The Origins and beliefs of Shia and Sunni Islam Essay Example for Free

The Origins and beliefs of Shia and Sunni Islam Essay During the first 30 years after the Prophets death Muslims were governed by four khalifahs who were outstanding men chosen by the community for their closeness to the Prophet and their good characters. They were unselfish, tolerant, and well versed in the Quran, and they had been the Prophets dearest friends. They had learned from him all his ways and attitudes. These first four khalifahs were known as the Rashidun or rightly-guided or orthodox. The word khalifah means successor. Instead of living like princes, they lived very simple lives as the Prophet had done, in close touch with the people. They were renowned for their ragged and torn clothing, and their refusal to take any luxuries for themselves. Khalifahs were the most important people in the Muslim state, but were horrified if anyone started to think of them as kings they were simply servants. Only God was King. The first khalifah was Abu Bakr, who ruled from 632-4 CE. Before he died he elected Umar to be the next khalifah. Ali and his supporters thought this was wrong, but refused to bear a grudge. Umar ruled from 634-44 CE, after being stabbed (by Firuz, a Persian slave) six times in the back whilst he was praying. Uthman was the next khalifah to be elected, after Ali had refused the position. He was a kind and gentle man, but tended to elect many friends and relatives to key positions. When he was 80 many Muslims, particularly the supporters of Ali, thought that he should abdicate, but he refused to do so. Soon afterwards, while Uthman was at prayer, he was killed by a group of angered Egyptians. He had ruled from 644-56 CE. Finally, 24 years after the Prophets death, the khalifate passed to Ali. He ruled from 656-61 CE. He was famous for his extreme piety and faithful transmission of the Prophets sayings. His supporters thought of him as the Conscience of Islam. Alis appointment as khalifah was opposed by Uthmans cousin Muawiya, who was supported by the Prophets surviving wife, Aishah. Muawiya and Aishah demanded avenge for the murder of Uthman, but Ali didnt grant this. There was a battle, the Battle of Siffin, where Muawiya and Ali agreed on peace, but somehow Ali had been tricked and Muawiya was announced as khalifah. A group of Muslims, the Kharijites, were so outraged by the incident decided to end the impurity by killing them both. Some people felt right from the beginning that Ali should have been the Prophets successor. They were not content to see power going into the hands of the old chief family of Makkah which had so recently persecuted them and had always been jealous of the power of the Prophet. They claimed that the Prophet had always trained Ali to take over. Ali deputized for the Prophet in his lifetime and was the father of the Prophets grandsons. They claimed that those who had elected Abu Bakr insisted he was the Prophets choice, and was the senior male Muslim leader. However, the supporters of Ali still felt the khalifate should have stayed in the line of the Prophet and Khadijah, and now that Fatimah and Ali were dead, they insisted the next leader should be Alis son Hasan. Muawiya would not agree, and in the end Hasan came to an understanding that the khalifate would revert to his family only after Muawiyas death. However, when Hasan died (some claim he was poisoned) Muawiya made his own son Yazid the heir. Those who supported the Prophets descendants became known as the Shiat Ali or Party of Ali. They are now called Shiites. They refused to accept the first three khalifahs and claimed Ali was really the first, followed by the Prophets grandsons Hasan and Husayn. Shia Muslims believe that leadership (the position of khalifah) should be exclusive to the family of the Prophet. Sunnah is the Arabic word for custom or authority, and Sunni Muslims regard themselves as the true followers of the Sunnah or Way of the Prophet. They insist that the Prophet had intended elections so that the best man would succeed, and not to start a family line of rulers, like Kings. Sunnis are the major branches of Islam. About 90 percent of Muslims are Sunni. They base their standards of their faith on the Quran plus the Hadiths of the Prophet and the laws based upon them. They believe that leadership should be decided by a democratic election based on a majority vote. The Shiites, on the other hand, are a smaller group around 10 percent of modern Muslims but with a tendency to devotion that borders on fanaticism. The number of Shiite Muslims is increasing as people in many developing countries are reacting against the decadence of the modern world. Shiism is the state religion of Iran, and is rapidly increasing in strength in Pakistan, Iraq, India, the Yemen and the Lebanon. A summary of the principal teachings and aims of the Ayatollah Khomeini Islam to Ayatollah Khomeini is the noble warriors religion. It is of those who seek justice and righteousness, demand independence and liberty, and struggle to prevent the unbeliever as well as the tyrant from exercising power over the Muslim. He believes Islam is not just a code which governs the moral conduct of an individual, but also a set of rules and regulations which provide for every need and all requirements. He considers the introduction of the modern education, the adoption of constitutional parliamentary systems of government, and the promotion of Westernised criminal codes as nothing but deliberate means to undermine Islam, by encouraging the faithful to abandon their religion. Khomeini calls on the Muslims to emulate the example of the Prophet and the first three Imams. He demands their