Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam

Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam

Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is also the fifth pillar of Islam, and all Muslims are expected to make the journey at least once in their lives if they are able to do so. Hajj has certain rituals attached to it, which begin on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

Hajj, which means ‘intent’ in Arabic, existed well before the emergence of Islam. Pre-Islamic Arabs used to go on pilgrimage to several places for blessing, prayer and to please God. Some of these places included Bayt ar-Rab, where the sun god Dhi al-Shara was located, and Bayt ar-Rabbah, where the goddesses Allat, Manat and al-Uzza were located.

In Islamic tradition, hajj was introduced during the time of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), from whom Muhammad descended. According to Islamic sources, God ordered Ibrahim, as a test of faith, to leave his wife Hajar and son Ismail in a desolate place now known as Mecca with only basic provisions.

 When the water ran out, Hagar ran back and forth between the Safa and Marwah hills seven times in search of a drink for her thirsty child. The story goes that a well then miraculously appeared and saved them both.

Some of the rituals of hajj originate from that story. Running between Safa and Marwah seven times is one of the rituals performed to emulate Hajar. Years later, Ibrahim received another order to build the Kaaba (the black cube Muslims face when they pray) in the same place.

Pre-Islamic Arabs used to perform hajj to the Kaaba from all directions and irrespective of religion and belief, such as the Hanafis (monotheists), Christians, Jews and others. They consecrated Dhu al-Hijjah, during which the hajj rituals are performed, as well as the month before and after it.

After the worship of idols and statues spread across the Arab Peninsula, Amr bin Luhay, one of the notables of Mecca, brought some of them into the Kaaba’s sanctuary, changing the hajj rituals.

Some people, both men and women, used to walk around the Kaaba naked because they did not want to do the tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba at the beginning and end of the hajj) in clothes that they had put on as they disobeyed God. After that, the Quraysh tribe made clothes for the pilgrims, slaughtering sacrifices and smearing the Kaaba with their blood to please God.

Hajj in Islam

Hajj became obligatory for Muslims in the 9^th year of the Islamic calendar (622 AD) and after the revelation of the Koranic verse reading: ‘Hence, pilgrimage unto the temple is a duty owed to God by all people who are able to undertake it’ (al-Imran, verse 97). Moreover, hajj has mawaqit zamaniyah (fixed times), mawaqit makaniyah (fixed places), pillars, duties and prohibitions.

The mawaqit zamaniyah are the months of Shawwal, Dhu al-Qadah and the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, when it is considered valid to perform hajj after the umrah or ‘minor pilgrimage’.

The mawaqit makaniyah are the places outside Mecca at which pilgrims assemble and prepare themselves physically and spiritually for the hajj. Pilgrims must enter this sacred state, or ihram, before crossing the pilgrimage boundary, known as miqat (the plural of mawaqit) by performing certain cleansing rituals and wearing prescribed clothing. There are five mawaqit:

1. Dhu al-Hulaifah: The miqat allocated to pilgrims from the city of Medina and those to the north of it. It is 450 kilometres from Mecca.

2. Al-Juhfah: The miqat for pilgrims coming from the Levant and countries to the north and north-west. It is 204 kilometres from Mecca.

3. Yalamlam: The miqat for pilgrims from Yemen and countries to the south. It is 54 kilometres from Mecca.

4. Qarn al-Manazil: Located 95 kilometres from Mecca, this is the miqat for pilgrims from the east.

5. Dhatu Irq: The miqat for pilgrims from Iraq and others who travel along their route. It is also 94 kilometres from Mecca.

Those who live closer to Mecca than these mawaqit, as well as residents of Mecca, must enter ihram from their homes. As for the umrah, pilgrims must enter ihram at the nearest place outside al-Hill. Pilgrims whose travel route is to the right or left of these mawaqit must enter ihram when they move close to one of these mawaqit.

When pilgrims seeking to perform hajj or umrah arrive at the specific miqat designated for their specific origin, they put on ihram clothing. For men, this consists of two white unhemmed cloths that leave some parts of the body naked. Women can dress 

however they want as long as the garment covers their bodies, leaving only their face and hands exposed. They do not have to adhere to a specific colour either. Before entering ihram, it is recommended that pilgrims wash their bodies, clean their hair, cut their nails and put on perfume. From that moment on, pilgrims must comply with a number of prohibitions (explained below).

During the mawaqit zamaniyah, pilgrims may choose between three types of nusuk (rites) to be performed after ihram. These nusuk are:

Hajj al-Tamattu: When a pilgrim enters ihram with the intention of performing the umrah, and recites the prayer stating that intention. In this case, ihram for hajj is delayed until al-Tarwiyah, the eighth day of hajj, known in Arabic as the Day of Quenching Thirst, until sunset on Arafah,

 the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah. It is then obligatory for the mutamatti (pilgrim who enters ihram for umrah from the miqat designated for his or her country and completes the umrah to enter ihram for hajj from Mecca) to offer an animal sacrifice. A pilgrim who enters ihram for umrah, months before hajj, is called a mutamir, not a mutamatti.

Hajj al-Ifrad: When a pilgrim recites the prayer stating their intention to perform hajj. When the pilgrim arrives in Mecca, he or she does the tawaf al-qudum (arrival circumambulation of the Kaaba) and then the say (running between Safa and Marwah). 

The pilgrim remains in the state of ihram and is not released from it until after the throwing of pebbles at Jamrat al-Aqabah, the largest of three stone pillars in the valley of Mina, and cutting hair on the Day of Id. It is not obligatory for a hajj al-Ifrad pilgrim to offer an animal sacrifice.

Hajj al-Qiran: When a pilgrim combines the hajj and umrah and recites the prayer stating their intention to perform both, or the pilgrim enters into ihram for the umrah first and then plans to perform the hajj before embarking on the tawaf. 

