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115-465: Arab studies talk about the history of the Middle East and North Africa, before the rise of Islam to the present time. Covering a wide range of topics, such as methods , approaches, colonial history , gender , environmental and legal dimensions. It depends on the political , economic , social and cultural history of the region . Arabic is a language spoken by more than 422 million people from

230-584: A Christian majority until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. At Mecca , Muhammad is said to have received repeated embassies from Christian tribes. Like their Byzantine and late Sasanian predecessors, the Marwanid caliphs nominally ruled the various religious communities but allowed the communities' own appointed or elected officials to administer most internal affairs. Yet the Marwanids also depended heavily on

345-432: A belief or conviction that is not based on religious or supernatural doctrines. Secular faith can arise from a wide range of sources and can take many forms, depending on the individual's beliefs and experiences, including: The epistemological study focuses on epistemic justification, the rationality of belief, and various related issues. A justified belief is a belief that is well-supported by evidence and reasons, and that

460-656: A big sin and strictly forbidden to Jews). Rather, in Judaism, one is to honor a (personal) idea of God, supported by the many principles quoted in the Talmud to define Judaism, mostly by what it is not. Thus there is no established formulation of Jewish principles of faith which are mandatory for all (observant) Jews . In the Jewish scriptures, trust in God – Emunah – refers to how God acts toward his people and how they are to respond to him; it

575-471: A classic understanding of faith that is referred to as evidentialism , and which is part of a larger epistemological tradition called classical foundationalism , which is accompanied by deontologism , which holds that humans must regulate their beliefs following evidentialist structures. They show how this can go too far, and Alvin Plantinga deals with it. While Plantinga upholds that faith may be

690-430: A complete turning from an old to a totally new life. While it entailed the acceptance of new religious beliefs and membership in a new religious community, most converts retained a deep attachment to the cultures and communities from which they came." The result, he points out, can be seen in the diversity of Muslim societies today, with varying manifestations and practices of Islam. Conversion to Islam also came about as

805-599: A degree of trust, primarily in the spiritual attainment of Gautama Buddha . Faith in Buddhism can still be described as faith in the Three Jewels (the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha). It is intended to lead to the goal of enlightenment, or bodhi , and Nirvana . Volitionally, faith implies a resolute and courageous act of will. It combines the steadfast resolution that one will do a thing with the self-confidence that one can do it. In

920-522: A global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics—in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities. A third development is the growth and elaboration of transnational military organizations. The 1980s and 90s, with several major conflicts in the Middle East , including the Arab–Israeli conflict , Afghanistan in

1035-402: A higher proportion of Muslims among the population. The Abbasids replaced the expanding empire and "tribal politics" of "the tight-knit Arabian elite with cosmopolitan culture and disciplines of Islamic science , philosophy , theology , law and mysticism became more widespread, and the gradual conversions of the empire's populations occurred. Significant conversions also occurred beyond

1150-566: A law was enacted that required all bureaucrats of the empire to be Muslims. Both periods were also marked by significant migrations of Arab tribes outwards from the Arabian Peninsula into the new territories. Richard Bulliet 's "conversion curve" shows a relatively low rate of conversion of non-Arab subjects during the Arab centric Umayyad period of 10%, in contrast with estimates for the more politically-multicultural Abbasid period, which saw

1265-413: A necessary means for being a practicing religious Jew, but the emphasis is placed on true knowledge , true prophecy , and practice rather than on faith itself. Very rarely does it relate to any teaching that must be believed. Judaism does not require one to explicitly identify God (a key tenet of Christian faith , which is called Avodah Zarah (foreign worship) in Judaism, a minor form of idol worship ,

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1380-678: A personal god or a representational god by a devotee. In ancient texts such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad , the term simply means participation, devotion, and love for any endeavor, while in the Bhagavad Gita , it connotes one of the possible paths of spirituality and towards moksha , as in bhakti marga . Ahimsa , also referred to as nonviolence , is a fundamental tenet of Hinduism that advocates harmonious and peaceful co-existence and evolutionary growth in grace and wisdom for all humankind unconditionally. In Hinduism, most of

1495-402: A result of enhanced communications, media, travel, and migration makes meaningful the concept of a single Islam practiced everywhere in similar ways, and an Islam which transcends national and ethnic customs. This does not necessarily imply political or social organizations: Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize

1610-482: A result of the breakdown of historically-religiously organized societies: with the weakening of many churches, for example, and the favouring of Islam and the migration of substantial Muslim Turkish populations into the areas of Anatolia and the Balkans, the "social and cultural relevance of Islam" were enhanced and a large number of peoples were converted. This worked better in some areas (Anatolia) and less in others (such as

1725-505: A return of the individual to Muslim values, communities, and dress codes, and a strengthened community. Another development is that of transnational Islam, elaborated upon by the French Islam researchers Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy . It includes a feeling of a "growing universalistic Islamic identity" as often shared by Muslim immigrants and their children who live in non-Muslim countries: The increased integration of world societies as

