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A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 1 “O My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” - Qur’an 20: 114 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM JAVED AKHATAR READ! In the name of your Lord who created, He created a man from a clot of blood, Read! And your Lord is the most Generous, Who taught by the pen, He taught man what he knew not. - Qur’an 96: 1-5 1 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 2 CONTENTS Dedication Foreword Preface CHAPTER 1 – BELIEFS AND PRACTICES i. Beliefs: i. Tauheed (Oneness of Allah) ii. Malaikah (Angles) iii. Risalah (Prophethood) iv. Kutub-e-Samaviyah (Revealed Books) v. Akhirah (Life Hereafter) vi. Taqdeer (Predestination) ii. Practices: i. Namaz (Prayers) ii. Zakat (Alms) iii. Roza (Fast) iv. Hajj (Pilgrimage) CHAPTER 2 – ISLAMIC SOCIETY i. Rights of Parents ii. Rights of Relatives iii. Rights of Neighbours iv. Rights of Muslims v. Rights of Other Human Beings vi. Rights of All Creations 2 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 3 CHAPTER 3 – LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH) a. Life at Makkah b. Life at Madinah c. Ethical and Moral Values CHAPTER 4 – THE PIOUS CALIPHATE a. Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakr b. Caliph Hazrat Umar c. Caliph Hazrat Usman d. Caliph Hazrat Ali CHAPTER – 5: THE QUR’AN a) Definition of Wahy b) Collection and Compilation of Holy Qur’an c) Translation of Surah Fateha and Last Ten Surahs of Qur’an CHAPTER – 6: THE HADITH a) Meaning, Importance and Necessity b) Brief History of the Compilation of Hadith c) The Classification of Hadith d) Sihah Sitta e) The Six Most Famous Traditionalists: Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Nasa’i, Imam Abu Dawud, Imam Tirmizi, and Sunan ibn Majah, f) Thirty Two Selected Ahadith from “Tajreed-e-Bukhari” (1,5,8,10,12,13,14,16,18,21,39,41,44,45,46,47,63,346,353,472,510,670,671,734,878,881, 927,1005,1053,1066,1942,1954,) 3 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 4 CHAPTER – 7: FIQH (JURISPRUDENCE) a) Meaning, Importance and Necessity b) Brief History of the Fiqh Evolution c) Basic Sources: Introduction d) Sunni Imams: Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafai, and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal e) Shia Imam: Imam Jafar al-Sadiq CHAPTER – 8: TASAWWUF (SUFISM) a) Meaning, Introduction and Significance b) The Most Famous Sufi Orders in India: Chishti, Qadri, Suhrawardi, Naqshbandi c) The Famous Sufis: Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Aulia, Shihabuddin Suhrawardi, And Shaikh Ahmad Sir Hindi Selected Bibliography 4 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 5 DEDICATION I begin in the name of God of the entire humanity whose mercy is profound whose kindness is everlasting… My praise and thanks are first to Allah, the Mercy of the mercies, exalted in power and knowledge. I am forever indebted to my mother who taught me about values in my life and to be honest and respectful towards all. I receive a lot of inspiration from her. She is a good Muslimah and always faithful to her prayers. I am very grateful to her guidance in religious matters. Dedicated to... My parents Naseer Ahmad & Qamrun Nisha And my wife Iram Akhtar 5 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 6 Foreword All Praises be to Allah, the most powerful and most merciful, and to his pious messengers, especially to Muhammad (PBUH), the last one. Islam is the world’s second largest religion, affecting the lives of nearly 23% of its population. Post 9/11, there is a renewed interest in Islam. This book, A Handbook on Islam, aspires to satisfy that interest by offering introductory perspectives that engage with the percepts and practices of Islam. The significance of the book lies in serving as a primary source of reference for the understanding of the basic tenets of Islam, Islamic history, law and jurisprudence, as also concept of Islamic social injunctions. There is an effort to simplify complex concepts about Allah, angels, prophets, revealed books, Akhirah, Taqdeer, Islamic worships and rituals, as well as social obligations to parents, relatives, neighbors, society, and even animals. It also includes a brief life-sketch of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his close companions, as well as the collection and compilation of Qur’anic verses and traditions set by the Prophet of Islam. The last two chapters focus specially on Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and Tasawwuf (Sufism) and give concise histories of their development. Perusal of this book will give readers a clear and basic overview of Islam. In reaching out to those who see Islam as a faith professed by compatriots, it is hoped that this book will satisfy their curiosity and sensitize them to the faith, philosophy and message of Almighty Allah. 