Please see this post on Rituals in Quran for discussion

Pisces69

http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectiveprint.php?id=32

Essay No.10 in a series of essays on Community
For more info contact [email protected]

Rituals our social bonds
Oct 2005

Quran presents rituals as means of enhancing the level of social integration in community, not as a virtue which mobilizes supernatural

THE HISTORY of rituals is as old as mankind. From earliest hunter gatherers to modern city dwellers, anthropologists have found ample evidence of rituals, both religious and secular, in all cultures throughout time. However, religious rituals generally have more significance and a central role in the religion in which it is practiced and judging by the prevalence of rituals it can be argued that like religion, rituals are a part of human nature.

In this essay we will examine three things. First, what are rituals, their functions and types? Secondly we will examine the significance of rituals in religions and the role of religious specialist? Finally, we explore the concept of rituals in Quran.

What are rituals?

Rituals are a prescribed order of performing religious or other devotional service. Rituals can be religious or non-religious, which are also called secular. Example of a non-religious ritual is the graduation ceremonies in academic institutions or passing out parades in armed forces.

Here it is important to understand the difference between social obligations and rituals e.g. the requirement for marriage is to seek the consent, appoint witnesses and register the marriage. But different cultures have evolved rituals around the same set of requirements which are completely different from each other. Since our focus in this articles is rituals, we will not discuss social obligations described in Quran e.g. for marriage, menstruation and divorce.

Rituals have some important functions in human society. They reinforce a group?s social bonds. They are meant to relieve anxiety and tensions. They are a way to celebrate important events or deal with crises. Anthropologists divide rituals into several types. Included among them are

Rites of passage, which pertain to stages in a person?s life cycle e.g. rituals related to birth, marriage and death.
Rites of intensification, which occurs during crises in the life of a group e.g. rituals during severe drought or appearance of an enemy or some other events that disturbs the social group, and
Rites of solidarity, any ceremony performed for the sake of enhancing the level of social integration among a group of people e.g. congregational prayers and pilgrimage.
Rites of communication, acts of a person or group to develop a communication with supernatural.

Religious ritual

A religious ritual is the means through which persons relate to the sacred. It is religion in action. The types of rituals the followers of a religion perform display the significance of rituals in that religion. They consist of prayers, songs, dances, offerings and sacrifices. There purpose is to manipulate or mobilize the supernatural forces to their advantage. These supernatural forces can be gods, goddesses, ancestors, spirits or a combination of them.

An important aspect of religious rituals is the concept of religious specialist. In all societies there exist classes of individuals, either full-time or part-time, who claim to be the specialist in religious rituals and usually rationalize them by a body of myths. They claim to be qualified based on some special training they have received. They usually display certain personality traits and almost in all the cases earn their livelihood from performing religious rituals. Since performing religious rituals are their source of income, religion to them is only a set of rituals and they being the experts in it.

Rituals in Quran and their purpose

In this section we will attempt to answer the following

i) What is the role of religious specialist?
ii) What rituals prescribed by Quran and what is their purpose?
iii) Are they considered virtues by Quran?

Quran strictly disapproves the concept of religious specialists who earn their livelihood from performing rituals. The rituals prescribed by Quran do not need the services of a religious specialist. At least in nine different passages in Quran it is advised that nobody should expect or ask for any reward in the name of religion.

Four of the five generally accepted pillars of the religion in Quran are rituals. First is to profess the faith. Second is Salat, which is congregational prayer. There is no prescribed order of performing the prayers mentioned in Quran. Therefore, different people perform it in slightly different ways, according to the traditions they follow. However, the basic ritual is to recite passages of Quran bowing down to touch the forehead to the ground. Third is Hajj, which is a pilgrimage to house of Kabba and fourth, Siam is fasting from dawn to dusk in the ninth month of Hijra calendar.

These are rites of solidarity and communication to God. There purpose is to enhance the level of social integration in the community. They bring the members of community together in their expression of gratitude and submission towards their Creator and promote social harmony and identity. They help in reducing tensions and anxiety, handling crises and celebrating occasions among the members of the community.

However, Quran clearly warns that performing rituals alone is not a virtue nor cleaning and maintaining the places of worship. Quran even criticized those who performed rituals of whistling and hand clapping in house of Kabba. Instead, God suggests that if you want to seek help do it through patience and prayers.

It is interesting to note that not a single passage in Quran, mentions that God supports and loves the people who perform any of the rituals prescribed by God e.g. nowhere it is mentioned that God supports and loves the people who worship or perform pilgrimage or fast. On the other hand, in numerous passages God expressed love, support and rewards for those who are patient, do good deeds, act justly, are dutiful, trust God and are pure. Thus, there is a clear message is in the Quran that virtues are linked to moral excellence and goodness of act and not simply performing rituals.

Conclusion

The rituals in Quran are rites of solidarity and communication to enhance the level of social integration among the members of the community by creating social bonds and reducing tensions. Therefore, performing rituals alone are neither a virtue nor a reason for nearness to God. Instead, God commands the followers of the community to be upright and strive for moral excellence and practice virtues of patience, good deeds for fellow human beings, act justly, be dutiful and trust God.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Those who study humankind in all places and throughout time

Oxford Dictionary

Priests and Shamans

Quran 934

Quran 690, 1072, 1151

Please also refer to article ?Values our foundation?

