Islam

Islam

Islam

• Islam → submission, surrender or commitment to Allah

• Muslim → one who submits / surrenders to the will of Allah

Some Interesting Facts

• There are over 1.2 billion Muslims world wide

• 2nd most populous religion

• fastest growing religion in the world

• Youngest of the world religions

The Life of MohammedEarly Arabic Culture:

• Arab → nomad• Arabia

– 1 million square miles– mostly desert – very hostile environment– Occupied by Bedouin tribes

• Bedouin Tribes– Nomadic desert traders– Lacked unified government & organization → hostile,

warrior people noted for quaralling, gambling, drinking, brawling & sexual promescuity

– Polytheistic & Animistic → concept of supreme god (Allah)

Origins: The Life of Muhammad

Mohammed:• Father died before his birth → orphaned at 6 years of

age• Raised by his uncle• Worked as a shepherd, later as a camel driver on

caravan trade routes between Syria and Arabia• Met many Jews and Christians• Married at age 25 to wealthy older women who was a

shrewd business woman → was his mentor• Custom of visiting a mountain cave to meditate• Began to question religious beliefs and practices →

dissatisfied with practices (idol worship, sexual practices, brawling, etc…)

• At 25 (610 CE) he was visited by angel Gabriel → commanded him to recite a series of revelations → basis of Qur’an

• Initially Mohammed failed to respond → Gabriel choked him 3 times

• Began to teach against idolatry & the lack of morality in Makkah (Mecca)

• Fellow Makkans hostile to Mohammed → he was protected by his uncle Abu Talib

• Khadijah & Abu Talib died in 619 – “Year of Sorrow”• Without protection of his uncle Muhammad must fee

to Madinha (hijrah)

Early Arabic Culture:

Arabia

• 1 million square miles mostly desert – very hostile

environment Occupied by Bedouin tribes

Bedouin Tribes

Nomadic desert traders Lacked unified government &

organization → hostile, warrior people noted for quarrelling, gambling, drinking, brawling & sexual promiscuity

Polytheistic & Animistic → concept of supreme god (Allah)

Muhammed: Father died before his birth → orphaned at 6 years of age• Raised by his uncle Worked as a shepherd, later as a camel driver on caravan trade

routes between Syria and Arabia Met many Jews and Christians Married at age 25 to wealthy older women who was a shrewd

business woman → was his mentor Reputation for being honest, wise, and possessed an ability to

solve problem – a peace maker in his society. Custom of visiting a mountain cave to meditate Began to question religious beliefs and practices He was dissatisfied with his people’s practices (idol worship,

sexual practices, brawling, etc…)

The Revelation At 25 (610 CE) he was visited by angel Gabriel → commanded

him to recite a series of revelations → basis of Qur’an Initially Muhammed failed to respond → Gabriel choked him 3

times Fellow Makkans hostile to Muhammed → fled to Madinha

(hijrah) Before leaving Muhammad experiences the Nigh Journey &

Ascension to heaveno Night Journey → Muhammad & Gabriel travel on winged horse to

Jerusalemo Ascension → Mi’raj → seven levels of heaven – on each level he

meets the ancient Jewish and Christian prophets Muhammed could not write → recite Qur’an word for word for

over 23 years until his death in 632 C.E.

Reaction to Muhammad

• Muhammad threatened the leadership and tribal structure of the Bedouin people

• Muhammad was forced to defend his beliefs with the sword

• Four key battles:1. Badr – Muhammad’s army defends Madinah and defeats

Meccan army of 10002. Uhud – Makkans return with 3000 and score victory over

Muhammad’s forces, but fail to take Madinah3. Battle of the Trench – Makkans attack Madinah with 10,000

but Muhammad successfully defends Madinah by building a trench around the city

4. Conquest of Makkah – 630 CE Muhammad leads 10,000 into Makkah and smashes the idols in the Ka’bah & pardons the people for their deeds

Idolatry

• Idolatry – the worshipping of objects as gods; assigning sacred significance to that which is made by man

• When Muhammed smashed the ancient idols of the Bedouin tribes, he established that Islam would be a religion based on one God without images or icons or idols

• Muhammed dies in 632 CE

• He requests that his burial site remain unknown so that the faithful will not make pilgrimages to his grave as this might lead to a form of idolization

• Worship only God is fundamental to Islam, as it is to Judaism and Christianity

Mohammed:Resolving the conflict of the Black Stone

Jihad: The 6th Pillar

• Jihad = striving• Some interpret as “holy war” – this is not entirely

accurate• Muslims are called to stive or struggle to follow God’s

commands• Also, Muslim’s are permitted to defend their faith against

attack, but one’s actions should only be defensive• Muhammad said “let their be no compulsion in religion” –

no one should force his/her beliefs on others – • True conversion - when one accepts the beleifs and

follows them because they desire to be righteous• The modern violent expression of Jihad is rejected by

most Muslims

Islam: Sacred Writings

Qur’an

• Holiest book in Islam and main source of Islamic law → Shari’ah

• Qur’an → “recitation”• The revelations that Muhammad received from Gabriel

are considered to be the literal word of God → criticism of the Qur’an is not permitted.

• Muslims must strive to understand the revelation• Because the Qur’an was believed to be revealed in its

unaltered form in Arabic, translations of the Qur’an are not considered true

• The Qur’an was taught orally by Muhammad to his Companions – these were not written down until his after his death

Hadith / Sunnah

• These are the second major source of Islamic law

• Three types:– Sayings directly associated with Muhammad– Action or practice of Muhammad– Muhammad’s silent approval of someone’s

action

• Clarifies Muslim religious practices

Significance:

• The emergence of Islam with a written code of God’s will created a spiritual, social, and legal revolution

• unified a divided people into a nation organized around a set of relatively progressive beliefs

• These beliefs were also interracial → anyone could be a Muslim

• This allowed for rapid expansion of Islamic empire → within 100 years Islam had expanded to become one of the largest empires in the world → northern India to Spain and Morocco!

• The height of its civilization, between the seventh and eleventh centuries, was a progressive, humanistic, and legalistic force for reform and justice.

Early Expansion of Islam

Expansion Of Islam

Groups Within Islam

• The first major schism (split/rift) in Islam occurred at the time of Muhammad’s death.

No clear leader identified by Muhammad to continue the teachings

First claim to “caliph” or successor was Abu Bakr – close friend and companion of Muhammad – strong leader

Second claim – Ali – Muhammad’s cousin & son-in-law – strong leader but young

The choice of leader split the community: two sects emerge

Sunni

Came into existence at time of Muhammad’s death

• Believe in building consensus within community

• Tend to be more liberal Focus on just and equitable society

• 85% of world’s Muslims are Sunni

Shi’ah

Party of Ali Believe that prior to Muhammad’s death, the

Prophet chose his son-in-law as his successor

• Believe in infallible leaders called Imams Instigated a revolution in Iran to establish a theocracy – state lead by religious leaders and organized around religious law

Small but vocal tend to be more fundamental

Sufi

Mystical philosophy of Islam Develop spiritually to discover the reality of

God Emphasis on prayer, meditation, sincerity

and excellence "a science through which one can know how

to travel into the presence of the Divine, purify one’s inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits." Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba