Islam: culture, architecture, literature, traditions

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The youngest religion on Earth is Islam. The culture of the peoples professing it rests on faith in the one God of Allah and respect for the memory of past generations. The essence of the Islamic religion is to preserve the best of the cultural heritage of the ancestors and in a constant focus on the precepts of Mohammed contained in the Koran.

Islam helps to preserve national traditions and culture

The culture of the countries of Islam harmoniously reflects the national characteristics of ethnic groups professing faith in Allah. This is clearly seen in the works of literature and art of representatives of the peoples who converted to Islam. All the achievements of the culture of Islam are connected in one way or another with religion. There is not a single outstanding work of architecture or literature in which Allah and his prophet Mohammed would not be glorified.

Modern Islamic civilization does not abandon its history and does not try to rewrite it, presenting the past in a more favorable light. This is the phenomenon of this religion. The traditions of Islam have not changed much over time. How can this be explained? Crisis in our worldaffecting and destroying a variety of socially and economically significant areas occur almost every year, and generations of people change every three years, if not more often. The connection with the roots is lost, customs are forgotten and die off. To understand how the peoples of Islam preserve their individuality, one needs to get to know their cultural heritage, which includes literature, architecture and national traditions.

The origins of Islamic culture

Islam is a little over six hundred years younger than Christianity. In 610, a man named Mohammed witnessed a miracle. Archangel Jabrail (Gabriel) appeared to him and opened the scroll with the first sura. This event is included in the main Islamic holidays and is called the Night of Destiny. The supreme angel visited the prophet for the next twenty-two years. Mohammed, who could not read and write, miraculously read the divine texts himself, memorized, and then recounted what he heard to his friends, and they wrote it down. The angel repeated to Mohammed all those divine messages that the Bible contains, that is, the Adamic Testament, the scrolls of Abraham, the Torah, the Ps alter and the Gospel, and also told the New Message. He said that this is the last Divine Revelation - the Lord will no longer send his prophets to people. Now everyone will die as soon as he falls asleep, then he will rise as soon as he wakes up, after which he will immediately go to the Court of God, where his outcome will be decided - eternal paradise or eternal hell.

In order to convert to Islam, it is enough to declare oneself believing in one God, and also that Mohammed is the last prophet. Beforehe was Musa (Moses), Isa (Christ) and others whose names are preserved in Scripture. Denying the divine essence of Mohammed is the same as denying it from Christ and the Old Testament prophets.

It is interesting that the ministers of the Christian church continue to wait for the second coming of Jesus and deny the divine essence of Mohammed. In this regard, the reflections of F. M. Dostoevsky are recalled, where he writes about the sad fate of Christ when He returns to people again. Islam perceives Isa as a true prophet and believes that his teaching was largely distorted and used by representatives of the Church of Christ not for the benefit of people, but for committing many ungodly acts. There is some truth in this - the Christian Gospel was repeatedly copied, translated into different languages, and those, in turn, were constantly transformed. As a result, it is difficult to expect original authenticity from a modern text. If there is a desire to know the fuller truth about the path of Christ, then the most correct thing is to learn Arabic and read the Koran.

To be fair, it should be noted that in Islam, not everything is absolutely smooth. The Islamic world, unfortunately, is also not ideal. The division between Muslims is similar to the division between representatives of any world religion. The most basic branches of Islam are Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The disagreement between them manifested itself at the dawn of Islam and was expressed in the following: the first, the Sunnis, unconditionally accepted the text of the Revelations, written down by Mohammed's friend Zeid ibn Thabit (this text is considered canonical); the second, the Shiites, claimed that the Caliph Osman withdrew fromcanonical version of part of the text; still others, the Kharijites, believed that sura 12 should be deleted, as it is too frivolous a description of how the wife of the Egyptian noble Potiphar seduces Joseph.

The Muslim General Book

Numerous detailed studies of the Koran have confirmed the truth of this book as a Revelation from God, or, as Muslims call it, Allah.

It is interesting that some of the information about modern man and society given in the Koran was not clear to readers for a long time. Their meaning became clear only over time. The Qur'an anticipated some of the scientific discoveries that have taken place in the last hundred years. The researchers claim that the information contained in this book, many times exceeded the level of knowledge that was in the years of its writing.

