ISLAMIC I ONLINE UNIVERSITY

Islamic Civilization CVN 101

Notes for Modules 1 to 28
Bibi Hakh
3/9/2014

These notes are based on the lectures and text provided by IOU for this course. I hope you find
them beneficial Insha’Allah. If you find any mistakes please contact me at
[email protected]. Please remember us in your duas. Was Salaam Bibi
Contents
Module 1 – Introduction to Culture .............................................................................................................. 3
Module 2 - Foundations of Western Culture ................................................................................................ 5
Module 3 – Darwinism and it social effects Secularism ............................................................................... 7
Module 4 – Secularism, Democracy.............................................................................................................. 9
Module 5 – Cultural Islam and Traditionalism ............................................................................................ 10
Module 6 ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Module 7 ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
Module 8 - Factionalism / Fanaticism ......................................................................................................... 15
Module 9 - Sectarian nature of factionalism .............................................................................................. 17
Module 10 – Movements............................................................................................................................ 20
Module 11 - Islamic Culture ........................................................................................................................ 22
Module 12 – Morality ................................................................................................................................. 24
Module 13 – Fundamentals of Islamic Morality ......................................................................................... 28
Module 14 – Review ................................................................................................................................... 30
Module 15 – Shahadah - Two Declarations of Faith ................................................................................... 35
Module 16 – Salaah – Obligation, Purpose, Cultural, Moral characteristics .............................................. 37
Module 17 – Zakaat and Fasting ................................................................................................................. 39
Module 18 – Hajj ......................................................................................................................................... 41
Module 19 – Belief in Allah ......................................................................................................................... 43
Module 20 ................................................................................................................................................... 44
Module 21 – Belief in Angels ...................................................................................................................... 45
Module 22 – Jinns ....................................................................................................................................... 47
Module 23 – Jinns – Demonic Possession................................................................................................... 49
Module 24 – Belief in Books and Messengers ............................................................................................ 51
Module 25 ................................................................................................................................................... 52
Module 26 – Belief in the Last Day ............................................................................................................. 55
Module 27 – Belief in Destiny ..................................................................................................................... 56
Module 28 – Review ................................................................................................................................... 59
Islamic Civilization – CVN 101
Bismillah

Module 1 – Introduction to Culture

What constitute Islamic culture?
• Mistake – confusion between Muslims culture for Islamic Culture. Unable to distinguish
between personal cultural practices and Islamic practices
• Creates a false image to what Islam is to non-Muslims
• People who say Why Islam is not a good religion – majority of points they give go back to
Muslim’s people culture – not to Islamic Culture
• What are the foundations of Islamic Culture
• How do you distinguish between Muslim culture and Islamic Culture?
• Don’t understand Islamic culture - will go off the path
• If society as a whole go off the path – major problem

Foundations of Islamic Culture – have to understand what culture means

Meaning of the Word Culture

• Important to understand culture
• Clear necessary to comprehend the meaning of Islam
• Culture Latin cultura
• Derivative of the word colere “tending” – to tend or to cultivation
• Later means – training the mind. Become synonymous with good manners
• Anthropological: The way of life of a specific group
o Distinguish one group of people from the another
o Group does a certain thing in a specific way due to the environment
• Biological heredity vs social heredity
o Every child is born on natural inclination - parent causes him to become a Jew, Christian
or fire worshiper – direct influence of its environment
o Social heredity eg – how people raise children, how you get married.
• Culture – man made part of human environment
o Human being do certain things and refrain from certain things
o Added value which a given society put on day to day activities eg how you eat, how you
greet, (everyone eats, drink, greet, die but how you do it vary from society to society)
o How these activities are done is consider the culture of that society
o Culture s what they agreed upon is right and good and what the agreed upon as wrong
and bad  Has a moral value / judgment
• Foundation of the conflict between the East and West
• Currently – people can’t see the culture issues but only see the incidence happening – so rest of
the world see us as violent people and difficult to convince them otherwise
• Study Islamic Culture to understand what it is so that we can get back on the right path and for
non-Muslims to understand what is going on in the world today
 • Essence of cultural struggle – globalized culture direct confrontation with another culture which
refuses to be dominated (globalization – spread of western culture all over the world)
• Globalization – Westernization - Domination of the western values over the rest of the world
• Eg in National Geographic –pictures of South America tribes that had little contact with the rest
of the world will see someone with a Nike cap or adidas trainers or coca cola – outward symbols
of globalization

• Western European culture, influence of TV, satellite – people can be far from the modern
civilization but still being influence by it
• Western Culture - Dominant culture now – clash between west and east, conflict in home,
conflict in countries

Professor Samuel P. Huntington

• Book – Clash of Civilization – 1998. Identified the essence of the trouble
• Pg 217/218 of his book - Underlying problem for the west is not Islamic fundamentalism. (at
that time the main enemy of the world was Islamic fundamentalism).
• But is it Islam – a different civilization where Muslims in general are proud of their religion
(Islam is the best / superior). Don’t have the power to implement that belief (Islam is the best)
• Problem for Islam is Not CIA or American Military. It is the west and their culture and they
trying to impose their culture on the Muslims – Muslim’s / Islam’s biggest problem
• Rather different civilization – Conflict between Islam and the West
• Eg Homosexual – the west wants everyone to accept this
• West feel – they have to civilized everyone – the rest of the world
• Cultural Struggle
o Islam best civilization - believe they have a superior/best culture – better than all
religions and philosophies And Muslim want Islamic law to govern them
o West believe in their universality of their culture
• Indonesia – for 50 years – no one could suggest Islamic law to rule. Then Abdul Wahid won –
shows the power of Islam to rise at its first opportunity
• Algeria – struggle created the first nation in Africa to military to throw off European
colonization. French fought but had to back off. IN the end socialist / communism took over.
Elections – Muslims winning but the military stepped in, cancel elections and lock up the Muslim
o Caps are there to keep the place from going Islamic
o Shows the strength are there for the Muslims
• RAND report – divide Muslims in different category and to see which will support their (western)
program – how to work from within the Muslims to destroy the Muslims – Promote Liberal Islam
• Military options failed to change Muslims– Afghanistan, Iraq etc.
• Real problem for the Muslim world is the Western Civilization and their feeling they are
superior and wanting to impose their culture on all

• Page 11 – Both groups Muslims and West feel they have the best culture
• Colonized, strip from Shariah law (eg in Egypt French law was being practice
• British, French, Dutch, German – most of the world rule by these laws
• Page 13 – West consider its culture superior to ALL cultures. That their civilization is the best
• Root of the problem – The West considers its civilization and principles are superior & that all
human being should aspires to and will impose it by any means necessary – politically, military
 • Why does the West consider them to be the best? – They think they are better – Darwin theory
– Europeans are better species. Survival of the fittest – feel they are the best and want to share
it with the world. ON top of the pyramid

• What has created the essential clash?

• What is Islamic Culture? What is Muslim Culture?
• Culture from the Islamic perspective – define good aspect and bad aspect
• This will help to correct our view and understandings

Module 2 - Foundations of Western Culture

• Culture – human input into what we naturally do

• Root of conflict between East and West is culture
Western Culture
• Greco Roman – From Greece and Rome - Began in Greece and went to Rome
• Greek - Idolatrous religion - worship gods, demi gods (Zeus, Diana, Hera Frotuna etc.)
• Sacrifices – most important act of worship – cows, bulls and pigs sacrifice for gods
Effects remain on society eg
• Names of the days of the week pg 15 Sat (Satur’s day, Sunday, Moon day, etc.), Other days from
Anglo Saxon words for gods
• knock on wood – practice that evolve that gods were in trees (Scandinavian belief)
• Two phrase to refer to roots of Western Culture - Greco Roman and Judeo Christian
Judeo Christian - Western civilization identifies its roots in Judaism and Christianity
• Idolatry had effect on their practice
• Jesus became god born to a human mother (common belief of the people of Rome and Greece )
– so adopted same belief that God can have a son with a human
Paganization of Christianity
• Jesus teachings paganized when transferred to Rome and Greece
• Main day for congregational worship shifted from Saturday to Sunday
• Sunday day of worship of Apollo, son of chief god, Jupiter –(Jesus son of God)
• Done to attract Roman pagans based on similarities – son of god
• Christ mass – another example of paganized Christianity. Christmas tree – worship of trees
forbidden in the bible but was taken from German – evergreen tree symbolizes eternal life
• Dec 25 – chosen as Jesus birth without any proof -336 AD - coincide with pagan marking the
birthday of the unconquered sun – longer days - celebration of harvest
• Phobia of 13 – Jesus Last supper with his 12 disciples - #13 betrayed him Judas
o Superstition of #13 – no 13 floor, or no 13 row
o Apollo moon craft in the 60’s – was Apollo 13 and took off on Friday 13, at 13:13 hrs –
so 13 was blamed ( a man with a PhD said this)
• West - Attachment to idolatrous belief
• West change to secular nature
• Dark ages – Europe dominated by church – anyone who went against Church – burnt
• 15th century – Martin Luther visited the Pope for spiritual enlightenment – found other than
what he expected. The Pope was an emperor (supposed to be God’s representative on earth)
Distorted Christianity (Roman Catholic Church) – The Dark Ages
• Scientist or anyone who questioned or spoke out against Church was tortured / heretic
 Re-Birth – Renaissance - 2 trends Church - reform and rejection
• Reform movement - Martin Luther – went to visit Pope saw him with crown on his head etc. just
like the kings.
o Protestant movement (they wanted to return to a purer form of Christianity – rejected
the Pope, Jesus was not worship and intercession through Saints were no longer done,
Priest were allowed to marry, pope not infallible), rejected the worship of Mary, stop
use of Latin in worship
• Rejection of religion and the existence of God - Hume – going back to Greek philosophy/ Science
• Roots of Western Civilization – idolatrous, Christianity confused, dominated distorted form,
Earth center of universe, orbited around the fixed sun
• Scientific challenge - Science leaves less room for God
• Greek science based on philosophical approach – mind was capable to understand and explain
everything – no one can challenge the inaccurate theories
• Muslim approach to science was by Experimental approach – prove things by trying it
• European Scientist came to the Muslims (Bagdad, Qurtaba) studied and took these ideas back
• Greek science based on mental explanation- mind everything – theories developed
• Language of science at that time was – Arabic
• Scientific idea that lead to Over throw of the church – Copernicus propose earth not center
• Galileo invented the telescope – concluded that Copernicus theory was right – Sun was center of
the earth. Galileo punished, books burnt etc
• Discredit the church and more scientist openly speak out
• Religious rejection - Role of church broken – people question whether god existed etc.
• Final blow to over throw Churches control – started in 1800s. From theist to deist (belief based
solely on reason) –then to atheism(no God)

2 theories which overthrow the Church – 19th century

1. Darwin’s theory of evolution - Biology
2. Charles Lyell’s - Principles of geology – shows normal forces account for landscape
• Until then church taught and believed that whatever we see was a result of the flood of Noah
• Charles Lyell’s – demonstrates forces of nature – rain, wind, snow, floods etc. – produces what
is around us – earth’s formation - product of nature working (and not that of a big flood)
people rejected the church – this attack the bible (because they calculated that the earth was
only 4000 + years old) . This theory shows that the earth was millions of years old
• (dealing with Greek astronomy incorporated in the church system but not in the bible – did not
attack the bible)
• Charles Lyle - Principles of Geology – gives rational answers to all previously unanswered
questions -> Turn Darwin from Christian to agnostic
Darwin - He set out on his journey believing in the bible and ended up an agnostic. He does not
know if there is a god – an agnostic. Read “Principles of geology” by C. Lyell
• Evolution - Result of the forces of nature  no need to mention god anymore to explain life on
the planet.
• Found the mechanical way to explain the origin of the various species on earth – result of the
forces of nature – prior to this it was creation – no need for God to explain life on planet
• Science found mechanistic explanations for everything
• Marx and Darwin - Some evolved more than others – scientific proof for imperialism, racism
•
• Survival of the fittest – top of the pyramid
 • White European evolve more than the rest human (White superior to other race)
Marx – Social issue – Religion to enslave the
Freidrich Nietzshe in 1885 – “God is dead”
Europe now – swinging to what is now called secularism

Humanistic movement – developing at the same time as the renaissance - Instead of looking at god and
the afterlife – let’s look at this life, what’s best for us here and now not what we might get later
Interest in God – less – overall removal of religion from people lives

Religion now divorced from mainstream of human life  worldly secular approach to life
New foundations of western civilization established – secularization
State, countries should be secular

Islamic view of age of earth – known best to Allah – not mentioned in Quran or Sunnah

Module 3 – Darwinism and it social effects Secularism

How is it that if Islam stands for peace then Islam is the major center of all conflict in the world?
• Can use the Red Indian example (mod 1 lecture)
• Red Indians fought for their survival – similar to what the Muslims are doing now
• European settler wipes out the Native Americans – on a scale unprecedented in history
• Would perceive the Indians as terrorist – the reality they were just fighting to survive
• Western – promoting the globalization of western civilization (Muslim are violent, warlike
savage people like the red Indians) from our perspective we are trying to hold on to our lands.
Palestine was our land – settlers were brought in. Iraq and Afghanistan Muslims countries
invaded
• 1993 statement – Muslim fundamentalism becoming the threat to global peace as well as the
cause of national and global disturbance (terrorism)
Secularism – Begin by scientist challenging the ideas of the Church, Charles Lylle followed by Darwinism

Darwinism – where do human beings come from?

• Through a mechanical force or principle - Survival of the fittest – species evolve from others
• White Europeans are more advanced than other human races (top of the pyramid)
• Affected both scientific and social world
• Social root – colonization – raping of the third world justified - people were uncivilized, savages
so civilized them by capturing their land, enslaving their people and stealing their wealth – all in
the name of Darwin evolution principle
• They feel they should impose their system on others – they are on top of the pyramid as a result
of evolution. All other are in the process of evolution. So by imposing the
• Process of humanism – developing in Europe - People focus more on human beings – hear and
now – what is best for human beings – less focus on God
20th century – age of secularism began
• A system of beliefs – a religion of the 20th century – western civilization
Secularism - A system of beliefs which rejects all forms of religious faith and worship
• It view that public education and other matters of civil policy should be conducted without the
introduction of a religions element
 • Religion has no role to play on the functioning of society (individuals can belief what they want)
• Considered unethical, wrong, evil, back ward to impose a religion on a people
• Rejection of Christianity  human being need to develop their own systems to govern their
affairs – choose pagan origin – democracy
• Secularism at time of Renaissance – humanism
Democracy – instrument by which the secular society will develop a new culture /way of life
• Right and wrong, good and evil would be decided by democratic means
• Democratic – means rules of the people – supposed to be practiced in ancient Athens, Greece –
rule of people was not really rule of people – more than 50 % of the people of Athens were
slaves and slave had no vote. 40 % were male and female – female more than male and female
had no vote – so democracy practiced by about 15 % of the population – it is a political tool
• Today that percentage is even less – looks / feel as if the people are involved. Reality is those
who decide policy don’t change from gov’t to government
o Elections – are illusion that the population are active participants in governing itself
o Eg mass of people likes free education – so why don’t we have it?
o Sudan –one of the poorest country on the earth has free education from Kindergarten
to PhD.
o American – riches country – cannot have free education – the wills and wishes of the
people are not implemented – so no democracy in reality
• Secular democracy – humans are a product of the evolutionary process having no more
purpose than the other animals around them – “Eat, drink & be merry for tomorrow you may
die.”
• Democratic means for determine right and wrong – is this a good or bad thing?
• Western democracy reaches beyond the confines of government and affects all phases of
human relations – a political tool as well as a social principle and philosophy
What are the conflict / contradiction between Islam and Democracy?
• Islam is fundamentally opposed to secularism (see definition above)
• Islamic teachings are based on the principle that Religious beliefs and teachings – faith and
worship should govern all aspect of society and its function – public education, all matters of
civil policy should be guided by religions belief and worship
• Root of western civilization is secularism and root of Islamic civilization is Shariah (religious
belief applied in all aspects of life) – there is a fundamental clash between the two
• Shariah does not require all other societies to submit to religion - No compulsion in religion –
free to hold their beliefs
• Shairah can co-exist with secular religion of the world
• Secularism has a different agenda driven by the Darwinian imperative(top of pyramid) – it is a
necessity for them to impose secularism everywhere in the world and to reduce religion to just
a personal belief and to govern by secular democratic -- they feel it is their duty to liberate
human – evolutionary responsibility – to save the rest of the world. They cannot peacefully co-
exist eg Cuba – they want to crush it by any means
• Clash – we are a peace loving people but it is the other side which is imposing and encroaching
its system on the Muslim world
• Tool used by western and eastern secularism – to determine the culture of society was
democracy (from Greece, governance of the people was a myth as it is today)
Secularism total in opposition to Shariah
Shariah holds the Muslim society together – has a direct role to play
Is Shariah opposing to democracy as it is opposed to Secularism?
• Not opposed in the same way.
• There are elements of democracy that are correct that Shariah recognizes and others that are
not correct and Shariah opposes those

Democracy based on 3 principles –equality, rational empiricism and discussion and consent
1. Equality – humans being equal –
a. Islam recognizes this – all human beings are equally responsible before God based on
whatever God has given them – In Islam emphasis on equality is in belief in God, So not
absolute equality
b. Western meaning of Equality in The ability to reason – equally share in making decision in
the society
c. Fundamental concept
2. Rational Empiricism – give full confidence to human reason and their experience –
a. Human being can rationally arrive at what is best for society from their experience and
reason – to some degree it is true and to other it is far from the truth eg.
b. Constitution of the world’s greatest democracy – American Constitution – Article 1 section 2
– statement considered to be ignorance, injustice, racisma black man considered 3/5 of a
white man.
c. Nature of human beings to make decision to suit themselves – eg Caste system
d. Reason and experience – being sufficient to made the decision (not so in Islam)
e. Islamic Shariah – this would not have happened – no matter what colour you are you are all
equal. Decisions made by God. Man will make decision that is biased towards them.
f. Islam opposes this principles but recognizes a level of human experiences to make decisions
on a different level

