Islam Thoughts: Progressive Report

The Evolution of Islamic Legal, Mystical, and Theological Notions

Islam started in the 7^th Century as a religious group which means surrender or submission to the will of Allah (Harris & Christina 89). It started as a monotheistic traditional group but it has grown to become the third largest religious group in the world albeit the youngest religious group. Islam was founded around the teaching of Prophet Muhammad as a sign of submission to the will of Allah (Harris & Christina 109).

The Quran is the secret book used by the Muslims and contains the secret teachings as they were reveled to Him by Allah. Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca a small town in Saudi Arabia, where the origin of Islam is believed to have originated from. His main teachings were on the existence of one God, acknowledgement of existence of other prophets such Abraham, Jesus and Moses and the aspect of submission to Allah and also the love for His wife Khadija (Harris & Christina 99).

The religion is founded on the basic belief that Allah is the true God and has no other equal. Islam has various branches, most common being the Sunni and the Shi’a with each of the group being distinct from the other on different teachings. Despite these divisions the main belief within the Muslim faith is that Allah is the true God. Muslim then expanded from South Asia to Arabian Peninsula, and it is now the largest religion in Africa particularly in the Northern part of Africa (Harris & Christina 80). Islam has also significant population in Europe, America and more dominant in   Southern Asia

Islam is founded on five practices which are; ritual of prayer, profession of faith, chastity (zakat), fasting and the hajj (visiting Mecca). The most defining characteristic about the Muslim is the care they have about their Holy places. They visit Mecca, Jerusalem and Medina. Their worship place is the mosque, where they meet to pray, worship and to read recite the Quran

The Evolution of Islamic Legal Notation

Islam had learned men who were engaged in Quran interpretation about the legal discussions in the early days when the community had migrated to Medina.  The start of 9^th century come with the emergence of professional religious class called the Ulama which is loosely translated to mean people of knowledge. These learned men played a big role in making sure that the raw was set, followed and reviewed. The class was responsible for; teaching the Quran, Sharia law, teaching theology, family law and the jurisprudence of the religion. The main duty of Umma was to maintain continuity in spiritual and intellectual life.

However the revolution in the last two centuries has seen the influence of Ulama decline from the most influential religious leaders to observers.  This can be attributed to the fact that most Muslim countries are ruled by oppressive dictators who do not recognize their work and more so they are not very religious

The second aspect of legal revolution can be attributed in the way of worship. In many Muslim countries particularly in Asia and Northern Africa the place of women in the society is very oppressive. The women cannot be imams, they cannot be leaders, or intermarry with other religious groups. However, the revolution in the legal aspect has seen women in the western land get training to become imams. In fact they have set up seminaries where both men and women are being trained to become imams (Harris & Christina 78).

Muslim community also had reservations on electing women in the elective positions. This however is rapidly changing with the current revolution which has seen Muslim women take elective positions especially in Africa. This labeling of the as subject has seen, Muslim women suffer from unjust court rulings even persecution or stunning

Most of the Muslim speaking countries are ruled by dictators as already seen. This has resulted in the eruption of frequent chaos which leads to the destruction of structures, life and the economy. This has led to the Muslim community being stereotyped as blood thirsty hence leading to their marginalization. They use proactive fighting technologies in attempt to solve the un-ending chaos in their territory.

In conclusion, the legal revolution in the Islamic religion started with the beginning of a small tradition religious group in Mecca which was ruled following the teachings of Allah to Prophet Mohammed. The group later moved to Medina where they stayed for a while before wall broke forcing the prophet to move. The group later grew in numbers by forcing people to join them. They attacked the early Christians in North Africa (Tunisia and Egypt) and forced them to change their religion to Islam. The group grew in numbers by use of forceful methods. The legal revolution in many countries has been deteriorated by the emergence of militia groups. Such cases are in Somalia, Syria and many other countries in South Asia. These criminal groups have no respect for the rule of law hence deteriorating the legal structures already existing in that particular country.

The Evolution of Islamic Mystical Notation

The mystical revolution of any religion defines the beliefs that are based on the mystery. The mystical revolution of Islamic religion oscillates around the belief in Prophet Mohammed about the teachings given to Him by Allah.

The mystical notation starts with the birth of the Prophet in a small town of South Asia called Mecca. The young man later grew to become the prophet of Allah. Mohammed is the greatest Prophet of Allah. He is greater than Moses, Abraham and Jesus. The belief by the Muslim that Muhammad was ordered by Allah to marry Khadija who was a forty year old widow is also mythical.

