Death And Dying World Religions Study Questions Chap 4

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Muhammad

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A prophet. He was an orphan, and a regular person until his forties, when he began to receive divine revelations. He was thought to be the last prophet in a line of prophets including Abraham, Moses, Noah and Jesus. Muhammad was said to speak to Allah directly through the Archangel Gabriel in comparison to soothsayers who were spoken to by jinn. The messages were recorded into the Islam doctrine called the Qur'an. Muhammad preached except in the case of self defense.

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Qur’an

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The scriptures of the Islamic religion, the recorded messages received by the prophet Mohammad from Allah. It also speaks of the afterlife and he end of days. When judgement comes, those who followed the rules and were close to Allah will be taken to paradise and given virgins. Those who sin will be sent to Hell and be tortured with boiling water and flames. It contains 114 chapters organized from longest to shortest.

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Sunni

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A branch of the Islam faith that 80% of Muslims belong to. Sunni's elected leaders then followed their heredity lines, these leaders are called Caliphs.

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Shi’a

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A branch of the Islam faith that 20% of Muslims belong to. They believed in leaders called Imamate, where the preceding leader appointed the next leader, as Muhammed had also apparently done. These leaders were able to trace their heritage back to the Prophet. They were suppressed by the Sunni and believe that the 12th Imam will lead an apocalyptic battle with evil when the Last Day comes. hey put more importance on the death of martyrs.

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Sufism

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Schools of thought relating to the mysticism of Islam. A group of Muslims who did not accept Caliphs as the leaders, thinking that wealth made them stray from the word of the Prophet. Sufi's may have special powers such as communicating with animals or exercising jinn. The Sufi's believe that the goal of life is to die and reunite with God, and do not put value on earthly possessions. They also do not believe in Paradise in the sense that pleasure can be derived from worldly desires. They believe that instead of Paradise, one will have a reunion with God. Sufism is considered heresy by some Muslims.

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Hadith

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A scriptural source in Islam. It details the deeds and sayings of Muhammad that were not part of the revelation. The Hadith describes the chain of events that occur to ones body and soul after death.

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Tawhid

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Islamic term meaning the belief in only one God that has no equal.

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Shirk

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Islamic term meaning the act of assigning God an equal as it devalues his power as the one true God. This is considered a great sin in the Qu'ran.

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Shar’iah

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The "right path" Muslims follow to lead a proper life. The two categories of Shar'iah make up Islamic law: rules that govern acts of worship (‘ibādat), and rules that govern human transactions (mu‘amalat). The laws are either expressed negatively like through commands of positively like holding faith in God.

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Five Pillars of Islam

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5 actions of devotion that Muslims are required to practice.

1- To adhere to Muslim faith which states that there is only one God and his messenger is the Prophet.

2-Salat-Prayer performance 5 times a day.

3. Zakat- financially able Muslims must give some of their money to the poor.

4- Sawm- Fast a Ramadan to purify and to remind Muslims that they must take care of the poor.

5. Haj- pilgrimage to Mecca at least once a lifetime.

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Barzakh

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An in between state the dead stay in until the Day of Resurrection. It is where the dead stay in between the living world and the land of paradise or Hell. In Barzakh, the Angel of Death may take the soul to be judged, then return it to the grave. The soul stays with the body in the grave and is shown a window to their fate, whether that be paradise or Hell. Martyrs are exempt from Barzakh and are sent directly to paradise.

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‘Izr’ail

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The Angel of Death that visits just before death. He is fearsome and symbolizes that no one can escape their fate. He was created by Allah-ta'ala from light, and he has 70000 feet and 4000 wings. He is filled with eyes and tongues, and has a face, ear, eye and hand on his body for every being with a soul.

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What is the Quranic view of the afterlife, and what are the controversies surrounding its interpretation?

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The afterlife for those who have lived their lives according to Allah will go to a paradise. The paradise is a place they can indulge in feasting and sex with young women virgins. Paradise is also lush and full of delicious fruit. Sinners are sent to Hell, a place with fire and boiling water, a place with no joy. The controversies surrounding this thought is that in the portrayal of Paradise men are the sole benefactors and is focused on heir enjoyment. What do women believers receive in paradise?

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What does Islam say about the state of the body after burial?

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The body lays dead but is still aware of the living world above. When a person dies they are in barzakh, a intermediate world in between living and paradise or Hell. According to the Hadith, the soul remains with the body until the Last Judgement, and the bodies of sinners can feel the worms eating their flesh.

Front 15

Explain why Islam is criticized for having a very patriarchal view of Heaven. How do Muslims explain this vision of Heaven?

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The Qur'an states that those who are good enough to be accepted to paradise are rewarded with Virgin women to wed. This makes no mention of what women will receive in the afterlife. Philosophers have tried to explain this by stating that the description of paradise is to be thought of as poetry and not to be taken as a literal example.

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What is Sufism, and in what way does its conception of the afterlife differ from the rest of Islam?

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Schools of thought that relate to the mysticism of Islam. Sufi's may have special powers such as controlling animals or exercising jinn. They believe that the point of life is to die and to reunite with God. They don't believe that Paradise awaits after death with worldly pleasures but instead that reuniting with God is the reward after death.

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Hanifs

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Purely Arabian monotheists

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Jahiliyyah

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Known as the time of ignorance by Muslims.

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Soothsayers

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Connected to the spiritual world like a shaman. They spoke to the jinn

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Jinn

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demons composed of fire that are invisible in the material world. They were the spirits of the dead. Blamed for sickness accidents and natural disasters

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Barzakh

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Intermediary state between the living world and paradise or Hell.

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Kaaba

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A black cube like structure built in Mecca by Abraham and his son Ishmael. It s a religeous site to Musilms

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Caliph

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In charge since Muhammed's death. They were the military and political leaders of Islam

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Sunnah

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To follow or emulate the Prophet’s moral example is to follow his sunnah.