english essay
Leila@
untitled_message_12.zipFifth Paper Project555.docx
Fifth Paper Project
Hi, Bandar. Okay on the religion, but where are your annotations on your references? Look at the assignment again.
Religion
The religion of study shall be the Islamic faith (Dawson, 2008). The Islamic religion is a suitable choice due to how the Islamic doctrines demonstrate nature and its influence on human actions while it also depicts certain facets of culture that have become part of the people. The Islam religion is anchored on the receiving of and submission to the principle teachings of Allah which He Himself revealed to the last prophet known as Muhammad. As indicated in the holy book that guides the followers of the Islamic faith, Muslims, it is evident that human beings were created by Allah and put above all other creation. This explains part of the question on nature as it illustrates the superiority that is exhibited by human beings goes back to when they were created and is part of them. The Islamic religion, through the Quran, also shows the variations in culture since the origin of mankind to the periods of Muhammad and it further extends it to the modern day, (Brown, 2004).
References
Dawson, C. (2013). Religion and culture. CUA Press.
Derrett, R. (2008). Regional festivals: Nourishing community resilience: the nature and role of cultural festivals in Northern Rivers NSW communities. Theses, 90.
Jenkins, H. (2012). Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture. Routledge.
Seventh Paper Project2211.docx
Seventh Paper Project
This is almost complete, Bandar. You need to show the connection between the practices and nature. Allah is the creator of all things. He gives mankind a teaching and a way of life. There is a connection between the nature he has made and the life he is asking a Muslim to live. Show that connection!
ARites, rituals and symbols
The most important rites in the Islamic faith are the Five Pillars. The Pillars of Islam are five elementary acts in Islam for which all believers are obligated to carry out. The Quran identifies them as a background for true worship and a strong pledge to the Islamic faith. They include the creed (Shahadah), fasting during Ramadan, prayers (Salat), almsgiving (Zakah), and a pilgrimage to Mecca. The prayers are conducted after one has cleansed himself which sometimes requires one to physically wash themselves. This illustrates the use of a natural element of water to signify cleansing of a person before that person can present himself to Allah through prayer (Brown, 2004).
There are also other rites practiced by Muslims. These rites include birth rites. The rite includes the Muslim call to prayer, referred to as Adhaan, which are the foremost words that a newborn baby should hear. The words are whispered as part of the rite in the right ear of a newborn child by their father. The baby is then given something sweet to taste by the parents such as a piece of date, a practice that was done by Prophet Muhammad. The use of a sweet substance such as the date goes to show the use of natural elements to signify the kicking in of the child’s digestive system (Jenkins, 2012).
Seven days after the birth of a child, the baby’s head is shaven. This is done to demonstrate that the baby is a servant of Allah. This is another illustration of the use cutting of hair, a natural element, to imply the commitment of a young child to Allah.
Circumcision is also another key rite practiced by the Muslims. The rite of circumcision in the Islamic religion is referred to as tahara and is practiced on all males seven days after birth, although it can be carried out any time before puberty. Circumcision is stated in the Sunnah by Prophet Muhammad as a law for men. The key reason provided for the rite is cleanliness. It is crucial that all Muslims wash before praying and hence it is important that there is no urine left on a person’s body. It is believed that the exclusion of the foreskin makes it much easier to retain the penis clean since urine cannot get trapped there. This is also another indication of the removal of a natural element to signify a purification on cleansing of a person.
Another rite of the Islam religion concern the funeral of a Muslim. Upon the death of a Muslim, the body is washed with the purpose of physically cleansing the corpse. Washing the body after death is a vital ritual which should be carried out as soon as probable after death, if possible within hours. The orthodox practice involves washing the body of the deceased an odd number of times and a cloth should be hiding the awrah (which are body parts that should remain hidden per Sharia). The "washers" are usually adults of the same gender from the immediate family of the deceased. Water, a natural element, is used to cleanse and purify the body and it also signifies a spiritual cleansing on the deceased (Dawson, 2013).