All Islamic literature is tied to the Koran and is full of references to sacred texts. We, Christian Europeans, perceive as a hypocrite or a hypocrite a person who mentions the Gospel in a conversation, and we consider the story of the writer, reminiscent of the Gospel parable, to be plagiarism. It is no coincidence that Jesus said that His teaching would be distorted and bring disunity and enmity to people, evil would be done in His Name, and the Christian Church would be founded by that apostle who, during the life of the Savior, would betray Him three times. Islam is a religion that unites people, and the Koran is the basic law in such a rich and prosperous country as Saudi Arabia, in all the emirates of the Persian Gulf, as well as in Libya, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq,Sudan, etc. The moral norms written in it and sanctified by Allah, by justice, wisdom and the power of influencing people, are much stronger than the norms of secular constitutions. This conclusion was reached by lawyers who have the opportunity to compare the effectiveness of the legislation of Islamic states with the situation in other countries.

The Night of Destiny. Eid al-Fitr

All Islamic holidays are related to religion. The night of predestination is the most important event in the history of Muslims, when the archangel Jabrail opened the first scroll to Mohammed. This event is celebrated on the 27th night of Ramadan. Then, for ten days, Muslims pray most zealously, asking Allah for the remission of sins. Fasting, called Ramadan, ends with a big holiday - Uraza Bayram, when believers congratulate each other and generously distribute gifts and money to those in need. Ramadan passes during the summer months.

Sacrifice. Eid al-Adha

The second important holiday for Muslims is associated with the sacrifice of Ibrahim. It is celebrated 70 days after Eid al-Fitr. On this day, Muslims rejoice that Ibrahim demonstrated to Allah the strength of his faith and complete obedience to His will. Allah accepted his humility and canceled human sacrifices, and also blessed him with the birth of a son. This story is also in the Old Testament, which confirms the connection between the two main world religions operating in Russia, which are Christianity and Islam. The culture of the two confessions is somewhat similar, in particular, this is noticeable inthe attitude of the bearers of faith to cultural and ethical values, as well as to the socio-political processes taking place inside the country and abroad.

Arabic - music written in script

Unlike the Christian Bible, the Koran is a tome, the text of which has not changed since the very first writing. The Arabic language can and should even be studied from the Holy Scriptures. This is done all over the world. This is Islam - religion and culture in it are inseparable from each other. A beautiful, viscous, throaty and very musical language, as if by nature itself, was created for reading prayers. It is not distorted by Americanisms or other newspeak. The thin and graceful ligature of Arabic letters, more reminiscent of an intricate ornament, is a wonderful decoration for interior items. The image of letters on a letter is a real living art of calligraphy, which Islam can rightly be proud of. The culture of European countries every year is becoming more and more universal, not to say primitive - in secondary schools, hours for writing handwriting have long been canceled, drawing and drawing are also rejected as irrelevant. And this is at a time when in the Arab countries all segments of the population are learning their native language from the Koran. Comprehending their native alphabet, they remember the laws of their country, which are common to all. The tiered approach applies only to the amount of mandatory cash donations - the poor are completely exempt from them, while the rich pay as their income increases. We call it progressive taxation andwe dream that someday such a system will work in our country.

The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters and four spellings for each, in addition, vowels are indicated by separate characters. Ligatures denoting individual words or combinations of letters look unusually beautiful. They are used as decoration for various items.

They say that Islamic civilization will sooner or later replace the Christian one. It's hard to argue with that.

Unique differences in Islamic culture

Some features of the culture of Islam seem strange and not entirely rational, but it should be remembered: difficult to understand does not mean bad. This applies to relationships between people, traditions of marriage, ways of expressing feelings, etc. The Koran says that all people are equal, like the teeth of a comb, and there is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab, white or black. All - men and women, peoples and tribes - should strive to understand each other and try to do good to each other.

Islamic culture can rightfully be proud of its magnificent architectural monuments. These are mosques, mausoleums, palaces, fortresses, baths, etc. Their distinctive feature is ornate and delicate patterns of calligraphic inscriptions, leaves and flowers. All buildings are kept immaculately clean. Muslims perceive their language, culture, nationality, intangible benefits, as well as real estate as values transferred to people for safekeeping by Allah himself. This is called amanat. And this explains why so praises the materialcomfort and cleanliness islam. The culture of this religion pays tribute to the beauty created by human hands for the glory of Allah and with his blessing.

Mosque is the main building of Muslims. Here the believers worship Allah. In mosques, common prayers are held, sermons are read, and the faithful gather here to resolve important issues. Mosques always have schools where those who wish to learn Arabic.