The qarin (pilgrim performing the hajj al-Qiran) is similar to the mufrid (pilgrim performing the hajj al-Ifrad), with the exception that the qarin says a different prayer/intention and is obliged to offer an animal sacrifice.

Pillars of hajj

The hajj requires several rituals to be performed, the abandoning of which nullifies the pilgrimage. These are:

1. Entering ihram.

2. Standing on Mount Arafah: This takes place between dawn on Arafah (the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah) until the dawn of the next day.

3. Tawaf al-Ifadah: This tawaf begins at dawn on the Day of Id (the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah), but pilgrims who are unable to do it on this day can perform it on the Days of Tashriq (11th-13th days of Dhu al-Hijjah).

4. Running between Safa and Marwah, which is performed after the tawaf al-Ifadah or any other tawaf.

1. Al-Talbiyah: A prayer invoked by pilgrims, in which they say: ‘Here I am, O God, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner.’ Pilgrims then enter into ihram for the hajj al-Qiran or hajj al-Ifrad until the throwing of the pebbles at Jamrat al-Aqabah.

2. Tawaf al-Qudum: The arrival circumambulation, which is obligatory according to some clerics and highly recommended and desirable according to others.

3. Tawaf al-Wada: The last tawaf pilgrims perform before departing Mecca, which is obligatory according to the majority of clerics and highly recommended and desirable according to Imam Malik.

4. Spending the night in Muzdalifah: It is now permissible to leave Muzdalifah after midnight for those who have other hajj-related activities to complete and for the weak and elderly.

5. Throwing seven pebbles at Jamrat al-Aqabah from sunrise on the Day of Id to zawal (beginning of the afternoon when the sun passes the meridian). Those who cannot throw the pebbles during that time may throw them before sunset; and those who cannot throw them before sunset may throw them on the first day of the Days of Tashriq.

6. Spending the night in Mina on the Days of Tashriq, although a longer stay is considered better. Those who leave within two days must leave before sunset otherwise it is obligatory for them to stay on.

7. Throwing the pebbles must be done in a particular order, starting with al-Jamrah al-Sughra (the smallest tower), al-Jamrah al-Wusta (the medium tower) and Jamrat al-Aqabah. Pilgrims throw seven pebbles at each pillar, starting at zawal and ending at sunset.

8. Saying a prayer of two rakahs (a rakah is the basic unit of Muslim prayers) in front of the Maqam Ibrahim (the stone used by Prophet Ibrahim throughout the building of Kaaba) or any place in the Great Mosque of Mecca.

9. Shaving or cutting hair for men, but it is not obligatory for women to do so.

Pilgrims who fail to perform any of these duties are obliged to offer an animal sacrifice, by slaughtering a sheep or the like. They may not eat the sacrifice or hand it out as a gift but can only give it away as charity.

Prohibitions

Once seeking Hajj or Umrah, It is prohibited for a hajj pilgrim to do any of the following :
1. Remove any hair from their head or body or cut their nails.

2. Use perfume or fragrance.

3. Have sexual intercourse and/or perform related physical acts, get married or engaged.

4. Kill animals or insects or hunt. Cutting trees is not prohibited except trees inside the borders of the Great Mosque of Mecca.

5. Wear sewn or tight clothing that shows the details of the body or part of it (for men).

6. Cover the head with a hat or the like (for men).

7. Wear the burqa and niqab that covers the face, although it is permissible to wear sewn clothes (for women).

Pilgrims who break any of these prohibitions out of forgetfulness, ignorance or necessity are not considered sinful; those who break any of them out of necessity are not considered sinful but are obliged to offer an animal sacrifice; 

but those who break any of them deliberately without excuse are considered sinful and must also offer an animal sacrifice. However, having sexual intercourse nullifies the hajj if the act is committed before the pilgrim observes the first tahallul (ending the ritual state for hajj and umrah).

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The Struggle to Reclaim Jihad

The Struggle to Reclaim Jihad

There are three mainstream interpretations of jihad, and none of them references nor permits the killing of innocent people. The first is nothing more than a goal that somebody is striving to achieve. Originating from the Sufi tradition, it is regularly defined as ‘greater jihad’ and emphasizes the spiritual well-being of individuals.

The second jihad refers to the duty to promote Islam through the Quran by way of dialogue or scholarship. The third, which is also the most misapplied and hotly contested, has a clear set of boundaries to determine what constitutes an ‘open enemy’.

Jihad against an open enemy can only be waged in ‘self-defence’ or to preserve the universal freedom of religion. Most Islamic scholars and political analysts interpret scripture 22:40 in the Quran to mean that Muslims must fight in order to protect synagogues, churches, temples and mosques.

But some pre-modern teachings – like those of Ahmad Ibn Taymiyya – argue that a struggle should be waged to kill Muslims who do not practise the faith entirely, laying the ideological foundations for extremists.

Yet even some of these teachings, argues Dr. Tamimi who is a political analyst and a host for several political and Islamic shows on Al-Hiwar channel, are often misinterpreted by criminals who use religion to legitimize their wrongdoings.

“Much of what [Ibn Taymiyya] said about jihad was during the time when the Muslim world was under attack from the Mongols,” he emphasized. “At that time, he called for a [jihad] of self-defence. What really matters [in jihad] is not to be oppressive and not to transgress.”

Fed up with fear mongers and extremists, Muslims like Tamimi are trying to reclaim the word. In April 2015, Islamic scholars who participated in the Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies forum stressed that a more contextual reading of the Quran is necessary to combat extremist rhetoric and promote the true meaning of jihad as well as other core Islamic principles.

Muslim communities in Europe and America are also trying to reclaim the word. Ahmed Rehab, an executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), teamed up with a small group of activists to launch the campaign MyJihad in Chicago in December 2013. They posted 25 advertisements in city buses before expanding the campaign to San Francisco and Washington DC.