1840-400: A similar meaning as "Islamization". 'Muslimization' has more recently also been used as a term coined to describe the overtly Muslim practices of new converts to the religion who wish to reinforce their newly acquired religious identity. Within the century of the establishment of Islam upon the Arabian Peninsula and the subsequent rapid expansion during the early Muslim conquests , one of

1955-461: A trusting commitment of person to person and thus involves Christian commitment to the divine person of Jesus Christ . In Methodism , faith plays an important role in justification , which occurs during the New Birth . The Emmanuel Association , a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement , teaches: Living faith is the gift of God ( Ephesians 2:8 ; Romans 4:16 ) imparted to

2070-739: Is "an act of the intellect assenting to the truth at the command of the will". Religion has a long tradition, since the ancient world, of analyzing divine questions using common human experiences such as sensation, reason, science, and history that do not rely on revelation—called Natural theology . The English word faith finds its roots in the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root * bheidh- , signifying concepts of trust , confidence , and persuasion . This root has given rise to various terms across different languages, such as Greek πίστις ( pístis ), meaning "faith", and Latin fidēs , meaning "trust", "faith", "confidence". Furthermore,

2185-520: Is "an old verb meaning 'to furnish', used regularly by Demosthenes for bringing forward evidence." Tom Price (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) affirms that when the New Testament talks about faith positively it only uses words derived from the Greek root [ pistis ] which means "to be persuaded". British Christian apologist John Lennox argues that "faith conceived as a belief that lacks warrant

2300-536: Is a G‑d who hears his cries, yet it escapes him that this G‑d may be able to provide for him without requiring that he abrogate G‑d's will by stealing from others. For emunah to affect him in this way he needs study and contemplation. Faith is not a religious concept in Sikhism. However, the five Sikh symbols, known as Kakaars or Five Ks (in Punjabi known as pañj kakkē or pañj kakār ), are sometimes referred to as

2415-400: Is a part of Arab studies. It is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between faith , reason or philosophy , and the religious teachings of Arabs . A Muslim engaged in this field is called an Arab philosopher . It is divided in fields like: Arabic science is science in the context of traditional ideas of Arabs , including its ethics and prohibitions. An Arab engaged in this field

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2530-505: Is arrived at through a reliable and trustworthy process of inquiry. Faith is often regarded as a form of belief that may not necessarily rely on empirical evidence. However, when religious faith does make empirical claims, these claims need to undergo scientific testing to determine their validity. On the other hand, some beliefs may not make empirical claims and instead focus on non-empirical issues such as ethics, morality, and spiritual practices. In these cases, it may be necessary to evaluate

2645-448: Is based on economic history, political economy, sociology and politics. Contemporary political developments in the Arab world and the Middle East. The program covers the study of domineering, nationalism , local institutions, politics, war, peacemaking, identity, security policies and environmental security. It relies on comparative policies, international relations , history , science , political economy and development. To understand

2760-407: Is believed especially with strong conviction", "complete trust", "belief and trust in and loyalty to God", as well as "a firm belief in something for which there is no proof". Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant , or evidence , while others who are more skeptical of religion tend to think of faith as simply belief without evidence . In

2875-462: Is built on the foundation of the community of believers, the scriptures and traditions, and on the personal experiences of the believer . Christians may recognize different degrees of faith when they encourage each other to, and themselves strive to, develop, grow, and/or deepen their faith. This may imply that one can measure faith. Willingness to undergo martyrdom indicates a proxy for depth of faith but does not provide an everyday measurement for

2990-463: Is called a Muslim scientist . This is not the same as science as conducted by any Muslim in a secular context. Arabic architecture is the entire range of architecture that has evolved within Arab culture in the course of the history of Arabs . Hence the term encompasses religious buildings as well as secular ones, historic as well as modern expressions and the production of all places that have come under

3105-480: Is meant, first, as conscious knowledge, second, as the practice of good deeds, and ultimately as the acceptance of the divine authority of the Manifestations of God . In the religion's view, faith and knowledge are both required for spiritual growth. Faith involves more than outward obedience to this authority, but also must be based on a deep personal understanding of religious teachings. Secular faith refers to

3220-480: Is mere opinion: on the contrary, he held that it represents a mean (understood in the Aristotelian sense) between excessive reliance on science (i.e. demonstration) and excessive reliance on opinion. According to Teresa Morgan , faith was understood by early Christians within the cultural milieu of the period as a relationship that created a community based on trust, instead of a set of mental beliefs or feelings of

3335-449: Is only justified if there is evidence to back it up." "Evidence-based faith is the normal concept on which we base our everyday lives." Peter S. Williams holds that "the classic Christian tradition has always valued rationality and does not hold that faith involves the complete abandonment of reason while believing in the teeth of evidence". Quoting Moreland , faith is defined as "a trust in and commitment to what we have reason to believe

3450-648: Is rooted in the everlasting covenant established in the Torah , notably Deuteronomy 7:9: Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God; the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; The specific tenets that compose required belief and their application to the times have been disputed throughout Jewish history. Today many, but not all, Orthodox Jews have accepted Maimonides 's Thirteen Principles of Belief . A traditional example of Emunah as seen in