3. Discussion and Consent – democratic decisions are made

a. Application of the reason base on equality – have to discuss and then agree (consent)
b. Everybody ideas treated equally – problematic – equal say to those with and without
knowledge – not wise – democracy not based on wisdom but based on an idea
c. Discussion – no one possesses absolute truth – all sides of an argument given free
expression
d. What everyone agreed upon is the truth – whatever is right today can be wrong tomorrow
e. Truth, falsehood, good and evil all become relative
f. God laws / Divine laws is not by this method – what is evil will always be evil and what is
good will always be good – Shariah provide a solid moral foundation
g. Democracy has no solid moral foundation – morals change from day to day
h. Islam – Shurah among the experts not just anyone

Module 4 – Secularism, Democracy

Difference between Secularism and Islam
Secularism – feels duty bound to impose their values on others – forced globalization
Islam – Shariah – does not impose their ruling on others not under their rule

Secular system decide what is right and wrong by democracy (rule of the people)
 • Pornography now becomes art
• Homosexual was considered a medical illness now it has been removed from the medical text
and replaced by homophobia (those who hate homosexuals)
• Islam – Homosexuality is a crime and will always remain a crime – punishment is death
• Islamic law is absolute and unchangeable
• Islam will never change it stance and that is why globalization see Islam as a problem. Islam
teachings are firm – will not change
Position of Shariah with regards to secular democracy
• Secularism - Islam oppose it 110%
• Democracy – Islam oppose to elements of it – to some of its concepts but it does apply its
principles in certain areas – limited application
When the west call to secular democracy – it calls to it with a bias towards secularism
• If you are secular but not democratic – they still like you
• If democratic but not secular – don’t like you eg Algeria and Turkey
• Secularism is the guiding light of western civilization foreign policy – it determines everything
with the exception of economics (why is America quiet about Saudi Arabia – Oil)
• Globalization is really globalization of secular thought – may or may not be democratic. Islam is
their one stumbling block – clash of civilization
Islamic Position
• The concept of secularism is in direct conflict with Islamic civilization
• Shariah governs both education and civil policy.
• To rule by other than the divine law is considered corruption and an act of disbelief – 5:44 –
Whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed is a disbeliever
• 6:162 - My prayer, sacrifice, living… is all for Allah – Allah should govern every aspect of human
life.
• If truth according to their desires the heaven and earth would all become corrupted. The whole
earth would be corrupted – this is what is happening today
• Sane, adult human being accountable for their choice
• Whoever does not judge by what Allah reveal they are corrupt and sinful – Shairah should
govern every aspect of human life
• Man can contribute to secondary and tertiary laws not primary laws - done by mutual
consultation – Shurah
• Islam can co-exist (live along with it) with secularism
• Problem – Secularism trying to impose itself on Islam – this requires Muslim to resist (if you see
an evil you have to resist)
• Islam Requires Muslims to be in communities y and devise alternative to avoid what is harmful
/corrupt in that society
• Islam does not accept or support that a Muslim representative to say that Islam does not have
anything against the evils they practice (like homosexuality)
• Muslims have to be firm

Module 5 – Cultural Islam and Traditionalism

Realities of the Muslim World
• Many don’t follow Islam
 • Muslim people’s cultures, traditions and practices -In opposition to Quran and Sunnah
• When shown true teachings of Quran and Sunnah – reject it and go back to customs just like
pagans in the Prophet (saw) time. “if it was good for our forefather it is good for us”
• 5:104 – When you tell them about Islam ….What we found our parents doing is sufficient for us
• Attitude is similar to that of the pagans
• WE need to return to pure/ unadulterated Islam to face the Western civilization
• Missionary focus on common Muslims caught up in cultural Islam “folk Islam” (blind following of
local traditions) – easy avenue to propagate their teachings
• Christian dawah focus on the ignorant masses
• Islamic dawah focus on the educated masses – they are the one prepared to think

How cultural Islam differs from Islamic Culture - Roots of cultural Islam
• Pillars, sources for common practices which are against Islamic teachings – keep people away
from truth
• Islam did not erase the culture of other people
• Islam affirm cultural practices that does not oppose Islamic teachings – eg generosity among
the Arabs (Arabs knows for this even before Islam)
• Elevate and correct their cultural practice of generosity
• Islam elevate that principle – believe in Allah and the last day will be hospitable to your guests
• It also corrected an element of it – the “show off” part of generosity – among the first to throw
in hell would be a generous man – give for show so people would praise him
• Islam cancel the custom of killing girl children – praise those who have righteous daughters
When Islam came; customs that:
• Practices not oppose to Islamic teachings but agree with it - Islam affirm and confirms it
• Negative  it corrected it
• Evil  cancel / forbade
• Neutral – neither oppose nor recommend it

Traditionalism – elements of Muslim people’s cultures which are in opposition to Islamic teachings
• Elements that Islam does not oppose there is no problem with that
• Divided into 4 - Pre-Islamic Practices, adopted practices, religions innovation ,
fanaticism/factionalism

1. Pre-Islamic Practices
• Practices which existed among Muslims prior to Islam (blind following of location traditions)
• People carry these customs with them and continue to do it
• Some are very trivial – eg
• Red wedding dress for India (society imposes a particular color which is associated with another
pagan community – problem) – in opposition to Islamic teachings. Considered a bidah due to its
pagan origin.
• Many other practices with regards to marriage in India like this
• Similar case – white wedding dress in other countries – following the Christians
• Harm is to the religion – subtle – so appear harmless
• Female genital mutilation - Egypt, Somalia etc- practice before Islam  harmful
• Customs and tradition result in murder
• Bride burnings – dowry – female give it to males – Hindus. Some Muslims also involved in this
 • Mentality of these practices leads to such violence pg 24
• Widow woman should not remarry - Egypt. Family would kill woman if they remarry
• Honor killing – Jordon, Pakistan, Turkey – kill to defend the family honor
Islam opposes this in principle whether it appears harmless or it is harmful because it represents a
mentality that is harmful

2. Adopted practices
Muslims being in contact with non-Muslims adopt their traditions and customs due to their contact
Example:
• Celebration of the Prophet’s birthday –Imitation of Christian / Christmas – not accepted in Islam.
It has pagan roots. Prohibited in Islam to do – Innovation – bidah
o Qaseeda filled with shirk
• Tombs over graves - Symbols of Muslim world – Taj Mahal – adopted practice of building a
mausoleum over the dead – symbol of disobedience – prohibited
• Shrine of Sheik MuhiudDin Chishti in Ajmeer, India – Structure built over shrine – people make
pilgrimage to this grave – affects the faith in a major way. Islam teaches the prohibition of
intermediacy
• Wedding ring – Christian tradition under the colonial rule many Muslims adopt this – It
symbolized the belief in Trinity – not acceptable in Islam

Religions innovation – Sufism

Fanaticism – Madhabsism

Module 6
Q. What is the relationship between secularism and democracy?
A. The secular state uses democracy to determine what is right and wrong.
The secular state removes religion and replaces it with democracy to determine right and wrong
Democracy is the instrument by which the secular state determines right and wrong

Review
Rational empiricism – giving the human mind the ability to determine what is ultimately good for
human beings
Conflict with Islamic thought
• This is an elevation of human mind to the status of God
• Intellectual / philosophical sect the Mutazillite – same trap – human mind determine what is
acceptable and what is not - human logic before revelation
• The correct way – revelation before human logic
• If human logic cannot match Gods command – don’t say it is not relevant, or it does not make
sense.
Difference between Shariah (Islam) and Rational empiricism
• Shariah hold that Revelation comes first before human reason and logic – hadith – wipe the
bottom of sock if logical but the Prophet wipe the top of socks
• Rational empiricism holds that it comes first if it is even to consider revelation
• Secular democratic way of thinking is a part of a deviant way of thinking that entered among
Muslims
What is the relationship between the Mutazillite and secular democratic thought?

Q. What is the fundamental basic harm that comes from rational empiricism?
A. The greatest harm that comes from it is the removal of moral foundation from the society. The
decision of what is morally good / evil is left to the human mind through rational empiricism and
discussion and consent
• Incest, homosexuality, adultery, fornication not considered a crime now

Islam – moral foundation does not change – it is fixed.

Module 7
The secular democratic system:
• Have a problem with the Fundamental and conservatives Muslims – those who would adhere to
the teachings of Islam
• Use moderate, liberal Muslims (modernist and others) to Support and promote their program
• Missionary activities – part of globalization process – Christianity looked at as a step towards a
democratic ideal.
• They will support, defend, and protect missionary activity because it serves their end
• Missionary focus on “folk Islam” Cultural Islam – mixes up practices – their main call is “God is
Love” – easy message – just accept God love them – appealing
• Commonality between Folk Islam and Paganism of the past – Mentality same – what the
forefathers did is not wrong, what is good for them good for us. This is refuted in the Quran
• Quran – if you call them to what Allah and His messenger brought they will say what their fore
parents did – but their fore parents did not have knowledge – so right and wrong cannot be
judged from them
Sufism
• Represents the embodiments of religious innovations
• Defends and promote it
• Which has its own hierarchy of scholarship
• Like another religion Challenging the one which the prophet brought

People feel the practices are minor – but the problem is that people lives are at stake

Why are ancient inherited traditional practices as well as adopted practices opposed by Islam whether
they are major or minor?
Because of the mentality
• Unwillingness to submit to Quran and Sunnah – pride, attachment of love
• Becomes a form of ibadah / worship when we direct them to other than Allah – when we love
what our parents did more than what Rasullulah said to do
• You would not truly believe until Allah and His messenger is more beloved to you than anyone
or anything in this world
• Mentality represents a rejection – an unwillingness to submit like Satan unwillingness to
submit - Pride in self
• This is Pride in tradition, people, custom or way – this is what is evil (same mentality that caught
Abu Talib = love of forefather, honor, pride, respect)
• Foundation of disbelief
 • Islam opposes it – because the mentality that drive the people is a mentality of kufr
• Very serious though it may appear minor and insignificant

3. Sufism -Mysticism
Mysticism – an experience of union with God and the belief that man’s goal lies in seeking that union.
• Origin – ancient Greek philosophy –(Plato) human soul is part of God that has fallen into this
world and covered this material body – realize that each and every individual have within him
God. Like Gnosticisms
• Most important – realizing you are God  main effort would be to reunite that part of him
which is god with God
• Annihilation of human will before the will of God
• Muslims start this practice around the 8th century CE
• Hindus – called it Muksha, Buddhist called it nirvana, Muslims call it itihaad or wusool, hulool
(concept of wadatul wudud)

• Anti – Islam –– claim to be the true Islam – the reality - a completely different system
• Divide live into 2 – Shariah and Haqeeqa
o Shariah – laws that should govern people lives in general
o Haqeeqa – represents inner understanding that represents true Islam
o Worship only through Shariah – is an idolater
o Worship god through Haqeeqa only – corrupt, major sinner because not bound by Shariah
o Should worship god by both but what is most important is inner Haqeeqa
o Like Orange or egg – symbolism – both inside and skin important. If only focus on peel or
shell miss the most important part the orange / yolk itself
• Develop an alternative way – tariqah (to replace sunnah). Tariqah means road, path, way
• Their ultimate goal is Fana – the dissolution of the ego and Wusul – the meeting and unification
of the human soul with Allah in this life.
• Introduce innovation to build infrastructure of this new way – stages and states.
• Maqamat (stations) and Halat (states)
Dress
• First symbol associated with them – dress – the wear wool – raw wool garments –
uncomfortable (scratchy and itchy) – same mentality of Shi’ites when they beat themselves on
Muharram. Claim it is a means of purification – but it is their choice to inflict this on themselves
• Woolen garments – same as monks before them – by torturing the body get closer to God – self
torture – penance
• Began with outer dress and end with the inner claim to become one with God
• External practice - Suf – Arabic for wool – so name Sufi
Tariqah
• Most evil part is becoming one with God
• Tariqah became turkh (pl) many paths – Naqshabandi, Tijani, Qadiri etc many more – claim all
paths lead to God. Each is like a spoke on a wheel with God is the hub – once you are on the
path to God its ok
• Include other paths like Buddhism, hindu – perennialism eg Martin Lings
• Adopted idea of Saint hood – those who reach the path are the saints – they claim to be God
• Al Hallaj – Recognize God sign –“I am the created truth. Eternal truth My friends and teachers
were Iblees and Pharaoh…” Though he was arrested he did not recant. He was beheaded
 o According to Sufi legend when his head was cut off and on the ground it continues to
say An-alHaq –I am the truth, I am the truth
• Tariqah develop different practices to become one with Allah
Dhikr
• Develop exercises which they used the names of Allah to give them powers and bring them
closer to Allah – names of Allah become a power source for them
• Involves head and body movements and sometimes dancing (whirling dervishes)
• Promising you many things if you say a certain name a number of times
• Certain rituals to make Dhikr – eg have to say lailaha illah 700 times, then make ghusl, not eat
meat – then answer would be quick  These are all bidah
• The way the ritual is done depends on which order they belong to
• Develop legend and fairy tales It’s like magic
• Names of Allah became the tool which they used in the different orders and how you do it
depends on which tariqah you belong to
• The attribute these practice to the prophet through fabricated chains of narrations
Sufism
• This is another religion – this is not what the Prophet brought
• Some of them don’t even pray – saying with every heart beat they remember Allah.
• Claim when they reach the state of Wusul - they can see Allah and that they don’t have to pray
• Allah said: Establish the prayer for My remembrance
• Develop practices of making tawaf, animal sacrifices around shrines and tombs of the saints
• Use of Music (called it sama) they made music halal. Music enters Islam through Sufism
• Made marijuana halal
• Made up many fables about people – among them was their Popular Saint – Abdul Qadir Al Jilani
• Represents a counter movement in Islam – a satanic trap
• Dhikr beads – bidah – because its origin is from another religion – from Catholic rosary
• Most popular dhikr beads made in Italy labeled “Mohammad rosaries”
• Means of keeping count is not bidah – can use to keep count – mechanical means of keeping
count
• Problem - Not in individual elements – greatest evil – concept of intermediacy – the idea of
intermediacy between human and Allah. Saints now become man means to get to God

Module 8 - Factionalism / Fanaticism

Pre- Islamic practices Spiritual harm - Mentality – prevented people from submitting to Allah and His
messenger
Adopted Practices  Potential harm – physical harm – bride burning, FGM, murder
Innovation Practices  Sufism – belief – become one with Allah – put them in special status and as
intermediaries – greatest harm

Factionalism / Fanaticism
• Blind following of 4 Madhabs due to people inability to distinguish between fiqh and shariah
• Treat the fiqh like shariah and go astray.
Fiqh / Shariah - What is the difference between Fiqh and Shariah?
• Fiqh is changeable. Shariah is fixed.
 • Shariah is revelation – Quran and Sunnah. Fiqh is the implementation of the Shariah – Fiqh
means understanding – how you understood and apply the revealed laws (Shariah)
• Fiqh – people can understand and interpret it different ways – different fiqh
• Fiqh - Human understanding – most reasonable and logical understanding
• Shariah – more general – lays down the principle. Fiqh – specific – applications of Shariah in
given circumstances
• Shariah means – the straight path or a waterhole where animals gather daily to drink pg 43
• Fiqh – true understanding of what is intended. “To whomsoever Allah wishes good, he gives the
Fiqh (true understanding) of the religion.”
• Fiqh – the science of deducing Islamic laws from evidence found in the sources of law

Early days – many madhabs – no. decreased due to variety of factors - political, economic – 4 remained
Imam Shafee – after studying under Imam Malik for 20 years went to Egypt under Imam Layte said Imam
Layte was a greater Faqi but his weak students cause his madhabs to be lost.

