Homework: Islam

Language and Religion, Spring 2006

Due in class on March 10.

To answer these questions you will need to do some research on the web. I recommend using www.google.com and then look among the items that come up to find useful information. Your assignment should be typed, of course, and submitted in hardcopy.

1.  Among the main sources for Islamic traditions are the Koran, dictated by God via Gabriel and Muhammad, and the `hadith', stories containing direct quotations from Muhammad written down by his disciples and companions (the names of the witnesses are typically included in the hadith). 

Islam greatly improved the status of women relative to previous practices and relative to European and Christian practice of the time. One very important step not taken in England or the US until the mid 19th century was that women are entitled to share inheritance from their fathers and husbands. Using the library or the web, find some instructions, suggestions or stories about the inheritance and the ownership of property by women from both (a) the Koran and (b) from at least one hadith. Write a couple paragraphs that summarize the main rules of inheritance in Islam pertaining to women. Also be sure to cite your main sources. (To search the web, you might begin with search terms like [islam inheritance women] for example. Be careful to cite reliable sources and indicate where you found your information.)

2.  Describe in your own words what the `Five Pillars of Islam' are. It might be useful for you to know that the Arabic descriptions of them (in the standard order and the most common transliteration) are: shahada (declaration), salat (prayer), zakat (alms), Ramadan (fast), hajj (pilgrimage).  Then write a second paragraph about one of them giving more detail about traditional views on appropriate ways to satisfactorily fulfill ONE of these principles.