|
Succession To Muhammad
The succession to Muhammad is the central issue that split the Muslim community into several divisions in the first century of Islamic history, with the most prominent among these sects being the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam. Sunni Islam maintains that Abu Bakr was the legitimate successor to Muhammad on the basis of election. Shia Islam holds that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the designated successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The contrasting opinions regarding the succession are primarily based on different interpretations of the events in early Islamic history as well as of hadiths (sayings of Muhammad). The Sunni believe that Muhammad had not appointed a successor and had instead intended for the Muslim community to choose a leader from among themselves. They accept the rule of Abu Bakr, who was elected at Saqifah, and that of his successors, who are together referred to as the Rashidun Caliphs. On the other hand, the Twelver Shia believe that Ali had previously bee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (''ṣaḥāba'') at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (''rāshidūn'') caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims, Shīʿītes, or simply Shīʿa or Shia. Shīʿa Islam is based on a ''ḥadīth'' report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm.Esposito, John. "What Everyone Needs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ummah
' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' (, 'the Islamic community'); it is commonly used to mean the collective community of Islamic people. In the Quran the ummah typically refers to a single group that shares common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation. In the context of pan-Islamism and politics, the word ' can be used to mean the concept of a ''Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers'' ( '). General usage The word ''ummah'' (pl. ''umam'') means nation in Arabic. For example, the Arabic term for the United Nations is ''الأمم المتحدة Al-Umam Al-Mutahedah'', and the term ''الأمة العربية Al-Ummah Al-Arabeyah'' is used to refer to "the Arab Nation". The word ''ummah'' differs from the concept of a country ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985), reported statements from present generation which "specifies that the message must be oral statements spoken, sung or called out on musical instruments only"; "There must be transmission by word of mouth over at least a generation". He points out, "Our definition is a working definition for the use of historians. Sociologists, linguists or scholars of the verbal arts propose their own, which in, e.g., sociology, stresses common knowledge. In linguistics, features that distinguish the language from common dialogue (linguists), and in the verbal arts features of form and content that define art (folklorists)."Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: "Methodology and African Prehistory", 1990, ''UNESCO International Scientific Committee for the Drafting of a Gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilferd Madelung
Wilferd Ferdinand Madelung FBA (b. December 26, 1930 in Stuttgart) is a German-British author and scholar of Islamic history. Life After World War II, the adolescent Wilferd accompanied his parents to the USA where his father Georg Hans Madelung continued his career as an aeronautic engineer specialized on rockets. Wilferd Madelung enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington DC before going to Cairo in 1951 to study Arabic literature and Islamic history. From 1958 to 1960 he served as Cultural attaché at the West German Embassy in Baghdad, before starting his scientific career. Academic career Madelung received his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Hamburg in Germany (lecturer for Islamic studies 1963‒1966). His PhD thesis was about "The Qarmatians and the Fatimids. Their mutual relations and their teachings on the Imamate." He was Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in 1963; then he was Assistant Professor (1964–65), Associate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Of Hadith
Hadith studies ( ar, علم الحديث ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith", also science of hadith, or science of hadith criticism or hadith criticism) consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in the study and evaluation of the Islamic hadith—i.e. the record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Determining authenticity of hadith is enormously important in Islam because along with the Quran, the ''Sunnah'' of the Islamic prophet—his words, actions, and the silent approval—are considered the explanation of the divine revelation ('' wahy''), and the record of them (i.e. hadith) provides the basis of Islamic law (Sharia). In addition, while the number of verses pertaining to law in the Quran is relatively few, hadith give direction on everything from details of religious obligations (such as ''Ghusl'' or ''Wudu'', ablutions An-Nawawi, ''Riyadh As-Salihin'', 1975: p.203 for ''salat'' pray ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aisha
Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referring to the description of Muhammad's wives in the Qur'an. Little is known about the early life of Aisha. A preponderance of classical sources converge on Aisha being six or seven years old at the time of her marriage, and nine at the consummation; her age has become a source of ideological friction in modern times. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic history, both during Muhammad's life and after his death. In Sunni tradition, Aisha is portrayed as scholarly and inquisitive. She contributed to the spread of Muhammad's message and served the Muslim community for 44 years after his death. She is also known for narrating 2,210 hadiths, not just on matters related to Muhammad's private life, but also on topics such as inheritance, pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibn Abbas
