[Hi-LaL]

Islam in Turkey

What does "Islam" mean?

The Arabic word "Islam" simply means "submission", and drives from a word meaning "peace" and a life focused on peace, mercy, and forgiveness. In a religious context it means complete submission to the will of God. "Mohammedanism" is thus a misnomer because it suggests that Muslims worship Muhammad, peace be upon him, rather than God. "Allah" is the Arabic name for God, which is used by Arab Muslims and Christians.
Evangelized by the Prophet Muhammed in the 600's AD, Islam is a religion celebrated by an estimated one billion people. One fifth of the world's population from a vast range of cultures, nationalities, and races embrace Islam as both a religion and a way of life. In Turkey, approximately ninety-eight percent of the citizens are Muslims.

Muhammed was born in Mecca in about 570 AD. He preached that there is only one God and that he, Muhammed, was God's messenger. Those that accept him as such are called Muslims, which means "one who submits to God.". The Koran (Kuran, Qur'an) is the Islamic Bible, believed to be an exact record of the words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammed. Its basic theme is the relationship between God and his creations, yet at the same time it provides guidelines for a just society, proper human conduct, and an equitable economic system.

The following are the "Five Pillars" of Islam and are considered the framework of the Muslim life. The first pillar is faith in God and Muhammed as his messenger. The second pillar is prayer, performed five times a day. The third is concern for the needy, given as a tithe estimated at two and a half percent per annum. Next is self-purification. Every year in the month of Ramadan, all able Muslims fast from dawn till dusk, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations. Finally, physically and financially able followers are expected to make a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca. About two million Muslims accomplish this trip each year.

Turkey adopted a seculargovernment when it became a republic under the leadership of Kemal Ataturk.

The Call to Prayer

Five times a day the call to prayer drifts over each Muslim village, town, and city. Even though the Republic of Turkey is a secular country, ninety-eight percent of the population profess to be devout followers of the Islamic faith. Thus it is no surprise that the evocative sound of what has been called "Muslim music," the call to the faithful, is ubiquitous in the Middle East.

Every mosque, or prayer hall, has at least one minaret and a balcony where the muezzin, or crier, can fulfill his duty. He cries out to Muslims to stop their worldly tasks, face toward Mecca, and pray. The prayer, in essence, declares that there is "no God but Allah and Muhammed is his Prophet."

Muslims believe that by offering prayersfive times a day they are strengthened and enlivened in their beliefs in Allah, and that they are inspired to a higher morality. This constant reminder of the devout's place in the greater universe is believed to purify the heart and prevent temptation towards wrong - doings and evil.

As far as Islam is concerned, faith without action and practice is a dead end. The act of prayer is one of the fundamental five practices, or Pillars of Islam, and is required of all devout Muslims. Thus the call to prayer plays an important role in the day and the life of every pious Muslim.

Islam is very simple. As a muslim one should believe that There Is No God but One [Allah]. Allah is the only one whom a human should worship and thank, nothing else but Allah is worth glorifying. A companion statement to the first one is that Muhammed Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH) is the final messenger of Allah and he is that last prophet, no one else after him can claim prophecy. The second shell in Islam after this is the Faith (Eman, Iman), that is to believe (undoubtedly) In Allah, his Angels, his holy books, his prophets and messengers, his fate whether it is bad or good and finally the believe in the judgment day.

Muslims must respect other religions and in no way harm any one who is practicing his/her religion peacefully, especially when it comes to Christianity and Judaism since these religions are from Allah too. In fact Islam always stresses the fact that Islam is nothing but the final reform of the previous messages. The last thing Islam asks for is violence (the meaning of Islam in English is Peace or Submission). The most valuable thing in a Moslems life after Islam is the sole which Allah have pleased a human with it till he/she dies. A Muslim should work in this life for his/her optimum goal which is being pleased with entering Heaven and stay as far as one can from the acts which could lead to hell fire.

Muslims

Islam, a major world religion, is customarily defined in non-Islamic sources as the religion of those who follow the Prophet Muhammed. The prophet, who lived in Arabia in the early 7th century, initiated a religious movement that was carried by the Arabs throughout the Middle East, then by the Turks to the Balkans. Today, Islam has adherents not only in the Middle East, where it is the dominant religion in all countries (Arab and non-Arab), but also in other parts of Asia, Africa and, to a certain extent, in Europe and in the United States and Canada.

The Name and Its Meaning The Arabic word al-Islam means the act of committing oneself unreservedly to God, and a Muslim is a person who makes this commitment. Widely used translations such as "resignation," "surrender" and "submission" fail to do justice to the positive aspects of the total commitment for which al-Islam stands, a commitment in faith, obedience, and trust to the one and only God. All of these elements are implied in the name of this religion, which is characteristically described in the Koran (Arabic, Qur'an; the sacred book of Islam) as "the religion of Abraham." In the Koran, Abraham is the patriarch who turned away from idolatry, who "came to his Lord with an undivided heart" (37:84), who responded to God in total obedience when challenged to sacrifice his son, and who served God uncompromisingly. For Muslims, therefore, the proper name of their religion expresses the Koranic insistence that no one but God is to be worshiped. Hence, many Muslims, while recognizing the significance of the Prophet Muhammad, have objected to the terms Mohammedanism and Mohammedans designations used widely in the West until recently, since they detect in them the suggestion of a worship of Muhammad parallel to the worship of Jesus Christ by Christians.

Numbers

Estimates of the world population of Muslims range from a low of 750 million to a high of 1.2 billion; 950 million is a widely used medium. Notwithstanding the significant variations in these estimates, many observers agree that the world population of Muslims is increasing by approximately 25 million per year. Thus, a 250-million increase is anticipated for the decade 2000-2100. This significant expansion, due primarily but not entirely to the general population growth in Asia and Africa, is gradually reducing the numerical difference between Christians (the largest religious community) and Muslims, whose combined totals make up almost 50 percent of the world's population. In the United States and Canada population of Muslims estimates as 9,000,000 peoples.

The dietary laws of Islam, a Summary

The dietary laws of Islam are based in the Koran. They forbid eating animals found blood, pork, and food sacrificed or offered to idols. Islamic practice departs from Jewish practice in that alcohol is forbidden.

Halal (or Helal) is a Quranic term which means allowed or lawful. Halal food and drinks are permitted for consumption. Eating Halal is obligatory for every Muslim.

Haram is Quranic term which means absolutely prohibited or unlawful. Haram foods and drinks are prohibited. Eating Haram is forbidden for every Muslim.

Mushbooh is a term which mean suspected. If one does not know the status of particular food or drink, such a food or drink is forbidden.

Listen to Ezan, call to prayer...

.

[Blue Blood]

The Prophet Muhammed

(Mecca 570 or 571 AD - Madina 632)

The central messenger and prophet in Islam; the receiver and transmitter of Gods message to mankind, as recorded in the Holy Koran, the principal religious text for Muslims. Muhammad has no or minimum religious importance in Christianity and Judaism, and is considered not to be a prophet by these two, while Muhammad's position in later religions, like Baha'i, resemble what is found in Islam.

The Sources

The sources available to us on Muhammad are Muslim, written in Arabic. They are principally in the form of the hadiths, the traditions, which are systematical efforts of choosing between good and not so good stories of Muhammad's life, often collected in the shape of suras. Bits and pieces of Muhammad's life is also recorded in the Koran. Little is known from other sources. The suras and hadiths available are the result of work from about 100 years after Muhammad's death, but are a continuation of a very accurate and living oral tradition. The compilations where built on historical criticism not very unlike what is the method in modern historical criticism. The oldest compilation now available, are the ones of Ibn Ishaq (d. Baghdad 768).

The material is extensive, and the presentation of Muhammad in the early texts is straight forward: Different versions of stories are presented, and Muhammad himself is presented as a human being with both his good and his bad sides (the latter have been used by opponents of Islam to present Muhammad as a false prophet). Except from certain passages, the material bears few traces of being legendary, and was first told by people who knew Muhammad as a man, and told to people of the same era and cultural environment. These are very good reasons for us to treat the material on Muhammad's life as historical sources, and even more, as good historical sources. Sadly, some Western historians have under evaluated the efforts put down in the compilations available, but more respect is paid by scientists of our time.

