Faith & Beliefs - History and Democracy of the Modern Middle East - HIST 235 Resource Guide

Selected E-Books

The Qur'an by Muhammad A. S Abdel Haleem (Translator)
Call Number: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost)
ISBN: 0192831933
Publication Date: 2005
Islam by Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood; Collins Staff
Call Number: Credo Reference
ISBN: 9780007278770
Publication Date: 2008

The Qur'an
The Qur'an, the holy scripture of Islam, is the record of Muhammad's oral teaching delivered between the years immediately preceding the Hegira in AD 622 and the Prophet's death in AD 632.
Reformist Voices of Islam: Mediating Islam and Modernity
This compelling volume introduces the current generation of moderate reformist thinkers and activists within Islam, the intellectual traditions they carry on, and the reasons why reformist movements have been overshadowed by fundamentalist, revolutionary, and jihadist movements in the Islamic world today.
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
Rich historical content is partnered with coverage of the issues, countries, and people that are important in todays world, allowing for an assessment of Islams influence on all areas of human activity throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

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God: Topic Page
Divinity of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as many other world religions.
Qur'an: Topic Page
The book composed of sacred writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad by Allah.
Prophet: Topic Page
A religious leader and spokesperson, particularly used in the Bible. The prophets emitted messages from the divine through inspired speech, the interpretation of omens and dreams, and the casting of lots and divination.
Resurrection
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Christian, Jewish, and Muslim belief, the rising from the dead that all souls will experience at the Last Judgement.
Predestination: Topic Page
In theology, doctrine that asserts that God predestines from eternity the salvation of certain souls. So-called double predestination, as in Calvinism, is the added assertion that God also foreordains certain souls to damnation.
Angel: Topic Page

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The Five Pillars
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Muslim worship can be private or public. In Islam there are five ways in which a Muslim is expected to worship Allah. Islam can be compared to a house with a sound structure. It has a firm foundation and five supporting pillars.
Shahadah
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
The first duty of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is a statement of faith - ‘I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah’.
Salat
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
The prayers that are the second of the Five Pillars of Islam, said five times a day.

Zakat
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Islam, the obligatory duty to pay annually a percentage of income as alms; it is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam. The payment ‘cleanses’ the income of possessiveness, and reminds Muslims that everything is owned by God.
Sawm
From The Huchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Fasting undertaken during the month of Ramadan; it is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Hajj: Topic Page
The pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, one of the five basic requirements (arkan or "pillars") of Islam.

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Seeing Allah While Dreaming: A Comparison Between Shi'a and Sunni Beliefs
The two main branches of Islam have taken opposing stances on the possibility of seeing Allah in the dreaming state. While the dominant Sunni position has been open to the possibility, the dominant Twelver Shi'a position has not. The difference between these two approaches has not always been recognised. In this study, therefore, both traditions are examined, particularly with reference to the Qur'an and Hadith. Mulla Sadra's views are also discussed as the views of a key detractor from Shi'a orthodoxy.