The Progressive Muslim Union of North America ( PMU ) was a liberal Islamic organization. The group officially launched on November 15, 2004, in Manhattan but was disbanded in December 2006.
143-399: The Progressive Muslim Union (PMU) is the result of almost two years of conversation and collaboration between a group of North American Muslims who are committed to representing and renewing our community in all its social, ideological and political diversity. PMU members range from deeply religious to totally secular, sharing in common a commitment to learning, political and social empowerment,
286-401: A nikah (wedding) ceremony. She has trained other women to do so; since 2006, Fatima Seedat has officiated at three such ceremonies. Spanish Muslims have been some of the greatest supporters of the woman-led prayer movement. Spanish imam Abdennur Prado responded immediately to the controversial prayer by American Amina Wadud (see USA section) with a supportive legal opinion. He was one of
429-603: A bell" and A'isha reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)." Muhammad's first revelation, according to the Quran, was accompanied with a vision. The agent of revelation is mentioned as the "one mighty in power," the one who "grew clear to view when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he
572-500: A bodily resurrection . In the Quran belief in the afterlife is often referred in conjunction with belief in God: "Believe in God and the last day" emphasizing what is considered impossible is easy in the sight of God. A number of suras such as 44, 56, 75, 78, 81 and 101 are directly related to the afterlife and warn people to be prepared for the "imminent" day referred to in various ways. It
715-487: A book of guidance for humankind ( 2:185 ). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. Supplementing the Quran with explanations for some cryptic Quranic narratives, and rulings that also provide the basis for Islamic law in most denominations of Islam, are hadiths —oral and written traditions believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad. During prayers ,
858-649: A commitment to justice and freedom and a concern and love for the Muslim community. These differences came to a head in March 2005, when PMU endorsed a mixed-gender prayer led by a woman imam , Professor Amina Wadud . The prayer was co-sponsored by the progressive Muslim online magazine Muslim WakeUp! and Asra Nomani 's Muslim Women's Freedom Tour . The event, which was attended by about 150 congregants in New York City and heavily covered by international media, became
1001-500: A complete code of conduct across all facets of life. This has led Muslim theologians to fiercely debate whether the Quran was " created or uncreated ." According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled on the order of the first caliph Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ) by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it. Caliph Uthman ( r. 644–656 ) established
1144-669: A detailed article in the Journal of Law and Religion arguing that female imams are permissible in all circumstances. Their abstract reads: The first female imam was recruited in 1993 during the Algerian Civil War . Appointed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs , they all have at least a bachelor's degree in Islamic sciences and a thorough knowledge of the Quran. There were around 500 of them in 2015. A woman disguised as
1287-472: A direct translation of the text. The word qur'ān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun ( maṣdar ) of the Arabic verb qara'a ( قرأ ) meaning 'he read' or 'he recited'. The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā ( ܩܪܝܢܐ ), which refers to 'scripture reading' or 'lesson'. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from
1430-482: A disliked act. (The fourth division, Malikis , do not permit women to lead women in prayer.) Where it is allowed, the woman stands among the congregation in the front row, instead of alone in front of the congregation. In 2000, six maraji among Iran 's Shia leadership declared that they too allowed women to lead a woman-only congregation, reversing a previous ban in that country. An unusual feature of Islam in China
1573-563: A huge controversy, galvanizing both supporters and detractors around the world. Opponents, in particular M. A. Muqtedar Khan , argued that reform should be restricted to social matters, not matters of worship. Supporters, however, asserted that nothing in the Qur'an, the Muslim holy scripture, prevents a woman from leading mixed-gender prayers, and that restrictions are based on outmoded cultural and patriarchal notions. PMU's co-chair, Pamela Taylor, reinforced PMU's position when she joined hands with
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#17327799038901716-507: A man attempted to deliver a Jum'ah khutbah but was detected by members of the congregation and arrested by the Bahraini police. The incident occurred at one of the biggest mosques in the island state, in front of 7,000 worshippers, on the last Friday of Ramadan in 2004. The would-be khatib , wearing full male dress with a false beard and moustache, sat on the mimbar just before speaking, at which point some worshippers realised that
1859-756: A mixed group in Friday prayer. Women can only lead other women in prayer in private spaces. Since 2015 "Avant-garde" imam Salima el Musalima leads prayers and creates Islamic art in The Netherlands. One of the earliest reported cases of a woman imam in the West occurred in 1995 in Johannesburg, South Africa. For about two years, a congregation met every Friday for the Jum'ah prayer and every night in Ramadan for
2002-694: A new venue for Eid prayer was established in Durban , designed to allow families to attend the Eid prayer together in a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere. It is run by Taking Islam to the People . At each Eid salaah there are two khutbahs delivered, one by a male and one by a female. Over the seven years from 2003–2010, fourteen women have offered khutbah , including Dr. Lubna Nadvi , Zaytun Suleyman , Fatima Seedat , Fatima Hendricks , Dr Mariam Seedat and Zulaykha Mayat. In 2005, Farhana Ismail first officiated at
2145-409: A possessed man, a soothsayer , or a magician since his experiences were similar to those claimed by such figures well known in ancient Arabia . Welch additionally states that it remains uncertain whether these experiences occurred before or after Muhammad's initial claim of prophethood. The Quran describes Muhammad as " ummi ", which is traditionally interpreted as 'illiterate', but the meaning
2288-401: A result most madhhabs support this. According to Qaradawi : All of the hadiths state that the given woman leads the other women in prayers while standing among them in the same row, and not standing on the first row of the prayers as imams do. They further state that they were among only women, not male worshippers. Aside from the hadith , there are other sources to consider. The sunnah
2431-631: A single folio of a very early Quran , dating back to 1370 years earlier, was discovered in the library of the University of Birmingham , England. According to the tests carried out by the Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, "with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645". The manuscript is written in Hijazi script , an early form of written Arabic. This possibly
2574-433: A spirit of "true Islam". The Qur'an does not address this issue; relevant precedents are therefore sought for in the hadith , the traditions attributed to Muhammad ; the sunnah , his actions, including but not limited to hadith; and the principle of ijma , consensus. An indirectly relevant hadith is widely considered to be crucial, since the imam stands at the front of the congregation. The hadith in question
