Divisions of The World in Islam The Arabic singular form dar (دار), translated literally, may mean “house”, “abode”, “structure”, “place”, “land”, or “country”. In Islamic jurisprudence it often refers to a part of the world. The notions of “houses” or divisions of the world in Islam such as Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb does not...
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...
Christian Influences in Islam Christian influences in Islam could be traced back to the 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 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 of the Book (ahl al-kitab), i.e. Jews, Christians, Sabians and others...
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 is what the Quran has instructed to do and...
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...
Jumu’ah 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 language. Al-Jumu’ah is...
Consultation and submission Question: When a consultation committee makes a decision but the decision seems to contradict some of the participants’ minds and opinions, then what would be the best attitude for them to take moving forward? Submission – to use the dictionary definition – would be fulfilling the rulings, determinations,...
Salafi Movement The Salafi movement, also called the Salafist movement, Salafiya and Salafism, is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that developed in Egypt in the late 19th century as a response to Western European imperialism. It had roots in the 18th-century Wahhabi movement that originated in the Najd region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The name derives from advocating a...
Day of Resurrection In Islamic eschatology, Yawm al-Qiyāmah (يوم القيامة “the Day of Resurrection“) or Yawm ad-Din (يوم الدين “the Day of Judgement“) is believed to be God’s final assessment of humanity. It is called several names throughout the Qur’an, such as the Day of Reckoning, the Last Day, and the Hour (al-sā’ah). The sequence...
What is Iman? Iman (إِيمَان ʾīmān, faith or belief) in Islamic theology denotes a believer’s faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition is the belief in the six axioms of faith, known as arkān al-īmān. The term iman has been delineated in both the Quran and hadith. According to the Quran, iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds and...
Saqifah Saqifah Bani Sa’idah (سَقِيفَة بَنِي سَاعِدَة, Saqīfah Banī Sāʿdah), commonly known as simply Saqifah, (ٱلسَّقِيفَة as-Saqīfah), was a roofed building in Medina used by the Banu Sa’idah clan of the Banu Khazraj tribe. Saqifah is significant as the site where, after Muhammad‘s death, some of his companions gathered and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, electing him as the first Caliph. Gathering...
Caliphate A caliphate (خِلَافَة khilāfah) is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (خَلِيفَة khalīfah), a person considered a politico-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire Ummah (Muslim community). Historically, the caliphates were polities based on Islam which developed into multi-ethnic trans-national empires. During the medieval period, three...
Imam Imam (إمام imām; plural: أئمة aʼimmah: “leader,” “model”) in a general sense, one who leads Muslim worshippers in prayer. In a global sense, imam is used to refer to the head of the Muslim community (ummah). The title is found in the Qurʾān several times to refer to leaders and to Abraham. The origin and basis...
Ahl al-Bayt Ahl al-Bayt (أَهْلُ ٱلْبَيْتِ, اهلِ بیت) is a phrase meaning “People of the House” , “People of the Household” or “Family of the House“. Within the Islamic tradition, the term mainly refers to the family of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and to a lesser extent (according to Muslims), his...
Islamic Economics Islamic economics (الاقتصاد الإسلامي) is a term used to refer to Islamic commercial jurisprudence (فقه المعاملات, fiqh al-mu’āmalāt), and also to an ideology of economics based on the teachings of Islam that takes a middle ground between the systems of Marxism and capitalism. Islamic commercial jurisprudence entails the rules of transacting finance or other economic...
Islamic Democracy There exist a number of perspectives on the relationship of Islam and democracy among Islamic political theorists, the general Muslim public, and Western authors. Some modern Islamic thinkers, whose ideas were particularly popular in the 1970s and 1980s, rejected the notion of democracy as a foreign idea incompatible with Islam....
Political Aspects of Islam Political aspects of Islam are derived from the Qur’an, the Sunnah (the sayings and living habits of Muhammad), Muslim history, and elements of political movements outside Islam. Traditional political concepts in Islam include leadership by elected or selected successors to the Prophet known as Caliphs, (Imamate for Shia); the importance of following Islamic law or Sharia; the...
Shia–Sunni Relations Shia and Sunni Islam are the two major denominations of Islam. They chose sides following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in AD 632. A dispute over succession to Islamic prophet Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world, which led to the Battle of Jamal and Battle of Siffin. The dispute intensified greatly...
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