance between art and form, Islamic art has had a remarkable and unique visual impact. Inside the century after the passing (ad 632) of the prophet Muhammad, worshipers spread his lessons through Egypt and North Africa, as far as west Spain, and to the extent east of Sassanid Persia. Because of their quick development and the famine of the earlier foundation of the Arabian Peninsula, the Muslims
A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam. 2nd ed. of the book. Houston: Darussalam Books, 1997. The Holy Bible: giant print ; containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues ; and with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command, authorized King James version ; words of Chri.
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”.
You can relate Islamic art with unity and diversity. The similarity in Islamic art is putting objects together and creating “unity in diversity” The prophet mentions in the Quran that God has given “by My blessing and by the Holy Spirit” to Jesus, the power to pass that will appointed upon image creators come the day of judgement. The Hadith makes norms that are based upon the authorization of Prophet Muhammad. The hadith identifies and specifies the Divine law. Surah is used in Hadith and it is a term in Arabic that means
When you become a Muslim,you believe salvation is dependent on man, not God. There are five pillars of Islam, these five pillars are the Muslims acts of worship to Allah. Allah means God. The five pillars of Islam are
There are lots of different arts found in the world (for example, the catholic, Paleolithic, Hindus, etc…). One which captured most of my attention is the Islamic art. It’s not just the figure of its arts that amused me, but the way it was made, the history it created and it’s Perfection. Islamic art isn’t just a term to describe the art created specifically in the service of the Muslims, ( for example a masjid and its fittings) but it also symbolizes the art and architecture produced historically on the lands ruled by the Muslims. It is not only a religion but a way of life, by having their own artistic language that reflects their art and architecture.
Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.