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History of non-Christian Religions — Topic 15

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History of non-Christian Religions — Topic 15

15.1 The Shari’ah.

The character of Muhammad’s activity, especially during the Medinan period, shaped the distinctive features of early Islam. Muhammad was not merely a preacher and religious leader; he was also the head of the new socio-political community of Muslims — in effect the head of a newly formed state and the commander of its army. In his person religious and political authority were united. This is one of the defining aspects of early Islamic history. Islam emerged not only as a religion, but as a new state.

The legal pronouncements of Muhammad therefore lay at the foundation not only of religious life but also of the legal order of the new state. Accordingly, early Islam is characterized by a complete identification of religious, civil, and criminal law, with the Shari’ah encompassing the whole of the legal system.

The Shari’ah cannot be separated from the law of the state, for the two are one. In early Islam even theology was treated as a particular expression of the Shari’ah — that is, on a juridical basis — and the term faqih designated theologian and jurist alike.

The Shari’ah (from shari’a, “the straight path”) is the third foundation of Islam, derived from the first two — the Quran and the sunnah. The Shari’ah does not constitute a separate book; it is the quintessence of the Quran and the sunnah. At the same time, the Shari’ah unites them and often functions as a synonym for Islam as a whole.

Alongside the Shari’ah one also encounters the term fiqh (literally “deep understanding”), meaning “law”. In Muslim legal literature, however, these two concepts have never been sharply distinguished, and the fuqaha were jurists and, more broadly, Muslim scholars, since fiqh denotes knowledge and scholarship in general.

Zhuravsky characterizes the relationship between these concepts as follows: “The life of the Muslim community is established and regulated by the Shari’ah, the God-given law set forth in the Quran and the Sunnah. But Scripture and the way of life of the Prophet could not in themselves be applied without the observance of certain procedures and methods. Their elaboration was the task of Islamic jurisprudence — fiqh, the speculative part of the Shari’ah, whose principal aim is the correct interpretation of divinely revealed knowledge, its clarification and application. In other words, the Shari’ah is the general doctrine of the Islamic way of life, while fiqh is the concretization of that doctrine in specific norms, the derivation of concrete rules of conduct” [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 61].

15.2 The Division of People and Territories According to the Shari’ah.

The Shari’ah divides people into three categories:

The first are the faithful, the Muslims; the Shari’ah applies to them in full.

Ahl al-Kitab — the People of the Book, that is, those who profess biblical monotheism. In the Quran they also appear under the names ahl al-Tawrat (people of the Torah) and ahl al-Injil (people of the Gospel). The Shari’ah applies in full to the People of the Book as well; however, they are not required to observe its religious prescriptions and are permitted, upon payment of a tax (jizya), to retain their faith and its religious obligations. The People of the Book often did not have the right to bear arms, hold state office, serve in the army, give testimony in court, ride a horse, or marry a Muslim. A wide variety of discriminatory measures could be applied, underscoring the “second-class” status of Christians and Jews. In legal contexts the analogue of the People of the Book is often the term ahl al- dhimma, literally “people of the covenant”; dhimmis is a broader category that includes Zoroastrians and certain Hindus.

Mushrikun (Polytheists/Idolaters): Those who associate partners with God. In classical Islamic theology, shirk is considered the gravest and unforgivable sin. Historically, classical jurisprudence did not grant polytheists the same protected status as the People of the Book within the Islamic state.

It is important to note that since these categories were formed in early Islam, they reflect the conditions of that period. They concern prescriptions for those living within the territory of Islam. Thus the People of the Book may reside within the territory of the Shari’ah, but pagans may not. The paradox is that early Islam recognized no other territory as legitimate.

Islamic theologians ordinarily divide the countries of the world into dar al- Islam (the abode [territory] of Islam), dar al-kufr (the abode [territory] of unbelief), and dar al-harb (the abode [territory] of war). Early Islam admitted only one alternative: “the abode of Islam,” also “the abode of peace,” on the one hand, and “the abode of war,” also “the abode of unbelief,” on the other. Only later did Islamic legal literature begin to introduce such concepts as dar al-sulh (the territory of a peace treaty) or dar al-hudna (the territory of truce) — an intermediate condition between war and peace.

15.3 Madhhabs.

In the course of the theological and juridical disputes of the eighth and ninth centuries, various theological-legal schools — madhhabs — took shape in the major cities of the Caliphate. To this day four madhhabs are preserved in Sunni Islam: the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, and Hanbali.