3565-586: Is the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world. Berber troops were used extensively by the Arabs in their conquest of Spain, which began in 711. No previous conqueror had tried to assimilate the Berbers, but the Arabs quickly converted them and enlisted their aid in further conquests. Without their help, for example, Andalusia could never have been incorporated into the Islamic state. At first only Berbers nearer

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3680-423: Is the world's fastest-growing major religion . Alongside the terminology of the "spread of Islam", scholarship of the subject has also given rise to the terms "Islamization", "Islamicization", and "Islamification" ( Arabic : أسلمة , romanized :  aslamah ). These terms are used concurrently with the terminology of the "spread of Islam" to refer to the process through which a society shifts towards

3795-475: Is true". Regarding doubting Thomas in John 20:24–31 , Williams points out that "Thomas wasn't asked to believe without evidence". He was asked to believe based on the other disciples' testimony. Thomas initially lacked the first-hand experience of the evidence that had convinced them... Moreover, the reason John gives for recounting these events is that what he saw is evidence... Jesus did many other miraculous signs in

3910-442: Is very different from faith conceived as a belief that has warrant". He states that "the use of the adjective 'blind' to describe 'faith' indicates that faith is not necessarily, or always, or indeed normally, blind". "The validity, or warrant, of faith or belief depends on the strength of the evidence on which the belief is based." "We all know how to distinguish between blind faith and evidence-based faith. We are well aware that faith

4025-679: The Amitabha Buddha in Pure Land Buddhism . In the Japanese form of Pure Land Buddhism, under the teachers Hōnen and Shinran , only entrusting faith toward the Amitabha Buddha was believed to be a fruitful form of practice, as the practice of celibacy, morality, and other Buddhist disciplines were dismissed as no longer effective in this day and age, or as contradicting the virtue of faith. {{ Harvey2013 }} Faith

4140-728: The Balkans and the Indian subcontinent . The earlier period also saw the acceleration in the rate of conversions in the Muslim heartland, and in the wake of the conquests, the newly-conquered regions retained significant non-Muslim populations. That was contrast to the regions in which the boundaries of the Muslim world contracted, such as the Emirate of Sicily (Italy) and Al Andalus (Spain and Portugal), where Muslim populations were expelled or forced to Christianize in short order. The latter period of that phase

4255-496: The Balkans , often to evade the jizya tax. Similarly, Christian sources mention requests for mass conversions to Islam, such as in Cyprus , where Ottoman authorities refused, fearing economic repercussions. As of 2016, there were 1.7 billion Muslims, with one out of four people in the world being Muslim, making Islam the second-largest religion . Out of children born from 2010 to 2015, 31% were born to Muslims, and currently Islam

4370-500: The Five articles of Faith . The articles include kēs (uncut hair), kaṅghā (small wooden comb), kaṛā (circular steel or iron bracelet), kirpān (sword/dagger), and kacchera (special undergarment). Baptised Sikhs are bound to wear those five articles of faith, at all times, to save them from bad company and keep them close to God. In the Baháʼí Faith , faith

4485-613: The Indian subcontinent , the Ghaznavids , Ghurids , Samanids in Persia, Timurids , and the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia significantly changed the course of history. The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching mercantile networks, travelers, scientists, hunters, mathematicians, physicians, and philosophers , all contributing to

4600-522: The Inquisition , however, concerned themselves with precisely evaluating the orthodoxy of the faith of those it examined – to acquit or to punish in varying degrees. The classification of different degrees of faith allows that faith and its expression may wax and wane in fervor—during the lifetime of a faithful individual and/or over the various historical centuries of a society with an embedded religious system. Thus, one can speak of an "Age of Faith" or of

4715-679: The Mediterranean Sea : Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Venice with its eastern Mediterranean colonies. Later, the Ottoman Empire set on to conquer territories from these rivals: Cyprus and other Greek islands (except Crete ) were lost by Venice to the Ottomans, and the latter conquered territory up to the Danube basin as far as Hungary . Crete was conquered during the 17th century, but

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4830-623: The Middle East , and south to Somalia by the Companions of the Prophet , most notably the Rashidun Caliphate and military advents of Khalid Bin Walid , Amr ibn al-As , and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas . The historic process of Islamization was complex and involved merging Islamic practices with local customs. This process took place over several centuries. Some scholars reject the stereotype that this process

4945-545: The Quran , which does not give much detail about the right conduct with non-Muslims, but it in principle recognises the religion of "People of the Book" (Jews, Christians and sometimes others as well) and securing a separate tax from them that replaces the zakat , which is imposed upon Muslim subjects. Ira Lapidus points towards "interwoven terms of political and economic benefits and of a sophisticated culture and religion" as appealing to

5060-740: The Red Sea and down East Africa through settlements such as Mombasa and Zanzibar . The initial conversions were of a flexible nature. The reasons that by the end of the 10th century, a large part of the population had converted to Islam are diverse. According to the British-Lebanese historian Albert Hourani , one of the reasons may be that "Islam had become more clearly defined, and the line between Muslims and non-Muslims more sharply drawn. Muslims now lived within an elaborated system of ritual, doctrine and law clearly different from those of non-Muslims. (...) The status of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians

