* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Arabia before Muhammad
War against Islam wikipedia , lookup
International reactions to Fitna wikipedia , lookup
Islam and modernity wikipedia , lookup
Islam and Sikhism wikipedia , lookup
Criticism of Islamism wikipedia , lookup
Islam and violence wikipedia , lookup
Political aspects of Islam wikipedia , lookup
Imamah (Shia) wikipedia , lookup
Soviet Orientalist studies in Islam wikipedia , lookup
Criticism of Twelver Shia Islam wikipedia , lookup
The Jewel of Medina wikipedia , lookup
Islamic culture wikipedia , lookup
Sources of sharia wikipedia , lookup
Islam and Mormonism wikipedia , lookup
Islam and war wikipedia , lookup
Islamic–Jewish relations wikipedia , lookup
Violence in the Quran wikipedia , lookup
Succession to Muhammad wikipedia , lookup
Schools of Islamic theology wikipedia , lookup
Islamic schools and branches wikipedia , lookup
Satanic Verses wikipedia , lookup
Muhammad and the Bible wikipedia , lookup
Arabia before Muhammad Before the birth of Muhammad, the majority of Arabs were Bedouins. Some linguistics link the word “Arab” to the Hebrew root “Abhar” which means to move or pass. As herders, they roamed the desert in search of grass and water for their camels, goats, and sheep. They lived in tents woven from camel or goat hair. Bedouin warriors raided other peoples and fought one another over pastures and springs. They valued their camels and swords above all else. They enjoyed poetry and music. Like other early peoples, they believed in many gods. There was no single religion. The people were scattered in tribes throughout the desert country. Each tribe had its own religion. Best described as animistic polytheists, many tribes worshiped beastly sprites called jinn or demons, which were believed to reside in trees, streams, and stones. Despite the personifications given to these gods, they offered people no guidance for proper moral conduct. Biblical tradition has it that Arabs are descendants of Noah’s son Shem. This is where the word Semite comes from; a Semite literally, is a descendant of Shem. The descendants of Shem can also be traced to the prophet Abraham. Indeed, it was the submission of Abraham in the supreme test, the attempted sacrifice of his son, described in Qur’an (Koran) by the verb aslama that appears to have provided Islam with its name. Abraham, who was married to Sarah, had no son, yet wanted to continue his line. Consequently, he took Hajra for his wife, who bore him a son name Ishamel; whereupon Sarah also had a son name Isaac. Sarah then demanded that Abraham, banish Ishamel and Hajra from the tribe. According to Qur’an, Ishamael went to Makkah (Mecca), and his descendants grew to be the Arabs, whereas the descendants of Isaac remained in Palestine and became Jews and early Christians. Makkah was located in a narrow, sterile valley surrounded by bare mountains; its food supply was drawn from the gardens of Ta’if, some 75 miles to the southeast, and its livelihood depended entirely on the profits of trade. Traders stopped there for food and water on their way north to Constantinople. In the fifth century, the Quraysh, a powerful local tribe of Arabs, decided to try to bring more trade and business to Makkah. The Quraysh negotiated treaties with people in neighboring areas that attempted to guarantee that the Trade caravans traveling through the robber-infested desert would be safe. The Quraysh were largely successful; by the late sixth century, Makkah had become the most prosperous trading center all of Arabia. Makkah was also an important religious center. Hundreds of years before the Quraysh settled in Makkah, local tribes came to Makkah to worship. For safekeeping, some of these tribes enclosed idols of their gods in a low, cube-shaped shrine called the Kaaba, which means cube in Arabic. According to legend, the original Kaaba had stood in heaven. When Adam was forced to leave the Garden of Eden, he built a structure on earth exactly like the one in heaven. The Kaaba, it is also believed, had a black stone embedded in its corner which had been a gift from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Abraham. Inside the Kaaba were stones, statues and even some Christian pictures, for Christians and Jews also visited Makkah. The Quraysh encouraged tribes to deposit their idols in the Kaaba and promised to protect them for a fee. Originally a place dedicated to the worship of one God, by A.D. 500, more than 360 idols of the gods of various tribes were housed within the Kaaba. Makkah’s heterogeneous urban population included Arab tribes, Syrians who worked as caravan leaders, merchants, traveling monks, Christians and Jews. Largely because Makkah’s population was so divers, there was little social unity in the city. The Quraysh contributed to this when, in an effort to generate more wealth, they began to break the tradition of favoring their own kinsmen. By forming business partnerships with members of other