Quran 2177

Quran 919

Quran 835

Quran 245, 2153

God loves, supports and offers rewards for those who
References

are patient
3146, 2153, 2155, 2249, 846, 866, 11115, 1696, 16126
do good
2195, 3134, 3148, 513, 593, 1290
are dutiful
376, 94, 97
are just
542, 499, 608,
trust God
3159,
are pure
2222, 9108

phoenix1

peace 69,

I don't think i'm not opposed as much to following rituals as I am to following
them because of blind faith that a person has in something, without ever questioning it. And I'm against rituals in Islam because they turn Islam into a bunch of rituals.
"if you do this such and such way and blah blah blah you are guaranteed heaven." That's not what islam is.

Pisces69

Dear phoenix1
We believe that Islam is about putting things in their rightful places. It is not a new system. It has been around for thousands of years.

so the challenge is to first understand the system with the right perspective and then following it individually and collectively for the benefits it offers.

Please visit our website www.clearvision.com.pk for our perspective.

phoenix1

peace

I have no problem with your views. And i agree with you that Islam is not a new system. But i don't agree with the author of the article on the subject of rituals.

Pisces69

Dear Phoenix1
Though I am not an anthropologist but allow me to say somethings about human nature and its environment which we collectively call as 'human reality".

Let me begin with an example. Sex is part of human nature so it is part of our reality. Denying importance of sex is denying human reality. It is a driver and a power. Similarly humankind has an ingraned faculty for seeking the supernatural. Ask any expert of cultural anthropology or refer to a standard book and you will find the religion is "Cultural Universal" i.e. it has always been a part of human cultures. you cannot simply deny it by saying that religion or ritual has no part in Islam. Islam is a natural system. I ask you how can it deny a basic human reality?

Please see that in the article the author is placing things in their right places by saying that

Rituals in Quran are for developing social bonds just like parading in army develops a bond between the armymen
there is no place for religious specialist in islam so that nobody should make money out of religion
rituals are not virtues. Instead patience, good deeds, helping others, forgiveness are rituals.

Now in this perspective do tell me what do you disagree with?

Regards

phoenix1

peace

Ritual
rit?u?al
n.

The prescribed order of a religious ceremony.
The body of ceremonies or rites used in a place of worship.
The prescribed form of conducting a formal secular ceremony the ritual of an inauguration.
The body of ceremonies used by a fraternal organization.
A book of rites or ceremonial forms.
rituals
A ceremonial act or a series of such acts.
The performance of such acts.

I'm not sure if the author of the article, or you, are using that definition of ritual. But if you are, then what i disagree with is the idea that rituals are an important part of islam. Islam is a system that anyone can follow from anywhere around that world. And although rituals that create "bonds" between people can work in a small neighborhood,or a sports team, I don't think it will have any effect if millions of people from all different kinds of cultures. And going by the above definition, rituals have to be performed a certain way. Because obviously, if a person is doing a ritual that has a purpose wrong, then it would be useless. And that will always give rise to "leaders" that are experts in those rituals.

phoenix1

peace

Ritual
rit?u?al
n.

The prescribed order of a religious ceremony.
The body of ceremonies or rites used in a place of worship.
The prescribed form of conducting a formal secular ceremony the ritual of an inauguration.
The body of ceremonies used by a fraternal organization.
A book of rites or ceremonial forms.
rituals
A ceremonial act or a series of such acts.
The performance of such acts.

I'm not sure if the author of the article, or you, are using that definition of ritual. But if you are, then what i disagree with is the idea that rituals are an important part of islam. Islam is a system that anyone can follow from anywhere around that world. And although rituals that create "bonds" between people can work in a small neighborhood,or a sports team, I don't think it will have any effect if millions of people from all different kinds of cultures. And going by the above definition, rituals have to be performed a certain way. Because obviously, if a person is doing a ritual that has a purpose wrong, then it would be useless. And that will always give rise to "leaders" that are experts in those rituals.
Hope you get an idea of where i'm getting at.
If you look at salat, hajj, as rituals, there will always be the question "how do we perform it?" and that's when people turn to tradition for guidance instead of the quran.

Pisces69

Phonix1
You raised several good questions. Let me rephrase them

Your first is about diversity. What happens if millions of people from different cultures try to perform the same ritual, which in our discussion is salat?

Your second question is about religious specialist and their role in Salat?

Answer
Islam accepts diversity as part of human reality.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/diversity.php
Islam is a community based system (deen). Concept of community is central to Islam and It is the basic character of Islam. Salat, as argued in the article, is a way to bring the members of community together. When people stop following the spirit and values of this system only the facade is left and spirit is lost. But when a group of people rise up to revive the spirit they bring the sense of community and values back into the system.

Refer to Quran 1317 There is a parable about truth and falsehood. In this
parable God is saying that if you remove the falsehood from the system it becomes pure and good for humanity. So what I am saying is that old traditions of Salat is still being followed but the sense of community and spirit is dead. If you revive it you will see that the existing practice of salat is a ritual which serves to enhance the social bonds of community.