5175-710: The Samaritans . Muslim dynasties were soon established and subsequent empires such as those of the Umayyads , Abbasids , Mamluks , Seljukids , and the Ayyubids were among some of the largest and most powerful in the world. The Ajuran and Adal Sultanates , and the wealthy Mali Empire , in North Africa , the Delhi , Deccan , and Bengal Sultanates , and Mughal and Durrani Empires , and Kingdom of Mysore and Nizam of Hyderabad in

5290-654: The Somali people 's connection with Muhammad . The early Muslims fled to the port city of Zeila in modern-day Somaliland to seek protection from the Quraysh at the court of the Aksumite Emperor in present-day Ethiopia . Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have then settled in several parts of the Horn region to promote the religion. The victory of the Muslims over

5405-557: The ocean to the Gulf , as the Arabs say. This includes Morocco , Mauritania and Western Sahara in the west, and extends to Iraq , the Gulf states and Somalia in the east. The official language of 26 countries, one of the six official languages of the United Nations . It is also the sacred language of over 1.7 billion Muslims around the world, and the language written by some of the greatest works of literature, science and history in

5520-464: The world . According to the teachings of Islam , classical Arabic is the language in which God chose to speak to mankind through Muhammad in the seventh century of the Christian era . It is the language of the Quran , the holy book of Islam. This is the language of Islamic and classical texts. Modern Arabic is the language of books , news broadcasts, poetry and political speeches throughout

5635-493: The "decay" of a society's religiosity into corruption, secularism, or atheism , —interpretable as the ultimate loss of faith. In contrast to Richard Dawkins ' view of faith as "blind trust, in the absence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence", Alister McGrath quotes the Oxford Anglican theologian W. H. Griffith Thomas (1861–1924), who states that faith is "not blind, but intelligent" and that it "commences with

5750-471: The 1980s and 2001, and the three Gulf Wars ( 1980–88 , 1990–91 , 2003–2011 ) were catalysts of a growing internationalization of local conflicts. Figures such as Osama bin Laden and Abdallah Azzam have been crucial in these developments, as much as domestic and world politics. Muslim Arab expansion in the first centuries after Muhammad's death soon established dynasties in North Africa , West Africa , to

5865-737: The Arab dynasty established the empire's first school, which taught the Arabic language and Islamic studies. The caliphs furthermore began the ambitious project of building mosques across the empire, many of which remain today, such as the Umayyad Mosque , in Damascus. At the end of the Umayyad period, less than 10% of the people in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain were Muslim. Only the Arabian Peninsula had

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5980-488: The Arab world, a language that every child in primary school learns to read and write, a diverse language of Arabic poetic traditions , the precise language of theologians and theologians of the Internet. Knowledge of Arabic provides an opportunity to connect with people throughout the Middle East , providing access to the richness and passion of the contemporary Arab world. Arabic is a way to explore nearly 14 centuries of one of

6095-419: The Arabs." Only in subsequent centuries, with the development of the religious doctrine of Islam and with that the understanding of the Muslim ummah , would mass conversion take place. The new understanding by the religious and political leadership in many cases led to a weakening or breakdown of the social and religious structures of parallel religious communities such as Christians and Jews. The caliphs of

6210-556: The Balkans in which "the spread of Islam was limited by the vitality of the Christian churches".) During the Abbasid period, economic hardships, social disorder, and pressure from Muslim attackers, led to the mass conversion of Samaritans to Islam. Along with the religion of Islam, the Arabic language, Arabic numerals and Arab customs spread throughout the empire. A sense of unity grew among many though not all provinces and gradually formed

6325-672: The Caucasus , Crimea , and the Volga ), and Southern Europe (in Spain , Portugal , and Sicily prior to re-Christianizations ). In contemporary usage, "Islamization" and its variants too can also be used with implied negative connotations to refer to the perceived imposition of an Islamist social and political system on a society with an indigenously different social and political background. The English synonym of "Muslimization", in use since before 1940 (e.g., Waverly Illustrated Dictionary ), conveys

6440-609: The Christian inhabitants to Islam. A Christian community is recorded in 1114 in Qal'a in central Algeria. There is also evidence of religious pilgrimages after 850 CE to tombs of Catholic saints outside of the city of Carthage, and evidence of religious contacts with Christians of Arab Spain. In addition, calendar reforms adopted in Europe at this time were disseminated amongst the indigenous Christians of Tunis, which would have not been possible had there been an absence of contact with Rome. During

6555-573: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" is the first principle of the gospel. Some alternative, yet impactful, ideas regarding the nature of faith were presented by church founder Joseph Smith in a collection of sermons, which are now published as the Lectures on Faith . Faith in Buddhism ( saddhā , śraddhā ) refers to a serene commitment to

6670-446: The Greek verb πιστεύω ( pisteuo ), meaning "to trust, to have confidence, faithfulness, to be reliable, to assure". Christianity encompasses various views regarding the nature of faith. Some see faith as being persuaded or convinced that something is true. In this view, a person believes something when they are presented with adequate evidence that it is true. The 13th-century theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas did not hold that faith

