Question 1:
Faith in Islam is regarded as one of the most important concepts that any believer can hold. The more the faith a person holds, the closer they are to Allah. In this perspective, faith is classified in three levels depending on where a person stands in line with his or her relationship with Allah. Islam is the first level of faith and is considered as the most basic. To attain this level of faith, the first step is a proclamation of the person’s belief in Allah and no other god (Murata and Chittick 35). This proclamation extends to the belief that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger and was sent to act on Allah’s behalf. This proclamation is the first level of faith as shown in Islam. From here, a person is expected to observe the five
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However, in the intra-Islam realms, the concept of Sufism remains controversial in a manner of ways. There are those who argue that the concept is entirely non-Islamic and has no place in the practice of Islam. These people argue that Sufism is a foreign idea that cannot be integrated into Islam. On the other hand, others argue that Sufism is at the core of Islam. The proponents of Sufism present the argument that without Sufism, Islam is an empty religion . In many cases, this situation is likened to the existence of a body without a soul, with Sufism being the soul and Islam being the body. Islam is seen as the religion with all the rules and doctrines while Sufism is seen as the spiritual aspect of Islam (Murata and Chittick 267). In this perspective, Sufism has gained the description of spirituality in Islam. It embodies the spiritual character of Islam and gives an opportunity for believers to build their spirituality and connection with …show more content…
It is argued that Sufism creates an opportunity for believers to meet the demands of Allah through their hearts. Proponents of this concept argue that it is only through Sufism that one gets to increase their spiritual connection with others and with Allah. While religion teaches rules of Islam such as time of prayer and movements of prayer, Sufism teaches the consecration of the heart in prayer (Murata and Chittick 269). It expands to teaching people how to connect with Allah in prayer and other religious practices. The surrender of one’s heart and soul to Allah is the core purpose of Sufism. In this perspective, Sufism is at the core of Islamic worship as it lines up the spiritual development of
Knowledge of the existence of Allah (swt) is the key element that establishes our faith and reflects on our actions. Allah's Apostle said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):
Sufism is often described as being the mystical branch of Islam – a spiritual path that speaks to the very heart of the believer and brings to the fore, a very real sense of God’s immediacy within the context of daily life and religious practice. As a mystical tradition, it propositions a God that has shared His divine essence with mankind – a God who is available to address and dwell within the human condition. By discussing Sufi practice and its development of traditional Islamic precepts including prayer and fasting, this essay will place it within the context of Islam with a look at how its mystical notions contribute towards a more immediate understanding of God. Furthermore, the practice of dikhr s well as the Sufi path of divine love as a journey towards divine unity will be discussed in showing how Sufism involves a sense of self-denial in favour of comprehending the divine nature of God. Sufism’s intersection with Greek science and philosophy will also be outlined in illustrating the all-encompassing nature of the Sufi God. Comparing different viewpoints, this essay includes critical commentary that will suggest that as a progression of the Islamic faith, Sufism indeed makes a substantial contribution to an understanding of the Islamic God – one that is relevant within the context of modern day society.
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.
Religion has 7 core attributes that allow someone to call it a religion, these include Narrative, Doctrine, Emotional, Material, Ethical, Ritual and Social. These seven attributes help individuals identify what can be classified as a “religion”, however spirituality has no “easy way” to identifying it. Spirituality can be found within the individual looking for their “meaning” but not physically expressed.
Religious discrimination is the biggest social issue in the USA. Since the 9/11 attacks Sikh’s have been tortured and treated really badly only because of their appearance. Arabs and Muslims are also tortured because of the religion they belong to. People should not insult other people without even knowing about their background. People should try to get to know about other person’s background before coming into any conclusion, he might be the best person they have ever met. The U.S. should abolish the practice of practice of profiling based on appearance at government office, schools, private offices etc.
Though one of the simpler pieces of poetry found in the book by Gloria K. Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, “The One True Light” (239), speaks to a long-time problem which is still evident to this day. The poem was written by the Sufi mystic and poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, and explores what is beyond his own religion. He was a follower of Muhammad, but as a Sufi, and through an emphasis on visionary experiences, which included ritualistic whirling dances, he was supposed to have been transported to be intuitive and see a nonrational dimension of his religious experiences.
