Misconceptions and misunderstandings about Islam and fear of causing offence can be barriers to being an effective teacher in a diverse school. This book aims to give non-Muslim teachers the confidence to engage meaningfully with important facets of Muslim pupils' lives leading to a richer and more rewarding experience in the classroom.
Aspects of Islam explored include: the foundations and obligations of faith, ethical dimensions placed upon Muslims, the importance of education in Muslim communities and contemporary issues faced by communities in the UK. To deepen your understanding, each chapter is enriched by case studies linked to the classroom, expert voices that offer authenticity and reflective tasks that encourage you to consider key concepts in greater depth.
This is essential reading for new and experienced teachers in primary and secondary schools wishing to deepen their knowledge of Islam.
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know and understand the meaning of Tawḥīd and its implications for Muslims
consider the central beliefs held about God in Islam
reflect on the names of God and three important chapters of the Qur’ān
know and understand the concepts of Shirk and Kufr.
Overview
The teachings of Islam unapologetically accentuate the cardinal belief in the unity of God. This is because Islam in its current form maintains that belief in the Oneness of God has been a message always transmitted from God and it is His Will. According to Muslims, the knowledge, understanding and gnosis of God have been relayed to humans through chosen prophets and messengers of God, who received Divine revelations from God during their lifetime. One of their beliefs is that, without exception, all these messengers conveyed the fundamental message of the doctrine of absolute monotheism. Thus, belief in the existence of God and in His Unity is a necessary principle of Islam. To know and understand Islam, it is important for you to engage with the concept of Tawḥīd, upon which the entire Muslim belief system rests.
Tawḥīd is an Arabic noun derived from a transitive verb, waḥḥada (‘to make one’) denoting the Oneness of Allah. According to the Qur’ān, human beings had testified to Tawḥīd prior to the creation of the universe in the realm of souls and had taken an oath acknowledging God as their Lord (7:172). All prophets from Adam to Muḥammad (
) taught this same belief and were simultaneously opposed to anything which contradicted it (16:36). Similarly, the foundation of the theology of the Qur’ān is precisely monotheism. For Muslims, never once did any one of these prophets compromise on this fundamental principle, for which they had to endure great sacrifices.
Tawḥīd is one of the three fundamental themes recurring throughout the Qur’ān, the other two being Risālah (prophethood) and Ākhirah (afterlife). You will learn about the latter two in Chapters 3 and 5 respectively. The following verse illustrates the emphasis placed on monotheism and demonstrates the continuity of this one eternal true message. The first is a statement made by Yūsuf (Joseph) as he talks about his faith to his fellow prisoners when Pharaoh had imprisoned him. He declared to them, ‘I have followed the religion of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it was not for us to associate anything with Allah. That is from the favour of Allah upon us and upon the people, but most of the people are not grateful’ (12:38).
This uncompromising stance taken by Islam regarding Tawḥīd distinguishes its belief in God from the conception of God in other religions. Such was the importance of Tawḥīd that since the revelation of the Qur’ān in Makkah, in the early years immediately after 610AH (571CE), its significance, meanings and implications were expounded in various ways. The Qur’ān presented arguments against those who held beliefs contrary to Tawḥīd based on their own personal beliefs (17:46; 39:45). The Qur’ān presented the doctrine of Tawḥīd in simple and clear terms and in a way that people could easily understand and relate to God (6:101; 56:85). Prophet Muḥammad (
) offered people a pure and lofty concept of Tawḥīd. He also presented irrefutable arguments in support of Tawḥīd and invited them to consider the historical fact that all prophets before him had taught the same message (6:74–80). He reminded the people of Makkah that when they faced disasters or calamities they returned and sought assistance from the One True God (30:33). Moreover, the Qur’ān presents examples from diverse aspects of the physical world so that humans can reflect and ponder over their own creation and the many signs of God’s work in the cosmos (2:22; 30:20–25). Finally, the Qur’ān addresses people, sometimes in strong terms, with convincing arguments and an invitation for an honest appraisal of their own claims (10:66; 31:21–22).
The second distinguishing feature of Islam’s belief in the Oneness of God is that it forms the foundation of their remaining beliefs, practices, attitudes, customs, rites and rules. Thus, this belief in God finds expression in every religious, intellectual, social, moral and spiritual dimension of Muslim life.
