Huston Smith Reading (pgs 231-242)

Koran is maybe the most recited, and read book in the world. Muslims tend to read the Koran literally. The Koran came to Muhammad in small segments. Muhammad had no control over the flow of revelation. It is not just the message and language of the Koran that make it powerful, but the sound, the rhythm. The Koran is directly doctrinal and indirectly historical. It proclaims the unity, omnipotence, and mercy of God- and humans total dependency on Him. In the Koran God speaks in first person.

Basic theological concepts of Islam are virtually the same as Judaism and Christianity.

God is immaterial and invisible.

God inspires fear, an appropriate emotion for something so great.

Islam means Peace.

The world was created because of Allah's will, and it is good. Because of this the material world must likewise be good.

People do forget their divine nature, and must repeatedly be reminded so they can correct their mistake.

Humans have two obligations. Gratitude, and surrender.

When people die they must first deal with the Judgement, Allah decides where to send you. He looks at all of your transgressions, and the things you did well. To heaven or hell.

Koran is a book that emphasizes deed over idea.

Huston Smith Reading (pgs 221-231)

Islam is close to the West (ideologically y geographically).

Islam began with God. Allah means "the God". He is the one and only, no one can compare. Muhammad was His prophet. He was born into an ignorant chaotic world, where there was lots of corruption (his view). "The times call for a deliverer". He was pure hearted and beloved, with a good character. He married a women 15 years his senior, her name was Khadija. When he was up contemplating in a cave an angel can to him. The angel told him to "proclaim". He went to his wife, who was convinced that he had become a prophet. He began to preach about God. He said he was only a preacher of God's word, God's message.

Muhammad's preaching, views, created great hostility. People began to attack and ridicule him. Eventually people openly persecuted him. At first he gained few followers, however, slowly he gained many more followers.

Muhammad received a sign from God and he led his people to Yathrib (which turned into Medina). From the time he arrived in Medina he assumed a leadership role. He unified people throughout the rest of his life.

He died in 632 A.D. he died with almost all of Arabia under is control.

Islam reading: chapter 4

Islam is monotheistic and there is no trinity. Islam forbids all realistic representations of people and mammals. Muslims think that all movies about prophets are bad because they change how we view Allah. The movies give people a false view of prophets. Muslims do not like the idea that western cultures produce that we are all Gods and Goddesses.

There has only been one time in history that anyone (Moses) has come close to seeing Allah before going to heaven. No human has ever actually seen Allah in this life. Islam teaches that there are no chosen people, his attention is not exclusive. The idea that he makes any kind of racial preference is reprehensible. The prophet Muhammad grew up disliking idols, he grew up around people who worshiped them. People believe this is a big reason why he was chosen by God.

Muslims believe that God hears us (thoughts, prayers...). People who believed in idols opposed the new way of thinking (one and only god). Islam teaches that everyone has to face God alone on judgement day. Muslims believe that the false idols will be brought up on this day and made to speak. The blame is ALL ON YOU!!!

Jesus is believed to be a prophet of God, not his son (god does not have actual children). The Qur'an denies that Jesus was killed on a cross, but rather states that God rescued him and took him to paradise. It states that he is saving him for the day when he needs to combat the anti- christ.

We are all born pure. Adam and Eve did sin. Their sin was not passed down through the generations.

God is not in a form we can understand. Instead of focusing on physical forms we focus on his qualities. Ninety-Nine Names of Allah. These are the adjectives that make us not focus on his physical form.

He has no gender. In arabic there is no name for "it" so the pronoun "He" is used to refer to God.

God can do whatever he wants, he does not need a helper.

