A Brief Study of Sunni Islam

Syria is currently all over the news regarding what many have to come to see as a civil war. A term like civil war needs to identify the players and the reasons for the war. In this case the players are being identified as pro government or antigovernment with a Sunni or Shia overtone. Sunni and Shia are the two major sects of Islam and both have a historical based conflict going back to the death of the Prophet Muhammad and how Muslims should be governed. This conflict has caused tensions and violence to flare up throughout Islamic history. This conflict has carried into modern times and has becoming a rallying point for Muslim people calling for change with their government and across the Middle Eastern region. The

The ferocious battle between Sunni and Shia is shattering the imperial borders drawn up a century ago. (Aljazeera) Whilst, both Sunni and Shiites have coexisted for centuries with no particular differences in religious or political practices, “the relationship between Sunnis and Shiites has oscillated between hostility and cooperation” argued Juan Cole, professor of Middle East history at Michigan University and the author of Sacred Space and Holy War. The demise of this relationship between the two factions of Islam has had a profound impact on the religion as a result of significant ideologies and political differences that have emerged

Sufism, or tasawwuf as it's called in Arabic, can be describe as a Islamic belief and practice in which followers try to have direct and personal experiences with Allah. It is not fully known where Sufism originated from, but there is two ways people perceive the religion began. The traditional view states that it began in the beginnings of the first centuries following the life of the Prophet Mohammad. However, the other view claims that Sufism existed from the very start of human creation. Which in turn makes any human founder of Sufism impossible.

The vast majority of Sunni Muslims have been willing to concede that the first four caliphs fulfilled the meaning of amir al mu'minin in admirable form. They generally refer to them as the rightly guided caliphs, whose integrity should be the model for all subsequent Muslim leaders. Abbasids began losing effective control of its remaining provinces. By the middle of the tenth century, the Abbasid caliph was a figurehead for military officers who wielded effective power over a limited area.

Islam is the second most wide spread religion across the globe under Christianity. Similarly, to Christianity and Judaism Islam believes in one God. Muslims label their God Allah. Allah is everything, nothing is above him. I found it interesting that, “Allahu Akbar!” means “God is greater”. I had no idea what it meant but I had heard it before. Allah’s Prophet is Muhammad. Muhammad is the messenger he is how Allah’s message can be shared with the people. Muhammad’s call is when the angel Gabriel gave the command to “Recite!” He had recited the words of the angel and that night is known to be, “The Night of Power”. This incident there are the two most important words in Islam: Qur’an (recite) and the other is submission. Ummah is also important in Islam because it means the community of people who surrender to God. To be Muslim, you must surrender to God’s will and live a life of service. Being Muslim you must be willing to show public marks of servitude. Dar al-Islam, Dar al-Sulk, and Dar al-Harb are very important to Islam. Dar means “abode” and Dar al-Islam is talking about both state and religion of the Muslim people. Dar al-Sulk is talking about the rest of the world that isn’t Islam but has good relations with them. Dar al-Harb is about the last people who are not Muslim and don’t have good relations with Islam. Lastly, I find it interesting that there is a unifying power called Taqwa and Jihad which represent being devoted and devout.

First, conceptually, scholars of Islam should stay away from understanding zuhd as asceticism. While asceticism as a category may seem unproblematic for scholars of Early Christianity, Islamic Studies scholars are studying different religious contexts and worldviews that should be analyzed without the weight and baggage of the English and Christian term asceticism. Many of the concepts associated with asceticism that were mentioned above do not integrate neatly into the Islamic worldview nor they embody the practices of zuhd. I contend that thinking of zuhd generally as renunciation instead of asceticism allows for much greater malleability within the various traditions of Islamic renunciation that do not conform to the ascetic (Christian) standard. Second, I argue that renunciation as zuhd has not had one particular meaning or one specific mode of praxis throughout Islamic history and that the clash of zuhd archetypes has been a hallmark of Sufism since its nascent days in the desert until its most recent struggles in the modern era. The Islamic renunciant can be both the wandering outcast, who prays to God in solitude away from society, and the active socialite, who maintains an occupation and possesses a family. Overall, I hope this essay helps other readers and scholars of Sufism overcome the same mental roadblock I possessed in regards to asceticism, renunciation, and