Muhammad as a Normal Man (570-610)

Muhammad's birth is said to have been in the "year of the Elephant", which one believes is pointing to the invasion from Yemen, where an elephant was brought along in order to smash the Ka'ba, an event which is dated to 570 AD (where Muhammad's recorded age at certain times, have been used as the main source for the estimation). Muhammad's family belonged to the clan of Hashim, a branch of the Quraysh tribe. While the Quraysh was dominating Mecca, the Hashimis had little but religious prestige connected to the, at that time pagan, shrine of Ka'ba.

As Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died before the birth of his son, and his mother, *****, when he was 6, Muhammad was in the care of his grandfather Abd al-Muttalib for two years, and then with his uncle Abu Talib, until he reached mature age.
Muhammad is, by Muslim theologists, not believed to have received any education, and in young age he started working with the caravans. It was while working as a trader, that Muhammad came to know the widow (and divorcee) Khadija, who was the owner of a caravan company where Muhammad was employed. At the age of 25 Muhammad married Khadija, then 40. Even if Khadija had children from both of her former marriages, she got 7 children with Muhammad.

Khadija died in 619, and soon Muhammad remarried. Unlike in his marriage with Khadija, he chose to have several wives, 9 is reported. Some of these wives were ways of knotting closer relations with powerful people in the society, and some were widows without economical support.

The First Revelation (610)

Muhammad received his first revelation in 610, on the mountain of Hira outside Mecca. The revelation came in a time when Muhammad searched for solitude. Muhammad received the first fraction of the Holy Koran from the angel Gabriel, and experienced first great pain, and feared that he was going to die.
Muhammad was ordered to recite. The first fraction Muhammad received is believed to be the beginning of sura 96:
1 Recite in the name of your Lord, who created,
2 created mankind from clots of blood,
3 recite, and your Lord will be the bountiful,
4 he who have taught by the pen,
5 taught mankind what was not known.
After this first revelation, no new came for a period. Then they came back, and continued for the rest of Muhammad's life. The revelations changed the style during the 22 years of revelations, from more poetic in the beginning to more prosaic later, and in the content, it changed from warnings on what was to come to mankind from God if man didn't turn in direction of God's will, to regulations on behavior and rules for the society. These changes came parallel to changes in the position of Islam in the society. In the beginning when only a small group of people were Muslims, the need for spreading the message was prevailing. Later, from the time when Muhammad moved to Madina, and got a leading position in the town, the need for rules for a society was the more important. The ordering of the elements of the revelation, is not chronological to their disclosure to Muhammad, and elements from early times are often arranged together with later elements.

Conversions and Resistance (610-619)

The first person to be converted to Islam, was a woman, Khadija, Muhammad's wife. What was the first, is disputed, as there are contradicting stories on this. Khadija was all through the 9-10 years from the first revelation to her death, a very important support and protection for her husband, especially economically, but she appears to have had little importance beyond this.

Muhammad also enjoyed the protection of his uncle and earlier guardian, Abu Talib. But Abu Talib and Khadija both died in 619, and from this time on, Muhammad's position was under strong threat. The process of converting was slow in the early years, and he was strongly opposed by other Meccans, who accused him of little respect for the religion of the forefathers, which had some resemblance with Islam, but was a polytheistic religion. Muhammad once added one ayat where three former Meccan goddesses, Al-Lat, Al-'Uzza and Manat, were mentioned as intermediaries, in sura 53.
19 Have you though of Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza,
20 and Manat, the third of the?
21 These are intermediaries exalted whose intercession is to be hoped for.
22 Such as they do not forget
The ayats 21-22 are not in our present Koran, where this text now is found:
21 Is it the male for you, and female for him?
22 That would have been a crooked division!
There are two interpretations of this: Many Muslim scholars doubt the sources, yet they do not totally reject that there is something to the story. Many other, among them Western scholars, believe that the first version was an attempt, and a successful one, to entice the Meccans to join Islam.

No matter how one interprets this, all scholars seem to agree that the difficult conditions of the first few Muslims are reflected in this story.

The Hijira (622)

A large part of Muhammad's followers had to seek refuge in Abyssinia in 615, due to the resistance among the Meccans to the message of Muhammad. This resistance continued, and was so fierce, that Muhammad had to escape in 622, and arrived in Yathrib, 300 km north of Mecca, on September 20 (=6. Rabicu l-'awwal), we have no account telling which day Muhammad and his flock escaped Mecca itself. About 15 years later this year was fixed as the first year of Muslim era.
Muhammad is believed to have been invited to Yathrib, as a "hakim", a judge, and here he could establish the first Muslim community, and Muhammad served as the head of the leaders of the other communities of Yathrib. Soon after, Yathrib started to be called madinatu r-rasûl, 'the city of the messenger'.

Madina and the Rise to Power (622-630)

Many of the inhabitants of Yathrib converted to Islam, but among the large Jewish community that lived here, only few converted. A large part of the converts are called hypocrites, by the first Muslim sources. After only two years, Muhammad's relationship with them had begun to deteriorate, and the remaining Jewish believers were later expelled for co-operating with Muhammad's enemies.

Muhammad enforced his position in the region, and in particular in Yathrib, through successful military campaigns, like the one at Badr in 624, and the defense battles in Uhud (where the Muslims faced a slight defeat) in 625 and Ditsh in 627. Neighboring tribes started to enter into agreements with Muhammad, and in 628, after Muhammad tried to perform the pilgrimage, Hajj he concluded a treaty with the Meccans, that allowed the Muslims to enter Mecca the following year for performing. In 630 Muhammad managed to take control over Mecca without any resistance. A general amnesty was granted to all Qurayshis, Muhammad's former enemies, even if they did not convert to Islam.

Ruler of Hijaz and the Muslims (630-632)

This increased Muhammad's importance even more, and in 632 he was able to perform the hajj. Soon after his return to Madina, he died in the presence of his favorite wife, 'A'isha (Ayse) and her father Abu Bakr, and Muhammad was buried in his own house, which had already served as a mosque for some years. The mosque still lies there, and is counted as the second most important mosque in Islam, and Madina the second most holy city.
Muhammad is equally considered a manifestation of God in Baha'i and Babism, two religions that has grown out of Islam. Both of these religions revere Muhammad highly, but has their focus on the later revelations of Bab and Baha'ullah, both of the 19th century.

Mohammed's Ascension

In the year 621, at the age of 51 years old, He flew on the magical Winged-Horse of Fire which he called Burak, which literally means White Horse but seen as "Thunder-Lightning". The full version of this most memorable moment has been preserved in "The ***hari" (Vol.15, p.3615) one of the Holy Islamic Scriptures. The beauty of the Muslim Scriptures resides in the fact that they still remain in the language in which they have originally written.

The story of the Ascension of Mohammed, known as "Miraj", or "Stairway to Heaven" began when Mohammed fell asleep on a carpet at his cousin's place and became the inspirational source of different "Stories of the 1001 Nights of Arabia" involving "Magic Carpet Rides". The following is a resume of this fabulous dream....

"Mohammad had gone to rest at dusk. He slept deeply on the carpet of his cousin, Mutem ibn Adi. Suddenly, the silence was broken and a voice as clear as a trumpet called :
"Awake, thou sleeper, awake!" And Mohammed saw in front of him, dazzling in darkness the shining Archangel Gabriel who was inviting him to follow him outside. Before the door stood a Horse as dazzling as Gabriel. It had wings, glittering wings of an immense eagle. Gabriel presented the Horse to Mohammed, saying that it was "Burak" the Horse of Abraham. Burak whinnied and allowed Mohammed to vault on its back.
Then, drinking the wind, it galloped to the street and as it came to the walls of the sleeping city, it spread its wings and soared into the starry night.