One of the ads showed a Jewish man standing next to a Black Muslim man with the words, “My jihad is to build bridges across the aisle.” A woman with a camera and a headscarf appeared in another ad with the words, “My jihad is to capture the truth even when it’s unpopular.”

“[Jihad] is a concept, a noble concept, within Islam that emphasizes a personal struggle within yourself to be a better person, a better husband, better wife, better worker, better neighbour,” explained Nihad Awad, who is also an executive director of CAIR.

In October 2014, British activist Sara Khan launched her own campaign called Jihad Against Violence. Her mission was to promote the true meaning of jihad to fight against the brutal ideology of the self-declared Islamic State (IS), which had radicalized many young Muslim men and women in Britain.

“Muslims know that we have the principles in our faith to challenge the extremist outlook; we need, however, to reclaim our faith from these monsters,” Khan wrote in The Guardian, a British daily. “By succeeding in this war of ideologies, we can eventually turn off the tap of British jihadists leaving the UK to join [IS].”

Other Muslim activists have invoked the term to announce their struggle to fight discrimination and racism in the West. In July 2017, the American Muslim activist Linda Sarsour referred to jihad in a lecture to convey the hope that God accepts her struggle against the bigotry of President Donald Trump.

Her use of the word triggered an uproar on the internet. Many people criticized Sarsour for calling on Muslims to wage a ‘terror campaign’ or ‘war’ against Trump. The backlash clearly revealed that many Americans still have no idea of the meaning of jihad.

Defending Sarsour in The Washington Post, American Muslim intellectual Qasim Rashid wrote that only groups like IS and Islamophobes distort the true meaning of jihad, and thus help to serve each other.

Other activists have attempted to wage their own jihad against taboos in Muslim-majority countries. In 2007, Indian film maker Parvez Sharma made a documentary called A Jihad for Love, which tells the story of devout Muslims struggling to reconcile the pillars of their faith with their homosexuality.

In a review of the film for The Guardian, Jeremy Kay wrote that dignity and despair are woven tightly together. All of those profiled are fighting for the right to be treated as fellow Muslims in their communities, and not apostates due to their sexual orientation.

“All the people in my film are coming out as Muslims,” said Sharma. “Islam is the heart of this film. [Everyone in it] is proud to be gay, but fundamentally they’re coming out as Muslims and saying they’re as Muslim as anybody else, and their Islam is as true and fundamental as anybody else’s.”

Despite innovations in the interpretation of jihad, the term remains as hotly debated today as it was in the past. Michael G Knapp, a Middle East analyst with the US army, said that while some Islamic scholars claim that jihad against an open enemy is only legitimate when fought against non-Muslims who initiate aggression, others teachings still attribute aggression and violence to the word.

Some of these radical interpretations, Knapp says, were born out of an Islamic resistance to European colonization. Nowadays, it is Muslims who suffer most when extremists (mis)appropriate jihad.

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Quranists, Islam’s Outcasts

Quranists, Islam’s Outcasts

Quranists are a small group of Muslims who regard the Koran as the only valid source of religious belief, guidance and law in Islam. They call themselves ‘the people of the Koran’ while their opponents call them

‘disruptors of the Prophet’s sunnah’. Quranists have long suffered persecution and non-recognition in the Middle East. Their rights have been curtailed and they have been the subject of attacks by governments and Islamic institutions.

Quranism gained a significant following in India in the 19th century, thanks to the Islamic cleric Ahmad Khan, as well as in Egypt, under the leadership of Dr Ahmed Sobhy Mansour. 

Quranists describe themselves as preachers and researchers who embrace ideas of peaceful jihad and thinking and aim to reform Muslims by reference to the essence of true Islam, which is the Koran, and understanding it objectively based on its terms and legislative foundations. 

Quranists are not a group, sect or party, but they adhere to an intellectual trend that is open to all people, and they advocate what they call ‘the removal of all barricades placed by the religious priesthood on the movement of scientific and mental jurisprudence of Muslims’.

 Meanwhile, their opponents, including Salafists, see them as misguided ideologues and mercenaries motivated by money and fame.

Quranist doctrine

The Quranists’ belief that the Koran is the only source of religious law and guidance means they reject the authority of other sources, such as the hadith (the record of the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) and sunnah

 (the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community). Notably, they believe that God’s message in the Koran is clear and complete and can be understood without reference to other sources.

Moreover, Quranists cast doubt on these other sources, arguing that the Koran is the word of God while the other sources are communicated by human beings. In the case of the hadith,

 the most common reason for rejecting them is that they are not mentioned in the Koran as a source of Islamic theology and practice, there were not recorded in written form until a century after Muhammad’s death and contain internal errors and contradictions.

In contrast, Quranists’ opponents believe that the hadith and sunnah explain and complement the Koran and do not contradict it, and that Muhammad’s actions are inspired by God.

Mansour said in a press interview that Muhammad’s true biography lies in the Koran, and that the first person to write his biography was Ibn Ishaq, decades after the Prophet died.

 According to Mansour, Ibn Ishaq fabricated the biography, and those who came after him added their own fabrications, all of which created a fictitious figure that contradicted Muhammad’s true personality.

So, the Quranists do not consider the hadith or the Prophet’s biography or the biographies of his companions and followers to be legitimate sources of religious guidance but rather facts that are subject to evaluation and judgment and may not necessarily be followed.

Quranists disagree with Sunni and Shiite scholars on other religious points as well, such as the Quranists’ belief that the punishment of apostasy does not exist in Islam. This contradicts some Salafi clerics’ notion that whomever renounces Islam must be killed. 

The Quranists also have different views on the stoning to death of male or female adulterers, and they deny that there will be punishment in the grave, unlike the majority of Sunni sects. 

Neither do Quranists recognize al-Miraj (the Prophet’s nightly ascension to heaven and his return home), a miraculous journey that most Muslims believe in. The Quranists say that it is not permissible to kill those who renounce Islam or to kill male adulterers or stone female adulterers.

