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"Zaabalawi" General Questions | Group Questions | Criticism | Pictures | Links Terms to know Heroic monomyth Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Theseus, Glooskap, and King Arthur are heroes to their cultures; they are, to varying extents, culture heroes. But as Joseph Campbell has demonstrated, when we consider heroes and their myths comparatively, we discover a universal hero myth that speaks to us all and addresses our common need to move forward as individuals and as a species. “The Hero,” writes Campbell, “is the man or woman who has been able to battle past his personal and local historical limitations to the generally valid, normally human forms” (1949, pp. 19–20). The essential characteristic of the universal hero myth is the giving of life to something bigger than itself. By definition, the true hero does not merely stand for the status quo; he or she breaks new ground. The questing hero is our cultural and collective psyche out on the edges of knowledge and existence. Heroic monomyth" The Oxford Companion to World mythology. Ed. David Leeming. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 1 December 2010. Islam (Arabic, submission to God) Monotheistic religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the early 7th century. At the heart of Islam stands the Koran, the divine revelation of God to Muhammad. Members of the faith ( Muslims) date the beginning of Islam from AD 622, the year of the Hejira. Muslims submit to the will of Allah by five basic precepts (pillars). First, the shahadah, ‘there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet’. Second, salah, five daily ritual prayers. At a mosque, a Muslim performs ritual ablutions before praying to God in a attitude of submission, kneeling on a prayer mat facing the Kaaba at Mecca with head bowed, then rising with hands cupped behind the ears to hear God's message. Third, zakat or alms-giving. Fourth, sawm, fasting during Ramadan. Fifth, Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. The rapid growth in Islam during the 8th century can be attributed to the unification of the temporal and spiritual. The community leader ( caliph) is both religious and social leader. The Koran was soon supplemented by the informal, scriptural elaborations of the Sunna (Muhammad's sayings and deeds), collated as the Hadith. A Muslim must also abide by the Sharia or religious law. While Islam stresses the importance of the unity of the summa (nation) of Islam, several distinctive branches have developed, such as Sunni, Shi'ite, and Sufism. Today, there are c.935 million Muslims worldwide. "Islam" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 2 December 2010 pilgrimage Religiously motivated journey to a shrine or other holy place in order to gain spiritual help or guidance, or for the purpose of thanksgiving. Pilgrimages are common to many religions, particularly in the East. A Muslim should make the pilgrimage to Mecca, where devotions last two weeks, at least once in his life. This pilgrimage is known as the Hajj. Since the 2nd century AD Christians have made pilgrimages to Palestine, to the tomb of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, and to that of James in Santiago de Compostela, NW Spain "pilgrimage." World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 2 December 2010. Sufism Islamic mysticism, often referred to as the internalization and intensification of Islamic faith and practice. Sufis strive to constantly be aware of God's presence, stressing contemplation over action, spiritual development over legalism, and cultivation of the soul over social interaction. In contrast to the academic exercises of theology and jurisprudence, which depend on reason, Sufism depends on emotion and imagination in the divine-human relationship. Sufism is unrelated to the Sunni/Shii split, schools of jurisprudence, social class, gender, geography, or family connections. It is closely associated with both popular religion and orthodox expressions of Islamic teachings. It has been both opposed and supported by the state. "Sufism." Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Ed. John L. Esposito. Oxford University Press Inc. 2003. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 1 December 2010. Questions to mull over as you interpret the story
"There are certain frequently used words in the story which have a strong Sufi flavour, such as hubb ('love'), 'adhab, ('suffering'), liqa' ('encounter')" (Somekh) "Again one recalls the frequent use of the word khamr ("wine") in Sufi poetry to symbolize ecstatic union with the creator." (Somekh) "The local Muslim background and terminology are no more than a disguise hiding a problem common to so many intellectuals in different environments and different historical periods. There is, moreover, a special flavour of our present century, which, along with great scientific and technological achievements, has brought a certain disillusionment with science, or, at least, an acute awareness of its limitations. The conviction that science is capable of solving all human problems and of answering all the big questions has long ceased being fashionable. We are no longer astonished when we hear of a scientist who finds refuge from doubt in religion or mysticism." (Somekh)
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