First of all, they went to the summit of Mount Sinai, at the very place where Jehovah had given the stone tables to Moses. Then, they flew on and went to Bethlehem at the exact place where Jesus was born. And finally, depending on the different versions, they went to Heaven, or into a Holy Temple in Heaven, where Mohammed met with many of the Holy Land's previous Horsemen... Adam, Noah, Enoch (apparently, known by them as Idris), Moses, Isaac, Elijah, Jesus and a few others!! (A most interesting case of Transfiguration).
And these guys spoke and told him : " We salute you, you the first and the last, O Gatherer of men." ...and Gabriel added : " We salute you, O you the first, because you will be the first person who, on Resurrection Day, will come out of his grave ; and the last, because you are the Seal and the last prophet. You are a gatherer of men in the meaning that it belongs to you gather everyone for the resurrection and as such the whole community will resurrect."
So, this is basically, the dream...Some parts were taken from "The Messenger, the Life of Mohammed" by R.V.C. Bodley, Greenwood press, N.Y., 1946 while the last paragraph comes from "Apocalypses et Voyages dans L'Au-Delà" by Angelo Piemontese.

Anyway, Mohammed was a very intelligent guy who loved discussing about dreams and interpreting them and became very frustrated about the Christian Church's strange attitude in regards to dreams and was able to condense his whole knowledge in only a few lines.....
" Now Allah has created the dream not only as a means of guidance and instruction, I refer to the true dream, but he has made it as a window on the World of the Unseen."...which is basically the repetition of Job 33,15 plus a few details.

" He who does not believe in the True Dream does not believe in Allah and in the Day of Reckoning." ....which is basically Numbers 12,6.
"There are above you Watchers." Noble Koran 82:10
"Glory be to Him, who carried his Servant by Night from the sacred temple of Mecca to the Temple that is more remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him of our signs, for He is the Hearer and the Seer" (Qur'an 17,1)
This is very interesting, because he clearly states here that all the Glory goes to Him, the Winged-Horse, who carried his Servant, and truly that is the case the Rider must serve the Horse which is truly the Hearer and the Seer, which is Allah, the Creator. And finally in the stories concerning his return, his future resurrection which should occur at a time will be a real wasteland, he will be told as he will come out of his grave.
" It is the Day of Rising, and the Day of Anguish and Repentance.

This is the Day of Burak!
This is the of Reckoning and Recompense.
This is the Day of Parting ;
This is the Day of Encounter! "

So, the Day of Rising is the Day of the Winged-Horse, which no one will ride except the Prophet.
" You will see every nation hobbling on their knees, every nation being summoned to its (own) book - today you shall be recompensed for what you were doing!" (Qur'an 45,28)
Actually, Mohammed could have resumed his few lines in only one, something like this..
" He who does not believe in the true dream of the Winged-Horse, does not believe in the Holy Spirit of God, does not believe in God, nor in any of his Horsemen, whether Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Jesus and all others, nor in the Day of Resurrection and Recognition, nor in the existence of the everlasting spiritual Kingdom of God, and will be left alone."
Anyway, if you get an opportunity to see the beautiful and most famous painting of the Ascension of Mohammed on the Horse of Fire from the manuscript "Khamset al-Nizami", British Museum Orient Ms.# 2265, you will note that Mohammed is shown faceless and along with the following words....
" Glory be to Him who carried his Servant by Night from the sacred temple of Mecca to the Temple that is more remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him of our signs, for He is the Hearer and the Seer" (Qur'an 17,1)
....which shows that it fits to all the Riders of the Divine Winged-Horse go along with the Surah 70, 1 - 4
"The Ascending Stairways, revealed at Mecca, in the name of Allah, the Beneficent , the Merciful."

1. A questioner questioned about the doom to fall
2. Upon the disbelievers, which none can repel,
3. From Allah the Lord of the Ascending Stairways
4. The Angel and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day whereof the span is fifty thousand years.

There is also something about the Return of Mohammed as the Imam Mahdi, and in regards to the Resurrection of Mohammed it is written that when Mohammed, (who flew a magical Winged-Horse in a dream in the year 621 of this era), will come again, that Allah will revive the Winged-Horse and that this Flying Horse, along with 4 or 5 Archangels, will be charged of finding him on Earth which will be like a Waste-Land and they will not know where he will be.
So, they say that the Light of the Resurrected Mohammed, peace be upon him, will appear like a shaft from his grave to the "Clouds of the Sky!"
Then it will call out...
"O Pleasing Soul! Stand up for rendering the Decree and the Reckoning and the Presentation before the Merciful!"
So, the grave will spit open and Gabriel will give him a Robe of Honor (Spiritual Ghost Body) and give him "Burak", the Winged-Horse, and will say...
"This is the Day of Rising, the Day of Resurrection, the Day of Encounter, the Day of Burak, the Day of the Winged-Horse"!!!
And so, Burak, the Winged-Horse, who has 2 wings and flies between Heaven and Earth at speed of lightning will be very agitated and will say...
"No one rides me except the Prophet and Possessor of the Koran"
... to the new Incarnation of Mohammed who will reply...
"Now my heart is pleased and I ** happy."
And the story says that he will be given a crown and will ride Burak and will go to Heaven, and that a cry will be heard...
"Raise your head, Rider of the Winged-Horse, as it is the Day of Reckoning and of Recompense. Raise your head and ask, and it will be given!"
"Your Lord shall give you, and you will be satisfied." (Koran 93,5)
However, this Winged-Horse, which manifests in dreams, is not confined to Islam only as it very well known by all faiths, religions and mythologies of all major civilizations; and Mohammed was very well aware that many flew on this Magical Horse in dreams:
1. Bellerophon, a kind of weird heroic personage of Greco-Roman Mythology who flew on the Winged-Horse in a dream and subsequently killed the Chimaera. Apparently, question of apparitions, Athena appeared to Bellerophon in a dream and gave him a gold bridle thanks to which he was able to tame the Horse Pegasus, which he rode to victory against the forces of darkness.
2. Marduk, one of the guys of Babylonian Mythology. The references come from "The Origins and History of Consciousness" by Neumann from the top of p.165 to 167...
"But the son (Marduk) has dreamt that his Father appeared to him, like "a man having a Sun for his head", and in the dream he rode the Sun Steed of his Future that his Father gave him. Already this horse named "Herzorn", which "has the wind in his belly" and "snuffs the Sun", stands in the stable and gladdens the boy's heart". It is stated here that " the whole conflict sways round the existence and non-existence of this Horse". They say, on p.167, that Marduk began to understand...
"Perhaps the life we live is also the life of the Gods"
But his physical mother which represents the establishment of the old age who don't want to believe in the existence of the Magical Horse and then comes the Dead Day when his mother tells him that he is...
"Just a little boy born of the night, a new born thing without light or consciousness."
And in despair he says: "But nobody can be anybody else; nobody else can be what I ** - nobody but me"
But he was brought up being told that he could not: "live by the bread that is baked in dreams."
And he replies: " You bed-wetter, my father's dreams would have shown me my heritage, without my father's example. The body does not help it must cleave to the Spirit."
So, Burak, these old, yet very important testimonies clearly indicate that this Winged-Horse manifest itself in dreams, to a unique individual being, because this Magical Horse would be his own individual Spirit or Angel.

[Blue Blood]

Ramadan

Fasting is also prescribed as an obligatory duty of Islam and the Muslim is obliged to fast from sunrise to sunset during the thirty days of the month of Ramadan, considered as the sultan of the twelve months. The command to fast is found in the Qur'an:

Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting. But if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Surah 2.185

The believer must declare his niyyah (niyet) before dawn each day and must abstain from all foods, liquids and other pleasures (like smoking, sex etc.) during the day. He should partake of a proper breakfast before the morning prayer. At sunset he should also break his fast as soon as he can. The fast-month ends with the sighting of the new moon heralding the month of Shawwal and the Eid festival (bayram).

Abd Allah b. Abbas reported that the Apostle of Allah, Muhammed (may peace be upon him), referring to Ramadan, declared: Do not begin to fast until you have seen the crescent and do not leave the fast until you see it, and if there are clouds, complete thirty days. (Muwatta Imam Malik, p.116).
Throughout the Muslim world this fast, although commanded only once in the Qur'an, is rigidly observed, even by those who are otherwise lax in religious observances. In conclusion it may be said that Salaah and the Ramadan fast have a greater effect on the Muslim's religious consciousness than all the other prescribed duties of Islam.

Fasting in Ramadan teaches people to get ready for the bad days (like wars, food or water shortage etc.) and makes them understand how the poor people feel when they have hunger.