Criticism of Quranism

Opponents accuse Quranists of lacking faith because they deny a great deal of Islam, notably the hadith and the biographies of the Prophet, his companions and followers who interpreted and explained many of the teachings of Islam.

 For their part, the Quranists believe that the majority of Muslims do not act according to the Koran and they only consecrate the hard copy of the Koran, i.e. they do not follow the teachings enshrined in it unless it is accompanied by a physical book to make judgments on the Koran.

 Some Quranists go so far as to claim that Sunnis negate the provisions of the Koran, and that they place the words of jurists and interpreters of the Koran above the words of God.

Quranists have been persecuted by religious institutions and governments across the Middle East. According to a report by Minority Rights Group International on religious minorities in Egypt, this community is viewed by major institutions such as al-Azhar to be bidah (false innovation).

 As a result, the community faces severe hostility. This includes hate speech and incitement by senior al-Azhar officials, who accuse Quranists of seeking to undermine Islam. Over the years, they have been harassed and subject to arbitrary arrests. In 2007, for example, four Quranists were arrested

 for allegedly defaming Islam. In October 2010, a Quranist blogger was arrested in what was described as a ‘forced disappearance’ and detained in prison for three months. In July 2015, four Quranists were arrested in Sharqia Governorate for alleged links to Mansour.

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Ramadan, the Holiest Month for Muslims

Ramadan, the Holiest Month for Muslims

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim or Hijri calendar and the holiest month for Muslims. It has a central place in their lives spiritually, historically and culturally. During Ramadan, Muslims around the world hold rituals and ceremonies that are not held in other months of the year. Some of these rituals and ceremonies are specific to certain countries.

‘Ramadan’ is derived from the word ramdaa, which in Arabic means ‘intensely heated stones’ because Ramadan falls in the hottest months. Ramadan has great virtue for Muslims because it is the month when the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in a cave called Hira as he was worshipping in seclusion. 

The Koran (Surah al-Baqarah, verse 158) says about this event: ‘It was the month of Ramadan in which the Koran was [first] bestowed from on high as a guidance unto man and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false’.

Laylat al-Qadr or Night of Power marks the night the first verses of the Koran were revealed to Mohammad. It holds particular significance for Muslims as they believe their prayers are answered on this night, although there is no consensus on exactly when this night falls in Ramadan.

Muslims are obliged to fast during Ramadan – the fourth pillar of Islam – by refraining from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse and other whims between sunrise and sunset, i.e. between the prayers of fajr and maghrib. 

The exceptions to this obligation are sickness, travel and menstrual periods in the case of women. However, the fasting days missed must be made up at another time of the year or an animal sacrificed for breaking the fast. 

In the Koran, God says: “Hence, whoever of you lives to see this month shall fast throughout it; but he that is ill, or on a journey, [shall fast instead for the same] number of other days.” In another verse, God says: “O you who have attained to faith! Fasting is ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you, so that you might remain conscious of God.”

Some days during Ramadan have a special status for Muslims due to their association with historical events. One of these is the Battle of Badr, the first war between Muhammad and his followers on the one hand and the Quraysh tribe and its allies led by Amr bin Hisham, on the other hand, in the second Hijri year (624 CE). The battle was named Badr after the place where it took place and ended in victory for the Muslims.

It was also Ramadan when the Muslims fought the Mecca Conquest, when the Muslims expelled by the Quraysh tribe returned to Mecca in the eighth Hijri year (630 CE). Similarly, the Battle of Ain Jalut took place in Ramadan, when Egyptian Muslim forces led by Saif al-Din Qutuz defeated the Mongols in 658 Hijri (1260 CE).

Many of the virtues of Ramadan and the virtues of good deeds therein are mentioned in the Prophet’s Muhammad’s hadiths and the Koran. Therefore, good deeds are done in abundance during Ramadan, especially reading from the Koran and taking part in individual and collective charitable works in Islamic countries.

In addition, Muslims observe many more rites and rituals than in other months, such as the tarawih prayer – also referred to as the qiyam (night) prayer – which is performed between the isha and fajr prayers. It is only observed by Sunni Muslims whereas Shia Muslims consider it to be bidah (a false innovation).

Itikaf, the practice of staying in a mosque for a certain amount of time or number of nights, devoting oneself to worship, is widespread during Ramadan. Itikaf is most common during the last ten days of Ramadan, which are believed to be the most rewarding and virtuous days. 

Muslims who choose to perform itikaf do not leave the mosque until the practice finishes. They spend their time praying and reading from the Koran.

Ramadan starts with the sighting of the crescent moon on the last days of the month of Shaban. The beginning of Ramadan differs from one country to another due to the different dates of the moon. 

How the month is celebrated also differs between countries. Sudan holds a zaffa celebration on the first day of the month, involving a procession of police officers and musical bands.

In Egypt, people hang decorations in the streets and buy lanterns for children to hang in the streets, a custom that dates back to the Fatimid era. There is also a Ramadan cannon, the firing of which signals the start of iftar, when the fast is broken. Moreover, the country is famous for its charitable iftar banquets, where people serve free food to passers-by, travellers or needy people in the streets.

There is also is a tradition of screening special television series known as ‘riddles of Ramadan’. In several countries, including Egypt, a masharati is responsible for waking Muslims before dawn to eat suhur, the meal consumed before fasting begins. The call is a joyful one as the masharati is surrounded by children as he plays a little drum and recites funny lyrics.

In Morocco, Ramadan is also marked by joyful rituals, notably the celebration of children who are fasting for the first time. Laylat al-Qadr is celebrated on the evening of the 26th day of Ramadan, when decorations and music become widespread and girls and women decorate their hands with henna.

Young girls fasting for the first time are placed on a small covered seat while boys are put on horseback, all of them wearing traditional Moroccan dress, kaftans for girls and djellabas for boys.