2717-522: A square is set up and the king or lord of the day ;( māliki yawmi-d-dīn ) comes and shows his shin; looks are fearful, are invited to prostration; but those invited in the past but stayed away, cannot do this.( Al-Qalam 42-43) Some researchers have no hesitation that many doomsday concepts, some of which are also used in the Quran, such as firdaws , kawthar , jahannam , maalik have come from foreign cultures through historical evolution . According to M. Shamsher Ali , there are around 750 verses in
2860-587: A standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex , which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings , with some differences in meaning. The Quran assumes the reader's familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical and apocryphal texts . It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as
3003-519: A surah dedicated to his mother Mary in the Quran. According to As-Saff 6, while he is a harbinger of Muhammad, Sunnis understand that Jesus continues to live in a sky layer , as in the stories of ascension , preaches that he will return to the earth near apocalypse , join the Mahdi , will pray behind him and then kill the False Messiah ( Dajjal ). While belief in God and obedience to
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#17327799038903146-544: A term translated by the BBC as "senior imams" and by the Washington Times as "female preachers". The WT says, "As well as being preachers, women now have the right to lead groups on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, and 15 Turkish provinces have women serving as deputy muftis—specialists on religious law who monitor the work of imams in mosques. Significantly, given that 70 percent of requests for advice come from women,
3289-502: A transformation of gender privilege in Islam continue to work for the establishment of woman-led prayer. Qur%27an The Quran , also romanized Qur'an or Koran , is the central religious text of Islam , believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ( Allāh ). It is organized in 114 chapters ( surah , pl. suwer ) which consist of individual verses ( āyah ). Besides its religious significance, it
3432-525: Is "a sign of the hour." Despite the uncertainty of the time is emphasized with the statement that it is only in the presence of God,(43:61) there is a rich eschatological literature in the Islamic world and doomsday prophecies in the Islamic world are heavily associated with "round" numbers. Said Nursi interpreted the expressions in the Quran and hadiths as metaphorical or allegorical symbolizations and benefited from numerological methods applied to some ayah/hadith fragments in his own prophecies. In
3575-424: Is "household", which would mean that Umm Waraqa led prayers in her home. Who was she leading? Imam Zaid presents three possibilities: the two servants of her household and the mu'ahdhin , or the women of her surrounding “area”, or only the women of her household. Each of these possibilities requires certain assumptions, but the most accepted is that Umm Waraqa was leading the women of her household, thus leading to
3718-584: Is "widespread and well-funded". Individuals connected with the movement include Abdul Majeed al-Zindani , who established the Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah ; Zakir Naik , the Indian televangelist; and Adnan Oktar , the Turkish creationist. Ismail al-Faruqi and Taha Jabir Alalwani are of the view that any reawakening of the Muslim civilization must start with the Quran; however,
3861-437: Is #881 of Sahih Muslim : " Abu Huraira said: The best rows for men are the first rows, as opposed to the last ones, and the best rows for women are the last ones as opposed to the first ones." The hadith of Umm Waraqa has given rise to debates among Islamic leaders on whether it is acceptable or not for women to lead prayers, including mixed-gender congregational prayer. Umm Waraqa bint Abdallah, an Ansari woman, who knew
4004-732: Is 'the Day of Judgment,' 'the Last Day,' 'the Day of Resurrection,' or simply 'the Hour.' Less frequently it is 'the Day of Distinction', 'the Day of the Gathering' or 'the Day of the Meeting'. "Signs of the hour" in the Quran are a " Beast of the Earth " will arise (27:82); the nations Gog and Magog will break through their ancient barrier wall and sweep down to scourge the earth (21:96-97); and Jesus
4147-400: Is a great deal of Islamic pseudoscience attempting to reconcile this respect with religious beliefs. This is because, according to Edis, true criticism of the Quran is almost non-existent in the Muslim world. While Christianity is less prone to see its Holy Book as the direct word of God, fewer Muslims will compromise on this idea – causing them to believe that scientific truths must appear in
4290-460: Is a long history of female masters of Islamic sciences teaching men. Historically, certain sects have considered it acceptable for women to function as imams. This was true not only in the Arab heartland of early Islam, but in China over recent centuries, where women's mosques developed. The debate has been reactivated during the 21st century as the west and the world revisit sexism. Those critical of
4433-461: Is a more general source of precedent; it is usually considered to count against women leading mixed congregations, as there are no reports of it happening in Muhammad's time, unless, as Amina Wadud suggested, the aforementioned Umm Waraqah hadith is interpreted to apply to her town rather than to her household alone. A third source of precedent is the principle of ijma —consensus—supported by
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4576-413: Is a prominent prophet and messenger of God and the most frequently mentioned individual in the Quran, with his name being mentioned 136 times and his life being narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. Jesus is considered another important prophet with his fatherless birth,( 66:12 , 21:89 ) special with the expressions used for him, such as the "word" and "spirit" from God and
4719-414: Is a way and method of reciting the Qur'an was developed sometime afterwards. There are ten canonical recitations and they are not to be confused with ahruf. Shias recite the Quran according to the qira'at of Hafs on authority of ‘Asim , which is the prevalent qira'at in the Islamic world and believe that the Quran was gathered and compiled by Muhammad during his lifetime. It is claimed that
4862-692: Is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term mus'haf ('written work') is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books. Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in 610 CE in the Cave of Hira on the Night of Power during one of his isolated retreats to
5005-453: Is approved because of its familiarity for a certain society and its antithesis munkar means what is disapproved because it is unknown and extraneous. It also affirms family life by legislating on matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. A number of practices, such as usury and gambling, are prohibited. The Quran is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic law ( sharia ). Some formal religious practices receive significant attention in
5148-406: Is claimed that the provisions and contents in sources such as the Quran and hadith, apart from general purposes , are contents that reflect the general understanding and practices of that period, and it is brought up to replace the sharia practices that pose problems in terms of today's ethic values with new interpretations . The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of
