شيعة‎ Shi´a Islam

Shia Islam the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam.

Similar to other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an and the message of the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. In contrast to other schools of thought, Shia Islam holds that Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt ("the People of the House"), and certain individuals among his descendants, who are known as Imams, have special spiritual and political rule over the community.Shia Muslims further believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, was the first of these Imams and was the rightful successor to Muhammad and thus reject the legitimacy of the first three Rashidun caliphs. Shia Muslims, less than a third of the Muslim world, constitute the majority of the population in Iran, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, , Lebanon, and Iraq. Countries with a significant minority of Shia are Syria, Kuwait, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen.

-Holy Cities:

Both Shia and Sunni Muslims share a certain veneration and religious obligations towards certain shrines and holy sites, such as Mecca (Masjid al-Haram), Medina (Al-Masjid al-Nabawi), and Jerusalem (Al-Aqsa Mosque). For a list of some of the holiest uniquely Shia shrines see Shia holy sites.

-The Twelve Imams:


The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad for Twelvers.

‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (600–661), also known as Amīru l-Mu'minīn "Commander of the Faithful" in Arabic and in Persian as Shāh-e Mardan "King of the People"
Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī (625–669), also known as Al-Hasan al-Mujtaba
Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī (626–680), also known as Al-Husayn ash-Shaheed
‘Alī ibn Ḥusayn (658–713), also known as Ali Zayn-ul-'Abideen
Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī (676–743), also known as Muhammad al-Bāqir
Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad (703–765), also known as Ja'far aṣ-Ṣādiq
Mūsá ibn Ja‘far (745–799), also known as Mūsá al-Kāżim
‘Alī ibn Mūsá (765–818), also known as Ali ar-Riża
Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī (810–835), also known as Muḥammad al-Jawad and Muḥammad at-Taqi
‘Alī ibn Muḥammad (827–868), also known as ‘Alī al-Ḥādī and ‘Alī an-Naqī
Ḥasan ibn ‘Alī (846–874), also known as Hasan al Askari
Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan (868–?), also known as al-Hujjat ibn al-Ḥasan, Mahdī, Imāmu l-Aṣr

-The five articles of faith in the Shi'a Roots of Religion are:

Tawhīd (Oneness)
Adl (Justice)
Nubuwwah (Prophethood)
Imāmah (Leadership)
Yawm al Qiyyamah (The Day of Resurrection)

-Twelvers have five Principles of the Religion which relates to Aqidah.

Salah (Prayer)
Sawm (Fast)
Hajj (Pilgrimage)
Zakāh (Poor-rate)
Khums (One-fifth of savings)
Jihād (Struggle)
Amr-Bil-Ma'rūf (Enjoining what is good)
Nahi-Anil-Munkar (Forbid what is evil)
Tawallá (To love the Ahl al-Bayt and their followers )
Tabarrā' (To disassociate from the enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt)

Haredi (Ultraorthodox) jews

Most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi (Haredim in the plural). In non-Jewish circles, it is sometimes referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, a term never used by those involved, who use the word Ḥaredi or other expressions instead.

Haredi (חֲרֵדִי) is derived from charada, meaning fear or anxiety, which in this context is interpreted as "one who trembles in awe of God" (cf. Isaiah 66:2, Isaiah 66:5).
Haredi Jews, like other Orthodox Jews, consider their belief system and religious practices to extend in an unbroken chain back to Moses and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. As a result, they regard non-Orthodox streams of Judaism to be unjustifiable deviations from authentic Judaism.

-Lifestyle:

Haredi life is very family-centered. Depending on various factors, boys and girls attend separate schools and proceed to higher Torah study, in a yeshiva or seminary respectively, starting anywhere between the ages of 13 and 18. A significant proportion of young men remain in yeshiva until their shidduch, a marriage often arranged through facilitated dating. Many also continue study in kollel (a Torah study institute for married men) for many years after marriage. In many Haredi communities, studying in secular institutions is discouraged, although some have educational facilities for vocational training or run professional programs for men and women. Most men, even those not in kollel, will make certain to study Jewish texts (collectively referred to as Torah) daily. Families tend to be large, reflecting adherence to the Torah commandment "be fruitful and multiply"

Haredi poskim (authorities in Jewish law) forbid television and films, reading secular newspapers and using the Internet for non-business purposes. They feel that mobile phones should be programmed to disable internet and other functions that could influence their users in undesired ways, and most companies in Israel now offer basic cell phones with limited capabilities to accommodate Haredim. However, it appears that many Haredi people use the Internet, as evidenced by the large number of participants in "Haredi chat rooms".

