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Questions and Answers
What is the significance of the shahada in Islam?
Which individual is credited with the initial compilation of the Qur'an into book format?
How many chapters, or surahs, does the Qur'an contain?
Which practice requires Muslims to pray while facing Mecca?
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What is the primary purpose of performing wudu before prayers?
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What is the term for the community of Muslims as defined in the Qur'an?
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What is the main authority of the Hadith in Islamic tradition?
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What does the term 'Zakat' refer to in the context of Islamic practices?
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How is almsgiving treated within Islamic law?
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What language is the Qur'an originally written in, which is held in high regard by Muslims?
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Which angel is said to have revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad?
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What is typically expected of a Muslim during the call to adhan?
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What educational practice is common for Muslim children regarding the Qur'an?
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Why are prayers important in the life of a Muslim?
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Which aspect of daily prayer is emphasized by performing salat at specific times?
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Which caliph directed the re-compilation of the Qur'an for uniformity in recitation?
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Which of the following are true regarding the collections known as Kutub al-Sittah?
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What is indicated by the term 'sahih' in the context of hadith collections?
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In Islamic belief, what does the concept of ummah primarily emphasize?
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What does the term 'Allah' imply in both Islamic and pre-Islamic traditions?
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Which aspect of Islamic teachings is NOT mentioned as originating from hadiths?
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Which of the following characterizes the Islamic view of God?
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What defines the social nature of Islamic beliefs compared to some other religions?
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What role do the hadith collections play in understanding Islamic law?
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What is the primary purpose of zakat in the Islamic faith?
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What belief is associated with the fasting period of Ramadan?
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Which of the following groups of Muslims is exempt from fasting during Ramadan?
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What is said to happen to worldly wealth according to Islamic teaching?
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What is the significance of the Kaaba in Islamic tradition?
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What do Muslims do during the fasting hours of Ramadan?
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What must all Muslims do at least once in their lifetime, according to Islamic beliefs?
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Which of the following correctly describes the act of paying zakat?
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Which represents the primary belief of Sunni Muslims regarding leadership?
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What is the primary source of Sunnah for Sunni Muslims?
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What is a key defining feature of Sufism in Islam?
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Historically, what role did the caliphate serve in Islamic history?
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Which statement about Shi’a Muslims is accurate?
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What distinguishes the Sunni denomination from Shi’a regarding governance?
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What does the term 'sunnah' introduce in the context of Sunni Islam?
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Which of the following can be inferred about the relationship between Sunnis, Shias, and Sufis?
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Study Notes
The Qur'an
- The Qur'an is considered the sacred word of God and the most important holy book among Muslims
- Muslims believe that Muhammad's scribes wrote down his words, which became the Qur’an
- The Qur’an expresses Islamic principle that there is only one God
- The book is written with Allah as the first person, speaking through Gabriel to Muhammad.
- It contains 114 chapters called surahs, each composed of verses or ayahs
- Scholars believe the Qur’an was compiled shortly after Muhammad’s death, under the guidance of Caliph Abu Bakr
- Muslims begin learning the Qur’an at an early age; it is read to babies, and toddlers who can already speak are asked to memorize and recite Qur’anic verses.
- People who manage to memorize the book are held in high regard by the communities
- Since the Qur’an is written in Arabic, the language is respected by the Muslims
- For Muslims, the Qur’an is a unique event in the history of humankind, held as eternal and unchangeable, just like Allah
The Hadith
- The Hadith is the collection of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad and his followers (“traditional reports or sayings”) and is the second source of shari’a law
- Unlike the Qur’an that was officially compiled under the auspices of a central authority, the hadiths were collected generations after the death of Muhammad
- The hadiths are recognized today as second in authority after the Koran
- Around the ninth century C.E., Muslim scholars undertook a number of great systematic collections of hadiths that are known as Kutub al-Sittahor the Six Sahih (“Authentic”) Books.
- The collections of Persian scholars Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj are the most respected and most often cited among the said collections
- Imam Bukhari authored the Sahih al-Bukhari while Imam Muslim compiled the Sahih Muslim.
