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Portal: Islamic Doctrine: Difference between revisions
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==God== | ==God== | ||
Islam's most defining characteristic is the emphasis it places on strict and unadulterated monotheism, or ''tawheed''. The word Islam itself describes an absolute submission to and obedience of God and his law, as revealed through Muhammad. All tendencies which militate against the unilateral and exclusive power of God have, as a result, proven controversial - be it the obedience of entities lesser than God or even the theological status of the Quran, the challenge of whose 'eternal existence' had to be quelled through inquisition in the early history of Islam. Orthodox Islamic theologians hold God to be omnipotent and omniscient above all else and, as a result, have at times been willing to straightforwardly profess that Allah must be more powerful than he is just. | |||
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*[[Allah, the Best Deceiver (Qur'an 3:52)]] | *[[Allah, the Best Deceiver (Qur'an 3:52)]] | ||
*[[Allah knows best]] | *[[Allah knows best]] | ||
*[[History of Islamic Thought]] | |||
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*[[Shirk]] | *[[Shirk]] | ||
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*[[Shahadah]] | *[[Shahadah]] | ||
*[[Free Will and Predestination in Islam]] | *[[Free Will and Predestination in Islam]] | ||
*[[In Sha Allah]] | |||
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*[[Revelation]] | *[[Revelation]] | ||
*[[Islam]] | *[[Islam]] | ||
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==Other beings== | ==Other beings== | ||
Islamic scriptures feature a menagerie of metaphysical creatures drawn from a mixture of biblical and non-biblical pre-Islamic sources. This includes the individual angels known to the Abrahamic tradition as well as the various species of Jinns, or genies, believed in by the Arabs of the 7th century. At times, these characters overlap and merge with one another - on most interpretations, the species of Jinn take the place of Abrahamic demons. There is, however, some innovation. Muhammad's personal behavior is elevated, especially by latter Islamic scholars, to the realm of supernatural infallibility, and thus takes on a quasi-metaphysical aspect as Muhammad is conceived of as the ''Uswa Hasana'' ("an excellent model") and, even more strongly and evocatively, as the ''al-Insan al-Kamil'' ("the perfect human"). | |||
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*[[Shaytan (Devil)]] | *[[Shaytan (Devil)]] | ||
*[[Shaheed (Martyr)]] | *[[Shaheed (Martyr)]] | ||
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*[[Khilafah (Caliphate)]] | *[[Khilafah (Caliphate)]] | ||
*[[Muhammad ibn Abdullah]] | *[[Muhammad ibn Abdullah]] | ||
*[[ | *[[Christians Jews and Muslims in Heaven]] | ||
*[[Sahabah]] | *[[Sahabah]] | ||
*[[Iblis (Satan)]] | *[[Iblis (Satan)]] | ||
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*[[Seal of Prophethood]] | *[[Seal of Prophethood]] | ||
*[[Creation of Humans from Clay]] | *[[Creation of Humans from Clay]] | ||
*[['Ismah (Infallibility/Innocence)]] | |||
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==Earthly places and relics== | ==Earthly places and relics== | ||
While Islam is to some extent unique in the fervor of its iconoclasm, it does not fully abandon the material in its conception of the metaphysical: there are, upon the Earth, locations, structures, landmarks, and objects of divine origin and importance. The cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are the three ''harams'' which are considered sacred and protected (the word ''haram'' in Arabic refers, at once, to that which is sacred, prohibited, and - most importantly - off-limits). The site of the Ka'bah in Mecca hosts the key relics of Islam: the ''hajr aswad'' (said to have descended from heaven and blackened over time), the ''maqam Ibrahim'' (said to have carried Abraham as he constructed the Ka'bah with Ishmael), and the Ka'bah itself (said to be the - it is assumed, metaphorical - "house of Allah). | |||
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==Past and future events== | ==Past and future events== | ||
Islam places itself in the midst of the universal history set out in its scriptures and heavily inspired by Abrahamic themes. Mankind was sent down to Earth from Heaven upon the sin of Adam and his wife. Subsequent generations diverged from the message and command of God, despite it being repeatedly reified through prophets who were sent to every human society on the face of the Earth, most of whom were rejected. The age of the prophets and revelation comes to a close with the death of Muhammad, whose message God vows to preserve until the end of time (unlike the previous scriptures, which Islamic scholars hold have been corrupted). This message is the final testament, meant to guide all of mankind henceforth and must be spread through glorious Jihad. The end is ever nigh, and, when it arrives, those who followed the latest messenger will reside thereafter in Heaven, those who didn't, in Hell. The Shi'ite version of this universal history replaces messengers with a number of Imams who are supposed to lead the ''ummah'' of believers in the place of messengers after Muhammad. | |||
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==Society and human nature== | ==Society and human nature== | ||
Beyond the normative, historical, and apocalyptic prescripts they contain, Islamic scriptures have what can only be described as a distinctive Islamic understanding of anthropology, sociology, and psychology. Here, the world is comprised of two fundamentally distinct parties: those who believe and live by the law of God, and those who don't - the latter must variously be transformed into the former, suppressed, or exterminated. The believing, obedient peoples are the members of the Muslim ''ummah'', or nation, which enjoys a global unity. The lands of these people comprise the ''dar al-Islam'', or Abode of Islam - the rest of the Earth, until it can be transformed, is ultimately the ''dar al-harb'', or Abode of War. Tactical and temporary alliances with non-Muslim entities may, however, be permissible. All humans are born upon the ''fitrah'', which is the natural instinct to believe in and obey the Islamic God - children's un-Islamic upbringings, however, numb them to this instinct. Still, they can be called back to their (pre-)natural disposition - this invitation to return is known as ''Da'wah''. This Da'wah can be anything from an intellectual to a military enterprise - Indeed, per a quote from Muhammad recorded in Sahih Bukhari, some people will be dragged to "Paradise in chains".<ref>{{Bukhari|4|52|254|}}</ref> Since true religion cannot follow from compulsion, the Muslim ''Ummah'' is tasked only with achieving the extrinsic and perceptible markers of faith and ''khilafah'', or holy empire - persons may be punished or rewarded for what they say, but the true proving grounds of submission are, incontrovertibly, in the heart. | |||