6785-549: The Hadith of Gabriel, Iman in addition to Islam and Ihsan form the three dimensions of the Islamic religion. Muhammad referred to the six axioms of faith in the Hadith of Gabriel : " Iman is that you believe in God and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers and the Hereafter and the good and evil fate [ordained by your God]." The first five are mentioned together in

6900-864: The Holy Sepulchre, with the tall minaret, is known as the place to which he retired for his prayer. Bishop Arculf , whose account of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the seventh century, De locis sanctis , written down by the monk Adamnan, described reasonably pleasant living conditions of Christians in Palestine in the first period of Muslim rule. The caliphs of Damascus (661-750) were tolerant princes who were on generally good terms with their Christian subjects. Many Christians, such as John of Damascus , held important offices at their court. The Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad (753-1242), as long as they ruled Syria, were also tolerant to Christians. Harun Abu Jaʻfar (786-809), sent

7015-430: The Holy Spirit. The result of the work of the Holy Spirit is faith." The four-part Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) gives Part One to "The Profession of Faith". This section describes the content of faith. It elaborates and expands, particularly upon the Apostles' Creed . CCC 144 initiates a section on the "Obedience of Faith". In the theology of Pope John Paul II , faith is understood in personal terms as

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7130-420: The Islamic Golden Age. The Timurid Renaissance and the Islamic expansion in South and East Asia fostered cosmopolitan and eclectic Muslim cultures in the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. The Ottoman Empire, which controlled much of the Middle East and North Africa in the early modern period, also did not officially endorse mass conversions, but evidence suggests they occurred, particularly in

7245-469: The Jewish annals is found in the person of Abraham . On several occasions, Abraham both accepts statements from God that seem impossible and offers obedient actions in response to direction from God to do things that seem implausible. The Talmud describes how a thief also believes in G‑d: On the brink of his forced entry, as he is about to risk his life—and the life of his victim—he cries out with all sincerity, "G‑d help me!" The thief has faith that there

7360-506: The Latin fidēs . This Latin term, rooted in the PIE root * bheidh- , encompassed meanings such as trust , confidence , and belief . Referring to "religions" (plural), Pope Francis claims that "the majority of people living on our planet profess to be believers". The word translated as "faith" in English-language editions of the New Testament, the Greek word πίστις ( pístis ), can also be translated as "belief", "faithfulness", or "trust". Faith can also be translated from

7475-423: The Muslim population grow from around 40% in the mid-9th century, with almost the entire population being converted by the end of the 11th century. That theory does not explain the continuing existence of large minorities of Christians during the Abbasids. Other estimates suggest that Muslims were not a majority in Egypt until the mid-10th century and in the Fertile Crescent until 1100. What is now Syria may have had

7590-406: The Ottomans lost Hungary to the Holy Roman Empire , and other parts of Eastern Europe, which ended with the Treaty of Carlowitz in 1699. The Ottoman sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 and the caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924. Islam has continued to spread through commerce and migrations, especially in Southeast Asia, America and Europe. Modern day Islamization appears to be

7705-445: The Proto-Indo-European root * were-o- adds another layer to the word's etymology, emphasizing the notions of truth and trustworthiness. This root is evident in English words like veracity , verity , and verify , as well as in Latin with verus , meaning "true". The term faith in English emerged in the mid-13th century, evolving from Anglo-French and Old French forms like feid and feit , ultimately tracing back to

7820-472: The Qur'an. The Quran states that faith can grow with remembrance of God. The Qur'an also states that nothing in this world should be dearer to a true believer than faith. Judaism recognizes the positive value of Emunah (generally translated as "faith", or "trust in God") and the negative status of the Apikorus (heretic), but faith is not as stressed or as central as it is in some other religions, especially Christianity or Islam . Faith could be

7935-440: The Quraysh in the 7th century had a significant impact on local merchants and sailors, as their trading partners in Arabia had then all adopted Islam , and the major trading routes in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea came under the sway of the Muslim Caliphs . Through commerce, Islam spread amongst the Somali population in the coastal cities. Instability in the Arabian peninsula saw further migrations of early Muslim families to

8050-441: The Roman world, 'faith' (Latin: fides ) was understood without particular association with gods or beliefs. Instead, it was understood as a paradoxical set of reciprocal ideas: voluntary will and voluntary restraint in the sense of father over family or host over guest, whereby one party willfully surrenders to a party who could harm but chooses not to, thereby entrusting or confiding in them. According to Thomas Aquinas , faith

8165-413: The Somali seaboard. These clans came to serve as catalysts, forwarding the faith to large parts of the Horn region. Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person , thing, or concept. In the context of religion , faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary , faith has multiple definitions, including "something that

8280-501: The Vedic prayers begins with the chants of Om. Om is the Sanskrit symbol that amazingly resonates the peacefulness ensconced within one's higher self. Om is considered to have a profound effect on the body and mind of the one who chants and also creates a calmness, serenity, healing, strength of its own to prevail within and also in the surrounding environment. In Islam, a believer's faith in

