Quiz 2

Question 1

5 pillars of Islam

Answer 1

1. testimony of faith (Shahada)
2. daily prayers (Salat)
3. Almsgiving (Zakat)
4. Fasting during Ramadan (Sawn)
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

Question 2

What does the Kabba represent to Muslims?

Answer 2

the oneness of God
- holiest site in Islam
- spiritual center for Muslims

Question 3

Why is Hajj important for Muslims?

Answer 3

• Promotes equality (everyone performs the same actions and wears the same clothing)
• Believe that you will be forgiven for your sins
• Feel closer to Allah
• Appreciate and understand the history of Islam (e.g. the house of Allah / where the Prophets lived and taught)
• annual pilgrimage
• set of rites and rituals
• contains symbols which remind Muslims of their relationship with God

Question 4

Why is the hajj important to the story of Abraham?

Answer 4

story of submission
- Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba as directed by God
- ritiual of Sa’ywhere pilgrims walk between hills where Hajar looked for water for Ishmael
- sacrafice of Ishmael by Abraham for God

Question 5

Ihram

Answer 5

ritual garb; one must wear before entering the area around the Kaaba

Question 6

Tawaf

Answer 6

circling the kaaba 7 times

Question 7

sunna

Answer 7

prophets custom (his words, morals, deeds, and habitual practices)

Question 8

Hadith

Answer 8

The compiled work of the life and teachings of Muhammad.
- literary/written form
- we learned about prophet’s sunna from hadith

Question 9

importance of hadith

Answer 9

second source of Islamic law
- living example for Muslims
- source of spiritual teachings
- helps to understand Quran better

Question 10

What are the two parts of hadith?

Answer 10

1) Isnad: chain of transmitters (people who transmitted prophets words)
2) Matn: main text (prophet’s words)

Question 11

what are some categories of hadith?

Answer 11

1) sahih: sound
2) hasan: acceptable
3) naif: weak
4) mawdu: fabricated hadith

Question 12

what are the four sources of Islamic law?

Answer 12

1) Qur’an
2) Sunnah
3) Ijma (consensus)
4) qiyas (analogical reasoning)

Question 13

emergence of Islamic schools of law

Answer 13

1) period of prophet
2) period of Rightly Guided Caliphs
3) umayyad period and appointment of judges (qadis)
4) Abbasid period and emergence of distinct schools, madhabs

Question 14

How different schools of Islamic law/madhabs had been formed?

Answer 14

4 sunni schools of law
1) Hanafi
2) Maliki
3) Shafi’i
4) Hanabali

Question 15

what is Ijtihad?

Answer 15

independent legal reasoning
- important at the early formation of early schools of law

Question 16

what is fatwa?

Answer 16

an islamic legal pronouncement issued by an expert in religious law
- resolve an issue that is unclear

Question 17

what are the 5 categories of acts according to Islamic law?

Answer 17

1) Fara or wajib: duties and acts that are required (obligatory)
2) Haram: actions that are forbidden
3) Mustahabb: acts that are recommended
4) Makruh: actions that are discouraged
5) Jaiz or mubah: actions that are permitted

Question 18

what is Tasawwuf-sufism

Answer 18

spiritual path and discipline of Islam

Question 19

what are some spiritual teachings of Islam?

Answer 19

1) Dhikr: remembering God
2) Quran and Sunnah
3) Tawhid: divine unity

Question 20

what does “whoever knows (recognize) her own self, knows her lord mean for sufis?

Answer 20

knowing oneself allows you to truly know God
- way to understand God beyond others

Question 21

what is tajlli, theophany?

Answer 21

everything; self revelation of God in a different way; self-disclosure

Question 22

what is talaq?

Answer 22

divorce initiated by the husband

Question 23

why was talaq uncommon in pre-modern Muslim societies?

Answer 23

contractual dissolution of marriage was more common
- price associated with talaq

Question 24

were courts accessible for women in pre-modern times in Muslim majority countries?

Answer 24

yes

Question 25

presence of women in legal systems?

Answer 25

active legal participants - could negotiate marriage contracts

Question 26

what is tariq?

Answer 26

spiritual path for seeker to follow to attain closeness to God

Question 27

What are some practices of Sufis that are especially criticized by reformist Muslims of 18th century such as Salafis?

Answer 27

- mystical rituals - worshipping the prophet - visiting graves of saints

Question 28

What are the reasons why Muslims have looked to spiritual intermediaries to connect them to God?

Answer 28

Whoever obeys God and the Messenger, they will be with those upon whom God has bestowed His grace: the Prophets, the Sincere, the Martyrs and the Righteous. What a beautiful fellowship they have!

Question 28

How Sufism was influential in pre-modern times?

Answer 28

- For many Sufis burial sites of notable Sufi saints were considered to be full of divine blessings. - Celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, visiting the saint’s tombs, performance of musical rituals were part of acceptable practices.

Question 29

What are some of the reasons that Sufism lost its influence in 19th and 20th century?

Answer 29

criticism of sufism - colonialism - industrial revolution - rise of the West

Question 30

How Sufism influential in today’s Muslim world?

Answer 30

- poetry and music. - re-formulated with a new vocabulary that could be accepted by modern educated Muslims

Question 31

Who is Rumi and Mawlawis?

Answer 31

Sufi poet; Mawlawis are the Sufi order founded after Rumi's death

Question 32

According to Rumi what is the essence of human being and what they are yearning for on earth?

Answer 32

- lies within their soul; reflection of the Divine - yearning for a deep connection with the Divine (God)

Question 33

Who is Bawa Muhaiyadden?

Answer 33

Sufi teacher from the Philppines

Question 34

What is Qawwali music?

Answer 34

Sufi Islamic music

Question 35

What was the main reason for the formation of revivalist/reform movements in the 18th century Muslim world?

Answer 35

restore the purity of Islam

Question 36

What is Kemalism? What were some of the reformations that were done to westernize Turkey?

Answer 36

founder of the Republic of Turkey (civilizing mission) - women rights - education reforms

Question 37

political islam

Answer 37

Muslim Brotherhood - formed as a response to specific contexts in different Muslim majority countries

Question 38

what was Fuller's main argument?

Answer 38

Fuller’s main argument was that much of the conflict and tension in the Middle East is not actually tied to Islam and religion itself, rather there are deeper ethnic and historical ties that are more likely contributing factors

Question 39

According to Fuller, if there were not a religion as Islam, how things would be different?

Answer 39

he argues how the Middle East and world conflicts may or may not have been different without Islam and the words of the Prophet Muhammad -If it had not been Islam, it is likely that Christianity would have been a major religion in the region. Fuller argues that things may not have been too different had Christianity dominated religion in the Middle East in terms of Western influence. There still would have ultimately been an imperial push and means for Western projection