Muslim believe that the Prophet has the ability to perform miracles and the power is given to Him by Allah so as to draw people to faith. The knowledge of the people is the divine wisdom and the divine power. The power to perform miracle has made the Prophet to be the greatest prophet as it has already been seen. This ability by the prophet to perform miracles was key in pooling the crowd into joining the Islam religion.

The other mystical revolution in the Islam religion is believe in the Holy book, The Quran. Muslims believe that Quran is a major source of miracle. They believe in the manifestation of thought and a tool of knowledge transfer through the Quran. They believe that no other writing can be compared to it. The importance that the Muslim put in Quran cannot be under estimated. Imams dedicate most of their times in teachings the scriptures and the children reciting Quran.

Another mystical notation in the revolution of the Islamic faith is the Hajj. Being one of the five key pillars in the Muslim faith, the journey to Mecca at least once in life time is very important for any devout Muslim faithful. Most of the Muslims faithful flock in Mecca annually for this important occasion in life. Also related to this is the stoning of the devil. When the Muslims go for Hajj, there is the stoning of the devil, where faithful use stones to fight the devil. This is a very important activity too in the life of a serious Muslim faith and a great one too when in Hajj (Harris & Christina 98).

The last, mystical revolution of the Islamic revolution is the Sheria law. The Muslim fraternity is governed by the sheria law. The law is based on the various about the faith although it must be domesticated with the local law. Many countries however, especially those with Islam as the dominant religion have adopted the Sheria law as the constitution.

In conclusion, the mystical revolution in the Islam region encompasses all the mystery thoughts and ideas that define the religion. These are those the gradual development of ideas that define the current Muslim community and differentiate it from the past Muslim community

The Evolution Theological Notions

The religion has secret days just like the sister religions such as Christianity and Judaism.  Some of the secret days in the Islam calendar include the Ramadan which marks the day when Prophet Mohammed received the first revelation of the Quran. The entire month in which the Ramadan falls is also secret in that it marks the period in which the powers of the devil are diminished. During the day in this secret period, to mark holiness there is the recitation of the muezzin prayer.

Muslims also mark the Hijrah or emigration which marks the journey in which they migrated from Mecca to Medina where they were persecuted. This important period in the life of a Muslim faithful is reflected in the Islamic calendar also called the Hijrah calendar. There is also the period of fasting in the calendar of the Muslim faith. During this period, the healthy adults are expected to dedicate their energies in prayers and the little they save during fasting to be shared with the less advantaged in the society.

There has been an attempt by most Islamic speaking nations to orient the youths who are entering into Islam. This is through the education program on the importance of the moral and the ethical standards as opposed to the deviations from the moral foundations. The Isalmic thinkers and learners have in the past tried to reconcile the mind of the young Muslims with the theological knowledge and the technological advancement. This should also be revolutionized with the educational levels. Many Islamic youths are becoming educated and end up losing the very principles and the pillars that define their religion. For this reason, there has been a revolution from the Imams and the concerned parties in attempting to bring these youths back to mosques

Another theological revolution which has happened in the Islamic religion is the effect on the security measures. There has been wide spread stereotype that terrorism is being advocated in the teachings done by hardliner Clerics. The madarasas have also been accused as the hotbed of nurturing terrorist groups (Harris & Christina 86). This has led to the Muslim community joining hard with the governments of the particular countries in fighting this vice by flushing out such clerics who are radicalizing the youth.

Another revolutionary challenge which has affected the theological stay of the Islamic religion is the scientific discoveries. These discoveries have diluted the strong values that the Muslim youth had and has led to them changing their views about the religion all together. This problem does not only affect the Muslim youth however, as if affects also the Christian youths and also other religious groups

Another factor which has led to the theological revolution is the urbanization. These mainly go hand in hand with the peer pressure. In the Muslim community such current issues affecting the youths such as; prostitution, drug abuse, alcoholism and robbery were not common in the Muslim community (Harris & Christina 79). However due to various interaction, such vises have become common in the Muslim community which has seen the youths loose grip on the strong religious foundation that they were brought up with.

In conclusion theological revolution has seen the women take the leadership place in the mosques. This is however, not common in South Asia and in North Africa unlike in Europe where there both male and female imams. Better still in Europe, there is intermarriage between a Christian and Muslim which is a serious crime in some of the strict Islamic states especially in Africa and South Asia. Also in Africa and South Asia there is emergence of militia/terrorist groups who use Islamic religion to justify their criminal activities something.

 

Works cited

Armitage, David, and Sanjay Subrahmanyam, eds. The age of revolutions in global context, c. 1760-1840. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.

Harris, Christina Phelps. Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt: The Role Fo the Muslim Brotherhood. Vol. 34. Hague: Published for the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford, Calif., by Mouton, 1964. Print.