Principle of Following the Prophets Sunnah - Essay Example

? Discuss the ways in which the principle of following the Prophet’s sunna is expressed in key beliefs and practices elaborated during the first three centuries of Islam. What are the implications for Islamic belief and practice today? Name Class: Subject: Teacher: Date: University Discuss the ways in which the principle of following the Prophet’s sunna is expressed in key beliefs and practices elaborated during the first three centuries of Islam. What are the implications for Islamic belief and practice today? The key beliefs and practices elaborated during first three centuries of Islam are. The Main belief that every Muslim must have is that to believe in oneness of God and to have faith that Muhammad is his Prophet. After the death of Prophet Muhammad his four companions which are Abu Bakr, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Ali ibn abi Talib and Uthman ibn Ghani were appointed as the Caliph to run the state (Najeebabadi 2001). The first Caliph was Abu Bakr. During his reign many battles were fought against the non-Islamic states. These battles were fought in western and eastern Iraq, Syria and some other regions. The second caliph was Umar ibn Al-Khattab. Umar ibn Al-Khattab fought many battles for the expansion and defense of Islam. The third Caliph of the Islamic history was Uthman ibn Ghani. Ali ibn Abi Talib was the forth caliph of Islam (Najeebabadi 2001). Islam is not only a religion but it also teaches us how to lead our lives in peace and harmony. Prayers in Islam are very important. The main and the most important following of the Prophet’s sunna is prayers and the ways to pray. Prophet’s sunna are those deeds which were done by the Prophet Muhammad. During the life of Prophet Muhammad, he emphasized on giving Zakat, which is giving charity to the needy and poor from one’s surplus wealth. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is also an obligatory practice in Islam. Pilgrimage is practiced as Prophet’s sunna, which is only obligatory on those who have financial resources to perform it. (Nigosian 2004) In the opinion of many Muslim scholars, Islam is a religion that is amended by the every Prophet from Adam to Prophet Muhammad and it is completed with the completion of Holy Qur’an or Koran. Holy Qur’an is a divine book (like Bible and Torah) that was revealed upon Prophet Muhammad (Najeebabadi 2001). The key belief that a Muslim must have is to believe that God (Allah in Arabic) is one and Muhammad is His Prophet. A Muslim must have faith in all the Messengers of God and in all Holy Books. He must have belief that Angles exist and they do as they are ordered by Almighty God. A Muslim must know that he will be asked about his every bad deed at the Day of Judgment and God (Allah) will punish him for his wrongs and reward him for the good deeds. Qur’an is a divine book and covers almost all aspects of life. It also guides us to give charity (Zakat) but it does not tell us the rate of Zakat on our assists. In order to clarify the matter Prophet Muhammad told us that the rate should be 2.5% or 5%. (Nigosian 2004) In first century of Islam, the key beliefs and practices are almost same as directed by Prophet Muhammad. Some scholars believe that religion and politics have no similarity. The difference between the two is vast. The politics in Islam changed the way, people think about Islam. After the first four Caliphs, the system of Caliphate was not remained the same as it was before (Nigosian 2004). During the first century of Islam, it has no sectarian system and the religion is in the principles of Prophet’s Sunna but some Muslims believed that instead of Caliph Abu Bakr, it would be more appropriate that Ali ibn abi Talib would be the first Caliph (Najeebabadi 2001). They argued that Ali ibn abi Talib was Prophet Mohammad’s cousin, so he would be the most appropriate choice. But Ali ibn abi Talib discouraged those people, who were making these discussions. Ali ibn abi Talib had two sons Hasan ibn Ali ibn abi Talib and Husayn ibn Ali ibn abi Talib. During the life of Ali ibn abi Talib and after his death, it was supposed that Hasan ibn Ali ibn abi Talib would be successor to Ali ibn abi Talib after Prophet Mohammad. During the Caliphate of Uthman, he appointed his cousin Muawiyah ibn abi Sufyan as the