families and tribes they caused hostility which led to feuds between different families. Muhammad’s Call to Prophet Hood Sometime between the years A.D. 570 and 580, Muhammad (the name means “worthy of praise”) was born into the family Hashim of the powerful Quraysh tribe. His father, Abdallah, had died before Muhammad was born. During this time, it was custom of mothers in the city to send their babies to the desert to be taken care of by women living there. Mothers believed that the desert air was healthier for their children. A woman in the desert cared for Muhammad until he was five years old. Then he returned to his mother, Amina, who died only a year later. Muhammad was taken care of by his grandfather and his uncle, Abu Talib, who adopted Muhammad. When Muhammad was no longer a child, he found work tending sheep and buying and selling goods for a wealthy widow named Khadija. This job gave Muhammad the opportunity to travel around the Arabian Peninsula and to Syria and Byzantium, where he met many different people including Christians and Jews. Khadija was impressed with Muhammad’s hard work and honesty. When Muhammad was 25 years old and Khadija was 40, the widow offered Muhammad the opportunity to be her husband. Muhammad accepted and married her; and the two lived together happily for about 24 years until Khadija’s death in 619. The wealthy couple had seven children, three boys and four girls. However all three boys died in infancy; and of the girls, only one, Fatima lived long enough to marry and have children. Of the period in Muhammad’s life before his “call” to prophet hood at the age of forty, we know very little. However it is known that he had a reputation as seeker of solitude and spiritually. It was his habit that every year he would spend some time alone in a cave on Mount Hira, outside Makkah. Tradition has it that the call of God came to Muhammad during one of these solitary retreats. As he lay on the floor of the cave, his mind deep in concentration, a voice directed Muhammad to “recite.” Twice the voice commanded and Muhammad resisted, wishing nothing so much as to escape from the cave. “Recite!” commanded the voice for the third time. “What shall I recite?” answered Muhammad in terror. The answer came back Recite- in the name of thy Lord! Who created man from blood coagulated Recite! Thy Lord is wondrous kind Who by the pen has taught mankind Things they knew not (being blind) Ammer Ali, the Spirit of Islam, 52 Muhammad was so terrified that he rushed home and told his wife that he had become either a prophet or one possessed- mad.” Khadija then told a neighbor, who had a reputation for his wisdom in matters of holiness and spirituality. This neighbor concluded that Muhammad had been chosen by God ( called Allah in Arabic) as a prophet. Muslims believe that the message that the Angel Gabriel brought to the Prophet was not a new one; many prophets before Muhammad were given messages from God to share with humankind. Islam teaches that Adam and Eve were created by Allah and that Adam was the first prophet. Throughout history, Muslims believe, many other special people were chosen by God to be prophets. Some of the most eminent prophets include Noah, Abraham, Ishamel, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus. Like Moses, David and Jesus, Muhammad- whom Muslims believe to be the last of the prophets- was given scriptures through the Angel Gabriel to teach humanity more about God and how to worship Him. Muhammad, like the prophets who preceded him, taught people to believe in One God ( which in Hebrew is “Eloh” and in Arabic is “ Allah). Many of the prophets recognized by Muslims are the same individuals respected by Jews and Christians, and preaching monotheism was central to their missions. (Whenever mentioning the names of any of the prophets, Muslim say “May peace be upon him.’) Muslims believe that each of the prophets was blessed with different miracles that God performed for them in order to convince those who did not believe them. The miracle of the Prophet Muhammad was the Qur’an itself, which Muslims consider to be the final message from God to humanity. Muhammad continued to receive revelations from Allah. He was told by Angel Gabriel that it was his duty to spread the word of the oneness of God and of the existence of Judgment Day and resurrection. To escape the divine wrath and eternal fire, the sinner must repent and throw himself upon the mercy of God, a submission (Islam) that gave its name to the religion. In the beginning, not many people believed Muhammad. The first converts to the religion revealed through Muhammad were his wife Khadija, his ten year old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (who later married Muhammad’s daughter Fatima) the former slave and later Muhammad’s adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha and Muhammad’s respected friend Abu Bakr (who later became Muhammad’s father in law). Abu Bakr was unique in