Special foods and drinks are typical for Ramadan. In Egypt, tamarind and liquorice are widely consumed, in the Levant they drink jullab (fruit syrup), in Morocco a lentil and chickpea soup called harira as well as nuts and dried fruits.

 Sweets are also common, such as kunafa in Egypt and shabakiyah in Morocco. Families often gather to share meals.

Before the end of Ramadan, every Muslim must pay zakat al-Fitr in the form of food and money to the community. The value of the donation paid is determined annually in each country according to that country’s standard of living.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and takes place on the first three days of Shawwal, the month following Ramadan. It is characterized by manifestations of happiness as Muslims celebrate their fulfilment of the fourth pillar of Islam.

On the days of Eid, Muslims wear new clothes, and families, neighbours and friends visit each other. The practice of idiyah, giving children money as gift, is prevalent in some countries such as Egypt.

Eid is preceded by Waqfah Night, during which the moon of Shawwal is sighted. This night is also characterized by celebrations and has inspired many artistic expressions. For example, the song ‘On the Night of Eid’ by the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, which centres on feelings of togetherness and joy, can often be heard during this time.

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The Roots of a Tolerant Sect of Islam

 The Roots of a Tolerant Sect of Islam

Although Ibadism is often described as conservative, it is considered a tolerant sect of Islam, which emphasizes the ‘rule of the just’ and rejects violence as a means to political ends. The Ibadi popu-lation is very small compared to the Sunni and the Shiite sects. There are roughly 2.72 million Ibadis worldwide, most of whom live in Oman. Indeed, Oman is the only country in the Muslim world with an Ibadi-majority population. There are also small Ibadi communities in Zanzibar, Tripolitania in Libya, the island of Jerba in Tunisia and the Mzab area of Algeria.

The Ibadi sect’s emphasis on tolerance and moderation is underscored by the accommodations that Oman’s leadership provides the 25 percent of the population that is not Ibadi. Unlike any oth-er country in the region, Oman’s legal system offers extensive protection to religious minorities (Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists).

 Although Oman is by no means a democracy, in terms of religious pluralism and social inclusion, it is far ahead of its Arab neigh-bours. Arguably, this tolerant culture is at least partly rooted in Ibadism.

For centuries, Ibadis have lived in relative isolation and often were misunderstood by other Mus-lim communities. he adopted a more active approach to publicizing and disseminating the important Ibadi works. Some of the works that have been published in Arabic date back to before 800, but English translation of Ibadi theological books remains limited.

The roots of Ibadism go back to the 7th century, 20 years after Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632. As such, Ibadism is distinct from either Sunni and Shia Islam and emerged before the Shia-Sunni schism. Ibadis can be traced back to the Kharijites, who came into existence during the First Islamic Civil War (656-661).

Kharijites were the earliest Islamic sect, which emerged as the result of the religio-political controversy over the Caliphate. Although Ibadis strongly object to being defined as Kharijites, they acknowledge that their sect originated with the Kharijite secession of 657. Hence, to understand Ibadism, it is imperative to pay attention to the early history of the Kharijites. 

The Kharijites believed in the five pillars of Islam and the same Islamic principles that were advocated during Muhammad’s life. It was not until the doctrine that only fully emerged after Muhammad’s death that differences appeared between the Kharijites and the rest of the early Muslim community.

The emergence of the Kharijites was a reaction to the rule of the  and the mounted over the favour Uthman showed to his own Ummayad family, who seemed to enjoy a monopoly of influential and lucrative appointments.

Kharijites were outraged by Uthman’s actions, particularly in the later phase of his rule before he was killed by his opponents. Uthman’s death added to the instability and division among Muslims. 

However, the Kharijites were just dismayed by Ali, particularly when, while fighting those who sought vengeance for Uthman’s death, he agreed to arbitration about the rights and wrongs of the killing.

The Kharijites strongly opposed the move because they believed that ‘judgment belongs to God alone’. Hence, they split from the majority of the early Muslims because they did not recognize the legitimacy of either Uthman or Ali. The Kharijites called the Muslims who did not share their opinions al-qawm. 

The Kharijites believed that al-qawm have lost walaya (loyalty both to God and fellow Muslims). However, the Kharijites could not agree among themselves about how to deal with al-qawm. The majority of early Kharijite groups favoured armed confrontation with those whom they considered as infidels, but a minority favoured a ‘live-and-let-live’ position. 

This more tolerant approach paved the way for Ibadism. Ibadism, the name of which derives from Abdallah ibn Ibad, who appears to have been the group’s political mentor,  who became the group’s first imam. Ibadis refer to themselves as ‘the Mus-lims’ or ‘the people of straightness’ (ahl al-istiqama), so they see themselves as quite different from Khawarij.

In theology, the Ibadis are close to the Mutazila, which means they do not have a literal interpreta-tion of all anthropomorphic descriptions of God; they reject the existence of eternal attributes in God that are distinct from His essence. They also reject the possibility of seeing God in this life or the afterlife and of upholding the doctrine of the creation of the Koran.

Similarly, the Mutazila and Shias interpret anthropomorphic references to God in the Koran symbolically rather than literally. They believe it is acceptable to disguise one’s beliefs under certain circumstances, parallel to the Shia notion of taqiyyah. Taqiyyah is the practice of concealing one’s belief and foregoing ordinary religious duties when under threat of death or injury.

Unlike in Shia Islam, however, it is not neces-sary for the ruler of the Muslims to be descended from the Quraysh tribe, which was the tribe of Prophet Muhammad. They also believe that an imam should be chosen for his knowledge and pie-ty, without any regard to race or lineage. He should be chosen by the elders of the community, who are also obligated to depose him if he acts unjustly.

There are minor differences between the prayer observances of Ibadis and Sunnis. Ibadis, like the Shiites and Malikis, pray with their arms at their sides instead of folding their arms. For centu-ries, Ibadis did not observe congregational prayer because they believed that did not have just imam.

