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The Prophet Muhammad
Muslims believe that Islam is a faith that has always existed and that it was gradually revealed to humanity by a number of
prophets, but the final and complete revelation of the faith was made through the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century
CE.
Muhammad was born in Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 570. He was a deeply spiritual man, and often spent time in meditation
on Mount Hira.
The traditional story of the Qur'an tells how one night in 610 he was meditating in a cave on the mountain when he was
visited by the Angel Gabriel who ordered him to recite. Once Gabriel mentioned the name of Allah, Muhammad began to
recite words which he came to believe were the words of God.
The Qur'an
During the rest of his life Muhammad continued to receive these revelations. The words were remembered and recorded,
and form the text of the Holy Qu'ran, the Muslim scripture.
Preaching
Believing that God had chosen him as his messenger Muhammad began to preach what God had revealed to him.
The simple and clear-cut message of Islam, that there is no God but Allah, and that life should be lived in complete
submission to the will of Allah, was attractive to many people, and they flocked to hear it.
The Hijrah
Muhammad's popularity was seen as threatening by the people in power in Mecca, and Muhammad took his followers on a
journey from Mecca to Medina in 622.
This journey is called the Hijrah (migration) and the event was seen as so important for Islam that 622 is the year in which
the Islamic calendar begins.
The return to Mecca
Within ten years Muhammad had gained so many followers that he was able to return to Mecca and conquer it with
military force.
From this time on he was generally accepted by the faithful as the true final Prophet of God. Muhammad continued to lead
his community both spiritually and in earthly matters until his death in 632.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Islam at a glance
The word Islam means both 'peace' and 'submission'. It is the second largest religion in the world with over 1bn followers.
The 2001 census recorded 1,591,000 Muslims in the UK, around 2.7% of the population.
There are several different groups of Muslims, but all of them, in every country and community, regard their faith as a
bond between them, and as a major part of their identity.
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Islam was revealed over 1400 years ago in Mecca, Arabia.
Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
Muslims believe that there is only One God.
The Arabic word for God is Allah.
According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to His law.
Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God.
They believe that the final Prophet was Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Muslims believe that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes, date their religion from the time of the
migration of Muhammad.
Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Qur'an, and the Sunnah.
The Sunnah is the practical example of Prophet Muhammad.
There are five basic Pillars of Islam.
These pillars are the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and a once in a
lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca.
Sharia
Sharia is a now a familiar term to Muslims and non-Muslims. It can often be heard in news stories about politics, crime,
feminism, terrorism and civilisation.
All aspects of a Muslim's life are governed by Sharia. Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur'an
(the Muslim holy book), the Hadith (sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and fatwas - the rulings of Islamic
scholars.
Many people, including Muslims, misunderstand Sharia. It's often associated with the amputation of limbs, death by
stoning, lashes and other medieval punishments. Because of this, it is sometimes thought of as draconian. Some people in
the West view Sharia as archaic and unfair social ideas that are imposed upon people who live in Sharia-controlled
countires.
Many Muslims, however, hold a different view. In the Islamic tradition Sharia is seen as something that nurtures humanity.
They see the Sharia not in the light of something primitive but as something divinely revealed. In a society where social
problems are endemic, Sharia frees humanity to realise its individual
The primary sources of the Sharia are the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad (Sunna).
Jihad
The literal meaning of Jihad is struggle or effort, and it means much more than holy war. Muslims use the word Jihad to
describe three different kinds of struggle:
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A believer's internal struggle to live out the Muslim faith as well as possible
The struggle to build a good Muslim society
Holy war: the struggle to defend Islam, with force if necessary
Many modern writers claim that the main meaning of Jihad is the internal spiritual struggle, and this is accepted by many
Muslims. However there are so many references to Jihad as a military struggle in Islamic writings that it is incorrect to
claim that the interpretation of Jihad as holy war is wrong.
Sunni and Shia
The words Sunni and Shia appear regularly in stories about the Muslim world but few people know what they really mean.
Religion permeates every aspect of life in Muslim countries and understanding Sunni and Shia beliefs is important in
understanding the modern Muslim world.
The beginnings
The division between the Sunnis and the Shia is the largest and oldest in the history of Islam. To understand it, it is good
to know a little bit about the political legacy of the Prophet Muhammad.
When the Prophet died in the early 7th Century he not only left the religion of Islam but also an Islamic State in the
Arabian Peninsula with around one hundred thousand Muslim inhabitants. It was the question of who should succeed the
Prophet and lead the fledgling Islamic state that created the divide.
One group of Muslims (the larger group) elected Abu Bakr, a close companion of the Prophet as the next caliph (leader) of
the Muslims and he was duly appointed. However a smaller group believed that the Prophet's son-in-law, Ali, should
become the caliph.
Both Shi'as and Sunni have good evidence to support their theories. For example, the Prophet chose Abu Bakr to lead the
congregational prayers as he lay on his deathbed, suggesting to Sunni's that the Prophet was hinting at the next leader.
Shi'as take the evidence that Muhammad stood up in front of hundreds of his companions on his way back from Hajj, and
proclaimed that his family would never be led astray. Reports say he took Ali's hand and said that anyone who followed
Muhammad should follow Ali.
Muslims who believe that Abu Bakr should be the Prophet's successor have come to be known as Sunni. Muslims who
believe Ali should have been the Prophet's successor are now known as Shia. The use of the word successor should not be
confused to mean that that those that followed the Prophet Muhammad were also prophets - both Shia and Sunni agree
that Muhammad was the final prophet.
Name: _________________________________________________________
1.
When/where was Muhammad born?
2.
Who was the messenger from God that first spoke to Muhammad?
3.
What is the Muslim scripture?
4.
What is the simple and clear-cut message of Islam?
5.
Why did Muhammad take his followers on a journey from Mecca to Medina?
6.
What was this journey called?
7.
When did the journey occur?
8.
How do Muslims mark the importance of this journey?
9.
When did Muhammad return to Mecca and what did he and his followers do there?
10. When did Muhammad die?
11. What does the word Islam mean?
12. What are Jesus, Moses and Abraham in the Islamic faith?
13. What do Muslims base their laws upon?
14. Where does Sharia law come from?
15. What are the primary sources of Sharia?
16. What are the different types of struggle that the word Jihad describes?
17. Who was Abu Bakr?
18. Who was Ali?
19. Explain the original difference between Sunnis and Shias.
20. What do both Sunnis and Shias agree on?