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{{PortalArticle|summary=|title=Let There be no Compulsion in Religion|image=Quran 2-256.png|description=Quran 2:256 famously opens, "There is no compulsion in religion". While some modern interpretations have read this verse to contain legislative value, suggesting that the death penalty traditionally prescribed by consensus for apostasy is somehow not applicable. Historically, however, this verse was either read as having been abrogated (for instance, by Ibn Kathir), or read as descriptive rather than legislative - that is, it was understood to simply mean that a person could not be forced to believe (as this is plainly impossible), without commenting on the consequences of their refusal to believe.}}{{PortalArticle|image=Diversehats.png|description=''Ummah'' (أمة) is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation". In Islam the word is used to refer to the collective worldwide body of Muslim believers, including both the Muslim population of Dar al-Islam and the Muslim population of Dar al-Harb who are living outside the lands where Islam rules. The leader of the ummah is known as the is theoretically to be the Caliph, "Amir Al-Mu'minin" or "Commander of the Believers", although no widely-accepted figure has held this position since the fall of the Ottoman caliphate after the end of the World War I.|summary=|title=Ummah}} | {{PortalArticle|summary=|title=Let There be no Compulsion in Religion|image=Quran 2-256.png|description=Quran 2:256 famously opens, "There is no compulsion in religion". While some modern interpretations have read this verse to contain legislative value, suggesting that the death penalty traditionally prescribed by consensus for apostasy is somehow not applicable. Historically, however, this verse was mostly either read as having been abrogated (for instance, by Ibn Kathir), or read as descriptive rather than legislative - that is, it was understood to simply mean that a person could not be forced to believe (as this is plainly impossible), without commenting on the consequences of their refusal to believe. The scholars who did read this verse as legally prescriptive did not view it as applicable to pagans and apostates.}}{{PortalArticle|image=Diversehats.png|description=''Ummah'' (أمة) is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation". In Islam the word is used to refer to the collective worldwide body of Muslim believers, including both the Muslim population of Dar al-Islam and the Muslim population of Dar al-Harb who are living outside the lands where Islam rules. The leader of the ummah is known as the is theoretically to be the Caliph, "Amir Al-Mu'minin" or "Commander of the Believers", although no widely-accepted figure has held this position since the fall of the Ottoman caliphate after the end of the World War I.|summary=|title=Ummah}} | ||
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{{PortalArticle|title=Fitrah|summary=|image=Fitrah.jpg|description=''Fitrah'' (فطرة) is a term in Islamic theology which has many interpretations. The most popular interpretation today is that it's a natural human disposition to believe in Islam.}}{{PortalArticle|title=Dawah|summary=|image=Dawah.jpg|description=''Da'wah'' (دعوة) literally translates from Arabic to mean "invitation", but is usually used as an Islamic term which refers to Islamic proselytism. Similarly, a ''Da'ee'' is someone who "invites" to Islam, or carries out the Islamic proselytization. Da'wah can refer to both "external" and "internal" proselytism, as it is considered equally meritorious in Islam to invite a non-Muslim to Islam as it is to invite a non-practicing Muslim to practice Islam. Some of the biggest Da'wah movements (like the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan), as a result, focus almost exclusively on spreading Islamic practice among a population that is already Muslim.}} | {{PortalArticle|title=Fitrah|summary=|image=Fitrah.jpg|description=''Fitrah'' (فطرة) is a term in Islamic theology which has many interpretations. The most popular interpretation today is that it's a natural human disposition to believe in Islam.}}{{PortalArticle|title=Dawah|summary=|image=Dawah.jpg|description=''Da'wah'' (دعوة) literally translates from Arabic to mean "invitation", but is usually used as an Islamic term which refers to Islamic proselytism. Similarly, a ''Da'ee'' is someone who "invites" to Islam, or carries out the Islamic proselytization. Da'wah can refer to both "external" and "internal" proselytism, as it is considered equally meritorious in Islam to invite a non-Muslim to Islam as it is to invite a non-practicing Muslim to practice Islam. Some of the biggest Da'wah movements (like the Tablighi Jamaat in Pakistan), as a result, focus almost exclusively on spreading Islamic practice among a population that is already Muslim.}} | ||
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===Other articles in this section=== | ===Other articles in this section=== | ||
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*[[Ahl al-Bayt (Muhammad's Household)]] | |||
*[[People of the Book]] | |||
*[[To You Your Religion and To Me Mine]] | |||
*[[Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam (the Abodes of War and Peace)]]{{col-float-break|width=25em}} | |||
*[[Al-Wala' wal-Bara' (Loyalty and Disavowal)]] | *[[Al-Wala' wal-Bara' (Loyalty and Disavowal)]] | ||
*[[Kafir (Infidel)]] | *[[Kafir (Infidel)]] | ||
*[[Lesser and Greater Jihad]] | *[[Lesser and Greater Jihad]] | ||
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*[[Antisemitism in Islam]] | *[[Antisemitism in Islam]] | ||
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*[[Taqiyya]] | *[[Taqiyya]] | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Portals]] | [[Category:Portals]] | ||