On principle, Ibadis reject the blessing of tyrannical rulers in khutbas or sermons. Therefore, they believe that Friday prayer should be organized only in major cities where justice prevails.

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From Early Beginnings to Modern-Day Sunnism

From Early Beginnings to Modern-Day Sunnism

The majority of the world’s Muslims belong to the Sunni – as opposed to the Shia – sect. Sunnis are estimated to constitute 87-90 per cent of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, with Shiites making up the rest.

Sunnism is sometimes described as ‘mainstream’ Islam, not only because of Sunnis’ numerical superiority but also because of the nature of Sunnism as an ‘orthodox’ doctrine and the way in which it emerged and evolved as a reaction to the Shia and other theological schools in Islam. These theological schools, such as the Mutazilis, were perceived by Sunnism’s pioneers as non-orthodox because they deviated from ‘the way of the majority’, a fundamental concept in Sunni doctrine.

What is Sunni Islam?

The word ‘Sunnism’ derives from sunnah, which meant ‘a well-trodden path’ in Arabic even before the rise of Islam. In the Islamic context, it refers to Prophet Muhammad’s example – what he said and did, from basic matters and daily affairs to major issues like his conduct in wars, social life and financial matters.

Many Sunni scholars give Sunnis the longer name of ahl al-sunnah wa al-jamaa, or ‘those who follow the prophet’s example and stick with the mainstream, united community’. This label can be seen as carrying an orthodox connotation related to the concept of unity around the prophet’s path as opposed to seceding in heterodox groups and sects. To conservatives among Sunni scholars, this label is also a form of opposition to bida (innovations that do not have roots in the prophet’s tradition; deviations from the sunnah).

In this article, the term ‘proto-Sunni’, as opposed to just ‘Sunni’, is used to denote traditional, early Sunnis who began to evolve as a distinct current around the 10th century. However, in a more complex, contemporary reality, there are numerous variations among the more than 1 billion people who identify as Sunni.

Historical Background

Sunnism vis-à-vis Shiism

Sunnis are commonly viewed as what they are not: Shiites. The Shiite sect emerged following Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, in the context of the two famous Muslim civil wars (the first and second fitnas) that erupted amid a disagreement over the question of who would succeed the prophet as Muslims’ political and spiritual leader.

Shiites believe that the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, should have become the first Muslim caliph (successor), not the fourth as actually happened. They also believe that Ali’s descendants should have succeeded him. Meanwhile, those who would later be labelled ‘the Sunnis’ recognized the three caliphs who preceded Ali (the prophet’s companions Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan) as legitimate successors to the prophet, although they do recognize Ali as the fourth caliph and a pious companion of the prophet’s.

The Early Science of Hadith

Historians believe that proto-Sunnism as we know it today appeared and crystallized in the 9th and 10th centuries. Researchers associate the rise of Sunnism with the consolidation of structured Hadith (the prophet’s sayings as reported by transmitters) as a field of study and research for early Muslims, and the development of a coherent body of Hadith that would be collected – in the 9th century – in a number of volumes regarded by contemporary scholars and researchers as the ‘canonical Hadith collections’.

Prior to the founding of the formal science of Hadith, Muslims valued and transmitted Hadith but mostly orally. Ninth-century scholars enhanced the methodology of Hadith authentication.

A major milestone in how Sunnis regarded the importance of Hadith as a formal basis for Islamic law was reached through the work of jurist Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafei (767-820), the founder of one of the four schools of jurisprudence (fiqh). Al-Shafei considered Hadith to be the second most reliable source of Islamic law after the Koran.

Sunnis partially differ from Shiites over Hadith. Not all Hadith that the Sunnis recognize as authentic receive the same acceptance from Shiites. Understandably, Shiites primarily acknowledge the prophet’s sayings that were reported to Muslims by Ali ibn Abi Talib, the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law, and his descendants. Shiites, thus, have their own Hadith collections.

The emergence of Sunnism is also associated with jurist Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780-855). Like Shafei, Ibn Hanbal founded one of the four traditional schools of Islamic jurisprudence. A pioneer in the study of Hadith, he dedicated himself to collecting the prophet’s sayings as reported by his companions, and to verifying their authenticity. In doing so, he travelled to several cities across the Muslim world.

He is mostly famous for his opposition to the Mutazilis, a group of theologians who were influenced by Hellenic, philosophical methods, and who championed aql (reasoning) as opposed to naql (strict adherence to tradition). In defence of tradition, Ibn Hanbal was subjected to flogging and persecution by the Muslim caliph al-Mamoun because he challenged the latter’s attempt to impose Mutazilis’ doctrine.

This period of Islamic history saw the rise of labels such as ‘ashab sunnah’ (sunnah folk).

Al-Ashari: the former Mutazili’s role in Sunnism’s evolution

Notwithstanding the role of scholars like Shafei and Ibn Hanbal in the evolution of Sunnism, the establishment of a core Sunni doctrine is attributed to Abu al-Hassan al-Ashari, a former Mutazili who ‘constructed an intellectual middle ground’ among traditionalists and Mutazilis, using the dialectical and philosophical skills that he acquired after breaking ranks with the theological school.

The Proto-Sunni Doctrine and Principles

Traditionally, proto-Sunnis are characterized by their adherence to a number of basic principles, such as their belief in Hadith and the concept of ‘consensus among Muslims’ as sources of Islamic law, in addition to the absence of a Sunni religious authority akin to the Roman Catholic Church and the pope for Catholic Christians, the Coptic Church and pope for Egypt’s Orthodox Christians or the 12 imams and the ulama for Twelver Shiites.

There are four traditional schools of fiqh (Islamic law or jurisprudence) that were founded by early Sunni scholars over the course of the 8th and 9th centuries: the Hanafi school, founded by Abu Hanifa al-Numan (699-767); the Maliki school, founded by Malik ibn Anas (715-795); the Shafei school of al-Shafei (767-820); and the Hanbali school, founded by Ibn Hanbal (780-855).