6 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 7 The author, Javed Akhatar, is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Islamic Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. He is a hard working student with an aptitude for research and analysis. A Handbook on Islam is ample evidence of a young research scholar who shows all signs of improving his academic skills with the time. I hope that this book will help him achieve academic recognition in this world and divine reward hereafter. Prof. Akhtarul Wasey Former Head, Department of Islamic Studies & Ex Director, Zakir Hussain Institute of Islamic Studies Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi, 2014 7 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 8 PREFACE ‘A Handbook on Islam’ is an attempt to introduce Islam to general public and mainly undergrad students, who are studying Islamiat or Deenyat, and Islamic Studies. The aim is to fulfill the objectivity of students has been in my mind while writing this book. Though, this book is equally useful to every reader. This book is particularly very much close with the syllabus of Islamiat course of Jamia Millia Islamia and generally the other Islamic universities. In this book, I have almost given the English translation of every Arabic or non-English word. I have also tried to provide the reader with the accurate date and year of an event according to Roman calendar and sometimes Islamic calendar. However, keeping in mind, there might be some variations, even errors. Apart from it, I have also put an effort to make the book free from any unauthenticated statements. If so, the readers should point them out so they can be rectified in next editions. Now, I must express my gratitude to the people around and far away from me who, directly or indirectly, helped in the preparation of this book. Firstly, I bow down to Allah, Who ‘Taught me the use of pen and taught what i knew not’. I must thank my parents for giving me encouragement. Then my wife Iram Akhtar deserves all my thanks for her sacrifices and patience. The publishing of this might not have been possible without her encouragement and help. Now I also must mention the names of Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, Dr. Syed Shahid Ali, who helped me during the last hour and brought the book to a successful end. I am deeply grateful to their genuine concern and immense practical help. In the end I must be gracious again to Prof. Akhtarul Wasey to write the foreword which has glorified this book. Javed Akhatar Senior Research Scholar Department of Islamic Studies Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 2014 8 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 9 CHAPTER 1 BELIEFS AND PRACTICES: INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES ISLAM Islam may be described as the religion of - A. Beliefs and B. Practices It means: Iman (beliefs) + Amal (practices or right action) = A true believer A. Beliefs Islam begins with belief and the Arabic word for it is “Iman”. It literally means to know or to put one’s trust in someone or something. It is extremely essential for a Muslim to have belief. If one wants to be a true believer, he must not only testify his belief by pronouncing it but also by adhering to it. He has to be convinced beyond the least shadow of doubt. The relation of Islam to belief is the same as of a tree to its seed. As a tree cannot sprout without its seed similarly, it is not possible for a man to become a Muslim who has no belief to start with. Therefore, it is clear that without belief and right action no man can be a true Muslim. Where there is no belief there is no Islam. From the view point of belief, men may be classified into four categories: 9 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 10 i. Those who have firm belief. ii. Those who do have belief but, their belief is not deep and strong. iii. Those who do not possess belief at all but do right actions. iv. Those who neither possess belief nor do right actions. Once the Angel Jibril came to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and asked1 “What are the beliefs in Islam?” Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) replied: “The beliefs in Islam are to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His prophets, The Resurrection Day, and to believe in the Predestination.” Therefore, there are six beliefs in Islam and these are also called the “Articles of Faith”. The denial of any one of beliefs or part of it, renders a man unbeliever. i. Tauheed (Oneness of Allah) ii. Malaikah (Angels) iii. Risalah (Prophethood) iv. Kutub-e-Samaviyah (Revealed Books) v. Akhirah (Life Hereafter) vi. Taqdeer (Predestination) 1 So that the people would hear the answer. 10 A HANDBOOK ON ISLAM P a g e | 11 Tauheed Islam believes in Tauheed and it is the spirit of Islam.