Madhabs
• Era of righteous Caliphs – ijma evolved. Ijihad became an independent principle of Fiqh
• Shift from caliphate to monarchy – caliph /king no longer head of madhab – Umayyad dynasty
661-750
• The only infallible madhab is that of Rasullullah – divine madhab and deserved to be followed
• All other madhabs – product of human efforts – will have mistakes
• Scholars dispersed – so increase in ijtihad as ijma was difficult to achieve
• Abbaside dynasty (750-850) madhabs flourished, becoming distinct but still flexible
• Other madhabs – Laythi, Thawri, Zahiri, Jariri and Awza’e
• Four remaining Madhabs – Abu Hanifa, Malik, Imam Shafee and Ahmad ibn Hanbal
•
Scholars oppose blind following of their rulings.
• Imam Malik refused to make his Muwatta the constitution of the Muslim land – he said there
are people who relate hadith that I never heard
• Imam Hanifa – Don’t write down my opinion. I may have one today and change it tomorrow
Take from where I took mine
• Imam Shafee – If the hadith is authentic then it is my madhab
• Correct approach we should have – Mathabs were Human efforts to understand the message of
the Prophet saw
Why is it ok to flip and flop – change practices?
• If you find one way is more authentic it is ok to change opinion
• When in search of truth change as many times as it is required to find the truth
• Imam Shafee changed his opinions many times –as he travelled from Yemen, Bagdad, Egypt and
gain knowledge
• Change as many times as the truth requires you to change –
• Pride is what stop one from doing this (misguidance)
• Truth may be revealed to you gradually – so need to change
• Change to find the correct way

Taqlid and Sacking of Bagdad – 13th Century – 1258

• Change occurred – following of Madhabs more rigid
 • People name themselves according to the madhabs – AlMalaki, Al Shafee
• Court debates –Between Hanafi and Shafi schools  resulted in rigidity because their goal was
not for the truth but to win the bag of gold. Winner of debate gets a bag of gold
• From these debates – rise of hypothetical fiqh – fiqh that had no place in the real world
• Hambali madhabs – were mostly hadith – so not much involved in hypothetical fiqh
• Scholars ruled -
o will not accept anything outside of the 4 madhtabs
o Anyone who is in a madhab had to stay in that – no switching of madhabs allowed –
crime. Like caste
o Rulings were made – Hanafi not allowed to marry Shafee
o Prayers around the kabah – 4 – one for each madhab lead by their imams
o Refused to follow one of the madhab – considered and apostate
• Rigidity split the ummah into 4 different sect / madhabs
• Remnants remain until today – people continue to do things a certain way even when truth
comes to them – saying he/she is a shafee or a hanafee. Similar to following a culture
Question / Answer
Miracles / Magic
Not our criterion for our deen – The Prophet did it but he was the Prophet
The sahabas did not do it and they were the best of generations
If it was something of high faith then the best of generation would have done it

Module 9 - Sectarian nature of factionalism

• Muslim Dark Ages – 1299 CE – rise of the Ottoman Empire by the Turkish leader Uthman I until
the decline under the attacks of European colonialism 6th century
• Scholars left all forms of Ijtihad – issue legal ruling intended to close the door to ijtihad
• New concept – one of the 4 madhabs had to be followed for one’s Islam to be valid
• Followers of one madhab refused to pray behind the Imam of another madhabs – 4 prayers at
the Haram – one for each madhab – remained until 1924 when Abdul Aziz ibn Saud conquered
Makkah
•
Sectarian nature of factionalism – past focused on Madhabs
• Shariah – unchanged, fixed
• Fiqh – application of Shariah - not fixed, flexible and can be questions
• Traditional/customary approach – mixed up these two. Treated fiqh like Shariah
o Eg ruling on cigarette was considered makrooh because of smell it cause but later ruled
haram when it become apparent that it cause cancer and death The traditionalist
continue to say it is makrooh
• Madhabs – taken as 4 different Shariahs.
• Reinforce the factionalist mentality – split the ummah
• Rigidity did not exist earlier – take place after the sacking of Baghdad
o Books destroyed, scholars killed
• Scholars interpret hadith to support the prediction of Imams and Madhabs
• Continue till 1924 – ibn Saud conquered Mecca – tore down all the structures around the Kabah
and had one Imam and everyone pray behind him  people more willing to pray behind other
imams
 • Method of Ijtihad outlined – conditions exclude many scholars from past and present time
Codified Islamic Law
• Completed in 1876 under the Ottoman caliphs
• Called Majallah al Ahkam al Adilah (the Just codes)
• Panel of 7 Fiqh scholars – all from Hanafi madhab – reason why Hanafi madhabs is so
widespread
• 1764-74 – dissolution of Ottoman Empire (First World War) – division into colonies  European
law codes replaced Islamic laws throughout the Muslim world
• Islamic Law only in Saudi Arabia (Hanbali madhab), Pakistan (Hanafi) and Iran (Jafari madhab)

Reformers - Scholars against Blind following – Taqleed Ama

• Scholars in opposition to Taqleed and calling to the return to Quran and Sunnah – open up to
ijtihad
ibn Taymiyah – 1263 – 1328 - from period immediately after fall of Baghdad
• spent lots of his life in prison – because he oppose taqlid and raise the banner of ijtihad
• He was imprisoned and vilified and considered a heretic / deviant
• Studied Hanbali madhab. Also studied sources of Islam law and all Islamic sciences known
• Major students of ibn Taymiyah - Ibn al Qayim, Ad Dahabi, ibn Kathir

Shah Walliullah Dihlawi (1703-1762) - Indian Subcontinent – (about 500 yrs after ibn Taymiyah)– called
to resistance to taqleed
• He studied Hanafi madhab – but studied Hadith and Fiqh in dept
• Doors of ijtihad reopened and schools of fiqh reunited – his call
• Promoted the idea for people to follow whatever they wish
• Encourage the study of Hadith – which was neglected at that time (people used to read hadith
for barakah at that time)
• Sufis and Deobandis praise him
• He became the founders of the Ahulul Hadith movement in the subcontinent – considered the
5th madhab
• Ahullul Hadith - Say it was haram to follow a madhab

Ash Shawkani –1757-1835 CE - contemporary of Shah walliullah –

• From Zaidi background (Shia) not like the other Shias . Zaidi fiqh similar to Hanafi fiqh. Main
difference was that they felt that Ali ra was a better choice. Born in Yemen
• Became a major hadith scholar. Left Zaidi madhab
• Works in Fiqh – issues studied from point of view of all madhabs with conclusion based on most
accurate proofs
• Position – Taqlid was haram

Islamic Renaissance
• 19th century - Western colonization – affected Muslims intellectual – Islam combine with
Western thought and scientific approach modernist
• Muslims intellectuals rebel against cultural Islam  modernism and fundamentalism
Modernism – Westernized Muslim response to Cultural Islam – modify Islam teachings to
confirm with Western culture
Fundamentalism – orthodox response to madhab fanaticism – return to Quran and Sunnah
Modernism
Jamaludin Afghani – leader of modernist movement 1839-1897 CE
• travel the Muslim world and calling for pan Islamism (India, Makkah, Constantinople, Egypt)
• trying to revive Islam and remove barriers –
• Taught at University of Azhar
• Denounce taqleed and called for free political and scientific thought
• Some ideas became extreme – traps of Mutazillite – human intellect elevated to the level of
revelation – used to interpret
• Interpretation of Islam not in keeping with Quran and Sunnah
• Involve in Masonic movement
Muhammad Abduh
• Against Taqlid and for ijtihad
• Focus was Egypt – need for reform in Egypt – moral reform, enlightened education and
Reinterpretation of religious doctrine
• Modernist extreme
• Tafseer (completed by his student Muhammad Abduh) – miracles explained away using the
forces of nature. Eg Al Fiel – birds dropping pebbles on the Yeminite army and Abraha and
elephants when they attack the Kabah – airborne (mosquitoes) microbes (disease) spreading
disease among the elephant and wipe them out  this put him in the category of modernism
• Made Fatwa – permissible for business transactions with Riba (he based it on dire necessity)
o Unlike Tantawi and Yusuf Ali who justify interest saying that interest in Quran refer to
excessive interest – small interest charged today is not included
Muhammed Rashid Rida – main student of Muhammad Abdu 20th century (1935)
• Carry on attack against Taqleed but avoided the excesses of Muhammad Abdu interpretations
• Fundamental approach – good writer, scholar, salafi
Qassim Ameen – student of Muhammad Abduh
• First to attack polygamy and simplicity of Islamic divorce – modernist
• Attack the veil – lead demonstration in Cairo where women took off their veil and burn it in the
streets
• Died early – 1908 earlier that Rashid Rida

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan - India – mid early to late 19th Century
• Proposed the Islamic rival on basis of cooperation on British colonialist (hence the title Sir)
• Reinterprets Islam according to liberal 19th century world view – most prominently presented in
British culture
• Natural Scientific truth – human prosperity and individual freedom
• Taught Islam was the Spirit of the Quran - found appeal to the natural world
• Use the term naturalism
• Doctrine – nechariyyah (an Arabised English term) – reform platform within Islam
• Scholars at his time attack him
• Loved by British colonial and well to do Muslims – Supported Anglo Muhammad Oriental College
at Aligarh – now known as the Aligarh Muslim University 1875
o Headquarter of the communist movement among students
o Strongest party in Aligarh University is the communist party till today
• Had worst interpretation that Muhammed Abduh
• Students and disciples led modernist trend among the Indian subcontinents with liberal
interpretation of Islam – women took off hijab and became the dupatta
Module 10 – Movements
13 to 20th century – practice of 4 prayers at Haram – one for each Madhab
Ibn Saud – tore down all the mausoleum on the graves and remove the 4 stations for the Madhab
20th revival of the Islamic Spirit – movements began –to reform Muslim beliefs and practices

Reform movements
Ikhwan Muslimun in Egypt and Jamat Islami in India
• Focus on the call to Muslim Rule – Islamic State
• Egypt – Hasan al Banna – Ikhwan Muslimun
• India – Abul Ala Mawdudi – Jamat Islami
• Both call to establishment of Islamic state and to replace the colonial rulers – so came into
contact with opposition of the leaders
• Jamal Abdun Nasir – govt of Egypt – torture and execute and crush Ikwan Muslimun – forced
underground – secret – form structure similar to communist cells
• Oaths of allegiance to bind members
• Many members fled to different part of the world
• Some went to UK – set up FOSIS, MSA, ISNA – all part of Ikhwan – to recruit more members
• Some members broke away and form ICNA
India – conflict – Mawdudi sentenced to death – underground movement

-------------

Mulana Muhammad Iliyas – Jamat Tableeg - India

• Focus – bring people back to the masjid – masjid were empty during the colonial era
• Combine practices with Sufi sects
• Avoid political statements – move around freely – not a treat to the colonial govt.
• Own system and approach and books filled with inauthentic materials

Salafi movements
• Egypt – Anasar al Sunnah founded by Sh. Hamid al Fiqhi, Abdur Rahman al Wakil and Abdur
Razzaq Hamzah
• Ahle Hadith movement in India founded by Sh. Thanaullah al Amristsari
• Both salafi group – focus on correction of Muslim belief and practices – Aqueeda

---------
2nd half of 20th century –
• Nasu din Albani – Islamic Revival in Syria
• Sh. Ibn Baz and Sh. Ibn Uthaymin in Saudi Arabi
• Muqbil ibn Hadi – Yemen
• All the above continue to call to reform of beliefs and practices
• What we will call the salafi movements

Factional elements
 • Ikwan or Jamtul Islami – the ones that call to Baiya – feelings developed – don’t take baiya then
you are not with them – deviant – factionalism
• Started to become rigid and define acceptable scholars
• If you are not with them – then you are deviant
• Lack correct focus – focus should be on aqueeda

Movements – extreme branches

Takfir al Hijra, jama al ul Jihad and Jama ah al Islamiyyah – extreme groups – off shoot of Ikhwan
• Violent means of changing order – assassination, turmoil to seize power
• Methodology of the communist – create revolt

FIS – Algeria – try to seize control democratically but went underground and start a military – failure
None succeeded except in Sudan

Sudan – overthrow the colonial rule and establish Shariah in early 80s
• Ikwan movement established a strong based
• Infiltrated the police, government, airforce etc
• The govt was not able to use the police against them – almost a blood less coup
• And Ansar al Sunanh work together with them
• Ground work was laid
• Islamic Law enforced – open the doors and let the prisoners out
• Retry those who had major crimes (murder ect.) under Shariah law
• Implement Shariah – crime decrease by 40+ %

Turkey – Sayid Nursi Movement

Tunisia and Libya and – Sanusi Movement – also try to over throw the colonial powers

Sudan – Muhammad Ahmad – known as the Mahdi – military movement against British colonial rule –
was off with his teachings – claim Prophet told him (Chinese General killed in Sudan – shock for British)

Sadiq – leader of opposition party – descendant of Muhammad Ahmad – they are still there in Sudan
Wear thobes with pocket in back and front

Movements – labeled in the western media as Fundamentalism

• Last half of 20th Century – all Muslims groups/movement labeled as fundamentalist
• Even PLO Palestine liberations Organization (mixture of communist, Christians and Muslims ) aim
was to set up a secular state – not Muslim organization but also labeled as Fundamentalist
• Hamas movement – want Islamic state
• PLO – not Muslims and terrorist but also called / labeled as Muslim Fundamentalist
• Media TV, Media – labeled all the groups that call to return to Quran and Sunnah as terrorist
• Secretary General of NATO – North American Treaty Organization – include Countries of France,
Europe and Germany
o Stated in 1995 – Muslim Fundamentalism is at least as dangerous as Communist once was –
do not underestimate this threat – it represents terrorism, religious fanaticism and
exploitation of social and economic justice

Fundamentalism
Definition: Was first used by Christian’s protestant – based on belief in verbal infallibility of the bible.
Developed as a reaction against the theory of evolution and historical study of the Bible. Opposing
Christian teachings that reconcile with finding with science
• According to this definition all Muslim must be a fundamentalist - The Quran is 100% word of
God– all Muslims believe in this
• Anyone who deny even a word of the Quran has become an apostate from Islam

Media – anyone who call to return to Quran and Sunnah labeled as fundamentalism – terrorist

Questions and Answers

Two Adhan
Time of Prophet – one Adhan
Time of Uthman – market place grown – he someone to the market place to let people know time for
Jumah is coming (based on at time of Prophet there were two Adhan for Fajr)
Now with technology – with amplifier – Adhan can be heard all over – so no need for second Adhan

Taliban and Al Qaida movements

Al Qaida – violent extreme – not the methodology of the Prophet – communist methodology - makes
dawah more difficult
Taliban – intention was good – started off good
Chechnya – has an Islamic movement – was defeated

Module 11 - Islamic Culture

Culture – Cultivation, cultivation of the mind, manners, good manners
A person who is cultured is one who is well mannered
What human beings add to their natural inheritance of their behavior (sleep, eat, walk, marry etc)
Culture – means of defining good and evil – what is good and what is wrong

Review
Cultural clash -
• Western culture could not co-exist with other cultures without dominating it. It felt duty bound
by its Darwinian imperative to dominate and impose their culture on the rest of the world
• Islam – culture superior to all other cultures because of its divine origin. Feel duty bound to live
according to this code
• Western would not rest until Muslims submit to them. Muslims would not submit because the
fundamental teachings of Islam  clash occurred
• Islam society – capable of co-existing. Western culture prove itself that it cannot co-exist

Cultural Islam dominates –- Islamic culture – unable to distinguish from true Islamic teachings
(innovation, factionalism)
Reform movements – try to correct this state – revive teachings
Political movement – reestablish Islamic rule
Intellectual movements – some led to extremism (against polygamy , veil)
Religious revival – salafi movement
Violent wing – young people not prepared to wait – unleash violence – bombing, assassination 
constrict Islamic movements and teachings
All the above movements lumped together under the name of Fundamentalism

Solution
Return to true Islamic Culture
• Imam Malik – later part of Ummah will not able to reform itself successfully except by using
what reformed the early part of the Ummah (what the Prophet saw did)
• Ummah divided into 73 sects – 72 go to Hell one go to heaven. The path that the Prophet and
Sahaba is on – essence of what Salafeism means
• Understand Islam as the Sahabas understand Islam
• Not a 6th madhabs – that focused on certain scholars
• Methodology – called Hajr – anyone who made a mistake abandon that person
o Translation of the book “The creed of Al Barbahari” led to this extremism
o Al Barbahari – warn people how to deal with heretics - to avoid people – people who
deny Allah’s attributes, led to their execution
o People use these statements and apply it to this time.
o Terrorizing way of thinking and acting that decimated the ranks of the salafi movements
• Sh. NasruDin Al bani – (Hajr) abandonment is not to be practiced at that time the majority of
Muslims were on the right path so abandoning the deviant and isolating them had an impact but
now massive of the Ummah is deviant to isolate does not work
• Hadith – “The religion consists essentially of good advice” – share the correct understanding of
Islam to all those who will listen

Islamic Culture
Culture which arise naturally from Islam
Definition: Traditions and customs which evolve from the day to day practice of people following
authentic teachings of Islam
Islamic Culture: Would be Common in all countries
Muslim culture: Variation - What vary from country to country and place to place – this is the culture of
the people eg color, style of dress
Example of variations: Food, dress, way people walk, talk

What are the Roots of Islamic cultures / teachings?

Islamic culture is produced naturally by implementation of Islamic teachings - hadeeth Jibreel
• 5 pillar of Islam and 6 pillars of Iman – implementation of these 2 groups of principles result in
the Islamic culture
• Most of fiqh related to these
• Aqueeda focus on Iman
• Muamulat – social interactions – govern by principles establish in the Quran and Sunnah
(prohibition and permission) – second aspect of foundation of Islam and Islamic culture
• Summarized the goals of Islamic culture – what is the focus? Goal? Morality

Morality / Character
"Innamaa Bu'ithtu li utammima Makaarimal Akhlaaq"- "Indeed, I was only sent to perfect/complete (for
you) the highest/noblest moral character traits." Bukhari-in Adab al Mufrad
(Not his Saheeh bukhari). Bayhaqi-Shu'b al Eeman. Authenticated by Sh. Albani

• Indeed I was only sent to complete the most noble of character trait - Hadith
• Allah describe the character of the prophet –Quran - Surely you have a magnificent character –
character referred to here is the Islam
• Islam is magnificent – basis of Muslim character
• When Aisha ra was asked about the Prophet’s character she said his character was the Quran
• Importance of Morality as the central principle in Islam
• Morality – awareness of right and wrong, good and evil, act in accordance with what one knows
is right or wrong
• Believer whose faith is most complete is he whose character is best – Hadith
• Righteous / goodness is good moral character
• Moral goal central focus of Islamic teachings and culture – need in dept look at morality to know
how Islam promotes this

Why is the west so oppose to this goal if it is moral?

What we considered as moral they considered as irrelevant. They can’t see the moral goodness in Islam
Economics could be one reason
They focus on Female issue – so for them Islam is morally bankrupt
The see it as how you perceive a woman

Module 12 – Morality
Culture – foundation for the clash of civilization
Impact on clash on Muslim world
Origins of western cultures – Judeo Christian, Greeko-Roman
Roots affected culture of Europe – Renaissance
Forces that lead to the Renaissance
Religious revolt – Protestant – Martin Luther, Calvin
End Product of Revolt and Scientific Revolution – Atheism was born and grew reach state proportions –
Soviet Union and china
Foundations of Western Culture – Secularism and Democracy (Atheism is the theory Secularism is the
practice

What is the relationship between Atheism and Secularism?