5291-615: Is gender-equal, LGBTQ -affirming, and religiously non-discriminatory. All Muslims are welcome to lead the prayer and give the sermon. It helps set up similar circles when asked: The first two sister circles were founded in Washington, D.C. , and Atlanta , Georgia in early 2011. These two communities are now associated with Muslims for Progressive Values (see United States section). Since then, Montréal , Quebec , London, Ontario , and Vancouver , British Columbia have also established gender-equal/LGBTQ-affirming prayer communities with
5434-538: Is justified by various Quranic verses and Hadith about the roles and responsibilities of men and women . A small number of schools of Islamic thought make exceptions for tarawih (optional Ramadan prayers) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Women acting as leaders, teachers, and authorities in other capacities however is not deviating from the Islamic orthodoxy as women have never been restricted from becoming scholars, ulema, jurists, muftis , preachers, missionaries, or spiritual guides. There
5577-535: Is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as al-Tabari ( d. 923 ) maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previous books or scriptures (but they gave priority to the first meaning). Muhammad's illiteracy was taken as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi , if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied
5720-507: Is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, that your lord has at his Command forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty." Islam regards Abraham as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad via Ishmael and mentioned in 35 chapters of the Quran , more often than any other biblical personage apart from Moses . Muslims regard him as an idol smasher, hanif , an archetype of
5863-598: Is seen in a number of passages, for example: "So when al-qur'ān is recited, listen to it and keep silent." The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel . The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qur'ān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb ('book'), āyah ('sign'), and sūrah ('scripture');
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6006-407: Is that [Muhammad] testified that some women attained perfection just as he testified regarding some men—even though the latter were more than the former... a women's leadership (in prayer) is sound... and one should not listen to those who prohibit it without proof, for there is no text to support their claim" - Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. 'Ali b. Muhammad Ibn al-' Arabi, Al-Futuhat Al Makiyya. Within
6149-482: Is the existence of nüsi , mosques solely for women. The imams and all the congregants are women and men are not allowed into the buildings. A handful of women have been trained as imams in order to serve these mosques. However, in at least some communities where these mosques operated, women were not allowed in the men's mosques. In recent years, efforts have been made to establish similar mosques in India and Iran. On
6292-426: Is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature , and has significantly influenced the Arabic language . It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies . Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Night of Power , when Muhammad
6435-657: The Muslim Canadian Congress and the United Muslim Association to be the first woman to deliver the Friday sermon and lead the mixed-gender congregation in a mosque on July 1, 2005. PMU is now defunct, due to a schism . In July 2005, board member Muqtedar Khan resigned. In August 2005, three of the four founding members, Omid Safi, Hussein Ibish and Sarah Eltantawi resigned along with Laury Silvers and Michael Muhammad Knight (Ahmed Nassef
6578-682: The Quraysh who were taken prisoners at the Battle of Badr regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became literate . As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most suras (also usually transliterated as Surah) were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both Sunni and Shia sources, relating Muhammad's use of
6721-461: The University of California in Los Angeles , this explains the situation whereby female imams can exist in China, as they often tend to develop their own institutions in isolation due to increased control over their practices from the central Chinese government. Such developments in the Islamic community in China, such as that of female imams, are often contrary to the overwhelming opinion within
6864-403: The Uthmanic codex . That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed. and the six other ahruf of the Qur'an fell out of use. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr. Qira'at which
7007-654: The Uyghurs , Quranic schools for girls evolved into woman-only mosques and women acted as imams as early as 1820. These imams are known as nü ahong (女阿訇), i.e. "female akhoond ", and they guide female Muslims in worship and prayer. Ahong Du Shuzhen of Kaifeng became the first woman in Henan to perform the Hajj in 1992. Due to Beijing having tight control over religious practices, Chinese Muslims are isolated from Islamic world trends. According to Dr Khaled Abou el Fadl from
7150-554: The culture of Arabs and many nations in their historical neighbourhoods, especially Judeo-Christian stories , are included in the Quran with small allusions, references or sometimes small narratives such as jannāt ʿadn , jahannam , Seven sleepers , Queen of Sheba etc. However, some philosophers and scholars such as Mohammed Arkoun , who emphasize the mythological content of the Quran, are met with rejectionist attitudes in Islamic circles. The stories of Yusuf and Zulaikha , Moses , Family of Amram (parents of Mary according to
7293-417: The hadith "My community will never agree upon an error." This is also generally quoted against the idea of women leading mixed congregations, since the consensus of the traditional jurists is overwhelmingly against the concept; however, supporters of the idea argue that this consensus is not universal. One of the most authoritative overviews of the viewpoints of the classical jurists on whether women may lead
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#17327799038907436-527: The khutbah and leading the prayers of the congregation. The event was organized by the Muslim Canadian Congress to celebrate Earth Day , and was held in the backyard of the downtown Toronto home of activist Tarek Fatah . In July 2005, Pamela K. Taylor, a Muslim convert since 1986, gave the Friday khutbah and led the mixed-gender prayers at the UMA Toronto mosque at the invitation of the Muslim Canadian Congress on Canada Day . In addition to leading
7579-462: The Bible conveyed from any source are called Israʼiliyyat and are met with suspicion. The provisions that might arise from them, (such as the consumption of wine ) could only be "abrogated provisions" ( naskh ). The guidance of the Quran and Muhammad is considered absolute, universal and will continue until the end of time . However, today, this understanding is questioned in certain circles, it
7722-632: The El-Tawhid Juma Circle. Muslims for Progressive Values Canada, an affiliate of Muslims for Progressive Values USA, founded in 2010 by Shahla Khan Salter (chair) leads mixed congregational prayers in Ottawa, Canada. Prayers for MPV Canada have been led by women, including Farhat Rehman and by Zeinab A. A unique feature of Islam in China is the presence of female-only mosques. Among the Hui people , but not other Muslim ethnic minorities such as
7865-774: The Flood , struggle of Abraham with Nimrod , sacrifice of his son occupy a wide place in the Quran. The central theme of the Quran is monotheism . God is depicted as living, eternal, omniscient and omnipotent (see, e.g., Quran 2:20 , 2:29 , 2:255 ). God's omnipotence appears above all in his power to create. He is the creator of everything, of the heavens and the earth and what is between them (see, e.g., Quran 13:16 , 2:253 , 50:38 , etc.). All human beings are equal in their utter dependence upon God, and their well-being depends upon their acknowledging that fact and living accordingly. The Quran uses cosmological and contingency arguments in various verses without referring to
