Religion and Theology - Essay Example

? Religion and Theology number and Religion and Theology my answer is; research shows that Sufis is not an ethnic or religious group; it is a mystical association that is instituted all over the world of Islam populace (Esposito, Fasching& Lewis, 2012) Sufism rose traditionally as a response against the inflexible legalism of the standard religious governance. Sufism has a various significance or importance, and they encompass helping to mold big parts of the Muslim society. Sufism pursuits for an unswerving supernatural understanding of God and of his love; its objective is to develop away from plain logical understanding to a supernatural encounter that would immerse man in the immensity of God. Sufism had an essential part in the creation of Muslim communities as it cultivated the multitudes and fulfilled their felt necessities, providing the spiritual significance to their lives and guided feelings. Sufis are vital teachers who transform new constituencies to Islam. Mysticism is an encounter of the straight closeness with Divinity. Mysticism is attractive because it includes the exercise of meditation both in the logical wisdom of the review of reality and in the paranormal sense of having understanding of God through a life of prayer. It is initially practical and not theoretical, where it engages the whole self. It is, thus, true to say that, mysticism is found in all the key religious traditions with the common presumption that all mystical encounters are similar and cannot be illustrated. #2) my answer is; The five pillars of Islam bid an agreement of training in the middle of the civilization`s rich collection. The pillars comprise the affirmation of faith, and according to this pillar, a Muslim is any person who witnesses that there is only one God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God. By declaring this plain statement, which is recognized as the shahadah, a person becomes a Muslim. The initial portion of the shahadah confirms the monotheism of Islam as an inflexible faith in the unity of God, while another pillar involves the prayer, which encourages the Muslims all over the world to adore God (Esposito, Fasching& Lewis, 2012). They are supposed to pray five times a day including daybreak, at noontime, midafternoon, sunset, and in the evening. Prayer is led by a pattern of washings to cleanse the body and to signify the cleanliness of mind and body needed to worshipping God. The next pillar is the almsgiving pillar; this pillar emphasizes that Muslims have the responsibility to attend to the social welfare of their society by remedying differences together with sharing correspondingly all their roles to worship God. This is done together with the yearly contribution of two point five percent of a person`s accumulated richness and assets. The forth pillar is the fasting of Ramadan, where Muslims are supposed to fast during the ninth month of Islam’s lunar datebook. This done by all vigorous Muslims who refrain from having meals, drinks, and sex from morning to evening. The main aim of this period is to encourage self-control, meditation as well as the enactment of great works; this period is ended by a great feast marked as the holy day in the calendar of Muslims. The journey of Mecca is the fifth and the last pillar, which comes after Ramadan; this pillar inspires all Muslims who are economically and substantially able to carry out the trip to Mecca one time in their generation. This journey unites the Islamic society, as it is the spiritual center. #3) my answer is; According to research, both Sunni and Shiite Muslims share the greatest vital Islamic principles and apprenticeships of faith. The variances amid these two main subdivisions within Islamic are primarily not from spiritual variances, but political differences; nevertheless, the political variances have resulted into a number of changing activities and points that have come to carry a divine importance. The separation among Sunni and Shiite formerly began after the expiry of the prophet Muhammad, and the inquiry of the right person to replace the management of the Muslim republic. Sunni Muslims are in agreement with the portion taken by various partners of the prophet that the new forerunner should be chosen among those able to carry out the job. Therefore, this is what was achieved, and the prophet Muhammad`s close associate and consultant became the Islamic. On the contrary, the Shiite Muslims have the belief that pursuing the prophet Muhammad`s leadership should have passed directly to his son, Ali bin Abu Talib. In addition, Shiite Muslims have not acknowledged the power of elected Muslim leaders instead deciding to pursue a line of imams, which they think were selected by God Himself. The word Shiite implies a team or a supportive section of individuals, while Sunni means those individuals who pursue the customs of the prophet. #4) my answer is; The Quran is a text believed by Muslims as the final revelation of God that was discovered to the prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century. On the contrary, Muslims have disquieted the religious conviction with rites and proverbs gathered in what is referred to as the hadiths. Therefore, the hadith is the gathering of rites, proverbs as well as decrees declared by researchers to be from the prophet Mohammad that was documented many