ʿIbāda

ʿIbāda ( Arabic عبادة), also Ibadah , comes from Arabic and means roughly the same as the performance of worship . What is meant by this is a type of act that an individual Muslim person may perform to serve God. ʿIbāda denotes a type of action with a mostly ritual character; Depending on the conceptual boundaries, however, the term can go beyond the ritual (for more details, see below). The term is derived from the Arabic verb root ʿ-bd ( Arabic عبد) derived. The derivatives of this verb root appear in the Koran; they contain meanings such as “obedience”, “dependency”, “servanthood”, also slavery . See also Abd and Abdallah .

Plural of Ibada as a classification term in Islamic law

In scholarly works of Islamic law , the plural of ʿIbāda takes on the function of a classification term. This results from the fact that the performance of the worship services (Arabic .Ibādāt) towards God is understood in the broadest sense as an execution of his laws and as a submission to him.

From what has been said, it follows that the acts of worship (ʿIbādāt) - at least in formal legal terms - have the character of a law. In the works of Fiqh , the explicit Islamic law, the topics are not presented in a uniform arrangement, and often not all classification categories are dealt with, except that the ʿIbādāt always appear at the beginning of such work, while in treatises by ʿAmal (Judicial Practice) ʿIbādāt usually do not occur.

Concrete worship services

The following acts are understood as ʿIbādāt in Islam (and appear accordingly in works of Islamic law):

ritual cleansing (Arabic Tahāra ),
prayer (Arabic Ṣalāt ) including prayers on special occasions,
the compulsory social contribution (arab. Zakāt ),
fasting (arab. Ṣaum ),
the pilgrimage to Mecca (Arabic Ḥaǧǧ ).

the creed (arab. Šahāda ) is also part of it, but is so elementary that it is not mentioned separately in some legal works.

Kneeling position (Arab. Rukūʿ ), prostration (Arab. Suǧūd), walking around the Ka ( ba (Arab. Ṭawāf ), slaughter of a sacrificial animal (Arab. Nask), praise (Arab. Tasbīḥ) and thanks to God ( Hamdala ), devotional supplication while standing (Arabic Qunūt ) and Koran recitation (Arabic Tilāwa) are also considered to be worship services. The latter are all also components of other ʿIbādāt.

giving alms (Arabic Ṣadaqa ) is also counted as a worship service.

For example, it is controversial whether marriage can be counted among the ʿIbādāt: although marriage is perceived by many Muslims as a pious act, many Muslim jurists see it as a contractual act and place it accordingly in the Muʿāmalāt or Munākaḥāt. The classification of jihad is also not uniform among Muslim jurists; so this is classified under ʿIbādāt in the Muḫtaṣar of the Maliki legal scholar Sīdī Ḫalīl. The circumcision of boys is seen as part of the Ibādāt in many cases, although this act is more of a recommendation. Spiritual withdrawal (Arabic: Iʿtikāf ) is also considered ʿIbāda and is often treated as a special chapter of fasting.

literature

Georges-Henri Bousquet: ʿIbādāt. In: Iram B. Lewis et al. a. (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition , Vol. 3: H-Iram . Brill, Leiden 1971, p. 647 f.
Georges-Henri Bousquet: Les grandes pratiques rituelles de l'Islam (Mythes et religions; Vol. 24) Presses Univ. de France, Paris 1949.

Individual evidence

↑ ʿIbādāt. In: Arent Jan Wensinck (Ed.): Concise Dictionary of Islam . Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 178 f. (Reprint of the Leiden 1941 edition).
↑ ^a ^b Gerald R. Hawting: Worship. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.): Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, vol. 5: Si-Z . Brill, Leiden 2006, ISBN 90-04-12356-3 , pp. 555-557, especially p. 555 left.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Georges-Henri Bousquet: ʿIbādāt. In: B. Lewis et al. (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, Vol. 3: H-Iram . Brill, Leiden 1971, p. 647 f.
↑ ^a ^b Gerald R. Hawting: Worship. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.): Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, vol. 5: Si-Z . Brill, Leiden 2006, ISBN 90-04-12356-3 , pp. 555-557.

[1] ʿIbādāt. In: Arent Jan Wensinck (Ed.): Concise Dictionary of Islam . Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 178 f. (Reprint of the Leiden 1941 edition).

[R._Hawting_2006-2] Gerald R. Hawting: Worship. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.): Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, vol. 5: Si-Z . Brill, Leiden 2006, ISBN 90-04-12356-3 , pp. 555-557, especially p. 555 left.

[Georges-Henri_Bousquet_1971-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Georges-Henri Bousquet: ʿIbādāt. In: B. Lewis et al. (Ed.): The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, Vol. 3: H-Iram . Brill, Leiden 1971, p. 647 f.

[ReferenceA-4] Gerald R. Hawting: Worship. Jane Dammen McAuliffe (ed.): Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, vol. 5: Si-Z . Brill, Leiden 2006, ISBN 90-04-12356-3 , pp. 555-557.