[Blue Blood]

The Holy Koran

The holy book of Islam, the Koran as a book is the result of:

1. revelations given to Muhammad in the period 610- 632 (Muhammad's death)
2. writing down of these revelations by people around Muhammad in a period probably starting some years after 610, and ending a couple of years after 632
3. compiling of these writings stretching from mid-630s and perhaps until mid-650s
4. vowelling and dotting of the text (ancient Arabic was written without dots, leaving some letters look identical, and without vowels, which can make two different words look identical).

Essential to the reading of the Koran are the interpretations, which are still conducted, but which were more normal and accepted in the first centuries of Islam. As the Koran has a structure and a language, as well as allusions, which often are difficult for the normal Muslim to understand, a whole science were built around the comprehension of the Koran. The early Muslims studied history, language and nature science in an effort of understanding the Koran better. The product is surprisingly well accepted by the whole Muslim society, and no Muslim child or adult of today, studying the Koran, does this without help from the interpretations built on the early science of the Koran.
The early efforts of Koranic science have given room for different approaches to the book and its content, but apart from the interpretations of the, all interpretations are looked upon as parallel, meaning that one can not be put ahead of the other. There are today 7 ways of reading the Koran, each of these have two variances, leaving the Muslims with 14 ways of reading the Koran. But in modern Koranic science this applies only to Muslim scholars, the ordinary Muslim reads the Koran without dealing with this complexity.
The Koran is divided into 114 suras, which are opened by indications on their origin. The origin is either Mecca or Medina. But it is generally accepted that some of suras have parts from the other city than the one they have as their origin. The whole structure of the Koran is a science in itself, as there is no chronology in it, like the one found in the Bible, and as the most of it consists of commandments and warnings, and only a part is stories.

The following can be said about its structure. Except the first sura, 'al-f?tiha, 'The Commencement', the longest suras are found in the beginning, and then gradually decreases on to the end of the Koran. Sura 2. 'al-baqara, 'The Cow' is 286 ?ya (ayet), verse, long, while sura 114 is 6 aya long. But the shortest are sura 103, 106 and 108, all consisting of 3 aya (ayet).

Use of the Koran

The two main important issues of the Koran for the believer are:

1. Being the focal point of all Muslims. The Koran is regarded by most as the uncreated word of God, written on golden tablets in Paradise. This view, strongly contended inside the Muslim world in the first centuries, marks the end of the most fruitful period of Muslim science. Until the middle of the 9th century (2nd hijra century) the dominating view among theologians was that the Koran was created by God, hence his spoken words. For the Muslims today, the Koran is a physical proof of Islam.
2. Being the sound of Islam. When recited, a holy atmosphere is created, an atmosphere involving God, the world, the truth and peace. During the moment of reciting, the compound becomes sacred, and the moment powerful. The reciting of the Koran is an art known by most Muslims. The technique used normally involves sitting on the ground with the book in the lap or placed on specially made low table. This sitting position is resembling the lotus position used in eastern religions, but is not at all strict on the upright position of the spine, most Muslims bend over the Koran they read. The reading technique uses a rhythm with around 60 beats a second. The performance of this rhythm, is done with both torso, swaying a little in a oval shape, and voice and reading speed. Surprisingly overlooked by most western scholars, the reading of the Koran is a meditative moment for all Muslims, and a ritual that can be performed anywhere anytime, not only in the mosque.
3. The Koran's actual guidance in everyday life for Muslims, must not be overestimated. Muslim's think of the Koran as too complex to be a guide in daily matters, as interpreted by a Muslim layman. When a Muslim have a problem where the Holy Koran is involved, asking learned men or reading books written by men learned in Islamic sciences, is the choice of most. There are situations where Muslims look up the Koran for guidance, but this will be in cases where they know what to look for, and where to look.

Translations of the Koran


Muslims speaking Arabic will normally stick to an Arabic version of the Koran. They will read the Koran according to the way described above. If they don't speak Arabic then they will read a translation of Koran in their native language (such as Turkish in Turkey).

Translations of the Koran is in many cases a result of the need of western scholars and others in the west interested in Islam. The first translation of the Koran into another language was to Latin in 1143, and this was performed by a monk, in the need of understanding the Crusaders' enemy. From the 18th century and up until now, the Koran has been translated into most western languages, and with a steadily increasing quality. Today most Muslims endorse this effort, with the hope that some mis-understandings on Islam can be refuted, and also that Islam can reach more people in the West.

[Blue Blood]

The Hajj and Eid

It's that time of the year, Muslims all over the world are coming to the Holy Sanctuary of Ka'aba. It's time to abandon this illusory world and come to the House of God. It's time for Hajj, the Pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam. Those who can go will head to Mecca, those who can't will join in the festivities of Homecoming wherever they may be by celebrating the Eid of Sacrifice (Kurban bayrami) by the end of Ramadan month.


Hajj is a commemoration of love and celebration of faith. We commemorate Abraham's Supreme Sacrifice in love of his Beloved in Minna. We celebrate his wife Hagar's display of unprecedented love for the infant Ishmael and her unflinching trust in the Providence in the lonely desert around the Twin Peaks. We venerate God's Greatest Gift, the Quran by spending a day in Arafat where the final revelation was sent. We celebrate faith by coming face- to- face to the Qiblah of our prayers.


Hajj is also an act of renunciation. Muslims from every corner of the globe wear their coffins - two cotton sheets - to represent their deaths to this life and head to their Primordial Home. They pay their debts, ask forgiveness of everyone, bid farewell to one and all and prepare to die to this world to live in Him.


Ka'aba is a special place in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It was the first house of worship built by the first man. God commanded Adam to make a journey. He walked umpteen months until he arrived guided by God to Mecca. Here, he was instructed to build Him a House. This was mankind's first House of Worship. It was once lost to us but our Beloved led His Friend Abraham (God's Peace be upon him) to this Sanctuary and gave him the task of restoring this House. Abraham (GPBUH) recruited his son Ishmael for the Holy Task. For months at end, father and son toiled under the searing desert sun sustained only by their burning love for the Eternal God. This choice was no random choice. Abraham was *the* man for the job. Every year, when men and women were to come to this blessed House, they were to come on 10th of the month of Zilhijj. This auspicious day God asked Abraham to make the Supreme Sacrifice and Abraham delivered. Allah asked His Friend to sacrifice his son Ishmael and he obliged.


Ka'aba's foundations have been fortified by love and faith of Abraham's family. We go there to commemorate love. We go there to celebrate faith. Abraham lived the true meaning of Surrender. He loved God, his Friend, above all. God gave him a dream where he saw himself sacrificing his son. Persistence of the dream convinced him that it wasn't just a dream but an allusion from the Infinite. He intimated the dream to his son who readily concurred. Once it was known to be God's Will, the son didn't offer any excuses. It was a foregone conclusion that His Will be done. Father and son set off to the designated place. When they reached their destination, son suggested that the father cover his eyes so his love does not overwhelm him into disobeying His master. At the very moment that Abraham let loose his knife, the son was substituted with a lamb. This time and this day was made sacred. Every year, millions come this very day. Millions retrace the steps of these two in the valley of Mina, Saudi Arabia, they arrive where the Supreme Sacrifice was offered. Here, everyone offers a sacrifice in His Love and then gives it to the poor people. Those who can't be here, celebrate this wonderful sacrifice wherever they may be in any part of the world. For indeed, love of God must be celebrated.