The Hanafis are the followers of Imam Abu Hanifa (699–767). The Hanafi madhhab spread widely in Asia Minor, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Central Asia, the Volga region, the North Caucasus, and the Balkans. In the past this school was followed chiefly by the Golden Horde, the Mughals, and the Ottoman Empire.

The Hanafi madhhab is distinguished by its greater flexibility toward other legal systems. It permits the coexistence on a single territory, alongside the Shari’ah, of supplementary, auxiliary legal norms, and is on the whole more tolerant of local traditions.

The Malikis are the followers of Imam Malik ibn Anas (713–795). The Maliki madhhab was originally established in North Africa, and in Andalusia it became the state madhhab. Today it is widespread in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

The Shafi’is are the followers of Imam Muhammad al-Shafi’i (767–820). The Shafi’i madhhab is found in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan; it has adherents in Pakistan and Malaysia; and it is favored by Sunnis in Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.

Hanbali: Founded by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780–855). It is the most rigorous and strictly traditionalist (textualist) school, relying almost exclusively on the Quran and Hadith while rejecting rationalist theology (kalam). It is the dominant school in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It admits no auxiliary legal systems and adheres to pure Shari’ah. Ibn Hanbal, unlike his predecessors, held that it was permissible to depose by force a ruler who led people to doubt the faith, and allowed religious-political struggle, on the principle that theologians must act upon those in power. The Shari’ah must rest exclusively on the Quran and the sunnah, with the sunnah accorded the highest possible status; in the rendering of legal decisions the Quran and the Sunnah are treated as a single revelation.

In the 13th century, the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah advocated for a strict purification of Islam from foreign innovations (bid’ah), a methodology that later inspired the 18th–century Wahhabi (Muwahhidun) reform movement. Ibn Taymiyyah, like the later Wahhabis, advocated the purification of Islam from foreign influences. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab maintained that true Islam was to be found only in the first three generations of the followers of the Prophet Muhammad, and rejected all subsequent innovations (bid’ah) as extraneous accretions. In this respect Wahhabism is often compared with the Reformation, on the principle of a return to the sources.

The Wahhabis regard as forbidden the pilgrimage to the tombs of saints, which they consider veneration of the dead and shirk; they reject the religious practice of tawassul (personal intimacy with God), which from their perspective is unsound; and they regard as undesirable and reprehensible the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as certain other festivals.

In addition to the Sunni madhhabs, there are also Shi’ite ones. The Ja’fari madhhab spread among the Shi’ites of Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Its founder is Ja’far al-Sadiq. The Ja’faris represent the “rationalist” tendency in Muslim theology. The school assumed the position of the principal Shi’ite madhhab only in the eighteenth century. At that time the Ja’faris also received recognition from the Sunnis. As sources of religious knowledge the Ja’faris recognize the Quran, the Sunnah, ijma, and aql (“reason”).

15.4 The Sources of Fiqh as Sources of Religious Knowledge.

The two principal sources of law and of religious knowledge in general are the Quran and the Sunnah. They are common to all the madhhabs. There are, however, several additional sources:

Ijma (consensus) — the agreement or unanimous opinion of authoritative scholars on a given question. “My community will not agree upon error.”

Qiyas (analogical reasoning) — reasoning by analogy, allowing a question to be resolved by analogy with a situation described in the Quran and the sunnah.

Urf refers to views traditionally current in Islamic society. The application of urf in Islamic law is permitted only when no explicit proofs are found in the Quran and the sunnah. It must not contradict the Quran or the sunnah.

Istishab (the presumption of continuity) — the principle that “no change is deemed to have occurred until clear evidence of that change is found.” Used chiefly by the Shafi’is.

Istislah (the pursuit of benefit) — the method of issuing a fatwa on the basis of independent judgment concerning its benefit to the ummah. Used chiefly by the Malikis.

15.5 The Classification of Acts in the Shari’ah.

Two concepts run through the entire Shari’ah and serve to define things, events, and actions. The first is haram — sinful deeds, forbidden in Islam. The second is halal (literally “permitted”) — everything that is permissible and admissible in Islam.

Unlike Western legal systems, which generally divide acts into “legal” and “illegal,” the Shari’ah classifies all human actions into five moral–legal categories (al–ahkam al–khamsa):

Obligatory actions (Fard / Wajib), required by the Shari’ah. Examples include observance of the five pillars of Islam, ritual ablution, and attendance at the mosque. These actions are in turn divided into those obligatory for all and those obligatory only for some. For instance, every Muslim must perform the salat, but only the imam is required to know the Quran by heart.

