About

If you've ever had questions about Islam, this course is for you. It is impossible to overestimate the influence of Islam, which brings inspiration and meaning to the lives of many millions of people worldwide. At the same time, misunderstandings about Islam abound. Now, in Introduction to Islam, you will explore the full sweep of the religion of Islam. Your guide, Prof. Gabriel S. Reynolds, a Catholic and a scholar of Islamic studies and a Notre Dame professor, will answer your most important questions about the second largest, and fastest-growing, religion in the world. You will begin with the sources of Islam, the life of Muhammad, and the importance of the Qurʾān. Next, you will analyze the historical development of Islam, coming to understand the rise of Islam and its Sunni and Shiʿite traditions. You will also discuss the central place of shariʿa, or the divine law, to Islam. Finally, you will consider the mystical tradition of Islam, the role of Jesus in Islam, and the origins and meaning of jihad. Ideal for beginners, this course answers questions of particular concern to Christians who care about the Church's relation with Islam. As you listen to these fascinating lectures, you will broaden your own capacity for interreligious dialogue and understanding of Abrahamic religions. At the end, you will emerge with a deeper understanding of the history, teachings, and practice of Islam.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Muhammad

25m

While academic scholars often consider the "Muhammad of history" to be a poorly known figure, Muslim tradition describes his life in great detail. Accordingly, Muhammad was born in Mecca, a city founded by Abraham but which had since descended into paganism. Muhammad, however, found welcome in a city to the north, Medina. There he established a state governed by Islamic law.

2. The Qurʾan

25m

According to Islam, the Qurʾān is a book "brought down" from heaven to earth by the angel Gabriel. However, it is also a book connected to the particular experiences of the prophet Muhammad and the first Muslims. Scholars note that the Qurʾan is organized in a way suitable for ritual use. As for its message, the Qurʾān is shaped around certain distinctive arguments-including divine punishment, heaven and hell, and the signs of God in nature-meant to convince its audience to fear God and obey Muhammad.

3. A Closer Look

25m

Sura 37 puts the heart of the Qurʾān on view, featuring rich illustrations of the divine promise of heaven for those who accept the prophet and threat of hell for those who reject him.

4. Rise of an Empire

25m

Most Islamic traditions relate that Muhammad appointed no successor during his lifetime, but that elders of the Islamic community appointed his companion Abu Bakr to be the first successor, or caliph. Together with the three men who succeeded him-Umar, Uthman, and Ali-the first four caliphs would be known by Sunni tradition as the "rightly-guided" caliphs.

5. The Development of Sunni Islam

25m

Sunni Islam, like Shiʿite Islam, developed in stages. As a religious system, Sunni Islam is built around the idea that the earliest period of Islam was a golden age. Historically speaking, however, Sunni Islam can be identified with a process by which certain Muslim scholars, the ulama, became recognized as the rightful interpreters of Islamic law and when Muhammad's conduct, or sunna, was recognized as a source of revelation along with the Qurʾān.

6. The Development of Shiʿite Islam

25m

At the heart of Shiʿite beliefs lies the conviction that God did not become silent with the death of Muhammad. As He had once spoken to prophets now God later spoke to a series of righteous men, all descendants of the Prophet through his daughter Fatima, men known as imams. Tragically, however, the dominant Sunni community rejected and persecuted these imams. Shiʿites, however, put their faith in the return of the 12th and final imam, who will set things right at the end of time.

7. Islamic Law

25m

Islamic religious life is guided by the conviction that God has ordained a law, or shariʿa, for humans, a law which is all-encompassing. This law can never be fully known; Muslims seek to derive an understanding of the law through the sources of revelation-namely the Qurʾān and the hadith-but also through reasoning by analogy and by the consensus of the community.

8. Islamic Views of Non-Muslims

25m

Islam's interest in other religions begins with the Qurʾān itself. However, whereas in some passages the Qurʾān seems to teach that God does not prefer any religion, only good acts, in other places it polemicizes against not only polytheists but also Jews and Christians. The teaching that Islam alone is the true religion stems from a reading of the Qurʾān central to the development of legal doctrine; this doctrine in turn motivates Muslims to perform daʿwa, or the "calling out" to others to embrace Islam.

9. Ritual

25m

A well-known hadith speaks of five pillars of Islam: declaration of faith (in God and Muḥammad), prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and the pilgrimage. In this segment, Prof. Reynolds focuses on prayer, specifically the ritual prayer to be performed five times a day, the fast during the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca-which all Muslims should perform at least once in their life.

10. The Mystical Tradition of Islam

25m

From an early stage an ascetical tradition developed in Islam. By the late 9th century this asceticism developed into a mystical movement, known as Sufism. Sufis were not simply afraid of divine judgment, they also sought during this life to know God in an individual way. Many Sufi practices have been opposed, sometimes violently, by the Salafi form of Sunni Islam that is on the rise today.

Reviews

"Engaging and lucid in explaining the often dauntingly complex and conflicting claims to legitimacy by Islam and Christianity, Gabriel Said Reynolds enlightens his listeners and illuminates religions' problems and promise in our increasingly dangerous and divided world."

Extended Details

SeriesIntroduction to Islam

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Prof. Gabriel S. Reynolds, Ph.D.Director

Prof. Gabriel S. Reynolds, Ph.D.Actor

Introduction to Islam - Season 1