that, unlike many of Muhammad’s early followers who came from the ranks of the poor and downtrodden, he was a prominent and respected member of the community in Makkah. Abu Bakr became Muhammad’s closest companion and advisor, and like Ali, played an important role in supporting the Prophet. Even when not many people believed in what he was saying, Muhammad continued to preach the message revealed to him. He was reported to be a very forceful man, in spite of his gentle nature. He was considered to be handsome and burly, with dark busy eyebrows and dark eyes. However, not many pictures Prophet exist because Muslims believe that depictions of the prophets of God and other respected by Persons are not acceptable. Islam teaches that throughout history the prophets chosen by Allah were charged with preaching the belief in One God; often the people to whom they preached believed in idols, worshipped natural objects, or their ancestors. Thus, God chose prophets to encourage people to worship one God. To discourage the practice of worshipping important leaders, Muslims follow a policy of not depicting the Prophet in any way, so that people will worship since they, like human beings, are creations. Though some, Muslims have produced paintings and pictures of the Prophet and other respected figures, the majority of Muslims do not consider such representations to be accurate or acceptable-and they request that others respect their view on this matter. Muhammad Spreads the Word of Allah Muhammad wanted to abolish idolatry and pagan religions so that all would recognize the oneness of Allah. His preaching was also very critical of the wealthy merchants in Makkah who controlled most of the money and power in the city. Islam teaches that the rich should share their wealth with the poor. But most of the people in Makkah did not wand to give up their idols, their wealth, or their power; and Muhammad met with fierce opposition. The Makkans became very angry with Muhammad, who was able to remain in Makkah only because his powerful and respected family protected him. Many miraculous deeds are credited to Muhammad. Islamic tradition holds that although the Prophet was initially scorned by many of the desert tribes of Arabia, Muhammad convinced one tribe of his prophet hood when, by God’s leave, the prophet was able to cause a dry well to gush forth with water so that people could fill their water bags. Another deed his followers love to tell about is his journey through the seven levels of heaven. In 619, Muhammad experienced the famous Night Journey (Miraj in Arabic). The Qur’an tells us that the Angel Gabriel led the way as Buraq, the winged white horse, carried Muhammad from Makkah to Jerusalem and then ascended with him to heaven. Muhammad traveled through the seven levels of heaven, meeting the prophets Adam, John, Jesus, Joseph, Idris, Aaron, Moses, and Abraham. Finally, Buraq took Muhammad to Paradise to meet Allah. Muhammad’s public teaching stressed five main points: 1) Allah was the one and only God and all should submit and be thankful to Him; 2) all believers in Allah were equal under Him; 3) the rich should share their wealth with the poor; 4) that although Allah knows every person’s destiny, people should strive to live righteously and avoid impiety; and 5) all would be subjected to Judgment Day. Ten years after his first revelations, Muhammad had about 100 followers. However, some angry Makkans who refused to convert to Islam plotted to kill Muhammad. The Emigration to Madinah The same year of the Night Journey, both Khadija and Muhammad’s uncle Abu Talib, died. Abu Talib had used his power as the head of Hashim clan to protect Muhammad. Now the new leader refused Muhammad protection. By A.D. 622, Muhammad decided to leave Makkah and travel to Yathrib, another oasis city about 200 miles north of Makkah. As the prophet fled Makkah, he and Abu Bakr were pursued by Makkan soldiers. Islamic tradition holds that the first night of the journey to Madinah, Muhammad and Abu Bakr spent the night in a cave. Soldiers never searched the cave, however because, legend has it, that Allah caused a spider web to be spun and a dove’s nest to be built at the entrance to indicate that no one was hiding within. This journey, known as the hijrah in Arabic, marks the introduction of Islam to humankind through the Prophet Muhammad and its first year of the Muslim calendar. Followers of Muhammad who believed in Islam were called Muslims, meaning “those who submit to the will of God.” Both the Jews and Arabs of Yathrib welcomed Muhammad and his followers. The city was about to erupt in civil war, and the people looked to Muhammad and his followers to unite them. They renamed Yathrib Madinaht unNabit, which means “City of the Prophet.” Yathrib was then called Madinah (Medina) and Muhammad remained in Madinah to lead the new Islamic community there. Muhammad was optimistic and hoped that all the different people living in Madinah would become