Recommended actions (Mustahabb / Mandub) are commended by fiqh but not obligatory. Examples include supererogatory prayers, almsgiving, and fasts.

Indifferent actions (Mubah) permitted but neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy. These are chiefly everyday actions that require no moral evaluation in themselves: the choice of food, the decision to marry, the choice of place of residence, and so on.

Reprehensible actions (Makruh), which are disapproved of but do not warrant criminal prosecution and punishment. These include, for example, stinginess, rudeness, love of luxury, negligence in religious duties, and extravagance.

Forbidden actions (Haram), the commission of which entails criminal punishment in this world and probable retribution in the next. Examples include non- observance of the five pillars of Islam, sacrilege, adultery, falsehood, and apostasy. All of these are crimes against the Shari’ah; their punishments are accordingly determined by the court and must be carried out.

The Five Pillars of Islam are the obligatory religious duties incumbent upon every Muslim, with certain exceptions to be noted below.

15.6 The Shahada.

The Shahada is the first and most fundamental pillar of Islam. It is the declaration of faith:

“I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.”

(Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah).

One often encounters the translation “there is no god but Allah,” but such a rendering, though correct, does not adequately convey the exact sense. The word Allah is the word “God” with the definite article; it is used by Arabic- speaking Jews and Christians to designate the God of the Bible. The meaning of the formula is that there are no deities other than the one and only God. Thus this formula encapsulates the two foremost dogmas of Islam — the oneness of Allah (tawhid) and the prophethood of Muhammad.

Shahada — literally “testimony.” Pronounced in Arabic with deliberate intention and in the presence of two adult Muslim witnesses, it makes a person a Muslim. If two witnesses are not available, one suffices. The Shari’ah also allows that in extreme cases one may pronounce these words simply before God with the intention of accepting Islam, and this likewise makes the person a Muslim. No other rite of conversion to Islam exists.

The word shahada is related to the word shahid (witness). In the early history of Islam the shahada was also used as a battle cry, and those who died with the shahada on their lips came to be called shahids — witnesses of the faith.

15.7 Prayer.

Prayer (Arabic al-salat; Turkish namaz) is the obligatory prayer prescribed to be performed five times daily: at dawn (Fajr), midday (Dhuhr), late afternoon (Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and night (Isha).

Morning — before sunrise.

Midday — after the sun has passed its zenith.

Late afternoon — before sunset.

Evening — after sunset, before nightfall.

Night — in the hours of darkness before midnight.

If one of the prayers is missed, it may be performed together with the next.

“O you who believe! When you stand for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, wipe your heads and your feet up to the ankles,” says the Quran (Quran 5:6).

Prayer must be performed in purity of thought, of body, and of place. Before each prayer, therefore, the ablution prescribed by the Quran is performed, and the prayer itself is offered on a rug or mat spread upon the floor. For this very reason the floors of mosques are covered with carpets. The word “mosque” is in fact translated as “place of prostrations” — that is, a place always ready for prayer.

Prayer must be performed in a state of ritual purity (wudu), achieved through specific ablutions. The prayer is preceded by the Adhan (the call to prayer), proclaimed from the minaret, which includes the declarations of God’s greatness (Allahu Akbar), the Shahada, and the exhortation to prayer and salvation:

“The adhan consists of seven formulas: 1) God is great — four times; 2) I bear witness that there is no god but God — twice; 3) I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God — twice; 4) hasten to prayer — twice; 5) seek salvation — twice; before the morning prayer is added: prayer is better than sleep; 6) God is great — twice; 7) there is no god but God. On hearing the adhan a Muslim must stop and repeat it, substituting for formulas 4 and 5 the words: might and strength are only with God” [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 78].

Then, standing for prayer, the Muslim first declares his intention: “I intend to offer to God, to Him alone, having turned my face toward the qibla, prayers of two (three, four) rak’ahs.” A rak’ah is a combination of suras of the Quran and various prayer formulas, accompanied by prescribed movements and bodily postures (standing, bowing, prostration, and so on), arranged in a fixed sequence.

Since the Quran was sent down in Arabic and is the direct speech of God, as noted earlier, it cannot be translated. And since the Quran is recited during prayer, the prayer too is pronounced only in Arabic.