We commemorate Abraham and his son's faith and surrender. We also celebrate Mother Hagar's love. Mother's love is the highest form of selfless human love. Hagar typified this love so well. She combined this love with her unshakable trust in God. Abraham was instructed to bring her and her infant son Ishmael near the mound that was once the Ka'aba. In this desolate place with nary a single soul and nary a water source, he left them with a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Ishmael's mother followed him saying, "O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?" She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said, "Yes." She said, "Then He will not neglect us." What an exemplary Trust in their Beloved God! They knew that the Causer of all Causes will provide. He is Eminently Resourceful. Ishmael's mother went on suckling Ishmael and drinking from the water (she had). When all water ran out, she became thirsty and her child also became thirsty. She started looking at Ishmael tossing in agony; she left him, for she could not endure looking at him, and found that the mountain of Safa was the nearest mountain to her on that land. She stood on it and started looking at the valley keenly so that she might see somebody, but she could not see anybody. Then she descended from Safa and when she reached the valley, she tucked up her robe and ran in the valley like a person in distress and trouble, till she crossed the valley and reached the Marwa mountain where she stood and started looking, expecting to see somebody, but she could not see anybody. She repeated that (running between Safa and Marwa) seven times. God loved this selfless display of motherly love so much that every pilgrim to His Holy House must run 7 times between the Twin Peaks of Safa and Marwa. When she reached the Marwa (for the last time) she heard a voice and she asked herself to be quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said, 'O, (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?" And behold! She saw an angel at the place of Zam-Zam (Zemzem), digging the earth with his heel till water flowed from that place. She started to make something like a basin around it, using her hand in this way, and started filling her water-skin with water with her hands, and the water was flowing out after she had scooped some of it. This wonderful gift of God hasn't stopped yet. Hundreds of Millions come every year and take gallons and gallons of the Holy Water (Zam-Zam) with them and still the small well never goes dry.


Ka'aba is overwhelming to be in company of 3 million brothers and sisters in faith every year, all enshrouded in humble whites. The highest king to the humble laborer are both dressed alike. They stand shoulder to shoulder, they run side by side and they greet each other the greeting of peace. People of all races intermingle as co-equals. Black, white, yellow and brown all come together in harmony before their Beloved. Men and women all stand together. All their lives 5 times a day they turned their faces to their Qiblah - the Holy Ka'aba and now they see it right in front of them in all its majesty and glory.

We circulate around the Holy Ka'aba proclaiming all the while our Arrival. Circling around the earthly shadow of the Pole, we are reminded to keep our Beloved at the Center of our lives. We are reminded to keep Him in front of our lives and in center of our existence. Whenever we pray, this circulation is affixed and imprinted in our consciousness.

Hajj is the highest of all Muslim practices, even if less than 10% of all Muslim ever manage to perform it. In modern times about 2 million Muslims perform the hajj every year, and this number seems to be fairly close to the maximum. Saudi authorities have now put regulations on how many (1 out of 1000) can come from each country, so that want to perform the hajj, have to apply, and many are turned down. Hajj is important because it lets the believer come to the place that both is the centre of the world, as well as the place where the divine revelations of the Holy Koran started, and continued for about 12 years. But most important, but slightly less mentioned than the two first, is that hajj is a continuation of what is according to Islam one of the very oldest true and pure religious rituals.


What the believer does during hajj is recall what happened to Abraham and Isma'il, when they made the Ka'ba into the sacred place of worship and peace (2,119). Even if the theological background for some parts of hajj is unclear now, the running These are the ones that are not obliged to perform hajj at least once during their lifetime: Mad people, slaves, women that are without traveling company (close relative or husband), people without the necessary funds. Most hajjiyys (haci) arrive in Mecca few days before the hajj proper begins, while some see the opportunity of arriving in Ramadan, the month of sawm, an act which is seen as especially meritious. While it is recommended that the hajjiyys should robe himself in the ihram already at the beginning of the journey, the clear majority puts this on towards the end of the journey to Mecca. The first that the hajjiyy does is to perform the umra, while the hajj proper starts on Dhu l-hijja. 7. But the umra is by all means understood as a part of the hajj, and many of the symbols connected to hajj are as a matter of fact happenings during the umra.

Dhu l-hijja. 7


This day is spent with praying in the Great Mosque in Mecca. This act is preparing the hajjiyys for the holy ceremonies.

Dhu l-hijja. 8



The hajjiyys now leave Mecca. Following the two casquets that are being brought every year to the hajj from Damascus and from Cairo, the hajjiyys reach the plain of Arafat, after passing through Mina and Muzdalifa. Many ascend the mountain Jabalu r-Rahma, but these days, only a small percentage has the chance of actually doing this. Up on the mountain the one small phrase, "Labbayka", is sung out over and over again.

Dhu l-hijja. 9



This is really the day that is meant to be spent out here, and the action during this day is simply called wuquuf, 'standing'.Two khutbas fill the day entirely. When the sun sets behind the Western hills, the idafa starts. The idafa is the running to Muzdalifa. The two last prayers are performed here, and the night spent.

Dhu l-hijja. 10



This morning starts with a khutba in Muzdalifa, before the hajjiyys goes to Mina. In Mina different duties awaites the hajjiyy. 7 stones, that have been gathered in Muzdalifa the day before, are thrown by each hajjiyy at the 3 jamra, pillars that shall represent the powers of Shaytan (devil). This place, Shaytan appeared in front of Ibrahim. When the 7 stones have been thrown off, the hajj is more or less to an end, yet there are othere ceremonies yet to be performed. The crying of "labbayka" comes to an end, aound this time. At this time a sheep or a goat is sacrificed, but while this ends the hajj, it is another fiest, called Idu l-kabir. Many of the hajjiyys do not kill the animal themselves, but get professional butchers to do it. Parts of the meat are these days eaten, but most is taken care of by Saudi authorities, that make sure that nothing is lost, but distributed partly to the needing. Many have their heads shaven at this moment. The shaving is done while turning towards the qibla. When this is done, the ihram is left, and the hajjiyy is no longer a mihram, the one that had the holy purity of the ihram. It is now custom to return to Mecca, and perform the tawwaf, the circumambulation of the Ka'ba. Washing and bathing is done this same day, as this was prohibited during the ihram.

Dhu l-hijja. 11- 13



These last days of the extended hajj are spent in Mina, and are filled with eating, drinking and sensual pleasure. Every day seven stones are thrown on each of the 3 jamra. While the most correct is to stay at Mina until the 13., a large number of the hajjiyys return to Mecca on the 12. A last umra has to be performed. Some days later, people set out for what has become an intrinsic part of the hajj, a visit to Madina and the tomb of Muhammad.

[Blue Blood]

The Ka’ba

The most holy structure in Islam. Situated in Mecca, and is according to Islam, the centre of the world. The Ka'ba is the qibla (Kible), the direction Muslims perform the salat, the prayer, in. The area around the Ka'ba is considered sacred, and inside this the truce of God reigns. Man and animals are all safe here, and shall not be forced away. In the Holy Koran, it is written:

"3, 90 ...the first house built for mankind, was in Mecca, to bless and guide all worlds"

The base of the Ka'ba is 10.5 x 12 meters, and it's 15 meters high, and is standing on a marble base, 25 cm high. Each of the corners are pointing in the four directions of the compass. It is built of grey stones from the hills around Mecca.

The door of the Ka'ba is in the north- eastern wall, and is 2 meters above the ground. Inside the Ka'ba, three wooden pillars hold the roof up, which can be accessed by a ladder. The floor is covered by marble, and there are no furnitures, except gold and silver lamps.

East of the door, in the corner, 1,5 meters above the ground, the Black Stone is found. This Black Stone is now in pieces, three large parts, and smaller fragments, which are tied together with a silver band. There are several theories on the origin of the Black Stone: a meteor; lava; or basalt. The color is reddish black, with some red and yellow particles. Its original diameter is estimated to have been 30 cm. There is another stone, too, built into the Ka'ba, in the western corner, the Stone of Good Fortune, which is far less sacred than the Black Stone. The wall between the door and the Black Stone, is very sacred, and has a lot of baraka.

The Ka'ba is covered by the kiswa, a black curtain produced traditionally in Egypt, and changed annually at the time of hajj. In an interim period, lasting a little bit more than two weeks, the Ka'ba is covered by a white covering, and it is at the end of hajj, that the new kiswa is presented. The tradition of the kiswa has seen many changes. Several kiswas could earlier be put over the Ka'ba, kiswas coming from everywhere, and in all possible colors.

There is sparse information on the Ka'ba before the time of Muhammad, but it is clear that it had for centuries been used as an important religious centre, by one or more polytheistic religion(s), which all are now disappeared. There are no traditional sources telling anything about its age, but according to Islam it is the first construction ever put up on earth, as it is seen out of the Koran, excerpt above. But another excerpt (2, 121) says that it was Ibrahim and Ismail who raised the foundations of it. This can be understood as a reconstruction.