8395-598: The West but is understood and defined differently than in traditional interpretations. Within the Dalit Buddhist Movement communities, taking refuge is defined not only as a religious, but also a political choice. Bhakti ( Sanskrit : भक्ति ) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity". It was originally used in Hinduism , referring to devotion and love for

8510-471: The adoption of the client status of mawali . Governors lodged complaints with the caliph when he enacted laws that made conversion easier since that deprived the provinces of revenues from the tax on non-Muslims. An enfranchisement was experienced by the mawali during the Abbasid period, and a shift was made in the political conception from that of a primarily-Arab empire to one of a Muslim empire. Around 930

8625-481: The average contemporary Christian. Within the Calvinist tradition the degree of prosperity may serve as an analog of the level of faith. Other Christian strands may rely on personal self-evaluation to measure the intensity of an individual's faith, with associated difficulties in calibrating to any scale. Solemn affirmations of a creed (a statement of faith) provide broad measurements of details. Various tribunals of

8740-411: The capitulation in the spring of 637. Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Umar known as Umar's Assurance , allowing for the religious freedom for Christians in exchange for jizya , a tax to be paid by conquered non-Muslims, called dhimmis . Under Muslim rule, the Jewish and Christian population of Jerusalem in this period enjoyed the usual tolerance given to non-Muslim theists. Having accepted

8855-578: The coast were involved, but by the 11th century Muslim affiliation had begun to spread far into the Sahara and Sahel . The conventional historical view is that the conquest of North Africa by the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate between CE 647–709 effectively ended Catholicism in Africa for several centuries. However, new scholarship has appeared that provides more nuance and details of the conversion of

8970-448: The community of spiritually developed followers, or the monastic community seeking enlightenment (the Sangha ). Although offerings to the monastic community were valued highest, early Buddhism did not morally condemn peaceful offerings to deities . A faithful devotee was called upāsaka or upāsika , for which no formal declaration was required. In early Buddhism, personal verification

9085-414: The consciousness of a broadly Arab-Islamic population. What was recognizably an Islamic world had emerged by the end of the 10th century. Throughout the period, as well as in the following centuries, divisions occurred between Persians and Arabs, and Sunnis and Shias, and unrest in provinces empowered local rulers at times. The expansion of Islam continued in the wake of Turkic conquests of Asia Minor ,

9200-468: The conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence...", which McGrath sees as "a good and reliable definition, synthesizing the core elements of the characteristic Christian understanding of faith". American biblical scholar Archibald Thomas Robertson (1863–1934) stated that the Greek word pistis used for "faith" in the New Testament (over two hundred forty times), and rendered "assurance" in Acts 17:31 ,

9315-447: The creation of the Muslim world . The Islamic conquests , which culminated in the Arab empire being established across three continents ( Asia , Africa , and Europe ), enriched the Muslim world, achieving the economic preconditions for the emergence of this institution owing to the emphasis attached to Islamic teachings. Trade played an important role in the spread of Islam in some parts of

9430-715: The extent of the empire such as that of the Turkic tribes in Central Asia and peoples living in regions south of the Sahara and north of the Sahel in Africa through contact with Muslim traders active in the area and Sufi orders . In Africa, Islam spread along three routes, across the Sahara and Sahel via trading towns such as Timbuktu , up the Nile Valley through the Sudan up to Uganda and across

9545-455: The heart. Numerous commentators discuss the results of faith. Some believe that true faith results in good works, while others believe that while faith in Jesus brings eternal life, it does not necessarily result in good works. Regardless of the approach taken to faith, all Christians agree that the Christian faith (in the sense of Christian practice) is aligned with the ideals and the example of

9660-421: The help of non-Arab administrative personnel and on administrative practices (e.g., a set of government bureaus). As the conquests slowed and the isolation of the fighters ( muqatilah ) became less necessary, it became more and more difficult to keep Arabs garrisoned. As the tribal links that had so dominated Umayyad politics began to break down, the meaningfulness of tying non-Arab converts to Arab tribes as clients

9775-417: The history of Arabs provides the indispensable basis to understand all aspects of Arabs and its culture. Themes of special interest are: Kalam ( علم الكلام ) is one of the "religious sciences" of Islam. In Arabic , the word means "discussion" and refers to the Arabic tradition of seeking theological principles through dialectic . A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim . Arabic philosophy

9890-568: The keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne , who built a hospice for Latin pilgrims near the shrine. Rival dynasties and revolutions led to the eventual disunion of the Muslim world. In the ninth century, Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate , whose capital was Cairo . Palestine once again became a battleground as the various enemies of the Fatimids counterattacked. At

10005-632: The later stratum of Buddhist history, especially Mahāyāna Buddhism , faith was given a much more important role. The concept of the Buddha Nature was developed, as devotion to Buddhas and bodhisattvas residing in Pure Lands became commonplace. With the arising of the cult of the Lotus Sūtra , faith gained a central role in Buddhist practice, which was further amplified with the development of devotion to

