“Windows To Spirituality”
Divisions Of The World In Islam The notions of “houses” or divisions of the world in Islam such as Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb does not appear in the Quran or the Hadith. According to Abou El Fadl, the only dar the Qur’an speaks of are “the abode of the Hereafter and the abode of the...
Adab (Islam) Adab (أدب) in the context of behavior, refers to prescribed Islamic etiquette: “refinement, good manners, morals, decorum, decency, humaneness”. While interpretation of the scope and particulars of Adab may vary among different cultures, common among these interpretations is regard for personal standing through the observation of certain codes of...
What is Dawah? Da‘wah or Dawah (also daawa, daawah or dakwah ; دعوة “invitation”) is the invitation to Islam. Etymology Da‘wah literally means “issuing a summons” or “making an invitation”. Grammatically, the word represents a gerund of a verb with the triconsonantal root d-ʕ-w دعو meaning variously “to summon” or “to invite”. A Muslim who practices da‘wah, either as a religious worker or in a...
What Is The Primordial Covenant? This article explains the meaning of the primordial covenant in Islam. This matter is directly mentioned in the Qur’an: And whenever your Sustainer brings forth their offspring from the loins of the children of Adam, He (thus) calls upon them to bear witness about themselves:...
Renaissance The Renaissance was a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change. In addition to the standard periodization, proponents of a long Renaissance put its beginning in the 14th century and its end...
Christian Influences In Islam Christian influences in Islam could be traced back to Eastern Christianity, which surrounded the origins of Islam. Islam, emerging in the context of the Middle East that was largely Christian, was first seen as a Christological heresy known as the “heresy of the Ishmaelites”, described as such in Concerning...
Islam And Other Religions This article covers the relationship between Islam and other religions. Over the centuries of Islamic history, Muslim rulers, Islamic scholars, and ordinary Muslims have held many different attitudes towards other religions. Attitudes have varied according to time, place and circumstance. Non-Muslims and Islam The Qur’an distinguishes between the monotheistic People...
The Beast Of The Earth (Dabbat al ard) The Beast of the Earth (Dabbat al ard; دَابَّة الأَرْض Dābbat al-Arḍ), in Islamic eschatology, will be one of the signs of the coming of the Last Day. It will appear after the sun rises in the west, where the Beast will be sighted the...
Islam And Humanity This article covers the relationship between Islam and Humanity. Islamic teachings on humanity and human welfare have been codified in its central religious book known as the Quran, which the Muslims believe was revealed by God for the mankind. These teachings have often been exemplified by Islamic prophet Muhammad as displayed in his sayings and practices. To the Muslims, Islam...
Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 to 809) with the inauguration...
Protestant Culture Although the Reformation was a religious movement, Protestant culture also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts. Protestant culture is diverse, being more divided theologically and ecclesiastically than either the...
Jumu’ah (Jumuah) Jumu’ah (صلاة الجمعة, ṣalāt al-jumu‘ah), also known as Friday Prayer or Congregational Prayer, is a prayer (ṣalāt) that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims pray ordinarily five times each day according to the sun’s sky path regardless of time zones. Jumu’ah means Friday in the Arabic...
Biblical Sabbath Biblical Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition of...
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as God rested from creation. The practice of observing the Sabbath (Shabbat) originates in...
Sabbath In Christianity Sabbath in Christianity is the inclusion or adoption in Christianity of a sabbath in the sense of a day set aside for rest and worship, a practice that within Judaism was expressed through the commandment of the Mosaic Law to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” in line with God‘s blessing of the seventh...
Apostles’ Creed The Apostles’ Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief—a creed or “symbol”. It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Catholic Church, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is also used by Presbyterians, Moravians, Methodists and Congregationalists....
Jehovah’s Witnesses And Salvation This article covers the relationship between Jehovah’s Witnesses and salvation. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe salvation is a gift from God attained by being part of “God’s organization” and putting faith in Jesus‘ ransom sacrifice. They do not believe in predestination or eternal security. They believe in different forms of resurrection for two groups of...
Eschatology Of Jehovah’s Witnesses Eschatology of Jehovah’s Witnesses is central to their religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture), and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God’s selection of...
Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Beliefs are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell—founder of the Bible Student movement—and successive presidents of the Watch Tower Society, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Nathan Homer Knorr. Since 1976 all doctrinal decisions have been made by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of elders at the denomination’s headquarters....
Assyrian Church Of The East The Assyrian Church of the East (ʿĒḏtā ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية), officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (Ēḏtā Qaddīštā wa-Šlīḥāytā Qāṯōlīqī ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē; كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسولية الجاثلقية المقدسة), is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the...