believers of Islam. Muhammad felt that because he was accepting of Judaism and Christianity as the predecessors of Islam, he would win many converts. So in the beginning, Muhammad named Jerusalem (the sacred city of Jews and Christians) as the Qiblah, the direction of prayer. He accepted Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as also being among Allah’s prophets. Not all of the residents of Madinah, however, became believers of Islam; some Jewish leaders did not accept Muhammad as God’s latest prophet. Unable to unite the people of Madinah into a single community of believers, Muhammad expelled the Jews who opposed him from the city. After the rejection of the Prophet by Jewish tribes of Madinah, Muhammad told Muslims that the Qibah (direction of prayer) was changed from Jerusalem to the Kaaba, in Makkah. x The Return to Makkah As more people accepted Islam of their own free will, The Quraysh and other pagan tribes became increasingly alarmed and hostile towards the Muslims, to the point of inflicting torture. In A.D. 624, after constantly being challenged to battle by the Quraysh and their allies, Muhammad led his army of 300 followers to attack and capture a Makkan caravan. The caravan escaped but a Makkan army of 950 men, 700 camels and 100 horses learned of Muhammad’s plan and went to fight Muhammad and his followers. The Prophet is said to have cried out just prior to battle: “O, God, Here are Quraysh in their pride and vanity fighting against Thee and calling Thine Apostle a liar. O God, Grant the help which Thou had promised me. Destroy them this morning.” Muhammad’s army even though tremendously outnumbered, won the Battle of Badhr overwhelmingly. The success was a great spiritual victory for Islam. It led to Islam gaining more followers and fostered the belief that God would fight on the side of the Muslims. The Makkans, angry at their defeat at the Battle of Badr, wanted revenge. In the years that followed, more battles were fought between the Makkans and Muhammad and his army. At one point, in A.D. 627, in the Battle of the Trench, the Quraysh laid siege on Madinah, but the Muslims had built a trench to protect the city. During the siege, the Makkans had attempted to cooperate with the Banu Kuraiza, a Jewish tribe in Madinah. The siege was a failure, and the Quraysh returned unsuccessfully to Makkah. In order to punish the relations of the Banu Kuraiza with the pagan Makkans-which the Muslims believed to be treasonable-their quarters were blockaded. After twenty-five days, the Banu Kuraiza opened the gates of their fortresses and surrender unconditionally. Muhammad allowed their punishment to be decided by Sa’d b. Mu’adh the chief of the Madinan tribe of Aws, the former allies of the Banu Kuraiza. This man a bitter enemy of the Banu Kuraiza decreed that all the men of the clan should be put to death for treason and the women and children should be sold into slavery. The sentence was instantly executed, and 600 or 700 Jews were led out in batches and beheaded. Finally in A.D. 630, Muhammad, with an army of 10,000 captured Makkah. An important part of Muhammad’s capture of Makkah was his rededication of the Kaaba to the worship of One God. The holy shrine, a stone structure in the form of a 40 by 35 by 50 foot cube, traditionally housed Arab idols, as well as a fragment of a polished black stone. Muhammad destroyed the idols and other pagan relics and rededicated the shrine to God. The Kaaba then became the new religious center for all Muslims. In March A.D. 632, Muhammad led the hajj, or greater pilgrimage to Makkah, commonly called “the pilgrimage of farewell,” for it was his last. Every detail of his actions on this occasion was carefully noted and imitated by his disciples: the rites and ceremonies that he had endorsed by his example and presence became standard Muslims practice. On his return to Madinah, he fell ill and requested Abu Bakr to lead prayers in his place. On June 8, A.D. 632, he died in the house of A’isha, one of his wives. Although revered by millions of Muslims, Muhammad has rarely been viewed with sympathy in the Christian world. The losses Islam inflicted on Christendom and the propaganda spread during the Crusades have clouded the West’s understanding of Muhammad’s life. Even in the recent past, Muhammad has been portrayed in controversial literature as a lying deceiver and a shameless lecher who spread his creed by the sword. Yet, despite the various victories against the Quraysh and others, he never encouraged his followers so forcibly convert others to Islam, including Christians and Jews. With regard to his martial life, it must be noted that so long as Khadija lived, Muhammad had no other wife, and that of the ten he subsequently married, the majority were widows whose husbands had supported his teachings and for whom he might have felt obligated to provide. Islam as a Way of Life After being invited by the people of Madinah to lead their city, Muhammad began to establish an Islamic community with unique customs. During the 23 years of his prophet hood, Muhammad received revelations from God, which were recorded by his companions and compiled into a book called the Qur’an. When the Prophet died, his companions, who desired to maintain the community, recorded his own personal words, and deeds into a separate book called the Sunna. The guiding rules and principles for Muslims are based on the Qur’an and the Sunna (which describes how the prophet lived his own life in accordance with the Qur’an). The most basic of these rules is summarized in the Five Pillars of Faith. The instructions behind these five duties came from the Qur’an but it is in the Sunna that the examples and detailed explanations of these can be found. The first pillar is the shahada or professional of faith. A Muslims demonstrates his belies in one God and the importance of Muhammad by saying: “There is only one God (Allah) and Muhammad is his Prophet.” The second pillar is the salat, or daily worship, which states the number of times a Muslim should pray daily. A Muslims prays five times a day: at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset, and dusk. Unlike Christianity and Judaism, Islam sets no day of the week apart from the others as a holy day. This is because Muslims do not believe God “rested” after the creation of the heavens and earth, and so no special day is consecrated for resting. The closest Muslims come to a formal service is when they gather on Fridays for noon prayers and collective recital of the Qur’an. Salat is an important part of Islam because it is the worshipping and thanking of God, so Muslims are encouraged to spread their prayer rug wherever they find themselves at the appointed hour. The third pillar is zakat or almsgiving. Islam recognizes that material things are important to life and that some people have more than others. Islam is not concerned with why this situation exists. Instead it turns to the practical question of what should be done to help lift the burden of those who are less fortunate. Muhammad set a figure of two and one half per cent of each person’s income. Compared with the tithe of Judaism and Christianity this figure looks modest, but it represents two and one-half per cent of not just income, but all of the holdings. Poorer people owe nothing, but those in the middle and upper income brackets must annually distribute among the poor one-fortieth of the value of all they possess. The fourth pillar is the sawn or fast (from sunrise to sunset) during the holy time of the Ramadan. Ramadan is a month in the Arabian calendar, Islam’s holy month because during it Muhammad received his initial commission as a prophet and ten years later made his historic Hijrah from Makkah to Madinah. Being a month in a lunar calendar Ramadan rotates around the year. When it falls in the winter its demands are not excessive. When, on the other hand, it falls during the scorching summers, to remain active during the long days without so much as a drop of water is a great trial. The fifth pillar is the Hajj or pilgrimage to Makkah, which is to be undertaken once in a lifetime. Every Muslim who is physically and economically in a position to do is expected to journey to Makkah. The hajj’s historical significance lies in commemorating the trials and tribulations of Abraham, his wife Hajra, and their son Ishamel. The rituals of the hajj performed in and near Makkah are meant to convey a Muslim’s rejection of evil and his or her embracement of monotheism—the same monotheism that Abraham believed in. The basic purpose of the pilgrimage is to bring the Muslim spiritually close to God, but the practice has some other effects as well. It is for example, a reminder of the equality between all people. Upon reaching Makkah, Muslims remove their usual clothes, which tend to reveal social and economic statues, and don two simple sheet like garments. The Hajj also provides a useful service in international relations. It brings together people from various countries, showing that they have in common a loyalty that is more important than the loyalties of earthly kingdoms created by humans. Sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar jijad or “struggle” is another important concept in Islam. Often misunderstood in the West, the jihad is a multi-faced concept with a variety of applications, personal, and collective internal and external. The different aspects of jihad can be accessed depending upon the circumstances. For example, in the case of drug abuse, a person could wage their jihad to release themselves from their addiction. In the case of oppression jihad could mean defensive warfare to protect one from the enemies of Islam. Regardless, Muslims believe that jihad must conform to the guidelines of the Qur’an and Sunna. Thus, although on occasion, jihad was used to conqueror land, it was rarely performed to forcibly covert non-believers in those lands to Islam.