Important: the salat contains no specific petitions to God; it is the obligatory fivefold worship of the Almighty and the praise of Him prescribed by the Quran. Only these five prayers are required to be performed in Arabic. Beyond them, one may pray in any language and as often as one wishes, asking God for whatever matters to the petitioner.

Attendance at the mosque is recommended but not as strictly obligatory as the prayer itself.

Mosques in Islam are houses of prayer in the strict sense of the word. They are places prepared to receive the worshipper. They are not consecrated by any particular rite. Within mosques, depictions of human beings and animals are forbidden, but vegetal ornament and Quranic calligraphy are permitted. Mosques are oriented toward the qibla — that is, toward Mecca, the direction in which one is required to pray. Inside the mosque, the direction of prayer is marked by a special niche, the mihrab.

Of all the mosques of the Muslim world, three are the most venerated and are customarily called sanctuaries:

The al-Haram Mosque — the Sacred Mosque. The chief and largest mosque in the world, in whose inner courtyard stands the principal sanctuary of Islam — the Ka’ba. It is located in Mecca. The mosque also encompasses other sites: the black stone, the well of Zamzam, the station of the prophet Abraham, and the hills of al-Safa and al-Marwa.

The an-Nabawi Mosque — the Mosque of the Prophet. The second sanctuary of the Islamic world. Located in Medina.

The al-Aqsa Mosque — the Farthest Mosque. The third sanctuary of the Muslim world. Located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Islamic tradition associates this site with the Mi’raj — the miraculous journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascent into heaven, which, according to Muslim tradition, took place in Mecca shortly before Muhammad’s migration to Medina.

15.8 Almsgiving.

Almsgiving — zakat — is the obligatory alms whose payment is incumbent upon every Muslim possessing a sufficient income, that is, a certain minimum of property. Zakat is paid from one’s surplus. The Quran speaks of the payment of alms as follows:

“That which you give in usury, that it may increase from the property of other people, will not increase before God; but that which you give as purifying alms, desiring the face of God — for such it will be doubled” (Quran 30:39).

“Alms are intended only for the poor, the needy, those who are employed [in their collection and distribution], those whose hearts are to be won over, for the ransom [for the liberation] of slaves, for [insolvent] debtors, for [endeavors] in the cause of Allah, and for travelers. So it is prescribed by Allah; truly, Allah is the Knowing, the Wise” (Quran 9:60).

The cited verse identifies those to whom alms are due. Traditionally, donations went to the poor and to the ransoming of slaves, to the upkeep of the mosque, and to deeds “in the cause of God.”

15.9 The Fast.

The Fast (Arabic al-sawm) is the obligatory fast to be kept during the month of Ramadan. One is released from it in cases of travel, illness, and various other circumstances stipulated by the Shari’ah.

“Abu Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of God, may God send down upon him blessing and peace, said: ‘God, the Almighty and the Great, said: Every deed of a person belongs to him, except the fast — it belongs to Me. The fast is a shield. Whoever among you is fasting, let him not quarrel or grow angry that day. And if anyone reviles him or seeks to quarrel with him, let him answer: “I am fasting.” I swear by Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, on the Day of Resurrection the breath of the one fasting will be more pleasing to God than the fragrance of musk. The one who keeps the fast will rejoice twice: when he completes his fast, he will rejoice in breaking it, and when he stands before his Lord, he will rejoice in the fast’” [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 85].

Literally, al-sawm translated from Arabic means “to abstain,” from the verb sum, whose original meaning is “to be still.” The theological literature of Islam often notes that the fast is not merely gastronomic abstinence; it is a time when one must keep watch over one’s thoughts, refrain from anger, avoid quarrels, speak no idle words, and be attentive to what one says and thinks.

The outward form of the fast is the restriction on the consumption of food and water and on sexual relations during the hours of daylight:

“Eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinguishable to you from the black thread of dawn; then complete the fast until nightfall” (Quran 2:187, trans. Krachkovsky).

One sometimes encounters the view that Islam permits eating and drinking at night because Allah does not see. This is mistaken. Islamic literature affirms repeatedly the omniscience of God and that He knows all things. The form of the fast is simply a prescription. Originally, the Muslim fast, modeled on the Jewish, lasted a single day, but Muhammad later extended it to a month, permitting relief at night.

The fast in Islam has an expiatory character. The fast atones for sin, as the Quran teaches. Particular sins are atoned for by voluntary additional fasts. According to the Quran (5:89), a broken oath may be expiated by a three-day fast, and a two-month fast is among the possible expiations for the unintentional killing of a believer (4:92).