10120-600: The life of Jesus . The Christian contemplates the mystery of God and his grace and seeks to know and become obedient to God. To a Christian, the faith is not static, but causes one to learn more of God and to grow in faith; Christian faith has its origin in God. In Christianity, faith causes change as it seeks a greater understanding of God. Faith is not fideism or simple obedience to a set of rules or statements. Before Christians have faith, but they must also understand in whom and in what they have faith. Without understanding, there cannot be true faith, and that understanding

10235-620: The majority until around the fourteenth century. In the initial invasion, the victorious Muslims granted religious freedom to the Christian community in Alexandria , and the Alexandrians quickly recalled their exiled Monophysite patriarch to rule over them, subject only to the ultimate political authority of the conquerors. In such a fashion the city persisted as a religious community under an Arab Muslim domination more welcome and more tolerant than that of Byzantium. (Other sources question how much

10350-656: The masses. He noted: "The question of why people convert to Islam has always generated the intense feeling. Earlier generations of European scholars believed that conversions to Islam were made at the point of the sword, and that conquered peoples were given the choice of conversion or death. It is now apparent that conversion by force, while not unknown in Muslim countries, was, in fact, rare. Muslim conquerors ordinarily wished to dominate rather than convert, and most conversions to Islam were voluntary. (...) In most cases, worldly and spiritual motives for conversion blended together. Moreover, conversion to Islam did not necessarily imply

10465-459: The metaphysical aspects of Islam is called Iman ( Arabic : الإيمان ), which is complete submission to the will of God, not unquestioning or blind belief. A man must build his faith on well-grounded convictions beyond any reasonable doubt and above uncertainty. According to the Quran, Iman must be accompanied by righteous deeds and the two together are necessary for entry into Paradise . In

10580-571: The most significant empires in world history was formed. For the subjects of the empire, formerly of the Byzantine and the Sasanian Empires, not much changed in practice. The objective of the conquests was mostly of a practical nature, as fertile land and water were scarce in the Arabian Peninsula. A real Islamization therefore came about only during the subsequent centuries. Ira M. Lapidus distinguishes between two separate strands of converts of

10695-555: The most sophisticated, diverse, and rich intellectual traditions in the world. Themes within Arab studies include: Culture and society in the Arab world, from structures , institutions , art , poetry , letters , practices , and definitions of identity , based on anthropology , sociology , literature and religious studies . Development and political economy in the Arab world, focusing on economic and social development, education , humanitarian aid , and gender and environmental dimensions of development. This concentration

10810-558: The native population welcomed the conquering Muslims.) Byzantine rule was ended by the Arabs, who invaded Tunisia from 647 to 648 and Morocco in 682 in the course of their drive to expand the power of Islam. In 670, the Arab general and conqueror Uqba Ibn Nafi established the city of Kairouan (in Tunisia) and its Great Mosque also known as the Mosque of Uqba; the Great Mosque of Kairouan

10925-602: The obedient heart through the Word of God ( Romans 10:17 ), and the ministry of the Holy Ghost ( Ephesians 2:18 ). This faith becomes effective as it is exercised by man with the aid of the Spirit, which aid is always assured when the heart has met the divine condition ( Hebrews 5:9 ). Living faith is to be distinguished from intellectual confidence which may be in the possession of any unawakened soul ( Romans 10:1–4 ). The Articles of Faith of

11040-560: The practice of the Buddha's teaching and trust in enlightened or highly developed beings, such as Buddhas or bodhisattvas (those aiming to become a Buddha). Buddhists usually recognize multiple objects of faith, but many are especially devoted to one particular object of faith, such as one particular Buddha. In early Buddhism , faith was focused on the Three Jewels or Refuges, namely, Gautama Buddha , his teaching (the Dhamma ), and

11155-497: The presence of his disciples... But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name. John 20:30–31 ." Concerning doubting Thomas, Michael R. Allen wrote: "Thomas's definition of faith implies adherence to conceptual propositions for the sake of personal knowledge, knowledge of and about a person qua person". Kenneth Boa and Robert M. Bowman Jr. describe

11270-525: The reign of Umar II , the then governor of Africa, Ismail ibn Abdullah, was said to have won the Berbers to Islam by his just administration, and other early notable missionaries include Abdallah ibn Yasin who started a movement which caused thousands of Berbers to accept Islam. The history of commercial and intellectual contact between the inhabitants of the Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula may help explain

11385-854: The religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim . Societal Islamization has historically occurred over the course of many centuries since the spread of Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula through the early Muslim conquests , with notable shifts occurring in the Levant , Iran , North Africa , the Horn of Africa , West Africa , Central Asia , South Asia (in Afghanistan , Maldives , Pakistan , and Bangladesh ), Southeast Asia (in Malaysia , Brunei , and Indonesia ), Southeastern Europe (in Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Kosovo , among others), Eastern Europe (in

11500-412: The religious and spiritual reasons that individuals may have had, conversion to Islam "represented the response of a tribal, pastoral population to the need for a larger framework for political and economic integration, a more stable state, and a more imaginative and encompassing moral vision to cope with the problems of a tumultuous society." In contrast, for tribal, nomadic, monotheistic societies, "Islam