8008-686: The Muslim Canadian Congress and held in a private venue with a mixed gender congregation. In 2007, Imam Taylor let prayers for International Woman's Day hosted by the Canadian Muslim Union From 2008, the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto has included women on their Board of Khatibs, and women and men alternate giving the call to prayer each week. Women regularly give full length sermons prior to
8151-739: The Muslim World proper. There is no historical evidence for female imams in China before the early 1800s. The Mariam mosque in Copenhagen , which was founded by Sherin Khankan in February 2016, has only female imams. The mosque is open to male and female worshippers, with the exception of Friday prayers , which are only open to female worshippers. Khankan became Scandinavia's first female imam when she opened that mosque. In 2019, Eva Janadin, Anne-Sophie Monsinay and Kahina Bahloul became
8294-435: The Qur'an as a crime of apostasy punishable by death under sharia , it seemed impossible to conduct studies on the Qur'an that went beyond textual criticism . Until the early 1970s, non-Muslim scholars of Islam —while not accepting traditional explanations for divine intervention— accepted the above-mentioned traditional origin story in most details. University of Chicago professor Fred Donner states that: [T]here
8437-407: The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad in seven different ahruf (meaning letters; however, it could mean dialects, forms, styles or modes). Most Islamic scholars agree that these different ahruf are the same Qur'an revealed in seven different Arabic dialects and that they do not change the meaning of the Qur'an, the purpose of which was to make the Qur'an easy for recitation and memorization among
8580-500: The Quran and is an important part of Islamist / jihadist indoctrination today, as well as Shiite teachings, hence ma'ruf and munkar should be the key words in understanding the Quran in moral terms as a duty that the Quran imposes on believers. Although a common translation of the phrase is " Enjoining good and forbidding evil ", the words used by Islamic philosophy determining good and evil in discourses are " husn " and "qubh". The word ma’ruf literally means "known" or what
8723-400: The Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632 at age 61–62. There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation. Sahih al-Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of
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#17327799038908866-515: The Quran became popularized as ijaz (miracle) literature, also called " Bucailleism ", and began to be distributed through Muslim bookstores and websites. The movement contends that the Quran abounds with "scientific facts" that appeared centuries before their discovery and promotes Islamic creationism . According to author Ziauddin Sardar , the ijaz movement has created a "global craze in Muslim societies", and has developed into an industry that
9009-522: The Quran dealing with natural phenomena and many verses of the Quran ask mankind to study nature, and this has been interpreted to mean an encouragement for scientific inquiry, and of the truth. Some include, "Travel throughout the earth and see how He brings life into being" ( Q29:20 ), "Behold in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding ..." ( Q3:190 ) The astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum writes: "The Qur'an draws attention to
9152-407: The Quran including the salat and fasting in the month of Ramadan . As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to prostration . The term chosen for charity, zakat , literally means purification implies that it is a self-purification. In fiqh , the term fard is used for clear imperative provisions based on the Quran. However, it is not possible to say that
9295-456: The Quran is recited only in Arabic. Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz . Ideally, verses are recited with a special kind of prosody reserved for this purpose called tajwid . During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, Muslims rely on exegesis , or commentary rather than
9438-505: The Quran were considered mutashabihat -"no one knows its interpretation except God" (Quran 3:7 )- by later scholars stating that God was free from resemblance to humans in any way. In Islam, God speaks to people called prophets through a kind of revelation called wahy , or through angels .( 42:51 ) nubuwwah ( Arabic : نبوة 'prophethood') is seen as a duty imposed by God on individuals who have some characteristics such as intelligence, honesty, fortitude and justice: "Nothing
9581-542: The Quran) and mysterious hero Dhul-Qarnayn ("the man with two horns") who built a barrier against Gog and Magog that will remain until the end of time are more detailed and longer stories. Apart from semi-historical events and characters such as King Solomon and David , about Jewish history as well as the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt , tales of the hebrew prophets accepted in Islam , such as Creation ,
9724-414: The Quran. The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, known as a sūrah . Each sūrah consists of verses, known as āyāt , which originally means a 'sign' or 'evidence' sent by God. The number of verses differs from sūrah to sūrah. An individual verse may be just a few letters or several lines. The total number of verses in the most popular Hafs Quran is 6,236; however, the number varies if
9867-462: The Quran. Muslim critics of the movement include Indian Islamic theologian Maulana Ashraf ‘Ali Thanvi , Muslim historian Syed Nomanul Haq , Muzaffar Iqbal , president of Center for Islam and Science in Alberta, Canada, and Egyptian Muslim scholar Khaled Montaser. Taner Edis wrote many Muslims appreciate technology and respect the role that science plays in its creation. As a result, he says there
10010-561: The Shia had more than 1,000 hadiths ascribed to the Shia Imams which indicate the distortion of the Quran and according to Etan Kohlberg, this belief about Quran was common among Shiites in the early centuries of Islam. In his view, Ibn Babawayh was the first major Twelver author "to adopt a position identical to that of the Sunnis " and the change was a result of the "rise to power of
10153-613: The Sunni ' Abbasid caliphate ," whence belief in the corruption of the Quran became untenable vis-a-vis the position of Sunni "orthodoxy". Alleged distortions have been carried out to remove any references to the rights of Ali, the Imams and their supporters and the disapproval of enemies, such as Umayyads and Abbasids. Other personal copies of the Quran might have existed including Ibn Mas'ud 's and Ubay ibn Ka'b 's codex, none of which exist today. Since Muslims could regard criticism of
10296-493: The Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is qara'a itself. Regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the 'act of reciting', as reflected in an early Quranic passage: "It is for Us to collect it and to recite it ( qur'ānahu )." In other verses, the word refers to 'an individual passage recited [by Muhammad]'. Its liturgical context
10439-842: The UK to lead a mixed-gender prayer on March 6, 2015, with Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI). IMI was set up in 2012 by Tamsila Tauqir and Dervla Zeynab Shannahan. At IMI women, nonbinary, genderqueer and male people lead mixed prayers. In 2021, Zara Mohammed became the first female leader of the Muslim Council of Britain . When pressed on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour over the number of female imams in Britain, she instead chose to focus on other issues. Many Muslim women celebrated her appointment, and urged her to include more minority groups within MCB's membership and supported her focus on addressing
