Tag: Muslim

Muhammad

Submitted by seeker on Sat, 11/21/2009 - 17:32.
Tags:

Fast Facts

Other Names and Nicknames:

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh, Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammed, Muchamad, Ahmed, محمّد

Function:

Prophet

Traditions:

Islam, Sufism

Main Countries of Activity:

Arabian Peninsula; Migration to Ethopia; Messengers to Yemen, Persia, Bazentine and Turkey

Date of Birth:

570

Place of Birth:

Mecca (in nowadays Saudi Arabia)

In His/Her Body ("alive"):

Date Left His/Her Body:

June 8, 632

Biography

Muhammad is the founder of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God, the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets as taught by the Qur'an 33:40–40.

Muslims thus consider him the restorer of an uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.

He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, according to Muslim belief, an agent of divine action.

Born in 570 in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at a young age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib.

He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25.

Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he claimed to receive his first revelation from God.

Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as other Islamic prophets.

Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca.

In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam; and he united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.

The revelations (or Ayat, lit. "Signs of God") which Muhammad reported receiving until his death form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “Word of God” and around which the religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.

Teachings

The Qur'an is the holy book of Muslims. It states that all Muslims must believe in God, his revelations, his angels, his messengers, and in the "Day of Judgment".

Also, there are other beliefs that differ between particular sects. The Sunni concept of predestination is called divine decree, while the Shi'a version is called divine justice. Unique to the Shi'a is the doctrine of Imamah, or the political and spiritual leadership of the Imams.

Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through the Islamic prophet Muhammad via the archangel Gabriel (Jibrīl). For them, Muhammad was God's final prophet and the Qur'an is the holy book of revelations he received over more than two decades.

In Islam, prophets are men selected by God to be his messengers. Muslims believe that prophets are human and not divine, though some are able to perform miracles to prove their claim. Islamic prophets are considered to be the closest to perfection of all humans, and are uniquely the recipients of divine revelation either directly from God or through angels. The Qur'an mentions the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus, among others.

Islamic theology says that all of God's messengers since Adam preached the message of Islam - submission to the will of God.

According to the Quran the will of God is brought to the nations by the descendants of Abraham and Imran. Islam is described in the Qur'an as "the primordial nature upon which God created mankind", and the Qur'an states that the proper name Muslim was given by Abraham.

The Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam are five practices essential to Sunni Islam. Shi'a Muslims subscribe to different sets of pillars which substantially overlap with the Five Pillars. These pillars are:

The shahadah, which is the basic creed or tenet of Islam: "'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu 'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh", or "I testify that there is none worthy of worship except God and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of God." This testament is a foundation for all other beliefs and practices in Islam. Muslims must repeat the shahadah in prayer, and non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the creed.
Salah, or ritual prayer, which must be performed five times a day. Each salah is done facing towards the Kaaba in Mecca. Salah is intended to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship. Salah is compulsory but flexibility in the specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. In many Muslim countries, reminders called Adhan (call to prayer) are broadcast publicly from local mosques at the appropriate times. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language, and consist of verses from the Qur'an.
Zakat, or alms-giving. This is the practice of giving based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all Muslims who can afford it. A fixed portion is spent to help the poor or needy, and also to assist the spread of Islam. The zakat is considered a religious obligation (as opposed to voluntary charity) that the well-off owe to the needy because their wealth is seen as a "trust from God's bounty". The Qur'an and the hadith also suggest a Muslim give even more as an act of voluntary alms-giving (sadaqah).
Sawm, or fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims must not eat or drink (among other things) from dawn to dusk during this month, and must be mindful of other sins. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God, and during it Muslims should express their gratitude for and dependence on him, atone for their past sins, and think of the needy. Sawm is not obligatory for several groups for whom it would constitute an undue burden. For others, flexibility is allowed depending on circumstances, but missed fasts usually must be made up quickly. Some Muslim groups do not fast during Ramadan, and instead have fasts different times of the year.
The Hajj, which is the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his or her lifetime. When the pilgrim is about ten kilometers from Mecca, he must dress in Ihram clothing, which consists of two white seamless sheets. Rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaaba, touching the Black Stone, running seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah, and symbolically stoning the Devil in Mina. The pilgrim, or the hajji, is honored in his or her community, although Islamic teachers say that the Hajj should be an expression of devotion to God instead of a means to gain social standing.

Photos

A gallery of photos of the guru and/or that are related to the guru

Locations

Muslims have several holy places for pilgrimage of which Mecca is the holiest. These holy places are:

Mecca
Islam's holiest site, Mecca, is where Muhammad was born. During his exile in Medina, Muhammad had his followers pray in the direction of Mecca instead of Jerusalem which was the original orientation site. Going on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a person's life is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Mecca is closed to non-Muslims because of a revelation Muhammad allegedly received from God, but some outsiders have entered while disguised as Muslims.

