Download Islam

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)
Deserts
• Only a small strip of fertile land in
south of Saudi Arabia
•Few oases
•The rest is Desert
Bedouins
• Nomads who live in the
desert
• Organized into tribes and
clans
– Clans give security and
support since they live in
extreme conditions
– Defended themselves
from other clans who
wanted water, grazing
territory, livestock or food
supplies
Arabia was occupied by
warring clans of nomads.
Madinah(Medina)
Makkah (Mecca)
Islamic Way of Life
• Bedouin valued
– Courage
– Loyalty to
family
– Warrior skills
• This would lead to
Islamic way of life
Trade Routes
• Many trade routes connected Arabia
to major ocean and land trade routes
–Extreme south of the peninsula
–To the Byzantine in the north
–Caravan routes went to the Silk Roads
in the east
–Transported spices to the west
Mecca
• Located in Saudi Arabia
• Important stop on trade routes
• During holy months, caravans
stopped in Mecca and this
brought religious pilgrims who
came to worship at the Kaaba
Kaaba
* Over the years
many different
gods and spirits
were introduced
here
• Had over 360
idols brought by
many tribes
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 BCE,
orphaned at age 6,
taken in by
grandfather and
uncle, both in the
caravan business.
Muhmmad was born in
about 570 CE.
At that time Justinian II
(565-595), was the
Byzantine Emperor
Rome had fallen 476
CE and Europe was in
the “Dark Ages”
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.
The 74th Sura of
the Quran is
titled ‘the
cloaked One’
Muhammad hurried
home and wrapped
Himself in cloak. He
told Khadijih what had
happened and she
became the first to
embrace Islam through
its Messenger,
Muhammad.
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)
The first Muslims
• Early followers of the
Prophet pondering his
words at Yathrib
– aka Medina
• Muhammad gave daily
recitations of the
messages he believed
came from Allah
– which his followers
faithfully recorded
Muhammad &
followers
construct first
Mosque in the
world in Medina
623 CE
Battle of Badr
(see Qur’an 3:123)
Muhammad routs a
numerically superior
Meccan army
Swords of Muhammad
Topkapi Museum - Istanbul
630 CE
Muhammad
marches on Mecca
with 10,000 men
Battle of Hunayn
31 January
By 630 the believing
community was large enough to
return to Mecca in triumph and
establish Islam as the official
religion.
Holy city
• Right: Mecca
– as it would have appeared
around the time of his birth
(below)
Mecca (cont.)
• Note the ka’aba in
the background
– at the center of
the city
Crisis
• Muhammad dies in
632
• Muslims now had
to find a new leader
• Muhammad did not
name a successor
Solution
• Muslims chose
Abu-Bakr who was
a loyal friend of
Muhammad
• He became the first
Caliph
• Caliph – (kay-lif)
means successor or
deputy
Abu-Bakr
• After Muhammad died some
Muslims
– Refused to pay taxes
– Tried to say they were prophets
themselves
– Some tribes abandoned Islam
• In order to get things under
control, Abu-Bakr used the
military to get authority.
Muslim State
• By the time Abu died, the Muslim state
controlled all of Arabia
• Under the next 2 caliphs they took:
– Syria
– Lower Egypt
– Parts of Persia
• By 750 they controlled from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Indus River (2x the width of
the USA!!)
Muslim Troops
• They were successful
because they were
– Willing to struggle till
the end for Islam
– Well disciplined
– Expertly commanded
• Enemies were not used
to their style of
warfare
Byzantine and Persia
• The Byzantine and Persia were already
weak from long time conflicts
• The people welcomed Islam
Treatment of
Conquered
People
• Muslims were tolerant of conquered
people
• The Quran forbids forceful conversion
– They let others keep their religion if they
paid a poll tax
– People who did not convert were not
allowed to spread their own religions
Internal Conflict
• The 2 Caliphs
after Abu Bakr
were assassinated
• After their
assassinations, the
elective system of
choosing caliphs
ended
Umayyads
• A family that came
to power in 661
• They set up a
hereditary system
of getting new
leaders.
• They moved the
Muslim capital to
Damascus
Umayyads
• Surrounded
themselves with
riches
• Some Muslims
did not agree
with the
Umayyads and
split.
The Split
• Muslims split into two groups:
SHI’A
• Believe the leader should be a
relative of Muhammad
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.
SUNNI
• This group followed the Umayyad
rule and followed Muhammad’s
example.
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.
Sufi
• Another group who
reacted against the rich
life of the Umayyads
• They led a life of
poverty and devotion to
the spiritual life of
Islam
• They meditated and
chanted
• Focused on the Quran
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.
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.
“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
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!
What are the main
practices?
They are called the “five
pillars of Islam”.
1. Say the Shahada throughout
the day.
The oneness of God.
Muslims confess throughout
the day, “There is no God but
Allah, Muhammad is His
prophet.”
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.)
5. Fasting in the daylight hours
during Ramadan, the month the
Qur’an “came down.”
Pneumonic Device
I.S.L.A.M.I.C.
Islam’s Holy
Book
• The Quran or Koran – contains the
teachings revealed to Muhammad the
prophet of Allah
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.
Started in the
Middle East
• Islam began
in Saudi
Arabia, in
the Middle
East
Laws = The 5
Pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Faith in Allah
Prayer 5 times a day facing Mecca
Giving alms to the poor (charity)
Fasting during Ramadan
Make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in
their lifetime
llah
• Allah is the
Islamic name for
GOD
• Those who follow
Allah are called
MUSLIMS
Muhammad
•Muhammad is the founder
of Islam
•His teachings are written in
the Koran
Islam is
Monotheistic
• Name another religion we
have studied that is
monotheistic =
Cities that are
holy
• Mecca –
Muhammad
was born here
and is where
the KAABA is
located
ities that
are holy
• Medina –
This is the
city where
Muhammad
started Islam
Cities that are
holy
•Jerusalem –
This is where
Muhammad
left to heaven
from
Kaaba
• Is a large cube
building
• It is the holiest
place in Islam
• This is the
building
Muslims face
during prayer