transformation into holy warriors to save Islam from the dangers confronting the religion. He encourages his students, as the new soldiers, to believe that theirs is a total system and to reject the notion that there is a similarity between Islam and Christianity. Khomeini thinks that Muhammad, and Imam Ali, were preachers, rulers, and administrators. He believes in succession, and also in the necessity of appointing a successor to the Prophet. The successor must be a preacher and a jurist, and must ensure the obedience of the community to the Quran. To conclude, Khomeini states that there must be a state based on Muslim legal philosophy. The aspects of Western life religion, in general, and Islam, in particular, should resist or reform. In the modern world one cannot do all the things which are demanded by ancient religions. Islam is a prime example of this. How can a law laid down fourteen centuries ago in the Middle East meet all the complex demands and pressures of modern technological civilization? Muslims dont think of it like this, no Muslim can accept the idea of a society without God. Muslims must submit to God, and that means they must not choose which of the revealed laws they will or will not keep. How can they judge which laws are more important than others? Only God knows the full reasoning behind them. The Muslim rules of behavior are split up into five categories. Firstly fard, or wajib, which are things which must be done. Secondly mandub, or mustahab, which are recommended actions. Thirdly mubah, which are actions to be decided by conscience. Next is makruh, which are disapproved actions. Finally haram, which are things never to be done. Most of modern life falls in the mubah section. Whatever is not actually forbidden is permitted, under the guidance of your conscience. If an action is harmful to yourself or anyone else, it cannot be recommended by a Muslim. If qiyas (principles worked out by analogy) and ijtihad (exercise of individuals opinion) are used properly, it remains always possible to offer fresh thinking on past decisions. Also it is possible to keep pace with the ever-changing world. Modernist Muslims feel that this is vital, and that the reason for the past stagnation of Islam was the over-emphasizing of and clinging to the decisions of the madhab imams of the five classical schools, and the neglecting of todays great scholars and thinkers. Other reformers are known as fundamentalists because they seek to keep nothing but the original teachings and reject all modern interpretations as innovations (bida). There are many Muslim laws which need to be resisted or reformed. Some of these are based on a Muslims manners, for there is a great emphasis on showing consideration to others. The laws say that Muslims must pay close attention to cleanliness. They are expected not to be even the slightest bit dirty at any times. Before and after sexual intercourse they are expected to wash. With the amount of washing it is said is needed, it would be very hard to do anything but wash in the modern day, with pollution. This therefore needs to be changed. There laws about table manners are fine, and most are the same as used all over the world. The way in which Muslim women dress is in a very modest way, thus many traditional costumes are not acceptable for they are to revealing. It is in fact a good idea for it stops Muslim women from flirting with, or attracting, men. This stops the chances of adultery. Passions, if not under control, can cause endless hurt and disturbance. Muslim men are expected to be modest too, and always to be clean and smart. Muslims have many food laws. In these there are listed some unlawful foods which are forbidden, these are called haram. These are any products made from a pig. Meat containing blood. Meat from an animal which dies of itself due to disease or other natural causes. Any flesh-eating animal. Any animal which has been strangled, beaten to death, killed by a fall, gored by another animal, or partially eaten by another animal. Or finally any animal sacrificed to idols. These laws greatly affect the Muslims ability to mix socially with non-Muslim neighbours, since nearly all meat in the West has been killed by electrocution or firing a bolt into an animals brain, and is therefore forbidden to Muslims. They should not buy meat from a market unless it is known to be halal (this is the Muslim word for meat which they can lawfully eat). Many Muslim children do not eat school dinners because of their food restrictions. Another of the Muslims problems is schooling. There are four main areas which these problems fall into. Immodest dress, especially in PE lessons; not separating boys and girls after the age of ten; sexual instruction in the classroom; and religious instruction that is either Christian or Jewish (i.e. Bible based) or Islam presented in an incorrect manner. There are several things which Muslims consider to be wrong with these. It is because of the lack of schools which provide the rules and facilities needed for Muslims, that many Muslim schools have been started. One of the major difficulties for a Muslim is there ability to find time to pray. Some employers are not sympathetic if workers want to break off for a few moments to pray. Often there is no private place for them to go, or facilities to wash with first. This makes life very hard for Muslims, and I therefore believe the laws about praying should be slightly more lenient. Overall one can see that Muslims confront many clashes between their laws and the way of the western civilization. For them to get on more easily in the modern world they must reform or resist some of their strict laws and traditions.