Atheism represents the concept of the denial of god where as secularism represents the
implementation of that concept in human life (it becomes a culture and a lifestyle)
Secularism is diametrically opposed to the Shariah
Pillars of democracy

Why is Secularism diametrically opposed to Shariah?

• Secularism means there is no place for God and that oppose to Islam
• Shariah requires that religion governs all aspect of human life
• Secularism – religion should not govern any aspect of human life beyond the personal
• There is no middle ground
• Education economic, ruler ship – if this is secularism – cannot be considered Shariah
• Islam can co-exist with Secularism
• Secularism cannot co-exist with Shariah / Islam
• Secularism can compromise – they can allow different religion to govern personal elements of
their own personal affairs as long as it is not affecting the whole society
• Eg India secular –they can accept Muslims using Shariah in their personal life
• Shariah – no compromise – religion must govern all aspect of human life (if you take out part
then it would not be Shariah)
There is a difference between of co-existence and compromise.

What is the difference between the ability of secularism to compromise with Shariah and the inability
of the Shariah to compromise with secularism?
• It would appear as if Shariah is not flexible / intolerant
• For you to allow us to teach that evolution is not what brought us here it is creation whereas we
don’t allow you to teach evolution
• Evolution is a theory – could be right or wrong – then why shouldn’t you allow other theories to
be thought
• From Islam – evolution is falsehood so we would not allow that to be thought
• We have to have an intolerant issue to falsehood (cannot build churches in Muslim countries)
• Facts of evolution we would teach eg other creatures on earth that died out but to claim that
they were human is a theory so we would not teach.
• Similarities in form does not indicates similarities in origin (similarities in genes of a nematode
worm is similar to genes of man)

The greatest harm from secularism came through democracy which undermine the moral foundation of
the western civilization

Q. Which of the 3 pillars of democracy undermine the moral foundations, rational empiricism or
discussion and consent? (Equality is the first)
A. Discussion and consent
Rational empiricism - humans do have the ability to arrive to what is good for them (we apply this in
many areas of human society in Shariah)
Discussion and consent – mechanism that pulls the rug out from underneath moral structure of society –
what is good today can be bad tomorrow and vice versa
Muslim society under Shariah can co-exist with secular society – can trade, interact, discuss – no
problem
Secular society – have a problem when trading with countries govern by Shariah. They continue to seek
ways and means to undermine and bring them down and replace those systems with secular democracy

Foundations of Muslim Culture (Traditionalism)

 • Foundations 4– pre-Islamic customs (inherited customs), adopted customs, religious
innovations, fanaticism
• Promotes a particular culture that is against Islam – mentality of the pagans – not willing to
submit
• Give precedence to the practice of their forefathers over the truth. Not accept truth in defense
of forefathers
• Shariah – is priority
What forms the foundation of Islamic culture?
Culture that naturally arises from the implementation of the fundamental teachings of the practices of
Islam Quran and Sunnah
• Shariah implement in all aspects of life – complete Islamic culture
• Hadith Gabriel – Islam, Iman, and Ihsan – gives the basic practices and beliefs required
• Declaration of faith (Shahadah) is inclusion of the Quran and Sunnah as our foundation of our
life – declare that Quran and Sunnah to be implemented in its totality
• Major acts are outlined in the pillars of Islam
• Minor acts – are included in the declaration of faith (Rules that govern economic, criminal law,
inheritance, marriage and divorce etc)

What is the Islamic culture of hair?

• For men Growing beard
• Trimming or shaving ones head is permissible after Umrah /Hajj
• Shaving and Leaving a part of the head is impermissible
• Women shaving her head – as an act of ibadah( not permissible for women to shave head after
hajj) eg women otherwise mubah - NO sin or reward in doing it
• Not permissible to pluck the eyebrows
• Cultural norms of other society would not be seen
• By Implementing the Shariah – doing what is obligatory, avoiding what is prohibited, doing if you
wish what is mubah – a particular hair culture would develop

When shariah is implemented a culture arises

Goal of Islamic culture – Morality

What is the basis/proof of this claim that the goal is Morality?

• Memorized this hadith:” I was only sent to perfect for you or complete for you the highest or
the most noble of moral character traits. Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad,
"Innamaa Bu'ithtu li utammima Makaarimal Akhlaaq"- "Indeed, I was only sent to perfect/complete (for
you) the highest/noblest moral character traits." Bukhari-in Adab al Mufrad

Morality
• This hadith defines the goal of Islamic culture – though not stated clearly it is implied
• Morality is concerned with the principles of right and wrong conduct
• A moral person is a person who strives to do the right thing all the time
• An immoral person is one who chooses not to do the right thing most of the time
• Morality: quality of conforming to the principle of good conduct

Standard of morality (page 66)

Varies depending on philosophy, culture, social needs, religion, professional requirement

Economic Philosophy –
• Capitalism unrestricted use of private property is morally good – you can do what you like with
your own
• Communism - Private ownership of property is evil / immoral. Source of evil in society is a
result on private ownership of property.
Culture
• Inherited practices considered acceptable in one culture may be considered totally unacceptable
in another
• National dance troupe (group of men and women) invited to perform in Australia. One principal
objected because they were dancing topless and he was attacked for being narrow minded

Social need
• China–To be pregnant a second time is morally wrong (control population)
• Europe – pay extra money if you have more children (negative population growth)

Professional
• Psychiatrist – not allowed to reveal info about his patients
• Religious – Catholic priest – he is not allowed to pass info on
• Morally wrong if the info revealed can cause a harm to society (eg in case of serial killer)

Religion
• Catholics priests and nuns – morally wrong for them to marry

Democratic Morals
• Morals values are set according to what the majority decide on
• Inherently unstable and incomplete

Islamic Morality
• Islamic morality is a complete system that governs human relation with God, human relation
with other human beings and with the world that human lives (includes the plants, animals)
• Morally good to worship God and morally wrong to worship His creations
• Preservation of life is morally good while suicide is morally evil
• 1400 years ago – haram to take an animal as a target for sport (shoot just for sport not to eat, or
for fur or for skin) For the rest of the world this was ok Later they decided to stop killing
endangered species (more money spent protecting endangered species than in protecting
human beings starving around the world – in Islam this morally wrong)
• Today’s society - Human life has less value than animal life
• Killing a murderer is considered cruel and excessive punishment in today’s society
• Millions of human lives are destroyed (abortion etc) every year. No right for the fetus, Right to
life is deprived due to their perception of morality

Morality if left to human beings to decide what is moral (democratic) there would be chaos in the world
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki – where countless thousands of human lives were wiped out (and not
called terrorism
• Islam insist that Shariah should govern human lives
 • Principles lay down by God found in the Shariah are universal principles which would stand the
test of times.

Foundations of Islamic Morality – 2 Principles

1. Good and evil are determined according to God’s definition –
a. Allah alone knows the ultimate consequence of actions.
b. He alone can absolutely define right and wrong
c. Good and evil may also be defined according to God’s pleasure – what pleases Him is good
and right and what displeases Him is wrong and evil
d. Good and evil is relative to God. What God considered right is right and what He considered
wrong is wrong. This way you have fixed right and wrong – does not change with time and
place (there can be variation with culture eg with dress)

2. What God has defined as permissible is due to real benefit and what God has defined as
haram / forbidden is due to real harm existing in it whether we are able to perceive the harm
or the benefit in it.
a. When God prohibited something then there is harm in it
b. Allah’s prohibitions are rational – motivates us in following these prohibition
c. The fact that you can’t see the harm does not mean there is no harm
d. Physical, emotional, biological, spiritual harm – there is harm
e. The harm in it outweighs the good
f. Everything has harm in it if you do it in excess – but the good outweighs the harm – so
Allah made them permissible (eg. food/eating – if you overeat there is harm)
g. You may like what is not good for you and dislike what is good for you and Allah knows
what is best for you - Quran
h. Allah is good and He accepts what is good

Module 13 – Islamic Morality

Definition: Traditions and customs which evolve from the day to day practice of people following
authentic teachings of Islam
Included by inference by the first pillar – belief in Allah and His messenger – life guided by
Yard stick for morality – Allah - Foundations of morality – what God defined as good
Morally good to worship God and morally evil to worship His creation

Module 13 – Fundamentals of Islamic Morality

1. Knowledge
• To act in a morally correct way must have knowledge – must know what is right and what is
wrong
• Pg 67 – pen lifted for the child until he reaches maturity, the insane until he becomes sane and
the one who is sleeping until he awakes - they are not mentally able to determine what is right
or wrong
• Anger – when person reach a stage when they don’t know what they are saying (divorce don’t
count)
• Temporary insanity (Ighlaaq)– person reaches a stage that his answers are totally inappropriate
to questions asked
• Sleeping – kill or commit a crime – not accountable (sleep walker etc)
 • Person does not have a consciousness of the world around them – not able to distinguish right
from wrong
• Not include a Psychopath – right becomes wrong and wrong becomes right – so this is different
from insanity– he made a conscious choice to be like this. He gets pleasure in wrong.

2. Rational choice – not accountable for acts done out of ignorance or by force or accidentally
• Accident – not accountable – not deliberate – not held to be a criminal, not punishable but may
have to be responsible for accident (may be fined – but not held accountable by Allah)
• Manslaughter – different
• Some avoid gaining knowledge so they are not accountable – but ignorance is only applicable
when one is unable to gain that knowledge. Refusal to gain knowledge  still accountable
• Forced to do something
• Haram becomes halal – do the minimum required to remove that necessity
• Forced means life and death or loss of limbs – principle that govern necessity
• Eg Ammar bin Yasir
• Can’t kill others if you are forced
The law of morality does not apply is the above cases
3. Proper Intention
• Deed to be morally good – intention behind it would be the defining factor
• Just having the intent to do good get one hassana (one good deed)
• First 3 thrown in hell – a scholar, rich person and a martyr – their intentions were to be praised
• Deeds are judged by their intention and everyone will be rewarded according to their intent
4. Taqwa – Ihsan - worship Allah as if you see Him and … know that He sees you
• Deeds done with a consciousness of Allah  provides the moral foundation of our deeds
• Stresses the good moral character
“Indeed, I was only sent to complete the most noble of character traits.” Bukhari
Righteousness is good character

What is the relationship between Taqwa and good character?

• Good character is a result of taqwa
• Imaan and good character has its relationship. Faith is inseparable from action
• The believer whose faith is most complete is he whose character is best
• Faith / belief – Allah always link it with doing righteous deeds
• Whoever believe in Allah and the Last Day should be good to his neighbor and kind to his guests.
• Character means religion – “Surely you have a magnificent character” 68:4
• Rites and rituals of Islam are not separate from good manners

Goal of Islamic culture – Morality

• Message of Islam  Moral message – for us to develop the best moral character possible
• What are the moral goals of the pillar of Islam/Iman?
• What are the moral goals behind the command and prohibitions of Allah?
• Moral message is important to teach children and be introduced in the education system – must
identified Islamic and moral objectives of the lessons
• Business moral in today’s society – the end justify the means, whatever benefit me is good – this
is Islamically wrong
Module 14 – Review
Q. What is the relationship between the Literal meaning and anthropological meaning of the word
culture?
• Anthropological - What human beings have added to their natural, inborn, inherited
character/custom
• Original Latin meaning cultivation
A. No clear link between the two – no relationship to original
Cultured individual – good manners individual – varies

Q. What has been the main means by which western culture has been promoted on a world scale,
Colonization, democracy, media, globalization secularization, Darwinism?
A. Media is the means by which this process took place – greatest means of globalizing
Globalization is the process – media is the means by which this process took place
Colonization was in the past – it began by this

What was the position with regards to the clash of civilization? According to Huntington
Fundamentalism was not the basis of the clash. It was Islam itself

Why was the West convinced of their universality of their culture?

Darwinism – they feel they were more evolved
Darwinian Theory shows that they were the fittest because they ended up at the top of the pyramid.
They feel that they were superior in everything - socially, politically economically.

Q.Indonesia – ruler in 1945 – developed a new religion of the people called Ankacillia. It refers to 5
principles. What was the name of that ruler? What is the significance for us to know this?
A. Sukarno. He was supposed to have been a Muslim ruling one of the largest Muslim country in the
world.

Q. The silence of the West when Algerian Democratic Nation was about to elect an Islamic Party FIS –
What does their silence indicated with regards to their policy when the army crushed the election?
A. Indicated that secularism is more important than democracy.

Q.What was the four roots of western civilization?

Greek-o- Roman – from Greece and Rome
Judeo-Christian - Judaism and Christianity

Q. What part of western culture is Jewish?

Christianity came as an offshoot from Judaism and it retained Moses law – the 10 commandments –
became the basis for western law
A. Foundation of Western legal system was from Judaism
What is the role of Christianity then? All of the nations of the West were at one time Christian Nations –
the declared themselves as Christian – they came from the Holy Roman Empire which was Christian
Christianity was the means of bringing Jewish legal tradition into the governance of the society

Q.The names of the week were name after Pagan gods of Europe. The name Wednesday came from?
From Anglo Saxon Germanic people
Wednesday from Woe den
Thursday from Thur – the god of thunder

Q. What is the most obvious indicator of the paganization of Christianity besides Christmas?
A. Praying on Sunday. They changed from Sat to Sunday because Romans used to worship Apollo the
Sun god their most popular god, also son of Jeus (the main god)

Q. the religious revolt against the Roman Catholic was initiated by whom and what were their followers
called and why?
A. Initiated by Martin Luther, Followers called Protestant because Martin Luther wrote a series of
documents in protest against Roman Catholic or Papal excessive / deviation

Q. What was the name of the book that Charles Darwin took with him on his journey in the beagle and
who was the author?
A. Charles Lyle and the name was “The Principles of Geology”
What was the significance of that book? – It was among the scientific discovery which overthrew the
origin of the Bible. The age of the earth was calculation to be 4500 yrs old based on the bible. Charles
Lyle show that the earth was millions years old

Q. What does democracy means and where was it first practiced?

A. Rule by the people and practiced in Athens.

Q. Give one example of the failure of the second pillar of democracy

A. Second pillar is – Rational empiricism (human ability to reason give them the ability to decide through
experience and logic what is best for them)
Example of its failure – Article one Section 2 of the American constitution – non-white (black) human
beings equivalent to 3/ 5 human beings (today this considered racism)

Q. What is the only principle of democracy which Islamic Shariah would recognized and accept as it is?
A. Equality – the first principle

Q. What is the difference between Ijma in Islamic law (consensus) and democracy?
A. Ijma – done based on the shariah (deductions are based on the foundations from the Shariah
Democracy – rejected revealed foundations – just reason and logic

Q. What is the difference between communism and secular democracy?

A. There is no difference - Communism is Secular democracy
Communism – No God - the rule of the proletariat (the workers / masses of the society) – it is secular
democracy in its most refined form
Both communist and capitalist are within the secular democratic rule

Q. What was the principle used by homosexual to legalized and legitimized their corrupted practices
A. Consulting adults

Q. What are the four foundations of cultural Islam?

A. Pre-Islamic practices, adopted practices, religious innovation and fanaticism /sectarianism

Q. Why is Islam opposed to pre-Islamic practices?

A. Islam was not opposed to all pre-Islamic practices.
Opposition to some because such practices went in conflict with the Shariah or where they kept alive
pagan believes.

Opposition of cultural Islam to Islamic culture - unwillingness to give up the traditions and accepts the
Quran and Sunnah

Q. What was the biggest harm that came out of religious innovation?
A. Intermediacy – using intermediates to get to God (using Saints)

Q. What is the main harm of factionalism?

A. Blindly following others instead of Allah and His rasool

Why didn’t we cover Shia and other groups? We cover the general concepts – more relevant to us – the
division amongst main stream Muslims

Q. If someone said that the Prophet (saw) promoted Female genital mutilation (fgm) – is this a correct
statement?
A. Incorrect statement. There is a difference between FGM and circumcision
WE have to question what these terminology means. The term FGM was added recently
Male circumcision was instructed and female circumcision was permitted. The Prophet instructed that it
should be kept to the minimum. It should not involve the removal of body parts. FGM is removal of
body parts and sewing up of female genitals.

