6. Islamic Head Dress:
Seen as a sign of female oppression by outsiders and a few insiders too, the headdress of Muslim women make them stand out.
“The (really) rough rule of thumb for where these headdresses are popular is
Hijab: Roughly used everywhere in some form. Many times a generic word for head covering.
Al-Amira: A hijab found in Arabic countries and those places where Muslims wish to immitate Arab outside influence.
Chador: Required by law in Iran. Traditional in Persian areas.
Niqab: Popular in the Arabian Pennisula. Some use in Pakistan since the 1970s.
Burqa: Eastern Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Becoming the Islamic fundamentalist dress of choice in Europe.” [1]
Men in Islam wear different types of skull caps. They include taquiya, fez, kufiya, turbans etc. [2]
7. Islamic Calender and Holidays
The Islamic calender starts with the migration of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 A.D . It is called the “Hijrah” in arabic and 622 A.D is the first year of the Islamic calender. The current Islamic year is 1435 AH. AH stands for “anno Hegirae” meaning “in the year of the Hijra”.
“The Islamic calendar (or Hijri calendar) is a purely lunar calendar. It contains 12 months that are based on the motion of the moon, and because 12 synodic months is only 12 x 29.53=354.36 days, the Islamic calendar is consistently shorter than a tropical year, and therefore it shifts with respect to the Christian calendar. The calendar is based on the Qur’an (Sura IX, 36-37) and its proper observance is a sacred duty for Muslims. The Islamic calendar is the official calendar in countries around the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia. But other Muslim countries use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes and only turn to the Islamic calendar for religious purposes.” [3]
The twelve months of the Islamic calender include
1. MUHARRAM 2. SAFAR 3. RABI-AL-AWWAL 4. RABI-AL-THANI
5. JUMADA-AL-AWWAL 6. JUMADA-AL-THANI 7. RAJAB 8. SHABAN
9. RAMADAN 10. SHAWWAL 11. ZUL-QAADAH 12. ZUL-HIJJAH
For more on the importance of the Calender to Islamic history and religion please visit http://www.isgr.org/islammonth.htm, Islamic Holidays of 1435 A.H
November 2013 :4th – Islamic New Year (1 Muharram 1435 H.)
13th – Day of ‘Ashura (10 Muharram 1435 H.)
January 2014:13th – Mawlid an-Nabi (12 Rabia’ Awal 1435 H.)
May 2014: 26th – Isra’ & Mi’raj (27 Rajab 1435 H.)
June 2014: 28th – Beginning of Ramadan fasting month (1 Ramadan 1435 H.)
July 2014:28th – End of Ramadan / Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal 1435 H.)
October 2014: 2nd to 7th – Hajj Days (8-13 Dhul-Hijjah 1435 H.)
3rd – Day of Arafat (9th Dhul-Hijjah 1435 H.)
4th – Eid al-Adha (10th Dhul-Hijjah 1435 H.)
25th – Islamic New Year (1 Muharram 1436 H.)
8. Jihad
“Jihad” or “Holy War” in Islam has been used by extremists to wage war against the West and others whom they consider as the enemies of Islam.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s full definition of Jihad:
a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty; also : a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline or/and a crusade for a principle or belief.
“Many modern writers claim that the main meaning of Jihad is the internal spiritual struggle, and this is accepted by many Muslims. However there are so many references to Jihad as a military struggle in Islamic writings that it is incorrect to claim that the interpretation of Jihad as holy war is wrong”. [4]
The important topic of Jihad will be discussed in detail in a separate post later.
9. Islamic Law (Sharia)
Shariya is the Islamic law- the whole of it, and all Muslims are called to conform to it. Most of the Islamic countries have implemented the Sharia, the strictest form of which is implemented in Saudi Arabia.
“Sharīʿah, also spelled Sharia, the fundamental religious concept of Islam, namely its law, systematized during the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Muslim era (8th–9th centuries CE). Total and unqualified submission to the will of Allah (God) is the fundamental tenet of Islam: Islamic law is therefore the expression of Allah’s command for Muslim society and, in application, constitutes a system of duties that are incumbent upon a Muslim by virtue of his religious belief. Known as the Sharīʿah (literally, “the path leading to the watering place”), the law constitutes a divinely ordained path of conduct that guides Muslims toward a practical expression of religious conviction in this world and the goal of divine favor in the world to come.” [5]
10. Marriage and Divorce
Under the Shariah, a Islamic man is allowed to have four wives simultaneously. Marriage is called “nikah” and divorce is called “talak”. For a man to divorce a woman, he should say “talak” three times and the marriage would be annulled. Child marriages, including an elderly man marrying a child or young teenager is not uncommon in certain areas of Islamic world where shariah is in force.
“Irrevocable divorce means that after the divorce, the husband is not entitled to take back his wife, that is, he is not entitled to take her as his wife without Nikah. This divorce is of five kinds, namely: (i) The divorce of a woman who has not completed nine years of age. (ii) The divorce of a woman who is in menopause. (iii) The divorce of a woman whose husband has not had sexual intercourse with her after their marriage. (iv) The third divorce of a woman who has been divorced three times.(v) The divorce called Khul’a and Mubarat. (vi) The divorce by intervention of Mujtahid, in the case of a wife whose husband is neither prepared to maintain her nor to divorce her…..Divorces other than these are revocable, in the sense that as long as the wife is observing Iddah her husband can take her back.” [6]
Iddah is the waiting period for the women before she can remarry and it is differs with lots of ifs and buts. [7]
11. Friday :
When I worked in Maldives I got my weekly break only on Friday. On Friday, the Muslims assembled in their mosques for prayer, as Christians would do on Sunday and Jews would do on Saturday.
“Friday is the best day of the week, as is indicated by the hadîth related by Aws in Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim: “The best of your days is Friday.” We have another hadîth in Sahîh Muslim that reads: “The best day upon which the Sun has risen is Friday.” Another hadîth reads: “The master of days is Friday.” [Mustadrak al-Hâkim] Allah has given Friday preference for numerous of reasons. It is the day in which all creatures were created. Adam was created on a Friday. The Day of Judgment will be on Friday. It is a day Allah will forgive sins. It is the day Hell is angry. It is a day in which there is an hour in which Allah will respond to those who call upon Him. It is the holiday of the week. Allah will show Himself to the believers so they can see Him. The deceased people’s souls approach their graves and join them on Friday. However, there is no special worship for Friday except what was specifically mentioned by the Prophet (peace be upon him) such as reciting Sûrah al-Sajdah and Sûrah al-Dahr in the Fajr prayer of Friday, frequent inoking salutations on the Prophet (peace be upon him), going to the Friday prayer after having a bath and dressing neatly, going early to Friday prayer, reciting Sûrah al-Kahf on that day, and seeking the hour on Friday in which Allah will respond to supplications by increasing one’s supplications.” [8]
[1] http://www.geographictravels.com/2010/11/know-your-female-islamic-headdress.html
[2] http://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_headwear_male.html
[3] http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-islamic.html
[4] http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/jihad_1.shtml
[5] Encyclopaedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/538793/Shariah
[6] al-islam.org [ http://www.al-islam.org/islamic-laws-ayatullah-al-uzma-sayyid-ali-al-husaini-seestani/divorce#iddah-divorce-waiting-period-after-divorce ]
[7] http://www.al-islam.org/islamic-laws-ayatullah-al-uzma-sayyid-ali-al-husaini-seestani/divorce#iddah-divorce-waiting-period-after-divorce
[8] Islamtoday.net [http://en.islamtoday.net/node/1351 ]