RS 50 ISLAM

Prof. Varisco

Fall 2002

 

STUDY GUIDE FOR ISLAM CONCEPTS 

 

EXAM # 1 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE (to be held on 10/15/02)

FINAL EXAM CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE (to be held on 12/17/02)

Suggestions for Studying

Sample Concept Study Notes

EXTRA CREDIT

 

FINAL EXAM CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE

(to be held on 12/17/02)

 

The short-answer questions on Exam #2 will be based on key concepts, ideas, and approaches covered in class from 10/24-12/10. I indicate the main reading for the concept, but you are also responsible for what is said in class lectures. It is important to know not only the "definition," but also be able to provide an example from the course or apply the idea to something new. I will choose questions from the following key issues for this exam.

 

• Why did "orthodox" Sunni Muslims reject the doctrines of the Mutazilites? (Fakhry 1999)

• What is the importance of the Muslim philosopher, Al-Razi? (Fakhry 1999)

• What do Muslims mean by the "Essence" of God? How does this differ from God's names and qualities? (Nasr 1991)

• How does Ali Shariati define "tauhid," the oneness of God? (Shariati 1979)

• Which divine attributes (names) are emphasized in the Quranic Surah on Joseph? (Mir 1986)

• According to the Quranic Surah on Joseph, why did God allow Joseph to be sold into captivity by his brothers? (Surah Joseph, Quran)

• What are the aims of Sufism, according to Ibn Khaldun? (Peters 1994 reading)

• What does the mystic Rumi say is the sign of a true lover of God? ( Rumi in Arberry 1961)

• According to the text by al-Kalabadhi, what do Sufis mean by union with God? (al-Kalabadhi in Kritzeck 1964)

• How do Muslims exist in the state of "barzakh" in the afterlife? (Chittick 1991)

• According to Ibn Kathir, what do Muslims believe will happen when Jesus comes again at the end of time? (Ibn Kathir 1991)

• What are the main characteristics of Islam as practiced among the Songhay kingdom? (Levtzion 1999)

• What is the role of the village "faki" among the Berti of Sudan? (Holy 1991)

• What was the role of militant "jihad" in the frontier regions of the Islamic world in the early 19th century? (Voll 1999)

• What does Mahmud Shaltut think is the connection between the verses of forgiveness and the verse of fighting? (Shaltut reading)

• What does Mahmud Shaltut think are the main reasons for Muslims being allowed to fight or make war, according to the Quran? (Shaltut article)

• According to Ziauddin Sardar, how could the Muslim world have produced a terrorist like Bin Laden? (Sardar 2001)

• What is the difference between the stage of dogma and the stage of truth in Islam? (Taha 1998)

• What do the Nakshabandi order believe differently from "orthodox" Islam? (Kinzer 1997)

• Why do Muslims find Rushdie's Satanic Verses offensive? (Islamic Society of North America 1990 and Taylor 1990)

 

 

EXAM #1 CONCEPT STUDY GUIDE

(for midterm on 10/22/02)

 

 

The short-answer questions on Exam #1 will be based on key concepts, ideas, and approaches covered in class through 10/15/02. I indicate the main reading for the concept, but you are also responsible for what is said in class lectures. It is important to know not only the "definition," but also be able to provide an example from the course or apply the idea to something new. I will choose questions from the following key issues for this exam.

 

• What is the spiritual purpose of the hajj? (Cornell 1999)

• How does Islam determine if an act is allowable or not? (Cornell 1999)

• What role does God (Allah) play in the fatiha, according to Cook's (2000) article?

• What is the major theme of Muhammad's"Farewell Pilgrimage" speech? (Guillaume reading of Ibn Ishaq)

• What criteria were used by early Islamic scholars to reject "traditions" attributed to Muhammad? (Peters selection and Mernissi 1998)

• How did the Byzantine and Sasanian empires differ from the Islamic caliphate? (Donner 1999)

• What were the main issues over succession to leadership after the death of Muhammad? (Donner 1999)

• In what sense could the arrival of Islam be seen as "liberation" to Christian communities in the Middle East? (Smith 1999)

• How did Christians and Muslims interact in Andalusia (Spain)? (Smith 1999)

• In what sense is the Western Ph.D. of Islamic origin, according to Makdisi (1989)?

• What innovations did the Ottomans introduce in their Islamic empire? (Lapidus 1999)

• What is the nature of the postcolonial Muslim state? (Nasr 1999)

• What were three major contributions of Islamic medicine? (Dallal 1999)

• What are the main characteristics of Hanafi legal interpretation? (Kamali1999)

• How do Muslim scholars understand the changing roles of women from the Jahiliyyah period to Islam? (Tucker 1993)

• How did political and economic changes in the 19th century influence gender roles of Muslim women? (Tucker 1993)

 

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Sample Concept Study Notes

 

In order to provide an example of what I would consider "comprehensive" study notes for a concept, consider the notes you could take for the concept:

 

 SAMPLE CONCEPT: What is the Islamic view of conception in the Tibb al-Nabawi genre? (Varisco 1994)

 

• Muslim scholars sided with Hippocrates in saying both male and female contributed to embryo (Aristotle thought only semen was needed) (p. 259)

 

• The Quran, according to a hadith, indicated three 40-day stages (drop of semen, bloodlike clot, lump with shape). (pp. 259-260)

 

• Woman does not want sex when she conceives (semen being compressed) (p. 260)

 

• Guardian angel says if it is male or female while in clot stage (p.160)

 

• God breathes into the lump in the third stage and it becomes a living soul (p. 260)

 

• Child sits with face towards mother's back until it comes out in somersault (p. 261)

 

• Some jurists allowed abortion until 4th month; contraception generally ok (p. 260)

 

 

 

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Suggestions for Studying:

 

• Keep notes on the issues listed above as you read about them or hear about them in class lectures. One way to do this is to write each issue at the top of a file card or sheet of paper and jot down notes as you read and study that will serve as a study guide for the concept exam.

• I will be glad to look over your notes to make suggestions (except at the last minute before the exam!). The best way to do this is to make an appointment and come to my office, where we can go over them together.

• If you do not understand the idea from the reading or as it is discussed in the relevant class, you need to ask for clarification in that class, email me or come and see me in my office.

 

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Extra Credit:

 

Each student in the class has an opportunity to earn extra-credit points while at the same point properly preparing for the first two exams. Students who hand in their study notes (these can be hand-written) at the time of the exam can earn up to 3 extra credit points, according to the following criteria:

 

3 points (comprehensive and concise notes for each concept)

2 points (adequate notes for each concept)

1 point (adequate notes for at least half of the concepts)

 

NOTE: If you choose not to prepare seriously for the exam, you will probably not do well on it.

 

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