Q. Factionalism and Salaah – give two examples of major harm. How factionalism affected Salah?
A. Different prayers – not being able to pray behind each other In Mecca – 4 different prayers (one each
for each madhabs)
Two mehrabs in masjid in Syria – one for Shafi and other for hanafi

Q. Shariah and Fiqh: – what was the impact of cultural Islam on these two principles?
Shariah is fixed and Fiqh is flexible / changeable
A. They treated fiqh as Shariah. They made fiqh rigid and unchangeable

Q. Who was the founder of Jamat Tabligh? Mulana Muhammad Illiyas

A. Jamat Tabligh is the largest single Muslim movement in the world – so we should know who founded
it.
Ahyah.org

Masses of Muslim in the world today follow culture – this is reality

The definition of Islamic culture and how it differs from cultural Islam
Culture which arises from the implementation of Shariah - Quran and Sunnah, Fiqh etc

How does it differ from cultural Islam? It is mixed with cultural tradition and customs –to such a degree
that people are unable to distinguish between what is tradition and what is Islam
There is a Shariah reference point
Module 15 – live session

Page 71
Cultural Muslims – Salah, Zakaat does not have any effects on that person
The Pillars of Islam
Shahadataan – 2 declaration of faith –
• affirmation (Allah is the only one worthy of worship) and negation (no one worthy of worship
except Allah)
• Declaration represents the foundation for human salvation – if it is done with knowledge
• Muhammad saw is the final messenger of Allah (it is only through him that we know what is
acceptable to Allah)
• How does the cultural Muslim deal with the shahadah? – nice calligraphy hung on his walls. Kids
memorize it but not taught the implications / meaning of the shahadah.
How should the shahadah affect the person?
• Develop an open personality – not secret like the free mason. Secret society is mostly evil
• Shahadah build an honest person (not thul wajain – two face0
• Brings about a missionary personality – person understand his mission

CVN – Last Live Session before midterm

Morality
• Khuluk means deen in this aya
• Verily his (Prophet) character is the Quran
• Morality is found in each pillar of Islam
• Moral – concerned with principles of right and wrong conduct
• Morality – quality of conforming to the principle of good conduct
• Good and evil are according to God

The Pillars of Islam

Shahadataan –
• Characteristics that the Shahadah brings out in a Muslim
1. Causes the person to have an open personality – Islam is not a secret religion
o No good in secret talk except for reconciliation
2. Honest personality - Worse in the sight of Allah is those with 2 face – Dhulwajine
3. Brings about a missionary personality – a zeal for Dawah – person belief this is the only way to
salvation
o Understands responsibility and is motivated to promote Islam (page 76)
o Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good speech
o Responsibility on each individual – not just the ulema
o Convey from me even if it is one
o Hiding this message of Islam is a sin – Surah Bakarah – Verily who conceal this religion
…those are cursed by Allah
Salah
• The difference between us and them is salaah – this distinguish the Muslim from non-Muslim
• Taha20:14 Verily I am Allah, there is no God worth of Worship so worship Me and establish
salah
• Remembering Allah prevents us from doing sin
 • Our soul needs this salah
• Pray as you see me pray – no distinction between the prayer of men and women
• Best method of praying is that of the prophet
• Salaah prevents evil speech and evil deeds
• 3 Qualities /Characteristics from Salah
1. Taqwa – consciousness of Allah, being mindful of Allah
2. Good speech – speech of man is not allowed in Salaah – learn to say good in salaah and
do the same outside of Salaah
o Speak good or keep quiet
3. Good acting – brings about good action (pg 80) – restricted to certain actions – lesson
take outside of Salaah
•
Zakah
• Some are wealthy and some are poor – Allah created it this way as a balance
• Wealth comes along with responsibility – so amassing wealth can become a fithna for us if we
do not honor this responsibility (wealth and children – can be 2 fitnah for us)
• Establish in 2nd year after Hijra
• (page 85 – cultural Muslims and Zakaat)
• Characteristics
1. Encourages generosity and eradicates stinginess and miserliness
2. Compassion – build a character of compassion – caring for others
Sawm
1. Teaches self control (lack of control is why we face the issue of overweight)
2. Moderation – because we have to restrain ourselves (page 89)
o The believer eats in one stomach – the disbeliever in 7
o What is good for one is good for two – Barakah in our food
3. Compassion – feel for the poor

Hajj (page 94)

1. Universal or - all human belongs to one race – human race
a. Political division in the world should not supersede Islamic values – not to honor country
and flags
b. Nationalistic feeling
c. Unity
2. Patience – things don’t always go as plan
a. Need patience for hajj. Also develop patience at Hajj
- Develops spiritual and moral goals – sincerity, piety, humility, obedience, sacrifice and
submission
- Hajj combines both the physical (salah and sawm) and monetary (zakaat) categories
- - purification of sin and guaranteed place in Paradise
- Contact with Allah through contact with man (customs, crushes, emotions
- Social interaction over isolation – believer who mixes with the mass of people bears their insult
and offences patiently is better than one who never mixes….
-
Module 15 – Shahadah - Two Declarations of Faith
Goal of Islamic Culture is morality
Manifest in the various implementation of the pillars of iman, islam and ihsan and commands of Allah
and the Prophet
Pillars of Islamic Morality – 2 –
1. Good is whatever God commanded to be good and evil is what He said is evil
2. What he commanded to do there is good in it and what He prohibited there is bad/evil in it
Exception - Eg restricting diet of the people of Israel as a punishment of their obstinacy (wanted to
know too much details of animal)

To establish case of correct morality 3

1. Knowledge to determine what is good and what is evil
2. Ability to make a rational choice
3. Intent – what appear to be good maybe evil due to intent and vice versa

Guiding light of morality – Taqwa - Consciousness of Allah

Morality is not a theory but a practice – core of Islamic culture - Prophet is described as having the
character of the Quran and righteousness is good character
Believer whose faith is more complete is good character - Should show up in ones deeds

Pillars of Faith
Declaration of Faiths
La-illah-illalah
• Denies the validly of all other that is worship besides Allah
• There is no true God -There is no one deserving of worship beside Allah – all other gods are false
• Essence of message from begin of creation
• Foundation of human salvation - Key to paradise – whoever dies knowing that there is nothing
deserving to be worship besides Allah will go to Paradise
• We don’t have a problem of those who came before Prophet Muhammad saw - once they
believe in Allah only one to worship - Jannah
• Only those who came after Prophet and heard of him and doesn’t believe in him will go to hell
• Heard about Prophet – means heard the truth about him – not the lies and
• Muhammadur rasoolullah – only for those who heard about the prophet and his message
o Children, insane, deaf, dumb and blind etc not accountable
o ON Day of Judgment they will be brought back with full abilities and a Messenger sent
to them and instruct them and will tell them to enter the fire – those who enter it would
go to Jannah (they obey the messenger of Allah ) – authentic hadeeth
o Muhammad saw is the last of messenger – meaning he comes with the last message and
it is up till Day of Judgment
• Declaration of faith – has to be sincere to enter Jannah
o Person declare his faith we have to accept it – hadith about Sahaba Usama ibn zayd
killing a man who said laillah illah – Prophet was upset - said did you kill a man who said
laillah illah? …. Prophet questioned him – did you open his heart to determine that-
 Not permissible for us to judge people
• Most important – stands from time of Adam till end of this world
Muhammadur rasool lullah
• Varied according to the messenger who brought the first part (laillahillah) – at time of Prophet –
became the basic declaration of faith
• Accepting the prophet (saw) as the only infallible guide – free from errors in religious teachings
- he did not speak from himself but from revelation - Accept and Obey him
o Whoever obey the Prophet – obey Allah
o All other human beings who taught made rules etc we don’t follow blindly – question.
o No creature deserves obedience if it involved disobedience to the Creator
• Means believing that he is the last messenger – there is none coming after him
o Hadith about house with missing brink - One brick missing from it – why hasn’t that
brick placed there – I am that brick
• Declaration has to be made openly/public except if there is a threat – so others know about it
o To connect you to the community – not for Allah to know you believe
o Community can help if you need
Declaration should be based on knowledge and sincerity

Shahadatyne and Cultural Islam

Culture Islam perspective – just the statement
• Muslims living among non-Muslims – intermarriages
• Culture - Non-Muslims male has to declare his faith in Islam to marry a Muslim woman – known
by community - Said the shahada but don’t believe in it
• Not permissible to marry person who said shahadah just to marry & not to accept Islam
• In Culture – this is acceptable but in Islam it is wrong and considered fornication
• Say it but don’t understand what it means
• Culture – written text – calligraphy - Make it a decoration – put it on wall, write it on books,
children say it but don’t understand what it means
o No impact in pleasing Allah – it is a displeasures to Allah
• Become a charm to them – wear it on neck etc, thinking it will bring good luck to them –
displeasing to Allah
• They feel they are Muslims no matter what they do – because they said it
• Focus on outward element – written declaration of faith – transferred into charm or amulet
•
Saying Laillah illah
• Only true believers will enter Paradise
• Uthman ra: Prophet saw said Whoever dies saying Laillah illah will enter Jannah – other hadith
clarify this – has to be truly believed, knowing that only Allah is deserving of worship etc.
• Statement- not just that of tongue –but has to consider it a real declaration to have weight in
sight of Allah and impact on moral character

Moral character from Shahadatyne

1. Open personality - believers not secretive. nisa vs 114 – no good in secrets meeting (most secrets
meeting contains evil) like the masons. Organization should have their account open / transparency
a. Whenever 3 present 2 should not speak secretly (excluding one) - include people talking in
their own languages. Except for those who gather to encourage charity or for reconciliation
b. Secret meeting for charity or reconciliation – rewarded
c. Giving sadaqa secretly – good act – rewarded
2. Honest personality – by revealing what is in your heart – your faith – not two faces except in threats
 a. Worst is those who come with 2 face –
b. Honesty – Prophet saw title of Al ameen
3. Missionary personality – a mission to convey the message of Allah to others
a. Convey what you have learnt from me even if it is a single verse
b. The best of you are those who learn the Quran and teach it to others
c. Best of people are those who are more beneficial to other people
d. Pass on the truth – very high moral act – don’t hide message
e. One should not feel shy to convey the message of Islam
f. Allah curse those who hide religious knowledge CH 2:159
g. Hadith – whoever hide knowledge would be branded with a branding iron from the hell fire
4. Not blindly follow anyone
5. Obedient character – call to submission – Obedient to God
• All of my nations will enter Paradise except those who refuse – who would refuse – whoever
obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me has refused.

Module 16 – Salaah – Obligation, Purpose, Cultural, Moral characteristics

Salah – Obligation
• 5 times daily – represent bare minimum to organize believer’s day around the worship of God
• Prayer at time of calamity is not what Allah prescribed – should not be the motivation for prayer
• Our payer is not for God benefit but for our benefit
• Soul need nourishment – Prayer is primary source of nourishment for soul
• Main purpose – remembrance of God … Establish regular prayer for My remembrance
• 20:14 Taha Verily I am Allah, there is no God worth of Worship so worship Me and establish
salah
• Remembrance of God stressed – sin committed when God is forgotten – satan occupy thoughts
and desires to make one forget God  corrupt
• Remembering Allah prevents us from doing sin - helps us to do the right thing and protects us
from the force of doing wrong
• CH 58:19 – Satan got the better of them and caused them to forget Allah. Those are the party of
Satan. Truly the party of Satan are the real losers – Surah Mujadilah
• Intoxicants and gambling prohibited because cause man to forget God – mind easily addicted to
drugs and games of chance  leads to corruption and violence (alcohol lowers one inhibition)
• 5:91 – Satan plan is to incite enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling and
hinder you from remembrance of God and regular prayer. Will you not then abstain?

Cultural Islam
• Pray sometimes – or Ramadan or Eid Muslim. True Islam establish 5 daily prayers
• Look at prayer as a means of accumulating extra rewards – mathematical Muslim – eg
o Lailatul Qadr – 1000 months – 83 years – Masjid packed on the 27th night
• Invented Jumatul Wida – Farewell Jumah – according to them if u catch this farewell Jumah then
all missed prayers forgiven
• Innovated prayers take the place of proper worship – shortcuts
• Rituals developed around salah – prayer mat – a requirement of what they call “pak” – pure
o Fact - no religious artifact known as prayer mat
 o Islam – Pray at any place that is not a grave yard or toilet that does not have any
impurities – the whole earth is a prayer place
• Special prayer for women invented – different from that of men
o Pray as you see me pray – no distinction between the prayer of men and women
• Cultural – once you do the prayer you get the reward. Not so in Islam – Prophet instructed the
man to go back and pray 3 times. Prophet instructs him on how to pray – he prayed fast – no
calmness – no pauses.
o Pray Stand – stand straight till all the bones fall into place – pause in between actions
o Reward depend on the degree of concentration one has in prayer
o Prayer remove the obligation but if not done properly there is no reward for it
o Best method of praying is that of the prophet
o Though they may pray regularly they may still be dishonest and corrupt – prayer has no
value and no impact on them – pray too fast or just as a ritual
• Use prayer as a precautionary measure – just in case they are accountable – in case there is a
god.

Purpose of Prayer
• Purpose of Salah – to effect change in person’s life – comes from remembrance of Allah
• Salaah prevents evil speech and evil deeds
• Verily salaah prevent one from evil acts (fahsha and munkar) – Ibn Kathir 3 point for Salaah to
keep one away from fahsha and munkar (sins)
o Sincerity, fear of Allah – with kushoo, Dhikr – remembrance of Allah.
o When we speak to Allah – Allah responds. Salaah divides in two – half for Allah and half
for His servants – My slave has praised me, my slave has eulogize me, my slave has
glorified me etc. for Surah Fatihah
o Establish Salaah – Dhikr – constant remembrance of Allah will keep one away from evil

3 Qualities /Characteristics from Salah

4. God Fearing - Taqwa – consciousness of Allah, being mindful of Allah – basis for righteousness
o Ask self before every act – Is this pleasing to Allah
o Person willing to sacrifice self
5. Good speech – no obscene language, slander, backbiting nor lies
• speech of man is not allowed in Salaah – learn to say good in salaah and do the same
outside of Salaah – a training for beyond salaah
o Whoever believe in Allah and the last day let him Speak good or keep quiet
o Salaah – takbir, tasleem and Quran and good actions
6. Good acting – specific movements we are required to do - brings about good action (pg 80) –
restricted to certain actions – lesson take outside of Salaah
o Limbs under control
o The religion is comprise of good social dealings – Hadith
o Believer interaction with people would be amicable – everything he do would be good

Muslim - Known as a good person – from how they deal with people – good moral character
Relationship with God most important – organize day around spiritual needs (worship)
Cultural Islam - Treated in a very ritualistic manner
Module 17 – Zakaat and Fasting
Zakah
• Islam recognized generosity and made it an act of worship
• Giving is a symbol of charity. Act of giving – all religion recognize as good
• Generous & contented person – society respect and hold person in high esteem
• Arabs – were generous. With Bedouins – generosity plays a major role (nomadic society)
• Hadith - Whoever believes in Allah and the last day should be generous to his guest
• West– people are stingy and greedy. Sharing is missing though they do respect generosity
• Allah created people with different levels – some have more than others – an imbalance – so
they develop high moral characteristics of generosity
• Generosity acquired when human soul is aware that sharing with the needy is good – struggle
against its desire to hoard its possessions.
• Contentment – when soul defeats the evil of envy and greed
• Communism fail – people work according to their ability but take according to their need – not
the nature of human beings. By nature man is miserly
• Allah favored some of you over others in sustenance Nahl 16:71– some have more than others
• Use imbalance to test people. Human has the desire to want more – Charity – reduces desire
• Consider the less fortunate – look at those below you not those above you – otherwise hatred,
jealousy and envy develop
• Muslims – charitable society. Beggars do well. Muslims are generous
• Greed and stinginess are corrupt forms of the natural human desire to possess
• Wealth is not measured in property, but in contentment – Hadith
Wealth is a trust from God. If used correctly will benefit person in this world and the next
• Man is temporary custodian of wealth
• Wealth – use selfishly – curse in this life and cause of punishment in next
• Wealth & children are a test – don’t let them divert you from obedience to Allah
• Man will never be satisfied
• Means of taking care of those in need in the society and to circulate the wealth
• Zakaat - purify the wealthy hearts of greed and sooth the poor hearts of jealousy
• Surah Tauba 103 – Take charity to purify them and help them grow – Purify from greed and
jealousy and help them to grow spiritually
• To withhold Zakah is a major sin. To give it teaches one that he is only temporary custodian of
this wealth
• True believers – recognize the right of the needy to a portion of their wealth – beggars and
needy have a right 51:19 Dhariyat
• Give with sincerity – not for show. Do not destroy your acts of charity by reminders of your
generosity and by injury. 2:264

Zakaat in Cultural Islam

• Rituals – people do to the minimum – they give it away in channels that are not right (to family)
• Zakaat must be paid yearly – not once a year
• Rejects what was agreed upon by the Sahabah
• Abu Bakr led a battle against those who refuse to pay Zakaat
Moral Qualities from Zakaat
Generosity
Goal to develop characteristic of generosity
• Zakaat - Encourages generosity and eradicates stinginess and miserliness
• Generosity – respected by all society – maroof (that which is known) Command the good
• Prophet warned how charity is given – not as a means as having favors towards the giver
• Not true charity if given for personal benefit ie. give to get something from person in return
• Consistent – should affect all aspect of the person’s life
• Intention is important – knowing that this is what Allah commanded
• Best to give without the person knowing where it is coming from

Compassion
Compassion – build a character of compassion – caring for others
• Appreciate and understand the needs of others – element of love for others
• Community concern - Sense of care/feeling and compassion for others
• Women more compassion than men. Compassion is a strength
• Hadith - Allah would not be merciful and compassionate to those who don’t show merry and
compassion to others

Fasting
• Prescribed specifically for Ramadan
• Encouraged to fast at other times – throughout the year
• Fasting in Ramadan – one of the doors of paradise – when Ramadan comes the doors of
paradise are open
• Fast sincerely – previous sins are forgiven – free from sin -> salvation -> Paradise
• Shield against evil, evil thoughts, emotions, deeds
• An act between the individual and Allah  special reward from Allah
• Quran revealed – greatest blessing/mercy from Allah – guidance to mankind who were in
darkness and ignorance since the previous revelation
• Ultimate Goal of fasting – consciousness of God (Taqwa) Fasting prescribed for you in order
that you would be conscious of Allah (taqwa come from waqa – to defend)
• Consciousness of Allah – stops one from breaking the fast
• Doing it as prescribed will earn person purification from sin and increase his consciousness of
Allah
• Fasting should be done how the Prophet did it
Cultural Islam
• Time of festivity –not fasting but feasting
• Woman spend most of the time in kitchen preparing food – cooking
• Men – looking for the choice of sweets that come only in Ramadan
• Overeating, sick, overweight, obese - disaster
• Goals of fasting is lost
• Fasting - Act of worship, Prophets engaged in, that is found in every religion, , essential for
spiritual growth gaining control over the physical element (drive of want to eat)
• Hadith - And they will rise amongst them the obese (Bukhari)
• Accountable – those who eat excessively.
 • Number of people who are obese (overeating) exceeds the number of people who are starving
in the world - WHO (World Health Organization)
• Fasting which should have kept the Muslims lean, moderate has no impact – overeating and
obesity spreading
• Reading the Quran for barakah but not for understanding – looking to count the reward

Moral Characteristics from Fasting

1. Seeks to control behaviors – excess in eating would be excess in other areas
• Promotes character where person has control over their intake which helps with control in
behavior
• Training Restrain self from taking what is halal – so outside of fast restrain self from taking what
is haram
• When fasting – abstain from indecent act and unnecessary talks – tell them “I am fasting”
• Make one more truthful and careful of what he says and does
2. Moderation – control self to moderate middle path
• Believer moderate in his behavior – food intake.
• Believer eats as if he has one stomach, disbeliever eats as if he has 7
• Food enough for one is enough for two and food for two is good for 4
• Eat a third, drink a third and leave a third for breathing
• Moderation in eating habits would affect moderation in other habits
3. Compassion – if fasting and feels hunger pangs – feel how those who are starving feels
a. If overeating – don’t feel hunger pangs and don’t feel compassion – sense of fasting is lost
b. Feeling hungry and thirsty – realize the experience of the poor and needy and should instill
the desire to help them.

