ABSTRACT
In the previous chapters we have examined the rise and evolution of the principles of Islamic faith, which are collectively known as “Muslim dogma” or “Muslim creed.” We have witnessed heated debates over the nature of God, over his attributes and his predetermination of events as opposed to human free will, over the definition of faith, and so on. Now we will try to understand how the general principles that constitute the Muslim religious creed are manifested in the life and behavior of individual Muslims. Put differently, how have the Muslims internalized the major precepts of their religion and how have they endeavored to live their lives in accord with them? In academic literature, the practical realization of the tenets of a certain religious tradition by its followers is sometimes called “ethos.”1 Some scholars prefer to speak of “ritual,” although they have in mind more or less the same thing. It is the ethos or ritual of the Muslims that we will be discussing in the present chapter.