10582-553: The Wadud prayer with a woman-led prayer initiative. The initiative sought to bring together the varied progressive opinions on the prayer as well as engage more conservative Muslims by encouraging further debate, highlighting legal opinions in support of the prayer (as well as giving space to the overwhelming negative opinions), facilitating Muslims who would like to organize future prayers, and documenting those events as they heard of them. Progressives and others sympathetic to bringing about
10725-567: The apocalyptic scenes, clues are included regarding the nature, structure and dimensions of the celestial bodies as perceived in the Quran: While the stars are lamps illuminating the sky in ordinary cases, turns into stones ( Al-Mulk 1-5) or (shahap; meteor, burning fire) ( al-Jinn 9) thrown at demons that illegally ascend to the sky; When the time of judgment comes, they spill onto the earth, but this does not mean that life on earth ends; People run left and right in fear.( At-Takwir 1-7) Then
10868-496: The assistant muftis have the right to issue fatwas, or religious opinions." According to the Christian Science Monitor , in 2005 " Diyanet , a government body that oversees the country's mosques and trains religious leaders, added 150 women preachers across Turkey" and has moved on to "selecting a group of women who will serve as deputies to muftis, or expounders of religious law. From this post, they'll monitor
11011-476: The basis of the following interpretation of the Qur'an , Ibn al-Arabi, a Sufi scholar, said female prayer leadership is absolutely permissible. There are those who unconditionally permit women to lead men [in prayer], which is my opinion as well. There are those who completely forbid her from such leadership and there are those who permit her to lead women, but not men. The reasoning (behind the unconditional permission)
11154-545: The biggest obstacle on this route is the "centuries old heritage of tafseer and other disciplines which inhibit a "universal conception" of the Quran's message. Author Rodney Stark argues that Islam's lag behind the West in scientific advancement after (roughly) 1500 AD was due to opposition by traditional ulema to efforts to formulate systematic explanation of natural phenomenon with " natural laws ." He claims that they believed such laws were blasphemous because they limit "God's freedom to act" as He wishes. Enthusiasts of
11297-488: The book in one volume so that it could be preserved. Zayd ibn Thabit ( d. 655 ) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle". Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to
11440-479: The books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as W. Montgomery Watt prefer the second meaning of ummi —they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts. The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 10 A.H. , a date that roughly corresponds to February or March 632. The verse was revealed after the Prophet finished delivering his sermon at Ghadir Khumm . According to Islamic tradition,
11583-421: The conclusion that women are allowed to lead prayers of all-female congregations. Zaid insists that if Muhammed established a mosque in the household of a man, which was not uncommon, Itban b. Malik , then he must also have set up women-only congregations. With regard to women leading congregations of women, however, several hadith report that two of Muhammad's wives , Aisha and Umm Salamah , did so, and as
11726-433: The danger of conjecturing without evidence ( And follow not that of which you have not the knowledge of... 17:36 ) and in several different verses asks Muslims to require proofs ( Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful 2:111 )." He associates some scientific contradictions that can be seen in the Quran with a superficial reading of the Quran. Starting in the 1970s and 80s, the idea of presence of scientific evidence in
11869-487: The date of writing of the text. For example, sources based on some archaeological data give the construction date of Masjid al-Haram , an architectural work mentioned 16 times in the Quran, as 78 AH an additional finding that sheds light on the evolutionary history of the Quran mentioned, which is known to continue even during the time of Hajjaj , in a similar situation that can be seen with al-Aksa , though different suggestions have been put forward to explain. In 2015,
12012-500: The different Arab tribes . While Sunni Muslims believe in the seven ahruf , some Shia reject the idea of seven Qur'anic variants. A common misconception is that The seven ahruf and the Qira'at are the same. Following Muhammad's death in 632, a number of his companions who memorized the Quran were killed in the Battle of al-Yamama by Musaylima . The first caliph, Abu Bakr ( r. 632–634 ), subsequently decided to collect
12155-429: The dominant tradition over the lifetime of Muhammad c. 570 to 632 CE and used as evidence to support conventional wisdom and to refute the revisionists' views that expresses findings and views different from the traditional approach to the early history of the Quran and Islam . The Quranic content is concerned with basic Islamic beliefs including the existence of God and the resurrection . Narratives of
12298-640: The early prophets , ethical and legal subjects, historical events of Muhammad's time, charity and prayer also appear in the Quran. The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding right and wrong and historical events are related to outline general moral lessons. The style of the Quran has been called " allusive ", with commentaries needed to explain what is being referred to—"events are referred to, but not narrated; disagreements are debated without being explained; people and places are mentioned, but rarely named." While tafsir in Islamic sciences expresses
12441-575: The early years of Islam, the Haruriyyah sect, a branch of the Kharijites movement, founded by Habib ibn-Yazīd al-Harūrī , held that it was permissible to entrust the imamate to a woman if she were able to carry out the required duties. In 699 A.D. (77 A.H.), the founder's wife, Ghazāla al-Harūriyya , even led her male warriors in prayer in Kufa after having controlled the city for a day, following
12584-488: The effort to understand the implied and implicit expressions of the Quran, fiqh refers to the efforts to expand the meaning of expressions , especially in the verses related to the provisions , as well as understanding it. Quranic studies state that, in the historical context, the content of the Quran is related to Rabbinic , Jewish-Christian , Syriac Christian and Hellenic literature, as well as pre-Islamic Arabia . Many places, subjects and mythological figures in
12727-419: The entire Quran , was instructed by Muhammad to lead ahl dariha , which consisted of both men and women, in prayer. The Arabic phrase means "the people of her home", but the ambiguity hangs on the exact translation of dar , "home", which can refer to one's residence, neighborhood, or village. The "people of Umm Waraqa’s home" were so numerous that Muhammad appointed a muezzin to call them to prayer. Umm Waraqa
12870-419: The example of Abu Sufyan 's daughter Juwayriyya at the Battle of Yarmuk . Not only did she lead Muslim men in prayer, she recited the two longest chapters in the Quran during that prayer. Well-known early jurists—including Al-Tabari (838–932), historian, exegete and founder of a now defunct juristic school; Abu Thawr (764–854), mufti of Iraq; Al-Muzani (791–878); and Ibn Arabi (1165–1240)—considered