A fire in the Ka'ba at the time of Muhammad destroyed it partly, and the reconstruction resulted in major alterations. The size was increased, the door was put up high to prevent unwanted visitors. Rebel activities in 683 AD (64 H) destroyed the Ka'ba over again, and a fire made the Black Stone split. The second reconstruction began after the removal of the old ruins. Two new doors at ground level were added. In 693 (74 H) the new doors were removed, and the Ka'ba have had more or less the same shape and size up until now. Only small alterations and renovations have been made. Most of the stones are original from the 683- structure. The Black Stone was removed from the Ka'ba, for more than 20 years in 10th century. Today some of the old doors and keys of the Ka'ba can be seen in Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; they were taken by the Ottoman sultans.

The doorkeepers of the Ka'ba are still the family Banu Shayba, which were appointed by Muhammad. In addition to being the centre of hajj and umra, the Ka'ba is the centre for some smaller ceremonies. Opening of the Ka'ba, where people, men first, then women, can enter is one.

[Blue Blood]

The mosque in Islamic religion

House of prayer in Islam. A mosque is symbolically very important to Muslims, and is a humble way for man to recreate pure divine presence on earth. But mosques are not built according to what is believed to be divine patterns, even if they are divinely guided, nor after very clear rules, except on some few points. It shall have a clear indication of the direction of Mecca, qibla (kible). The indication is in most mosques a mihrab, a niche in the wall. A mosque shall have a roofed area in front of the mihrab, and doors can be placed in the walls where the mihrab is not.

Masjid (Mescit) is a word meaning 'place for prostration', and were used by the early Muslims for houses of worship, even for other religions. Today the Arabic 'masjid', and the English 'mosque' are used exclusively for religious houses in Islam.

History and Development

The first mosque is the one in Mecca, meaning the area that surrounded the Ka'ba, the most holy shrine. But the model of early mosques, was the courtyard of Muhammed's house in Madina, which was constructed in 622 AD. This was organized with a qibla, first facing in the direction of Jerusalem. To the left of this qibla, houses for Muhammed's wives, were erected. There were three entrances to the courtyard. An area of the courtyard was roofed, and here prayer was performed. After 1,5 years the qibla was changed, so that it faced Mecca.
This Madina mosque had social, political, and judicial functions, as well as housing Muhammad's family. The religious functions were mixed with other functions. Rules on prayers seem to have not been shaped at the first period, since the prescriptions of the Koran, came gradually in these years. Apart from the mosques of Mecca and Madina, one finds some few indications that there were other mosques in the time of Muhammad.

Mosques soon grew into becoming more complex, and uniform, in their shape. A minbar, the pulpit, from where the Friday prayer is held, was placed next to the mihrab. Within few years after the death of Muhammad, mosques became such important symbols, that when Muslim conquerors established themselves somewhere, a mosque was put up first, and then the military camp was built around it. This was inspired by the Madina example, but in some principal cities, Muslims constructed their mosque in the place that was the centre of other religions.

In the beginning of Islam, tribes and sects in Islam, often marked their independence or their purity, by putting up mosques of their own, or by defining a certain part of the mosque as their part. This pattern have changed up through history, but the situation today is not as tolerant as it might appear. Muslims of all creeds are in theory free to enter all mosques, but in reality some mosques are considered inappropriate, and a traveling Muslim will try to find a mosque which is used by people belonging to his own creed (Sunnis, Shi'is, and Kharijis are the main division points, while governmental dominated or Islamist dominated mosques, is a new and even delicate division point). But most major mosques, the so called jami (cami) are seen upon as neutral, and are used by all creeds.

Many mosques of the first centuries, were originally churches. Many of these conversions were against the will of the Christians, but not all. In many regions, Christianity lost its position, and churches turned into mosques over time, simply through Muslims using the churches as the religious buildings they were, and in full respect of Christianity.

Most mosques today in the Arab territories are closed to non-Muslims, but this was a regulation that was developed through the first century of Islam. There was an increase in the emphasis on the sanctity of the mosque, more and more elements of the mosque was regarded as sacred, and any mosque was commonly regarded as 'House of God'. In Turkey any mosque is open to visitors, non-Muslims can visit them as well.

The design of the mosques developed from very simple to complex structures, in short time. In the first mosques, erected in Hijaz, orientation was more important than of form. The development of the mosque as it is known now, lasted for a period of 80 years. The shape of mosques came in many cases from a mixture of the architecture of conquered territories, and of the original patterns.
The addition of minarets, the towers from where the callings are made, and absent in the early mosques, was inspired by religious buildings of other religions, where one believes that it was the churches of Syria, that were most important. The implementation of minarets, were both for embellishment of the mosques, and for the functionality of the mosques, as calling for prayer, ezan, from ground level, did not carry more than a few blocks. But for some time after the introduction of the minarets, the ezan was still performed with the muezzin walking the streets, while inviting for prayer. The first minaret came probably in 703, in Kariouan, Tunisia, almost 100 years after the Madina mosque. But there are written material suggesting that minarets were erected as early as 665 AD.
The addition of adornments to the mosques was strongly discussed, and many Muslims opposed this process, and thought of it as a way of jeopardizing what was Muslim, and they disliked letting Christian elements in. This reaction was not farfetched, as many architects of early mosques, were in fact Christians.

Over time, many rooms were added to the mosque, rooms used by people of different social classes, people performing their professions in the mosque, travelers, sick, and old. Devout and ascetics lived often in the mosque, and even in the minaret.

Other elements inside a mosque are:
Dakka, a platform, from where the muezzin calls for prayer, after he has done this from the minaret.
Kursi, a desk and a seat, for the Koran and for the reader. Reliquaries, where bodies, parts of bodies, or belongings of religious personalities are kept. Carpets covering the floor of mosques. Lights, both candles and lamps, used for illumination, but not ritually. Incense, especially together with festivals. Water in the courtyard, both for ablutions, and for drinking.

Administration

In the old times or even today in some Arab countries the mosques have often been built by rulers, and the administration of the mosques have been financed by waqfs (vakif), endowments bringing in revenues. These waqfs were normally agricultural land, often administered by the donator, or members of his family, and could in some cases have a location far away from the mosque it financed. There could be more than one waqf to each mosque, mosques with economical problems, did often seek for new donators.
While mosques officially have been under the rulers, direct control have been difficult, much because of the economical independence (through waqfs), as well as the mosque's strength among people. The main donator, and his family, were in many cases legally considered the owner of the mosque. In other cases it was the qadi (kadi), the judge of Sharia, who acted as the main administrator, nazir, of the mosque. The power of the nazir was considerable, and the position of nazir have often given room for intense conflicts between individuals and groups.

The factual leader of alat in the mosques, was the ruler, who held the title imam. Local rulers, had a parallel position, under the title ala salat. The position of khatib, is a result of the imam being unable to perform the salat of Fridays, the khutba. The khatib could be a qadi, and in larger mosques, several khatibs could be appointed.

Today in Turkey most of the new mosques are built by the people living in the neighborhood (with donations), or in case of necessity, religious and charity organizations can build them as well.

Rules for Mosques

Mosques are centers of cities, or of neighborhoods in cities. This function does not always have to be structured, but can be connected to mentality, and the construction of a new mosque makes a centre emerge. Very few mosques lie in open areas, and very few mosques does not have shops and commercial activities in the streets around it. People's houses are often lying in a second "circle" outside the mosque and the shops. Other social functions have often been connected to mosques, schools, law courts, hospitals, and lodging for travelers. This pattern is based upon the Madina mosque, but is of less importance today, as city planning now often use Western models.
When entering the mosque, a person shall take off his shoes or sandals. Entering the mosque shall be done with the right foot first, while one utters blessings to Muhammad and his family. Once inside the mosque, two rak'as shall be performed. A person inside the mosque shall talk softly, not loudly, so that he or she does not disturb people praying. For the Friday prayer, nice clothes and perfumes are recommended.

Women entering mosques, are not prevented through neither the Koran nor the Sunna, but there are regulations on how a woman in a mosque shall behave. Mosques can be segregated, either in time, or in space. But in some Muslim countries, women entering mosques have not been welcomed, and mosques can be closed to women, either by local rules, or by habit. In Turkeywomen can easily go into any mosque.

