1. FIVE PILLARS

2. Shahada (Profession of Faith)  “La ilaha illa Allah wa-Muhammad rasul Allah” (There is no god but God and Muhammad (pbuh) is the prophet of God)  Must be uttered in front of at least two other Muslim’s  Must be done with full knowledge of the significance of what is being said.  Must not be under the influence of any intoxicants.  Typically done under supervision of Imam

3. Salat (Daily Prayer)  Ritualistic prayer done five times per day (before sunrise, mid day, afternoon, sunset and evening)  Proceeded by “Wudu” whereby hands, face, mouth and feet are washed (if water is not available sand can be used).  Prayer is directed towards Mecca to face the house of God.  Involved recitation of Quranic scripture.  Often involves use of prayer mat and can include the use of a Turbah (clay tablet).

4. Hajj (Pilgrimage)  Each Muslim must attempt to complete Hajj once in their lifetime.  Those that complete Hajj are reborn free of sin.  Involved travelling to Mecca to:  Dress in white robes  Pray at the Grand Mosque  Circle the Kabaa counter clockwise seven times (if possible kiss the black stone)  Make an offering  Spend a day on Mount Arafat  Stone representation of Satan  Tawaf (running between sacred hills)  Slaughter an animal (typically goat)  Shave head

5. Sawm (Fasting)  Done during the month or Ramadan.  Purpose is to make worshipers more appreciative of the gifts they already have.  You may eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinguishable to you from the dark thread at dawn. Then you shall maintain the fast until the night." 2:187  In addition to food, Muslims must abstain from smoking and sexual activity.  Ramadan ends with festival of Eid ul-Fitr.

6. Zakat (Charity)  We made them leaders who guide by Our command and We inspired them to work good deeds, to observe the Salat and to give the Zakat, they were worshippers of Us." 21:73  The recognized standard for Zakat is 2.5% of earnings (even though this is not mentioned in the Quran).  Zakat should be paid immediately upon receiving large sums of money.  Today most donations are handled by Islamic charity organizations and distributed within the Muslim community.

7. QURAN AND HADITHS

8. The Basics  Whereas the bible contains the teachings of God, the Quran is considered to be the actual word of God exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet.  This is why there is only one version of the Quran  The only truly valid version of the Quran is in Arabic  77,440 words (bible 181,253 words)  “Suras” (Chapters) progress from long to short  114 Suras all prefaced by “In the name of Allah, the most merciful”  6220 “Ayats” are analogous to verses (but can be much longer or shorter)

9. Organization  Not a narrative but very poetic  Not in chronological order  Longest to shortest  Mecca (passive) v Medina (aggresive)  Recitational Hizbs (Thirty chunks to be recited on each day of Ramadan)

10. Three Themes  Awhid (Unity of Allah): Descriptions of Allah’s existence; prophecies of the End of Days; revelations about angels and the Unseen.  Qisas (narratives): contains much of the moral teachings; accounts of other prophets; various historical narratives.  Ahkam (legal judgements): specific legal positions on Halal, Marriage, Inheritance, Property, War, Crime, how to treat unbelievers.

11. Uthman ibn Affan (577-656)  One of Muhammad’s “Companions” (Sahaba – up to 124,000 of them)  Married one of the Prophet’s daughters  Became the third of the “Rightly guided Caliphs”  Led the conquest of present day Iran, Afghanistan and Armenia  Assassinated at age 79

12. Consolidation of Quran 651  Since the death of the Prophet in 632, the Quran had remained a largely oral tradition.  As Islamic rule expanded, followers began to be concerned that the Prophet’s teachings were becoming confused and corrupted.  At the same time many of Muhammad’s (pbuh) original Sahada’s (companions) had been killed in battle.

13. Consolidation II  Uthman ordered that all written Quranic verses (recorded on paper, bone and parchment.  All verses were compared, debated and checked against the oral record of the “companions”  Once completed, all other versions were set on fire.  Every tribe received a copy of the Quran.  BUT allegations persisted that companions had compiled their own individual copies of the Quran with subtle differences.

14. Hadiths  Focuses, in remarkable detail, on the life and teachings of the Prophet  Seen as a supplement to help better understand the Quran.  Covers everything from:  How to hold little finger during devotions  Should you dye your beard and if so what colour  What to say upon entering the water closet  Whether or not to eat onions  There are dozens of books of Hadiths all with varying degrees of acceptedness.

15. Questions abound  Questions about the historical validity and attribution of hadiths (Schacht, 1950)  The number of Hadiths have increased considerably with each generation. Some hypothesize that Hadiths were used by political rulers to legitimize their customs or law.  Many of the Hadiths are contradictory or in some cases the same teaching is attributed to more than one person  In some cases teachings about events are attributed to people who were not alive to see them.

16. Which Hadiths??  Kitab al-Kafi (329)  Man la yahduruhu al- Faqih  Tahdhib al-Ahkam  Al-Istibsar  Sahih Bukhari  Sahih Muslim  Sunan al-Sughra  Sunan Abu Dawood  Jami al-Tirmidhi  Sunan ibn Majah Sunni – The Four BooksShia – The Authentic Six

17. Wudu: Once, Twice or Three Times?  Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: “The Prophet performed ablution by washing the body parts only once.” (Sahih Bukhari 1:4:159)  Narrated 'Abdullah bin Zaid: “The Prophet performed ablution by washing the body parts twice. (Sahih Bukhari 1:4:160)  Narrated Humran: (the slave of 'Uthman) I saw 'Uthman bin 'Affan asking for a tumbler of water (and when it was brought) he poured water over his hands and washed them thrice and then put his right hand in the water container and rinsed his mouth, washed his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out. then he washed his face and forearrlns up to the elbows thrice, passed his wet hands over his head and washed his feet up to the ankles thrice. I heard the Prophet saying, 'If a man performs ablution perfectly and then offers the compulsory congregational prayer, Allah will forgive his sins committed between that (prayer) and the (next) prayer till he offers it. (2:159).

18. To stand or not to stand  Anas reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) disapproved the drinking of water while standing. (Sahih Muslim 23:5017)  Ibn Abbas reported: I served. (water of) Zamzam to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he drank it while standing. (Sahih Muslim 23:5023)

19. Why are such things so important?  The Muslim path to heaven, in large part, depends on how rigorously one ahderes to the teachings of the Quran  Hadiths are seen as a tool (or supplement) for interpreting and better understanding the Quran

20. Perfect  Once miscounted the number of constituents of the ritual prayer and led the faithful in an irregular devotion. When asked about this later, two varying replies have been reported, one of which is that he admitted his error and completed the part of the prary which he had inadvertently muddled adding “I am human and, like you, I sometimes forget, so when I do forget, remind me” others who deny that the Prophet can make mistakes say he said “I am sometimes made to forget, in order to establish a practice that you should adopt in the event that you similarly forget”