13013-539: The existence and unity of God , they may have adopted different attitudes that have changed and developed throughout history regarding his nature (attributes) , names and relationship with creation. Rabb is an Arabic word to refers to God meaning Lord and the Quran cites in several places as in the Al-Fatiha ; "All Praise and Gratitude is due to God, Lord of all the Universe". Mustafa Öztürk points out that
13156-502: The first Muslims believed that this god lived in the sky with the following words of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal : "Whoever says that Allah is everywhere is a heretic, an infidel. He should be invited to repent, but if he does not, be killed." This understanding changes later and gives way to the understanding that "God cannot be assigned a place and He is everywhere." Also actions and attributes suh as coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger and sadness etc. similar to humans used for this God in
13299-622: The first female imams to lead Muslim prayers in France. In 2018, Jamida Beevi , a woman from Malappuram district in Kerala became the first woman imam in the country to lead the Jumu'ah prayer and Qutuba (sermons) for women and men. Kathleen O'Connor noted in 2009 that a madrasa in Morocco had started training women as Islamic guides (mourchidats). Although, O'Conner's entry may refer to
13442-844: The four funeral prayers for Ms. Shaikh was led by a female friend. South African Muslims heard their first female-led Jum'ah khutbah in 1994 when African-American Islamic studies professor Amina Wadud spoke at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town , an experience she discusses in Inside the Gender Jihad . Since then, both that mosque and Masjidul Islam in Johannesburg often have women speakers for jum'ah . Scores of South African and foreign women have been hosted in these two mosques since 1994. In 2003,
13585-451: The holy book. In 1983, Keith L. Moore , had a special edition published of his widely used textbook on Embryology ( The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology ), co-authored by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani with Islamic Additions, interspersed pages of "embryology-related Quranic verse and hadith" by al-Zindani into Moore's original work. Ali A. Rizvi studying the textbook of Moore and al-Zindani found himself "confused" by "why Moore
13728-467: The household, if no qualified man is present, is the one exception for women to lead men in prayers. Modern Islamic scholars such as Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi , based on the Umm Waraqah hadith mentioned above, consider it permissible for a knowledgeable woman to lead mixed prayers within her own household, as he considers this to largely obviate the danger of the men being aroused by her presence. In
13871-406: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Muslims in the UK. Ghazala Anwar led a mixed-gender prayer at the al-Fatiha conference in New York City, in 1999. Pamela Taylor (a convert to Islam and co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values ) held one of the first woman-led mixed prayers around 2005. Taylor believed that men and women should be perceived and treated as equal under Islam which prompted
14014-436: The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article ( al- ), the word is referred to as the waḥy ('revelation'), that which has been "sent down" ( tanzīl ) at intervals. Other related words include: dhikr ('remembrance'), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning; and ḥikmah ('wisdom'), sometimes referring to
14157-418: The manuscripts, which he dated to the early part of the 8th century. Puin has noted unconventional verse orderings, minor textual variations, and rare styles of orthography, and suggested that some of the parchments were palimpsests which had been reused. Puin believed that this implied an evolving text as opposed to a fixed one. It is also possible that the content of the Quran itself may provides data regarding
14300-542: The material" Abu Bakr worked with "had already been assembled", which since he was the first caliph, would mean they were collected when Muhammad was still alive. Around the 650s, the Islamic expansion beyond the Arabian Peninsula and into Perisa , the Levant and North Africa , as well as the use of the seven ahruf , had caused some confusion and differences in the pronunciation of the Qur'an, and conflict
14443-402: The mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to hadith (traditions ascribed to Muhammad) and Muslim history , after Muhammad and his followers immigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his companions to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. It is related that some of
14586-416: The movement argue that among the miracles found in the Quran are "everything, from relativity , quantum mechanics , Big Bang theory , black holes and pulsars , genetics , embryology , modern geology , thermodynamics , even the laser and hydrogen fuel cells ". Zafar Ishaq Ansari terms the modern trend of claiming the identification of "scientific truths" in the Quran as the "scientific exegesis" of
14729-548: The new imam was a woman in disguise. They and the mosque's imam, Sheikh Adnan Al-Qattan , handed the 40-year-old woman over to the police. Canadian Muslims have been active in the woman-led prayer movement since 2003 when El-Farouk Khaki organized a woman-led prayer with Ghazala Anwar leading for the Salaam/al-Fatiha International Conference. In 2004, United Muslim Association UMA demonstrated its commitment to having women deliver
14872-595: The organisers of the October 2005 Islamic feminism conference in Barcelona, the first attended by men and women from around the world, at which Wadud led a mixed gender congregational prayer. In 2010, another visiting academic, South African Dr. Sa'diyya Shaikh , gave the khutbah and led the Friday prayer for a mixed congregation. Turkish Muslims are conscious of their influence in interpreting Islam. The state-run mosques have trained hundreds of women as vaize s,
15015-505: The original eighteen leaders of PMU, Ani Zonneveld and Pamela Taylor, created a new organization, Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) in May 2007. Woman imam There is a difference of opinion among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams , i.e. to lead a mixed gendered congregation in salat (prayer). The orthodox position is that women cannot lead men in prayer (although they can lead women), which
15158-543: The perfect Muslim, and revered prophet and builder of the Kaaba in Mecca. The Quran consistently refers to Islam as 'the religion of Abraham' ( millat Ibrahim ). Besides Isaac and Jacob , Abraham is commonly considered an ideal father by Muslims. In Islam, Eid-al-Adha is celebrated to commemorate Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son by surrendering in line with his dream,( As-Saaffat ; 100–107) which he accepted as
15301-410: The placement of the imam be made with greater modesty in mind for a female imam. Some traditional scholars caution against Yusuf Qaradawi's methodology and regard him as excessively lenient as he does not limit himself to the positions of the four Sunni schools of fiqh '. Adding to the arguments in favor of woman-led prayer of mixed congregations, Laury Silvers and Ahmed Elewa recently published
15444-545: The practice permissible at least for optional ( nafl salat ) prayers. Al-Muthani (d. 878), student of Shafii and contributor to the establishment of the Shafii juristic school, allowed women to unconditionally lead men in prayer. However, the views of these scholars are not accepted by any major surviving group. A few fatwas exist permitting women to lead a mixed gender congregation regardless of familial relationship. For instance, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl recommends that