Another important stricture is the prohibition of publishing/viewing photographs of women.

-Dress:

Many men have beards, most dress in dark suits, and wear a wide-brimmed hat (typically black) during prayer and while outside, and men wear a kippah at all times. Women adhere to meticulous tznius (modesty) standards, and hence wear long skirts and long sleeves, high necklines and some form of head covering when married (scarves, snoods, shpitzelach, hats, or wigs).

-Israel:

The vast majority of Haredi Jews rejected Zionism for a number of reasons. Chief among these was the claim that Jewish political independence could only be obtained through Divine intervention, with the coming of the Jewish Messiah.
The Haredim are relatively poor, compared to other Israelis, but represent an important market sector.

-Rabbinical organizations and dynasties:

Rabbis of the Edah HaChareidis rabbinical council of Jerusalem.
Rebbes of the Satmar Hasidim (originally Hungary, now New York).
Rebbes of the Gerrer Hasidim (originally Poland, now Israel).
Rebbes of Lubavitch.

Ramadan is coming...

The first evening of Ramadan:

In many places around the world Muslims will be looking to the heavens this evening. They will be interested in knowing if they will be able to see the crescent moon. If it is visible this will be the signal for the beginning of the month of Ramadan. (In most countries religious authorities will make a proclamation concerning the beginning of Ramadan). No fasting will take place till tomorrow morning. Muslims will rise early to eat their breakfast before the day begins. Afterwards they will not have anything else to eat or drink till nightfall. This will be their daily experience during the next 30 days.

Fasting - Ramazan:

Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of the religion of Islam and one of the highest forms of Islamic worship. Abstinence from earthly pleasures and curbing evil intentions and desires is regarded as an act of obedience and submission to God as well as an atonement for sins, errors, and mistakes. Called Ramadan (or Ramazan), Muslims fast during this holy month from the moment when it first starts to get light until sunset. Muslims fast as an act of faith and worship towards Allah, seeking to suppress their desires and increase their spiritual piety. Fasting together as a worldwide community - Ummah - affirms the brotherhood and equality of man before Allah.

The Meaning of Ramadan:

The name Ramadan is derived from the Arabic word ramida or ar-ramad, denoting intense scorching heat and dryness, especially the ground. From the same word there is ramdaa, meaning ’sunbaked sand’ and the famous proverb Kal Mustajeer minar ramadaa binnar - to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. Some say it is so called because Ramadan scorches out the sins with good deeds, as the sun burns the ground.

The Special Feeling of Ramadan:

Ramadan brings out a special feeling of emotional excitement and religious zeal among Muslims of all ages. Though fasting is mandatory only for adults, children as young as eight willingly observe fasting with their elders. Children look forward to the excitement of sighting the moon and eating special meals with their families. Adults appreciate the opportunity to double their rewards from God and seek forgiveness for past sins. As Ramadan emphasizes Muslim brotherhood and community all feel a particular closeness.

Muslims have to change their whole physical and emotional selves during this 30 long days of fasting. A typical day of fasting begins with getting up early, around 4:30a.m. and sharing a meal called Sahur together before the fast begins at dawn, about 5:10a.m. As dawn breaks, the first of five daily prayers, Fajr, is offered.

As the day proceeds, fasting Muslims are constantly bombarded with messages from their stomachs that it is time for breakfast, snack, lunch, and so on. And each time, Muslims remind themselves that they are fasting for the sole purpose of pleasing Allah and seeking his mercy. They offer the second and third prayers during early and late afternoon, respectively.

Fasting helps one to experience how a hungry person feels and what it is like to have an empty stomach. It teaches one to share the sufferings of the less fortunate. Muslims believe that fasting leads one to appreciate the bounties of Allah, which are usually taken for granted - until they are missed!

Throughout the day Muslims are encouraged to go out of their way to help the needy, both financially and emotionally. Some believe that a reward earned during this month is multiplied 70 times and more. For this reason, Ramadan is also known as the month of charity and generosity.

To a Muslim, fasting not only means abstaining from food, but also refraining from all vice and evils committed consciously or unconsciously. It is believed that if one volunteers to refrain from lawful foods and sex, they will be in a better position to avoid unlawful things and acts during the rest of the year.

I borrowed this from here and will continue to bring attention to this through the month of September or Ramadan!

Rabbi Akiva

-Rabbi Akiva – The Simple Shepherd:

Where did Rabbi Akiva get the strength to persevere while watching all but 5 of his students die, his country in revolution, and while being tortured himself?