The implications of a belief in Tawḥīd are many for Muslims. Once it is recognised that Tawḥīd is Truth and God rejects polytheism and infidelity, it becomes incumbent upon a Muslim to worship none other than God. Simultaneously, a Muslim becomes duty bound to serve and offer devotion to God alone. In fact, it would be forbidden to invoke others (40:66). In addition, it becomes necessary to abstain from seeking help of a kind that is only God’s prerogative from others (10:106). Moreover, just as the offering of sacrifices to idols had been rejected at the time of the revelation of the Qur’ān, based on Tawḥīd, the offering of a sacrifice to any person, saint or god other than God is shunned. It also becomes necessary that a Muslim submits to God in matters related to their social, moral, spiritual, economic, legal and political affairs.
In other words, whatever has been deemed prohibited should be abstained from and whatever has been declared permissible should be accepted as such. It also means that nobody has the authority to declare something lawful as unlawful and vice versa (5:44–47; 10:59; 42:10).
Voice of a Muslim
For me, as a businessperson, Tawḥīd plays a pivotal role in my daily life. From the moment I open till the end there is nothing I do without being God conscious. It influences my conduct with customers, dealings and sales. The realisation of Tawḥīd makes me an honest person, as I know I am answerable to my Creator for every transaction. I strongly believe that my business is ordained by God so I always put my trust in God because I believe and worship God, who is my sole Sustainer and of the creation. This gives me a lot of contentment in my business and peace. I rely on Tawḥīd as an organising principle for my financial activities. (Aḥsān, businessperson, British-Asian, male)
The belief in Tawḥīd affects Muslims in all walks of life and not only who and how they worship. In fact, even those actions, which might be considered mundane, are prefaced with a declaration of Bismillāh (with the name of God) such as before eating, typing or beginning a lesson, for that matter. When they intend to do something in the future, you might hear them say In shā’ Allah (God willing) and Allah Ḥāfiẓ (Allah is [your] Protector) when bidding someone farewell. These simple invocations and prayers are a social manifestation of Tawḥīd where God is frequently mentioned. In the parlance of Sharī‘ah, these are terms which convey submission to God – an expression of their faith. The whole system of belief and practice in Islam is founded upon the acceptance and attestation of the truth in the Oneness of God. This Being is Allah.
Allah
Amongst the pagans and various religious communities during the time of the revelation of the Qur’ān, belief in the existence of God was known and common in many communities in the Arabian Peninsula and around the world. However, Islam asserted that there was an absence of the correct understanding of the nature and attributes of Allah. One of the principle aims of the Qur’ān was to address this misconception about the Creator, as you will learn below.
The Qur’ān deploys a wide range of symbolic vocabulary to describe God. By considering some of these, you will gain a clearer knowledge and understanding of how and what Muslims believe about God. In using these beautiful names, the purpose seems at least twofold: conceptual clarification and comparative argumentation. These descriptions of God are significant to know the God worshipped by Muslims and the kind of relationship that exists between the Creator and the creation, according to Islam.
Some Muslims may point out that if God is the Creator, then logically there could be nothing ‘higher’ than God at all in any respect, otherwise God would be ‘lower’ than that ‘something’. This is because limits would be imposed upon God and limiting God in any way would be incompatible with being the Ultimate Reality or the Primary Cause. Hence, all of God’s attributes in all respects are expressed in terms of being infinite. As finite beings, humans cannot comprehend the infinite. On the other hand, God, being infinite, can comprehend His creation. Humans can know God by knowing the signs of God in creation and within themselves. When God is infinite, there can only be One God. Some Muslims will also say that it is not possible by definition to have two first causes, thus there is no god but God. This Unity of God is the foundation of Islam.
The use of He to refer to God is often questioned. According to the Qur’ān, God is neither male nor female; God is unlike any created being. There are no gender connotations in this application. God is beyond such categorisation and conceptions, and, therefore the issue is a matter of linguistics, which itself is both finite, limiting and arbitrary in talking about God. For instance, the English language does not have a word to denote the One Creator and so it resorts to the capitalisation of God to distinguish it from other gods, which is shown by a lowercase ‘g’ (Hewer, 2006). In the Arabic language, God is Allah. This should help you to put to rest a question which...