The Late Middle Ages saw great theological discrepancies through the progression of Christian mysticism. The exploration into spiritual practices and the unification of the soul during this period led to great philosophical works. The Cloud of Unknowing and The Imitation of Christ are two noteworthy texts that discuss one’s aspiration to attain union with God. The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymously authored spiritual exercise that accentuates movement toward the contemplative life by acknowledging what is unknown by man. In contrast, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a spiritual guide which emphasizes that the way to be fully Christian is to live in the imitation of Jesus Christ. While many of the thoughts concerning human reason and withdrawal from the corporal world are similar in the texts, the two are inherently different as the account in The Imitation of Christ is more compelling due to its focus on a humanistic objective while acquiring union and salvation with God.
Jaoudi, Maria. Christian and Islamic spirituality: sharing a journey. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993. Print.
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
Sufism is a deviant sect of islam in which the people try to experience a reunion with God (called mystism). And for attaining this state they limit themselves to monasteries or any isolated places far from the people, as their ultimate goal is union with god.
In Pakistan, there are two levels of sufism. The first level is the “populist” sufism for the population of rural areas. This level of sufism involves, “ belief in intercession through saints, veneration of their shrines and forming bonds with a pir(saint)”. There are many people in rural areas which are associated with pirs to seek their intercession. The other level of sufism in Pakistan is, “intellectual sufism” which has been growing among the educated and urban population. These people are influenced by the writing of sufis like “the medieval theologian Al-Ghazali, the sufi reformer Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi and Shah Wali
Introduction and Thesis: Spirituality and religion have played a significant role in establishing an individual’s internal and external beliefs, responses, and actions throughout life. Personal experiences and relationships have influenced the definition and understanding of spirituality and religion. People have identified with being spiritual and religious, spiritual and not religious, religious and not spiritual, or neither spiritual or religious. There are alternative views of spirituality and religion and their definitions change as attitudes toward religion and spirituality continue to evolve. When examining my own view of spirituality and religion, I identify as being spiritual and religious. I think the relationship between spirituality
“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” According to Buddha, everyone needs some form of spirituality to define his or her life and existence. Webster Dictionary defines spiritualism as “a system of beliefs or religious practices based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead, often times through mediums.” Though this is one general definition of spiritualism, this concept is one that does not hold a conclusive meaning. Each and every single person has the ability and right to create and practice their own idea of spiritualism. From ancient times to present day, the term and practice of spirituality has transformed, particularly from region to region. Despite the discrepancies in practices and overall understanding of this idea, spirituality has had an effect and impact upon all of humanity since the creation of time. This religion that is believed to have been established in the early eighteen hundreds, after two little girls claimed to have the ability to talk to spirits, sparked interest in this spiritual movement, allowing it to spread rather rapidly over many geographical locations. Aside from being recognized as a religion, spiritualism is also believed to be a form of philosophy and a science in which spiritualists believe that there is life after death and try to demonstrate this through the ability of attempting to communicate with those that have passed on. Spiritualism was socially different from other religions in existence at the time because it presented followers with a more tolerant belief system that assimilated the principles and facts from a selection the world's religions. Spiritualism also made it acceptable for women to play a disti...
The main problem of Sufism in an Islamic society is that Sufis seek to experience the love of Allah, which can also be seen as achieving oneness with Allah. While the former is protected in the Qur’an, as several passages refer to feeling the love of Allah and his love of his believers, the latter is undeniably against the traditional Islamic doctrine. Through the shahada and tawhid, profession of any God except for Allah is forbidden. This can be clearly seen through the Sufi poet al-Hallaj who was executed for shouting “I am god” in the streets after he supposedly achieved enlightenment. This is a very fine line which Sufi’s try to stay on the correct side of, since violation carries severe consequences. Still there are those like Faruqi who are vehemently opposed to religions which are not traditional Islam who would seek to discredit Attar’s Sufism through specific passages in his