- From the six books, these hadith records are the two most authentic collections
- The word sahihin these titles indicates that the authors of these books sifted the authentic reports about Muhammad from other unsubstantiated narratives
- The various rituals and obligations embedded in the so-called “Five Pillars of Islam” as well as majority of criminal laws originate from the hadiths
Beliefs and Doctrines
- Islam began as a way of life (din) for its followers which God intended for his creation from the very beginning
- While some religions may have room for subjective or personal discernment regarding matters of conduct, Islamic beliefs are more dominantly social in character
- Islamic religious laws cover the daily life of all Muslims—from education, dress, marriage, sexual relations, justice, punishments, economics, diet, and even rules of hospitality
- For all Muslims, there is only one compassionate, everlasting, and omnipotent God, being the lord of everything in existence, including humans
- Since all people originate from God and return to him after death, there can never be contending religions that may divide people from one another
- As such, Islam advocates for the establishment of one single community or ummah
- During Muhammad’s time, the ummah was a community bigger than the tribe, demanding a loyalty which came before loyalty to kinsfolk
- In the end, a Muslim must not fight a fellow Muslim.
Allah
- Allah, Arabic name of the supreme being
- The term is a contraction of the Arabic alllah, “the God.”
- Both the idea and the word existed in pre-Islamic Arabian tradition, in which some evidence of a primitive monotheism can also be found
- Although they recognized other, lesser gods, the pre-Islamic Arabs recognized Allah as the supreme God
- The Qur’an (Koran), the holy book of Islam, asserts that Allah is the creator and the one who rewards and punishes; that he is unique and can only be one; that he is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and all-merciful
- The core of the religion is submission to the will of Allah; people must abandon themselves entirely to God's sovereignty
The Five Pillars of Islam
- The basic obligations of Muslims are called the Five Pillars of Islam or arkan al-din
- It gives structure and unity to all believers of Islam
- The Five Pillars include:
The Creed (Shahada)
- The basic creed of Islam that “there is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” is known as shahada
- In Arabic, the shahada is recited as “La ilaha illa Allah; Muhammad on rasul Allah.”
- These are the very first words uttered into an infant’s ear and perhaps the last words given to a dying Muslim
- The shahada asserts that Allah is the only divinity and that he has relayed his will through Muhammad
- For a Muslim to deny any part of the shahada is tantamount to the crime of reversion to Islam that is punishable under Quranic law
Obligatory Prayer (Salat)
- Just as the body requires food for its daily sustenance, prayers are done for spiritual development so that a Muslim’s character and conduct remain sound and healthy
- Facing in the direction of Mecca or qiblah, Muslims must offer prayers or salat five times each and every day—before sunrise (as-subh), noon (az-zuhr), mid-afternoon (al-asr), immediately after sunset (al-maghreb), and before midnight (al-isha)
- Each prayer session begins when the strong-voiced muezzin recites the call to adhan from the tallest point of a mosque, often a minaret.
- Before any prayer commences, wudu is performed. Clean and potable water must be given for washing hands, feet, and face before prayer to any person who comes to a mosque
- Muslim men often pray in mosques while women pray at their homes.