Islam reading: chapter 3

Humans have animal like desires, and instincts. Islam believes that humans are born good, and free of sin. However, we fall prey to our natural weaknesses. There are levels of spiritual development: the animal self, the accusing self, and the contended self. The aim of our fitrah (inner nature) is to elevate our minds to seek God. The struggle of our animal self is made hard by an evil jinn named Shaytan (sounds like Satan). He tries to corrupt us so we will forget about God. Once the soul reaches the accusing self big questions begin to arise. For instance, what is the meaning of life. Once this happens the person is ready to look for God. According to Islam oneness with God creates an at ease heart. The third stage, the restful self, the person still has a normal life but realizes the higher purpose of life, and is awaiting their meeting with God. To a Muslim, surrendering to God means to believe in him and to follow a harmonious life. To Muslims the Qur'an is considered the last installment of divine guidance, and cannot be changed by humans. Islam makes a clear line between right and wrong. There are no set listing of "the seven deadly sins", however there are 11 main sins and 10 mains good deeds. Islam holds that when you sin it will be held against you and put into your "record book" for judgement day. The only way to remove a sin is to follow a four step process (tawba). Only a few sins resolve in physical punishment. On judgement day if you do not repent your sins and ask for forgiveness, rejecting God and staying with the animal self will result in a corrupt and warped soul. Some souls can be changed but other are too warped and will forever life in hell.

Islam reading chap 2 (I posted it on the wrong blog on friday ooops)

1- Muslim lifestyle is based on God, they follow a set of daily rituals to remind oneself of allegiance to God. Penalty for self indulgence is a stint in Hell.

2- Allah is the one and only God. When people talk about the god of Abraham, Moses...they are talking about Allah. Everything exists due to His will. Things always return to Allah for review (even the stars). There are 4 proofs of God

* Natural world, beauty

*Human abilities and capabilities

*Revelation of God's guidance and the existence of religion

*Our inner feelings

3- You can either resist Allah or surrender, either following God's way or resisting. The whole universe follows Islam. Muslim means they have surrendered to Allah. Animals and plants are Muslim, they follow their instinct.

4- Jinns are like genies. They are the cause of supernatural occurrences and paranormal events. They pre upon human by guiding them towards doing the wrong things. They know Allah exists.

5- Angels are Muslim (they do not have a choice). God's robots, no shortcomings or foibles. There are four top angels:

*Jibra'il (Gabriel)- revelations to prophets

*Azra'il-angel of death

*Mika'il-contorls weather

*Israfil- will blow the horn signaling the end of the universe

they are supposed to look for people who are praising God and join them.

5- You have the choice to do right or wrong. When you choose to do right you go to a whole new level. God offered the gift of self awareness.

6- God created humans and jinns so that they could serve him and surrender to his will. Islam states that our most basic needs are fulfilled when we achieve union with God. Muslims are free from stress and are calmer because they accept God. Love of God is the ultimate reward.

7- Humans have FREE will, self awareness, and intelligence. We have a moral compass. We have a "soul".

8- Humans have a weakness: desire. Our animal desire plague us. We need a nudge from the inside to counterbalance the animal instinct. At birth we are equipped with free ill, we have the choice to surrender to Allah.

9- Physical bodies are Muslim, blood, cells..everything works as they were made to. We are half Muslim and half not. Our final destination is to return to God and be as sincere as we can make ourselves.

Summary of significant findings

Interpretations of jihad vary. There are many misconceptions of jihad; the main misconception is that jihad means Holy War. “For Westerners it conjures up scenes of screaming fanatics being egged into war by promises that they will be instantly transported to heaven if they are slain” (Smith 257). This is utterly incorrect. “The literal meaning of jihad is struggle or effort, and it means much more than Holy War” (Jihad). In Islam jihad is an inner struggle to be faithful and to keep faith, and to fight the inner evil of desire, ego, and other human emotions. It is the drive to defend Islam by any means possible, including violence. Jihad is the ultimate test of faith, and is mentioned almost 30 times throughout the Qur'an. “ There are so many references to Jihad as a military struggle in Islamic writings that it is incorrect to claim that the interpretation of Jihad as holy war is wrong” (Religion & Ethics: Islam). The duty of Muslims actively practicing jihad is to spread Islam in both peaceful and forceful manners.