Module 18 – Hajj
Hajj
• Journeying - Common feature in human life –– for livelihood and for pleasure – personal needs
and desire
• Hajj – not for personal needs or to fulfill desires
• Preparation for Hajj – true love and fear of Allah and belief in Hajj as obligatory
• Journey for the sake of Allah – an act of worship
Why did Allah choose this form of worship?
• Tawaf – worship – walking
• Things normally associated in mundane life – can be considered worship,
• People journey for many reasons – money, enjoyment
• Allah take act of journeying and turns it into an act of worship
• Not meant to gain any personal end or to fulfill any desire
Hajj
• Hajj links us with Prophet Abraham (as)
• Make sacrifices – wealth, time, physical energies
• Involves elements from other aspect of pillars of Islam - zakaat –slaughter animal- give charity,
salah, fasting if can’t make the sacrifice then fast, declaration of face – the talbiya repeated
throughout hajj.
 • Combines the physical aspect of worship (salaah, fasting ) with monetary aspect (zakat)
• develop spiritual and moral goals – sincerity, piety, humility, obedience, sacrifice, submission
• Combining both physical and monetary – Self control, humility and obedience (from Salah and
fasting) and generosity (from zakat)
• Reward great –The person who makes pilgrimage to Allah’s house without committing any acts
of indecency or disobedience to Allah will return home as (pure from sins as) he was on the day
his mother bore him. Hadith - self purification and
• The reward for Hajj Mabrur (accepted by Allah) is nothing less than Paradise Hadith
• Gaining tremendous spiritual reward – praying in Mecca 100,000 times (for the mathematical /
cultural Muslim he will calculate this)
• Hajj which is consistent with the implementation of the other pillars of Islam – to be successful
the other pillars has to be in place – It is not a means to make up for everything else
• For those who have already prepared themselves by practicing the other obligations of Islam –
purifying themselves outside of Hajj
• Spiritual heights of Hajj Mabrur cannot be obtained by seclusion and avoidance of crowds. Hajj
is contact with Allah through contact with mankind
Cultural Islam
• Don’t prepare self by observing salaah, fasting and zakaat - the only look for reward just for hajj
– they don’t focus on doing good prior to Hajj - they feel once one make the Hajj it took care of
everything. Not consistent or concerned with other acts of worship but only focus on the doing
Hajj in later part of life. Becomes more ritualistic
• Young people don’t go for Hajj – attitude is to wait till get old. Delaying hajj is a sin
• Real test of Hajj –how one interact with the masses of people - hold temper, tongue etc will
come out
• Cultural Hajj – focus on purifying sins without really deserving it. (have money so go for Hajj)
• Hajj become a symbol of pride – take on the name Hajji, some countries have a specific cap for
only Hajji, other country women put on hijab for the reward
• Person should reform otherwise he/she will return to same lifestyle (obligation removed
without earning higher spiritual rewards)
Moral Characteristics
1. Calls to universal / international personality – able to appreciate all of Allah’s creation
• Interaction of various people from various backgrounds
• All Muslims coming together to do the same thing for the sake of Allah
• Should break down barriers – should allow our children to marry any Muslims
• Openness to recognize the ummah as one and accept our bro and sis regardless of their
back ground
2. Patience – one has to have a big heart to face trials and contain self at Hajj
• The believer who mixes with the people and bears their harm is better than the believer
who doesn’t mixes with the people and bear their harm (hadith)
• Patience is highly rewarded - Sabr
• Surah Asr – Successful – and those who advices and admonishes others to be patient
• Life is a principle of testing - patience is necessary for us to pass the test
• Patience not learnt – means doesn’t learn the lesson of Hajj
• Respect and honor patience when we see it in others
• Pilgrim is obliged to patiently bear the harm of others in order to achieve an acceptable Hajj
Module 19 – Belief in Allah
The pillar of Imaan page 96
• Since these are not actions the cultural Islam would be a
• Pillar of Iman represent the faith foundation of Islam
• Pillars of Islam are the ritual practices which are supposed to reflect that faith foundation
• Cultural Islam – deviation would be either ignorance of what the pillars of faith means or a
distorted understanding of what it constitute
Belief in Allah
Begins with Belief in Allah’s Existence of God is logical
• Atheist position – belief in Allah is illogical. Not based on evidence. Based on Blind faith - Cant
prove it – so you either believe or disbelieve
• Fact - Belief in Allah’s existence is perfectly logical and make sense and disbelieve in Allah’s
existence is illogical and makes sense
• Deist – believe in Allah / God but do not believe in religion
• Those who deny God altogether are a few
Logic / illogical?
• Those who first wrote / invented logic belief there must be a God – Plato and Aristotle
• Both Plato & Aristotle, Greek philosopher believe that there is a designer – God
• Plato – design indicate a designer – logical / reasonable. Some design can happen by accident.
But most of the time things with a design means there is a designer behind it.
• If you follow the line of thinking of impossible / rare it will lead you to the impossible
• If you see a footprint in sand– automatically believe that a human walk there & not that the
waves make it
• Everything in this world has a design – even snowflakes – logical and reasonable to have a God
• All human societies throughout history believed in existence of God – except few
• 20th Century – Denial of God’s existence establish. Russia and China taught atheism
• Illogical to believe that no one create and design this universe in such perfection
Anthropologists & Psychologists – argue between nature (born with it) and nurture (learn)
• Initially they believed that belief in God was something taught (nurture)
• Result of their Darwinian views – humans came from animals – so religion must be man-made
• Freud - A result of oedipal complex (an observed pattern in children at age of 4 – boys develop
jealousy) was the basis of human belief in God – based on Greek methodology
• Other researchers - Basic principles to determine what is natural and nurture is something that
is found everywhere. Found everywhere – nature. Things found someplace – nurture
• All of human society throughout history show that people believe in God – no society in the past
that did not disbelieve in God  Belief in God should be nature
• Only with communism – Russia and China and those under them – taught Atheism
• Belief in God in Russia was more than 80 % in less than 10 yrs time after ban on religion was
lifted
Medical evidence for Belief in God
• God spot discovered – article by Steve Conor (1997) – god spot found in brain
• Spot where people experience massive religious feelings – sense of presence of God
• Natural belief in God points to a reality. Rejection of this points to fallacy - is to go against what
the world naturally belief in
• Likely hood of this being true is far greater than it not being true
Module 20
Page 99
• Aristotle – things must have a beginning – except God.
o Infinite regression of the cause and effect chain was impossible - Our existence is proof
that things must have a beginning
Verses from the Quran
• In the creation of the heavens and the earth are signs for those who reflect –
• Would they not look at the camel and how it was created – camel specially design for the desert
• Were they created from nothing or did they create themselves. Or did they create the heavens
and the earth? Indeed they are uncertain.
• 3 options – only the 4th possible
a) Were they created from nothing or by nothing? – not logical
• Something cannot come from nothing. Nothing cannot create something
b) Did they create themselves – not logical. Contradictory
• To create self have to already exist. But to be created one must first not exist
c) Created by someone already created - Had to have been someone there to create us – and that
someone has to be not like us (infinite regression- which means human do not exist)
d) Only possibility - human and other created things were created by a being which is not itself
created

Belief in Allah includes that Allah alone is the Creator and Sustainer of this world
God the Creator and Sustainer
• Creator of everything. Belief in His attributes
• In His ability to do anything He wishes which does not make Him other than who He is
• Do not include things that would make Him no longer Allah
• Believe in Him as He is – without beginning without end – Ever living, Self subsisting, Self
sufficient – unique to Allah alone
• Favourite question of atheist – can God create a stone too heavy for Him to lift – respond to this
by – God able to do all things but not included things that make Him no longer God because
they are ludicrous, illogical, contradictory …
• Christians ask – if God able to do all things why can’t He have a son? - answer – God would not
have a son because that would make Him like His creatures and He is Unique – He is Al Ahad
different from all of His creatures. If He has a son it would make Him like His creation. So This is
a nonsensical question
• Nothing takes place in the universe without His permission
• No harm, nothing comes into existence without Allah’s permission (even the evil)
• No power, no might without Allah’s permission
• Dua – seek refuge in the Lord of the Dawn from the evil of what He created.
• Creator of Everything - Allah created us and our actions – we are responsible for our actions but
the ability to do it comes from Allah.
• Allah does not attribute evil to Himself – the evils are relative. It may be evil from one side but
good from others (eg sunshine important for plants to grow but it also dries the lakes and cause
drought) – no evil is directly attributed to Allah.
• Example – story of Al Khidr and Musa as in Surah Kahf – Musa see Khidr as doing evil until he got
the explanation from Khidr
• Everything Allah created has some good in it – nothing is completely 100% evil
 • Pure evil is a result of human activity – human are responsible for this evil
• Allah does not oppress anyone
• If we cannot find good in something does not mean there is no good in it
• The absence of knowledge is not itself knowledge
• Belief in God – means accepting Him as the Creator of Everything - Tauheed in Ruboo beeya
• His Legal Wish – He wishes Islam, right way of life for human. Humans can accept or reject this
• His Creational Will – whatever takes place is by His permission alone - Humans cannot go
against Allah’s Creational Will
•
God alone deserves worship page 102
• He alone deserve to worship – Tauheed al Uloohiya
• Rabus samawate wal ard – Lord of the heavens and earth and what is between them so worship
Him alone
• Definition of worship – not merely praying, honoring , offering sacrifice to a deity
• To call on a deity for help is part of worship
• Calling upon anyone other than Allah in prayer is to worship them
• Call on anyone other than Allah in dua or worship is an act of shirk
• Call on Me and I will answer your prayers (without intermediaries)
• Dua is ibadah - Calling on anyone in prayer is worship – Hadith

Moral Character that Belief in Allah builds

1. Taqwa - A God-conscious personality
a. All five pillars of Islam develop God consciousness through action and deeds
b. Conscious of Allah to do what is pleasing to Him and avoid what is displeasing to Him
c. So when person sit and talk – will hear the mention of Allah in his/her communication
d. Knows that his life has purpose besides eating, sleeping, sex etc.
2. A stable personality
a. Knowing that everything happen by the will of Allah
b. Person control self – a balanced personality
c. Whatever evil happens there is good in it – though maybe affected by it you are not
overwhelmed by it
d. Ability to handle calamities – tragedies are tests one has to be patient
How amazing is the affair of the Muslim – if tested he has patience…difficult / ease  everything
comes from Allah

Cultural
• Calling on the dead is not worshipping them – to them this is using the means to reach God
• Use of intermediaries is not part of Islamic culture

Theory of relativity E= Mc square – Energy cannot be created nor destroy – a statement of shirk
Cannot be created; cannot be destroyed – that is Allah

Module 21 – Belief in Angels

Believe in Angels
• Begins with belief in their existence, names and attributes, roles
 • 3 different species of created intelligent beings: mankind, angels and Jinn (dhawul –‘uqul –
rational beings)
• Spirit world – human spirits(souls), angels and jinns
• Believe that they are involved in all the various things that go on in this world -not because we
cannot see them does not means it don’t exist – like forces within atom, magnetism, gravity we
can’t see these but they exist
• The angels were created from light and jinn from fire and Adam from what has already
described to you - Hadith
• Created from light but not light (cultural Islam – they think angels are light (some sufis))
• Visible – at times (Prophet Muhammad saw, Zakariya, Maryam)
• Visible to some animals eg roosters (when they crow) – if you hear a rooster crows ask Allah for
His grace for it has seen an angel - Hadith
• Angels – not as depicted in Greco-Roman – human like with bird like wings
• Angles have wings –from 2 to several hundred - Jibreel (as) has 600 wings each filled the
horizon. Multicolored drops like pearls and coral falling from the wings.
• Huge – its great size filled the space between the earth and the sky. The throne bearers -
distance between the earlobe and shoulder is as far as what a bird would fly in 700 years
• Forms: Can take human forms – Hadith Jibreel, When angel came to Maryam (as), as a Bedouin
• Sex – not known to be male or female though they take male human forms
• Do not reproduce. Pagan Arabs refer to the angels as daughters of Allah or even female
• Names: Few Jibreel (revelation), Israfeel(blow the horn), , Mikaeel (rain), Malik (main guardian
angel of Hell), Munkar and Nakir (2 who question person in grave), Haroot and Marut (sent to
the people of Babylon as a test of their faith)
• Cultural Islam – huge list of names of Islam – people use to call on them for worship
• Angels – in charge of the heavens and earth – every movement is a result of their activities
• Ability – to read human minds – Hadith on “...Man intends to do evil … if he commits evil record
it, if he abandons it record a good deed
• Obedient to Allah – don’t rebel, do whatever they are commanded by Allah. In constant contact
with Allah
• Linked to human beings from birth to death & beyond the grave – from conception, while fetus
in womb, record deeds, guardian angels,
• Guardian angels leave when person enter house with a dog or pictures or statues of living
creature
• Recording angels – angel on left does not record an error for 6 hours. If repents then deed cast
aside otherwise it is written down as one evil deed
• Pray for human beings eg if one waiting for salah – angel ask Allah to be merciful to him and
forgive him as long as he does not leave the place of prayer or pass wind. Hadith
• Extract human soul at time of death, others take the soul up
• Question soul in the grave – Munkir and Nakir
• Cultural Islam – angels become intermediaries / for intercession (worst aspect)
• Significant aspect of angels – that of recording
o To be conscious that our deeds are recorded – so make sure we do the right thing
o To feel the sense of accountability - to effect change in our belief and practice
Moral Characteristics
• Having a deliberate and careful personality – don’t act spontaneously – think out the
consequences of our actions before we do them
• Careful and deliberate action is from Allah, and haste is from satan – Hadith
 • Take ourselves into account before we are taken into account
• Folk Islam / cultural – esp in case of Munkir and Nakir – Sufi - Sh Nazim teaches them that he
would be there to take their soul and when the questions come Sh. Nazim would be there
whispering Allah, Islam, Muhammad (saw) – this can never happen – false hope.

Why did Allah tells us about angels?

1. Main reason Allah tells us about angels – the angels are recording our deeds - sense of
accountability
2. Legal implications – angel blow the spirit into the fetus - so if fetus dies of injury or abortion –
legal approach to the unborn child
3. To clarify misinterpretation/misconceptions and confusion that developed in previous messages
- Who we are? Are we part of Allah’s spirit? No – this is idea of Christian and Greek.
a. Spirit is created. To clarify what is the correct view that the world is created from
b. “I have left you on a clear white plane whose day is on its night and anyone who
deviates from it is destroyed” Hadith
c. Final message – so has to be clear

Module 22 – Jinns
Belief in the Jinn
• Means belief in other creatures of the unseen spiritual world
• Why is there more information on the Jinns? They world of the Jinn collide with our world
• There is lots of confusion regarding the Jinns – so has to be clarified in this final message
• Not one of the pillars of Iman – but it represent a major element of the unseen world
• A who chapter in Quran is dedicated on Jinn Ch 72 – surah Jinn
Jinn
• Jinn created from smokeless fire but they are not fire
• Prophet reached out in one of his prayer – Prophet reached out and grabbed it by its neck and
said he feels the coolness from its saliva – shows they are not fire
• Spiritual beings
• Ability to chose right / wrong like human beings
3 categories
1. Flies in the air
2. Exist as snakes and dogs (certain snakes and particular dogs – completely black)
3. Earth bound - stays on the ground
Further divided into Believers and disbelievers
Jinn
• Word came from jannah - to cover , hide or conceal
• Arabic terms - Ifreet – one of the category of jinn, Shayateen – satan, Qarin –refer to jinn
• English - Demon, spirits, ghost, etc.
• Created before human being
• Represent a parallel world to us – does not necessarily benefit us.
• Evil Jinn – affect us
• Listen to them and obey/ work for them – human devil
• Quran 6:112 - Likewise, we have made for every Prophet an enemy, devils from among mankind
and the jinn
 • Everyone of you has been assigned a companion (Qarin) from the Jinn even the Prophet -Hadith
If deny the existence of the Jinn – would the person be considered a disbeliever?
• Yes because - He would be denying statements of Allah in the Quran. If you deny parts of the
Quran then you are denying Allah’s revelation – and this takes on out of Islam

What about a person who interprets it?

