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Did you know?
At least 42
nations are
almost
completely
Islamic.
There are 1 billion Muslims in
the world.
Only 20% of the world’s
Muslims are Arabs.
Arabia before Muhammad
(born 570 AD)
Madinah(Medina)
Makkah (Mecca)
Arabia was occupied by
warring clans of nomads.
Madinah(Medina)
Makkah (Mecca)
Most worshiped idols, especially in
Mecca at the Ka’aba, the large stone
shrine to a “goddess from heaven,”
though a few still believed in one
God.
There were Jews and
Christians in Arabia, too, but
Christians didn’t translate the
Bible into Arabic until after
700 AD.
There was a political and
religious void that Islam was
about to fill.
Muhammad
Born in Mecca
in 570 AD,
orphaned at age 6,
taken in by
grandfather and
uncle, both in the
caravan business.
Muhammad met Jews and
Christians on his travels,
learned stories from the Old
and New Testaments.
Married Khadijah, a wealthy
widow, in 595 AD, and was
freed from the life of a
traveling merchant.
In 610 AD, Muhammad
claims that the archangel
Gabriel appeared to him and
told him to “recite” (qur’an in
Arabic) everything he said.
These were the first alleged
revelations from Allah.
His messages
attacked idolatry. By
622 he had gathered
enough followers that they
were forced to leave
Mecca for Medina.
Muslims refer to this event
as the Hijra; it is the year
“0” on the Muslim
calendar; A.H. = “year of
Hijra.”
Madinah(Medina)
Makkah (Mecca)
By 630 the believing
community was large enough to
return to Mecca in triumph and
establish Islam as the official
religion.
Muhammad died suddenly in
632 before appointing a
successor. Arguments over
the rightful heir to his
leadership caused the divisions
within Islam that persist to this
day.
Sunnis believe
the true Caliph
should be chosen
by those close to
Muhammad; did
not have to be a
relative of
Muhammad. Most
Muslims (85%) are
Sunni.
Shi’as (word means “division”)
believe Muhammad appointed
Ali, his son-in-law, before he died,
even included the choice in the
Qur’an, but others secretly burned
those copies. They maintain that
the true Caliph must be a direct
descendant of Muhammad.
The disagreement led to
internal battles and
assassinations of leaders,
but Islam spread rapidly
throughout the Middle East
and into Europe, stopped in
France at the Battle of
Tours in 732 AD.
Tours
What made Islam so
appealing?
Christians were perceived by
non-Christians as
prejudiced; Muslims were
not.
Islam was a
simple
religion.
Arabs were traders; it
became profitable for
non-Muslims to convert
for business purposes.
Muslim armies were adept at
desert fighting.
Qur’an
Called the “book of
heaven,” supposedly
dictated to Muhammad by
angel Gabriel.
Divided into
114 chapters
called suras,
arranged from
longest to
shortest; a little
shorter than the
NT.
The Qur’an
refers to the Torah,
Psalms, and
“Gospel” (only the
sayings of Jesus) as
“Scripture.” but
retells some biblical
stories inaccurately.
The Qur’an
mentions Jesus
many times, but
declares that
Jesus is only a
prophet and that
he was not
crucified.
“People of the Book, go not beyond the
bounds in your religion, and say not as to
God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus
son of Mary, was only the Messenger of
God, and His Word that He committed
to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So
believe in God and His Messengers, and
say not, ‘Three.’ Refrain; better is it for
you. God is only One God.”
Qur’an, chapter 4:168
It was
composed
throughout
Muhammad’s
life, sometimes at
convenient
moments for him
personally.
Muslims
consider the
Hadith, the
words and deeds
of Muhammad,
to be
authoritative
also.
What are the main
concepts in the Qur’an?
Submission. The
word “Islam”
means
“submission”; a
“Muslim” is “one
who submits.”
The greatness of God.
Allah-hu-akbar means
God is great!
The oneness of God.
Muslims confess throughout
the day, “There is no God but
Allah, Muhammad is His
prophet.” (The confession is
called the Shahada.)
What are the main
practices?
They are called the “five
pillars of Islam”.
1. Say the Shahada throughout
the day.
2. Pray five times daily, facing
Mecca.
Each prayer begins with
a recitation of the
opening chapter from the
Qur’an.
“In the Name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate
Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all
Being, the All-merciful, the Allcompassionate, the Master of the Day of
Doom.
Thee only we serve; to Thee alone we pray
for succour. Guide us in the straight path,
the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,
not of those against whom Thou art
wrathful, nor of those who are astray.”
Prayers must wash in the
prescribed way before they
pray.
Prayers are formal and
memorized and prayed in
various postures, from bowing
to kneeling. The word mosque
means “place of prostration.”
Muslim communities gather for
collective prayer mostly on
Fridays.
3. Alms: Muslims are required to
give 2.5% of their income to the
poor.
4. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
Every able bodied Muslim
must make this pilgrimage once.
Activities during hajj re-enact
important events in life of
Muhammad
Focal point of the pilgrimage is
the Ka’aba, recast as an Islamic,
not a pagan shrine. (Muslims
believe the Ka’aba houses the
stone Allah gave Ibrahim when he
almost sacrificed Ishmael.)
Fasting in the daylight hours
during Ramadan, the month the
Qur’an “came down.”