Legendary love story

Speaking of Islamic culture, one cannot ignore the famous Taj Mahal and the history associated with it. This mausoleum, or palace-tomb, was built by the padish of the Mughal Empire, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, whom he loved with eternal divine love. The writer and historian of the 17th century Inayatullah Kanbu left information about the descendant of Tamerlane, who built other structures that amaze the imagination with the luxury of the materials used and the complexity of the structures. He compiled the most complete epic about the Mughal dynasty "Behar-e Danesh". Shah Jahan is described in the book Tarikh-e Delgusha as a ruler who brought a great empire to the brink of financial collapse. The reason lies not only in the huge spending on luxury, but also in the numerous unsuccessful military campaigns in which the shah went, having provided himself with complete comfort. His numerous wives and concubines always rode with him. Not all women and children returned from campaigns alive. Mumtaz Mahal also died during childbirth while accompanying her husband's army. This was her 14th child of those who did not die immediately after birth. She was constantly pregnant and gave birth to children almost every year. Constant pregnancies that occurred before the time for menstruation came is a sign that a woman is pure, like the white marble from which the mausoleum is made. And death during childbirth is considered a boon for a woman and a sign of holiness. In Islam, it is customary to divide women into clean and unclean. Mumtaz Mahal was clean throughout her marriage to the Shah and died in childbirth, which is why he admired her.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal took twenty years to build. The palace is great. White during the day, at sunrise and sunset it becomes pink, and on a moonlit night it seems to be cast from silver. The cold sheen of metal is reflected in the waters of the pool and fountains. In the absence of electric lighting, it causes the feeling of an independent source of radiance, which is born from the smooth walls of the building. These are the properties of a rare sort of marble brought from Rajasthan, located three hundred kilometers from the construction site.

The mausoleum includes several elements - a tomb with the tombs of Khan and his wife, two mosques and a park complex with a marble pool.

The Taj Mahal is a mixture of Indian, Persian and Arabic architectural styles. It is made with absolute symmetry. Talented architects designed it in such a way that when looking at the palace from different angles, interesting optical effects arise.

Islam forbids depicting animals and people. Fine and openwork patterns covering the marble slabs are drawingsflowers and leaves, as well as excerpts from the Qur'an.

Semi-precious and precious stones - carnelian, malachite, turquoise, jadeite, agate and others were used for interior and exterior wall decoration and decorative elements. According to some estimates, there are 28 types in total.

More than twenty thousand craftsmen from all over the Mughal Empire worked on the palace. Legend has it that the architect's hands were cut off at the end of the work, so that he would not create anything more perfect. Whether this is true or not is hard to say. If you think about it, the construction of the Taj Mahal was accompanied by such large material costs, and this is against the backdrop of a famine that claimed the lives of millions of Indians almost every year, then it makes no sense to talk about whether the khan could have committed a cruel act or not. What is the story alone that he killed all the relatives who stood in his way to supreme power. True, in old age he himself was removed from the throne. One of his sons followed the path of his father, killing all the brothers and placing Khan Jahan himself under arrest.

The Taj Mahal is very similar to the tomb of the great-grandfather of Khan Jahan - Padishah Humayun, which was built by the widow of the Padishah by 1570.

Currently, the Taj Mahal is considered one of the wonders of the world and is under the protection of UNESCO, but time and adverse changes in climatic conditions have put the palace complex at risk of destruction. Marble loses its whiteness, the foundation sags - cracks appear.

Integration of Islamic culture in non-Muslim countries

By nowThe Islamic world covered all the continents of the Earth. This confirms the validity of Scripture, which says that Mohammed came to Earth in order to save all people without division into nationalities and religions, while Moses is only for the Jews, and Christ is for the Gentiles. Today, a quarter of the world's population consider themselves Muslims, and their number is growing. In Europe, the process occurs due to the migration of residents from the countries of South Asia. With the same speed, if not faster, Islamic culture conquers the United States, but not at the expense of resettlement - more and more local residents come to mosques and ask for the blessings of muftis, wanting to voluntarily join a reasonable and fair faith. Modern Islam is a religion of peace and goodness. It is sad that some of its representatives, voluntarily or involuntarily, cast a shadow on religion and the people who profess it. It's not fair. Individual situations involving a small group of people should not be the responsibility of all Muslims. This is the same as blaming modern Christians for the crusades and bloody inquisition that took place in the Middle Ages, when Islam, by the way, was just in its infancy.