Role of Quran in the Development of Islam - Assignment Example

assignment is due Discuss the role of the Quran and hadith in the development of Islam. What is the “Seal of the Prophets” in relation to Judaism and Christianity?  The Quran, the primary sacred scripture of Islam has played a great role in the development of Islam. Quran, being the revelations received by Muhammad is considered by Muslims as the literal words of ‘Allah’ in Arabic. Muhammad recited from memory the revelations he got from Allah, through the angel Gabriel. The beginning of the sacred scripture Quran cannot be considered as the beginning of the great role that it played in the development of Islam. The religious patriarchs like Abraham and Ishmael were available before the scripture. The Quran started with these patriarchs to build Islam. Muslims give great regard to the authority of Quran and its sacred and divine nature. The Hadith is yet another important text in Islam. Hadith means traditions. Hadith constitutes the traditions followed by Muhammad in his life with the first Muslims. Numerous stories are told about the life of Muhammad. His daily affairs, his way of interacting with people, his manner of leading the community and his ways of taking care of household are considered as good examples by Muslims. Hadith illustrates the image of Muhammad, which is considered by Muslims as the role model. The Quran and the Hadith together give the textual basis for what is considered as Islamic ‘divine law’. Both are honorable texts with high degree of authenticity and integrity. Mohammed, the Seal of the Prophets is deemed as the greatest of all prophets. Quran is considered as the exact embodiment of Message of God. The teachings that got revealed to Muhammad are considered as the final of all previous messages. Muslims believe that Quran follows Torah and Gospel. According to them, Quran is the final revelation of God to man. The Quran gives great honor to Hebrew patriarchs, kings and prophets who are associated with Jerusalem. Islam recognizes the revelations received by these prophets. Jesus Christ is recognized by Islam as a great messenger of God. 2. List the five pillars of Islam and define Jihad. What is the role of Sharia to Islamic law?  The five pillars of Islam make the make the foundation for true Muslim life. Believing in one true God and the prophethood of Muhammad makes the base of Muslim belief. Daily prayers, concern for poor and giving arms to the negatively privileged, self sanctification through fasting and sacred pilgrimage to the Makkah makes the subsequent four pillars. The Qur'an explains Jihad as a typical structure of checks and balances. According to Islam Jihad is a system that checks one group of people using another group. If a person or a group of people violates the rights of Muslims or breaks their limits, Muslims can rightfully ‘check’ them and take them to the right line. Islam never permits unprovoked attack from its own side. Quran has asked Muslims to never start hostilities or do any act of aggression. Muslims are further commanded not to harm innocent ones and never violate the rights of others. Hurting animals and even trees is wrong according to the teachings of Islam. Islam recommends war only to defend their people from persecution, war and oppression. Quran recommends hostility to those who oppress Muslims. According to Quran, persecution cannot be afforded as it is worse than oppression. Sharia is the set of Islamic canonical laws that are fundamental to Islam. They are derived from four different sources, The Koran, The Sunnah, The Hadith or Ahadith and the ijma. Sharia was formed in the eighth and ninth centuries. Sharia means a path that leads to God. Muslims believe that Sharia is the law of God. Sharia however has different faces depending upon what exactly it entails. Fundamentalists, modernists and traditionalists, each have different views on Sharia. Sharia is therefore related to different Islamic schools of thought. Sharia deals with different fields like secular law, politics, economics and crime. It also deals with daily-life matters like prayer, hygiene, fasting etc. Sharia is quite important in Islamic law. 3. Explain the spread of food and industrial crops throughout the Islamic empires. What were the effects of these new crops on the Western regions?  New food and industrial crops spread throughout the Islamic empires. New agricultural techniques got introduced in the vast empire. Staple crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane and sorghum appeared. New vegetables like eggplants, spinach and artichokes were cultivated. Fruits like limes, oranges, mangoes, coconuts, lemons, melons and bananas were also cultivated in various areas of the Islamic empires. Apart from this, there appeared different types of industrial crops like henna, indigo and cotton. Introduction of new food crops and industrial crops had heavy effect on the empire. New crops lead to prosperity. New crops resulted in varied and richer diet. Increased production of food and industrial crops enabled long growing seasons. Several new transplanted crops flourished in the hot climates (summer) of the Islamic world. This enabled extensive year-round growing seasons. Cotton became the basis for a flourished textile industry. Indo and henna supplied dyes for the thriving textile manufacturers. The period of Islamic empires was also the period of agricultural experimentation. Cultivators took care of different methods of cultivation, fertilization and irrigation. Crop rotation and other methods of cultivation were also cultivated. Agricultural prosperity made the economy flourish. 4. Discuss the construction of the Grand Canal. Include the reasons for the construction, the benefits of the canal despite its costs, and last how did construction projects led to the decline of the Sui Dynasty? The construction of the Grand Canal was started by Duke of Wu, Fu Chai. He built the first part near Hangzhou to connect the Yangtse river and the Huai river. This part was later enlarged in the third century, during the Qin dynasty. The Sui dynasty emperor Yangdi took big efforts to expand the canal by putting six years of labor from the period 605 to 610. He employed 6 million workers to proceed with the canal digging. Later the canal was extended to the north, to Beijing. This helped the military by giving them route for the transportation of armies. Grand Canal extension resulted in good economic unification in China. This gave jobs to the officers who were in the administration and maintenance of the Canal. The political unity of Sui empire enabled this great project. However, the workers, males and females, died because of starvation, diseases and exploitation from overseers. The large amount of money spent for the construction and the death of the workers resulted in the fall of the dynasty. References Guillaume, A. (1961) The Traditions of Islam, Beirut: Khayyat.  Read More