Modern Islamic World and Teachings of Islam

Arab is the true origin for Islam. With the passage of time, Islam started spreading in other countries and was influenced accordingly. Today Islam has become a mix of a country’s culture and religious beliefs.

There are dozens of Muslims living all over the globe. Although, they belong to different local cultures and countries, however, the core beliefs have always been the same, which are: “No God but Allah and Muhammad PBUH is his prophet”. That makes them united as one Ummah. Islamic teachings include each and every life aspect such as clothing, food, and ceremonies etc. that make up the whole culture.

Understanding Muslim Culture:

Muslim culture comprises of common beliefs and religious practices being adopted by people in different countries, and they revolve around the religion, Islam. Most of the Islamic literature is in Arabic, which was actually developed by Umayyads and was then taken by Arabs to other lands. Persian and Sanskrit have also played some part in this regard.

Festivals and Marriage:

Religious Festivals and marriage in Islam have great importance. Festivals like Eid, Lailat ul qadar and others show the influence of religion on a Muslim’s life. Marriage has been given the status of “half religion” in Islam and is a Sunnah as well.

Art and Architecture:

There has always been a connection of art and Muslim culture. Islamic culture incudes the artistic work with the help of verses of Holy Quran, and inspirations from old architectural mosques and worshipping places. Calligraphic designs have been used in the past in order to create a third dimension of spirituality. Art and Architecture revolves around the principle of Omnipresence. Other than that, an Islamic architecture also includes large courtyards, bright color, domes, minarets, fountains, repetitive art forms, central prayer halls, and a wall niche indicating the direction to Makkah.

Music:

The musical taste in Islamic culture is a bit different and is mostly played in public services. Arab classical and north indian classical are famous forms amongst the different music genres. The credit for introducing this form to musims goes to Sufis.

Muslim Customs and Traditions:

There are a lot of practices today in the modern Islamic world that are not the part of Quran, but still they are part of ours. These practices are actually the essence of Hazrat Muhammad’s sayings, doings, and living that are called Hadees. E.g. growing beard, eating with the right hand, using Miswaak for teeth cleaning, and shaking hand while greeting. However, there are some practices which are neither the part of Quran, nor Hadees, but still do exist in our society due to our local norms and cultures. For instance, Muslims in Pakistan bow down when one’s child reaches 40.

Islam is the 2nd largest religion today, with 2 major sects i.e. Sunni and Shia.. However, 5 pillars that join and unite all Muslims across the world of every sect are Shahdah, Prayer, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj.

Today, we need to think about what to do and what not to. There are so many customs and practices prevailing around that are not supposed to be there according to Quran and Hadees, and need to be wiped off.

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