• Mulana Muhammad Yusuf Ali – said Jinns were foreigners not a spirit world

Mutazilite deny the jinns

How the Jinn affect the world in direct ways?

• Employing or utilizing the jinn for our benefit – not possible
• Not possible for man to gain control over the Jinn
• Prophet Sulaiman alone was given control over the Jinns
• Prophet Muhammad (saw) did not have control over the Jinns – Hadith – Jinn spat on me last
night trying to break my Salah. However Allah let me overpower him and I wanted to tie him
to one of the columns in the masjid… then I remembered my brother Sulaiman’s prayer “O my
Lord, forgive me and bestow on me a kingdom not allowed to anyone after me.”
• Where Jinn would help human – comes from a contract – the Jinn require them to do certain
things and then they would do things for them – esp. fortune tellers
Fortune – telling
• Some accurate and some trickery
• Those who have some accurate info – are in contact with Jinns
• Jinns were able to go up to the lowest heavens and listen to what transpire among the angels.
Listen and pass info down to fortune teller
• Meteors, comets (shooting stars) – these destroy the jinns who listen in on the angels
• They mixes the truth with it 100 lies
• Man also has a Qarin – Jinn assigned to every person. Lives on even after person dies
• Fortune teller can get into contact with Qarin and get accurate info
• Can take different forms – palm reading, crystal balls, reading lines on hand, tea leaves,
• Involves shirk –attributing to them knowledge that belongs only to Allah - Islam takes a strong
position against this
o Salaah not accepted for 40 days or night – if you go to fortuneteller out of curiosity.
Person still has to perform salaah to fulfill its obligation but will not earn rewards
o Belief in fortuneteller – act of kufr – falling into disbelief but not a total disbeliever
• Area where the world of Jinn collide with our world
• Caught in practice – execution
• Jinn aid in sin and disbelief. Goal is to get as many as they can to commit shirk

Other forms of Fortune Telling –

Astrology signs of the zodiac (cancer, Sagittarius etc )
• To look into this information out of curiosity – salah not accepted for 40 days/night
• To believe in it – act of kufr
Biorhythms – cycle that can be plotted on graphs – where graphs intersect become optimum time
Fortune cookie – also form of fortune telling

Stay away from fortune tellers and warn others about it

Magic
• Jinn, unseen to us in contract with the magician allow the magician to do things he normal
human beings can’t do eg lift person up, make him appear to walk on water, suspend him in the
air
• Use for entertainment –
• Eg David Copperfield – doing acts beyond explanation. Make things disappear (elephant),
• Islamic perspective – this is very serious and punishment is death
• Deuteronomy Mosaic law – also in the Bible – it is not allowed
• Jews – Cabala claiming they learned it from prophet Sulaiman
• Haunted houses, séances, Ouija boards, voodoo, demonic-possession, speaking in tongues,
levitation – all done with the help of the jinn

Denying Magic
• Some deny magic – but Prophet was affected by magic – authentic
• Though Prophet was affected with magic but this did not affect the revelation
• Prophet got the information in a dream – got up, instruct Ali ra to get the charm and undo it
reciting
• Jew named Labib ibn Asam cast a magical spell on the Prophet

Magic very serious – draws people to Shirk

Through magic people are drawn into Shirk
Eg Sai Baba uses magical tricks to capture people
Jim Jones – claim to be able to cure people of cancer. He was doing magic and people worship him

Module 23 – Jinns – Demonic Possession

Fortune telling and magic – those who practice it should be executed
Islam deals with them in harsh manner to protect the spiritual

The sleeping prophet – in America – some of the things he said came through – has many followers

Demonic Possession
• Jinns able to enter into animal, objects and human beings
• Objects – haunted houses,
• People act as a medium for the jinn
• Prophet Moses time – As Samari made golden calf – the calf mooed – people worship them –
possession
• Examples of Possessions of Jinns in Recent times
• Hindu temples – in temples around the world – noted the idol would drink milk (they explained
it as capillary actions) but it also happened with the metal idols  for those who worship
Ganesh – this was confirmation to them that he is their god of good luck
• In Ireland – statue of Mary holding the Christ child and the statue start to rock – people start to
come to witness it
 • Stigmata – at time of Easter –when Jesus was supposed to be nailed on cross - some people
would have blood oozing from their hands and from the middle of their feet – such people
elevated to status of Saint – but this is possession by Jinn
Faith healing – where people are actually being cured – act of Jinns
One of the sahaba found his wife wearing a necklace with knots. Immediately he knows it has to do
with Shirk. Her eyes were twitching and when she puts it on it stopped

Jinns enter into the human mind – esp. in the dream state
• Dream – 3 types
o True dream – from Allah
o Subconscious dreams - Rambling mind – come in confused matter
o Sad dreams - Satanic– nightmares, doing corrupt act, call you to false beliefs – from Jinn

• Visions – that people see vision of Jesus – these are from the world of the Jinns
• Dreams – leave memories which are from others
Methods for removal of Jinn
1. Calling on another Jinn to drive out the jinn – Haram
a. When a magician / witch breaks a spell cast by another
2. Confirming the symbols of idolatry – Jinn leaves once person commit shirk. –Haram
a. Christian priests who exorcise the Jinn by calling on Jesus or using the cross.
3. Jinn expelled using Quranic recitation and prayers seeking refuge in Allah - Halal
a. Person doing this has to be firm in his faith

We can only use the true and correct way to remove jinns – from Quran and Sunnah

Denying possession
Some say that possession does not occur – eg Jamate Islamiyah
Many Authentic hadith about possession – so it does occur
- Case of boy who gets fits and Prophet took him open his mouth and blew in it thrice said I am
the slave of Allah so get out O enemy of Allah and he was cured
- Surah Fatiha recited over a mad man in morning and evening for 3 days and he was cured

Moral Character
A character that is not superstitious - one which is a cautious personality
- Will question before believing things because they understand the world of the Jinns
- Firm basis for understanding the “supernatural” events without resorting to shirk
- One not easily fooled by extraordinary events (idol drinking, calf mooing, status rocking etc)
-
Jinns – invisible beings, with a choice, that can affect our world

Angels – develop a deliberating character – accountability

Jinns – develop a cautious character – not fooled by actions of Jinns that leads to shirk
Jinns – limitation – cannot take the form of the Prophet

Would good Jinns help Muslims?

Jinns are not supposed to affect us – so what appear to be good jinns are evil jinn wanting to draw
people to evil.
Module 24 – Belief in Books and Messengers
Belief in Books
Concept of God revealed His words to human beings in the form of scriptures
Belief in messengers – God conveyed His words or explanation of His word thought humans who receive
revelation and give to people and clarify its implementation

Majority of people believe in God but lost faith in religion

Bible was corrupt / mistakes – work of men
Scientist believe in God but reject the idea that God communicated to man (too many religion so all
rejected)
Deist – those who believe in God but that there is no divine religion – most common today

Believe in Books and Messengers (3rd and 4th pillar)

Allah communicated His Will through human beings and in the form of scriptures

How do we deal with the argument of those who say God did not reveal this religion?
• World huge and mass on a micro level
• Human beings are so insignificant – The creation of the heaven and the earth is greater than
human beings. It is like us getting involved in the ant world – its meaningless to us.
• The ant to us is like us to God – so why would God get involved?
• The major wars has nothing to do with religion (World 1 and 2)

Each person has to find their purpose – this view of the world of the universe is of those who don’t
understood God.
• Not possible for the true God to leave man without telling us about our purpose
• Doing things with purpose and reason is essential
• If you are asked to build a bridge without instruction – then this is not wise – need for wisdom in
human existence
• God communicated His will and given us instruction – Wisdom of God
• God revealed His Will through scriptures for

Belief in books includes:

• Believe that Allah revealed to Adam and to all of the Prophets
• Believe in the scriptures identified in the Quran by name and those without name (suhufu
Ibrahim)
• Believe in that the Quran is the last of revelation – none coming after it
• Quran stood the test of time - 1400 years passed and has not change – no other book like this –
all changed over time. No one could reach the challenge to imitate a chapter of the Quran
• Quran contains historical and scientific materials which only recent research has shown to be
completely accurate
• Quran – preserved, accurate and complete – so no need for another message – so accepting it
as the last book should have no problem
• Quran – stood above any other scripture – protected and memorized
• All other books are corrupted

Character – Thankfulness
 • Thankful character – characterized by gratitude
• Every soul given consciousness of good and evil
• Allah give us books and sent Prophets as guidance
• Grateful to Allah – 5 daily Salaah begins with Alhamdulillah … All thanks belong to Allah
• Believer always thankful for all favors and mercies in life  positive attitude towards God
• The Affairs of believer is amazing! The whole of his life is beneficial …when good times come he
is thankful …bad times befall he is patient and all this is good for him – Hadith
• Look for those less fortunate than you and not to those above you; it is better for you in order
that you not deny what Allah has blessed you with – Hadith
• Thankfulness creates – sense of balance in life and responsibility for others- Good is from God
• Whoever doesn’t give thanks to people does not thank Allah- Hadith
• Thankful character is contended, patient – always at peace
• Lack of thankfulness - In gratitude leads us to state of discontent, states of depression, jealousy
– leads to corruption and excesses
• If you are thankful, I will certainly increase my favor on you Quran 14:7
• Thankfulness that the Prophet was sent to us – give thanks to Allah to send him
• When people are helpful and their efforts go unthanked, scorned or unnoticed, they usually
become discouraged and reluctant to do the same again

Belief in Messengers
Belief in the Messengers Means:
1. Believing that God communicated His message to humankind through other human beings
a. Human chosen by Allah – superior, Allah communicate directly with them, example
b. I preferred all of them over the worlds of man and jinn Quran 6:86
c. Prophets demonstrated how God’s message was to be implemented
2. Messengers were specifically chosen - reject stories of corruption attributed to prophets in other
scriptures (eg in Bible – Prophet depicted as drunkards, committing incest, adultery, worshipping
idols etc.)
a. Oppose such slander – they guide to righteousness and not to corruption
3. Believing that Allah sent messengers to all the nations – first is Adam and last Muhammad saw
a. Believe in all the prophets names mentioned in the Quran and those not mentioned
b. Not mentioned in Quran but other books – we do not accept nor reject (Buddha, Zoroaster)
c. “Indeed I have sent messengers before you. Some of them I have related to you their story
while others I have not. 40:78
4. Accepting that the essence of their messages was one
a. I have sent among every nation a messenger proclaiming: Worship Allah alone and avoid all
false gods 16:36
b. Allah told us - to worship His creations is the greatest evil
c. We cannot accept all religion to be from God – to do so is to say God is the author of
confusion
Moral Character –A questioning character

Module 25
Q. What is the relation between Messenger and Books?
A. Refutation / contradiction to the deist concept – there is a God but He did not reveal anything / did
not communicate His message to the human kind
Desist argument – all religion is false because all cannot be correct. So they believe in God but not in a
religion
God – Revealed books of revelation and sent Prophets to live with the people

Previous books corrupted – Quran came to correct that

• Books in the hands of the Jews – Old testament – Prophets depicted as Drunkards, incest,
prostitute, adultery and worshipping idols – lies and slander to the Prophet
• Quran restore that back to the prophets – Prophet sent to guide mankind
• False information corrected – Jesus message to people to worship him. Surah Maida 116-117 –
Jesus telling the people Worship my Lord and your Lord
• New testament – attributed worship to Jesus
o Paul said to worship me – Paul’s teachings dominated the new testament
• Don’t know the names of all books nor of all messengers and prophets
• First Prophet was Adam and Muhammad saw was the last of all messengers

How to refute those who say Prophet Muhammad came to beautify the Prophethood – they try to
explain the finality of the Prophet hood?
• Not the understanding of the companions – companions fought a number of false claim to
prophethood – Musailama, and others…

One religion – one message

• Those who worship other that Allah – forms of deterioration or degeneration of all other
religions
• Accepting that he was to be followed - Allah sent messengers to be obeyed – not for us to
praised them

Cultural Islam and the Quran

1. Quran treated as Book of barakah / blessings –
a. People kissing Quran (when it drops and other time)
b. Recitation of Quran when person dies - Use as a way of improving the …. of the dead
c. Verses used as calligraphic in homes – decorations and that it would give blessings to the home
2. Warping it in special cloth – dust accumulate on it and only recited in Ramadan
3. Reciting without understanding it – after the blessings
4. Giving the Quran to the bride – she walks underneath it – going in ht shadow of the Quran
5. Memorizing it without understanding the message of it
6. Reading the Quran at the grave – for blessing for those who pass away
7. Put the Quran under the mattress as a protection (Moroccon culture)
8. Use the Quran as ta’wzee, locket, charm, amulet, hanging in car etc – for protection from evil
9. For women to read the Quran she must cover her head – no basis in the Quran and Sunnah
10. Feel that it is a must to always say Sadaqal ul azeem after recitation. (its ok to do sometimes)
11. Wrong to put Quran on lap – say u are putting it on awra
12. Feel can put Quran the floor, or hold with left hand, or turn back to it, or stretch out legs in direction
of one reading Quran, or can’t leave it open after recitation
13. Choose names by opening the Quran and pointing and whatever word hand fell on – name child
14. Use for fortune telling
15. Lots more other rituals – nothing to do with the Quran at all – all invented – all the above are
sources of misguidance for people
Islamic Culture
Etiquettes concerning the Quran
1. Having Wudu – most scholars say it is a must
2. Understanding what you are reading – Would they not reflect?
3. Should have a special place in your heart for the quran
4. Book of guidance – guide one in their daily life
5. As a Cure or treatment / Healing for what is in the souls – spiritual, emotional, psychological benefits
from reading the Quran with understanding

Cultural Islam - Amulet, charm, means for bringing barakah – read without understanding and used in
fortune telling and variety of other things
Islamic culture – source of guidance, read and understood - Sahaba used to understand 10 verses at a
time- Quran as a benefit for their life as opposed to gaining blessing

Cultural Islam and Belief in the Messengers

Earlier messenger plays very little role in cultural Islam.
Prophet Muhammad saw plays a major role in culture
1. Greatest evil – using him as an intermediary between themselves and Allah –
2. Prophet Muhammad saw has become an object of worship - people pray to him, through him,
ask him to pray to Allah
3. Other deviation – celebration his birthday – almost like Christmas
a. Poems of shirk
b. Singing, dancing – corruption
4. Elevation of the Prophet to the status of Allah – in masjids two plaques on the wall – one Ya
Allah other Ya Muhammad or Ya rasool lull lah
5. People favor praying to the prophet rather than praying to Allah
Calling the Quran “Holy” – imitation of “Holy” bible. Allah did not call the Quran holy
Allah called Quran– noble, magnificent, mighty, glorious Quran

Cultural deviation of artifacts attributed to the Prophet saw in various museums around the world
• Tooth – one knocked out in battle of Badr but 5 or 6 in different museums
• Hair from the Prophet’s saw head – in Kashmir holiest shrine is that dedicated to the hair
• Sword, shoes,
• Barelvis – Prophet considered as light – made from the light of Allah – Shadow less Prophet –
elevated him to divine. Prophet everywhere, hears and sees everything (this is shirk)
• Shia – light split into two etc.
• Prophet’s grave – notes placed there believing it would be read by Prophet etc
• Images in Persian art with huge turban
• And many more

Q. How does the Prophet soul comes back to him and he hears and return the salaams (as mentioned in
an authentic hadith) – does this means he is alive all the time?
A. Dealing with the unseen world. We don’t know or ask how

Moral Character – believing in the Messengers

1. Questioning personality – believer would question and try to seek and get clarity
 a. Only Follow the messenger blindly (once authentic) everyone else must be questioned
b. Belief in the infallibility of their message
2. Devoutly obedient – Prophet saw to be obeyed – instruction he gave is like the instructions from
Allah
a. Whatever the messenger has commanded you to do do it and whatever he has
forbidden you to do leave it. (Quran)
b. Accepting the Sunnah – Allah preserved the text of the Quran and the Sunnah
c. Important in the preservation of the Sunnah
3. Devoutly thankful personality – thankful to Allah for sending a messenger and sending books as
guidance – best, clearest example for us who demonstrate in his lifestyle how to understand and
apply the Quran in our lives

Module 26 – Belief in the Last Day

Belief in the Last Day means:
1. Belief in an end to this world when humankind will be resurrected
a. World would ends and then a day when never ends
b. Everyone dies and then enter state of Barzakh– everyone passes through barzakh – no
return to this world
c. Resurrection. Opposition to the belief in re-incarnation
d. Trials in the Grave and its punishment /reward
e. Believe in the signs of the last day – what the Prophet said would happen
f. Resurrection – Allah causes us to come back together at a certain age
g. For some punishment (beggars unnecessarily would come with faces without skins)
h. Denial of rebirth – come back one time and that is for the judgment
2. Belief in the Day of Judgment – represents Allah supreme Justice
a. Main focus in belief in the last day
b. All accounts would be settled, balanced
c. Manifestation of Allah’s attributes of being the Most Just
d. Judgment not for Allah to find out the right and wrong and then pass judgment – Allah
already knows this.
e. Don’t you know that Allah created paradise and hell and He created inhabitants for each?
Hadith
f. People in Hell would be shown their places in Heaven had they made the right choice and
those in Heaven would show the place in hell …. Hadith
g. Judgment based on their deeds/choices – so no one can question Allah why
h. On that day people would not ask about why – our Lord … beg for another chance to do
righteousness. But they still do the same
i. Allah sending of a final messenger on that day to all those who did not hear the message –
they will be given the message of Tauheed and then be tested and how they respond will
determine where they go Hell or heaven.
3. Consequences of the last day – heaven and hell – it is real (unlike what harun Yahya claim)
a. Represents 2 different locations – we do not know where
b. Those who enters Paradise will enter it by Allah’s grace
c. ….Observe moderation … for none would enter paradise only because of his deeds Hadith
Not even the Prophet saw
 d. Allah’s grace is not arbitrary – His decision is based on the deeds we do (intend to do good
but did not do it gets one good reward – from Allah’s grace)
i. If you do one good deed get 10 rewards – multiplication of deeds
ii. 1 evil = 1 punished with 1 only (not multiplied)
e. Allah’s grace connected to the deeds we do – rewards multiplied and reward for not doing
an evil though he had all the means to do it
f. Good deeds erase evil deeds. Follow up an evil deed with a good one

