Islam
Chapter 965 Law
Preliminary Questions
It is rather easy and "neat" to describe Islam and the requirements to be a good Muslim by reference to the Five Pillars. If you were to summarize Christianity and its obligations what would be on your list? (This becomes a practical issue when you are trying to decide what information can and cannot be included in the ten or twelve hours that you have with the catechumens and those who want to become Catholic.)
Bibliography
Law and Practice
"When Muhammad asked the Quraysh to accept his revelation as coming from God, he did not demand that they assent to a creed or to a set of theological opinions. As in Judaism, there is no cult of orthodoxy in Islam, where ideas and concepts about God are essentially private matters. In fact the Qur'an is highly suspicious of theological speculation, which it sees as mere human projection and wish-fulfillment. Such doctrinal thinking, applied to the transcendent reality of al-Llah, can only be 'guesswork' (zanna): this habit of idle conjecture about ineffable matters had divided the People of the Book in to warring sects. Instead of promoting orthodoxy or right teaching, Islam and Judaism both insist upon orthopraxy, a common customal observance. In the Qur'an, therefore, a 'believer' is not one who has made an assent to a list of propositions, like the various Creeds or the Thirty-Nine Articles. He had acquired an immediate, heart shaking apprehension of the divine reality to which he had surrendered, expressing his Islam in the twin practices of prayer (salat) and almsgiving." (Karen Armstrong, Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet, pg. 100)
Interpretation of Law
In the USA we are accustomed to Anglo-Saxon law (based on "cases" and "presidents"). It is often difficult for an American to become accustomed to Roman law (or the Canon law of the Church, which has the same theoretical basis). This often brings difficulties when trying to interpret Roman Catholic liturgical law. Islamic law has its own proper theory and characteristics.
In interpreting Roman Catholic canon law, "look to the verb" [one should, one must, It is forbidden to, it is not permitted to, it is invalid if, it is illicit to ... ] In Islamic law there are five ethical qualifications (Farah p )
1. wajib, fard obligatory
2. sunna, mandub recommended
3. mubah indifferent
4. makruh reprehensible
5. haram forbidden
Sources of law
1. Qur'an
2. Sunnah as found in the canonical hadith
3. Hadith
Islamic law is a "process" of discerning the Shari'a (literally a "path" marked out to water), that is, discerning God's will for God's human creation. Shari'a is the way (or path) God wants people to lead their lives. (Dr. Scott Alexander, class notes).
Law is interpreted (jurisprudence) by
1. the exercise of interpretive opinion, especially analogical reasoning
2. the consensus of the community, especially the legal scholars
Five Pillars
The Five Pillars [or five essential duties] of Islam. (Islam is more about "right actions" than about "right beliefs".) One who surrenders to God is one who practices the following divinely ordained acts:
1. Shahada the witness that there is no divinity but God [in Arabic the word "God" is "Allah"] and that Muhammad is his Prophet.
2. Salat the ritual prayers, or worship services, performed daily during five specified intervals, facing Mecca, at (1) dawn, (2) midday, (3) mid-afternoon, (4) dusk, and (5) after dark.
See Sūrah 17:78-79
3. Zakat the ritual almsgiving based upon the value of stipulated property.
4. Sawm fasting during the daylight hours during the month of Ramadan (the 9th month of the Muslim [lunar] calendar). [For an explanation of the Islamic Calendar click here.]
TRR Comment Fasting for the Muslim is not an act of "penance" as it is for the Christian. The key to understanding the fast during Ramadan lies in understanding Muhammad's basic concern for human equality. Every day millions of people are hungry. During Ramadan we all experience that hunger equally, rich and poor alike. (This is the same "radical equality" that lies behind everyone dressing in the identical garment for the Hajj. Rich and poor are not distinguishable by their clothing.) "It [excessive voluntary penance] also went against Arab tradition: life had always been hard enough in Arabia without taking on extra risk and suffering." (Karen Armstrong, A Biography of the Prophet, p 136) [Goldbrunner (Holiness is Wholeness) makes this same point in Realization: Anthropology of Pastoral Care in his distinction between authentic and inauthentic suffering.
5. Hajj the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during the lifetime of each Muslim for those who can afford it.
TRR Comment In Islam there are three major places of religious pilgrimage: 1) Mecca, 2) Jerusalem, and 3) Medina. This pilgrimage is not some type of "vacation" or "trip" it is a "pilgrimage", a return to origins. Muslims today return to the founding places and try to reconnect with the founding vision of the revelation. They return home changed.
6. [A sixth pillar is sometimes added, jihad which means striving, or exertion in the way of God, either personally, by struggle against lack of faith and devotion, or publicly, by preaching, teaching, and, if necessary, armed struggle. The inner striving is the Great jihad.]
Farah Chapter 8, pp 151-173
Solidarity Through Institutional Unity
Farah Chapter 9, pp 174-201
Heterodoxy and Orthodoxy
Farah Chapter 10, pp 202-233
Formalism and Free Expression
Farah Chapter 11, pp 234-267
"Medievalism" and the Dawn of "Renaissance"
Farah Chapter 12, pp 268-308
Islamic Resilience
Farah Chapter 13, pp 309-345
Islamic Dynamism
Farah Chapter 14, pp 346-387
Islam in Transition
Farah Chapter 15, pp 388-419
Current Trends
Farah Chapter 16, pp 420-456
Perspectives on Activist Islam
To Think About
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