The fast ends with the second most important festival of the Islamic world: Eid al-Fitr, which falls on the first day of the following month.

15.10 Pilgrimage.

Pilgrimage — Hajj to the House — is the obligatory pilgrimage to the principal sanctuary of Islam, which every Muslim, regardless of sex, must perform once in a lifetime. The pilgrimage is not obligatory in cases of illness, poverty, and certain other circumstances stipulated by the Shari’ah, as the Quran itself states:

“It is the duty of mankind before God — the Hajj to the House — upon whoever is able to make the journey to it” (Quran 3:97).

The Hajj is performed each year in the month of Dhu’l-Hijja of the Islamic calendar and consists of a series of rites. The Hajj begins on the seventh day. Upon arriving in Mecca, the pilgrims first enter the state of ritual purity (ihram). For this they trim the nails and the moustache; they shave or trim the hair of the head; and they perform a full ablution or, if that is not possible, a partial one. Women traditionally trim the hair by a finger’s joint, while men more often shave the head. All then change into special white garments — two pieces of unstitched cloth for men, three for women (one piece covering the head).

Next, all proceed to the Sacred Mosque. If possible, they enter through the Gate of Peace, approach the Ka’ba (the sanctuary at the center of the Sacred Mosque, measuring approximately 10 by 12 by 15 meters and draped with pieces of black cloth), touch the black stone with the hand, and perform a sevenfold circumambulation. According to tradition, the black stone was a white ruby of paradise that turned black from the sins of humankind.

After the circumambulation, prayer is performed at the station of Abraham, where stands the stone on which Abraham stood while building the walls of the Ka’ba. The pilgrims must then pass seven times between the two hills of al- Safa and al-Marwa. “According to Muslim tradition, these hills were the resting place of Adam and Eve after they were reunited near Mecca; Abraham passed between them seven times in honor of God; Hagar ran between them seven times in search of water for Ishmael, who was dying of thirst. In remembrance of these events, Muslims perform the symbolic passage” [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 91]. All these sites form part of the Sacred Mosque complex.

The lesser pilgrimage, which is not prescribed by the Shari’ah but which devout Muslims undertake voluntarily, ends at this stage. Those who wish to perform the full Hajj, however, proceed to the valley of Mina, where they spend the following day in prayer. On the ninth day of Dhu’l-Hijja, after the morning prayer, all set out for Mount Arafat, and after the sermon they stand all day in the sun.

This standing at Mount Arafat is regarded as the high point of a person’s religious life. People observe it in different ways: some weep, others read the Quran and pray. Islam holds that, when the Last Judgment begins, God will resurrect all, and all will stand awaiting judgment, conscious of their transgressions but no longer able to set anything right. The standing at Arafat in a sense prefigures that final standing. “This standing (wuquf) symbolically prefigures the standing on the Day of Judgment of all the descendants of Adam — that is, of all human beings — before the face of the Lord. It is more than the culmination of the Hajj; it is, perhaps, the summit of the entire life of a Muslim, when he stands before God in two temporal planes at once: here and now, and in another — eschatological — time,” Zhuravsky observes [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 91].

At dawn on the next day, the believers return to the valley of Mina, each carrying seven pebbles. There stand three pillars (today walls) — the jamarat — at one of which these stones are cast. The stoning is one of the obligatory rites of the Hajj. The ritual represents a symbolic reenactment of an event from the life of the prophet Abraham, who cast stones at Satan when Satan tempted him to disobey God.

On the tenth day the principal festival of the Muslim calendar begins — Eid al-Adha. During Eid al-Adha, the pilgrims must cast seven stones at one of the larger jamarat. On each of the two following days they must strike each of the three walls with seven pebbles. Thus each pilgrim must cast at least forty- nine stones in all.

The Doctrine of Islam.

“Abu Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, reported: once, when the Messenger of God, may God send down upon him blessing and peace, was among the people, a certain man came up to him and asked: ‘Messenger of God, what is faith?’ He said: ‘That you believe in God, His angels, His Scripture, in the meeting with Him, and in the resurrection in the life to come.’ Another asked: ‘Messenger of God, what is Islam?’ He said: ‘Islam is that you worship God and ascribe no partner to Him, perform the prescribed prayer, pay the required zakat, and fast in Ramadan.’ Another asked: ‘Messenger of God, what is sincerity (ihsan)?’ He said: ‘That you worship God as though you saw Him; and if you do not see Him, then truly He sees you…’” (Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman).