Moral Character
1. Calculating Personality – considers the consequences of our deeds
a. we will be called to account for everything we have done
b. think of the negative consequences of our actions (to prevent sins)
c. whoever believe in Allah and the last day should speak good or be silent
d. whoever believe in Allah and the last day should kind to his guests

2. Firm, uncompromising personality

a. Will not compromise the commands of God for material success
b. The evil and good are not equal even though the abundance of evil may amaze you – stand
firm
c. Know the right and the wrong –don’t compromise – criteria is to please Allah no matter
what everyone else is doing
3. Confident personality
a. Confidence – know that as long as the stick to what is right they would succeed
b. Do not let they wealth or children amaze you. It is Allah’s plan to punish them... in this life
and let their soul leaves as disbelievers Quran
c. They cannot fool Allah
d. Self confidence – not doubting, worried

It is through Allah’s mercy and Justice that those who enter Hell are placed there

Animals are not accountable but there would be justice

Module 27 – Belief in Destiny

Belief in Qadr (Destiny)
• Known as predestination, fate
• Believe in destiny both good and evil
• 6th pillar of Iman
• Means accepting that Allah has predestined everything
• Indeed I have created everything preordained Quran 54:49
• Consist of 4 basic principle
1. Knowledge (Ilm) – Allah’s Knowledge
a. Allah’s knowledge encompasses everything – past, present and future
b. Include detailed knowledge of the minutest actions of every creation of Allah – Allah is
aware of every leave that falls from every tree.
c. Denying Qadr is a major sin – because it means denying Allah’s knowledge
 d. Divine attributes infinite – without beginning and without end
e. Allah’s knowledge is absolute - Nothing compared to Allah’s knowledge Without limits -
Boundless – many verses
f. Indeed, nothing in the earth or in the skies is hidden from Allah Quran 3:5
g. Unperceived by creation due to their limitations
h. Opposite to knowledge is ignorance or forgetfulness – not attributed to Allah
i. “My Lord neither errs nor fogets” Taha: 20:52 – shows Allah infinite knowledge
2. The Writing
a. Belief that Allah has recorded the destiny of all things that exist, will exist or have existed
until the last hour and beyond
b. Created the pen and instructed it to write everything that was and would be. Allah knows
the past, present and the future
c. Why did Allah write down everything? Confirmation of the completion of Allah’s knowledge
d. Don’t you know that Allah knows all that is in the heaven and the earth, indeed, it is all in a
book, and indeed that is easy for Allah. Surah Hajj 22:70
e. Fetus – after 4 months angel sent to record 4 things – lifespan, provision, deeds and
whether it will be happy or wretched.
f. Annual writing – Night of Qadr (Laylatul Qadr) – deeds/events of coming year recorded
Surah Dukhan 44:3/4 …during it every wise affair is made distinct”
3. Accordance with Allah’s Will
a. Everything happens in accordance with Allah’s will – whether it is a result of Allah’s action or
done by humans
b. Don’t you see that all things in the heavens and on the earth, the sun, moon, stars…animals
and …mankind bow down to Allah in worship? But a great number are fit for punishment;
and who ever Allah disgraces, none can give him honor. Verily Allah carries out all that He
wills Surah Hajj 22:18
c. If he wished He would have guided all of you Nahl 16:9
d. No calamity occurs except by Allah’s permission Taghabun 64:11 – according to Ibn Abas
“permission” means “command”
e. Sin cannot be justified by using Qadr
f. … you shall not will except as Allah wills…Surah Takwir 81:28/29
g. Legal Will – people do not do what Allah wants them to do they disobey (eg stealing). But
this is not outside of His creational will (He allows them to steal).
h. Allah legal Wills does not permit it (forbidden it) but the fact that Allah allow them to do it
this is His Creational Will. If one couldn’t do it then free will would be useless
i. So all actions of Allah’s creatures are according to Allah’s Creational will. If Allah did not
wish them to act the action wouldn’t have occurred.
4. Allah created everything
a. Everything besides Allah is created
b. The creation and whatever is produced by them is also Allah’s creation – including deeds or
statements
c. Actions and statements of human beings are part of man’s attributes
d. Allah created you and what you do Surah Saffat 37:96
The above 4 principles represent the different aspects of belief in destiny – Belief in Qadar is not
complete unless each and every part is believed in

Cause and Effect

 • Belief in Destiny does not negate the reality of cause and effect – this in itself is destined or
predetermined according to Allah’s will
• People will go to Hell because of their actions – they chose to do what is displeasing to Allah
o Hadith Allah created people for Hell – relative statement
o Allah created them, give them the choice and opportunity to do good but they choose
to do evil and therefore will end up in Hell – reason for creation of Hell
o Allah knew that some is going to Hell before He created them – but this does not mean
that He made them do evil.
• Incidence with Umar ra on his way to Syria and learned that a plague there – decided to return
to Mecca
• When asked Are you fleeing from Allah’s destiny?
• Umar’s ra replied: “We are fleeing from Allah’s destiny to His destiny” (to what He has destined)
• Have to believe and act as the same time – one has to make an effort to get what he/she wants
to achieve. Eg by saying I will have a child then the person should get/be married
• Imaginary claim cannot be considered
• People question: “If my deed is in accordance with Allah’s destiny, why should I then be
punished for my sins?” Argue falsely An’am 6:148
• Response – one cannot use destiny as a justification for disobedience to God. Allah did not
force the person to commit sins. One does not know what is their destiny only Allah knows this.
But you choose to do the wrong
• Allah sent prophets and messengers to guide you – so no arguments
• Messengers who gave good news as well as warning, that humanity after the coming of the
messengers should have no argument against Allah. Allah is Ever All Powerful All wise Nisa 4:165

Belief in Qadr – Beautiful results in man’s life

• When things go well – thankful and grateful to Allah. Will not show pride. Humbles a person
o Will realize that he is recipient of Allah’s favor on him
o Whatever good comes to you is from Allah Nisa 4:79
• In trials and difficult times – belief in Qadr keeps one from despair and depression
• Will not waste time on regrets and self-torture of thoughts of what may have happen
• “know that if all of humanity joined together to benefit you with something, they could not
benefit you except with something that Allah has already written for you; and that if all of
humanity gathered to harm you, they could not harm you except by something that Allah has
already written for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages are dry.” Thrmidhi
• “Know that what happened to you could not have been avoided and that what missed you could
never have come to you.” – Hadith
• Be eager for that wich benefits you and don’t be weak, but if something negative happens to
you don’t say “if only” for “if only” opens the door for Satan. Muslim
• One who don’t belief in Qadr would be proud, deluded when good happens and sharttered by
despair when trouble befalls him

Moral Character – Belief in Divine Decree (Qadr)

1. Humble person – He / she knows Qadr makes him humble – all comes from Allah
2. A Patient personality
a. Knowing that whatever happens is by the decree of Allah – so will bear it patiently
b. When things don’t go as planned – due to Wisdom of God and believer accepts this. It
happen for the best or in the best interest of the individual
 c. Allah will test us with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, life and the fruit of our efforts – give glad
tidings to those who are patient. Baqarah 2:155
3. A content personality
a. Knowledge that whatever wealth one has was written – gives a sense of contentment when
he fails to gain more
b. Encouraged to strive to gain the best of this world but not at the expense of the next world
c. Try your best and then put your trust in Allah and accept whatever comes
d. Keeps one from despair – not having to thing what might have happened
e. Look to those who have less than us not to those who have more than us – helps to develop
contentment
4. A stable personality
a. Knowing that whatever befalls the believer was already written
b. Remain free form the extremes of happiness which cause one to forget God and from the
extremes of sadness that cause one to lose hope and blame God
c. Trials of good and tests of evil benefit the believer
d. “The affair of the believer is amazing! The whole of his life is beneficial, and that is only in
the case of a believer. When good times come to him, he is thankful and it is good for him,
and when bad times befall him, he is patient and it is also good for him.” – the state of one
who truly accepted Allah’s Qadr

Cultural Misunderstanding Day of Judgment

• Belief that the dead will help you
• Belief that the Prophets and the saints can save them
• Belief that All Muslims will go to Paradise – no one can say with certainty that they will go to
paradise – no one knows their end.
• Some Muslims believe that despite that
• People take their Kafan to Mecca and wash it with zam zam water – believe that a dead
wrapped in that cloth will not go to hell
• Celebrating death anniversary of person– bidah

Cultural belief in Qadr

• Use astrology to determine who to marry – marry only people from a certain sign – Hindu
practice
• Attitude towards marriage - Marry whoever their parents choose – saying whatever come
comes – one suppose to choose the best person – make some efforts.

Module 28 – Review
Pillars of Islam and Iman

Q. A woman who marries a non-Muslim who declare his faith in Islam in order to marry her? What is her
state?
- She is a sinner not a disbeliever

Q. Why is the literal meaning of Laillahillah not appropriate?

The literal meaning is “There is no God but Allah” This is not true in reality because there are lots of
gods. It is not the literal meaning but the implied meaning – There is no God worthy of worship except
Allah.

Q. What is the implied practical meaning of the declaration that Muhammad saw is the messenger of
Allah
We obeyed him blindly even if we do not understand

Q. What is the condition which is put on those who are making the declaration of faith (physical term)
Uttered – should not be kept in the heart
Witnessed – done publicly

Q. Moral characteristic of Declaration of Faith?

Open personality

Q. Give an example of the cultural understanding with regards to declaration of faith.

Once you declared Laillah illah muhammadur rasool ullah you are guaranteed paradise

Q. Why is prescribed prayer at prescribed time better than prayer when ones heart/feels a desire is in
prayer?
• Person praying from the heart would often pray at the time of calamity
• Organizing one day around ones prayer is better than organizing ones day around other things
• Turing to God on a regular basis is better than only on occasion s

Q. The main purpose of prayer as identified in the Quran

• For the remembrance of Allah

Q.Is there any difference between the prayer of a man and that of a woman?
• Virtually none. Prophet did say for the woman to huddle oneself in sujood

Q. What is the basic moral characteristic which the 3rd pillar of Islam builds?
• Generosity

Q. What is the main purpose of Zakaat from the monetary purpose?

• Circulating wealth within the society

Q. Fasting – What did the Quran identified the main purpose of fasting as?
• To develop taqwa, piety or consciousness of Allah.

Q. At what time does Hajj become obligatory?

• When one is physically and monetary able.

Q. In cultural Islam when is Hajj supposed to be done?

• When you are too old to do more sins

Q. What is the basic – identify one of the basic moral principles Hajj builds
• An international or universal personality that accepts everyone that is not tribal etc.
 • A patient character
Q. The Prophet statement to look to those below you – is it applicable to look to them if you are looking
to them from a religious perspective?
• No. It will weaken you – will become content with what you do. Religious matter look to those
above you

Q. What is the Islamic ruling on the title Hajji?

• Bidah – the description of the word is not bidah but where the person takes it on as a title

Q. Identify one of the cultural beliefs concerning Hajj

• All sins forgiven, guaranteed paradise – so one may do/plan sin then go to Hajj
• Wear Hijab after Hajj so as to be identified as one who perform hajj

Q. What is the condition for Hajj to purify one of sin for the newborn child?
• It has to be accepted by Allah

Q. What is the main argument that is used to defend the logical belief in God and the illogical belief of
the denial of God’s existence?
• The fathers of logic –leading Greek Philosophers - both Aristotle and Plato both argued logically
for the belief in God. So if we use logic as the basic surely the fathers of logic would have it
correct.

Q. What is the common belief among anthropologist regarding belief in God in terms of its origin?
• Two principles they always argued about – nature or nurture
• Belief in God was a product of nurture

Q. What is the name of complex that Freud claims for the basis of origin for belief in God?
• Oedipal complex

Q. What is the Quranic challenge to Atheist belief?

• Were they created from nothing or did the create themselves?

Q. The argument that created beings (matter) have no begin in time is illogical because?
• Infinite regression
• It would take an infinite amount of time to get here. The fact that we are here is proof that
there is a beginning

Q. What is meant by Allah’s Legal Wish?

• To distinguish it from its Creational Wish
• Nothing happens except by Allah’s wish
• Legal wish – what Allah wants us to do – what Allah instructed us to do. To do good and stay
away from evil (eg halal and haram, not to steal etc.)
• Creational Wish – is what He permits them to do – To follow His instruction or not
• Whenever anything occurs it is by Allah’s Creational Wish
• Legal Wish – covers Allah’s Instructions
• Creational wish – encompasses every thing
Q. How does belief in Allah build a stable character?
• Believing that good and evil are both from Allah There is good behind what may appear as evil
• Makes a person patient in times of hardship and thankful in times of happiness / success

Q. Were angels created from a fiery light or a light fire?

• Neither. Angels created from light

Q. Why are angels invisible to human eyes? Are angels invisible to human eyes?
• Not always – when they took human forms they are visible. Otherwise they are invisible.
Invisible in their natural form

Q. Do angels have wings and are they on their back or sides?

• Yes – wings. Allah knows best where they are

Q. Are angels male or female?

• Neither
• Jinns – are both – male and female

Q. What is the angel assigned to all human beings?

• Guardian angel

Q. What is the main moral characteristic built by belief in the angels?

• Calculating personality – take into accounts ones deeds

Q. The name Jinn comes from the word Janna which means?
• To hide or cover

Q. Are Jinns created from a fiery wind or a windy fire?

• Neither – fiery wind mentioned. Smokeless fire common term used

Q. What are the animal forms that Jinns appear in?

• Black dogs and snakes

Q. What is the name the Prophet saw give to the Jinn or class of Jinn that disturb our prayers?
• Kinzim or kanzab

Q. Concerning control of the jinn is it permissible for the believer if they are good jinns?
• Jinns cannot be controlled. Relations with them are by contract – which is wrong

Q. Is the punishment out of visiting the fortuneteller out of curiosity death by stoning or by the sword?
• Neither – punishment is his prayers is not accepted for 40 days and night
• If one believes in the fortune teller – an act of disbelief – no specified punishment

Q. What is the reason why Buddhist and Christians exorcism works?

• It affirms or confirms their disbelief - Jinns are chosen to leave it is not driven out because of the
sign of the cross or reading from the bible or religious books of these religion.
Q. Is belief in the original bible part of Islamic belief in books?
• No, the original bible is a human compilation it is not a name of one of the books of the
Prophets of the past. It includes the writing of Paul and everything else.
• We believe in the Psalms of David and what was given to Prophet Abraham, Injeel and Zaboor

Q. What are the main moral characteristics built by belief in the Books?
• Thankfulness, gratitude. A thankful character
• Hadith - One who is not thankful to people is not thankful to Allah.

Q. What is the main implication of belief in Allah’s messengers?

• Allah communicated His message to human beings. It rejects deism that Allah created the world
and left it to run on its own.

Q. Is belief that Muhammad saw is the last messenger – is this part of belief in the messengers or part of
the declaration of faith?
• Muhammadur ra sullah – so it is not stated in the declaration that he is the last nor is it stated in
the belief of messengers but it is understood because
• It is t if you belief in the messengers and he said he is the last then you have to believe that
Muhammad saw implied that he is the last messenger because it mean obedience and
acceptance of whatever he told us.

Q. What was the first thing Allah created?

• First - The pen
• The last – Allah knows best

Q. What moral characteristic is build by belief in destiny?

• Contentment, patience, stable,

Believe in the last day – confident personality

Q. Why does evil exist in the world?

• For the good that would come from it

Q. Is there a connection of good deeds and entering paradise?

• Yes – direct connection but without Allah’s grace it would not be sufficient.
• No definitely incorrect – implies there is no need to do good deeds

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Moral Characteristics

Pillars of Islam
Shahadatyne - Open, honest and missionary
Salah – God Fearing (Taqwa), Good Speech and Good actions
Zakaat – Generosity and compassion
Fasting – Control, moderation and compassion
Hajj – universality and patience

Pillars of Imaan - Articles of Faith

Belief in Allah – God Conscious (Taqwa), Stable personality (everything happens by the will of Allah)
Angels – A careful and deliberate personality
Jinns – cautious personality
Books – thankfulness
Messenger - A questioning character, obedient and thankful
Last Day – calculating personality, firm uncompromising personality and confident
Qadr – patient, content and stable

Belief in Allah -Begins with Belief in Allah’s Existence, God the Creator and Sustainer
Believe in Angels - Begins with belief in their existence, names and attributes, roles
Belief in the Jinn - Means belief in other creatures of the unseen spiritual world
Belief in books includes: - Believe that Allah revealed to Adam and to all of the Prophets,
Believe in the scriptures identified in the Quran by name and those without name (suhufu Ibrahim),
Believe in that the Quran is the last of revelation

Belief in the Messengers Means - Believing that God communicated His message to humankind
through other human beings, Messengers were specifically chosen, Allah sent messengers to all the
nations, accepting that the essence of their messages was one

Belief in the Last Day mean -end to this world, Day of Judgment, Consequences of the last day
Belief in Qadr - Knowledge (Ilm) – Allah’s Knowledge, The Writing, Accordance with Allah’s Will, Allah
created everything

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