15587-467: The prayer or not is "Whether to Keep Women out of the Mosque: A Survey of Medieval Islamic Law" written by Christopher Melchert . Schools differ on whether a woman may be imam (leader) of a jama'ah (congregational) prayer if the congregation consists of women alone. Three of the four Sunni madhhabs — Shafi'is , Hanafis , and Hanbalis —allow this, although Hanafis consider it to be makrooh ,
15730-448: The prayers, Taylor also gave a sermon on the importance of equality among people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, and/or disability, marking the first occasion where a Muslim woman led prayers in an official mosque. In 2006, the former Mufti of Marseille , Soheib Bencheikh , requested that either Raza or Taylor lead him in prayer, which Imam Taylor did during a visit to Canada in February 2006. The prayers were sponsored by
15873-502: The prophets (Khidr-Moses story Quran 18:65–82 ) and even employ jinn (Dhulqarnayn). Those who "spend their wealth" on people who are in need because they devoted their lives to the way of Allah and whose situation is unknown because they are ashamed to ask, will be rewarded by Allah. ( Al Baqara ; 272-274) In the story of Qārūn , the person who avoids searching for the afterlife with his wealth and becomes arrogant will be punished, arrogance befits only God. ( Al Mutakabbir ) Characters of
16016-427: The prophets are the main emphasis in the prophetic stories, there are also non-prophetic stories in the Quran that emphasize the importance of humility and having profound-inner knowledge ( hikmah ) besides trusting in God. This is the main theme in the stories of Khidr , Luqman and Dhulqarnayn. According to the later ascriptions to these stories, it is possible for those with this knowledge and divine support to teach
16159-421: The relationship between female leadership and the Islamic religion. In 2005, African-American Islamic scholar amina wadud led a congregation in Friday prayer and gave a sermon in New York City. Another woman sounded the call to prayer, while not wearing a headscarf, and no curtain divided the men and women. This was not the first woman-led mixed-gender congregational prayer (see the above noted events), but it
16302-404: The relevant verses are understood in the same way by all segments of Islamic commentators; For example, Hanafis accept 5 daily prayers as fard. However, some religious groups such as Quranists and Shiites , who do not doubt that the Quran existing today is a religious source, infer from the same verses that it is clearly ordered to pray 2 or 3 times, not 5 times. About six verses adress to
16445-409: The revelation or part of it. The Quran describes itself as 'the discernment' ( al-furqān ), 'the mother book' ( umm al-kitāb ), 'the guide' ( huda ), 'the wisdom' ( hikmah ), 'the remembrance' ( dhikr ), and 'the revelation' ( tanzīl ; 'something sent down', signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). Another term is al-kitāb ('The Book'), though it
16588-487: The ruling that women cannot lead congressional prayers have argued that the spirit of the Qur'an and the letter of a da'if (weak) hadith (saying of Mohammed) indicate that women should be able to lead mixed (albeit children) congregations, as opposed to sex-segregated congregations , and they suggest that the prohibition against the practice originated from sexism in the medieval environment and from inaccurate patriarchal interpretations of religious texts, rather than from
16731-533: The second adhan , with a male khatib delivering the Arabic portion in brief after the second call until 2012. In 2012, the Noor began having women give the full sermon including the Arabic portions. In 2009, academic Laury Silvers, activist/lawyer El-Farouk Khaki and artist Troy Jackson founded the Toronto Unity Mosque, the foundation mosque of El-Tawhid Juma Circle, in downtown Toronto. The circle
16874-767: The sermon and lead the prayer. In that year, 20-year-old Maryam Mirza delivered the second half of the Eid al-Fitr khutbah at the Etobicoke mosque in Toronto , run by the UMA. Later the same year, Yasmin Shadeer led the night isha prayer with her male and female congregants. —the first recorded occasion in contemporary times where a woman led a congregation in prayer in a mosque. In April 2005, Raheel Raza led Toronto's first woman-led mixed-gender Friday service, delivering
17017-526: The special tarāwīh prayer in a building owned by the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa (MYM). The khutbah for the Jumu'ah was delivered by either a male or female khatib and the imams for the prayer also included men and women. One of the prime movers behind this congregation was Muslim women's rights activist Shamima Shaikh . In January 1998, as per her wishes, one of her four funeral prayers
17160-406: The standard copy from her. According to historian Michael Cook , early Muslim narratives about the collection and compilation of the Quran sometimes contradict themselves: "Most ... make Uthman little more than an editor, but there are some in which he appears very much a collector, appealing to people to bring him any bit of the Quran they happen to possess." Some accounts also "suggest that in fact
17303-477: The stories can be closed-mythical, (khidr) demi-mythologic or combined characters, and it can also be seen that they are Islamized. While some believe he was a prophet, some researchers equate Luqman with the Alcmaeon of Croton or Aesop . Commanding ma’ruf and forbidding munkar (Ar. ٱلْأَمْرُ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱلنَّهْيُ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ) is repeated or referred to in nearly 30 verses in different contexts in
17446-463: The task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones (collectively known as suhuf , any written work containing divine teachings) and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. In 644, Muhammad's widow Hafsa bint Umar was entrusted with the manuscript until the third caliph, Uthman ( r. 644–656 ), requested
17589-447: The terms to prove the existence of God . Therefore, the universe is originated and needs an originator, and whatever exists must have a sufficient cause for its existence. Besides, the design of the universe is frequently referred to as a point of contemplation: "It is He who has created seven heavens in harmony. You cannot see any fault in God's creation; then look again: Can you see any flaw?" Even though Muslims do not doubt about
17732-530: The text has been washed off to make the parchment reusable again—a practice which was common in ancient times due to the scarcity of writing material. However, the faint washed-off underlying text ( scriptio inferior ) is still barely visible. Studies using radiocarbon dating indicate that the parchments are dated to the period before 671 CE with a 99 percent probability. The German scholar Gerd R. Puin has been investigating these Quran fragments for years. His research team made 35,000 microfilm photographs of
17875-458: The text of the Quran have ceased to be transmitted, some still are. There has been no critical text produced on which a scholarly reconstruction of the Quranic text could be based. In 1972, in a mosque in the city of Sana'a , Yemen , manuscripts "consisting of 12,000 pieces" were discovered that were later proven to be the oldest Quranic text known to exist at the time. The Sana'a manuscripts contain palimpsests , manuscript pages from which
18018-587: The training of women for pastoral roles as local preachers , not as prayer leaders. The Italian researcher Sara Borrillo studies the 2004 reform of Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs that institutionalized official women preachers with the task to teach other women the "right" Islam in the mosques. The first official training for mourchidates was established in 2005 and each year since then 50 mourchidates are trained, together with 150 men preachers that could become imam. No woman in Morocco could become imam nor guide