According to this hadith, religion (din) is the totality of faith (iman), the performance of the prescribed pillars (islam), and sincerity in their performance (ihsan). If the Five Pillars of Islam are what every Muslim must do, then iman is what every Muslim must believe. Like the pillars of Islam, iman comprises five obligatory tenets: faith in God, in the angels, in the prophets, in the Scriptures, and in the Day of Judgment: “Whoever rejects faith in God, His angels, His Scriptures, His messengers, and the Last Day has gone far astray” (Quran 4:136, trans. Sablukov).

15.11 Faith in God. Tawhid.

Allah — in the view of most linguists — is the word “God” (ilah) with the definite article of the singular, al. The word ilah is cognate with the Hebrew “Elohim” of the Bible, with the Aramaic “Elah,” the Syriac “Alah,” and the Akkadian “El.” The word Allah was used in the translation of the Bible into Arabic, and is used by Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians to designate God.

Muhammad deliberately uses this word and repeatedly emphasizes in his preaching that the God of whom he speaks is the God of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Moreover, he asserts that Islam is the faith of Abraham, which he is restoring. The Hanifs, among whom Muhammad belonged before the revelation, likewise used the word Allah. Addressing the pagans, he also tells them that they know the one of whom he preaches, but venerate alongside Him other gods who must be rejected: “If you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will say, ‘Allah!’ Say: ‘Have you considered those whom you invoke besides Allah? If Allah wills harm upon me, will they remove His harm from me? Or if He wills mercy for me, will they withhold His mercy?’ Say: ‘Allah is sufficient for me; upon Him let those who trust place their trust!’” (Quran 39:38, trans. Krachkovsky).

The doctrine of God in Islam is theistic. God is One and Only (al-Ahad and al- Wahid), Almighty, Omnipresent, the Creator who made the world in six days. Tawhid — faith in the oneness of God — is the central dogma of Islam.

“Your God is one God; there is no god but Him, the Merciful, the Compassionate” (Quran 2:163, trans. Sablukov).

“He is Allah; there is no god but Him, the Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Merciful, the Compassionate!

He is Allah; there is no god but Him, the King, the Holy, the Source of Peace, the Faithful, the Protector, the Mighty, the Compeller, the Sublime; praise be to Allah; He is exalted above what they associate with Him!

He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Fashioner. To Him belong the most beautiful Names. All that is in the heavens and on the earth glorifies Him. He is the Mighty, the Wise!” (Quran 59:22–24, trans. Krachkovsky).

“To God belong the most beautiful Names; call upon Him by them, and leave those who dispute about His Names; they shall be requited for what they have done” (Quran 7:180, trans. Sablukov).

God has ninety-nine most beautiful Names, which express His attributes and properties. These attributes are divided into attributes of essence and attributes of action. Al–Fiqh al–Akbar of Abu Hanifa states: “He was and remains, unceasingly, with [all] His Names and with the attributes of essence and of action. Attributes of essence among them are: life, power, knowledge, speech, hearing, sight, and will. Attributes of action are: creating, sustaining, fashioning, producing, doing, and other attributes of action.” In other words, God is All-Knowing and All-Powerful by essence, and creates, fashions, and acts by free action.

“Truly, your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then mounted the throne to govern His creation” (Quran 10:3, trans. Sablukov).

The affirmation of divine omnipotence is a necessary component of true tawhid. God is the sole Creator. None but He is capable of creation. He has created and continues to create all things: “Such is His command: when He wills a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is” (Quran 36:82).

The doctrine of creation in Islam strongly resembles the biblical one as a whole, but there are also differences. The first is that God did not “rest from His works.” That is, the process of creation has not ceased. God not only preserves the world and disposes of it freely, but creates it at every moment; He creates it again and again, so that at each successive moment any thing, being, or person becomes other. The created world possesses no ontological status, not even a relative one; Allah may change anything whenever He wills.

Further: “there is no god but Him, the Creator of all things” (Quran 6:102). God likewise creates both death and evil, and this is a fundamental point of Islam. No one but God can create anything.

Further differences concern the doctrine of the creation of the human being. In the seventh sura of the Quran one finds these enigmatic words: “Once your Lord drew forth from the sons of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and required them to bear witness concerning themselves: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said, ‘Yes, we bear witness to this.’ This was lest on the Day of Resurrection they should say, ‘We were unaware of this,’ or lest they should say, ‘Our forefathers ascribed partners to God before us, and we were only their descendants’” (Quran 7:172–173, trans. Sablukov). In other words, God, before the birth of the human being, asks him about his fidelity, having called him forth from “Adam’s loins,” and the human being, before birth, promises to be faithful to Him.