The corpse is usually then draped in a simple cloth that is plain referred to as kafan. This is typically done to enhance the dignity and discretion of the departed with the family occasionally present. The particulars of this ritual such as the material, color and style of the cloth used may vary across various areas. However, the shroud used should be simple, plain and modest like a white cotton cloth. Men can only use three pieces of a cloth while women can use five pieces of cloth. The use of cloth to wrap the body of a deceased person is another use of a natural element to cover the privacy of the departed person and it signifies the dignity of the person reflected even after death.
References
Brown, D. E. (2004). Human universals, human nature & human culture. Daedalus, 133(4), 47-54.
Dawson, C. (2013). Religion and culture. CUA Press.
Jenkins, H. (2012). Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture. Routledge.
Sixth Paper Project66.docx
Sixth Paper Project
Hi, Bandar. You have a little too much here. This is just a summary of the history. Tell Muhammed's story and then the story of the spread of Islam up to the present day.
The history of religion
The Islam religion is one which upholds that Allah is the one true God who is incomparable and the core purpose and resolve of existence is to offer worship to God. In fact, the word Islam means 'submission to God’s will'. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet of God. Per the Quran, the creation of the universe and all that is in it came into being by Allah's sheer command. Humankind was part of Allah’s creation and was given power over all things over the earth, (Dawson, 2013). They lived in paradise where they could eat from all trees but one tree which was forbidden by Allah. The Quran shows that Shaitan (sometimes referred to as Satan) tricked Adam and Eve to eat a fruit from the forbidden tree. Islamic custom identifies Shaitan, who tempted Adam and Eve with a being named Iblis (a jinni), a life-force of fire smoke. In Islamic tradition Allah created jinn with the power of free will just like human beings, which illustrates another part of the human nature.
Allah had even told all the angels to bow before Adam after creation, but Iblis refused, and claimed his fiery nature was more superior to Adam's human flesh, which was made of clay. Allah cast out Iblis from His paradise, and henceforth Iblis swore to tempt and lead Adam and Eve's descendants to corruption in addition to disobeying Allah. This illustrates part of the nature of human beings of doing wrong things despite there being laid out rules to adhere to. It also goes to show the nature of humans’ curiosity and forgetfulness. The way Adam and Eve were tempted shows another nature of weakness that is present in humans. There is also an aspect of culture that is revealed in that the promise for a better outcome provided one does something, whether right or wrong, carries on to current humans just as Iblis used it to tempt Adam and Eve with a promise of a better outcome. When Adam and Eve disobeyed Allah; humans became more susceptible to do evil and engage in sin which explains the nature of humans today. This continues despite many attempts to show people to do what is right and create a culture of good conduct which again demonstrates nature outdoing the culture.
Islamic tradition views prophet Muhammad as the ‘seal of the prophets’, (Derrett, 2008). Per the original remaining biographies, the archangel Gabriel appears to Muhammad on Mount Hira where he was directed to repeat the words of Allah. Muhammad preached to people in Mecca, urging them to give up polytheism and worship the one and only true God, Allah. The message of Muhammad was principally the existence of only one God, and he acknowledged that other prophets had spoken the same truth in the past. This goes to illustrate further the nature of humans to exercise their free will and worship other gods other than Allah despite being their creator. It also points towards emergence of culture that identified with other gods that developed over the years.
Initially the Meccan authorities persecuted and victimized Muhammad and his factions until they moved to Yathrib. The move from Mecca which occurred in 622 comes to appear as the beginning of Islam. Yathrib is then renamed Medina, the city of the prophet. Muhammad continues to preach Allah’s message and it is these passages, which together with the previous revelations at Mecca, are inscribed in the Arabic script and are put together to become the Quran. Later, relations with Mecca worsen to the extent of pitched combats between the sides, and the Muslims take Mecca without much resistance. The people accept Islam and Mecca becomes the holy city of Islam. The religion has since spread to other regions all over the world. This shows the nature of humans to want to identify with a Supreme being in the form of Allah. It is also revealed some of the influences of certain human behavior that form their cultures.
References
Dawson, C. (2013). Religion and culture. CUA Press.
Derrett, R. (2008). Regional festivals: Nourishing community resilience: the nature and role of cultural festivals in Northern Rivers NSW communities. Theses, 90.
