Download Why Islam was successful?

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Arabian Peninsula
Mecca &
Yathrib (Medina)
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Prophet
Gabriel orders him
to preach
Mecca = unsuccessful
Yathrib = successful
◦ Becomes Medina
“city of the prophet”
◦ Commemorated as
Hejira
Built an army and
defeated Mecca
Qur'anic Name
Biblical Name
Adam
Adam
Idris
Enoch
Nuh
Noah
Hud
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Salih
Salih
Ibrahim
Abraham
Isma'il
Ishmael
Ishaq
Isaac
Lut
Lot
Ya'qub
Jacob
Yusuf
Joseph
Shu'aib
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Ayyub
Job
Musa
Moses
Harun
Aaron
Dhu'l-kifl
Ezekiel
Dawud
David
Sulaiman
Solomon
Ilias
Elias
Al-Yasa
Elisha
Yunus
Jonah
Zakariyya
Zechariah
Yahya
John
'Isa
Jesus
Muhammad
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1 Shahadah
◦ Declaration of faith
‫آل اِلَـهَ اِالَّ هلل محمد رسول هللا‬
“La ilaha illa Allah: Muhammadun rasulu Allah” –“No
God but Allah: Muhammad is the prophet of Allah”
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2 Salat (Salah)
◦ Prayers
◦ 5 times a day
◦ Facing East
 Mecca
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3 Zakat
◦ Tax (Charity)
◦ 2.5 % of yearly income
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4 Sawm
◦ Fasting During Ramadan
◦ Sunrise to sunset
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5 Hajj
◦ Pilgrimage
to Mecca
◦ Exceptions
 Physical
 Financial
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Koran (Quran)
◦ Exact word of God
as revealed to
Muhammad
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Mohammad’s teachings
◦ Written by his followers
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Torah and Bible
◦ Have stories similar stories
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Parables
Prophecy
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600’s A.D.
No Empire on the Arabian Peninsula-too
harsh of an environment
People did come through the area to trade
Arabian Desert
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born 570 A.D.
poor family
Kuraish tribe, who dominate Mecca
◦ controlling much of the religious pilgrim trade
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raised by relatives-specifically an uncle
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Commercial agent for a wealthy widow
◦ supervising caravans from Mecca, north to
Jerusalem
◦ contact with both Jews and Christians
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Made an impression on his boss and married
her
◦ retired to devote himself to his principal interest
◦ religion
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monogamous until his wife died
eventually married nine wives
last marriage at 53 to Aishah, daughter of a
friend
wives: widows of friends or political
marriages
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Early
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Wasn’t successful
Threatened political, social, and religious structures
Economy in Mecca
Left Mecca
Hejira
◦ 622 AD-Start of the Islamic calendar
◦ Arrived in Medina
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Return
◦ Returns to Mecca and wins
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Mecca preserved as a holy city and place of
pilgrimage
◦ to preserve the economic prosperity
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the Kaaba preserved as the central shrine
◦ idols destroyed
◦ story of its origins changed
◦ pilgrimage as an act of faith
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monotheism (defined a bit differently)
insistence on the responsibility of human
beings
final judgment and rewards
angels and spirits
practice of virtues
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Succession- Who would follow Mohammed?
generated a permanent split in the Islamic
community
◦ Sunnis
◦ Shi’as
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Sunni
85-90% of Muslims
Any devout Muslim
can be caliph
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Shiites
10-15% of Muslims
Descendants of Ali
can be caliph
(leader of Muslims)
•Past-Ali and his son were assassinated
(Shiites: Angry)
•Present: Iraq-Sunni Minority, who gets
the power. Attacks on each other
bombings, fights.
What is this cartoon showing?
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Did not force conversion, Jews and Christians
had to pay “non-believer tax”
Muslims were united…to die in battle was a
guarantee of eternal paradise
Islam emphasized human equality
How does that fit with what we know?