“Windows To Spirituality”
|
Common articles: |
History Of The Hajj The History of the Hajj is not clear as there is no evidence of its existence in its current practice until the start of islam in the mid 7th century. Islamic writers claim it started from the time of Abraham through the establishment of the Islamic Hajj by Islamic...
Mount Arafat Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah (جَبَل عَرَفَات transliterated Jabal ʿArafāt) is a granite hill about 20 km (12 mi) east of central Mecca in the plain of Arafat. Mount Arafat reaches about 70 m (230 ft) in height, and is also known as the “Mount of Mercy” (جَبَل ٱلرَّحْمَة, Jabal Ar-Raḥmah). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place...
Rastafari The Rastafari movement (or “Rasta” for short) is a Jamaican religion that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as “Jah” (the Rasta name for God incarnate – a shortened form of Jehovah). The term Rastafari derives from “Ras (Duke or Chief) Tafari Makonnen,” the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I, who, in the Rastafari view,...
What Is Jewish Music? Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate in biblical times, differences of...
Christian Music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world. Like other forms of music the creation, performance,...
What Is Oriental Orthodoxy? Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Christian Churches that adheres to Miaphysite Christology and theology, with 60 to 70 million members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and parts of the...
What Is Islamic Music? Islamic music may refer to religious music, as performed in Islamic public services or private devotions, or more generally to musical traditions of the Muslim world. The classic heartland of Islam is the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia, and it also included the medieval Iberian peninsula (al-Andalus). Due...
Hajj The Hajj (حَجّ; “pilgrimage”) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey,...
What Is Taqwa? Taqwa is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, of the rational reality, “piety, fear of God”. It is often found in the Quran. Al-Muttaqin refers to those who practice taqwa, or in the words of Ibn Abbas — “believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and...
What Is Kabbalah? The word Kabbalah means many different things to many different people. In a nutshell, it is an ancient wisdom that reveals how the universe and life work. On a literal level, the word Kabbalah means “receiving.” It’s the study of how to receive fulfillment in our lives....
Aspects Of Christian Meditation Aspects of Christian meditation were the topic of a 15 October 1989 document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The paper is titled “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation” and is formally known by its incipit, Orationis...
What Is Hesychasm? Hesychasm is a mystical tradition of contemplative prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Based on Jesus‘s injunction in the Gospel of Matthew that “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray”, hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order...
Islam And Domestic Violence The relationship between Islam and domestic violence is disputed. Even among Muslims, the uses and interpretations of sharia, the moral code and religious law of Islam, lack consensus. Variations in interpretation are due to different schools of Islamic jurisprudence, histories and politics of religious institutions, conversions,...
What The Qur’an Says About Jihad In light of recent events, the media is constantly talking about jihad. However, sometimes they do not define this term. Can you please tell us what the Qur’an says about jihad, and how the Prophet and the Companions implemented it in their daily lives?...
Criticism Of The Quran Criticism of the Quran is an interdisciplinary field of study concerning the factual accuracy of the claims and the moral tenability of the commands made in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent...
Jewish Renewal Jewish Renewal (התחדשות יהודית, hitḥadeshut yehudit) is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the “ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, gender equality and ecstatic prayer” to synagogue services. It is distinct from the baal teshuva...
The Philosophy Of Mormonism CHAPTER I In this attempt to treat the philosophy of “Mormonism” it is assumed that no discussion of Christianity in general nor of the philosophy of Christianity is required. The “Mormon” creed, so far as there is a creed professed by the Latter-day Saints, is pre-eminently...
Book Of Moses The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the “Visions of Moses,” a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man(Moses chapter 1), and continues with material corresponding to...
Exorcism In Christianity Exorcism in Christianity is the practice of casting out demons from a person they are believed to have possessed. The person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the Christian Church, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or...
Gospel In Islam Gospel in Islam called Injil (إنجيل, Injeel) is the Arabic name for the Gospel of Jesus (Isa). This Injil is described by the Qur’an as one of the four Islamic holy books which were revealed by God, the others being the Zabur (possibly the Psalms), the Tawrat (the Torah), and...
