In his reader Exploring the Sources of World Civilization, Michael Polushin outlines the Islamic faith for his readers. He does so by briefly discussing the tenets of the religion as well as providing a succinct historical review of the earliest days of the Muslim tradition. Polushin points out that although the Qur"an is the sacred biblical text of the religion, many Muslims supplement their faith with other holy writings known as Hadith. The Qur"an is the holy text revealed by God, or Allah, to the prophet Muhammad. The Hadith, while not a divinely revealed scripture, is special nonetheless. It contains the witnessed accounts of the ways Muhammad and his earliest followers lived. Polushin chose excerpts from the Hadith that deal with the themes: charity, fasting, pilgrimage, divorce, food and drink, Friday service, and prayer. In his exposition on Islam he also explains the origination of the Shia-Sunni conflict as illustrated in the famed letters between their respective leaders- Al-Husayn and Muawiyah. These selected works serve as a starting point for understanding the themes and concerns of the religion as a whole.
Perhaps for humanity one of the most relevant themes Polushin hits on is the Islamic idea of charity regardless of immediate difference. He cites the story from the Hadith of the prostitute who was forgiven because of the compassion she showed for a suffering animal. She was passing by a well when she saw a dog afflicted by thirst and rather than continuing on her path without a thought for the animal, she stopped and alleviated its pain. The author notes that doing good for animals and humans alike is charity. To me, this story is interesting not only because of the circumstances but also because of the characters involved. What is the significance of the charitable figure being not just a woman but also a prostitute? How does this compare and relate to her helping not another human but a dog? While I cannot factually answer those questions, I can muse about the curiousness of such a pairing.