About the religious specialist, there is no role for such a person. The leader of muslim community should lead the salat.

Regards

phoenix1

peace

Thanks for the answer. I agree that there should be oneness among people. Not just "muslims" but all of mankind. But i still don't think rituals are necessary in doing that. I think that if people can just accept people for who they are, and gain knowledge and understanding about eachother, that will create unity.

Pisces69

Phoenix1
I humbly suggest you study cultural anthropology on rituals and human reality. I will come back to you with some books on this subject.

I am sure you will see the point that no sociey is without rituals, whether secular or related to supernatural, and we must not be an exception. If we ignore rituals we dehumanize ourselves by rejecting a fundamental human reality.

Regards

Pisces69

I am not an anthropologist, but studying Quran made me immensely interested in this subject. Quran denies nothing about actual human nature and experiences. Quran exhorts us again and again to study human nature and look at the cultures of people of yesterday and today. The people who have knowledge of such subjects are referred to in Quran as the 'people who have knowledge'. Quran often exhorts its readers to go and ask the people who know.

Anthropologist regards religion as cultural universal - general cultural traits and features found in all societies of the world. The argument of Quran is for Tawheed. To me it is unification of God, Identity, values and purpose of life. I will post a new essay on tawheed shortly, Inshallah.

Please refer to these sources on cultural anthropology, religion and rituals

http//highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072500506/student_view0/chapter12/faqs.html

http//www.routledge-ny.com/religionandsociety/Rites/introduction.html

http//inic.utexas.edu/asnic/subject/essayonreli.html

If you discuss it more I will be happy to be of any help. If you want to take it offline drop me an instant message.

phoenix1

peace

thanks. i'll look into it.

phoenix1

peace

Actually, i still have a few doubts about rituals. I don't think they are a human reality. Just because a majority of people do it, doesn't mean all of them do. Humans have a tendency to follow rituals and traditions, but they also have the tendency to steal, lie, and cheat. Lying, cheating, stealing are a part of human nature. An even bigger part than rituals, i believe. So then why are they looked down upon?
Islam is not a religion. It doesn't urge people to follow others so that they feel mentally secure. It doesn't offer explanations to phenomena that people don't understand. Instead, it gives us a chance to be independent, and to find out the real truth.
I'm not an anthropologist either, and i will look into this matter further intil i have a good explanation.

And i won't take this discussion offline because i think others can learn from our discussion to. AND Maybe they can add some of their own input. Why do most threads turn into one-on-one conversations?

Pisces69

Just a post to highlight the difference between the TRIANGLE of terms DEEN, MAZHAB and RELIGION

Deen - It translates to a system based on principles and rules. When we sayIslam is a deen it means it is a system. Refer to
http//www.quranicteachings.co.uk/Ad_Deen.pdf

Mazhab - It translates to 'school of thought'. The word mazhab is never used in Quran. I think the reason is simple because Quran doesnot reflect the 'schoolof thought' of any scholar(s) but the system of God.

Religion - It is a word from western culture and it is a set of rituals,
attitudes and beliefs related to supernatural.
Refer http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

Therefore Islam is not a Mazhab. It is much more than that. But there is no translation of deen in english. The closest is religion so many translators and scholars have used religion and for the sake of simplicity we also use it.

But in my opinion Islam is a system based on principles given by Allah for the muslim community to regulate their affairs. It includes rituals, values (moralprinciples), jurisprudence, beliefs and many other things. If there is no muslim community obviously there would be no Islam.

phoenix1

peace

How would you define a "muslim community?"

Pisces69

Very good question. ( -) my favorite topic)

Lets dissect the term "Muslim Community".

Muslim AND Community

First study Muslim
Being Muslim is not following a particular culture or speaking a particular language.
Being Muslim is not following a particular trait.
Being Muslim is not living in the east or west.
It is universal. It is a way of thinking a person develops by observing the nature and its majesty.
For definition of Muslim we need to study the ideology of the person who coined this term i.e. our spritual father Prophet Abraham (PBUH) the true Mulim Hanifa. Whom God called as his friend (Khalil). All the subsequent Messengers followed in his footsteps. Any body who follows his way is a Muslim. This way is called Millat-e-Ibaram in Quran.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=8
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=30

Community
Cooperation is basic to human nature and organization is basic to cooperation.
Homo Sapiens are social animals. They cooperate for their common good.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/community.php

So islam is a cooperation based system. In other words it is a community based system. Whoever follows Islam by default becomes part of a community.

So to sum up Muslim Community is the cooperation between people who are Muslim and Quran provides the constitution for regulating the affairs of this community.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=40

Points to Ponder
Birds of a feather flock together means that people who are similar to each other often stick together.

Now think like a leader. You need to keep your flock together. What is better than Salat?

Thanks

phoenix1

peace

But is salat really a ritual?
does it have to be performed a certain way?
Salat would only be a "ritual" if there was a set of laws that everyone had to follow during salat. There isn't an explanation on how one must establish salat.
So although a comminuty needs to be united, i don't think we need "rituals."