“Windows To Spirituality”
Fatimah Fatima or Fatimah (Fatimah binte Muhammad, Fāṭima bint Muḥammad, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (فَاطِمَة ٱلزَّهْرَاء), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima’s husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam. Fatima’s sons were Hasan and Husayn, the second and third Shia Imams, respectively. Fatima...
Ahl al-Kisa Ahl al-Kisa (أَهْل ٱلْكِسَاء, Ahl al-Kisāʾ, ‘people of the cloak’, ʾAhl al-Kisāʾ ), also known as the Aal al-Aba (آل ٱلْعَبَاء, ʾĀl al-ʿAbāʾ ), are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, his cousin and son-in-law Ali, and his two grandsons Hasan and Husayn. The name has its origins in the Hadith of Kisa and the Event of Mubahala, both widely...
Anti-Shiism Anti-Shiism or Anti-Shi’ism is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011, but it has been used in informal research and written in scholarly articles for decades. The dispute over who was the rightful successor to Muhammad resulted in...
Origin Of Shia Islam The article covers the origin of Shia Islam. Shia Islam originated as a response to questions of Islamic religious leadership which became manifest as early as the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. The issues involved not only whom to appoint as the successor to Muhammad, but also what attributes a true successor...
History Of Shia Islam This article covers the History of Shia Islam. Shi‘a Islam, also known as Shi‘ite Islam or Shi‘ism, is the second largest branch of Islam after Sunni Islam. Shias adhere to the teachings of Muhammad and the religious guidance of his family (who are referred to as the Ahl al-Bayt) or his descendants known as Shia...
What Is Shi’a Islam? Shi’a Islam or Shi`ism (Arabic شيعة, Persian: شیعه) is the second largest school within Islam. Shi’a Muslims adhere to the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his Ahlul Bayt (family). Shi’as believe that the Imam – their preferred title for the political and religious leader of the Muslim community must belong to...
What Is Judaism? Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. While far from monolithic in practice and having no centralized authority or binding dogma, Judaism has remained strongly united around several religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, transcendent God that created the universe. According to Jewish thought, God established...
Jewish Culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewish culture covers many aspects, including religion and worldviews, literature, media, and cinema, art and architecture, cuisine...
Shavuot Shavuot or Shavuos (שָׁבוּעוֹת, Šāḇūʿōṯ, lit. “Weeks”), commonly known in English as the Feast of Weeks, is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (in the 21st century, it may fall between May 15 and June 14 on the Gregorian calendar). In the Bible, Shavuot marked the wheat harvest in...
Sukkot Sukkot is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days from the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim) on which those Israelites who could were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The names used in the Torah are Chag HaAsif, translated to “Festival of Ingathering” or...
Jewish Literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature. Medieval Jewish literature includes not only rabbinic literature but also ethical literature, philosophical literature, mystical literature, various...
Jewish Secularism Jewish secularism refers to secularism in a Jewish context, denoting the definition of Jewish identity with little or no attention given to its religious aspects. The concept of Jewish secularism first arose in the late 19th century, with its influence peaking during the interwar period. History The Jews and secularisation The Marranos in Spain, who retained...
The Angel Lailah The angel Lailah or Laylah ( לַיְלָה) is an angel in some interpretations in the Talmud and in some later Jewish mythology. Etymology The name Lailah is the same as the Hebrew word for “night” laylah לילה. The identification of the word “night” as the name of an angel originates with the interpretation of “Rabbi Yochanan” (possibly Yochanan ben Zakkai c. 30...
Indian Culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term also applies beyond India to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to India by...
Bodhidharma Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Buddhism to China and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to a debunked 17th century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that...
Lotus Sutra The Lotus Sutra or Lotus Sūtra (सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, ‘Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma’) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. It is the main scripture on which the Tiantai, Tendai, Cheontae, and Nichiren schools of Buddhism were established. It is also influential for other East Asian...
Soka Gakkai Soka Gakkai (創価学会, Sōka Gakkai, “Value-Creation Society”) is a Japanese Buddhist religious movement based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese priest Nichiren as taught by its first three presidents Tsunesaburō Makiguchi, Jōsei Toda, and Daisaku Ikeda. It is the largest of the Japanese new religions and claims the largest membership among Nichiren Buddhist groups. “The organization bases its teachings...
Satipatthana Satipatthana (Satipaṭṭhāna; smṛtyupasthāna) is an important Buddhist term which means “the establishment of mindfulness“ or “presence of mindfulness,” or alternatively “foundations of mindfulness,” aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. In the Buddhist tradition, especially Theravada Buddhism, applying mindful attention to four domains, the body, feelings, the mind,...
Shingon Buddhism Shingon Buddhism (真言宗, Shingon-shū) is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Known in Chinese as the Tangmi (唐密; the Esoteric School in Tang Dynasty of China), these esoteric teachings would later flourish in...
Impermanence Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is also an element of Hinduism. In Western philosophy, it is most famously known through its first appearance in Greek philosophy in the writings of Heraclitus and in...