The disciples of each of the four scholars further developed their schools of jurisprudence after the founding fathers’ death. Traditional Sunni scholars see these four schools (also known as madhhabs) as four approaches to fiqh and four ways of ijtihad (individual reasoning, based on individual interpretations of the scripture).

According to traditional Sunni scholars, Islamic law should be derived from one of four sources: primarily from the Koran or from the prophet’s sunnah (which is in turn derived from Hadith) as a second-best option for questions that are not answered in the Koran. The third source of Islamic law is consensus that the Muslim scholars and community traditionally reached, especially in Islam’s early centuries. The fourth is qiyas (‘reasoning by strict analogy’).

Sunni madhhabs became limited to four by the 11th century. Prior to that, in the 10th century, more madhhabs were recognized as respectful approaches to the study of Islamic law.

On the Shiite front, the Jafari madhhab was founded by Jafar al-Sadiq. A descendant of Ali, al-Sadiq is regarded by Twelver Shiites as an imam. Sunnis regard him as a scholar but not an imam. There is also the Zaydi madhhab for Zaydi Shiites.

Modern-Day Sunnism

It is commonly said that ‘the gates of ijtihad were closed’ around the 11th century. No more structured schools of Islamic law were founded, and Sunni scholars instead focused on studying Islamic law through the four madhhabs that had already been established. Scholars would continuously issue fatwas (religious rulings) on matters that arose in Muslims’ everyday lives, but their rulings would be mainly based on the four existing approaches.

However, over the centuries that followed, a series of ‘reformers’ emerged among Muslim scholars, who called for the necessity of ‘opening the gates of ijtihad’. Interestingly, some of those ‘reformers’ were also conservative in a sense, with their causes revolving around what they viewed as a need to return to Islam’s authentic fundamentals and rejecting developments and bida that appeared over time and deviated from Islam’s path. A case in point is Ahmed ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328). Born to a family of Hanbali scholars, he called for ijtihad, but at the same time he opposed trends like Shiism, Sufism and philosophy, considering them to be ‘unauthentic’.

Another notable reformist was Egypt’s Muhammad Abdu (1849-1905), who lived at the time of the British occupation of the country. Regarded by observers as a ‘modernist’, Abdu also called for ijtihad and emphasized the importance of education. He aspired to reconciliation between Islam and the Western model, which he loved, according to historians. In notable fatwas that Abdu issued, he rejected polygamy and accepted Western institutions like insurance.

Today, Sunnism is by no means limited to the traditional proto-Sunni model that emerged and flourished in Islam’s early centuries. Sunni movements, institutions, independent thinkers and even ordinary Sunni individuals subscribe to various strands and schools of Sunni Islam – from secularism to political Islam, and from Wahhabism and Salafism to liberal and progressive visions of Islam. These are only examples of a long list of variations.

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The History and Development of Islam

The History and Development of Islam

Islam is the Arabic word for ’submission’, in the sense of surrendering to God’s will. It is the religion of about 1.6 billion people around the globe as of 2010, according to the Pew Research Center, which also ranks the Abrahamic, monotheistic faith as the fastest growing religion in the world.

How Islam Began

It was in the small desert town of Mecca, located in what is now Saudi Arabia and surrounded by the Byzantine and Sassanian empires, that Islam emerged in the early 7th century through revelations that Muslims believe were made to Islam’s prophet, Muhammad,

Muhammad began receiving revelations in 610 while he was meditating in a cave on the summit of Mount Hira, outside Mecca. Muslims believe that those revelations are the words of God, conveyed by Gabriel, and that they constitute the Koran, Islam’s holy book.

Muhammad only confided in his wife and close family and friends that he had received the revelations, and it was more than two years later that he started preaching publicly.

A Religio-Social Reform Movemen

According to certain historians and religious scholars, such as Vernon O. Egger, Islam emerged essentially as a ‘religio-social reform movement’, as its leader grew up an impoverished orphan who lived with his grandfather, then with an uncle after his grandfather’s death.

At the time, Mecca was home to the pagan Kaaba shrine and the few hundred pagan idols surrounding it, as well as a regional trade centre with unequal distribution of wealth between a rich elite and poor, underprivileged families and clans.

Muhammad called on the people of Arabia “to share wealth and create a society where the weak and vulnerable were treated with respect”, according to Karen Armstrong, who emphasized Muhammad’s social message in her book on Islam’s history.

It is little wonder that the early believers – with the exception of a few prominent Meccans such as Uthman ibn Affan – came mainly from among the poor, such as freed slaves and those who belonged to lesser clans and families.

The staunchest opposition to Muhammad’s message came from his own tribe, the Quraysh, which was the dominant tribe in Mecca at the time. Muhammad belonged to the Quraysh’s Banu Hashim clan, a prominent but not the most important clan in the tribe. Scholars and observers have put forward various possible explanations for such opposition. Egger and Armstrong, for example, attribute it to the nature of Muhammad’s teachings.

Egger wrote, ‘Muhammad’s teachings were … particularly galling to the aristocrats of Mecca. On the one hand, he used the traditional value of generosity against them and exposed the fact that they had betrayed those [tribal] values by becoming greedy and stingy; on the other hand, he turned upside down the traditional criterion for status, which was a prominent position in a powerful tribe. 

According to him, individuals with undistinguished backgrounds who submitted to God and His Prophet would fare better in eternity than the most revered tribal leader who rejected the new teaching.’

The renowned Montgomery Walt highlighted the threat Muhammad posed to the political power and influence of rich merchants: they feared that if he succeeded in attracting a mass following, he would acquire political power and possibly run Mecca’s affairs.

Their fears were eventually realized because Muhammad would indeed later control Mecca and all of Arabia. What’s more, Muslims after his death would form an empire that would stretch over thousands of miles.