Akiva ben Yosef ben Avraham was not always a great sage. In fact, he was the son of a convert who was once a thoroughly ignorant and illiterate shepherd. So poor and downtrodden a figure was Akiva ben Yosef that his father-in-law, one of the wealthiest men in Israel, disinherited his daughter, Rachel, for marrying him

At the age of forty, Akiva's life changed suddenly. One day, while out tending his flocks, he noticed a rock with a strange hole going straight through it. This hole was created by constantly dripping water. Akiva ben Yosef decided then and there to go and learn Torah, for if dripping water could bore a hole into solid rock, then even he, a forty year old man could learn Torah through constant effort. He had to start from scratch, for Akiva ben Yosef did not even know the aleph-bet!

Fully supported by Rachel, his wife, he went to study Torah for 12 years. When he returned he overheard his wife tell a friend that she would gladly let him learn for another 12 years. And he did. When he finally returned, he had become the great sage and acquired his 24,000 students.

Like Moses, Rabbi Akiva started as a shepherd. He became one of the greatest sages of the Jewish people with enough wisdom to unravel the intricacies of the law, guide the populace, and inspire an army.


-Rabbi Akiva-Hero and Martyr :

One of Israel's greatest sages, Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, was a scholar, a teacher, a shepherd and a revolutionary.

A revolutionary? In the year 70 of the Common Era, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and the Jews were exiled from Jerusalem. The emperor promised to rebuild the city, but his plan was to rebuild it and rename it Aeila Capitalina, dedicating it to the Roman god, Jupiter. This outrageous act, along with the harsh laws forbidding the study of Torah and the observance of many of the mitzvot, led to the Bar Kochba revolt over 60 years after the destruction of the Temple, in the year 132 CE.

While Shimon Bar Kochba was the military commander of the revolt, the spiritual leader was Rabbi Akiva. He had such faith in Bar Kochba that he believed him to be the Messiah, which, unfortunately, he was not. It was during the Bar Kochba revolt that the 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's students died in a plague. The rabbis understood this plague to be a result of the students lack of respect for each other, and, despite their high level of intellectual development, their lack of proper moral comportment was fatal. Devastated by the death of his pupils, and the failure of the Bar Kochba revolt, Rabbi Akiva nevertheless persevered and continued teaching his surviving students.


Living in such turbulent times, however, Rabbi Akiva's life was not to end peacefully. Ignoring the Roman prohibitions against the Jewish people and their practices, he was declared a criminal for teaching Torah wherever he could, and was eventually captured by the Romans. Tortured, he called out joyfully: "All my life I've been waiting to fulfill the concept 'You shall love Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your resources...'[the first paragraph of the Shema] and now I finally have the chance." Rabbi Akiva died a martyr's death.

Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion. The word Sikh means ‘disciple’ and they are the disciples of G-d who follow the writings and teachings of the 10 Sikh Gurus.

-A Sikh believes:

· There is only one God and he is the same God for all
religions.

· The soul goes through a cycle of birth and death
before reaching its human form. The goal of life is to
merge with God and to maintain a balance between
spiritual and temporal obligations.

· The true path to God does not mean a renunciation of
the world but through living the life of a householder,
earning an honest living and avoiding temptation and
sin.

· Sikhism condemns rituals such as fasting,
pilgrimages.

· All people of all races and sex are equal in the eyes of
God. There is total equality between man and woman
and women can participate in any religious function
and lead the congregation in prayer.


-Sikh Afterlife:

Sikhs when they die are generally cremated and mourners come to the Gurudwara and offer prayers. A Saptah (seven day recitation) or Dusehra (ten day recitation) of the Granth is started at the deceased’s house. On the last day the ‘Sadd Ramkali’ is read which tells of the third Guru’s death and the transitory nature of life and the acceptance of God’s will. The period of mourning normally lasts for 10 days. No memorials are erected and it is forbidden to commemorate anniversaries of the death. The ashes are scattered on a river or in the sea.


-Organization:

Sikhs do not have priests. They were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh who felt they had become corrupt and full of ego. In some Gurdwaras a person known as a Granthi is employed to read the scriptures, conduct worship and perform such ceremonies as weddings but they are not considered as a priest – any Sikh can undertake the same tasks at any time. A Sikh can read the Guru Granth Sahib in a Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) or at home.

There are three main branches of Sikhism:

*Udasis – An order of ascetics and holy men, they are often active as missionaries.

*Sahajdharis – Who are clean shaven and do not follow the Khalsa tradition.

*The Khalsa.

-Other Sikh traditions:

Scriptures forbid the eating of meat killed in the Muslim tradition (Halal) and the consumption of tobacco, alcohol or other intoxicants.

Sikhs live according to the Rahit Nama (code of Discipline) which is believed to interpret the Gurbani and to be based upon the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh.