Download Islam: The Religion of Submission to God Chapter Objectives After

Islam: The Religion of Submission to God
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
 Describe the Arabian world before Islam.
 Recognize the main events in the life of Muhammad.
 Name the central beliefs and practices of Muslims.
 Discuss how world events helped the spread of Islam.
 Evaluate the differing philosophical views that emerged in the first five centuries of Islam.
Chapter Summary
Islam means “to submit” to the will of God (Allah). Though Islam originated in Arabia it is
hardly synonymous with it. Islam also is unique in that its founder Muhammad, while revered,
never assumes a deified status in the theology as he is seen as a messenger only of the one true
God. Islam began in a region both heterogeneous in culture and spiritual beliefs. Mecca,
however, was a site of active commerce and worship prior to Islam.
Subsequent to Muhammad’s revelations and personal doubts he began his proclamations
amid much hostility, forcing his migration to Yathrib, Muslims regard this migration as the birth
of Islam. Through the force of his personality and good military tactics he achieved political
power and unified many of the Arabian tribes. After Muhammad’s sudden death a successor
smoothly maintained the momentum of the fledgling religion.
The Qur’ān is the final formulation of Muhammad’s recitation of the word of God and
was compiled over time. Islam is described under three heads: The articles of faith (īmān), right
conduct (ihsān) and religious duty (ibādāt), the last being a later addition. Acceptance of Allah as
the one and only God is the central component to Islam.
The spread of Islam was aided by the military might emerging from the unity imparted to
the Bedouins by Islam and the weakening of the Byzantine and Persian Empires. The conquest of
these territories ensured the spread of Islam through the Arabian world. They also provided
incredible wealth and allowed the inevitable political power struggles to reach fruition. Conflicts
over succession and pressure from outside forces such as the Crusaders and Mongols resulted in
five different Islamic Empires.
Compiling Muslim thought into coherent and consistent traditions is challenged by the
multitude of “attestors” and their recollections of Muhammad’s utterances and habits that were
being compiled centuries after Muhammad’s death. The crux of the issue occurs in the
evaluation or judgment of a behavior not explicitly discussed in the Qur’ān or in Muhammad’s
utterances. Four schools of Law arose to address the administration of the true criteria used to
evaluate religious and ethical issues.
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Islam is not without philosophers and theologians who critically evaluate the tenets of
Islam with a rational approach reminiscent of the Greek tradition. Again, differences of opinion
can engender heated responses but also revered thinkers (e.g. Al-Ash`ārī). Religious mystical
experience, also finds a place in Islam through sects such as the Sūfī. The chapter concludes with
discussion of the saving synthesis of al-Ghazālī in bringing together the mystics and legalists in
Muslim practice.
Chapter Outline
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Introduction
Arabian Beliefs and Practices Before Muhammad
A.
Racial and Geo-Economic Factors
B.
North and South Arabia
C.
The West Coastal Mountains (Al-Hijāz)
D.
Religious Conceptions: Divinities
E.
Lesser Spirits
F.
Mecca: The Ka`ba
G.
Zamzam, Hagar, and Pilgrimage Tradition
H.
Mecca as a Center of Commerce
I.
Internal Rivalries
The Prophet Muhammad
A.
Birth and Early Influences
B.
Muslim Views of “Influences”
C.
Religious Awakening
D.
Prophetic Call
E.
The Meccan Ministry: The Message
F.
The Hijra (Latin: Hegira), 622 C.E.
G.
Establishment of the Theocracy at Medina
H.
Warfare with Mecca: Final Ascendancy
The Faith and Practice of Islam
A.
Articles of Faith: Imān
1. One God
2. Guidance from God
B.
The Night Journey
C.
Right Conduct
D.
Religious Duty: the “Five Pillars”
1. the Creed
2. Prayer
3. Almsgiving
4. Fasting During the Month of Ramadān
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V.
VI.
5. Pilgrimage
The Spread of Islam
A.
The Companions: Abū Bakr and the Unification of Arabia
B.
ʻUmar and the First Conquests
C.
Further Conquests and Reasons for Their Success
D.
The Warriors’ Success
E.
Appearance of the First Power Struggles
F.
Summary of Political Events, 661-1900
The First Five Centuries of Muslim Thought
A.
The Formation of the Hadīth Canons
B.
The First Controversies
1. The Khārijites
2. The Murjites
C.
The Sunnīs and the Sharī`a
1. The Four Schools of the Law
a. The Hanīfite: Qur’ān and Analogy
b. The Mālikite: Qur’ān, Hadīth, and Consensus
c. The Shāfi`ite: Four Sources
d. The HanBalite: The Qur’ān Strictly
2. The Muʻtazilites: The Theology and Reason
a. Justice Requires Some Freedom
b. The Qur’ān as “Created”
D.
Muslim Philosophers
1. The Orthodox Champion: Al-Ash‘Ārī
2. Al-Māturīdī
E.
Sufis
1. The Mystics: Forerunners of Sūfism
2. The First Sūfīs
3. Sūfīs Accused of Heresy: Al-Hallāj
4. Later Moderate Sūfīsm
5. Sūfī Poetry Rūmī
6. Rūmī on Religious Experience
F.
The Synthesis of al-Ghazālī
Discussion Questions
1. What religions and experiences appear to have shaped Muhammad’s beliefs and view of
the nature of God?
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2. What were the key historical events that facilitated the spread of Islam in Muhammad’s
lifetime?
3. Compare the importance of military power in the spread of Judaism, Islam and
Christianity.
4. Compare several different Islamic sects. How do their perspectives on the faith differ?
Are they doctrinal differences that have different ethical expressions? How can one
philosophical derivation advocate the killing of non-believers and another view them as
“bretheren yet uninformed?”
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