Hijra: The Muslim Era Begins

Muhammad’s main protector in Mecca, his uncle Ali ibn Abi Talib, passed away in 619. Following his death, the Quraysh’s persecution (e.g. economic boycott and physical beatings) of Muhammad’s followers intensified. It was in 622 that the early Muslim community took a step that would become a turning point in Islam’s history: the hijra (migration), moving to Yathrib, which is today the Saudi Arabian city of Medina. Medina is located around 220 miles to Mecca’s north.

Islam had already started to make its way to the city by 620, after a group of its people came to Mecca and heard Muhammad preaching. Later, a full delegation representing Medina’s Arabs visited the prophet, expressed their conversion to Islam and invited him to move to their city. Vowing to obey him, they asked him to arbitrate in the city’s tribal conflicts.

The hijra marked the beginning of the ‘Muslim era’. In fact, the year of the hijra (622 in the Gregorian Christian calendar) marks the first year in the Islamic calendar, also known as the hijri calendar.

In Medina, Muhammad’s followers increased and he became recognized as the city’s political leader. He set about organizing the affairs of a new community, which comprised the immigrant Muslims (known in Islamic tradition as muhajiroon), Medina’s converts to Islam (ansar) and the Jewish tribes that were already well established in the city.

The Koranic verses that Muhammad said were revealed to him while he was in Medina focus on rulings and legislations that were relevant to his new role in running the affairs of a growing community.

Yet the city’s Jewish tribes were not always comfortable with this role. Perhaps, according to some sources, the Jewish tribes were unhappy about the new balance of power he created after mediating between the city’s tribes and clansii, who had been engaged in a long conflict prior to his arrival.

Some historians also attribute the Jews’ hostility toward Muhammad to the religious differences between them. The Jews did not accept that the new prophet was not Jewish. Muhammad, for his part, developed a more negative position toward the ‘people of the book’ (Christians and Jews who had scriptures) after the hijra.

According to many sources, members of Medina’s Jewish clans planned to kill Muhammad more than once. Muhammad expelled two Jewish clans from the city. Amid the Battle of Trench between the Muslims and the Quraysh/Mecca, and after the Jewish Banu Qurayzah clan betrayed an agreement with the Muslims and sided with the Quraysh, Muslims in Medina killed the male members of the clan and enslaved the women and children. This went down in history as a particularly controversial incident.

While in Medina, Muhammad engaged in continuous conflict with the Quraysh/Mecca, marked by a series of three battles, until his home town eventually fell to the Muslims in 630, following Meccans’ violation of the bilateral treaty of Hudaybiyah. By the time Muhammad died in 632, the Muslims controlled all of the Hijaz, the region that makes up most of the western part of modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Following his death, four of Muhammad’s early companions succeeded him in ruling the Muslim community, which would continue to expand to include Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan and more. These successors were given the title of caliph. During the reigns of the third and fourth caliphs, disagreements broke out among the Muslim leaders, resulting in civil war and the emergence of the Shiite Muslim sect as distinct from the Sunni sect. To this day, Shiites continue to play major religious and political roles in the Muslim world, despite being in the minority.

The Islamic Doctrine

Scholars agree on a number of key fundamentals that characterize Islam. They include, but are not limited to, the following.

Muslims believe that Muhammad is God’s messenger, the last in a series of prophets God sent to complete or ‘seal’ God’s message. They believe in the prophets that preceded him, such as Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. Most scholars agree that Islam belongs to, or is at least in general harmony with, the Judeo-Christian, Abrahamic tradition.

Muslims, however, claim that any rejection of Muhammad’s prophethood and teachings on the part of Jews and Christians is due to ‘distortions’ that accumulated in the Christian and Jewish traditions over time. The three religions have numerous key concepts in common, such as monotheism, the importance of giving charity to the poor, bodily resurrection after death, the last judgement, heaven, hell and Satan.

God’s Oneness

Many scholars have pinpointed tawhid as the most important concept for Muslims. Muslims are required to acknowledge God’s oneness as the only God (al-ilah in Arabic), which is why there are Arabic-speaking Christians who call God Allah as well). Allah Is the greatest, to whom all the virtuous traits are attributed in their utmost, absolute form: he is the most merciful, most generous and the most just.

Allah has no wife or offspring. He and only he may be worshipped. Islam strictly rejects all forms of polytheism and paganism. This particularly distinguished Muhammad’s message when he started preaching in Mecca because the Quraysh already believed in God, but they worshipped him through idols. Subsequently, Muslims believe that there is no religious authority (e.g. a clergy) between individuals and God.

The Koran

In a poetic language and literary style, the Koran tells stories of the past and makes vows about the future, addressing Muhammad and Muslims at times and humankind at other times. It also lays out a number of rulings on how Muslims should live their lives and organize their community, and it describes God’s traits, such as mercy, justice and power.

There is a near-consensus among Muslims that the Koran is the word of God, delivered through revelations that Muhammad received via Gabriel. Many observers have noted that almost all Muslims around the world agree on the authenticity of the Koran, despite their differences and disagreements on scores of issues, both minor and major, and despite their divisions across sects and groups.

Many historians have also agreed on the Koran’s authenticity as a historical source on Muhammad’s life, even if they find it unsatisfactory on its own and in need of supplementary sources. Montgomery Watt describes the Koran as ‘contemporary and authentic’ as a ‘primary source for the life of Muhammad’, even if it is ‘fragmentary’ and ‘difficult to interpret’.

This on the Koran’s fragmentation can be understood in the context of the book’s division into 114 surahs (chapters) that were collected and organized according to Muhammad’s instructions, which is not the same order as the chapters were reportedly revealed to him.

Another historian, ‘There is almost universal consensus that the Koran is authentic, that the text that stands before us is the product of one man.’

Obviously, secularist and non-Muslim historians who consider the Koran authentic do not see it as the word of God, as Muslims do; rather, they consider it as a credible source for what Muhammad said during his life.

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