11615-531: The result of evidence testifying to the reliability of the source (of the truth claims), yet he sees having faith as being the result of hearing the truth of the gospel with the internal persuasion by the Holy Spirit moving and enabling him to believe. "Christian belief is produced in the believer by the internal instigation of the Holy Spirit, endorsing the teachings of Scripture, which is itself divinely inspired by

11730-722: The same time, the Byzantines continued to attempt to regain their lost territories, including Jerusalem. Christians in Jerusalem who sided with the Byzantines were put to death for high treason by the ruling Shiʻi Muslims. In 969, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, John VII, was put to death for treasonous correspondence with the Byzantines. As Jerusalem grew in importance to Muslims and pilgrimages increased, tolerance for other religions declined. Christians were persecuted and churches destroyed. The Sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah , 996–1021, who

11845-531: The significant expansion occurred during the reign of the rāshidūn ("rightly-guided") caliphs from 632 to 661 CE, which were the first four successors of Muhammad. These early caliphates , coupled with Muslim economics and trading , the Islamic Golden Age , and the age of the Islamic gunpowder empires , resulted in Islam 's spread outwards from Mecca towards the Indian , Atlantic , and Pacific Oceans and

11960-454: The surrender, Omar then entered Jerusalem with Sophronius "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities". When the hour for his prayer came, Omar was in the Anastasis church, but refused to pray there, lest in the future Muslims should use that as an excuse to break the treaty and confiscate the church. The Mosque of Umar , opposite the doors of the Church of

12075-708: The time: animists and polytheists of tribal societies of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent and the native Christians and Jews existing before the Muslims arrived. The empire spread from the Atlantic Ocean to the Aral Sea , from the Atlas Mountains to the Hindu Kush . It was bounded mostly by "a combination of natural barriers and well-organized states". For the polytheistic and pagan societies, apart from

12190-433: The varying levels of Islamic influence. Spread of Islam The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates , expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces expanding over vast territories and building imperial structures over time. Most of

12305-401: The world, such as Indonesia. During the early centuries of Islamic rule, conversions in the Middle East were mainly individual or small-scale. While mass conversions were favored for spreading Islam beyond Muslim lands, policies within Muslim territories typically aimed for individual conversions to weaken non-Muslim communities. However, there were exceptions, like the forced mass conversion of

12420-613: Was believed to be "God made manifest" by his most zealous Shiʻi followers, now known as the Druze , destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009. This powerful provocation helped ignite the flame of fury that led to the First Crusade . The dynasty was later overtaken by Saladin of the Ayyubid dynasty . In Egypt conversion to Islam was initially considerably slower than in other areas such as Mesopotamia or Khurasan, with Muslims not thought to have become

12535-400: Was defined as a state similar to enlightenment, with a sense of self-negation and humility. Thus, the role of faith increased throughout Buddhist history. However, from the nineteenth century onward, Buddhist modernism in countries like Sri Lanka and Japan, and also in the West, has downplayed and criticized the role of faith in Buddhism. Faith in Buddhism still has a role in modern Asia and

12650-759: Was diluted; moreover, the number of non-Muslims who wished to join the ummah was already becoming too large for this process to work effectively. The Siege of Jerusalem (636–637) by the forces of the Rashid Caliph Umar against the Byzantines began in November 636. For four months, the siege continued. Ultimately, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem , Sophronius , an ethnic Arab, agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Umar in person. The caliph, then in Medina , agreed to these terms and travelled to Jerusalem to sign

12765-515: Was initially "spread by the sword" or forced conversions. There are a number of historians who see the rule of the Umayyads as responsible for setting up the "dhimmah" to increase taxes from the dhimmis to benefit the Arab Muslim community financially and to discourage conversion. Islam was initially associated with the Arabs' ethnic identity and required formal association with an Arab tribe and

12880-682: Was marked by the Mongol invasion (particularly the Siege of Baghdad in 1258) and, after an initial period of persecution, the conversion of those conquerors to Islam. The Ottoman Empire defended its frontiers initially against threats from several sides: the Safavids in the east, the Byzantine Empire in the north until it vanished with the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and the great Catholic powers from

12995-572: Was more precisely defined, and in some ways it was inferior. They were regarded as the 'People of the Book', those who possessed a revealed scripture, or 'People of the Covenant', with whom compacts of protection had been made. In general, they were not forced to convert , but they suffered from restrictions. They paid a special tax ; they were not supposed to wear certain colors; they could not marry Muslim women ;." Most of those laws were elaborations of basic laws concerning non-Muslims ( dhimmis ) in

13110-423: Was substituted for a Byzantine or Sassanian political identity and for a Christian, Jewish or Zoroastrian religious affiliation." Conversion initially was neither required nor necessarily wished for: "(The Arab conquerors) did not require the conversion as much as the subordination of non-Muslim peoples. At the outset, they were hostile to conversions because new Muslims diluted the economic and status advantages of

13225-412: Was valued highest in attaining the truth, and sacred scriptures, reason, or faith in a teacher were considered less valuable sources of authority. As important as faith was, it was a mere initial step to the path to wisdom and enlightenment , and was obsolete or redefined at the final stage of that path. While faith in Buddhism does not imply "blind faith", Buddhist practice nevertheless requires

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