Sawm - fasting

Religious people have always used fasting as means of getting closer to God.  In Christianity fasting is not as widely practiced as it used to be but their are Christians who fast to make their prayers more effective and in some places of the world fasting in lent is an important Christian tradition.

The Qur'an teaches Muslims to fast as a sign of their devotion to God.  Sawm or fasting is the fourth pillar of Islam and it is therefore a must for every true Muslim.  Most Muslims practice fasting during the month of Ramadan.

What do Muslims do when they fast in Ramadan?

• Give up food and drink during daylight hours
  
• Give up sex during daylight hours
  
• Give up smoking during daylight hours
  
• Eat at night when the sun has set
  
• Rise before sunrise if they wish to eat breakfast
  
• Read the whole Qur'an over the thirty days of Ramadan
  
• Go to mosque at night for special prayers (called tarawih)
  
• Towards the end of ramadan celebrate the Night of Power (lailat al Qadr) at the mosque
  
• Try to live the best possible Muslim life

During Ramadan the meal at the end of the day takes on a special significance for Muslms.  For many it is a special family time when they join with other to remember how good Allah has been to them in providing them with homes, families, food and water.

The picture above shows a date seller.  Many Muslims break their fast with dates, because this is what the prophet Muhammad did.

Zakah - paying 2.5% of your money to the poor

Zakah is the third pillar of Islam and like all the pillars it is compulsory for Muslims.  Zakah is paid once a year.  Shariah law teaches that a Muslim should pay zakah on their income and on their savings.  Zakah is paid to the mosque.  This is what it should be used on,

• To help the poor
  
• To help orphans and widows
  
• To pay for mosques and mosque school (madrasahs)
  
• To pay for the cost of speading the message of Islam
  

If you are asked to explain beliefs about zakah you need to consider why Muslims give. A variety of reasons are given in the bullet points below, 

• Muslims believe that zakah contributes towards equality.  The rich become a little poorer and the poor become a little richer
  
• Muslims believe zakah purifies their money.  Through giving they are reminded to worship Allah, not money
  
• The Qur'an commands giving zakah
  
• Allah is concerned for the poor and needy
• Being part of the ummah means helping one another in practical ways

A second type of Muslim giving is called sadaqah.  Zakah is compulsory (you have to do it) but sadaqah is voluntary.  Muslims believe that Allah wants them to be generous and give what they can spare. This supports Muslims beliefs in the ummah and in the equality of everyone.

Ju'mah Prayers

A Muslim believe that he can come into the presence of Allah through prayer in any place at any time.  The midday prayers on Friday however are of special significance.  They are called ju'mah prayers.

The midday prayers on Friday should be said in the mosque (though women are allowed to say them at home).  On this occasion the imam will say a sermon, or khutba.  This will be a teaching from the Qur'an preached from the minbar, a raised platform at the front of the mosque. The imam will try to make his sermon relevant to his listeners. In Britain this means that the sermon must address issues that affect Muslims living in this country.

Though these prayers are very important they do not make Fridays into an especially holy day as Sunday is for Christians or Saturday is for Jews.  After ju'mah prayers Muslims can return to work and continue their day as normal.

The Life of Muhammad

• Born in Makkah in 570 CE
  
• Orphaned as a child and raised by his grandfather, followed by his uncle
  
• Worked as trader, worked for wealthy widow Khadijah
  
• Married Khadijah in 595 CE
  
• 610 CE Night of Power
  
• Began to preach in Makkah, and gained many followers
  
• A small community of followers grew and began to pray together, but Muhammad also attracted enemies.
  
• Muhammad and his followers moved to Madinah (called the hijrah) in 622 CE
  
• Muhammad attracted more followers and people of Madinah invited him to be their leader
  
• Makkah attacked Madinah, Battles of Bad'r, Uhud and the Trench
  
• 628  Muhammad tried to return to Makkah and make hajj but was refused entry
  
• The following year returned and a treaty was made allowing Muslims to do hajj
  
• But Makkans did not keep treaty so Muhammad surrounded the city and they eventually surrendered and converted
  
• Muhammad died in 632 CE

Ressurrection of the body versus immortality of the soul

This picture depicts the resurrection day and the belief that some Christians have that when people die their souls remain in the grave until the last day when the dead will be raised and given new resurrection bodies.
Stanley Spencer painted many pictures of his home village Cookham in Berkshire. These paintings capture Spencer's own peculiar vision of Christianity. This painting is of the church yard at Cookham on resurrection day. Look carefully and you will see the figure of Christ in the church doorway with God the Father behind him. Various of the dead are rising up out of their graves. Spencer himself is the naked figure leaning against a tomb stone in the centre of the painting. His girlfriend Hilda is the woman lying amongst the ivy.

Revising Christian attitudes to life after death
Questions about belief in life after death are not easy. To help your revision, focus on learning the two key terms, resurrection of the body and immortality of the soul.

• resurrection of the body = the belief that after death the body stas in the grave until the end of the world, when it is raised
• immortality of the soul = the idea that the soul lives on after the death of the body

This will help you especially if you are asked for two different Christian points of view. You also need to make sure you can spell 'resurrection' correctly.

How do christian respond to the problem of evil and suffering?

If you re asked this in the exam should begin by briefly stating what the problem of evil and suffering is (see previous post) Then you should divide your answer into two types of Christian response. Firstly what Christians believe and pray about secondly practical things that Christians do.

Belief and prayer

• Christians believe that evil and suffering is undesirable and should be fought against.
• Christians believe that prayer is an effective way of fighting evil and suffering.
• Christians believe that God has a reason for allowing pain and suffering (though we don't always know the reason)
• Christians believe that they should develp patience in life to endure suffering and that they will be rewarded in the nex life (heaven)
• Christian believe that jesus set an example of fighting evil and suffering through what he taught and by healing the sick
• Christians believe that most evil and suffering is caused by human action (free will)

Practical action

• Church services and personal prayer times will include prayers for those who suffer.
• Many Christians choose to work in caring professions (e.g. doctors, nurses) to try and reduce human suffering
• Christians have founded charities to try and reduce suffering
• A large proportion of aid and development work is carried out by Christian organisations
• Christians have always been on the frontline of bringing change in society to reduce suffering and evil (e.g. abolition of the slave trade, prison reform)

To see how one major Christian organisation is responding to the Burma crisis visit,
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/

Burma

The death toll from the cyclone that hit Burma at the weekend is now estimated to be in the region of 22, 000. Such naturally occurring events cause untold suffering for millions of people and lead to very serious questions about the existence of a loving God.

Natural disasters such as cyclones, floods, volcanoes, drought, earthquakes and cancer are all examples of natural evil. Natural evil is not caused by humans unlike moral evil which is the result of choices that people make. All humans have free will but often make choices that cause others to suffer. War, murder and rape are all examples of moral evil. Most Christians call moral evil sin because it is contrary to the way God wants people to live and goes against the moral code of the 10 commandments.

Key words.
natural evil = things that cause suffering, but have notheng to do with humans, for example earthquakes.
moral evil = actions by humans that cause suffering