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'an. He was the son of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, an uncle of Muhammad, and a nephew of Maymunah bint al-Harith, who later became Muhammad's wife. During the early struggles for the caliphate he supported Ali, and was made governor of Basra. He withdrew to Mecca shortly afterwards. During the reign of Mu'awiya I he lived in Hejaz and often travelled to Damascus. After Mu'awiya I died in 680 CE he fled to at-Ta'if, where he died in around 687 CE. 'Abd Allah ibn Abbas was highly regarded for his knowledge of traditions and his critical interpretation of the Qur'an. From early on, he gathered information from other companions of Muhammad and gave classes and wrote commentaries. Biography Family He was the third son of a wealthy merchant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leone Caetani
Leone Caetani (September 12, 1869 – December 25, 1935), Duke of Sermoneta (also known as Prince Caetani), was an Italian scholar, politician, and historian of the Middle East. Caetani is considered a pioneer in the application of the historical method to sources of the early Islamic traditions, which he subjected to minute historical and psychological analysis. He was the father of Italian-Canadian visual artist Sveva Caetani. Life Caetani was born in Rome into the prominent and wealthy Caetani family. His father Onorato Caetani, Prince of Teano and Duke of Sermoneta, was Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1896 in the second di Rudini cabinet; his English mother, Ada Bootle Wilbraham, was the daughter of the Earl of Lathom. His paternal grandfather, Michelangelo, had married the Polish Countess Calixta Rzewuski, whose ancestor Wacław Seweryn Rzewuski had been a well-known Polish orientalist. Caetani developed an interest in foreign languages at an early age. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish Orientalist, historian, academic and Anglican priest. From 1964 to 1979, he was Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh. Watt was one of the foremost non-Muslim interpreters of Islam in the West, and according to Carole Hillenbrand "an enormously influential scholar in the field of Islamic studies and a much-revered name for many Muslims all over the world". Watt's comprehensive biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, '' Muhammad at Mecca'' (1953) and '' Muhammad at Medina'' (1956), are considered to be classics in the field. Early life and education Watt was born on 14 March 1909 in Ceres, Fife, Scotland. His father, who died when he was only 14 months old, was a minister of the Church of Scotland. Career Ordained ministry Watt was ordained in the Scottish Episcopal Church as a deacon in 1939 and as a priest in 1940. He served his curacy at St Mary The Boltons, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ignác Goldziher
Ignác (Yitzhaq Yehuda) Goldziher (22 June 1850 – 13 November 1921), often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Along with the German Theodor Nöldeke and the Dutch Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, he is considered the founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe. Goldziher is also known for his foundational work of esoteric exegesis of the Hebrew Bible in the seminal work on the topic in "Mythology among the Hebrews," in which he defended Jewish mythology from accusations by the racists of the time that the Jews "stole" the myths of other peoples by explaining the similarities as a consequence of an origination in star lore and astral theology. Biography Born in Székesfehérvár of Jewish heritage, he was educated at the universities of Budapest, Berlin, Leipzig and Leiden with the support of József Eötvös, Hungarian minister of culture. He became ''privatdozent'' at Budapest in 1872. In the next year, under the auspices of the Hungarian governmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari is known for his historical works and his expertise in Qur'anic exegesis (), but he has also been described as "an impressively prolific polymath".Lindsay Jones (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of religion'', volume 13, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005, p. 8943 He wrote works on a diverse range of subjects, including world history, poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine. His most influential and best known works are his Quranic commentary, known in Arabic as , and his historical chronicle called ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' (), often referred to as ("al-Tabari's History"). Al-Tabari followed the Shafi'i madhhab for nearly a decade before he developed his own interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence. His understandi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ibn Hisham
Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Hishām ibn Ayyūb al-Ḥimyarī al-Muʿāfirī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو محمد عبدالملك بن هشام ابن أيوب الحميري المعافري البصري; died 7 May 833), or Ibn Hisham, edited the biography of Islamic prophet Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq. The '' nisba'' Al-Baṣrī means "of Basra", in modern Iraq. Life Ibn Hisham has been said to have grown up in Basra and moved afterwards to Egypt.Mustafa al-Suqa, Ibrahim al-Abyari and Abdul-Hafidh Shalabi, ''Tahqiq Sirah an-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham'', ed.: Dar Ihya al-Turath, pp. 23-4. His family was native to Basra but he himself was born in Old Cairo. He gained a name as a grammarian and student of language and history in Egypt. His family was of Himyarite origin and belongs to Banu Ma‘afir tribe of Yemen. Biography of Muḥammad ''As-Sīrah an-Nabawiyyah'' (), 'The Life of the Prophet'; is an edited recension of Ibn Isḥāq's classic ''Sīratu Rasūli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