Even before Muhammad, Mecca was a pilgrimage site for pagan polytheists and some argue that the Muslim practice of pilgrimage was borrowed from those ancient rituals. Some scholars argue that because Jews and Christians rejected Muhammad's message, ancient pagan practices had to be incorporated into Islam in order to more easily capture the allegiance of local polytheists.

Located in the courtyard of the Great Mosque in Mecca is a windowless cube known as the Kaaba, believed by Muslims to have been built by the prophet Abraham In the southeastern corner of the Kaaba is the "Black Stone," an object which Muslims believe was given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel.
Medina
Medina is where Muhammad was exiled after he found little support for his ideas in his home city of Mecca, making it the second holiest site in Islam. There was a large Jewish community in Medina which Muhammad had hoped to convert, but his failure eventually led him to banish, enslave, or kill every Jew in the area. The presence of non-believers was at first an affront to Muhammad's claims that his religion superseded theirs; later, it was an affront to the holiness of the place.
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is a Muslim shrine which stands where the first Jewish temple is believed to have stood, where Abraham tried to sacrifice his son to God, and where Muhammad ascended into heaven in order to receive God's commandments. For Muslims this is the third holiest site for pilgrimage, after Mecca and Medina. It may be the oldest surviving example of early Islamic architecture and is modeled after the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre, located nearby.
Hebron
The city of Hebron is holy for both Muslims and Jews because it contains the "Cave of the Patriarchs," supposedly a tomb for Abraham and his family.
Mashhad
Mashhhad, Iran, is the site for the burial places and shrines for all twelve of the imams revered by the Twelver Shia Muslims. These holy men, believed to be a source of sanctity, are all martyrs because they were murdered, poisoned, or otherwise persecuted. It wasn't Christians or Jews who did this, though, but other Muslims.
Qom
Qom, Iran, is an important pilgrimage site for the Shi'a because of the burial sites of numerous shahs. The Borujerdi mosque is opened and closed each day by government guards who praise Iran's Islamic government. It is also the site of Shia theology training — and thus also of Shia political activism. When the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile, his first stop was Qom.

Links

Islam for childeren

View Video

Books & Media

Recommended Books:

Muhammed: The Prophet

by Ikbal Ali-Shah

(Paperback)

Trade paperback book

Recommended DVD & Video:

Muhammad: The Last Prophet

(DVD)

From the creators of The King and I, The Fox and the Hound, and the Swan Princess comes the first animated feature length film about Islam's Prophet. This groundbreaking film is set around 1400 years ago during the early ages of Islam. The film relates the events that unfolded and led to the rise of a renewed religion in the Arabian Desert, eventually spanning 7 continents and counting 1.6 billion adherents around the world.

This movie aims to introduce the story of Islam and its Prophet to new generations in the appealing and accessible medium of animation. Though the Prophet is not personified, sound and cinematography are employed in the telling of his story. The film is capped off with a stunning soundtrack by Emmy-award winning composer William Kidd.

Perfect for the family and for encouraging interfaith dialogue, this film is a definite must-see!

Bonus Features:
Choice of screen language (English or Arabic)
English and Arabic subtitles
Bios of historical characters from the film
Stills Gallery
Trailers
Bonus Audio CD

Unique packaging transforms into the world s holiest site for Muslims The Holy Kaba
Music Play by William Kidd
Special audio CD of popular Islamic songs by renowned artists within the Muslim community (such as Yusuf Islam)

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Amr khaled

Submitted by muslim woman on Tue, 09/15/2009 - 13:09.
Tags:

Fast Facts

Other Names and Nicknames:

عمرو محمد حلمي خالد

Function:

Public Speaker

Traditions:

Islam

Main Countries of Activity:

Egypt

Date of Birth:

1967 September 5

Place of Birth:

Alexandria, Egypt

In His/Her Body ("alive"):

Yes

Ancestor Gurus:

Muhammad

Biography

1988: Graduates from Cairo University with a degree in accounting.
1990: Begins preaching in local mosques, quickly gaining popularity.
1998: Become a full-time preachers, primarily through satellite TV-shows.
2001: Completes a degree in Islamic studies.
2003: Banned from preaching in Egypt.
2005: Returns to Egypt, sets up his office in Cairo.
2006 March: Hosts an interfaith conference in Copenhagen, following the Danish cartoons controversy.

Egyptian Muslim preacher, called the first Islamic tele-evangelist. He is considered one of the most influential in today's Muslim world.