While the salat can be performed anywhere, it is considered more meritorious when performed in the mosque, i.e. together with other people. The Sunna states that salat in the mosque is 20 or 25 times more valuable than the one performed in the home.
The Friday prayer or sermon, khutba (hutbe), is considered to be compulsory for all male Muslims, but the regulations on khatib, and for the Friday mosques, jami (cami), developed over a long period, approximately two centuries. With the strong increase in jami's from the 9th century, the term 'masjid' was more and more used for small and insignificant mosques. For a period in early Islam, sermons were delivered every day, by a qass, who recited and explained. But the institution of qass, never became widespread, and soon disintegrate, and was condemned, and did only continue in Sufism.

[Blue Blood]

Some elements of the mosque

Minaret - Minare

Tower near to, or built into, the structures of a mosque, which is used by the muezzin to call out, adhan (ezan), for people to come to prayers in Islam.
The earliest mosques were built without minarets, and the action of adhan could be performed in many other locations. The hadiths tell us that the Muslim community of Madina called out to prayers from the roof of the house of Muhammad, a house that doubled as a house for prayers.

After around 80 years of post-Muhammadan Islam, did the first minarets we know of, appear, in places as far between as Kairouan, Tunisia and Damascus, Syria. It is good reason to believe that the Great Mosque of Damascus, built in 705, was inspired by the churches of the city, yet the Muslim minaret served its own functions, continuing the old traditions from the house of Muhammad.

Minarets are now very much symbols of Islam, but not theologically heavy symbols. Minarets are often adorned, high, and striving to be as slim and elegant as possible. Modern minarets are often giving even more room for artistic achievements than in earlier times. The ground floor of minarets are always fitted into a square, with the minaret being everything from square to round - many are octagonal. The top ends in the house where the muezzin either is or where the loudspeakers are, covered with a pointed roof.
Mihrab

Niche in a mosque, indicating the qibla (kible), the direction in which a Muslim shall perform his salat. The mihrab is the position of the person leading the congregation in prayer, and is by most considered the most holy place in the mosque, even if a mihrab is never dedicated to God, but frequently to religious personalities. A mosque will normally have only one mihrab.

The mihrab is by both Muslim and Western scholars considered as an element taken from churches, an element added to the mosque of architectural reasons. The mihrab was probably introduced in the 3rd century of Islam, in the 9th century AD.

Mihrabs can be of wood, but is normally made out of masonry, and adorned with pillars. Mihrabs come very often highly ornamented.
Minbar - Minber

Pulpit in a mosque, placed next to the mihrab. The minbar is used with the khutba (hutbe), the Friday sermon, and the khatib ascends it. But he stops on one of the lower steps, the top of the minbar is restricted to the Prophet, only. The minbar soon got an important function for communications, through being the place where official proclamations were made. A minbar is considered as a good place for baraka, blessings, and for giving oaths.

There seems to have been some Christian influence on the shape of the minbar, in the beginning of the history of the mosques. The minbar appears to be from the time of the Prophet, and its introduction is probably an expression of the Prophets position in the society, where the minbar worked as a throne. The minbar of the Prophet had no more than two steps, and a seat. It was the caliph Mu'awiyya who in 670 AD (50 H) raised the minbar of Muhammad with 6 steps, and this became the pattern for all minbars ever after, even if Mu'awiyya's act was strongly opposed.

There was disagreement on whether a mosque should have a minbar when there were no ruler around to ascend it, but minbars were found in all province mosques already before 700 AD. And in some mosques, more than one minbar is found. Minbars soon came to be covered with a curtain, after pattern of Ka'ba.
Imam

A word used in several senses. In general use, it means the leader of congregational prayers; as such it implies no ordination or special spiritual powers beyond sufficient education to carry out this function. It is also used figuratively by many Sunni Muslims to mean the leader of the Islamic community. Among the Shia the word takes on many complex and controversial meanings; in general, however, and particularly when capitalized, it indicates that particular descendant of the House of Ali who is believed to have been God's designated repository of the spiritual authority inherent in that line. The identity of this individual and the means of ascertaining his identity have been the major issues causing divisions among the Shia.
Muezzin

Caller in Islam, the man calling out for people to come to the mosque, to perform salat. In most mosques the muezzin calls, using the adhan (ezan) from the minaret, but many mosques have put loudspeakers up in the minarets.
The institution of muezzin belongs to the customs of Muhammad's own time, and the first muezzin was Bilal. But what way of calling for prayer, and from where, was debated in early Islam. Trumpets, flags, lamps, were all elements doing the same as the muezzin, and which could have replaced him, if the debates had ended differently. The first muezzins were using the roof of the mosque, or the adjacent streets, to call for peoples attention. The muezzin, the public crier, was more of an institution living on from older Arab culture, than an innovation to Islam.

The activities of the muezzin did eventually develop into rituals by themselves. The mere uttering of the calling, heard all over cities, was a ritual, even if most people never did much more than listen. This is reflected in melodious chanting of the adhan (ezan).

[Blue Blood]

Sufism

Sufism is a way of life in which a deeper identity is discovered and lived. This deeper identity, or essential Self, is beyond the already known personality and is in harmony with everything that exists. It has abilities of awareness, action, creativity, and love that are far beyond those of the superficial personality. Eventually it is understood that these abilities belong to a greater Being that we each individualize in our own unique way while never being separate from it.

"Since in order to speak,
one must first listen,
learn to speak by listening."

Rumi, Mathnawi (Mesnevi), I, I627

The essential Self is an objective reality, but it cannot be known in a state of sleep, any more than the ordinary facts of reality can be known in a dream. In the Sufi tradition it is written that the absolute Spirit said And I breathed My Spirit into humanity. We are each enlivened by this in-breath. The essential Self, the soul, can be understood as this individualization of Spirit. The soul, however, is such a fine and subtle energy that it can be obscured by coarser energies of our existence, the energies of thought, desire, instinct, and sensation. These are the veils over the essential Self, the substances of intoxication that numb us to our essential Self.

If your thought is a rose,
you are a rose garden;
if it is a thorn,
you are fuel for the bath stove.

Rumi, Mathnawi (Mesnevi), II, 278

In classical Sufism the continuum from the false self to the essential Self has been described in seven stages. The word for self, nafs (nefs) is also equivalent to soul.

1. The self of compulsion seeks satisfaction primarily in satisfying its selfish, carnal desires and its will to power. It is mentioned in the Surah Yusuf (Yusuf Suresi), verse 53, of the Qur'an as the self impelled to evil.
2. The self of conscience has begun to discriminate between right and wrong, and can sometimes resist the temptation to evil and selfish actions. It is mentioned in the Surah Qiyyamah (Kiyamet Suresi), verse 2: I call to witness to self of consience.
3. The self of inspiration is inspired with spiritual knowledge and can reliably follow the voice of consience. It is mentioned in the Surah Shams (Sems Suresi), verses 7-8: By the soul and the proportion and order given to it and its inspiration as to its right and its wrong. This is the highest stage that conventional religion and morality achieves.
4. The soul of tranquility has reached the level of presence in which a conscious intimacy is possible. It is described in Surah Fajr (Fecir Suresi), verses 27-28: O soul in tranquility, return to your Lord well-pleased and well-pleasing to Him.
5. The soul of submission has reached the level where its desires and actions are in harmony with Reality. It accepts each moment as it is and submits itself to Reality. This is described in Surah Ma'idah (Maide Suresi), verse 122: Allah is well-pleased with them and they with God.
6. The soul of total submission is even more completely identified with the Universal Will. This is the stage of the great saints whose lives may be profound and miraculous example of human wholeness. These people are lost in God.
7. The soul of perfection is a theoretical absolute, the perfected or complete human being as described in the Surah Shams (Sems Suresi), verse 9: truly he succeeds who purifies [the soul].

Stages 1 and 2 are more or less under the domination of the false self. Stage 3 might be called the natural self, whereas stages 4 through 7 represents various degrees of the essential Self.