The greatest difference, however, lies in the absence in Islam of the idea of the image of God in the human being. Indeed, Islam methodically and consistently draws this line of distinction, emphasizing precisely this difference. God created the human being according to an image He had conceived, but not according to His own. Furthermore, the human being is created mortal and imperfect. The narrative of the Fall is present in the Quran; it does not, however, give rise to the appearance of death — the human being is created mortal.

The concept of the image of God is closely bound up with the problem of free will in the Quran. To suppose that the human being is the creator of his own act would be to posit a multiplicity of creators. But God is the sole Creator. And if one supposes free will in the human being, it follows that God is compelled to create in accordance with the human will. To put it concretely: if a person is free and God is the sole Creator, and I wish to steal, then God would be compelled to create my theft. Such a conclusion is inadmissible. Therefore:

“And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; they have no choice!” (28:68, trans. Krachkovsky).

“And God has created you and what you do” (37:96).

“You will not will it unless Allah, the Lord of the worlds, wills it” (Quran 81:29).

Many articles and books have been written on the problem of free will in Islam. One of the first theoretical disagreements to arise in Islamic thought was the controversy over the freedom of the human will and predestination. This disagreement apparently arose already during Muhammad’s lifetime. Many Muslim theologians reflected upon it and reached the most extreme positions, ranging from total predestination to the full affirmation of human free will (the latter, incidentally, is considered a heresy in Islam). Without the possibility of expounding this problem in detail, let us simply note that Islam paradoxically affirms the ontological absence in the human being of the capacity for a creative act and for full freedom, while at the same time affirming a limited freedom on the phenomenal level, and with it the human being’s responsibility for his deeds.

15.12 Faith in the Angels.

Faith in angels is the second obligatory element of true iman. Besides the human being, God created two further kinds of rational beings — angels and jinn. According to the Quran they are created from fire; the hadiths say they were created from light. Angels have various wings, dwell in the heavens, in paradise and in hell, surround and uphold the Throne of God, and glorify Him. Among them are the keepers of paradise and the wardens of hell. They also protect human beings, oversee their affairs, and record their deeds. Islam knows many angelic names, but the best known is the angel Gabriel (Jibril), through whom the Quran was sent down. Also mentioned are Michael, Israfil (the angel of the Last Judgment), the angel of death (identified in tradition with Azrael), Harut and Marut, who taught humankind sorcery, Munkar and Nakir, who interrogate the dead in their graves about their faith, and Malik with the nineteen angels who guard hell.

Iblis deserves separate mention. Iblis is Satan, who, according to the Quran, fell when he refused to bow down before the human being:

“And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am creating man from mire, from clay used in pottery work. When I have given him shape and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down and bow before him.’ And the angels all bowed down, all of them, except Iblis; he refused to be among those who bowed” (Quran 15:28–31, S.).

The jinn are a distinct category of spirits. They live on the earth and resemble humans in many respects. They have even had their own prophets, and among them are Muslims. At the Last Judgment they will be judged together with human beings.

15.13 Faith in the Scriptures.

The third foundation of iman is faith in the Scriptures. Islam holds that the Quran is not the only revelation God has sent down to humankind. Before the Quran, other books and scrolls were sent down. The Quran speaks of the “first scrolls” (20:133), the “venerable scrolls” (80:13), and twice mentions the “scrolls of Abraham and Moses” (53:36–37; 87:18–19).

Abu Dharr, may God be pleased with him, reported: I asked the Messenger of God, may God send down upon him blessing and peace, how many books God had sent down. He answered: “One hundred scrolls and four books. Ten scrolls were sent down to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Idris [Enoch?], and ten to Abraham. Then God sent down the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Quran.” I asked: “Messenger of God, what scrolls were sent down to Abraham?” He answered: “Parables, all of them” [cited in Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 116]. The Torah was given to Moses; the Psalms to David; the Gospel to Jesus; and the Quran to Muhammad — this is the usual enumeration of the Scriptures. Faith in the Scriptures fully bears out Muhammad’s words that the faith he preaches is the faith of Abraham.

According to Islam, however, the Scriptures sent down before the Quran were corrupted by human beings. This is known as the doctrine of the corruption of the Scriptures. That is, the Quran is not the only revelation of God, but the only uncorrupted one. This served as an argument in the preaching of Islam among Christians and Jews.

