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Islamic Mysticism

Islam is a Middle Eastern religion originating from around the 7th century, based on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. The basic paradigm of Islam focuses on the revelations and ideals given to Muhammad by Allah (God) and recorded in the Islamic Holy Text, the Qur'an. The basic focus of the Qur'an is to guide individuals to their appropriately perfect relationship with Allah through order, law and tradition. It is important to remember that the Qur'an was written during a time when most of the population was illiterate, so the cultural traditions contained within the Qur'an were designed to organize society and every aspect of life.

Islam is mystical in the sense of a tradition of both wisdom and philosophy, based primarily on the manner in which the Prophet attained the wisdom of Allah and transcribed it. In many ways, though, like other religious traditions, the idea is that Allah is an unseen being, "the outward and the inward: (Qur'an 57:3). Allah is the nature of the universe, the "Light of the heavens and the earth. . . light upon lights; God guides to His light whom He will. And God strikes similitudes for man, and God has knowledge of everything" (Qur'an 24:35).

The Qur'an is a record of material dictated by God, first to Muhammad in order to correct previously revealed scripture (Tawrat/Torah and Injil/Gospels). In addition, the Qur'an is thought to be the final revelation and literal word of God. Mystically, these revelations were revealed through the Archangel Jibri (Gabriel) directly to Muhammad; written down by his companions but primarily remembered through oral memorization and tradition. Muhammad was thus the last prophet and sent to convey Allah's message to the world in a way that would be a summation of proper religious thought and a final truth for humankind.

Two central notions in Islam, both for mystical and cultural traditions, are those of the personage of Muhammad and the resulting text of the Qur'an. For Muslims, one cannot really separate the idea of culture and legal tradition, since it is legality that helps organize society. Muhammad brought these words from Allah, and they are thus noted in text, covering every aspect of human life and society, and called Sharia. Sharia forms the basis of Islamic belief by establishing the manner than humans evolve towards their perfect relationship with God. These basic tenets are known as the Five Pillars of Islam, and consist of: 1) Shahada, or the manner one exemplifies one's faith; 2) Zakat, or charity toward those in need; 3) Sawm, giving up or fasting during certain holy times as a way to honor God; 4) Salah, the manner and function of regular prayer, and; 5) Hajj, a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Mecca during one's lifetime.