After watching the film ‘Close Up’, I have learned about the characteristic of Mercy playing a large role in the Islamic community, even with people who are not Islam. This paper is going to look at the movie and the way mercy is shown by some of the characters, as well as how Sabzian existential crisis played a big part in his crime, and the Judge's compassion towards that crisis.

his sunnah in electing his father-in-law Abu Bakr as the first caliph.[2] This contrasts with the Shi'a view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him.[3][4] Unlike the first three (Rashidun) caliphs, Ali was from the same clan as Muhammad, Banu Hashim, and Shia Muslims consider him legitimate by favour of his blood ties to Muhammad.[5] Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts and the rise of Wahhabism.[2]

The definition of Sufism is a belief or practice that which in Muslims seek or try to find love and knowledge through the direct experience with God by using a series of concepts and practices of seclusion, deception (TCN). Sufism teaching have be stressed that an individual should give more emphasis aspect of Islam. After a period time, Sufi elders practice in foreign places to Islam which where it's welcomed by its followers. These practices of consist of both playing music, dancing and even consuming hashish (TCN).

Similar to the religion of Christianity, Islam is difficult to generalize. When one brings up the word in conversation, they could be speaking of the religion and its systematic belief system or they could simply be talking about the approximately one and a half billion people who have flourished and who currently live under the influence of said religion. Extending from Indonesia to Morocco and from Kazakhstan to Senegal, the ideals and mission of Islam were created in the seventh century under the influence of a man who would eventually be looked upon as the most worthy prophet, Mohammed. The rise of Islam came at a time in which the most powerful civilizations of the day, the Roman and Greek empires, were on the decline. With these civilizations bringing us the beginnings of commerce, industry, math and science, Islam was better known as bringing the ancient into the modern. Islam was very helpful in contributing to the continuation of the created fields of study (Lewis, 2003, Pgs. 3-13).

I grew up and currently live in a small suburban town. Because of its size and the demographics of this area, there is not a Muslim culture or community nearby. However, I do live on the outskirts of a major city. That city is Philadelphia. Upon doing research, I came across a community called the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society. In addition, a friend of mine has a father who practices Islam and is very familiar with this community. Al-Aqsa Islamic Society has been established in Philadelphia since 1989 and has as its goals helping to maintain the Islamic identity, and protecting and sustaining the Islamic Community within Philadelphia. The Al-Aqsa Islamic Society is able to achieve these objectives through the many services that it offers to the Arab and Muslim communities all across the Greater Philadelphia area.

Sufism is an avenue within the soul that whispers to those in humanity who hunger for an impending intimacy with God, a prosperous interior essence, and a reserve of spiritual customs that give it depth and meaning. With Sufism’s wealthy mixture of esoteric poetry, their divergent composition, their divine morality, and their innumerable, musical treasures, their mystical life is portrayed. This visually captivating film, recorded in Tunisia and Iran, displays a multi-leveled glance of Sufism, the mystical expression of Islam. Bab'Aziz hypnotizes with its alluring and philosophical depictions of the passion that animates their communication with the Beloved, with the world, and with our neighbors.

Occurring in both Shia and Sunni Islam, Sufism is not a discrete faction, as commonly assumed. Sufism is just a different way of a understanding the religion. Sufis strive to take the normal practice of the religion to an extreme level. They do this through both achieving the regular and mandatory religious duties. Muslims believe

Although the final section of this part relates to the polemical arguments proposed by non-Sufi exegetes such as Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyya and al-Ghazali’s apologetics for Sufi methods and interpretations, throughout all the discussions prior, she carefully introduces non-Sufi perspectives in order to emphasize contrast and difference between traditional tafsir and Sufi commentaries.

The term Sufism is a very broad, paradoxical term because it has many connotations placing it within the wider sphere of polemics is a somewhat difficult activity. From the view of Islamic theologians, tradionalists and Non-Islamic scholars have much debated the areas of Islam, Sufism and mysticism. In this essay, the meaning of Sufism and the meaning of Mysticism, and whether the two complement each other or whether they are in fact, complete opposite. It will also be discussed whether Sufism has a Mystical element if it fits into Islamic religion. An analysis of what Sufism means to a Non Muslim reader will also be examined and how a Non Muslim reader views Sufism in the modern world of today. So what is meant by the term mystical? The word itself is derived from the Greek