Download Who is Muhammad?

Who is Muhammad?
EARLY LIFE
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Born in A.D. 570 at Mecca, Arabia
As an orphan, he was raised by his uncle
Became a successful merchant and trader
Married Khadijah and had kids
He was not happy with the life he saw around him
The Hills
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In 610 A.D. he went to the hills to pray
There he saw an angel
The angel told him to preach Islam
Islam means “surrendering to the will of Allah”
Allah is the Arabic word for “God”
He was the last prophet to be sent by Allah.
His Teachings
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He told people to destroy statues of the false gods
Worship only Allah, the one true God
All people were created equal
Rich should share their goods
Wealth was not as important as leading a good life
God would reward the good and punish the evil
Opposition to Islam
• Family members and poor people began believing
his message
• Wealthy merchants and religious leaders did not like
his message
• They made his life difficult, beat and tortured
followers
Hijrah
• In 622 A.D., Muhammad and his followers left
Mecca
• They moved north to Yathrib
• This journey became known as the Hijrah
• Hijrah means “breaking off relationships”
• 622 A.D. became the first year of the Muslim
calendar
• Yathrib became known as Medina “the city of the
prophet”
• In 630 A.D., the leaders of Mecca agreed to give
Muhammad control of the city
• Islam began to spread
TEACHINGS OF ISLAM
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity have some beliefs in
common
• All believe in one God
• God has all power
• Created the universe
• Determines right and wrong
• Speaks to people through prophets
• Holy scriptures
THE QURAN
• Muslims wrote down the messages that
Muhammad said he received from Allah
• These writings became the Quran
• The Quran is the holy book of Islam (Bible)
• Quran is very similar to the Bible
• be honest, good, honor parents, give to the poor
• no murder, lying, stealing
• rules that apply to daily life
• no pork, liquor, gambling
• family, marriage, divorce, business practices
The Five Pillars
1. Belief: Muslims must declare that there is no God
but Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet.
2. Prayer: Muslims must pray five times a day, facing
Makkah
3. Charity: Muslims must give to the poor
4. Fasting: Muslims must not eat from dawn to dusk
during the sacred holiday of Ramadan
5. Pilgrimage: Muslims should visit Makkah once in
their lifetime
Sunna
Customs based on Muhammad’s words and deeds.
The Quran and Sunna covers all areas of daily life
It applies to daily life, business, and government
Quran: your journal
Sunna: customs and laws that we live by after reading
about your example in your journal
Example:
•“Today I saw a homeless person on the way to work
and gave them my lunch” (Journal)
• We should all give to the poor and needy (Book of
Customs)
THE SPREAD OF ISLAM
Arabs spread Islam through teaching,
conquest, and trade.
Life After Muhammad
• After Muhammad’s death, Abu Bakr became
the first caliph (KAY-luf), the title that Muslims
use for the highest leader of Islam.
• Caliphs were not religious leaders, but
political and military leaders.
• The first four caliphs were called the Rightly
Guided Caliphs because they tried to follow in
Muhammad’s footsteps.
• Each of them had a personal connection to
Muhammad.
THE RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS
Abu Bakr
Relationship
to
Muhammad
Umar
Father-in-law Friend
Uthman
Ali
Son-in-law First cousin
(member and son-inof the
law
Umayyad
Dynasty)
Expansion
In order to expand their empire, Muslim armies
conquered Persia, Syria, Jerusalem, Egypt, and
all of southwest Asia.
After the First Four Caliphs
•The Umayyads, a family of talented military
leaders, took control of the empire and ruled
from 661 to 750.
• They chose the city of Damascus to be their
capital, not Makkah.
• Muslims began to spread into India and
North Africa
Why were the Arabs successful?
•They also let conquered peoples practice their
own religion
• Called Christians and Jews “People of the Book”
• Non-Muslims were not treated equal, had to
pay a special tax