Practice Flashcards
Flip to reveal answersWhat does the guide list under authority of the person in Islam?
Track your progress — Sign up free to save your progress and get smart review reminders based on spaced repetition.
All 8 Flashcards — Authority and schools
Sign up free to track progress and get spaced-repetition review schedules.
Question
What does the guide list under authority of the person in Islam?
Answer
The Prophet Muhammad (Sunna of the Prophet), previous prophets, caliphs, imams in Shia and Sunni thought, qadis and muftis, Shaykhs and Pirs in Sufism, and other leaders.
Question
Name the schools of law.
Answer
Four Sunni — Maliki, Hanbali, Hanafi and Shafi'i — and the Shi'i school, the Ja'faris.
Question
Why is more than one school of law not a failure of unity?
Answer
Because the schools are recognised methods rather than rival institutions: a Muslim follows one, and a question may be answered differently in another without either leaving Islam.
Question
What schools of thought does the guide distinguish from the schools of law?
Answer
Mutakallimun (theologians), philosophers, and the different interpretations offered by Sufis and Shi'is.
Question
Why does the word imam need care?
Answer
Because in Sunnism it names the person who leads prayer, while in Shi'a thought the Imams are the line of authority descended from the Prophet's family. The guide lists imams in Shia and Sunni thought.
Question
What are the ulama, qadis and muftis?
Answer
The ulama are the religious scholars; a qadi is a judge; a mufti gives a legal opinion. Authority here is earned by learning rather than conferred by ordination.
Question
Where does Sufism sit in the Islamic picture?
Answer
As a mystical strand within both branches rather than a third branch — the guide lists Sufi interpretations under schools of thought and Shaykhs and Pirs under authority of the person.
Question
How does Islamic authority compare with Christian and Sikh?
Answer
Roman Catholicism has a teaching office that can define a question for all Catholics; Sikhism has no priesthood or jurists at all; Islam sits between, with an undisputed text and a scholarly class whose rulings bind those who accept them.
Read the notes
Full study notes for Authority and schools
Topic 7.3 hub
Doctrines and beliefs
More from Topic 7.3
All flashcards in this topic
World Religions exam skills
Paper structures & tips
Track your progress with spaced repetition
Sign up free — Aimnova tells you exactly which cards to review and when, so you remember everything before your IB exam.
Start Free