years after his bereavement. Conventional Muslims classically take the hadiths as another religious manuscript integrated with the Quran. Conversely, their manuscript, the Quran is open in the fact that it was to be the ultimate and whole manuscript of God. The Quran encompasses 144 chapters recognized as surah and the note is plain; worship God only and fully surrender to His willpower. It does not promote murder or many other orthodox and uneducated opinions of the religion of Islam; it is full of harmony, love for others, and employing other motives to understand the world around the disciple. #5) my answer is; Muslims have various plain rituals for welcoming a newborn baby as one of their rituals. First, Muslims call for prayers as the chief words a child should be taught are said in the right ear of the child. Secondly, parents crush a portion of a sweet thing and scrub the liquid alongside the child`s mouth, because they believe that the principal sense of flavor for the newfound baby is something syrupy. Various incidents take place during or after the first week. Thus, the newborn`s head is clean-shaven after the seventh day as a way to demonstrate that the newborn is the helper of Allah. The locks are then balanced, and silver equal to the heaviness is given to the needy people in the society. Circumcision for boys is completed after the first week or before adolescence. Accordingly, a forename for the youngster is selected on the seventh day. On the same day, a sheep is slaughtered and the meat is given out to relatives and neighbors as well as to the needy people. #6) my answer is; Western religion links Islam with violence more than any other religion, despite the fact that there is the presence of vehemence in various religions worldwide including Ireland, Lebanon, and the Pacific basin. This is so because of the commotions of the past few years in the Middle East and particularly activities which used the name of Islam to pursue to resolve problems of the Muslim world developed by the situations beyond the power of Muslims. They have only strengthened the impression in the West that in some distinct way Islam is connected to violence. In addition, Islam may be a violent religion to some extent, because the Quran promotes such acts. For instance, chapter nine and verse five affirm that idolaters should be killed. This verse promotes the killing of all the pagans or non-believers without any hindrance. Nevertheless, it is vital to comprehend that Islam was developed to create the decree of law and to violently fight lawlessness or rebellion. This implies that Islam did not create war; this is so because conflict has been in existence from the start of the human race. Islam means submission, this means to surrender; Muslims are people who are surrenders pursuing to follow God and realizing the will of God in history. The society of Muslims is a transcontinental public of followers, they are designed and directed by God, and their duty is to extend and institutionalize an Islamic command in order to establish a publically fair community. It is a good thing because it creates the best society ever established for a human being, commanding what is respectable or moral and avoiding crimes. The practice of veiling among Muslim women is one founded on the principle of religion, even though the Quran does not dictate it. It is debated that the veil is a way to safeguard a person`s freedom in a world that diminishes women. A significant number of women have argued that a veil contributes to them a right of association and governor of their bodies. This implies that veils safeguard women from the scrutiny of male counterparts and permits them to become sovereign subjects. Therefore, Muslim women should be prevented from the practice of veiling, and given the opportunity to make their choices whether to veil themselves or not. Islam is recognized as a religion concerned with society cohesion and moral limitations. Thus, veiling is a way of ensuring that the moral limitation between unconnected men and women are honored. In this respect, veiling demonstrates modest dressing and modest character. A good number of Muslim women veil themselves in order to obey God and to be seen as respectable people in the society. Many people get attracted to Islam because it is an impeccable religion that gives resolutions to every difficult case and responses to every inquiry. The term Islam means peace, thus, it is a religion of every person who loves peace; peace of mind, at home, in the community, and in the whole world. This demonstrates that Islam is a mode of reaching harmony by yielding to the drive of God. Another reason why people get attracted to Islam is that it promotes simplicity. This is achieved by a person simply accepting the idea that God is one, and there is no other God. Islam also promotes equality in that any person who joins the fold of Allah becomes equal and, thus, has no distinction on account of color, race, language, or geographical difference. Accordingly, Islam encourages a constant hope, it emphasizes that living with a hope is an eternal urge of man, while without any hope a person cannot survive and live in peace. This is achieved through making a simple confession. Reference Esposito, J.L., Fasching, D.J., & Lewis, T. (2012). World religions today (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Read More