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Introduction 宗教文化代写
The assigned readings that have been provided for this assignment, present a clear picture of two Muslin sects and belief systems. However it all begins from the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Fatima (R.A), the youngest daughter of the Prophet was the focal point from where religious beliefs divert. This is where the point of triangulation began, and it will continue to be the beacon that guides different sects within Islam, and determines their religious beliefs.
It must also be noticed that until the life of Muhammad (P.B.U.H), all the Muslims that lived in Mecca and Madina were united under one belief, however, after his demise, there were many different interpretations of His teachings, which many of his followers tried to clear, however, the interpretations rose to an extent that they gave rise to different belief systems.
Idea of Triangulation 宗教文化代写
The idea of triangulation, thus, emerges from the link between three people, that further led to the creation of sects and new religious beliefs emerged as a result. It basically stems from the support of a man, one triangle is that of Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Fatima (His daughter), and Ali ibn Abi Talib (son in law). This triangle is one of the most influential triangles which focuses on providing the right framework for the Muslims to follow the teachings of Islam based on the life of the last Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
There are two major sects in Islam, namely the Shiites, and the Sunnis.
They both have deferring set of beliefs due to the way they each treat Fatima (R.A), who is the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In the Hadith, Fatima is spiritualized and believed to be at par with Mary, and her leading role for the women of the worlds and the women of paradise is in direct relation to Mary’s dignity. Therefore, the honor that has been given to her is great and is considered to be one of the highest honors given to only selected women. Sayyidat-al-Nisa is the title that has been awarded to Fatima (R.A) which not only connects her to Muhammad (peace be upon him) but also to the other women who are given great importance and honor in Islam, such as Mary, who’s name has specifically been mentioned in the Quran.
She is also considered to have the honor of being mentioned with Asiya, who is also considered to be pure and chaste. 宗教文化代写
Mary and Asiya have one very important thing in common: their devotion to God and their piety. They are untouched and chaste, which makes mentioning Fatima with them the highest honor, as it distinguishes her merits and qualities, and sets her apart from many of the women that have been mentioned in scripture. However, this is the most mention of Fatima’s (R.A) characterization, and no other mention of Her virtues occur in the Sunnite tradition.
Both women; Mary and Fatima are not connected in any other way beyond the hadiths in the written scriptures either. “One can conclude that, in the tradition of the second to fourth century A.H, the historical recollection of Fatima was only pale and fragmented. Nevertheless, traditions and textual fragments from Fatima’s life were collated, ordered and newly arranged by Sunnite biographers and Hadith compilers” (Cf. Stowasser, Verene Klemm, chapter nine).
Shiites in the other hand, refer to Fatima in an entirely different manner. 宗教文化代写
By the 10th century, a complex image has been presented of her, in religious scriptures and texts. During this era, there was an intense focus on transcribing traditional records and putting down the religious beliefs and systems in writing. This intense focus on the literary culture was curated in the urban centers of Iraq, where the concept of Imams was actually brought forward and integrated in the belief systems.The Imams are those authorities which look after the religious and political aspects of the Shia. They have descended from Fatima and Ali ibn Abi Talib, her husband.
A very important aspects of the Shiite history or their version thereof, is the suffering and martyrdom of the family of Fatima had to experience and go through. The religious qualities of the leaders along with their virtues have been mentioned in the form of the hadith, whereas, it is firmly believed that the Imams were responsible for miracles, whereas the maqatil genre focused on and reported the violent deaths of the Alids and their followers. Al-Muharram is considered to be the month of mourning for Shiites, where stories regarding the violent death of Al-Husayn, the son of Ali and Fatima are shared and recited by storytellers and lamentation assemblies which are specially held for them.
Therefore as can be seen, there are two different aspects of triangulation, one where the entire belief system begins from the incident at karbala, which is where the Shiites take inspiration and base their religious beliefs on it, whereas, the second triangulation is based on the Sunnis where the triangulation begins and ends with Prophet Muhammad.
In my opinion, the two sects emerged because of the differing beliefs of what happened and how events unfolded. 宗教文化代写
The triangulation that I think should be followed and support is the one which begins from Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and his connection of Fatima (R.A.) and Ali ibn Abi Talib. This triangle became very important in setting the Islamic tradition. Because when you look at it objectively, it all began when Muhammad (peace be upon him) declared that He was the messenger of Allah and that he has been chosen to spread the word of Allah and thus Islam was introduced as an all encompassing religion. That is what is believed by many of the Muslims.
While yes, people’s beliefs have differed based on the changing scriptures and the manner in which the events were described by different authors, it should be noticed however, that the beginning of the religion should be the focal point for all followers. I think it should all have ended with the passing away of the Prophet (peace be upon him), however, as the struggle for power rose, there was a clear drift between the people of Islam, and this arose the era of differing beliefs and sects.
It is also due to the fact that the historical recollections of what actually took place are flawed in nature, because they could not be documented at the time, and by the time the incidents were documented, many of the actual witnesses were unavailable to recount what happened. This is why different belief systems were formed.
The significance of the aforementioned triangles are many as they have paved way for the religion that is currently known as Islam. 宗教文化代写
Additionally, it should also be noticed that this triangulation is what changed the manner in which Muslims treat religion, for Shiites the month of Muharram and the incident at Karbala are of great significance, whereas, for Sunnis, who do not place much significance on this incident and treat Fatima as one of the holy women who is an example of what piety is, the religious beliefs are slightly different.
Here is where you see the shift appearing in the belief system that are two facets of the same religion. Additionally, it should also be noted that now many other belief systems have started emerging within Islam, which begs the question whether or not one Islam even remains. Therefore, I think that these triangles are of great importance and both move forward with the relationship between Fatima and her father and husband.
Conclusion 宗教文化代写
Everything that Fatima (R.A) learned was directly from the teachings of her Father, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). She is celebrated as the women of the two worlds, and even treated as the exemplary figure based on whose life all the Muslim women should take inspiration from. She is thought to be on the same level as May and Asiya because of the various characteristics and traits that remain true to her and make her one of the most pious women who followed Islam. She is the youngest daughter of Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and Khadija (R.A) and the wife of Ali ibn Abi Talib who is thought to be an Imam in the Shiite history.
The two triangles that have been discussed in this paper are based on the different accounts of the events and belief systems. However, with the passage of time, the belief systems have evolved and as the records have been put down on paper, some accounts of events are thought to be inconclusive due to lack of evidence.
References
Verena Klemm, Image Formation of the Islamic Legend: Fatima, the Daughter of Prophet Muhamamd, retieved 8-3-2018 from;
file:///C:/Users/Huda%20Qureshi/Downloads/3363%20Klemm%20Fatima.pdf