See how the hand is invisible while the pen is writing;
the horse careening, yet the rider unseen;
the arrow flying, but the bow out of sight;
individual souls existing,
while the Soul of souls is hidden

Rumi, Mathnawi (Mesnevi), II, I303-304

We can have no sense of the essential Self unless we arrive at our core-that which is deeper than thoughts and emotions, likes and dislikes, or opinions and ambitions. It is possible to listen within while following the rising of the breath, to listen for a silence behind thoughts and emotions. This silence is the background of what we normally pay attention to. Once this state is somewhat established we might direct our mind to our birth, to the mistery of our coming into the world. We can feel love for this being entering upon life. We might then bring the beginning and the end of our life into the present moment, viewing this present moment with the eyes of eternity, of our loving Creator. With this viewpoint, which is that of the essential Self, many wounds can be healed, many mistakes forgiven, and many loses accepted.

Help me with this ego of mine
that is seeking help from You;
I seek justice from no one
but this justice-seeking self.
I shall not get justice from anyone
except Him who is nearer to me than myself;
for this I-ness comes moment by moment from Him.

Rumi, Mathnawi (Mesnevi), I, 2I95-98

If Sufism recognizes one central truth, it is the unity of being, that we are not separate from the Divine. This is a truth that our age is in excellent position to appreciate-emotionally, because of the shrinking of our world through communications and transportation, and intellectually, because of developments in modern physics. We are One; one people, one ecology, one universe, one being. If there is a single truth, worthy of the name, it is that we are all integral to the Truth, not separate. The realization of this truth has its effects on our sense of who we are, on our relationships to others and to all aspects of life. Sufism is about realizing the current of love that runs throughout all life, the unity behind forms.

The idea of presence with love may be the most basic remedy for the prevailing materialism, selfishness, and unconsciousness of our age. In our obsession with our false selves, in turning our backs on God, we have also lost our essential Self, our own divine spark. In forgetting God, we have forgotten ourselves. Remembering God is the beginning of remembering ourselves.

Sunlight fell upon the wall;
the received a borrowed splendor.
Why set your heart on a piece of earth, simple one?
Seek out the source which shines forever.

Rumi, Mathnawi (Mesnevi), II, 708-709

[Blue Blood]

Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi

The great Turkish mystic and poet Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi was born in Belh, in Afghanistan, on September 30, 1207 A.D. His father Bahaeddin Veled, who was known as Sultan-ul Ulema (the king of the learned men), was a renowned scholar who, however, raised the ire of the established academia of his times by critisizing the tenets of Greek philosophy. This and the start of the Mongol invasions made him decide to leave Belh. This was when Mevlana was only five years old. The family, which reached Anatolia after stopping in Yemen and Damascus, lived in Larende (Karaman) for seven years; and then, upon the invitation of the Selcuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubat, Bahaeddin Veled settled in Konya in Central Anatolia in 1220. Meanwhile Mevlana married Gevher Hatun in Karaman; his son, Sultan Veled, was born in 1226 in the same town. Bahaeddin Veled, Mevlana's father, was a cultured scholar and mystic.

His knowledge, his discourses and his environment played a significant role in shaping and educating Mevlana, who advanced so rapidly that when his father died in 1230, he had already become a scholar and a teacher at the tender age of 23. Thus it would not bean exaggeration to say that Mevlana had learned the fundamentals of philosophy and mysticism from his father.

If a day won't come
when the monuments to institutionalized religion lie in ruin
.....then my beloved,
then we are really in trouble!

When Bahaeddin Veled died in 1230, a friend and a student of his, Burhaneddin Muhakkik Tirmizi, came to Konya and functioned as Mevlana's teacher for 9 years, before he relocated in Kayseri and died there in 1242.

Mevlana also was educated in the two major university centers of the time, Aleppo and Damascus; he was a well rounded scholar who had accumulated much theological and scientific knowledge. He had such command of Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Greek that he could write poetry in all four languages.

Mevlana, who first met Semseddin Tebrizi in 1244, so fell under his spell that the emergence of Mevlana as mystic poet is traced to the effect Semseddin Tebrizi had on him. Much, most of it speculative, has been said about the personality and identity of Semseddin Tebrizi, this wielder of such a powerful effect on the spirit of Mevlana, himself the strangest of personalities.

Everything seems to point to Semseddin Tebrizi's being a sufi master of such extraordinary knowledge and power that he could touch and light the torch in Mevlana's heart, in a sense transforming him. It was also Sems, who taught Mevlana the ritual dance-like practice callled Sem'a and the latter concieved it almost as a form of prayer or meditation. Sems, who must have reached rarefied spiritual heights, was a fearless man who would make no concessions to the prejudices, of the masses or the learned, either in behavior or in speech. So he made a great number of enemies and was not at all popular in Konya. Therefore he left Konya and went to Damascus in 1245; but returned to Konya when Mevlana implored him to, such was the older man's attachment to Sems. Two years later, in 1247, Sems dissappeared in a mysterious manner and was never heard of again.

Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi's masterpiece, his six volume Mesnevi consisting of 25700 couplets, is regarded as the most outstanding work of Persian-Islamic mysticism. It is not clear when Mevlana started writing the Mesnevi, though it is known that he started on the second volume of his magnum opus in 1264.

This masterpiece of Islam's mystic literature was written in the form of poetry which included philosophical, mystical, and spiritual messages and could in a sense be considered allegories which carry deep spiritual and religious meanings.

His second masterpiece, Divan-i Sems, though smaller in size is no less important from a literary and mystical standpoint. Divan-i Sems or (Divan-i Kebir as it is sometimes called) is a collection of verses (gazels) in which Mevlana reached heights of poetry, music and mysticism. It is regarded as the mature expression of his consciousness of universal unity (Vahdet-i Vucud).
Apart from these two masterpieces, Mevlana produced works, called Fihi Ma-Fih, Mecalis-i Seba and Mektubat (or Letters) which have all been translated into Turkish, and also, in part or in full, into Arabic, English, French and German.

Following a short bout with an illness Mevlana died in Konya on December 17, 1273, whereupon Husameddin Celebi, a student and a disciple of his, stepped into his place on the insistence of Mevlana's son Sultan Veled, upon the former's death in 1284, Sultan Veled in turn became the master and made important contributions to the emergence of the sect which is called Mesnevi after Mevlana's name.

Crowns titles and riches love covets not
and when love's gaze falls upon a yearning heart
behold
the doors to His heart will open wide.

Mevlana was not only a great poet and philosopher but first and foremost he was a mystic, a spiritually touched man. His mind and heart had reached for heights and depths of the spiritual world. In his vision there were two universes which coincided in Man. The inner world was like an endless infinite ocean, which could only be felt and seen with the eyes of the heart, while the outer world was but like the passing foam which appears on the surface of the waves emenating from that ocean.

of the secret wine
all drank but just a sip-so as to become
so as to exist.
But I
drank barrels and barrels of that wine
so as to become
a mirror-pure.

Mevlana also integrated a dualist approach in his mind: In approaching issues pertaining to daily life he is a rationalist, but in approaching spiritual and mystical matters he recognizes only the mastery of the heart and emotions. According to him, the only way to approach absolute being is through love; and God's love is everywhere, permeating everything. If one were to love another being in the name of God, one would find a pathway leading to the absolute. According to him everything in the universe, every being, even matter itself - all are but manifestations of God and exist in God and are united in the Absolute Being. Thus Mevlana views all existence as a united whole. In a sense, one could call his vision that of Unity Consciousness. This vision impelled Mevlana to transcend all differences and prejudices, and formed the basis of his immense tolerance and of his real and deep humanism. With these characteristics, Mevlana and his thought transcended the boundaries of his time and thus he and his writings are still relevant and fresh in this day and age, some 700 years after. The universality of his thought finds its reflection in, for example, the famous verses where he says:

Come!
Come whoever you are.
Doesn't matter if you are an unbeliever.
Doesn't matter if you have fallen a thousand times.
Come!
Come whoever you are. For this is not the door of hopelessness.
Come,
Just as you are!

With the tens of thousands of verses he wrote, and with the depths of spirituality he phantomed which helped him grasp qualities of timelessness and humanistic universality, Mevlana and the sect which was founded after him, have not only influenced the Anatolian - Turkish civilizations but indeed have had far-reaching influences on the intellectual and artistic life of many individuals and nations.