Peaceful jihad is condoned in the Islamic religion and is an important aspect of faith; it is also connected to the five pillars of Islam. “The five Pillars of Islam form an exercise of jihad in this sense, since a Muslim gets closer to Allah by performing them” (Religion & Ethics: Islam). Jihad is considered to be the sixth pillar of Islam, jihad literally means to live ones life as close the Muslim faith as possible. In the Islamic faith there are many circumstances when violent jihad is allowed. However, action must always be in defense, and must always be for the greater good of Islam (Jihad). If Islam is being threatened, members of jihad can rightly go to war if they strictly follow Shariah law. The Muslim faith must be attacked first in order for the Muslims to fight in the name of Allah and Islam. Military jihad has to follow extremely strict rules in order to be fighting under true jihad. Passages within the Qur'an call for war. “To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid” (Ethics & Values, Virtues, Islamic Creed). However, the Qur'an calls for a defensive war. “ Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, but do not be aggressive. God does not love the aggressors” (TIME Magazine’s Interview of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan). This does not mean jihad cannot be offensive, but there must be no alternative for it to be truly considered jihad.

“Shahid” known as martyr is not a simple act dying. In the Qur'an it is stated that people who die in the name of Allah will live on forever. Many young male participants of jihad believe they can achieve martyrdom by committing suicide in Allah’s name. However, in Islam suicide is severely rejected. In order to actually become a martyr in Islam one must “struggle” and “fight” and be prepared to die in the name of Allah (Dying for God: Islam). One must strive for truth. In order for a member of jihad to become a Martyr they must die in the name of Allah having fought for Islam. “Nothing compels him to do so except belief in Allah and His Apostles, will be recompensed by Allah either with a reward, or booty (if he survives) or will be admitted to Paradise (if he is killed in the battle as a martyr)” (Paradise).

Chapter 2 reading Muhammad:

#1: Mecca was the birth place of Islam. Bustling commercial center. Muhammad was born in Mecca around the year of 570. He had a sad beginning filled with tragedy, he was orphaned.

#2: difficult place to live because of the environment. society was organized around clans, and tribes. The various tribes would steal each others goods in a raid. For instance, animals. Killing was often unavoidable in the the raids. There was no central government, the tribes to the law into their own hands. Killings resulted from this (vengeance killings). Poetry was important and poets were believed to have supernatural powers. Harsh environment to live in, people looked to religion for comfort. Divinities varied according to tribes.

#3: In Mecca they most commonly worshiped three goddess, believed to be the daughters of Allah. The sanctuary of the three goddesses was located in an area called Ka'bah, violence was prohibited. Because of this Mecca was also a religious center. Certain groups benefited from the life style in Mecca. There was spiritual uneasiness.

#4: Some of the people in Mecca converted to other religions, Christianity and Judaism. There were many questions about individual destiny circulating. Very little is known about Muhammad's early life. Eventually he became a merchant (through marriage). Because he was not wealthy he was sensitive to the hardships of the less fortunate. He questioned the direction he was going as well as his community.

#5: He would go on long meditations. On one of them the angel Gabriel came to him and had him say a short set of words. Muhammad began to hear Gabriel saying thins such as "you are the messenger of god". He eventually believed that he had actually become the messenger of god after thinking he was going crazy. He slowly began to preach openly. He preached that there was only one god and that there was nothing like him. The teachings challenged the entire system during this time.

#6: Many people turned against Muhammad. He had many setbacks throughout 619. Supposedly he went to heaven with Gabriel and stood before God. This gave Muslim's evidence of his spiritual nature. He heard that a group of people were planning to kill him so he left with his followers to Medina. He created the Islamic community, and the Islamic calendar through this journey.

#7: He had lots of responsibilities because he became the leader of the Muslim's in Medina. There were three Jewish tribes in Medina. Muhammad condoned raiding in order to sustain his people. This angered the Meccans. The people of Medina and the Meccans fought multiple times the Muslim's one two of the three fights. He attempted to go to Mecca in order to go to perform their traditional ceremonies, but the Meccans turned them away. A year later they were admitted and the Muslim's claimed the sanctuary of Ka'bah to worship Allah.

#8: Tried to get tribes to convert to Islam. In 632 he made his last trip to Mecca and gave his last sermon. He told the Muslim people of their obligations. He returned to medina in his Farewell Pilgrimage and died shortly after. He left the people (who needed a leader) without one, it was up to them to find a successor.