The New York Times Magazine, in reference to Khaled's popularity in Arab countries, described him in its April 30, 2006 issue as "the world's most famous and influential Muslim television preacher." Amr Khaled has been chosen in 2009 as number 13 of the world's most influential people by Time Magazine and sixth most influential intellectual in the world by Prospect magazine.

He is very much a conservative, emphasizing many rigid regulations of Islam, but he appears not to be an Islamist. He has expressed strong opposition to the stand of Osama bin Laden; his attitude here may also reflect that the two are competitors in the run for Muslim hearts.
His message is that Muslims shall live responsibly in within the modern world. He has spoken out against the habit of smoking, littering the streets, being lazy and passive, and to urge young people to collect clothes for the poor and be active in democracy. His ideology has been named "Faith Based Development", in which one shall preserve the central ideas of Islam, transform ones individual lives and communities through Islam. As to the matter of the wide-spread attitude of self-pity in the Muslim world, he both states that Muslims should not caught by this, still that Muslims are "oppressed and tortured all over the world".

Sources:

http://i-cias.com/e.o/amr_khaled.htm

Teachings

Any attempt to develop and fix Arab society that doesn't concentrate on faith -- the strongest, most beautiful element in the Arab being -- will not succeed; on the other hand, it will sway and rise for a while, and then fall. Because the main mover is not there.
Interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, 2005
He promotes living in peace with the West, clearly stating that there is no Western conspiracy against the Muslim world , that Muslims have a responsibility to give back to the world, not only ask for favours. Still, his assessments of the West are largely negative, ridiculing the West for being "fatigued by depression, suicide, addiction, broken families". He considers the values of the Western world to be alien to the Muslim; development towards a modern Muslim world shall not come by copying the West, but creating an alternative by the efforts of faithful Muslims.

Locations

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Links

Official website

View Video

Books & Media

Recommended Books:

Who Speaks For Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think

by John L. Esposito, Dalia Mogahed

(Hardcover)

Based on the largest study of its kind, this book is the first to present the fascinating findings of the Gallup Poll of the Muslim World.

The horrific events of 9/11 dramatically intensified what many saw as an ongoing conflict between the U.S. and parts of the Muslim world. Extremism has grown exponentially as Muslims and non-Muslims alike continue to be victims of global terrorism. Terrorist attacks have occurred from Morocco to Indonesia and from Madrid to London, as U.S.-led wars rage in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of this writing, war and terrorism have already claimed more than 300,000 lives since 9/11; the vast majority have been civilians.

As we face savage actions in a world that seems ever more dangerous and out of control, we are confronted daily by analysis from terrorism experts and pundits who see the religion of Islam as responsible for global terrorism. At the same time, terrorist groups like al-Qaeda beam messages throughout the world that demonize the West as the enemy of Islam, responsible for all the ills of the Muslim world.

Amid the rhetoric of hate and growing violence, both anti-Americanism in the Muslim world and Islamophobia — discrimination against or hostility toward Islam or Muslims — have increased precipitously. In the aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush emphasized that America was waging war against global terrorism, not against Islam. However, the continued acts of a terrorist minority, coupled with statements by preachers of hate (Muslim and Christian) as well as anti-Muslim talk show hosts and political commentators have inflamed our emotions and distorted our views. The religion of Islam and the mainstream Muslim majority have been conflated with the beliefs and actions of an extremist minority. The result was reflected in a USA Today/Gallup poll, which found substantial minorities of Americans admitting to negative feelings or prejudice against Muslims and favoring heightened security measures with Muslims to help prevent terrorism. Nearly one-quarter of Americans, 22%, say they would not want a Muslim as a neighbor; fewer than half believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States; and 44% say Muslims are too extreme in their religious beliefs.

Are the growing violence and negative perceptions on all sides only a prelude to an inevitable all-out war between the West and 1.3 billion Muslims?

The vital missing piece among the many voices weighing in on this question is the actual views of Muslim publics. With all that is at stake for U.S. and Muslim societies, indeed for the future of the world, the time has come to democratize the debate.

Who Speaks for Islam? Listening to the Voices of a Billion Muslims is about this silenced majority. It is the product of a mammoth Gallup research study over the last six years. Gallup conducted tens of thousands of face-to-face interviews with residents of more than 35 predominantly Muslim nations. Gallup’s sample represents urban and rural, young and old, educated and illiterate, women and men. In total, we surveyed a sample representing over 90% of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, including Muslims in the West, making this the largest, most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever.

The concept of this book is simple. After collecting vast amounts of data representing the views of the world’s Muslims, we asked the questions everyone wants answers to: What is at the root of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world? Who are the extremists? Is democracy a desired construct among Muslims, and if so, what might it look like? What do Muslim women really want? With questions in hand, we let the empirical evidence — the voices of a billion Muslims, not individual “experts” or “extremists,” dictate the answer.

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