Introduction to Thinking Through Sources 9: Voices of Islam

Like all great religious traditions, Islam found expression in various forms. Its primary text, the Quran, claimed to represent the voice of the Divine, God’s final revelation to humankind. Other early Islamic writings, known as hadiths, recorded the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. Still others reflected the growing body of Islamic law, the sharia, which sought to construct a social order aligned with basic religious teachings. Devotional practices and expressions of adoration for Allah represented yet another body of Islamic literature. And beyond variations in teaching lay still further differences in the practice of Islam as it evolved in the many cultural settings in which the new religion became established. All of this gave rise to differing interpretations and contending views, generating for Islam a rich and complex tradition that has been the source of inspiration and debate for almost 1,400 years. From this immense range of expression, we present just a few samples of the voices of Islam.