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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Saudi Arabia
Index
The shahada (testimony) succinctly states the central
belief of Islam: "There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad
is his Prophet." This simple profession of faith is repeated on
many ritual occasions, and its recital in full and unquestioning
sincerity designates one a Muslim. The God of Muhammad's
preaching was not a new deity; Allah is the Arabic term for God,
not a particular name. Muhammad denied the existence of the many
minor gods and spirits worshiped before his prophecy, and he
declared the omnipotence of the unique creator, God. Islam means
submission to God, and one who submits is a Muslim. Being a
Muslim also involves a commitment to realize the will of God on
earth and to obey God's law.
Muhammad is the "seal of the Prophets"; his revelation is
said to complete for all time the series of biblical revelations
received by Jews and Christians. Muslims believe God to have
remained the same throughout time, but that men strayed from his
true teaching until set right by Muhammad. Prophets and sages of
the biblical tradition, such as Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa),
and Jesus (Isa), are recognized as inspired vehicles of God's
will. Islam, however, reveres as sacred only the message,
rejecting Christianity's deification of Christ. It accepts the
concepts of guardian angels, the Day of Judgment, general
resurrection, heaven and hell, and eternal life of the soul.
The duties of the Muslim--corporate acts of worship--form the
five pillars of Islamic faith. These are shahada,
affirmation of the faith; salat, daily prayer;
zakat, almsgiving; sawm, fasting during the month
of Ramadan; and hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. These acts of worship
must be performed with a conscious intent, not out of habit.
Shahada is uttered daily by practicing Muslims, affirming
their membership in the faith and expressing an acceptance of the
monotheism of Islam and the divinity of Muhammad's message.
The believer is to pray in a prescribed manner after
purification through ritual ablutions at dawn, midday,
midafternoon, sunset, and nightfall. Prescribed genuflections and
prostrations accompany the prayers, which the worshiper recites
facing Mecca. Prayers imbue daily life with worship, and the day
is structured around an Islamic conception of time. Whenever
possible, men pray in congregation at the mosque under a prayer
leader. On Fridays, the practice is obligatory. Women may attend
public worship at the mosque, where they are segregated from the
men, but woman most frequently pray at home. A special
functionary, the muezzin, intones a call to prayer to the entire
community at the appropriate hours; those out of earshot
determine the proper time from the position of the sun.
In the early days of Islam, the authorities imposed a tax on
personal property proportionate to one's wealth; this tax was
distributed to the mosques and to the needy. In addition, freewill gifts were made. Although still a duty of the believer,
almsgiving in the twentieth century has become a more private
matter. Properties contributed by pious individuals to support
religious activities are usually administered as a religious
foundation, or
waqf (see Glossary).
The ninth month of the Muslim calendar is Ramadan, a period
of obligatory fasting that commemorates Muhammad's receipt of
God's revelation, the Quran. Fasting is an act of self-discipline
that leads to piety and expresses submission and commitment to
God. Fasting underscores the equality of all Muslims,
strengthening sentiments of community. During Ramadan all but the
sick, weak, pregnant or nursing women, soldiers on duty,
travelers on necessary journeys, and young children are enjoined
from eating, drinking, or smoking during the day. Official work
hours often are shortened during this period, and some businesses
close for all or part of the day. Because the lunar calendar is
eleven days shorter than the solar calendar, Ramadan revolves
through the seasons over the years. When Ramadan falls in the
summertime, a fast imposes considerable hardship on those who
must do physical work. Each day's fast ends with a signal that
light is insufficient to distinguish a black thread from a white
one. Id al Fitr, a three-day feast and holiday, ends the month of
Ramadan and is the occasion of much visiting.
Finally, Muslims at least once in their lifetime should, if
possible, make the hajj to the holy city of Mecca to participate
in special rites held during the twelfth month of the lunar
calendar. The Prophet instituted this requirement, modifying preIslamic custom to emphasize sites associated with Allah and
Abraham, father of the Arabs through his son Ismail (also known
as Ishmael). The pilgrim, dressed in two white, seamless pieces
of cloth (ihram) performs various traditional rites
(see Pilgrimage
, this ch.) These rites affirm the Muslim's obedience
to God and express intent to renounce the past and begin a new
righteous life in the path of God. The returning male pilgrim is
entitled to the honorific "hajj" before his name and a woman the
honorific "hajji." Id al Adha, the feast of sacrifice, marks the
end of the hajj month.
Hajj, or pilgrimage terminal at King Abd al Aziz
International Airport, Jiddah
Courtesy Aramco World
The permanent struggle for the triumph of the word of God on
earth, jihad, represents an additional duty of all Muslims. This
concept is often taken to mean holy war, but most Muslims see it
in a broader context of civil and personal action. Besides
regulating relations between the individual and God, Islam
regulates the relations of one individual to another. Aside from
specific duties, Islam imposes a code of ethical conduct
encouraging generosity, fairness, honesty, and respect. It also
explicitly propounds guidance as to what constitutes proper
family relations and it forbids adultery, gambling, usury, and
the consumption of carrion, blood, pork, and alcohol.
A Muslim stands in a personal relationship to God; there is
neither intermediary nor clergy in orthodox Islam. Men who lead
prayers, preach sermons, and interpret the law do so by virtue of
their superior knowledge and scholarship rather than because of
any special powers or prerogatives conferred by ordination. Any
adult male versed in the prayer form is entitled to lead
prayers--a role referred to as
imam (see Glossary).
During the formative period of Islamic law, four separate
Sunni schools developed and survived. These schools differ in the
extent to which they admit usage of each of the four sources of
law: the Quran, the sunna or custom of the Prophet, reasoning by
analogy, and the consensus of religious scholars. The Hanafi
school, named after Imam Abu Hanifa, predominates in the
territories formerly under the Ottoman Empire and in Muslim India
and Pakistan; it relies heavily on consensus and analogical
reasoning in addition to the Quran and sunna. The Maliki school,
named after Malik ibn Anas, is dominant in upper Egypt and West
Africa; developed in Medina, it emphasizes use of hadith that
were current in the Prophet's city. The school of Muhammad ibn
Idris ash Shafii, prevailing in Indonesia, stresses reasoning by
analogy.
The fourth legal school is that of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855),
which is the school adhered to in Saudi Arabia. The Hanbali
school has attracted the smallest following because it rejects
the use of analogy as well as the consensus of judicial opinion
except as recorded by the jurists of the first three centuries of
Islam. However, an important principle in Hanbali thought is that
things are assumed to be pure or allowable unless first proved
otherwise.
Data as of December 1992
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