18161-457: The universe) may be considered the second great doctrine of the Quran. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Quran is eschatological, dealing with the afterlife in the next world and with the day of judgment at the end of time. The Quran does not assert a natural immortality of the human soul , since man's existence is dependent on the will of God: when he wills, he causes man to die; and when he wills, he raises him to life again in
18304-638: The way a woman should dress when walk in public; Muslim scholars have differed as how to understand these verses, with some stating that a Hijab is a command ( fard ) to be fulfilled and others say simply not. Research shows that the rituals in the Quran, along with laws such as qisas and tax ( zakat ), developed as an evolution of pre-Islamic Arabian rituals. Arabic words meaning pilgrimage ( hajj ), prayer ( salāt ) and charity (zakāt) can be seen in pre-Islamic Safaitic-Arabic inscriptions, and this continuity can be observed in many details, especially in hajj and umrah . Whether temporary marriage , which
18447-485: The will of God. In Judaism, the story is perceived as a narrative designed to replace child sacrifice with animal sacrifice in general or as a metaphor describing "sacrific[ing one's] animalistic nature", Orthodox Islamic understanding considers animal sacrifice as a mandatory or strong sunnah for Muslims who meet certain conditions, on a certain date determined by the Hijri calendar every year. In Islam, Moses
18590-435: The woman-led mixed prayer on International Women's Day. She also spoke against the exclusion of women in the mosque which is supposed to considered a place of God. In interviews, she has focused on the inequality of locations regarding where women pray; for instance, they are not permitted to pray in main prayer halls and other locations are very crowded with low-quality sound systems. Furthermore, children are also forced into
18733-522: The women's sector of the mosque which make it highly difficult for the women to concentrate while praying. However, it is believed that the first woman in Canada to lead a mixed-prayer is Canadian journalist, Raheel Raza . Raza has also become the first Muslim woman to also lead a mixed-gender predominantly British group. Her prayers and work within the British congregation has allowed scholars to question
18876-488: The work being done by imams in local mosques, particularly as it relates to women." British Muslims had their first chance to hear a female-led mixed-gender salat in 2008, when the American scholar Amina Wadud performed the Friday prayer at Oxford 's Wolfson College . In 2010 Raheel Raza became the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers. Amina Wadud returned to
19019-557: Was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer." The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the Encyclopaedia of Islam that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, because he was severely disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures would have been seen by those around him as convincing evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations. However, Muhammad's critics accused him of being
19162-417: Was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle , a proof of his prophethood , and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam , including the Islamic holy books of the Torah , Psalms , and Gospel . The Quran is believed by Muslims to be God's own divine speech providing
19305-520: Was a pre-Islamic Arabic tradition and was widely practiced among Muslims during the lifetime of Muhammad, was abolished in Islam is also an area where Sunni and Shiite understandings conflict as well as the translation / interpretation of the related verse Quran 4:24 and ethical - religious problems regarding it. Although it is believed in Islam that the pre-Islamic prophets provided general guidance and that some books were sent down to them, their stories such as Lot and story with his daughters in
19448-497: Was a very early attempt to establish a uniform consonantal text of the Qurʾān from what was probably a wider and more varied group of related texts in early transmission.… After the creation of this standardized canonical text, earlier authoritative texts were suppressed, and all extant manuscripts—despite their numerous variants —seem to date to a time after this standard consonantal text was established. Although most variant readings of
19591-416: Was arising between different Arab tribes due to some claiming to be more superior to other Arab tribes and non-Arabs based on dialect, which Uthman noticed. In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard text of the Quran. Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death in 632, the complete Quran was committed to written form as
19734-668: Was led by a woman friend, Farhana Ismail. A year earlier, Amina Wadud (see below) became the first woman in South Africa to deliver the jum'ah khutbah, at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town. Farid Esack discusses this event in his 1997 book Qur'an, Liberation, and Pluralism. Following that event, both the Claremont Main Road Mosque and Masjidul Islam, in Johannesburg, often have had women speakers for Jum'ah. In January 1998, as per her wishes, one of
19877-456: Was one of the earliest extant exemplars of the Quran, but as the tests allow a range of possible dates, it cannot be said with certainty which of the existing versions is the oldest. Saudi scholar Saud al-Sarhan has expressed doubt over the age of the fragments as they contain dots and chapter separators that are believed to have originated later. The Birmingham manuscript caused excitement amongst believers because of its potential overlapping with
20020-433: Was one of the few to hand down the Quran before it was recorded in writing. She could do so because she had memorized the entire corpus. The use of the word dar in the hadith , when speaking of where the prayer was held, has resulted in different interpretations. A general translation is "area", constituting the community around where Umm Waraqa lived. This idea is not accepted by many scholars. Another translation of dar
20163-603: Was so 'astonished by'" the Quranic references, which Rizvi found "vague", and insofar as they were specific, preceded by the observations of Aristotle and the Ayr-veda , or easily explained by "common sense". Critics argue, verses that proponents say explain modern scientific facts, about subjects such as biology , the origin and history of the Earth, and the evolution of human life , contain fallacies and are unscientific. As of 2008, both Muslims and non-Muslims have disputed whether there actually are "scientific miracles" in
20306-528: Was the first to gain national and international attention. The prayer was the "shot across the bow" that galvanized conversations and action concerning women's place in the mosque ultimately leading to the ISNA pamphlet "Women Friendly Mosque Initiative" and websites such as Side Entrance , increased presence of women in mosques in positions of authority, and most recently the woman-only mosque Women's Mosque of America . The Progressive Muslim Union followed
20449-400: Was the fourth founding member). When Michael Muhammad Knight resigned, he predicted that PMU would collapse within one year. In December 2006, chair Pamela Taylor and executive director Ani Zonneveld resigned from the board, citing unreconcilable conflicts with board member Tarek Fatah . Soon after, Fatah, who controlled PMU's e-mail discussion list, blocked posting by list members. Two of
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