Syria’s Governor (Nigosian 2004). But during the Caliphate of Ali ibn abi Talib, he dismissed Muawiyah from his services, which led a war between them. Muawiyah became the first Caliph of Umayyad Dynasty. Ali’s son Hasan ibn Ali signed a peace treaty with the Muawiyah and led a private life. After the death of Muawiyah his son Yazid became the Caliph of Umayyad (Nigosian 2004). During this period, the Umayyad Caliphate gained power and had got complete authority and Islamic laws were less followed as compared to earlier period. There occurred a change in beliefs and practices due to the politics involved in Islamic laws. Hasan ibn Ali was poisoned and the peace treaty lost its importance in the eyes of Yazid. Hasan’s Brother Husayn ibn Ali and their families were martyred in the battle of Karbala. Some Muslim scholars state that Muawiyah was not a bad person at all and he was the companion of Prophet Mohammad but his son Yazid is not liked by most of the Muslims (Najeebabadi 2001). Some Muslims believed that it was not the order of Yazid to martyr the families of Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali. It occurred due to the miscommunication between Yazid and his army men. After these two major sects appeared in Islam, Sunni and Shiite, the major believes of both the sects are same and are according to the Prophet’s Sunna but there a difference between the two of them in other believes and practices. Some of the differences are massive. Some practices that were practiced in one sect were prohibited in the other. Shiite Muslims considered Ali ibn abi Talib as first Imam and his successor too but Sunni Muslims have no concept of Imams. Shiite Muslims considered beating oneself correct in grief but Sunni Muslims considered it wrong only wives are allowed to beat themselves at their husbands’ death. Sunni Muslims prayed five times a day while Shiite Muslims prayed only three times a day. During Ramadan Sunni Muslims prayed after the last Prayer of the day but Shiite Muslim considered it wrong. (Nigosian 2004) Now a days, Islam has more than fifty sects and all have a little difference in believes and practices. Some major sects within Islam are Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims or Shia Muslims, Wahhabies, Suffism, Baha’ism and Ahmadiyya Muslims. Some sects like Baha’ism and Ahmadiyya Muslims are not considered as Muslims by major sects like Sunni Muslims because they differ in the key beliefs and practices from other Muslim sects. Kharijites were a major sect in early Islamic period but it has almost no believers now a days. Some of the Kharijities resided in Oman and north and east Africa. Ibadites are considered as Kharijities today who do not believe in assassination. This sect has a small number of Muslims. (Najeebabadi 2001) Typically the Islamic sects can be divided into three basic categories Conservative Muslims, Liberal Muslims and Innovative groups. The Conservative Muslims lead their lives as directed by Qur’an and Prophet’s Sunna. Liberal Muslims are those which want Islam to be adjustable to their Modern Lifestyle (Najeebabadi 2001). They pray as they wish and don’t allow any obligations to apply on them. They also ignore Prophet’s Sunna. Innovative group are those Muslims who have ideas totally different from the Qur’an and Prophet’s Sunna. Conservative Muslims include Wahaabies while Ahmadiyya and Baha’ism sects are considered as Innovative Groups. Today the Muslims are residing in different parts of the world having some major and minor differences in believes and thoughts. Many Governments struggled hard to make their state an Islamic state of the world and some are still struggling to obey the Prophet’s Sunna. A country like Saudi Arabia has totally Islamic laws but still have more than one sect (Nigosian 2004). Some Islamic states are secular states where Islamic laws are not followed. Today believes and the practices in Islam are changed but Islamic scholars’ states that there would be seventy two sects in Islam and only one would be the completely correct. We cannot say that which one of the sect is completely true. References Najeebabadi, Akbar Shah 2001, History of Islam, Dar-us-Salam Publications, Riyadh. Nigosian, S. A 2004, Islam: Its History, Teaching, and Practices (New ed.), Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Read More