- To pray, a Muslim stands on clean ground without shoes or wearing clean ones
- A special carpet may be provided to provide the person a clean surface
- Nevertheless, a Muslim can address a prayer to Allah at any given time in any circumstance using any words one chooses
Poor Tax (Zakat)
- Muslims who live above the subsistence level must pay zakator the poor tax to aid the underprivileged Muslims
- Affluent Muslims must share their wealth to the unfortunate ones
- Originally, almsgiving was for the benefit of the poor, widows, and orphans through an act of charity
- Later on, it became mandatory amounting to a certain percentage of a Muslim’s total resources
- Islam has never viewed begging as dishonorable
- Zakat is not charity but an annual wealth tax that serves as just and lawful claim of the poor against the affluent ones
- A zakat has been a contributory factor of solidarity and unity for the Muslim people
- It is a religious duty done out of obedience to Allah and compassion to poor Muslims
- The spirit of self-sacrifice is developed by paying zakat that somehow curtails the feeling of greed
- The Quran states that all worldly wealth is unclean unless utilized in the service of Allah and Islam
- By fulfilling to pay zakat, well-off Muslims cleanse their material possessions and can liberally enjoy their fortunes with Allah’s approval
- Hence, zakat is viewed as purification of one’s resources
Fasting (Sawm)
- Fasting or sawm during the entire 30 days of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, must be performed by all Muslims every year
- It is believed to be the month when Muhammad received the first surah of the Qur’an
- The sawm is done by all Muslims to express obedience to Allah and the readiness to relinquish pleasures in their lives
- During this time, a Muslim must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and engaging in any sexual intimacy from dusk until dawn
- The sawm culminates with the ‘Id al-Fitr wherein Muslims may celebrate and partake in festivities
- They hold congregational prayers and exchange presents
- Unlike the Jews or Catholics who fast for a brief period of time in observance of holy days, the Muslims are obligated to fast the longest and strictest of all
- Any Muslim who has reached puberty and is healthy must undertake sawm
- Muslims who are exempted from performing swam include small children, those who are on a journey, sick persons, and nursing mothers
- For those who are temporarily unable to observe sawm, they must perform the missed fast after Ramadan
- For those who very old or persons and with long-term illness, they can give charity to poor Muslims instead
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
- All Muslims must undertake a hajj or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lifetime to visit the Kaaba (“House of Allah”).
- The Kaaba is a cube-shaped ancient stone building that dates back to the time of Adam and Eve according to Muslim tradition
- Muslims believe that the Kaaba was originally built for the worship of God by Abraham and his son Ishmael
- It represents the end of a journey because it is the symbolic point of origin of all creation wherein all things turn around it and from it all things
- Inside the Kaaba is the “Black Stone the “Black Stone” has been polished smooth by the pilgrims through time.
- Some poets consider Muhammad himself as the Kaaba of prophetic revelation while the Kaaba is the “seal of his prophethood”.
The Practicioners of Islam
- After Muhammad’s death in 632, Muslims disagreed about how the next leader should be chosen
- One group came to be known as Sunnis and the other as Shias
- Islam remains divided into these two branches
- By the year 900, a Muslim movement called Sufism had developed
- Sufis seek a personal experience of God
- Similar to most major religions. Sunnis, Shias and Suffis vary how they interpret some aspects of the Islamic faith and of the Qur’an
- In as much as Muslims agree on the fundamental tenets of the Islam religion, variations do occur in many of their beliefs and practices
Sunni Muslims (The Sunnis)
- Majority of Muslims, around 87% to 90% of the entirety of Islam believers, belong to the Sunni denomination
- The Sunnis (“Followers of the Smooth Path”) are traditionalists and are considered the orthodox of Islam as they endeavor to follow the original religion established by Muhammad and guided by the first four righteous caliphs
- These Muslims follow the sunnah (“customary practice”) of Muhammad from which their name originated
- Sunnah pertains to the orally transmitted record of wisdom, conduct, and sayings attributed to Muhammad and his earliest companions as recorded in hadith
- They believe that any Muslim can be a ruler and he does not need to prove his lineage to Muhammad as long as he gets the approval and confidence of the ummah or community
- He can be an elected ruler or a hereditary monarch that should enjoy the support of the ummah
- All Sunnis shall abide by his actions unquestioningly regardless of whether he is a fair or cruel ruler
- Within the Sunni sect of Islam are groups of Muslims that also differ in views and exercise of their faith
- Religious factions are often the result of national or social differences
Shi’a (The Shi’ites)
- The Shi’ite Muslims are the largest faction within the Islam religion that separated from the rest of the community
- Historically speaking, three close associates of Muhammad became successive leaders or caliphs of Islam with the death of the founder in 632 C.E.
- The caliphate acted as a central unifying agency in Islamic history
- Initially, caliphs were friends of Muhammad that acted as virtuous leaders of the believers
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Description
Explore the significance of the Qur'an in Islam, the sacred text believed to be the word of God as conveyed to Muhammad. This quiz covers its structure, including the 114 surahs and ayahs, and the historical context of its compilation. Discover how Muslims engage with this important scripture from an early age and the respect for the Arabic language in which it is written.