15.14 Faith in the Prophets. Jesus in Islam.

Say: “We believe in God, and in what has been sent down to us from above, in what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes of Israel; in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and in what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we are submitted” (Quran 2:136, trans. Sablukov).

Faith in the prophets follows directly from faith in the Scriptures. According to Islam, God sent prophets before Muhammad as well. Many ayats of the Quran are devoted to the fates of the prophets of antiquity. Muhammad is not the only prophet, but the final one.

The Quran most frequently mentions Moses (502 ayats) and Abraham (245 ayats); let us, however, dwell briefly on the more significant prophet immediately preceding Muhammad — the prophet Isa (Jesus). Jesus is mentioned in the Quran in fifteen suras and ninety-three ayats.

Briefly summarized, the teaching of the Quran about Jesus is as follows: Jesus is a man and a prophet. He was conceived without a father. God created him within Mary directly by His will. In this sense he is like Adam. When he was born, Satan did not touch him, although Satan touches all newborns. He performed three miracles: he healed, he gave life to a clay bird, and he raised the dead. All three verbs — to heal, to give life, to raise — are used in the Quran only of God; their use of Jesus is an exception. Nevertheless, the Quran insists that Jesus is not God:

“Those who say that God is the Messiah, the son of Mary, are unbelievers” (Quran 5:72).

“Truly, the likeness of Jesus before God is as the likeness of Adam, whom He created from earth and said to him, ‘Be!’ And he came into being” (Quran 3:59).

Jesus did not die (God rescued him from his executioners) and consequently did not rise again. He was taken up to heaven alive, and God granted him life until the end of the age. At the end of times Jesus will come a second time as the Mahdi (this was the case in the early tradition; later, Jesus and the Mahdi are distinct figures in Islamic tradition; and Jesus will return to earth in the Last Days to defeat the False Messiah (al–Masih ad–Dajjal), establish justice, and pray behind the Mahd). He will marry, and a daughter will be born to him. Then the wife and the daughter will die, and at last Jesus too will die and will be buried beside Muhammad. This will mark the beginning of the end of the world.

15.15 Faith in the Day of Judgment.

“When the earth is shaken with its [final] shaking, when the earth casts forth its burdens, and man says, ‘What is the matter with it?’ on that day it will recount what has befallen it, for your Lord will have inspired it. On that day people will go forth in scattered crowds, to be shown their deeds. Then whoever has done good of the weight of a mote will see it; and whoever has done evil of the weight of a mote will see it” (Quran 99:1–7).

The end of the world in Islam is commonly called “the Hour” — al-sa’a:

“They ask you about the Hour: when will it come to anchor? Say: ‘Knowledge of it rests with my Lord; in His own time He alone will disclose it. Heavy is it upon the heavens and the earth. It will come upon you only suddenly’” (Quran 7:187).

The Hour will be preceded by five signs:

A speaking beast.

The moon will be cleft asunder.

The sky will give forth smoke.

The peoples of Gog and Magog will sow discord and vice.

Jesus will return.

After these five signs all will die, and the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment will begin. “The Hour, the Day of Judgment, which in the Quran is also called the day of rising from the dead, the day of reckoning (of human deeds), the day of going forth, of summoning, of meeting, of decision, of the greatest calamity, of threat, of grief, the last day, the agonizing, the terrible, and finally the day of truth and gathering, when there will be gathered before the Lord not only people, but also all animals (6:38), jinn (6:128), shaytans (19:68), and the deities to whom people had rendered worship besides God (25:17). The angel Israfil will sound the trumpet; the stars will fall from the sky; the seas will overflow their banks; the mountains will move from their places; all people will die. At the second blast of the trumpet, all who have lived on the earth, beginning with Adam, will be raised by God and gathered in a single place. They will stand long awaiting the Judgment, drenched in agonizing sweat. Then God will reveal Himself, surrounded by angels (Quran 25:25–27), and will question each one about his deeds. The angels will bring forth the books in which are recorded all the good and evil deeds of human beings. The good and evil deeds will be weighed on special scales. Each person will then have to cross a special bridge” [Zhuravsky, A. Islam. Moscow, 2004, p. 155].

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Roy, Olivier. The Failure of Political Islam. Harvard University Press, 1994.

  • 15.1-15.4
  • 15.5-15.8
  • 15.9-15.12
  • 15.13-15.15

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